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tuff-and-fluff-archives · 4 years ago

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Okay I am hyperfixating HARD on Tom and Jerry and all my emotions from childhood have FLOODED forth, so now that I’ve finished watching (almost) all 161 original theatrical Tom and Jerry shorts from 1940 to 1967, I would like to force you all to endure my insane ramblings about this franchise. Although before I begin, I’d like to share where I’ve been watching all these! Here’s a Dailymotion playlist of all 161 shorts, put into the correct order by yours truly :3 OKAY NOW THE INSANITY BEGINS 💖💖💖

1) The Messy Formative Years: Shorts 001-017 (1940-1944)

So obviously, when a series is first created, especially an animated series, the first few episodes will always be a bit odd as the directors and writers find their footing and establish the rules of their own universe, and Tom and Jerry is no exception! In fact, these episodes can be a bit weird and even jarring to watch because the designs of the titular characters are so drastically different from how they look even ten years afterwards. In fact, in the very first episode, they don’t even have their official names yet and are instead named “Jasper and Jinx.” Also, there’s a LOT of talking in these beginning shorts before they decided to make Tom and Jerry almost entirely mute. Shorts 010 and 013 stand out the most, as they feature characters regularly speaking full sentences and it’s just... ohhh it’s SO weird to watch and it feels almost wrong 😅 Of course that’s not to say these shorts are bad, far from it actually! They’re still super fun and fascinating to watch and I think it’s quite interesting to see how such an iconic franchise got its start!

2) The Golden Years: Shorts 018-097 (1945-1955)

Oh. My. GOD. THESE ARE THE ABSOLUTE BEST. I guarantee that when you just think about Tom and Jerry, THESE are the shorts that come to mind. By now William Hanna & Joseph Barbara fully had their formula down and were just pumping out hit after hit afTER HIT HHHHH I LOVE THESE SO MUCH. I’m not kidding when I say that these shorts still make me laugh really hard and I absolutely adore nearly every aspect of them: the fluid and extremely expressive animation, the excellently timed music paired with each short, and the humor that’s constant and lands almost every time. My absolute favorite ones are around 040-080 but really all of these are just sooooo good. I know that this is stating the obvious but one thing that I especially love is just how VIOLENT these cartoons are, even more than the Looney Tunes shorts that were coming out at the same time. Characters are constantly picking up knives or axes or straight up GUNS and ngl I feel like half of the humor comes from that shock factor of the insane absurdity of that violence. Okay I’m starting to sound rly dumb, I know explaining the joke is never fun, but the directing and animation just NAILS every joke; I think the secret behind it is that there’s always a buildup and anticipation before the impact, and that buildup just makes the impact all the more intense! I was going to list my top 5 favorites but it’s impossible to choose so lemme just recommend a random five out of all of them: 026 - Solid Serenade, 048 - Saturday Evening Puss, 067 - Triplet Trouble, 069 - Fit to Be Tied, and 076 - That’s My Pup!

Also, I don’t know where else to mention this so I’ll just say it here: there’s a gradual change that Tom’s design goes through where he’s slowly drawn to be less and less fuzzy. At first his outline was drawn with a lot of points to emphasize his fur, but over time they abandoned doing that, my guess is because it was harder to animate. I’d say that they fully transitioned to Smooth Tom around short 030. That’s just a little detail I noticed and wanted to share! ^-^

3) The Slow Decay: Shorts 098-114 (1956-1958)

*heavy sigh* Well... a good thing can’t last forever. What’s kinda strange is that I can’t really nail down a specific reason caused a decline in quality after 1955; short 096 was the last to be produced by Fred Quimby, with Hanna & Barbara being given the producer credit as well as director credit for the remaining 18 shorts, and MGM animation studios had major budget cuts in the late 50′s and was shut down in 1957, and perhaps the studio shutting down had also taken the joy out of the crew, which would certainly have an effect on the cartoons. Now that doesn’t mean that these last 16 shorts are bad- they’re still quite entertaining, but they just don’t have the same energy as the shorts made in the Golden Years. They’re also nowhere near as cartoonishly violent as the past shorts had been; weapons are almost never used anymore and there are barely any efforts from Tom and Jerry to straight up kill each other, and more often than not they’re working together and even acting like close friends. I think that’s pretty fair evidence that even if these later shorts were much tamer and friendlier, that meant that they were lacking the same chaotic energy that made the other shorts so hilarious.

Also I just need to vent this here cuz this era also contains the two most absolutely infuriating shorts in the Hanna-Barbera era, that being 100 - Busy Buddies and 114 - Tot Watchers. These two shorts consist of Tom and Jerry attempting to stop a baby from accidentally dying cuz it’s just a dumb baby that doesn’t know anything, while the babysitter is just totally ignorant to everything happening. Now I can’t quite explain why and I’m probably just making myself look like an asshole but these shorts are just... so frustrating to me??? Like its bad enough that this stupid baby whose face NEVER changes from that stupid little smile just keeps wandering into dangerous situations (in Tot Watchers it straight up crawls into a CONSTRUCTION ZONE) but every time Tom rescues the little bastard and puts it back in its crib, the babysitter thinks he’s “bothering” the baby (probably because of that one myth about cats laying on babies and stealing their breath) and so poor Tom is just punished for doing literally nothing wrong!! It’s just... very frustrating to me for some reason I’m sorry... (Although I have to admit that it is interesting and kinda cute that Tom knows how to change a diaper, like wif the safety pins and everything. Why does he know that...?)

4) The Gene Deitch Shit Shorts: 115-127 (1961-1962)

OOOH BOY. I don’t think... that I can really describe how purely and utterly I dislike the Deitch shorts. Okay so, to explain, in 1961 MGM decided they wanted to revive the Tom and Jerry franchise, so they contracted an animation studio based in Czechoslovakia to create 13 new original shorts. All of these shorts were directed by Gene Deitch, who before being commissioned for these cartoons, was open about his disdain for the original Hanna-Barbera shorts that he described as “needlessly violent.” After he was assigned to the series, he did come around to somewhat realize that the violence was intended to be overly cartoonish and humorous, but his initial opinion still had an influence on his directing decisions. In addition to these facts, the foreign team behind this series had only collectively seen a handful of the original cartoons, and each short was given a budget of only $10,000, compared to the $50,000 that the Hanna-Barbera shorts had all been given.

SO. To recap, these 13 new shorts were being made by a foreign team who had barely seen any of the source material, directed by a man who had disliked the original cartoons, and being made on 1/5 of the budget that the Hanna-Barbera shorts were given. Needless to say, the end results were a DISASTER. I’m not kidding when I say that watching these shorts feels almost like a fever dream with how completely baffling and surreal they are. I honestly don’t think they could be any more different from the original series; the music and sound effects are extremely minimalist and usually completely absent, the animation is so jerky and totally lacking the fluidity of the originals, and the character design is also drastically different and, in my opinion, kinda ugly too. These are universally considered to be the worst of the theatrical shorts, and Deitch himself has even stated that he and his team “hardly had a chance to succeed” and he fully understands the negativity directed towards the shorts he directed. I have to confess that when I rewatched all the theatrical shorts, I only got through two of these before outright skipping the rest of them. These 13 shorts are a complete disgrace to the majesty of the Hanna-Barbera series, and while I don’t hold anything against the people behind them, I can’t lie when I say that I hate these shorts.

