#these two seasons can definitely be described as boring and disappointing

[gl4ukopis]

May and June wrap up

(Yes I'm late)

If we were villains by M.L Rio

I still don't know how to rate this book and I'll probably need a second read to do it properly. One thing is certain: I really really liked it. It's this book's fault if I reentered my 'I'm fixated on Shakespeare' phase. Now I want to read every play that is named in this book so that I can reread it and fully understand it. It's so full of subtle details argggg I love these things.

The midnight club by Christopher Pike

🌟🌟/5

This book was a disappointment, it is so ugly. I got interested in it because I watched the tv series on netflix and I adored it (I really recommend it) but mr netflix cancelled the second season and I wanted to know more about these characters, so I picked the book up. The midnight club didn't age well, while you read it you feel it's old. The characters are unlikeble and you can really tell they are written by a man, they show no depth.

Haikyuu 1 and 2

🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

I love this manga, I don't have anything to say, read it please. The characters are chef kiss.

Once upon a broken heart by Stephanie Garber

🌟🌟🌟.5/5

I was a bit disappointed by this book, don't get me wrong, I liked it but I expected more from it. I couldn't empathise with Evangeline and Jacks the way I always do with good characters. They have a great potential as characters, especially Jacks, but Stephanie Garber didn't really exploit this potential in this first book. I'll definitely read the second one.

All that's left in the world by Erik J. Brown

🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

This is the post-apocalyptic queer novel you didn't know you needed, but believe me, you do. Read this, fall in love with the characters, fall in love with the way the relationship between Andrew and Jamie develops without hurry. This is found family first and a love story second

Legendborn and Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

Words cannot describe how much I love and I'm obsessed with these books. Bree is a wonderful protagonist, she is human, she has flaws, she isn't perfect, she felt real to me. I also think the other characters were wonderful, Sel (my fav together with Bree), William, Alice, Nick. I loved them all. One thing I didn't like about the first book was the development of the relationship between Bree and Nick, it was too hurried and it did get on my nerves. I liked the second book better than the first one, also the ending was *chef kiss* I adored Tracy for that. Please pick these two up, I can't wait to read the third one.

Red, white & Royal Blue by Casey Mcquiston

🌟🌟🌟.5/5

Mmmmm it was like reading a romcom movie, cute, it made me giggle and laugh but I skimmed most of it cause I found some parts boring and a bit too cheesy. However, it was a great book, I'm excited for the movie.

The song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

I don't know how to rate this one sorry

Fucking yes I loved it. I adore greek mythology and I knew I would liked this book. Patroclus my baby, he really is the best of the Myrmidons. Sadly the ending felt a bit subdued compared to the rest of the book.

[m1ckeyb3rry]

OOOH that’s true there’s a lot of scenes of Karasu looking villainous so maybe they are hyping him up for that role in the third selection…ok as much as I love the color blue it’s so overused atp like they’re running out of shades to blue to even use as colors! Like when Kaiser got blue I was like ok……and then kiyora needing to be peacock blue was the last straw like CJOOSE A DIFF COLOR??? I’m also very disappointed that his eyes are some red leaning shade I was fully expecting like a more purple leaning burgundy but wtv ig…..I also lowk think that the combo of having the same eye color as hair is a little boring like I GET IT they like to give characters their own colors but imagine having eyes that really pop out or contrast their hair color hssidjisns

LMAOO the way I grinded so hard to get the special Blu and Jewel birds to use….but FR we’re literally just the same person it’s insane

You’ve convinced me I’m gonna go watch LMAO I also want more bllk content soooo I’m glad whoever the voicing director was added all those nuances…seems like it feels a lot less stiff/unreal in a way compared to some other dubs? Also bro some chigiri fans….or more like chigiri commenters like whenever I see comments on tiktok it’s always those “chigiri tighter” type comments…..please kindly stfu like wtf

I COMPLETELY forgot about the self proclaimed pacifist thing…oh nagi you’re so funny those are NOT pacifist activities LMAOOO

STOP THE “Emo? You mean ego?” IS CANON ISAGI SHSHSHSIS yeah the off brand Rin is too real unfortunately…

FR!! The baddie of the week concept is exactly what I was thinking but I NEED MORE BAROU INTERACTIONS!! That LN really just made me more of a Barou fan likeeee

FRRR finally a nagi crumb LMAOO but I’m ngl umm Rin’s face…..um….lets just say I’m not the biggest fan of these destroyer visuals errrr but I agree!! I def feel like the title is alluding to Kaiser and Isagi more than Rin and Isagi..I’m gonna trust kaneshiro on this one but also since we both thought this to be the case I think it’s safe to say it’s canon atp

- Karasu anon

no fr they’re def going to make karasu so villainous in at least the first half of season two LMAOAOA and YESS omg pick a diff color PLEASE 😭 honestly i didn’t mind the red eyes + black hair for kiyora it was actually super pleasing imo!! but apparently kaneshiro said they made those his colors before they were decided in the manga but his manga coloring (like how it is in the cover w blue + blue) is the final coloring so ig they’re going to change it?? idk i’m sad though because his manga colors are also giving offbrand rin i rlly liked his anime coloring 😕 BUT ALSO SO TRUE i wish there was more contrast sometimes too!! this is why barou slays i loveeee his color palette like the black hair and crimson eyes are sooo 😩

I WAS BUSTING MY ASS OFF TO GET THE SPECIAL BIRDS i also used to play angry birds star wars and i would try sooo hard to get the birds of the characters i liked 😭 the coincidences line up to well fr HAHAH we’re essentially twins

OMG YAYY HAVE FUN!! and yeah i agree some dubs can feel kinda awkward or weird but this one felt really natural and fun which was great!! omg chigiri fans…there’s like the weird tik tok fans but there’s also like the annoying ones that have like yassified him almost?? it’s kinda like how fanon rin is an fboy for some reason i feel like fanon chigiri just does not behave how i see a lot of people describing him 😭 like i see a ton of content where he’s made out to be SUPER princessy and bratty but honestly while he’s high maintenance for sure he’s definitely no worse than barou JFWFSKDK like give me more cocky sassy chigiri!! that’s how he ACTUALLY is in the anime/manga LMAOO his trash talk game is so underrated he’s just as bad as the others

nagi probably only calls himself a pacifist because he hasn’t physically beat anyone up yet (even though he def could) like he’s too unbothered to actually get in a fight but he will instigate all day long 😓 like bro you’re not a pacifist you’re just problematic

isagi is just so…isagi LMAOOO he gives me very strong “tullia’s love interest” vibes like if he’s ever in a long fic of mine that’ll be the most major role he’ll ever get but i don’t think i could ever write him as a main love interest unfortunately 💔

i’ve BEEN a barou fan but YES the ln of him is so good 😩 i’m convinced the only reason barou isn’t as popular as nagi and rin (considering he’s in the first season for abt as much time as them) is how DIRTY they did him in the first half of the season…like the animators have a crush on nagi so he was spared and rin came along later on + he has a rlly basic design so it’s hard to fuck him up but barou…my poor man they did him horrendous (not that he’s much better in the early chapters of the manga i fear but if they could do nagi justice they could’ve done it for barou too!!)

yeah last chapter was giving heavy horror manga vibes 😭 i do think it’s interesting because it adds a layer of difficulty to the game but i’m not a huge rin fan so i’m not as hype as i was in the manshine city game w nagi’s super goal or the uber’s game when barou popped off yk?? but yeah i think an isagi and kaiser team up would be super satisfying and much better than rin just being like “yeah fuck you isagi we’re not rivals anymore” because i really cannot see that happening in just one chapter 😰 HAHA our combined manifestation powers will ensure it comes true 🙏🏻

[thedisneychef]

San Angel Inn: A Review of the Restaurant and Its Menu

When it comes to restaurants on the World Showcase, I don’t think you can find one that’s more polarizing than San Angel Inn. People either love it or they hate it. They think it’s the best hidden gem in the World Showcase, or they think it’s restaurant with great ambiance and lackluster food. So who’s right? Well, depends on who you ask and when they went… Allow me to explain. In the 90’s, eating at San Angel Inn was one of the few dining experiences I remember. The gorgeous ambiance, the proximity to an underrated and deeply relaxing ride (El Rio del Tiempo, which had pretty much the catchiest soundtrack of all time), and the drool-worthy food. It was so good we ate there twice in one trip on consecutive days and deeply regretted discovering it at the end of our trip so we couldn’t eat there a third time. When it came to planning my first trip of the new decade (in Thanksgiving week of 2008 to be exact), the very first reservation I had to make was San Angel. For months I talked up the sheer awesomeness of this place, even debated using two ADRs for two different meals. I was so hype, I couldn’t wait to eat here again. And when we finally ate there, the food was…  Um…  Not so good.  At all. In fact, I won’t pull any punches here… It was pretty awful. The food was bland, cold, the menu pretty boring, the service was a step above having to walk to the kitchen and get the food ourselves… It stood out as the dining failure of the trip. I was so, so, so disappointed. I had nothing but great memories of my precious San Angel Inn, but it didn’t come close to delivering quality food or service.  And, unfortunately, my experience wasn’t really unique. Pretty much everybody who ate there had a really, really negative experience. My expectations walking in were less than what I had for your average trip to McDonalds. I was hoping it’d be a nice view and a cool room. That was it. I claimed my ADR, which was pointless as more than half the dining room was empty but our table was right next to the water, which was pretty cool. It was darker than I remember and the tables were very, very close together, maybe even a tiny bit loud.  But overall, it was super nice.  Very cozy, intimate, and relaxing. The chip basket came out and, I have to say, I consider myself quite the connoisseur of chips and salsa and it takes a lot to impress me. The salsa, however, really impressed me. Fresh, clean, definitely a zip, but a nice sweetness to it, and it tasted so incredibly fresh. So at this point, I figure with awesome chips and salsa, at least I won’t starve. I still remember what I ordered… The pollo a las rajas… Grilled chicken breast served over rice dopped onions, peppers, chorizo in this beautiful cream sauce and topped with melted cheese. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. The chicken was incredibly moist, I didn’t even need a knife to cut it. The onions and peppers were cooked to perfection, not limp and sopping like I was worried they would be, and the rice was so delicately spiced that it balanced out the sweetness of the peppers and onions and really cut the heaviness of the sauce and cheese. They used to serve it with a lemon wedge, which they don’t anymore, and I find it to be a shame. With fresh squeezed lemon over top, it’s pretty much the best food ever made. If it hadn’t been tacky (and distinctly off my dining plan) to ask for seconds, I would have. Sampling the other dishes on the table, the sirloin con Chile Relleno, the tostadas de tinga, even the mahi-mahi fish tacos… It was all to-die-for. Perfectly cooked, exceptionally seasoned, and slammed with flavor. Don’t even get me started on desserts… At the time, they had this amazing dish, isla flotante… A lime meringue served over a vanilla sauce with fresh berries… Honestly, it seems cruel to describe how good it was seeing as it’s not on the menu anymore. Let’s just say it was my favorite dessert on Disney property. Yeah, it was that good. Since that trip in September of 2011, I’ve been 3 more times, every Disney trip but one (I wasn’t in control of the ADRs on that trip and I felt my soul die a little not going there for a meal, but by goodness did I try to make it work…) January 2012, September 2012, and May of 2013. It continues to be the place with the best meal of the trip, the first ADR we make, and the meal that is the most looked forward to. Once a hidden jewel where you had to convince people to try it, one of the places you knew you could get a table without a reservation, it’s now impossible to walk in and increasingly difficult to get a reservation. In April of 2013, Gordon Ramsay’s wife Tweeted pictures of the food and Chef Ramsay declared it one of the best places for Mexican food in the country…  Making reservations just that much harder to get. I’m proud to say that I’ve sampled most of the things on the menu and while I haven’t had a bad experience… Well, I take that back. I did have a bad experience after eating the Mole Poblano… Little Miss Peanut Allergy forgot that mole is made with peanuts… But that was my stupidity, not theirs, and I will say that it tasted amazing and I don’t regret eating it…Though I do regret wandering back to the hotel in misery at 7pm and wasting a meal at my favorite restaurant… Even then, however, the staff was so sweet and when they saw I was ill, they packed me my dessert, an extra dessert, and another entree to enjoy in my room when I felt better… Which is just plain awesome. Anyway, while I’ve always had a great experience with them (despite my best efforts) and the new menu, there are certainly dishes that stand out. The pollo a las rajas, the tostadas, the soupa azteca are all standouts (I love how they serve the soupa!  Brilliant!). However, on this last trip, I found the dish that is quite possibly the best I’ve ever had there, Camarones a la Diabla.  Roasted spicy shrimp served with poblano rice and yuca puree, topped with a chile sauce. So spicy, so sweet, and amazingly flavorful. I still dream about this dish. When I talk about that dinner, I talk about it with the hushed tone that people reserve for truly awe-inspiring moments in their lives. It was incredible. I’m already dreaming about having it as my last meal before running the Wine and Dine Half Marathon. As far as the desserts go, one can’t go wrong, but I personally think the Crema Bavaria, a creamy mousse topped with berries, cinnamon, and orange liqueur, is phenomenal. Again, one of the best desserts on property. Despite a rocky period in the mid-2000’s, San Angel has become my hands-down favorite place to eat on property. The ambiance, food, and overall experience can’t be beaten. People may be turned off by the dark dining room, the closely packed tables, and the louder-than-average ambient noise, and those looking for classic Tex-Mex or Americanized Mexican as well as people who are a tad on the picky side may have trouble with the menu… But trust me, for those who like a little spice and seasoning or a meal with unique flavors, a degree of authenticity that’s hard to find even along the World Showcase (Neither fruit and Jell-O salad or vanilla pudding with chocolate chips is a German dessert, regardless of the vaguely German name you give it…  Biergarten, I’m looking at you…), and a completely unique dining experience will love San Angel Inn. Personally, no Disney trip is complete without me stuffing myself silly and then wandering over to Donald’s boat ride to digest… No line, and they’ll let you ride that more than once without having to get up. Trust me. Read the full article

[maybedefinitely404]

Day 1: Logince

@tsshipmonth2020

Day 1: Your soulmate’s name is on your wrist.

