#this was so funny and set the vibe for the episode lol. so much fun. what a great trio

[shesmore-shoebill]

Yes yes, we all know the Smosh lore. Shayne and Damien were roommates for so long, and also Angela was there, living in their walls-

[utilitycaster]

okay watched Cloak and Dagger and here are my thoughts in brief

I don't think showing Ripley's backstory is bad. Part of why Ripley is an interesting character to me in a way that, to use my favorite punching bag, Otohan, is not, is because we had hints of what made her this way - fleeing the Empire; a list of names on Animus that included Bertrand Dwendal. Part of why I mock Otohan relentlessly is because she is a one-dimension villain, and Ripley never was that, which is why she's an interesting villain. Tragic backstory, in my opinion, enhances one's villainy, rather than reduces it: what sort of monster suffers and decides to do the same to others, rather than is driven to work to improve the lot of others? That's essentially why Caleb is in the end a heroic character and Ludinus is the culminating BBEG more so than Predathos.

Glintshore is one of my favorite battles of Campaign 1 and it also would not, in my opinion, translate well to animation. There was a great line in the Midst Messages from Xen in reference to Moonward about how in most rules-heavy TTRPGs, when you enter a big battle, time stretches out significantly, but in a systemless game like Moonward, it goes very quickly, which gives it a very different vibe and makes players make very different decisions. The emotional weight derives largely from how the party enters combat already heavily drained and never regains their footing, and how the cast is well aware and the sense of dread (and belief that Percy might be permanently dead and Taliesin will have to roll up a new character) sets in long before the battle ends. [long tangent about good parasocial vs bad parasocial in actual play put off until I have time to actually read Watch Us Roll, but this is Good Parasocial]. It's actually an interesting test of the challenge we face for the finale of the series: you are not going to get as efficient an emotional punch as Sam saying "Nine" in a show that doesn't have a concept of spell levels. I had struggled with how one might recreate the Glintshore battle and the answer is "you don't".

Ripley's speech was great no notes, love her being fucking awful and consumed with vengeance to the end. I think just as the theme of "your resentment will destroy you" is an enduring one throughout Critical Role, so is "every mortal is in theory someone who could change and become better, but if you shoot the hand that's trying to help you, well, get rekt lol"

The music over Percy's death is corny as hell. However, I am already on the record as someone who mutes It's Thursday Night for being corny as hell and who pokes fun at Matt's more purple prose and I seem to have stuck around regardless. I have made my peace with the fact that a good chunk of the cast spent their formative years just absolutely immersed in anime, and given the Extreme Anime Vibes of Percy in TLOVM I can't say I love it, but I also can't say it's not sort of fitting. Please do cut that scene with different music though, because it would be funny as shit.

I need to watch episodes 8 and 9 (going to now!) but much as I love the glintshore fight, you know what I love more? Episode 1x69 (nice). Real Tragedy Enjoyers know the proof is in the aftermath. If 8 and 9 also suck then I'll be back here in like an hour but if they're good then it's whatever.

Grog is always on some level experiencing a Sitcom B Plot and if you ever find yourself disliking a TLOVM episode, remember you're watching a sitcom where Grog is dealing with a Bird that is Very Here (metaphorical).

[fountainpenguin]

Riddle watches New Wish - Post #25

Fairy For a Day

FAIRY CON!!! Third appearance SWEEP!

Okay, now THIS is more useful to me in setting up a timeline. Definitely saving that.

"Cosmo and I look forward to this convention all year!" -> Yeah, you've gone 3 times since meeting Timmy; I bet you do.

I actually own a Cosmo Con button IRL and it's precious to me <3

?? So... "Cosmo Con" and this episode both went with godkids not being at Fairy Con, but we know from the Season 10 "Fairy Con" episode, Timmy's gone every year. Hmm.

If we see the same tents that appeared in both "Cosmo Con" and "Fairy Con," I'm gonna lose it.

Fairy Con is at the CASTLE?? Are they allowed to do that?? We never get to go inside the castle!! I wonder if the Fairy King is still implied to be either dead or abandoned his throne, or...?

Hey wtf, Jorgen put his office on top of the Castle?? I missed that, if that's come up before.

oh my gosh, I can't believe even in the spin-off, King Northiae and Prince Eastkal are still out of the picture... Lmao??

"Eastkal appear onscreen when he's not dying" challenge (Impossible)

Disclaimer, they don't have canon names. These names come from my 'fics where I've written them alive and interacting with people until the war, so these random background characters have significance to me <3

We did see the title Fairy King in "Jimmy-Timmy Power Hour 1," but he was mysteriously absent then and any other episode about Fairy World, and "Balance of Flour" (the episode this screenshot is from) confirms the people I'm talking about were important in Fairy society even if we didn't have their names.

slkdfjskdljf, they're still getting their tickets scanned. And everything goes off without a hitch?? Somewhere out there, Chloe - who lost her ticket and was banned - is staring into the void.

Hazel looking at her cosplay options: Hmm, what's my fairy vibe? :)

She's so cute.

I'm glad Cosmo and Wanda's friends just... have accepted their goofiness and it doesn't damage their friendship.

Hmm. Godkids were able to attend in previous years, but not this time. I have suspicions Hazel will run into another godkid even though she snuck in.

Presumably Dev, but this would be a fun place to reveal a new kid (or see nods to OG characters)

OMFG, I know these are probably meant to be candles, but I said in Post #5 that I've always used these interior decorations in worldbuilding as memorials and/or representations of the soul:

- and they're so important in Fairy culture that in Frayed Knots Chapter 27, Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Sanderson used their presence or absence to check which Fairy homes had been evacuated from the fire. So... I just find this very funny :'D For incredibly specific reasons.

(Hazel's little hand gripping the pole)

SDLKFJSDF. Memorial for people lost to magical back-up this year.

I mean... I didn't think it was that serious considering Cosmo and Wanda have survived exploding from magical back-up multiple times, but... Good to know sometimes you don't survive?

Holy flip, this makes the Fairies dropping H.P. and Sanderson on earth and forcing them to drive / bike home without using magic so much darker. hey wtf.

Technically I did headcanon Pixies as getting inspiration back-up if they didn't inspire people to innovate rather than the magical back-up route, but... basically the same thing.

I just saw the Musical ending to get this screenshot and ?? I'm so glad Flappy stayed long enough to see Gary and Betty take over and make changes to the Learnatorium? In my memory, he ditched them instantly, but I'm glad he was there to make sure they'd be okay without him <3

F in the chat for Betty toppling over from a heart attack and Gary freaking out in the background while Flappy is partying onstage. lol.

I wonder if this is how Fairies pass when they're old as well, like if whatever magic they have at that age becomes too much for their physical forms.

Hm. Okay, so is the canon we're going with for New Wish that Fairies leave confetti when they die? In the OG series, it's heavily implied Fairies turn to dust and that's why Jorgen freaks out when he finds glittery dust on Cosmo and Wanda's beds in "Fairy Idol," but I'll take it! That's clever, and it's close.

Interesting move considering one of the Season 1 episodes depicts Cosmo exploding from magical back-up, because it's not like it was buried randomly in Season 7 or something- It's one of the things that people are first likely to encounter.

But I'm not really picky; just noting it down as a reminder to myself that this show is a spin-off and AU and I shouldn't try to jump through hoops to see if it will fit in my canon-compliant-with-OG-series Cloudlands AU. It's still fun to watch and this is a creative spin on the OG magical back-up!

I'm glad we're still playing into "Fairies don't leave skeletons and all the skeletons we keep leaving in jails are fake." lmao. Iirc, the canon from "Wishology" was "Halloween party that never got cleaned up."

I think bones are just really freakin' scary to people who are elastic and turn to dust. Like, what the heck is a skeleton? A dead human?? omg. doin' me a frighten.

Oh, maybe confetti is for this death specifically and other deaths can still be dust. Yeah, I'm good with that.

I was totally prepared for some kind of familiar face to show up on the board, like Mama Cosma or Big Daddy or Juandissimo, but I'm glad it didn't. But Cosmo and Wanda are going to be in trouble, probably later this episode...

Presto, old manager from the diner? Gonna make a note.

I like this tent dedicated to sleight of hand.

skdjf, you get a close-up on this tent in a moment and this guy also has the Shakespeare for Mimes book that kids always have at school. Reused assets...

?? There was one tent in the background I saw that made me say "Huh, they didn't put any detail inside this one except some boxes that haven't been unpacked," but I like how we get a new angle on it and it's just called Mystery Crates. That's fantastic.

I am OBSESSED with the fact that we are in the Pink Castle courtyard, so of COURSE there are still crossed wand symbol tapestries hanging on the walls. I love how much thought was put into the location.

I like the tent that says [word]-Free Books. I wish I could see what that first word was. I hope it's something like Curse-Free Books.

I'm LOSING IT at Hazel once again reminding us she likes paperwork.

Oh, and Wanda backed me up on that! ... PLEASE let her meet the Pixies, I am begging.

Surely they're setting us up for that someday. There's an established species that does paperwork and writes contracts. It's right there... We even have the cube head model already in play! My favorite boys are so close, I can taste it... and yet, so far.

I will actually have a meltdown if I get to see H.P. again. It's such a foreign concept, I can't even imagine. I just really miss him... I watched "Oddlympics" recently and it made me sad.

I wonder if Hazel likes official documents because she likes researching rocks :) Girls only want one thing and it's wonderful

Wow. I can't believe it's that easy? You can just sign a paper and be a fairy? Lol.

???? This feels like such a dangerous plot thread to play with. There's a million ways you could swing this. Are some Fairies former humans who chose the magical life?

Where is Timmy. Did he find out about this? I'm stressin' out...

Actually, wait... Godkids aren't supposed to be here. It's probably fine.

Now that Hazel's made herself a fairy, she's gonna experience magical back-up if she's not careful.

