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fiercynn · 9 months

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As it usually happens on here, we become fans of things by osmosis if we didn't seek it out for ourselves. So I've been following you for a bit and I have finally crossed the threshold from "this person I follow really loves this media and I love seeing their love for it on my dash, so glad they're having fun" over to "I wanna have fun, too." And that's all thanx to @thatgothsamurai's photobooth art.

So, I hope you can guide me on where I should start with patpran and inkpa, and the rest. Like, are they on separate shows that crossover? A spinoff? Like, what's going on, where do I start, how do I watch. Like you, I'm in the US. Any suggestions are appreciated.

AAAAAAAH THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY and thank u @thatgothsamurai for the amazing fanart as always (the photobooth fanart in question, a classic in the fandom)

okay so both patpran and inkpa are canon pairings from the thai bl bad buddy and its related special episodes! all are produced by the thai production company gmmtv.

the show and all related episodes are available to watch on youtube with english subtitles - i'll link to relevant playlists.

THE MAIN SHOW: BAD BUDDY THE SERIES

directed by "aof" noppharnach chaiyahwimhon (who is gay himself), and starring "nanon" korapat kirdpan as pran, and "ohm" pawat chittsawangdee as pat. the original show is twelve episodes, which aired from october 2021 to january 2022. i watched it for the first time in february 2022 and have not known peace every since

the premise is that pat and pran, who have lived next door to each other since birth, have been rivals all their lives because their families hate each other. after pran's sent off to boarding school for three years, they are unexpectedly reunited at university - where they find that their friend groups are also enemies, so they have to keep up the pretense of hating each other. but of course they fall in love instead!

the main story is about patpran, but inkpa is a canon side pairing featuring "love" pattranite limpatiyakorn as pa, pat's younger sister, and "milk" pansa vosbein as ink, a classmate of pat and pran's. though they get less screentime, i still think they have a delightful romantic arc themselves!

SPECIAL EPISODES

zero photography: an inkpa special episode that is set after the main show. directed by "tee" bundit sintanaparadee, whom i don't know much about, and aired in august 2022

our skyy x bad buddy x a tale of thousand stars: so our skyy 2 was an anthology of special episodes released between april and june 2023 for a bunch of different gmmtv bls. each show was supposed to have two special eps for their characters, but since two shows directed by p'aof were getting special eps (the other one being a tale of thousand stars, also a delightful show), he decided to use four episodes as a crossover of the two shows. in the bad buddy timeline, these eps take place during a timeskip that happens in the original show between episodes 11 and 12, and features patpran but has a few great inkpa appearances too. you don't really need to have seen atots to understand the eps, i don't think? but they probably are more enjoyable if you have haha

EXTRAS

"just friend" music video: nanon sings two songs on the bad buddy soundtrack, and ohm sings one for our skyy 2, all of which have music videos, but i'm linking to this song of nanon's particularly because the music video its own story unrelated to the show at all! it's very cute and is basically an au where they are employees at the same hotel (and in love of course)

23.5 degrees the series: this is not technically related to bad buddy, but milk and love are going to be starring in gmmtv's first full-length gl, 23.5 degrees, which will be directed by "fon" kanittha kwunyoo (who i believe is a lesbian)! thai gls are just starting to get attention and backing by the major tv studios, and milklove's known chemistry from playing inkpa, as well as an exciting supporting cast and director, are making everyone super excited for this

there are also TONS of behind-the-scenes and making-of extras if you get into the show but i figured this was enough to start with :D

let me know if you have questions about any of this! i'm not sure how familiar you are with thai media or fandoms, so definitely happy to share/explain more as would be helpful! <3

#bad buddy #bad buddy explainer #patpran #inkpa #zero photography #our skyy x bad buddy x a tale of thousand stars #our skyy 2 #our skyy x bad buddy #just friend mv #23.5 degrees #thank you for the ask this made me so happyyyyyyy #ask me things #id in alt text #original #asking me answering you

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oxygenbefore1775 · 1 year

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*cue rant about jean in connection to the recent ep airing*

I've always had those thoughts about Jean but the recent episode just brought those to me tenfold.

And that is — out of all the main character's, no one's life has gone through as much major changes in the years from 850 to 854 as Jean's. In the span of just four years he'd made the biggest leap out of his comfort zone.

Unlike EMA who were already introduced to the ruthlessness of the world and had to deal with the loss at an early age, unlike the members of the Warrior Unit who were exploited and treated like shit their whole lives and unlike Levi who grew up among the scum of the earth and was well aware of humanity's ugliest sides — Jean had a happy and full-fledged childhood. He was born into a wealthy family, had loving parents and never knew any hardships. Apart from him, only Connie and Sasha were lucky enough in this department.

I think this upbringing was something that helped Jean to remain incredibly compassionate. As seen through-out the series, Jean holds a human life in great value with him berating Eren for posing a danger in his titan form or openly critisizing Erwin's plan for it having lead to deaths of some soldiers. Up until that point Jean had only the action of others to judge as he himself never was in the position where he had the choice of taking someone's life — until Royal Government arc rolled in.

That was the first the time for Jean to be confronted with killing someone. Since before that Jean's soldier duties never contradicted with his morals, the moment his position required him to kill an MP Jean was hesitant. Even if it was an enemy and even if it was to save his own life, Jean couldn't bring himself to murder. Eventually he's gotten around the murder aspect a bit but still not enough to to be fully comfortable with it.

Even after those years Jean still has to fight an inner battle between his duty and principles each time he's faced with the choice of killing a person. But even if he decides to go through with a murder, it's always for a very important reason. With most of the time this reason being Eren as he often needed either Scouts' help or protection. Seeing as Eren was humanity's only hope, Jean was ready to push past himself and his morals just like he promised to Eren.

Then cue the day Eren starts the Rumbling and Jean realizes that all of his efforts and sacrifices for Eren amounted to nothing. All the times Jean and other Scouts helped Eren out in Liberio or Shiganshina was them practically aiding in the begin of a genocide.

And then in order to prevent the deaths of millions of innocents Jean would have to step out against his former comrades and once again to commit murders for the greater cause of stopping Eren.

It's the whole tragedy of Jean being such a compassionate and murder-averse person yet caught up in a vicious cycle of violence that his own moral principles forced him into that I find really heartbreaking. And the phrase that Jean drops while on the flying boat shows how close to the heart he takes his recent actions even if they were done in order to stop the Rumbling and how he would never really recover emotionally from the events of the past few days.

#aot #attack on titan #snk #shingeki no kyojin #jean #jean kirstein #rumbling #dont even get me started on the guilt that jean will have for his entire life for being hypocritical towards reiner

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beatrice-otter · 3 months

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Fic: Six Things That Changed Because They Were In A Sedoretu, and One Thing That Didn't

Six Things That Changed Because They Were In A Sedoretu, and One Thing That Didn't (7929 words) by Beatrice_Otter Fandom: Battlestar Galactica (2003) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Written for: @tielan in Sedoretu Exchange 2023

Relationships: Lee "Apollo" Adama/Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, Anastasia "Dee" Dualla/Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, Sam Anders/Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, Lee "Apollo" Adama/Sam Anders, Sam Anders & Anastasia "Dee" Dualla, Lee "Apollo" Adama/Sam Anders/Anastasia "Dee" Dualla/Kara "Starbuck" Thrace Characters: Lee "Apollo" Adama, Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, Anastasia "Dee" Dualla, Sam Anders

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Sedoretu, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Happy Ending, Polyamory, Podfic Welcome, Don't copy to another site Summary:

what it says on the tin

On AO3. On Squidgeworld. On Dreamwidth. Rebloggable on pillowfort.

Betaed by iberiandoctor With an old-school fandom, I figured why not go for an old-school format?

Fic wittering and explanation of a sedoretu behind the read-more.

sedoretuex has revealed, and I can now reveal that I wrote TWO stories! (I have not yet had time to read any stories but my own--I have been really busy this January--but I am planning on making my way through the collection soon.)

My second story for this exchange was a pinch hit for tielan that I had been eyeing for treat purposes since the beginning, because our tastes are very similar and every one of her ideas was amazing and absolutely a story I wanted to exist. But there was a problem! Each one of those stories, my feeling was "I want that to exist, but I don't know if I can do justice to it."

Here were my main options:

1) Relationship and prompt I have written for tielan before (MCU, Steve/Maria/Natasha/Bucky, the previous fic being Look Clear and Calm)

2) Really interesting relationship and prompt from a TV show I've only seen sporadic episodes of (Simon Basset/Anthony Bridgerton/Daphne Bridgerton/Kate Sharma (Bridgerton TV), The oldest son and oldest daughter of the Bridgerton family finding and settling on a sedoretu husband and wife for their familial quartet. In the middle of the season. With the ton looking on.)

3) Relationship I requested myself and would really like to se done, but I requested it because I'm not sure of my ability to write it and the canon is a TV show I haven't watched in almost 2 decades. (BSG, Lee/Kara/Sam/Dee)

4) Relationship I already wrote for this ficathon for my original assignment. (Star Wars Legends, Luke/Mara/Leia/Han, the other fic being Dawning Understanding)

And these were just the top four. There were 13 requested quartets and I could have written 10 of them! I was spoiled for choice! Honestly, it was a little bit paralyzing.

But in the end, I went with BSG, and decided that Wikipedia would have to be enough canon review. And it really did write itself; everything poured out. As always, for me, Dee was going to have a major role and survive; I love her and she was done so dirty by canon. Her death was the first time I got incandescently angry about a fridging because I could see it for what it was. And of the relationships in this foursome, Lee/Kara is my least favorite. (I am glad that in Kara we got to have a female character who was fucked up and messy and not punished for it or considered 'whiny,' but at the same time, there were a lot of other fucked up and messy female characters on that show, and a lot of the other character arcs interested me more than 'cosmic destiny + will she and Lee ever get their act together.' But I know that Lee/Kara is tielan's favorite! So as I was plotting out each section I had to restrain myself: how much Dee was too much? What could I find to say about the other three? Because if I was writing it for myself, the balance would have been very different. (But I think it would have been a weaker story, less balanced.)

