#I wanna make a comic of the ending of episode 12 so bad

[knightforflowers]

Mutt my best friend Mutt

#the adventure zone #the adventure zone versus dracula #taz versus dracula #taz vs dracula #taz #crawford muttner #why is it always Travis’ characters who are my favs #it’s my curse. I fear. #I drew this in like three seconds I gotta do another proper piece for these cats someday soon #I wanna make a comic of the ending of episode 12 so bad #romeo’s flowers #id in alt text

[genericpuff]

Why is the art so unappealing in lore Olympus now Persephone looks like a highlighter and maybe it’s just me but the proportions like the fingers in arms are soul over the place I don’t think they used to be this bad. Am I just looking at it with nostalgia or am I crazy ?

Honestly, nostalgia does play a huge part in it, even to this day there are times I look back on old S1 panels and go-

Actually here's a great example that literally just happened yesterday in the ULO Discord that nearly had me on the floor LOL This is from Episode 70:

Like I didn't even believe that that was real until I was told what episode it was from and I was just. Astounded and flabbergasted. The over-shading of the blanket that just makes it look like a really bad edit. Insane.

And yeah, there are a lot of old panels that hit different now that the rose-colored glasses have been removed, crushed, and thrown into the trash compactor.

I think that's why it makes it all the more amusing when people come into my inbox and ask me "wait, why did you like LO to begin with?? It's always been ugly as shit, I think you're just romanticizing it" because like... there's something to be said about art and subjectivity, even if something is ugly to one person doesn't mean it isn't beautiful to someone else. It's why I try not to be too mean towards the fans of this comic for still enjoying it, because while I definitely have strong opinions about how "LO has gotten worse" and what kind of following Rachel has cultivated (cough cough), there are also just as equally valid arguments that LO has never begin good to begin with that I can't necessarily disagree with now that I'm looking back on it with a more critical eye.

That said, there's tons of media that I enjoy that is objectively awful. Like y'all, you don't need to take my opinions about a dumb pink x blue fantasy romance comic seriously, I like Starfox Adventures-

Like yeah it's a badly made rushed piece of shit that was developed right on the ass end of Rare's glory days and was really an original IP (Dinosaur Planet) that got Frankenstein'd into a Starfox game so it could "sell better" for Nintendo, but I don't give a fuck, I love Starfox Adventures and some day I wanna be in the top 10 speedrunner leaderboards for it, which I know doesn't mean much because no one is speedrunning Starfox, but I do and no one can take that away from me dammit-

Anyways. Lore Olympus has, in many regards, always had "bad art". But "bad art" can and should still be enjoyed by those who find joy in it.

And in LO's case, the world it existed in when it launched was a lot smaller than it is now - more specifically, the world of Webtoons. We can look back and see how 'bad' LO looks and reads now because there are genuinely way better comics surrounding it. It was unique and refreshing and experimental back then... now it's just "that stupid blue and pink comic for horny teenagers".

In most cases I would consider that "cringing in hindsight" feeling a good thing because normally it means something has grown and that it seeming "bad" in hindsight would mean that it's outgrown itself and moved onto bigger things. But LO has the more unique problem of "its current stuff is shit and it's making us want the old stuff more, even if the old stuff wasn't good either". In that regard, LO is closer to being like Harry Potter. Remember when The Cursed Child came out at the height of Rowling being exposed for being a TERF and even people who liked Harry Potter didn't like The Cursed Child because it was just objectively worse overall (with or without Rowling's bullshit attached)? It made a lot of people go back and re-read / rewatch Harry Potter with a more objective lens and go "wait a minute guys, I think we only adored these books so much because we were 12 when we read them". Often times it's the good memories we have surrounding certain things that make us have the opinion about them that we do.

Of course, LO is definitely not as politically weaponized as Harry Potter is, so that's where that comparison ends. But my point is that LO is definitely in a situation where it's been riding off the same privileges it had back in 2018 - having an 'experimental' art style while also utilizing tropes and characters that were VERY popular at the time (remember that 2017-18 was when Tumblr was at its height of H x P "Hades was a chill accountant guy who wore socks and sandals and didn't cheat on his wife like Zeus did" fantasizing) - and thinks that those same tricks and tropes will still work today.

Because of this, the art in LO really, really hasn't aged well, even the stuff that we look back on fondly. But I think it's the panels that we specifically think of when remembering "old LO" - the ones that stuck in our memories the most - that are the ones that make us miss or just not care about the panels that don't look good (the panels that make people question why we ever liked it to begin with).

We liked it because of how it made us feel to look at panels like these-

Those genuinely wonderful panels that we think back on the most don't exist separately from the bad panels, they exist in spite of them. Even if we can look back on panels like these and pick out problems in the lineart or the proportions or the color travelling outside of the lines, that can't and shouldn't change how those panels made us feel at some point or another. And that's why when people ask me "why were you even into LO in the first place" I don't have any one answer, because I can't fully explain how something made me feel to justify why it's good to someone who can see from the outside - without rose-colored glasses - that it evidently isn't. It's very much a "you had to be there" type of thing.

Unfortunately, nowadays even the 'best' LO panels in S3 still don't come close to what the S1 panels accomplished - because for many of us, the rose-colored glasses are gone, we can't appreciate the good among the bad because we know now how bad it truly is and so the good just feels like wasted attempts at trying to recreate something it can no longer be. It "came back wrong" so to speak.

LO came back just regular. But our journey to resurrecting it changed us to such a degree that even its closest intimacies are now foreign to us. Sorry dude.

This is still probably one of my favorite panels out of the entirety of S3 for being as close to "old LO" as I've seen since S2, and even it feels like a mistake, an accident, how could a panel like this exist in S3 when so much of it is a dumpster fire? It's like a flower growing in the ruins of an apocalyptic wasteland.

But wasn't that always the case? Isn't that 'always' what LO has been, since the very beginning? A poorly cobbled together mess of writing and panels that, every now and then, manages to leave an impression that makes you feel something? Did we ever truly know LO? Or have we just been relying entirely on an idea of it that we've built up in our heads that when it does do exactly what it's evidently always done (even if not made apparent until looking back on it in hindsight) we think it "came back wrong"?

#anyways sorry that was a way deeper response than it oughta have been #welcome to the AMA roulette game of “ask puff a simple question which they may or may not respond to with an introspective essay" #lore olympus critical #anti lore olympus #antiloreolympus #ask me anything #ama #anon ama #anon ask me anything

[adultswim2021]

Xavier: Renegade Angel #10: “Shakashuri Blowdown” | January 14, 2008 - 12:00AM | S01E10

Look, I need to reign it in with these things. These write-ups aren’t good enough for me to be spending all evening on. Luckily, this is pretty light, plot-wise. But it’s a wonderful episode; one of the more memorable ones. SPECIAL, even.

In the opening scene, Xavier vows to find his father’s killer. If you’ve been paying attention, good for you, because there is a little bit of continuity on this show and you are being rewarded right now for paying attention. The “mystery” has been an ongoing joke; clearly Xavier killed his own father in an accidental spirit candle fire. At the very beginning of this episode, Xavier finally learns the truth that he’s refused to learn up until this point: He killed his father. But first, one last comical misunderstanding: his father’s face literally appears in the clouds like so much Mufasa and states plainly “it was YOU who killed me”. Xavier thinks he’s saying somebody named YOO HOO killed him, and starts yelling “YOO HOO?”. Man, what an incredible joke. 

When it finally enters Xavier’s brain that he himself killed his father, Xavier falls to the ground and splits into two Xaviers. There’s a brief but funny interlude where an Xavier (I guess we can call him the real Xavier? - Hey! I just realized that the last episode says “there’s only two Xaviers left” this is probably what they meant!) goes onto a box car to commit suicide with a razor blade to the throat as a way to finally bring the killer (himself) to justice. “I was just about to cut one” he says to some ornery hobos who don’t take kindly to metaphysical beings performing acts of self-justice. One of the bums makes a weird clicky noise that reminds me of Devon the Selfie Slut when he grinds his teeth (enjoy that reference, everyone). 

The bulk of the episode is Xavier eventually running into his other self. They have a spirited back and forth, immediately becoming bitter opponents. This section is GREAT, so many funny lines. I don’t feel like saying any of them. Okay: I’ll say the last one: they finally decide to settle their dispute with a shakashuri blowdown, where they blow their shakashuri at one another, conjuring up magical imagery in a very wizardy battle. One of the Xaviers starts by saying “ladies first”. A title card saying “16 Hours Later” appears on screen; that’s just how bad the other Xavier didn’t wanna be a lady. 

The episode becomes purely visual at this point. It is so much fun. It’s not terribly mind-blowing; the animation is pretty much as good as it has been (meaning that it’s bad), but the ideas are great and there are some funny gags in here as well. I’m not ACTUALLY dogging the episode; I just didn’t wanna give the impression that they suddenly animated the show well, which I thought maybe I had.

The episode ends with a big face in the clouds telling us to write in (without getting specific) to pick the winner. But it turns out that the winner is all of us. And me. It’s me, as well.

#adult swim #adultswim2021 #xavier: renegade angel

[spongebob-connoisseur]

Got any Spongebob hot takes? About a season, episode, character, etc?

You know, I'm pretty stuck on this. This has been sitting in my inbox for so long. Its so hard to remember these on the spot. I only remember when I'm talking about other stuff lol brainz werk in mysterious ways lol

But I'll still try!

- slappy is the best thing to ever exist.

- Squidabeth is the best thing to ever exist.

Okay before this turns into a brainrot list. Here's the actual hot takes!

-Nerd spongebob is superior sponge. I know later seasons focus more on him being more babyish/childish. But ehh I miss his more nerdier personality.

- I'm okay with the spinoffs. I get so tired always having to clarify on the spinoffs all the time. Jeez do your own research, I ain't magic or working inside with Nick (I wish) I'm tired. I have my concerns and issues otherwise but like if you want to watch it then do it. If you don't then just don't.

- man why did it take so long for Sandy to interact with the other female characters? Why did it take so long for any of the characters to interact? Its random but I was thinking about this a while ago. I get the show is Spongebob Squarepants. Everything is from his POV. But a lot of the female characters could use a little more development. I want an episode focused on Mrs. Puff outside of boating school. She's into metal. She's already cool. Pls let her become a rock star pls. Or just another Sandy/Karen episode because they're so cute together. Its so weird to think about all of them only begun to interact recently.

- I really want them to bring back Pearl being gifted at math!! So much story potential. I'll be honest, I don't like whenever shows got that stereotypical teenage girl character™ no reason but they get a little annoying if you leave it like that. Pearl was apparently supposed to be more apart of the main cast but didn't get used so often. Come on!! I wanna see her hang out with Squidina!! I really like Squidina.

- there's no such thing as a bad episode with The Flying Dutchman. Never. Even the worst ones are still amusing.

- Dutchy probably doesn't pay child support. I just wanted to say that xD

- there is no way Squishwart is heterosexual

- shows timeline is

- first episode any episode where Perch is orange, any episode where Perch is purple, 2nd movie, 1st movie.

Not a complete time line but ya kno. There's two timelines tho! Same as the first but kamp koral takes place in the beginning, then the patrick show. Then we start at the first episode. Then after that, the 3rd movie takes place between the 2nd and 1st movie.

Hope I didn't lost ya there.

- oh yeah! Perch's skin color probably changed with age. Some fishes change color with maturity! I headcanon orange being earlier, and purple being later.

I know you might point out the fish in Ripped Pants. He doesn't look much like Perch. Looks a lot older so I'm just gonna headcanon that it's Perch's dad.

- Kamp koral was kinda boring. The better episodes are when they focus on side characters or new characters. Idk its just not interesting when they focus it on the main cast. Excluding the one where Squidward and Patrick gets lost in the woods together. That was cute. Though my favorite episode is either the one with young Perch or the night cabin.

- season 1 is elite. It's my favorite season of all time. I could go on and on about what I love about this season but everything about it feels so wholesome yo.

- my favorite season amongst the modern era is probably 10? I know that's fan favorite of the modern era. I'd also say season 12 too. Which is an unpopular season due to the expressions but I find myself revisiting season 12 often. Its weird but fun to go back to every so often.