Content: Flower/Tattoo Shop AU, background character death (unspecified cause, none of the sides), that’s pretty much it, it’s just soft Logince.

Word count: 2.7k

A small ding from the store entrance pulled Roman out of his thoughts, and he groaned softly. It was nearing the end of his shift, almost closing time, and another customer at this time would probably mean he was staying after hours again. All he wanted to do was go home and watch cheap reality TV in his sweatpants while shoveling handfuls of hot cheetos into his mouth. So sue him, it had been a long day. But nooo. Someone else had just walked in, probably someone with a very specific style that was out of season and they would argue for half an hour, no matter how many times he explained that tulips aren’t blooming right now, Vanessa! 

Sure, usually his customers were great. Nervous first anniversaries, eccentric brides, all that romance stuff. He loved it. And they were usually all too willing to give him a budget and a color scheme and let him go wild, which was the best part about his job. He was good at it, too. His boss had seen his eye for style and almost immediately gave him solo shifts, which meant decently good pay and hours alone to belt out songs amongst the flowers and daydream to his heart’s content. It was a small enough business that the only mandatory part of his outfit was a green apron, so he could wear whatever he wanted, and he didn’t need a pesky nametag. Those had always weirded him out just a bit. So yeah, he loved his job, but right now, he knew himself too well. He had awful luck. 

With a forced customer service grin, he poked out of the backroom and began his usual spiel of, “Thanks for coming to The Rainbow Bouquet, what can I get started…” 

His words died in his throat at the mere sight of the man before him. Never had he been so equally attracted and frightened at the same time.

He was tall, probably just taller than him, but he held himself in a way that made Roman feel miniscule. Both arms were covered in tattoo sleeves, the left one a flurried mix of black and white and color, beautiful strips of pink and blue galaxies blending with grayscale skulls and clocks. The other had more order; shadows of a forest growing from around his wrist, shimmering mist curling up over his bicep and ending with a full moon stamped on his shoulder like a crest. A corner of something peaked up around the collar of his torn vest, and if Roman had to guess, there were most likely plenty more tattoos that were covered by his ripped black jeans and blue Nasa shirt. Not that his mind was going there at all, no siree. 

Once Roman’s brain had screeched to a halt back in his body, he spoke again.

“What can I get started for you today?”

The man swallowed with difficulty, taking in the rows and rows of flowers surrounding him. He definitely didn’t look in his element.

“I need an arrangement for my mother. She’s in the hospital.”

Ah, the part of the job that Roman didn’t enjoy. Probably half the orders that came in were for sick people or funerals, and those were always a lot harder to arrange. It was always hard to find joy in creating for something so dismal.

“I’m sorry to hear. Did you have anything specific in mind? Does she have a favorite flower?”

“Daisies. She likes Daisies,” He murmured, still admiring the space around him. Roman couldn’t help but smile at the man’s expression. It was just a little awe inspired, a little bit of childish wonder, under that rough exterior. It was a gorgeous shop, that’s one of the reasons Roman had started working there.

“That’s good, it makes it a little easier for me to design something when I have that to go off of. Do you have a budget, or…”

He shook his head weakly, finally turning to look at Roman. “Price isn’t an issue. This is one of the last things I’m going to be able to give her.”

“Oh,” Roman whispered, slowly putting down the pen he’d been writing with, “I’m so sorry.”

“It can’t be changed. There’s no point in losing sleep over it.”

“Just because it’s going to happen doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck. You’re allowed to be sad about it.”

The man narrowed his eyes, giving Roman a once over before lifting his chin slightly. “I don’t need advice from a stranger.”

“Of course you don’t,” Roman quickly corrected, remembering he was still at work, “My apologies. When did you want to pick it up?”

“I’m visiting her tomorrow at noon. Could it be ready by then?”

“You bet. Can I have a name for the pick up?”

“Logan.” Roman’s pen skittered over his notepad, almost falling through his fingers. 

Having a common name on your wrist was a curse in and of itself. And poor him, the hopeless romantic that he was, had met countless “Logan’s” in his day, and consequently fallen for most of them at first introduction, only to figure out quickly that they weren’t destined for a “Roman”. As inconspicuously as possible, he tried to glance down at Logan’s wrist, only finding a mass of swirling tattoos covering his skin. Dammit. There were some people born without soulmates, or had their soulmark fade to nothingness when their person passed away, and he tried not to think too terribly hard on which one Logan was. He tampered his rush of excitement as quickly as it had arisen and turned back to his notes, ignoring Logan’s raised eyebrow at his sudden stop.

Roman scribbled down the name and phone number as it was given, setting down the notepad with a customer service smile. The man spent no time dawdling, immediately starting towards the door, only to hesitate before walking out.

“Her favorite color is yellow.”

Roman nodded, the fake smile slowly morphing into an authentic one. “I can work with that.”

It was now a week after Logan had picked up the bouquet, a somewhat awkward interaction filled with small compliments towards the arrangement and Roman nearly dropping the flowers as their fingers touched while passing it over. As he was ringing up the total, he’d been able to uphold a brief conversation where Logan revealed he was a tattoo artist (no shock, considering he showed more inked skin than plain), and Roman showed off his rose tattoo on his upper arm. It would have been fine if the conversation ended there, but no, Logan had to reach up tentatively to brush his finger along the edge of the piece, commenting off handedly about how the color had started to fade.

“How long ago did you get this done?”

“Probably ten years, give or take.”

“You’re what, mid twenties? There’s no way you were legal ten years ago.”

“Who said I was?” It was said with a small wink that made Logan pull his hand away, an action that immediately dampened Roman’s mood.

“If you ever want it touched up, come by the shop. It’s just down the road.”

Roman had promised to consider, pulling the collar of his long sleeve shirt back up over the rose and bidding the man a good visit to his mother. Even now, a full week later, he couldn’t help his thoughts that were so centered around the tattoo artist. So maybe that was why Logan walked back into the shop the following Wednesday. I simped so hard I summoned him, Roman thought weakly as the gorgeous man strode straight up to the counter, leaning on it like he owned it. 

“I have a question.”

“What’s your question?  

“A client asked me yesterday to design a tattoo for her. A bouquet, seen from the top, and all she specified was it should feature hydrangeas, and she asked me to, quote, ‘go nuts’.”

“This isn’t sounding like a question so far.”

Logan sighed apprehensively, adjusting his glasses, “I was hoping you could give me some ideas on how to start. All the tips I found online contradicted each other in some way or another, and the arrangement you created for my mother was so well done…”

He trailed off, giving Roman a look that clearly said I need your help but don’t make me ask for it. Chuckling slightly, he leaned onto the counter as well, his face inches away from Logan’s. For the first time, he could see the small piercing on the man’s tongue as he sighed again. God, that’s hot.

“I’ll help you. On one condition.” 

“Being?” 

“Help me design my next tattoo.” In full honesty, he hadn’t even considered a second tattoo until that second. 

“Deal.” There was no hesitation in his answer, and he took Roman’s offered hand, barely shaking it in the small space between them. 

“Alright!” Roman pulled back, satisfied but disappointed as their hands separated, “Let’s talk flowers!”

And talk they did. For hours, in fact. It started with Logan’s tattoo dilemma, and Roman’s skillful eye and creative mind solved that problem in a flash, crudely drawing out a bouquet idea that fit all the criteria. The tattoo artist took it from there, using the notepad paper and Roman’s sketch, along with a quick round of the shop to see what the recommended flowers, fillers, and greens would all look like, and drew out a detailed piece that put Roman’s own art talent to shame. After explaining that his shift was done at the parlor and he had the rest of the afternoon free, Roman invited Logan to stay for a while longer, seeing as his day had dragged on customer-less so far, and he was bored. Plus, now was as good a time as any to pay back the favor. Two mugs of breakroom coffee later, the two were huddled around the counter, Roman describing his ideas and Logan sketching them like there was no tomorrow. Maybe half way through the brainstorm, the conversation switched to Logan’s mother (which he talked about hesitantly), then to Roman’s family, slowly changing to the absurdity of satin couch cushions, then to their favorite foods, and finally ending with a loud debate on whether pineapple deserved to be on pizza.

“It’s a fruit, Logan! Why the hell would you put fruit on a pizza?!”

“All I’m saying is that the sweet flavor of the pineapple balances out the tanginess of the marinara sauce, and adds more to the plain crust!”

“That doesn’t make it right!”

Logan had to go soon after that, wanting to visit his mom before visiting hours ended. He left with a begrudging smile on his face and a promise to come back another day, drawing an ear to ear grin from Roman. He’s just a friend, he reprimanded himself sternly, all the while sliding the drawing of his next possible tattoo into his phone case with startling reverence. No use getting attached to some who wasn’t his soulmate. 

Yet, he still couldn’t help but feel saddened as a week passed again, then two, then a month. His job had returned to it’s boring normalcy, with only the flowers and no cute boy to keep him company. Even when he sat at his little desk next to the counter, hands working effortlessly to string together order after order, he couldn’t help the occasional glance at the door. The hope that his prince charming would waltz back in, piercings and ripped clothing galore, never faded. 

A month and a half later, the little chime above the door dinged, and Roman glanced up from his handful of Baby’s Breath (seriously people, there are other fillers). Immediately a huge smile pulled at his lips and he dropped the half finished bouquet onto his table.

“Logan! What took you so… long…” His expression morphed into one of worry as he took in the other’s appearance. Gone was the usual grunge attire he was so prone to wearing, replaced with a black hoodie and beaten up Vans. His eyes no longer held that dangerous glimmer that had intimidated Roman so much when they first met. He just looked… small. Logan had never looked small before.

“My mom died last month,” He whispered.

Roman was over the desk in a second, pulling the man into his arms before he could protest. It took Logan a second, a long, awkward, stiff second, before he let his arms wrap around his waist, allowing his forehead to rest on the florist’s shoulder. 

“I thought I’d be okay when she died… it was inevitable. It was her time… so why does it still hurt so bad?” The desperate whisper shattered Roman’s heart. 

“You’re allowed to feel sad, Logan.” He felt him merely shake his head in response, but he said nothing to push the topic further. 

Logan didn’t cry as they stood there, though he clung to Roman almost desperately. If he had to guess, the poor man was probably already cried out. He looked exhausted, and his unusually slumped posture only weakened more when Roman tightened his arms ever so slightly. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. You were probably waiting.”

“Hey, no apologizing.”

“I just… didn’t want you to see me like this.”

“So what changed your mind?”

Logan shrugged, still not pulling away, “I couldn’t seem to snap myself out of it. And I needed someone who wouldn’t laugh at me. If our few interactions were anything to go by, you were that person.”

Roman decided to ignore the blatant implication that Logan didn’t have anyone except a practical stranger to go to. They could talk about that later, if he decided to stay for a while. Roman really hoped he did. 

When the tattoo artist finally pulled out of the hug, many minutes later, he pushed his sweater paws under his glasses to scrub at his eyes. Maybe he hadn’t cried, but he sure was close to it. 

“I’m sorry-”

“Stop apologizing.”

“I don’t even know your name, and I-”

“It’s okay, stop-” Roman reeled back slightly, eyebrows shooting into his hairline, “Oh… sweet Zac Efron. I never told you my name! Why didn’t you say anything?!” 

“It felt too late to ask,” Logan smirked subtly despite himself, letting his hands fall back to his side.

“Oh, my sweet summer child.”

“I am none of those things.”

Roman sighed in soft exasperation, smiling at the barely perceivable glimmer in the other’s eyes. Ah, there it is. “My name’s Roman. I can’t believe I forgot to tell you.”

He was instantly concerned with the way Logan’s face fell into one of total shock. Shit, what did he do wrong? The fear was quickly replaced with understanding, however, as the artist’s hand drifted to his right wrist. 

