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getbeyondthebooks · 2 years

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the “problem” with Mike’s character arc

i’m putting “problem” in quotation marks because i don’t think it’s a problem at all, but it’s something that would make it hard for the general public to notice that a character arc exists in the first place. I’m saying this because I also had the same problem and I only saw the light when I came to the Byler tag and started putting 2 and 2 together.

I’m talking about continuity through seasons. This whole time I failed to realize what Mike’s character arc was and most importantly I failed to see that it was in developing through seasons without reaching an ending.

I only started wondering what was going on with Mike in S4, when his weird behavior with Will made it obvious that there was something and it wasn’t just a teen being a teen, like I assumed in S3.

And still it took me so long to figure out that his weird behavior is not something that came out of nowhere in S4, but it’s actually something that they have slowly built up through the seasons. That no, Mike’s queer character arc hasn’t magically started in S4, but has been going on from the start and that we got it very much presented to us in S3, both for Mike and Will. For Will it was “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls” and the destruction of Castle Byers, for Mike? Hands down the ending of S3.

My biggest mistake going into Mike’s character, contrary to Will’s, has been to assume that all his arcs started and ended in the same season and that there was no continuity with it, because I was too blind to realize that there was some place they were going with him and that they had yet to reach. I don’t even know why I didn’t realize, Mike is literally our MC, he starts off as our protagonist, if anyone had to have a character arc it would be him?? So why did I just take his character at face value? Istg I feel so stupid right now.

I’ve been waiting for Will’s character arc to take center stage, I knew his queerness was going to be a focal point for him sooner or later, but Mike’s changes completely felw me by because the Duffers never made them obvious. It’s all in the details, and if you’re too taken by Mileven, you’re bound to miss (or dismiss) them.

For example, when the end of S3 happened, I assumed that the reason why Mike made that weirded out face after El kissed him and told him she loved him was because he was just taken aback that she had heard him confess in the first place and nothing deeper than that. Perhaps it was a bit exhagerated for confusion, but, again, I assumed it wasall for laughs. S3 treated the whole Mileven relationship very lightely and humorously, so it made sense to me that even such a scene would be a bit comical.

S4 forced me to reconsider everything.

Rewatching it now, knowing how Mike is behaving 6 months later, that scene takes a completely different connotation and meaning. A lot of similar occurrences do.

The Duffers have done this before, multiple times. Think Jonathan and Nancy in S1, for example. Their story begun in S1 but by the end of it, Nancy was still actively in a relationship with Steve and the consequences of the time she spent with Jonathan only “hit” in S2. There was continuity there. It was just way less flashed out, it all happened pretty fast although spanning two seasons and it was way more in our face.

Mike and Will? Have been built up for 4 seasons. From the very start. In the slowlest way possible. In the tiniest details. Their storyline has been constructed one moment at a time, hidden, almost, in the background, but there nonetheless.

Putting all the pieces together I can clearly see the picture now. I assumed it was just Will, I never really expected Mike to have a character arc per se. I assumed we knew all we needed to know about Mike, I was never expecting any big revelation or anything. But now I can see that his character arc has been going on for 4 seasons and has yet to reach completition, just like Will’s AND El’s (independence arc).

There IS something going on with Mike. There has always been. I just couldn’t see it until they made it pretty obvious in S4. Some people still think it’s nothing but it was immediately clear to me that they were trying to tell me something when they decided to 1) bring up Will’s feelings for Mike when they could have made it puppy love and give him another love interest 2) have Mileven have ILY problems when the whole audience assumed that was solved at the end of S3 3) have Mike be extremely conscious of Will’s presence for no apparent reason.

The fact that Mileven are STILL dealing with a problem they introduced in S3 that we all (at least the general audience) assumed had been solved by the end of it is telling us that whatever storyline had been going on in S3? Is STILL ongoing. No, the issue wasn’t closed there. Mike’s character arc didn’t find resolution there, in fact, in hindsight, I could say that’s where his character arc actually properly started. Not to say that nothing happened before then, but I think that’s when he was hit with some kind of realization.

So the more I look at it, look at the big picture without dividiving the story in seasons, the more I realize that there can’t possibly be anything but Byler at the end of it all. I’ve been saying this since I’ve watched S4. The decisions they took with the story were too deliberate, they can’t lead anywhere else, but I was still 50/50 because I felt like they took it out of nowhere for Mike. But if you put his whole experience into perspective and not divide it into seasons, it’s actually all right there.

It’s hard because we get years of pause between seasons and the ending of one season stays with us for a long time before we question it so it all feels way more dragged out than it really is in the show. Plus details get lost in time and the Duffers were EXTREMELY delicate with it all. Will’s sexuality included. I picked up on it early but I know for a fact that most didn’t. It was never explicit, it was all very gently introduced. I just never realized they had done the same for Mike.

I don’t know what Mike’s sexuality is and I’m not even gonna argue (I headcannoned him as bi for a while but who knows) but from a writing perspective, I know that the only possible and logical conclusion of his character arc is Byler.

I’m so confident in them being endgame at this point that it’s scaring me. It just feels so obvious now, I can’t unsee it. HELP.

Istg S4 was more about Mike’s feelings for Will than it was viceversa. We got Will’s pov but the real source of their tension was Mike the whole time. He initiated it all. He knows he has feelings for Will and he doesn’t know what to do with them. He’s a queer mess. I just know it for a fact at this point. It just makes SENSE.

My only doubt for Byler was that there wasn’t enough time to show Mike going through his identity crisis, but that’s because I was too blind to see that he HAS BEEN going through his identity crisis for this whole time. I was so distracted by Mileven and Will that I just never noticed. So now that I have noticed... I have no doubts anymore, but that’s frighteneing.

#byler #mike wheeler #do i trust the duffers #oh my god putting my faith in them is terrifying #but istg it cannot go in any other way #it's just all there #the grondwork #the blueprint #of byler's love story #it's just there #and it feels so obvious now #i will cry

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egyptian-sun-god · 3 years

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Never Have I ever S2

SPOILERS.....Turn back now I’m serious.

I’m waiting....

Okay cool your fault at this point

I was fairly critical of NHIE S1, I won’t lie. And I’ll be real I still stand by the fact that NHIE S1 was fairly meh overall.

But holy shit, they knocked this season outta the world man. The show really really found its proper footing this season. They were smart to keep the cheating for only two episodes and explore the repercussion for the other 8.

1.Devi Vishwakumar.

Let’s start with the main character. Devi still does immensely fucked up shit this season. Dating two boys and have them find out in the MOST humiliating way possible. Yikes. Being a really sucky friend to Aneesa and starting that rumour about her (inadvertently) and pretending to her. Stalking her mother and being possessive of her. The really awful apology that was pretty self centred, a bit not good.

But she really does do her best to improve and I am SO proud of that. She uses her father’s advice and apologizes better to Aneesa, she actually handled the Ben and Aneesa dating WAAAAY better than I’ve seen some people handle things like that. I might’ve blown a fuse if two of my friends had 4 tickle fights and had major PDA sessions when we were trying to do a group project. Like she handled that shit fairly well all things considered. Devi actually gets into the beginnings of delving into her trauma and her temporary paralysis and healing from it. I

really see how the label ‘crazy’ weighs on her and how she blew up with it and the message of destigmatizing mental illness. (Crazy Aneesa and Crazy Devi) Her properly bonding with her mother and watching videos of her father and remembering/honouring his memory hit REALLY HARD (since I lost many people in my family recently and that fear of forgetting them has been real). Devi is actually beginning to heal from the loss of her father by strengthening the relationship with her Amma. And the slap from Paati was so so needed, it really gave her a better respect of her mother and fixed the problem I had with Devi mouthing off so much to her Amma. I live to see good maamiyar marumagal relationships. Her relationship with Paxton is really good and it gets developed very logically and having her be scared of being pathetic but in the end she accepted her own self worth and stopped chasing after them which was good.

Overall Devi really blossomed into her own developing person and I actually like her so much more this season.

2. Paxton Hall Yoshida

I was honestly, like genuinely sad last season he was like 80% eye candy with not much else going for him. Paxton had so much faith as a character and Ms Kaling has really pulled him into such a better person this season.

Paxton got hit by a car before swim season, lost his ticket to college and wow, got two timed by a girl he liked all in two episodes. If he was salty about that for more than one season I would’ve completely accepted it. Cause that’s a bad public humiliation.

Paxton episode really really made me love him as a character (honestly more so than Ben) I think because I heard Paxton’s entire worry and irritation that he was being underestimated and no one really expected him to go to college from a friend of mine not more than a month ago. That shit is real, and it hurted my friends a lot that people were really underestimating them and just seeing them as a dumb athlete who has no hope of college. It’s really nice to see Paxton actually want to go to college and learn Japanese American side with his Oji-chan giving him advice and supporting him. And him bringing his grandfather to speak about the internment camps, that seriously do not get spoken about enough.

Also him putting effort and making a genuine effort to work hard and bring up his grades with Devi and therefore bonding with her was really nice to see. I wouldn’t mind them being endgame but Devi does really work a lot better as his pushy Indian mom/best friend/tutor. And Devi getting mad at him for him expecting him to hold his hand throughout really hit well. Was it deserved yeah. But Devi also did blow him off after promising him to study so his anger is justified there. I’m just kinda vibing with Paxton like coming up and taking a better interest in school and being a full 3D character. And that one scene where he gives the extra credit presentation and Trent high fives the man. Classic.

Can I also just say, it’s kinda valid that Paxton didn’t want to date her in public. Is it a dick move...yeah? But he’s within his rights to ask and she’s within her rights to deny. And he didn’t press her once she said no, he went along with it. And what Devi pulled on him is awful, and speaking as someone who’s seen popular kid cliques. Reputation really is important. Like what Devi did made Paxton lose face, if he gets back with Devi he ain’t gonna have any respect left in him. And Paxton was pretty right in deciding to not date her publicly, like even in the end he knows that his reputation is shot for what he did. Do we even know if Paxton has friends that aren’t fixated on his social status? Because becoming a social pariah without having any support of friends is gonna hurt like a bitch. Lord knows how Paxton gonna deal with it. I think Trent might be his only homie after the social downfall he will inevitably face.

I’m just gonna say, Paxton is my favourite now and I’m really rooting for him. Something I decidedly did not do last season. I’m happy Ms Kaling developed him so much and got me interested.

3. Ben Gross

Ah. Ben. Ben’s not my faaavouriteee.......like he’s fine. But I don’t love him. I can definitely see him and Devi becoming an almost endgame couple though. Especially with S2 ending.

Ben is fine and he’s pretty developed, especially with his episode in S1 and it was good he took a backseat this season and let everyone else star. I feel like he’ll come back strong next season though.

Personally do I ship him with Devi? No. I’ve been in a friendship with the similar competitive dynamic as Ben and Devi. And it was terrible. We loved to argue and we got each other’s super brainy side as Devi puts it. But we pushed each other faar too much and even the small things became arguments and each pthers achievements became jealousy. So yeah....I don’t have too much faith in the dynamic due to personal bias, but I’d love to see how it gets handled.