- a lot of spongebob has been ragged on unfairly. I know I always come for the middle seasons but even they are over hated. Its amusing tho how the middle seasons were so hated in the previous years. Nowadays they get more love because the kids who grew up with them has grown to appreciate them. Now its the modern seasons that get a lot of hate. Often times for just being different.

- ehh classic elites kinda ruin the show for me. I wouldn't say this is a be all end all. I still like the classic era and of course nothing can replace how witty and funny it was. But geez these people take it so seriously that it just sucks the fun out of it. Its fun to express your love for spongebob online but they always gotta rag on it and insult people who don't hate everything that came out after the movie. Its ironic considering I used to be a classic elitist. Every so often when I see them raging online, I'm like "jeez was that me?" It gets so exhausting to hate on the show. I also think its a little weird how they've martyred Hillenburg while also acting like the gods of justice by sending death threats to his colleagues and friends. Ehh they get pretty invasive at times. Its kinda uncomfortable.

- on that note. I also find it annoying how people are like "oh kids today will never know how good spongebob was!" Like the classic era doesn't constantly rerun on tv to this day. Jeez I was too young to even remember the classic era when it first began airing. Yet the classic era was what was on tv most of the time. Its like how adults assume kids don't know what vhs tapes/CDs are just because it isn't as popular as it used to. They don't magically disappear the moment something new comes out.

You know that reminds me, when I was a teen, I used to purposely act like I didn't know what some stuff were just to make adults feel like they're out of touch. "Facebook? what is that?" "Britney Spears? Never heard of her" it's so funny.

- Ngl I keep rewatching the Patrick show just to feel something

- mr. Krab's cheapiness went so out of control. Mans due for a spinoff just to rework his character so he can become tolerable again.

- from reading the spongeBob pitchbible and the mussel beach episode. My only thoughts were "spongebob has two hands, one for Sandy, one for Larry"

- the best episodes of Patrick is when he's being sweetly stupid. He's dumb but he knows and loves his friends. That's like the baseline for Patrick. He'd be terribly hurt if he upset them and he cares about them to the end of the earth. If you make patrick a jerk because he's stupid then you've failed to understand him.

- oh also, I'm pretty sure Bunny and Cecil are Pat's adoptive parents. Pat said in Home Sweet Pineapple that his parents kicked him out. I imagine when he did get kicked out, he wasn't prepared so he probably got adopted by the closest Sea Star family around. Thus the Patrick show was born! I already do find Pat's parents questionable. Like letting their daughter get lost like that, or mental training with a bell that managed to even have spongebob say they screwed Patrick up. Bunny and Cecil seem like healthier parents for pat. Plus he got another sister :)

- another thing, ehh Spongebob's parents and family in general are either questionable to outright awful. Man his uncle sherm really kicked out his own son??? captain blue couldn't listen to spange when he desperately needed help? Also spongebob's parents neither taking him seriously and seem to have their own issues too.

- on the note of poor family figures. I'm certain Mr. Krabs father Victor Krabs abandoned his family. Mr krabs grew up dirt poor with only his mother supporting him. I also assume Mr. Krab's other family is also kinda sucky since he didn't really introduce any of them to Pearl. Probably for a reason. Though his mom in the comics seems to have known about Pearl. She's probably the only krab in the family he really cares about.

- Sandy and Karen SHOULD get together. I don't make the rules 😤 😤

- patchy is good. I don't get why is he so hated. I also really like potty :)

- the 2nd movie is a comfort movie for me.

- they really brought the best music for the ScaredyPants episode. Also I find it kinda funny how they found such a hyper specific band for the show. The Ghastly Ones. A horror surf rock band. It fits too well and I like them enough to listen to their other songs just because.

- Ngl its satisfying when spongebob gets angry/frustrated. You dont see those emotions in him. Its either extreme joy or extreme sadness. It adds an interesting bit of nuance to his character.

And that's it! Or at least the only ones I can think of on the spot so uhh. Here ya go!

#Ask #spongebob #spongebob squarepants #sb #spongebon squarepants #the spongebob connoisseur #spongebob meme

[thestalkerbunny]

What are your favorite twilight zone episodes?

Oh god you get me; you aBSOLUTELY get me. So fun fact about me, I LOVE the Twilight Zone. I doubt any series of horror has enthralled me in such a captivating way as the ‘Zone’ did as a kid. The Horror in that show is just so real and authentic because of the time period. So I”m gonna do you what I think is the personal best episodes for me-pictures included!

So let’s get to Stalky’s Top Ten ZONE EPISODES

10: The Masks

A dying wealthy man is down to his last few hours of life on the eve of Mardi Gras and his spoiled selfish heirs are there to watch him die and get what is theirs-with the catch, until midnight they must wear hideous masks that compliment their awful personalities. This one always stuck with me because The sheer anticipation of what will happen in the end and the fact that all their heirs are just so very unlikable, it’s very much like the movie ‘Knives Out’ but much more tame-nobody gets murdered, but just the ending thrilled me the first time I saw it

9: The Monsters are Due on Maple Street

A Street full of neighbors experiencing a black out turn on each other in violent mob mentality of the blame game. This is a CLASSIC, This is true pure and realistic horror because it really asks the question ‘how well do you know your neighbors and do you trust them’ it also was very much a product of it’s time in the era of the Cold War were even in your own neighborhood, even your neighbors could be a ‘communist’ in disguise. The Ending was a real rug jerker for me. For those of you who haven’t seen the ending-you gotta go watch it. Just less than 15 minutes of your time. Iconic. They did a remake of it once but it didn’t HIT the way it did the first time.

8. Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?

A Bus making a stop realizes that there is one extra person among them is not accounted for and they may not be of this world. Now THIS is the originally ‘Among Us’ There is one more person on the manifesto and we gotta find out who the imposter is. This one just felt so witty and just the energy of the Moustache guy really stole the show for me as well as the diner chef. The twist was GREAT and I still catch myself thinking about it sometimes when I’m in a ‘ZONE’ mood

7. The Midnight Sun

The Earth is slowly falling into the Sun. We watch as a woman falls apart as the whole world around her burns. Now being a southern girl with a house whose ac loves to just BITE it in the DEAD of summer I FEEL this episode with all my soul. If you’re ever the littlest bit chilly, you watch ‘Midnight Sun’ and you can FEEL yourself melting along with this poor suffering woman in this apartment complex. Just watching these poor people just lose their minds to the heat is so real because just slight temperature changes just make people irrational and insane.

6. I sing the Body Electric

Children get a New Grandma! A ROBOT GRANDMA! This one is such a heart warming episode and concept, like if you don’t like scary stuff but still wanna know the Twilight Zone, you watch ‘Body Electric’ It’s very much a ‘Mary Poppins’ sort of story and it’s sweet and the way it explains what happens to the Grandmother once her job is done should be applied to all robots concepts of the afterlife. Plus the store the family goes to in order to make their custom grandma is kinda spooky. Like build a bear. But for Grandmas.

5. Number 12 looks JUST like you

In  Future, You can be anyone you want to be, because the cosmetic surgery is Mandatory. One girl protests it. This one breaks my heart because for some people, this is reality, they’re pressured into changing even though they’re happy with their looks but society refuses to accept them. You know how in cartoons there’s the trope of the popular girls being surrounded by identical clones. That. It’s that. It’s often confused with another iconic episode that talks about how beauty is about perspective and what people will go thru to try and be the standard for society.

4. Night of the Living Doll

A little girl’s doll decides to teach an abusive Step Father a lesson. TALKY TINA WALKED. SHE FUCKING STRUTTED THAT RUNWAY MAMA. SO CHUCKY/TIFFANY/BRAHMNS/ANNABELLE COULD FUCKING RUN. She was the ORGINAL Doll that is up to NO GOOD. We are ROOTING for Talky Tina. She is a QUEEN. WE STAN A LEGEND. The Dad is such a douche bag I do not feel bad at ALL for what happens to him.

3. One for the Angels

A sidewalk sales man stalls for time to save another’s life from Death himself. This one is a sweet one, the salesman-Marky-is just so genuine and the ‘bumbling type that’s loved by kids’ and he’s a clever character, if you like the cheating of death story-you’ll love ‘One for the Angels’. And even if it ends a bit sad-it’s a happy kind of sad, a sad where you know that this is the good happy ending even if it’s a little bitter.

2. The Hunt.

An Old man and his Hound explore the trail to the afterlife. This one speaks to my backwoods southern heart-because there are dudes who are just that passionate and affectionate about their hounds. It also does the whole thing where the path to hell looks just as pretty as the one that lead to heaven. It feels like it’d be the kind of bluegrass song I’d hear about a guy narrowly missing ending up in Hell because he doesn’t want to be apart from his beloved dog.

HONORABLE MENTION: The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtle

A Young man dies....and comes back to life? Again another southern themed episode that speaks to me, mainly because Wake Culture is a thing where you have to sit up with the body to make sure they’re REALLY dead. Just the whole set up to the ending really just fools you. It’s the kind of story I feel like I would set up. I think I HAVE set up that kind of story with ‘The Diver Boy’ Comic

1. The Obsolete Man

Nothing I can say can compare to the perfection and the dark statement that The Obsolete Man makes. Nothing hits home that hard in that way. A horrible future where people get to decide what is obsolete and once it’s obsolete, it must go away forever.

#TSB Ask #The Twilight Zone #Long #Long Post #Twilight Zone #Episodes #Anonymous

[minimoefoe]

Once, Upon Time Rewatch Thoughts

Also currently making two other posts that came from this rewatch which I decided to put separately bc they kinda go on a bit but anyways, this is a bit shorter (I think) than the previous two but still a mess:

I love hearing what the Doctor was thinking during the end of the previous ep. Very cool

I like the dark coat a lot more actually seeing it in the ep. But I don’t think it’s the fashion statement others seem to think of it as lmao

Dan and Diane are so cute and I really hope they get a happy ending at the end of all this 

Saw someone complain about Diane asking Dan why he isn’t married, I guess as if it was Chibnall making some kind of statement and pushing the idea that people need to get married at some point and I’m like.. What are you talking about?? That was very clearly a conversation between two people who fancy each other and the way she asked that wasn’t accusatory, it was flirty. 

Jodie Whittaker in a police uniform is something that can be so personal

Also lmao at her banging on about satsumas. I wonder if Chibnall was like ‘Yeah, Jodie, just ramble on about whatever you like’

The way the point where the Doctor managed to get through to Yaz was when the woman the Doctor was replacing was leaning over to wipe food off Yaz’s face

‘Don’t mind me, I’m trying not to be distracting.’ is so fuckin funny

Kills me that Ruth was disgusted at the idea of looking like 13 in Fugitive of the Judoon and she felt the exact same in this episode

The way ‘Yaz’ says ‘We’re your team.’ Was that just Mandip saying it weird or was it supposed to be the accent of the person she’s representing coming through?

I have many thoughts about Ruth!Doctor showing up again because I’ve seen people say it’s rude/disrespectful/in poor taste/whatever for her to essentially just be used as a way to aid Thirteen on whatever journey she is going on but I’m kinda like.. Well, yeah, isn’t that obviously the point though? Like, it makes sense that every time Ruth shows up, Thirteen is going through something arc related, at least right now. Because we’re right in the thick of figuring things out. I get people wanting Jo Martin to be able to play a bigger part in the show. I want that too. But it’s just...not about her. It’s Thirteen’s era. Thirteen is going on this ‘finding out her past’ journey. Chibnall could have introduced us to another completely new incarnation of the Doctor in this episode instead of giving us Ruth back and that would have been fine too. Because it doesn’t really matter which version of the Doctor our Doctor sees in that mirror, just that it isn’t the face they’re expecting.

That guy in black showing up and then disappearing yet again! I think in my rewatch post about the first episode I said he was the one character I didn’t really give a fuck about but now I am well and truly giving fucks. I wanna know what’s up with him.

During my rewatch I didn’t have as much of a problem with the focus on Bel but I’m still not completely sold on her. Like, she’s a nice character and I do like her and Vinder but I’m not really in it for them, I’m in it for the Doctor and her companions, so anything that doesn’t focus on them I can get kinda meh about. Although I assume they’re going to have some kind of importance of the next 3 episodes otherwise what was the point in it all.