“What are the chances that your wrist says my name on it?” Logan said it like he was scared to be hopeful, like a happy ending was just not imaginable for him. Roman couldn’t comprehend all the emotions he felt at one time; elation, shock, fear. He answered in a choked voice, smiling all the while. 

“One hundred percent.”

The both upturned their arms in near harmony, Roman pulling his gardening glove down to reveal the name. He squinted at Logan’s wrist, finally noticing the small writing that just barely stood out underneath a grayscale (anatomically correct) heart. No wonder he missed it before, it almost blended in with the outline. 

And then Logan did cry, but so did Roman, so it was a little more okay. He seemed more confused than anything as Roman pulled him back in, holding him even tighter than before.

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing.”

“I’m so unused to… well, feeling. I’m not usually like this, I believe I’m just sleep deprived and worn out from-”

“You never, ever need to be guilty for feeling, you absolute punk stereotype.” Roman pressed a long kiss to the other’s temple, letting him unwind in his arms. “We’ll work on that together. I promise.”

A muffled affirmative hum was all he got in response. He pressed another kiss to the top of Logan’s head as his crying slowed, breathing out heavily into the man’s hair. Together. That’s all that mattered.  

Peep this gorgeous art piece for this fic

[darkpoisonouslove]

Tangled: The Series Review

I just watched Tangled: The Series and I finished all three seasons in four days. TL:DR It’s good. It’s really, really good and I definitely recommend. This might be the best thing that has come out of Disney in the last decade or more. Now head under the cut for a more detailed look at the show and my thoughts on it.

Plot

The plot is actually pretty simple and is a direct continuation of the storyline from Tangled: Before Ever After. Granted, there are a lot of elements that answer questions not only from that movie but also from the Tangled movie itself but they are introduced with a lot of time in between that lets you process and even get disengaged at a couple points.

Not gonna lie, the pacing can be pretty slow sometimes and you almost forget what the end goal of the journey is but that allows for a lot of character work to be done (which I will talk about in a sec). It doesn’t seem like it has enough plot for three seasons but they do end up filling it out. Sometimes it’s a little frustrating but it works about 98% of the time.

The finale of season 3 wasn’t overly hyped up by the set up so it didn’t feel anti-climatic like it so often happens when shows just oversell their final showdown in the build-up and then it’s just... eh. Here the emotion and suspense definitely felt proportional to the action you’re getting most of the time.

Characters

The characters were great! They build up on what we’ve seen from Rapunzel, Eugine and Cassandra in the two movies and gave a lot of screen time to side characters as well. Pascal gets two episodes that are centered on him and he gets his own arcs! He’s a chameleon! And you feel for him as an independent character and Rapunzel’s friend, not just her pet. There are a lot of moments where other citizens of Corona that aren’t part of the main focus of the show get attention as well to a point where the kingdom truly feels populated and the world comes alive off the screen. It’s truly moving to watch most of those stories develop.

A little complaint I have would be with Rapunzel’s parents. The focus on them wasn’t bad–not at all–it just wasn’t enough. To be fair, I was actually surprised that they even touched on them but when you truly examine how they did, it just isn’t enough. We get a look at the trauma of losing a child mostly through Rapunzel’s father who definitely got more screen time than her mother but, ultimately, neither of them feels well developed. You are just not sure who they are as people and it feels unsatisfying precisely because the show tried to focus on them. It just didn’t work out fully.

Other than that, most of the characters just work really well. They all get arcs and go through a lot of character development that makes you attached to them and you really get invested in the story which is great. I genuinely cried a couple of times because I was so touched.

Villains

The villains might just be my biggest issue with this series. They have some good minor villains, some cases that are engaging despite the frustration they breed and a couple of villains that are just frustrating in their execution. I’m going to break this down a little to express what I mean.

The main villain of the show is okay but is a little underwhelming. She’s not on screen until season 3 and the thing is that she feels a lot more menacing while she is just a presence that hangs over the main cast rather than she is when she is actually present. (Now this might spoil a little simply because there is no other way to word it) Her servants come off as more menacing than she does. The only time she’s truly pulling her weight is in the finale that I already mentioned was just the right amount of hyped up so that you don’t end up disappointed by it. I was pretty neutral about her and liked her more when she was just an incorporeal tale the heroes were hearing about.

There were several minor villains that worked great. They were the right amount of menacing and the show actually allowed itself to go into pretty dark territory with some of them. Most left lasting consequences for the main cast of heroes and were just all around perfect. The thing that I have an issue with is all (and those are several) the villains that switched over to the good side because it never felt executed correctly. It was either rushed or not well motivated. The writers of the show were making a point about how kindness can touch any kind of person but it still felt forced and not focused on enough. All of these cases would have benefited from a bit more time for the change to happen.

There are two villains in the series that are particularly frustrating when it comes to that because with them changing morality was like flipping a switch. With the first one both the good-to-bad and bad-to-good changes were just not motivated enough and were ramped up to eleven. It just leaves you thinking “You should go to sleep and then you’d calm down” but instead he ended up nearly getting dozens of people killed just because he couldn’t think to count to ten. And in the other case, the switch to the side of evil was definitely motivated in insecurities that were festering over time but the flip-flopping between good and evil was just really annoying and didn’t feel like it was grounded in particular thought or even emotion. It was just happening because the plot demanded it which was extremely jarring after two and a half seasons of a character driven show. And despite the clearly overtaking insecurities, watching this character make some of her choices is unbelievably frustrating because they just don’t make sense. No matter how hurt she is, she is just acting like she either is unable to think or like she doesn’t care about anyone but herself which clashes with the moments in which she is considering going back to the side of good. It is baffling and the worst point of the writing in any aspect.

Relationship Drama

Or rather the lack of anything I would describe as relationship drama aka unfounded jealousy and wild miscommunication that would take half a minute of intelligent conversation to be resolved. I was so pleasantly surprised by the way the relationship between Rapunzel and Eugine was handled. They are both supportive of each other and forgive mistakes. They talk about their feelings and resolve conflict whenever it arises. They trust each other even when it appears that the situation doesn’t warrant that. It is just a healthy relationship that is absolutely heart-warming and adorable to watch.

I am especially thrilled about the fact that they brought up Rapunzel rejecting Eugine’s marriage proposal in Before Ever After and touched on how it would feel to a girl who’s spent her whole life confined to one place to be thinking of settling down (not ideal since in a way it implied that marriage is a trap or at least boring and would cut off your opportunity for adventure but at least they talked about it). And I am especially pleased that they gave the characters time to explore their relationship and also explored the idea of them being in one without being engaged. Really, the message that you can love someone and still not be ready to get engaged is valuable and not something I would expect from a story about a Disney princess.

Some more highlights to talk about and some minor spoilers (don’t read if you don’t want to know more) – they explore how Rapunzel inspires Eugine to be better but it isn’t framed as her being his only salvation. It is framed exactly as what it is – Eugine seeing Rapunzel’s kindness and deciding that he wants to be better for himself and for her, too. I really appreciated that. They also have this episode in which Rapunzel and Eugine have to play parents and I liked the way it was handled. It truly felt like they have the connection between them to support a family and raise children but they are not in a rush and that goes back to the idea that they don’t need to get engaged and married if they don’t feel ready even though they might appear ready.

Lore

I loved the lore of the series. There is a lot more we learn about Corona as well as Rapunzel and the abilities of her hair. There is more information about the world and the surroundings of both the characters and Corona as a kingdom. We get a great expansion of the fantasy element of the world as well as the history and politics of it and I was immersed in the way it made the story and the characters richer. The show is doing its own thing and it is following whatever has already been established about the world and building on it in order to make both the story more compelling and to answer questions that have been raised in the movies without being answered. It’s doing quite well on that front.

Originality

A lot of times I would think that we are going down the route of a certain trope but then they’d put a fresh spin on it or at least a new angle that isn’t usually brought up and made the story that much more engaging. The show dealt with some serious topics that I never would have expected from a Disney princess property. They actually explore Rapunzel grappling with the responsibility that will fall on her shoulders once she’s queen of Corona and it was done in a very realistic and honest–even raw–way. Definitely not something you think you’ll find in the show when you sit down to watch it. There were certainly some cliches and moments that I wish they could have subverted the tropes they were using, but overall, I was often surprised by the way they handled the matter they were writing about.

[howtosingit]

if ur ok with it can u break down the tarlos huggggg in the lst ep after tk tells evy1 abt his addiction? bc that gd huggggggg i wanna no every thing u think abt it i live for ur love for tarlos theyre just so so cuteeeee

IF I’M OKAY WITH IT?! Anon, I feel like I have been waiting my entire life for this ask. I could literally talk about this hug for the rest of my existence. I would talk about this hug every second of every day if I could and never get tired or bored. This hug has owned my entire heart from the moment that it happened and I can never get enough of it. Brace yourself for this essay, and remember that you asked for it...

Okay, so before I get to the actual hug, I want to talk for a minute about why I love it so much and also how fantastic the scene is that comes before it. I’ll try to keep both of those brief (LOL). If you want to skip to the hug breakdown, I’ll give the sections titles. 

Why I Love This Hug

So, why do I love this hug so much? Honestly, because I never in a million years thought we’d get something like it, and it was a big turning point for me.

I have not been quiet about how disappointing I think season 1 was. Too much Owen being Owen, too much Iris plot (which never interested me for even a single moment, unfortunately), not enough of the other characters - specifically the characters of color - and definitely not enough Tarlos.

Following episode 3, the show established a really frustrating pattern with Tarlos: they either never interacted with one another, or there was a moment of them at the end of an episode where they were in the same place physically but never spoke directly to one another. Frustration doesn’t even begin to describe the Tarlos talking drought between episodes 3 and 10 - and honestly? It’s bad writing. To focus on a ship for 3 episodes, giving them a lot of different nuances and conflict, and then do absolutely nothing with it? Stupid. So, going into the finale, my expectations were low. At that point, I was literally tuning in just to catch a glimpse of Carlos, with the expectation that that was all I would get. I really didn’t think I was going to watch the show after season 1. 

When the finale started with a Tarlos scene, I was honestly very surprised. But, then, of course, it was a “break up” scene, and I was like... well. So much for that. See, I fully expected, based on the trend throughout the later half of the season, that that would be the only Tarlos scene we would get, and that that is how they would end season 1. 

But when that camera cut to Carlos Reyes walking through the station door looking like a modern-day motherf*cking Prince Charming? I cried. I’m not ashamed to admit that. And then WHEN WE GOT THE HUG?! I can honestly still feel my heart pounding in my chest.

The finale didn’t fix everything for me; they still barely talk in their final two scenes. It’s not all perfect. But this hug, this small moment? THAT. IS. PERFECTION. (And I’m gonna go on and on about why in just a minute!)

Framing the Hug

I just want to take another moment here to chat about the entire fire station scene with TK and the team/Carlos because there’s a lot that informs why this hug is so freaking incredible. It has everything to do with the directing choices that were made - and boy were they good ones!

We all probably remember how the scene starts: extreme close-ups on TK as he sits waiting for the crew to come back. He’s anxious and possibly having a mild panic attack, and the camera is used to create that moment. Certain shots are out of focus, the shots that are focused are zoomed in to his mouth/hands/eyes, the sound is distorted, his breathing is isolated. It’s all super effective. 

So the observations that I make about this brief moment are: TK is stationary, the camera is basically attacking him. And TK is alone. Pretend for a moment that the camera is a character. The camera won’t leave him alone. No one is there to help him. His anxiety grows. 

(Even when the team joins him, the camera stays pretty close to him, except for one moment where it backs off but then approaches again. It continues to invade his personal space and his personal moments with his friends and his dad.)

Now, compare that to how the scene ends: TK walks away from the camera, the camera doesn’t follow him. It gives him space. His interaction with Carlos happens in the distance. If the camera is a character, TK defeated that character. He leaves it there, it no longer threatens him. I just really like that visual storytelling; that through the 4 minute scene, TK not only faces his demons, speaks his truth, and conquers his anxiety but he beats the camera and goes off to hug Carlos untethered. (He even bounces towards him, but we’ll get to that in a minute.) That doesn’t really have anything to do with the hug specifically, but I thought it was interesting anyway.

The other comparison that I want to make is a simple one, but it’s another reason why I love the hug: TK initiates it. He doesn’t initiate the group hug with his team (he actually almost says “we don’t have to do that” when Mateo moves towards him), though he obviously enjoys it. Owen initiates their hug, flinging himself at his son, and TK obviously appreciates it.

But the Carlos hug? TK approaches him, TK raises his arm to wrap around Carlos’s neck.

Okay, now to finally answer the original ask...

LET’S HUG IT OUT: THE BREAKDOWN THAT WAS ASKED FOR

First, can I just say from his first appearance to the end of this scene, Carlos is there for 20 seconds total and I am about to write a whole-ass essay about those 20 seconds?! I’m literal trash.

