#we didn’t liveblog in here this year
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sophfandoms53 · 8 months ago
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So… y’all saw the debate too
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tubborucho · 1 year ago
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A LOVE LETTER TO QSMPBLR
I saw my mutuals write those and decided that I also want to say a few words.
My whole life I loved being part of the communities. I��ve been heavily into fandoms since I was 10, and now 12 years later I can firmly state that QSMPblr community is definitely in my personal top 3 of all the fandoms I have been in.
It’s been such a fun and emotional and thrilling journey with so many ups and downs and I would never refuse to repeat it all over again. I met so many wonderful and incredible people because of this server that I can’t thank the universe enough.
All of my mutuals and followers made most of my 2023 so happy, and continue to do so in 2024, and I really need this joy with everything that happens outside the community itself.
(I am sorry this text is all over the place, I am struggling with concentration atm)
And I am so elated and a bit surprised for how many of you I became one of the favorites blogs here. I mean, I jumped from barely 150 followers to around 820 since september, and it’s all thanks to having so much fun liveblogging and theorizing with all of you.
Despite everything, I think Purgatory 1 was my favorite ever time period here. Yes, there was a lot of frustration and negativity but I don’t think I’ve ever felt such a comradery as back then, with my fellow Soulfire mains. I was in the post limit jail every single day, because I just could not stop chatting with all of you and reblogging incredible posts.
I also hold very dearly the moment, where Bad showed Tubbo the Soulfire Base Recreation. But the main reason is not even that this happened, but the fact that so many people on tumblr, in dms and even in Bad’s chat were LOOKING FOR ME, because they knew how much I’ve waited for that to happen. It was just so heartwarming to wake up to dozens of messages and mentions. I struggle with ‘nobody really cares if i am here or not’ syndrome a lot, so it made my day to see that people do.
I also want to say special thanks to some of you (even though each and single one of you deserve a separate paragraph). Under the cut:
@qtubbo and @mikaikaika. I love both of you so much, our 247 crew maybe on a kinda hiatus, but every moment we spent together is so special to me. We had so much fun, and I couldn’t ask for the batter gang to gash about the lore and cool posts together.
@lionheartedmusings. I am pretty sure you do not open tumblr these days, but if or when you see this: I am so glad that I got a chance to be your friend. We held so many incredible discussions together, and I am so proud to see your success and happy to be at least a small part of it.
@ultra-raging-ghost @dappersautismcreature @born-in-hell @comradeboyhalo @bigboobyhalo @mangofanarts @haloberry @halo-chainsaw @kadextra @skullhalo @aesthetic-gem and all the other ghosties here. Man, ghosties and tubblings alliance is honestly the best thing that ever happened to this community, and I loved all of your posts and liveblogging of Bad’s lore even when I didn’t have a clue what’s happening. You are all so smart and so great, ghosties never deserved all the hate them and the streamer got, I will fight for you always.
@terezicaptor you always match my freak. and that’s everything anyone in the fandom can ever ask for.
@itsbebebrainrotting @cheese-water @soulfireblue @galatoma @phatcatphergus @angelpaperclip @an0nfr0mth3d3n @flojouno @dozyrogue @charliecuntcicle @sweetmoons @kqluckity @h3xt0r @wackytheorist thank you for everything, i see you in my notes very often and most of you posted a lot about soulfire (which are always bonus points from me ahaha), and i am very glad you are here💛
@sweetie-peaches @routeriver @snopiah @thepenguisalive7 @piecanl @shumistar @diornies @flowerquib YOUR ART MY GOD YOUR ART OH GOD OH MAN OH GOD OH MYGOD SO GOOD SO INCREDIBLE OH MY GOD
@etoilesbienne and @pommunist i think both of you have the most based takes, and i almost feel smarter when i read your serious posts.
I definitely missed some people I would love to thank, but honestly, as I said, all of you deserve a special thank you. So if you read this, you are awesome and I love you.
I am not leaving the fandom. But it’s always nice to appreciate people around you.
💛💛💛
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lemon-natalia · 7 months ago
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The Locked Tomb Reaction - The Unwanted Guest
it’s taken a while, but finally I’ve been able to get around to liveblogging this! my understanding is that The Unwanted Guest takes place in that period of time where Palamedes is ousting Ianthe from Naberius’s body? so i’m intrigued to see what actually happens, as well as how Muir writes in a new theatre-play format
‘kissing or feeding; we can’t be sure’ haha what the fuck. we’re really going in right off the bat with the surrealist horror here. i had a feeling that Ianthe’s mindscape might be a disturbing place, and apparently i was right
ok so i’m willing to suspend my disbelief that this is just a description for the reader to understand the concept but … does either Palamedes or Ianthe’s subconscious know what a 20th century English butler is?
ohhh my god Ianthe’s in a French maid costume, is this because Palamedes considers it sexy. this is so cursed. once again suspension of disbelief, but do either of these characters know what France is?
i am very much enjoying the dynamic between the two of them here, especially how unimpressed Palamedes is with, well, everything Ianthe 
oooh okay thats intriguing, there’s another person’s voice here. my first instinct is that it’s Camilla, given Palamedes is currently in her body
wow Palamedes’ immediate response to a game of essentially 20 questions is to immediately get philosophical and start a debate about whether the soul can be changed. he sounds like the kind of person who would be absolute hell to play Scrabble or Trivial Pursuit against 
what they’re talking about here is very interesting though. i like the little glimpses we get, primarily through the Sixth and the Fifth, about what academia and science looks like in a world with necromancy. whether the soul can be changed is kind of a big hypothetical in the real world, but in TLT where you can literally summon or ‘consume’ a person’s soul it would be much more directly relevant 
also a very interesting point (at least what I think he’s saying?) from Palamedes here that just because the Lyctors lived for 10,000 years doesn’t necessarily mean that the thanergy powering them is perpetual, it could just be declining very very slowly
okay so the Voice just started talking about ‘Camilla’s idea’, so presumably not her unless she’s talking about herself in third person? it could theoretically just be Palamedes debating with himself? 
Palamedes briefly trying to play bad cop/Ace Attorney and intimidate Ianthe is hilarious 
Ianthe’s insistence that she didn’t murder Naberius because it was his job to die for her anyway is an … interesting perspective
‘she and I both understand that the goal is always worth the cost’ ngl i think Harrow herself would have something to say about that, given she literally gave herself a Claire’s lobotomy in the hope of saving Gideon. it wasn’t so much Harrow who decided that Lyctorhood was worth defeating Cytherea, but Gideon deciding for her 
once again i feel horribly bad for Naberius Tern, whose worst crime was pretty much just being an asshole
hah has Palamedes picked up a cigarette habit from Pyrrha. i’m enjoying the insight into his thought process here given that he generally comes off as knowing more than other people all the time, so it’s nice to see him actually in the process of figuring stuff out 
‘She wandered around like she was the protagonist’ HAH Ianthe i have bad news for you 
aww it’s sweet to get Pal’s view on Gideon here, namely that he thinks she’s smarter than even she gives herself credit for and that he was initially jealous of her dynamic with ‘Dulcinea’ but came to like her anyways
‘My problem was reminding myself you were a child’ ohhh my god the mysterious voice is Dulcinea! i can’t believe this is literally the only time we’ve seen Pal and Dulcinea actually interact. and isn't this possibly the first time that they've had an 'in person' (so to speak) interaction since most of their relationship was sending letters to each other?? oh i am not okay
okayy i’m interested in what Dulcinea’s saying here about how she seems to have died again and ‘something awful’ happened to her soul … it doesn’t seem to totally line up with what happened at the end of HtN, especially with her mention that there are two shores on the River. again everything seems to point to the nature of the River playing a big part in AtN 
woooh Magnus Quinn reference, my beloved 
oooh i love the contrast between Ianthe’s descriptions of her relationships with Corona and Babs - despite Babs being the one who was actually the cavalier, the kind of co-dependent relationship she has with Corona is much closer to the relationship between the other cavaliers and their necromancers. which is why the fact that she’s apparently the only Lyctor to outright murder their cavalier vs her admission that she wouldn’t have used Corona is very interesting to me
‘Coronabeth herself is part of your goal’ i’m very interested in the long-term goal of Ianthe in general. obviously one part was becoming a Lyctor, but i do wonder if she has something else planned, i doubt she’s content to just sort of do what John wants her to do forever
‘Jeannemary Chatur regaled me with the story at breakfast’ woooh Jeannemary reference. also this is such a cute detail
ooooh Palamedes's newfound cigarette habit is from Ianthe not Pyrrha, that's very fun
and Palamedes’ final point here that the soul is permeable is not just very satisfying against Ianthe’s general smugness, but has very interesting implications for all of the Lyctor characters, especially the fact that their titles are named after their cavaliers. for example, how much of Mercy’s devotion originally came from her versus the fact that Christabel pre-Res was a literal nun. and what does it mean for John and Alecto exactly - how much of the same person, or even human, is he after literally eating the soul of a planet
ok this isn’t to do with the Unwanted Guest exactly but i am very concerned by the notice at the very end that ‘Hell Will Break Loose’ in AtN. it already sounds ominous enough without considering that the previous notice, ‘Gideon will return’ at the end of HtN was done in the most painful way possible 
overall i really enjoyed this! what i really like about the additional short stories Muir writes for TLT is that you get to see little character moments and explore bits of the lore that would have dragged the main story down a bit, so it was very fun to see Palamedes and Ianthe interact one-on-one and debate a bit
and now i really have run out of stuff to liveblog about these books rip my sanity
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socra-time · 4 days ago
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Socra’s Naruto Liveblog, Ep. 162-167
(aka the Cursed Warrior mission)
Ep 162:
-what in the Scooby Doo is this shit
-idk why im just now thinking about this but the ninja are highkey just paid mercenaries
-Naruto treating Chishima to ramen was so nice of him, he’s so good-hearted<3
-andddd naturally this arc has the mandatory Naruto and Tsunade beef that comes with every new mission
-I do love seeing Naruto with other teams but I wish we got more random combos from across different teams instead of sticking with established teammate combos: at this point there’ve been multiple missions with Hinata/Kiba and with Neji/Tenten. I wanna see unexpected pairings like Naruto/Ino/Hinata or Naruto/Lee/Choji (and so on)
-again, this “ghost warrior” stuff is very much giving Scooby Doo
-Naruto’s voice actor is kinda popping off with his scared shrieking lol
Ep 163:
-the way Neji scolds Naruto for being rude makes him sound like his dad or something
-it’s so funny to imagine a troubled village sending someone to Konoha to hire ninjas for help and then they just come back with three 12-13 year olds
-Naruto is such a goober lmao. Also I love how excited he always gets about food
-Neji has such an interesting voice and way of talking. I actually can’t think of another “calm, cool” type of character who really sounds like him
-I do like that we get to see Tenten fighting in the filler arcs she’s in. Every time I see her do something I’m just like “yes pop off girl”
-anyways I just thought about the fact that with the amount of blood-activated scrolls Tenten uses, her fingers would always just be cut up
-this is SOOOOOO FUCKING SCOOBY DOO CODED!!! And look I’ve seen enough Scooby Doo in my life to know that the villain is NEVER the person everyone suspects
Ep 164:
-Neji needs a child leash for Naruto or something
-I actually hate Gamatatsu. The way he talks irritates me soooo goddamn much (Gamakichi is also annoying but he’s alright in comparison)
-one thing I like about this show is that compared to a lot of other shonen, it doesn’t shy away from showing blood
-oh my god they put Naruto in a fucking straitjacket???? I mean I guess it does stop him from doing hand signs but that’s kinda messed up
-damn Neji can see whether something is poisonous??? Idk if that’s a canon ability of the Byakugan, but if it is then that’s nuts
-bruh what the actual fuck is Kakashi doing here
-Neji wanting to go save Naruto and then his distressed face when Kakashi shuts him down were good indicators of his development
Ep 165:
-lmaooo not the monkey substitutions-
-I just realized that Moso being the villain actually kinda follows the Scooby Doo rule where the person the protagonists meet first is usually the villain
-does Kakashi have a different voice actor now? It might just be my imagination, but he sounds different
-my mind was just going “SECRET TUNNELLLLLL” the whole time Tenten, Neji, and Komei were following the Warrior in the tunnels
-okay Naruto being the one in the Warrior outfit was an unexpected reveal but they definitely made him look taller before the reveal in order to throw off the audience
-whaaaaat is going on
-okay this random ass dude Kakashi is fighting is way too OP. You’re telling me that this random ninja can use other people’s jutsus (including Gaara’s fucking sand coffin jutsu) when that’s LITERALLY KAKASHI’S ENTIRE THING?????
