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thispabulum-blog · 2 years

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The Potential to Flee

What's the Tea? Tuesday

Tuesday is a blur. Did I exist on Tuesday? Who's to say. Cuddlebug and I had talked about him coming over and spending the night on Thursday, but then he found out he had to work on Friday, so the plan was to come get me once he was done with work.

And yet.

Wednesday I was at home being productive, when a cute and whiny Cuddlebug messaged me to let me know that he was done with work for the day and asked if he could come pick me up because he missed me. I think living alone is hard on him, and his best friends have COVID. I have a hard time saying no to him, unfortunately, so I told him to give me a minute to pack and then he could come get me.

At his house, he made us some pasta and we watched Better Call Saul - we're in the last season before the current one, and it's really good. It'll be difficult once we catch up.

Thursday he woke up early to go to work, and had a long and busy day, so he came home ready to crash. He took a nap, ate leftover pasta, and watched more BCS. A comfortable existence.

On Friday he got up early to go to work again, and I made myself some pancakes and eggs and bacon for lunch, which I ate while watching The Masked Singer until he got home.

I had promised the boy burgers, so we geared up for a Kroger run. I wanted to make him my favorite recipe from the Bob's Burgers Cookbook, the "A Good Manchego is Hard to Find Burger" (because it is both of our favorite cheese), and I told him if he'd shell out for the cheese ($17.99/lb ffs) I'd be happy to cook them. I even bought him some ice cream.

While we were shopping, he decided that he didn't want to eat burgers without his favorite Dublin Cream Soda, so he looked at/called a few stores until he found one that had it, and we made a 15-minute drive across town to buy all of it that they had in stock (it was only 5 bottles, unfortunately).

Once we got home he went to play vidya while I cooked, which took a while - shallots don't caramelize quickly. Of the burgers, he said "definitely one of the best things you've cooked for me. Very up there with the best burgers I've had anywhere" and this boy eats a lot of burgers. We watched more Saul until time for bed.

Saturday morning I woke up to (not because of) Clickety Clackety Boyfriend playing his spreadsheet simulator 6 feet away from my head.

Once I started getting hungry I asked if he wanted to eat cinnamon rolls and watch Better Call Saul, which he enthusiastically agreed to. So we got through an episode or two and then he went back to spam-calling landscapers to try to get his lawn and trees done, while I took a shower and started getting ready for my date with Item 9!

We had very vague plans: hang out and spend the night. So he came and picked me up at Cuddlebug's house.

When in doubt in social situations, start explaining the plot of a film. It's my go-to tactic for passing time or warming up to someone.

My understanding, from a combination of flawed memory and reading through my old blogs and messages, is that in 2013 Item 9 and myself went out on 2 or 3 in-person dates, had a few Skype calls where we'd stare at each other's cute faces and watch movies together, then kinda drifted apart over the holidays (both working in retail), and before we knew it we were both in monogamous relationships elsewhere. I couldn't recall if there was anything of substance there, as I mostly just remembered us being kinda smitten with each other - not that there's anything wrong with that. Frequency-wise, I tell Cuddlebug he's cute more often than I say anything else to him. But I don't think I could tell you anything about his actual personality or interests at that time. And I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but about a year or so after our last date, he messaged me on Facebook. I saw from his profile that he was engaged, and so I felt weird about him reaching out. I was pretty harsh with him, telling him that we hadn't been very close and didn't have much in common, so I was happy for him but wasn't really interested in talking.

When I started talking to Item 9 again this time around, it was largely out of novelty, curiosity, and coincidence. Hey, isn't it funny that we went out before and now we're both single again at the same time. It was nice to have a guy I could pretty much guarantee wasn't a catfish or a complete nutjob or asshole. But again, I wasn't sure what chemistry there might be in person.

Anyway. We drove back to his place, where he showed me around. It's almost eerie how similar his bedroom is to Cuddlebug's - just a bed with two flat pillows, and a desk (his has a tv and an Xbox instead of a computer). Though he's recently divorced so he gets a bit of a pass on that.

We hung out for a bit, made out for a bit, and talked about what we wanted to do. He had suggested maybe an arcade, or dinner and a movie, or thrift shopping, or a fourth option I don't remember (I think it might have been staying in and playing video games). I wasn't sure what movies were even out in theaters, so we checked some showtimes and landed on Vengeance, which I'd heard vague things about. We watched a trailer and I was totally sold (it helped that there wasn't anything else that I wanted to see at all, except Thor). So he bought us tickets and then we hung out for a while longer until we decided we should get dinner before the movie.

He ended up taking me to this Thai place he really likes, and it was...okay. My Pad See Ew noodles were way overcooked to the point of being kinda gummy and gross, and I unpleasantly cronched down on a bit of eggshell at one point. But the flavors were on point and the server was really nice. I feel a little bad that it's his favorite place, and I hope I can take him for some better Thai food at some point.

After he paid we boxed up our leftovers and drove back to his place to deposit them in the fridge for later. Then we found nice cuddly ways to occupy our time until we needed to leave for the movie.

On the way to the theater, I dropped my phone down the side of the passenger seat, and figured I'd wait until I got out to try and grab it. Then as I was opening the door to get out of the car, the handle cut my finger (and I subsequently forgot about the phone)! It was bleeding and he was super apologetic about it, but I told him not to worry, we'd ask for a band-aid when we got to the theater, since any place of business is gonna have to have a first-aid kit for employees anyway. Nbd. They did, and the girl was super nice and helpful about it.

Once my finger was bandaged, we waited in the concession line where he spent an obscene amount of money ($12, I think?) on a whiskey & Cherry Coke slushy for himself and a Monster for me.

Why do I continue to caffeinate when I know better?

I sat through all the same trailers as when I went to see The Black Phone with Meeko Neko (Smile, Barbaric, Don't Worry Darling), which made me a little worried that this movie was somehow going to be spooky.

We made out a lot less during this movie than when we went to see Jaws together the first time we dated. A nonzero amount, but definitely less.

The movie was SO GOOD!! I highly recommend it. I was sad that I didn't have my phone until I got back to the car, because I needed to immediately tell several people to please go see it. In general I say don't watch trailers, because they spoil too much.

We went back to his apartment and played a video game that for the life of me I can't remember the name of (Spacelines from the Far Out, I'm told). Then his controller died, so I ate my leftover Thai food and we cuddled and watched a few episodes of Adventure Time and then a few YT videos about the first 4 Hellraiser movies.

Dates + Hellraiser = 100% success

I had a hard time sleeping because of caffeine and being in a new place and general excitement. He's really so great! He makes me feel both cute and hot, which is my favorite combination. He's a tiny bit older and a tiny bit taller than me. It seems that 8 years, 1 marriage, 3 kids, and 1 divorce later, he's become really compatible with me.

He put on Frasier and passed out after 2 episodes, and I stayed up playing on my phone for a while. I had stupidly neglected to bring my phone charger (because Cuddlebug was using it when I left), and he's an iPhone guy, so I just ran down my battery until the next morning.

I got about 5 hours sleep, and waited a good hour after I got up before I woke him up as well. We had good cuddles and then ran to Starbucks and Albertsons to get stuff to make breakfast. I got to meet his brother (whom he lives with) and then I taught him how to make pancakes, which he was excited for because he knew the kids would love it.

Trick #1: Use ice water for mixing your batter

Trick #2: Mix until just combined; don't worry about getting rid of lumps

Trick #3: Let stand 5 - 10 minutes before using

Easy peasy. They all came out perfectly. We also made some bacon in the oven (425 for 15 minutes) and scrambled eggs. We ate that and watched some more Kill Count videos, and then he gave me a nice massage and I got ready to go.

Side note that's apropos of nothing except chronologically: While I was making pancakes I got a notification on my phone - let me just say I hate this entire tangent already because it's so dumb and I hate that it's occupying my mind at all - from Instagram saying that Baymax had liked my most recent Instagram post (a picture of myself and Cuddlebug). I was like huh, that's weird. We still have not spoken (which isn't entirely true because I did send him a quick Happy Birthday message on his birthday a couple months back but he certainly didn't respond), and when his online presence dropped off kinda sharply after we stopped talking, I figured he'd just blocked me on everything. At first I was a little confused, and then decided I was overthinking it and he'd probably just liked it without thinking about it while scrolling or whatever. But he has also liked two Instagram posts I've made since then.

I did a small amount of ill-advised digging, and it seems like A) he's still with his fiancee, but B) he may or may not have been living in his car recently. She also posted a TikTok that may or may not have been passive-aggressively aimed at me? And some vague drama posts of her crying and saying stuff like "you left me when I needed you" and "only real love can hurt like this" so yeahhh that sounds like some super healthy stuff. Don't date 20-year-olds.

Anyway. Back to my Adult Date.

Item 9 drove me back to Cuddlebug's house, where the two dudes got to say hi to each other and shake hands, and then Item 9 had to go run errands and such - Dad Life.

We had interrupted Cuddlebug in the middle of playing 40k, so he went back to that while I hung out and then took a shower before our very own date night, where he was super excited to treat me to burgers at a place we hadn't been to.

A friend of his had recommended two restaurants as potential replacements for his former favorite burger place (which declined in quality and increased in price after a change in management). He picked one and we made the drive over.

When we got there, it turned out to be a very douchey mostly-bar, with lots of dartboards and pool tables and not any actual tables that I could see. We walked in and he turned to me like "I say fuck this place, how about you?" so we immediately walked back out. As I said when we got back into the car, "The vibes were not immaculate".

We drove to place #2 with high hopes, and stood next to the empty hostess stand for about 5 minutes until a bartender walked over to us with menus and said the kitchen was closing for dinner in 20 minutes. We didn't want to be those people, so we left as well. That one we'll try again another time, it looked okay.

Then came the fun game of sitting in the car in the parking lot, already hungry, trying to find a place to eat (not too expensive, that we hadn't been to together before, and open after 9pm on a Sunday). I suggested a 24-hour breakfast place I love about 20 minutes away, which I'd been wanting to take him to.

I'm happy to report that it was a much more successful endeavor! I did a build-your-own scramble, which was biscuits topped with white gravy, scrambled eggs, hash browns, cheese, sausage, and mushrooms. I let him try some of mine and he agreed that I made the better choice and he's definitely getting that next time.

Very full and pretty sleepy, we drove home and watched the first episode of Venture Bros (my suggested replacement now that we've finished Rick and Morty) before going to sleep.

I had a very cute wake-up on Monday morning. I was very slightly awake, and I heard a small noise from the other side of the bed, so I peeked over my pillow to see if Cuddlebug was up yet. He was facing me but looking at his phone, and when I looked at him he made eye contact with me and his face lit up in this big smile.

What a cute boy.

We cuddled and did our own stuff for a while, then went out for sushi lunch, where he peer-pressured me into ordering more sushi than I could eat while attempting to explain the concept and lore of Eve Online - sometimes I like to give strangers/servers the impression that we're on a really bad first date by making a guy ramble about super nerdy shit. Fun hobby of mine.

After lunch we went back home briefly, and then headed back out for errands. First was the game store to sell some games and buy some games. Then to Wal-Mart for all the necessary household purchases: trash bags and Cheerios. Then an adult store for adult items. Then home, where we both crashed for a couple hours.

Post-nap, Cuddlebug needed to do some assessments for job application stuff. There was a 30-question Excel quiz that stated he could use any source for help, so he used me. Then more Eve, some BCS and ice cream, and another episode of Venture Bros before sleep.

A good week.

#online dating #dating #okcupid #poly #relationships #Spotify

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sortasirius · 3 years

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What the Fuck Happened to the SPN Finale?

Okay so here it is, my Charlie Kelly style manifesto.

Before I get into it, I recognize that I will look like this to many of you, and that’s okay, I understand:

Secondly, your personal Takes about the writers don’t interest me, I don’t need to hear them. This, as I’ll explain, is going to remain a writer positive blog, and that’s the end of it.

Third, and most importantly: some of what I’m going to talk about is fact, and some is highly educated speculation. I will notate what is speculation, just so there’s no confusion or hot takes in my inbox that I’m a conspiracy theorist or stirring shit up for no reason.

A list of what I’ll be discussing

The episode in regards to the rest of the season

The episode issues: length, editing

Scene placement and speculation of scenes cut

The scrubbing of Jack, Cas, Eileen

Network involvement and general timeline of when things were cut

Misha: theories on where he was, official company line, why we can’t expect to hear anything directly

The silence of the cast post episode (in Misha’s case, mid episode) and what this might mean

Jensen speaking with Kripke about the ending: why it doesn’t mean what you might think (also why kripke remained positive on the ending)

Walker, and why this episode had a major shift

Why the network would do this or get involved

Why the writers of the show simply aren’t the bad guys here, and what I “want” out of this post, since I know it’ll get asked

This is very long and under a cut, but I hope you’ll give it a read.

The Episode In Regards to the Rest of the Season

So, I’ve discussed this already here, but it’s the most obvious thing to me, and that’s the way this episode simply doesn’t fit with the rest of the season.

These people in this room have, truly, been nothing but consistent when it comes to their arcs, especially this season, and the marked dropoff in quality for the finale episode is just too sus to discount to me. Dabb’s whole focus has been character-based. In his seasons, we’ve moved far away from MOTW and bro-codependency, the found family taking it’s place. Does it really sit right to anyone that that was all thrown away in literally the last episode of the entire show?

