#they really couldn't stand fighting for more than 1 episode

[mydaylight]

I am losing my mind over this still omg 😭😭😭

[starry-bi-sky]

I am absolutely loving your Danyal Al Ghul au. While I have a soft spot for the whole plotline of Danny becoming his canon personality almost right after breaking away from the LOA all because of Jazz, I'm just as much for your take in which he goes through the same character development as Damian.

Now I'm curious. You already tackled his relationship with Dani, will you eventually take a stab at when he, Sam, and Tucker meet Gregor? Given that it's one of my hated episodes as I couldn't stand Sam's infuriatingly hypocritical attitude to Danny's suspicions of him, I'd kill to see your spin on it.

Aw, thank you! Danyal Al Ghul aus are what got me into DPDC first, so I have a major soft spot for them. That being said, uh, its exactly that soft spot that causes me to have Many Opinions about the trope you just mentioned. Like the trope is all fine and dandy, i don't blindly hate it, my main issue with it is that most aus i've seen treat his backstory as an ex-assassin more like a pretty cosmetic accessory rather than something that actually should have had an impact on him. Especially if he remembers being in the league.

Like i cannot stress enough the fact that being in an ecofascist assassin cult (regardless of his standing in it) should've left him, in some way or another, screwed up morally and psychologically because that's just how development works. Nature vs. Nurture is like a game of tug-o-war that never ends, where they are constantly fighting against each other and one side usually has the upper hand or greater influence. Children model the behaviors of the adults around them (ex: bobo the clown doll experiment), and what impacts them in childhood can stick with them permanently.

Like how my psychology professor put it: a baby's brain is like wet cement; if you slap your hand on it, it leaves an imprint, and the cement dries that way. The same rings true for small children.

I could go on, but I frankly have so many thoughts on that alone that I would end up completely derailing from the second half of your ask, and I don't want to be more critical than I already have. Especially since you just mentioned you have a soft spot for the trope.

[Okay, hold onto your hats because this is long. Naturally lmao.]

Gregor! Man, I'll admit I last watched the show back in middle school on a dodgy illegal website (it had surprisingly good audio and visual graphics, and full episodes. But really annoying porn ads.) but I only made it to like season 1 before my hyperfixation faded and I lost interest. So I never actually saw the Gregor episode.

But... it is relatively easy to find free websites that stream Danny Phantom :), so finding the episode took me like. Thirty seconds. Plus the Tv.Tropes recap page because my damn earbuds just died and im out in public as of rn.

I'm not sure if I'll write something for the gregor episode like I did with Dani, since Dani's a bit of a special case in that she's a clone and tends to be a reoccurring presence in DPDC, and I thought the new dynamic with Danyal would be interesting.

Plus, I'm not a big amethyst ocean shipper for the pure reason of I'm just not all that interested in it; its kinda bland to me. I'll admit I've entertained the thought in this au due to the whole balcony scene i wrote, but I would've entertained the thought anyways if it was Tucker in that position instead. Big multishipper, me.

But, if I had to make it official? Danyal is not interested romantically in Sam when the Gregor episode happens, regardless of his relationship with Valerie. Who, speaking of I'm trying to think about how that would go, and I'm torn between including him almost-dating Valerie or not.

Because on one hand it helps point out Sam's hypocrisy (and i love her but i am always happy to point out her flaws and address them in au) in this episode in terms of Danny spying on them, but on the other hand I'll want to include a lot of set up in order to make Gray Ghost work in this au and wow will that take a while.

Especially with the Flirting with Disaster episode because it happens due to Technus' meddling, and Danny is, well, the son of the Batman? A trained assassin? An ex-assassin nonetheless, but still an assassin? A prodigy child in this au? He might not have needed to use most of his skills in the last few years, but like... there's just a bunch of 'what if' and 'well technically...' and 'would he? he could, but would he?' things that is getting in the way of my thought process and making my head spin.

.

Mmm. Okay. Flirting with Disaster occurs relatively the same as canon with a few exceptions; like Danyal noticing the strange coincidences, and he might take the idea into proper consideration because Sam has a point it is strange, especially out of nowhere.

However,,, he really enjoys Valerie's company, and he does really like her. He's been adjusting to civilian life for the last four years and while he's made a lot of progress, he's still. an ex-assassin child living like a wolf amongst sheep. This is normal, typical teenager stuff, and usually his friends like to encourage him doing normal teenager stuff.

So he's stubbornly holding out on the thought that this is normal, that ghost stuff isn't interfering here. He's a little hurt that his friends are discouraging this, he's not bothered by the fact that Valerie is a ghost hunter and he a ghost -- his mother is an assassin, and his father is Batman, and they still had a relationship. (Granted, he's not gonna tell them that)

If anything, being diametrically opposed to each other but still being in love is part of the family! Granted, usually both parties are aware of said opposition to each other, but he'll make a special exception this time around.

(And man now that i'm thinking about gray ghost, im now thinking about various like. scenes i could write between the two of them. maybe in a reblog.)

Anyways uhhh things relatively go the same as canon. Yeah. I think Sam still has a crush on Danny and still spies out of jealousy with Tucker.

.

Now, the Gregor episode! With that out of the way; the TVTropes recap for this episode isn't the best because it doesn't go into detail about the entire episode like it does with Flirting With Disaster and Shades of Gray.

(which i looked at earlier because I made a section of this post talking briefly about what changes I'd make to the Shades of Gray episode to help set up Gray Ghost, but ended up deleting because it was kinda irrelevant for the matter at hand.)

So I'm taking in bits of the episode clips at a time, I'll try not to get too nitpicky about how each scene goes because then it's gonna take me a longer time to write this.

But! First thing's first; since Danny is not romantically interested in Sam, he is also not jealous of Gregor. He is however, a bit eyebrow-raisey at him in their first introduction, but that's because Gregor is coming off as obnoxious.

Danny thinks he's kinda annoying, and it doesn't take a genius to see that Gregor is trying to impress Sam. But since they've only known him for five minutes he takes the good faith assumption and assumes that Gregor is genuinely trying to show interest in Sam's interests too because he likes her, so he keeps mum. The fake hungarian accent is weird, but it's overall harmless, so he doesn't point it out.

He does do the spying thing when he starts suspecting that Gregor might be working for the GIW. The episode only has this happen twice, but for the au this happens a handful of more times over the course of the week, with Danyal's suspicion steadily rising more and more each time.

Hah, when he brings up wanting to spy on Sam and Gregor because of this reason, Tucker still does his "woah! you wanna spy on Sam?" thing.

Danny immediately turns to him, completely unimpressed, and crosses his arms. "Tucker," he says, deadpan, "you and Sam spied on me and Valerie."

He uses a combination of his ghost powers and his regular stealth ability to spy on them. He's hiding in a tree when they're skipping rocks, close enough that he can use his powers to hear them talk but far enough away that he has a good view of their surroundings.

He's invisible in the cinema, but doesn't accidentally get in front of the projector. He checks the inside of the room for the GIW, and then waits outside the actual room itself, keeping an eye on the area and occasionally flying in to watch the movie out of boredom. It reminds him of being back on a recon mission with the League, but it doesn't end with him orchestrating someone's death.

Then when they're at the mall he stays in human form, blending in with the crowd. He runs into the GIW there, but realizes that they're not there because of Gregor; they're just shopping. They didn't show up at either of the last two locations, and he follows them to make sure they're not also trying to blend in. But they're literally just there for shopping.

Danny is rather pleased with this turnout; so far Gregor isn't a spy, he's just annoying. The next day at lunch he asks Sam how her date with Gregor went, and that's how she figures out he spied on them, because well, she didn't tell him that.

"Have you been spying on me?"

Danny messes with his food a little bit, and Tucker is sinking into his seat with embarrassment. He frowns, "Only last night. Those incompetent government dodos--"

His lip curls up; he gets all 'Shakespeare-y' (as Sam and Tucker put it) when he's insulting someone, "--kept appearing whenever Gregor did. I followed you and him last night to make sure he wasn't a spy."

A roundabout way of saying, "I was worried".

Sam is, as canon, furious. Danny understands why, he knows generally speaking that people don't like being spied on. But he's confused on just how angry she is, and is a little irritated by it.

"Why would you do that!" She exclaims, "That's way out of line, Danny."

"How? You spied on me when I was going on dates with Valerie." He narrows his eyes, and points his fork at her, "I'm not blind, I noticed."

"That's different, we told you why we were suspicious. And we don't have ghost powers like you do."

"I don't need ghost powers to sneak around, Sam, you've seen this firsthand. And I just told you why I followed you, I thought he was working with the guys in white--"

"So you think someone can only be interested in me if they're after you?" (this is a paraphrased quote, folks ;D)

"No! If that was the case I would have voiced my concern the moment I thought it. I don't get why you're so angry, you spied too."