-okay I appreciate the explanation of what was going on but unless I missed something, I’m still not sure what was going on with the first Cursed Warrior the kids encountered that didn’t have a body inside the armor
Ep 166:
-the animation is looking really wonky in this episode
-okay so I guess the random ass jutsu-copying dude isn’t actually legitimately OP, he’s just like Temu Kakashi
-idk why but Naruto calling Sagi an “ingrate” was hilarious to me
-the reveal that Sagi is actually Toki was incredibly obvious from the scene multiple episodes ago of Naruto seeing a purple-haired woman bathing at the palace (and I had even guessed at it before that) so I’m honestly just surprised they held back on the reveal for so long
-also the reveal makes the fact that Tenten said “Sagi” was a “cutie” and totally her type retroactively kinda gay lmao
-the idea of “wandering ninja” is somewhat interesting actually. I wanna see a nomadic ninja clan now
-I still think it’s funny that Kakashi has just kinda intercepted this arc
-oooh okay I like that we’re seeing more genjutsu being used
Ep 167:
-damn Naruto straight up stabbed a bitch lmao
-I don’t like that Toki is a damsel in distress now. The Naruto writers realllllly aren’t beating the “horrible at writing women” allegations
-oh shit Chishima actually fucking died? I didn’t think they’d go there but they did
-I feel like they really can’t decide how strong Moso actually is (and yes I know Moso isn’t his real name but I’m just gonna call him that). Like all of his attacks in the last episode were cheap tricks but now he’s suddenly kinda a threat?
-Naruto told Toki “you gotta make the Land of Birds great again” and I was just sitting there like 😬
-andddddd nevermind Chishima is alive. That fakeout death was some bullshit.
-this arc would have been so much better if Moso called the squad “meddling kids”
-oh good they FINALLY acknowledged the empty armor with no one inside lmao (even if it was just to be like “haha actually ghosts are real”)
-also I don’t usually comment on the openings and endings but this ending song with Naruto, Pakkun, and Akamaru is so fucking random
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taylorkellyreporting · 1 year ago
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i hope no one minds if i inconsistently liveblog this bitch: doctor who season one from 1x04
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1x04
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HELLO??
A WHOLE YEAR???
shit
“you’re 900 years old?” “yeah.” “my mum was right, that is one hell of an age gap.” lmfaooo
“i’m the only person who knows it exists.” spoke too soon
damn, he left her. i wonder if the key he gave her was even real.
it was a pig 😭
OH NOOOO
every time they get separated, shit goes off the rails
IS HE GONNA KILL HER MOM?!
1x05
girl, FUCK the emergency protocols
“sorry.” 😭
that shit was intense
“my mother’s cooking.” “good, put her on a slow heat and let her simmer.” CACKLING
i feel so bad for her mom :(
1x06
this episode really is…something.
why the fuck is the doctor just offering up all of this information???
he really should have seen this coming
*pretends to be shocked*
their cockiness is gonna get them killed
i never want rose and the doctor to be separated EVER again
“what use are emotions if you won’t save the woman that you love?” damn
don’t know how i feel about this dude joining them
1x07
“he’s your boyfriend.” “not anymore.” did i miss something???
something’s wrong…
is that guy dead?
i don’t trust adam at all
rose is so stupid. i could understand if it was mickey she was trusting but she doesn’t even know this man
huh, that was unexpected.
what the actual fuck
1x08
this ep’s gonna be so sad
the doctor never should’ve taken her to that day
“alright, i’ll tell him you’re not my boyfriend.” obsessed with her thinking that was the issue 😭
not important but jackie looks really good with her hair like that
well. that was heartbreaking.
1x09
sorry, but if a kid wearing a fucking plague mask was repeatedly saying “mummy” in an eerie voice, i would have turned and walked the other way. r.i.p. to rose but i’m different
what part of “don’t answer it.” is hard to understand? lmao
“excellent bottom.” gross.
i know i sound like a broken record but what the fuck?!
this is one creepy ass episode
this dude is coming on so strong dkgjgks
“finally, a professional.” rose, be serious.
“they’re not dead.” okay.
girl, what the fuck?
1x10
i can’t believe that worked lmfaooo
“those would’ve been terrible last words.” 😭
“half this street thinks your missus must be messing about with mr haverstock, the butcher. but she’s not, is she? you are.” SCREAMING
“i sent it to its room. this is its room.”
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that’s fucking terrifying
“the first day i met him, he blew my job up. that’s practically how he communicates.” pls
“okay, so he’s vanished into thin air. why is it always the great- looking ones who do that?” “i’m making an effort to not be insulted.” “i mean…men.” “okay, thanks, that really helped.” fkfhhgdj
i hate jack for interrupting their dance. IT WAS JUST GETTING GOOD.
“carry on with whatever you were…doing.” “we were talking about dancing.” “it didn’t look like talking.” “didn’t feel like dancing.” 😭
these episodes are so fucking creepy but they’re definitely the best of the season
oh my God, he’s her son
THEY’RE DANCING 🥹
1x11
i can’t wait for mickey’s reaction to jack
“trust me, safest place in the universe.” famous last words
i hope the doctor doesn’t trust her
poor mickey
“it’s always the doctor, it’s never me.” buddy you should’ve known you weren’t first choice when she left you in the beginning
she’s an egg 😭
1x12
i almost don’t want to press play.
lmao, what the hell
it always comes back to floor 500
oh shit, the doctor cause all of that?
WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK
rose can’t be dead
THANK GOD
i can’t believe the daleks actually survived
1x13
i’m not ready to say goodbye to nine
rose is getting a taste of her own medicine with the doctor and lynda djfjgjs
HE KISSED THEM BOTH 😭 I LOVE JACK
i can feel my heart breaking
who the fuck is bad wolf if it isn’t the daleks???
mickey’s really getting on my nerves this ep
HELLO
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“there’s nothing left for me here.” ‘nothing?” “no.” she’s RUTHLESS 😭 but honestly he shouldn’t be surprised at this point
JACK ☹️
“i am the bad wolf.” BITCH???? WHAT????
i got my kiss but at what cost
OH SHIT THEY LEFT JACK
all i feel is pain
that’s it??? how am i ever going to move on from eccleston? how the hell are you guys strong enough do this every season? cause i’ll tell you how i’m doing: not well, bitch!!
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makeste · 2 years ago
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BnHA Volume 35 - A Brief Reaction Journey
hello! so as mentioned in my last post, I’ve started catching up with the BnHA manga again FINALLY after almost two years, and have made it through a fair number of chapters so far! and since I’m not sure how long it will take me to actually post the corresponding liveblogs, I figured I’d make a couple of posts in the meantime to sort of preview my reaction journey thus far with some good old-fashioned OUT-OF-CONTEXT BULLET POINTS taken from my ramblings. originally I was going to make a single post for all 25 chapters I’ve read so far (up to 367), but I quickly realized that was waaaaay too ambitious lol. so for now it’s just this one, and I’ll put up the vol. 36 post probably tomorrow afternoon.
spoiler warning: just fyi, this post will obviously feature spoilers for chapters 342-350*, BUT it will also include some stray spoilers from chapters 362 and 403 as well, so just a heads up for that if you aren’t fully caught up!
*chapters 340 and 341 are not included because I've already posted full reaction posts for each one here and here, respectively.
Chapter 342
Endeavor being taller than Jeanist just feels so WRONG to me regardless of whether or not it is factually accurate. does this mean All Might is also taller than Jeanist?? I don’t want to live in a world where Best Jeanist has secretly been a perfectly normal sized person this entire time. someone please lie to me and tell me that he is tall
many thanks to Kacchan for inserting this small bit of levity into this scene which was otherwise well on its way to sending me into a SPIRAL OF FEELINGS, and in fact still is whenever I look at that panel of Deku with Eri and Kouta, and also that GODDAMN HUG WHERE HE AND INKO ARE BOTH CLEARLY AND PAINFULLY AWARE THAT THEY MIGHT NEVER SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN, AND IN THAT MOMENT THEY’RE JUST TRYING TO HOLD THE OTHER AS TIGHTLY AS PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE, AND SHE’S PRAYING TO WHATEVER DEITY IS OUT THERE THAT HE’LL COME BACK SAFE AND WHOLE, AND HE’S PRAYING THAT HIS MOM WILL BE ALL RIGHT EVEN IF HE DOESN’T COME BACK, AND NOT ALLOWING HIMSELF TO THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH HE ALREADY MISSES HER, BECAUSE HE CAN’T THINK LIKE THAT ANY MORE, BECAUSE THIS BOY IS FULLY GROWN NOW BECAUSE HE HAD TO BE, BECAUSE HE HAD NO CHOICE, AND I’M BOTH SO PROUD AND SO FUCKING SAD ABOUT IT AND I JUST NEED A MINUTE HERE ACTUALLY, OKAY!! OR FIVE MINUTES!!
LMAO WHAT AN AUSPICIOUS AND NOT-AT-ALL OMINOUSLY FOREBODING NAME. “hmmm what should we name our new class 1-A fortress?” “hmm well I was thinking maybe Troy, after the legendary city with the famously impenetrable walls, which to the best of my knowledge were never breached, or at least that’s what I assume since I never finished reading The Iliad! :) :) :) ...wait, why are you all looking at me like that. they didn’t actually breach them, right? guys? what happened to Troy? GUYS?”
I’m actually so proud of Deku because he’s come such a long way from the days when the mere CONCEPT of even TALKING to a girl was enough to floor him lol. but also I’m legit cracking up at he way he tried to segue into random small talk in the middle of the goddamn apocalypse. gotta be smooth about it!! casual!! you can tell how casual they are because both of them are suddenly struck by the inexplicable urge to fuss with their hair!!
Horikoshi really said “FUCK YOUR SQUADS!! ...but if we had a Todosquad this is who would be in it I guess”
my god. between this and the OchaDeku conversation the villains truly do not stand a chance do they? and they don’t even know how screwed they are yet. REDEMPTION IS COMING!! IT’S KNOCKING ON THE DOOR, TRICK OR TREAT, Y’ALL READY FOR THIS
Chapter 343
so we’re opening with everyone’s favorite Guy With An Old Wad Of Chewing Gum For A Face, AFO!
did this son of a bitch kill Nao’s dad and steal his sexy lie-detector quirk??
sob AFO is all “can I have your son’s cell phone number please” and they’re all “SURE”
bonsoir little Yuuga
do. ...do you not actually know. was this meeting not prearranged. “why are you here Aoyama?” “why are you here, Deku?” truly, why are any of us here??
I’m sitting here trying to play the “guess which parts of this dialogue are real vs fake” game and coming up completely stumped on every single sentence
so Yuuga’s all “can you believe that even though the city of Musutafu is basically down to just U.A., a Dollar Tree, a couple of crumbling park benches, and one very determined Starbucks, we somehow still have functioning courts and lawyers?” I actually can’t believe that at all tbh. you’re telling me “it’s the fucking apocalypse” is still not a good enough excuse to get out of jury duty
damn, Aoyama out here with the trash talk and the ON YOUR LEFT?!
MONOMA??!?!?!?!
Chapter 344
“Eraser’s” plan, indeed. you dare say that right to Kaminari’s face
SHINSOU!!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!??!?!?