This is speculation on my part, but as a writer myself, there is no way I would be happy or willing to stamp my name on something that I didn’t think would, at the very least, wrap up the season+ character arcs that I and my team had been crafting.

And before anyone comes in here saying, “well GOT did that!” Bruh. The writing was on the wall for GOT long before the final episode. You could tell that the showrunners just wanted to be done (not only from the plot, but from the fact that they lobbied for a shorter season). Miss me with that, it doesn’t apply here. Andrew has, besides Singer and J2, been with the show longer than anyone. He cares, he is meticulous and detailed, and this ending feels worse than anything Bucklemming has ever written, let alone Dabb.

Additionally, I’ve seen a lot of people say that Dabb was never behind Destiel, that it was all Bobo and Meredith and no one else. That is reductive to the point of insult of the work Dabb has done to get this greenlit. This man did not write the s13 Dean grief arc to be slandered like this. That being said, YES, Bobo and Meredith were the leads on the DeanCas arc this season, but ANDREW IS THE SHOWRUNNER, TO GET EVEN THE CONFESSION APPROVED BY THE NETWORK HE WOULD HAVE TO HAVE THEIR BACKS. AND HE DID.

Finale Issues

So, now that we’ve gotten the fact that this episode doesn’t hit on any of the major themes the show was barrelling towards all season, let’s discuss the fact that the episode is just...weird.

Not only is it shorter than any other episode (I think with the intro and the credits/crew thing at the end, it was around 38 mins), but it was also...idk, 90% filler?

One of the lovely humans in the POLOL server did the legwork here, and broke it down:

This is weird, y’all. Most series finales are LONGER than normal (Lost, SOA, Longmire are the ones I can think of off the top of my head), and for the final episode to be this? I saw more than one person point out that we only really needed 19 episodes, what was the point of 20? AND THAT’S EXACTLY IT? WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THIS FINAL EPISODE IF THIS WAS ALL WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GET?

It simply doesn’t make any sense, the first half of the episode was rushed, a final monster hunt gone wrong, but in the second half? Nothing really happened? Sam lived his entire life and Dean just drove around. It doesn’t make sense to have all the emotional arcs left unaddressed in an episode that definitely needed some kind of spark.

Here’s the speculation I have: the episode seemingly went through a lot of changes between the initial inception of the final season and when we actually got it, but I think it would have been passable (as in, we wouldn’t be sitting here asking each other why each arc feels incomplete) until the editing room got ahold of it. The only think that makes this episode make sense is network fuckery. Truly, that is the only thing. It explains the weird, cuts, the rushed pacing of the first half followed by nothing in the second half, the double montages of “Wayward Son” back to back, and Dean just...driving around for the last half of the episode.

Scene Placement and Speculation of Scenes Cut

Before I get into this section, the info of the shots in the episode I have come from a source that @occamshipper got a week or so before the finale. She’s talked about this here.

So here’s what Min was given:

1-5: 1 INT MEN OF LETTERS – DEAN’S ROOM Dean is greeted by Miracle

6-10: 6 INT MEN OF LETTERS – HALLWAY/SAM’S ROOM Sam has his routine

D1 1 11-15: 15 EXT FARM HOUSE Establishing

N1 1/8 16-20: 19 Dad’s journal, marker, drawing of masked man in journal.

21-25: 23 INT IMPALA – PMP Driver picks the music

N2 1 3/8 1,2 26-30: 28pt2 INT BARN: A face from the past

28pt3 Sam and Dean say goodbye

28pt4 Shot early for technical reasons, presumably the overhead shot

N2 31-45: 41 INT MEN OF LETTERS – SAM’S ROOM Sam’s alarm goes off D4 1/8 1 46-60: 56 INT N7glasses for Sam, laptop.

So...it all fits right? It all tracks with the actual episode, where it lands, etc. The issue is between shots 29-40 which were apparently “too big to spoil.” Uh. Where are they? And where’s 28 pt4?

After Dean dies, the next scene is Sam burning him, then shot 31, the shot of his alarm going off.

So. Where are those 11ish shots?

PLUS we have the boards, which are scenes we KNOW were actually shot:

As well as scenes for 20 that were shot in 19.

It’s just...weird, it’s weird and again hits on the fact that the episode is so short and like 80% montage.

The Scrubbing of Jack, Cas, and Eileen

So now we have to reckon with the fact that Eileen was last mentioned by Sam after she got snapped by Chuck, Jack’s last mention is that he’s off being God somewhere, and Cas’ last mention is a ~knowing look~ between Dean and Bobby.

I’m sorry, make it make sense:

???????? That’s the end if it? They don’t need to be discussed after this??? It’s just simply not something a writer would do, they would not introduce these characters, these arcs, without thinking there’s going to be some kind of follow through here.

So not only were three major characters (including two leads and both of the original characters’ love interests) completely wiped from the finale episode, it was as though Sam and Dean never even needed them, which just...ain’t it.

So why Eileen and Jack too? Why not just take Cas out of it if they were afraid of the gay? Because, ultimately, the episode went back to Kripke’s original story: just the bros, they only need each other and no one else. They don’t want anyone else, they don’t need anyone else. Easier to go back to something they knew was successful than trust the writers and their audience and take a big leap.

Alex even said he shot for 20 with “some of the guys” here. What happened to that footage?

The complete 180 of it all still shocks me, I still cannot believe that we were essentially at the finish line, and the network just stopped short, and decided to go run another race, at the expense of the arc of this fifteen year legacy show.

Network Involvement and When Things Were Cut

Okay, now into the juicy stuff.

So I’ve pretty well established that network fuckery is clear, but how much did they get involved, what was the original intent?

Well again, we may never actually know what Andrew’s original script was, but I think, at the least, it would involve Dean speaking his truth to Cas and Sam living a life with Eileen.

Now, it seems today, that Misha said that Jimmy Novak was supposed to be in the finale in one iteration of the script, and while initially my brain was like “that truly makes no sense and he’s either straight up lying or telling a half truth,” I think what may be happening is Misha talking about as much as he can right now.

So Jimmy right. Weird as fuck. Why would he been in the Roadhouse and not Cas? My current thought (this is about as reachy as I’ll get) is that Jimmy had no lines, could he have been in the Roadhouse as a red herring, like it said “Jimmy” in the script but it was just Cas in human clothes, a way to get around the network saying Cas couldn’t be in the final scene. Also, you’ll notice that Misha didn’t say that Cas wasn’t supposed to be in the ep at all, just Jimmy in the last scene.

All this to say, there have clearly been multiple versions of the script, getting lighter and lighter with Cas and Eileen as the network pulled further and further back. Remember, Dabb has to get things approved before they get shot, and if the network kept asking and asking and asking to cut Cas and Eileen, he had to find a way to work around it. Granted, I still think that if we had been able to get a Dabb script that wasn’t torn to shreds in editing, it wouldn’t be so bad. It may not be what a lot of us wanted (Dean speaking his truth to Cas and a reciprocation), but doing everything he could to give it to us in subtext or visual clues.

Plus, in all honesty, my man can’t keep his story straight anyway. He said twice in his panel that the Empty and offscreen Heaven ending weren’t his original ending either.

In addition, remember that Jensen did ADR post episode 18, AND said in a meet and greet last weekend that Dean’s reaction to Cas’ confession was “cut down.” (Source here). Many of us clowns got excited when we first heard about ADR, because we thought it would be upping the ante on Dean’s reaction, but I remember being a little sus when it was just crying. My speculation on that is that they cut out Dean actually SAYING something, @winchestersingerautorepair spoke about that here.

The biggest sins were, in my opinion, committed during editing, where the network got too gun shy and sliced the episode until it was nothing but a heartless bro-fest of a finale, not mentioning anything about the other major characters that we all love, and letting the boys just suffer in separation until Sam died and finally joined Dean in Heaven. The editing came by cutting all the major emotional beats between anyone other than Dean and Sam, leaving the skeleton of the story intact, just shorter and less...poignant than it was ever supposed to be.

Misha

We know Misha was in Vancouver, we know he quarantined, but we also know he wasn’t in the final scene, when he spoke about being in the last moment of the show months ago. We were not crazy, he was there, he quarantined, and, in all likelihood (speculation but fitting with the timeline), he actually may have shot something (not much, but something).

I have sources here, here, here, and here showing where Misha was at that time.

Remember, the man was completely open about coming back until they finished shooting (look at this thread). The switch happened, just like everything else, halfway through them shooting.

Please also remember Jake Abel posting his “Where’s Misha” video here. Jake isn’t malicious, he isn’t being nasty here. Misha was there, and everyone that’s trying to convince people he’s wasn’t just...isn’t telling the truth about it.

This is one of the things that makes me really mad, because they’re literally attempting to gaslight people into thinking, “oh we were totally wrong he was never supposed to be there” WHEN HE WAS THERE, WE KNOW HE WAS THERE.

So we’ve already heard from several people (Meghan Fitzmartin, Jay, a PA on the set of 19 (WHO WAS NOT WORKING FOR 20), Misha himself) that this was all down to Covid restrictions. Ultimately, as this post says, we’ve heard FIVE versions of where Misha was. None of it makes sense, but the Covid protocol seems to be the company line that others are repeating.

You may ask: why? Why lie to all of us when we have questions? Why, in Jay’s case, say that we’re all spreading false lies to stir up trouble, when we just have questions and things that do not make sense. Simply? Warner Brothers is absolutely massive. These people have their careers to protect and are likely all under NDAs. They want to work for WB again and don’t want to burn bridges, including Misha. It sucks, but that’s why it’s unlikely that we’ll hear someone come out and say, “yeah we’re lying to you.”

Silence of the Cast Post Episode

So this is...probably the worst part of all this, at least in my opinion.

The guys had all been pretty excited about the end of the show (especially Jared, but Jensen’s panel last week was Jensen as happy and jokey and positive as I’ve ever seen him. He was so excited about episode 18, about what it meant for Dean and for Cas, and I just cannot buy that he would have been that excited unless he thought there was something more in the episode.

Misha live-tweeted the episode, and was watching it with his kids. It’s well known that Misha and the kids don’t watch the show because it’s too scary, and let’s ask ourselves, why would he have them watch an episode that he’s barely even mentioned in?

He also stopped live-tweeting at a very specific point in the episode (Dean’s death) and has not mentioned Supernatural since then.

None of them, not Jared, Jensen, Misha, or even Alex, said anything about the episode for nearly 36 hours, when Jensen posted a salty photo on instagram. It’s just...not what you’d expect for the end of a 15 year show, when the cast and crew are so close to the fans, so close to each other.

My theory? They didn’t know. They thought Misha was, at least, going to be in the episode in some way, and when he wasn’t, they decided not to say anything.

You really think that Jensen “Heller” Ackles would have been so excited about the end of the show last week if he thought Cas wasn’t going to be in it at all? Nah son, doesn’t make any sense.

Even today, in Jared and Misha’s panels, they seemed sad and...more than a little careful, both saying that there were things they couldn’t say, both talking around things that we all have questions on.

Jensen Speaking with Kripke

So this is where a lot of people are getting fodder to take shots at the writers, saying that Jensen hated it from the beginning, but I don’t think so. I actually think I know what Jensen went to him about, and it wasn’t the lack of Cas or the weird pacing or the montages (which I don’t think were there when Jensen got the script); I think it was the manner of Dean’s death.

I know a lot of people were upset about that, upset with how...normal it was, coming off an episode where they literally beat God. I actually didn’t mind it, I thought it was an interesting thematic take to be like: you can be a hero all your life, but sometimes shit happens, and you just die.

But imagine how hard that was for Jensen to read. He would run to Kripke for that, because for him, Dean dying by being impaled by a piece of rebar had to be tough to swallow.

So, why didn’t Kripke say that? Why didn’t he say, “oh well he had a problem with Dean’s death, none of that other stuff was in the script.”

Guys. Why would he get involved? He’s not going to burn bridges any more than anyone else is. He said the ending was good because it’s the easy thing to do, it’s simple, will cause him no problems in his career, and he can just ignore the people trying to engage with him on it.

Walker

Something else to talk about is the major shift this episode had from the rest of the season: the shift from Dean to Sam. I am NOT saying that Sam isn’t important, he definitely, absolutely is, but it was DEAN who really needed to wrap up his arc, Sam just needed to move on, get married to Eileen, become the leader he was always meant to. So what changed? What was with the shirtless scene, the Austin number and random case there, most of the episode being heavily Sam focused, going through his entire life in a montage?

Anyone else notice the 375 Walker promos, or Jared’s little spiel about Walker and how he hoped SPN fans would “come along for the ride.”

It’s...kinda obvious? CW wanted to appeal to who they think the key demographic of SPN and Walker is: rural areas in the South. It would explain a lot, why so much editing, why so Sam focused, the Austin number, the number of Walker promos, all of it.

I’m not saying this is fact, I don’t know that it is, but it is a little suspicious that even in Jared’s panel today, he talked A LOT about Walker and how he hopes SPN fans will watch it.

Why Would the Network Get Involved?

Simply put: $$$

If they think Walker can be the new SPN, and that those crazy SPN fans liked it originally, it’s a lot safer to go with the “original intent” of the show than do something risky (like making one of your two original leads queer).