Iiits.... a mess. Sam storms off with Gregor, Tucker tags along because okay, yeah, maybe Gregor isn't with the GIW, or maybe last night was a fluke. Either way he ends up tagging along. Danny overhears that conversation between the GIW and Mr. Lancer, and maybe he's right, maybe he's wrong; but something is up.

I've gotten to that scene in the locker room where Gregor tells Danny that he knows he doesn't like him, and I've paused at Danny's reply to say this: Danyal doesn't even bother trying to deny it.

"I know you do not like me."

"You're right; I don't."

"Ah, let me finish. I know you do not like me because you want to protect your friend, Sam, and I respect that."

"...That's correct."

"Good! Because I am going to ask her out."

"I had a feeling you'd say that," he stands up, claps his hand tight on Gregor's shoulder, and leans close to him with a threatening smile, "so you understand me when i say; if you break my best friend's heart, you're as good as dead, right?"

"Ah,, yes. I am so glad we got that cleared out of the way, and now I hope after we can.. how you Americans put it, hang out?"

In the episode he hugs Danny and gives him a la bise (which is that french greeting where you kiss someone on the cheek two or more times) after they end their conversation. But here, when he goes to do that to Danyal, Danny leans away, points an accusatory finger at him, and says; "Absolutely not; we are not close."

The next scene after that is like, end of day. Sam, Tucker, and Gregor walking away. Sam looks over her shoulder to glare at Danny, then gets forlorn. Tucker looks back and just looks forlorn.

(When did I start narrating each scene?? Eh, I'm writing this in brief spurts of time throughout the day. Don't fix what's not broke)

After that there's this whole scene with the two GIW agents that have been chasing Phantom all episode. They're there because they have Tucker's PDA that Skulker took, and it's got the information of their purple backed gorilla assignment on it. They've been going around seeing who Tucker associates with in hopes of catching Phantom.

Uhh ahaha and that is where this gets a little interesting imo, and also allows me to mention that im retconning Danyal's (already) redesigned ghost form. Which I've wanted to retcon even before this moment bc it was just too busy. I'll get to that in a moment.

The GIW suspect Gregor for being the Phantom because of his white hair and green eyes, which is all fine and dandy until you remember: Danyal (and by extension Phantom) has that very noticeable, rather identifiable facial scar that goes across the middle of his fucking face. The GIW could easily suspect that Phantom hides his scar with makeup if he's in disguise, but if they meet a kid with a seemingly identical facial scar and similar disposition? Hoo boy.

Solution? I've got two: Gregor is canonically a kid from Michigan who faked everything to impress Sam. Considering he knows she's gothic and knows that she's ultra-recyclo vegetarian? He probably watched her from afar or got information on her somehow. His hair is dyed, his eyes might just naturally be green, but if he notices that she's got a crush on either Danyal or Phantom? A little sfx makeup could help him recreate a similar looking scar.

My second solution that's gonna happen anyways bc its that suit redesign; Danyal does hide his face as Phantom. Ghosts are emotional creatures and its a popular headcanon that their interests, ambitions, etc, influence the way they look as a ghost, not just their death. A big reoccurring theme of my au is that Danyal did not leave the League unscathed, and that being an assassin is an important part of his identity.

So i'm discarding the hazmat suit look entirely and leaning into the 'assassin' thing. But the general (stylized) feel is like, white ribbon/cloth vambraces that he has used as a garrote at some point, a hood, a gaiter scarf-type thing. I'm keeping the cape. I did a doodle a few days back that's not the official redesign, but a redesign for Phantom. I may reblog this post with that attached because it's got the general feel down. There's very little white involved, but the inside of his cape flares out and looks like the night sky.

Now, the hood and gaiter scarf gets rid of most of the problem, but Danny's hood doesn't stay on all the time, so the GIW have likely seen the upper half of the scar. :] Gregor's own drawn-on scar doesn't have to be 1:1, but it looks close enough, right? A small scar cutting through the edge of his brow and ends right below the corner of his eye. A 'cool, badass' one opposed to Danny's 'garish' scar.

But! Back to the episode scene. Canon Danny gets written off as being 'too prepubescent' to be Phantom, and honestly it'd be hilarious if Danyal was written off for the same reason (he's calling them idiots in his head if they do). But instead -- leaning into the GIW's incompetence here -- he gets written off as being too mature or too talkative. Or something equally as absurd.

Sam breaks up with Gregor for canon reasons, but when Gregor does his "i really like you, but, come on-!" and gestures to tucker, he adds on "and that scary friend of yours too, seriously!"

Things go relatively the same as canon after that. Danny does end up apologizing for spying, however. Sam does it first. Sorrows, prayers, all that.

.

Things usually end up changed or different when I actually write it down, so I'd likely add more or adjust different scenes according to the flow of the oneshot. This is just like, a general vibe of how things would go, and where some of the more obvious changes would be if I did write this oneshot.

Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for the ask :]

[agentoffangirling]

Season 1 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is not bad. It really isn't. To both a longtime fan and a complete newcomer to the MCU, it would not be seen as a bad show if they just did more than surface research on it

If you look at the ratings on Rotten Tomatoes for the show overall, it has a 95%. 89% for s1. On IMDB, 7.5/10, with their lowest episode being only 7.1/10. Critics like it, audiences like it

So why is it that it is viewed so negatively by a large majority of Marvel fans? And to that I say: they never stuck around till the end of the season

See, when AoS was coming out, there was massive hype around it. Marketing would have you think that it was some type of Avengers crossover, with people like Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff showing up every other episode (but hey, this is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Not Agents of T.H.O.R.)

This is what led to the massive turnout of 11 million viewers for that first episode, but when it turned out to be a show about S.H.I.E.L.D. featuring new people, like it always was supposed to be, people very quickly tuned out

(Even tho, hey, it's a SPY show and you only watched 1 EPISODE. Give it some time)

But most didn't give it time. They wanted to see Hawkeye and Fury and Maria go on adventures that would stand the test of time, fighting Loki and essentially just being mini Avengers, and when that didn't happen, they left. They wrote early reviews claiming that the show didn't meet expectations and wasn't worth the time. You get a very sharp dip from episode 1 bc marketing claimed this was an Avengers show, and people felt that it fell short

Those reviews are what Marvel fanboys use now, without ever watching the show themselves or pointing out that they're literally 11 years old. They bring the idea that the show is boring and lazy, putting aside the fact that basically everything else from it is called innovating and jaw-dropping. They praise the use of THEIR ideas in other Marvel shows, but call it plain in their home territory. They don't bother

So hey, if you're planning on watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., please ignore literally everything those fanboys say. They haven't watched the show, those early reviews couldn't stand watching past episode 2, just ignore them. Trust the fandom when we say that not only is season 1 perfectly fine, it's truly amazing fun, and so many of the plotlines they executed in that season are incredible

Because if we all stopped at season 1, there wouldn't be any shows

[genericpuff]

So I just read episode 275 and I’m sort of confused?

(I took screenshots, but the ask won’t let me include them so) At the end of the episode Hera summons these little balls of light(?) , maybe small stars(?) and then she casts them down onto Kronos.

I feel like that was really anticlimactic and not illustrated well. Along with the viewer not seeing Hera fight Kronos, a God that’s been tormenting her, her last attack(?) doesn’t feel right — like, there’s no power behind, if anything, I’d compare it to what a healers animation in a game looks like.

Rachel even emphasizes how strong and brilliant Hera is with Persephone, but then doesn’t show us anything. I know the scene was split between Hera and Hades dealing with Kronos physically and mentally (asleep), but it was sort of disappointing.

What I think really sucks about the setup for the Hera vs. Kronos fight is that, as cool of a concept as it is to have Hera and Hades both fighting Kronos in separate timelines, it fails on multiple levels:

1.) All the build up of Hera saying "I was created to destroy you" winds up meaning nothing because it cuts away to Hades for the entire fight

2.) When it does cut back to Hera, she's just kinda... sitting on Kronos? Like what did she do besides just breaking one of his fingers? Why weren't we allowed to see that? I think this is more so clearly Rachel's inability to write/draw fight scenes showing through, so she relied entirely on the Hades' sequence which was less physical fighting and more just Hades monologuing before turning Kronos into a diamond.

3.) And speaking of the diamond thing... so we're just expected to believe Hades could turn not just people, but Titans into diamonds? This whole time? How is he just suddenly able to do this? It feels like a shonen anime where the main character has a flashback to a scene from 3 seconds ago (in this case, Hades' conversation with Melinoe) and then unlocks a new special ability through it, but it somehow feels even less earned than it does in anime (and trust me, I can't stand that anime trope at the best of times LOL) Like at least in something like Naruto it's like... okay we have this ability Naruto's been trying to master and we've seen him work at it for a few episodes so seeing him finally nail it on the brink of defeat is like, really hype and fun. But Hades just turns Kronos into a rock out of nowhere when we had zero reason or build-up to believe that would ever be possible. Why not, IDK, have Morpheus finally master her ability to dream dive and use that to trap Kronos in an eternal sleep? At least that would have had some pre-existing foundation especially with how much of S3 was focused on the dream diving shit. IDK, the whole thing's really contrived and silly and relies a lot on the reader just going "okay! yeah that makes sense!"