A sedoretu is a specific organization of a poly marriage created by Ursula K. Le Guin in her short story "A Fisherman of the Inland Sea" aka "Another Story" available in a 1994 short story collection of the same name. It includes four people and specific arrangements of the relationships inside it. All people have a "moiety" that is considered as inherent as gender; the two moieties are Morning and Evening. Sex with someone of the same moiety is considered incest. The expected relationships within each sedoretu are: The Morning woman and the Evening man (the “Morning marriage”) The Evening woman and the Morning man (the “Evening marriage”) The Morning woman and the Evening woman (the “Day marriage”) The Morning man and the Evening man (the “Night marriage”) (i.e. two homosexual and two heterosexual pairings)

Here is the Fanlore explanation of it and the E2 explanation.

#fanfic #fic #battlestar galactica #sedoretu

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skyarly · 5 months

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For no reason in particular I decided a while back that I would watch all of pokemon. I have not seen all of it yet, but 468 episodes in (I've seen all of the first series and just finished advanced, besides a movie or two that I'm about to watch) I got a lot of thoughts about Ash and Gary's rivalry.

Gary's opinion of him for some reason just means the entire WORLD to Ash, but Gary knows next to nothing about who Ash even is at this point I think. It's only natural seeing as he has like 40 episodes max and a pretty decent amount of those are 5 second cameos and/or imagined.

Just think of all of the shit Ash gets into in all that time. He deals with Team Rocket just about every day, he solves several crimes (most of which were related to Team Rocket), he changes countless lives for the better, he dies twice (maybe three I know I missed at least one movie) and he subdues several gods.

But all Gary sees, and might ever see, is just the same kid he's always known. So far Gary has only seen Ash do anything of note like four times and the rest of the time it's just Ash losing as usual. And Gary does show respect for what he's seen Ash actually do, but he hasn't seen ANYTHING.

And yet? The opinion of this guy who doesn't know the first thing about him anymore matters so god damn much to Ash. And because of that he ends up just how Gary underestimates him every time they cross paths.

Gary's opinion means so much to Ash, that even though Gary acting more neutral toward him should be seen as an improvement, Ash seems to miss when Gary used to insult him. The fantasy sequence Ash has after receiving Gary's post card depicts him exactly as he was before season 1. Gary hasn't been like that for what's probably years at this point and Ash still can't wrap his head around the fact that Gary could have any respect for him whatsoever.

Ash just generally has some really weird priorities with where he gets his self-worth from. He really truly can only see the value in himself he gets from winning pokemon battles. Nothing else he does seems notable enough to mention.

I actually made a post about this a while ago because it was just so mind boggling to me, but when Ash fought Gary for the first time he bragged about two things. Being in a higher place than Gary at the Indigo League, and winning the Orange League. Okay sure those are pretty good things to brag about. But you know what probably would've sounded a bit more impressive?

Being called upon by name in a prophecy to help the water god stop the bird gods from destroying the entire earth.

And it's not like the second movie wasn't canon either, because Ash literally mentions it in the series at one point. (That one little arc with Richie and the Baby Lugia and Butch and Cassidy)

Ash is trying so hard to impress someone whose opinion of him is inherently skewed and shouldn't matter anyway, and Ash can't even see his own merits as a person besides being a pokemon trainer. Really sad, honestly.

#Not to mention all of the physical feats he does #Gary would be so impressed if he saw the time Ash threw the log I'm sure #By the way Gary is my favorite character I can see how this could make it seem like I don't like Gary #but no Gary rules I love him #I love Ash too I don't even remotely dislike either character I feel I should mention #pokemon #pokemon anime #Gary Oak #Ash Ketchum #can't wait to find out that actually Gary's perspective was revealed later or something and I had the entirely wrong idea lmao

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chansaw · 11 months

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Hey there! Hope you're hanging in there :) I'm someone who's constantly juggling project ideas and WIPs in their head, so I'm guessing you've got a lot to think about. But if you don't mind my asking, what are some aspects of your WIPs (any you want to talk about) that you're excited about? Scenes, or arcs, or themes, or whatever! Thank you!

HEY ANON!!!!!!!!! sorry this has been sittinig in my inbox for like EVER but its just because i have so much to talk about that my brain just kind of overheats like a macbook that's dying a slow and painful death.

okay first off: those of you who are familiar with my fics (shameless self plug) already know how much i enjoy writing existential horror, and i hope my yellowjackets animorphs au pays homage to that! applegrant (that is, k.a. applegate and her husband michael grant, who wrote the GONE series) gave me a deep appreciation and fascination for fucked up body horror stuff so i hope no return reflects that.

as for rottweilers: daniel waters' original pitch with heathers was "what if stanley kubrick wrote and directed a john hughes movie?" this is most evident in the cafeteria sequence at the start of the movement where veronica helps conduct the lunchtime poll; the whole scene was inspired by and pays tribute to the mess hall scenes in full metal jacket. heathers was probably the first movie to depict high school for what it really is: an active war zone.

yellowjackets challenges the viewer to consider "are the survivors the way they are because of the wilderness, or were they already monsters before the plane crashed?" personally, i think it's a little bit of both. however, one thing that's different between YJ and RW is that the yellowjackets already had an element of social cohesion before the crash - they went to parties together, jammed out in the locker room, etc. the westerburg girls are much more stratified, so the dynamics of power shift far more radically once their plane goes down. im excited to explore these tectonic shifts over the course of the story!

rottweilers is the most ambitious project i've ever decided to tackle - decidedly the longest. that's why i'm hoping to write at least four or five chapters in advance so i can drop them on a planned schedule. bc another part of what makes yellowjackets tick is its episodic nature, so hope that the end of each RW chapter/"episode" leaves you reeling the same way the cut to credits on yellowjackets does!

i'm also looking forward to weaving together the 1988 and 2013/14 (25 years later) timelines; it's such a fun narrative trick but it'll be challenging to pull off, even more so without the visual storytelling cues a tv show or movie would afford.

ANYWAYS SORRY this was a super long brain dump but i just love talking about my work so much so if you have any more questions ill try to answer them the best i can!!!! i love you anon and godspeed - we both got this o7

#yellowjackets animorphs au #rottweilers

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lackadaisicalnereid · 10 months

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top 5 tv episodes? top 5 songs (currently or Of All Time)??

top 5 tv episodes currently, in no particular order, things I've watched or rewatched recently:

1 sharp objects series finale 2 star trek strange new worlds s02e03 3 community s01e23 4 succession series finale 5 black sails s02e01

top 5 tv episodes ever, in no particular order 1 doctor who s01e09 father's day 2 btvs, s02e22, becoming part 2 3 twin peaks s02e22 beyond life and death 4 hannibal s02e13 mizumono 5 the west wing s02e22 two cathedrals

(also, @sunbelieving I loved both your asks (all four of your asks?) but writing the tv stuff took a lot out of me and I just do not have it in me to do the same for songs, which I think might be even more challenging. I might return to it later, however)

thinky-thoughts hidden below

sharp objects series finale

This is one of those cases where it's taken me years to get around to finally watching something I'm convinced I'll like. My life is like that, it makes no sense. It feels weird to single out one episode of a whole that is so strongly one thing, but the finale is where everything culminates & the first two thirds had my stomach in knots. The ending reveal montage was brilliant and gutting. Amy Adams and Eliza Scanlen are forever good in my books on the strength of the finale.

star trek strange new worlds s02e03

Love La'an and what she gets to do in this episode. It's both classic TOS shenanigans in a way that I thoroughly enjoy & it's also character developing in a way TOS arguably could not have been, as that was not really the tv landscape back in the day. I found her attachment to Kirk both sweet and heartbreaking, and there were some moments along the way I thought were just excellent fun, like Kirk getting them money by playing chess, because Kirk plays chess with his first officer in every universe, and La'an and Kirk choosing the same outfit when they go to the shop and need regular Earth clothing. Adelaide Kane put in a good performance as the guest star, and not only was the plot fun, but it also managed to advance some character arcs, primarily La'an's, but also Pelia's. All good in my book.

community s01e23 modern warfare

I accidentally rewatched a few episodes of Community yesterday and just had such incredible amounts of fun with this and some other episodes. The ability of the cast and crew to work across genres and plotlines and tropes and still have convincing characters and even character arcs, as well as relationship arcs, is still a brilliant accomplishment in my books. Also, early Jeff/Britta, what a wonderful sitcom disaster.

succession series finale

Look, I am not immune to siblings and tragedy. I would really love to say I have something to add to the immeasurable amounts of Succession discourse, but I am not sure I do. The final sibling argument scene wherein Kendall, for a shot at the throne, takes back his confession of murder (manslaughter probably?) which was what jump started his patching-things-up-with-the-siblings and was arguably the moment they were all most there for each other in the whole series? Horrifying, beautiful, stupid, inevitable. Tragic.

black sails s02e01

I have decided to cheer for all thing queer and fun and my friends that I am watching this with are both highly into this as well, so it's not necessarily the episode itself that I enjoyed so much, as it was my experience of watching it, but I treasure it. Also, I cannot believe I am getting attached to John Silver of all fictional characters in all the pirate gin joints, but what can you do, I am weak, someone save me.

top tv episodes of all time, in no particular order

Honestly, there's like an extremely slim chance that this is actually my top 5 episodes of tv ever, but I'm really trying here & will try to explain my thinky thoughts. Having written the list and given it a bit of a thing, there's definitely a theme here of themes being developed & brought to escalation, plotlines being finished, tragic and horrible choices being made, high stakes, and (the least in the case of the doctor who episode) the landscape of the show and of what the show is/means being changed forever by the episode.

doctor who s01e09 father's day

Listen, I know. I hear you. I want to say ANYTHING basically with Amy. Amy is forever my favorite Doctor Who companion. But on my recent Doctor Who re-watch I discovered depths of appreciation I did not know I had for Father's Day. I love Rose's self-centeredness, and Nine's anger and then angered resignation to it, which inevitably ends in honest forgiveness. I always cry over Nine's speech to the young couple.