The Grand Serpent gives me 10/10 bad vibes

That nimble fingers line and then the Doctor appearing is really a thing that happens huh

The way she says, ‘Yeah, well, I’ve got a bit more practice,’ is kinda rude?? Idk. Just her vibe being amazing yet again.

There must be a reason why Yaz was put in the future, Dan was put in the present and Vinder and the Doctor were put in the past

The Weeping Angel appearing in the game is actually scary

Yaz asking what an angel is is so annoying to me because of the comic set in Series 11/12 where she meets them. Like, I get that the TV show is the canon but idk, I feel like comics are really not that obscure and it’s surely not hard for writers to do a five minute search (or get someone to do it for them) when they decide to bring an alien into an episode to see if the characters have met them before in another media. And I actually think it would have made it more interesting if Yaz did recognize the Angel. All it would have taken was a little comment from one of them that establishes that Yaz has dealt with them before. And then if you wanna go off and read that story then you can, but if not, it literally doesn’t effect the episode. I wonder how much more this is gonna annoy me in the next episode where the Angels are the main focus. Not that it’s annoying me a ton now, I just think it’s kinda a shame because that comic is one of the good ones and it’s been retconned when it really didn’t need to be

Jo Martin was clearly on a questionable green screen but the flickering between Ruth and Thirteen is so good. 

Old Swarm is really gross. 

I also wonder if ‘old’ means old as in previous or old as in aged. This might be dumb but I was thinking about what if Swarm didn’t regenerate he just made himself younger? Which I guess is regenerating. But not to a new face, just de-aging his current face. I feel like that’s defo not the case because they have different actors which I assume is supposed to purposely make us think of it as a regeneration like the Doctor’s. But just the difference between Swarm and Old Swarm is very weird and doesn’t scream your average regeneration to me.

I hope we actually get more info on who/what Swam and Azure are and they don’t just stay mysterious because that would be annoying.

The way Thirteen and Ruth handle themselves so differently is great. Thirteen looks Feral, like she’s enjoying what they’re doing but Ruth looks pretty calm, like she’s just doing what needs to be done. 

Bel is cool but there’s no way she’d kill all those cybermen lmao

So basically Vinder outed the Serpent guy as an asshole and then got sent to a new post in the middle of space as an almost punishment for tryna take down that guy, Sucks bro

The Doctor’s desperation at wanting to stay for a while to find more and then her desperation at wanting to get back in is great. I just love actually seeing the Doctor emote and be sad and upset instead of trying to keep it all locked down.

The Flux being caused on purpose doesn’t shock me too much but I wasn’t expecting the Doctor to be the reason for it. That’s defo interesting.

And I wonder who tf that old woman is. I think her being Tecteun would make sense. Because the way she spoke to the Doctor was kinda motherly but like, Bad motherly. Like she’s talking down to her kid. Idk. 

The way Yaz handles the Doctor when she gets out of that place is so good. I don’t even know how to explain why I love it. Just, I feel like Yaz really sees, maybe for the first time, that the Doctor is struggling. I think very possible that Yaz has known for a while that the Doctor is struggling but this is the first time that the Doctor hasn’t completely hidden away the pain and desperation she’s been feeling.

The way Swarm points and says, ‘Dan Lewis’, is so funny

DO AS YOU’RE TOLD! Dan’s instant reaction to not give a fuck about what the Doctor is warning him about his great. Felt like a reminder that they actually don’t know each other, despite how much they’ve been through over the last couple of days.

Vinder knowing what a TARDIS is. I feel like that’s only shocking because we’re used to humans seeing the TARDIS and being like uh wtf is that. But we know Vinder is some other species so it makes sense that he’d maybe know what a TARDIS is I think

Interesting that when Vinder asks Yaz if he can fly the TARDIS or whatever, Yaz doesn’t say anything about how the TARDIS isn’t actually hers, she just goes along with it. Like she is so comfortable there that she has no problem kinda taking ownership of the TARDIS. I’m sure that’s gonna end well.

‘Does everything have to be a discussion.’ The Doctor really went straight back to hiding as if she didn’t just have a full on break down in front of everyone. I feel like it’s too late for that now. Yaz has seen how the Doctor is feeling under her ‘I’m fine’ mask. She can’t just go back to pretending everything is fine and expect Yaz to just go along with it. I really am just waiting for them to either have some kind of screaming match or cry in each other’s arms.

I just wanna know how long Bel has been pregnant for???

‘I wonder if he looks different.’ I kinda feel like this isn’t going to be a big deal? Like sometimes when you don’t see someone for a long time they just... look different. I don’t think she’s talking about something as wild as regeneration. But who knows, maybe she is.

I wonder what Vinder’s home planet is called. 

I think the only part of this episode that I didn’t particularly care for was Bel’s moments and some of Vinder’s moments. Otherwise, I loved a lot of the shit in this episode. And I definitely liked it more after rewatching.

I think my problem with this series as a whole is that while I like all the reccuring side characters, I would always rather be seeing the Doctor, Yaz or Dan. For me, the focus of Doctor Who, and what I care about, is the Doctor and the companions, which I think is why a serialized season is just not for me when it comes to DW, even if I am loving this series so far. If this was any other show I wouldn’t even be thinking about how many different side stories were being told but in a show like this where I’m so used to having a couple of main characters and then characters that come and go every week I’m just like ugh, take me back to the Doctor.

That’s almost been a thing with all of Chibnall’s era for me tbh. In Series 11 and 12 he tried to get you invested in the side characters of each episode by spending a lot of time on them, almost as if it’s going to be a serial and not just a one off episode where we never see these people again, which leads to the Doctor and companions getting less screen time, in favour of characters that at the end of the day don’t really matter.

And that’s an even bigger problem when there’s three companions that all need airtime. Thankfully, I still love the fam a lot and do feel like we know them well, it just kinda annoys me and makes me feel like we missed out on having more moments with them. There is surely a way to get the set up out the way quicker. Well, there defo is a way because Moffat and RTD did it just fine.

Because this series is serialized I’m not annoyed that we have recurring characters, because you need that for a story like this, but it just isn’t the way I like DW to be so I am begging RTD goes back to the monster of the week format.

#doctor who #dw spoilers #nataliechats #dw txt

[katoodlez]

uwu meter exploded and i ate dinner at 2am after watching this aka the sam and bucky show episode 5

The new episode was sO goOd omg tbh i didnt think i was gonna be able to watch it last night and i legit cried. But i did and i am very very thankful. Because it was a very very good episode. But before we start stOP reAdING cuz theres gonna be MASSIVE SPOILERS IN THIS POST.

Alrighty without further delay, the Sam and Bucky show episode 5 and all its best things (there are a lot, to no one’s surprise). Im gonna go in chronological order to avoid losing my mind.

1. The fight in the beginning. Omg. Walker looked like he was gonna do both Sam and Bucky in with the shield like 6 times and it was lowkey scary. And when Walker knocked bucky into the electric tower or whatever it was— skdjfjs i saw some people post abt Sam’s glare mid battle like “if this is sam looking at walker after he hurt bucky” anD IT ACTUALLY WAS marvel why.

2. Walker ripped Sam’s wings off omg. That was so brutal i audibly gasped. I think we’ve seen the wings being shot at or broken but never ripped clean off. 0 _ 0

3. I like how the fight ended with all three of them on the ground and the shield just lying there. And then Bucky picked it up, left it for Sam and left. Walker was defeated but it kinda shows how Sam still wasn’t sure about the shield, he just knew in that moment that Walker absolutely couldn’t be the one to have it. I feel like that fight scene really conveyed how all of them felt about the shield and it was done really well. (Ok but on a side note, remember in episode 2 when Sam was like “bruh we cant just run up on the man, beat him up and take it?” I guess they went with that plan after all)

4. TORRES MY BELOVED. He’s back and I’m so happy 🥺🥺🥺🥺 also i love how he’s not afraid to give Bucky sass lmao.

5. WHEN SAM TOLD TORRES TO KEEP THE WINGS. listen i havent read the comics but i know what happens in them and Torres is such a Falcon fanboy omg if he’s gonna be the new falcon im gonna be so happy for him ahhHhHh

6. Sam’s conversation with Isaiah Bradley. Man. I’m really really happy that we have that scene. The scene with Isaiah in episode 2 left me reallly uneasy because it ended on a really bad note with unfinished and unsaid things between Sam, Bucky and Isaiah. Also Sam didn’t really get to talk at all in that scene and I felt like he def had things he wanted to say. I appreciated how Sam said that he really didn’t get some stuff and he had Isaiah explain more of his backstory. I think Sam believes that things can change, for good reason, and at the same time Isaiah believes that nothing will change, also for a completely fair reason. But having the time to let the two of them talk, esp with the shield in the room and without Bucky’s complicated history was a really well written piece of dialogue. Thank you screenwriters.

7. SARAH WILSON SUPREMACY. I’m glad we got more of Sarah in this episode ahhh. She’s such a caring sister and I’m here for it. Sam and Sarah sibling dynamics also >>>>>

8. Sam calling in the favors to help fix the boat was so heartwarming omg. And Bucky just showing up lmaooo

9. Bucky flirting with Sarah to get on Sam’s nerves LMAOO

10. Sam and Bucky fixing the boat together was something I needed to see. That entire montage, the teamwork and warm lighting and akskdjajd my heart 🥺🥺💕💕💕

11. Bucky waking up to Sam’s nephews playing with the shield reminded me of the Black Panther end credits scene but also of that one scene in Wandavision with Pietro and wanda’s kids lollll

12. Sarah asking Sam if he’s gonna let Isaiah tell him what to do and then Sam asking/telling Bucky to stop letting others, even Steve, tell him who to be was just. Skdkfjaod. The character conversations in this episode ahHhh

13. On that note, Sam and Sarah having a chance to talk about themselves, their boat and their family was just amazing. They’re fighting to keep their history and also understanding each other at the same time.

14. Sarah telling sam that there’s the fight out there and then theres the fight in here is so special. It in a sense reflects/applies to not only Sam and Sarah’s relationship and struggles, but it also applies to Sam and Bucky’s relationship and struggles esp with Steve and the shield’s legacy, Bucky’s history as the Winter Soldier and all the weight he carries with it. They gotta sort out the inside stuff before getting into the thick of what I’m sure will be the final battle next week as superheroes in the face of the world.

15. On that note. Sam and Bucky finally having the chance to talk was so relieving and eye opening for both characters. Bucky finally understanding Sam’s perception of the shield and its weight on his conscience because he is an African American representing his people and Sam finally understanding a more personal side of Bucky’s relationship with/perception of the shield feels like a knot in their friendship that has been resolved. The development in this show is just through the roof omg.

16. Okay but Bucky talking about how Steve told him about the plan to give Sam the shield... wkerjkakdja I feel like that makes Endgame’s ending a little better 😭😭😭

17. Shield training shield training shield training ahhhHhHhHhh i swear whenever either sam or bucky touched the shield in this episode i started physically vibrating LOL. Its so cool to see the shield in the hands it’s supposed to be in again ☺️☺️ Sam’s training montage with the shield was also AMAZING omg it was so so cool to watch him grow with the skills

18. Not Sam asking Bucky if he has nightmares and talking to him about amends and stuff skdjfjskd lowkey Sam is the superior therapist in this show and he doesn’t get nearly enough credit for it aksjdjskdjajd. Also the implication that Bucky will go back to Nakajima and give him closure for his son I— 😭😭

19. Also im so glad the scene where they’re walking away from each other ISNT the last episode. Its sort of like a “we’ll see each other soon” walk : DD

20. Okay but Bucky helping the Wakandans capture zemo at the memorial (which i think is for his family? 😭😭😭) and then the favor that Bucky called in for sam. WHATS IN THE GOSH DARN BOX OMG. i think it’s either new Falcon wings, a vibranium Redwing (please let it be this) or a suit of some kind

21. And lastly what the heck does Sharon wanna kill Sam for?? She workin for the flag smashers now or sumn? Also Batroc coming back when the last time i think we saw him was in CA: Winter Soldier 0 _ 0

Did it take me an hour to write this post? Yes. Did I get everything? No. I dont think I discussed Walker in this post but he was super scary and deranged and Wyatt Russell blew it out of the ballpark in this episode. Also whats the special character that everyone was hyped about? Anyways. Until next week 0 _ 0 season finale and im not ready for it to be over

#the falcon and the winter soldier spoilers #the falcon and the winter soldier #tfatws #tfatws spoilers #bucky barnes #sam wilson #winter soldier #falcon #hello marvel please bring redwing back thank you #marvel #mcu

[krokonoko]

I’m so glad you love kataang- I love them too! And I’m glad you’re posting content of them and stuff. But I just saw your post about your issues with them and how you’re not gonna let those issues stop you from loving them and you’re right but...a lot of those weren’t issues.