4.) So Hades turned timey-wimey Kronos into a diamond... but then it cuts back to present Kronos who's just been somehow defeated by Hera through ✨magic✨ and that's just it? What about present Kronos? Is he just still trapped in Tartarus now? Why isn't he also a diamond if Hades turned some past form of Kronos into a diamond? Or was the goal just to free Melinoe so present Kronos couldn't keep using her powers? But who's to say Kronos can't just do what he did again by reaching through time to grab Melinoe and start the whole thing over again? Especially now that Melinoe doesn't remember what happened and would be none the wiser that Kronos has attempted this before? Is it because this is present Kronos whose time abilities were 'exhausted' to him 'long ago'? Then how was he able to pull Hades into the time-bowl to begin with? Again, just like the diamond thing, this entire conflict relies a lot on readers just shrugging and accepting it because there's zero foundation for the concepts that are being portrayed and thus zero logic besides "just go with it".

I can go on and on about it but at the end of the day LO just isn't a comic that should have attempted having any big Marvel fight scenes. This is an issue in a lot of romance comics that have gone on too long, they start to lose the plot around their third season and then just throw everything out the window for some other big plot that makes no sense within the context of the story. Somehow LO, a Greek myth fantasy adaption, made fighting the God of Time seem out of place and boring.

God I can't wait for Hades 2.

[lizzyscribbles]

Today's MHA ramble is either gonna be great or ineligible and there will be no in-between. I'm on my computer instead of my phone today so I can type so much faster, but, I am slightly dehydrated and out of it because I just spent like eight hours outside in the sun for a renaissance fair so maybe I'll just pass out half way through, who knows.

Lizzy's MHA thought/ramble of the night: MHA and why I think it does the "power of friendship" trope the correct way (IE: Not cringy/weird).

Now, I honestly think trying to wrap up the intricacies of the end of MHA in just "the power of friendship!!" is doing the series a huge disservice, but in its simplest form, that kind of is what happens. To be honest, I'm such a sucker for this trope. I love it when we get to see all the people the MC (Izuku in this case) has made an impact on over the course of the series and they all come together to back the main character, that is thee shit and I will eat it up.

However, the thing I love about MHA's approach to this is something we see explored a lot through the series: the idea that you don't have to go at it alone. Like, I feel like the ending has so much more of an impact because instead of them all the other characters standing behind him and going "Yay!! You can do it!! Good job!!" No, instead they run beside him and say "rest, we'll clear you a path. We know we can't do this for you, but at least let us do this".

Because that's what a friend is. That's what friendship is. It's realizing that not only is a friend someone you want to protect, but it's someone who protects you.

It gives me chills Every. Damn. Time.

It's through that we get to see the impact Izuku has made on everyone in the series. I joke with people that even when Izuku has nothing to do with something that's happening, he has something to do with it, and that really comes to a head in the final chapters. In a sort of ironic way, it's what ends up defeating All for One, because it's literally the only thing he never managed to get. Deku says as much while they're fighting, that deep down All for One really is just a lonely man. He had power, people to do his bidding and hang on his every word, but the top of the world is a very isolating place to be because there's no one who can look you in the eye. Followers and friends are two different things, a friend is an equal, a follower is a pawn.

I think it's why All for One was so attached to his younger brother Yoichi, because deep down, he knew All for One in ways that no one ever could. It was the closest to a genuine loving relationship he ever got.

Honestly, it's part of why All Might failed the first time around too. He had a few friends, sure, but in the end he was surrounded by mostly fans. People who adored and appreciated him, but did so from behind a barricade. All Might pretty much worked alone - and Deku definitely couldn't have made the progress he made without the trail All Might blazed - but Deku had the one thing All Might never did: People who fought alongside him even when he didn't want them to.

And, honestly? I can't blame All Might for avoiding it. After all, Deku almost does this same thing. They both wanted to protect people so badly they don't want to accept help. They see themselves as the only person who's allowed to make sacrifices because they're so scared they'll loose someone. It's part of the reason I find such comfort in Izuku as a character, because he never wants to see anyone else hurt because of him.

However, because Deku reached out first in the beginning, because he made friends and took care of them whenever he could, because treated them as equals, they said "too bad so sad, you get our help whether you like it or not, because that's what you'd do for us". It's the beauty of those final episodes of season six and why I love them so much, because 1-A had no reason to go after Deku other than they were worried about him. They didn't take no for an answer, because sometimes it's a friend's job to take you by the hand and scream in your face to "TAKE A NAP!!! EAT SOME FOOD!! YOU'RE WEARING YOURSELF DOWN AND YOU NEED A BREAK!!! SIT DOWN AND LET US CARRY YOU FOR A WHILE!!!"

It's exactly like Ochaco says, they don't want to be protected. They're not fragile victims to be looked after. They didn't get blindly wrapped up in this mess, they dove in head first because they cared about Izuku and wanted to stand at his side.

And therein lies the difference.

All for One had followers.

All Might had fans.

Deku had friends.

Followers will only do as they're told. Fans will only cheer on. But friends? You can't tell them to do shit, they do what they want, and if they want to help you then they will. Friends go the extra mile. Friends run beside you when no one else can. Friends clear the path for you so you can deliver that final big ass punch.

That's the magic of this trope, and you can see it so clearly here because it's realistic. And by that I mean Izuku doesn't get a magical burst of energy because everyone was cheering his name from the sidelines. It came from them actually doing shit to give him a chance. It came from Aizawa bandaging his wounds, it came from Iida grabbing his hand and half-dragging him across the battle field, it came from Eri giving a little bit of her quirk, it came from Bakugo showing up at the last second to blast the crap out of someone, it came from the countless attacks launched by the rest of the heroes to give him a chance to get back on his feet.

You know what they say, actions speak louder than words, and that's the magic of this kind of storytelling. We don't need to be told they care through chants or claps, they just show us.

That's the true "power of friendship". People who don't just stand beside you, but sometimes run in front of you so you don't trip over that stump in the path.

That's friendship. That's love. And I think that's incredibly beautiful.

...these posts get longer every time. Maybe I need to stick to my phone so my thumbs get tired faster. 😂 This is what happens when I'm allowed to cook late at night. If you made it to the end, thank you and I salute you.

[the-dragon-hearted]

We, as a community, do not talk enough about how Juvia and Bora are exes.

Like HELLO

Mr. Number 1 Opp of episode 1 who actively participated in human trafficking dating the one and only done-dirty-by-Mashima water woman.

Also Bora broke up with HER? Sir?? There is so much to explore there that, like many things, IS NEVER BROUGHT UP AGAIN -

Okay - so were they childhood friends or was he using her for her looks/powerful magic? Did it start off transactionally or was there some spark there? How long did they date? Did she stay with him because she felt that no one would ever love her, so at least she could be valuable in a different way? Did he make her laugh? Or just put up a facade in front of other people? Was she his backup for a while, a bodyguard adjacent for when his schemes went sideways? Is that how they started? What about the end? Sure we see him breaking up with her in canon - but why? You can't tell me he suddenly didn't like the rain of The Rain Woman. I mean he can, he's a prick, but consider the alternative: Did she see catch on to his beginnings? Expose one of his scams? Grow critical of whatever shit he was getting into? Did she say something? Did she try to stop him?

The first time we see her she is completely covered head to toe in several layers and the rain does not stop. She says it's never stopped. But damn, doesn't it feel like turned from a drizzle to a downpour after him? I think it's purposeful. The layers are purposeful. The hints are there. She fully expects to be discarded after her fight with Gray. AND seeing how she comes out of her shell in the later arcs - watching her change her hair and her clothes, experimenting with new styles with an almost fervent joy - it just makes me wonder.

Could she not do that before? Was there an expectation there? A controlling factor? How much of her identity was she willing to sacrifice to quiet the fear of being unloved? How hard did the rain fall as it progressed, did it ever waver, or did it only get stronger and stronger.

And Bora? Fucking Bora?

Was it REALLY about the rain, or did she just speak up? Did she intervene and he had enough sense to refrain from trying to harm her. Because if the relationship was built off of him using her for magic and granting her some sense of companionship in return, then he damn well knew that there was no way he, a lil fire mage, could stand up to the actual force of nature that is Juvia. No, that meant he knew EXACTLY how to hurt her without inviting her vengeful side.