DOCTOR: How did all this get started? STUART: Outside the Beatbox Club, two in the morning. SARAH: Street corner. I'd lost my purse, didn't have money for a taxi. STUART: I took her home. DOCTOR: Then what? Asked her for a date? SARAH: Wrote his number on the back of my hand. STUART: Never got rid of her since. My dad said. SARAH: I don't know what this is all about, and I know we're not important. DOCTOR: Who said you're not important? I've traveled to all sorts of places, done things you couldn't even imagine, but you two. Street corner, two in the morning, getting a taxi home. I've never had a life like that. Yes. I'll try and save you.

tears

(But also, you know. AMY POND.)

btvs becoming part 2

Listen, I know. There's so much of BTVS that's dear to me, and it's hard to pick any one thing and be happy with your choice. But I recently rewatched the first two seasons and was surprised at how much I felt during Becoming. Even as someone who is not extremely attached to Angel/Buffy, the setup and the tragedy of it is beautiful, imo, & SMG's terrific beyond words. And I am a sucker for high stakes. Also, whatever one thinks of Xander's not-telling-Buffy thing, as someone who's just watched s2 of Warrior Nun, DEAR SISTERS IN CHRIST, do I wish someone working on that show was not afraid of having a character make such a radical move. And not just in a show like Succession, where it does not weigh the same, because everyone's choices are horrible exactly all of the time, but in a show about teenagers, super-powered and not, just honest-to-god trying to prevent apocalypses. Not to mention the whole Angelus arc leading us to Buffy killing him. And the fallout from this arguably follows everyone in the main cast until the end of the show. Also, the No weapons…no friends…no hope. Take all that away and what's left? Me. Gets me every time.

twin peaks s2 finale

Still contains the single most terrifying scene I have seen in my life. Honestly, I don't even want to talk about it. Imagine the worst thing that could possibly happen in a show that is ostensibly about the struggle between good and evil and then that exact thing happening. It is horrifying in a visceral, existential way. I don't wanna talk about it, alright.

hannibal season 2 finale

Not me getting attached to fictional men, noooooooo. Why. Also, it's starting to look, as I am writing this, that I am way more into tragedy than I would normally say about myself, and I am not sure what to do with that. There's something so beautifully harrowing and horrifying about the obviously inevitable fallout from Will going through with his planned betrayal and then not being able to actually do it. Hannibal making a family for them and then taking it away. Abigail murdered by a father, again. Alana betrayed, Jack betrayed, all of them relevant victims that in their own right that command BOTH Will and Hannibal's love and respect, but in other ways utterly meaningless because of how blind & careless Will, and Hannibal in particular, can be towards people that are not Will and Hannibal. "Falling in love with a god is not a death sentence. The story is only a tragedy if the god loves you back."

the west wing season 2 finale

The tragedy, the elation, the fucking putting of hands into pockets. YOU GET HOYNES. The Brothers In Arms needle drop to stand supreme to all other needle drops.

(also i apparently have a thing for s2 finales whatdoyoudo. I guess it makes sense to some degree, because shows need to take time to become themselves and then afterwards often they go into directions you don't like. season 2, obviously for me, statistically, is when the show has found itself - whatever the show is, it is that the most in season 2, seems to be my judgment.)

#ask games #doctor who #btvs #black sails #the west wing #hannibal #community #sharp objects #succession #star trek #strange new worlds #twin peaks

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tuiyla · 1 year

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so I was never really on the leighton/tatum train (they were cute and had great chemistry but I always liked the idea of leighton’s endgame love interest being someone who didn’t really come from her world, I guess, whether that’s alicia or a new girl — and I did have a soft spot for leighlicia’s banter) but I also have a lot of issues with how tatum’s character was written off and the pacing. you also brought up such a good point that it makes no sense how the “new” leighton wasn’t a little more empathetic and didn’t try to explain to tatum what she loved about the women’s center - the fact that she discarded her so quickly, paired with the fact that she didn’t return to or even think of her women’s center friends at all until ep9, did make it look like she just suddenly wanted alicia back after that text, which is not what I think the writers were going for lol. I do wonder if you think the 25 min, 10 episode season format is partially to blame, along with the decision to rush through the rest of freshman year? I feel like all the arcs this season, for the other girls too, had the potential to be good, but they were pretty much all rushed - I think the only storyline that really worked for me and felt satisfying/earned was whitney finding her major. I don’t know, I’m sorry to rant, but I’ve found your takes interesting & wanted to say that even as a leighlicia fan who kinda got what she want, I didn’t feel satisfied and tatum’s character did deserve better :(

I really appreciate you Anon because you get what I'm saying. I try to be clear that I don't care all that deeply about who it is Leighton is with and ultimately I just want her to be happy and have a good story behind that. So all my criticisms aren't because I'm a bitter Tatum stan, I just think this wasn't done well.

I wish there was an episode before ep 9 where Leighton mentioned the women's center or it came up in some context where Leighton acted more woke than anyone expected her to and she realized how much she learned from them and that she did miss them. Didn't even have to be an actual episode's storyline maybe just one scene. That would already have made it make more sense, but then on top of that have Tatum dismiss that and make Leighton uncomfortable with how much she's like s1 Leighton. But no, all we had was zero mentions of the women's center and Tatum being nothing but a good supportive understanding reassuring gf. Wtf how am I supposed to be fine with Leighton blowing up at her for one mistake after that? And really my main problem is that this way it seems like Leighton's just talking out of her ass and her development doesn't nearly have adequate weight behind it, therefore feeling empty. I wouldn't have even cared about throwing Tatum under the bus but do it properly.

I think the format is to blame, partially. I've heard it said before and I agree that Sex Lives is a show that would benefit from the more traditional 20-22 episode season structure, or at least 45 minute-hour long episodes. I get it, those minutes are mostly for dramas but there's only so much balancing the show can do between four leads and their pocket universe storylines. Maybe even just 16 episodes of the same length. But also the main issue is that they decided to rush freshman year, and more specifically with Leighton that for some reason they wanted to speedrun what could have been half a season's worth of development in a few scenes. I don't get it, because the other girls were all left on varying degrees of cliffhangers. Maybe at the end of this season we could have had Leighton return to the women's center but have that be an actual milestone instead of a throwaway decision as a result of wanting to see Alicia. Imo it could have had a much bigger impact and then the landing is automatically better. Really just many ways to improve the messy way in which they handled Leighton.

I think Kimberly's was a bit rushed but overall still better paced, and I'd straight up say Bela's arc was just good and well-timed. Which proves to me that they can do it, just maybe not four at the same time idk. Also just from a selfish point of view I'd kill to have longer seasons because I need more day in the life from these girls and I so wish this was a network comedy with a bunch of comfort episodes to just play on a loop.

Anyway, thanks for this Anon, thanks for reading my ramblings and thanks for stopping by. I love it when people actually hear what I'm saying haha. So by all means rant to me any time! TSLOCG is the most passionate I've been about a new show in a while and the more people reach out the less I have to will myself to go in the tags and subsequently block a bunch of people. And yeah I'm happy for your ship and I'm happy for Leighton's happiness but this is what I mean, bad writing makes even one's own ship taste bittersweet. I hope they don't just start season 3 by writing Alicia out immediately but we'll actually see a new dynamic.

#anon #thanks this was nice to read #tslocg asks #tslocg #leighton murray

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skeleton-in-a-hoodie · 1 year

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Trying to figure out if Ghost Splinter 2 should be a series, or if it'd work better as one long fic. This is just gonna be me working through my thoughts + is basically a plot summary of what I've got so far

Arcs wise there's about 4.

Arc 1: Splinter dying and then hiding it from his kids.

At the end of The Super Shredder/ Darkest Plight Splinter dies of his injuries, but refuses to cross over so becomes a ghost. The episodes between this and Requiem are pretty much the same, only Splinter is more involved in the plot.

Everyone notices he's acting weird, but put it down to yet another near death experience. Donnie does become increasingly worried about Splinter though, fearing his father is sick and either hiding it or hasn't realised it yet.

Splinter slowly gets a handle on his powers, but only to the extent that he can hide he's dead. Over the course of this arc, he spends more time with all his children, strengthening his relationships with them, and begins making plans to tell them what happened to him.

Arc 2: Everyone finds out Splinter died

Splinter's battle with Shredder on top of the Wolf Hotel results in him being exposed as a ghost.

His relationships with his children are fragile, with them all being some form of angry at him. This also complicates their relationships with one another, in that Leo and Donnie don't understand why Raph isn't as angry with Splinter as they are, Mikey trying to play family therapist whilst not fully dealing with his own feelings, and April and Casey also disagreeing on what Splinter did.

Eventually there's a conversation with Splinter. Leo tells him that none of them forgive him, and there's a lot of trust lost, but they're also fed up of living with non-stop tension. The door is open for him to rebuild his relationships with them, but it's going to take time.

Splinter starts losing control of his ghost powers, but refuses to tell anyone. Rat dad is quite literally falling to peices and sweeping it under the rug. Being able to tell Splinter is still keeping stuff from them does not help Leo or Donnie's opinion of him and just worried Raph and Mikey even more.

Arc 3: Shredder dies and the after effects of that

Splinter finds out Shredder is still alive and decides to handle it himself.

Post-fight, he looses complete control of his ghost powers and gets a hair's breadth away from destabilising. Him being stuck in ghost form makes everyone deal with the situation, which they weren't really doing before. Also he starts rebuilding his relationships with them.

New York erupts into gang wars now that Shredder is dead.

At some point Splinter makes his new form.

Ends with the family all going out to investigate reports of missing homeless people and getting a warning from Xever.

Arc 4: Kavaxas

Tiger Claw raises Shredder from the dead. The family has to now fight the resurrected Shredder, Kavaxas, and an army of ghosts.

More or less a test of the family and their new bonds. Also gives Splinter a chance to go ham with his ghost powers

Other stuff

The family going back to the under city to recover Splinter's body and give him a proper burial

Renet and Mikey talking about everything that's happened recently

Splinter getting several ghostly visits

More information on what his and Saki's relationship was like pre love triangle

Donnie doing research into ghosts

Maybe bits from Season 5, like when everyone thinks Mikey is dead and he comes back with electrical powers. This might work better as a smaller fic or a oneshot. Not sure yet

So in theory this could be one long fic with four major arcs, or four smaller fics. At the moment I'm leaning towards a long fic with the title 'The Whole Being Dead Thing' and if I want to do any one shots or shorter stories then I can make it a series

#tmnt #tmnt 2012 #tmnt au #ghost splinter 2 electric boogalo

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queen-boudicca · 2 years

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Next up in the nuwho rewatch, the end of the world!