Oh, I love her dark, sparkly purple hair.

Holy flip, batgirl-

That's not the direction I thought this episode was going??

Oh no... And right after Dev's gone looking for Anti-Fairy info? He's gonna flip... This spells trouble...

I'm delighted Lezah was born in a gray smoke cloud like Foop :>

?? I like that she has a snaggletooth. I personally gave Teen & Adult Foop a snaggletooth in my design for him, but I think I like Lezah's blatant "the rest of her teeth are flat and she only has this one fang" vibe better than what I went with for him.

I think I already said this in Irep's debut, but... If Anti-Cosmo shows up, is he going to debut with the name Osmoc; is that legit the direction we're going? Lol.

At this point, seeing as Irep's griping implies he didn't have a choice in changing his name, and Lezah is the 2nd Anti-Fairy to have a backwards name (With Hazel and us as audience only knowing these guys in New Wish), I feel like they HAVE to commit to Osmoc and Adnaw.

I feel like they're trying to make it easier to distinguish them or at least so they can have cool names or something, but I feel like that's actually harder on the audience?? At least without subtitles.

A lot of people headcanon Nega-Timmy as Timmy’s anti when they do fairy designs of him, so… Ymmit??

Anxiety girl...

Lezah: You're not cool and it's about time you knew. Hazel: If anyone already knew I wasn't cool, it was me.

oh no <3

Huh. That's a lot of blue structure. I like it.

I appreciate how Lezah, in traditional Anti-Fairy fashion, got bored in 2 seconds. I think that's the best part of Fairy-Pixie-Anti-Fairy dynamics to me:

- Fairies are nervous and jumpy, but they calm down when they have structure and rules. So the Pixies always take over by giving them new rules to follow and no one makes a fuss; Timmy always has to step in and rescue them because the Fairies (except Binky) just go along with it. - Anti-Fairies are super restless and bad at sitting still. They can't handle boredom, which means they can't focus on rules or plans. Even when they make plans, we know Anti-Cosmo gets so distracted that he switches pen colors throughout his notes, implying he leaves and comes back 4 or 5 times before completing one sheet of paper... which is probably why Anti-Cosmo defers to the Head Pixie, who gives off "knows what he's doing" vibes. lol. - Luckily for everyone, H.P., is always down to relinquish everything he took over for raves and soda <3

Shout-out to the totally real upcoming plot of Lezah kicking every rock she sees into the void because Hazel loves rocks

Saving Hazel's signature for my collection:

I like how Timmy and Hazel both sign fae contracts with only their first name. I hope this means H.P. would also call her Hazel at least sometimes... He used to call Timmy "Turner" most of the time, but he called him "Timmy" when he was prank-calling him <3

Holy flip, I can't believe Cosmo and Wanda touched butterfly nets so they could catch balloons. I think it would've been funny if they caught each other on accident.

Purple road gives me the same energy as Fairy World's purple grass in "Odd Squad."

Okay, so... the Big Wand is now inside the castle? Interesting.

??? I'm curious about what the logic is in designing Irep with a cube head. Lezah doesn't have one.

Me, who has an established square mutation in my 'fics, but it's for Pixies and not transferrable to Anti-Fairies :'D

Hm. Well, it is a kids' show. Maybe they weren't sure kids would recognize him without the cube head.

I'm sorry, I hate to be the one to say it, but... Since Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda were alone when Foop was born, do you think anyone ever thinks Foop has a Pixie parent? At this point, I'd be shocked if the Pixies didn't have square heads in this show, so ??

If A.C. and A.W. show up without cube heads when cube heads are established in this universe, I just feel like there would be questions of legitimacy??

Does Irep just look like that on purpose because he likes it? He WAS a cube for (implied) way longer than other anti-fairy babies, and the only other anti-fairy baby we've seen wasn't a cube but was of ambiguous age, so... Hmm. Is it just HIS biology? Does it run in his family? Huh. Well. Okay.

You want to give us pixies; you wanna reuse your cube head model for pixies so bad...

Them...

Those eyelash designs are super clever. Also, I like how the lightest parts of Hazel's sweater match the darkest parts of Lezah's shirt.

I'm really glad Fairy-Hazel is not immune to getting upset by her counterpart. I'm glad she's not trying to befriend Lezah; I'm not the biggest fan of counterparts getting along well. It's great. Give me weird complexity and bullied children <3

I was going to make a joke about how I couldn't believe Lezah had better magic when she was just born, but then she screwed up her magic and that's hilarious.

Hazel: I don't want more of me! I want less of you!

Brutal.

I like how we've been going the direction of "Hazel is a person who overthinks things." I'll definitely keep that in mind, because I didn't see that in the early episodes, but it seems to be a thing recently.

Lezah is 3 seconds away from dying. oh no.

She GONE!

..... I'm really uneasy about where the magical backup lore is going since it wasn't relevant in this episode. We've got a storm on the horizon, I'm sure. :'D Also that chip powering the Big Wand is definitely coming back.

I assume Lezah is a one-off character. I really like how much thought and detail was put into her design in spite of that.

Fingers crossed for Anti-Wanda to get a mild redesign (Ex: new clothes) if she ever shows up.

Me staring into the void: Hey, why were we shown the Hocus Poconos earlier in the season, and should I be worried that we're making new, detailed characters and ditching them?

slkdjf ?? Literally on the floor that King Northiae and Prince Eastkal have a second chance to indicate to me they're not totally dead, but we're not taking it. SKLDFJSDF.

I mean ?? I don't know what I expected since it's heavily implied the Fairies and Anti-Fairies called a truce to end the war after Eastkal's death, but...

Nobody cares about these background characters who appeared only once in a flashback in Season 7, but I care!! Eastkal, my baby!! D:

Stuck In My Head

For some reason, it's funny to me that Dev eats cafeteria food despite being rich and lactose intolerant.

I was going to make a joke about Winn being allowed to wear a hat in school, but I don't think I can when we had Timmy Turner.

I really enjoy these characters with new hair styles, especially after 3 notable characters with the same hair for so long (Timmy, Cosmo, Vicky, Anti-Cosmo). I always struggle drawing their hair and I'd like to draw some new guys :)

Dev has had some bad times lately, but he's SO ready for lunch.

Hazel, on the heels of the overthinking episode: I am once again overthinking myself into oblivion.

I love Hazel's parents. I love how Cosmo and Wanda are totally down to dance. They used to love dancing <3

I like how the Hazel museum has Hazel's drawings from past episodes.

Oh, I'm sad we can't treat everything here seriously. The fact she wants to be a comic book artist is likely true, but her inventing the sun... I don't think so.

I wonder if Hazel's going to learn something she doesn't even know about herself.

Oh no... Hazel's anxiety led her to try getting rid of stuff that embarrassed her by throwing it down the trapdoor she was warned to never, ever open... That’s so funny… She is 10.

The mind worm concept is funny and engaging. Nothing much to say except I enjoyed the bit with the bird and all of Hazel's negative thoughts.

Mind Worm: wow, what a loser thought you are. can't even exist outside a child's mind. lmao. cringefail.

Hazel loves and trusts her mom so much <3 She's saying things her mom's surely taught her.

Another good moral, and more fun Hazel lore. Hazel's got a good home life and we still get to see some messy parts of her, so I really enjoy that.

Winn and Jasmine adore Hazel and her creativity so much.

Mind the Gap

Uh-oh, Hazel's friends just made it clear they notice Hazel's tooth gap all the time...

Geez, Hazel was doing (mostly) fine in the early episodes of the season, and ever since her fight(s) with Dev, she's gone from 0 to 300 in the anxiety department. Girl, are you ok?

Crying, I love how Hazel's hiding spot is the janitor's closet. She's been going there ever since Episode 1. I'm so glad we get to see her struggle.

Tooth Fairy!!! I knew she'd be here for a tooth episode, and after Cupid's redesign, I was wondering if she'd change much. She looks the same and tbh, I enjoy that.

??? I was going to make a joke during Lezah's ep, I think, about how the DMV keeps coming up and it's always different. I should've made that joke. It clearly wasn't just me.

I'm disappointed they made a "Seal the deal" joke with the tooth exchange program and did not seal Hazel's tooth into her mouth with dentistry.

Jasmine: Did you get your gap filled? How'd you get a new tooth so fast? Hazel: Uh... the Internet?

slkdfj, oh no.

omg, H.P. and Sanderson would think Guzman is the coolest. I miss them so much...

I like how Hazel's mom was disappointed with her (Hazel's tooth) for booing her dad, but instead of snapping at her, she just gently suggested Hazel spend some time alone in her room. She's so good. I love her <3

I'm glad Cosmo and Wanda went to get their mail in human form again. They love mail so much.

skldfj, oh... They actually DO love mail.

If there's candy and soda at the tooth party, I'm going to lose it.

I am SO GLAD Jorgen is at the Tooth Fairy's gala! He supports his WIFE!!!!!!

SLKDFJSDLKF, there's soda at the party! Cosmo and Wanda are gonna get so drunk... They won't onscreen, but I'll know.

This is the final episode before season finale. I hope they get some good rest or they're gonna be hungover at a very bad time. oh no.

AAAH, it wasn't just coincidence! I was unsure since the gala was full of familiar models, but Jorgen IS here on purpose! He even dressed up nice for it!!

He loves his wife!!

[raindropren]

!!!!!! Secret Life Episode 9 Spoilers !!!!!!

THIS SEASON IS SO FUCKING GOOD HELL YA

I LOVE THIS

I LOVE SECRET LIFE

IT'S SO GOOD

I'M

SIIJOHFSIHFJSNF

LETS GO, SCAR!! WOO HOO

I GENUINELY LOVE THIS SO MUCH AAA

ALSO WHY IS PEARL SO CRACKED AT THIS GAME!?!?!