5) The Chuck Jones Era: 128-161 (1963-1967)

I have an odd love-hate relationship with these shorts. I don’t think I need to explain to you the legacy of the great Chuck Jones, the creator of Marvin the Martian, Pepe Le Pew, and the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote whose name is nearly synonymous with the Looney Tunes cartoons of the 30′s, 40′s, and 50′s. He’s an absolute legend in the animation industry, and yet... the Tom and Jerry shorts that he directed are still significantly weaker than the original series. Let me start with the things I like though! The slight changes in the character design to match Chuck Jones’ signature style are super appealing (I especially like how at times, Tom will almost resemble Jones’ design for the Grinch) and the animation is of course very well done and a joy to watch, but despite these positives, the humor is sadly lacking. There are still quite a few jokes that land, but they’re more restrained and just don’t have the same high-energy oomph! of the impactful gunshot sound effects and violent screams of the original cartoon. I’ll always have an appreciation for this era of shorts and the man behind them, but they sadly didn’t even come halfway close to the Hanna-Barbera series.

WELL. ANYWAY, THAT’S MY RANT!!! Thanks for reading this far, all two people that did. It just felt good to get this outta my system! 💖💖

#long post #💜: you're the cat's meow!#ruby rambles #i implore you i am begging you PLEASE interact wif this post #legit it will make me SO happy if someone leaves a little comment or ask for me and a reblog would actually kill me 💘💘#JUST PLEASE TALK TO ME ABOUT THE CARTOON I LOVE IT SM #maybe if people wanna talk about their favorite episodes and stuff!!! im more than willing to respond!!!#i just have so much to say im sorry jhfsjhd 🥺🥺🥺

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green-t-ea · 5 years ago

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Shadow realm (java) mini recap!

I decided I keep doing these lil updates when i can cause they are fun!

Welcome to the shadow realm recap! I'm your host a writer Green T!

we have Watchers Shadows and Herobrine Oh my! Today at quills base there was a mysterious sign leading to the conclusion of a terf war between a watcher faction and Herobrine. at 0,0 a large coal statute appeared with a lore book and in the shape of an end eye. this has been confirmed as Herobrine who seems to be the more meta version as a concept of the feeling of being watched. after the server got togeather and made a board at spawn about this event a coal block was found in front with a sign reading "Memento mori (the concept of remembering inevitable death) something about being watched. that's the theme of Today a big events huh?

Lucky for you no new shadows have been spotted since shadoc a appearance so we can move right on to the builds!

Today we have had

-a diorite shop by woosh

-bow shop

-clay shop

-start of public enchanter

- the continuation of the Shadow garden build started by Shay and cordinated by me

- the tree house for shadoc if he ever returns

-another pond renovation

-jevin dancing on the tables

-public coordinate board

-many many house begginings and upgrades

- the watch tower!

-another custom tree by me

we have had plenty of shops go up but I bet you all wanna know about the shenanagins!

Everybody getting lost as usual

a spawn tour for new people

silverfish everywhere

falling off a tree many times

no belly don't break the scaffolding!!!

Jeremy the orange sheep

puzzler the cat being a lil shit

Reggie being a darling

tim lost the horse again probably

cod Corp returns!!!

Salmon man spotted

chick pea the cat being silly and salt guarding the flower gardens

chest monster 1.0 clean up

the poor bed caught in spawn protection.

everybody getting killed by sweet berry bushes

this recap pertains to only happening on the java server. stuff is crazy over here while the bedrock crew are all sane.

#mc shadow realm #shadow people au #Java is nuts

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saym0-0 · 10 months ago

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said it before i think but hermitcraft recap crew as watchers is one of my favourite headcanons. like typically people think of evil watchers and runaway/rebel watchers like grian, who reject their powers completely. HOWEVER! this is wrong, theres a secret third type! the recap crew do their jobs of watching hermitcraft, and the other watchers kind of leave them alone. they don't particularly approve of the other groups methods, but they're not breaking any rules so they leave them alone. this is also part of the reason grian is so safe on hermitcraft, because watchers dont think to look there as they assume the recap crew has it covered. if only they bothered to actually watch the show 😔

#hermitcraft #hermitblr #watchers #watcher headcanon #hermitcraft recap #hermitcraft recap crew #pixlriffs #watcher pixlriffs #sloyxp #watcher sloy #lyarrah #watcher lyarrah #watcher lore

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ascension-soliloquy · 5 years ago

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Mistborn first read - book 2 - The Well of Ascension part 1.5 chapters 6-11

[Spoilers for the chapters covered, and all previous chapters]

Predictions (in addition to the ones previously listed):

•Who is the mystery Watcher who helped Vin? Maybe the Inquisitor in the first book was lying, and it is Vin’s brother Reen. I guess I’m holding out hope that he turns up alive, because all we have seen of him so far is in Vin’s memories. On some level I think I sort of relate to him, because I’m the older brother of two sisters, although my relationship with them is considerably better than Reen’s, and, unlike Vin’s sister, both of them are still alive.

•What does the new alloy do? Since aluminum strips away the other metals an Allomancer has ingested, maybe this one makes them last longer. Either that, or perhaps it’s the key to using Allomancy and Feruchemy together.

Part 1.5: Heir of the Survivor (chapters 6-11)

Chapter 6

Vin and Ham spar. Elend, Clubs, and Spook watch. Spook apparently sneaks around in disguise. Spook says someone is spreading rumors about atium being kept in Luthadel, probably to make opposing kingdoms attack the city. Vin beats Ham. Afterwards he tells the other men, “Vin’s a thin little thing, but when she burns pewter, she grows several times stronger... She packs all that strength into a small body, and doesn’t have to bother with the weight of massive muscles. She’s like...an insect. Far stronger than her mass...would indicate. So, when she jumps, she can jump.”

Elend thinks about how the group that had followed Kelsier is able to laugh and seem to have a good time even in dire situations. “They still faced an army several times larger than their own... Yet, if anyone could survive such a situation, it would be Kelsier’s crew.”

OreSeur can still speak, even with a dog mouth. He finds the new body offensive and degrading. Vin thinks he’s being forward and belligerent. She still thinks of him as Renoux. “Anyone can claim loyalty, Vin thought. If someone has a ‘Contract’ to ensure their honor, then all the better. That makes the surprise more poignant when they do turn on you.” Vin agrees to spend more time with OreSeur, even if she’s not sure that’s what she wants.

All this hinting at a betrayal makes it almost certain in my mind that there will be one at some point in this story, but the idea that it will be the kandra could be a red herring to throw us off the trail of the actual betrayer. Earlier in the chapter, Elend sees a look of jealousy cross Spook’s face. Maybe he’ll be the betrayer.

I looked up pictures of wolfhounds online. Man, those things are huge! If Vin is small as described, it’s comical thinking of her carrying an unconscious one over her shoulder.

Chapter 7

Sazed tries to teach skaa how to write, but they have no real desire for learning. “The Lord Ruler was dead, but the story did not seem finished. Was there something he had overlooked? Something larger...than the Lord Ruler? Something so large...that it was effectively invisible?” You mean something like the Deepness? Nah, couldn’t be.

“He knew that Vin and the others saw him as docile, but compared with other Keepers he was a wild man.” *sigh...I’m trying so hard to resist...but not really. If you have read the Wheel of Time, you probably know which character I’m thinking of right now, so I’m not even going to say it.