I've also decided to add two things to each post: whether the episode passes the bechdel test (in anticipation of the moffat era bc I'm petty) and whether it makes me cry. For this episode:

Bechdel test pass: yes

Makes me cry: no (but almost though)

The end of the world

"I know exactly where to go" *takes her to the destruction of her planet* good job nine

"You lot. You spend all your time thinking about dying. Like you're gonna get killed by eggs or beef or global warming or asteroids. But you never take time to imagine the impossible. That maybe you survive" help

The music is so beautiful help

This one has some bits a little like Martha's theme

"Mind you, when i say 'the great and good', what i mean is the rich" ily so much nine

Jabe!! I love her

The adherents of the repeated meme [insert ah bit like you then]

"I give you, in return, air from my lungs" he's so smooth omg

"Ladies and gentlemen and trees and multiforms" the four genders

'The Arctic desert' — is that a commentary on global warming or Cassandra being a liar

If there were only a few songs that survived the destruction of the earth and were what people remembered us by, tainted love and toxic are pretty good bops I'm not complaining

God the way they introduced the time war and destruction of gallifrey are so fucking good

Nine's offhand mention of fighting in the war in the previous episode, the way jabe scans for his species and doesn't believe it, etc

It's so well done!!

The way Rose doesn't talk at all to any of the fancy rich people at the party but happily (and more comfortably) strikes up conversation with the workers she meets on the station!! Such good characterization you love to see it

She asks Raffalo for her name immediately and emotionally opens up to her

"Thank you for the permission. Not many people are that considerate" they really said fuck the rich

Rip my girl, Raffalo. You were super sweet and i miss you

"They're just so alien! The aliens are so alien. You look at them... and they're alien" ily rose

And he's like evading her questions about who he is and where he's from and when she doesn't stop he gets angry and ugh his arc is so good

And she can tell it's a sore topic for him so she breaks the tension w a joke

They're so good for each other

ROSE'S THEME MY BELOVED

Love how there's a button on his keyboard that lowers the sun filter and instakills anyone inside

Maybe they shouldn't have added that when they did the designs

Jabe and nine besties

I want an au where she and Raffalo survived and traveled with nine and rose and are their respective besties

Not sure I'm a big fan of the implications that cosmetic surgery makes you less human/real

"I just wanted to say how sorry i am" and she's touching his arm and comforting him and aagh the tears in his eyes and he's touching her hand too and WE COULD HAVE HAD IT ALL RTD WHY DID SHE HAVE TO DIE i know why it's bc (a) he would've invited her to come with and they didn't wanna deal w that (b) we needed the first person we see comfort him to die saving him bc he's not allowed to be happy and neither am i

Seriously though they've been really good this episode about making you care about the minor characters that die (i mean most of them. Not very torn up about the steward)

TOXIC

Such a bop

That's why they had such bad special effects; they blew all their budget on song rights

I mean the heat in the room would've killed her way before the direct beam of sunlight would've but oh well

The spider robots are really kinda cute shame they're evil

Really polite of her to monologue her entire plan

Great design, putting the important switch on the other side of all the fan blades

Nine baby if you hadn't argued with her and just ran there probably would've been time

DON'T TURN AROUND AND LOOK AT HER JUST GO

oh damn rip the moxx of balhoun ig

JABE NO

Nine's theme my beloved

Wow the earth kinda looked like an eye while it was exploding

Angry nine is so good i love it

The definition of people is a technicality the courts will argue over? Oh please

First of all they're not even speaking English and there's way the doctor would've used a word that didn't mean like sapient beings or some shit

Also c'mon like there aren't laws against killing sentient beings by the year 5 billion regardless of what word you use

Rose's theme again my beloved

"You think it'll last forever. People and cars and concrete. But it won't. One day, it's all gone. Even the sky." I'm fine

Nine's theme again my beloved

I'm beginning to think they didn't have that much music composed for this

Next up, ghosts and Charles Dickens and Gwen's great great great grandmother!

#nuwhorewatch #ninth doctor #the end of the world #doctor who

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beautifulduckweed · 3 months

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Get to Know Me Memes

Thanks for the tag, @afewbulbsshortofatanningbed! I'm procrastinating furiously, and I would absolutely so much rather do this than anything else right now.

Last Song: That Jack Harlow song except it's about chinchillas:

Favorite Color: Uhhh either hot pink, dark purple, or eye-searing teal.

Last Book: A Power Unbound by Freya Marske. This book has so many great bits, but also so many bits that were infuriating, inconsistent with established canon, broke previously established rules, or just plain made no sense, that it ended up being one of the worst books I've read in quite a while. It was at its best when it allowed the protagonists to be tender and intimate with each other, which meant that the last two chapters were the only ones that didn't make me want to thump my head gently against the wall.

Last Movie: No Time to Die. The tallwife and I decided it was time for us to finally sit down and (re)watch all five Daniel Craig Bond movies, and I gotta say, Casino Royale and Skyfall absolutely hold up---Skyfall in particular feels like a good movie, period, and the best Bond movie yet. The other three movies were entertaining but a hot mess. No Time to Die made many people furious with its ending, but I enjoyed Bond's character arc there, especially in the context of the four movies that preceded it, and especially because we'd watched the movies in rapid succession.

Last TV Show: Delicious in Dungeon, which is absolutely cuckoo bananas bonkers. Highly recommended. Anime on Netflix about a party of D&D-esque adventurers who are so broke that they have to make their way through the dungeon with zero money for provisions. The solution: cook and eat the monsters they slay! Every episode lovingly goes through the proper preparation methods and talks about the importance of eating balanced meals. If you miss original flavor Iron Chef and love D&D, you 1000% need to watch this show.

Sweet/Spicy/Savory: Savory!

Relationship Status: Le married

Last Thing I Googled: That chinchilla Tiktok

Current Obsession: Trying to slowly and painfully wrench my wardrobe around from "buy whatever's cheap and sort of fits" into something resembling a coherent aesthetic. And my true loves---romance novels in general and KJ Charles romance novels in particular---are never far from my mind.

Looking Forward To: Visiting @theglintoftherail and @etoilesombre in March, aaaaahhhh it's gonna be so great!

get to know me(me)

Three Ships: Jerry Crozier/Alec Pyne from Any Old Diamonds. Utterly obsessed with their dynamic. Kim Secretan/Will Darling from the Will Darling Adventures, because what's not to love about a twisty secretive angsty shit + stoic oblivious dude with a boatload of war trauma? Also Arthur/Eames from Inception, I will never not love that universe in general and those two in particular. Just thinking about them makes me want to reread weatherfront's Inception fics.

First Ship: Man, it was probably Todd/Neil from Dead Poets' Society? I watched that movie when I was 11 or 12 years old, and it hit me like a truck, but I had no way to express the horrible yearning I had for Neil to have a different ending, and for him and Todd to remain VERY CLOSE FRIENDS forever.

Currently Reading: King Solomon's Mines. Hilariously, am reading this for KJ Charles reasons, because Think of England is set in that universe and I want more background info on Archie Curtis's adventure-loving guncles. I enjoyed this a whole lot as a child (I think I first read it when I was 11?) and reading it as an adult is...an experience. Colonialism: What a drug!

Currently Watching: Delicious in Dungeon; also slowly catching up on Lower Decks (which is proceeding at a snail's pace because we don't have Paramount Plus, we watch an episode or two every few weeks at a friend's house).

Currently Craving: A Cosmic Crisp apple and some cheddar cheese. For whatever reason, my body has decided that This Is Food and very few other things are. Fuckin' bodies.

As always with these things, I'm not tagging anyone. Feel free to jump in if you, too, are in the mood to talk about yourself and are trying to put off actually thinking about or working on something.

#asks #memes #get to know me

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stardomthenightwing · 2 years

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For anyone wondering why I was off the internet a lot lately, let me explain. @istanstardom gave me advice, and rather than being stubborn like usual and not taking it, I actually took it (Probably because it wasn't parental advice). I actually took time for myself, even though I wanted to be on the internet, and have realized the beauty of the world around me! Ok, just kidding, no, I didn't go outside, I started watching a new show; like what do you take me for, a jock? I'm a total nerd, I haven't seen the sun in years...

Anyways, so I've been watching those cartoon critics lately, and they all say the same thing, "STEVEN UNIVERSE IS GaRbAgE". And usually, the following line pops up, "MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC IS A MUCH BETTER SHOW".

I've been an avid cartoon watcher since I was born, so on my journey of self-discovery, I mean break, I decided to see if MLP was better than SU. Yes, I am a boy, but that doesn't affect my "professional" opinion of this show. Yes, I am also a huge action fan, but that doesn't affect my opinion of this show's genre.

For all my fellow boy followers and SU fans, I watched MLP so you don't have to, and here are my thoughts:

I've only seen four seasons, so I'll only be covering four seasons.

1. The characters are really well-done, and their development is realistic:

- Despite being a kid's show, this show doesn't really seem like it's for kids sometimes. MLP tackles lessons about friendship that I don't think many of us as kids are yet to resolve in our adult lives. In the episode, "Lesson Zero", a problem that I still struggle with is expressed and resolved. It's an episode about overworking yourself and stressing over not getting the perfect grade; a little side lesson about listening to your friend's problems, even if they're strange, is included as well. I still struggle with this overworking yourself problem, and it made me smile to watch Twilight Sparkle understand that she doesn't always have to be perfect with her work. This show does a good job of making sure you clear up all your common flaws before adulthood.

- The Mane Six are given an equal share of character development episodes and are very relatable. I can see a bit of myself in every single one of these characters. I'm a nerd like Twilight Sparkle. I'm a perfectionist like Rarity. I'm an introvert like Fluttershy. I'm an optimist like Rainbow Dash, who likes to read about adventures. I'm surprisingly physically talented like Applejack. And then there's Pinky Pie; I was exactly like her when I was a little kid, but now, not so much.

- One problem with having a lot of filler episodes about character development is that when it’s overdone, it’s not very entertaining. The show introduces that there is a storyline in the first episode, and then, that storyline is ignored for an entire season until we see Princess Luna get a redemption arc in "Luna Eclipsed". Because this is a kid's show that wasn't aiming high at the story element at first with its first season, I can see why the story was structured this way. It is a little weird how Discord showed up out of nowhere in the second season. I've noticed that the only real problems with character development in this show lies with the villains. They kind of just show up, are given a backstory and then are defeated in a two-part episode. There were no mentions of changelings up until the season 2 final, and King Sombra just existed in season 3's first two-part episode. You can defend King Sombra with the argument that little was known about the Crystal Empire, but seriously, that whole kingdom just showed up in season 3's first two-part episode with no warning. Maybe a little mention in the season 2 final from Cadance that she's the princess of the fallen Crystal Empire; that was much needed. We're getting off topic here, but I think this show needs to hint at its story in episodes prior to the season final; that's about it for complaints.