So she was i think 3rd in last life, Won in double life, I think 4th or 5th in limited life, and now, 2nd in Secret life!!

What the F u c k

I love it so much

It really helps all my headcanons tbh, it makes me so happy.

Also why does pearl always survive longer then her allies/teammates(Unless they win)

and by always i mean like, 2 times? 2 and a half? if u count tilly maybe? i do... 2.5 :]

I really do wish joel or bdubs won, mostly joel because it would've been so good but I deffo think scar deserved this win.

I think it wouldve been kind of funny if in the 1v1 battle between scar and pearl.. pearl won... and it's just, awkward cause she... didn't want that. at all.

She wanted scar to win after bdubs and joel died, she wanted to sacrifice her life to scar in the end because she wanted her allies to win.

I also think shiny duo is a tragedy in the end. I really hope someone makes a fanfic about them in secret life cause they just, they, they just, <3 <3 <3

I love them alot

I'm making a theory that Gem might, win the next life seires.

Shiny duo winning their second season, please please please /hj /lh

I've already really loved the pearl fanfics from this season cause omg but I just, i just <3 <3 can't wait to see more!! aaa :D

if i get the motivation i fucking will make a fic about gem and pearl coming back into hermitcraft. They have very similar vibes in the life series(they're fucking crazy, don't mess with them, but also you'd rather be on their side then not(I haven't watched gems life series so if i'm wrong on this one, oopsie) cause they are more loyal then most) and I think it'd be fun to see them coming back and talking to eachother about the season ngl.

Murder camel my beloved, shiny duo my beloved

I also think(if I get the motivation) i'd want to make a fic with Pearl and Bdubs, in hermitcraft, afterwards.

ooo so many ideas, so many ideas so little time and motivation.

i wanna know what would happen if pearl accidentally won, despite not wanting too, if she hit scar just alittle to hard and now she was alone, as the sole 2 time winner. I think AU!pearl would have a mental fucking breakdown but i also think it'd be a fun concept aaaa

I want a fic about Pearl just after Bdubs and Joel died, just crying. like tears down her cheeks when she meets back up with scar and aaaa <3

All these would be my au obviously cause i'm way to obsessed with it but my au is set in canon, mostly. or at least alittle, i'm trying LOL

I'm proud of scar :]

like, i'm proud of all the winners but, i really do feel like scar deserved this win

I might watch his pov at some point, i can't wait for people to tear the angst from scars episodes, they already have alittle but with him winning, I can't fucking wait, omg <3

I'm just so excited now

aaaa

i'm nhjgofubkhgfubkjhdfjl eee

I really hope gem and pearl team next season instead of just being temporary allies because they are so fun omg

I really hope there's another season cause god they are so good /nf

I can't get enough of life series pearl in my au

which is why i keep mentioning her, i've basically only watched her pov cause I have a hard time watching others. I wanna watch gem, lizzies(it's ies right? i'm bad with spelling names aa), and now scars. stars above, i love this series

aaaaaaaaaaaaa

secret is probably my new favorite season, idk why, maybe it's because of shiny duo alittle, but y'know :]

There's so much i wish i wanna talk about

like how Pearl said "Always Watching" to BigB

Or just any moment with Pearl and Scott, I miss their last life dynamic alot /pos /notneg

Cleo and Pearls pupper alliance breaking and Pearl saying she really wanted to be allies with Cleo, like I need fics of that so much guys omg (Big MoonRot fan!! ee)

Anytime Gem, Impulse, and Pearl were in a trio together, like omg, It's Soup Group!!! Guys!!! it's them!!! omg!!!!!!!! guys!!

Pearl walking the Warden around like a pro, i love that so much LOL

there's deffo more, but i've typed way to much LOL i just love this so much, it's insane.

[mysticstarlightduck]

WIP Questionnaire Tag

Thanks for the tag @diabolical-blue (here)!

I'll go with Supernova Initiative for this one!

1. What’s the first part of your WIP that you created?

I had wanted to write a science fiction/space opera story for years now! I've always been a huge fan of Star Wars and similar series, and I've always wanted to write something similar! I guess that the actual first part of this WIP I've ever created was the setting - it has remained the same/similar from the first iteration of an idea of this story, while the main characters, title, and plot underwent many, many changes until it all got to the version I'm currently writing!

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

Curiously enough, the Supernova Initiative book series is going to be more akin to a "TV Show" format - like Clone Wars, The Last of Us, or Game of Thrones - than a traditional novel format. That's a bit complicated to explain further, but the gist of it is - the chapters are going to be the "episodes", which in turn will be divided into acts/seasons that take place in specific time frames, with the first (5 episode/chapter) taking place 10 years before the main story!

If I had to choose, I would say that the theme song would be a rather energetic rock/pop song! With a similar vibe to these:

(Check out the full WIP playlist)

I'm Dangerous - The Everlove

Shame! Shame! Shame! - Reinaeiry

Let's Do This - Outskrts

El Dorado - Stellar

Anti-Gravity - Runaground

I think that the song would need to have this rebellious/badass energy, mixed with a generally fun beat and good lyrics that touch on the overall theme/plot of the series! Plus a generally youthful vibe!

3. What are your favorite characters that you made? Why?

I really love most of the main cast from this WIP!!!! But my Top 3 definitely are Jack Tithus, Gabi Ophyria, and Deimos Soll!

Jack is a really sweet, kind, and slightly reckless guy, who is at the same time outgoing, extroverted, and funny when he wants to be. He is defiant towards authority and fiercely protective of those he loves, to a dangerously selfless degree, all of which are tropes/traits I really enjoy in characters.

(Plus, in a way, Jack is one of the characters that kind of holds a condensation of some of my own personality traits, in good and bad ways - which was something accidental at first, but which I then embraced. )

Gabi Ophyria was one of the characters that came to me a bit later during the plotting of this book, which was surprisingly clear to me from the get-go. She's a brash, loud, fierce girl who lets no one talk her down and who believes in fighting for what she believes in. She also has anger issues - which is something she struggles with and eventually overcomes as her arc progresses, especially as she learns to let herself be vulnerable and trust others rather than try to be unbreakable all the time.

Deimos Soll is one of the most badass characters in this WIP and I just adore him. In a superficial, bad summarization, lol he's basically a young adult, alien version of John Wick and honestly is one of my all-time favorite characters I've ever written. He starts out in the backstory chapters as an awkward, fearful teenager lost in a moon he knew nothing about, but eventually grows into the deadliest and most efficient sniper this galaxy has ever seen, and one of the biggest threats to the Junction. I just adore writing introverted badass/morally grey characters who have a heart of gold. One of my favorite tropes!

4. What other pieces of media do you think your fanbase would share?

Definitely other space opera/sci-fi adventures like Star Wars, Star Trek, or Voltron! Those stories introduced me to the space opera science fiction genre which I love so dearly, so I think that pretty much anyone who likes that genre will probably like one of those movies lol. I also think that my future fanbase might also like Six of Crows or the Bad Guys (the DreamWorks movie), as the "found family of misfits working on a heist" trope is a pretty big trope in the first acts of this WIP as well!

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your WIP?

I think the hardest part about this WIP is that its structure is something I haven't seen before - as in, it's essentially a "TV Show but make it a Book Series" at its core. That means I have to improvise a lot with how I structure the story's chapters and how I structure all the events of the story. One good thing about this format I'm trying to recreate is that it is really visual, and I'm a really visual writer/person, so that means I get to make a really vivid world and characters!

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

There are! A lot of them actually. Since this is a science fiction/spare opera adventure, a lot of the story involves the main characters traveling from planet to planet, especially during their heist mission and after the plot progresses.

They visit all kinds of planets and thus all kinds of biomes - the dusty mining moons like Cethea III, giant winter desert planets like Ivion, or flourishing forest dwarf planets like Stryxus. Cethea III - the homeworld of the MCs in the backstory chapters - is known for giant elk-like oxen that roams the dusty wasteland, as well as smaller lizard creatures and a few strange, venomous mammals. They also have giant birds, known as Harpies, which have a powerful screech capable of blowing out one's eardrums when too close.

Ivion is a gigantic winter desert, home to equally gigantic winter creatures, ranging from two-headed mountain lynx to absolutely enormous dragon-like creatures that burrow underneath the blanket of ice. It is also known for famously adorable, three-eyed, surprisingly big rodents similar to lemmings, which live in packs.

Stryxus has a biome akin to that of a tropical rainforest, which means the wildlife within it is incredibly varied despite the planet's small size, and that it has a vast variety of insects, mammals, lizards, and all kinds of animals you would expect from that environment. And even some you wouldn't expect.

The oceanic depths of Thallassen, in the heart of the Khosmonian galaxies, host especially gargantuan creatures, from pacific whale-like creatures with four, giant glowing eyes, to monstrous predatory lamprey-like creatures that lurk in the water.

7. How do your characters travel/get around?

The main form of transportation between planets, settlements and galaxies are starships/spaceships of varying shapes, sizes and fuel capabilities. Each planet has its own varied form of in-land transportation, but ranging from different animal mounts, hoverbikes, bullet trains, specialized boats/ships, submarines, and/or especially flying cars in the big cities.

8. What part of your WIP are you working on right now?

I'm currently writing the first draft of this WIP, and am around the third or fourth chapter of the Prologue Act (which consists of five chapters, or episodes). I already have an alpha reader (@sarandipitywrites) who is helping me a lot with ironing out the details of this story! I'm really happy about the progress I'm finally being able to make!

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) You think will draw your audience in?

General tropes: Found Family, Heists, Space Exploration, Whump (especially Lab Whump), rebelling against the system, Dystopian Utopia, Secret bioengineering scheme (as the main threat from the villains), loveable cyborgs/robots, etc!