Okay, so Carlos appears looking like a fucking snack. He’s changed since the bus accident, looking like someone’s hot date, and I think we know whose... Owen is basically like “well this is unexpected” and honestly, same sir. TK is adorable and noncommittal, but clearly not surprised to see Carlos there. We’ve missed a moment between them since TK was sent to the hospital and Carlos called him impressive, that’s for sure. 

So when TK starts to walk towards him, the camera refocuses on Carlos and we see this adorable freaking look on his face that clearly says “how did it go?” or “all went well?” or something to that effect. I think Carlos knew what TK was doing at the station and he knew that it was a big deal for him, and I love that even before they are next to each other, he’s checking in to see how it went. He’s invested in TK’s well-being - as always - and he’s there to support him, both physically and emotionally. I COULD SCREAM.

In response to Carlos’s silent questioning, TK throws his head back and sighs. Like I said before, he seems to bounce towards Carlos, his body is pretty loose - his arms are swinging back and forth. This is a guy who just took a load off, and he’s relieved about having done so. The smile that Carlos gives him in answer says that he’s relieved too - that it went so well, that TK seems lighter. He might even be relieved that TK is being so much more open with him, clearly showing him his emotions. Their body language for this entire moment is very open, neither of them seem closed off. It truly does feel like, for the first time, they are meeting each other on equal footing, with all of their cards on the table before them. It’s such a different moment for them, certainly different than their body language during the boba date earlier in the episode.

I would be an absolute idiot if I did not pause and remark here how INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT IT IS that TK is the one that approaches Carlos. I’m not the first person to notice and say this, but Carlos “I hate being the one doing the chasing” Reyes stops just inside the door. He lets TK walk towards him. It’s such an interesting, nonverbal conversation between them. In this action, Carlos is saying “I’m here, but I’m still not going to force anything. You said you wanted space, so I’m giving it to you.” Sure, he comes to the station - but I would pay good money to bet that TK invited him there following some kind of conversation about what he was doing there - but he stays at the door. He’s cautious, but open. He wants something more with TK, but he’s not going to throw himself into it just to get hurt again. So, he waits. AND TK COMES TO HIM. TK leaves his own space and enters his. TK takes the final step. TK closes the gap. TK makes the big move, and they’re finally both right in front of each other, on the same wavelength. The find that solid ground from which they’ll build their relationship together. ISN’T IT JUST BEAUTIFUL?!

Seriously, kudos to Bradley Buecker for directing this episode with multiple levels of storytelling at play. It’s really great stuff.

OKAY, there’s a little Owen and Michelle moment, but then the camera finds Tarlos again. 

TK is standing in front of Carlos, they’re completely fixated on one another, their body language is just so fucking casual and comfortable I cannot stand it. See, the other hugs were all pretty intense: the team piles on top of TK, burying him, and Owen practically throws himself at TK, it’s a fairly hard hug for a man with an injured shoulder. But this hug? NOPE.

It’s so soft. It’s so gentle. TK raises his arm like he just can’t not wrap it around Carlos’s neck, like it’s the only way to be as close as possible to him and being as close as possible to him is all he wants in that moment.

What I really love about this hug is that it feels like two people who hug not because the moment is demanding it, not because they’re reuniting after a long time apart, not because they’re in a heightened state of emotion. 

These two hug like it’s just what they do, what they always want to be doing, like they don’t know how not to do it. The whole thing reads like “Hi, I’m TK and my arms belong around Carlos” and “Hi, I’m Carlos, and my arms belong around TK, what else would I be doing with them?” (It’s also the vibe I get from the club scene where they wrap their arms around each other.)

IT’S INTIMACY, Y’ALL.

Look, to be a Tarlos fan, I think you have to be willing to look at the relationship on two different levels, right? One is what they verbalize to each other, which is admittedly very little (season 2, come through). The other is the story that they tell through their body language. These two have seemingly always been on the same page physically. It just comes naturally to them, from the minute they first dance to their obviously very pleasing sex scene to the way they flirt in the bar to the club to Carlos at TK’s bedside. 

Their chemistry is made clear through how they physically relate to each other, and never is that more clear than in this hug that LITERALLY LASTS 2 SECONDS BUT CONTAINS MULTITUDES.

Okay, back to it... so TK strolls towards Carlos, Carlos waits for him - they symbolism is making me scream - TK raises his arm, it’s all super casual...

And then he just kind of literally falls into Carlos’s body, and Carlos basically just catches him. HOW BEAUTIFUL IS THAT.

They don’t even speak but because they’ve had a nonverbal conversation with just those looks that I talked about, there’s just this understanding that TK needs to just collapse a little bit and he never for one second doubts that Carlos will hold him up. THAT’S JUST WHAT THEY DO.

OKAY OKAY OKAY now we’re going to break this down from head to toe.

Like, the way that their heads just rest against each other, TK pressing close - I can almost imagine that he breathes in the scent of Carlos’s shampoo, his nose is pressed right there in his curls. AND JUST IMAGINE HIS SMILE, I BET IT’S BLINDING.

I love that their heads kind of curve around each other kind of, perfectly Yin and Yang - like, from above they would totally look like that symbol.

MY FAVORITE PART OF THE ENTIRE THING: CARLOS FREAKING REYES NUZZLING INTO TYLER KENNEDY STRAND’S NECK, LIKE HE JUST SHOVES HIS FACE RIGHT IN THERE

THE NECK KISS MADE ME SCREAM SO FUCKING LOUD THE FIRST TIME I SAW IT I COULD NOT HANDLE IT

First, it’s our first kiss since episode 2. 

Second, THE INTIMACY OF PRESSING A KISS TO SOMEONE’S NECK - LIKE THAT IS SUCH A SOFT PART OF YOUR BODY, THERE ARE TENDONS THERE, YOU CAN FEEL SOMEONE’S PULSE THERE - LIKE OH MY GOD

Nothing screams “I want to know every part of this man on a deep, committed level” than a fucking neck kiss, and Carlos Reyes just... he fucking does it. 

Okay but he really does bury his whole face in there like he wants to keep it there forever, I have truly never seen something so soft in my entire life. 

I’m so in love with them I could puke.

But like, that’s why this moment means so much to me, because I really do think that it’s a solidifying moment for both of them. 

For TK, it’s a “It’s okay if I stumble or fall because this man will catch me or help me up” thing

For Carlos, it’s “he wants me, he wants this, he’s taking literal steps towards this thing between us, and he encourages me to sink into him, he wants me to do that, he really wants this”

Like, fuck. 

Moving down... we gotta appreciate Carlos being mindful of TK’s shoulder, unlike literally everyone else who has hugged him. Like, he doesn’t even go anywhere near those stitches because there’s no fucking way he’s going to watch TK bleed out for the third time, nope.

And the way that Carlos just slides his arms around TK’s waist, pressing his palms into his lower back?! 

I think there’s a whole like, thing, where when a person’s hands are flat and open they’re like, open and vulnerable. So there’s just something about the way that Carlos presses both of his open palms against TK’s back that feels so open and vulnerable and honest to me.

Also, the way that he literally covers as much of TK’s back with his hands as possible? He doesn’t place his hands on top of one another, he stacks them along TK’s spine - he completely covers the entirety of his lower back. That’s a really vulnerable part of the human body, and Carlos instinctively protects it. AND TK LET’S HIM.

Okay, finally, down to their feet: TK really does collapse against Carlos, throwing himself on top of him and trusting that Carlos will keep him upright. All of his weight shifts to that forward momentum, he even goes up on the toes of his right foot. Carlos plants his feet, and as TK sways into him, he wraps him in his arms and gently centers them so that they don’t tip over to the ground.

He literally re-balances them. The two of them together find a balance with one another during this TWO-SECOND HUG. They shift, they steady themselves, they sink into one another.

It’s literally symbolic of them both being completely, 100%, without question, ready for the next phase of their relationship together.

They keep each other standing, and that’s fucking true love, y’all.

I honestly cannot wait for season 2. This hug and the final scene on the hood of Carlos’s car - with TK again making the move to embrace their relationship by physically reaching into Carlos’s space for his hand and dragging it into his own space, firmly opening the door to his heart to let him inside, while also settling Carlos’s hand between his own to let him know that he’s willing to protect him and his heart too - makes me believe that we are in for some truly wonderful romance with these boys. 

My heart will not stop screaming about it.

[brave-clarice]

“Clarice” Liveblog: Episodes 5 & 6

Since these are extraordinarily late, I tried to keep them more concise/focused than before. I’m sorry for how long it’s taken me to (almost) catch up. And to the handful of you who’ve enjoyed these and encouraged me to do them: thank you!

Episode 5, “Get Right With God”

the music at the beginning of this episode might just be in the maintenance guy’s headphones(!) but it was still a…Choice.

there’s something so tragic about watching Clarice be unable to use her legs… :’(

this whole scenario feels like a twisted parallel universe version of the end of Hannibal.

glad to see Ardelia finally has her priorities straight and is going to fight for her best friend! let’s forget her Episode 4 subplot ever happened.

good: the warrior finding a weapon even in the direst of circumstances!

bad: those damn moths are back. at least this time they might be drug-induced.

“she worked Bill alone” no, she didn’t. not really. (Hannibal: I’m right here.)

stop trying to make Likable Paul happen, it’s never going to happen!!!

I HATE the “Reesey” nickname, y’all. HATE. IT.

plus, we know that her dad called her “Baby”?

her father’s appearance doubles down on the end-of-Hannibal vibes...Not Sure If Want.

wow, Clarice is being literally tortured? thanks, I hate it!!!

really doubt that Clarice’s Pinto used to belong to her father (who drives a truck in the books??)... weird flex.

and how would she even have gotten it? her mother would either have driven that car into the ground out of necessity or else have sold it for the money the Starlings needed so desperately.

Pintos also weren’t super high-quality cars and were definitely not built to last ~20 years.

Clarice already being able to chat with her father whenever she needs to really undermines the therapy Hannibal will eventually give her, but…I guess they’ve already accepted they’ll never make it that far?

“you’re trying to get in my head” yeah, and she’s doing it, too–’cause she learned from the best!

“you get an answer, I get an answer, Felker.” she’s Hannibal’s girl all right.

this episode’s had flashes of brilliance before diving back into…whatever tf watching one of your favorite characters of all time being tortured is.

I really wanted Ardelia to say that no, but Clarice was like a sister to her.

it took FIVE episodes to get some lamb imagery, but we’ve been looking at moths for the entire season?!

oof, Clarice voicing her own insecurities about her childhood abandonment and using them to twist Felker’s arm...painful but smart.

HANNAH!!!

I would die 4 baby Clarice

after all that, Clarice is going to apologize to Ardelia about last week? this episode SUCKS.

Good: Clarice playing mind games with Felker like Hannibal did to her; Ardelia going to bat for her bestie, lamb flashbacks, baby Clarice, and HANNAH!

Bad: So much. Clarice being medically tortured multiple times, moth hallucinations, the several-years-premature (imo) Daddy-as-Guardian-Angel plot device, “Reesey”...did I mention Clarice getting repeatedly tortured?!

Ugly: Krendler backstory + making out with his wife. Ew.

Wow, this episode was a hot mess, and I kind of hated it. I loved Clarice’s really Hannibalesque approach to Felker, and I’m so thrilled that Hannah got mentioned at all (tho...did they need to be so heavy-handed with the helmet and gun and everything?) Also nice to see Ardelia behaving much more in-character. That said, it was sickening and imo totally unnecessary to further traumatize Clarice the way they did. To make her almost helpless.

Clarice, and by extension Rebecca Breeds (who is fantastic and deserves better), has been given very little range so far. She’s frequently been shown as miserable, afraid, desperate, traumatized, angry, resentful, but I also want to see her joyful, laughing, silly, relaxed...something else that will give her depth. Her life wasn’t miserable 24/7, 365. It was just unfulfilling. We got glimpses of this in the first two episodes. PLEASE bring it back!

And rn I’m questioning how Clarice’s career can possibly drag on for another six years after this. Her apparent PTSD is already interfering with her job performance as it is--this experience is only going to make it worse. Her “body count” in Hannibal was around five, iirc, and that was enough to slap her with the “Death Angel” moniker. In the show at least four people have died in close proximity to Clarice in the space of like...a week. How does she come back from that, even as the savior of Catherine Martin? It’s a PR nightmare for obth Clarice and the FBI.

They’ve also sort of forgotten that the Martins existed while continuing to flesh out Krendler’s (?!) character? It’s weird.

I almost don’t even want to watch Episode 6 after that. But here goes...

Episode 6, “How Does It Feel to Be So Beautiful?”

the freaking MOTHS again, I hate them!

frankly, yeah, Clarice should be on leave.

Clarice’s nondescript monochrome suits and constant ponytail are just so boring. in the book she’s described as never having to put effort into making her hair look good--so why is it always pulled back in this show?

I’m not sure it’s very in-character for Clarice, at this point in her career, to go over her boss’s head to get out of admin leave (one she really needs to take tbh) even for the sake of solving a case

lol what the actual hell @ AG Martin guilt-tripping Clarice, who was very recently tortured and almost died, for not calling Catherine back? Clarice is not Catherine’s therapist!