Also my brother Ben, PDA is a thing and it is common courtesy to refrain from it. Man’s really going at it with Aneesa half the time. But also the moment where Aneesa sort of choked on the presentation and Ben’s irritation at it gave me BAAAD vibes. It feels like while Devi can match him, they might push each other too far,

4. Kamala

I LOVE KAMALA. Girl is an ENTIRE vibe. My sweetheart, love of my life. I could go on. I really like her development as well and the banter between her and Nalini. The part where Nalini practically said she looked like a call girl and she was like ippadi potathaan velaila mariyaatha kidaikum. I legit had to pause, scream in laughter for a good few seconds.

They had such a good story with her and wanting to fight against the fact that they took her work and didn’t credit her and everyone was telling her to like take it bowing. Prasanth’s advice unfortunately checked out to me, because I’ve been told that all my life. My dad says it a lot and I know he doesn’t say it cause’ he doesn’t believe in me, but he loves me and wants my life to be easier and for me to succeed and his experience is that he’s had to deal with things like this and fighting won’t help. So yeah, what Prasanth said did not rub me the wrong way at all and I agreed with it and I’m fairly disappointed about that. I get that she got nervous and had cold feet about marriage but I do hope she and Prasanth can work this out through communication. Because I really don’t feel like Prasanth is the bad guy here. It’s just a miscommunication.

So yeah, a LOT of Kamala’s storyline continues to really hit me hard.

5. Nalini Vishwakumar

Nalini really had so much more screentime to blossom. I love that she has a good relationship with Mohan’s amma. It’s wonderful and I love it. Also I was shocked to see the house in Chennai. Like this house...in Chennai. The Chennai I’m used to and the Chennai they are used to are different Chennai’s. Basically wealth gap is crazy as hell and I was lowkey highkey confused if the actually shot this shit in Chennai. But props to the directors for putting some proper Tamil vibes in there. Like the scene where they kaala thottu kumbudurathu (touch the elder’s feet) before they leave for the US is so real and so vibes. I like that they decided to bring paati back. I was like hoping for it.

Also they really went at developing Nalini’s character as a workaholic mom who doesn’t get her daughter. That’s also a really common thing in Indian households with one working parent so I’m happy they portrayed that. I’m happy Nalini actually has a life outside her family portrayed and is still such a typical mother that it hits HARD. I love Nalini and she really developed as a character dealing with grief from Mohan’s death, the wish to move on with Dr.Jackson but knowing that she isn’t ready yet.

They gave her character a life and proper working outside Devi and it really has shown to develop her character and impact her relationship with Devi. The advice to “just say yes” works with cousins and younger siblings as well, I’ve heard it before and used it..and it saves so much time. Especially with small children.

(A memory I have is of my younger cousin going on and on about a princess and a castle and fighting a dragon and the witches and so much fantasy shit and ended with do you wanna come? I just clocked off my CCA’s and I had no energy left to question it so I just went yeah sure. Easiest decision, and 10/10 advice. )

6. Aneesa

I’m not gonna lie. I was skeptical of Aneesa and I didn’t like how Devi saw her in the trailer. But Aneesa reminds me so much of me....and its killing me.

Also the scene where she charms the hell out of Nalini and paati ma has literally happened to me before. Most of my Indian friends hate it..because I was raised with a lot more traditional manners with my grandparents so me and my siblings all are old fashioned which parents LOVE. And I really saw that Aneesa charming them and Devi also realizing, Damn none of my friends actually treat my family the way they should be treated, perks of having an Indian friend.

Also the scene where she gets Devi out of trouble is so so real. Because if you have one responsible friend that you parents trust, you could lie the hell to them, get you homie to back you up and it will work. Personal experience. So yeah, Aneesa character resonated with me a lot.

I also like that she wasn’t just a popular 1D Indian girl but she was genuinely cool and actually had proper issues and development where she gets more open to Sherman Oaks and actually kinda properly rebels against Noor, with having Ben as a boyfriend.

I feel like Aneesa has a lot more potential for growth, especially with the relationship with Ms Noor and Aneesa acting as a foil to Nalini and Devi’s. Also, I feel like Aneesa can grow within her social status at school as well and have Devi maturely handle it. Aneesa I feel will really really challenge Devi’s ability to be mature.

7. Eleanor and Fabiola’s plotlines

Okay like actually, major props to Ms Kaling man. This show touches so so many teen issues in one goddamn show. Emotionally manipulative relationships. So SO good. A lot of newer age relationships have a much more subtle and dangerous line of abuse that’s hard to find out. Like honestly it took me a while to see it as well and I realized oh fuck. oh fuck...I see it it’s bad. They really got the essence of Eleanor’s flamboyance matching with Malcom? (is it Malcolm..fuck it it’s Malcolm now) his “suaveness” and traditionally charming tendency. It made sense and it’s very realistic how Eleanor got played like a damn fiddle. I also again feel that the make up was faar to quick but I really appreciate that Eleanor got her own storyline with her step-mom and understanding of relationships instead of the show hyperfocusing on just Devi. I respect that a lot. Petition to get a Eleanor narration episode.

Fabiola’s storyline also was well taken. It’s an interesting added layer to the queer experience and how queerness can be expected to be performative and but really its all about being more of yourself. The idea that queer people don’t owe nobody anything or have to perform an ideal version of queerness and Fabiola struggling with that kinda hit. The part where they talked about her mother learning to support them and being Cricket? Queen/King. Like being trailblazers for the POC community and the LGBTQ+ community having overlapping struggles. Again, I liked that Fabiola was getting more personal screentime and less of her story revolving around Devi’s.

8. Everything else

I liked that there was more Tamil being casually thrown around. Like the Kamala vaadi to hold the suitcase down as they zipped it together was funny and relatable. The accents were really interesting because I promise you, I had no clue what they were saying sometimes. Nalini’s dialogues in Tamil were like immensely difficult to understand, and my Tamil is fluent. This isn’t a criticism... I’m fairly certain the difference is to do with the regional difference. American Tamil and Malaysian + rural Tamil slang are going to have huge accent differences so there’s no surprise that I found Nalini’s Tamil hard to understand.

I’m really really really meh about the Kamala and Manish/Mr Kulkarni thing. I still think she should sort it out with Prasanth maybe but I’m open to seeing where it goes. I might change my mind with it.

This show like any other show had its highs and lows. But I really really do feel that NHIE season 2 managed to truly figure out what the hell it wants to do and developed into a very strong and very entertaining show in terms of representation and diversity. I’m looking forward to season 3.

#nhie netflix #nhie season 2 #nhie s2 #nhie spoilers #nhie review #never have i ever #never have i ever season 2 #never have i ever spoilers #i have a lot of thoughts #bear with me here

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chidoroki · 3 years

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Okay, so this is basically a follow up post to all the thoughts I had about season 2 the night before the first ep aired. You’re welcome to read it if you wish but I’ll let you know that it’s a mess and does contain manga spoilers. If you don’t wanna that’s perfectly fine, but the main thing I rambled on about was the possible episode count for season 2 and where in the story this season will end.

I’ll try to give a short version of that post now though. I was certain that we would get 24eps for the second season when it was first announced, especially due to the large gap of time in between when S1 ended and when S2 was originally going to start. I believed that a 24ep season would end at ch101, right before the two-year time skip. But then 2020 happened. Anime series got delayed and Cloverworks also has two other series premiering this January alongside TPN. So I thought another 12ep season was reasonable. Though if they wanna split up a 24ep season and give us the second cour over the summer I’d be perfectly fine with that too. The only reason why I had trouble wrapping my head around a 12ep season was.. where in the hell were they planning to end it? I had several ideas, which I mentioned in my other post with little more detail, but ch60, ch64, and ch74 were some of my guesses. Of course I would love to see Goldy Pond animated but with a 12ep season, I had my doubts. S1 adapted 37 chapters and if S2 were to at least reach ch96 then that would be the next 59 chapters, which seemed a bit much at first. Then came the issue with starting the possible next season with the time skip and eh, the idea didn’t sit well with me?

But now, after seeing the second season’s OP and first episode, I’m honestly reconsidering my original guess of ending at ch101, even if we get 12eps. Let’s start with the OP first. While it’s completely beautiful and I already love “Identity” with all my heart and soul, a couple things really stand out, some more obvious than not.

First off, Peter appears. His debut chapter is 73.

Then we get this shot of Phil, who doesn’t show up again until ch100.

Next up is Emma’s braid & hair-clips. Along with her fantastic Goldy Pond outfit, the clips first appear in ch75. However, she receives three from Sandy: blue, yellow & green. Not only is the blue clip missing, but her hair is now braided. This style didn’t appear until ch102.

Ch102 is.. post-time skip, which surprises me? I honestly never thought we would get a glimpse of that this season. Unless it’s an error perhaps? This other shot has Emma with the two clips & braided hair, but then you would think Ray would have his scarf here too, right? Neither of them look much older either.. maybe the anime just decided to go with two clips instead of three? I dunno.

But then you have Anna’s hair which is significantly longer here... which I’m pretty sure isn’t until post-time skip? I doubt it grew that long in between the events of Goldy Pond and the Cuvitidala search, since it was only what..5? 6 months? I tried to spot her during the ch102 flashbacks but didn’t see her, so pretty sure this is post.

And then we also see Yvette wearing her goggles, which also shows up post-time skip. Well, she actually obtains them mid-time skip, because there’s flashbacks of her with them in ch102, but also one that shows her without them that happens around July/August 2046.

I’m not trying to say that just because the OP shows us some future scenes/people/changes that we’ll actually reach that far this season. It would be nice, sure, but they could just be teasing us too. I know this is a minor detail and it shouldn’t prove much of anything, but they did give us real small cameos of Michelle & Olivia in the first ending, “Zettai Zetsumei,” and yet we didn’t see them in the flashback in s1ep10.

So now I’m still on the fence a little bit. I mentioned before that I would love for Cloverworks to expand on the Cuvitidala search during the two year time skip, but would that work better at the very end of a season or at the start of one? Who knows.

Speaking of seasons, the first episode of this one? Can you believe we’re already at ch45? I knew all the action would go by at an alarming fast pace, compared to the dialogue heavy S1, but damn. And that was with some of the added anime scenes! Granted, they also heavily changed the snakes of alvapinera and took out Isabella’s scene from ch38 completely but.. yeah. Although, I’m seriously hoping they include her scene at some point in the future? Because how could you forget this wonderful woman? I’m grateful they gave us that quick glimpse of her in the OP (with her hair down still! so i thank the anime staff for that at least!) but come on.. I was really looking forward to seeing her again, darn it.

One thing I’m sure about is that we’re reaching shelter B06-32 and seeing our favorite father figure because, hello.. the shelter jackets!

Speaking of the geezer, I was also actively looking for him throughout the OP, but had no such luck. I saw some people think he appears in the above mentioned screenshot, I think? but I counted 15 heads, so I believe it’s just the GF escapees here. Why everyone else is wearing them aside from only Emma & Ray.. I have no clue, but they all look nice!

Also, that screenshot got me thinking (as if i didn’t just do a whole bunch of that again already) more about Goldy Pond at the OP itself. While the opening sequence didn’t currently give us any large hints that arc will happen anytime soon, I could see Cloverworks updating it to incorporate the many characters that have yet to make an appearance. I think these two shots could easily be changed by replacing the escapees with the GP Resistance and showing the poachers instead of the wild demons.

Not only there, but any other group shot could work out too. Of course “Identity” would stick around as the song (because it’s an absolute banger) since I don’t see any point in having it last less than 12eps? Yes I know, S1 switched up the ending songs and “Lamp” only showed up for 3eps, but shhh.