Aang wasn’t possessive of Katara with Jet or anything well because, he thought Jet was a good guy, and she hadn’t shown a massive display of romantic interest in Aang by then. Like they hadn’t even kissed yet. Why should he be jealous? Not sure if you mentioned her liking Haru, but if you did, she never liked him.

Aang wasn’t possessive at EIP, he was insecure about what he was seeing on stage, because he knew he and Katara had something (Katara doesn’t even deny this she knows they have something, it was the timing and the war and fear of losing him that led her to being confused, it wasn’t confusion about her feelings), now what’s possessive is this: Zuko throwing a man across the room into a vase just for talking to Mai.

And I’m pretty sure you called Aang feminine...if you didn’t ignore this but that’s another thing that made him insecure seeing him being portrayed as a female on stage. Just because a guy has a soft gentle personality doesn’t mean they’re ‘feminine’, that’s today’s problem- people are still labelling what is determined masculine or feminine.

You also mentioned the last time they saw each other was when they fought. Now that’s only on screen. Their kiss takes place months after Aang defeats Ozai, so they obviously talked by then. But who says they can’t have a fight or disagreement with miscommunication? That happens in any- nearly every relationship. And Aang wasn’t ooc in that episode- he was under pressure and stress and he lashed out when his friends weren’t understanding the position he was in. They weren’t even trying to (Katara was probably most understanding though) It’s completely understandable. Just because he’s mostly sweet all the time doesn’t mean he’s ooc when he has different emotions.

Also about the EIP kiss, Aang was completely wrong for that. If you wanted I could send you a whole fantastic meta that explains well about that whole scene. I’ll just say this briefly (and this isn’t defending Aang for that kiss it’s explaining why he did it) 1- He was confused like Katara because she didn’t give a yes or no answer. 2- He kissed her on the day of black sun, and she kissed back, he knew she had feelings for him, he thought “why would this time be different maybe she’ll kiss me back?” Now again I’ll say it- it doesn’t justify it or make it right. He made a mistake with completely bad timing and misunderstanding. But remember he was 12, just mocked in the play, tensions were running high with him having to face Ozai, he was confused and made a bad decision. But it’s not like he didn’t feel remorse for it. He physically and verbally abused himself for it. He immediately backed off when Katara pulled away. He made not one more romantic gesture or saying to Katara after that, the agency of the state of their relationship was completely in her hands, hence why she initiated their final kiss. And I bet he apologised off screen for it too. He learned from it, in the comics he asks if he can kiss her. Katara was able to forgive him for a small mistake, why can’t we?

I hope I didn’t sound rude I’m just trying to explain it better because some of your takes were just stretched and some of the situations weren’t bad lol. Anyways love your content<3

hey there anon! thanks a lot for the compliments! and don't worry, I'll be a Kataang shipper 'til the day I die 🥰 but the grievances I raised I've had ever since the show ended.

you took issue with a lot of phrasings that I didn't use. I chose my words very carefully. for example, I didn't call Aang feminine in my post. but I also personally I don't think there's anything wrong with men being feminine, or being called feminine. (would be p weird of me cuz I'm a hella feminine guy myself lmao)

you're also coming from a very textual level here, arguing that Aang was under stress, that he probably apologized off screen, etc. and I bet there are good explanations for his behavior. but my issue is with the writing, with the way these characters have been presented by the narrative. and in that vein, showing your main couple squabbling as the last verbal exchange they ever have on screen is. not a smart move imho.

but I don't even wanna argue against you. if the finale worked for you, and if you're able to headcanon the bumpy writing away, that's cool! I'm not being sarcastic here, I'm honestly happy for you if that's the case!

but for me it doesn't work, just like the comics and the old gaang in LOK don't work for me, and I think that should be legitimate too. personally, I think it's alright to have criticisms of the characters and relationships you like a lot while still enjoying them thoroughly.

#kroko speaks #atla #kataang #anon #ask

[captainrexs]

waves

Hello again! I keep forgetting to just say hi, and apologize for that, heh! I hope you are doing alright and well, and having a good week!

If you feel like sharing, what are your thoughts on the Bad Batch show in general? Which episodes were your favorite and who are your favorite characters in the show, and of the Batch themselves?

For me, I'm very conflicted on the show.... I love the Batch and the dynamic they had from their TCW episodes, but I feel like that was stripped away and forgotten... I loved Aftermath, and enjoy that episode so much, but the rest? I don't know... it's conflicting, especially when Aftermath and the finale ended with the same dynamic and no real improvement in characters or development.

I have been lazy and haven't gone through many of the episodes for my favorite nerd yet, but I do have at least four (?) from the first episode of their TCW appearance, "The Bad Batch" that I was wondering if you would be open to giffing?

If so, I have time stamps and descriptions for them, and always love the time and patience you have with my silliness. It always makes my day seeing your response to my ask, and the gifs, and I enjoy seeing your thoughts on stuff :)

Scenes from TCW S7, Ep. 1. You don't have to do the subtitles if you don't want, as I don't mind the gifs without, just as I don't mind when they are there! Whatever you feel like <3 :

13:05-13:12 and 13:16-13:20 (the campfire scene where Tech talks about Hunter's enhancements and boasts about his older brother. I really like that scene and the lighting, and I am not certain if you've giffed that?)

15:39-15:40 (I don't remember what this scene is and, considering how short it is, don't bother if you don't feel like this giffing this one! I think this is possibly where Tech talks to Rex over the comms, I don't remember, sorry T.T)

19:56-20:05 (definitely don't remember what scene this is but I *think* it's sometime before they access Echo's file or before... I forgot to write the descriptions when I logged this timestamps into my drafts, and I apologize for that T.T)

22:52-23:03 (This scene is where Tech asks Rex what the numbers meant from Echo's message, as Tech's expression is actually fairly interesting to watch as he listens/watches Rex responding to his question).

As always, I deeply appreciate the time you put into every gifset I ask from, and I always smile and have an immediately better day when I see your response and beautiful gifs of my silly nerd <3

Thank you so, so much, and - as always - I apologize if I ever bother you <3

hi!! I have been having a busy week again and my next one will probably also be quite busy but the one after that should be very chill so I'm very much looking forward to that right now 😅. I hope you're doing good!! I think my favourite episode was probably Battle Scars because I love Rex and also because they finally took care of their chips and Wreckers chip was a concern that had been building up for long enough for me at that point 😅, I also loved both ryloth episodes because Hera is one of my favourite star wars characters and getting to see her mom was great and Howzer was a nice addition as well imo. War-Mantle was another episode I really liked and aside from the kanan comics retcon I liked Aftermath as well. my favourite batcher is probably Echo, but probably because of tcw since he didn't get a lot of moments in tbb but I did love the ones he had. but I like the other ones as well, Omega is an interesting addition that I didn't expect, Wrecker is hard to explain but he just seems like a very genuine and good person (not that the others don't, but like if I needed someone to help me move I'd probably ask him, does that make sense? I really don't know how to explain it), I also loved his dynamic with Tech because I think they had the most sibling like dynamic out of all of them, speaking of Tech, I think he's the most interesting when he has to think outside the box, I like it when booksmart characters have to use their knowledge in different ways then they'd expect and watching Hunter bond with Omega was very heartwarming and I think he did a good job at being a leader and trying to figure out how to move forward and balance the teams different opinions. I'm not a big fan of the setup of the first and last episode being nearly identical (but the bad batch have AZI now, I do love that), so lets hope things develop in season 2, maybe we'll get lucky and Crosshair won't tell the empire they've survived which would give the batch some room to figure out what they actually wanna do now. your request has been posted here, I actually haven't gifed the first eight episodes of season 7 much in general since I was still pretty new to giffing when they were released and I haven't gone back to those as much as I have to the Siege of Mandalore and the gifs I did make at the time were on my old account, so they're kinda difficult to find now and they weren't very good anyways 😅. as always, I appreciate your sweet message and the time stamps and you are never a bother ❤

#tech anon #anonymous #ask #requests

[shadow-turtle-234]

Interesting (and unitentional) parallels between the Loki Series and Where Mischief Lies

As I was reading the conversation/post here on Tumblr earlier today there were a few things that made me revisit a few previous Loki related works (comics and the novel mentioned above specifically) from Marvel that made started making my gears turn in making connections.

Please keep in mind, this is to be neutral to the best of my abilities: these are some parallels that I myself noticed and interpret with info and opinions that are based off of what is presented. I am not trying to cause a ship war or any hate to anyone - this is just me revisiting a few things at 21:00 in the evening.

And, as stated in the title; the parallels I am bringing up are unintentional (as we all know by this point Waldron isn't a fan of Loki, let alone do research prior before submitting the final draft with no citations and openly admits to plagiarizing other's works) but still interesting to, at the very least, consider:

1. SHARP Society's "treatment" of Loki and the TVA's "treatment" of Loki

-The TVA isn't quite "friendly" (read: is quite abusive) to Loki upon arrival. Loki (in the Series), is immediately subdued, stripped of their power (via the Time Twister Collar), clothing, pride and is forced to help the TVA find out who the Variant is. Loki (in the Novel) is immediately subdued and stripped on their magic (via restraints), and is forced to help find out who is killing and draining individuals of their life force.

-Granted, the SHARP Society treats Loki with a bit more dignity than having them be forcibly stripped, ass bare, but the striping of their power (unconscious, mind you) still without consent, much like the show.

- The SHARP Society works for a higher power that gives two shits less about them (Odin the Dad of the Year) unless it has an issue that may or may not be threatening to the grand "power" (the Nine Realms). The TVA works for a higher power that gives two shits less about them (Kang/HWR) unless is an issue that may or may not be threatening to the grand "power" (Multiverse and the Sacred Timeline)

2. Theo Bell and Mobius M. Mobius and their reactions/relation to Loki (before and after)

-Mobius and Theo, both, have a preconceived notion about Loki. Both believe Loki to be the Bad Guy, either by novels that were read and told the tale of Loki (that were prewritten), or by the chain of events that told the tale of Loki (that were prewritten).

-They both treat Loki terribly on two separate occasions: first being their initial interactions (introductions) between one another (Theo pushes Loki hard into a wooden crate and knocks them out with powder twice, is implied to be the one who put the restraints on Loki; {end of Chapter 12, and beginning of Chapter 13} Mobius uses the Time Twister Collar on Loki twice and forces them into interrogation, implied to be the one who can remove the collar {Episode 1}); the second is by "betrayal" (Loki is indirectly responsible for Mrs. Sharp's death and is blamed by Theo who tries to call out to police for help, which could have given out terrible treatment/torture [see Bridwell House of Correction for clarification] {end of Chapter 31, Chapter 32} though they choose to leave by their own volition; Loki is blamed by Mobius for betraying him when they left on their own volition and helping Sylvie and is sent to torture in a time cell {Episode 4}).

-Both Mobius and Theo, yes both of them, came to the realization that Loki was right/is not what history (both in text and in the Sacred Timeline) deems them to be, and saying similar quotes (M: "You can be, whoever, whatever you wanna be, even someone good. In case anyone ever told you different... Well, it's never too late to change." T: "So write new stories. No one's destiny is written in the stars... There's always a choice.")

-Both share a cute but meaningful moment with Loki (Loki initiates the hug with Mobius, allowing it to linger on a wee bit longer; Loki allows the kiss with Theo to last a wee bit longer), and that moment was the last happy moment with them that wasn't either by an action that Loki caused ( yeeting Theo onto the other train car and leaving for Asgard without him) or by the break out the the Multiverse.