THIS is what my Vogue-reading heroine with burgeoning great taste wears for a night out? so disappointing.

never in my life did I think I’d be sitting through Krendler’s personal drama in a show ABOUT CLARICE STARLING.

her costume sucks and her hairstyle’s from years in the future, but dang does Clarice look gorgeous.

and I love thinking of her getting a taste of the luxury she’ll enjoy with Hannibal. :)

you know what? I think I was actually fine with them forgetting that the Martins were in this show.

whyyy is Krendler being made so sympathetic?!

now Catherine Martin “loved to sew” just like Frederica Bimmel? hmm. (tbf, maybe this is in the novel, and I’ve just forgotten.)

her gift for Clarice is sweet, though.

so beautiful, indeed

Christ on a cracker, that confrontation between the Martins was painful to watch (not a criticism). this show’s AG and her daughter are very much two of a kind in terms of emotional manipulation.

I stan one (1) doofus

now either Catherine’s gaslighting Clarice...or Clarice’s trauma (over BILL! again with this!) is so pervasive that it’s twisted her memories. either way, I hate it.

so Krendler’s lawyer is dirty and that’s why he’ll (probably) turn against Clarice? but WHY? why can’t Krendler just suck?

Good: Clarice looking gorgeous, Ardelia continuing to fight for Clarice, female characters in positions of authority everywhere

Bad: Clarice’s underwhelming costumes, Clarice’s primary/worst trauma apparently STILL being Buffalo Bill & having Clarice break down crying again (and NOT over what happened last week, which would tbh make a lot more sense).

Sad: Shaan’s backstory about his wife, everything involving Catherine

Ugly: Krendler subplot. Ugh.

I just don’t know how I feel about this installment. Wish I cared more about the overarching conspiracy plot, but I’m really only here for Clarice and Ardelia. And while no show can stand on the shoulders of a single character, for a show about Clarice, there seems to be quite a bit of screentime devoted to her bosses, Martin and Krendler, and even to her team members. And all without Clarice herself getting much character development. They don’t seem to be exploring much of her character other than her traumatic backstories, and I’m no longer very hopeful that she’ll be much more fleshed out in the last four episodes, either. It’s a bummer. I really think Rebecca could shine like Jodie did if she were given a chance.

Most of the scenes with the Martins were visceral and felt so real that it was hard to watch. That said...the AG Martin/Catherine content all strikes me as being somewhat detached from the rest of the show, as if the writers are making it up as they go along with no real end goal in mind.

Man...these two were rough going. Very little humor or warmth and absolutely no joy. Of course the source material is dark, so a somewhat dark crime drama is to be expected, but I really think the show needs a slightly less intense, bleak and (dare I say it?) unpleasant episode. But they writers have really dug themselves into a hole by zeroing in on Clarice’s PTSD. And unlike in Hannibal, there’s no love interest with whom she (and by extension, the audience) can flee her misery and pain. 

I'm cautiously optimistic about the rest of the season. A lot of the ingredients are there, and despite my many criticisms, it’s been great to spend time with a character I love. Fingers crossed that they finish strong!

[artyrogue]

Blind Date Gaming: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R

Well today's date was a blast from my past. Remember way back when in yesteryear, before the advent of anime in the west? Probably not? Well hey, let's go back in time to when Sailor Moon was like the only anime being shown on TV. Okay, so yeah, it's really not super-great and all (at least the dub wasn't...), but whatever, it was my jam as a young impressionable lad of...what was I, like 10 or something? I can't remember, but since my old grey brick Game Boy was the cornerstone of my youth, I am a little excited to revisit a merging of two old passions. That's right! We're gonna play some Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R!

It starts with a cutscene, of course. This IS based off an anime, so we gotta get a fill of some anime girls with their obligatory high school problems! Sadly for me, it's all in Japanese, but I can provide some crappy machine translations to no doubt elucidate the action-packed dialogue!

"Today, every one of them..."

Oh. Guess I shouldn't have just kind of took a random screenshot in the middle of nowhere. Well, uhh...I'll ad-lib. Today, everyone is apparently milling about whatever Sailor Moon's hometown was. Serena was being a git and verbally harassing everyone she found on the street. That kind of accurately described the first phase of gameplay in this game: an 'adventure' where you have to talk to the right person, then talk to someone else, etc. until the game decides that surprise! You found the area's boss! (My apologies to the script writers here for my clear bypassing of their hard work.)

why hello there fellow school girl, let us talk about boys and how hard maths are

I get some bad vibes of two sorts: One, adventure games where you just try things randomly until you click the right thing and the game decides to let you progress; and Two, Mario is Missing. An odd marriage, especially considering the random boring mini-games they sprinkle in here and there, like matching cards, guessing if the next card will be higher or lower than the current card, and of course the staple of youth fun, sliding puzzles.

At least Final Fantasy gave you money for completing these dumb things....

Well, luckily the game isn't just mingling. There's a platforming phase where you use magical powers to jump, shoot foes, and do battle with evildoers from the Sailor Moon universe! Though I really don't recall any of these enemies since I never watched this season of the show, so I can't speak to their accuracy to the source material. The platforming is accurate for girls wearing high heels, though. These jumps're so stiff, you can mount 'em on a ladder and do high dives offa them.

I can only assume these are the Japanese temple versions of Jehovah's witnesses

The bosses are unsurprisingly dull! Pretty much the only cool thing about them is their animations, which are alright and fairly fluid. Combat is summed up as ‘spam the attack button and don't even try to dodge, because who cares?’ You have more health than every boss in the game. Which is a good thing, ‘cos it's not like you can actually move around and dodge anything anyway.

Ahh yes, the handstand of dominance. A most impressive display for an inter-dimensional being bent on destruction!

So after thumb-wrestling a boss, you get kicked back into story mode. It shifts the scout you play as, but who cares, they all blabber to randos on the street. Come on, just let me fight things! This sucks! While the best aspect of the street-roaming phase that gets changed up is the road layout, later platforming levels get a little cute with their traps and enemies. Still, though, it's all stupidly easy and kinda boring. Except that one time Sailor Mercury was dodging spike mace balls in a sea of scaffolding. Dang, I liked that episode of the show!

Why can't they ever have spiky cubes? Why always balls? C'mon devs, get creative!

Also, I feel the need to point out that the background artists definitely got paid more than the foreground artists. There is so little effort put into the foreground, you may as well be playing an old Game Boy g...oh. Right.

Mmyep, this sure looks like release material and not placeholders during development.

The story starts getting kooky near the end, at least from what my illiterate self can tell. Your first foes are some David Bowie wannabes. Next, a cloaked fortune teller pops in to ruin your self esteem and flash their $40 glass orb (as they do). Eventually, you meet the REAL enemy pulling the strings. It's...a planet? I think? A planet with a dirt lip and a mohawk. Sure. That's fine, I don't see anything that could go wrong with that.

"...my life is Wiseman. This is my heart." Yeah no, I don't think you should have put 'Organ Donor' on your driver's license then, buddy

"Moon Crystal Power!" The faces are definitely part of the power summoning rite. I get a similar look from my wife when I take the last ice cream bar from the freezer

The ending was lackluster, really. I mean, don't get me wrong, the character portraits were pretty good, but you don't get many more unique ones in the final cutscene. But hey, at least you can use the existing ones to redo some popular internet memes.

Overall, not really that great. It was pretty disappointing, but I mean, that's kind of spot-on for all of my revisits to fond childhood memories. So what I've learned from this date is that holy moly did I have terrible taste as a kid! While my younger self might have sprung for it, I ain't going on a date with this one again. Nopes all around! But at least I found a baller Sprite of Passage from one of the lame mini games! Have it as a reminder to never revisit your childhood. Keep that past rosy!

do you have burials at sea for sailor scouts?

[thxngam]

Do you have any favorites in terms of s7 fics or post-canon/future fics in TWW? thank you :)

I really have become a rec blog huh? This is the most fun thing ever lmao, please keep asking for recs!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27898720--glory is that bright tragic thing by shesmyplusone: a very very cute fic of josh talking to leo’s grave with a visitor. mentions all the s7 cast with some of josh’s own thoughts. ngl, almost cried

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28259976--Send a Postcard From Down the Street by @cauldronoflove: one of my favorite s7 fics! maybe my absolute favorite idk that’s a hard spot to be in. it’s mostly donna and sam being besties (which, btw, the best friendship ever) and talking about sam’s decision to leave but also them worrying about the new administration, and also donna being an absolute badass with helen santos (who i love, fight me), and...you know, i’ll stop here, but this is definitely something to read!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28096008/chapters/68838846--she might just be my everything and beyond by romanovaly: a donnajosh fic! this advances their relationship very very quickly and it’s an adorable two chapter fic with the entire bartlet gang! i agree with the author; i will always be salty that we never got a complete family reunion 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28030764/chapters/68668905--In The Beginning by spamtotz: another donnajosh fic! ngl most postcanon fics are donnajosh, but no complaints from me lol. Unlike the last fic, this one focuses on their fledgling relationship feat. Josh Being An Entire Idiot

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27537739/chapters/67347088--And the Pursuit of Happiness by @welcometo-yourworld: samjosh being idiots postcanon! this one is still being actively updated, but it also features Josh being an idiot but with company! it’s so so so good, and not a single character is OOC. i don’t really know how to describe this other than good lol, but definitely worth the read!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/150951--Out at Sea by tosca1390: cj & Danny! i should read more of this ship...hm. Either way, this is such a good fic, and makes me feel nostalgic for some reason though the show is obviously fictional? it also features toby and cj, which was one of the best pairs, idc if you ship it romantically or platonic. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/150944--April(Again) by tosca1390: a moment between josh and sam with their new roles, but their friendship is so funny. also mentions of donnajosh, so samjosh is entirely brotp here, but i love this slice of life!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/549156--Cupcakery by tosca1390: literally plotless, but so so so good! idk its ainsely and sam being cute with a side of bram. i think it also mentions rory gilmour from gilmour girls but I've also never seen gilmour girls so idk lol. i mostly love it for the sam/ainsley 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/687863--Giving in to Ainsley by fluffernutter8: another sam/ainsley fic! (there should be a ship name lol I’m getting tired of typing that out) this one is like 50% sam and josh just talking but it’s not like boring or anything, it’s mostly sweet with a little bit at the end that makes my heart flutter with the p o s s i b i l i t i e s 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/10724649--Transitions by shanegray: josh introspection post series! it also includes snippets of some cute stories post story. 10/10, have and will probably read again

https://archiveofourown.org/works/2444471--The Human Spirit by brutti_ma_buoni: a moment between sam and josh talking about leo post series.  this one is only available to archive users tho, but if you have an account, definitely log in and read!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27898720--glory is that bright tragic thing by shesmyplusone: a josh fic mostly, but with mentions of all the season characters. it’s very very sweet, might give you cavities!

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11454501/1/Key-Square?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=f8cebedafcafdf27e34fc2c951981d4b1c4faacf-1610378507---Key Square by Every Shade of Blue on FF.net: (not a fan of FF.net and I shortened the link, so you have to click on it, not copy and paste bc it was really long) set way post series, but absolutely wonderful. another seaborn for president fic! i include it in this list bc it covers the ending part of the santos admin

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11782078/1/Brotherhood--Brotherhood by Every Shade of Blue of FF.net: (this link is fine) I, like the author, was disappointed that we never got a sam/toby reunion, so here it is lol

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1077955--The People’s Servants by Speranza: Big Block of Cheese Day in the santos admin! isn’t that wonderful?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28442229--Balancing on Breaking Branches by @slightlyraspberry: s7 but different! this was also on my favorite fics ever list, but it is s7 centric so here it is

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27752194--the elephant in the Whitehouse by shesmyplusone: a donnajosh fic but featuring toby and josh talking about the events of The Cold (the kiss heard round the world!) donna is only mentioned, it’s really just toby and josh centric, which btw, was a ridiculous relationship that i LIVE for

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25931149--Sensual Politics by @slightlyraspberry: (idk if you can tell but their one of my favorite authors lol) Not strictly s7 or post canon, but a large part of it is post series, so here ya go! donnajosh endgame, but it covers other relationships and takes their bumpy road and makes it even bumpier. Hard to describe, but definitely worth reading!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/872511--Week one by Jackie Thomas: samjosh in the santos admin! i have a thing for josh struggling with trying to live up to what leo was for them, and it’s fantastic. absolutely fantastic

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21242702--Those Who Show Up by nitpickyabouttrains: (you know what this has made me realize? how strange AO3 usernames are) an au where josh goes and gets sam a little earlier! well he doesn’t actually go, but a scene that totally could’ve taken place canon. their relationship is platonic but it’s so so so well written! 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17140226/chapters/40308749--Scar Tissue by ballonballon: the santos admin + rosslyn! what else is there to say?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18586651--Five to Four by arborealstops: MY ABSOLTUE FAVORITEEEEEEEEE. josh and sam once gay marriage is legalized with a dumpster fire (but an adorable one) of a marriage proposal 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21838909--Power Coupling by theycallmethejackal: amy gardner/sam seaborn in the santos admin. an interesting couple but one i like lol

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21930001/chapters/52341781--Upon My Sleeve by theycallmethejackal: another amy gardner/sam seaborn fic! comes with a sequel too, but takes place in the santos admin!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18852391/chapters/44743792--Obergefell v. Hodges by Charowak: gay marriage is legalized with samjosh! also feat. bi matt santos

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24916270--A New Friday Night Ritual by Chinesepapercut: girls night in the santos admin feat. donnajosh, helen santos, and the old crew!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18281033--save me a place by @iwasfollowingyou: MY FAVORITE THING EVER!!! transition but samjosh and so so so sweet it might give you cavities!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27977637--What Would Leo (Or Andrew Jackson) Do? by mlea7675: another big block of cheese day in the santos admin!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27072835/chapters/66102826--JigSaw by spearquint: another samjosh in the santos admin! this covers them getting back together after sam left tho

THIS IS SO SO SO LONG LMAO

I hope you try all of these out! They are so so so good!