HEYA YOURSELF YOU HANDSOME KNAVE!! LOOK AT YOU!! fucking loving the costume my dude! pretty please tell us your hero name to go along with it. is it MindCraft. I think your hero name should be MindCraft. don’t look at me like that Shinsou we need more punny hero names in the world
“yes well you see, I couldn’t do it, so I learned how to do it.” great story Shinsou
the way he’s rubbing the back of his neck there. are we gonna get some real Monoma character development at long last. feels like it’s long overdue and I am thrilled. he’s such a great character and I feel like we’ve only barely scratched the surface of who he actually is as a person and as a hero
THE UNEXPECTED VLAD KING MENTORSHIP WITH THE ARM AROUND THE SHOULDERS?? he really needed that support. outwardly he’s always made a big show of wanting his turn in the spotlight and begrudging class A for stealing the scene at every turn. but how much of that is really just an act. some of it? most of it? maybe even close to all of it? because right now he suddenly seems so small and young here and really wishing he wasn’t in this unenviable position of being one of the many World’s Last Hopes who are all way too fucking young
did Mirko’s giant robot hand just grow into an EVEN GIANTER giant robot hand??
long beautiful flowing mermaid hair. sorry what was I saying I kind of spaced out there for a sec
YES, AFO, ALL OF THIS TO SPLIT YOU UP YOU STUPID MUSH HEAD. MAYBE IF YOU EVER ACTUALLY FINISHED A MANGA IN YOUR GODDAMN LIFE YOU’D KNOW HOW A FINAL BATTLE IS SUPPOSED TO BE CONSTRUCTED. YOU MOLDY AVOCADO
Chapter 345
“no you don’t understand, we have so many sixteen-year-olds whose coattails we’re all hanging onto. we have sixteen-year-olds who can take over people’s minds. sixteen-year-olds who can create portals to warp you halfway around the world in an instant. and let’s not forget the sixteen-year-olds who can act their damn asses off. we have the best sixteen-year-olds in the world. our sixteen-year-olds are so much better than yours you fucking losers”
Deku I swear. if I’m about to discover that the reason you weren’t there to stop Kacchan from being literally, actually, canonically murdered is because your distracted ass got yoinked into the void by some no-name villain chucklefuck, I’m gonna...
don’t listen to him Aoyama you were magnificent. you were my favorite in all of the stage plays
BUT IS PHASE TWO SUPPOSED TO INVOLVE DEKU IN ANY WAY THOUGH??? HELLO??? IS ANYONE LISTENING TO ME??? I’M FROM THE FUTURE AND THIS IS URGENT, PLEASE
“I fucked up Ochako, I fucked up so bad” omfg Deku
she doesn’t want to hurt you Deku she just wants to shower you in love. in her own special way. by stabbing you a lot
anyway have fun on this... tropical island??? I guess?? Kacchan will just have to hold down the fort in the meantime. which I’m sure will go absolutely fine
Chapter 346
“th-th-this is really bad, right?” yes Tamaki, yes it is. you’re stuck here on the Super Mega Ultra Radical Gnarly Cracked-Out Wonder Stage with Shigaraki Fucking Tomura and at least two of you are about to die and I’M NOT OKAY
so now we’re also getting this hilarious insight into the inner workings of the Mega Ultra Tremendous Stupendous Incredible Sky Coffin and it is truly, truly phenomenal
Horikoshi stop taking my sarcastic jibes and owning them completely challenge!! all the best sixteen-year-olds. all the finest greatest Hyper Ultra Sparkle Glimmer Wonder Battle Stages
this is genuinely one of the boldest lampshading efforts I have ever seen in fiction you guys
“yes, we acknowledge that this does indeed seem impossible to have pulled off, BUT have you considered that, fucking quirks though???? AND THAT THEY ARE, AS THE KIDS SAY, WILD??”
Chapter 347
lmao they’re shouting at Monoma accusingly and he’s all “I’M HAVEN’T BLINKED AT ALL YOU GUYS I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO TELL YOU”
don’t mind him, he’s just out here growing out his hideously malformed hands and fingers endlessly from every part of his body, normally, as one does. nothing quirk-related about it. anyone could do this if they simply exercise and maintain a balanced diet. this 100% is not a quirk y’all it’s just essential oils
SUDDEN MONOMA FEELS DELIVERED TO MY DOORSTEP???
awwww. the way he’s almost panicked, frantically wondering if he somehow fucked the quirk up and desperate for Aizawa to believe him that he’s trying his best. and Aizawa quick to reassure him. this kid is so desperate for approval. and unapologetically careening his way onto my top ten character list, welcome dear boy
so that’s that. see you in two years Deku. his last words spoken out loud to Kacchan were, and I quote, “wha --”
Aizawa is so hopelessly impossibly hot at all times and I don’t know how the universe can handle his existence. he’s even doing it without activating his quirk now. no ponytails or anything. just an eyepatch and a dream
don’t mind me, I’m just out here doing literal algebra to figure out how long it would take Deku to get back here if he traveled at the same speed as All Might did in chapter 90 (30 seconds per 5km, apparently). about 20 minutes, give or take. well shit. hopefully he’s a little faster than Kamino-era All Might was, especially since he can fly and has that Fa Jin shit too. or maybe Rody can fly him lmao. or S&S’s hot fighter pilot boyfriend
“what’d Sensei say, Deku?” “he said no, looks like I gotta uber. can I borrow your credit card, I promise I will venmo you back”
unfortunately for Deku he does not realize he’s accidentally gotten himself caught up in what will undoubtedly end up being the most erotic and bisexual of the various final battles
can’t believe Deku has like 6 love interests and out of all of them, Toga is the first one who actually asks him out. good for you girl. gotta shoot your shot
Chapter 348
FELLAS IS IT GAY TO BREAK OUT INTO TERRIFIED BEN DAY DOTS BECAUSE A GIRL EXPRESSED HER CARNAL INTEREST IN YOU????
anyway so since Deku apparently doesn’t understand how romance works either, he’s trying his best to give an actual response by recontextualizing all of this in terms of the one big thing he does understand: All Might
you’re telling me you never wanted to stab All Might to death and then turn into him?? wow I just can’t believe it
but also... okay lol. so I was thinking about this sarcastically, but was then struck by the very unironic thought that there sorta kinda is someone whom Deku does, both consciously and subconsciously, try to be like, and who he also kinda does apparently share the same heart and mind as. at least if chapter 403 is anything to go by lol. soooooooo. huh
god damn it Toga. absolutely none of what you’ve said or done here has been even the SLIGHTEST BIT reasonable. you can’t just tell someone you want to stab them and be their girlfriend. and if and when they try to let you down easy by responding with the MOST THOUGHTFUL AND GENTLE REJECTION ANYONE COULD EVER POSSIBLY MAKE UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, because they’re actually the WORLD’S NICEST MAN, you can’t just respond by doing whatever it is you’re presumably about to do, which I’m guessing is gonna be really violent and unhinged
so Ochako is all “ever since we fought last time I’ve been thinking about you a lot!” and Toga is all “are you serious, YOU broke up with ME bitch” and now she’s standing behind her with a knife
“she’s the least predictable of our opponents” YEAH NO KIDDING LOL
“everyone knows that Toga is actually Ochako’s villain, like ffs Deku you haven’t even interacted with her since the Provisional Exam arc.” Deku they’re 100% right and you’re looking more and more the fool with each passing second
well all right lol. twenty minutes to get back to Musutafu. let’s just hope he doesn’t run into any traffic on the way
Chapter 349
what the fuck is OFA Dos’s quirk exactly and are we ever gonna get to it before I literally die of old age. at this point there’s gotta be a reason why he’s not using it, right?? so what’s the deal there? does he still somehow not know how? is it too dangerous? and I really need to know why II has the Bakugou gauntlets. tell me this isn’t one of the things we’re still waiting on answers for two years down the line because I swear to god I will cry
anyway so Deku’s saying he’s doing his best but he’s still “too slow”. WELL THEN MAYBE IT’S THAT TIME?? DEKU?? WHAT DO YOU SAY
NO FUCKING WAY LOL, CAN IT REALLY BE THAT EASY??!
OH WHAT THE FUCK, FUCK YOU NOT!CCHAN LOL YOU’RE JUST HERE TO COCKBLOCK HIM?
fuck. so has he used it since then?? is he gonna use it finally now that Kacchan’s alive and well again?? oh my god I need to shut up and stop asking questions and just keep reading. fuck
wow so Dabi’s literally just burning the All Might statue while he stalls for time trying to figure out how to beat his OP little brother who was literally engineered to be better than him sob. out of all the villains he’s probably the most screwed right now isn’t he
starting to get an inkling Dabi’s not happy that he doesn’t actually get to fight Endeavor. getting some subtle hints here and there that he might actually be upset about that
apparently wanting to fight Dabi and stop him from helping to destroy the world makes Shouto a pawn. wake up Shouto. stop being such a sheep, Shouto. can’t you see that saving the world is exactly what Endeavor wants you to do???!
this is just going to be seventeen chapters of Dabi talking about nonsense while they both stand around progressively getting hotter both literally and metaphorically isn’t it
Chapter 350
OH SNAP. [SLAMS HAND ON TABLE] HERE WE GO. IT’S FINALLY THAT TIME
well, well, well. to the surprise of absolutely no one. the real one who was responsible for everything this whole time
but I just have to pause real quick before we continue. because it absolutely cannot be a coincidence that AFO just happened to be there once again. just waiting in the shadows to magically swoop in the minute disaster strikes. and so, just like with baby Tenko, this immediately makes me suspect that Touya burning himself alive was not in fact a training accident at all. which is something I did not expect, and which, just. fuck, fuck, FUCK AFO. fuck this guy.
looks like the children's ward of a hospital?? wait, what??
how the fuck is he still so adorable. when exactly did the transition take place between adorable and sexily unhinged. right now Todoroki Touya still looks to be the absolute most adorable child on the planet
I miscalculated. I was not emotionally prepared to handle this chapter right now. I should not have clicked
really love to see that Touya didn’t just cave right away. wouldn’t have felt right, ngl. just doesn’t fit in with what we know about his character
oh shit wait we’re cutting back to Dabi talking to Shouto and he says he did come back home??
fucking why. goddammit what the hell. why is this the saddest fucking thing I’ve ever read. LOVE HIM!! SOMEONE!! ANYONE!! just love him, please. literally all he has ever wanted!!
JESUS. I HATE THIS. I am so upset right now. out of all of the horrific and traumatic and terrible, awful things that have happened to BnHA characters in their flashbacks, the thing that hits me the most out of all of them is this one image of a sixteen-year-old boy standing before an altar, with his family very much alive and standing RIGHT FUCKING THERE IN THE NEXT ROOM, and yet somehow feeling more alone than he’s ever been. so alone he literally gives up all hope in this one moment. my god I feel all of it and it’s so fucking devastating I keep having to stop typing so I don’t completely break down sobbing
well damn. after a rush of 15 and 13-page chapters, which were all admittedly appreciated by me in my race to catch up to Light Fades to Rain before this coming Friday, Horikoshi finishes up the volume with one hell of a 17 page finale. once again the Tododrama delivers. this was fucking phenomenal
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nortism · 1 year ago
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doctor who liveblog pt 22
s4 ep10 midnight
- i’m glad donna’s getting a nice holiday
- COLIN MORGAN OF BBC MERLIN FAME??! katie mcgrath next pls
- “ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon”
- ROSE ON THE TVVVVVVV
- oh god was she possessed
- FUCK SHES REPEATING LIKE THE THING OUTSIDE
- SHE GOT HIS VOICE
- that was such a good episode, genuinely unsettling
s4 ep11 turn left
- omg are we in a country that’s not the uk?? i didn’t know the tardis knew how to do that 😭😭
- oh never mind they’re on a different planet, should have known
- and billie piper!!
- oh the doctor’s dead
- get the screwdriver donna!!
- ROSE TYLER!!!!!!!!!!
- oh she’s vanished
- donna’s so funny
- NO MARTHA’S DEAD this sucks
- SARAH JANE SMITH’S DEAD?!?! this au is awful
- ROSE
- i love donna’s grandad so much it’s not even funny
- london’s gone??? thank god the world is free!
- not leeds
- uh oh america
- ROSE
- oh fuck jack as well
- oh great, now the uk is turning into nazi germany
- that’s a big old bug
- rip alternate universe donna
- BAD WOLF?!?!?!!????
- shitttttt
s4 ep12 the stolen earth
- oh fucj the earth’s gone
- MARTHA
- ohh fuck the companions r all gonna come together
- ROSE WITH A GIANT GUN WOOOO
- oh yeah the whole gang in the opening credits
- oh great we’re gonna find out what a shadow proclamation is
- ofc the british are celebrating the end of the world by drinking and rioting
- ofc it’s the fucking daleks
- i feel like there was easy ways to exterminate the human race i won’t lie
- the crucible?? always with the religious imagery
- idk if i trust the space cops
- not the rhinos again
- ohhhh they’re building a mega planet
- for what it’s worth, i trust martha to save the world. she’s done it before
- NO MARTHA
- the loss that is yet to come???