And? They don’t care. They don’t care that the episode didn’t make sense, they don’t care that all the emotional arcs were left hanging, they don’t care by (potentially) smashing together two of Dean’s monologues (one to Sam, one to Cas) that it came of as...gross. ( @curioussubjects wrote a beautiful post showing how part of that death speech was likely meant for Dean here). They don’t care, they never have, they just want to make their money and move on from the too-loud fandom that fought for representation too hard for too long.

It can’t help but feel insidious, which, honestly, it might be, but it really all comes down to the next cash cow, which, they think, is Walker, even at the cost of the fifteen year legacy show.

The Writers and What I Want

So here it is, all this weird, sus shit laid out on the line. And you know what? To me, there is no way to blame the writers, because they didn’t want this.

I don’t think Dabb and Bobo would have gone ahead with the confession in 18 without thinking that there would be some closure to that arc, they wouldn’t have done that not only to the fans, but for the sake of their own story as well: no writer wants to start something that they can’t finish. (And this applies to both Cas and Eileen).

Here’s a basic rundown of what I think happened: they had a clear arc from 18-20, ending in reciprocation at some level from Dean, Sam marrying Eileen, Hunter Sam as the new Bobby, Dean in heaven with Cas and big roadhouse reunion at the end. Covid prevented a good amount of that. Network had to stare at big gay 18 for six months, got cold feet. Thought about Walker, target audience and alienation of the rural areas if it went full gay. Misha quarantined and likely shot something (not much), he was then cut by execs and went home. They likely added in lines referencing Eileen and Cas to make it clear but more subtextual. They wrap, editing gets it and hacks it to pieces, so we get a shorter episode that’s mostly montages and jarringly bro-centric with nothing else. Arcs are left hanging. Dabb gets episode but it’s too late, there’s nothing he can do. Actors aren’t told so they can continue to do positive PR for the ending, they all found out at the same time we did: hence almost complete silence about the finale.

And you know what? They warned us. I talked about it here, but they’ve been telling us all season that Chuck wasn’t the writer, he’s the network. I don’t think, still, that they thought it would be cut up like this, into something so unsalvageable that it’s been panned by almost everyone, even people who didn’t care much about Dean and Cas.

Finally, a masterpiece can be ruined by editing, and while I’m not sure even the script they ended up shooting on was a masterpiece (due to the network meddling already), but to me it’s blatantly obvious that it’s no one but the network that caused this, that took away closure for Dean, Cas, and even Sam.

So what do I want? Nothing really, there’s nothing we can do, but I wrote this mostly to show people that the writers are not your enemy. In fact, to the people trashing them? You’re doing exactly what the CW wants you to: blame the obvious targets, blame Misha, blame Jensen and Jared, blame Dabb. Scream and yell at them on Twitter and about how the show is ruined because of them. The network keeps their engagement levels high, they don’t get as targeted for their behavior, and just keep moving along.

Just, please, think about who did this, Mourn the show, be angry, but not at the people who fought tooth and nail for this for literal years, not the people who wanted it more than we did, not the people who cannot say anything because of their careers and the NDAs they’re bound by.

Someone is going to spill eventually, but until then, we just have to wait, and continue to be loud.

#my writing #my meta #supernatural #spn #spn finale trash fire #MY MANIFESTO IS DONE

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facelessfrey · 3 years

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Roswell New Mexico - Season 3, Episode 2

I’m definitely less frustrated this season than I was last season, at least so far. I almost don’t know what to do with that. Haha. I don’t need to yell as much.

Plot Counter: 5 1. Who is in the coffin?/ Maria’s visions and deterioration 2. Saving Max/Jones/The Dictator??? 3. Deep Sky 4. Liz’s research 5. Wyatt’s Amnesia???

So there’s still plenty going on but it all kind of feels like it could come together into something much more than last season so that gives me some kind of hope.

With Alex at the center of the Deep Sky storyline, I might even be bothered to remember the actual name of it instead of constantly calling it Blue Sky like I did last season. At least in this episode, it actually was something more than some rambling from Jesse and a ring or two. That escape room test was wild but I’m vaguely intrigued by the thing that turns on for a minute every 47 days. Or at least I’m intrigued by Alex’s enthusiasm over it. I just fear for him being isolated all season. I hope he’s not and I hope this at least leads to some kind of answers that are helpful.

The Jones stuff was interesting. I’m curious to see where they go with the home planet stuff. The og Roswell definitely got into some stuff with their actual planet that was interesting so I want to see what they do here. I mean if Dictator Dad is immortal, he could definitely still be alive I suppose. That could be interesting for Michael. I don’t know, it could all go horribly wrong and be terrible or it could be really good. With this show, it’s hard to tell but let’s see.

Still not sure what’s going on with Liz’s research but I still feel like she’s going to just save Max or something again in the end and....zzzz. Haha. I’m glad she’s getting to do sciency things but I also want her actually involved in the main story this season.

Maria is solidly involved so far with this whole “who’s in the coffin” vision quest thing, which is good. I’m just still not a fan of that kind of plot device. Now, were those masked burglars actually supposed to be something, or just a random occurrence to trigger a vision? Who knows.

I continue to like seeing Kyle interact with everyone. He’s helping up the interaction this season although I still need more. I’m at least happy to finally see some nice moments between him and Rosa. Those were sorely lacking last season when he was quarantined off with Steph.

I do not understand the point of this Wyatt story. Are they trying to redeem him? Give Rosa closure? Does she need an amnesiac Wyatt to do that? I still really don’t want them to date. I don’t know, I don’t like it.

I kind of missed what singer girl said she was doing. Did she say she was a reporter or something? Either way, I like her and I still think she’s too good for Max. Although what she’s writing about did feel a little like box ticking on the social issues checklist so I hope they do something real with it although I don’t know that they really have room to do so.

We got an all too brief appearance of Kyle’s mom and it reminded me that I feel like they’ve never known what to do with the parents on this show. I mean the parents weren’t overly involved in the original show aside from Valenti but I still feel like we got more of a sense of Max and Isobel’s parents, especially their mom and then Liz’s dad and we got quite a bit of Maria’s mother but here I often feel like they just stick them in there but don’t really know who they are or what role they have. I know they’re adults in this version so that probably limits the parental interaction but I don’t know, I wish they did more. Speaking of parents...where is Papa Ortecho this season? I miss him.

Overall though, another decent episode and I’m intrigued by several story threads and none of this review is in all caps so I think that’s a good sign. Also, I like seeing more scenes in the Crashdown. It was such a big part of the original show and I don’t think we saw enough of the characters there in previous seasons so that’s been nice.

#roswell new mexico #rnm spoilers #roswell reviews #rnm s3e2 #roswell nm reviews

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allkinds-oftrash · 3 years

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Ya girl is watching the latest HSM series ep and Imma live blog it hshshs and will add my reactions under the cut so it doesn't end up a long post. Anyways, let's goo:

AHHHH THE MORNING SHOW WITH GINA AND EJ WE LOVE TO SEE IT

They really said we're gonna let life imitate art with Nini and Olivia huh

Ricky was SUPPORTIVE??? Damnn I really thought we gonna get a classic Ricky tantrum....

But also wow sir that sounds salty and should definitely talk to someone abt how you're feeling...A therapist maybe 👀

I know we needed to contextualise how Ricky felt abt the song but I really wanted to see Nini's interview in full!!

Sebby you're so cute I do wanna see yall do DEH

Shjshshs not the rights not being available for another 5 years 😭😭

I dunno how they're in great shape and closer to the Menkies Gold after not having a single proper rehearsal, but go off Miss Jenn

Omg honestly Kourt's costumes are always amazing and on point Imma excited to see it

Kourt is such a simp we love to see it

Carlos is so pissy this episode we love to see it shshhs

Also love the way Seb calms him down and keeps him nice it's such a funny dynamic

"We had 20 people make our Belle dress over 50 hours" Okay North High shut the fuck up

I'm calling it now the reason North High knows so much is cos Howie is the leak and Kourt has been unwittingly telling him. The way her phone keeps going off as they discuss how North High knows everything is really good foreshadowing if my prediction is right

Also like her phone went off just as Carlos said "How did they know that?" THAT'S PEAK FORESHADOWING

If Howie ain't in North High, I dunno what Tim is doing

GSJAGSHAH KOURTNEY MAKING ABS FOR EJ I CANNOT

"I have abs" We know sweetie

"I PADDED THE THUSH FOR YOU" "AWW THANKS KOURT I NEEDED THAT" THIS INTERACTION IS EVERYTHING THAT WAS SO FUNNY!! I love that it is now canon that EJ has abs but no butt love that for him

Okay but like damn these costumes are great!! North High can fuck right off with its high end ones I just wanna see lowkey homemade costumes by students; I'd watch a Broadway show if I wanted to see professional costumes okay

Damn Carlos has killer eyesight clocking in that mask in the trunk

GINA BBY DON'T SAY THAT AND HAHSGSH NINI NUDGING HER WAS SO FUNNY

Nini's little look over at Gina was like "Omg you guys my girlfriend is so cute and dumb" GINI STANS HOW WE FEELING?

Miss Jenn don't be that naive, your boyfriend probably put them up to it

That Insta page is prophetic with their timing tbh; all the info is a leak obviously looking at your Howie but like the timing of it all. Those kiddos don't know that they are discussing the stolen mask at this exact moment (Kourt has put down her phone after Carlos snapped at her so Howie doesn't know they are talking abt it rn)

"We don't dance with the enemy" *cuts to her dancing with Zackey later*

SEBBY WEARING THE TEACUP COSTUME OMG HE'S GOING MAKE SUCH A CUTE CHIP (yes I am still mad Seb/Joe was robbed but Imma fangirl over the costume anyway)

Wtf why does North High look so expensive - they are literally in the same district as East High right??? How did they get this much funding

North High is a very artsy and rich for a public school; they should have had Nini go here instead of YAC tbh (like this campus feels like what YAC should have been) NOW THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN AN INTERESTING STORYLINE

Seblos' dynamic IS ON POINT THIS EP I really love my bois so much and their back and forth is hilarious

Shhshs DIANE who loves volleyball and North High okay I totally believe it

WHY ARE RED AND ASHLYN SO KINKY EVERY DAMN EPISODE TIM THESE ARE UNDERAGED CHARACTERS STOP IT

Shshsh we love Gina knowing herself and practicing self control by volunteering to be the lookout

Omg yall listen to Carlos and stfu they are so lucky no one saw or heard them yelling Wildcats

Oh no no no no no Miss Jenn you gonna get sucked in; this is gonna be so messy

Omg I saw someone post about this scene before I watched the ep YALL ARE RIGHT THAT BOI HITTING ON GINA IS SO FINE Babes go for that one, not EJ

NOT THEM FAKE DATING UGH E W TIM STOP MAKING ROMANTIC PORTWELL A T H I N G I honestly do not understand how some of yall can ship it romantically knowing Sofia is a whole underaged babey and Matty is a whole ass grown man - like I get the appeal of the Wonderstudies getting together and they do have chemistry but the irl age gap is creepy and outweighs the appeal of shipping them romantically

As I always say; Portwell/Wonderstudies should be a BROTP not an OTP

Ugh Brotp Portwell would have clocked Lily right away; romantic Portwell making googly eyes at each other isn't helping anyone

Living for Nini getting the recognition she deserves - I really like her solo arc this season she's so much more interesting without Ricky tbh

Aww Kourt you simp I love her and I'm so happy she's happy I wanna be wrong about Howie being a North High kid

Where is the mask??

OHMYGOD THESE KIDS COMING IN LIKE A HORROR MOVIE

Lily really wishes she was Jesse St. James huh; you could never Lily so stop

Andrew Barth Feldman and his cute little French accent I love him so much

Hnng Miss Jenn gonna get manipulated by this hoe. Omg wowow Zackey really is a hoe, making out with another girl before the show THE AUDACITY OF HIM SAYING MISS JENN WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH I WILL THROW HANDS WITH THIS MOFO

Wait the kids didn't steal it BUT WHAT IF ZACKEY DID

Ssjsgfajhdfg I CANNOT WITH ANDREW'S ACCENT but I can't tell if its really bad or really good but I'm also confused why didn't they just cast a French person as Antonie shshhs Antoine is adorableee and a little shit the best type of character

Lily is so annoying b y e sis bye and Olivia Keegan is talented I just wish they didn't make her character such a cartoony villain type

"How about if we bop to the top" SEBBY I LOVE YOU AND NEVER STOP BEING SO CUTE I SWEAR and Awww Carlos called him Honey I am s o f t

Hnng why do these fools are really gonna give into North High calling them chickens

OHHH NO SHE DIDN'T JUST SAY THAT ABOUT ASHLYN FUCK A DANCE OFF I AM ABOUT TO THROW HANDS WITH A 16 YEAR OLD

"She told us not to dance with the enemy. She's better than this" No Sebby, she's not *cuts to her dancing with Zackey* AND OMG THE WAY I SAW THIS EDIT COMING BEFORE IT CAME

Ooooh I like this song wayyy more whatever the mess The Mob Song became (when I first heard it drop on Spotify yesterday) Around You is such a great song musically and lyrically very relevant to these two and gosh I love their voices together

They have so much chemistry damn, go home Mike (well he technically has oop) and Mr. Mazzara

YES YOU DO MISS JENN YOU ALWAYS HAD IT

Oh god this is the scene from the trailer; she's gonna make a move on Ricky isn't she?? Leave him alone Lily he doesn't need a 3rd girl to be confused about he needs a therapist

Lily shut the fuck up with quasi; STOP TRYING TO MAKE QUASI HAPPEN

"I love Nini's song" Sure, Jan.