Creepy McNightmare Marsh shows up to scare the bejeezus out of the villagers, and tell Sazed to come with him to the Conventical of Seran, a Ministry stronghold. Sazed thinks about what knowledge he may find there.

[The next paragraph contains spoilers for Wheel of Time book #2 The Great Hunt, Star Trek The Next Generation season 3 and 4, and Doctor Who season 8 (12th Doctor)]

“...my brethren...” Clues of betrayal, or just a new idiosyncrasy? Wait...don’t tell me...they’re not going to turn Sazed into an Inquisitor, are they? F*** it, I can’t resist the WOT comparisons. Until I find out otherwise, that’s just my point of reference at the moment. This just feels like [WOT book #2 spoiler] Liandrin leading the girls away to Toman Head. I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough if I’m right or wrong. I suppose other references I could make would be the [Star Trek TNG] Borg capturing Picard, or [Doctor Who season 8] Danny Pink and the Cybermen. That is if what I think is happening actually does happen. Of course, both of those characters still ended up being turned back to the good side, but then again they didn’t have spikes driven through their f***in’ eye sockets!

Anyway, I overthink things way too much, and this chapter has me on edge. I’m as paranoid as Vin right now. I’m sure you can tell I don’t trust Marsh. I haven’t ever since he got the Obligator tattoos in book one (I shudder to think of what Marsh was doing that impressed the Obligators and Inquisitors so much), and this chapter just magnified that distrust exponentially.

Chapter 8

Vin tests OreSeur’s abilities as a dog. He’s faster and has sharper senses than he ever did in human form. He keeps up with her easily. The Watcher turns up and Vin decides to go after him. Attack someone who has already helped you in a fight; alienate potential allies; great idea Vin! They fight a little, and then chase each other. The Watcher finds a hiding spot, and Vin figures out where it is by burning bronze. She burns duralumin while burning other metals to see what it does. She feels what seems like a massive explosion, but after a moment of shock realizes that the alloy had amplified the other metals she was burning, made their effects overwhelmingly intense, and depleted them quickly.

OreSeur catches up with her as she sits there stunned. He gives her the belt that has more vials of metal in it so she can replenish what she just burned away. As she looks to the room where the Watcher had been hiding, he drops down close to her. They have a cryptic conversation, trying to figure each other out.

“Who are you?”...

“An enemy...”

“Why, then, did you help me fight those assassins?”

“Because...I’m also insane.”

After the Watcher leaves, OreSeur shows Vin that he can store her vials of metal in his flesh. Ew...helpful, but ew.

Chapter 9

Sazed thinks about how Marsh has changed. Marsh’s nickname according to Spook had been Ironeyes, which now seems prescient. Marsh seems to be concerned about Sazed wasting time in the countryside and thinks he should be helping his friends in Luthadel. Hmm...maybe I have been quick to judge Marsh, but still, I’m wary. I’ll reserve judgement until we see how the trip to Seran plays out. Maybe this conversation is meant to lull us into a false sense of safety before the trap is sprung.

I have noticed in my copy of the book that the map has different spellings than in the rest of the book. For example: Seran is spelled Searan on the map. In chapter 3 when Ham talks about the assassins that fought Vin he mentioned a place called Fadrex City, but on the map it says Fadex City. Is this a typo, or is it intentional?

Chapter 10

Elend is holding an assembly. Vin and Ham, among others, serve as security guards. Ham pats Vin affectionately on the shoulder and makes her uncomfortable. “Ham’s innocent gesture made her want to squirm. It seemed to her that people shouldn’t be so casual with the way that they touched others.” Vin and Ham have a discussion about politics. Vin is concerned about Elend giving away too much of his power to too many other people.

Elend gives a speech about their freedom as a nation, and how that freedom was in danger with the foreign army attacking. Elend asks for time to meet with Straff. The assembly degenerates into arguments. Elend keeps trying to get everyone to vote. Lord Penrod says they all know what kind of man Elend’s father is, and that if he wants the city, he will take it. He supports Elend’s proposal saying it may help them to not give up too much control when Straff takes over. They put it to a vote, and the proposal passes. Vin gets paranoid about potential assassins. Soldiers come to say a second army has arrived outside the city.

To be honest, this chapter was difficult to recap, as I wasn’t sure what was important to include and how to word it, so I did the best I could. Politics aren’t my strong suit. I’m sure there are political maneuverings going on behind the scenes with the characters involved in the assembly, but until it’s revealed, I can’t really comment on it.

Chapter 11

Ooo boy...this chapter is a doozy. I’ll see if I can even do it justice. Time to ramp up the paranoia like there wasn’t enough already!

The new army flies Cett’s banner, so it’s most likely hostile since the assassins Vin fought were traced back to Cett. Vin sees Breeze being chased and decides to go help him. She uses duralumin, this time effectively, to amplify pewter and steel to reach Breeze in time to fight off his pursuers. It didn’t take her long to gain control of this new alloy, did it? Masterful performance, I dare say.

When they get back to the city Breeze admits to spreading the rumors about atium in order to lure Cett’s army to come to Luthadel. He says he did this to cause a standoff between Cett’s and Straff’s armies. Neither will attack the city if either thinks the other will ally with Luthadel. This gives Luthadel time to negotiate with the armies.

Vin, Elend, and OreSeur are riding in a carriage. A guard comes to tell Elend that a body has been found in Vin’s room. This turns out to be the skeleton from the body that OreSeur discarded when he switched to the dog. Elend tells the guard that they know about the body, and asks him to dispose of it for them.

“He probably assumes I ate the person or something...Sucked the flesh right off his bones.” I laughed so hard at this part!

Then the guard asks what to do about the other body, they’re like, wait, what other body? He tells them they found another skeleton when they brought dogs in to sniff around to see if they could find the killer. They tell the guard to show them. When he brings them to it, Elend dismisses the guard. They figure out that it’s from another kandra, and that kandra is probably now impersonating someone close to them; someone from Kelsier’s crew.

Yeah...I can’t do that last part justice. Just reread that part of the chapter for yourself. Wow. So which of our friends got eaten by a body snatcher, and is now an impostor? Welp...I’m struggling to put together a coherent thought, so time for a cliffhanger.

(To be continued)

#brandon sanderson #mistborn #the well of ascension #fantasy #cosmere #vin #sazed #elend venture #mistborn liveblog

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obsidianarchives · 6 years ago

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Game of Thrones Recap: S8E2 - "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms"

Let me get this out of the way up top, I am and have always been a sucker for bottle episodes. While your mileage may vary and I can understand being disappointed if you were expecting more plot than character payoffs, this was everything I could have asked for in a prelude to the devastation we all know is coming. Only one location this week, so let’s get into it.

Winterfell

I don’t know what Jaime thought was going to happen, but the Kingslayer showed up about 19,999 soldiers short on the bill and was immediately hemmed up and brought to trial after arriving in Winterfell like a thief in the night. Daenerys was ready to feed Drogon the man who killed her father (and if he kept pushing it, a side of Tyrion), and Sansa was all too ready to help before Brienne of Tarth stepped in to vouch for him. Finally giving respect to the depths of their relationship, her word was enough for the Lady of Winterfell and Jon, who wants NO smoke between his sister and his love, is just happy to have another hand in the fight. He exits stage left, giving Dany the cold shoulder as soon as she bangs the gavel, ignoring his beloved like he’s 1995 Dumbledore.