- also which god??
- BEES ARE ALIENS?!?!
- i knew i couldn’t trust the space cops
- ROSE
- when he was a 90 year old teenage girl
- HARRIET JONES MY LOVE
- yay martha’s alive
- aww rose is jealous
- is everyone here a jones?
- HARRIET NOOOOOO
- he’s still thinking about rose 😭😭
- jfc what is that
- ewww
- FUCKING DALEKS RUINING MY REUNION
- oh my polycule did reunite, just under the worst circumstances possible
- FUCK HES REGENERATING ALREADY
- noooo sarah jane
- whatttt
s4 ep13 journey’s end
- did he just regenerate back into david tennant???
- MICKEYYYYYYYYY
- JACKIEEEEEEEE
- oh the whole gang is back together i missed them 😭😭😭
- oh donna i love u
- they gotta stop leaving the tardis lying around!!!
- that’s nice of the daleks to translate for different countries
- that’s a lotta daleks
- donna?!!
- DONNA?!?!!??
- hello is donna regenerating?!?!
- ITS ANOTHER DOCTOR?!?!?
- dw rose this is just an avg day for jack
- nah is the new doctor technically donna and the doctor’s child???
- pls leave my girl and her mummy issues alone
- oh they’re soulmates
- when did martha learn german??
- oh yeah on her world tour
- it would be cool if they subtitled the german bc i’m getting none of this
- not loving the sound of a reality bomb
- omg they’re disintegrating
- oh so we’re destroying all matter now???
- won’t this also destroy the daleks??
- apparently not
- SHES GONNA BLOW UP THE EARTH
- oh fuck the whole gang’s been teleported
- it’s up to u now donna
- uh oh rip the other doctor
- uh oh rip donna
- this is a bit awkward
- YES FHEN DONNA
- the doctordonna
- SHES PART TIMELORD?!
- they oppenheimer-ed him
- K9!!!
- finally an explanation for why he sucks a flying the tardis so much, he needs more guys
- he’s got the biggest family on earth 😭😭
- she’s getting her own doctor?!
- aww she got her kiss?? i think aww?! this is a weird situation all round
- oh no donna’s malfunctioning
- wait what
- is she fucking dead
- HER MIND’S BEEN WIPED!!?!?!
- awww she’s forgotten him
- this is so sad
- aww granddad
- jesus that was bleak
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lonesomedreamer · 9 months ago
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The Rings of Power Liveblog: “Shadow of the Past” (Episode 1)
Two years late, curiosity got the better of me, and I decided I had to see this thing for myself ahead of the second season premiere…spoiler: I didn’t hate it.
I’m not going to gripe about these children looking decidedly human (or at least not Elvish), because I understand the limitations of using, you know—actual human children as actors. But I will question the notion of Elvish children being smug bullies.
But baby Galadriel definitely looks the part.
“It’s not going to float, it’s going to sail.” Not off to a strong start with the dialogue…
Oh, the Elf children are…throwing rocks at her paper boat? All of them? Why?? I know the behavior of Elves in the First and Second Ages tended to be less detached/noble and whatnot, but little Galadriel is literally about to punch this Elf boy…
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I have so many questions about this hairstyle choice.
“We have no word for death.” Somehow, I doubt that. This is the Second Age, right? Elves had definitely already experienced death.
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Why does this seem like a slightly retooled Minas Tirith design? Is this supposed to be VALINOR??? (Actually, this would be a decent Amber design…)
A very underwhelming depiction of the destruction of the Two Trees…this is what Amazon spent amlost a billion dollars on? I know they can’t accurately depict what happened because, you know, no rights to The Silmarillion, but it still underwhelmed me.
This sequence is just all so obviously CGI. While I’m no fan of the original Jackson films (sorry, I know—boo, hiss), a lot of it looks real.
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“See, it’s just like that Game of Thrones spinoff you like, but with terrible CG!”
It would be so helpful if Galadriel’s voiceover told viewers that Orcs were created as a mockery of the Elves, or hinted at why Morgoth created them/why he hated the Elves. Unfortunately, this is what happens when you try to adapt a work to which you don’t have all the rights.
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She is very, very pretty.
“What devilry is this?” Is that a word in Middle-earth?
Lots of Galadriel confidently assuming she knows things she can’t possibly know (for the sake of hurrying the story/journey along, I guess)…if only the streaming services didn’t limit themselves to eight or ten episodes and gave their stories room to breathe!
Anyone watching who’s never read The Silmarillion (or even the trilogy): who the fuck is Morgoth? What are the Trees?? What year is it??? What’s going on here??!? Again, the huge problem of adapting a larger story/universe when you only have partial rights…
Insert obligatory video game-esque troll battle that’s also a callback to the Moria scenes of the FOTR film. You can use the bathroom here and miss nothing.
Some proto-Hobbits, because why not? I did like the “hidden village” reveal thing, though!
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I kind of love them?
There’s a lot to be said for the charm and appeal of the Shire from an audience perspective, the comfort of it (which is why the Scourging of the Shire is so thematically important and excising it was an irredeemable sin…but I digress), so I actually 100% understand why they included these guys. TTT is by far the bleakest book of the trilogy, my least-favorite, and the lack of the Shire is a huge reason why.
23 years later and I’m still not over the utter miscasting of Hugo Weaving. Visually, this Elrond isn’t really better. Why is Elrond so damn hard to get right??? And his hair is described as black!
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The best costumes a billion-dollar budget could buy?
“Elf-lords only.” Such a dignified, Elvish thing to say…
Yes, Elves could be haughty and unkind; just ask Bilbo! But Elrond is an Elf-lord. Hmm.
Also…Elrond and Galadriel appear to be approximately the same age. It doesn’t matter that Galadriel is actually much older (and his eventual mother-in-law!), because TV is such a visual medium.
This is actually a larger overall problem. Because most of The Lord of the Rings takes place over the course of one year, an adaptation doesn’t need to hold the audience’s hand regarding the passage of time. But in this case, as Galadriel’s narration too-briefly mentions, events are taking place across hundreds and even thousands of years. Elves like Galadriel are significantly older than others, like Elrond, but unless you tell the audience that, they won’t know, and the story loses something as a result.
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Even though this design is clearly based on Rivendell in the Jackson films, it is quite lovely.
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Pretty!!!
How do Galadriel and Elrond know each other? They seem close. Inquiring minds want to know!
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The content and context of this scene is meaningless, but I don’t care—it’s just so pretty!
Even though I know they get worse, for now I don’t really mind the proto-Hobbits. They’re obviously not Tolkien, but they’re an homage, and they’re fun/visually appealing.
The casting director gets a D+ for the male Elves. (Then again, they were poorly-cast in the Jackson films too.)
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“And as a reward, you will all be exiled!” lmfao. Being shipped off to Valinor doesn’t seem like much of a punishment, though. Where do I volunteer?
Still, it makes sense that Galadriel, who (correctly!) believes Sauron to still be alive and a threat and who wishes to avenge her brother, would be upset about this. They’ve changed her backstory/motivations—which I hate—but her attitude does track with those changes.
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Nuns??
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This set design is magical, no notes.
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Luthien??
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She really is perfectly cast.
Elrond, one of the wisest and kindest of all the Elves, is being written as some smug royal enforcer. Just like the Jackson films wrote him as a grumpy, condescending overprotective dad. Sigh.
“[Evil] waits. And at the moment of our complacency, it blinds us.” I mean…yeah, that’s basically how it goes down in Middle-earth. Repeatedly.
Not Elrond mansplaining about Valinor to someone who was literally born there…
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None of these people look like Elves.
“I’m going with you!” But why?!? This lady is a healer with a youngish son still dependent on her at home!!!
I really hate them saying “mum” instead of “ma” or “mama” or something similar. (I’d also hate it if they were saying “mom,” to be clear. It’s just so modern-sounding and breaks any immersion they’ve built so far.)
Wow, the hilt of a broken sword with Sauron’s symbol on it… Generic “halfling” characters I can enjoy as a homage. This is lazy writing. And see? I knew her son needed adult supervision. (It’s also a ripoff of Pippin and the Palantir.)
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(muttering) None of these people look—oh, forget it.
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Elves don’t age as Men do (or age extremely slowly/imperceptibly), so what’s going on with this dude?
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Gorgeous, all.
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Ents???
Galadriel jumping off of the ship and just…floating there in the middle of the sea is as silly as the naysayers said it would be. However, I thought the scene leading up to it was fairly well-executed, though I wish they’d done a better job animating the rain of silver glass that leads into Valinor…that image has always resonated with me.
The Good:
Many absolutely stunning visuals thanks to great set design (with Valinor of all places somehow being the least-impressive!) and, apart from some cheap/underwhelming looks, costume design that varies from good to great
A solid score that seems to be trying a little bit too hard to mimic Howard Shore’s from the films
Morfydd Clark, in her entirety; the writing for Galadriel might be awful in upcoming episodes, but her casting was inspired
I find the Harfoots whimsically charming, at least so far, especially Nori.
The use of Tolkienesque maps to indicate location changes
An attempt was clearly made, in this episode if nowhere else, to pay homage to the source material, even the source material they don’t have the rights to use outright (the Two Trees, Morgoth, perhaps Luthien)…it’s better than nothing.
The Bad
Every single male Elf is miscast; yes, I said every single one, from Galadriel’s brother to Elrond to the OC Arondir. Gil-galad and Celebrimbor look like they’re in their late 40s/50s, at best, and idk…there’s nothing “Elvish” or “ageless” about any of the male actors playing Elves. (Full disclosure: I don’t remember being impressed by the male Elves in the Jackson films, either.) I also saw someone say that Gil-galad looks like Liam Neeson in a mullet, and now I can’t unsee that.
Some really clunky dialogue
Lack of adequate backstory/exposition…but exposition in an adaptation like this is hard, because most of it is contained in The Silmarillion, for which they don’t own the rights.
Building on that theme, I appreciate the idea of “showing not telling,” however…did they ever tell us Galadriel’s brother name (Finrod)? Or that “the king” is Gil-galad? Or even suggest that there are a variety of different Elves in Middle-earth? A lot of people know these things, because we know Tolkien. But I’ve got to assume that a lot of others don’t. Heck, it took them until almost the end of the episode to name one of their OCs (Bronwyn).
Some worthless scenes, like Galadriel’s company fighting the “ice troll” in the mountains. Actually, the entire sequence in the mountain lair was badly-written.
I don’t care about the “forbidden romance” subplot between the OCs Arondir and Bronwyn…if they’d spent longer than a few minutes in the first episode establishing their relationship/characters, maybe I’d be more invested. (See my earlier complaint about unnecessarily short seasons—some stories need room to grow!)
Even though my criticism outweighs my praise, even though I’m a self-identified Tolkien purist, I thought this was…fine. It’s an absolute feast for the eyes, truly gorgeous to watch (even with all those woefully miscast male Elves)—visually, apart from a few moments of obvious CGI, it’s what I would expect/want from a Tolkien adaptation! My expectations aren’t high for the rest of the series. There are upcoming plot points that I know will disappoint, infuriate, and disgust me. But considering that I went into this episode expecting to loathe it, I was pleasantly surprised.
Besides, I’m going to keep watching no matter what to see more of Nori and Morfydd’s face. This also makes me want to finish The Silmarillion, which I have been starting and then “saving for later” since I was a small child.