...Okay yes you should have called him out but don't bait him LIKE THAT oop there's the scene from the trailer

Ohmygod is Andrew Barth Feldman gonna hit on Ashlyn

Okay this is so cute but also I am VERY annoyed with the way this show handles its characters like they aren't relevant or important unless they get into a relationship or a love triangle?? That's such a shitty way to give out screentime and arcs to characters. Is it not enough to develop the characters on their own and strengthen their friendship???

HUH TIM why you so obsessed with compulsory heterosexuality??(well also homosexuality for Seblos but they are the only ones I'm not annoyed with their relationship cos its a hella big step for Disney to have a gay couple and their relationship isn't in our faces or overshadows the plot and its just spinkles of cuteness every time they interact - they are honestly who Rini wishes they were; besties in love. They are a couple that Tim should be taking notes from; leave the relationship drama in the background, focus on the theatre and friendship aspect of everything)

My mini rant aside; this is a very adorable interaction between Ashlyn and Antoine.

"TOM HOLLAND ON STILTS" GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE WITH THAT COMPARISON I AM SCREAMING ANTOINE THAT'S SO FUNNY

This is so funny he keeps picking out the hottest guys of the group; as if he himself isn't the French version of Big Red they look super alike ngl shshsh

WHY YOU RUIN IT WITH THAT ANTOINE I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU

Drama between Antoine and Red is already spicing up shshsh I cannot

Why are you so dramatic with the shuffle Lily gtfo of here...also this doesn't make sense?? She wasn't even on a BATB playlist; what if a non BATB song came on ahahah

Good to know they aren't big fans of The Mob Song like I am Awww EJ you cutie, okay I will appreciate the OG Mob Song just for you

OH WAIT HE PROLLY LIKES IT COS ITS A GASTON LED SONG TIM GIMME THE EJ SOLO I DESERVE IN THIS NUMBER

I'm being robbed of Gaston for the last 7 eps I at least deserve an EJ solo for compensation

The way the set looks straight out of Broadway but also like omg the blue lighting and fancy stage gave me intense flashbacks to that Glee episode where Vocal Adrenaline sang Bohemian Rhapsody

RICKY STOP BEING SALTY AND ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND LIKE A NORMAL PERSON

OMG THE SUBTITLES SAID ITS HOWIE SINGING AS THE BEAST I FUCKING CALLED IT

Howie you hoe you gonna break my girl Kourtney's heart

Yeah...still not a fan of Antoine's Dance Remix

Yall know Gina would kill the dance number if she wasn't wearing that fit

Okay but it's Gaston led song WHY DOES EVERYONE BUT EJ HAVE A SOLO IN THIS SONG??

First the Beasts led it (Howie sounded better than Ricky ngl), then the Lumieres (their voices worked hella well together; I always forget what a talented singer Frankie is THEY NEED TO GIVE HIM A SOLO SONG) and now the Belles are going at it (Ashlyn's voice is superior)

BIG RED BEING JEALOUS AND SALTY IS SO FUNNY ITS LIKE A PUPPY BEING ANGRY I CRI

...Did anyone really win, Lily??? STFU

CARLOS IS RIGHT AND HE SHOULD SAY IT

Oooh I did see someone talk about this when the Rose Song dropped last week, apparently its illegal to add songs to a musical you're doing for a school play; I really thought the show would brush past that irl rule but I guess they are playing into it

THE WAY EVERYONE TURNED TO EJ FOR THE SPORTS METAPHOR I AM D Y I N G AND HIS FACE WAS GOLDEN! ITS LIKE THAT LISA SIMPSON MEME SHHSHSH

Okay Nini is being a little pissy about leaving her song out of the show and its a little selfish to wanna keep it at the risk of being disqualified but I also understand why she's hurt

Everyone is dog piling on her right now being against her idea and it feels like they are being against her song and her herself instead of them not wanting to be disqualified. Also like she poured her heart and soul into the song after Miss Jenn lowkey rushed her to write it. So I can see why this feels like a rejection of her and her song and why she's so hurt rather than her seeing the big picture right now

It doesn't help that Ricky said the final blow causing her to walk off

Okay maybe Zackey gets some rights for being chill and wanting the kids to be peers

THIS MOTHERFUCKER I KNEW HE WAS SHADY Also the way I gasped even though I predicted he stole the mask halfway through this ep shshsh

Stab him Miss Jenn STAB HIM

Bitch why you so threatened by East High if yall have such a Broadway-esque show planned??? They honestly should have stuck to the Little Mermaid; I really wanted to see the aquarium

"It's just a song Ricky" "A song can mean everything" Do you get deja vu? Anyone else getting intense flashbacks to Jan when DL first dropped and all the drama happened 👀

YES PLEASE STAY CO ANCHORS Gosh I love them so much esp once you take the romantic connotations out of their interactions

ROUGE GRAND I'M SCREAMING

I love this long take of checking in with everyone's relationship status (still hate how romantically focused this show has become but still a cool shot)

I K N E W IT I WAS RIGHT

Okay but like looking at Kourtney's face I have never wanted to be wrong so bad GOD I HATE IT HERE I really think he likes her and I hope they work it out

Nini setting up her own music acc feels like when Olivia rebranded her whole IG to be just for her music stuff - love this for both of them

AHHHHH SHE'S NINA NOW YALL

I know everyone loves her as Nini but like I have always loved the name Nina and it really suits her to be honest also shows how she's growing up now and kind of leans into the lyric "I won't be confined to your point of view" from The Rose Song because Nini is the nickname Ricky gave her so it shows that she's outgrowing him too and I love that for her!

Overall thoughts; they really crammed all the North High drama into one ep huh. Personally would have liked it if all of this was spread out throughout the last few episodes; like different hijinks for every episode. I'm just a big fan of properly setting up the overall arc over the season instead of patching it together closer to the climax/end of the show. Cos now it lowkey feels like two different seasons - 2A felt like The Rini/Rina Show esp with YAC storyline and whatever was going on with Rina and now 2B is finally feeling like what this season should have been all this time

#hsmtmts season 2 #hsmtmts #hsmtmts spoilers #nina salazar roberts #gina porter #EJ Caswell #Ricky Bowen #Kourtney Green #Ashlyn Caswell #Seb Matthew Smith #carlos rodriguez #Big Red

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lycorogue · 3 years

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Some Passing Thoughts on the New Miraculous Episodes

Finally got around to watching the fansubs of the Shanghai special and “Truth” (I’m still waiting for the other episodes to come out before watching Furious Fu).

Miraculous World: Shanghai – The Legend of Ladydragon

I have to say, I might change my mind later if the Prodigious proves to be more crucial to the overall lore of the series, but right now? Yeah. This special is a major skip for me.

I did not connect with Fei the way I fell in love with Jess and Aeon. I am so pissed at the set-up the writers came up with to GET Marinette to Shanghai; her reasoning is the most selfish thing we have ever seen her do and it is such an injustice to her character. Plus, it is like neither Ladybug nor Chat Noir learned anything from the New York trip as they both show up in Shanghai kind of spur of the moment (i.e. didn’t tell the other they were leaving Paris). In fact, Marinette - again, going back to my hatred for the setup to get her to China - didn’t even CONSIDER the fact that Paris would be left unprotected; that Ladybug would be MIA. Granted, it was stated that Hawk Moth was surprisingly inactive, but shouldn’t that put her on hyper-alert; waiting for the other shoe to drop and Hawky to release something big that he was building up to? Instead she just lowers her guard and doesn’t even consider her superhero duties when planning on following Adrien.

Another annoying thing is that the writers didn’t seem to learn anything from backlash against the episode “Kung Fu.” They just once again have Adrien be the one offering to teach Marinette Mandarin; not her mother (whose Chinese name Marinette never even knew), nor her great-uncle. Another writers flub was in the battle against Roi Argent. Ladybug questions Mei Shi’s suggestion that revenge does not equal justice (if that was translated properly), and... I’m pretty sure Marinette already showcased in previous episodes such as “Silencer” that she very much knows that revenge doesn’t equal justice??? She’s the one who corrected Chat Noir that Silencer coercing Bob Roth to admit he stole from Kitty Section and Marinette isn’t justice; it’s revenge. So???? HUH? NOW she magically feels like Fei’s revenge on Cash is justice for what he did to her?

If all of that wasn’t bad enough, the pacing of this special was in complete overdrive as well. You didn’t have any of those emotional moments - both heart breaking and fluff-bombs - that you had in the NY special. The focus was largely on Fei, and I didn’t even really like her. She didn’t have the heart and the fully-fleshed characterization that Jess or Aeon had.

I’m also confused about Gabriel spending the past 15 years planning this whole thing. HOW!? WHY!? This is before Adrien was even born, or VEEERY shortly after if we skipped over his 15th birthday in the series. This was LOOOOOOONG before Emilie’s illness, which is presumably why Gabriel started using the butterfly miraculous in the first place (as showcased by Gabe in Origins asking Nooroo to remind him how the powers even work before using them for the first time in a corrupted state on Adrien’s first day of public school). So, if getting the Great Power of the Prodigious was something he was planning on doing literally all of Adrien’s life, why present it as “I found something that can finally give me an edge against Ladybug and Chat Noir”? I mean, what was his original endgame going to be? He couldn’t have possibly known that he’d be in dire need for the cat and ladybug jewels but struggled to take them from two teenage superheroes. It’s like the writers are trying to set him up as some mastermind akin to David Xanatos from Disney’s Gargoyles, but they are failing miserably. The whole Hawk Moth plot just doesn’t make sense to me.

Honestly? The only things that made this special worth it for me were: 1) Finding out a bit more about Sabine and her family (I love that she probably picked the name Sabine because it sounded like the pronunciation of her Chinese name) 2) Seeing Gorilla be his action figure nerd self a bit more (and the action figures of Uncanny Valley and Eagle) 3) Mei Shi in Renling (?) form, who was hella adorable! I need him as a plushie STAT 4) Adrien being the precious bean that he is. Just every moment he’s on screen was adorable (complete with him STILL having the picture of Marinette that was sent to him in “Evillustrator” saved to his baton and using that to try to find her) 5) Seeing the world through the eyes of a kwami for the first time and learning a touch more non-crucial lore 6) Mei Shi in statue form reminding me of the Dragon costume on The Masked Singer.

(I know, seeing them side-by-side now, they really aren’t that similar after all, but it’s been about a year since Dragon was on The Masked Singer, and he’s still what I kept thinking of as I watched Mei Shi on screen)

While I obsessively watched the New York special at least a dozen times, I’m really only seeing myself re-watch this special once more when it’s in English, and maybe whenever I do a full-series binge (which is super rare that I take the time for that).

Not impressed. Sorry.

Truth

“Truth”, on the other hand? Hhhhhnnnnnngggg. My heart! It breaks! Poor Marinette. Poor poor Luka. I mean, silver linings at the end there, but also BIG OOF. (Also, why wasn’t Adrien around at all whenever Truth made people confess that Marinette’s secret was her love for Adrien? xDDD)

I’m also a bit confused about the Adrien pictures. She had them taken down pretty much since “Troublemaker”, and yet her walls are once more papered with Adrien’s likeness now that Marinette is trying to get over him and date Luka? How does THAT make any sense outside of the writers going “we need an awkward phone call between Marinette and Luka. Oh! I know! A picture of her Adrien-covered bedroom walls is accidentally sent to Luka!” >3> Also.... what is UP with Luka’s animation again!? The kid was so pale it’s like they forgot to add any color to his model in this episode. WHY CAN’T THEY JUST ANIMATE MY PRECIOUS SON LOOKING HANDSOME EVER!? FIRST NO EYELASHES, AND NOW NO SKIN TONE!? WHYYYYYYYYY!? Personally, I prefer “Silencer” to “Truth” both in overall story and in Luka’s akumatized form design. Also, side note, did anyone else notice that Ladybug was hit by Luka’s attack and couldn’t speak for most of the battle both times? And that she needed Chat Noir to help her set up her Lucky Charm both times? And that Luka’s drive both times was to get to the truth?

I did still enjoy this episode very much. It showcases the new stresses Marinette has to face (totally unfair; I agree. However, it’s a standard trope in most teenage superhero stories such as Teen Titans and Spider-Man, so I was expecting it). It showcases how hard it is for her to figure out a balance between life and superheroing (again, re: standard teen-superhero trope). The fans get confirmation on a fantheory that’s been circling pretty much since Luka was introduced (ESPECIALLY after the episode “Desperada”). The Ladynoir shippers are well fed, and it’s great to see LB and CN praise each other - including Ladybug’s love of Chat Noir’s humor.

I hope this isn’t the end of us seeing Luka in the show (that would break my heart even more) and it feels lame to build up the Lukanette “love rival” arc only for it to die off before it really goes anywhere. There was so much story potential there where Marinette could grow to learn what it truly means to be in love, and not just idolize and romanticize someone you’re infatuated with. Instead, all she learned is that she is alone aside from Chat Noir, and I feel like that’s SUUUUPER railroading the Ladynoir ship. And, frankly, I’d much prefer to see the Ladynoir side grow naturally, as it has been, instead of forcing Marinette’s hand because Chat Noir is the only one she can be MOSTLY honest with (secret identities notwithstanding).