3. Sylvie Laufeydoittor and the actual enchantress, Amora, and their behavior towards Loki (Sylvie isn't the enchantress, y'all - she is a terrible copy cat jerk sue that is Loki, stop that bs excuse that she isn't - the show literally says otherwise that she is)

- Both have somewhat of a sibling dynamic with Loki in the beginning (Amora scheming with Loki in chapter 3 and 4 can be seen very much as somewhat platonic as we know they both grew up together; Sylvie and Loki's sibling dynamic before Sylvie conks out on the train)

-Both swear revenge on the people who ruined their lives and means to destroy and burn them to the ground, but unaware of what their actions may cause.

-Treats Loki like a pawn/uses them till they get in their way in which they have to fight; both are uncompromisable and treats Loki terribly (belittling and threaten to kill on multiple occasions ≠ romantic intentions)

-Loki is the only one investing in the relationship and almost worships both Sylvie and Amora on higher pedestals (Amora who is described to be powerful and respected in the Realms when it comes to magic but also is corrupt when it comes to morality and humanity, where Loki wishes to be like her - a magic wielder; Sylvie... who is great because she is female presenting {and this is where we only can look at the hair and magic for parallels cuz there really is none as, like I said, Sylvie is just a sue}), where as it can be debatable that Amora did care for Loki (maybe another power wielder to get her to Asgard before she inevitably betrays them, but I wouldn't be surprised if she did have feelings for Loki) but Sylvie actively doesn't show any romantic feelings towards them and is weirded out by their advancements while tolerating them for as long as she could till they became an obstacle. Both also use Loki's feelings to get to their intended goal until, as I said, Loki became an obstacle.

I know that there is probably more parallels in this novel and this show but these were the ones that popped out to me the most. So... yeah. No hate. Just something that I wanted to jot down. Not gonna tag it in anything, so if you see it, you see it!

[deliciousmeta]

When it comes to children’s entertainment, fuck realism.

That’s right. Fuck. Realism.

Don’t get me wrong. I think kids can handle heavier topics than they’re often given credit for, especially if they’re presented in the right way. But there’s a difference between depicting or addressing things like war, abuse, and so on and indulging in cynical, nihilistic, grimdark bullshit because that’s what we’ve been taught “mature” means.

I want to focus on Avatar: The Last Airbender and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power because they’re on everybody’s mind right now, and it’s really noticeable in how often I see certain sentiments crop up.

SPOILER ALERT! You’ve been warned.

Let me start with ATLA.

I make no bones about being an Azula fangirl. She’s my fave, and I don’t apologize for it. She’s complex and compelling in a way few characters in mainstream Western animation are. Like many Azula fans, I’m ambivalent about how she ended up. It was well-executed, and it packs a helluva punch, but it plays into some iffy tropes about powerful female characters. But even with that, fine. It would’ve been nice for the show to have shown that there was still hope for her.

But what do most people think about her? That there’s nothing anyone can do or could have done to help her.

Think about what it means when people say this: that a 14-year-old girl is beyond hope.

Can you imagine a message so bleak in a show where: Iroh tells Zuko in no uncertain terms that he must not give in to despair, one episode (”The Avatar and the Fire Lord”) makes it explicit that the people of the Fire Nation are not born bad and that everyone deserves a chance, and the entire point of Zuko’s character arc is changing for the better?

“But Azula’s mean and scary!”

And Zuko was a bucket of sunshine and rainbows while he was roughing up old people on the South Pole and burning down Kyoshi Island.

Treating a child barely into her teens as if she’s an irredeemable monster is a betrayal of the themes and message of the show. That kind of cynicism belongs on Game of Thrones, not ATLA.

Then there’s that thing in the comics about Sozin outlawing same-sex relationships.

*sighs*

Y’all, I’m a Black Jewish lesbian. Every single day, I’m reminded that many places and many people have a problem with my Blackness, my queerness, my womanhood, or my Jewishness.

I don’t need to be slapped in the face with homophobia in a story about a handful of 12- to 16-year-old kids who change the world with their friendship and awesome elemental powers.

“But it’s realistic!”

I don’t give a shit. After George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, and white folks calling the cops on Black folks left and right for no damn reason, I don’t give a shit. And with the fact that this is far from the last time it’ll happen, I don’t give a shit. The world already does a fine job of showing kids how ugly it can be. They don’t need adults to remind them.

Which brings me to SPOP.

Some people think that redemption and forgiveness came too easy to Catra, that she apparently didn’t suffer enough consequences for her actions to “deserve” the happy ending she got.

Let me get this straight. A teenager who’s been physically and psychologically abused her whole life hasn’t suffered enough to deserve love and friendship, that she’s too toxic to be trusted around the people who know her. A teenager should be condemned for life to be cut off from everyone she knows because she was nasty to some of the nice characters.

On a show that’s blatantly about the power of love and friendship to save the world.

Really? Really?

Wanna talk about someone who can’t be trusted around others unsupervised? Shadow Weaver is right there.

But Catra? C’mon.

As with ATLA, an ending for Catra that has her cut off from everything and everyone she knows would be a fundamental betrayal of the themes and message of the show.

Besides, what purpose would ostracizing her serve? Catra already believed she was on her own because anyone she trusted would betray or abandon her. Learning to trust others and lean on them when she needs them is a step in the right direction for her.

Look at this from the point of view of a kid who sees a lot of themselves in Catra. Would you feel empowered by that message? Would it inspire you to seek the help you need? Would it convince you to trust people with the truth of who you are and not just the facade you project to the world?

I’m going to go on a limb and guess probably not.

There’s something I think a lot of grown people participating in children’s media forget. Every character who’s not an adult or a pet is probably one a child identifies with. I don’t think it’s usually deliberate on the part of creators, but it is there, and I think grownups should keep it in mind when discussing these characters and the stories they’re in.

#atla meta #spop meta #she ra meta #azula #catra #azula meta #fuck realism

[cdt12345]

I just finished answering one of these and now I wanna know yours. Top 10 straight OTPs?

1.) Ben and Leslie - Parks and Recreation

If this was my OTPs list, they’d be second after Gallavich, but since this is straight couples, they have to be my number one. Amy Poehler and Adam Scott had great chemistry. Adam Scott played a lot of creepy/bad guys before this. So, when he showed up in Pawnee, I didn’t know what to make of him when he came in at the end of season 2. Pretty quickly I realized I was not only going to love the character of Ben Wyatt but we finally found Leslie Knope’s perfect match! I’ll never forget the moment I knew I was going to ship them. It was at the Freddy Spaghetti concert when Ben helped Leslie after he was against doing the concert in the first place. As soon as I saw Ben give Leslie that look as she walked away, I knew I was all in with this ship. That’s all it took! Leslie finally met someone who got her, admired her, was in awe of her, and was so supportive of her and her ambitions. They were both willing to put their jobs at risk by making their relationship known. And if you know Leslie Knope, her job is her life. Leslie’s love for Ben’s butt is also something I loved. Their love for each other is so beautiful and one of my favorite things about this amazing show.

2.) Ava and Boyd - Justified

Joelle Carter and Walton Goggins did amazing work together onscreen. Ava and Boyd Crowder did not have the most conventional start to their romantic relationship, seeing as Ava was married to Boyd’s brother. For me, that is a deal-breaker! I know they’re not blood relatives but it’s still weird to me when in-laws get together. In the pilot, we learn Ava has just killed her husband in self-defense and Boyd was supposed to be killed off in that episode. The powers that be, loved both Joelle and Walton so much they brought them back for more and they were series regulars for the rest of the series run. To keep Ava part of the storyline, they had Boyd staying at Ava’s house in season 2. It all evolved from there. I had no intention of shipping these two during season 1, but by season 2, I was all about Ava and Boyd getting together. They were the true definition of a power couple. They even had matching bullet scares on their chest! They stood side by side as a strong force against anyone who tried to overpower them or intimidate them in their growing criminal enterprise. Boyd really saw Ava, treated her with respect, and saw her as his equal. They had a long history, even went to the same high school together. I always love a couple who has known each other since they were kids. I never thought I would root for current or former in-laws, but it was hard not to fall in love with them.

3.) Jess and Nick - New Girl

I knew I was going to ship them from the very first episode. They are everything I love in a good ship, complete opposites who bring out the best in each other, who are also friends. Over the years, any time Jess would describe her perfect man, she was always describing Nick without realizing it. Once she was asked what her dream guy would be, and she said Walter Matthau in Grumpy Old Men and Nick fits that perfectly. He really is like a grumpy old man. There was nothing these two wouldn’t do for each other. One example of this was when Jess burns her finger on a cigarette lighter in the car and Nick puts his finger in the cigarette lighter so they would be in the same amount of pain. Who even does that?! I was so happy when they finally had their first kiss and when they officially got together. Those are some of my favorite episodes when they were finally dating. Any time they dated anyone else it became even more clear how much better they are together. They never fit with anyone else as well as they fit together. They really were perfect for each other.

4.) Corey and Topanga - Boy Meets World

Corey and Topanga are the OG’s of childhood sweethearts on TV. They’ve known each other their whole lives and were very believable in their genuine love for each other. It’s not always easy to believe that people who get married that young can make it work, but these two always seemed to defy those odds. They got married during their sophomore year of college. Today I would be like whoa that’s too soon to get married! But they felt so right together, I believe I would still think they made the right choice. I may be biased because I grew up watching this show and I was even younger than them at that time, but it always felt like they were meant to be. I still remember what a big deal their wedding was. My friends and I were so excited about that episode. They clearly did do the right thing because the show came back as Girl Meets World, which was more focused on their daughter than them, so of course, I wasn’t planning on watching all that. The only good thing to come out of that reboot, for me, was to get confirmation that Corey and Topanga were still together and had two kids. 

5.) Arnold and Helga - Hey Arnold!

This was a very one-sided crush on Helga’s part for years! This was another show I grew up on. I shipped them so hard because Helga was obsessively in love with Arnold. It definitely wasn’t a healthy obsession, but she really loved him. It was hard not to root for her. She fell in love with him when he was the first to notice her and be nice to her on their first day of preschool. A part of me could identify with her at that time in my life. I was in 5th grade and was experiencing my first love too. She was always so mean to Arnold because she was terrified for anyone to even suspect she had a major crush on him. The best way to describe Arnold is through Helga’s own words, he’s “a funny little football-headed kid with a good heart but no sense of reality”. Helga was realistic and tough but very poetic and sweet in private. In 2017, when Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie came out, I was really hoping she would finally come clean with Arnold about her feelings. It FINALLY happened! That was 21 years in the making. Talk about slow burn!

6.) Tiffani and Jake - California Dreams

Jake and Tiffani are one of my very first ships ever. They were high school students who were in a band called California Dreams together. They were like night and day. She was the surfer type, who was positive, sunny, and friendly. Whereas Jake was a biker type who scared everyone. They were even too scared to let him audition for the band. He played guitar and would sometimes sing and write some of their songs. He wasn’t the main singer of the band, but he would sing every once in a while. She played the bass and would sometimes sing too. They did have a breakup that was heartbreaking for me. He dated their friend Lorena for a short time, and it felt so forced and didn’t work at all. Again, I could be biased because I love Jake and Tiffani, but Jake himself and Lorena realized they didn’t work either. That’s when Jake realized he was still very much in love with Tiffani, and they got back together. This show also had the best theme song ever! I sing it every single time I hear it and when I do hear it, it’s stuck in my head all day.

7.) Monica and Chandler - Friends

I always preferred Monica and Chandler over Ross and Rachel. They were never on and off like Ross and Rachel, which would get tiresome. We never had to deal with that with Monica and Chandler. Obviously, they are friends and know each other so well that it was easy for them to get through anything because of it.

8.) Castle and Beckett - Castle

Richard Castle and Kate Beckett had amazing chemistry, even after the actors themselves were no longer getting along behind the scenes. I am amazed at how they were still able to be so believable at being very much in love with each other. Castle, a best-selling mystery novelist, and Beckett, a New York City homicide detective. Castle is inspired by Beckett and she becomes his muse for a new book he is writing. Castle uses his connections with the mayor to force the police to let him shadow Beckett. Their personalities clash in the beginning but they soon find their groove and become friends and great partners at solving crimes. The will they, won’t they was excruciating at times but paid off when they finally got together.

