#this episode is fantastic

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

Favorite Pacey/Joey Moments Per Episode: 3x9 Four to Tango (Part 1)

[stormjay0]

In love with e!False’s current vibe. She loves killing and small barrels. What else could you want.

[stevethehairington]

TOOTH AND CLAW MY BELOVED I FORGOT ABOUT YOU

[strxnged]

the doctor pullin out a water gun from nowhere is fantastic

[aimasup]

Episode 3 scribbles and screenshot redraws from memory

祖波辛苦了🙏❤️

[yuri-puppies]

Shape-shifters, face-blindness, and "paying attention to others"

The shapeshifter is one of my favourite "monster of the week" episodes because it showcases how differently Laios processes social information than the rest of the party. It reminds me a lot of the strategies I, faceblind name-forgetter and eye-contact avoider, use to recognize people and learn things about them.

We see Laios clearly fail at recognizing the doubles through "standard" social cues that are perceived as "easy to tell", such as their clothes. This makes the team (unfairly, but understandably) weary of his ability to tell the fakes apart and even worried that he'd prefer the monster versions* over them. Nonetheless, he gives it a try!

...And is immediately overwhelmed. His lack of attention to social cues works a bit in his favor, though, as it makes it harder for him to fall for stereotypes that fool the rest of the group.

Instead, he chooses to rely on his strengths and use his investigation and animal handling skills to distract the shapeshifters, lure out the monster, and roll the most insane balls-to-the-wall intimidation check of all time.

If it had ended there it still would have been a great episode that showcases Laios' strategic mind and his strengths as a leader. He doesn't have the social skills necessary for the task, but he is clever and creative enough to use the skills he does have proficiency in to solve the problem*.

However, what makes this episode so dear and near to my faceblind heart is the revelation that Laios was able to recognize the real party members after all.

Laios is fantastic representation of how special interests actually work for a monotropic interest system. Having a special interest is not just about how much you like it and the need to know everything about it, it's a way of processing and filtering information. Laios' special interest is monsters: his skills as a dungeoneer and party leader are acquired for and informed by his desire to interact with monsters, as is his interest in eating them. He actually brings this up himself when comparing his interest in cooking to Senshi's.

And in this episode, we see that this also extends to his friends. Laios hacks one of the most difficult types of information for him to process by routing it through the lens of the special interest. And, because it's not something most people would notice, it works. He knows that Chilchuck wouldn't let his guard down around a potential mimic, that Senshi values a balanced ecosystem, that (my favourite) Marcille just isn't as thoughtful about monsters as he is.

It might not be what was expected, but it did the trick! And what's more, the narrative validates his way of thinking (even if Chilchuck doesn't).

[demonio-fleurs]

To me, what is so fantastic about One Piece Fan Letter is the emphasis on the way the Straw Hats have created these connections in the lives of people they have never met. The ending scene, with all the hands putting together the puzzle pieces, and the way that all these connections came together in one dazzling way-- I loved that. I teared up at that. Wherever the Straw Hats go, they leave behind all of these puzzle pieces for people to put together and create bonds that would not have existed had the Straw Hats not shown up!

And it also just... Makes me so in love with the concept of the world after Luffy becomes King of The Pirates. I know that Oda has the final chapter planned in his head, and I doubt we will really see the long lasting effects of Luffy achieving the title of Pirate King + his dream, and I really do not want a sequel series ala Boruto or Yasahime, but.... I want to see a world in which children believe they can become a Brave Warrior of the Sea thanks to Usopp, I want to see more children look at Nami and realize they don't NEED to have a Devil Fruit or Haki or muscles to have adventures. I want to see the next generation of the One Piece world believe so strongly in their dreams, that they set out to accomplish them.

One Piece Fan Letter really opened the door, I think, for more and more stories about the "regular" people in the world of One Piece, the people you don't see in the arcs because they're the nondescript background characters, and how the Straw Hat Crew has changed them. And I want that. To me, that is fantastic.

[idolomantises]

It's kind of a shame that the "anti-filler" mentality has reached a point where a lot of writers (and fans) assume that if a show isnt constantly moving the plot forward and establishing lore, its basically filler and wasting space. Personally I think its good, if not necessary for a show to slow down and just have characters hang out, or deal with smaller conflicts.

It feels like a lot of stories just want to rush to the emotional scenes with barely any build up to really make it feel earned and satisfying. I've seen fans pester creators to rush the story along and reach the next big set piece rather than take the time to really know and appreciate the characters.

Why should I care about the emotional stakes in episode 2 when I barely know a character's likes and dislikes? how they handle conflict, their approach to relationships both platonic and romantic. etc,

[sirenetica]

Save me Ivory , Whitepine. Whitepine Ivory save me.

(Character and Whitepine by @ivory-frill / ivoryTV on yt)

[frenchublog]

[ansonmountdaily]

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds/Lower Decks crossover

STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS 2x07 "Those Old Scientists"

[majosullivan]

There’s just something about Fizz being used his entire life by greedy narcissistic men to rake in as much money as possible while presenting themselves as a father figure (with Fizz possibly being an orphan considering we haven’t seen any family members of his??? Check me on that if the crew has mentioned anything about Fizz’s family) that is doing the most feral shit to my brain

[momentomori24]

THEY ARE SO INSUFFERABLE AND HORRIFIC AND AWFUL BUT SO AMAZING AND DORKY AND THIS PART IS SO UNFAIRLY FUNNY AND CUTE AND WHOLESOME-- PLEASE, PLEASE HAVE MORE SCREENTIME IN S2. PLEASE LET THEM TAKE OVER THE SHOW. I KNOW THEY'RE HORRIBLE PEOPLE BUT I NEED MORE OF THE VEES.

And the most important scene of them all (to me):

First of all, how is Vox doing that. Second, you just know that these two douchebags are going to bang so hard with Alastor getting his ass kicked replaying in the background after this. I hate them so much.

[cowgirls-blues]

So the Pilot Program's motives are teamwork (Jammer), network (K), community (Sam) and belonging (Evan). Something something the strongest magic is the links we forge with people (as seen in the first season and it's true more than ever now that the world is changing again, and they/people are more isolated). Hell yeah.

[starleska]

i can't believe how few people are talking about extraordinarily sinister Rolando is!!! 👀💖💖 as an Infestor demon who thrives on psychological torment, every aspect of his body is designed to unsettle: the too-wide smile, the ability to reconstruct his physical form, and the disconnect between the smooth and jerky movements...!!!! gahhhh i just think he's so cool 🙈🙈🙈

[absolute-hooligan]

Fun fact: I found out David tennant has a podcast with a guest that cycles out each episode (it’s very good, you should go listen) and one of them has Neil in it!

You can yell at me if this is old news now but this little bit about “have a nice doomsday” and episode threes cold open is so… agh, I love it

(hearing about Neil’s writing process in general is also incredibly neat)