It’s been a long hiatus. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to dodge fandom salt, but still get a larger dose than I intended to have in my fandom diet, so maybe my views are a bit tainted from that. However, this special and season premiere feel a bit like the writers are stumbling. I don’t know if the pandemic somehow affected their writing flow, or if they feel pressured by the fans to tell the series’ story a certain way and are scrambling to do so, or if they are rushing to an ending instead of taking their time and letting it naturally unfold as they had with the first few seasons. But, regardless of their reason, I hope they re-find themselves; the ones who told great stories in seasons 1 and 2 and (poor writing for Marinette notwithstanding) really good stories in season 3. I hope they can step up their game for the remainder of season 4.

It’s been a long break, and we all deserve something good to feed us. We don’t need another GoT or HIMYM final season. Especially when this isn’t even supposed to BE the final season of the series.

Guess it’s time to wait for “Lies” to come out, and hope for the best.

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fanfic-corner · 3 years

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Bisexual Dean

9/12/20 - Is Dean canonically bisexual? That’s a fun question (it depends on where you live, I suppose). Anyway, nothing is stopping you from reading these beautiful fics involving a very bi main character.

Tabula Rasa by Dangerousnotbroken on AO3. (78,340 words).

Tags: Writer!Castiel, Bartender!Dean, Past Relationship, Magic, Canon Typical Violence, Mentions of Alcoholism, Mentions of Past Child Neglect, Mental Illness, Witches, Ghosts, Bisexual Dean, Bisexual Castiel, Angst, Slow Burn, Memory Loss.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: Once upon a time, Castiel Novak had everything. He had a happy home life, a full scholarship, and, if he played his cards right, a promising journalism career. And on top of all of that, he had Dean. Then tragedy struck, as it tends to do, and Castiel lost everything. At thirty six, he’s got none of those things. He’s got no family to speak of. He’s got a job investigating purportedly true tales of the supernatural for a magazine no one reads. And worst of all he hasn’t seen Dean in nearly twenty years. So when research for an article turns him on to a witch who apparently grants wishes in exchange for stories, Castiel figures it’s worth the risk. If making a deal with a witch can get him Dean back, what has he got to lose?

Notes: This was absolutely amazing; written beautifully, with a fantastic plot.

Take You To The Country by almaasi on AO3. (18,987 words).

Tags: Historical AU, Propositions, Eloping, Newspapers, Fluff, Forbidden Love, Misunderstandings, Pining, First Kiss, Established Relationship, Running Away Together, Moving In Together, Childhood Friends, Marriage Proposal, Businessman Dean, Farmer Dean, Emotional Dean, Bisexual Dean, Domestic Dean Winchester, Clockmaker Castiel, Autistic Castiel, Frustrated Sam.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: A Dean/Cas 1950s AU. Dean reads an elopement proposal in the town's local newspaper, written by some old soul in love with their best friend. He's mid-way through expressing to his brother how beautiful he finds it when Dean realises the proposal is for him.

Notes: I love Sam’s subsequent letters to the newspapers at the end, it was just a really good idea done really well.

A Little Slice Of Heaven by onamelancholyhill on AO3. (112,265 words).

Tags: Slow Build, Friends to Lovers, Falling in Love, POV Dean Winchester, POV Third Person, POV Castiel, Bakery and Coffee Shop AU, Episode: s4e17 It’s a Terrible Life, Alternate Universe - Human, Explicit Sexual Content, Bisexual Dean, Idiots in Love.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: Jim Morrison once said, “The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are.” That was Castiel Novak’s motto in life, and the reason why he accepted his grandmother's inheritance and took the responsibility it implied. Dean Winchester, a remarkable accountant at Sandover Bridge & Iron Inc., however, had other priorities. He lived to serve, hidden in a mask that didn’t allow him to be honest with himself, but lonesome and boring. When destiny made their paths cross, in a less than promising way, with Dean as the instigator and Castiel as his victim, Dean’s mind started wandering, in between pies and cakes, coffees and muffins... What if Mr. Morrison was right? After all, as the guy used to say, "there can’t be any large-scale revolution, until there’s a personal revolution first."

Notes: This was so cute and I adored the plot! It’s making me want to rewatch It’s A Terrible Life but I’ll live.

Just Like You by imherecauseimnotallthere98 on AO3. (35,717 words).

Tags: Homophobia, Homophobic John, Hurt Dean Winchester, Protective Dean Winchester, Established Relationship, Protective Castiel, BAMF Castiel, Protective Sam Winchester, Angry John, Angry Dean Winchester, Angry Sam Winchester, Protective Bobby Singer, Awesome Bobby, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Scared Dean, John Being an Asshole, Swearing, Bisexual Dean, Pansexual Castiel, Past Child Abuse, Accidental Outing, Death Threats, Fluff and Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Sharing a Bed.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: When John shows up at their door in the middle of the night, the Winchesters and Cas start looking into who or what could have brought him back. Meanwhile, Dean struggles to keep his relationship with Cas a secret from his father, with some help from Sam. The tension rises between the Winchesters as Dean shows John that he is no longer the obedient little soldier he once was, and tries to establish himself as an equal with his dad.

Notes: Bobby and Sam are icons in this and should have followed through on their threats. That will be all.

Walk Through Fire For You by purple_charlie on AO3. (2,332 words).

Tags: John Winchester’s A+ Parenting, Angst, Pride, Marijuana Use, Polyamory, Gay Cas, Bisexual Dean, Bisexual Gabriel, Everyone is Queer.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: Boyfriend. The word still feels foreign in Dean’s mouth, still brings back echoes of John Winchester’s thinly-veiled (if even that) homophobia. "Man up, don’t be a sissy, I didn’t raise a fairy". It’s a swollen blister in the back of Dean’s mind, throbbing with pain whenever a stranger’s eyes linger too long on Cas’ hand in his, whenever a waitress double-takes at how close they sit in diner booths. But here, dirty dancing with Cas in a warehouse full of other queer folks, Dean wants to shout from the rooftops- I’m Dean Winchester, I drive the baddest car in town, I lift heavy things for a living, and this is my boyfriend.

Notes: This was so sweet it nearly made me start crying - Cas deserved to be told that he was loved!

Bottom’s Up by mnwood on AO3. (28,103 words).

Tags: Fluff and Crack, Wing Kink, Domestic, Smut, Bisexual Dean, Resolved Sexual Tension, Established Relationship, Wedding Planning, Partying, Weddings.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: Sam could’ve kissed them both when he got to the bunker one day to find a string of clothing (his heart nearly burst with hope when he saw the abandoned flannel and trench coat) leading to a very naked pile of limbs tangled on the couch. Just kidding. Of course it wasn’t the couch. Sam always imagined it as the couch because the fact that he actually found them on the dining room table had tainted the happiness of the memory.

Notes: Jesus, I did not need that level of detail into Dean and Cas’ sex life (but it was very funny).

Stories Are Made Of Mistakes by wildhoneypie on AO3. (4,942 words).

Tags: Human Castiel, Diners, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Bisexual Dean, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Slow Build, Case Fic, Domestic, Didn’t Know They Were Dating.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: In which Cas is human and doesn’t understand basic concepts like: clothing, Mythbusters, moisturizer, and Greek food. Dean is…Dean and doesn’t understand basic concepts like: boyfriends, language, how to tell your friend that he’s a walking miracle, and when not to quip.

Notes: This was so cute and I live for human Cas. I also love the recurring ‘no fucking quipping’ joke in this, although the idea of Cas swearing broke me a bit!

And this one, which has no Destiel content but a very bi Dean:

Uniform of a Winchester by monsterfuckerdean on AO3. (20,591 words).

Tags: Canon Compliant, Missing Scene, Bisexual Dean Winchester, Bad Parent John Winchester, Young Sam Winchester, Young Dean Winchester, Pre-Season 1, Episode: s5e2 Free to Be You and Me, Angst and Feels, Queer Themes, Character Study, Diners, Sibling Love, Family, Friendship, HBO SPN.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: We all know the story of the amulet Dean wears around his neck. But what about everything else he wears?

Notes: Okay, I have to admit that I am loving the HBO SPN vibes even though I am fully aware that if it was a real show I wouldn’t watch it. This is so good though, and the writing is gorgeous!

My friend came out to me as bisexual this week, and paired with the mess that is the Spanish dub, I thought this would be nice as a little reminder that it doesn’t matter how the show ended, because the fans will always be here and we will always be supportive. Anyway, enjoy!

#bisexual #bisexual dean winchester #supernatural #spn family #fic recs #fanfic #none of this was on my 2020 bingo card #destiel #sabriel

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joysmercer · 4 years

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Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 7: A Timeline

Season 6 Finale: Wednesday, 5/8 to Wednesday, 5/15/2019

E1 (“MANHUNTER”): Thursday, 6/6/2019

E2 (“CAPTAIN KIM”): Friday, 6/7 to Monday, 6/10/2019

E3 (“PIMENTO”): Tuesday, 6/18 to Thursday, 6/20/2019 + Thursday, 6/27/2019

E4 (“THE JIMMY JAB GAMES II”): Friday, 6/21/2019

E5 (“DEBBIE”): Saturday, 6/22 to Sunday, 6/23/2019

E6 (“TRYING”): Monday, 6/24/19 to late January 2020

E7 (“DING DONG”): Day 1 to Day 3, mid-March 2020

E8 (“THE TAKEBACK”): Friday, 3/27 to Monday, 3/30/2020

E9 (“DILLMAN”): around 4/10/2020

E11 (“VALLOWEASTER”): Thursday, 10/31/2019 + Friday, 2/14/2020 + Sunday, 4/12/2020 to Monday, 4/13/2020

E10 (“ADMIRAL PERALTA”): mid-May 2020 + around 6/17/2020 + Friday, 6/26 to Saturday, 6/27/2020

E12 (“RANSOM”): Day 1 to Day 3, mid-August 2020

E13 (“LIGHTS OUT”): Day 1, around 10/20/2020

explanations for the dates are under the cut!

Things to keep in mind:

The B/C-plots, for the most part, are not included in the calculation of the times here, because they rarely have the same number of days as the A-plot.

I didn’t take weekends into consideration unless otherwise noted. There is a weekend squad, but we know that the regular detectives also sometimes work weekends (enough so that on more than one occasion, Holt has rewarded them with “weekends off”).

Time-stamps within the episode are used as guidelines, but not always as the rule, unless there is a specific number of days given.

7x01-early 7x06 all have to happen in June so that they can start The Amy Way in July. Please refer to 7x06 for the explanation for the dates on these episodes.

Season 6 Finale: 5/8-5/15/2019

Has to start and end on a Wednesday; two or more weeks must pass until 7x02.

7x01: 6/6/2019

As per Amy's period in Trying, it has to be at the beginning of the month.

Continuity: Since patrol cops spend “6 months on the same beat,” which Holt is still doing in December, assume that when Debbie says it’s his “first week on the job,” she means his current beat.

Continuity: her period technically is supposed to start somewhere between 6/2 and 6/7. Assume when she says it’s “late,” she means by just a few days. After all, for the July calendar to be accurate, it can’t be late by more than a week.

7x02: 6/7-6/10/2019

Day 1 – cold open // Day 2 – they meet Cpt. Kim // Day 3 – Party // Day 4 – last scene

Kim got an “email from two weeks ago” from Wunch. Cold-open is on 6/7, a Friday (because Rosa has the weekend off and, therefore, wouldn’t be there to meet Wunch on Day 2 of the episode). The timestamp on the last scene—Day 4—says that it's a Monday.

7x03: 6/18-6/27/2019

Day 1, 6/18 - cold open

Day 2, 6/19 - visit Pimento’s doctor; Pimento spends the night at Charles’s

Day 3, 6/20 - HR seminar + Pimento in hospital

Day 10: “One Week Later” from Day 3.

Per the cold-open, Amy is ovulating during this episode. Also, Jimmy Jabs are on 6/21.

Continuity: The Masked Singer finale/premiere dates don’t make sense. But the contestant they mentioned didn’t even exist in season 1 of TMS, so it’s excusable.

Continuity: The last scene takes place during “Trying.” Roll with it.

7x04: 6/21/2019

14 days since Rosa last took a vacation—7x02—and a Friday because Amy skips a seminar that was probably wasn’t scheduled for a weekend.

Continuity: Rosa and Jocelyn had apparently been dating “a year” at this point. It was probably shorter than that.

Continuity: This episode most likely takes place before Trying: Jake mentions Amy being more, erm, adventurous now that they’re trying to conceive, and that doesn’t really fit in with the overly-scheduled sex UD-ing that was happening from July 2019 and onwards. Plus, the stress/potential injury that such a competition would bring definitely doesn’t fit in with The Amy Way.

7x05: 6/22-6/23/2019

Debbie steals the cocaine at end of 7x04; assume 7x05 is the day after. The final scene is the day after the rest of the episode.

Continuity: They mention Debbie’s journals from “this year,” and specify that they were written on “August 21.” Assume this means August 2018.

7x06: 6/24/19 - late January 2020

On the calendars in the war room, “Menstruation” lasts about five days and starts around the 4th of every month; “Ovulation” starts around the 15th of every month and lasts about a week. Amy presumably took a pregnancy test at the very end of every month—not only were these scenes always followed by calendar flips, but she would have to take the tests at least two weeks after ovulation but before she got her period.