Anyways, that’s enough out of me. (also r.i.p to all the extra pages i hoped would get animated. no such luck so far because the anime seems to be flying by like hayato.)

#the promised neverland #tpn anime #chidoroki used chatter

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darkpoisonouslove · 3 years

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Riven x Musa

Ok, so I keep seeing posts everywhere that basically badmouth S8 and after seeing ten seconds of the trailer (YIKES to the animation, what’s wrong with the industry that they are making everything anime? Powerpuff Gen Z, I’m looking at you – obs: I didn’t watch it fully yet) I can see where some of the criticism is coming from but anyways…

My favorite Winx!couple EVER has always been Musa x Riven since I was kid and first watched the show (Netflix is not helping ‘cause I ship them even there).

I remember yawning at Bloom/Sky, rolling my eyes at Stella/Brandom and making a completely incredulous expression that I could literally feel forming on my face at Helia/Flora (can anyone say ‘unrealistic’?). Timmy/Tecna are a second favorite.

And why my Winx OTP are Riven x Musa followed after Timmy x Tecna? Because it reflects real life. In real life you’re not gonna stumble into people whose real and deep relationship problems are solved in twenty four minutes (not even that considering that some episodes present the “problem” half-way through said 24 minute-episode).

The breakup between Riven and Musa in S6 (spoilers everywhere after all) was one of the most mature breakups in the history of breakups with the hope for the future (yes, I’m completely ignoring S7, sue me, the whole thing was one huge filler anyways). And, after reading a lot of opinions on both ends (defending Musa/attacking Riven and defending Riven/attacking Musa) and watching the episodes in question (reuniting through reconciling) I think I can give my own analysis.

Since Musa AND Riven (individually and as couple) are my favorite characters in Winx, I think I CAN give a fairly unbiased view (hopefully).

*clears throat*

Ok, keep in mind that I’m defending BOTH of them, because I ship them too hard not to.

Musa Being OC (sometimes being called ‘brat’): C'mon, people! Musa and Tecna are OC since S4 anyways, where are the tomboy and the nerd? With the sneakers, T-shirt and comfortable-looking clothes? Noooo, now they all need neat skirts and hot pink high heels and long, glamorous hair. Do they look good? Of course, but and I would totally be less pissed if there was ANY indication on the reason for the change. Are they just maturing? Expressing themselves differently? Crowd mentality? Tune and Stella finally broke Musa down and Tecna followed soon after? Was it just to please Riven and Timmy? ANYTHING (even the 'pleasing a boy’ would at least be A reason - a ridiculous one that would piss me off, but A reason none the less), was just a sudden impulse that took?

Sure, we can talk about “character growth” until we are blue in the face, but the matter of the fact is that there was none.

The changes we see in Musa and Tecna are basically the creators making them more like the rest of the Winx (I’m including Aisha in this too, where is the sporty girl that matched the boy’s interest in extreme sports? C'mon! Even Bloom and her Girl Next Door looks are replaced with Bratz and Clueless-level of outfits).

Is anyone really going to look me in the eye and say Stella wasn’t a shallow (if friendly and good-natured) Mean Girl? She got better, but as I re-watch the show (currently in S3, meaning almost half-way through the content), Stella still worries more about her hair than anything else even while under literal fire.

More and more, Musa, Tecna and Aisha are losing their identities and what made them, IMO, the more badass Winx.

How did the two on the left went from this…

… to this:

Yeah, yeah, Musa still sings, Tecna still technobabble and Aisha is still a Warrior Princess but Aisha was the first one to go Bloom and Stella on us with Musa and then Tecna following soon after. It’s not just their clothing style, it’s the way they carried themselves too.

Right now? The only thing keeping them apart is their BF blues (different kind of blues) and some personal interests (singing, shopping, tech, the whole drama with Domino/Sparks, etc). But that’s IT, their personalities are going down the drain!

Sorry for the long-winded text, but the reason I’m expressing my disappointment at their change is because Musa’s reaction fits it. S6 we have such an AMAZING breakup (didn’t even think that was possible, WTH, right? Amazing breakup?) only for her to be mad as hell at Riven at S8? Bad writing, that has been dragging her (and the rest of the Winx) down to becoming just one unilateral, shallow character (the Specialists are also falling into that pit, what in the world did they do Helia in S8? He sounds like Thor telling about his “brave exploits” there, yikes). And continuity what? What continuity? Do they even remember how the breakup was written?

But ok, let’s put the Audience View aside for a moment and focus only on the In-Universe terms.

S6: You’ll always be my hero.

S8: What on EARTH are you doing here.

I laughed a bit, the contrast just got to me but instead of getting mad at one or the other like most of the fandom, I laughed.

Musa followed that by saying that Riven has not maintained contact and just in that I would be beyond pissed as well and giving my support to Musa. WTH, Riven? I think that each season is more less six months to a year? Sort of? Still, zero contact for so long even after ending on amicable terms and wanting to stay friends? And he went off on his own! A text now going, “I’m not dead” would be the bare basics for Musa not to worry herself bald!

BUT then I also read comments about how this was a two-way street, why didn’t Musa call either? That’s unfortunately something that I very much doubt will ever be explained. One of those: did it or didn’t it? Musa could have called and went straight to voicemail with no signs of life from Riven or she might not have called and just expected him to call as if feminism were dead and all initiative must come from the guy (which doesn’t even fit because they parted as friends).

Since we have no info on the above, I put it on both of them. It’s not fair to say, “HE should have called!” or “Why didn’t SHE call?” because we don’t have fricking context. So the only thing we can take is: no contact.

BECAUSE I put the lack of contact on both of them, Musa’s reaction was a little too much, however, Riven shows up all smirks and leaning against a tree with his arms crossed and I would have flashbacks to S1 if it wasn’t for the animation style that made all the guys look like girls. Dude! Not the time for that kind of posture. Not saying that he should be all sheepish and rubbing his arm as if he had done something horrible (again: we don’t have context on the no contact) but a more neutral approach was warranted here. Nobody does themselves any favors with that kind of attitude no matter what how high of a horse they may be (rightly or not) riding on, if anything I would react like Musa solely on that one.

Next episode we have that Riven convinced the guys to follow the girls in some mission and Musa was angry. Again: I would be too. WTH? Yes, yes, they helped and if it wasn’t for them, the Winx would gotten seriously injured but Musa did have a point saying that this demonstrated that they had no trust in them and need their hand held, it was no sanctioned mission like on Earth after all. BUT, Riven does something that I would never expect from in S1-4: he explains, he reasons it, he puts it in all the words that he does trust Musa and co and that he only wanted to show that he’d be there for her (you know? One of the main issues in S6 that made them breakup in the first place? His inability to conciliate Specialist work with supporting his girlfriend and ultimately failing or feeling like failing in both?) and Musa still pouts, crosses her arms, and turns around. Geez. I expected that one from Stella, not Musa. I think the closest Musa has ever come to THIS was back in S2 when Jared explains that Riven was the one to recommend that he interview Musa and yada yada yada and she got mad and stomped off on the poor guy that didn’t even understand what was going on (only to immediately apologize to Jared and recognizing that it wasn’t him that she was mad at… like I said: what character growth?).

Riven then goes to show that he indeed grew when he asked for advice from Sky and Brandon (WTH, right? Can we picture that happening back in S1-3? He very grudgingly would LISTEN to UNSOLICITED advice from Nabu and Helia in S4-6). And does a very, very goofy and embarrassing show of affection. Yeah… again… I can picture Stella loving the light show with her face for IDK how many people to see but not Musa (although can we really blame the guy after the series went out of its way to make Musa all Stella-like? Clothes, attitude, the only thing missing is making Riven carry her shopping bags around and call him “Shnookums” (although the mental image is already enough for me to fall over laughing, just for the face Riven would make). Still, I have to count that one against Riven if only because (as much as the show gives only lip service to it) Musa isn’t Stella.

Riven being mind controlled (again) aside, those two are back together. And on the overall? Riven showed more growth than any other character in the show COMBINED (he is the Zuko of the show), that doesn’t go to say that he didn’t make mistakes since coming back in S8 (but that was more a guy trying to win back a girl than… betraying his friends for a pair of nice legs or… IDEK like in S1 – where, mind control or not the show itself made sure to make it clear that he had free will) or that he is now the one out of Musa’s league. I think that NOW it can actually work… if the show allows him to keep the progress, Musa is the next to see her flaws and work on them (which she showed to be able to do since S2) and put effort in the relationship. The difference between them is that Musa can actually work on herself and the relationship at the same time. That’s not me saying she is better than Riven in any way, everybody has their own pace and their own way to cope, to improve and to self-reflect.

I still root for them.

~*~

PS-IDK why, but I read posts about how Riven changed so much and posts about how all his progress disappeared and he is now back to his S1 attitude and I’m just cofused. Yeah, different of opinions and so on, but such opposite opinions on the subject of a guy whose relationship was focused on three episodes?

#winx club #winx musa #winx riven #musa x riven #rivusa #anti stella #submission

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you-are-crazy-beautiful · 4 years

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S3 thoughts after complete rewatch

Please give me your thoughts and ideas. I’ll be blunt. Season 3 is bad. Really bad. There is absolutely no continuity between s2 and s3. I was joking that even though it’s meant to be set 6 months later, it could really be anytime after. I even would think I was watching an episode in the middle of a season if I was just shown 3x01 with no info. I feel that there is also a complete disregard to the tone of the show, despite Suzanne stating how it’s important to keep that. I do feel that Suzanne talks the talk more than she walks the walk.

1. When asked about the multiple POV Suzanne stated ‘those two women as the lynchpin relationship of the show. Their journeys are always at the spine of the story’. ‘all of them (new characters) have a really exciting energy, and really challenge the main characters’. I would argue completely against Eve and Villanelle and their relationship being the focus of this season. There are times and whole episodes when I feel there is almost a disconnect from each other. These two are absolutely, unhealthily addicted to each other. I think the amount of scenes they have together is perfect and almost the usual, but when they aren’t together, you know they are never normally far from each other’s mind. I would especially say I find it strange after V has finally got the kiss she has been waiting for 3 seasons, which would make her devotion go even more through the roof, she only has one Eve related moment (the cake) before phoning Eve after seeing each other at the train station in ep 7. They could have nearly sunk them!

· Konstantin and Carolyn even overshadowed Eve and had more character development this season. Besides from Dasha, I would also say the new characters hardly gave anything to the plot such as Aubrey, Paul, and Geraldine. It even took me a while to remember these characters names. Paul you could take out of the season and nothing would change except that Carolyn wouldn’t have had another person to shoot in 3x08. I think Geraldine was a good character to have for Carolyn to show how she personally grieves, but why did they keep having the same scenes again and again? What the heck was that thing with Geraldine and Konstantin? I’m still unclear on how Dasha and Villanelle’s relationship came about and what happened. How old was Villanelle? How long was Dasha her mentor for? It seems like they forgot that they had Konstantin saying to V in 3x02 about Dasha doing something to her and the way Villanelle attacked Dasha upon seeing her again, that they just quickly wrote the hospital scene in 3x08. I was so confused what was happening. Did they mean Dasha shot at Villanelle because ‘she wasn’t ready’ as in emotionally or physically? Did Dasha actually manage to shoot her? Didn’t they allude to Konstantin being the one to recruit her from the prison in s1, so how did she not stay with him? How did she escape Dasha? It seemed random that Dasha just happened to die when Konstantin was there, when he said she was going to die in the hospital. I thought he had done something, but apparently not?