- I really recommend that you watch this show if you can handle a lot of filler episodes. The experience of the story episodes feel more rewarding when you watch them because the filler episodes tie in with the storyline pretty well.

2. This show has really good continuation:

- All I have to say for this section is that things in previous episodes are not forgotten often. This show has incredible continuation, some of it even ties into development. Fluttershy is taught the simple phrase "hop, skip and jump" in the episode "Dragonfly", and this phrase is then repeated in the episode "Feeling Pinkie Keen" to demonstrate how far Fluttershy has come with her anxiety; she's literally the first to hop the rocks, like aren't you proud of her watching that? Honestly, when I watched that scene, it blew my mind! For a kid's show, the writers do pay attention to detail alright!

3. The animation:

- Personally, this show has helped me understand a lot about four-legged anatomy, which is something I'm struggling to draw.

- I like how the characters aren't all outlined in black, they're each given a unique color.

4. The characters:

- Let’s talk about the Mane Six first. My personal favorite is either Twilight Sparkle or Rainbow Dash. I can relate to both a lot, but that’s not the point. As I mentioned earlier, each of these characters are given a balanced amount of development episodes throughout the show.

. Twilight Sparkle starts out as a pony with no friends who isn’t looking for any either and learns the magic of friendship throughout the show. They did her introverted smartness very well and handled her stress and overworking qualities beautifully.

. Rainbow Dash is such a girlboss; she’s the perfect kind of character for a show like this. She’s funny, optimistic and has realistic aspirations. I love characters with big dreams and determination to reach them.

. Fluttershy is probably like the most well-developed character in the show. She starts off not even being able to speak to Twilight (Wow, just like me in real life) and goes all the way to learning to be assertive and just. There’s so much I can say about this character, I could probably even make a whole post talking about her development, but we don’t have time for that.

. Rarity is definitely the inspiration for Pearl in Steven Universe. They are both perfectionist hard workers who make weird noises when in distress. I don’t care what you say, Rebecca has definitely seen MLP. Anyways, Rarity presents herself as a total Karen at first who doesn’t like children. Like, you see how she treats her sister right? But then she learns how to be a good sibling through the power of learning that you have to do things for people sometimes that you don’t want to do. Honestly, great character to add in this show. Rarity helps us older siblings understand how to treat our younger siblings.

. Applejack is another one of those hardworking characters. Her character arc mostly consisted of unhealthy stubbornness in refusal to ask for help, getting over failure, and that’s about it. Applejack didn’t really seem like a character who needed much development, but I feel like her episodes do express some interesting themes.

. Pinky Pie is a party animal who doesn’t really seem like a character in need of development on the surface, but deep below, she actually has a great development arc. It’s very interesting how the writers of the show properly addressed Pinky Pie’s reactions to her responsibilities. Pinky Pie learns how to handle freaking children, that’s a crazy lesson for a character to learn in a kid’s show. She learns betrayal and abandonment and accepts the fact that not everyone needs to like her. For a generally silly character, she shows amazing growth. Almost makes me wonder if she was Spinel inspiration for Rebecca. I mean, Pinky Pie does have a dark side…

- The side characters in the show are done pretty interestingly from minor villains like Trixie to a zebra that speaks in AB rhyme scheme. To be honest, as strange as the world of MLP is, I love it! It has that Earthbound vibe! I only really have a problem with The Cutie Mark Crusaders. For some reason, I just find them annoying at times.

- The villains in this show are kind of, eh. We barely ever see villains appear in filler episodes, and the villains we have in the show don't get enough screen time. I mean, Discord was due for a redemption arc way earlier than when he got it; a season and a half with no mentions or appearances, like seriously, that's long enough for the audience to forget his existence. I kind of also wish we got a Princess Luna song. That moment in "Luna Eclipsed" where Luna goes away from town, thinking that the ponies will never accept her, could have made the perfect moment for a "Drift Away" type song. Oh yeah, King Sombra was also just shoved into season 3 to depict slavery in the show; that villain was just, why?

5. The nostalgia:

- The thing that draws me to this show so much is how nostalgic it makes me feel. I took a break from the internet to go back in time and reflect on how I've changed; I haven't always been an internet guy. This show hits hard because it has that Steven Universe season 1 humor; I felt like I was watching a show again as an adult because I understood all the jokes and references, even though I never watched this show as a kid. MLP is a great show to watch with the family because its content aims for all ages to my surprise.

6. Final Thoughts:

This is a really good show. I kind of wish I watched it when I was just a little bit younger. I've only seen half the show, so I'm not sure if it gets any better (It probably does). It's a great show for anyone to watch, but it lacks things like action and can be a bit girly. The songs in the show are nowhere near as good as Steven Universe though.

Overall, I can't say the show isn't better than Steven Universe because I haven't seen all of it, but so far, Steven Universe is better. SU has some things that MLP doesn't have, and MLP has some things that SU doesn't have. In the end, it comes down to personal preference. And man do I enjoy those SU fight scenes and fusion moments!

Also, I've never said bro so much in my life while watching something. Some of the things that happen in MLP are just... what? And then I'm like, "bro, why did that just happen?"

I'm writing a 1,000-word argument on why MLP is a good show to make myself not look crazy to my followers, what has my life come to? I feel way too passionate about things that really don't matter.

Feel free to reblog this analysis on this show to defend your liking of it!

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organic-guacamole · 3 years

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I've got a lot of thoughts on this finale.

starting with the length.

27 minutes? really?

I'm not asking for a 2 hour episode but cmon, at least give us something closer to 40 minutes.

next, the characters

the characters just didn't feel like themselves, especially portwell.

all season long we saw how much potential they had, how well communicated they were, how good they were at being a proper, healthy couple, and now they just can't talk to each other?

it doesn't feel like them.

portwell had arguably the best set up of all the other ships, they showed us how good they had the potential to be only to throw in a cheap plot to wrap it up? I would understand that they want some angst to make the ending all the more satisfying, but this was pathetic.

there I said it.

of all the ways to add drama in a ship, don't use the one that completely contradicts their entire development.

paired with the length of the episode, it seemed even more poorly written.

here I made a lovely, handy dandy homemade graph to represent how I see portwell's storyline:

as i said before, we saw the build up being nearly perfect. they peaked during episodes 9-11 because they just had the chemistry, the communication, and the most potential to be the endgame couple.

they just got eachother.

then we get Jamie popping in for 10 seconds and erasing a lot of that, only for mediator Ashlyn to jump in and solve their problems.

then there's the "kiss".

I know that Sofia is underage and that even if she/her legal guardians consent to the kiss, the writers can still decide not to show it, but still. In my opinion, if you're not going to show the kiss, then don't bother.

there are other ways to establish a relationship that would work better in this situation. Of course if they get together they'll have to kiss sometime, but one way they could postpone it is by having Gina be a bit more reluctant to give away her first kiss like that. it could also show how accomodating EJ is.

I like to think that Gina is very meticulous when making decisions so she'll probably want to be very sure of the relationship before giving him her first kiss. perhaps she'd stick to cheek kisses until she's ready, and then she kisses him and he's surprised.

that would've been, in my opinion, a sufficient way to hold off the kiss while still wrapping up portwell until season 3 when Sofia would be 18 (assuming they get picked up for S3 this summer then start filming fall-winter. Sofia will be 18 in January).

as my friend @rtcosley (idk why it's not letting me tag them, so their page is linked) said,

"They created like 10 plots

And instead of wrapping it up

They added 4 more"

there's just so much more they could've done...it's the season finale for crying out loud.

I get that seblos already had (what I assume is) their storyline for the season, the fight and resolution. Ignoring the fact that that only lasted for 2 episodes and didn't have anything to do with what we were expecting, (i.e.the financial differences between their families, as mentioned in episode 1, the fact that everyone treats seb like he's stupid, this being carlos' first show and the drama that the stress of that caused, etc.), seblos had to purpose this episode than to stand next to eachother and be gay.

I get that they're not part of the core four or anything, but the poster for season 2 has all of them, as opposed to season 1 just being the core four.

They deserved better, just like redlyn and kowie.

redlyn's arc was pretty early in the season compared to the other ships. they had Ashlyn confessing her insecurities in episode 3, antoine stirring the pot of confusion and causing a bit of distance between them briefly, and then big red confessing his goals and plans for the future in episode 8 and for the rest of it, we just see them getting closer and more comfortable with each other and caring about each other more and more.

they had a good arc together.

but that's just it. I wanted to see them have their own arcs. but then again, this show can't seem to balance multiple storylines. I think it is possible, but not when they keep adding new characters that don't contribute anything much to the story(more on that later).

kowie's storyline is... confusing.

I really like their dynamic, how carefree and happy Kourtney gets around him, how she's remaining true to herself and managing a million and one things, plus a relationship in her own without losing herself to it all.

but the main issue I have is that the entire development was never shown.

we went from strangers, to coworkers, to friends that flirt, to lovers that text constantly and went on numerous dates (and Howie met her mother at some point). but all of that, was off screen.

it's like the writers made every episode with them in it kind of thrown in at a new stage of relationship progression and said "here, accept this, no questions asked because we don't have answers"

I just wish we could've seen more of howie trying to get in her good side again after episode 7 because it seems like that's when a lot of it happened.

I appreciate the Rini scene in this episode, seems to be the very end of them, for good this time.

i'm happy about that.

Ricky especially deserves to be free for a while to focus on his development, and Nini has the chance now to really shine through her talents and make a name for herself.