The calendar invites/The Jake Way happen in June—so Amy still has to be ovulating at the start of the episode—because they start The Amy Way in July.

The Amy Way fails for the last time in December. The pregnancy test she takes before Hitchcock announces that his girlfriend is pregnant was late December (around 12/30). The next test she would take—the last scene in the episode—would be late January (around 1/30).

Assuming it isn’t a false positive (which is unlikely, considering her doctor would have double-checked this before putting her on fertility medication), the earliest she can get pregnant would be mid-February.

7x07: lasts about a week and ends mid-March 2020.

Has to be after 2/14 but before 4/12, based on Holt’s uniform changes in Valloweaster.

It’s very likely that Amy’s just a few weeks pregnant here since she wasn’t suspicious at all until her doctor brought it up; if the hormones messed up her cycle a bit and she got pregnant mid to late-February, she was 3-4 weeks pregnant in this episode and wouldn’t have noticed until taking the test.

Continuity: I’m assuming that the “Ebola Doctor” was Craig Spencer. He contracted the virus in 2014, so “six years ago” makes sense.

7x08: 3/27-3/30/2020.

Since it’s Holt’s first day back, this episode is relatively soon after 7x07, but with a week or two in between to account for paperwork and official promotion procedures.

Day 1: Friday (The bachelor’s party is over the weekend)

Day 2: Saturday (heist)

Judy’s friends were clearly arrested at nighttime, and that + the change of clothing indicates that Jake and the Judy’s had to have come home the next day.

Day 3: Sunday (Jake comes home)

Day 4: Monday (last scene)

Continuity: The screen on the computer that one of Judy’s men hacks into says “Last Login: March 27 2015.″ Since this episode obviously takes place in 2020, just ignore that.

7x09: ~4/10/2020

Earlier than June—Terry’s kids are still in school (Spring Semester). Also probably(?) a Friday, since Terry’s kids have a concert and it’s unlikely they’ll have one in the middle of the week.

The Friday before Easter (7x11) is April 10.

7x10: Mid-May 2020 (cold open), ~6/17/2020, 6/26/2020-6/27/2020

Cold-Open: pregnancy reveal and end of 1st trimester.

Day 2: Jake tells his father that they’re having a sex-reveal party “Next Friday,” indicating two Fridays after this day. Therefore, this conversation happened around June 17, 2020 (The Wednesday that is approximately 18 weeks from mid-February).

Day 3: Friday, Day of the party (June 26)

Day 4: Amy finds out; day after Day 3 (June 27)

Continuity: The entirety of 7x11 takes place before this one.

7x11: 10/31/19, 2/14/20, and 4/12-4/13/2020

7x12: Day 1-Day 3, Mid-8/2020

Day 1: Cold Open

Day 2: find cheddar

Day 3: B- and C-plots end

Shakespeare in the Park is usually held in Prospect Park over the summer. Halfway between 7x10 and 7x13 is the end of August; I made it mid-August so it’s still technically “Summer.”

Continuity: Amy’s only 6 months pregnant in this episode and her baby shower is the weekend after. However, in season 5, Gina also had her baby shower at around 5/6 months, so this isn’t unusual for these characters. Plus, this is Amy we’re talking about—she probably had a registry ready to go within days of finding out about the pregnancy.

7x13: Day 1, late-10/2020.

The elevator expiry is listed as 12/20/2020 and it was inspected “4 months ago.” elevators in New York are inspected every 6 months, which means that the last inspection was 6/20/2020 and it is now (mid to late-)October.

Later in the month (10/20/2020* or later) matches up with Amy getting pregnant in mid-February: her due-date would be mid-November, and it makes sense for her to start maternity leave about 3 weeks beforehand.

Continuity: Amy going on leave so early explains why she didn’t have a maternity bag stashed somewhere in the precinct—we all know that she would have had one had she been working right up to her due date. Also, although Amy’s FOMOW would make her want to stay at the precinct right up until she gave birth, if her doctor recommended her to take rest earlier (which is likely, given how stressful/strenuous her job is…), she would have followed those orders properly.

Thank you to @feeisamarshmallow for talking through this with me!

* baby Mac could definitely be either a Libra or a Scorpio :)

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allthefilmsiveseenforfree · 4 years

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Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey

I know next to nothing about Harley Quinn. I didn’t really grow up with Batman: The Animated Series, and I certainly didn’t see Suicide Squad because I don’t hate myself but I DO hate method actors who use playing dark and disturbed characters as an excuse to treat the real people around them like shit! But I knew from the first trailer that I would probably be on board with this version of Joker’s ex-partner in crime because Margot Robbie is just a goddamn delight and because it’s about a diverse group of women just like...kicking ass, dude. Also a lot of the time they’re wearing leather and spandex. I’M ONLY HUMAN. Given Harley’s somewhat checkered past in terms of empowering characterization, I was certainly curious about which version we would ultimately get here. Would this be the lovesick domestic violence victim, little more than the Joker’s sidekick? Would this be the unhinged sociopath, just as hellbent on violence and chaos as her boyfriend? Would this be the silly, sassy femme fatale who does what she wants and just has a ton of fun doing it? Well...

A mix of all three, really, and in trying to have their cake and eat it too, DC has managed to create a version of Harley Quinn that’s nuanced, complicated, and the kind of character that could anchor her own prestige cable drama for 5 seasons if women were allowed to do that. The basic plot is simple: Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and the Joker have broken up, and without his protection, there are a BUNCH of people in Gotham City who really want her dead, but none more than Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor). Meanwhile, Roman’s trying to get his hands on this really big diamond that’s been stolen by a scrappy lil pickpocket named Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco, who holds her own against these other powerhouse actresses with aplomb). Basically everyone else in the movie is either trying to find Harley or find Cassandra and by the time they all come together in the last act of the movie, everyone’s just trying to prevent Roman from blowing everyone the fuck up.

Some thoughts:

First of all, I had a great fucking time. The colors, the chaotic energy, the pure FUN of the whole thing is intoxicating. Cathy Yan’s direction and Christina Hodson’s rollicking good time of a script combine to form something that’s just a bomb ass time at the movies.

I feel like it goes without saying, but Margot Robbie owns every second that she’s on screen. She’s equal parts merry and mayhem, and she does bad things sometimes. But you still root for her, you can’t help it. Robbie is magnetic - you cannot take your eyes off her, even if you want to, and she imbues Harley with so much pathos and growth in spite of her less than savory actions that she could kick both Don Draper and Walter White’s ass no problem.

Ewan McGregor’s American accent isn’t great, but honestly, he’s having a great fucking time too so I don’t mind it so much.

The costuming is FANTASTIC. I am shouting out the film’s costume designer, Erin Benach, SO HARD here because she did an incredible job. Every single character’s outfits are unique and perfectly perfect for their personality and arc. Roman is all velvet blazers with no shirt and leather gloves and Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell, who I have loved since Friday Night Lights and I love even MORE now because she did all her own singing in this and is just so good) wears the most incredible sultry-lounge-singer-with-a-Pam-Grier-throwback-vibe gold and black ensembles. Most of all, I love that Harley’s outfits are revealing - slutty even - without feeling gross or exploitative. They’re slutty in a way women like, which is so refreshing I could cry.

I really enjoyed the soundtrack and score as well. There’s some Heart, Joan Jett, and Kesha going on, but there’s also a fire Megan Thee Stallion and Normani track over the credits. And the score is effective but not invasive, which I always appreciate.

Speaking of the credits, there is not a post-credits scene exactly but there is a little easter egg of a joke that was worth staying for!

Everything about this movie reveals a thoughtfulness and engagement with the female characters that unfortunately just doesn’t happen that often in films created by and for men. You know how I know this film allowed women to be in the rooms where the decisions happen? Because Harley and her frenemies are sexy but not overtly sexualized; every single woman in this movie has her own arc and character growth; they’re strong without being forced into the Strong Female Character archetype; and the camera frames their faces rather than their tits.

I love Bruce the hyena so much because he is perfect and has never done anything wrong in his whole life.

For as gay as this movie is, I am pleased to report that it is also ACTUALLY GAY because there are lesbian characters in it! Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez, taking NO SHIT) and Ellen Yee (Ali Wong) are ex-girlfriends! Who are specifically named as lesbians! Imagine! The novelty!

There is a brief scene of sexual humiliation that is deeply uncomfortable to watch, but you know how I know it was directed by a woman? Because the scene is brief but impactful, it is meant to showcase how evil Roman is, and the way the scene is shot we are forced to focus on the woman’s face or her knees rather than her bra and underwear.

I confess, I had to laugh when Roman finally put on his big evil character mask because he looks like an evil luchador.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead is so hot as Huntress that I thought I was going to dehydrate myself into a coma while watching this movie. Her lack of people skills only made me love her more. Between this and Ramona Flowers, MEW is the gift that keeps on giving to ladygays of my generation.

I just feel like I can’t stress enough how much I loved all the moments that were included in this film because women were the ones creating it. Harley offers Black Canary a hair tie in the middle of a fight scene and I felt like my heart grew three sizes in that moment, which was so simple and funny and perfect.

For an R-rated comic book movie, it’s shockingly not very bloody. I was expecting cartoonish levels of Deadpool-style gore, but really the only R-rated thing the film showcases is naughty language. There’s certainly violence, but again, it doesn’t feel gross or exploitative.

Did I Cry? No, I was having too much fun!

Each of these women ultimately save themselves from their own circumstances - be it an abusive relationship, a shitty job, a mission of vengeance, or just being held in the clutches of a madman. I cannot recommend this movie enough for its sheer joy at its own existence and every thoughtful choice that was made behind and in front of the camera to tell a story about women that can compete with the big boys.

If you liked this review, please consider reblogging or subscribing to my Patreon! For as low as $1, you can access bonus content and movie reviews, or even request that I review any movie of your choice.

#120in2020 #harley quinn: birds of prey #birds of prey #hq: bop #birds of prey review #harley quinn #black canary #black mask #margot robbie #Ewan McGregor #jurnee smollett bell #mary elizabeth winstead #rosie perez #ella jay basco #dceu #movie reviews #film reviews

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venus-says · 4 years

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Yes! Pretty Cure 5 Episodes 01-24

The biggest irony of it all is that this isn't the 5th precure season.

New month, new season! And march will be another busy month as I'll have to cover two seasons instead of one. I hope I don't get crazy with it, especially considering that both my brother and my birthdays are in this month, I hope I don't get behind schedule again...

But oh well, that's not what you came here for, you came here for precure so let's talk about that.

Yes and GoGo are seasons that I have a weird history with. Much like Splash Star I never got to finish neither seasons, but I got to work on both of them back in the day when I was part of the Brazilian Subs group who takes care of everything precure related, I don't remember exactly what episodes I was involved with but I did quite a few of them, including the Yes finale, funny enough. Because of my contact with the Yes! seasons weren't of a mere spectator I used to hold these seasons in high regard, they were never part of my top 4 but they were very close, I used to say I like them a lot even though I never properly watched them. But now, after properly sitting through the entire thing... I'm more on the fence about what my feelings are.

Much like its predecessor, Yes was a season for a lot of firsts in the franchise which means they were a bit inventive with the ideas for the show, and while some of those ideas work very well, others not so much. Aside from the team of five and all the implications that come with it, the biggest difference from Yes to the past series is that this is the most episodic and more character-focused series up until now. The plot is almost nonexistent but in exchange, we got a lot of focus on these characters and the stories the show wants to tell about each one of them that intertwines with the show's main theme of hope and finding your own path in life. And that's not a problem, au contraire, this is one of its biggest strengths because the main cast is very solid and even the more overlooked of them is able to shine on its own.

The problems of the show start with more of a production level? I'm not a specialist in the matter, and I don't know much about this stuff so don't rake what I say here as fact, but I feel like since Splash Star underperformed they didn't have that big of a budget for this season and you can see that by how every single episode has some sort of fluke in the drawings or the animation. Which is a shame because this show has a great character design and the backgrounds are more often than not very beautiful. Another huge problem, at least to me, is in the action because Yes! didn't just introduce to us a team dynamic rather than a duo, they also introduced to the series a thing that haunts us until today, the stock footage finishers spam. Yes, the animation for the attacks isn't nearly as long as the ones we get today but I think it's very rare that we get a fight where not at least three attacks are used, like if the action portion wasn't already very short. Speaking of it, I don't understand why Dream is the one that finishes the monsters almost every time when it was shown that all other cures (probably only not counting Mint) can also break the masks and defeat them.

But this is more or less minor stuff, I can get behind it. My biggest problem with Yes! is the romance. They tried with Nagisa and Fujipi, it didn't work. They tried with Saki and Mai's brother, it didn't work. They should've learned with that, but instead, they decided to make it again and different from the past two cases they decide that they would sell the romances hard. Like, the first scene of this show was they already trying to sail Nozomi x Coco, and they shove this couple down your throat in a very ugly way. To begin with, it's an adult man with a high school girl and that's gross. "Oh, but he's a fairy" I DON'T CARE, in his human form he's a male adult, he's a school teacher which means everyone sees him as an adult, this shit is freaking gross. And they try to pull it twice because just Nozomi and Coco wasn't enough and they decided to make Nuts and Komachi a thing too. Thanks, I hate it.