2. When asked what she was most excited about the audience seeing, Suzanne said Villanelle and Eve’s journey. This is her quote about Eve. ‘Similarly with Eve, we really get to see deeper layers of Eve, and her really coming to terms with the person she is now. She’s forever changed because of what happened to her and what she’s been through, and it’s really about seeing her now, this new version of herself, and her acceptance of herself, which is very exciting and really takes her into new places’. I really just have to laugh. Where is it? It is absolutely ridiculous how little Eve was developed and ignored this season. When you guys do a rewatch, I highly recommend to at least watch 2x08 before going into s3 because it really just highlights the difference and how nuts it is that they dropped Eve by so much! I really don’t understand how it’s even possible. Coming into the show there are many ways you could go wrong. However, it’s not like it’s an easy thing to cut out the lead of your show! Especially when that character had the most exciting things happen to them in the finale of s2. The things I was most excited about going into s3 was seeing how Eve was coping with knowing she has the ability to kill someone. I can’t believe they did not bring up that Eve had killed someone once in the whole of s3!!! Like @kassies stated, it’s like Suzanne just took one line and things she liked and disregarded everything else. Suzanne practically said in the BBC sounds podcast that she had this idea of mummy issues, which personally I don’t think there is any evidence of except the fact V is attracted to older women, like most wlw are. If anything there is more evidence she would have daddy issues with her history of castrations and the many times she comments that she finds it strange that Konstantin hasn’t tried to have sex with her. After the line ‘most of’ her family were dead she stated she could go down that route! She practically wrote the whole season just based on this. She hasn’t even taken the quote correctly, as like others have pointed out, most of her family were actually alive and it was only her dad who was dead. I loved episode 5 originally but on my rewatch with the whole season it really seemed strange. When I first watched it I thought the next episode was going to be largely devoted to Eve so I wasn’t so bothered that it was a whole V ep. However, considering Eve was hardly given anything in ep6, I really don’t see how a whole V episode was needed. The annoying thing was this season could have been the best yet. With Eve and Villanelle both discovering themselves and meeting at the end. It was that, but with hardly any Eve content and I feel they are so lucky they managed to pull it off in the last 2 eps, and that’s largely down to what s1+2 accomplished. Again, ep5 just seems like a way for Suzanne to explore her mummy issues story, as there is nothing really juicy or pivotal for the plot. Why not really show how the twelve have had their eye on V since she was little. Have the mum saying a man told her V was dead, as Konstantin did with Anna in s1? It would have added so much more to the twelve. Especially when the big thing about V this season is her wanting away from the control the twelve have on her. Why not show just how much?

I actually had no idea what Eve was thinking for most of the season and from what I do know and think is based on what I know of this character from the previous 2 seasons. Maybe this is just me not getting it, but I thought Eve was in the kitchen because she was in denial and I kept waiting for her to get a breakthrough and embrace her true self. It wasn’t until Sandra said Eve was actually showing strength by working in the kitchen, and by saying ‘no’ to working in the front, that I was like ‘oh’ that’s what it’s meant to mean. I actually feel so sad for Sandra because I can’t imagine what she must have been thinking with Eve’s treatment this season. I actually feel there are even moments in the season that delibrately stop Eve’s development. For example that lazy line of ‘lucky those tourists found you’. How? I know irl it’s a tourist attraction, but in the show they had to break into a tunnel to access it. I also don’t like the scene with Jamie. You could say it highlights the line in the finale ‘I think we all have monsters’ but I feel like it invalidates just how different Eve and Villanelle are from other people. Jamie taking his kids to the zoo when high is hardly the same as Eve hacking a man to death with an axe.

This is already so long, and I could go on and on, but I’m just going to point out some issues and plot holes.

. Kenny’s death was meant to be the biggest storyline of the whole season and what got Eve back into the story. However, she only looked into his death in ep3 and never again. Carolyn didn’t even really look into his death and all we got was constant scenes with her and Geraldine. Why couldn’t we have gotten Eve and Carolyn doing real detective work like in s1 as was implied was going to happen in ep3? I don’t even feel like they actually thought through his death as it was ‘solved’ by Bear who despite apparently not thinking Kenny had commited suicide from the beginning and wanting access to his phone, apparently did not think to check a camera he had set up until weeks later?! I don’t think it’s possible Kenny fell off the roof as in ep4 when Eve chucks the cake, the wall comes up near to her chest. You could not fall off that. He also would have screamed when falling. I also don’t even know how the twelve knew Kenny was looking into the accounts. Especially if they knew Kenny was looking into it, and knew money was being taken, how did it take them so long to kill the accountant? Laura could develop this in s4, but I feel as though it was Suzanne’s job to follow through with this storyline.

. How did Konstantin know what V looked like as a baby? Where did he see the photo? Why did they make a point to highlight that she was with someone in the photo and Konstantin really didn’t seem to want to tell her, yet the next episode he handed over her family right away? As much as I love Villanelle’s journey, on a rewatch, the family story seemed to almost come out of nowhere in ep3 and then the next episode she had the information and went home. Why not introduce the idea in ep 1?

. How would Puyter know that it was his sister? Upon immediately seeing her he knew it was Oksana. I don’t think it says how old they were, but he is younger than V, and we saw how old she was in the pics, I really don’t think he would recognise her, especially when he thinks she is dead.

. Why is there not pictures of the dad? Even if the mum was saddened by his death as she really seemed to love him, why would she not have any photos? Also with how much she seems to be scared and despise V, why would she keep the photos of her? Did the dad die while Villanelle was still there or is she just taking he’s dead as he’s not there. I thought they were going to reveal that the dad was still alive and part of the twelve but nope.

. Why was Rhian so scared of V at the train station? I know she’s the demon with no face, but Rhian was ready to be moving into Villanelle’s shoes, and you can even see V is struggling to kill her, so why does Rhian act so scared and back herself onto the edge of the platform? That moment feels so disgenuous to me and at one point I though Rhian was acting.

. How did Carolyn know Helene and that V was working for her? Is it a plot hole or something to be explored in s4?

. Why was Eve acting like she didn’t know Villanelle was responsible for the Catalan murder in ep4 when we know she can tell V’s kills after a sec (as seen in ep6) and even after Carolyn had shown her the photo and said it was V?

. They didn’t even seem to give much attention to Eve’s scar or wound. It was not where it was in 2x08. I know they said that they were going to move around where she had been shot, but when Suzanne was asked why the scar was different she said she wanted it to seem like Villanelle went for the kill shot, despite saying in other interviews that she doesn’t think Villanelle did try or want to kill Eve. The scar’s even so weird. I’m no expert, so that it maybe how they look, but it doesn’t even look like a bullet wound. Would the bullet not have left a round mark?

. Why did they keep Niko around for so long? I personally loved where Emerald had taken it in 2x07 and was excited to see where Niko was. Maybe he was up for the murder of Gemma. It would have been another good opportunity to see Eve's skewed morals. A part of her being flattered that Villanelle killed Gemma as sort of revenge for stepping on Eve. Instead it got completely swept under the rug in 3x01 too by Niko saying mi6 said she killed herself. What happened? How did they find him? It doesn't even make sense now why V killed her. However, I would say there was also something symbolic about him ending up in a rehabilitation retreat because Eve and her actions has 'broken' him. It was quite powerful for his character to tell Eve he deserved better than her. Because he does. He basically told her to p*ss off there. Why make the little time Eve is being given to another ep where she chases him down, for him to get brutally attacked in a way that is so ridiculous that he would survive it borders on a soap opera. I thought the reason he survived was to give a big Eve moment of her saying her acceptance that she can't have a normal life. Instead they just had the same convo as 3x01 with him telling her to p*ss off. Then a scene with Eve looking at him and leaving. What is going on in her head? Why are you not giving her anything? We didn't even get to see her dealing with the act happening.

. This brings me onto the point of it. It could of had so much impact, yes it was cool because Eve knew it wasn't V, but there could have been so much more given to it. Such as Dasha saying to V in the lift in 3x07 about her having someone waiting for her back home, how Dasha has just destroyed the thread between the only person V cares about. It would have made V hitting her with the golf club so much more delicious.

. Villanelle saying to Konstantin that she didn't want him to die in 3x07 and looking upset. Yet in 3x08 she looks almost excited about the fact he's about to be shot?

. It also annoys me so much that Raymond was just discarded and we still know nothing about the twelve. I thought this season was really going to dive into them, but we don't know anymore about them than we did at the start of the season. After rewatching 2x08 I really wish they had explored the twelve thru Raymond. If you wanted to give Konstantin more why not have him in with the twelve and the consequences of 2x08? Raymond saying 'Some would say I'm a real somebody'. 'They will take you apart for this'. 'After today a lot of people are going to be angry'. How high was Raymond? The implications that V+E were in so much danger after killing Raymond. Then it's 6 months later and Dasha just says they've been watching V for months. Were they watching Eve? Who knows nobody cares about Eve this season😒 Why bring in new members of the twelve like Paul, make brand new stories such as Kenny's death and the money, to just kill Paul and not resolve them.

I really don't understand how the twelve haven't killed V yet. She screws up all the time from s1 onwards. I get she is amazing at her job but they have others such as Rhian. Why do they let her get away with it? It was confusing me so much this season. I thought they were going to make her dad a member of the twelve and that's how she's protected.

. The title cards and intro. By now you might all be thinking she's just tearing everything apart. Trust me, there are moments of s3 I love and that is why it's so frustrating. Laura's 3 eps are some of my fave of the show so fingers crossed that means good things for s4. I felt she grasped the original tone of the show. So speaking of staying true to the show, I don't understand why they were changing the format of the title cards. Sometimes it was funny 'p*ss off forever' and 'this is bullshit'. Yet, it also really threw me off because it's not what usually happens. I'm all for new things being tried, yet I actually find myself questioning what wasn't changed and what was kept original? The names coming up in 3x04...I can't even. This is more of a personal take as I know some people really liked them, but when it was coming up 'Eve' I was just sitting there thinking 'I know that's Eve. I've been watching her for 3 years'.

Why was there only a title sequence in 2 episodes? Suzanne got asked and said that it was only ep2 and ep7 that felt right. I mean...I'm pretty sure it could have worked in all of them. I loved the title sequences so much, and was so excited when that drop fell and they started in ep2. Then I was so confused when none of the next ones had it. Episode 7 is one of my favourite episodes of the whole show, and that title sequence is just *chef's kiss*. My point really is that it came across to me as an experiment as they only did certain things in one episode and never again, and it made me uncomfortable.

#killing eve #villaneve

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papermoonloveslucy · 3 years

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GEORGE’S CHRISTMAS PRESENT

December 16, 1949

“George’s Christmas Present” (aka “The Christmas Present Switch”) is episode #67 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on December 16, 1949.

Synopsis ~ Liz vows to finish knitting George a sweater by Christmas. She finds George's Christmas presents for her and exchanges it too early.

This was the 16th episode of the second season of MY FAVORITE HUSBAND. There were 43 new episodes, with the season ending on June 25, 1950.

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This episode has been fully animated using the original soundtrack. The animation was created in 2010 by Wayne Wilson and is available to view on Vimeo.