So he tells her she's too depressing. He reinforces how unlovable she is. How it's HER fault. How it's always been HER, how he's leaving her because of who she is - how he couldn't change her. He probably throws everything she's quietly confessed to him and leaves - safe from retribution and free to continue his fucking diabolical business. Because he knows he's hurt her worse than anyone else could. He knows that she'll either come running back, or she'll run and run and just keep running.

He doesn't know that Juvia only loved the idea of being loved. Not him. Bora can't imagine anyone not loving him (he can, but he's the run who's running, headfirst into greed with an enchanted ring on his finger - someplace Juvia never would've followed). Juvia doesn't run back to him. She doesn't run at all, the rain pours and she decides: "Fine, if I can't be loved. Let me be feared."

Maybe Phantom Lord orchestrated it, the master seems sort of cartoonishly conniving, and Juvia's magic is insanely powerful - but if that is the case, that doesn't change how easily Bora was bought. It doesn't change how Bora knew just what to say to push her to that point. It honestly doesn't change much of anything.

Bora? Pathetic.

Juvia? We all know she's always been lovesick and maybe if she was allowed a bit more characterization we'd be able to explore why. Maybe we'd talk about why she wore so many layers or kept her hair long. Why she kept a "frilly" pink umbrella but wore all blue. Indulging in a childish side while wearing a face of complete apathy. Why she adores the idea of being loved but can't seem to make it work. Why she's desperate for romance but finds more joy in the friends she makes - it doesn't stop her from chasing "true love" but she finds she doesn't need a lover's touch to chase the rain away anymore.

Because the rain was never about Gray, it was about Juvia. It was about how she was loved - not by others - but by herself.

I could spend eons critiquing how she was written... But for now I'm just gonna sit here and think about the consequences of Juvia dating Bora.

And I'm gonna laugh when Natsu and Lucy own his ass in episode 1. Because they don't even know it yet, but they're avenging a soon-to-be-friend. And honestly, I hope Juvia read about it in a newspaper, the pages soggy under her touch. I hope she sat in a park, the sound of pouring rain drowning out all else, read the headline.

And I hope, that even in that dark moment of her life, when she was the cruelest she would ever be, she read about Bora getting his ass handed to him. And I hope it made her smile.

[highfantasy-soul]

Storylines NATLA Cut

While the 8 episodes of season 1 managed to weave together most of the plot lines (or at least themes from the episodes) from the animated show into the live action, there were a few notable storylines that were cut. I wanted to go over those plots and speculate as to why they might have been cut and whether we might see them in future seasons woven in (like how a couple things from future seasons were woven into this season).

Imprisoned

One of Katara's first big leadership moments was in episode 6 of the animated series when the Gaang stumbles upon an earth nation village taken over by the Fire Nation. All their benders had been rounded up and sent to a prison so that they couldn't fight back - the Gaang obviously get involved, plot ensues, and Katara gets herself arrested so that she can find the prison and free Haru (the earthbender she inadvertently gotten arrested). With the help of Aang and Sokka providing the earthbenders with some coal to bend, she inspires them to fight back and they free the prisoners.

I think this storyline actually naturally fits much better in book 2: Earth. The focus of season 1 of the live-action was water bending and the avatar state - I think a storyline focused on earth bender resistance fits perfectly in season 2 where we get to see even more of how oppressive Fire Nation rule is and how they're 1) seeking to take out all the other benders and 2) doing their whole imperialist thing with stealing natural resources from the populace they're colonizing.

Katara has her moment to speak on her mother with Jet in episode 3 of the live-action and I think it's a natural change to keep the rebellious side-character count manageable for now. Jet fills the role to show Katara's desire for rebellion and standing up to the fire benders and while I think the Imprisoned storyline is really important, I think they've got plenty of room to do that in season 2. A big part of that story was Katara leading people to stand up when they hadn't been before and I think there's a nice homage to that in the final episode of the live-action when she gets all the women in the North to stand up to Pakku and demand to fight.

So I don't think they've fully nixed this storyline, I think they'll include it in the Gaang's trek through the Earth Kingdom on their way to Ba Sing Se. To me, the live action is doing a better job at building the characters rather than starting out with them fully formed. Katara has learned through the first season of the live action about all different leadership styles and has grown emotionally to a point where she's not only confident in standing up against injustice, but also leading others in that fight against oppressors. I think moving her leadership skills from episode 6 of season 1 to season 2 will let us really see her journey to that point rather than just having her start there.

2. The Pirates

In the animated show, Katara doesn't get the Waterbending Scroll until episode 9 of season 1, everything she does with waterbending up until that point was just stuff she figured out herself. In the animated show, the Gaang stops and Katara starts training Aang in waterbending, he shows off and washes all their supplies away so they have to go into town to buy more. This is where Aang randomly buys a bison whistle (why a shopkeeper in the Earth Kingdom would have a bison whistle is not explored) and the group also is invited onto a pirate ship to brows their wares. Katara notices a waterbending scroll and it's far too expensive for them to buy, so Katara steals it from them (as they made it clear they stole it from its rightful owner). A main theme of this episode is showing how naturally gifted Aang is and Katara getting frustrated because she's had to work so hard for her little bit of waterbending and Aang just surpasses her immediately. Zuko and Iroh show up looking for a pai sho piece and shenanigans ensue with the Gaang fighting off both pirates and Zuko, but of course, they manage to escape.

So the two main things in this episode were 1) getting the waterbending scroll so Katara could learn more formal forms and 2) dealing with how the dynamic of the group changes as Aang easily surpasses Katara in waterbending power.

I like that the live action tied the waterbending scroll directly to Katara's family and them hiding their culture to keep it alive until the time came when they could revive it once more. I think it's a much more impactful way for her to get the scroll than just some random pirates. It also allows her to actually train from the beginning rather than just being naturally good - in the live-action, Katara really has to work at her waterbending and get help. While she's a naturally fast learner and super powerful, she needs at least some form of guidance whether that be how to get in the right spiritual mindspace for bending or the physical movements for different forms provided by the scroll. Animated Katara has already been doing very advanced moves (bending water out of Aang's lungs, lifting a fish, throwing water and freezing it, etc) and it doesn't really feel like the animated show continues to show the new stuff Katara learns from the waterbending scroll - it's just the water whip and then the scroll is forgotten (almost like this is an episodic kid's show where each story is largely self-contained and plot points rarely arc into other episodes).

As it's the episode were Aang really starts learning waterbending and they've held off on having that part of his journey in the live action for now, it makes sense that they nixed it. It's a fun character building episode, but in the grand scheme, everything accomplished here can be accomplished elsewhere (and possibly in season 2). Katara feeling a bit miffed that Aang picked everything up quickly while she had to work really hard at it can easily be moved to season 2 when they address Aang learning the new bending styles. I also like how they moved him getting the bison whistle at a random shop in this episode to Bumi having made it for Aang back when they were both kids.

Of course, they do give easter eggs for this plot as well as the great divide one in episode 6 of the live-action, so it's possible the Gaang did have similar adventures, just off-screen.

3. The Fortune Teller

I'm perfectly fine with them nixing the plot of this storyline and moving the themes of 'take destiny into your own hands, don't look to others to tell you what to do without examining their methods of determining your own destiny' and scattering it through the entire season. The hard plot sets up Kataang as a couple which I didn't particularly like, nor did I feel like it followed the actual theme of the episode. Katara is obsessed with believing everything the fortune teller predicted and for part of the story, the lesson is 'that's bull, make your own destiny, just because she said it doesn't make it true' but then when it comes to her marrying a powerful bender, suddenly that lesson is thrown out and she realizes that Aang is a powerful bender so maybe they will end up together? It felt like a lot of mixed messages with the goal of setting up a 12 year old with a 14 year old and like I've said before, I'm not a fan of child romances. Once they turn 15, ok, but 12? No.

4. Aang's part in Bato of the Water Tribe

I think it was a great beat in the animated show to have Aang so afraid that Sokka and Katara might leave him for their "real" family - then have them confirm to him that they're with him all the way. The storyline does hammer home how alone in the world Aang feels and his fear that everyone will leave him either because they have 'family' of their own or his path is just too difficult. While the character beat was good to include, I think it's too big of a character beat to be relegated to only a portion of an episode in the live-action. I think if they want to explore Aang's fear of abandonment, they'll need to spend a good deal of time on it not only because it's a big part of him but also because to this day, some fans haven't forgiven Aang for hiding that map - if they want to do it justice, we're going to need more than a quick blurb to understand Aang's motivations and give the audience time to forgive him. 

I'm glad they took Sokka's part of that episode and gave him the spotlight - and the spotlight could remain on celebrating Water Tribe culture rather than having Aang in the background making throwing up faces at everything. I think that the live action can still add in the ideas around Aang's insecurity over Katara and Sokka leaving him to go back to their people, and if they add it into season 2, I think it'll hit even harder after already seeing Bato in that season 1 flashback.