The Rini storyline is the only one I'm fully satisfied with.

now, that being said;

what the heck are they trying to pull with Lily and Ricky rn???

just like that.

after lily being the villain this whole season, they're just gonna not redeem her and then have her confess her feelings to Ricky, a guy she barely knows and only talked to to harass and intimidate, and for him to reject her publicly then call her afterwards?

please I hope it's just to say "you dropped something, here it is and never contact me again, thanks." /hj

speaking of the villains, this season was promoted as the season of rivalry between North and East High right? so why did that plot idea only progress in about 3 out if 12 episodes?

we got Zackey Roy in there for a few episodes then he disappeared, Lily just caused Gina to stay true to her friends in episode 2 and 7 and then basically did nothing else?

this is what I mean by the new characters providing nothing to the show.

the writers can't manage having so many characters and plots at once so they start so many promising arcs, only to kick them aside later on.

we already know that the first half of the season felt like filler episodes, so I think they could've cut those down to leave room for the more important plots to take root, rather than have them pop up and get rushed at the end of the season.

all that, and they just add 4 more plots at the end of the season.

this post sounds very negative looking back...but if I'm being honest with myself, I'm just very very disappointed.

I love this show so much and I really expected better for the season finale, especially if they don't know if it's getting renewed or not.

given the IMDB ratings of this episode so far, I don't have very high expectations for the renewal, but I'm still hopeful because this show is a great thing, one of the best things that happened to me over the course of this quarantine. I've become so attached to this show, the cast and the friends I made through it, that I don't know what I would do if it just ends like this. writing these reviews and posts about this season has been so fun for me to do and thinking that this may be the very last one is a painful thought.

I'm sorry if you were expecting this post to be as light-hearted as my other posts about the episodes, I just had a lot to say about this episode in particular.

all my episode posts are tagged with "#guac's episode text blocks :)" in case you wanna read through and reminisce the simpler times🥲

#it got kinda cheesy at the end there oops #i love this fandom so much #i cant imagine if we dont get s3 #hsmtmts #hsmtmts s2 #hsmtmts season 2 #hsmtmts season 2 finale #hsmtmts spoilers #guac's episode text blocks :)

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beautifulterriblequeen · 3 years

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Trickster: an Ethari theory

I've had yea many Ethari headcanons, and I hope I live to have yea many more. Most of them are probably wrong, or incomplete at best. But boy are they fun.

I love to wonder what Ethari will really be like in canon when we get to know him for more than 3 minutes, but whoever he really is on his own, he will have an effect on Runaan , Rayla, and everyone who loves him, because they love him.

The first headcanon I can remember having for "Tinker" was that he could be like Leonardo da Vinci: a genius, creative, surrounded by beautiful ideas given shape by his hands, but also capable of creating deadly weapons, enchantments, and devices with equal beauty, and perhaps not really seeing where the line between them was. It was fun, but Ethari has ended up far softer than my headcanon, and I love and support him in his softness!

After a nice string of Ethari headcanons, this year I've started poking at the Trickster archetype and seeing if it applies to him. And I think it absolutely does!

Tricksters often seem like Chaos. But they're not. They're just Difference. "Chaos" is subjective. Like the "divergent" in "neurodivergent." Who says? Divergent from what, exactly? Perspective matters, and Tricksters have a very broad take on things which allows them to think outside any box people might try to invite them into.

My enjoyment of Loki has brought all kinds of ideas to my dash with the arrival of the Loki show. I've got a copy of the Edda, and I highlighted the hell out of it a couple of years ago as I searched for the roots of Loki's origin story. (It's truly fascinating reading and the symbolic language hidden inside their poetry is dazzlingly amazing and I'm super using it sometime just so you know)

Loki is a Trickster, and he's far from alone in myth and legend. Anansi, Coyote, and Sun Wukong are some you may have heard of. Aaravos is another, of course. Tricksters can be called upon to lend aid and wisdom when the rules don't have an answer for some extraordinary circumstance which the Trickster's people find themselves in. But that's not because they are truly outside the rule of order. They are actually a part of it. They are the catch-all for when the everyday ordinary rules fail people, and something "unthinkable"--in the literal sense--might just hold the answer.

This post crossed my dash today, and something finally clicked in my head, and all of this coalesced from what felt like separate places. But they're not separate, not anymore! Serotonin, baby. It's basically upped my headcanon to a full-blown theory.

What caught my eye was an answer to why Ethari's clothing is so determinedly asymmetrical, compared to Runaan's specifically, but Moonshadows in general. It's because of this:

Long protective sleeves below patterns on shoulders. A high collar paired with a bright and noticeable swoop around the neck. Fine detailing and graceful taste. Asymmetrical tunic point on the left, below broad strappy leather. Knee high boots with stylish protective gaiters.

And let's not forget the curling horns! In some comics, Loki has a broken horn. So does Ethari.

Yes, there is a lot of similarity here, but I'm not focused so much on the visuals as the reason they were chosen. Feel free to consider other aspects of Ethari's personality and how they might be similar to certain parts of Loki's. I did! But I wouldn't be me if I didn't go deeper than that.

My favorite book in the universe (so far) is Lois McMaster Bujold's The Curse of Chalion, and one of the many reasons why is because of her pantheon. It holds five gods, represented by a hand: Father, Mother, Son, Daughter, and Bastard. The first four all have their roles and places. The Bastard--the thumb--inherits everything else. He is the god of all things that do not belong to any other gods, and that includes self-sacrificing vengeance and queerness. He is a Trickster, and his influence on Cazaril's life is far deeper than at first glance. Chaos has its place. It belongs, and so do the Tricksters who engender it. God, I love this book. Please read it if you haven't. Bujold's work is amazing.

If you've seen or read any version of MDZS/Untamed, you know that Wei WuXian is a trickster. Competent and badass in battle, but playful and teasing to the point where sometimes even he isn't sure what he truly wants, he can bring a massive amount of power and focus when he wants to. It's always a matter of "but is it important to me?"

I love WWX so much. The Trickster vibe is very apparent in his character, and in a way you just don't get in Western media. We see him on his own, and we see him with family and loved ones. And he's always feeling something so intensely! He's driven by his emotions, for good or ill. He vibes with chaos, and he will create it if it doesn't exist yet. But he will also create family from nothing, and that's something you don't see enough of! WWX is a Trickster with an emotional preference for joy.

In TDP, Ethari doesn't have a lot of lore yet. It's being Moonshadowed because spoilers for future seasons, and I respect that. The longer the wait for S4, the more ideas I will just amuse myself with in the meantime--and yeah, this is one of them, so what? :))) But we do know a little about him.

He loves music. He loves to read. He leaves his mark on things in swirly form. He works very hard, even through headaches, because what he's doing is that important to him, even though he would much rather be making jewelry. He loves taking the time to polish rough stones into brilliant jewels, and he adores big pretty flowers and had them at his wedding.

Ethari has a temper, but he also loves puns. The weapons he crafts are exquisite: "light, elegant, strong, and clever." And he knew darn well that Runaan was trying to flirt with him, but why return a sentiment he may or may not feel yet when he can play with the overly earnest assassin just a little bit first?

Okay, just... A "simple craftsman" deciding that it's going to be fun to toy for a bit with a broody assassin's feelings? Would you risk that? Ethari got balls the size of the moon, and a brain to match. When he has to make weaponry, he does not half-ass it. Ethari's stabby creations nearly have a life of their own. His creations are literally called "trick weapons." This elf is a lot, okay. And it's possible that he doesn't even know how "a lot" he is. Yet.

We're meeting Ethari after he's found something that is, in fact, genuinely important to him: Runaan, and Rayla, and Laindrin too. Ethari has found a relatively stable place to settle and find a role to adopt. I say adopt, though, because making weaponry for his loved ones is not what he grew up wanting to do. It's what he had to do to keep them safe, once he found a place to bestow his heart.

But in the show, Ethari has lost his family, one by one. First Lain and Tiadrin, ghosted. Then Runaan, supposedly fallen on his mission. Then Rayla, ghosted for abandoning Runaan. He and Rayla have reconnected now, but the rest of his family is still out of his reach. If Rayla has indeed told him, by S4, what she learned at the Moonhenge in TTM, then Ethari may parallel Rayla's journey to seek answers. But even if he doesn't know yet, and gets pulled into some other story arc first, we will be seeing Ethari without his family.

Remember the ATLA episode "Zuko Alone"? Consider: "Ethari Alone."

Ethari has chosen, for love, to fit himself into a box that wasn't of his own making. And now that box has broken. His family doesn't need him to be their craftsman anymore. Perhaps others will need him to be other things to them. Or perhaps he will know that his family does need him, but to be far more than just a maker of pretty swords. A rescuer, perhaps. A healer, a guide? An avenger?

A trickster. Capable of taking many shapes, because he understands them all. Ethari works with form and function. If he needs to transform himself, he will.

That's what Tricksters do. It's delightfully queer and delightfully neurodivergent. Ancient peoples accepted and revered the different among them and actively sought their help with things they themselves struggled with.

Tricksters are Difference. Sometimes that manifests as chaos, sometimes as genius. But if you do not love and appreciate your chaos, it will absolutely turn on you. Wei Wuxian did. Loki certainly has, many times. Perhaps Aaravos is doing so as well.

I cannot wait to see what Ethari does with his difference. I have something very specific that I hope he goes and breaks.

All this from a picture of Tom Hiddleston in his Avengers 1 Loki costume? Yeah. Because Ethari was designed to wear asymmetrical clothing, in a Moonshadow culture that prides itself on balance. Sure, there are some other Moonshadows who wear this or that asymmetrical item, and I do love to see it. But Ethari has the most asymmetrical lines of them all. The meta glee I feel knowing that Moonshadow elves are designed to hold many layers of meaning in their appearances--that the writers, creators, and character designers just flexed with them--is truly a delight.

Ethari is asymmetrical. The full and practical application of that is a glass casket, and I hope it becomes a gift that keeps on giving, because boy do I want to keep receiving it. But right now, I'm genuinely seeing evidence of the Trickster archetype in him. And I really hope it gets to come out and play.

#tdp #tdp theory #ethari #trickster #tdp speculation #yes this means a whole new category for ruthari opposites #order and chaos #ethari and order are both on runaan's list of likes #but ethari is higher so #loki #wwx #wei wuxian

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thebirdandhersong · 3 years

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Hey, so I've basically never watched any k-dramas, but I've read a lot of manga and manhwa and the automatic next step does feel like moving into k-dramas. You seem to have watched a number, so I was wondering if you could make a recommended list? Only if you felt like it of course, but it would be helpful! (Preferably of at least some which are on netflix uk, I looked up 18 again but it's unfortunately not on here in Britain :(. But if you have favourites I'd just like to know them so I can look out for them anywhere)

Also yay! Your term's ended!