“My Favorite Husband” was based on the novels Mr. and Mrs. Cugat, the Record of a Happy Marriage (1940) and Outside Eden (1945) by Isabel Scott Rorick, which had previously been adapted into the film Are Husbands Necessary? (1942). “My Favorite Husband” was first broadcast as a one-time special on July 5, 1948. Lucille Ball and Lee Bowman played the characters of Liz and George Cugat, and a positive response to this broadcast convinced CBS to launch “My Favorite Husband” as a series. Bowman was not available Richard Denning was cast as George. On January 7, 1949, confusion with bandleader Xavier Cugat prompted a name change to Cooper. On this same episode Jell-O became its sponsor. A total of 124 episodes of the program aired from July 23, 1948 through March 31, 1951. After about ten episodes had been written, writers Fox and Davenport departed and three new writers took over – Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Pugh, and head writer/producer Jess Oppenheimer. In March 1949 Gale Gordon took over the existing role of George’s boss, Rudolph Atterbury, and Bea Benaderet was added as his wife, Iris. CBS brought “My Favorite Husband” to television in 1953, starring Joan Caulfield and Barry Nelson as Liz and George Cooper. The television version ran two-and-a-half seasons, from September 1953 through December 1955, running concurrently with “I Love Lucy.” It was produced live at CBS Television City for most of its run, until switching to film for a truncated third season filmed (ironically) at Desilu and recasting Liz Cooper with Vanessa Brown.

MAIN CAST

Lucille Ball (Liz Cooper) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as ‘Queen of the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’ movies. With Richard Denning, she starred in a radio program titled “My Favorite Husband” which eventually led to the creation of “I Love Lucy,” a television situation comedy in which she co-starred with her real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program was phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960 (in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With Lucy,” also with Gordon.

Richard Denning (George Cooper) was born Louis Albert Heindrich Denninger Jr., in Poughkeepsie, New York. When he was 18 months old, his family moved to Los Angeles. Plans called for him to take over his father’s garment manufacturing business, but he developed an interest in acting. Denning enlisted in the US Navy during World War II. He is best known for his roles in various science fiction and horror films of the 1950s. Although he teamed with Lucille Ball on radio in “My Favorite Husband,” the two never acted together on screen. While “I Love Lucy” was on the air, he was seen on another CBS TV series, “Mr. & Mrs. North.” From 1968 to 1980 he played the Governor on “Hawaii 5-0″, his final role. He died in 1998 at age 84.

Ruth Perrott (Katie, the Maid) was also later seen on “I Love Lucy.” She first played Mrs. Pomerantz, a member of the surprise investigating committee for the Society Matrons League in “Pioneer Women” (ILL S1;E25), as one of the member of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League in “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress” (ILL S3;E3), and also played a nurse when “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” (ILL S2;E16). She died in 1996 at the age of 96.

Bob LeMond (Announcer) also served as the announcer for the pilot episode of “I Love Lucy”. When the long-lost pilot was finally discovered in 1990, a few moments of the opening narration were damaged and lost, so LeMond – fifty years later – recreated the narration for the CBS special and subsequent DVD release.

Gale Gordon (Rudolph Atterbury) and Bea Benadaret (Iris Atterbury), do not appear in this episode, although their characters are mentioned.

GUEST CAST

Frank Nelson (Miller’s Exchange Counter Clerk) was born on May 6, 1911 (three months before Lucille Ball) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He started working as a radio announcer at the age of 15. He later appeared on such popular radio shows as “The Great Gildersleeve,” “Burns and Allen,” and “Fibber McGee & Molly”. Aside from Lucille Ball, Nelson is perhaps most associated with Jack Benny and was a fifteen-year regular on his radio and television programs. His trademark was playing clerks and other working stiffs, suddenly turning to Benny with a drawn out “Yeeeeeeeeees?” Nelson appeared in 11 episodes of “I Love Lucy”, including three as quiz master Freddy Fillmore, and two as Ralph Ramsey, plus appearance on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” - making him the only actor to play two different recurring roles on “I Love Lucy.” Nelson returned to the role of the frazzled Train Conductor for an episode of “The Lucy Show” in 1963. This marks his final appearance on a Lucille Ball sitcom.

Eleanor Audley (Mother Cooper) would later play Eleanor Spalding, owner of the Westport home the Ricardos buy in “Lucy Wants To Move to the Country” (ILL S6;E15) in 1957, as well as one of the Garden Club judges in “Lucy Raises Tulips” (ILL S6;E26).

EPISODE

ANNOUNCER: “As we look in on the Cooper’s it’s morning and there are seven shopping days left until Christmas.”

Liz is pressing Katie the Maid about what George may have bought her for Christmas. She is knitting George a sweater, but wants a fur coat from George. Liz sings “Jingle Bells” as George comes down to breakfast.

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“Jingle Bells” by James Lord Pierpont (1822–93) was sung in the “I Love Lucy” Christmas tag, the “I Love Lucy Christmas Special” (above, colorized), as well as in “Lucy Goes to Sun Valley,” a 1958 episode of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.” Lucy says that Ricky proposed to her at Christmastime, so their ‘song’ is “Jingle Bells,” or – as Ricky pronounces it - “Yingle Bells.” The song was also sung by Lucy Carmichael and Vivian Bagley in “Together for Christmas” (TLS S1;E13) in 1962.

Liz is acting lovey-dovey, but George is on to her games - he won’t tell her what he is getting her for Christmas.

LIZ: “Are you getting me a mink stole?” GEORGE: “If I got you a mink, it would have to be stole!”

George tells Liz he’s already bought it and that it is in the hall closet - but warns her to leave it alone! After George leaves for work, Liz is tempted to take a peek. She reasons she might need to go into the closet for routine reasons, and ‘clumsily’ rips the paper off the box. It is empty, except for a note that says

I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STAY OUT OF HERE, NOSY!

Liz is adamant that George is just getting a sweater and starts knitting. Katie doesn’t even recognize it as a sweater. It has two neck holes and a sock knitted to the sleeve! Liz laments that she can’t knit like George’s mother, who Liz calls Nosy Rosy. Katie reminds Liz that Mother Cooper is coming over for a visit.

Mother Cooper (Eleanor Audley) waltzes in without ringing the bell. She first thinks the sweater is a dust rag, then a dog sweater. Liz tells her that it is a sweater for George and Mother laughs.

MOTHER (laughing): “I could die!” LIZ (grimly): “Yes, but you won’t.”

Mother has come over to tell Liz that she will be spending Christmas with Aunt Bessie, instead of with her and George. Before she goes, she bluntly tells Liz to give up on knitting; she hasn’t got the talent. Mother turns to go.

LIZ: “Are you driving, or shall I call the Yellow Broomstick Company?”

Liz is essentially calling her mother-in-law a witch! The Yellow Cab was a taxicab company in Chicago founded in 1907 by John D. Hertz, who later began the Hertz Rent-A-Car Company. In early 1950, Red Skelton, a frequent co-star of Ball’s, released the MGM film The Yellow Cab Man. Although it had not yet premiered, shooting was completed by October 1949 and Lucille Ball may have been short-listed for the role played by Gloria De Haven.

Before she departs, Mother Cooper tells Liz she has knit her son a beautiful cashmere sweater for Christmas, making Liz even more intent on making hers even better and more beautiful.

In Part Two, Katie discovers Liz asleep with the knitting needles in her hands, exhausted. After an all-nighter, Katie still sees that the sweater still has three sleeves!

At breakfast, Liz’s eyes are so bloodshot she mistakes milk for tomato juice! When George discovers that she’s been knitting him a sweater, he laughs. After George goes to work, Katie discovers another wrapped box in the closet. Liz opens it to reveal a bright red dress from Miller’s Department Store. Liz is upset because she cannot wear red with her hair coloring.

LIZ: “If I put that dress on, I’ll look like an ad for Unguentine!”

Unguentine is a commercially available topical skin ointment that helps alleviate minor burns and irritations. It was originally introduced in 1893. It was mentioned on “I Love Lucy” in “The Fashion Show” (ILL S4;E20) in 1955.

Liz dashes off to Miller’s to try and exchange the red dress for one in green. While waiting on line at the exchange counter, Liz busily knits. At the head of the line, the clerk (Frank Nelson) is confused as to why Liz is exchanging a present BEFORE Christmas! He sarcastically tells her she should exchange the red dress for a black one and give it a henna rinse!

Miller’s Department Store is mentioned in “Husbands Are Sloppy Dressers” (S3;E1) and “The Two Mrs. Coopers” (S3;E7).

LIZ: “Oh, I’ll bet you’re a scream when you get out your chicken inspector badge.”

Lucille Ball started coloring her hair with Henna Rinse (an Egyptian hair dye) in 1942 for the film Du Barry Was a Lady, to set herself apart in Technicolor movies. Irma Kusely, Ball’s hairstylist, later said that Ball had a safe of it in her garage! In “Pioneer Women” (ILL S1;E25) in 1952, Fred Mertz struts around and proudly declares “I am the chicken inspector!” This is 1920s slang for a man who has an eye for young woman. He even wears a novelty badge!

Liz rushes home to tell Katie she exchanged the red dress for one in Kelly green. George calls to tell Liz that he is bringing his mother home to give her a Christmas present before she goes to Aunt Bessie’s! Liz realizes that this is the dress that she just exchanged.

Liz rushes back to Miller’s to be greeted by the same sarcastic clerk, who can’t understand why she wants yet another exchange.

Back at home, Liz tells Katie she successfully re-exchanged the green dress for the red one. Katie tells Liz that she finished knitting the sweater for her and has tucked it into the desk drawer.

George and his mother come home and Liz gives her the present - only to find out from George that the gift she handed Mother is for her, not Mother Cooper! While George is getting his mother’s REAL present, Mother Cooper asks Liz how the sweater is coming along. Liz opens the desk drawer and Mother Cooper accuses her of buying the sweater not making it.

As she’s getting into the taxi, George notices a piece of yarn leading from the taxi, up the sidewalk and into the desk! Mother Cooper has secretly taken the sweater so as not to be upstaged by Liz. Now the sweater has unraveled, leaving only two inches on the needles!

END OF EPISODE

Announcer Bob LeMond reminds listeners to watch for Lucille Ball in the Columbia Picture Miss Grant Takes Richmond.

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sweettsubaki · 5 years

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I'm trying to pinpoint the age of the characters we've got personal info on. I'm only going off info we get within the show (bc my internet connection’s pretty bad rn) so if you've got informations from interviews / official websites or just a different reasoning don't hesitate to add stuff so we can discuss it.

I’m going off the idea that S1 and S2 happen within 3 months to a year (I’m personally more partial to 4-5 months).

EDIT : I forgot to put my conclusions about Cookie Booker and I forgot Paperstar actually gave us more precision so, since I’m rewatching the series so I could make a “general Season 1&2 timeline”, I thought it might be useful to add it to this post. I’ll edit this post with S1 and S2 Timelines when I’m done rewatching the show (it should be done by sunday at most). I’m not using my computer to do it tho so it’s a bit messy. Tho it might only change things by a few months but not by much. (huge thanks to @bunnyblob for reminding me of Cookie)

EDIT 2 : I reblogged this post with the timeline

Below the cut are Shadow-San, Carmen, Zack & Ivy, Player, Julia and Graham/Gray/Crackle. (When I can I try to find their age at the beginning of the flashback in the first episode and their current age)

Let’s start with Shadow-san. Thanks to s2 we know he was somewhere in his 20′s when Carmen’s dad died 20 years before the series so I’d say he’s in his 40′s?