Ratbag, slave trader, creepy old pervert Jorah, who for some reason is still hanging around, managed to convince Daenerys to save Tyrion’s head and job as Hand for now and also advised her to have a direct conversation with Sansa instead of ruling by exchanging petty looks. In an overdue change, we’re getting to the point and having characters act like adults instead of talking about each other this season. There is a thawing of relations, as the two powerful leaders find common ground and Sansa explains that her standoffish nature is less about Dany specifically and more about ensuring the protection of her people.

She knows men do stupid things in love (and out of love) and while the Dragon must have three heads, Sansa wants to make sure her people are protected should Jon make decisions with the wrong one. She apologizes for the lack of formalities last episode, but isn’t here for the kiki and wants to know what will happen to the North after the battle with the dead. Dany is as non-committal as Stevie J, but her answer is cut short by the arrival of Theon back in Winterfell. I didn’t like the looks Sansa and Theon were exchanging here, but hopefully it’s just the bonds of friendship and not a more romantic suggestion. I have never seen it for Theon, his redemption arc, shipping him with anyone other than death, or as a staff, record label, and a MFing crew and I’m not about to start now.

The Night’s Watch and Brotherhood Without Banners holdouts (primarily Tormund and Dolorous Edd) made their way to Winterfell from the disaster with the Umbers at Last Hearth less than a day ahead of the army of the Dead. With all the expected players finally assembled, the armies of the living try to come up with some sort of strategy, and their plan centers around setting up Bran as bait to get the Night King in the open. For the first time we begin to get some sense of what the White Walkers may actually want, and chief among that is killing Bran as the holder of living memory. Theon volunteers to guard him, which means he’s as good as dead, but no great loss there. Breaking up the war council, Jon avoids Dany again, still having not told her about being first in line for the throne.

After experiencing even more microaggressions, Missandei and Grey Worm realize they’ll never be welcomed in Westeros, and being disgusted with the racism, make plans to retire somewhere warm and safe when this is all over. Which means they’re going to die. BUT THEY’D BETTER NOT! I need someone to rescue them and fly them to Wakanda. By the old Gods and the new.

GHOST BYKE! They finally remembered Jon’s closest companion and friend was not one of the direwolves they needlessly killed, as Winterfell is transformed to the Wall South. We see Jon, Edd, and Sam once again as the Watchers on the Wall, this time atop the Starks’ castle, reflecting on all they’ve seen and mourning their fallen brothers Grenn and Pyp. Inside, Jaime and Tyrion are also going down memory lane, which turns into a fireside chat joined by Brienne, Podrick (who Neville Longbottom’d ALL the way up), Tormund, and Davos. Tormund tries to measure his dick against Jaime and teaches the children about the virtues of calcium.

Trading war stories and all this unlikely group have survived to this point, Tormund — ever the feminist — is disgusted that Brienne is not yet a knight. After she downplays how much the honor would mean to her, Jaime realizes it’s past due and as an anointed knight himself, commands Brienne to kneel as he confers the honor upon her. There’s a touching bit of hesitation on her part, as a woman who has been taunted all her life has to pause to see if this is just another mockery, but in a stirring and surprisingly intimate scene, she finally attains her lifelong goal. Which, unfortunately, means she’s also going to die.

Atop the walls, the Hound and Arya are having another one of their stilted, yet loving conversations, during which Sandor Clegane admits fighting for her changed him. However, being interrupted by Lord Beric reminds Arya there’s somewhere she’d rather be and goes to find Gendry. After stalking her prey and realizing Gendry is here for her murderous ways and still as fine as ever, she drops all pretense and asks his body count as she starts stripping, deciding she wants to celebrate Easter Sunday by hopping on that boy right there in the forge. Our little baby psychopath is all grown up and made good on six years of lust.

Outside, Lady Lyanna Mormont read her cousin Jorah for filth for even fixing his mouth to tell her anything. Unfortunately, the scene did NOT end with her banishing him from the North and our sight, but with Sam rewarding the worthless weasel with the Tarly family’s Valyrian steel sword “Heartsbane” in memory of Lord Commander Jeor Mormont. Back at the fire, Podrick channels his inner Pippin from Lord of the Rings and uses his gifted pipe, er…pipes to sing on the verge of battle. As we see a montage of loving couples (and Sansa x Theon) spending their last night together, we end with Daenerys finally walking up on Jon in the crypts as he stares at his mother’s statue. Jon finally tells her the truth about Rhaegar and Lyanna, and by extension, himself. Instantly, the love leaves Dany’s eyes and she looks at Jon now as a threat and rival, growing colder than the winter outside. Before they can finish their conversation however, they are interrupted by horn blasts. The dead are here. It’s. About. To. Go. DOWN!

With next week’s “Battle of Winterfell” bearing constant comparisons to the Battle of Helm’s Deep in Peter Jackson’s The Two Towers, it’s interesting that this episode should share so much in common tonally with The Return of the King: a kingdom on the edge of war, awaiting its inevitable destruction before the dawnless day. The episode posits that life is intrinsically linked to memory and history. What better way to spend a last night with the forces of the living than by reminiscing. The last enemy that must be defeated is death, but the battle is not lost as long as the memory of what was lost is preserved.

Book-Specific Notes: I try to keep theories and predictions (at least those informed by the text) separate for the particularly spoiler-averse, so read on at your own discretion. The choice to use Jenny of Oldstones for Podrick to sing before the battle was potentially telling. For a refresher, this is also the song that Tom of Sevenstreams sings as payment to the Ghost of High Heart for her visions. The song laments the Tragedy of Summerhall, which saw the death of several legendary figures, but was also the night Jon’s father (and Daenerys’s brother) Rhaegar Targaryen was born. The Jenny of the song is the wife of Duncan Targaryen, who gave up his claim to succession and chance to rule the Iron Throne out of love. It's also strongly hinted that the Ghost of High Heart is the same witch who made the prophecy that The Prince That Was Promised would come from that specific Targaryen lineage.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say the show is tipping its hand yet, but there are a number of interesting parallels. But also, the lyrics might spell trouble for those that we saw in the montage as Pod sang:

High in the halls of the kings who are gone Jenny would dance with her ghosts. The ones she had lost and the ones she had found And the ones who had loved her the most.

#Game of Thrones #Winterfell #Winter Is Coming #Recap #Season 8

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sheikah · 6 years ago

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An Excessively Long Con ofThrones Recap Post!

Hey guys! I haven’t been active for about a week so I hope everyone is doing well. I am just getting home from an excellent long weekend at Con ofThrones 2018 in Dallas. I had a great trip there and thought some of you might like to hear about it :D

This was my second trip to Con ofThrones and definitely my favorite experience there yet. Last year the Con was in Nashville at the Gaylord resort, and this year it moved to Dallas and took place at the smaller Hyatt Regency. I think the smaller setting was a good thing for the event, condensing the panels closer to one another and creating a more communal feel for all of the attendees.

Perhaps the best thing about this trip was that I got to spend it with one of my best friends and favorite people, Jenn/ @dracarysqueen. We spent the whole week leading up to the Con together in New Orleans so I was a bit wiped out by the time we got to Dallas. But sharing this experience with someone I met THROUGH the Thrones fandom really helped to keep our excitement and energy up.