[vivalavi-daa]

Fav 2019 K-Dramas

2019 blessed us with many intriguing kdramas with unique stories, don’t you think? I’m bored during quarantine and decided to post this. Anyways, here are my favs:

1. Vagabond

There, this picture says it all: this drama is fast paced, SO intense, and on fire. I love every minute of it! Vagabond is different than another k-dramas. I’m not lying when I say this drama literally makes me cry and scream. Sometimes I even had to pause in the middle of episode just to catch my breath lol. The plot is so well written and full of unpredictable storylines (which is what I love the most about Vagabond–that every episode always has a way to surprises me). Although, many viewers disappointed with how they ended Vagabond with a cliffhanger. I, too, really hope they consider making the second season to satisfy our curiosities. But either way, I don’t regret watching this drama. Not at all. Because this drama is too amazing

2. When the Camellia Blooms

Unlike majority of romance k-dramas, this drama’s love story is centered around a young woman who raises her child on her own. I gotta say, this is one high quality k-drama. I could even judge it from its lovely opening video. Every episode always has meaningful messages behind it. The storylines are rich and presented in such a way that makes viewers immersed in the stories and emphatize with the characters. First, they make us understand Dongbaek’s dark past and her struggle as a single parent, then they make us emphatize with Dongbaek’s son who grow up without a dad figure. We also get to see the perspectives of her mom & Yong Sik (the lead guy)’s mom as mothers,  the issues faced by side characters, and conflicts that arise from triangle love story. In addition, they also involved mistery of murderer in the stories! Can you believe how many of these can we swallow in one drama? One time this drama is heartbreaking, then it’s heartwarming, another time it gets super dark. 

Also, what I find many viewers love from this drama is how Yong Sik cherishes Dongbaek and love her for what she is, which is why I concluded this drama is perfect for woman who feels insecure. Why? Because with the way Yong Sik endlessly convinces Dongbaek, he reminds us that every woman is good enough, deserves to feel loved and receive happiness. And I love him for that.

3. Her Private Life

There is a reason why people said this is the perfect kdrama for fangirl, since the story is told from the perspective of a die hard fan (Sung Deok Mi). Those who have experienced being fangirls know how well this drama represent fangirls’ life: what fangirls do, and how fangirling affects our lives. It’s all displayed in such fun atmosphere that it’d give you good feelings while watching it. Personally, I am attracted to its opening video. It’s really catchy and reflect the fun vibes of Her Private Life. I really recommend this drama if you want to lift your mood.

But on top of that, Sung Deok Mi’s relationship with Ryan Gold is the major part of why I highly appreciate this drama!! Their relationship is unlike any relationship I’ve ever seen before. They’re very mature, respect each others’ dreams and what each other loves, always resolve conflicts through discussion. They portray the definition of a healthy relationship and I really admire that.

4.  Extraordinary You

The word extraordinary isn’t used in the title for no reasons. The storylines are, indeed, extraordinary. It is a mix of comedy, high school romance, star crossed soulmates, fantasy, mistery, comedy and a glimpse of stories in historical settings at the same time. Thus, it’s not exaggerating when fans said “you don’t have to look for specific dramas, you can get it all here”.

The actors & actresses’ acting skills are superb and we can find so many funny & relatable lines here. But one of the best things about Extraordinary You is they place the second leads in the center of spotlight! Finally nice second leads get the justice they deserve. They portrayed how lead guy who’s rude and feels entitled to have his crush doesn’t have the slightest chance of capturing the woman’s heart. Instead, the nice second leads who show respects and always put the woman’s desire before his own are what woman find attractive. I highly praise this drama for that.

5. Crash Landing on You

In 2019, we encounter many dramas with unique synopsis, including this one: a relationship between a North guy and a South woman. I have no doubt in Son Ye Jin and Hyun Bin’s chemistry since the beginning. Their incredible chemisty makes every romance scenes look even more sweet and pure and sometimes cute. Although I wasn’t really engaged with the first two episodes, the next episodes gets more appealing and satisfying. It’s nice to see the progress of both lead characters’ development and how they help each other overcome their issues. Aside from Se Ri (Son Ye Jin)’s relationship with Jeong Hyeok (Hyun Bin), her relationship with the North soldiers and neighboors at millitary village are pretty adorable. Their interaction always give me warm fuzzy feelings and they’re what I miss the most from this drama honestly.

6. One Spring Night

If you love Something in the Rain, I’m sure you’ll love this one too since both are the works from the same director. It has similiar atmospheres and similiar soundtracks vibes (both have really beautiful soundtracks by the way). Like Dongbaek from When the Camellia Blooms, the lead guy in this drama (Yoo Ji Ho) is also a single parent. I agree with fans saying this isn’t the kind of drama for everyone. This is more like slice of life and they aren’t in a rush to throw in conflicts as well as its resolution and I love it that way. Through this, they made it possible for us to process our emotions while the conflicts are presented.

The stories are also realistic: the issue experienced by the lead guy as a single parent, issue that’s arised from triangle love story, how pride and status mean for men, also a glimpse of abusive relationship, and the heartwarming sisterhood. And if we look closely, we could see how they tried to portray the influence of culture in the family and in the way they resolve a conflict. 

7. Catch the Ghost

I thought the ghost from the title refers to an actual ghost but thank god it’s not. Here, ghost is a nickname for a criminal–the villain of the drama. Even when the story centered around the same villain from the firat until the last eps, but I wasn’t bored at all watching this. In fact, it is what made me engage with the stories and made me continue watching the next eps although I had assignments to do 😅. It’s just so, so exciting to watch. The stories are dark, sad, but funny at times. However, some viewers (including me) found the lead woman (Yoo Reung) annoying at first because of her selfishness. But I promise it’s still worth to watch because in the later eps, you’ll understand why she is the way she is which makes it easier to tolerate and even emphatize with her. She’s actually lovable, and her relationship with the lead guy (Ko Ji Seok) is really cute! In fact, Ko Ji Seok is one of my fav characters in kdrama land!

8. Class of Lies

You know, I always love kdramas with unpredictable storylines. Just like what this drama has. I know the settings are set in high school but it is waaay too dark for a high school story. You can even see it from the picture that it has gloomy vibes. I thought it’s the typical high school kdrama about bullies or corruption but it’s truly exceeds my expectation. From the first episode, I already saw the potential of this drama and already hooked with the misteries. I felt so tense throughout watching the entire drama. I kept clicking the next eps to find out if things are getting better and if there is any clue to the misteries here. But I swear everytime I thought I figure something out, this drama always has surprises to give. So brilliant. I stan.

9. At Eighteen

We could tell from the title that this drama must be related to the dynamic life of 18 years old teenagers. Considering this is the age where we explore ourselves, this drama portrayed how different teens could have different issues to face: trying to fit in at school, stand up against bullies, trying to be in top tier at school, trying to get good grades whether it’s to get into reputable colleges or to meet parents’ high expectation, trying to experience romance, AND exploring sexual orientation (actually this is the first kdrama i’ve watched that portrayed gay issues so I was like wow??). So, the stories aren’t only focused on the main characters, but the side characters too. Though I really adore the main guy in this drama: Choi Jun Woo. I even made an essay about why I think he’s an ideal guy lol. If you’re interested, here you go

Not only does this drama describe the issues faced by 18 yo students, but also the struggles faced by the teacher. It shows us how teachers can feel nervous too whenever he’s about to teach or deal with the students, how certain teachers care about the wellbeings of their students, not just care about their grades. I appreciate that from the drama, really, I do. This drama is calm, heartwarming, and meaningful.

10.  Love Alarm

Tried to watch it because of Kim So Hyun, and I quickly got invested in the stories. I like the futuristic theme in this drama. The idea of a Love Alarm app itself is already interesting. Moreover, So Hyun has good chemistry with both guys. Though I don’t find both lead and second lead guys as my best type of guys, but I couldn’t stop watching it and I don’t regret watching it. Their lovestories are bittersweet which kept me looking forward for more. The last episode ended in cliffhanger though, typical Netflix series. If you don’t like uncertainty and want to watch this drama, I suggest you to wait until season 2 is released (yes, they announced there will be a season 2).

k-drama recommendation: 2/?

[ablogthatishenceforthmine]

Unpopular The 100 Season 7 Opinions

1. People are too harsh on Echo. Yes, I think she was a poorly written character in seasons 5 and 6, but the character for her writing has much improved in Season 7. And the hate for her character has been far too venomous for just being a poorly written character. I feel like fans of the show never give her character a chance. Like when it was revealed that we we going to see an Echo backstory flashback in season 6. BEFORE THE EPISODE EVEN AIRED, people decided that they hated the flashback, and that it was going to be boring and a waste of time. I actually think the flashback was quite interesting, but think the show had problems framing it in context of the themes of the season. I feel like the same is happening in season 7. People aren’t giving her a chance, even though they are doing some really interesting things with her character this season.

And i think people put too much emphasis on “liking” and “agreeing” with a character. To me, it’s more important that I find a character interesting and engaging: I don’t have to agree with all, or even most, of their actions. I also don’t think the show is framing Echo’s actions this season in a positive light. So I really don’t get the complaint, “How am I supposed to like Echo when she does XXX bad/morally dubious thing.” I don’t agree with most of her actions either, but they make sense with her character, and I always understand why she does what she does this season. And I get it, emotional investment in a character is built. The show has done a poor job creating emotional investment in Echo in Season 5 and 6. But i think investment/engagement can work on two levels: emotional and mental. Mental investment is when you find the character, their storyline, and the themes explored with that character interesting. For me, in seasons 5 and 6, I wasn’t emotionally or mentally invested in Echo’s character. But in Season 7, I am mentally invested in her character. I am still not emotionally invested or care too much about her pain or if she survives because of the shoddy character work the show did for her in the previous 2 seasons. But I am interested in her character, and am excited to see her journey this season.

The show is doing a lot of interesting exploration or Echo’s character this season. But it seems to me like some people came into the season determined not to like or be interested in her character. They never gave her a chance to be interesting to them this season, which I think is a shame.

2. I don’t want Echo to be a spy; I want her to believe in Bardo and their teachings.  I think it’s wayyy more interesting if Echo has actually drunk the kool-aid. And it makes sense for her character to actually believe in Bardo’s teachings. They have a lot in common. They both value loyalty to a troubling degree. They both believe in suppressing and having complete control over one’s emotions. After believing that Bellamy has died, I can see her wanting to bet rid of emotional attachments because they are just too painful. A love is weakness kind of thing. And I can see her deciding that it’s better to be loyal to the mission of saving the human race than to be loyal to individuals, because loyalty to individuals just brings pain. Honestly, I will be really disappointed if Echo turns out to be playing the Bardonians. If that’s the case, then it just all about the plot and plot twist. If what i described above it true, then this storyline is all about character and Echo’s internal life, beliefs, and transformation.

3. I don’t get why people are mad at the show for the lack of Bellamy. It’s not writers fault that Bellamy is barely in this season so far. The actor decided to take some time off.  I get that it’s frustrating and disappointed, but  it wasn’t the writers’ decision. The show is trying to do the best it can with the hand it has been dealt. And I don’t think it’s been doing that terrible. Bellamy is easily my favorite character of the show; has been since season 1, and every season since. But I don’t think the show is suffering that badly from his absence. Like, I miss him, but I don’t feel the show is empty without him. His disappearance is a mystery I am interested and invested in. And I am so excited to find out where he is and what’s been going on with him. For me, the far more frustrating absence is that of Clarke, who has barely had anything interesting to do this season. She feels completely decentered from the season. I wouldn’t mind her lesser screentime if they screentime she did have was devoted to more interesting things. She has had a few good scenes, but most of her plotlines have not been very interesting this season.