Carmen would be around 20/21. Shadow-san brought her to Vile island 20 years ago. She couldn’t walk yet, so unless she was a bit late, she should have been 1 year old at most. Thanks to Gray’s storyline we also can guess than she was around 18-19 when she started V.I.L.E. Academy. (At first I thought she was 16-19 because of her im/maturity but then...Her immaturity in some scene make sense given her fairly sheltered life before she entered the academy)...I’ll explain the 2 years difference below, in his paragraph which is last because it’s the longest and he’s the one who appears the less in the series...

Zack and Ivy. These two are either twins or they’re just around a year apart. They’re younger than Carmen but seem to be around the age Carmen was when she started V.I.L.E Academy so I’d say around 19-20.

Player’s the youngest, quite obviously. He’s still in school. He was quite clearly in middle school in the flashback (1rst year of high school at most), probably around 13-15; and he seems to still be in high school in the main story. So he’s younger than 18 but older than 15. I’m partial to 16-17 due to his voice and general looks.

Julia starts her job around the same time as the series (2 weeks). In France you have to have at least a degree (Bac +3, which means 3 years) before you can think to pass the exam (+ an 18 months long formation). Based on that I’d say she’s at least 22/23

Gray/Graham/Crackle takes a bit more guess but he’s also the one that gives us a good timeline to judge how much time happened between the 1st episode flashback and the main series. He says he’s missing about a year (or a bit more than a year, I can’t remember the exact phrasing). If he says that, it means that there’s at most 2 years between his last memory and the time he “woke up”.Here’s why : we know V.I.L.E training lasts about a year. We know that at the very least a month passed between the moment Black Sheep was captured in Marocco and Carmen escaped, and we know that she met Zack and Ivy soon after (it was her first job, but it probably took Player some time to decipher the first files so lets give them 2 months tops), we also know that Zack, Ivy, Carmen and Player heve been around each other enough to get quite used to each other but not enough that some of their habits might still seem weird (Episode 3 I think, when Player comments on Ivy and Zack being too annoying) so I’d add about a month or two. Which would make the scene in the train happen about a year and 5-6 months after he started V.I.L.E Academy at most, a year and 1 months at least (if you consider that Carmen stayed on Vile Island for 2 weeks and that she met Z&I a week after and the scene in Paris happened a week later). If you take into account the fact that in episode 6 of S1 he seems to have had some time to settle in and either get back to his old habits or create new ones, I’d say about two months have passed since he “woke up”. So at that point of the story I’d say it’s been between a year and a half to 2 years between the 1st episode flashback and the main story. Now on to finding his real age. I’d say his age when he started V.I.L.E Academy was around 19-20 at least. For one thing we know that V.I.L.E Academy has a minimum age which Carmen at around 18 was too young for (if she was closer to 19 then the minimum age might be 20). We also know he was already working when he was recruited by V.I.L.E so he had at least a certificate II by age 20, maybe a certificate III (I think it takes 2 years to complete while certificate II takes a year, it’s been a couple of years since I looked it up so it’s a bit fuzzy). I know you can get an apprenticeship for certificate II but I’m not sure for certificate III. If anyone who knows the australian system could shed some light, please do so. Anyway, if he got an apprenticeship and passed/got his Certificate II. Anyway, following this, he could have very well been employed for a few months if he was 20 when V.I.L.E invited him. Which would make him around 22 at least in the main stories. Now this allows us to guess the youngest he could be. From his looks, he seems to be in his early to mid 20′s so I’d say at most in the main storyline he’d be 25. So he was 20-23 when recruited by V.I.L.E and 22-25 in the main storyline and gives him a 2 to 5 years difference with Carmen.

#Carmen Sandiego #Shadowsan #Player (CS)#Julia (CS)#Zack & Ivy (CS)#Gray (CS)#Crackle (CS)#Graham (CS)#Graham 'Gray' Crackle #Zack (CS)#Ivy (CS)

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keziacole · 7 years

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tagged by @bumbleblossoms - thank you!

Tagged Rules: Answer these 92 statements and tag 20 people.

THE LAST:

1. Drink: Coffeeeeeee

2. Phone call: My partner, just as they left the dentist. :( 3. Text message: Motherbot 2.0 4. Song you listened to: Been Caught Stealing – Jane’s Addiction 5. Time you cried: Uh… some point in the last couple months, I guess? Not sure when, but it was at something related to dogs. Honestly, I did most of my crying last year, during The Year From Hell, and I’m still a bit dried out.

6-92 under the cut. :)

HAVE YOU:

6. Dated someone twice: As in getting back together again? Nooooo. 7. Kissed someone and regretted it: …yup. Often. Sometimes not until a long while later, though! 8. Been cheated on: Not to my knowledge. 9. Lost someone special: Yep. 10. Been depressed: Eh, I’ve never been diagnosed with depression, so no, I don’t think so. Situationally really fucked off with things? Yes. 11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: Once. Story time, everyone!

So, I generally have a really good alcohol tolerance and a cast iron stomach (not necessarily for good reasons, but hey), but I did once go to a party that ended very badly. I was about 17, had recently been diagnosed with CFS, and was on a heavy painkiller regimen. I drank when I shouldn’t really have done so, because bullshit and All the Emotional Drama, BUT… I did not know that my friend’s asshole brother had spiked my drink. (He was a peach. Gave his 14 year old brother acid once just to point and laugh at the result. Fuckin’ hated that guy.)

At some point in the evening – somewhere after the sham marriages, interpretative dance, and someone putting someone else through a table, because teen parties – I realised I was wayyy more wasted than I should have been, despite the painkillers, and I ended up spending all night hallucinating and throwing up, plus feeling horrific for about three days afterwards.

Moral of the story: if you spike people’s drinks, you are a gigantic bag of toe lint and should suffer mosquito bites on your asshole for a thousand years. The end.

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS: 12. Purple 13. Red 14. Blue

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

15. Made new friends: Not yet. Befriend me, tumblr, you’re my only hope. 16. Fallen out of love: No, though I have watched my relationship with at least one family member crumble into dust. Does that count? 17. Laughed until you cried: At least four times a week. Which is one big reason why I’m marrying that motherfucker. 18. Found out someone was talking about you: Yes. See 16. 19. Met someone who changed you: Not yet. 20. Found out who your friends are: Yes, sadly. It sucks when you realise how effectively someone has manipulated the people around you. 21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: Nah, I don’t really do the FB thing. I should, I guess?

GENERAL:

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: See above. I kind of have a profile, but I only use it to message people I’m related to who are freaking obsessed with Facebook and won’t communicate any other way. Ugh. So… most of them? I guess? 23. Do you have any pets: One dog – Hector, a grumpy and elderly terrier - down from two resident mutts and a boatload of fosters. Older dog died last year, and I’m not in a position to foster right now, which sucks, because I miss having a house full of beasties, not to mention making a difference. 24. Do you want to change your name: Already have done/am doing! I have no real interest in keeping up with more than 80% of the people I’m related to, and I never liked my birth name, plus this is easier to spell and dictate to people, and isn’t known by the abusive assholes in my life. So, yay! 25. What did you do for your last birthday: Ordered pizza and watched favourite movies with my partner. We did The Blues Brothers and shit-talked the progression of police militarisation in the US over the past 30 years, and it was incredibly fun, despite the fact we’re 3000 miles apart right now. Also, they remembered my birthday, which is more than can be said for over two-thirds of the people I’m related to. 26. What time did you wake up: 9am, but in my defence I was up until 3 last night.

27. What were you doing at midnight last night: Talking shit with my partner, knitting an afghan, and watching foster kitten cams and reviews of awful movies together, because these are good ways to help someone who has a dental appointment in the morning try to stay calm. 28. Name something you can’t wait for: Getting my current backlog of work finished. Sooo clooose…. Promised myself a movie and gaming binge when I’m done. 29. When was the last time you saw your mom: Last week. 30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: Either having enough money to fix all my problems (yes, in this case, money most certainly can do that), or just being on the same continent as my partner, so we didn’t have this immigration thing to worry about. Not having a debilitating illness that fucks everything up would be pretty awesome, too. 31. What are you listening right now: Freddie King 32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Yep, many Toms. All the Toms. Well, like, five plus. 33. Something that is getting on your nerves: Not knowing whether or not the electrician is going to show up tomorrow, which will mean I need to move the paintings and quilt top I currently have all over the sitting room floor. I’m not done piecing that thing yet. Grr. 34. Most visited website: Lots. Mostly Google, Politico, Reuters etc., but I’m living on eBay right now because I’m trying to sell off a bunch of DVDs, books, and vintage glassware. …Does anyone want to buy some vintage/antique glassware? 35. Mole/s: Yep. I had one removed from my back once. Turned out to be benign (phew!) but I got an interesting scar out of it. 36. Mark/s: I still have a faint surgery scar on my elbow, but it doesn’t look as Frankenstein-y now. Most of my scars have faded, but I still have some weird idiosyncrasies from things that have been broken or busted up. 37. Childhood dream: Writing was always my main thing, but also acting/directing. Illness took that away. Other than that, I always wanted to live somewhere rural with lots of animals, and be happy. 39. Long or short hair: Long. Lots. It’s huge. Send help. I like both on other people. 40. Do you have a crush on someone: Not right now. Give me ten minutes and a new Fet profile to stalk and I’ll get back to you... 41. What do you like about yourself: I’m a creative dynamo and I don’t stop until I fall down. I’m also proud of the fact that I’m a pretty compassionate and patient person, and I like the fact I’m slow to really anger. Someone told me recently I’m a very stabilising influence, and that was nice to hear. I feel like life can use more of that. 42. Piercings: Ears (two left, three right), nose (left). More on the way, maybe, when I can justify it. 43. Blood type: ???? I should check. I know the NHS won’t let me donate blood because of my medical condition, which blows. 44. Nickname: Zia. Some people call me Kez. One person is allowed to call me Admiral Fuckface McAsshole III. 45. Relationship status: Open relationship with my primary partner, technically speaking. Poly is good, but my planner is too cluttered for anarchy. 46. Zodiac: Aries w/ Aquarius moon, Virgo ascendant. I also have Mars and Venus in Taurus, so mooooo. And yes, I did used to do natal charts for beer money. I read palms, too. I’d still do it if asked nicely. 47. Pronouns: They/She. I don’t mind feminine pronouns, because I’m incredibly cis-passing and most people will assume “she”, plus I can live with being labelled female if it’s a binary choice, but I see myself more as a person than a gender, so I love that neutral pronouns are being used so much more now.

FWIW, I considered whether or not I was trans for a hot minute when I was a younger teen, because I used to love passing as a boy when I was a kid (until puberty at nine. Boo.), but for me it was the difference in how I was treated when I passed as male that mattered. It was the difference between “Oh, isn’t he confident and intelligent?” and “Hello, sweetie, don’t you look pretty today?” that affected me, not a real sense of dysphoria, so I decided the problem wasn’t really in how I presented, but in society itself. I have yet to really find a satisfying way of rectifying that, but I think we’re all making progress as a society. It’s very slow progress, sadly.