On the first morning, Jenn, my husband Alex, and I had a pretty exciting moment. We met one of GRRM’s friends at breakfast! We were sitting at the hotel eating and discussing the show when an older man next to us struck up conversation. After a few minutes he pulled out his phone, said, “Since you’re being nice I’ll do something for you guys,” and showed us a contact in his phone. It was George!!!! He explained how he met him and kind of recapped their relationship, saying that George was actually SUPPOSED TO BE AT THE CON! He wasn’t going to be an “official” guest but he had planned to go and sort of observe what he could, but was suffering from diabetes complications and couldn’t make it. Anyway, this friend of George promised to get Jenn and I signed copies of ASOIAF the next time he sees George, and told us some cool stories about their friendship. He also said this, verbatim, which I was pretty excited to hear: “George has more involvement and creative control than many people seem to think.” And David and Dan “are doing a great job” at writing plot points that we don’t yet have in the books. In other words, he basically confirmed that George has told him that the show up to this point is doing what he wanted it to do and that major plot points are, in fact, the same. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip and if anyone is interested in this conversation and things he said about George I can elaborate :D

We were also thrilled to meet up with Yara/ @oadara at the Con. We had three of the founding Jonerys fandom folks all in one place and I couldn’t be happier to have met these lovely ladies and spent some time with them in the flesh.

On our first day we attended some great panels from both cast/crew and fans. The first was a panel on “Targaryen Politics in Post-Dragon Westeros.” There were some interesting ideas presented from the panelists and some great laughs from those who frequently circled back to Aegon the Unworthy and his remarkable reign. Everyone had a good chuckle discussing his disastrous attempts to transport wildfire that ultimately led to the burning of half the kingswood, as well as his impressive virility--he impregnated three women in one night. Overall the panel seemed to come to the conclusion that many of the Targaryen monarchs could not effectively enforce their policies without dragons. But I think that the aforementioned Aegon’s mistakes, culminating in the later Blackfyre Rebellions, might be more to blame for this than the lack of dragons.

After that we went to the interview with Sibel Kekilli, who portrays Shae in the show. She was an absolute delight to listen to and had the audience laughing the entire time. In particular I was pleased with what she had to say because it was so apparent that she was every engaged with the show and with her character. Sometimes when I watch commentary with the cast, like with Peter Dinklage for example, they give the impression that they aren’t very connected to storylines outside their own scenes. In other words, they don’t necessarily spend a lot of time watching the show or thinking about it outside work. But Sibel had a relatable and endearing take on the plot and is clearly still very emotionally invested in Shae’s arc and the show as a whole. She praised Peter as being lovely to work with and told a heartwarming story about D&D that really stuck with me. Apparently when she got the part of Shae she initially turned it down because she was worried that she couldn’t execute it correctly because of her English and some other things that worried her. She then received a long and heartfelt letter from D&D telling her how much they valued and admired her, and how much they believed in her abilities and her work. She said she still keeps a copy of it to this day, in a drawer next to the necklace she wore in her last episode. She also maintains contact with GRRM and celebrates Thanksgiving with him :)

After Sibel’s panel we went to another fan-run panel called “Game of Threads.” This was my favorite fan panel of the entire con. It was run by Hogan McLaughlin, a fashion and costume designer, who was very knowledgeable and gave a really interesting presentation of the costumes from the most recent seasons. He explained the symbolism of all the costumes, with particular emphasis on Cersei and Dany, and how their dramatic wardrobe changes in season 7 signal a shift in their personalities and motivations. He showed close-ups of the most interesting costume details and was obviously (like all of us) a huge fan of Michelle Clapton’s work. He read out some quotes of hers (many of which I’d already heard because I’m a nerd :P) discussing how Dany’s costumes are a nod to her Targaryen roots and how the fur-lined dress shows a closer allegiance with Jon and the North. Cersei’s outfits, obviously, show her growing darkness. The masculine details on her dresses and even her hairstyle are, according to McLaughlin, “militaristic,” which I agree with and think is an interesting observation as Cersei enters a war not only with the Night King but with Jon and Dany as well.

From there we went to a Jonerys panel entitled, “Daenerys and Jon: Ice and Fire United.” I went into this panel armed for some negativity but it was mostly pleasant. The panelists, for the most part, seemed like pro-Jonerys people. But some of the same critical comments we in the fandom have been hearing for a year did come up. One of the panelists said she saw “no chemistry” between Dany and Jon, while another said that the incest was “icky.” Interestingly enough, it was the two men on the panel who seemed the most defensive of the ship, and Luka Nieto from Watchers on the Wall admitted that he, like the shippers, was happy that Jonerys went canon and wished that we got a better boatsex scene that wasn’t spliced with Jon’s big Targ Reveal. Another panelist mentioned something I’ve been saying myself for quite awhile. The incest “issue” in Jonerys is in reality a non-issue. One thing he mentioned is that it would take generations for genetic problems to surface from Jon and Dany’s union if it were in the real world. But of course, they’re magical people (Targaryens) so we don’t even know if genealogical issues would be a thing at all. What he said (and I agree) is that incest becomes in issue in stories not because of genetic concerns but because of relationship concerns. It’s unsettling to people when a close, trusting, family relationship turns into incest. He actually used Jon and Sansa as an example since they believe themselves to be half siblings. But, as he pointed out, Jon and Dany don’t even know they’re related, so it’s different, and would still be different even if Targaryens didn’t already have a history of incest. He shared my belief that the bigger concern in season 8 will be Jon’s identity, and not the fact that he and Dany are related while also romantically intimate.

Everyone in the room readily acknowledged the inevitability of a Jonerys baby, and seemed excited about it. While there were a couple dissenters, most people also seemed to agree with that and that a possible resulting marriage would prevent Jon and Dany from ever feuding over who has the better claim to the Iron Throne. I was happy to see some panelists acknowledging that it would be wildly out of character for Jon to WANT the Iron Throne, much less to place himself at odds with Dany to get it.

The only thing I really didn’t like was that all four of them seemed convinced that either Jon or Dany would die. One girl cited Azor Ahai/Nissa Nissa as the reason for this, speculating that Jon would have to sacrifice Dany to destroy the Night King. When Yara pointed out that the words “Azor Ahai” and “Nissa Nissa” have never been mentioned in the show, and that TPTWP and Azor Ahai could very well be different, she seemed to reconsider it. I also mentioned the analysis I read of season 7 comparing Dany’s campaign to Azor Ahai’s forging of Lightbringer. First he tried to temper it in water, and it shattered. Next, he used the heart of a lion with the same results. It was only when he tempered it inside Nissa Nissa, his true love, that he was successful. I brought up the popular theory that Dany’s dragons, or possibly just Drogon, are the new Lightbringer, created with the sacrifice of Drogo and Rhaego. If this is true, we can see Dany using her dragons in her conquest as her own attempts at tempering Lightbringer. First, her forces face resistance in water--the Greyjoy/Martell sea battle with Euron. It’s a failure, just like Azor Ahai. Then, her allies contend with the heart of a the lion’s forces--the Lannisters sack Highgarden and wipe out the Tyrells. Another failure. But Dany’s alliance with Jon, who she loves, and her sacrifice of Viserion to save him, could be what she needed to come into her own as the chosen savior of the realm. The panelists liked this analysis and agreed that it would be too neat and tidy for a direct parallel between Jon/Dany and Azor Ahai/Nissa Nissa. Overall I was glad to see some Jonerys-positive folks, but this attitude that either Jon or Dany (and more likely Dany) has to die, prevailed all weekend in almost every panel and really bothered me.