4. This season isn’t bad so far. It’s not one of the show’s better seasons, but it’s not terrible. There’s some very good stuff and some very bad stuff. I really like everything with Bardo and Sky Ring. I enjoyed these kinda self-contained episodes like 7x02. I enjoyed seeing new families and bonds form, and seeing character dynamics we haven’t seen before. Hope is a great new character and I am both emotionally and mentally invested in her in only a short amount of time. I find the mystery of Bardo very intriguing. I am excited for every new bit of information we get on the place and it’s way of life. It was super cool and interesting learning their philosophy and a bit about how they live in 7x09. I just really like the world-building that this season is doing. The bad stuff is, of course, sanctum, which is one of the worst, if not the worst, storylines the show has ever done. It’s boring, especially in contrast to the new and exciting world of the anamoly, Bardo, and other planets. And the Sanctum storyline just seems more of the same, except there are not enough people that we care about in the mix. They are too many new characters, and none are developed well enough. It’s hard to care too much about the warring factions, when we don’t care about most of the factions. Despite J.R. Bourne’s excellent performance, Sheidheda is not an interesting villian. And many of the characters are behaving stupidly and making bad decisions. So, yeah, this season is a mixed bag, but I don’t find it to be nearly as bad as people say it it.

4. I disagree with the “Nothing is happening” opinion. Things are definitely happening. Think about how much we’ve learned since the premiere episode. It’s A LOT. And yes, we have a lot of episodes that are more character driven or world-building driven than plot driven. But I actually like that! I don’t know why people want to speed through the plot. I think the plot can move slowly as long as the episodes are engaging and stuff is happening with the characters, even if its only internally. Think about one of The 100′s best episodes, in my opinion: Season 3 Episode 11, Nevermore. The plot barely moved that episode, but there was soo much good character stuff happening. So i really liked the plot slowing down to show the Octavia/Hope/Diyoza family form, and see Octavia find her peace. I liked the plot slowing down to show us the Echo, Hope, Diyoza, and Octavia’s journey through Bardo training. I liked that it slowed down to explore Echo’s grief and Hope and Diyoza’s difficulties in 7x07. But, that is not to say that this season does not have an issue with it’s plotting because it definitely does. For me, its not in the Sky ring/Bardo stuff, it’s with all the other characters. Clarke, Raven, Murphy, Indra, Emori, etc are soooo behind the viewers in knowledge that it’s frustrating to slowly see them catch up to things that the audience already knows. And the Sanctum plot is moving too slowly too with too much build up. And i do agree with people that yeah, it still feels like we are getting exposition for the season, which is a problem. However, i’ve enjoyed a lot of the ride when it comes to learning this exposition in regards to Bardo, so I do not mind as much.

5. I want Murphy to die. And it’s not because I don’t love Murphy, because I do. He has become one of my favorite characters of the show. And that is why I want him to have a great ending and arc. And I can’t think of a better one than him dying doing a heroic or self-sacrificial thing. Murphy started as an utterly selfish character who would do anything it takes to survive, no matter the cost for other people. Slowly, he has come to care for other people. First, specific individuals, and now, more and more, has has started to care for people as a whole. But, he still struggles with his selfishness and his do-whatever-it-takes-to-survive mentality. That’s why giving up his life for a good cause would be the perfect ending to his story. To go from someone who would survive by any means necessary to someone who willingly died to do something good for others. It would be beautiful and perfect, and i hope it happens no matter how sad it would make me.

[thedisneychef]

San Angel Inn: A Review of the Restaurant and Its Menu

When it comes to restaurants on the World Showcase, I don’t think you can find one that’s more polarizing than San Angel Inn. People either love it or they hate it. They think it’s the best hidden gem in the World Showcase, or they think it’s restaurant with great ambiance and lackluster food. So who’s right? Well, depends on who you ask and when they went… Allow me to explain. In the 90’s, eating at San Angel Inn was one of the few dining experiences I remember. The gorgeous ambiance, the proximity to an underrated and deeply relaxing ride (El Rio del Tiempo, which had pretty much the catchiest soundtrack of all time), and the drool-worthy food. It was so good we ate there twice in one trip on consecutive days and deeply regretted discovering it at the end of our trip so we couldn’t eat there a third time. When it came to planning my first trip of the new decade (in Thanksgiving week of 2008 to be exact), the very first reservation I had to make was San Angel. For months I talked up the sheer awesomeness of this place, even debated using two ADRs for two different meals. I was so hype, I couldn’t wait to eat here again. And when we finally ate there, the food was…  Um…  Not so good.  At all. In fact, I won’t pull any punches here… It was pretty awful. The food was bland, cold, the menu pretty boring, the service was a step above having to walk to the kitchen and get the food ourselves… It stood out as the dining failure of the trip. I was so, so, so disappointed. I had nothing but great memories of my precious San Angel Inn, but it didn’t come close to delivering quality food or service.  And, unfortunately, my experience wasn’t really unique. Pretty much everybody who ate there had a really, really negative experience. My expectations walking in were less than what I had for your average trip to McDonalds. I was hoping it’d be a nice view and a cool room. That was it. I claimed my ADR, which was pointless as more than half the dining room was empty but our table was right next to the water, which was pretty cool. It was darker than I remember and the tables were very, very close together, maybe even a tiny bit loud.  But overall, it was super nice.  Very cozy, intimate, and relaxing. The chip basket came out and, I have to say, I consider myself quite the connoisseur of chips and salsa and it takes a lot to impress me. The salsa, however, really impressed me. Fresh, clean, definitely a zip, but a nice sweetness to it, and it tasted so incredibly fresh. So at this point, I figure with awesome chips and salsa, at least I won’t starve. I still remember what I ordered… The pollo a las rajas… Grilled chicken breast served over rice dopped onions, peppers, chorizo in this beautiful cream sauce and topped with melted cheese. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. The chicken was incredibly moist, I didn’t even need a knife to cut it. The onions and peppers were cooked to perfection, not limp and sopping like I was worried they would be, and the rice was so delicately spiced that it balanced out the sweetness of the peppers and onions and really cut the heaviness of the sauce and cheese. They used to serve it with a lemon wedge, which they don’t anymore, and I find it to be a shame. With fresh squeezed lemon over top, it’s pretty much the best food ever made. If it hadn’t been tacky (and distinctly off my dining plan) to ask for seconds, I would have. Sampling the other dishes on the table, the sirloin con Chile Relleno, the tostadas de tinga, even the mahi-mahi fish tacos… It was all to-die-for. Perfectly cooked, exceptionally seasoned, and slammed with flavor. Don’t even get me started on desserts… At the time, they had this amazing dish, isla flotante… A lime meringue served over a vanilla sauce with fresh berries… Honestly, it seems cruel to describe how good it was seeing as it’s not on the menu anymore. Let’s just say it was my favorite dessert on Disney property. Yeah, it was that good. Since that trip in September of 2011, I’ve been 3 more times, every Disney trip but one (I wasn’t in control of the ADRs on that trip and I felt my soul die a little not going there for a meal, but by goodness did I try to make it work…) January 2012, September 2012, and May of 2013. It continues to be the place with the best meal of the trip, the first ADR we make, and the meal that is the most looked forward to. Once a hidden jewel where you had to convince people to try it, one of the places you knew you could get a table without a reservation, it’s now impossible to walk in and increasingly difficult to get a reservation. In April of 2013, Gordon Ramsay’s wife Tweeted pictures of the food and Chef Ramsay declared it one of the best places for Mexican food in the country…  Making reservations just that much harder to get. I’m proud to say that I’ve sampled most of the things on the menu and while I haven’t had a bad experience… Well, I take that back. I did have a bad experience after eating the Mole Poblano… Little Miss Peanut Allergy forgot that mole is made with peanuts… But that was my stupidity, not theirs, and I will say that it tasted amazing and I don’t regret eating it…Though I do regret wandering back to the hotel in misery at 7pm and wasting a meal at my favorite restaurant… Even then, however, the staff was so sweet and when they saw I was ill, they packed me my dessert, an extra dessert, and another entree to enjoy in my room when I felt better… Which is just plain awesome. Anyway, while I’ve always had a great experience with them (despite my best efforts) and the new menu, there are certainly dishes that stand out. The pollo a las rajas, the tostadas, the soupa azteca are all standouts (I love how they serve the soupa!  Brilliant!). However, on this last trip, I found the dish that is quite possibly the best I’ve ever had there, Camarones a la Diabla.  Roasted spicy shrimp served with poblano rice and yuca puree, topped with a chile sauce. So spicy, so sweet, and amazingly flavorful. I still dream about this dish. When I talk about that dinner, I talk about it with the hushed tone that people reserve for truly awe-inspiring moments in their lives. It was incredible. I’m already dreaming about having it as my last meal before running the Wine and Dine Half Marathon. As far as the desserts go, one can’t go wrong, but I personally think the Crema Bavaria, a creamy mousse topped with berries, cinnamon, and orange liqueur, is phenomenal. Again, one of the best desserts on property. Despite a rocky period in the mid-2000’s, San Angel has become my hands-down favorite place to eat on property. The ambiance, food, and overall experience can’t be beaten. People may be turned off by the dark dining room, the closely packed tables, and the louder-than-average ambient noise, and those looking for classic Tex-Mex or Americanized Mexican as well as people who are a tad on the picky side may have trouble with the menu… But trust me, for those who like a little spice and seasoning or a meal with unique flavors, a degree of authenticity that’s hard to find even along the World Showcase (Neither fruit and Jell-O salad or vanilla pudding with chocolate chips is a German dessert, regardless of the vaguely German name you give it…  Biergarten, I’m looking at you…), and a completely unique dining experience will love San Angel Inn. Personally, no Disney trip is complete without me stuffing myself silly and then wandering over to Donald’s boat ride to digest… No line, and they’ll let you ride that more than once without having to get up. Trust me. Read the full article

[grifalinas]

I literally get into this funk every year around this time and for years I’ve been blaming RWBY (derogatory) hiatus because, hey, it’s natural to hit a funk when something you’re really invested in is no longer available! Last year I hit this funk in December, when it became apparent that cRWBY (derogatory) had gotten so bad at show vs tell that they were showing and telling two entirely different stories, and the bad one was the one that was taking over.

And then I kind of just... got stuck. While I have definitely been fannish over things, that RWBY hyperfixation (derogatory) was the last time I had a real, hardcore hyperfixation. All of my real intense hyperfixes since then have been RWBY related (Hallmarks, DTLS, the Santa au that I need to finish) as I pendulum wildly between moods about the source, and everything else I’ve tried to hyperfix on in the past year has fizzled almost immediately. Even my own work doesn’t excite me as much as it should, at least not for long.

It’s easy to blame this on RWBY- if cRWBY hadn’t shit the bed with their writing, I could have been excited about the new season and probably gotten to enjoy it with my buds this year like every year since volume three.

But it’s not just cause of that. Part of it is that I resolved, apparently more seriously than I realized, to only engage with new media if it has an mlm lead. (Media I was already into was exempt, and I did loosen this up somewhat for background watching that I was not intended to become invested in, because I do need to actually engage with stories on some level.) 

I actually did encounter some media with mlm leads in the past year, but all of it was disappointing on some level- TAZ, which had been suggested to me for years on the premise of having a fat, gay wizard who dates the Grim Reaper, turned out to not only take forever to establish that fact at all, it barely had an impact on the story until the last act, Justin got to bury any exploration of Taako’s sexuality under Taako’s unwillingness to air his business, and every instance of the guy who made him describing Taako’s figure made it pretty clear that he envisioned Taako as thin. Don’t mistake this as me not liking Taako, or dissing Justin- there are other factors involved that I recognize, and don’t hold against him. But that doesn’t change that the resulting product was still what it was, and definitely not what I had been promised. And that’s just one example.

(For the record, this is a big reason I refuse to watch Kipo right now. There’s other reasons, but “you guys keep recommending me things that are a huge disappointment” is one of them. No offense.)

I also have a friend who keeps recommending my AP’s with mlm leads, which is great, but my brain shut down on engaging with AP’s after all of that nonsense with c*r, and the one that I did try to engage with, the mlm character I was promised was... again, not what I was promised. (The end of season one also had a pair the spares hetfest with the parents, which also put me off of season two, which I was assured was when the character did become what I was promised.)

I also found some gay romance novels, which was nice, but I also noticed as I began to look for them that they were all written by female authors, with a female gaze in mind, and that just got depressing.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I actually have no problem with m/m fiction being written by and for female audiences. The issue is that when you’re a gay man and your only option for stories about gay men are written by and for the consumption of women, instead of feeling good, you just kinda start to feel sad. When characters like you are always shunted to being side characters, it stings. It’s not fair. It hurts. And when they are main characters, it’s always for either mainstream hetero or female gaze consumption, and that’s not fun either.

(I have my theories about why this is the situation, but I’m not going into it here on Tumble. Also, if anyone tries to fucking derail this point with any other group that faces this issue you’re getting blocked. I am aware that mlm are not the only ones who experience this, but this is the group I belong to and am currently talking about.)

Of course, there’s also the fact that when I do find mlm content with mlm as the target audience, there’s also a measure of... hmm... how should I put this? The distinct feeling that the men in question would call me a slur in Taco Bell.