For romance: Friends to Lovers, Rivals/Enemies to Lovers, Grumpy/Sunshine, etc

Familial/Friendship Tropes: Wholesome father-daughter duo (who are a former assassin and his feisty adoptive daughter), Protective Older Brother & Willful Younger Sister, Adoptive Siblings, general group of misfits fighting against an oppressive government, etc.

For more tropes & details, check out the WIP Intro!

10. What are your hopes for your WIP?

I hope I'll be able to finally finish the first draft of this story this year and that I'll publish it (probably self-publishing or something similar!) in the near future! I generally also hope to have a lot of fun writing it, and that other people will have fun reading this too (especially my friends)!

Tagging (gently) @your-absent-father @ray-writes-n-shit @drchenquill, @saltysupercomputer @agirlandherquill

@sleepy-night-child, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab,

@winterandwords, @cowboybrunch, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites, @illarian-rambling

@agirlandherquill, @anoelleart @sm-writes-chaos

@leave-her-a-tome, @writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @cakeinthevoid

@lassiesandiego, @thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams

@the-golden-comet, @elshells

And OPEN TAG

[upslapmeal]

The Devil's Chord

For context going into this episode, I can name off the top of my head.....3 Beatles songs? idk I'd probably recognise more but I was v much hoping this episode didn't hinge on having any actual emotional attachment to them lol

that kid is excellently cast, really looks the part

RIP Henry your great casting was cut short too soon

very chaotic vibes from Maestro!

the theme on the piano!!

the theme on the jukebox!!

‘I want to see the Beatles’ followed by the most cute serious face <3

sure Doctor you've never been to see them but you've had the space time visualiser!

lmao Ruby and Fifteen are so much fun

pure vibes and here for a good time!

1963!!

meanwhile One is busy kidnapping Ian and Babs lol

so. gonna guess from their faces it’s not an actual Beatles song

poor Fifteen dying at the orchestra and Ruby just 😐😐 *pat on the back*

hey it’s that lady again!

do these people look like the Beatles? I feel like they don't but again. I don't really know what they did look like

so my question with all this is.. why still make music if music isn't a thing any more?

why are the Beatles formed as a group and recording with someone encouraging them in the control room?

why even set up a recording studio at all?? I guess it speaks to the underlying human-ness of music

that even when musicality is gone, people are still forcing themselves to make some sort of music

yeah I feel like I should care more about the Beatles lol

Lennon and McCartney just. immediately baring their souls

feels weird watching this and knowing it's about someone who's still alive

'GEGGC'....ah ~~music~~

'we had bad smog in November ’62' I love how the Doctor speaks like a reminiscing Londoner bc that's what he was!!

Susan mention red alert!!!

‘timelords were murdered. :D I’M FINE’ sure

Ruby's theme!

interesting that in-universe it’s music she wrote for someone else

the giggle!!

‘you never hide’ I get that Fifteen and Ruby were instant besties but she's speaking like someone who's known the Doctor way longer than 3 adventures

the sonic screwdriver being sonic!!

RIP piano granny

‘defeating him took everything*’ * catching a ball

‘you always know’ idk if it's a symptom of the reduced episode count but it does feel like they've skipped over a fair bit of Ruby and Fifteen getting to know each other

‘I was born in 2004’ 👵🏻

oh so it’s been 6 months since the last ep??

again I guess the reduced ep count has meant speeding through but :/

‘where’s my mum’ :(((

I like the un-music that Murray Gold has going on for this bit. v effective.

child of the Toymaker??

‘now time for my ppt presentation about nuclear winter’

'the lost chord' - I feel like they could have done a lil bit more with that at the start bc it didn't feel as though the guy played anything particularly unusual or special?

lol Fifteen kissing the tardis better. I mean it seemed to work

the Doctor leaving Actual Musician Ruby Sunday in the control room while he tries to play a guitar

‘I thought that was non-diegetic’ lmao I guess it makes sense that the whole episode's music is being messed with

‘there’s a hidden song deep inside her soul’ hmmmm

...secret evil power Ruby??

excellent visual of her held up by the music in the snow

they're lucky Maestro doesn't seem interested in just. killing them.

‘music battle’ this is so weird. not sure if it's weird in a way I'm enjoying

this ep has felt a bit....meandering isn't the word but I don't know what is

lmao the nostalgic voiceover…not-Lennon totally unfazed by magical floating notes...reading them even though they absolutely cannot be read because there’s no stave

danse macabre!

it’s just so funny that it's the most boring-ass chord that defeats Maestro

the thing is the ep did v little to establish these guys as Characters To Root For outside them being Beatles and I just. don't care

I'd be interested to know if Beatles fans felt more about them saving the day

musical number!!

that shot of Fifteen vibing in the spotlight is so much fun!

and the one of him and everyone in the control room watching Ruby!

the world has been deprived of music for so long that of course it explodes into a musical number!!

and a certain Mr H Arbinger returns…I imagine that's not the last we'll see of him

what a fun end lol

I dunno about this one, it had good stuff but some of it was a bit all over the place and weird in a way that I didn't enjoy that much. And some of the music-specific stuff just idk. didn't land.

Also I rewatched the ep before editing my notes but I watched it as ep4 which honestly made Fifteen and Ruby's dynamic seem less rushed (and then there wasn't the weirdness in Boom of Ruby not going to a planet for the first 6 months of travelling).

I don't know. Mixed bag this one.

[mylifeiscomics]

Hi! I love your comics! I was wondering, what is your favorite episode for each doctor?

Thank you! ❤️

This is such a fun question, I had to take my time with it! Thanks for asking!

First Doctor - The Romans saga.

It was fun to see everyone so chill and in one place for a while. It showed the Doctor did like to hang out for a while in some places/times. Before all this running around lol! This is also peak first Doctor behaviour. He is so fun in this one- he fights a guy off while giggling and is responsible for Nero setting Rome on fire and just laughs about it. Chaotic gremlin energy and I love it.

Second Doctor - War Games saga

The concept was really cool for this adventure. Plus it was the first time we really got the lore behind who the Doctor really is. We meet time lords etc. The finale is obviously super sad but iconic.

Third Doctor - The Daemons saga

This was really hard to choose because 3 is my fave classic doctor and there are so many cool adventures he went on. Being shrunk into the alien tv/zoo thing was such a neat idea but I had to go with this because it had so many crazy things going on. The Master (best version imo) pretends to be a priest. Crazy witchy woman who over acts and blinks too much. That white gargoyle… also the devil costume- peek costuming. And how could I forget that bizarre finale? It was giving wickerman for a second. Very funny… to me, probably wasn’t the initial intention.

Fourth Doctor - The Talons of Weng-Chiang

Possibly a controversial choice but I really loved the Phantom of the Opera vibes I got from this. Also Leela is my favourite companion and she was perfect in this saga.

Fifth Doctor - Black Orchid

Simply because it was fun and it was the last time this little family had any happiness or peace 🥲

Sixth Doctor - the Mysterious Planet

Because it introduced Sabalom Glitz who was a charming character that I’m glad they brought back later on. Also it kicks of the trial saga which was essentially the beginning of the end for Six, sad!

Seventh Doctor - Paradise Towers

Very cool concept. Invented slang we use today. Beware the grannies… I just loved everything about this story. Lots of good spooky fun.

Eight just has his movie but he was so good in Night of the Doctor.

Ninth Doctor (love of my life) - Fathers Day

Such an interesting deep dive into his and Rose’s relationship. I also love the concept of a companion learning what happens if you mess with time. Very langoleers. Huge character growth for Rose (and the Doctor too).

Tenth Doctor - Rise of the Cybermen

I love this little throwback to the second Doctor adventure where the Cybermen had a very similar takeover plan. Only in this one people got changed. The idea of the Cybermen terrify me greatly and having a character as vital as Jackie Tyler being turned was… UGH! I still get chills.

And that’s where I stopped watching honestly. Once Moffatt took over I tapped out of Doctor Who. I decided at that point I liked what I saw and I was happy to leave it there. I did watch the new Anniversary specials in which Wild Blue Yonder was my favourite. Nice spooky story. But otherwise I’m just content to be a freak for Nine and the classic series lol.

Thank you so much for asking this! It was fun to remember those old episodes. Makes me want to watch the classic series again! Haha

[violivs]

NMTDaily: Football Antics Part One

- I’m just cracking up at how nervous Beatrice is! The nervous babbling! And it is definitely because, since she hasn’t started school yet, this football game is the first time she’s seen Benedick since moving to Auckland- since they were 14, really. (I don’t think she was there when Ursula filmed his part of Vox Pops, or at least she was better able to avoid him then. No avoiding being seen here though!)

- Bea may be in denial, but her “holy shit my crush-that-got-away is Right Over There In Person” energy is radiating! Which is perfect adaptation work for Miss Starts The Play By Oh-So-Casually Asking About Benedick And Playing It Off With Insults.

- “We’re here to support Leo, we’re here to Support The Boys, we’re here to see Pedro, and Definitely No One Else, At All, Promise” 👀 I see you Beatrice

- “I’m sure he’ll be wonderful, and so will-“ *Extremely Long, Pointed Pause* “-everyone, really.” Hero knows what’s up!!! And Bea just assumes she’s talking about Claudio, which, yeah, but the way Hero looks really intently at Bea on this line and says it with such intention- she is teasing Bea about Ben here for sure.

- Bea and Hero are having a sass-off complete with impressions of each other and Ursula is all “just keep taking pictures, they’ll get tired eventually”. Ursula is a treasure.

- The sass-off is also great! I love that Hero, as nice as she is, can still hold her own against Beatrice here. It’s a good thing, because making fun of people is kind of a love language for Beatrice.

- Starting in on Meg again (poor Meg), as a way to seed some backstory that will matter later! (Robbie got kicked off the team, hmmmm.)