9.) Sabrina and Harvey - Sabrina The Teenage Witch

Sabrina and Harvey were such a cute couple. I already went into this show knowing they were meant to be because of the Sabrina comic books. Harvey was always the boyfriend. So, when Harvey left the show after season 4, I was surprised and saddened. Especially, since Harvey had finally learned about her powers. He did guest star in season 5 but was brought back for the last two seasons. I really loved when he came back because Sabrina and Harvey’s relationship was so much better after he knew about her powers. They didn’t get back together and were only friends but whenever things got complicated, he was there to help her now that he knew she was a witch. She didn’t have to hide who she really was or lie to him anymore and I really loved how that changed their relationship. Sabrina was dating someone else at this time and was going to marry this other guy, but she doesn’t go through with it. For once I can actually say Sabrina and Harvey are soulmates and really mean it! Remember she is a witch and has a soul stone and Harvey was given one too. Harvey is waiting for Sabrina outside the church when she comes out and they kiss. Their soul stones drop to the ground and fit perfectly at 12:36pm, the exact time they first met seven years ago.Then they drive off together in his motorcycle.

10.) Kelly and Zack - Saved by The Bell

Who didn’t grow up in the 90′s and wasn’t shipping Zack and Kelly? I thought they were the most gorgeous couple I had ever seen. Saved by The Bell: The College Years wasn’t a great show, but I was happy to see Zack and Kelly went to the same college, and eventually, we got to see them get married in a TV movie with Saved by The Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas.

#parks and recreation #leslie knope #ben wyatt #ava crowder #boyd crowder #justified #new girl #jessica day #nick miller #boy meets world #hey arnold #california dreams #friends #castle #caskett #sabrina the teenage witch #saved by the bell

[adultswim2021]

Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job #20: “Embarrassed” | January 28, 2008 - 12:15AM | S02E10

Hey, it’s the final episode of Tim & Eric season two. It was pretty good, wasn’t it? I always thought the drop off in quality was a little more drastic from season one to season two, but the difference is fairly marginal. 

We start off with the D’Ump, which is a combination Deer/Umpire, meant to solve the problem that more traditional digital umpires have, which is that they are far too noisy. There are some language-related antics on screen with a fake DVD-style (or perhaps CDI) menu popping up to change the language. The English subtitles are comically poorly translated, as if this particular video is natively non-English (the d’ump saying “I’ll keep you safe!” is subtitled “I will protect boys”). This bit is called back in a fairly clever way at the end of the episode. 

This one features Pumpers, which two smug dickheads (Tim, Eric) cavort around town in blue sweaters, doing that thing you did as a kid where you tuck one arm into your long-sleeve sweater or shirt and connect your limp sleeve with your sleeved arm to create a oscillating hoop that you pump up and down in an opposite motion to your hidden hand, which is punching outward through said sweater or shirt. There are two young girls in the sketch who look cool and do a listless dance, lending credibility to the proceedings. This sketch is later topped with Tumblers, who proclaim to be better than pumpers. They’re not! This seems to be a sequel to “Humpers”, an early sketch of theirs. I can’t tell if the video I linked to works or not, because I’ve been having various audio-related issues and I can’t tell if it’s me or the video or WHAT. 

Channel 5’s Married News Team is back with a report from Dr. Steve Brule, who is supposedly live in wine country. He is fall-down drunk, and making an absolute fool of himself. Eventually the cat is let out of the bag; he’s in the Channel 5 studio on a green screen and he’s trying to get frisky with Jan. The sketch also sews a little bit of discord between Jan and Wayne when Jan reveals a wine allergy that perhaps Wayne hasn’t been sensitive to. Brule’s utterance of “sweet berry wine” actually spawned a real-life wine by the same name. 

I like the Brule sketch just fine, but I feel like I’ve seen people be enthusiastic about this sketch to the point that I sorta find baffling. It’s not bad, I’m just saying others love it and I don’t. 

This one has one of the better wraparounds: Eric brings an embarrassing photo of Tim being bathed as a baby and shows it to everybody watching. Tim is so humiliated by this that he turns deeper shades of red as we cut back to him, yikes! Later, Tim confronts Eric and gets pissed, and this escalates into a bare-knuckle brawl that makes They Live look like [NOTE TO SELF! DO NOT PUBLISH THIS POST UNTIL YOU COME UP WITH A REPLACEMENT FOR “GAY LIVE”, THAT IS HORRIBLE]. I feel like Eric’s physicality is usually stiff and awkward on purpose, where Tim is more versatile and perhaps easier to heap praise on for his on-camera presence. Eric makes a terrific brute in this scene, and his physical acting shines here. He’s intimidating while also being hilarious. Great Job. 

The fight, I’m sad to say, ends with Tim being beaten to death. At the funeral, the embarrassing photo is blown up and placed next to the casket. Tim has a retarded impression on his face. His father, Mr. Abso Lutely himself, is eulogizing him via pre-taped video. This has some of the funniest lines, as his own father barely commits to the grief of outliving his own son, with lines like “I just wanna wish you the best” and “break a leg”. Eric’s cell phone makes a noise, so he naturally turns it off. This triggers a lengthy goodbye song, which gets paltry funeral party very emotional, and the begin tearfully singing along. The final shot, in which Tim’s expression has somehow changed, is one of the show’s funniest moments ever. This whole final scene is so ridiculously funny. Goddamn. RIP Tim Heidecker. He died.

#adult swim #adultswim2021 #tim and eric awesome show great job

[phoukanamedpookie]

When it comes to children’s entertainment, fuck realism.

That’s right. Fuck. Realism.

Don’t get me wrong. I think kids can handle heavier topics than they’re often given credit for, especially if they’re presented in the right way. But there’s a difference between depicting or addressing things like war, abuse, and so on and indulging in cynical, nihilistic, grimdark bullshit because that’s what we’ve been taught “mature” means.

I want to focus on Avatar: The Last Airbender and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power because they’re on everybody’s mind right now, and it’s really noticeable in how often I see certain sentiments crop up.

SPOILER ALERT! You’ve been warned.

Let me start with ATLA.

I make no bones about being an Azula fangirl. She’s my fave, and I don’t apologize for it. She’s complex and compelling in a way few characters in mainstream Western animation are. Like many Azula fans, I’m ambivalent about how she ended up. It was well-executed, and it packs a helluva punch, but it plays into some iffy tropes about powerful female characters. But even with that, fine. It would’ve been nice for the show to have shown that there was still hope for her.

But what do most people think about her? That there’s nothing anyone can do or could have done to help her.

Think about what it means when people say this: that a 14-year-old girl is beyond hope.

Can you imagine a message so bleak in a show where: Iroh tells Zuko in no uncertain terms that he must not give in to despair, one episode (”The Avatar and the Fire Lord”) makes it explicit that the people of the Fire Nation are not born bad and that everyone deserves a chance, and the entire point of Zuko’s character arc is changing for the better?

“But Azula’s mean and scary!”

And Zuko was a bucket of sunshine and rainbows while he was roughing up old people on the South Pole and burning down Kyoshi Island.

Treating a child barely into her teens as if she’s an irredeemable monster is a betrayal of the themes and message of the show. That kind of cynicism belongs on Game of Thrones, not ATLA.

Then there’s that thing in the comics about Sozin outlawing same-sex relationships.

*sighs*

Y’all, I’m a Black Jewish lesbian. Every single day, I’m reminded that many places and many people have a problem with my Blackness, my queerness, my womanhood, or my Jewishness. 

I don’t need to be slapped in the face with homophobia in a story about a handful of 12- to 16-year-old kids who change the world with their friendship and awesome elemental powers.

“But it’s realistic!”

I don’t give a shit. After a week of George Floyd and Animal Abuser Amy, I don’t give a shit. And with the fact that this is far from the last time it’ll happen, I don’t give a shit. The world already does a fine job of showing kids how ugly it can be. They don’t need adults to remind them.

Which brings me to SPOP.

Some people think that redemption and forgiveness came too easy to Catra, that she apparently didn’t suffer enough consequences for her actions to “deserve” the happy ending she got.

Let me get this straight. A teenager who’s been physically and psychologically abused her whole life hasn’t suffered enough to deserve love and friendship, that she’s too toxic to be trusted around the people who know her. A teenager should be condemned for life to be cut off from everyone she knows because she was nasty to some of the nice characters.

On a show that’s blatantly about the power of love and friendship to save the world.

Really? Really?

Wanna talk about someone who can’t be trusted around others unsupervised? Shadow Weaver is right there.

But Catra? C’mon.

As with ATLA, an ending for Catra that has her cut off from everything and everyone she knows would be a fundamental betrayal of the themes and message of the show.

Besides, what purpose would ostracizing her serve? Catra already believed she was on her own because anyone she trusted would betray or abandon her. Learning to trust others and lean on them when she needs them is a step in the right direction for her.

Look at this from the point of view of a kid who sees a lot of themselves in Catra. Would you feel empowered by that message? Would it inspire you to seek the help you need? Would it convince you to trust people with the truth of who you are and not just the facade you project to the world?

I’m going to go on a limb and guess probably not.

There’s something I think a lot of grown people participating in children’s media forget. Every character who’s not an adult or a pet is probably one a child identifies with. I don’t think it’s usually deliberate on the part of creators, but it is there, and I think grownups should keep it in mind when discussing these characters and the stories they’re in.

#she ra meta #atla meta #fuck realism #azula #catra #spop spoilers

[drama-and-tv]

First half of 2020 tv shows/dramas completed

SO apparently, my original blog “may contain sensitive media” (how my original blog contains them, I have no idea because I don’t think I have ever written nor posted anything that is inappropriate) so here I am, making a new one even though there are just so so many thoughts I poured in that blog since the beginning of 2018. 

I wish I could put all of the contents from there here. But since I don’t know how to do that, I shall only put up my thoughts on the things that I have completed watching this year (2020) that I have put up from there.

With that being said, here they go... most of them in the original words that I had typed/written from last time. My only change will be the rating (now I shall use the numerical rating since I have figured how to rate things properly in numbers now) :

Season 2 of Sex Education was such a delight to watch! While I do feel that it lacks some Otis and Maeve’s interactions (and wtf is that cliffhanger?), I feel that the other characters are given the opportunity to flesh out and have really good story lines. Definitely a step up to Season 1!

FINAL RATING: 9/10

Bad news: The third part/season of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is the worst part of the show that I’ve watched so far. Good news: I still somewhat like it.

The main issue of this new-released part is how messy it is story wise. There are far too many things going on that it felt a little bit too chaotic - like there’s the Pagan storyline, there’s that Faustus storyline etc etc. It’s just too much.

What makes me still enjoy it is because of its characters. I am attached to the characters and I wanna see their journeys in this show. For instance, Ambrose and Prudence are probably the standouts in this season because they are just super badass here.

Overall, it’s okay. I would still watch this show when the new set of episodes are released.

FINAL RATING: 6/10

Honestly, Chocolate would’ve been better or ranked higher if they cut down the number of episodes - from 16 to maybe just 8.

Despite its melodramatic tone and ridiculous story line, I actually really enjoyed the initial episodes. I mean okay, the time jumps are a bit too much but I was sold on the emotions and the characters. It’s a melodrama, for crying out loud - it’s not meant to be realistic.

But then, for some unknown reason, it got draggy around the second half of the drama. And it affected my love for the drama. It was like they put a brake on the main plot and save for it the last episode (which it did).

This does not mean that it’s not a good drama. For the most part, I actually enjoyed it and I was invested in the characters’ journeys.

Just that it could be better.

FINAL RATING: 6/10

Honestly, Black Dog was not a drama I thought of watching. The posters and the plot did not make me feel compelled to watch it because for some reason, I thought this drama would be something like those corruption dramas or corporate dramas - while I can enjoy those kind of dramas, I do have to be in the ‘mood’ to watch them.

It was only when I started seeing some gifs/images over Tumblr that I started to consider it. And when more and more people raved about it, I knew that I just have to check it out.

And just like what these people said, it was good. A really good drama, actually! I think what I love about this drama is how realistic it really is. I like that I can actually relate to the world and the characters in the drama. While Haneul and I don’t share the same type of field, I can empathise with her struggles in obtaining/maintaining her employment and sitting for the certification exam. I can empathise with how she tries to navigate the world of school and teaching.