Now, this past year has been a nightmare hellscape for a lot of reasons, and a definite factor in my failure to hyperfixate properly also ties into world events, as well as the fact that I quit my job last year and my current job situation is bleak (only working one or two days a week for the foreseeable future). Aaaaaand there’s some homelife stuff going on that, again, I’m not getting into on the Tumbles. Just suffice it to say that there’s a lot that I’m not talking about, and the reason I’m talking about the parts I am talking about so much is that I don’t actually like sharing personal life stuff on a website where the community as a whole has made it repeatedly clear that they don’t consider posters to actually have any ownership over their posts, and where a post or comment can still haunt you years later because no one knows how to just let things die.

So, yeah. The funk that I’m currently in is pretty typical and literally hits every year around this time, but it’s hitting harder this year because it’s building onto a funk that I never quite left behind the last time.

Anyway. Sorry I’ve been so checked out lately. I hope y’all still like me even while I’m boring.

[titusmoody]

It’s the end of the first quarter of 2021. Here’s a brief review of the things I watched/played/read.

Games

Donut County- pretty charming, very easy, fairly satisfying to play. I’d recommend Untitled Goose Game over this, though.

Heaven’s Vault- If you only have room in your life for one space archaeology game, play Outer Wilds instead. However, you get to translate alien writings yourself (in a simplified game way) in this one, so I’d recommend both. 

Donkey Kong Country 3 103%- so many fun level mechanics in this one. The difficulty of finding and completing everything in the game was spot-on for me.

Donkey Kong Country 2 102%- Each level mechanic in this one is explored and used in far more interesting ways than DKC3, though I honestly had more fun with 3 this time around. This one is the “dark, edgy” one aesthetically which is extremely dumb. Also, there was a lot of guesswork involved in finding some of the hidden stuff, which I didn’t enjoy.

The Room 4- I like escape room games. This one was good. It continued 3′s trend of trying to shake up the format a little, which is fine (better here than in 3, I think) but I wouldn’t have minded if all 4 stayed exactly the same, just with new puzzles.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales- Everything about it was competent. Not only was each gameplay activity fine-tuned to feel good, but the structure of the game also kept kept you experiencing a good variety of each activity. PS5 graphics are good, too. Nothing about it really got me excited to play it, it was just a good after work unwinding thing.

Cyberpunk 2077- Exactly the opposite of Spider-Man in terms of quality consistency. There are aspects of this game that are amazing, horrible, and every step in between. However, I’ve thought about it quite a bit and will probably continue to think about it for both good and bad reasons.

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair- Donkey Kong Country has better level design and controls. Well, the best levels of this were every bit as good as the best DKC levels, and maybe I’m just so familiar with DKC levels that I zone out a little during the boring bits, but had to pay attention to every moment of this game. Still, I didn’t have as much of an overall good time as the DKC games I played earlier.

Hue- Good 2D puzzle-platformer. I’m no longer surprised by these, but I still appreciate them, much in the same way as I like playing escape room games. I was under the impression for a few years that because I understood the potential of puzzle platformers, it meant I wouldn’t want to play any more of them, but that’s simply not true. I had a good time with Hue.

Shows

Gravity Falls- It’s fine. Pretty entertaining. I wish there were more low-stakes kinds of episodes, just to get more familiar with different sides of the characters. It would have made the characters and setting feel more rounded.

Cowboy Bepop- I didn’t get the hype for this show when I first watched it at 21, and now I can say that it’s simply not my kind of show. I have much more appreciation for it now than I did the first time, but it doesn’t hit me emotionally the same way that it seems to hit so many people. 

Seinfeld- It’s Seinfeld. There was precisely one episode that I had never seen before, plus confirmation that I didn’t dream the episode that’s told in backwards chunks like Memento and is set in India.

Paranoia Agent- While it was disappointing that this ended up being a more simple morality tale than every Satoshi Kon movie I’ve seen, I still enjoyed watching this a lot.

Aggretsuko- I liked the mundane, every-day storylines like a modern, more empathetic Seinfeld. Unfortunately as the show went on, there were more and more wacky situations that no one actually gets into. I might watch the upcoming season if I hear that it’s less ridiculous.

Over the Garden Wall- This was really cool and I’m glad it exists. It’s ten episodes long, which is perfect for it. I thought it was at its weakest during the more lighthearted or humorous moments--precisely the opposite of Gravity Falls. The word “classy” comes to mind to describe this show. 

Beastars- Really good when it isn’t falling into anime plot and dialog cliches. A lot of this first season is dedicated to introducing characters and the setting, which I thought was very well done. I’m curious to see what Season 2 is like.

Movies

Scott Pilgrim vs the World- It’s a fun movie to watch. It definitely makes many of the characters’ flaws seem like more fun than it probably should, but I���m more bothered by the criticism I hear that boils down to “it’s a bad movie because the characters are bad people” which I suspect is an impression you only get if you lack both empathy and media comprehension.

Big- Kinda bad. It has iconic moments that are only possible with its weird premise, but it’s just not a premise that supports an entire good movie. 

Phantom of the Opera- Way better and way worse than I remember. Has the precise right amount of horses.

Knives Out- Not really a movie I needed to watch a second time, but it sure is good.

District 9- I didn’t remember most of this movie and unfortunately I zoned out for most of this rewatch, so I still feel like I don’t know what it’s about.

From up on Poppy Hill- Not one of the top tier Ghibli movies, but still really good in a down-to-earth way that I like from Ghibli. 

Enter the Dragon- I knew to expect everything to be turned up to 11, which is good because it really is a lot. I liked it, though.

Shutter Island- I have never actually liked this kind of twist-reliant movie. I thought I would for many years, but I was always disappointed. At least now I am aware that it’s not what I’m into.

Soul- The premise is much too convoluted, but it does have an excellent moment near the end.

Onward- I liked this one a lot. Why don’t more people talk about this one? It’s definitely better than Coco, which itself was really good.

A Silent Voice- The kind of movie that reminds me that sometimes Japanese storytelling is more to my taste than Hollywood style, in that scenes can be more emotionally ambiguous. 

Tangled- Good in exactly the same way as Frozen and Moana. I can’t really complain, but this isn’t the same situation as puzzle platformers or escape rooms. In this case, I do get a little sick of being completely unsurprised. This movie was made first, so it’s only by chance that this is the one that I saw last.

Monsters University- A good movie, but it really doesn’t have to be about the same characters as Monsters Inc. 

Monty Python and the Holy Grail- Still funny

The Departed- Good if you want an enjoyable crime thriller to watch, bad if you want a Scorcese movie.

Titanic- Getting very drunk and watching this with Brittany might be the best time I had in the past three months. Maybe I won’t think too hard about why a movie about the overdue, violent death of a social order resonates with me right now.

Prince of Egypt- Impressive and grand, but I didn’t really care about the characters or story.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan- A good but not great (by TNG standards) concept for an episode that was made extremely enjoyable by the added budget and longer runtime of a movie.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock- Not as good, but still watchable.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home- The kind of ridiculous concept you’d only make when you’ve already had three successful movies and are confident that you’ll be able to make at least another couple. The gang go back to the 1980s (present day to the original audience) and save the whales. It’s apparently exactly the right movie to watch if this is the third consecutive Star Trek movie you’re watching.

Mamma Mia- A lot of fun, but has weird problems that seem like they would’ve been easy to solve at the script level. Maybe if the conflicts had been introduced early on instead of dragging the whole pace of the movie down for much of the last 20 minutes, I would’ve enjoyed the whole thing.

Books

The Well of Ascension- The second book of a trilogy. Very competent. Introduces a whole lot of minor conflicts that really keep the momentum going and give the characters short-term goals that contribute to the overall plot and their arcs. 

The Hero of Ages- The final book in the same trilogy. Equally competent. I wish there had been more long-term payoffs, which is the trade-off you make by stuffing the books full of those short-term conflicts. Spoilers ahead, but not ones that I think ruin the experience of reading. It’s very odd that of three of the central characters, one dies, one becomes a god and then dies, and one becomes God. 

Check Please- About as pleasant as it gets. Full of the type of minor character that sitcoms end up running into the ground because they’re too one-note (Creed from The Office, for instance) but in a series with a pre-planned length, there’s no chance for it to get stale. Plus, I really liked both of the lead characters.

Milkman- Good book about “The Troubles” in Ireland. Very odd collection of characters, but the narrator had an extremely enjoyable voice to read. 

And Then There Were None- Classic mystery story for a reason. Feels more like a Hitchcock movie than Sherlock Holmes. I read it in one day both because the prose was easy and I wanted to know what happened next. Not much substance to it, unfortunately.

Homegoing- Extremely ambitous book where each chapter is narrated by the descendant of a previous chapter, alternating between two branches of the same family. I liked it quite a bit, though because I only finished it yesterday I don’t have much reflection done yet so my opinion has yet to solidify.

[ogamagirl]

1, 8, 10, 18, and 29!

WOOO MORE ANIMU ASKS thanks Phoe!!

1. first anime you ever watched --Pokemon! TuT

8. anime character you are most like --aah lol I feel like I’ve answered this before (actually I know I have; I’ve reblogged these questions before but I couldn’t find any new ones orz;;;) so I’ll give my standard answer: I rlly don’t know if there’s any ONE anime character I’m most like because I find it really hard to describe myself AND I’ve never seen any character and instantly gone “wow this feels like me” SO I’ve consistently at least felt connected to Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service ever since I first saw the movie as a little girl, and I also sympathized with Inaba from Kokoro Connect pretty hard when I first saw that. I’ve also been told that I’m like Nano from Nichijou! So I guess...a mix of those three?

10. favorite anime animal sidekick --(kinda going with the musings above here lol but) JIJI!!!!!!!!!! Jiji my love, I love Jiji sm ToT <333333333

18.10 worst anime you have watched --HOOHOO So I did definitely answer this years ago but I have seen many more anime in the interim so...let’s see if I can come up with some NEW worst anime! |D IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER (and realizing that this is largely based on my own personal taste): -The Day I Became a God - Maeda’s really fallen off his game imo...it was just kind of bland up until the endgame and then it became actively offensive :/ -Lostorage incited/conflated WIXOSS - I really liked the first two seasons of WIXOSS (Selector infected/spread); I realize they’re not the most quality but they scratched an emotional itch for me and I really enjoyed them! But Lostorage was a huge disappointment; I didn’t even finish conflated and I don’t plan to, even with the reintroduction of selector character to the narrative...it just was bland and not well done. -Mahoutsukai no Yome - let me preface this by saying I LOVE MAHOUTSUKAI NO YOME; I started reading the manga in Japan and it’s extremely well written and interesting and I’d like to eventually finish it, BUT I put the anime adaptation here because imo it makes a pretty good case for an adaptation that’s TOO close to the manga not working. Animation is a different medium and if all you do is animate the panels as they were it’s not going to work; the animation was pretty and consistent, but the way everything was put together just...didn’t work. Reading the manga felt better and I never managed to finish the anime because of that. Even if you’ve read the source material, a good anime adaptation should make you excited to revisit the story again, and I just honestly never felt that here; I was bored. So...adapting a manga “word for word” does not a good anime make! -22/7 - SO much wasted potential. The hook in the first ep was really interesting! ...and then each new episode was just a flashback for each girl so by the time you got to the climax where they had to split the group up I didn’t FEEL anything because they weren’t developed in the present...it didn’t feel like they were friends so why should I care about them splitting up? I didn’t even finish it. -Magical Girl Spec Ops Asuka - look; I like edgy shit as much as the next person, and I do love me some edgy magical girls from time to time, but Madoka this ain’t - DEEPLY unpleasant scenes of torture for no reason other than to be shocking, and while I can appreciate them trying to do something deeper with exploring their main character’s trauma it was just clumsy and unpleasant to watch. (...looks like those are all the new entries! so for the last 5 let’s dunk on some old favorites) -School Days - I should not have to explain why School Days is bad lmfao. I’m kind of glad I watched it just because of its place in history but it was not a fun experience -Narutaru - another for the “I like edgy shit but this is just unpleasant” category. -Yumekui Merry - this is more of a disappointment because I thought the style and character designs were really cool but the show itself was boring and underutilized them. Wasted potential. -Daybreak Illusion - ALSO a disappointment - I was REALLY into it while it was airing but the finale shit the bed imo. I do still really like the character designs tho. -Psycho-Pass 2 - Psycho-Pass 1 was fantastic. I haven’t bothered watching anything beyond that because of how disappointed I was in Psycho-Pass 2.

29. anime that deserves another season ---...mmk listen. For reasons that I have detailed multiple times across multiple posts I am not entirely sure I want another season of SE in full because of issues I have with the manga. But I do want more SE animation u feel me listen, BONES: I will win the lottery and then I will commission u to make more SE animation that adheres to my internal world and includes me because I am canon mmk mmk

UH OH YOU WANTED A REAL ANSWER OK (that is my real answer fools)

Ouran is fun there should be another season of Ouran