- And Bea immediately pivots to bring up Claudio. The fast forward through Hero’s gushing is so funny and cute. She was definitely trying to say Robert Pattinson reminds her of Claudio, which, I can see it. 2014 is calling again though, right at the end of the Twilight era. If this series were set much earlier we would definitely have heard Bea hating on Twilight, lol.

- “He’s nice!” being the only thing she can say, says a lot. And Ursula being the one who gets Hero to admit she thinks he’s cute, awww. The hiding behind the hair! The oohing over Hero’s crush is majorly bringing me back to what it was like to be a teenager, it’s adorable. Poor Hero lol

- Ah yes, “Leo says we can’t film the match” AKA the in-world explanation for not being able to make an actual football scene realistic. I say that with zero judgement. The workaround of Leo saying no is cleverly done, and makes sense since the only plot-relevant stuff goes on on the sidelines anyway.

- The little moment of Hero narrating the game! I love that. She’s so into it that she forgets she’s not supposed to mention Ben in front of Bea, and then she starts worrying about Claudio which is also very cute.

- (My brain instinctively: Ooh! Ben mention! First Ben mention by name in a Hero and Bea vlog!!!! Milestone!)

- Enter Meg! (and Robbie). “I’m going to be the real star, you just don’t know it yet!” An icon.

- Robbie throwing out a Game of Thrones reference, it’s like a signal that he’s sort of part of the group for now, but his energy is Off. Dark colors, never really looking at anyone but Meg. Bad vibes.

- And Meg and Robbie as a visual sign of Bea’s discomfort with relationships, her idea that they’re all PDA and no boundaries. That in Bea’s and to some degree Hero’s eyes, Meg chooses Robbie over their friendships, over homework, almost over her own self, and Bea does not want that imbalance for herself at all. But she doesn’t know how to express her discomfort and concern in any other way but scorn for Meg. So much character work for so many different characters in one episode at once, I love it.

- I love Ursula sticking up for Meg, even if it’s never particularly fun watching other people make out. This is an Ursula Appreciation Liveblog, and I’m also still loving her tumblr, btw.

- Part Two next and it’s time for the I Know You Of Old scene! Ahhh!

- BUT FIRST: another video I didn’t know was posted so early, and get ready, because I’m about to be insufferable in this next one. I will not be able to help myself. My boy is about to enter the scene! My beautiful cringe-y boy! How I’ve missed him!!! Next liveblog post coming soon, I hope. 😊

💖🦩🥭

[flythesail]

OKAYY here's my official "recommending the new Goosebumps show to everyone who likes Nancy Drew" post:

TLDR: If you like watching a friend group form to take on a new supernatural mystery every week that ties into an overall plot, 10/10 would watch. It's a LOT like season 2 of Nancy Drew!

If I was going to create a venn diagram comparing the two it would pretty much just be a circle.

We've got... a group of five teens that aren't really friends yet but also some of them are. So lots of different dynamics!

Some romance! I can't speak yet as to whether any will qualify as a slowburn because one relationship didn't take long to establish. But it's enjoyable enough and there's potential.

HUMOR! Goosebumps is very funny and apart from it being more tied to modern day than Nancy Drew (think like... references), the humor styles are very similar. Lots of fantastic one-liners.

The characters are all well developed as a result of the pacing. The first chunk of episodes focuses on a character at a time. Being from each of their povs, you get a chance to know them well. They all have their own struggles too, so they all add something different to the show.

The parents are also involved, which is cool. I won't get into *why* because there are plot reasons, but they all have some amount of development too. Think like... if Carson, Victoria, and Thom were all involved with something that happened a long time ago and now their kids have to deal with it lol.

The setting!!!! If you miss Nancy Drew, the setting will feel so comforting and you may even shed a tear or two at an overhead shot of some trees and water because it could literally be Horseshoe Bay. (They filmed in Vancouver.)

Now, I will try to answer the big question of: Is it scary? I'd say it's a step up from Nancy Drew, though not in a jumpscare way - more in a creepy way. (Perfect for the Halloween season.) If Nancy Drew pushed your tolerance, you probably wouldn't like it. Yet if you're into horror as a genre, Goosebumps is going to be nothing. So not great for kids, not as *adult* as it could possibly be either. It does have that Nancy Drew feel of we're taking something and modernizing it.

Going off that, there are episodic storylines connecting into the big season-long storyline. Which is VERY fun to see!! If you like season 2 of Nancy Drew (my personal favorite), Goosebumps really is a dream come true. Just to draw some comparisons, there's aglaeca portent vibes, plus an episode with an alternate dimension. And some cool episodes Nancy Drew never got to do, like a time loop!

So... if you're missing Nancy Drew, that was my pitch to try Goosebumps lol. It has all the same elements and episodes drop weekly. (10 total, 7 out so far.) I'd love for it to get a second season, as it's the sort of show that could go on for a long time. And, there aren't many new shows like this today that just lets the characters be guys put in situations.

[mlobsters]

supernatural s1e5 bloody mary (teleplay: ron milbauer, terri hughes burton; story: eric kripke)

(this is a rewatch, so spoilers abound)

today's update from the first watch - in fact maybe playing bloody mary as a very sensitive and nervous kid still gives me particular nightmares 30+ years later!

i like that they actually show us sam's nightmare about jess and it's conveniently just the pilot fire footage but blue. but it's effective! and the way they use a clip of his other nightmare where he's visiting her grave (before we get the cheap jumpscare of arms grabbing him from the ground), i always forget that that's all from a nightmare. dunno if it's supposed to also be like, representation of him actually going to her funeral (they did stay a week, i think they mentioned)

SAM I take it I was having a nightmare. DEAN Yeah, another one. SAM Hey, at least I got some sleep. DEAN You know, sooner or later we're gonna have to talk about this.

and they say dean doesn't want to talk about things!

listen, you know i like first season lighting. but this lighting in an office of the morgue is out of pocket lol the eye strain!!

DEAN Dude, I earned that money. SAM You won it in a poker game.

still counts!

s1e5 chelan simmons as jill / hannibal s1e2 as gretchen speck / her little flouncy skirt for some reason is what i remember most

i thought she looked familiar but then i think that about a lot of pretty blonde haired young women in the early seasons of this show.. but she actually is! in my favorite hannibal rando murderer episodes, mushroom maannn (god the music while getting this hannibal screenshot, yeah it's wacky being so discordant and all but it's also SO GOOD at setting the tone and it's just so unique and special 🥺 link to my hannibal music masterpost)

someone got to have a lot of fun getting creative with all these hallway mirrors (peter ellis directed - he did this and 1x15 the benders and that's it)

smooth, dean-o. very normal response. got the doubletake jaw clench combo from sam lol (gifs i reblogged with pretty much the same comments, i am nothing if not consistent)

dramatic skylight on sam what is happening at this library

such a simple horror trope but so freaky every time

oh, sam.

SAM Why'd you let me fall asleep? DEAN Cause I'm an awesome brother. So what did you dream about? SAM Lollipops and candy canes. DEAN Yeah, sure.

very distinct visual style going here. it's just like, so blurry in the background of sam's shot and he's kind of soft focus himself.. feels like someone was having a moment with padalecki this episode instead of jackles hogging all the beauty shots :p and looking at her face i'm just appreciating how smooth the matte makeup looks under her eyes and is holding up to crying (which partially is just having young skin but also kudos to the makeup artist)

funny seeing the different supernatural-hunting techniques and gear that never went anywhere beyond this season

oh man, that feels like a lifetime ago. weird days of celebrity via leaked sex tape

casually printing out photos in their motel room. do they keep a printer with them in the trunk too? 😂

some of the score has got a very mark snow xfiles vibe, thanks to christopher lennertz (video down further because i ~needed~ to get the car chat too)

also trying to ignore the not-great green screen driving moments. i know they sort that out sooner rather than later. i think mainly by driving at night with their very cool practical effects lighting setup that simulates passing street lights/other cars etc - this interview with the director of photography serge ladouceur has all sorts of really interesting information and there's a video included about how they did the night driving effects.

So how did shooting in the car evolve? Clearly some of it was on the road, some of it is Poor Man’s Process in the studio, and a small portion of it is greenscreen.  We didn’t do much greenscreen with the Impala. The scenes we did that way were in Season 1 — sending a crew to film plate shots and compositing in post. We went through that process for some episodes, but because of the visual effects costs with outside vendors, the production went another way. Since Season 2, we have had a full-on visual effects department that’s part of the production, so every visual effect is done in-house. It was very convenient to have the visual effect department right here by our stages, so if last-minute questions arose, our VFX supervisor, Mark Meloche, is close by to answer these questions and guide us into the process, on top of having a VFX department representative on set for the days we deal with those shots. Mark was a great asset on Supernatural, having been on the show for its whole duration. He started with the team as the lead artist and then became the VFX supervisor in Season 8, after the departure of Ivan Hayden. 

oh i forgot about this part... i posted about this actually back when i watched it.

CHARLIE I had this boyfriend. I loved him. But he kind of scared me too, you know? And one night, at his house, we got in this fight. Then I broke up with him, and he got upset, and he said he needed me and he loved me, and he said "Charlie, if you walk out that door right now, I'm gonna kill myself." And you know what I said? I said "Go ahead." And I left. How could I say that? How could I leave him like that? I just…I didn't believe him, you know? I should have.

so this one hit really close to home for me, from my linked post above:

i was watching the bloody mary episode of supernatural, and yadda yadda people have secrets and someone is dead. and then we get to the final woman and her secret is her boyfriend killed himself after they had a fight. i was just internally screaming at sam and dean, and this is the part where you tell her it wasn't her fault ...!!!! because that's also one of the things i'm carrying around too, that i still need reminding that it wasn't my fault. had a fight, i knew he was suicidal, but i thought he was just mad. i was mad too, for the first time with him. i could have called, i could have asked for a wellness check, i could have could have could have... anyway. it's not our fault. i appreciated they told her that, finally, at the end. it's been 15 years now since it happened but it is still heavy on my heart.

the sam parallel finally coming to a head with his guilt about jess, so they get to have their talk. and a little crispy R for posterity's sake on "secret" from padalecki. i think i've narrowed it down to really soft barely there Rs on the ends of words, and very articulated Rs in the middle of words?

xfiles-y score / it's not your fault

DEAN You know what, that's it. This is about Jessica, isn't it? You think that's your dirty little secret that you killed her somehow? Sam, this has got to stop, man. I mean, the nightmares and calling her name out in the middle of the night—it's gonna kill you. Now listen to me—It wasn't your fault. If you wanna blame something, then blame the thing that killed her. Or hell, why don't you take a swing at me? I mean I'm the one that dragged you away from her in the first place. SAM I don't blame you. DEAN Well you shouldn't blame yourself, because there's nothing you could've done.

we know especially later that even if he warned her, there was no way it would have helped. the wheels in motion were so far beyond their control. literal forces of hell and heaven working against them.