(yanks open the door) did someone say RECOMMENDATIONS?? I DO have many!!! Boy do I have them!!!!

(YAY!! One last exam and I'm done for the summer!)

I love Eastern entertainment (manga, k-dramas, c-dramas, and movies from Korea and Taiwan) because of several reasons: the scripts are phenomenal nine times out of ten; Asian culture puts a strong emphasis on the importance of family, personal responsibility, learning from one's mistakes, expressing affection through gestures and acts of service, and friendship and I really love seeing that in a story; and they make good use of silence and stillness in shows and movies, which is pretty rare in Hollywood. The quiet moments between characters are more often than not some of the most important in the story and I Love That!!

The dramas I'm (briefly) listing are in bold if they're available on Netflix UK, and in bold and italicised if they're available on Rakuten Viki (which is a mostly-free drama streaming service, though unfortunately they're rather heavy on the ads). The Absolute Favourites are marked with stars (***). Though I can't actually see the whole list of dramas available in the UK, so some of these may be wrong, and it may be worth checking twice!

If you're in the mood for something fast-paced:

Descendants of the Sun (Viki); considered a Classic

- romantic comedy, medical drama, a bit of action

- The confident and charming leader of a Special Forces unit meets a reserved surgeon and they hit it off, after some... interesting misunderstandings. But after dating briefly and breaking up, they find themselves reunited on a peacekeeping mission in a war-torn country. Insert a lot of Suspense and Excitement but also a lot of Comedy and Sincere Declarations of Love.

- if you enjoy Song Joongki's performance, I'd also recommend his movie A Werewolf Boy. If you enjoy Song Hye-kyo's performance, I'd recommend her drama Encounter.

***Come and Hug Me (Viki, but I don't know if it costs money?)

- thriller/suspense, romance, this one genuinely stressed me out but the moments of peace and reconciliation (and the ENDING) were well worth it

- Their first loves during their youth ends in her mother's death and their separation. Years later, the lively daughter of the murdered woman is now an actress, and the introverted son of the serial killer has become a police officer. They meet each other again (Of Course) and have to tackle all sorts of Nonsense (including the serial killer's return, his murderous brother's return from prison, the Media, the ghosts of their past, etc. etc.) together. HUGE focus on forgiveness, hope, healing, unconditional and self-sacrificial love. Also one of the best redemption arcs (I did in fact bawl my eyes out)

- my friend just started crying when we first watched this drama together because the male lead is just so gentle and tenderhearted and steadfast :')

If you're in the mood for something a bit slower

***Goblin/Guardian (Viki); International Acclaim

- fantasy, drama, one of the funniest dramas I've ever watched, but also tears (I cried at a rate of around once every two episodes. This show talks a lot about life and meaning and the effect your actions and words have on the people around you.)

- Kim Shin, a general from the Goryeo Dynasty, is cursed to live as an immortal Goblin (a Korean mythical/fairy tale figure) until his destined Bride pulls the sword from his chest, thus breaking the 'spell' and ending his life. He really did not expect his bride to be the vivacious and irrepressible Eun-tak, though, and What's More!! He did not expect that he would start wanting to live again :))) Includes a surprising amount of comedy, a surprising amount of tears, and EXCELLENT screenwriting. (Descendants and Goblin share the same brilliant writer.)

- fun fact: parts of it were shot in Quebec!! One of the characters refers to Canada as "the maple nation" early on in the story and my friend and I just burst into laughter.

***Encounter (Viki, but I'm not sure if it costs money?)

- melodrama, romantic comedy, FAIRY TALE

- a cold and withdrawn woman, recently divorced because of her husband's infidelity, and a warm-hearted and optimistic young man meet on the streets of Cuba by accident, and upon separating without means of contact, find themselves back in Korea as boss and newly hired employee. This sounds like a recipe for disaster: stuffed to the gills with unnecessary workplace drama and gossip, etc. but the story focuses instead on family, vulnerability, transformation, sacrifice, about art, compassion, mending relationships, opening up to people, and about the beauty in bringing and receiving comfort and love.

- also. ALSO. Fairy tale!!! with illustrated opening and ending cards and everything!!! (they literally refer to her as the Ice Princess. And her Prince is the human equivalent of sunshine. I Love him)

- if you like Park Bo-gum's performance, I'd recommend Reply 1988, too!

***One Spring Night

- melodrama; quiet and understated but very beautiful

- A bright, clever, and sharp-tongued librarian meets a quiet, steady, and gentle pharmacist one day. It turns out that he's a single father, and she's trapped in a relationship that really isn't working out. Friendship! Family! Sisters standing up for each other and saying No I Won't Let You Treat My Sister Like This, You Jerk! Figuring things out! Learning how to love! I really don't know what else to say, except for the fact that I loved it very much!!

- if you enjoy Jung Hae-in's performance, I'd also recommend Something in the Rain (which should also be on Netflix!) for his acting alone. I just think he's neat.

Reply 1988

- slice-of-life, comedy

- In the late 1980s, five friends (four boys, one girl) who have grown up with each other since childhood are Going Through It in high school. This drama is all about the little things that happen in life, and about learning to understand your family and your friends. Deok-sun is just trying to survive all of This as the middle child, and as a young girl who is trying to figure this Romance thing out. In the present, adult Deok-sun is just as lively, and is now happily married..... but to whom? :))) A Lot of '80s Asian culture, daily antics, and good old friendship.

- if you like Park Bo-gum's performance, I'd recommend Encounter too :)

18 Again (Viki)

- romantic comedy, fantasy/time travel (sort of)

- Nearly twenty years of marriage, and things have been going Wrong all over the place. His wife wants a divorce, he's no longer close to his teenaged kids, and he's just lost the job he's been faithfully working at for years. Daeyoung wishes that he could go back somehow, and finds himself 18 once again.... except he's still in the present. Interesting things ensue. He enrolls in school (it turns out to be the same one his kids attend), and decides to pursue the dreams he had to give up when he was a teenager. Antics ensue! But also Healing: he gets to know his kids all over again, and is able to view his relationships with Dajung (whom he still loves. Of course) and his estranged father in a new light.

- I have not finished this drama yet but judging from the first third of it, it is both well-written and well-acted. There are a few things that I am not a fan of, but on the whole Lee Dohyun's performance is wonderful and I have already cried buckets.

Other honourable mentions:

100 Days My Prince: historical drama. Prince caught in an assassination plot, loses his memory, wakes up in a village right when the king issues a marriage law that results in his marrying the spirited 'spinster'.

Still 17/Thirty But Seventeen: 17 year old violin prodigy in a coma after an accident, wakes up when she's 30; the boy who inadvertently caused the accident runs into her again after she wakes up and helps her adjust to her new life. Lots of wacky humour, very sweet!!

#as per usual this is horrendously long #but i hope that this is helpful!!#k-dramas in the past have had some pretty questionable male leads #as in: the aggressively alpha male lead who thinks kindergarten bullying is a form of flirting #and i am very Not Here for that #so my favourite dramas tend to have Oak/Tilney/Wentworth-style male leads #ALSO!! storytelling in Eastern media takes a different approach than Western media #so it is so interesting to me to watch dramas like Goblin and 18 Again that take a pretty unconventional approach #songbird again

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irisviel101 · 3 years

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Pokémon Series Rankings

Since I've lately been invested in the Pokémon anime again, I've decided to rank the series based on how much I enjoyed them. My favorites may not be objectively the best written but for me, the selling point is how enjoyable a series is. No series is perfect but if I can enjoy something despite it's flaws, I tend to be more forgiving and less critical of it.

Also, this is my opinion so if someone doesn't agree, let's handle that maturely and agree to disagree. Debate is okay — I like debating and analyzing — but please don't get overly offended because my opinion doesn't mean that yours is trash. It means that we live in a diverse world with several different mindsets. A shocking concept, I know.

Anyway, first I'll get some honorable mentions out of the way.

The reason OS is in the honorable mentions is because I haven't had the time to finish it yet. That said, I really enjoyed the first ten or something episodes that I watched. You know, back when Ash had a personality and a clear development, Brock had a purpose and development, Pikachu and Ash weren't the same characters and people could get away with criticizing the fandom's darling Ash. Fun times.

n and Moon

Again, SM is a series I know literally nothing about, so I really can't comment on this one. All I know is Ash won the league and Brock and Misty returned for a while. Oh, and Ash had a Z move.

Pokémon Journeys

Pokémon Journeys hasn't been completed yet, so my final verdict remains to be seen. That said, I've been following Journeys and I'm very happy with this one. Sure, it has its flaws but each and every Pokémon series does and it's really enjoyable to watch nonetheless.

Now, that leaves the other four series for the ranking:

Pokémon Advanced Generation

This is probably an extremely unpopular opinion, but to be honest, I really enjoyed this series. I loved that AG experimented with new ideas like having a fourth companion, changing the main cast a bit, having a companion with a career arc similar to Ash's, rivals for a companion, evil team arc (however badly it was handled, it was still the first to do so), the whole concept of Contests which made its way into DP, Ash being the mentor etc.

Again, AG had its flaws, like Ash having no rival, Brock just being there for a majority of the time, some of May's BS wins (even though I think they're less frequent than people claim), the atrocious way the Team Magma and Team Aqua arc was handled, some shafted Pokémon, missed opportunities which I'll likely talk about in another post etc.

That said, despite these flaws, I really enjoyed the series because I watch Pokémon for the journey and the potential it has for character development for several characters — they're literally supposed to be going on a life changing journey — so I loved AG because it had character development for May, Ash, some for Max and at least a set-up for Brock's career change in DP. Brock was the weakest aspect but I still enjoyed seeing him interact with the other main characters. Also, this is the last time Ash has personality and development until BW and apparently SM and Journeys, so there's that.

Plus, AG feels like a fluid continuation of OS because it doesn't wait for special events and anniversaries to drop references to the previous series which I feel the later sagas lack. The continuity is so seamless that it's not a big deal when the show does make a reference and that's pretty cool because we see exactly how much Ash's previous journey means to him and has helped him grow. Overall, I believe AG is severely underrated and deserves more recognition.

2) Pokémon Best Wishes

Okay, I'm probably gonna get crucified for this, but in my opinion, BW is a pretty solid and enjoyable series. The dynamic between the main group is fun, diverse and explored and the characters themselves are enjoyable and pretty interesting. Brock is replaced — finally — by Cilan who has some fun quirks despite being a static character and Dawn by Iris who I really loved. Iris is a delightful companion who has a really nice developmental arc and back story along with a strong personality and really fun interactions with other characters and her Pokémon.