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thetwilightroadtonightfall · 7 months ago
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this is all making wish i had liveblogged khux when i first watched it… it was three years ago now i was beginning to slowly get sucked into the kh vortex bc all my twewy mutuals were returning to their roots after the twewy renaissance hype was beginning to die down… and one of the most intriguing things to me was the possession murder plot in the mobile game i guess. also bc even back in like june some people i followed were posting about some crazy finale thing where we were actually xehanort and dead children became cute cats or whatever? i was like hm ok Something happened here but i wasn’t about to touch it until like the fall. i used to scroll through the khux tag and try to figure out what people were talking about via osmosis. then one day i was like screw it let’s watch this six hour movie in one evening. two sittings. my sanity slowly slipping away as the sun did. complete nuclear bomb on my brain. i wasn’t really an established solid blogger back then i didn’t know if anyone followed me for kh bc i was only just starting to post about it so i didn’t liveblog it. but how i wish i had documentation of it now…
“my sanity slowly slipping away as the sun did” YEAH UM…YOU OKAY? (asking this three years later as if that’ll do anything to help 😆)
Two whole sittings…….lord. I can’t even imagine how wild that night that must’ve been for you. Just a rapid fire of neurons as you just take in all that info all at once. Going from vague osmosis understanding to complete context and boundless lore blasted into your eyeballs in the span of a few hours…unfathomable…incredible…legendary
As a fan of your commentary and reactions, I do also wish you’d liveblogged it, but at the same time, I completely understand!! Some things are just more magical when you dedicate your full attention to it y’know? And well, you’re still here so it obviously stuck with you in a profound and meaningful way. I’m very glad it sucked you in back then!! It’s good to have you around 😄
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mulders-too-large-shirt · 8 months ago
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s4 episode 6 "sanguinarium" thoughts
today's adventure with our favorite agents didn't really do a lot for me but. at least it wasn't super sad? so let's go? i guess?
liveblog begins NOW!
this episode sounds like it is gonna make me squeamish. extremely so. and also i just read the rest of the episode descriptions for the season and i’m sad so i really hope this is SOMEHOW a happy one. hey, listen, it’s possible!
author’s note: sometimes i hate being right. sometimes i hate thinking, boy, this sure looks like it’s gonna make me feel lightheaded, and it does.
oh, how i look forward to diving into the fluff fic recommendations from my last post…. <3 
but we must suffer through canon, no?
we open with someone about to undergo some liposuction, a thing i have never wanted to see. the patient is being wheeled in and the doctor is being informed of what kind of appointment he has next. the doctor is really really scrubbing his hands to the point i thought he was shaking and OH! his hands are very bloody. oh. i do not think that is clean. 
oh god i’m in for a rough ride this episode aren’t i, i realize as we see him bleed through his gloves and begin the surgery. OHHHHH an incision. I AM NOT LOOKING I AM NOT LOOKING. i am looking a little OUGH is THAT what this procedure looks like from the doctor’s end??? oh my gosh. oh man. the… sucking…
deep breathing.
the nurse goes to see a different patient and explains she doesn’t know where the doctor is. the doctor is… currently REALLY going ham on the sucking. WHAAAA we see the blood fill up the tube and oh man i’m not joking like straight up being so honest w you i can feel my body growing faint. i actually did not look at the screen until the intro because that was too close for me. and yes i understand he was….um. going TOO hard.
oh mein gott… the things i do for these two agents….
save me intro. save me pretty picture of scully. and that scene where they burst in with the guns and flashlights. save me.
okay. i’ve regained most of my feeling in my head. now the doctor is here, very sorrowfully explaining how he was watching himself do those things without having any control over it.
ah, he is speaking to mulder, who suggests that it may be spirit or demon possession. 
so mulder and scully are here talking to the doctor, but the lawyer says he did NOT want mulder talking to him lmaooo. 
scully asks what meds he’s taking and the lawyer again shuts them down. rude as hell. she wants to know about his sleeping pills. let her doctor as needed tf
oh…. scully going straight into a detailed explanation of how his medication worked <3 i just love her… this is why i suffer through the fat sucking (which has now occurred multiple times??)
why is mulder eyeing this nurse. don’t think i didn’t notice that…
this doctor was taking more than a sleeping pill a day, and she says it has controversial effects, so maybe that could make a guy do such a thing. it’s a good start to a theory.
she seems mad as hell that this space is being used for cosmetic surgery and not as a hospital and i love that she has some righteous rage going on there… let her save some damn lives!! 
“everyone’s doing it… or so i’ve heard” <- the thought of mulder getting plastic surgery is so silly… like is he not already the most gorgeous fellow alive
mulder’s on the floor looking at some weird marks and drawing a pentagram in the victim’s blood. average behavior for a guy like him. not convincing to scully, however.
scary facts with scully: deaths due to doctor's errors are upwards of 80,000 a year! that’s horrific and for my own sanity i’m not going to google how those stats have changed 
“i don’t think it’s a simple possession, scully, i think it’s sorcery or black magic or something like that” (said with his hands on his hips in the standard mulder pose) love him so bad…. please recite to me the different levels of magic in order of complexity
they run into the nurse who was on call at the time the sucking incident went down, and she is like idk how it could happen… but when mulder tells her the doctor is claiming he was possessed, she says “i guess it’s cheaper than malpractice insurance” LMAO i like her… don’t tell me she was the one doing the sorcery or something, let us have one nice side character who makes it out alive 
(author's note: ...)
then the agents try to talk to a doctor, but she says the patient can’t wait, which sparks more scully bitterness. mulder is watching the surgery stream. weird fellow
cutscene to a table with a conspicuous pentagram on it. someone is saying they need to keep calm. it seems they are the doctors at the facilities?
okay, so another procedure is going on. the patient says she’s getting a skin peel but the nurse is putting LEECHES ON HER?? man what the hell is going on here. and it’s the nice nurse who is doing it too 😭😭😭
mulder is making faces in the mirror now, seeming to mull the possibility of getting rhinoplasty over LMAOOO but scully knocks at his door… it’s video time!! woohoo, pop that bad boy in the VHS player!!
aww, it’s not a fun time video. it’s the video of the killing, and mulder claims to see a pentagram. scully is gagged that the doctor stabbed/sucked the dude to death, but i’m choosing to focus here on her beautiful freckles…..
he’s saying that a pentagram is for protection, so it wouldn’t even make sense, BUT “it does make sense that witchcraft or black magic would find a theater in a place like this, preying on the weak and vainglorious” <- woah... he's a philosopher
get yourself a man who can explain the positive connotations of pentagrams and other nerd stuff with 100% sincerity
oh my god, mulder is sitting on the bed and looking up at scully here, and i need it FRAMED. do you know the scene i’m talking about? i’d give you the time stamp if i had it. the way he’s looking at her…. oh my goodness... my heart. 
the stomach pills the doctor was taking had an ingredient used in hexing rituals. live scully response: “well, if it’s that simple, why don’t you put out an APB for someone riding a broom and wearing a tall black hat?” <- LMAOOOO get his ass
he scrunches up his nose at this comment and oh my gosh. oh… i want to hold this grown man.
BUT he is saying the ritual might not be over yet, while he stares up at her so adoringly, and man… i’m so sensitive 
okay back to the hospital, where this shady coalition of doctors seems to be debriefing. the nurse is there, who i am now suspicious of for engaging in leech-related activities. 
oh! one of the other doctors went into a patient’s room and started burning their face with a laser. luckily, this is visually unrealistic enough for me to not nearly faint this time.
so this doctor who did the face lasering- dr. ilaqua- is now being seen by scully. and he is on the same sleeping medication as the first guy!!!
back at a computer, mulder is looking at before and after rhinoplasty pictures. NO... i love his nose… he had BEST NOT DO A DAMN THING to it. and he’s holding a pencil up to test how straight his nose is and MY MAN. STOP. you are beautiful. who told you otherwise. i love his nose.........
oh! the leeches were used to make a pentagram on the victim’s body. this is not a good sign.
this creepy panel of doctors is meeting again when the agents arrive and do not give a fuck about their meeting. yes!! more agents walking into places without knocking!!! it is my favorite! it sustains me!
scully says she’s sorry to barge in but it’s a matter of urgency whilst not looking sorry in the slightest. which suits her!
and one of the doctors- dr. franklyn- is explaining that there were similar deaths 10 years ago… and they’re pinning the blame on the nurse!!! saying she was there 10 years ago and just transferred back in!!!
i do not believe it in the slightest that if she IS involved in this, she is doing it on her own. but the doctor says she left early. where to?
well, the camera takes us to go do some creepy chanting, of course! in a room filled with candles and statues and jewelry. and she’s naked i think too which is a risk around so many open flames. okay and now some hair is being cut. but it’s not the nurse who is doing the chanting nor the trimming. whoever it is seems to be falling asleep. 
the agents are here, and it is dark, and they are not messing around. they are going to this creepy house. with a cat meowing and a broom on the steps! i see what you did there.
mulder jokes that the broom gives them probable cause LMAO and then he starts to open the door as if it actually does… only to find a pentagram!!! dun dun DUUUUN!
it’s kicking the door down time, a good time in my opinion. where they hold the flashlight in one hand and the gun in the other… yeah. always a showy move. never gets old.
oh no!! scully finds the ritual space!! what could she have been doing in here?, she asks... girl i think you know damn well lmao
dr. franklyn from the council is coming home to his mansion… and his lights won’t turn on. that’s suspicious. that’s weird. 
it’s very very quiet as he goes into his bathroom… AND FINDS SOMETHING WRITTEN ON BLOOD IN THE WALL!!
it looks like latin which i sadly cannot read :(
well, it could be blood OR lipstick, all things considered
and the tub is flowing with blood which is not a welcome sight. as he stares at his reflection like narcissus, something LEAPS out and GETS HIM!! so now there is a very bloody person loose in his house!!
he goes to call 911 but gets put on hold… as this person is going to TOWN on him with a knife. 
the agents roll up and we see that it is the NURSE who is covered in the blood and just did the stabbing!!!! she says she needs to be let go, but i’m not gonna lie, i think that would be a very bad idea. mulder wants to chat. she’s saying she’s trying to stop “them”, but they’re too powerful… and then she… chokes up needles?? oh. and blood. 
scully says get her in surgery NOW and also i’m going with her to the ER. while mulder looks at all the pins on the ground from her insides and then PICKS ONE UP???? the germs…..
so dr. franklyn got away and is being stitched up by one of the other doctors. they are not seeming to be enjoying the witchcraft theory. mulder watches dr. franklyn lay down in his bed and then when he leaves he starts to levitate!!!! what!!! and he’s smiling while doing this!!!
who are these weirdos…
it’s 3:40 AM and mulder has his demon books out, but really he’s looking at himself again in the mirror. bro is insecure and it’s making me sad. 
a knock at the door. scully!! at nearly 4 am. “god, you look tired”, says mulder, in a way that expresses concern rather than being mean. and she actually doesn’t look tired at all because it’s TV, but i’ll suspend my disbelief again. 
anyway, the nurse died from throwing up hundreds of pins. but how did they get IN there…
it has to be allotriophagy, says mulder, consulting his witchcraft encyclopedia! when you’re possessed and cough up strange and horrible things! which i shall use as an excuse next time i need to call in sick to work.
he stole the book from the nurse’s house, and also a calendar, where he found april 30th starred. and he explains it is one of the “four greater witches’ Sabbaths”, a natural thing for an FBI agent to know! /s
oh get this… the high holy days correspond to the birthdays of the victims!!! so that would be a good way to predict who is next.. but mulder says the nurse was trying to protect them with the pentagram, and she must have known something about dr. franklyn!!
so the doctors are talking about having a good thing going and people trying to take it away… i guess they're all in on this?
dr. franklyn has another procedure coming up, but the other doctor is like no dude you look terrible and you can’t mess this up, we'll get shut down, i’m doing it 
and gasp!! there is a patient going in that was born on one of the holy days!!! and that patient is going into surgery right now!
OH MY GOSH HE BURNED HER FACE OFF. THERE IS NO FACE LEFT. WHAT. WHAT DID I JUST SEE. 
so now they’re talking to another doctor, dr. shannon. they’re talking about how they successfully covered up the death cases from 10 years ago because they have made a TON of money doing plastic surgery. she says 4 patients died and a doctor named dr. cox worked himself to death. hmm...
mulder says to run dr. cox's photo through a cosmetic program… and it makes dr. franklyn… woah… spoooooky……
now we hear some labored scraping as dr. franklyn is doing knife twisting. carving… something. very sweatily. gross.
mulder’s theory is that dr. cox killed those patients in order to become dr. franklyn through some blood sacrifice to make himself pretty. i mean... did it work? let’s discuss. he looks fine, but not "i killed four people to look this good" fine.
now he’s getting some more tools… and he’s hurting the other doctor, dr. shannon!! with his mind! he didn’t even touch her!
mulder is at dr. franklyn's house with scully and they have their guns. god they’re beautiful. and she’s standing on a pentagram!! that has been inverted!!! 