48. Favorite TV Show: I don’t watch that many series, but Star Trek (especially TOS and DS9), X-Files (S1/S2), Game of Thrones, old mystery adaptations (all the Agatha Christie ever), Stranger Things, Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad… can’t think of anything else right now, but there are some. 49. Tattoos: One black and grey dotwork spiral goddess on my arm, next one coming soon (watch this space, now I’ve found an artist!) 50. Right or left hand: Ambidextrous. Yes, I can write with both hands. Sometimes, I switch in the middle of the sentence. No, it doesn’t look the same. I can also operate light switches with my toes from a standing position. 51. Surgery: I fucked up my ulnar nerve a couple of years ago by blacking out and falling on some stairs. It was melodramatic, and I lost the use of my left hand. Had surgery to correct it. I was awake but a bit sedated, and spent most of the time talking to the cute anaesthetist about chastity cages. Because... sedated? Yes. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Sadly, he did not call, though I’m pretty sure he did a lot of googling when he got home that night. 52. Hair dyed in different color: Always, since I discovered Olaplex, which means I can actually bleach my hair without it completely frying. Most recently, I’ve had a mermaid fantasy in turquoise, green, and purple, but it’s faded a lot. Not sure what I’ll do next. Maybe orange, or neon yellow again. 53. Sport: I can’t do much without turning blue and blacking out, but I’ve always enjoyed tennis, badminton, swimming, and equestrian stuff. Is hiking a sport? Hiking’s fun. 54. Do you use sarcasm a lot: Um...

55. Vacation: Last one was to see my partner; next one will be too. So, the woods of NEPA. Hiking out with some granola and my favourite human, and spending a few days playing with shelter pitbulls. <3 Otherwise, I’ve never really been on holiday. I went on a school trip to Germany once where I nearly got arrested and, when I was seven, I went to Malta and there was a hurricane. I remember wedging wet towels into the window frames and hoping we didn’t die, because we were on the twelfth floor and there was nowhere else to go.

I did go to Norfolk with my mother for four days after her breast cancer diagnosis. Macmillan, a cancer charity that is very worthy of support, granted her a short break. There was a lot of playing dominos and trying to convince her she wasn’t actively dying at that precise moment.

56. Pair of trainers: Converse. All the ratty old Converse low tops in the world.

MORE GENERAL:

57. Eating: I have the house to myself right now. It’s awesome. I’m celebrating with homemade shiitake tofu stir fry, wontons, vegetable udon… and doughnuts. Not in the same bowl, though. 58. Drinking: Rum.

59. I’m about to: Finish a short story, close out an editing project, format a print galley (again. Goddamnit, Adobe.), and try to finalise the running order of a poetry collection. Maybe send some emails, maybe eat the rest of those wontons. 61. Waiting for: The dizziness to go away, usually. 62. Want: The time, space, peace and quiet to focus on my work, and my health to cooperate long enough for that to happen. 63. Get married: As soon as possible, which basically means when we can afford it, because immigration, legal wrangling, and a ton of other bullshit. It’s a headache, but if there weren’t so many technical hurdles it would already be done. 64. Career: I write and make stuff. I’m doing it under a new name now, which is daunting, because it means starting over again, but I’ve spent the past few years doing a lot of genre fiction and being told my original work is “too original”… but I’m ready to say “fuck you” to that and see what I can carve out for myself. Come on, internet: don’t prove me wrong, ‘k? 65. Hugs or kisses: Ooh, tough. Yes? I guess hugs if I have to pick. 66. Lips or eyes: Eyes. 67. Shorter or taller: I honestly don’t care, though I do very much enjoy short subs. Pocket rockets are adorable. 68. Older or younger: It really doesn’t matter. 70. Nice arms or nice stomach: Arms, I guess? Doesn’t really matter. It’s all pretty to look at, but who really cares? Arms are best for hugs. 71. Sensitive or loud: Sensitive. I don’t like too loud. 72. Hook up or relationship: Define the terms, yo. I’d say relationship, but the definition of “relationship” can be open to numerous things. 73. Troublemaker or hesitant: Um… possibly a bit of both, but more hesitant, probably.

HAVE YOU EVER:

74. Kissed a stranger: No. 75. Drank hard liquor: Yup.

76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: I once dropped a contact lens down the back of a gas fire and spent three hours getting it out with Vaseline on a paperclip. My vision is awful and I wore very expensive gas permeable lenses at the time. 77. Turned someone down: Yup. 78. Sex on the first date: Nothing wrong with it (and nothing wrong with sex being the date), but it’s not for me. 79. Broken someone’s heart: So they said. 80. Had your heart broken: Yes, but not how you might assume. 81. Been arrested: Nope. 82. Cried when someone died: Yep. 83. Fallen for a friend: A couple of times, with varying degrees of success.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

84. Yourself: I try to, because few other people often do. (*the world’s tiniest violin plays*) 85. Miracles: Yes, sometimes in the form of coincidences, surprises, or the results of hard work. I believe in inverse miracles, too, when things go catastrophically wrong for no apparent reason. Or, as we call it at my house, Tuesday. 86. Love at first sight: Yes, in a way. Potential for love at first sight, I guess? I’ve usually found I know the moment I meet someone whether that’s a thing that’s going to happen or not. 87. Santa Claus: YES, DAMN IT. Okay, maybe not a literal dude in a red suit, but as a personification of the generous spirit of Non-Denominational-Winter-Solstice-and-Festival-of-Lights, he works. (I’m an eclectic neo-pagan/hedgewitch, but my most loved time of year is the whole October-February period, so I start celebrating Yule/Christmas around December 1st and don’t stop until Twelfth Night. I will take ALL of your symbolism, ALL your traditions, and – most importantly – ALL your festive foods and embrace them. In my belly. Thank you.)

88. Kiss on the first date: Probably. Unless it’s a baaaaad first date. 89. Angels: Again, not so much the literal sense, but it’d be nice to think there are positive presences looking out for us. I’d be very concerned about the serpent-like pillars of fire, though.

OTHER:

90. Current best friends name: Aside from my dog, that’s my partner but they don’t like their details shared, so SHHHH IT’S A SECRET. 91. Eye color: grey-blue-thing 92. Favorite movie: You can’t just ask a person that at the end of the thing like it’s a simple question…! So. Many. Movies. Depends on the genre. The Blues Brothers, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, Gattaca, Silence of the Lambs, Re-Animator, Die Hard, Stand By Me, Sleepaway Camp, Alien, Lady in a Cage, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, TRHPS, The Great Escape… those are movies I can watch a billion times (and have done). Honorable mentions, depending on my mood, go to things like Basket Case, Caramel, An American Werewolf in London, Exterminating Angel, Secretary, Gran Torino… I could have done 92 questions just on the most popularist movies I like!

tagging: I’ve been away for a few days and I don’t wanna tag people who’ve already done it, so if you’re reading this and want to do it, consider yourself tagged! <3

#get to know me #personal #long post

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gakupoid · 7 years

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winter anime impressions

finished:

koro-sensei quest: 9/10 it was too good!!! i needed more assclass in my life and this delivered. my fave eps were the body switching ep and the one with the reaper + neuro lol. i wish they would make more of this show? but i guess they kinda can’t... and assclass isn’t really the type of series you can make a sequel to, even a comedic one. tho... this was completely AU which, i guess could be done again?? LOL different...setting?? eldlive: 7/10 i was curious about amano’s new series so i had to watch this one. hmm the protag is a lot more pervy than reborn’s tsuna but that’s not a bad thing? he’s alright. if anything he’s one of the only redeemable characters. oh and gucci. bc a character named gucci is important on name alone HEH. oh and dr. love is pretty good, he needed more screentime. overall this series was kinda bland but i saw it coming. maybe the manga’s better... i know this is an issue across the board lately, but 12 ep series that are made just to promote the manga tend to just be bad. there’s some heart in it but you can tell it’s not made to go anywhere. this one had an original character built in just for the last two episodes. i mEAN he was voiced by hiroshi kamiya so that was good but :V oh yeah! this one did have my fave ED song of the season. nanbaka: 7/10 so nanbaka finally wrapped up this season and i’m.. a bit bummed about it. i furiously caught up on it over the span of last weekend only to be hit with a cliffhanger ending. they spent 5-6 eps using “okama” fish fucker as an antagonist and he wasn’t even in the OP.. he really came outta nowhere. most of s2 was pretty bland and it never really went anywhere. and sad to say, but the bluray sales for this show are almost nonexistent and s2 was exclusively aired online/never aired on TV... so i don’t see them making any more. what a waste. i know there’s still the online comic but is it even being translated? i think the characters are great! i wish this show hadn’t been so overlooked... it had so much potential for more... ongoing: ao no exorcist s2: i’m only about halfway through this one but it’s great to see these characters again. i watched the movie several years ago hoping a s2 would follow soon after but it took such a long time! i’m probably one of those weirdos who actually liked some of what was done in s1..... (like yukio becoming more demon-like bc why is that still not a thing??? even in the manga??? even though there are.... references to that everywhere....) anyways it’s great to see more of this series although it’s doubtful they will continue unless it turns a profit LOL... A1 only cares about SAO and kuroshit bc they make the most money. i’m still waiting patiently for more nanatsu no taizai anime... tales of zestiria the X: OH MY GOD i haven’t even started S2 but everything i know about it says “hey we forgot what this game was even about, so here’s armatized alisha” -____- i mean... i’m gonna watch it.... i kinda have to... but i told myself months ago if they manage to butcher the ending to the game (we will know in a month...), then ufotable a shit and i’ll never forgive. yowapeda s3: i’m only a couple eps in bc i love to marathon this series lol... i have such a hard time watching it UNLESS i marathon it. there’s just not enough out yet for me to do that just yet. i’ll probably wait until at least 20 eps are out. & i just recently learned that that new kyoto fushimi character is voiced by junjun so i know i’ll love that guy. fuck. dropped: little witch academia: i never even started it bc i don’t have netflix and i can’t be assed to download. so it’s just not happening. but i’ve heard it’s good! maybe someday...

#winter anime #2017

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chidoroki · 3 years

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The Promised Neverland S2EP5.5

aka: fast-forwarding through the speedrun feat. “name that tune”

5.5 hm? Is this how we’ll get a full 12 episodes? By only saying 11 are new while this one is a recap?

I heard “Isabella’s Lullaby” and I almost teared up on cue.

I thought it was just gonna be a recap of this season, not the first one too. Oh no, am I about to experience a roller coaster of emotions?

“And I was about to learn how this world functioned.” Or maybe we’ll see ch74 animated?

You know you’re starving for GP arc content when you see the episode titled “guidepost” and you think of the rules signpost Emma sees upon first waking up at GP..

You can dislike the second season all you want, but there is simply no way you can hate on “Identity” and you can bet I’m gonna continue to praise it every week.

I love how Ray’s oil scene conveys the same level of intensity/panic whether it has “Grandma and Demons” playing in the back or “Introduction.”

Next is “Emma’s Determination,” right? Honestly it’s been so long since I listened to the s1 soundtrack but all the songs are so memorable.

Do you know it took me a full year after I first watched s1 to realize that Norman was also left-handed? I felt so foolish.

Speaking of chopped off ear, s2 never explained that Ray never had his cut off. I saw some people confused about that last week, but Emma took out his tracker so he only had a cut on his ear.

“At worst, I estimate that we have two years of time.” And yet the anime decided to let you do close to nothing for one of those years.

Why they gotta switch it to “Emma’s Sorrow” like that huh? Do they want me to feel upset?

What else is there for me to comment on during this recap ep besides all the music.. like “81194” now.