MIRROR!SAM You never told her the truth—who you really were. {SAM is now falling towards the ground.} But it's more than that, isn't it? Those nightmares you've been having of Jessica dying, screaming, burning—You had them for days before she died. Didn't you!?! You were so desperate to ignore them, to believe they were just dreams. How could you ignore them like that? How could you leave her alone to die!?! You dreamt it would happen!!!

and these would be my 5th and 6th screenshots of my original viewing. also long slated to paint at some point

DEAN Sammy. Sammy! SAM It's Sam.

forever grateful that dean is stubborn and continues to call him sammy. love a nickname, especially when dean's the only one allowed to call him that

dean getting the ultra blurred out soft focus treatment now, with a side of extra saturation

SAM Charlie? Your boyfriend's death...you really should try to forgive yourself. No matter what you did, you probably couldn't have stopped it. Sometimes bad things just happen. DEAN That's good advice.

good but hard to internalize all the same

DEAN Now that this is all over, I want you to tell me what that secret is. SAM Look...you're my brother and I'd die for you, but there are some things I need to keep to myself.

not quite sure why sam's smiling about this. not to mention how his visions become extremely plot relevant in the future. would think that would be more angsty, not lighthearted

s1e5 / true detective s1e1

i don't know if this is the first time the show made me cry? but the shot of jess on the sidewalk really got me this time around. also reminds me of a shot in true detective s1 that i used in my hannibal / true detective edit.

i've thought about doing some comparative gifs but i do think it's also kind of a common trope. but not like that means it's not worth doing! just selection of the trope from shows i have Feelings about

the song was replaced yet again on netflix, this scene originally had laugh, i nearly died by the rolling stones and they used bones into dust by fred haring instead and it was a good enough sub that it hit me in the feelings, rarity. i don't know what part of the rolling stones song they used but i might actually prefer the vibe a little bit of the substitute?? it's more straight bittersweet melancholy

via the wiki

Dean began to bleed from his eyes when confronted by Mary Worthington, denoting he had a dark secret which creator Eric Kripke claimed would be addressed at a later date. However, the plotline would quickly be dropped and never mentioned again.

lol

so much for these not all being excessively long posts 🤪

[keemitthefeog]

DIRE STRAITS?? FOR THE LAST SONG???

im 🗣️ yelling 🗣️

thoughts about willow under the cut (with spoilers obviously)

loved the scenes that actually focused on magic. this tv show felt like a rare one where what the audience wants out of a traveling group of adventurers is present. like elora learns magic and theres that sick shattered sea montage where they all train together and shit. very fun.

this isnt going to be a huge read more or anything but the biggest thing was

WHERE WAS THE HYPE FOR BOORMAN???? WAS I JUST BLIND TO IT? or did you motherfuckers really just never talk about him???

bc yes yes kit and jade, yes yes willow mentoring elora, yes yes graydon character development (ig lol, i liked graydon though)

but BOORMAN, my best friend boorman. Amar Chadha-Patel was literally so amazing. he's maybe my favorite guilt-filled, heart of gold buried deep under ground, comedy relief character ive seen in a tv show. the way he asked in the last episode maybe they should all make out 😭 so out of pocket but soo funny

but his sort of mentor-uncle-adjacent vibe with kit was so good too, like very much detached from her but also her father was such a huge person in his life, so he wants to help her and ough. im not being articulate about it but i liked it a lot.

him and graydon being buddies the whole trip was also fun

yall were sick for not telling me about boorman. hes the best character.

i can see why people are upset about it getting cancelled, this is maybe the best representation of a fantasy setting ive seen in TV. it feels very true to its 80s roots while also having modern appeal. but like. the set design, the character design, the actual magic language and spells and shit. it was SO FUN because thats what fantasy is!! i liked it even more than the D&D movie's attempt at fantasy

however ☝️ why did they CG the crone. an amazing melted face with actual practical efx makeup would have been soooo cool. LAME for making her all gross with cgi

other than that though, i thought the mix of practical and cg was pretty well balanced and looked good ✌️

[theplatypusblue]

COMPILING ALL LEGENDS OF CHIMA SEASON 1 THOUGHTS BELOW THE READ MORE (super long post, written as I was watching)

(I can be a little mean but I promise I’m having fun lol)

Episodes 1 + 2:

Man this shits super boring.

Idk if I can get behind craggers plot line tbh. He’s too much of a dumbass for me to really root for him.

The lore seems really cool so far. I like the settings and the stuff about the legend beasts.

Like?? Forest full of trees that just fall down all the time? Epic.

Legend beasts are especially cool cuz it means this is how Chima characters react when seeing a regular ass lion for the first time:

Episode 3:

Man Laval really fucked everything up.

I have a feeling all of cragger’s dumbass-ness, like, transferred over to laval and now we’re gonna be seeing him making all the dumbass decisions

The only thing I really care about here is the b-plot about Gorzan and his flower. More engaging than the main plot

Episode 4:

Prediction about Laval replacing Cragger as the resident dumbass seems to be coming true

Gorzan is quickly becoming my favorite.

Oh hey look it’s the beavers!! I remember they show up in that one episode of ninjago. I had zero context for what they were all about then but now I know!!

Episode 5:

The gorilla tribe seems like the most chill out of everyone. Gorillas 👍

Can I just say I hate the fucking skunk. He sucks.

Honestly kind of a nothing episode

Episode 6:

Eagle spire does that cool thing where all the buildings are built on super scary precipices. There’s literally a post going around about this exact thing but I can’t find it rn

Oh so the eagles are just a bunch of nerds. A little weird I guess(?) I feel like eagles are usually symbols of strength n stuff so that’s different. It’s giving cloud kingdom.

“Wing girl” tf kinda nickname??

Apparently the ravens are double crossing everyone but I have not been paying close enough attention to what’s going on to really process that

Ok so it was all an extremely convoluted way for the crocs to get everyone to fight each other. And the ravens tried to profit but they’re kinda stupid so nothing really worked out for anyone

Episode 7:

Purble moon??? Epic

Man the bears are so epic just like me fr

Nooo don’t mess w the gorillas they’re so chill :(

I am entirely uninterested in the 100 year full moon skunk fart lore. Sorry.

It’s a little strange and maybe I’m hallucinating but I feel like the animation has has somehow gotten better?? Like the lighting or smthn…. Or the facial expressions???

Oh….. skunk fart lore is plot relevant………

Now that I’m thinking… is that the only skunk in chima?? Cuz rn it looks like just the one guy

Episode 8:

Oh it’s a big boy chi

There’s a fucking peacock?? Don’t know how to spell his name. So wait if he wins who does the chi go to?? He gets it all to himself?

Oh wait nvm it’s probably a cragger thing. Mr. Peacock comes back after retirement or w/ever in order to do some evil shit with the crocs I get it I get it

Gorzan I love you

WHO THE FUCK IS THAT GUY?? Is it a pig? A warthog??? It’s giving Mr. E vibes.

Man idk this episode is structured rlly weirdly. Nothing really fit together very well. It’s alright tho.

Episode 9:

GORILLA EPISODE?? Let’s go dude

It funny cuz I feel like gorillas aren’t actually this mellow irl

STOP FUCKING WITH THE GORILLAS CRAGGER I’LL KILL YOU

Oh hey it’s our mystery mans. Oh nevermind he left again.

There are balloon plants?? Oh yeah those are the things they were using in the other episode. Sorry I wasn’t paying attention to anything else that happened.

Episode 10:

Uhh I forgot to take notes while watching uhhh

The fox guy was cute. I like a little fox guy

This episode managed to make me feel a little bad for cragger!! He wants to do a good job but he kinda sucks at everything :(

It also made me confused abt cruller!!! What are you doing w ur life girl!!!!

Kinda messed up how the wolves had to serve the crocodiles tho… probly for the best she threw away that pledge

If Laval’s dad is right when he says they’re not gonna race for chi for a long time, I’m guessing they’re not gonna do any more racing episodes for some time. That’s fine honestly.

WAIT THAT RHINO GUY’S DYING. Oh nvm. This whole situation is cringe I hope it’s a one-off thing….

Also I forgot everyone thinks craggers parents are dead but really they’re just chilling in that canyon. Kinda funny actually

Episode 11:

Oh man the wolves are fucking everything up

“We all gotta stay here till the walls are fixed” bruh just call the beavers or smthn

Man what is the deal with this shadow wind dude.

If there’s one similarity I could point out with ninjago, it’s all this talk abt ~the balance~. I guess it makes sense since they take place in the same universe, technically

These bears are so cute lol napping does solve everything so true

Episode 12:

Jets travel super fast in the air. If they’re going through a storm Laval should totally be dead by now

Cragger is setting boundaries!! We love to see it. Cruller is acting pretty cringe. In her ~~girlfailure era~~

Is Laval gonna fall in this gorge?? Oh yeah he’s gonna fall in this gorge

Noooo Gorzans underwear is gonna tear

It’s a little sweet how Laval still wants to help out cragger

Episode 13:

I guess I’m still not super into cragger but I pity him a little. He’s trying his best but he’s just a bit stupid. And also his sister sucks ass

Okay. So she may be cringe but cruller is living her best(-ish) life.