“they represent the goat of lust attacking heaven with its horns”, he says about the pentagram <- he’s SUCH a nerddddd omfggg
and he wrote in all the names of the patients he killed in his carving!! including dr. shannon!!! uh oh...
and they’re bringing dr. shannon in for surgery, saying she swallowed something.
dr. franklyn is…. cutting into his scalp. i am not looking so don’t worry. 
mulder says do not let them operate on dr. shannon!!!!
oh my goodness, franklyn is just. cutting into his face. and i’m not looking but i am HEARING. the noises that are being produced.
they’re cutting into shannon and bleh. blehhh.
scully bursts in and says stop the surgery NOW!! and they’re all, who tf are you, get out of here!!! but she says i am a DOCTOR you need to LISTEN TO ME!! i love when she does that!
mulder is on the prowl for dr. franklyn. and he sees that he made a pentagram in blood. OH MY GOD HE CUT HIS OWN FACE OFF?? and left it there like a snake shedding it’s skin 😭😭
they pulled a ton of surgical instruments out of dr. shannon… so mulder says franklyn must have failed to complete his ritual….
but he managed to kill some other person who was born on halloween…. okay, that wasn’t a happy ending….
OH! dr. franklyn has a NEW FACE and is now getting a job in LA!
so… he’s just gonna… keep doing successful surgeries for 10 years and then take a little break to go on a killing spree, get a new face, and dip?
well. at least he sticks to a schedule?
um. okay. so what am i thinking here….
well, i did nearly faint many times. i am not looking forward to editing my notes and reliving that. i do not think this is an episode i would give a rewatch based on how i reacted to it.
but, the last few episodes have been super dark, and this one somehow felt… lighter? despite everything. we got some jokes in there and some silly time. and even if it ended on a “oh no, he’s still out there!” reveal, it was somehow less emotionally draining than the last few. 
was it ridiculous? yes. but was it also kind of refreshing after the last two episodes? also yes! which i think is a testament to how dark things have been rather than the quality of this episode. 
it was fine. it didn’t really do a whole lot for me. i mean, interesting to think of plastic surgery as devil worship, i guess, but potentially a reductive take. idk. i guess i don’t really spend a lot of time thinking about these things. 
things i DID like in this episode: that conversation mulder had with scully, where he was sitting on the bed looking up at her like he was going to ask for her hand in marriage or to be best friends forever and ever or talk about the meaning of being alive or some similar topic. it was so terribly tender. also, facts with scully! tell me about controversial drugs!! and mulder, tell me about the symbolism of a pentagram! i love these nerds! that was kind of it, though.
it was an episode. an episode with some good things and some meh things. that’s sort of par for the course. just… next time, less surgery. please. for me?
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lunaroceanic · 2 months ago
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Magnus Archives Liveblog: Part 6 - Episodes 65-76
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Ep 65: love the ramble on analogue vs digital and the human mind, really brings to mind the ai debacle. Ooo cool internet creepypasta kinda thing. Oh god that’s so weird and horrific. Jon had her look at Gertrude’s laptop!! Confrontation with Tim. Jon gives him a chance to quit. Tim says he can’t. Jon says he doesn’t think he can fire Tim either. Jon doesn’t know who is a victim of the Institute and who is an agent. Damn.
Ep 66: Guy imprisoned by Salesa? Ohh boy it’s like the coffin. At least he warned him not to go to sleep? Auuughhh I hate the idea of being buried alive. Dean Winchester is a stronger man than me. Gertrude was trying to buy Leitners…
Ep 67: More invisible fire stuff! Agnes from Hilltop Road? I get the sense that the Desolation fucking hates the Web, or at least Agnes does. The Cult of the Lightless Flame. Elias will give Jon a key to the tunnels.
Ep 68: Oh damn that poor guy got got by a Leitner, which Gertrude presumably burned. JON YOU’RE SO CLOSE TO REALIZING THAT ISN’T SASHA COME ON NOW FJNSNDNSD
Ep 69: the girls (Tim and Jon) are still fightinggg. Spider ESP experiment, fun. Oh god she’s making him strangle himself. Mark(?) breaks out of it and saves him. Oh damn he left them all for dead.
Ep 70: Ohhh the book will change depending on if you try to change your fate. Looks like it was never possessed by Leitner, which makes me wonder what exactly his deal with the books was. Also, this one is called Book Of The Dead, but we already know one book is for sure associated with the End entity—can there be more than one that corresponds with an entity, or is this one associated with something else? Authentication issue with Sasha’s computer?? Jon’s doing more ‘splorin, finds a burned Leitner.
Ep 71: This lady is so nonchalant about nearly being buried alive lmao. It’s so sad how Jon thinks to warn Sasha about the train, but doesn’t even know it’s not her 😭 He’s sure someone is living in the tunnels? He’s gonna ask Basira (and none of his coworkers) for help searching.
Ep 72: Cops are about to arrest Maxwell Rayner; Jon advises they bring flashlights. Eugh nonconsensual cannibalism. “MEAT IS ME” lmaoooo. OH GOD NOT THE ACHILLES TENDON 😬😭 “like i didn’t want my last thoughts on Earth to be low-key racist” FKSKJFNSKFJSNF I gotta respect that, holy shit that’s funny. He’s instantly healing from his wounds… Same Tom Haan from the meat processing plant episode!
Much more chill season finale than s1, just waiting for the conclusion of Basira’s arrest of Rayner, and no new tunnel stuff.
Ep 73: Welp nevermind that was not the season finale. Thanks, Apple Podcasts app. The arrest didn’t go well. A twelve year old got kidnapped :C All those torches coming in handy. Oh damn Basira’s quitting. Aw how’s he gonna get Gertrude tapes now :( How did they find the cult…?
Ep 74: Insomniac lady. Michael’s here! She wrote a story about things pushing through into our dimension that only the very sleep deprived can see. Jeez this sounds so rough. The present tense is really interesting. Jon’s seen who’s living in the tunnels—a guy with an attaché case who moves the ground out of the way to get through the trapdoor, and Sasha goes a couple times.
Ep 75: “The man with the lightning scar” Michael Crew is back! Omg Grant just invites himself along to France lol. Oh no this is awful, he purposefully brought his brother up there to get back at him :C Ohhh god all the missed calls and texts…Just an infinite ladder over the void aaahhgghh that’s awful!!! Basira is back with all the tapes!!
Ep 76: More Melanie King! I love her and Jon’s rapport, it’s very good. AAUUGHHH SHES ASKING AFTER SASHA AAUFHJSJGKJSGJ IM FREAKING OUT COME ONNNNN. YEAH JON THERE *ARE* MULTIPLE THINGS IN THE STATEMENTS THAT CAN TRICK YOUUUU
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gking10 · 2 months ago
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Liveblogging TMAGP 13: Futures
Here we are in the futures. Here we are in the futures and it's bright!
CAT3RB4622-17092023-14032024Gambling (application) / self-destruction [voicemail]
Nevermind, it's not bright at all. Are the bone dice coming back? Who will be holding them this time? Attempted suicide is a heavy incident element. The one that's different from all the others is SFX: insectoid though. I don't know how bugs are going to get involved but I am not looking forward to it. Why is the title "Futures"? Is someone being shown a vision of their future that acts as a catalyst for their self-destruction? But then why wouldn't the incident be filed with "vision" or "prophecy" or "fate" or something like that? Maybe the voicemail is just from an outside observer and the idea that the victim had a vision is only implied. I don't know, but "Futures" is an interesting title.
2:19 - "Alice was right – it is easy to make you blush.." God, Sam is adorable.
2:36 - "…and that you're an overachiever, obsessive, a bit repressed-" Yeah, this all tracks.
3:09 - "I have a baby. Jack. He’s just over a year old now." Oh! That's who Celia was talking about when she woke up at that motorway. Does Celia have anyone helping her take care of him? I mean, surely she must, Celia doesn't strike me as the kind of person to just leave a baby alone. But like she said herself, she's mysterious. Does she even know any other people? Daycare, maybe? And if Celia is from the TMA timeline, where did Jack come from?
3:22 - "And before you ask, no there’s no dad on the scene. Not even sure who he is. I had a couple of wild years after I moved here. It was a really weird time for me" I was considering the possibility that maybe Celia in this dimension was just going about her normal life and suddenly got given her alternate-timeline memories, but this does sound like Celia literally went through a portal and wound up here.
4:41 - "Well after that it all just went downhill. Didn’t get into Oxford, so I went to Nottingham. I graduated but I missed a first by one mark." "I had a breakdown. Stress. There was an… incident at work. I… freaked out during a presentation." "Gifted" kid burnout. Can relate. I wonder if there's something more to Sam's breakdown. The pauses might mean the incident was stirred by him experiencing something unnatural. Or the pauses could just be the natural apprehension of telling someone you had a breakdown.
5:05 - "I did my best to help her though her parents’ deaths" So Alice and her brother just have each other...
6:04 - "Is it my fault?" Yes and no. You were complicit, but you were just the messenger and you also lacked full information. The OIAR easily could have had someone else send the letter. Still not a great thing to be involved with. If you feel guilty about it, that's a good sign you should get out.
6:50 - "The world is full of opposing forces, some benevolent, most not. In order for the wheels to keep on turning, all these forces need to be monitored and balanced. That is where we come in." You sound like if Robert Smirke were an organization. You think you can balance all the fear. Pit them against one another, maintain order. But you can't. You just can't because its all one multi-limbed thing. "Some benevolent" is also interesting. Gerry in TMA made an explicit point that there were no benevolent supernatural forces, just the Fears.
7:33 - "Welcome to the Zorrotrade customer support line." Huh. Real thing... I think? Zorro, or Zorro Trade, is apparently a software for people to use to do financial trading using algorithms. That fits with the incident involving finance problems, but I don't see it being called Zorrotrade anywhere. Maybe its just a little offness because this is another universe. Or it could just be a whole different thing, I don't know. Also wait INT. QUIET FRENCH HOSPITAL WARD – SUNSET, CLOUDY (CASE RECORDING) Hey yeah um why is the calling in a hospital ward? What's that about? Are they good?
8:28 - "I don’t care about your “suspicious activity” bollocks, I have burnt my entire life to the ground for this stupid bloody app and now you owe me my goddam money. So, you can either pay up or I drop a line to the Ombudsman and tell them all about your little “Projection” trading" "Projection" trading... Is Zorrotrade literally trading people's futures? Or giving people "projections" that encourage them to do reckless things because all the data shows they will get the money in the end? But again, why is this incident not filed under fate then? Whatever happened, it led to this guy getting put in the hospital.
8:47 - "You can’t just take my money, lock me out of your app, and then expect me to roll over. I’ve been a user for years. Hell, I’ve probably invested more via this poxy little program than everyone else put together and what do I have to show for it? Eh?" Hmmm... Putting all your hopes into something only for it to all crumple apart? "Burnt my entire life to the ground"? Desolation vibes? Getting people's hopes up only for it to all go up in smoke?
9:03 - "Is this meant to be, like, punishment or something? I’m not a bad person, all right? Wanting to be rich doesn’t make you a bad person." I was wondering about the app name. Zorrotrader. Zorro, who fought the corrupt and wealthy elite and defended commoners. Are you a bad person, Darrien? You didn't exploit anyone to try to get your wealth, did you? Maybe you might have been acting like a smug insufferable financebro while using the app, but as long as you didn't hurt anyone, I don't think you crossed a line... You did gamble only your own finances, not a friends or family members, right?
9:37 - "I earned everything I got." You see, when you say it like that, it makes me start to think otherwise. Being this defensive makes me think you did something bad.
10:07 - "Made some quick cash shorting failing startup" I do not understand finances in the slightest, so apologies if my brain actually collapses into a blackhole. But it sounds like you're exploiting small businesses trying to get off the ground. Maybe also manipulating the market and cause those businesses to fail harder? I don't know, I don't know how any of this works! But it sounds. Bad.
10:09 - "then used that to broaden into Crypto" Oh my god, he does crypto. It's so over. It's all just pump-and-dump like scheme stuff, isn't it? Buy something, sell it off when you'll get the most profit and the person your selling it to will be left with diddly squat because the prices dropped catastrophically. I guess Darrien was right that he earned all his money. It just involved scamming. All of the hype and raised hopes turned to nothing but loss and ruin. Desolation. "leveraged some EM ETF" Please say words I understand.