After this we went shopping in the marketplace where I picked up some great stuff. I got a Game of Thrones subscription box with a great shirt, a Jaime’s hand oven mitt (lol!), a Tyrell planting pot, and some other goodies. I also picked up some t-shirts from Watchers on the Wall. I want to support my favorite Thrones fansite, after all :) Lastly, I purchased some fanart from an awesome artist who was there selling her stuff on site. The first print I bought probably won’t surprise you...

That’s right, I picked up this gorgeous drawing of boatsex! >:)

But what yall might not know about me is that I’ve got a major and enduring crush on Iwan Rheon. I readily acknowledge that Ramsay is absolutely vile and horrible, but Iwan Rheon in costume is uh... my aesthetic. So I also purchased this snazzy drawing to hang in my office!

This artist actually had several drawings of Ramsay, and even gave me her card with AO3 info to read her fanfics haha. I loved getting to interact with other fans in person this way :)

As we were leaving the marketplace we were lucky enough to run into Sam Coleman (aka Willis/Young Hodor!) and get a photo. He’s really nice and a hilarious guy to talk to as well.

We ended the day with a live debate of the “Most Consequential Death” in GoT/ASOIAF. It went off the rails a bit so I didn’t stick around until the end, but there were some intriguing and some funny candidates. I think Lyanna was one of the more compelling answers, as was Shireen (without whom we arguably would not have Jon’s resurrection!! “Only death can pay for life,” of course) but the frontrunner seemed to be “Todd Stark,” aka the man who was turned into the Night King hahaha.

Our next day started off wonderfully because the first item on our agenda was a photo op with Joe Dempsie. He is, without a doubt, just as handsome in person. Whoa. Like, I’ve looked into the eyes of god and survived ;)

From there we went to listen to a panel from Miltos Yeromelou, who plays Syrio Forel. He’s an incredibly charismatic and fun person to listen to, and he’s had a really unique life in almost every sphere or performance or entertainment. He’s also extremely personable, outgoing, loud, and funny. He kissed every panelist on stage on the mouth at one point and was constantly standing up and demonstrating things throughout his talk. One of my favorite tidbits was the fact that he and Maisie made a pact together when they met and started filming Thrones. Apparently when most actors have sword-fighting or other combat scenes, they don’t even bother learning the difficult choreography and leave it all to their stunt doubles. But Miltos said that he and Maisie agreed to learn their choreography and practice with their swords so that they could be as involved in the scenes as possible. Of course, this absolutely paid off and I love the finished product of all of their scenes together. To this day they are some of my favorite Arya moments!

After that we sat on the panel with Esme Bianco, the actress who played Ros. This was a fun panel and I was excited by her enthusiasm. She remarked, and rightfully so, on the ridiculousness of her costumes--mostly just a belt here or there--and on her costars and more difficult scenes. She was upset that Ros’s death took place offscreen and described how in the shot where her body is revealed (the slow pan across Joffrey’s chamber), she caused them to have to cut and redo it a few times because she kept acting out a death moment when the camera got to her. It was hilarious to hear her describe this haha. She also mentioned Alfie Allen and said that he was one of her best friends on set, which was a good thing considering the nature of their scenes together. She noted that her sex scene with Alfie and the way Ros is sort of funny and has a cocky attitude is something that she’s proud of.

From there we watched Joe Dempsie’s panel, which was probably my favorite cast panel. He was very down to earth and funny, and he talked about his viral tweet of Gendry rowing that later became the biggest meme in the fandom. He also discussed training with the hammer that he wields in season 7, and what it was like building strength enough to swing it. He said that he would practice swinging a sledgehammer in his garden and probably scared his neighbors because he was doing it shirtless. (Me listening to this: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) )

He said that he is done filming for season 8 and talked about how emotional it was finishing up on the show, even though he’s been off of it for years. I couldn’t get a read on how he feels about season 8 (no one would really reveal anything, of course) but he did say that it was very sad to finish up, not just because his scenes were over, but because he was watching others wrap for the season as well and everyone is very sad to be finished.

The only thing that I didn’t like in his panel was when he was asked about Gendrya. Don’t get me wrong: I ship it. And he explicitly stated that he would be open to working that way with Maisie now. But he was clearly very uncomfortable when asked how he felt about the ship because, as he reminded us, he was in his early twenties and Maisie was 14 when they were filming together. I just wish it hadn’t been brought up because it was the only time he seemed reluctant to answer a question. But he did admit that he sees why people ship it and that he’s open to it :) So I’d say that bodes well for their season 8 relationship :D

The night wrapped up with the cosplay contest, and I wish I had photos. But I was too busy drinking and cheering for all that. The winner was a couple cosplaying as Jon and Dany. Their costumes were beautiful, and I especially loved the detailed embroidery on their outfits. Jon’s cape had an incredibly detailed and gorgeous new sigil that combined the Targaryen and Stark sigils! There were also some really creative ideas like someone who cosplayed The Wall and another who was the Harpy of Meereen. While the girl pictured below didn’t win, her gorgeous Myrcella was one of my favorites of the weekend!

Don’t mind that orange bit--that’s just the lanyard for our Con badges. But I love the details on her dress, which she made herself, and the nice touch of the blood from Ellaria’s poison.

Our last day was a little less eventful. We kicked off with Hannah Murray (Gilly)’s panel. It was a good one, and she gave some great insight into Gilly’s character. She said that for early seasons she made a conscious effort not to smile because Gilly didn’t have anything to smile about. But we can see as the seasons progress that she begins to feel more comfortable with Sam and Little Sam, and to feel more confident in herself. She said that one of her favorite scenes is the one where Gilly and Sam are plucking a goose, and that in that moment we can tell that Gilly is truly happy. She also discussed the scene in season 6 where Gilly and Sam are at Horn Hill and Sam sees Gilly in a dress for the first time. She said that D&D wanted it to be a “She’s All That” moment in which Gilly is beautiful and stunning as she appears in the dress. Hannah said that would be strange and not like Gilly, so she planned to play the scene differently. Conveniently, the shoes she was given with the dress were hard to walk in, and the dress didn’t fit well as it was supposed to be one that was made for Sam’s sister. So the wobbling in the scene that we see was partly genuine. Hannah says she and D&D like the scene better this way because Gilly isn’t flawless and stunning but Sam says, “You’re beautiful” anyway. We get to see that this is how Sam truly sees Gilly, no matter what. I basically cried when she said this haha.

She was asked if she was honored to be the one delivering the Rhaegar/Lyanna marriage reveal line and she said that she was, and that she did not expect the huge fan reaction that took place after the episode aired. This naturally led to more questions about what that revelation meant, and what other ships she liked in the show. She said that Gilly doesn’t care about anyone else and that she would not care at all about what was going on with Jon and Dany. I laughed and I have to say I agree, even though in my AU fic, Gilly and Dany are friends. She was also asked if she ships Jon and Sansa, to which she made a very confused and disgusted face and said nothing at all. She also said that she thinks that Dany’s relationships with her dragons are “one-sided” haha, so she’s got some pretty strong opinions. But I love Hannah Murray and her performance both as Gilly and as Cassie on Skins and it was awesome listening to her.