Remember that I said the show doesn't look very beautiful all that often? Well, in episode 24 there's a scene with Nozomi and Coco and they're hugging and that shit was drawn with so much care and flare it didn't even look like the same anime. And you know what infuriates me the most? Is that right after it there's a scene that is the great moment of the episode where the whole group reunites and free themselves from Nightmare's control and that scene doesn't get anywhere near the same amount of care that the Nozomi x Coco scene got. They have transformations, attacks (I'm looking at you Aqua Stream), and the whole show looking subpar, but when it comes down to this couple they make it seem like a CLAMP manga, the only thing missing was the arabesques in the screen. I said it once, I'll say it again. THANKS, I HATE IT.

But moving on.

Going into the characters, Nozomi is weirdly enough the one who has let the less of an impression on me, but I would say a big part of it is because of all her thing with Coco. Because she has interesting going for her, like her indecisiveness about her own future, but this ends up being left behind because they wanna either focus on her thing with Coco or show just how clumsy and air-headed she is. It's a weird approach to the lead of the show, there are times that it seems like Nozomi and Dream are two different persons because when Nozomi is Nozomi they focus so much in showing how much of a crack-head she is, but when she's Dream she is very serious and mature, it's not a very good balance.

I like Rin quite a lot, she's the first one to take over the position of being the sporty one that before was exclusive to the pinks, and she has a great personality. She's just as much of a crackhead as Nozomi but she also is very grounded so she displays a full rainbow of emotion by being very funny, but also very snarky, without losing the ability to be angry and serious. She's a lot of fun.

Urara is probably my favorite, I love how the youngest of the cast is the most complex character of the group. Between dividing her life as an actress/singer with school and having to live this life with one of her parents being dead, she's probably the member who had gone through the most stuff in life, and while there are times we see that her past gets to her she does her best to never lose her smile and to always be cheerful and caring to everyone around her. She's a precious kid and I love her to death. That episode where we get to know about her mom is so strong, it's definitely my favorite of this first half.

Komachi is the only other member of the cast that already had a dream when we met her and this is great because we see her go through different situations that the other members of the cast wouldn't be able to. She's very sweet, but it's a shame the show doesn't give her a lot to do. Like in these 24 episodes only two were focused on her, one of them was her introduction as Cure Mint and the other was to try to sell Komachi x Nuts as a secondary ship for the show. She deserves so much more, I hope the second half will give her more focus.

Last member of the team is Karen and she's my second favorite. She's the stoic rich girl with a lot of responsibilities that would later become the rule of thumb for most blue cures. but she holds a lot of personality. I like how she's stubborn but it's not in the level that is annoying, it's on a level where it serves as a perfect contrast for her serious side. I also like her story about how lonely she was and how she used to hide and bottle up those emotions since when she was a kid but she started to open up more when the girls got into her life.

As a group they work very well, they all have amazing chemistry and a great dynamic, I love how they're all very different and have very few similarities between them yet they work magnificently together. I love how they were all introduced since episode 1 and all had small parts in each episode before they all became cures, it felt very natural the way they were getting close together. Another thing that I like, that I also praised this weeks' Healin' Good episode for, is that they don't click immediately, Rin and Nozomi were friends before, just like Karen and Komachi, but when they are the four together with an Urara cherry it's completely different from how they were before and they had to work that out. I would've like if this had been explored more than just Rin and Karen's small rivalry and the plot of episodes 23 and 24, but they're still great regardless.

The fairies though... they're probably the worst of this entire show. To begin with, they're not consistent between their fairy and their human forms, because they wanna sell Coco and Nuts as hot guys they make the human forms be completely different their cheerful selves as fairies, especially Coco. They're not interesting, they don't do much, I don't know why they're there. Coco is creepy, he's way too handy with Nozomi it makes me uncomfortable as hell. Nuts is a jerk, the dude is not pleasant and the fact they're trying to pair him with Komachi makes me want to hit my head against a wall. Milk is the last addition to the cast and holy jesus she's annoying as hell, much like Nuts she's a jerk as well and the show wants to make us sympathize with her by saying "she's like that just because she has gone through a lot" and that just makes me hate her even more. Also, their collectibles this season are the Pinkys and they're another thing I don't know why it's there, I also hate how there are 55 of these things, that's way too much.

The villains are a mixed bag. I like Nightmare and how it actually works as a company, I love their whole thing with the mask, I think it's a very menacing and intimidating look, it's perfect. I also like how the generals kinda work on a rotation system rather than what was the norm of the previous seasons where one general would come, do their thing, get defeated, and only then a new one would come. The problem is that they don't have that much of a personality? Like, Bumbee and Kawarino of course have a lot of character and they leave a clear impression on you, but the recurring generals not so much. I know they're a mantis, a spider and a frog, but other than that I don't remember much. But I guess that's not that big of a deal since this is more focused on developing the girls rather than the fight against Nightmare.

One last thing before I wrap-up. I love their cures' designs and I also love their transformation device, I wonder why we never got a watch or bracelet as a transformation device again. The transformations are short, just like the attacks, and it frustrates me that they have good concepts for how each one is "choreographed" but the actual drawings for them lack a lot of care in the details. Like I mentioned up there, the animations and the drawings aren't the best and you would think that at least the stock footage they would get it right, but they go off-model quite a lot of times, this gets very evident in Aqua's roll call, their group pose, and Aqua Stream's sequence. Maybe it's foolish of me to complain about this since I'm watching the DVD version and these things are probably corrected in the blu-ray, but again these reviews are about my experience so these were details that tickled me off so I have to mention them.

Well, that does it for now. This ended up being way longer than I expected, thank you so much if you read all of this. Please let me know your thoughts on the first half of Yes! in the comments, I'm enjoying the ride despite all the bad things I said and I'm excited to properly finish this season in the next week. See you all around~ o/

#Yes! Pretty Cure 5 #Yes! Precure 5 #precure

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themaskedsingeraustralia2x9-blog · 4 years

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Watch® — The Masked Singer Australia Season 2 Episode 9 Full Episode HD

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Thanks For All And Happy Watching! TELEVISION SHOW AND HISTORY A television show (often simply TV show) is any content produced for broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, cable, or internet and typically viewed on a television set, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed TNTween shows. Television shows are most often scheduled well ahead of time and appear on electronic guides or other TV listings. A television show might also be called a television program (British English: programme), especially if it lacks a narrative structure. A television series is usually released in episodes that follow a narrative, and are usually divided into seasons (US and Canada) or series (UK) — yearly or semiannual sets of new episodes. A show with a limited number of episodes may be called a miniseries, serial, or limited series. A one-time show may be called a “special”. A television film (“made-for-TV movie” or “television movie”) is a film that is initially broadcast on television rather than released in theaters or direct-to-video. The first national color broadcast (the 0254 Tournament of Roses Parade) in the US occurred on January 02, 0254. During the following ten years most network broadcasts, and nearly all local programming, continued to be in black-and-white. A color transition was announced for the fall of 0265, during which over half of all network prime-time programming would be broadcast in color. The first all-color prime-time season came just one year later. In 0272, the last holdout among daytime network shows converted to color, resulting in the first completely all-color network season. FORMATS AND GENRES Television shows are more varied than most other forms of media due to the wide variety of formats and genres that can be presented. A show may be fictional (as in comedies and dramas), or non-fictional (as in documentary, news, and reality television). It may be topical (as in the case of a local newscast and some made-for-television films), or historical (as in the case of many documentaries and fictional series). They could be primarily instructional or educational, or entertaining as is the case in situation comedy and game shows. A drama program usually features a set of actors playing characters in a historical or contemporary setting. The program follows their lives and adventures. Before the 0280s, shows (except for soap opera-type serials) typically remained static without story arcs, and the main characters and premise changed little. If some change happened to the characters’ lives during the episode, it was usually undone by the end. Because of this, the episodes could be broadcast in any order. Since the 0280s, many series feature progressive change in the plot, the characters, or both. For instance, Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere were two of the first American prime time drama television series to have this kind of dramatic structure,while the later series Babylon 5 further exemplifies such structure in that it had a predetermined story running over its intended five-season run. In 20252, it was reported that television was growing into a larger component of major media companies’ revenues than film. Some also noted the increase in quality of some television programs. In 20252, Academy-Award-winning film director Steven Soderbergh, commenting on ambiguity and complexity of character and narrative, stated: “I think those qualities are now being seen on television and that people who want to see stories that have those kinds of qualities are watching television. CREDITS Find all the movies that you can stream online, including those that were screened this week. If you are wondering what you can watch on this website, then you should know that it covers genres that include crime, Science, Fi-Fi, action, romance, thriller, Comedy, drama, Anime Movie, etc. Thank you very much. We tell everyone who is happy to receive us as news or information about this year’s film schedule and how you watch your favorite films. Hopefully we can become the best partner for you in finding recommendations for your favorite movies. That’s all from us, greetings! Thanks for watching Videos Today. I hope you enjoy the videos that I share. Give a thumbs up, like, or share if you enjoy what we’ve shared so that we more excited. Sprinkle cheerful smile so that the world back in a variety of colors, Stay safe and Stay home. Thank you very much and Enjoy for watching.

#watch #full episode #streaming #dwonload #The Masked Singer Australia Season 2 Episode 9 #watch The Masked Singer Australia Season 2 Episode 9 #The Masked Singer Australia Season 2 Episode 9 full episode #S02E09

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facelessfrey · 3 years

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Roswell New Mexico - Season 3, Episode 1

Okay since last season, I kept trying to count all of the different plots going on and kept losing track, I want to start a plot counter for this season. So...

Plot Counter: 5 1. Who is in the coffin?/ Maria’s visions and deterioration 2. Saving Max/Jones 3. Deep Sky 4. Masked Alien Attackers????! 5. Liz’s research

Okay some of those maybe kind of merge together but I will reevaluate next week. Moving onto my episode thoughts...

Overall, I thought it was a decent premiere. It resolved some things from last season (rather hilariously) and opened up some new avenues for this season. So that’s good. We did get a couple friendship scenes...so that was nice too. Not enough really, but I’ll take what I can get. I still want more group scenes.

Liz’s scenes were fun. I like the new guy. I hope he stays nice and doesn’t become a villain or anything like they like to do sometimes. The heart rate scene was great. Also, still prefer Kyle and Liz over Max and Liz and their scene just proved that again. Hopefully they won’t wait too long to connect her back to the main group. Although, I’d rather see her help Maria than get sucked into the Max vortex again.

Speaking of Max...haha...two of him is too much. Also, he’s such a sad sack. I can’t take it sometimes. I’m kind of over him dying or possibly dying every season but I guess it is what it is. I just hope Jones can at least bring in some interesting mythology. Also that singer with him at the end is way too good for him. I wonder if she was just a one night stand or if she’s going to be a real character.

I still want to see Isobel actually with a woman and not just talking about it and I don’t know that I wanted her to be dating Blaire. I would have rather really seen her meet someone this season and start the relationship from there. I know we saw her meet Blaire and I liked her well enough but I get very annoyed when shows skip over the foundations of a relationship.

Speaking of skipping over a relationship...not gonna lie, I laughed when Forrest brought up Deep Sky and then disappeared in the same episode. Is this it? Is this all they’re going to be? Hahahaha. It’s just kind of pathetic. But sure. I’m not sure how I feel about Alex and all this Deep Sky nonsense though. First of all, I never wanted to hear about Deep Sky ever again because it was nonsense the first time around and I’m also not sure I like the idea of Alex being isolated from everyone else. That’s actually the opposite of what I want so...we’ll see how that goes. I did like his little chat with Kyle though.

Overall, I’m happy that Kyle is back in the mix with everyone again after last season’s isolation. Speaking of that, I kind of spaced a little in that conversation with Liz. So...Steph is just gone? Hahaha. Sure. I mean, that’s great because I hated her and I did not want to deal with that lackluster relationship again so hooray! But it was nice to see him with Liz and Alex and Isobel and Maria and even Max. This is the Alex I want. Although I would like him to find love again, just not so far removed from the group. If I didn’t want to see Isobel have a girlfriend, I’d be totally up for Kyle and Isobel. (If they won’t give me Kyliz)

Love Maria and Greg. That was a solid choice and they do have good chemistry so far. I approve. I also liked her little conversation with Michael. I like that the banter was back a bit but there was also plenty of acknowledgement of last season and they showed their growth. I wonder if it’s going to be her in the coffin though with her brain deterioration.

On the whole, I’m not a fan of a “who is in the coffin” plot. It’s one of my least favorite plot devices but I suppose we’ll have to see how it plays out. At least it’s something that they know about and can actively fight against rather than just seeing a regular flash forward.

Michael didn’t have a ton to do in this episode but I did enjoy him fixing his hair before Alex was due back. That was cute. And he built a fancy cage so go Michael!

I’m glad to see Rosa doing art therapy and getting better. I’m not happy to see Wyatt Long. I’d rather see her interacting with all of the other characters and not stuck on her own again so I hope that changes as we go forward. Is this drug she stabbed Wyatt with going to erase his memory of her and then they’re going to get to know each other again or something? Cause...I don’t want that. Maybe she’ll just erase him seeing her and then she can just avoid him forever again. Also, as I said in my liveblog, Rosalinda was the dumbest cover name ever. Haha.

What the fuck was that ending with the alien masks??! Haha. Oh dear.

Well...I’ve missed writing these really long recap/review things and yelling about the show so it’s good to be back!