(Speaking of Iris, I'll never understand why people claim that Iris is a bad friend for Ash when the teasing is not only friendly but also mutual and more reminiscent of a sibling-like relationship than bullying. The friendly moments between them were more frequent than people claim. Their dynamic is refreshing, especially after DP where Dawn and Ash are way too similar sometimes, but I digress.)

Anyway, BW has its flaws too, like the awful Unova League, the filler island arc where nothing was going on, the dropped myth arc and the way Team Plasma was handled (which was more of a circumstantial thing than bad writing, so I tend to give it less flak), Ash being reset, Trip and some other rivals being mishandled, Cameron's existence etc.

That said, BW is still pretty enjoyable and definitely deserves more credit for trying new things and for the things it did right. I especially love all the mini arcs going on between the main badge collecting quest; because of these, it never felt like there was nothing going on between the main story episodes. BW felt like an actual journey, much like AG and perhaps even more so, because of these small developmental arcs as they give the characters room to grow and confront their flaws.

Overall, I'd say that much like AG, BW is pretty underrated and definitely deserves less hate and more love than it gets.

3) Pokémon Diamond and Pearl

Overall, I'd say that much like AG, BW is pretty underrated and definitely deserves less hate and more love than it gets.Pokémon Diamond and Pearl

I'm definitely going to get crucified for saying this, but DP was largely forgettable for me. It baffles me when people claim it to be the pinnacle of character development when outside of their goals, the characters barely developed. Dawn started out as a confident and energetic trainer and ended as a confident and energetic trainer. Ash didn't have any memorable personality traits or development at all, and he felt like a typical generic anime protagonist rather than a character I enjoyed in AG and the little I have watched in OS. Brock, ironically, came out best because he at least had to reflect on his goal before changing it but by DP, I just got too tired of him to even care.

In terms of their careers, there was some semblance of progress, but not as much as say, May and Iris and even Ash in OS and AG. Ash's rivalries didn't exactly change him or make him reflect on anything. Dawn was much better in this regard with her losing streak (not calling it depression because I tend to be wary of throwing around such words willy-nilly), but she started out as relatively skilled and still ended up as relatively skilled, so it wasn't as much development as it was a rough patch. Brock had to change his goals and the anime did show his talent at taking care of Pokémon which was foreshadowed in AG, so that's at least some development even if it came a little too late for my liking.

DP had a lot of rivals. For Dawn, I liked Zoey as a rival (a fresh change from May's more arrogant rival — Drew — and unfriendly rival — Harley). Jessie as a rival never really appealed to me as Dawn never even learned it was Jessie in the first place and their battle was pretty much skipped, so it never amounted to anything. Jessie was better than she was in AG by putting more effort into training than simply trying to cheat, but even then she had to be given a pity ribbon to qualify for the GF in the first place, so I wouldn't consider her all that skilled either. Nando had so few appearances that I actually forgot about him all together until he showed up in the GF. Kenny could have been a good character but he was barely used, and Ursula was just Dawn's punching bag the whole time.

For Ash, it was worse because Paul's entire narrative frustrates me for trying to justify the abuse as a different training method while simultaneously going into depth about Chimchar's suffering. In this case, the anime was trying to have its cake and eat its cake too. Barry was reduced to a Paul fanboy and I barely even remembered him in the anime until someone mentioned him a couple of days ago. Nando was barely explored even though he could have been an interesting rival for both Ash and Dawn. I never really liked Conway because it felt like the anime was trying to pass on his crush on Dawn as funny, even when he could be extremely creepy about it (like entering the Sinnoh League just because Dawn would be there because of Ash). Plus, it was ridiculously one-sided and I would have preferred him to take a hint and be nice about it like Kenny did. It's a shame because outside of that crush aspect, Conway seems like he could have been a great character.

Also, I feel like Counter Shield is overrated. It has been done by Drew's Roselia before in AG and was nothing new. The pacing was also extremely slow. I get that build-up is necessary but there's such a thing as too slow and the fillers weren't all that enjoyable either. There's also the infamous year-long gap DP took, which really took away a lot of the appeal.

As for the group dynamic, I felt that oftentimes Ash and Dawn were extremely similar with having really similar thoughts, which led to very little conflict beyond the obligatory fight episode and Dawn's rough patch where Dawn actually felt like she would have an interesting development (which she kind of did but not as much as she's given credit for). Dawn and Brock were a bit better with Dawn learning from Brock about taking care of Pokémon, but it wasn't shown nearly enough. For me, Ash and Brock had the weakest interactions because at this point, there's nothing for Brock to teach Ash and vice versa. I can't remember even one interesting interaction between them in DP. Perhaps this group felt more interesting to others, but for me the DP gang were weak and the BW trio was a refreshing change.

DP had some good things like the Tag Tournament arc (which was more about Ash and Paul but still, it was a nice concept at least), the animation were at least nice to look at and Dawn's character was a gem even if I would have liked her to develop a bit more.

Mostly, I feel like it's popular because Ash was more "experienced", but as someone who doesn't watch the anime for Ash, it didn't appeal to me because it came at the expense of his character.

DP may be the fandom's darling like XY, but for me at least, it wasn't that enjoyable.

Pokémon the Series: XY

Oh boy, where do I begin with this one?

Again, I don't watch the anime for Ash or project on Ash and want to see him be all badass and glorified, so XY was the most boring and the worst written saga for me. With the way Ash was glorified and worshipped by his companions, with very few rough patches and barely a personality beyond being a typical shōnen hero, XY felt like one of those badly written "mature!Ash" and "smart!Ash" power-fantasy fanfictions. The one time he does show something resembling a character, he gets snowballs thrown at him by Serena and the show basically condemns him for showing some basic emotions. Companions, rivals and even freaking Alain just keep heaping compliments on him with very little to no criticism to balance it out.

The group dynamic was extremely weak. Bonnie and Serena were a highlight, but I feel like it withered away by the end of the series, but that could have something to do with my growing distaste for Serena. Serena and Clemont… I don't think this one even existed. At least, I can't remember it. Bonnie and Clemont felt like the best dynamic in the group, but it wasn't given that much screen time that I can remember. Ash and Clemont were not that enjoyable for me because of how one-sided it felt, but that probably has to do with my hate for Ash being put on a pedestal.

As for Ash and Serena, I hated it. It was awkward and one-sided, and too much of Serena's character depends on Ash. Her backstory was extremely contrived because firstly, she doesn't even live in Kanto and never has as far as we know, so why is she there in the first place; secondly, apparently a couple of minutes were enough for Serena to not only cherish that memory more than anything else but also to recognize Ash years later on TV while Ash didn't even remember her. That's some seriously one-sided investment. Even a childhood crush should have worn off by then. Did Serena have a childhood experience beyond that? Who knows, because we sure as hell don't get to see it.

Another thing that bugs me is that Serena puts Ash on a pedestal and then throws snowballs at him for daring to feel something akin to sadness and for daring to not be as perfect as she dreams him to be. The Ash Serena likes is an idealized version of him. I don't think Ash likes Serena all that much, especially not beyond as a friend.

While on the subject of Serena, I hate the way her development was handled and the sexist writing surrounding her. For one, it takes her more than half a season to find a goal and even then she did nothing to look for one. She tries fishing because they've stumbled on something related to it; she does Sky Battles because they've arrived at a place for Sky Battles; she does Showcases because Shauna told her and the one she does watch before deciding it was never even completed. You see the problem?

Serena is too passive in her own character arc. She doesn't look into possible careers or even battles until she absolutely has to. We never see her get to know anything about Fennekin, who is basically the same character as her in a different body. We don't even get to see her teach her Pokémon how to dance for her performances; she just conveniently comes across two Pokémon who already know how to dance. It's almost like she's not interested in being a Trainer, and never suffers for it. Any character development that she does have is retconned in the last episode anyway.

Any flaws that Serena does have are either brushed under the rug or just told to us while showing nothing like that. Serena's flaws are that she's too passive and unmotivated. What we are told is that she gives up too easily. The way Serena was handled will always disappoint me because she could have been great, but her development was basically retconned in the last episode.

As for Ash, he didn't get a character arc because he's already too perfect. Clemont was more or less forgettable to me, and all I remember about Bonnie is Squishy and Dendenne. So, yeah, I didn't like the XY cast.

The pacing of this season was weird. For the first year, there was nothing going on between the Gym battles, and the Team Flare arc and the Showcase arc were crammed in the last year. The Showcase arc was a joke. Serena won too easily and the two times she lost, she didn't have to take responsibility for it because her Pokémon tripped. We don't see her train for her Showcases or performances nearly enough because the whole thing is tailor-made for her. Everything required in a Showcase is something Serena is already good at, which leaves very little room for development. Her rivals were also awful, with Shauna being the best by default. Nene was a joke and Miette was more of a love rival than a Showcase rival given how little challenge she gave Serena.

As for Ash's rival, I really don't like how Alain was shoe-horned into the league. Gathering right badges and entering a league at such a short notice just to battle Ash… Alain could easily ask for a match or something. Sawyer was more of a fanboy than a rival, but his mentor-student dynamic with Ash was good enough, though he still wasn't all that memorable to me. Tierno was okay, but I feel like he would have been better as Serena's rival with his dance moves and stuff. If only XY wasn't that sexist of a series. Trevor barely deserves a mention at all.

Honestly, I wish I could say something good about XY. I tried so hard to like it, but I just couldn't enjoy it at all. The only good thing I can say about it is that the animation was nice to look at which made the Showcases a bit bearable for me.

I feel a bit bad for saying this because XY is the fandom's darling, but I thought it was the worst Pokémon season thus far.

------

Once again, this is my biased opinion based on how much I enjoyed the series and the series that I liked. I'll be the first to admit that I'm biased and this list is not at all objective. If my list is different from yours, I would prefer that we discuss it like civilized human beings instead of going on a rampage.

#Pokémon #Pokemon #Opinion #Unpopular opinion #Probably #Ranking #Pokémon advanced generation #AG #Pokemon Diamond and pearl #DP #Pokemon best wishes #Be #Pokemon XY #XY #Anipoke #Pokemon anime

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