All I know is I have definitely cried or teared up in some of the episodes. (that’s really a feat cause the last time I cried like this in a tv show/drama is season 3 of Anne with an E and we all know how I feel about that show.)

I also love how there is a good balance between drama and comedy in this drama. While this is primarily a drama, I like that it doesn’t feel heavy. It makes it easier to watch multiple episodes in one sitting.

If there is one minor problem with this drama, it is that it feels like the main drama ends with 12 episodes and the remaining 4 episodes are the epilogue or extra episodes. While the remaining 4 episodes are still pretty good, it has somewhat cooled my love for this drama. However, I do appreciate it and it gives a good look at what happened after Haneul’s first year of teaching.

With that, I have contemplated on whether to give this drama the best rating I could give in the drama or the second best. Considering that there is barely any flaw in this drama, I shall give it...

FINAL RATING: 10/10

Season 2 of Kingdom did not disappoint. It maintained the same energy and intrigue that it brought in the previous season. There’s the excitement, there’s the high-quality production and there’s never really a chance for it to falter or drag. Its pacing remains consistent and I remain hooked to the end. I also like that this show does not end in an agonising cliffhanger - it wraps up the main plot that was introduced in the first season and at the same time, teases on what is to come in the possible season 3.

Overall, a really good season!

FINAL RATING: 9/10

I gotta admit, Crash Landing On You was a pretty nice watch! I initially had quite low expectations for this drama - I have hard time being truly engaged in big budget romcoms because they tend to be unrealistic and too fluffy (and I like my dramas pretty realistic).

But to my surprise, I actually really like it. The episodes (particularly the first half of the drama) were candies to the mind and to the eye! Yes, this drama is hella trope-y and there’s a lot of moments which are very unrealistic and are there to be flashy and amp up the romance. But you know, something about this drama just works.

Of course, like a lot of k-dramas, the second half of the drama is less addictive to watch. But it was still a pretty good watch. I mean, it got my mum really addicted and my brother to finally watch a k-drama beyond Kingdom after all these years.

FINAL RATING: 8/10

For someone who doesn’t know shiz about baseball, Stove League was still a very good drama to watch. It has that underdog story (in this drama, the under-performing baseball team for 2 years in a row, Dreams) that makes it easy to root for. It remained tight and consistent throughout its run. Its tone is very balanced - has good balance of serious and comic relief.

And most importantly, it’s not very hard to like the characters that matter.

Overall, very solid drama!

FINAL RATING: 9/10

When the Weather is Fine is really a good drama to watch at the moment, during the midst of this current pandemic. Even though initially (the first episode) it did not win me over due the drama’s slow pace, I gradually enjoy watching it regardless of its pace and eventually, I was hooked.

This drama has a very calming and “healing” aspect to it even though the subjects dealt can be serious. I like that even though there’s some serious issues here, the drama remains well-balanced and still has plenty of light-hearted scenes. Lim Hwi (the male lead’s younger sister) is definitely my favourite character in this drama as she brings a lot of sunshine to the table with her innocent teen self. Also, the comforting presence of the community (whether it being the Good Night Book Club member or the people/families in the neighbourhood etc) along with naturally serene setting make the drama feels warm.

With that, I recommend watching this drama, especially to anyone who wishes to seek comfort and feel warm.

FINAL RATING: 8/10

Netflix’s Never Have I Ever was an unexpected treat for me. I did not know the existence of this show prior to its release. I did not see any of its promos/trailers etc. So there was no expectations whatsoever prior to watching it.

My brother and I only happened to stumble upon it when trying to find something to watch on Netflix. So you can say that this was a present that came out of nowhere because as soon as I just went into it (within the first few minutes), I already really like it!

This show was funny. It was relatable as someone who comes from an Asian background. And most importantly, it has plenty of hearts. Trust me, I was tearing up when watching the last two episodes of this season (I sincerely hope that the show will be renewed for the next season).

Definitely a really nice show to binge quickly as it only has 10 half-hour episodes.

FINAL RATING: 9/10

Find Me in Your Memory was a pretty decent watch. Yes, it is a very standard kdrama in the sense that the plot is very very generic and there are so so many obvious tropes here. However, its characters and the chemistry of the main leads still made it worth a look. This drama might not be the most unforgettable or unique drama out there, but it is very easy to watch and it makes a good addition to anyone’s watchlist if you want something straightforward and not complicated.

FINAL RATING: 6/10

Man, A Piece of Your Mind could have easily been this perfect drama that I’ve ever watched this year had it only retained its original length. It is not to say that this drama is not good - it is as of now, actually one of the top dramas among the dramas I’ve watched this year.

This drama basically fits the type of drama I typically love: a realistic drama which examines more on its characters and focuses on emotions etc. Yes, I know people have complained that it is very slow but to me, that was part of its charm. I love slowly getting to know its characters and how they are feeling etc. I like being emotionally connected to them and follow on their journeys.

So I’m just sad the drama was cut from 16 episodes to 12 (reason being because of its low number of audiences). While the drama did its extreme best in making it work and it does not affect the main plot of the drama other than speeding things up nor does it really diminish my enjoyment for this drama, I’m just sad on what could’ve been if they were able to keep the extra 4 hours to the story. Like, we could’ve gotten better exploration on the characters etc (especially for instance that character who was played by the evil mother in law from Search: WWW and the Eunjoo’s Homestay residents and even frigging Hoon, Hawon’s colleague... like why was he even in the grandma’s house in the countryside?) . Things would’ve been more... organically unfold.

Despite all this, I still really enjoy watching this drama and I still remain invested in the characters’ journeys etc. Our main leads’ relationship feels warm and comforting. The vibe of this drama is just my kind of taste. And most importantly, I feel comforted watching it until the end.

FINAL RATING: 9/10

With that being said, those are some of the shows/dramas that I have completed up until now. Others that I have completed are season 2 of The Sinner (5/10), ITV’s Belgravia (6/10), Netflix’s The Circle France (soooo entertaining with plenty of drama and strategies, 8/10), season 18 of American Idol (8/10) and most recently, Netflix’s Extracurricular (I will eventually share my thoughts on it soon).

Stay tuned.

#tv #kdrama #completed #s education netflix #chilling adventures of sabrina #jtbc chocolate #tvn black dog #kingdom netflix #crash landing on you #stove league #when the weather is fine #never have i ever #find me in your memory #a piece of your mind #the sinner #belgravia #the circle france #american idol

[f4liveblogarchives]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #227

Thurs Apr 30 2020 [06:34 PM] Wack'd: Another story catalyzed by space objects falling to Earth [06:35 PM] Wack'd: This time a meteor lands in a lake in Pennsylvania [06:36 PM] Wack'd: One of Reed's science friends calls Reed and is like "hey, I know you're big into meteors, wanna come do science and hang out" [06:37 PM] Bocaj: Space needs to stop dumping its junk in our yard [06:37 PM] Wack'd: I mean hey, we do it too. It's reciprocal pollution [06:37 PM] Umbramatic: The Great Space Junk Exchange [06:38 PM] Bocaj: When has a thing earth sent v'gering into space ever caused a problem [06:38 PM] Umbramatic: ...what the fuck were the dinosaurs polluting space with to get what they did [06:38 PM] Bocaj: Its not like we send a hulk of stuff and crash it into gladiator planets [06:38 PM] maxwellelvis: @Umbramatic Tobacco [06:38 PM] Wack'd: @Umbramatic : *Land Before Time* videocassettes [06:38 PM] Umbramatic: dbtgfrh ojgifmhk  hjnl;.'; [06:38 PM] Bocaj: Ha [06:39 PM] maxwellelvis: The real reason the dinosaurs went extinct. [06:39 PM] Wack'd: So anyway the team is going on vacation! Johnny wants to get a tan and Sue is like "let's bring the grill" and I'm like "you're. You're going to Pennsylvania" [06:39 PM] Wack'd: Like yes the caption specifies it landed at a resort but like, c'mon [06:39 PM] Bocaj: CAN Johnny tan? [06:39 PM] Bocaj: He's exposed to heat and light every day of his life [06:40 PM] Bocaj: Can Johnny Storm get a sunburn? [06:40 PM] Bocaj: Also: why isn't his name Blaze? [06:40 PM] Wack'd: Maybe he can choose to but it's unpleasant to use his powers for it and he prefers the old-fashion way [06:40 PM] Bocaj: Hm, acceptable handwave [06:40 PM] Wack'd: Like there's a difference between being exposed to solar radiation from billions of miles off and setting yourself on fire [06:41 PM] Wack'd: Ben is grumpy because Alicia is bogged down with work and can't make it, and his only other friend will be busy with science [06:41 PM] Wack'd: (You'd think he could hang out with Sue and Johnny and Franklin but whatever) [06:42 PM] maxwellelvis: Sandman stopped taking his calls? [06:42 PM] Wack'd: Sandman tries to beat him up on the regular, what're you talking about [06:42 PM] maxwellelvis: Ahh, right, you're not reading Two-In-One. [06:42 PM] maxwellelvis: Okay, there's ONE thing in Marvel Two-In-One that causes an actual change to the status-quo in Marvel; there's an issue where Ben goes to a bar and finds Sandman is also there. So he sits down with him and they talk. [06:43 PM] Wack'd: "Yer off yer meds again, aren'tcha, Flint" [06:43 PM] Bocaj: One of my favorite scenes in the DCAU [06:44 PM] Bocaj: Get rekt that scene of Batman talking to Ace, psychic meltdown [06:44 PM] maxwellelvis: By the end of the issue, Sandman has gone legit, and for like a decade, he stayed so, until eventually some Spider-Man story needed him back on the Sinister Six. [06:44 PM] Bocaj: (Because it implies that Only Batman can human at people is why) [06:44 PM] Wack'd: Decade does seem to be where Marvel status quo changes top out sadly [06:44 PM] Bocaj: I think it was after the clone saga [06:45 PM] Bocaj: During the panic mode 'shit roll it back roll everything back fuck fuck fuck' kneejerk [06:45 PM] Wack'd: Gotta remind people of the good ol days after that stinker, yeah [06:45 PM] maxwellelvis: Then it was close to like, two decades or something. [06:45 PM] maxwellelvis: That's an astonishingly long time in comics. [06:45 PM] Wack'd: Oh wow [06:45 PM] Bocaj: Funfact: Sandman was an Avenger [06:45 PM] Wack'd: Huh! [06:45 PM] Bocaj: Reserve, but still. [06:45 PM] Bocaj: Nice [06:46 PM] Wack'd: If nothing else the idea of him as a sympathetic crook seems to have stuck [06:46 PM] Wack'd: Which is not nothing [06:46 PM] Bocaj: Sam Raimi intensifies [06:46 PM] maxwellelvis: Marvel Two-In-One Vol 1 #86 is the relevant issue. [06:46 PM] maxwellelvis: So it hasn't happened yet at the time you're reading, is the other reason you hadn't heard about it. That issue was in 1982, so about a decade and a half, give or take. [06:47 PM] maxwellelvis: And you weren't far-off with that JLU joke, @Wack'd, says here that a big thing in the issue is Sandman dealing with the trauma of having been merged with Hydro-Man. Which is probably why he's receptive to the idea of going legit. [06:48 PM] Wack'd: Alright then [06:48 PM] Wack'd: ...anyway Sandman isn't. In this one. So [06:49 PM] maxwellelvis: Yeah, this was a lot more explaining for a dumb joke than I anticipated. [06:49 PM] Wack'd: Back to the story at hand [06:50 PM] Wack'd: Ben decides he's gonna go fishing. He's got a floppy hat and a vest and everything. Also: more womanly stereotypes!

[06:51 PM] Umbramatic: i love ben's fishing outfit [06:52 PM] Bocaj: He looks so happy [06:52 PM] maxwellelvis: Fishing hats like that always make me flash back to that M*A*S*H episode where Col. Blake salutes while wearing his hat and hooks his finger on it. [06:52 PM] maxwellelvis: "What are you trying to DO to me?!" [06:52 PM] Bocaj: Oooow [06:52 PM] Wack'd: They fly into Pennsylvania and things have. Escalated.