5. Sokka's Strategies

 20 episodes in the animated show gave Sokka a lot of opportunity to come up with unique strategies to win in unexpected ways such as using explosives to 'open' the door to Roku's temple, the ventilation shafts to get the coal to the earth benders in Imprisoned, and him tricking the pirates into fighting Zuko and co. While at first, I thought not having so much of that in the live-action was taking away from Sokka's character, on a re-watch, I realized that they didn't remove it, they actually gave the origin for it. Sokka's character journey in season 1 of the live-action was about him accepting that he could be more than 'just' a big strong warrior to help his people, he was allowed to explore his ingenuity too. It's only after he meets Sai the Mechanist that he starts to come up with plans to get them out of situations or form battle strategies. I think it was a great, subtle, way to show Sokka coming into his own and beginning to come up with great plans alongside his warrior skills.

I know some fans of the OG show absolutely love every side quest - and more screen time in plots that aren't all that important give a lot of space for character 'down time bonding' that a tighter story structure just doesn't have room for. I think that most of the animated show's character beats and lessons in each of their episodes was really good (with a few exceptions - one of which in The Great Divide I think the live action actually took and made much BETTER) but when making an adaptation in a completely different format, stuff is just going to have to be left on the cutting room floor.

I LOVE everything the live action added in it's place (expanding Aang and Zuko's conversation during the Blue Spirit section of episode 6, all the Fire Nation royal family stuff, everything about Gyatzo, and Sokka and Katara's spirit visions) so I'll forgive leaving out some beats from the OG. I still think that several of these storylines will make their way into season 2 in one way or another, so I'm holding off on fully declaring them 'nixed' from the live action.

[rueririn]

Pirating OPLA, thoughts

Episode 1

Garp being at Roger's execution is a nice touch

Really like how full Luffy's dinghy is-- crates of fruit, a barrel of fish instead of just one barrel of apples--- all makes sense. All the tiny details removed from manga that are just added onto opla for realism-- like the way the execution stand works, too, with the people cranking the manual lift to get roger up there. It's all very cool and makes the setting feel more piraty than mangapiece.

Our beloved Zoro tried to go to Sixis on a cruise ship. This is a good way to casually mention Zoro earlier (plus that's Ace's first island so it actually lines up on the One Piece map to be around Dawn Island--)

"it's worth more than the rest of our loot put together" a nika mention that can be interpreted as just a devil fruit mention

"You should never let anyone tell you what you can't do. If I did that, I never would have left my village to go find the One Piece." Luffy referencing Garp like this is so funny to me

Unlike mangapiece, Luffy invites Coby along before knowing his dream to become a marine. This makes me sad because now I wish la coby joined the crew

opla Shanks is weirdly more serious than mangapiece Shanks. Not necessarily in a bad way, just different. That's the attitude I'm takign for most of opla anyways.

Adding the Mr 7 and Zoro fight here is actually really cool

Beta Nami outfit aaaaa they moved the pre-orange town ship-stealing scene to serve as her introduction scene and that works so well for her.

I love that they all naturally congregated in Ririka's bar. Everyone congregates and chaos occurs. Really like how they switched things up while never really taking things off course.

"PIRATES SPREAD DISEASE" poster on the wall

Coby sliding under the table once a fight breaks outajslkdjalsijdsakj i love him pls

ADORE the barfight. It's Zoro vs Baroque Works but bite-sized and with everything we love about the most consistently badass member of the crew. Thank you.

Zoro really pulled a reverse on Helmeppo lmao. "Three swords? I only need one" proceeds to get curbed by zero swords

oh! Zoro introduced himself as pirate hunter. that makes him different from mangapiece where he explicitly says at some point that he never called himself that. But it fits the opla characterisation so fair enough.

Luffy popping out of the manhole to yell 'thanks' at Zoro just sends me. Makino taught him well.

Nami being the most independent and capable girlboss up until the second Luffy literally crashes into her life and ruins her plan is actually 100% compliant with the basis of their relationship.

Oh is this the ass naked Helmeppo scene everyone's been yelling abo--- oh it is. ok.

I've never realized how badly I wanted a Nami and Luffy fighting together scene until now. I just realized how little of those we get in Mangapiece. Holy shit.

Romance Dawn trio just has this really satisfying trio cohesion that I can't describe. They're forever my favourite trio in the strawhats and opla does a magnificent job of bringing justice to what the manga couldn't give them with its chapter and page limits, since their only trio time together without being dragged around by handicaps was in the gaimon arc.

Makes me a little sad that Coby's involvement in Shells gets cut down a little, but that's fine I guess, he got plenty of touchup in his introduction scene.

Luffy holding back laughter when he sees Helmeppo's hair. Zoro chuckling because "yeah I might've done that" and Nami just being speechless. They're so stupid i love them

Garp going silent when he hears a straw-hat pirate stole the map to the grand line. I like to think this could imply Roger also stole his map once upon a time, but for now I'm just laughing at Garp internally screeching "that STUPID GRANDSON it's been ONE DAY"

[heleeanthea]

There is only one thing that I feel having watched last episode and it's disappointment. Not even sadness, not even anger, im just disappointed.

Izzy Hands deserved better.

We all, as the audience, deserved better.

You know, when the first season came out I was one of those people who really did not like Izzy at all. I almost couldn't believe that his fans even existed. Then, before second season I thought, well, Im sure that they will give him a redemption arc but Im going to hate him anyway as there is nothing that can redeem him in my eyes. I was so very sure of it.

Wrong, I was wrong. I admit it.

I loved his arc in second season, I loved every second of it. Truly. It has done what seemed utterly improbable to me - made me Izzy Hand's nr. 1 fan. It was just such a great piece of writing. From his initial first disobedience towards Blackbeard and then his finding himself and his worth outside of Blackbeard. His singing (he's great), doing drag (so beautiful), helping Stede, being a friend to him, helping Lucius, finding a family within the crew and finally, finally achieving what - as he said himself - piracy is about: belonging. He found his place, became the new unicorn. He begun to accept himself, to finally let go of all that bitterness that he had inside him in the first season. He allowed himself to be true to himself, to show his more vulnerable parts to the world. He was starting to feel better.

And then they killed him. And what makes it even worse, they did it in such a stupid, useless and anticlimactic way.

You see, Im generally against killing Izzy. I find it to be an utterly disappointing conclusion of his arc. The guy changed so much for the better during this season, becoming a better person as well as becoming more mentally stable and I believe that his arc deserved to have a much brighter and more optimistic conclusion. Where is a scene where he becomes a captain on The Revenge and finally is at peace? Free from Blackbeard, with his found family next to him?

Where is a promise to all lost, young, queer people that thing will get better even though now you may feel no hope?

We didn't get it. What we got was a rushed sequence that was directed more toward serving Ed's arc than Izzy's.

Why did he get shot? No reason, it was just random; it wasn't in a fight, it wasn't the unicorn protecting someone from his crew (which would make his death slightly less bad). The sole reason of him getting shot was to kill him off.

Was it needed for his arc? Well, it could have been done better and make more sense, yes. But wouldn't it make a more satisfying ending to give poor guy some happiness? When the whole season was focused on him earning it and allowing himself to feel it? It would turn out much better to acknowledge his growth and give him space to grow even more.

I don't even feel like Izzy's death was necessary for Ed's growth; not when both their arcs focused on finding themselves outside of constituting Blackbeard.

That's why I hate how Izzy's actual death moment is played out. The scene isn't about Izzy, it's about Ed. It's so focused on him that it almost hurts. Why is Ed the only one who's close to Izzy? Why is the crew so far away? Izzy loved them, they loved him, why don't they come closer and show it, he deserved it. And even Izzy's words, they are so focused on him telling Ed thing's that he needs to hear to grow further but... he doesn't need to hear it from him? It doesn't have to be Izzy who tells him that the crew loves him (which, arguably, is not really true as they are still wary of him after all that happened in the beggining of the season??), especially not when it's the last chance for Izzy to be told that he is loved, he is a part of the community, to be forgiven and apologised to.

And then they get over him so so fast? Just seconds after the funeral Stede is standing there and... trying to boast what great piece of pirat he is? Trying to make Zheng compliment him?

Also, why shoot him in his left side, missing all the important bits, and then have him die anyway?