That wolf is wearing a really cute apron

Man they were bringing up Shadow wind earlier and I thought they were gonna reveal their identity but now I’m a bit disappointed…

Laval is being peak dumbass rn I kinda like it. “The warm milk of oppression” lol

Episode 14:

“You bears think you’re so clever” bro they are literally asleep I don’t think they give a shit

I think the thing with Cragger is that I absolutely hate him when he’s under the influence of the flower thingy. He’s unlikable in a not-so-fun way, but he seems much more cute/compelling when he’s normal lol.

Oh my god they’re getting back-alley chi lmao

Oh is everyone gonna think Cragger did this on purpose. That’s sad.

This Reagle(?) guy is really silly I like his design a lot

Ohhhhh the wolves are gonna plug the fake chi and become chickens. It’s not a Cragger-might-be-evil thing. Gotchaaaa that’s cute

Seeing Cragger and Leval act like buddies again is genuinely nice they’re friends :)

Episode 15:

Eagles are based communists that live in the sky got it 👍

Cruller stop fucking with the gorillas istg.

Okay what the hell did burning the flower do. Is that like taking an inhalant

The ravens attempted to use the eagles’ based communist values against them. However, they didn’t realize that the eagles are boring as shit, and don’t “own” anything cool in the first place. Based communist eagles for the win.

Okay wait is Eris liking the rhino like. A brand new development or was it hinted at before?? It’s been a hot second since I watched the last couple episodes

Also I recognize that animation from the Ninjago season 5 finale lol

Episode 16:

Man I just hate this stupid skunk

This fog of destiny stuff is really goofy looking from the outside lmao it’s hard to take serious

So it’s like. Making them entirely delusional or something? Some of them are acting the opposite of how they usually do, but others are having like, delusions of grandeur. Idk how it works exactly

Laval there has got to be a smarter way to wake them up. You keep getting thrown into the lake…. Oh my god is the skunk gonna fart again. If that’s literally how they wake them up I’m gonna be so mad.

Oh okay thank god I was wrong.

Oh wait it randomly made cragger evil again. Man come on.

Cruller you stupid dumb idiot lmao get wrecked honestly

I hope the skunk dies like actually for real

Episode 17:

Oh shit Lavals dad also had a best friend that did shitty things and eventually grew apart from?? Damn.

Also Laval in exile time!!! Hopefully this will be cool

Eh. It’s not so cool with the skunk around

OH SHIT is the shadow wind the guy that was exiled before??? Ohhhhh

Ahhh okay Cruller backstory time. Damn girl was getting compared to her sibling straight out the egg. Didn’t even have a moment to spare there huh

Noooo Laval you just enslaved the wolves again by giving him the treaty. That was like the one cool thing cruller manages to do

Oh. I guess the exile thing literally didn’t matter at all lmao kinda underwhelming

Episode 18:

Lol so Cragger is such a dickhead now it’s even causing his stupid ominous dream to take notice

Okay so the floating mountain that gives everyone the chi also makes you on fire when you touch it. Chima world building really is epic man I gotta include random cool shit in my stories once I get around to writing stuff

This definitely feels like part of a finale lol maybe we’ll finally learn what the deal is w shadow wind

Andddddd the chi’s all fucked up now

Episode 19:

Tbh I would also be kinda mad at the lions like. They had no idea what they were doing or if it would have any negative consequences.

Man the whole thing with the wolves just kinda. Fizzled out huh? Like a few episodes ago they had ~all the chi in chima~ and now they’re all like “idk man why don’t we all just get along” lol

I love the attitude of just asking the beavers to fix the mountain. Like let’s just chuck a couple of construction workers at this malfunctioning holy site that’ll probably work

Episode 20:

I’m guessing this is the finale?? Let’s see

Laval looks so weird without his little crown thingy lol hes so square

He’s definitely not dead tho

CROCODILE LETS GOOO!!!!! EPIC!!!

OH UM. Okay well that complicates things. And there’s like a million other questions we still haven’t answered but ok. I guess all of that other stuff can wait until later????

I thought the eagle guy said chima only had 2 moons left before everything fell apart?? So they really gotta get the ball rolling on that one uhm. Oh well.

**EDIT** Last time I posted this I thought it stopped at episode 13 for some reason?? Tubi is stupid; thanks to the person who pointed out the actual episode number. I’ll probably stop here for a while, sorry it took so long to update this lol. My initial thoughts and feelings haven’t really changed all that much, so I’ll keep them as they were:

I definitely feel like it’s a show that doesn’t have super strong characters. I think it would better if the show leaned more into the world it’s created instead, if that makes sense. Maybe later the character writing will improve a little bit, and I’ll changed my tune. But!! Who knows. I’m having fun with it.

Idk when I’ll get to season 2, cuz I get super busy sometimes (I started this one a couple months ago but couldn’t finish it till now ugh) but I do want to continue watching!! Eventually!!!

[malaierba]

I have SO MANY thoughts and notes about Choro and Kara's dynamic but I don't really have the material to do a proper post so I'll just highlight my favourite moments of the duo:

When they ended up as their mom's reserve kids (alongside Jyushimatsu (unrelated but I love the Reserve Trio mostly because imagining Choro survive it makes me feel alive)) and Karamatsu keeps failing at appealing to his mom's affection, Choro straight up tells him "If things go wrong I'll take care of you!"

Then speed forward to like three or four different instances over the three series where Choromatsu falls, and Karamatsu yells "are you okay Choromatsu!? I'll save you Choromatsu!!" but DOESN'T STOP RUNNING KFKDKJF

When the brothers are taking advantage of Karamatsu's inability to say no, who calls him out on it??? Choromatsu!!

On the same episode though Karamatsu once again left Choromatsu to fend for himself against his devil brothers 💀 he's such a coward lol

Episode 24, Karamatsu was setting the mood to celebrate Choro!! He even gave him a surprisingly thoughtful Nyaa-chan thingy! And something painful of course but that's his brand

(I think he'd give good gifts in general, if a bit over-the-top at times)

Then during the Valentine's day episode he gave Choro some choco, all while saying "I like you because you're so lame that I look cool besides you" JDDHFJ this man has got jokes yall

I don't remember much about the Omurice skit they do other than they were VIBING ON THE SAME WAVELENGTH and it was Glorious. I think all the time of Karamatsu calling Choromatsu out like "STOP PLAYING DUMB IM TALKING ABOUT PERVY STUFF AND YOU KNOW IT" and Choromatsu honest to god CLUTCHING HIS INVISIBLE PEARLS lmao

I personally call them the LaLaLand duo, because they both live in an alternate reality made up of alternative facts that support the belief that they're The Proper One/The Cool One, and if I'm honest it almost surprises me that Choro is probably beating Karamatsu on number of episodes solely focused on poking fun at this gap between the reality they try to manufacture vs. The Actual Reality (see: the self-awareness orb episode and the Choromatsu Museum episode).

But at the same time I kind of appreciate that both of them can take a look at their immediate surroundings and call out bs when they see it. PARTICULARLY when Osomatsu is at the heart of that bs. Peak eldest three moments are those where Osomatsu is talking out of his ass, and Karamatsu is making The Exceptical Face that he does only for him (yknow. like 😒 but more Done) while Choromatsu is seconds away from nagging him to filth.

I like to think that they just have an special bond, a sympathetic understanding born from having to see Osomatsu live his best effort-economizing life, where too often they've shared looks that eloquently says "u seeing this bs rn"

So I guess my perception of their relationship is that they're comfortable enough with each other to discuss more personal things, Choromatsu seems to look out for Karamatsu a bit more but on the other hand Kara seems to trust his competence with a degree of honesty (even if he finds it a bit geeky), they can absolutely vibe on the same wavelength, and

I think it's good that they both seem to be Exceptical of the others social persona (Choromatsu more than Karamatsu, which is funny because Kara thinking he's a cool suave guy is so harmless??? Karamatsu on the other hand was horrified when Choromatsu tried to lie about being a NEET in his Christmas card, but other than that he Lets Him Live Laugh Love lol), because if they weren't.... If they fed into each others imaginations??? We'd have reason to worry

I also think that this dynamic is a somewhat recent development, as in, happened post highschool. Idk much about Osomatsu-kun but from what I understand, Karamatsu was more of a shy crybaby (if gluttonous? Call back to the Night Snacks skit where we see a VERY RARE Karamatsu telling Jyushi, arguably his fave youngest sibling, to get his ass back in bed, and all Choromatsu says is "Welp, duh, grub is involved" haha) while Choromatsu had that Godforsaken Temper of his with none of the social conditioning to motivate him to keep it in check.

I like to think about Karamatsu being artistically inclined from middle school, and exploring more earnestly his interests in high school. I used to like the idea of Choromatsu and Jyushimatsu glaring at whoever had a problem with the budding, still somewhat timid High School!Karamatsu being the theatre kid he was born to be, but then again I guess that doesn't quite fit the timeline as we see it in the movie? Shame 😔

Still, something something middleschool and highschool etc, Choromatsu is the one that goes to the McDonald's casheer with Karamatsu's burger and says "he didn't want pickles", and then post highschool they build a dynamic around other things.