[06:52 PM] Bocaj: "I don't want to hoard gold, I want to turn people into dinosaurs" "HE KEEPS SAYING THAT" [06:53 PM] Wack'd: For the record earlier cutaway panels show this is a bird that got mutated by the meteor but I got distracted and forgot to post it [06:53 PM] Umbramatic: that pterosaur's wings make me viscerally angr--AND THAT MAKES IT EVEN WORSE [06:53 PM] maxwellelvis: Somewhere a paleontologist is weeping [06:53 PM] maxwellelvis: OR [06:53 PM] maxwellelvis: Oh cool, I didn't know the writers of *Dino Squad* ghostwrote this issue [06:53 PM] Umbramatic: that's me, i'm the weeping palentologist [06:54 PM] Mousa The 14: The bird didn’t mutate, it simply regressed to an earlier form [06:54 PM] Bocaj: HROINK! [06:54 PM] Umbramatic: if it did that it'd be more like a velociraptor [06:54 PM] Mousa The 14: Hroink indeed. Hroink indeed. [06:55 PM] maxwellelvis: Pterosaurs and birds are completely different groups of archosaurs, that's a mutation, Mousa. [06:55 PM] Umbramatic: YES [06:55 PM] Wack'd: Not really sure why this merited a silent panel

[06:55 PM] Bocaj: Just put up an invisible force slide [06:55 PM] Mousa The 14: Artist showing off [06:56 PM] Wack'd: How bad he can draw children? [06:56 PM] Umbramatic: i dunno which makes a better reaction image, franklin's face or the pterosaur's [06:56 PM] Mousa The 14: Or to show Franklin is about to use. THE POWER [06:56 PM] Bocaj: Its not the worst tiny adult i've seen in comics [06:56 PM] maxwellelvis: Unless it leads to another god-child moment, it's a rather pointless reaction image. [06:56 PM] Bocaj: I'm not saying that its all Franklin's fault but I blame Cable on him [06:56 PM] Bocaj: God-child arms race [06:57 PM] Wack'd: So the monster explodes, and Reed collects its gem--EUGH

[06:57 PM] Bocaj: I don't like this. [06:58 PM] Wack'd: Ftr Gideon Carruthers is Reed's science friend. We already have a Gideon so I'll call him Carruthers [06:58 PM] Umbramatic: -screaming- [06:58 PM] Wack'd: To disambiguate him from the rich doofus [06:58 PM] Bocaj: I'd laugh my ass off if he looked just like gideon from gravity falls [06:58 PM] Bocaj: or even gideon from Scotts Pilgrim [06:59 PM] maxwellelvis: I know there's some sci-fi parasite this reminds me of, but I can't think what. [06:59 PM] Bocaj: Captain N mother brain? [06:59 PM] maxwellelvis: Parasite [06:59 PM] Bocaj: She was a parasite on my peace of mind [07:02 PM] Wack'd: Sue takes a moment to check that Franklin isn't traumatized but he's like "we fought and won, just like in the comics!" And then uh

[07:02 PM] Wack'd: Were comics caught up in the Satanic Panic or whatever? Like [07:02 PM] Umbramatic: -screams- [07:02 PM] Wack'd: Seems more like a 50s thing [07:02 PM] Wack'd: Also yeah that sure is a Franklin [07:02 PM] Bocaj: I think Wertham argued that kids couldn't distinguish comics from reality and yeah that was way before this I think [07:03 PM] Bocaj: I think in his book he cited an incident that I don't know if legit or not where a kid tied a blanket around their neck like a cape and jumped off a roof [07:03 PM] Wack'd: Eesh [07:04 PM] Bocaj: Not sure that could be laid at Superman's feet. He very clearly says 'I have alien powers from being an alien' [07:04 PM] Wack'd: Can't wait to see this kid's mutt mutate into MCGRUFF, THE CRIME DOG

[07:04 PM] Bocaj: Duff Dog Oh Yeah [07:04 PM] Bocaj: Suds McDuffie [07:04 PM] Wack'd: This is cool too I guess

[07:05 PM] maxwellelvis: I was going to say, I think a dire wolf is more likely. [07:07 PM] Umbramatic: awoooo [07:07 PM] Bocaj: Werewolves of Slyvania [07:07 PM] maxwellelvis: I really wish the LOTR movies had modeled the Wargs more on dire wolves than hyenas. [07:08 PM] Wack'd: Okay I think we can safely dismiss the idea of these mutations having some kind of basis in scientific reality

[07:08 PM] Wack'd: Paleontologists rest easy [07:08 PM] Umbramatic: FOREHEAD BEAM [07:08 PM] Bocaj: You've never seen a dog shoot a laser? [07:09 PM] Umbramatic: pidge shoots lasers all the time [07:09 PM] Wack'd: Anyway this time instead of the monster exploding Reed spots the parasite on the back of its neck and grabs it before self-destruct is triggered [07:09 PM] Wack'd: Kid gets his dog back and dog stops being a fiend [07:09 PM] Umbramatic: we have to prevent her from doing it to the neighbors [07:09 PM] Bocaj: Duffer... will live [07:10 PM] Wack'd: Reed I, uh, think the forehead laser puts a serious hole in your theory!

[07:11 PM] Wack'd: Also the fuck is the "evolutionary agent"? Is he claiming we have, like, an evolution gland that pumps evolution juice into our bodies that makes us not be weird history monsters? [07:12 PM] Wack'd: Okay so Reed elaborates that the forehead laser is because the parasite gives its hosts psychic powers to make them more powerful so they can steal gasoline to eat [07:12 PM] maxwellelvis: Well, sure, I can see how that- huh? [07:13 PM] Wack'd: "It makes a bizarre kind of sense," says Carruthers, who is also identified as a geologist and so I guess is just rolling with this [07:13 PM] Bocaj: Carruthers: "Its not a rock so i don't fuckin know" [07:14 PM] Wack'd: Sue is upset that Franklin is in danger and weird shit keeps finding them and Reed is like "we do have some quiet times, they just happen off-panel" and Sue is like "you're right, I'm sorry I snapped" [07:14 PM] Wack'd: And she wants a normal life and yadda yadda [07:14 PM] Bocaj: Like that time she played horsey [07:15 PM] Bocaj: REMEMBER THE HORSEY TIMES SUE [07:15 PM] Wack'd: Sue, hold on to your memories of like the first two pages of each recent arc [07:15 PM] Bocaj: Yeah! [07:16 PM] Umbramatic: thbijgthp oknjlph;[m'n [07:16 PM] Wack'd: So they send Ben down in scuba gear to get the meteor which does actually kinda look like it could be a Steven Universe corrupted gem. Unfortunately he brings something back with him

[07:17 PM] Wack'd: Remember: if a character says they want to go fishing in act one they need to catch a giant sea monster by act three [07:17 PM] maxwellelvis: Shai-hulud [07:17 PM] Umbramatic: poor ben [07:17 PM] Umbramatic: he just wanted to turn fish in to blathers [07:18 PM] Wack'd: Reed, being the smart intelligent thing he is, puts this round item down on the floor of a rocking boat [07:19 PM] Wack'd: It cracks open and [07:19 PM] Wack'd: And then Sue was the reverted evolution thingy

[07:19 PM] Bocaj: So whats the 'reverted evolution' of Sue [07:20 PM] Bocaj: Issue 1 Sue where she didn't ever contribute anything? [07:20 PM] Wack'd: Uh. Angry, I guess?

[07:20 PM] Bocaj: My idea was funnier and plausibly unfair [07:20 PM] Wack'd: True [07:21 PM] Bocaj: Hope this isn't another situation where Reed is justified in belting her [07:21 PM] Wack'd: Also Reed opens the cracked egg and finds five grooves for parasites to be in like seeds [07:21 PM] Wack'd: So after Sue there's one unaccounted for [07:21 PM] Bocaj: Dun dun dun [07:22 PM] Wack'd: Immediately resolved by it dropping out of a tree and on to Carruthers' neck [07:22 PM] Umbramatic: oh [07:22 PM] Bocaj: Whats tension anyway [07:23 PM] Wack'd: Hm. Reverting made his skin darker. Don't like that

[07:24 PM] Bocaj: I do like the resigned "Yep -- I wuz right" from Ben [07:24 PM] Bocaj: Don't like "uglier than the hulk" paired with the thing you said [07:25 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Carruthers goes after some oil because these things eat oil remember, so Johnny blows up the oil and Carruthers goes flying like in an action movie or a Looney Tune [07:25 PM] Wack'd: Thus knocking him out so Ben can get the parasite off him before he explodes [07:26 PM] Bocaj: Yaa~aaay [07:26 PM] Wack'd: Oh. Oh fuck [07:27 PM] Wack'd: I've been sitting here thinking "but why are the monsters blowing up anyway? How does that benefit the parasites? Surely they'd want to keep the host alive to keep collecting oil" [07:27 PM] Wack'd: Adding to that, Reed postulates time is a factor as to why some explode and some don't [07:28 PM] Wack'd: But, uh. I thiiiiiiink it might be a lot simpler than that

[07:29 PM] Wack'd: If I'm right, Franklin blew up the dragon and the sea monster. He wasn't around for the dog and Carruthers [07:29 PM] Bocaj: Dun dun DUUUUN [07:29 PM] Wack'd: (And probably wouldn't have blown them up if he had!) [07:29 PM] Bocaj: Geez Franklin, geez [07:30 PM] Wack'd: And now he's like "do I...blow up mommy? No, right? I feel like that's probably a no" [07:32 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Sue is not entirely mutated, just got some weird facial deformities and is a little out of it. Reed says its maybe her cosmic ray blood [07:32 PM] Umbramatic: *screams* [07:32 PM] Umbramatic: @ the franklin face [07:32 PM] Wack'd: Haha! VINDICATED

[07:33 PM] Wack'd: Honestly kudos to Moench here for successfully constructing a mystery I didn't know was a mystery until the reveal happened [07:33 PM] Wack'd: That's some good writing right there [07:34 PM] Wack'd: Less good writing: this

[07:34 PM] Umbramatic: so nice work [07:35 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Franklin blows up the parasite without hurting Reed or Sue and is very proud of himself [07:36 PM] Wack'd: And Reed concludes "uh maybe we should figure out exactly hat Franklin's deal is" before the whole team hightails it back to New York [07:36 PM] Wack'd: A happy ending maybe

[07:37 PM] Bocaj: OR IS IT? [07:37 PM] Wack'd: Nope, turns out they have another son [07:38 PM] Bocaj: Benjamin Jonathan Richards you were named after the two bravest men I know [07:39 PM] Wack'd: LETTERS! Everybody loves some letters [07:39 PM] Wack'd: Eric L Watts wants Johnny to fall in love with another superhero and Ben and Alicia to get married. I like one of those ideas [07:39 PM] Bocaj: Is that the one what did happen eventualy? [07:40 PM] Wack'd: I mean both of those happen eventually [07:40 PM] Bocaj: Or is it the one, due to the vagaries of gendered language, that has Johnny come out as queer? [07:40 PM] Wack'd: Ha [07:41 PM] maxwellelvis: Lyja isn't a superhero when she and Johnny meet, though. [07:41 PM] Wack'd: Someone wants to know how Sienkiewicz is pronounced! It's sinKEVitch [07:41 PM] Wack'd: @maxwellelvis He does also date Medusa, so [07:41 PM] Bocaj: He's dated Crystal and Medusa [07:41 PM] maxwellelvis: Good golly [07:41 PM] Bocaj: He dates Nova, not that one, who probably counts if Silver Surfer do [07:42 PM] Bocaj: Huh. This list of romantic partners I've found for him is shorter than you'd expect [07:42 PM] Wack'd: People are kind of tetchy at how much Reed stretches now. Two different letter writers are like "He's not Plastic Man!" [07:42 PM] Bocaj: Hah. [07:43 PM] Wack'd: And people really like the more domestic stuff, specifically how Sue is written [07:43 PM] Wack'd: I'm sure the fact that all the letter writers are dudes is a coincidence [07:44 PM] Bocaj: I'm kind of but not really but a little surprised that Carol and Johnny haven't gone on at least one date. They have a venn diagram social circle and Carol dated Spider-Man briefly which is a similar kind of energy [07:44 PM] Wack'd: Oh hey, look who's making her *Fantastic Four* debut

#1981 #Doug Moench #Bill Sienkiewicz #The Main Book