“The journey wasn’t an easy one.” But.. you really haven’t done much.

Okay, well I don’t know the track name for this one but it played in ep1 of this season when the kids found the water plant.. things, whatever they were called.

Ohh, and this next track too! I really like it.

“The demons won’t hunt humans.” Completely accurate since GP doesn’t exist in this timeline.

I still love how in sync the duo was during that scene with Sonju.

Mujika giving Emma the ol’ razzle dazzle necklace that has yet to serve any purpose in this adaption, hurray.

“Hold on to it. I’m sure it will protect you.” Not from losing her character development it won’t.

I don’t recognize this track at all.. the one they currently have playing at the kids enter the empty shelter. Did I completely miss it before?

“GF House” though during the phone call.

“D100.. It’s at the edge of the west side. It’s really far!” .. And? The Cuvitidala search group cleared the entire east side of the map in 7 months. Y’all are telling me the anime kids couldn’t reach one specific point in the span of 6 months/1 year?

Also, not sure of the songs played before and during the shelter being blown up again, but it makes me look forward to whenever this season’s soundtrack will be released.

“Your release won’t be the only reward.” I know a lot of people were speculating that the demon offered Isabella to escape with her child, but would they even know who this is/if they’re alive? I guess they could.. Isabella had files on the other women’s kids in her special chapter, but if the demons know it’s Ray, would they really allow a premium quality kid like that go free?

I also don’t think a reward like that would make her smile so mischievously either, unless she’s only doing so to appeal to the demon’s better interest, in which case I say bravo to you ma’am.

“One year since escaping Grace Field House.” I cry.

... Do you think the demon shrine in this temple has a purple cloth over its head to represent Mujika? The old demon from last ep did call it the Evil-Blooded Temple.

So the old demon really was blind.

The track changed fro the chase scene too.. though of course it still has hints of the lullaby melody.

“Tension”.. and Norman.

Those demons shouldn’t be dead, right? Zazie only slashed at their stomachs, not their eyes.

How did Norman even know it was Emma behind that mask? Sure he probably heard the rumor about the GF kids still on the run at the beginning of ep5 and Ray wielding a bow with his hands showing certainly helps, but still.

“Now, can you tell us your story?” Ah, so maybe ch74 next time, as we clearly didn’t get it earlier.

I don’t know how heartfelt of a reunion we’ll get between the trio next time, since we’re in the middle of a demon town, but Ray better slap that boy still.

I rage quit last ep so I forgot to mention this, but the full version of “Mahou” is so calming. Definitely worth a listen if this adaptation is stressing you out.

#the promised neverland #episode reaction

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chidoroki · 3 years

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Head empty, pre-TPN season 2 thoughts only.

Normally I don’t even bother with hiding spoilers but since the new season is so close I’ll put everything below a cut (if tumblr cooperates) because I do want anime-onlys to enjoy the season with as little knowledge to what madness is about to happen as possible. This is just a bunch of notes that filled my head over the past couple days.. weeks? A long time.. and if I didn’t write them all down somewhere I wouldn’t stop thinking about them.. so if you understand this whole mess, then kudos to you.

So, here’s your post-season 1/ch37+ spoiler warning.

Demon language:

With Mujika and Sonju making their grand first appearances, I hope actually implement the demon language this time?

The only word spoken in the language in season 1 was the demon god’s name, which was just changed to “Him” (sub) or “The One” (dub), so ignoring it there was fine.

Granted, our demon friends don’t say much in their language during the upcoming arc, aside from this moment in ch48, but I can see the anime passing it off as a mere whisper between the two of them just so they don’t have to worry about it.

I don’t recall any of the GP poachers using the language though.. right? Pretty sure they don’t..

Anyways, all I’m saying is that they better figure something out by the Ayshe shows up way later in future seasons.

Episode count? 24?

Short answer: I don’t think so? Did once, but stuff happened. Anyways..

Season 1 ended in March 2019, which is also when we learned we were getting a second season and once we found later on that S2 was originally going to air in October 2020, I immediately thought we were getting about 24 eps.

I thought with all that time between seasons, 24 eps would be reasonable and that S2 would end at ch101. S1 managed to adapt 37 chapters, so 64 chapters in a season twice as long sound decent enough, right?

By the time we reach ch101, it would give us the demon forest, shelter B06-32, Goldy Pond and the short trip to Cuvitidala. (all of which would make this long wait for s2 sooo worth it btw.)

By this point we learn a bunch about the outside world, Norman being alive, what happened to Phil, and the demon bastard himself.

I bring up ch101 as a stopping point because it’s the last chapter before the two year time skip and.. I honestly can’t see them doing a time skip mid-season?

I mean, they could if they wanted to, I guess? Having everyone age up suddenly between episodes via a montage, a quick summary or even flashbacks of what we missed.. but maybe at the start of a season? Not in the middle.

Right now we know anime original scenes are going to be included into season 2 so I’m kinda hoping that once we do eventually reach the time skip we learn more about the search Emma’s group went on for T7W/golden water/temples.

I counted. If S2 does indeed get this many episodes, ep23 (or 22, if there’s a break in between somewhere or whatever) will land on my birthday and you can bet I’ll be beyond happy

HOWEVER! all the hope I once had about a 24ep season vanished due to the clusterfuck that was 2020. Thanks to the worldwide pandemic, many anime were put on hold and pushed back several months, with TPN airing this month rather than the original October date.

It was a bummer hearing about the delay at first but I never complained about it. I much rather have the studios prioritize their employee’s health over production.

Even if S2 did reach ch101, or even Goldy Pond, they would need to find a ton of new voice actors, and with how the world is working now.. eh, I have some doubts.

Cloverworks also has two other series airing this month aside from TPN so needless to say they’ll be a bit busy, especially if employees are still working from home, social distancing, or however they’re managing to produce these anime.

So, episode count.. 12?

The main reason I have a hard time grasping the idea of another 12ep season at all is because.. I don’t know where it’ll be a decent place for it to stop?

S1 ending at ch37 with the kids escaping? Perfect. You can’t question that decision. But now? When a whole bunch of craziness is about happen? How do you choose another perfect moment to end a season with?

No matter how many anime original scenes they have planned for the demon forest, I believe we’ll at least reach B06-32, which will get us to ch52.

Could they go farther? Sure. Perhaps ending at ch59-60? It would leave us off with Emma & Ray leaving the comfort of the shelter to follow Yuugo into yet another demon infested forest, much like how S1 left off, as the escapees left their once safe, comfortable life into the unknown world.

Or end at ch64? After Emma gets snatched by the poachers? It could work. It would certainly leave everyone wanting more, especially us manga readers because goddamn the GP arc would be SO close!

Perhaps ch74 after seeing Norman alive? Just so it’s not a big darn secret anymore to those who are going into this season blind? (how do people manage to stay anime only? i’m not trying to make anyone feel bad.. i’m just impressed? i caught up to the manga right after s1 because i didn’t have the self control to wait!)

Ending on that chapter would be so bittersweet to me.. because you know what appears in ch75 and it’s literally one of the only things I care about.

S2 preview trailers already teased some of the demon forest scenes I’m most excited about, so the only things left that will truly excite me are Yuugo and that darn outfit. (seriously, whenever we do get to see emma in her gp outfit for the first time, someone better scream at me so i can die from happiness.)

Okay, and all the GP kids too.. especially their trio!

Could they fit the Goldy Pond arc into a 12 episode season along with every other event that came before it? I.. seriously hope not?

Compared to s1, which was very dialogue heavy, GP is about as action packed as we’re gonna get in the near future, and those scenes are going to fly by once they get put into motion.

Quick example (because it was recent and i can’t think of something else atm): the Overhaul arc from My Hero Academia. Off the top my head it was about 40 total ch? That arc took up half of the show’s S4, which was a total 25 eps.

So with the GP ending at ch96, it’ll give us about 20-30 chapters (depending on where you personally see the start of this arc I guess? once yuugo leads the duo through the forest, when emma gets snatched or when the battle actually starts)

If GP were to happen in s2 where there’s 12 episodes.. literally everything would be so fast paced and I don’t want them to rush anything or leave stuff out?

Other options?

It’s very wishful thinking and I would be getting my hopes up for nothing, because I know it won’t happen, but I could possibly see them fitting GP arc if S2 was made up of 18eps?

6 eps for the demon forest, 6 for Goldy pPond, the remaining 6 to accommodate B06-32, Cuvitidala and any other anime original scenes as they wish.

Although fitting about 64 chapters into 12-18 episodes sounds a bit much.. but not really? I seriously have no idea at this point how much story we’re going to cover this season.

Could I perhaps place all my hopes towards a second cour later this year? Like for the summer.. or would I be expecting too much?

This all could’ve been avoided if they just tell us! Seriously, I’ve been thinking about episode count since last year.. and now you have to deal with this mindless chatter of mine.

I’d honestly be okay with another 12ep season though. We waited this long that I’ll just be excited to see all the children again.

Anime-only scenes:

Those 3 days the children spent learning from our demon friends? Yes please! Did you know Emma not only learned how to use a bow and arrow but a freakin’ harpoon as well? Like.. hello?? I must see this!

Perhaps they’ll even adopt some of the extra pages from some of the chapters, like they did in S1 with the flashback of Norman being sick in ep10.

I know this will be such a high hope, but I remember in ch177 how Emma claims that after they escaped, they all remembered how kind Isabella really was, so if they decide to adapt the extras from ch41-42 & ch45, I’ll cry.

And these pages? Cloverworks, please..

I’m literally begging here..

Especially these two! Even though I still doubt we’ll reach Goldy Pond if we get 12eps.. but in the future! Please!

Other random nonsense:

I may or may not get emotional upon seeing Isabella at the very start when she goes to confront Grandma Sarah. If her hair is kept down as it was at the end of S1 then I’ll give the anime staff my sincere thanks.

We only heard 15 seconds of “Identity” and yet it has been living in my head rent free ever since that trailer dropped. I need to hear the full song sooo damn badly, y’all have no idea.

Here’s hoping they don’t cut out the inner monologues again. At this moment I don’t remember any specific ones from the demon forest I want to see but I’m sure they’re present.

I’m ready to die at every cute Chris moment they give us.. and this entire scene where the kids scold Ray.

Literally every scene with Emma & Ray. They’re my top 2 favorites from this series okay? Of course I’m going to fangirl over them. (they already showed the hug in one of the trailers and i damn near cried)

If we see him, (which i’m sure we will, but i still have tiny some doubts) I hope they give Yuugo a fantastic voice actor.

Also, his nicknames for everyone!! Literally everything about that man I’m hyped for.

Again, very doubtful we’ll get GP in a 12ep season, but whenever that arc decides to grace us with its presence, “63194” better play on full blast when ch92-93 gets animated.

Speaking of music, while I’m completely excited to hear the new OST that Obata has in store for us (thank god he’s doing this season again btw!), I hope we hear some of those unused tracks from the first season, specifically “Their Own Thoughts.”

Every time Emma mentions their future, their goals or how her family will always be together, I’ll cry. (thanks demon god and your stupid reward)

Yes I’ll be doing those reaction posts (if you follow me i’m sure you’ve seen them by now) after every new episode as I do with other series I watch.. once I survive the usual long day at work, avoiding anything TPN related so I can watch in peace and quiet when I finally get home.. damn it, im already so anxious, help.

#the promised neverland #chidoroki used chatter

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