[just-orbiting-you]

on twitter tae solos and even tkkers are literally spiraling and going crazy about the fact that jikook were setting boundaries and telling him that ays is THEIR show and they let him come. it’s kind of insane to see all these tweets but really goes to show how much they coddle tae. how did you interpret the way jikook said it was their show at the japanese restaurant? did u think it was a joke? i honestly took it as a joke when i first watched the ep but rewatching it still obviously feels like they were joking but now i feel like there was some hard truth to what they were saying, we all know jikook have a bluntness in their sarcasm that to eachother can be funny but everytime they joked about him being a guest i can feel the animosity. it honestly made me feel bad for them cause i get hes a close friend and band mate but imagine all of the sudden the plans u had for two changed to three because of a group schedule chat, they didn’t even tell him or the other members themselves lol. anyways this ep felt more light and fun with jikook. i know tae was tired and a little sick but the way he stepped back multiple times to let them be showed he also saw how his presence caused a bit of tension. sorry for the long ask, don’t know if ur tired of talking about this situation lol but i wanted to hear ur thoughts!

hey! thanks for your ask! no worries about the length!! i apologize this ended up being so long 💀💀.

this ties into a larger issue with fans of bts these days, where finding slight issue with a member’s behavior, etc. or in this case, stating literal fact opens the door for defensive stans. you’re right, it is coddling and they were coddling him a month ago with his instagram post. tae stans to me are some of the loudest, most defensive, and will never really see the fault in their rhetoric. that thread someone made saying “tae being the ‘uninvited’ guest” and it was all the ways they deliberately accommodated him and deliberately gave him the spotlight. people are coping hard.

i’d like to compare this situation to jungkook’s second suchwita episode, which was shot around the same time and has a very similar vibe. in this episode, taehyung randomly shows up to their shoot after seeing that jungkook was filming that day from the infamous group chat. jungkook’s immediate reaction was “we are doing a shoot, could you please leave?” which ended in a fit of giggles. yoongi and jungkook make a few comments about how he showed up to just eat their prepared meal and when asked to address army in the video, tae just does a thumbs up. jungkook goes “that wasn’t a sentence,” and tae ends up saying the generic 2025 stuff. he makes small reactionary comments, talks over the other two, but basically just sits, listens to their conversation, and mindlessly eats. where i feel like jimin and hobi were integrated as a part of the larger conversation in taemin and jin’s episodes respectively, (probably because they were planned appearances) tae presents as a slightly awkward presence in the video.

i bring this up to say, while the stakes weren’t as high as are you sure, jungkook said a similar comment which while serious in tone as their omakase comments, ended up being in jest. jungkook nor yoongi stopped the shoot to kick him out. i also think there’s a “well he’s our bandmate…” at play here. like they’re not going to kick out taehyung, it’s taehyung, you know. while his presence may have been slightly distracting, yoongi and jungkook still were able to have their conversation and finish the shoot.

i personally think are you sure was bigger offense, purely because this was a trip with preparation, flights, planning and crews involved. and while many have been saying “jimin and jungkook were seemingly happy to have them there and let it happen,” yes they did. again, it’s taehyung, how could they refuse him, especially if he played a pity card of “why am i being left out of this?”

i haven’t seen this problem with any other member’s behavior during chapter 2, where that member overstays his welcome during another member’s schedule. but tae has a unique way of making me say “why is he here, what purpose does his presence serve?” and i think to him, everything is silly and informal, since these are his members. but he doesn’t have the foresight or awareness to think “well what am i intruding into? why do i feel entitled to be here?” it’s a matter of respect.

hence why i think they made the comments that they did. they accommodated him, made arrangements with the crew to change the plan in 48 hours, yet he turns around to say “i shouldn’t have come here” or “why didn’t another member show up” as if their efforts for him were worthless and he was now running the show to invite whoever. everyone of these conversations ends in a lighthearted tone, just like jungkook’s suchwita comment. but i think they effectively put their foot down with the omakase conversation and they had to. while “i shouldn’t have come here” ends in laughs and jokes, i don’t think jikook particularly liked that comment if they both were saying “go home then!”

if tae didn’t get the memo with that reaction, he got it from jikook at the omakase restaurant, he should at least be grateful instead of making flippant comments. i don’t know what the circumstances were on why he wasn’t debriefed or had any assumption about why this shoot was taking place, because he really does not have the awareness on that first day. jikook did something nice for him but they know how tae is. he expressed feeling left out initially, then they poke fun at him being the “guest looking for attention.”

so tldr, i think we can chock the comments up to playful ribbing with a touch of passive aggression, especially from jungkook. even if they felt like they had to, jikook still let him come and seemingly had fun with him, so i don’t think they have it in them to be outright angry or upset on camera. but their persistent small comments throughout the ep do tell me that there might be a touch of exasperation with him working his way into their plans.

[whelmed-knight]

I watched Caped Crusader this weekend! My thoughts below (spoilers)

I liked it, it definitely feels like a spiritual successor to BTAS while also being a very different continuity

I liked Linklater’s Batman, I liked how he differentiated Batman from Bruce, I liked the early days Batman and him being a silhouette in the dark, the fight choreography was good, and the suit being the first appearance design, and the noir detective-y part of it

I liked the setting and 40s vibes and the mobsters wearing suits and hats, I thought the changes with Oswalda and Harley were interesting, I thought Gentleman Ghost was a Scooby-Doo-looking villain lol, Nocturna feels like a deep cut to pull for this but it worked and reminded me of Ace from JLU, but I was surprised at how much supernatural stuff was in there, I thought Onomatopoeia was funny

I was able to call a lot of stuff, but they also surprised me with a lot of stuff too. There were a bunch of funny moments too that caught me by surprise and I liked it

I appreciated that they depicted Bruce’s trauma in the aftermath of his parents’ murder, poor bby Bruce

I yelled that we got not just one or two or three but FOUR Robins, and as happy as I was to see Dick looking very similar to how he looked in BTAS, I was thrown off by redhead Jason, and then surprise Steph and Carrie as well(!), but the fact that they’re all young kids close in age makes me think we’re not going to get to see them as Robins, unless they do something with the storyline, and that makes me so sad 😔

I liked how Bruce is still learning, still healing, still becoming Batman. The soft moments, where he apologizes to Barbara, when he’s afraid he’s losing Alfred, when he saves the kids from the fire, and finally the end where he calls him Alfred!! He’s getting there~

A bunch of things reminded me of Arkham Origins and The Batman 2022 and that was lovely

There’s some stuff I wasn’t a huge fan of: the Robins thing already mentioned, they should have given Selina more development, her characterization felt shallow and it would have done to build up Bruce and Selina’s relationship more, I didn’t like Bullock as a bad guy (or with a mustache), Dent’s Two-Face design is not my favorite, and they could have done his personality/plotline better

There were a ton of references and homages (I yelled at the newspaper articles all alluding to BTAS episodes!), and I laughed at myself when they just namedropped Floyd Lawton and I was like “OH OKAY SO DEADSHOT?” Like it’s so fun lol

All in all it’s a good show, not my favorite, but I liked it and I am interested in Season 2. Plus it was just nice to watch a new Batman adaptation~

[grimmars]

Hello! Criminal Minds anon again. I saw your post and I'm so happy to see you like the show so far! Season 4 is a really good one, and the last few episodes are WILD, so good luck LOL!

I'm glad that you feel similarly about Reid, as well. He's easily my favorite in the whole show without a doubt, and I think MGG does a great job playing him. The relationship between him and his mom is just *chef's kiss* and gets me in the feels so fast (especially in the later seasons 😭). In regards to the guns thing, I hate to say it but he's kinda the show's whump character lmao. Everyone suffers, but the writers and MGG really love to hurt him specifically.

Big yes to Morgan!!! I love him so much and 100% agree. 'Profiler, Profiled' is one of the best episodes in the show and it sets him up so perfectly from that point on. Also him and Garcia are so funny on the phone I completely agree.

Hotch is really bland for a lot of the show I do have to agree, but towards the end of Season 4 and throughout Season 5 they focus on him a bit more and it helps to give him more character, I feel. He's still the same old Hotch, but you kinda understand him a bit better and feel for him a lot after these two seasons.

And yeahhh the show is not very kind to queer people, unfortunately. Even in the later seasons you can feel them trying to do better in a way, but it still just feels icky. There's one scene where Morgan is ribbing Reid about where he's been and that he hopes he was with a girl and not a guy and I just 💀. Also the entirety of 'Machismo' is god awful with the man in a dress thing. They sorta drift away from the trope near the end of the show, but it never leaves entirely, which sucks big time.

Elle was done so dirty by the writers and tbh the team!! She deserved better!! Her story is absolutely wild though so I had the same reaction on my first watch. And I 100% agree with you on Gideon. I remember when my friend who introduced me to the show told me he and Elle were going to be leaving so soon I was genuinely upset lol. Emily is wonderful, though, and Rossi grew on me overtime, so hopefully you warm up to him as well. And yes I love JJ so much. When Todd replaced her for a bit I was so upset. I kept saying the "I miss my wife, Tails" thing to my friends about JJ leaving, so now we all call her my wife lmao. And again Emily is so wonderful!! With her putting her life on the line for Reid, she's like that the whole show. She's ride or die for the team and I adore her so much. If you stick around for Season 12 and 13 (good luck if you do, because jesus christ those seasons are a bit tough) you'll see that aspect of her highlighted even more.

And good plan, honestly! Season 10 is where a lot of people feel the show should have ended, so that's a pretty good season to end on if you do. I will say if you do stop there, skip ahead to Season 11 Episode 11 'Entropy' and just watch that on it's own if you get the chance. It's easily the best episode in the show imo and it's so fun. And good news the baseball episode is early in Season 8!

Sorry for rambling I'm just really excited that you like the show, LOL!

Ayy! Hello again, I'm glad we share favourite things about criminal minds, infodumping to my brother doesn't always have the same effect lol.

I don't really hate Rossi now after watching for a bit, when he's first introduced he was giving homophobic vibes and recently he's more like the dad forced to follow his kids to pride

I'll definitely be checking out entropy after season 10, the baseball episode is so close yet so far away ;-;