11:22 - "That was when I noticed your new: “Personal Projection Short Selling” feature" Borrow stock in your future. Sell it immediately(?). Wait for stock in your own future to get low. Borrow back stock and earn profit from the difference. Is Darrien going to... risk his own life to "lower" his futures stock for profit? Is that were the self-harm starts?
12:05 - "Just that one slider with the warning: “These settings are experimental and may not function as intended, user discretion is advised.” You really think that is enough after what you’ve done to me?" I mean, you were warned. And unless you started getting compelled (this is gambling-related, so Web-type stuff could happen), you could have quit at any time...
12:25 - "Oli kicked me shoreside in “Le Brusc” the next evening. He wasn’t too impressed with the mess I had made of his guest cabin and let’s be honest, we didn’t really get on anyway. He dumped me at the dock with nowhere to stay and told me he’d send me a bill for the TV." You what. You just... um... gotta gloss over going into a drunken frenzy, messing up your friend's cabin, and destroying his TV? Are we just not going to address that?
12:47 - "Apparently, they always knew I’d “end up back in the gutter eventually.”" Your "friends" are assholes. You're an asshole too, again, broken TV, but these are not the "lads" you want to be around in the first place.
13:22 - "They took everything. The case, my watch, my jacket, even my shoes. But not my phone." That sucks. Again, asshole, but no one deserves to get mugged. That rising noise right before mentioning the phone. Zorrotrade is doing its work. Darrien invested money into his own personal projection, and now something bad happened to him. So is he going to get money back from this?
14:10 - "“Congratulations! In recognition of your change in circumstances, you’re Personal Projection Short Sell has now been paid in full. We hope you invest again soon!”" Sell when its high. Buy back when its low. Make a profit. Yeah Darrien is absolutely going to try to game this by hurting himself, isn't he?
14:33 - "Obviously you hadn’t worked the bugs out of this projection thing yet but that's your problem. Not mine. It’s not like I hacked it or anything." No, you probably just tried to rig the betting. I'm sure casinos would be very happy with you using the same excuse.
15:16 - "And no, it wasn't fraud. I’ve checked and there’s no regulations about it or anything, so like I said: your app, your problem…" "No one explicitly said it was wrong, so it's okay! I love following the letter of the law and not the spirit!"
15:40 - "before renting a car (with insurance) and crashing it into a tree at speed." Is that not literally actual insurance fraud? But damn, he really is just willing to wreck his entire life just for more profit. He's not even exactly using the money for anything specific, there's no ambition, outside of a nebulous lavish lifestyle. This isn't greed, it's gluttony, and he's an addict. He just wants to swallow cash and sit on it and it doesn't matter if he has to break his body to do some.
16:32 Hey, uh. Buddy. Where are you walking to? It better not be a high place. You better not be about to throw yourself off of a height just to put your life at maximum risk in hopes this fucking number goes up.
16:38 - "I’d picked out the spot the day before, a cliff" GOD DAMN IT
17:15 - "On the way I made a few phone calls, first to my parents, telling them I never loved them and hoped they died horribly, next I was on the group chat with the lads telling each of them just how many times I slept with their partners, even when I hadn’t. Then it was on to my socials publicly declaring my affiliation with every messed up ideology and psychopath I could find." Gotta burn every bridge, right? Scorched earth policy. And we know Darrien lives this. But he doesn't get the money. He's turned the fertile earth of his life to ash now and nothing will ever grow on that soil again. I really like this aspect of the Desolation, if you can't tell. The recklessness. The need for constant empty thrills to fill something in yourself. Tossing everything into the fire. Rending everything beyond recovery.
18:27 - "I was alive sure, but more than that I was rich, properly rich, untouchably rich. Everything was going to be okay." That's what everyone thinks before Zorro carves a Z into their chest with a rapier. The Desolation, or at least the Cult of the Lightless Flame who mainly represented the Desolation, never really purposefully built up people's hopes before destroying them in TMA. They burned and hurt, but they never took the time to set up any kindling. The only time they even did invest in hope was ironically with Agnes Montague, their own ritual. A life they invested years into only for it to peter out into a hollow loss. It's nice to see hope being built up here. Hope is a seed for despair.
19:04 - "“Your payment has been suspended due to suspicious account activity including potential insider trading. Official bodies have been notified. Please repay your outstanding balance or prepare for Personal Adjustment.”" Insider trading. Trading of security with use of information not accessible to the public. Yeah, no, uh, you literally did that Darrien. That's exactly what you did. Oopsie. And it's not enough for Zorrotrade to literally leave his life physically and social destroyed, they had to turn all his profit into debt just to rub it in.
19:49 - "Thank you. You are being transferred to our adjustments department." Oh he is so dead.
20:07 Did... did bugs start crawling out of his phone? I'm not sure what the significance of bugs here is...
23:07 A little tension forming between Alice and Sam. Alice wants to maintain her friendship with Sam, but Sam starting to date Celia is making things... awkward. And Sam still wants to think about the incidents, while Alice still wants to shut her eyes, cover her ears, and just focus on the fact she's getting paid for this. Also I'm just going to block "bussin" being said on this podcast out of my memory. That's the episode done! It was great, even though all the investment terms made me dizzy. Still wondering about the bugs though. Why bugs? Nothing about this felt connected to the Corruption. What do the bugs symbolize here? Something hungry, biting at whatever it can maybe, just like Darrien relentlessly pursued money? I don't know.
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squirrels-are-sleeping · 11 months ago
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COUNTER/Weight 29: Three Conversations, Liveblog
There's been so much new music since we've set out from Counterweight, I'm so happy!
AUSTIN: … It is a mistake to think the graduate of the new stratus program is merely a weapons platform or some sort of fantasy pulled from the  neurovids. They are the embodiment of a new mode of being. In time, they’ll reveal not only the secrets of corporate labs, not only the workings of your holy divines, but the interiority of interiority itself.
Whoa whoa whoa, Austin Walker, you get back here and tell me some more about the state of scholarship on modes of being in the Golden Branch Sector! Where does Maryland September stand in relation to the ontological turn in science and technology studies? Is "Modes of Existence" by Bruno Latour still cited, *as it should be*? Please tell me this, it's very important.
Also, I assume Attar Rose is Ibex before Righteousness, that's cool.
KEITH: (typing and copying Austin) When my smartass mouth ruins the mission. ART: So we’ve just decided that Keith gets infinity XP, is that what we’re doing here? AUSTIN: This is the problem with this is, so often the case his smartass mouth, for whatever reason, ends up going into a roll he succeeds at, which means he probably won’t get experience from it.
I can already picture it. Mako: "I am actually the Divine Smoothness, it's weird that you haven't heard of me" NPC: "That tracks, let me tell you all my secrets"
KEITH: I want to be sort of grumpily doing a chore AUSTIN: You’re like, rearranging the food rations in the kitchen alphabetically, because Orth demanded that an alphabetic kitchen is the most organized kitchen and it’s just… the worst.
Mako doing chores to appease Orth is honestly a gift that keeps on giving, I hope it just keeps happening forever.
JACK (as AuDy): Due to unstable solar wind, please remain in your cabins. JACK: And then I just nudge the stick very slightly so that the ship maintains its course but begins to spin slowly on its axis. And then I walk back to the cockpit.
I love that AuDy is a huge liar, and apparently Liberty & Discovery is right there with them as well.
Also: the transcript keeps "as AuDy" notation, but it's still not clear to me how mixing multiple artificial personalities in one robot chassis works. Do they stack like bricks, together but distinct, or do they mix like a chemical reaction into an altogether new compound?
JACK (as AuDy): You know, Ibex? What I need to know about you now, after ten years, is whether or not the fact that Jerboa is no longer in the picture is something you’ve chalked up as a good thing. AUSTIN (as Ibex): No…  AUSTIN: And he struggles for a second, and it’s hard to tell what he’s struggling against. AUSTIN (as Ibex): It hurts, a lot.
You know, this is probably what I, too, needed to hear from Ibex. Up until now it wasn't clear to me that this fucker isn't completely divorced from compassion, love, or pain that isn't his own. Good question, AuDy-and-Liberty-and-Discovery.
JACK (as AuDy): … Look. This is very strange for all of us, but I think if we all just work together as a crew at this point, we’re going to be able to move forward. In space… and time.
Babygirl (gender-neutral), you're on a moving spaceship >.<
But anyway, this specific sentence is so wooden and uncomfortable, when their speech isn't at all, otherwise. I choose to interpret it as AuDy papering over a feeling of vulnerability.
JACK (as AuDy): I’m the Divine Liberty and the - KEITH: (overlapping) and Discovery. JACK (as AuDy): Divine Discovery. (a pause) Yeah. Those. KEITH (as Mako): Knew it.
Mako really wants to have known about this, when it's blatantly obvious he's only just found out.
KEITH (as Mako): (whispering) I didn’t, didn’t really know that he was a Divine. ART (as Cass): Yeah, I know buddy.
God, this is so sweet. It's never been so evident that Cass is a full decade older, and approximately 100 years more mature
JACK: Uh… [Orth] just goes and sits in the tiny co-pilot’s chair we’ve made and swings it around, away from the group.
My heart is never not breaking for Orth. He's still that aggressively over-promoted pilot who wants to hide in his quarters and watch anime, huh.
JACK (as AuDy): Mako… Mako. You are not clobbering the Divine Candidate Ibex. You are not doing that. KEITH (as Mako): You killed his brother! JACK (as AuDy): Well, we’ve talked about that.  ALI (as Aria): To be fair, all of us are owed like one shot. JACK (as AuDy): Nobody here is clobbering Ibex.  AUSTIN: AuDy, when was the last time that you saw Jerboa as a child?
Hey, Austin? OUCH
JACK: … Everybody in space is sad.
A tagline for this show if I've ever heard one (and also why I can't get enough of it)
AUSTIN: … [Ibex] is older now, and carries himself less aggressively, and that gives him more confidence, and so in a way it’s actually a more powerful pose.
Right, what this guy needed was more confidence
AUSTIN (as Ibex): … So, you’re headed to September? JACK (as AuDy): That was the plan. AUSTIN (as Ibex): What for? ALI (as Aria): Mostly to stop you from killing us? AUSTIN (as Ibex): (quietly) Oh god… I’m in the middle of an invasion, there’s a coup happening … I don’t have time to swat flies. We send those messages out all the time. There’s an algorithm, it plugs in names, it develops threats specifically to upset people so they’ll get in line. I don’t make (chuckles) personal appearances very often. I’m very busy.
That motherfucker! "I'm too busy to send you threatening messages"
KEITH (as Mako): I don’t like you at all. AUSTIN (as Ibex): That’s fair… a lot of people don’t like me. Lot of people don’t like medicine. They still take it. KEITH (as Mako): You can’t just say shit! [mocking tone] “A lot of people don’t like me, a lot of people don’t like mehhh…” [blows raspberries] that doesn’t mean anything!
I really like how Keith's characters take on Ibex. (I was going to say "how Mako takes on Ibex", but Sokrates handled him similarly). They don't argue against his points, they just dismiss them as meaningless wholesale, and it's very effective.
AUSTIN: He reaches out and touches Mako’s head, and like… it’s cold? His hands are cold. And… he, like… runs his hands though your hair as if he’s looking for something. And he finds it, and rests his forehead on yours. And suddenly you feel it too? It’s… like… you’ve been carrying something for a long time? Like… weight that you had been so used to carrying around? That it stopped feeling like weight.
He can just… uninstall Righteousness from Mako by bonking heads together, and without doing a reinstall of everything else that Mako is? I'm shocked that it's even possible, but maybe that's where the metaphor of Righteousness as an operating system breaks down
KEITH (as MAKO): He’s not here! You said he was coming, and he didn’t come, he sent a robot! AUSTIN (as IBEX): What are you talking about? JACK (as AUDY): It stings a little, Ibex, that you wouldn’t… [Ibex scoffs] that you wouldn’t come in person… oh… [AuDy laughs]. AUSTIN (as IBEX): This is it, man…
I am very confused by what this is saying about the whole Ibex-Righteousness situation.
ETA after finishing the episode: nope, still confused. I get that Ibex and Righteousness have basically merged. I don't get how the fact that Ibex has a robotic jaw and voice box got AuDy to conclude that he's being taken over by Righteousness. Lots of people have cyberware, no? (It probably doesn't matter in the grand scheme)
AUSTIN (as IBEX): [long-ass speech about big animals going extinct from cold, and small animals thinking they've done it, and therefore, Rigour is scary] ART: For someone who is so scared, this is an insane way to tell us this information! ALI: It’s incredibly in character.