Next up was Tommy Dunne’s panel. He is the weapons designer for the show, and has also done the weapons on many other shows and films including my personal favorite movie, Gladiator. He was a lovable and HILARIOUS Irish man who immediately stole my heart. There are too many cool things from his panel to mention but some things that stuck out: He has done a few cameos on the show, most notably as the man shaving Jon, Robb, and Theon, in that infamous shirtless scene in season 1. He apparently is still made fun of for this cameo hahaha. He also referred to D&D and “the two lads,” and all of my followers should be told that henceforth I will only be referring to them as such lmao. Perhaps the most interesting moment of his panel was the revelation that his favorite episode of the series thus far is one from season 8! I can’t wait to see it :)

From there we attended a fan panel on spinoffs in which we discussed the most likely possibilities for the spinoff series and what will be most successful if done correctly. Most of the audience agreed that it will be something involving Targaryen history. Aegon’s Conquest, The Dance of Dragons, and the Blackfyre Rebellions were the most popular ideas. Someone also pitched Nymeria and the Ten Thousand Ships, which I would personally love to see. But I think Aegon’s Conquest would be my favorite possibility and the most likely one since there wouldn’t be AS MANY dragons to CGI as the Dance of Dragons, but it is still a big enough plot to capture the audience in the same way that Game of Thrones has, and offers many possibilities with the POVs of both the Targaryens themselves and the people they conquer. While most agreed the Targs will be involved, many people, including one panelist, expressed their distaste for this. I was once again annoyed by the persistent Targaryen hate I see sometimes in the fandom, and a guy on the panel pulled out a train whistle, blew it happily, and said “All Aboard the Targaryen Hate Train.”

Unfortunately this seemed to continue into my last panel of the day, which was about Jon and how his story fits Campbell’s 12-part story of the hero. The panel was extremely interesting and detailed and I really enjoyed it for the most part. I also got a kick out of the panelists inviting “Con Snow,” the resident Jon cosplayer, to the stage during their talk. He has many Jon cosplays but his interpretation of Night’s Watch Jon is my favorite. He looked fantastic.

At the end of the panel, the panelists opened it up for speculation about how the 12 steps can help us predict Jon’s future. At first this led to some interesting discussion. But then, inevitably, we turned AGAIN to rampant speculation that Dany will die. Some of the audience members seemed delighted by this possibility, asserting that she should never be queen, “has only ever wanted power and nothing else,” “has never made sacrifices,” and is less deserving than Jon. The oft-repeated idea that Jon deserves the throne most because he doesn’t want it was seized upon by the crowd, and at this point I got up and left. I’m tired of this idea. It’s frankly the same one that got Trump into office. Why do we believe that people with no interest in politics or leadership would make the best leaders? Experience is a good thing. Passion is a good thing. Dany now has both in spades. And so I suppose the only thing I ended the Con disappointed with was the continued attitude in some sects of the fandom that ambitious women like Dany are a threat. I say ambitious women, because many of the people critiquing Dany’s supposed thirst for “power” (which I disagree with anyway) are the same ones who are still die-hard Stannis fans. So it’s okay for him to make a military bid for the throne, but not Dany. It just felt a bit sad to be someone who supports and enjoys Dany when surrounded by a lot of folks who are either convinced she will die, or simply want her to. I am happy to say that there were some people who spoke up and offered alternative opinions, and for the most part (with a few exceptions of course) everyone was civil and kind.

Overall the tone of the Con was fun, inclusive, loving, and exciting. I’m happy that I went and hope that I will be able to afford another visit to Con ofThrones 2019, and of course another chance to hang out with Jenn and Yara. In fact, we’re already planning a panel for 2019 :D Being there reminded me again of why I love this story and this fandom, and I hope to create some more content for you guys in the coming weeks as I feel nice and inspired!

#personal #i recommend it for any fellow dorks #if any of you suffered through this whole huge post #then thank you lmao

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sunnydaleherald · 1 year ago

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The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Thursday, November 23

Xander : Happy thanksgiving.

~~Pangs~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

The Thanksgiving Catastrophe (Xander/Spike, PG) by Forsaken2003

Vanity and Security (Cordelia, G) by Addicted2Angst

Vampire hollywoodienne (Buffy/Faith, T) by FridayQueen

Fixation (Giles/Spike, M) by Anonymous

Thankful or Not (Buffy/Spike, T) by violettathepiratequeen

"Happy Thanksgiving, everyone" (Giles/Reader, sfw) by noceurstars

[Chaptered Fiction]

I Can't Remember, Chapter 6 (Buffy/Angel, E) by MeTheMermaid

THe More the World is Changing, the More it Stays the Same, Chapter 1 (Angel/Spike, M) by the_widow_twankey

Cherry on Top, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Maxineeden

Dead End Plots, Chapter 19 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Melme1325

To All We Guard, Chapter 12 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by simmony

Crash and Burn, Chapter 19 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by NautiBitz

The Magic of Sunnydale, Chapter 3 (Crossover with Harry Potter, FR15) by Buffyworldbuilder

The Corridors of a Twisted Mind, Chapter 37 (Multiple crossings, FR18) by johnsmith

The Prodigal Boyfriend, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, 18+) by myrabeth

A Son's Love, Chapter 13 (Buffy/Spike, 13+) by Fancyflautist

The Plunge, Chapter 13 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by Harlow Turner

What the Drabble?, Chapter 45 (Buffy/Spike, R) by VeroNyxK84

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork:👁️ ATS 216. Epiphany 👁️ by tmcarlee

Artwork:Buffy fanart by CajunKhan

Sims:My WIP of Sunnydale High in The Sims 4 by mrsnikki88

Artwork: by

Meme:[Spike licking houses] by tara-fantastico

Gifset: BtVS 2x03 "School Hard" | AtS 2x19 "Belonging" by mycatismyfriend

Gifset:"Pangs" by dailybtvs

Gifset:Buffy the vampire slayer (1997-2003) by whitefluffyyeti

Gifset:S01:E08 - I, Robot ... You, Jane (Part 10) by thecrazyknight

Gifset:BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER | 4.08 “Pangs” by whatisyourchildhoodtrauma

Gifset:BtVS 5x07 “Fool For Love” by thepunkmuppet

Gifset:favourite cordelia looks [1/?]: ats 2x13 “happy anniversary” by thepunkmuppet

[Reviews & Recaps]

[Dopplegangland restrospective] by coraniaid

GET YOUR SUCK JOBS!!! | Buffy the Vampire Slayer 5x10 | The Normies Group Reaction by The Normies

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER 6X13 REACTION | First Time Watching by EvilQK

Forever: Buffy the Vampire Slayer 5x17 Reaction by Dakara

"Teacher's Pet" | Buffy S01E04 Spoiler Review | The Re-Watcher's Council #4 | LGRN by LGRN - Entertainment

Podcast: Lucky Guess - Angel S05E06 - The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco by Pop Culture Role Call

[Community Announcements]

The Herald's position on AI-generated text and images by The Sunnydale Herald

[Fandom Discussions]

top 5 relationships on buffy the vampire slayer by fox-toothed

Dont mind me, I'm just here thinking about my favorite blorbos, forehead cuts edition... by destiel-wings

[Faith's arc missing moment] by antiquery

My pitch for how to fix btvs season 7 by ammoniteflesh

[Bisexual Xander] by smmagill

TW: The Body by OprahsWagon

Is Caleb a useful creation in the context of cultural conversations about misogyny or bigotry? by Acceptable_Leg_7998 and multiple authors

TIL that Faith only appeared in 20 episodes by multiple authors

What if Tara wasn't shot by multiple authors

Should I watch Angel? by multiple authors

who would you like to be final big bad in season 7 instead first evil? by multiple authors

SMG was known as a bitca for fighting for the rights of herself and the rest of the cast and crew. by multiple authors

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

#btvs

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remotecontrolchuck · 7 years ago

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Toonami Night Review: So Long GUNDAM IBO, Stay Gold.