[cosmica-galaxy]

How would the Titans react to the human in their primal Titan form hugged them and their head is between their breast

= PART 1 = The Titan Cameraman experiences his after the skibidi ambush hurts him really bad and how he lost his shield and arm. The human, who was helping with the (now known as a fake) Gtoilet, was pulled away suddenly by the speakerman titan during the ambush. After they saw the state that he was in, they rush back over to his injured and hunched over form to comfort him by giving him a hug. The titan, despite the pain he was enduring and the overwhelming surges to all of his senses, felt the comforting softness of the human's chest. It was...comforting. Especially after nearly being offlined from the assault. The human was so worried for him that they keep him there, making sure he was certainly okay. At the moment...he certainly felt better. Maybe it was just the softness or the strange slight aroma that made him feel better...he couldn't be 100% sure. Still, there was a battle to partake in and they all needed to get on the move again. The human was then gently coaxed into releasing the titan, who began to sign that they needed to continue to move, despite his injuries. While the human began their barrage of protests and demands for him to go back for repairs, he looks over their shoulder to see the speaker titan, once relieved to find out he was okay, giving him a rather...lecherous look. He subtly waggles his finger at the titan. No naughty thoughts, you. The Speaker Titan encountered his when he helped out the alliance with the large Skibidis, and despite him being hurt, he continued to fight valiantly. Once victory was certain, the "primal titan"--or the human just bigger--had a celebratory episode and jumped onto the speaker titan in their excitement. The titan, not expecting such a reaction, looses his footing and both the primal and speaker titan fall down...with the primal titan on top. The speaker titan can only freeze as his visuals were blocked by...the humans'...intimate place. IT DIDN'T HELP THE FACT THAT THEY WERE MOVING AND TRYING TO STAND UP OFF OF HIM, WHICH JUST MADE IT FAR MORE LEWD THAN IT HAD TO BE. The speaker titan might as well have blue-screened from the sheer embarrassment he was feeling at that moment. However, it was over in the next few minutes as the human finally gets a grip and sits up, apologizing excessively from making the pair of them fall down. The speaker titan simply stares at the sky with no movement. That was...different? Not entirely unwelcome either. However, the moment the speaker titan FINALLY moves, he looks over to see the camera titan giving him a subtle thumbs up. To which he falls back down and covers his face, much to the humans' confusion. Is that his core screaming or is that coming from his speakers?? He can't be bothered to tell at the moment.

[brionysea]

while steve was driving max, lucas, and dustin around during dear billy, there were some lyrics from "hard feelings" by al kerbey from the radio. lucas was looking at max and max was choosing to stare out the window instead of looking at lucas while they played, implying that it's lucas's perspective on the max situation

you talk a lot, but you don't say much in the things you do / you're always right / in all our fights

so lucas can't win arguments with max, which makes things difficult when they're all trying to keep her alive while she's being targeted by the allegorical teen suicide monster and needs to want to keep herself alive. lucas has been trying to get through to her the most, even before the curse, so the difficulty of the situation is framed from his perspective

from as far back as season 2, when lucas got girl advice from his dad after a fight with max, the rule has been "she's never wrong". max is literally always right when she's arguing with lucas, which makes that one line of the song - "you're always right" - perfect. lucas cannot win

during their argument over the party keeping secrets in season 2, the five times max dumped lucas prior to season 3, and the multiple times lucas chases after max in season 4, she usually ends up walking away from him and leaving him standing alone. max mentioned to el while giving her advice that she usually waits for lucas to "fix" whatever happened to cause their breakup, but he can't fix it. this time wasn't a simple, juvenile break up, and you can't "fix" someone's depression. especially not if they actively refuse your help, don't open up to anyone, and isolate themselves

because no one else can shut you down / or turn you around, you should see yourself

this is the part that always catches my attention. it's less specific to lucas and max's relationship, because lucas said during their conversation after max's therapy session that it's not about max being his girlfriend. he's worried about her and wants her to be okay. if someone else could get through to her while he was unable to, he wouldn't care, as long as it helped her. the perspective widens to more than just their relationship at this point of the song

so who can get through to max? the party. el, since she saved max's life and i'm pretty sure she's going to be heavily involved in getting max back in season 5. el was about equally shown in max's running up that hill montage as lucas was. but the lyrics sound more... combative, than el and max's relationship really is. they're adorable, and i love their friendship, but i can't see el getting through to max in the way the lyrics imply; with enough tough love to make her see what she's doing to herself and cut it out

you know whose relationship with max is fairly combative, though? the one person missing from the dear billy group, which is almost a perfect match for the one that went to the tunnels in season 2 (where the "getting grabbed around the ankle by a vine" parallel comes from)? mike.

in the season 4 episode, the group was literally hanging out in mike's basement. mike got two (two!) mentions by name from max. and at the same time, mike was in lenora plotting a way to get back to hawkins with will and jonathan, while will was reminding him (and the audience) that mike is an important factor in saving his friends from danger. mike's absence from hawkins is heavily emphasised, and not for the first time - dustin's reaction when he fully realised they had to deal with the upside down without mike was a lot of panicked swearing, and for good reason from the way things turned out

mike spent season 1 taking care of el, season 2 taking care of will, and then swung back to el again for season 3. he takes care of whoever is at the centre of the story - except for season 4, where he was removed from the centre of the story so that he couldn't help max, they could feasibly lose, and season 5 could be set up

max and mike are usually butting heads, but i would argue that it's always in the interest of getting through to each other, making each other the best version of themselves, and/or keeping each other safe. even when one of them's being unreasonable, like when mike was mad at max for "corrupting" el, max eventually got through to him. he apologised to el and told her he was happy she was friends with max, and they spent the end of the season as a trio. max probably would have been helpful on mike's side of things in season 4, since will was concerned about him but ultimately not all that helpful in giving mike the advice he wanted to hear - permission to break up with el and still have her in his life, basically, which max was lobbying for all throughout season 3. max has never held a grudge against mike (she doesn't hold grudges at all, really, except towards her abuser, and even there she hates herself for it), so she would have been as sympathetic as she has been before (very, for the record - i would point you towards the scene they had in the byers kitchen in season 2) towards his side of things

but back to max: mike has been shown to argue with his friends willingly putting themselves at risk, even if he's the only one in the room doing it (when el was looking for the flayed in season 3, when el and hopper went to the lab in season 2, when will got them the "close gate" message, when el sacrified herself to take down the demogorgon). during that blow up argument in season 3, mike got max on the defensive. "no one else can shut her down," except mike. when he brought up how the girls spied and broke his trust, she started making excuses and her arguments became a lot more aimless and weaker until she generally dipped out of the conversation. there was one pointed look towards mike after that, urging him to trust el's calls on her own powers, but not another word from max on the topic

mike would have been just as stubborn if he was there to see max "risking her life for no reason" instead of el - he tried to drive max away from the party to keep her away from the upside down and out of danger in the first place - and unlike lucas, he would have actually had a shot of out-stubborning her, getting through to her, and/or otherwise helping with the situation. she probably would have gotten defensive and given as good as she got, but i really fail to see how that would be a problem. they both needed that push, and no one else was really around either of them to provide it. mike was a lot of help with will's episodes in season 2, which are similar to the trances curse victims go into in season 4, so emotionally and logistically, there was a mike-shaped hole in hawkins

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

Currently Watching - November

aka The Masterlist

Because I love a good little list - in alphabetical order! 😊

Regularly updated during the month, latest update 30.11.2023

A little link to my favorite bl-tropes-collection 💙

Here you can find all of my gifs.

And if you want to show me something you think I might like, just let me know with #josistag

At the end you can have a look at what we can expect in November with MDL links and a link for the trailer (if avaible). There are 18 coming up series this november... Sleep I love you, but we are going seperate ways this month!

This is guaranteed to contain spoilers!

1. 7 Days before Valentine (1/12 WeTV)

Hm... This was not what I expected. The acting was a little bit over the top. I don't know if I can stand Sunshine. The feeling this first episode gave me was kinda off. I don't know. Right now I don't know if I want to keep watching it.

2. Bake me please (2/6 on Gaga)

This series is so good! I really like Ohm and Guide together. Guide is such a sunshine and I like his character! This series deals with a lot of baking and childhood trauma and a sunshine and grumpy main couple and I love it!

3. Boys Like Boys (8/10 on Gaga)

Okay, I am officially invested! The story of eight taiwanese men who are on the search for love. It is messy and funny and of course I have my favorites! I wish I had waited for the show to finish, because then I could have watched the final and know if I can keep my hopes up or not... And there are twists and turns and some butterflies and I can't wait for the next episode.

4. Cooking Crush (1/12 on Youtube)

I have to admit beside Not Me, I am not the biggest fan of OffGun. Their slapstick humour is just not mine. I can't get the right feeling for this series right now. I will wait and see how it turns out with more episodes...

5. Last Twilight (3/12 on Youtube)

I got fucking emotional when Mhok read from The Little Prince and they had this whole big conversation through the book and I am in tears just thinking about it. The Little Prince is very special for me.

6. Pit Babe (2/13 on Youtube)

Ladies and Gentlemen! We have an Omegaverse! I am still in shock! I usually don't dive into the omegaverse, but I did read some webtoons. I am curious how they'll play it out. The first episode... I don't understand shit! I have no clue, what is going on. There are intrigues going on and I don't trust Charlie at the moment. But I couldn't care less because: Pavel! He could just sit there or walk in his driver's uniform and I would be happy!