Seriously, that fucking guy! It's not just he is scared, he also wants to mobilise them and recruit them to his purpose, and long metaphoric speeches are one of his prime tools. He's just a walking wall of sound.
AUSTIN (as IBEX): How you getting on with your [sibling]these days? Sokrates? ART (as CASS): I… we haven’t spoken since the war. AUSTIN (as IBEX): OK, well… if you could send them a letter, that would be good. Don’t… I’m not… just let them know that there’s… something big. I don’t think he’d be a big fan of Rigour.
yes yes yes get more Sokrates in here, i love them. Get Cass talking to their family. Good job, Ibex
AUSTIN (as IBEX): … Rigour devours people, but that’s about it. KEITH (as MAKO): AuDy, do you devour people?  JACK (as AUDY): No. … JACK (as AUDY): I murdered my first Candidate with a saw.  JACK: I’m not saying that… but that’s what happened!
alkfdjhfadjsf well if he hadn't gone around disappointing the Divine by drawing all those Jokers
AUSTIN: When you secure Maryland September, mark experience. If you each escape September alive, mark experience. ART: Is that one each, or one if all of us get out? AUSTIN: It’s one if all of you get out.
F E A R
I can smell self-sacrifice, and people dying while trying to stop each other from self-sacrifice
JACK: Great. I love space. Space is just… Everything’s going fine.
Another tagline, along with "everybody in space is sad"
Final episode thoughts: So much has happened within the space of three conversations! We're not running away from Ibex any more? Ibex is the quest-giver??
It's just as well that Rigour went to September, tbh, because I can't see how Ibex could talk these guys around from running away from him to working for him, otherwise. It was going to take more than a parable about big animal extinction.
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icebluecyanide · 1 year ago
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Alex Rider S03E06 Reaction
Unspoilered episode reactions, warning for book spoilers, you know the drill. Time to kill Mrs Jones!
Liveblog
‘We have both been betrayed too many times’ over an image of John, nice
Don’t just approach the strange man watching you, Jack!!
Why did he tell Jack?? It’s sort of wild that Alex is thinking of killing Mrs Jones as just something he needs to do first, like he can in any way go back to a normal life after. Like, also him thinking he would ‘just’ finish Scorpia, like that’s not an entire criminal organisation that’s been hidden for years. Alex, I love you but perhaps these are not realistic life goals
Omg why would you get the CIA involved
Ahsdlfhs I need Alex to be more isolated, I can’t handle him seeming to be winning this argument with Yassen about contacting Jack when it was objectively a stupid thing to do. ‘She needed to know I was okay’ Alex… you will literally never be able to live a normal life again if you kill Mrs Jones, you showing yourself to Jack will not make this easier in any way
‘We trust each other, you should try it sometime’ Alex you literally just met up with your friend in secret ahsdlfhs
Oh no I think Yassen may know that the story about Mrs Jones isn’t true. ‘Shortly after the operation. Shortly after your father died’ sounds like Yassen knows John didn’t die on the bridge. But also gosh him telling Alex he could be a good killer!! What are Yassen’s motives here?? 
Ayyy first Helen mention, that took a while. Interesting choice to have Yassen be the one to tell Alex, and that he knows about the plane crash
“Because it’s my job. I work for Scorpia. And I’m good at it” 🥺
“You think this is about John. Alex Rider’s father” ahsldhfs why not just call him John Rider lol
YASSEN IS COOKING FOR THEM!!! 🥰 They’re having dinner together omg 
“You can’t kill someone and go home. You can only go forward.” “forward to what?” “To the next target” ooof gosh he’s not wrong tho and Alex is definitely overdue hearing that given his behaviour earlier this ep
“Alex worked it out, because he’s actually quite good at this stuff” yeah I mean that is part of why they blackmailed him to work for the Department, Tom ahsldfhs what sort of burn is this supposed to be lol weren’t you all glad Blunt wasn’t interested in Alex anymore??
“If i were betrayed like that, I would make sure there were consequences, no matter how long it took” lol foreshadowing
Gosh this part about her trying to make him separate from Jack is a lot more complicated in the show than in the book, what with Alex not being as isolated/him not feeling like he’s already decided to be with Scorpia/Scorpia being a lot more brutal to him so far
“He’s confused” I mean he’s also trying to kill Mrs Jones and joined a criminal organisation. So like, they absolutely should be treating him with caution now
Why are they not putting together yet that Alex is going after Mrs Jones tho? In the book Blunt puts extra security on her the moment it becomes clear that Alex may have joined Scorpia because he learned about Albert Bridge, it doesn’t seem such a big leap to assume Alex is out to kill a particular person?
Love how they kept in the Coke trick with the metal detector, always loved that in the book haha
Lmao Alex just putting together the gun on camera
I love how she immediately notices the picture being turned down and knows something is wrong
Alex is so angry!! I’m sad that we don’t get Mrs Jones challenging Alex about his dad being a killer tho
Overall
Very nice. Some really cool scenes this episode, loved how much Yassen and Alex we are getting but oh man I need the Department at least to be rough with Alex when they bring him in after this, I crave Consequences.
Thought/predictions
Some very interesting Yassen and Alex scenes in this episode, and I loooove the fact that they are living in the safe house together for a bit and that Yassen was cooking them dinner, but also it is wild to me how Alex could just walk out. Where is the danger, the consequences of him telling people? Yassen is huffy for one moment and then Alex talks back and they move on like ahsdlfhs I love Yassen being soft for Alex, but he really is being very foolish contacting people he knows like that. Like ‘yeah I’m on a mission of revenge and I’m planning the murder of a government official but after that I plan to come home’ like Alex… 
Those were some really wild reactions to Kyra stealing the equivalent of state secrets lol. Like, those are highly classified files, and frankly the fact that Smithers either didn’t notice it going missing or didn’t care because he likes Kyra makes me think that perhaps the Department is not ISO certified.
Okay so, Julia Rothman wants revenge on Blunt and John (through Alex). The plan was just Blunt until Alex started searching for Scorpia and now Mrs Rothman really wants to watch him die too (which I assume Alex will learn once they tell him about what Scorpia is planning next ep when they bring him in). 
Yassen on the other hand seems to think Alex can be a killer like him and John, and I still can’t tell if he knows that John betrayed Scorpia. Because he is very ‘emotions don’t matter’ so it is possible that yes he felt betrayed but now he put that aside, and he is not about things getting personal and doesn’t question orders, so he might never have even considered that Julia Rothman actually wants Alex dead. Because apparently he’s happy never thinking lol. But that also means that perhaps once he’s forced to choose between Scorpia and Alex later this season, he may need to make an actual choice, and may realise that Julia actually planned to kill Alex from the start. Alternatively, he doesn’t know but also never looked into it. But the way he phrased things when it came to Alex’s mother dying and warned Alex not to make things personal is a bit suspicious. But also that means he’s lying to Alex about his dad??
Also Kyra loves Alex apparently, but I wish we could have got more on her feelings about Alex joining the organisation that murdered her parents. Like, it may even have been Yassen who did it, and now Alex is hanging out with him. Can we please get some moral consequences and angst in here?
I want a hundred more scenes of Alex and Yassen living in the safe house. Did they do dishes together? Did they have separate bedrooms? What’s it like for Alex to spend so much time with the man who killed his uncle? He did actually seem to warm up to Yassen from around that time with the shopping list, but it has to be strange when he’s reminded of Yassen being a killer.
I assume they will send Alex in again like in canon but I really wonder what that conversation will be like, because I always liked how in the books Alex is sort of half resigned to the fact that they are going to ask him, and half knows he wants to do it because he wants to save people & get back at Julia Rothman for the lies and also her trying to kill him.
Questions
Does Yassen know??? I need to know more about his motivations
Is Tom’s brother going to be okay without a good cameraman?
Will Tom move to Malta?
What is Yassen going to do when he sees Alex is caught??
How did the shooting end this time, did Alex just straight up miss or is there still a glass wall?
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taylorkellyreporting · 1 year ago
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i hope no one minds if i liveblog this bitch: the nice guys
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NOT HIM CUTTING HIS WRIST DKFJGJS
“now tell me, are you willing to find God?” “i’m trying to find amelia.” 😭
“jack, i’m fucking your dad.” HELP MEEEE
THE WAY SHE JUST STARTS CUTTING HER FOOD EVEN AFTER HE THROWS HIS WATER ON HER IS SENDING ME SO BAD
oh shit, he forgot his brass knuckles
“fine! i’m done! put a fork in me…don’t really put a fork in me!” his fists jdjfjgsm
this movie’s hilarious
jackson beat his ass and stole his apple 😭
damn, all that yoohoo went to waste
HIS DAUGHTER IS DRIVING? 😭😭
“am i a bad person?” “yes.” “just drive.” please
NOOO NOT THE FISH
“JESUS CHRIST, ONE AT A TIME!” “you took the lords name in vain.” “no i didn’t, janet. i found it very useful, actually.” SCREAMING
the bowling ball skdjfjgjdk
holland is so damn stupid 😭
“i would’ve thought your job ended with breaking my fucking arm!” “well, you know, technically it did. i’m off the clock, this is a separate situation.” lmfaooo
“how much would charge to beat up my friend janet?” CTFU
“why don’t we invite him in?” “no animals in the house, sweetheart.” 😭
“dad, there’s like whores here and stuff.” “sweetheart, how many times have i told you? don’t say ‘and stuff’, say ‘dad, there are whores here.” father of the year
“you’re a detective who can’t smell?” “yeah.” “oh, this just keeps getting better and better.” “wow, that’s really insensitive.” dkfjgjsk
HE FELL OFF THE BALCONY JFJGKDKSK i knew it was coming and yet i STILL have tears in my eyes
WHAT THE FUCK
that shit was bonkers
hmm.. not sure i believe that this lady cares about her daughter
holly definitely knows that he killed that guy
“sorry mr. march, my sister kicked us out. she’s…having a guy over.” “your sister’s such a slut.” “yeah, i know.” I CAN’T BREATHE
amelia’s crazy but i think she’s telling the truth
holland is sooo fucking stupid
A GIANT BEE DKDJGJGJS
she did all that just to die in what is quite possibly the dumbest way ever…okay.
one thing about holland march, he’s gonna fall from something high
the last like…30 minutes were amazing (as was the entire movie but that last half. wow.)
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uncleasad · 5 months ago
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Friday Night Thoughts II
I reblogged a post and wrote a little bit the other day about my writing burnout and how it dogged me for the better part of two years until this summer. I’ve been thinking about it a bit off and on ever since, and especially last night when I had an enormously frustrating and stressful late afternoon/early evening (something that should have taken 15 minutes took 2+ hours, due to absence of instructions included in the box, egregiously poor customer support, terrible software UI and worse design, and so forth).
But when I hopped on tumblr, hoping for something nice or to help me exhale, there were all these lovely GIFs of Hope and Josie from Lizzie’s Second Wish AU from 1x10 waiting for me on my dashboard.
And one of the things that really helped me heal? get over? move on from? my burnout was having @unsiredtribrid (and all previous incarnations 😀) on here providing that extra Hoise oomph—brilliant thoughts and analyses, lots of GIFs and screencaps, the TVDU rewatch liveblog, and generally friendly company.
I’ve been on here since checks the Archive August 2021, nearing the end of my so-called “summer writing sabbatical” (ah, just 7 WIPs, such an innocent time 😂) and I’ve been mutuals with a bunch of other Hosie authors here for a lot of that time, and I used to regularly check the Hosie tag (and followed some of the active posters) during those latter months of 2021 (and, well, we know what happened then 😢), but it wasn’t until unsiredtribrid started talking and posting GIFs and whatnot that I really felt like there was a community I was part of here (I had friends, but nothing bigger than us, if that makes sense?—and part of that is on me, of course, because I didn’t go out and search for Hosie posts and reblog everything I found and so forth…it might be the internet, but I’m still an introvert!). Suddenly now there was this sense of, gravity maybe?, starting to pull us together. And having this Hosie-ness swirling around me started to recharge my batteries.
All of which is just a late-night, long-winded way of saying a big thank-you to unsiredtribrid—for being who you are, for being here 🙏
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