Well last week was the finale of Gundam IBO, and man did it end in true Gundam fashion. Since having seen the first season back in 2016, we we’re introduced to new protagonists and characters that we grew to love and admire. Watch them endure hardships, conquer great obstacles, and come out on top in the end. And in this second season we got to see them do it again, except after going through it all, a lot of them didn’t make it out alive. And such is the lesson from most Gundam shows. There is no glory in war, only hell.

Now like every show that finishes its first run on the block, I like to send them off with a nice overall review of how they did, and this show is no exception. And while this might be a bit lengthy, especially considering this is Gundam we’re talking about, I’ll try to summarize this the best I can.

Right off from the bat, we begin with Tekkadan riding on high after having made a name for themselves after their epic battle against Gjallarhorn at Edmonton. Since then they’ve expanded, gaining new recruits, and defeating rival mercenary forces. But with their success, they also gained consequences. Keeping to their end of the bargain, Orga and Tekkadan aid McGillis in his plans to takeover Gjallarhorn, and with it comes new enemies.

The new main antagonist being the head of Gjallarhorn’s Arianrhod Fleet and McGillis’s main rival, the pragmatic Rustal Elion, and under him his three subordinates. The ever loyal and determined Julietta Juris, the foolish and yet somehow charismatic among the troops (they must’ve been really stupid) Iok Kujan, and last but not least the mysterious masked ace in the hole Vidar (later revealed to be a still alive Gaelio who gets his revenge on McGillis).

Of course Tekkadan’s adversaries weren’t just Gjallarhorn, but those working for them, such as the bearded mercenary working for Rustal, Galan Mossa, and the informant and rival to Naze, Jasley Donomikols. And on one occasion, another enemy arose that was to both Tekkadan and Gjallarhorn, the ancient mobile armor (and totally not Metal Gear Ray) Hashmal. And with these new foes, came epic battles and fights. And over time, each battle became more brutal and intense.

In the beginning Tekkadan won some of them and came out on top, but they nonetheless took casualties and some losses. And as they began to lose the coming battles, their losses increased, and their bright future becoming bleaker. In the end Tekkadan would meet a bittersweet end, with many of its members managing to fake their deaths and keep on surviving. And while Orga, Mikazuki, Akihiro, and many of the protagonists and character didn’t make it out in the end, their sacrifices were not in vain and died fighting to the end.

But funny enough, despite Tekkadan being brought down by Rustal and his forces, they were the victors in the end. Yep, despite how Orga and the rest of Tekkadan never became Kings of Mars, their conflict with Gjallarhorn caused the organization to reform completely. With many of the Ruling Families lost, as well a lot of troops and mobile suits, as well as the scandal involving Gjallarhorn becoming public, Rustal was forced to change the organization into a more democratic one in order for it to remain in power.

That, and Gjallarhorn was forced to greatly downsize their Mars branch, leading to Martian Independence becoming reality, and the creation of the Martian Union. And in good faith, and probably to prevent another Tekkadan in the future, Rustal signs a pact with Kudelia, now Chairwoman of the Martian Union, to abolish the Human Debris system that created a lot of child soldiers.

So yeah. In the end it sucks that Orga, Mika, and many of the protagonists died during this season, but even so they were nonetheless the victors in the end. They never realized their goal, but they certainly made Gjallarhorn pay dearly before going down, and created a better future in the process. Many of the surviving members of Tekkadan are now living happier lives (well except a now older Ride who’s on a revenge spree), and Kudelia and Atra are now a couple raising Mikazuki’s young son, Akatsuki.

Now that I could go on further about the plot in detail, but I don’t this review to be so incredibly lengthy, so I save it when I do a more in depth review in the future. Moving onto the other parts of Gundam IBO, as expected the animation was fantastic, and the music was very well done. But most of all, we had some pretty kick ass Gundams and Mobile Suits, as well as even more kick ass battles in both space and on the ground.

Overall I recommend Gundam IBO to anyone interested in a good Gundam anime, as well one to those that are new to the franchise that will want a first hand experience of what to expect from a show like it. I give a 10/10, and I look forward to seeing another good Gundam show like it. And since there will be a new one that takes place shortly after Gundam Unicorn, I wouldn’t be surprised if that ends up on Toonami’s lineup in the future. But for now, I wish Gundam IBO a fond farewell, and to forever Stay Gold.

Whew. Okay, now that’s out of the way, onto how last week’s run went! And man oh man, did we have another night of feels and WTF moments! And since I don’t have a lot of time before tonight’s run of Toonami begins, this will also serves as the recap of last week’s shows. Alright, let’s begin! As always we started the night with a power hour of Dragon Ball, with Goku Black/Zamasu and other Zamasu becoming a problem for Goku and the others in DB Super, and Vegeta tagging in and getting his ass kicked by Buu while Goku charges up his final attack in DBZ Kai. We then had a blast as always with FLCL, Noata deals with suddenly having cat ears, as well as being forced into a leading role in a school play with the class president Ninamori, who has a crush on him. Oh, and as usual monsters, mayhem, and hilarity ensues.

Moving on, we then enter Stardust Crusaders, as JoJo and the others encounter D’Arby, who knows the location of DIO’s lair. The only problem is that they have to beat him in a bet, and unfortunately the crafty gambler has outwitted both Polnareff and Old Man Joseph, winning the bets with elaborate cheating and turning the loser’s soul into a poker chip with his stand. Now it’s up to JoJo to beat him and save his friends, but beating D’Arby at his favorite game, Poker! After an intense session of gambling, we head into the finale of Gundam IBO, as we watch Tekkadan’s final battle, giving our final salutes to those that died valiantly and those that survived and got a happy ending.

After that feels fest, we went into Black Clover, and watched Asta defend Noelle and his friends from a bunch of magic knights that are a bunch of royal snooty assholes. We then moved onto Hunter x Hunter, where we watched Gon go an a date with Palm, which was awkward and nice, but mostly awkward for good reasons. But enough of that. We then head right on into a Five Kage Summit in Naruto Shippuden, before continuing on to more feels in Space Dandy. QT falls in love with a coffee maker, but becomes heartbroken in the end for the sake of love. And while sad, we did get a nice romantic montage with Daft Punk kind of music, as well as an awesome giant robot fight.

After all that, the feels train ends, and we finishes up the night with some monkey business with the Bebop Crew in Cowboy Bebop, and tensions and intrigue escalating in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG.

And that’s about it for last week’s run of Toonami, and with time to spare before Toonami starts. Tonight, My Hero Academia will be making its debut on the block after a very long time, and a lot of watchers like myself can’t wait to see it. So until then, see ya later and Stay Gold!

#toonami #DBZ Kai #dragon ball super #FLCL #jojo's bizarre adventure #gundam ibo #hunter x hunter #Naruto Shippuden #space dandy #cowboy bebop #ghost in the shell: stand alone complex #black clover

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