7. Playboyy (3/14 on Gaga)

I am intrigued! I needed to call my best friend and tell her about what I have seen. Not just the amount of sex and masturbation and wet dreams, but the way it is filmed. I am intruígued! It looks like a romantic dream combined with porn. And I am looking forward to next week and the weeks to come, because it is so interesting!

8. The Sign (1/12 on Youtube)

I am already in love with this series! Mystical elements, a good chemistry between the actors, some fighting, naked men... What else could I wish for... Oh yeah, and an accidental kiss 😂 But I still enjoyed it so much! And I can't wait fot next week!

9. Twins (4/12 on Gaga)

I don't know what it is. The story is... nothing special. The acting is okayish. Sprite's/Zee's facial expression need some time to get used to. And yet, I like this show! It is one of my most anticipated watches of the week. I like First and I LOVE enemies to lovers 😅 It is one of my weak spots!

Finished in November

Series

1. I feel you linger in the air (12/12 on Gaga)

This is one of my favorite series from this year, if not the best one! It is such a good and well written story about love and building a home, trusting in love and people again, fight against the rules and love the people who deserve your love. I am not as heartbroken than I thought, but I miss them already, like five minutes after it ended. Jom and Yai's love is a love that can overcome all kinds of barriers like time and I love that so much! I love this series so so much! And they confirmed a second season? Now I am afraid and excited? A true 10 out of 10!

2. Dangerous Romance (12/12 on Youtube)

I like Perth and Chimon together, even though their characters can be a little bit cheesy or bromancy. Over all I liked the series, even though I was searching for the danger in the romance. It lost a litle bit of the tension in its second half. Not a bad series, but also nothing special. A solid 7 out of 10.

3. Kimi to Nara Koi wo Shite Mite mo / If it's with you (5/5 on Gaga)

It is sweet and has the typical japanese vibe, you know? The crickets and circades are very much present in the the background and it feels kind of cosy. My japanese vibe. The story itself is sweet. I like the fact that the Amane is open and sure about his sexuality, even though he has experienced homophobia and tries to hide behind a smiling mask. This is a really wholesome watch for the coming darker days. I gave it a 9 out of 10.

4. Kiseki: Dear to me (12/13 on Viki and Gaga)

Okay, this series started strong for me and got really messy and lame in the second half... Well, way before this to be honest. The only reason I was watching in the end were Ai Di and Chen Yi. Their relationship was such a great add up to this mess. Yes, it was messy and I wish they would have communicated earlier, but I love their tenderness and their love in the end. The main couple... I really couldn't care less in the end. And the story was... not that interesting and a little bit confusing at times. Overall an 7,5 out of 10 and that's because of Ai Di and Cen Yi.

5. You are mine (10/10 on Viki and Gaga)

The lovestory between a very demanding chef, who terrorise his employees and his easygoing new male secretary who can give good massages. And the lack of communication is really bothering me at this point. Instead of just going after your secretary, perhaps try and talk to him about your feelings? Argh... Okay, the last episode was just a display of affection and fluff and it was really cute. But it couldn't help a bad series to become a good one. They can kiss, yes, but overall it was not that good. So just a 5,5 out of 10 for me.

6. A Breeze Of Love (8/8 on iQiyi)

I love this one! It is short and cute and for once I understand the problem. The execution was a little whacky, but hey, I really don't care because it was just that cute! The two mains have very good chemistry and are believable. And I am totally in love with them. It has sport and kind of enemies to lovers so checks for me and it is korean. Yeah, that is definitely worth a watch and I guess I will rewatch it from time to time, whenever I need something wholesome and cute. A 10 out of 10 for me.

7. One Room Angel (6/6 on Gaga)

It started out as a very depressing series. It kept this feeling through the whole show, but it never said, that it has to be like that forever. There were always hints, that life can get better. That you are enough and that you are worth it, worth of living, worth of loving and worth of being loved. I mean it ended with this line: I received and was able to give. Even someone like me had something I can do. So probably, life isn't so bad." And that was the point where I lost it completely. A solid 8 out of 10 for me.

Movie

1. Aki wa Haru to Gohan wo Tabetai

This one is a sweet and quiet movie. Well the character Aki is not that quiet, but in this movie there is not that much drama or angst. It is stacked with food and I got so hungry watching it! The food really looks delicious! It is not a bromance. You definitely can see that these two love each other and there are so many hints, that they want to spend the rest of their lives together. And as far as I know there should be a second movie. Fingers crossed! For me a solid 7,5 out of 10

Short Film

Dropped/On-Hold in November

Looking forward to in November

Twins - MDL - Trailer (Nov 3rd on GagaOOLala)

Boy Drenched in Water - MDL (Nov 8th on GagaOOLala)

A Breeze Of Love - MDL - Trailer (Nov 10th on iQiyi)

Last Twilight - MDL - Trailer (Nov 10th on Youtube)

Middleman's Love - MDL - Trailer (Nov 10th on iQiyi)

Beyond the Star - MDL - Pilot (Nov 11th on iQiyi)

Aki wa Haru to Gohan wo Tabetai - MDL (Nov 15th on GagaOOLala)

Playboyy - MDL - Trailer (uncensored) - Trailer (censored) (Nov 16th on GagaOOLala)

Wheels and Axle - MDL (Nov 17th on TBA)

Pit Babe - MDL - Trailer (Nov 17th on iQiyi)

Bake Me Please - MDL - Teaser (Nov 19th on iQiyi / Gaga)

7 Days Before Valentine - MDL - Trailer (Nov 22nd on Youtube)

VIP Only - MDL - Teaser (Nov 24th on Viki & Gaga)

The Sign - MDL - Trailer (Nov 25th on Youtube)

Cooking Crush - MDL - Trailer (Nov 26th on Youtube)

The Whisperer - MDL - Trailer (Nov 26th TBA)

For Him - MDL - Pilot (Nov 30th on iQiyi)

Wuju Bakery - MDL - Trailer (TBA)

Night Dream - MDL (TBA)

Boyy Of God - MDL - Teaser (TBA)

[fallenrocket]

cw: suicide

Something I felt about this show after season 1 (and Good Omens after season 2) is how OTPs get broken up/pulled apart all the time, but it's often for the flimsiest of reasons. Stupid miscommunications, dumb fights about trivial shit, unexpected job offers in different countries, and so on and so on. It's so rare to see an on-again-off-again breakup that feels like it's about something.

But that's just what we got with OFMD and GO. On these shows, the breaks matter. They feel inevitable, because they're so rooted in who both characters are as people. Even as you yell at your screen for them to avoid the train wreck, you know that this couldn't have gone any other way.

Hi, "Man of Fire."

Obviously, I don't want to see Stede and Ed making these mistakes with each other, but as much as I hate them hurting themselves and each other, I love they're they're so complex and messy, that they're dumbasses with their feelings.

And more than that, I get it. It makes too much sense. It's "Act of Grace" all over again, because they're still not saying the things they really need to. Even as they've been opening up, they've been staying in the shallow waters of what they're really going through.

"You shaved your bead off, for me," not You gave up being Blackbeard, everything you are, for me, and I didn't think I was worth it. "I'm sorry my horrible naked chin disgusts you so much," not I let you see what was under the persona I've been trapped in for years, and you didn't want it.

"Here's the news, I'm leaving," not I have to escape being Blackbeard because I buried myself in it until I wanted to die, but I can't ask you to come with me because what will I do if you reject me again? "You're a coward," not I know this move. I've done this move. Please just talk to me instead of running, because I know how much I wrecked things when I ran.

In this episode, Ed tells Stede about his mermaid vision, but not about why he needed a mermaid in the first place. Stede tells Ed about the letters he wrote, but not about what he left out of the letters, not about the fears he only told Ed's wanted poster.

It bugged me earlier in the season when characters seemed to giving simplified explanations for complicated issues--Stede left because he was scared, Ed 'went mad' after Stede left--but now I'm hoping those omissions have been intentional. Given all that's been left unsaid between these two, of course they have a big fight after having sex at absolutely the wrong time, and of course neither really understands what's been going through the other's head.

But when the break matters, the reconciliation stands to be so much better. We already saw this once across "Fun and Games" and "The Curse of the Seafaring Life," and now, hopefully, we're going to get it again in the finale, but even better.

But all that said, please tell me the show has gotten all its gentlebeard breakups out of its system. Whether season 3 finds them as pirates, innkeepers, or something else, I want them to spend the whole season doing it together.

[churchofthecomet]

I haven't watched Leverage in a while, see my last complaint post about their Stuxnet episode. But in the meantime I've been consuming other media, and it just struck me how equal the dynamic is between all of the Leverage characters.

Every character in this show is competent. They each have Their Thing that They Do, and if one of them is absent for an episode, the rest of the team suffers until they get back. I complain about them short-changing Hardison by making the tech stuff unrealistic and incomprehensible (so you can't get a feel for how good he is at it, like you can with Eliot punching people -- although if I knew more about fighting I'm sure I'd be complaining about Eliot's scenes too). But at least within the narrative he is really good at his job, and the other team members know it. Likewise for Eliot, Parker, Nate, and Sophie -- they're each at the top of their respective classes. They have separate specialties and they're amazing at those specialties.

And what's more, the interpersonal dynamics reflect this. Nate is an asshole to the rest of them, but there are FOUR OF THEM so it balances him out -- they can commiserate with each other, sit him down and have a talk with him, threaten to strike, whatever, and their side of the relationship is treated with importance because the team couldn't function without them.

Hardison and Eliot's sniping is just friendly banter, and they know it. Everyone is so supportive of Parker's social problems. Sophie is the one with the most traditionally-feminine skillset, something which might be demeaned in another show (and I have some complaints with Leverage's treatment of her), but she's taken seriously both in-universe and by the show itself. They all work wonderfully together. They balance each other out, and they become more than the sum of their parts.

Contrast this with the dynamics in a bunch of other modern media. Let's grab my favorite punching bag of late, BBC Sherlock. Sherlock is far and away the more useful member of the Sherlock-and-John team. The narrative places incredible weight on his intelligence, and John is stuck in a support role. Sherlock is also mean to John, and since John is one person (without much of a spine for standing up to Sherlock!) it feels utterly abusive. The "friendly banter" isn't banter. The "aww look they really DO care about each other" moments were enough for me when I was 13 or 14, but now it just feels like a cycle of abuse. The dynamic is fundamentally not equal. If I'm watching a TV show and I start to think "man character A really needs like 6 months of therapy to stop hating themself and they NEED to leave character B," when the show's message is "character A and character B are a match made in heaven you guys," the show has failed.

See also Our Flag Means Death season 2 with the relationship between... honestly Ed and the rest of the crew, but mostly Ed and Stede. Ed is the best pirate anyone's ever seen -- the rest of them are pretty good but no match for him. The one guy who had a chance of standing up to Ed and equalizing things got killed off at the end of the season, and Stede (as we've seen) lacks a spine to stand up to Ed. Controversial take but Good Omens might be heading in this direction? They defanged Aziraphale and made him into way more of a softie than the book or Season 1 imply. Meanwhile Crowley is Competent and Right About Everything by comparison. The general pattern here is that couples (or whatever the fuck was going on with BBC Sherlock and John) are worse off. I don't know if it's lasting heteronormativity or "two-person dynamics are hard," but the urge to make sunshine-and-stormcloud pairings where the stormcloud acts like shit towards the sunshine is just... too strong.

Leverage is this rare show that refuses to shit on any of its protagonists. Everyone's in the loop, everyone sees some character development, and it fucking RULES. I wish they could make more TV shows like this in 2024.

[bunnakit]

Not Me Episode 3 Music

the (not very well kept) secret come out. i am indeed the not me rewatch event organizer. i hope you all are having fun!! anyway, i got like 1/3 through this episode without recognizing any music (other than generic background music gmmtv has used before) and thought this was going to be a small post but they really jammed a lot in the last 2/3

The episode starts back up on Stronger which we already talked about yesterday so we're gonna skip that.

Keep Asking Me - Francis Wells

We first hear this song when Yok is talking to his mother about her most recent job and subsequent loss of that job. I don't really think there's any deeper meaning to be found here, other than maybe the fact that it's implied that Yok keeps insisting he can provide for them; making some kind of connection to the title but I think it's a tad bit of a stretch.

Worlds Apart - Rannar Sillard

Finally some good fucking food! This song begins when the unnamed diplomat hopeful discovers White is a nepotism baby. The name could not be more fitting as we now know from his backstory that he and White truly are worlds apart in their social standings.

(I couldn't find the music for the scene but the scene where Yok punches Gumpa is foreplay, don't @ me.)

We see another appearance from Trade a Moment in the fight with Sean and White - where they are indeed sharing another moment (and blows.)

Waste of Time (Instrumental) - CLNGR

This is the song playing right after Yok takes pictures of a knocked out White. This is another one that I don't really think has any deeper meaning unless you want to read into the fight being a waste of time, or maybe Sean thinking tending to 'Black' is a waste of time - but again, it's a bit of a stretch.

In the Haze - At The End Of Times, Nothing

We hear this during my favorite scene in the entire show. This is just before Gumpa LITERALLY INTRODUCES HIMSELF TO WHITE. He says "My name is Gumpa. I'm the owner of this garage." because he KNOWS this isn't Black, his suspicions are finally confirmed, and he wants to set whomever this is at peace. (Still accepting @porschesbabydaddy my beloved's headcanon that Gumpa did a background check on Black and knew he had a twin. This entire scene is just a love letter to my raging competency kink.)

ANYWAY. I think this song is more for White than Gumpa - White is quite literally in a haze, he's still figuring things out, piecing together who is who, figuring out he doesn't quite have the skillset to keep up (and maybe he's still a little bit dizzy from that punch.)

(iirc this is also a song used quite a lot in other gmmtv shows)

Mountain Top - Marc Torch

This plays immediately when Yok and Dan lock eyes through the chain link fence. If we want to get really flowery (which I always do) we could interpret this as there being a mountain of space between them still, or perhaps Dan is Yok's mountain he's determined to reach the peak of (lmao). Yok has only just begun to understand the scale of Dan and his work, he's just at the very base of the mountain, but someday he hopes to reach the summit. (Also yay more Marc Torch, though interestingly enough this one is NOT royalty free.)

Kids in Love - Tellow, Lill Persson

UGH THE SONG CHOICE. This comes in midway through White cleaning off Sean's bed so he has a place to sleep. The fores sure are shadowing with this song title and it makes my dumb little heart giddy.

Go Season - MILANO

Ahh, the towel tug of war scene. I don't really have any deep comments about this one other than it's another upbeat, jaunty song that pops in during another playful moment between Sean and White.

As Sean says "I don't have a judge for a mother like you." World's Apart surfaces again to punch us straight in the gut.

Feel - Ian Post

I sure am feeling a lot of things. Feel begins just as Sean grabs White's wrist and says they'll sleep like that so White can't slip away. Sean is physically touching White, feeling the skin to skin contact, and perhaps if we want to stretch again (we're going to be so limber today) White is feeling some complex emotions towards someone who was supposed to be perceived as an enemy.

WHEW. that's it for today's episode! that was a lot and i sincerely hope you guys are still enjoying these (they do take me a few hours to make lajkgla i never realized bc i get so hyperfocused and do genuinely enjoy making them)

[laura-the-swarming]

So, I greatly enjoy Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. However, it was originally hard to get into, because I have a habit of dissecting stories and obsessing over details. With Jojo having many, many bizarre occurrences happen in any given episode*, I've had to develop/realise a couple of important rules of engagement. If you haven't given Jojo a proper try yet, or were, like me, discouraged due to some of the ridiculous happenings, you could try my methods. Your mileage may vary, of course. That being said, here is

Pedant's guide to fully enjoying JJBA

1. Time moves at the speed of plot.

If you're like me and don't watch a lot of animated shows, you'll quickly notice inogruences between how much time seems to pass and how much time ought to have passed, especially in fight scenes. This is intentional. The doylist reason for this is that having characters banter while ostensibly making split-second decisions is just more evocative and cool. The watsonian explanation is that most fighters in Jojo fight at much higher speeds than us mere mortals could keep track of, so the show displays them how they feel to the combatants. And if that doesn't explain away the weirdness, time for

2. This is literally an alternate universe, laws of physics work differently.

JJBA happens in a world that only seems like "Earth but there is vampires/hamon/stands/aliens/whatever". It has a different course of history than irl, and different laws of physics. This realisation has been crucial for me to keep my urge to get outraged at ridiculousness** in check. Even if no magical bullshit is involved, the world might still behave differently to ours, because it is different to ours.

3. Writers are humans, and to err is human.

There are plot holes sometimes. Araki forgets a previously established weakness of an ability, or that the character absolutely had the tools and skill to solve the situation better. This is a 6 part series. It's expected that the author made mistakes, and that the people making the anime mis-adapted some things, too. Note the plot hole, take a drink if you're making a game of it, and move on.

[BONUS]4. Make a game of it!

I found it really fun to, whenever something made no fucking sense and I couldn't/forgot to fall back on the aforementioned rules, to use it as an exercise for the audience: make up a reason for how the bullshit you just saw works! It's especially fun if you enjoy worldbuilding.

* I have only watched the anime. I have no idea what the manga is like, but I presume the adaptation is mostly faithful.

** While I often felt "this is bullshit!" I nonetheless found I entertaining 9 times out of 10.