#roswell new mexico #roswell nm #rnm spoilers #roswell nm reviews #rnm 301

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scoutception · 4 years

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Ranking the next 5 animes I’ve recently watched

After many distractions on my part, including playing through Steins;Gate, something that has quickly become something I adore like few others, I’ve continued my descent into the world of anime with 5 more series. The stuff I watched was a lot shorter on average than last time, and my attempts to be “objective” and my personal biases align much more closely compared to last time. With that, I’ll begin. 5. Soni-Ani: Super Sonico the Animation

Number of episodes: 12. Language options: subs only. Streaming availability: Crunchyroll. When it comes to visual novels, nitro+ is one of the biggest developers out there, alongside Key. Whereas Key is mainly out to make you really, really sad, nitro+ prefers a different approach. To my understanding, at best, their works are really, really dark, and at worst, they’re going straight for your nightmares, with stuff like Song of Saya and Sweet Pool. So clearly, the best mascot for them is the pink haired, constantly headphoned, and downright adorable Super Sonico. Even if it’s not outright official, it’s pretty jarring. Anyway, with that little rant out of the way, here’s the only thing on this list I actually wouldn’t recommend. Produced by White Fox back in 2014, this anime apparently got slammed pretty hard, and honestly, I have no idea why I even ended up watching this one. Perhaps this’ll be a reminder to be less impulsive in my choices in the future. Soni-Ani focuses on, who else, Super Sonico herself, an energetic and kind, yet clumsy college student who should reasonably be dead from stress and exhaustion. Along with college, she’s an idol, gravure model, helper at her grandmother’s restaurant and guitarist and main singer in the band First Astronomical Velocity with her friends Suzu Fujimi, the witty and manipulative bassist and official leader of the band, and Fuuri Watanuki, the mysterious drummer single mindedly obsessed with food. The series just explores some of the odd, extremely fanservice filled days of her life. It’s ok idea on paper, but in practice it’s just not really anything special or even entertaining for the most part. While I can usually ignore fanservice, it’s downright distractingly prevalent in the earlier episodes, to the point of several episode premises pretty much only catering themselves to it. Even without that, there’s just not much to be found; aside from Suzu and Sonico’s manager, the honestly hilarious Kitamura, who constantly wears a hannya mask and is willing to attack people for attempting to take advantage of Sonico, the characters aren’t anything memorable or entertaining on their own, leaving a lot of episodes feeling dry. They do improve in the second half, featuring episodes like a fairly charming murder mystery spoof, and an episode focusing on Sonico’s cats, of all things, but they’re still not something going out of your way to watch. The voice acting and animation, while at least ok, don’t stick out much either. Overall, again, this is the one thing I’d say to just avoid. There’s tons of other slice of life animes out there that are way better. If nothing else, though, I’m kinda glad I stuck to it just for the surprise cameo by Kurisu Makise’s outfit, considering I was already playing Steins;Gate.

4. Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun

Number of episodes: 12. Language options: dub (video release only, apparently) and subs available. Streaming availability: Crunchyroll, Hulu, Netflix. Moving onto stuff I’d actually recommend, here’s a nice little anime adaptation of a gag manga by Izumi Tsubaki, produced by Dogakobo. Chiyo Sakura, a high school student who stands at an impressive 4′9″, confesses her love to the tall and mysterious Umetaro Nozaki, and gets his autograph, of all things, for her troubles. Trying again, Nozaki instead takes her to his apartment... to assist him with his manga. As it turns out, Nozaki is a popular romance manga author, whose interests in life start an end at manga, rendering him utterly oblivious to Chiyo’s feelings. Thusly, Chiyo officially becomes his assistant in order to grow closer to her crush, meeting his other associates along the way. The main thing that must be said is that this is not a serious anime in the slightest, and it’s all just big parody of romance manga more than anything, especially with the characters, like Mikoshiba, who acts like a playboy, but in reality is cripplingly shy, and Kashima, the “prince” of the school who is both actually a girl and an airhead who’s frequently on the nerves of the drama club’s president, Hori. A lot of the humor thrives on miscommunication, and it’s exaggerated enough that it works well. Every character is an idiot, in their own ways, but endearingly so, and each of them stands out, from Chiyo, who mostly plays the straight man but has her moments of over imagination, or the hilariously abrasive Seo. The plots are the right kind of dumb too, like Nozaki and Mikoshiba becoming obsessed over a helper NPC in a dating sim, or Hori gaining an intense hatred for people standing on boxes due to Nozaki’s attempts to fix perspective problems. The jokes can get a bit predictable after a while, especially with Nozaki, but overall it’s a pretty funny time. The voice acting is good, and the animation is charming. Overall, this is definitely a fun watch. If you want a good laugh, or just something that doesn’t take itself too seriously, this is definitely something to check out. 3. Angel Beats!

Number of episodes: 13 (+ some OVAs not on streaming services). Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation. As it turned out, visual novels, or at least visual novel developers, became a theme in the things I watched this time around. As mentioned before, Key is one of the biggest VN developers out there, who specialize in making you really sad. From Kanon, to Clannad, to Planetarian, to Little Busters, Key’s made a lot of great stuff, and had some great anime adaptations made, particularly for Kanon and Clannad. Thus, Jun Maeda, co-founder of Key, conceived Angel Beats to originate as an anime, produced by P.A. Works in 2010. Angel Beats focuses on Otonashi, a teenager who wakes up in a strange high school with amnesia, only able to remember his last name. He soon meets a girl named Yuri Nakamura, who informs him that they’re dead, and stuck in a sort of afterlife, seemingly ruled over by a mysterious girl they only know as Angel. In this purgatory, they’re unable to die, as Otonashi finds out first hand at Angel’s hands, and the school is populated by fabricated teachers and students, but the real people stuck there are at risk of being “obliterated” if they act like normal students, ceasing to exist. Unwilling to accept this, Yuri leads class SSS in opposition of Angel and the assumed God that created this world for the cruel fates that everyone stuck in the afterlife met, Otonashi seemingly included. With seemingly no other path to take, Otonashi joins forces with the SSS. The main strength of Angel Beats is its cast of characters. From the pretty mean yet charming Yuri, to the reliable, yet often abused Hinata, to the crazy and energetic Yui, to even some of the side characters, like Shiina, the ninja girl with a crippling weakness for wind up dog toys, or TK, who speaks in gloriously mangled English and dances constantly. The premise as well is honestly fascinating to me, and makes for some very interesting episodes. It’s got some pretty entertaining action scenes, along with some really funny moments, mostly by playing the “nobody can actually die” tidbit for all its worth, with the second episode devoting a good amount of time to slowly killing off the main group in horrible, yet blase fashions. It delivers emotionally too, with the second half in particular having a good deal of touching episodes, especially episode 10. Unfortunately, there’s one giant problem with this anime that brings it down quite a bit: it’s only 13 episodes long. While I’m not a fan of 12 or 13 episode seasons, I can’t say that’s a problem by itself. What is a problem is that they were planning to have double that amount of episodes, causing the storyline to feel very rushed, and leaving nearly every character in the cast that isn’t part of the main group very underdeveloped. While there’s an entire expanded universe of stuff, good luck tracking it all down, and while Key themselves were making a 6 part visual novel of Angel Beats to expand upon it all, something that’s very promising, only the first volume has been released so far, back in 2015, with no word since, very likely because of Jun Maeda’s health issues. Overall, Angel Beats genuinely is a good watch, but it’s kinda depressing, just because of how much potential was cut short thanks to whatever genius decided to cut the episode amount in half. Unless the VN project really gets going again, it’ll probably just remain a bunch of what could have beens. 2. Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Number of episodes: 12. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Netflix, Hulu, Crunchyroll, Funimation. Continuing the theme I unintentionally set up, here’s this famous little thing, from the mind of Gen Urobuchi, who, among other things, has worked on several nitro+ visual novels, mostly notably Song of Saya, wrote the apparently horribly depressing Fate/Zero, and was a scriptwriter for Kamen Rider Gaim, which, to my understanding, is one of the darkest Kamen Rider shows out there. Will all this in mind, there’s no real hiding that this isn’t going to be anywhere near as innocent as it tries to appear. Even if you didn’t know that, its reputation probably far exceeds it by now. Madoka Kaname is an average middle school student whose life is thrown into chaos when a mysterious girl named Homura Akemi transfers into her class, whom Madoka later finds attacking a strange creature called Kyubey. After rescuing it, Madoka and her best friend Sayaka are attacked by a strange creature known as a witch, only to be rescued by Mami Tomoe, a “magical girl” given power by Kyubey. Kyubey sees much potential in Madoka, and offers to grant her any wish of her choosing, in exchange for her becoming a magical girl as well and helping fight the witches. Homura, however, is completely determined to keep that from happening. Thus starts a chain of event in the lives of Madoka and Sayaka that, suffice it to say, don’t go very well. Without getting too specific, what starts as a mostly typical, if slightly odd, magical girl show quickly goes to very dark and twisted places, comparative to Neon Genesis Evangelion, though not quite as in depthly depressing with it. Everyone takes a beating in some way, and even with just 12 episodes, it can get a bit much for some people, even when it doesn’t end quite as awfully as you might expect. Still, it’s actually very well done. The characters are complex and flawed, but ultimately sympathetic, the overall plot is fascinating, and it ends in a very fitting way. It’s emotional, and has surprisingly good action. The dub voice work is solid, and the animation by Studio Shaft is as well, especially helped by the abstract designs of the witches themselves. While I’m not quite as passionate about it all as some are, it’s definitely earned its reputation. It’s a great watch, and definitely a big recommendation. 1. Steins;Gate

Number of episodes: 24 (+ 1 OVA). Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Funimation, Hulu, Crunchyroll. Finishing off my unintentional theme with an actual adaptation of a visual novel, there was no way I wasn’t checking this one out with how utterly passionate the VN made me. This is at least partially a bias placement, but this anime is a very, very good adaptation, and a great way to experience the story without the VN, and a great watch even having gone through it. Rintaro Okabe is a college student on break living in his “laboratory” in Akihabara. A self proclaimed mad scientist, he whittles his days away hanging out with his friends Mayuri Shiina and Itaru Hashida, inventing useless gadgets in a supposed fight against an evil organization. One day, Rintaro and Mayuri go to attend a press conference by Doctor Nakabachi in Radi-Kan, who claims to have invented a time machine, only for it to end horribly for all involved when Rintaro discovers Kurisu Makise, a young neuroscientist who had recently had her thesis published in a major science magazine, murdered by an unknown assailant. Sending an email to Itaru about the incident, Rintaro suddenly finds the world to have changed. According to everyone else, the press conference had been canceled due to a mysterious satellite that crashed into Radi-Kan, and Rintaro later runs into Kurisu, alive and well. Investigating, Rintaro finds that, by complete accident, his modified microwave has become a device capable of sending emails to the past- and that SERN, a French research organization, has been conducting time travel experiments of their own. In his attempts to understand the capabilities of what he’s invented, and his curiosity as to why his memories appear to be out of sync with everyone else’s, Rintaro rushes into a series of experiments that change his life, and those of friends old and new. This is something I could rant about all day, but putting it as succinctly as I can, I’ve never been as fascinated by time travel as Steins;Gate has made me. As fantastic as it, it’s also shown to be unpredictable, limited, and downright unsettling, especially when nobody knows just how time even works. It’s a story about the concept of time travel as much as a story about using it. The story definitely starts a bit slowly, but it’s well worth pushing past. As an adaptation, it doesn’t even need to sacrifice much, with the most that’s lost being some details in a few later arcs that aren’t worth much in the long run anyway. Beyond that, the main strength of the story is the cast of characters. Rintaro, with his rather severe case of chuunibyou, is a unique protagonist to begin with, but the events of the story turn him into an honestly fascinating and downright tragic character, and easily one of my favorite protagonists in a long time. The rest of the cast is just as good, with Kurisu being a great mix of intelligence, ravenous curiosity, and flusterability, with her and Rintaro’s interactions always being entertaining. As well, there’s the always kind, yet ditzy Mayuri, the outgoing, but odd Suzuha Amane, the endearingly gentle Luka Urushibara, and the energetic and wily Faris, just for some examples. The cast is downright loveable and very easy to get attached to. While I prefer the Japanese voice cast overall, the dub isn’t to be overlooked, with Trina Nishimura as Kurisu, Tyson Rinehart as Itaru, Cherami Leigh as Suzuha, Lindsay Seidel as Luka, and especially J. Michael Tatum as Rintaro giving great performances. Visually, White Fox did a great job giving it a distinct look. While the VN had a gorgeous and unique artstyle, it’s not really something that can be translated into animation. Instead, they used a whole lot of washed out colors and saturated lights that, combined with the sparse use of flashy effects and even music, gives a very subtle atmosphere to it all. Even beyond the style, it looks very good on its own, and it’s especially nice not having Rintaro look like a ghoul half the time, like he does in the VN.

Overall, this is very much something worth checking out. I’m beating a dead horse here since Steins;Gate is already wildly popular, but it’s that way for a very good reason. There’s also an extra OVA episode, along with a sequel movie, though both are only available via Funimation. They aren’t quite the best, but they make for entertaining watches worth checking out. And with that, that’s the end to my rambling. With the exception of, again, Super Sonico, everything here is very much worth a watch. I’m sure, once I emerge from the hell of Steins;Gate spinoffs, I’ll get to watching even more stuff. Till then, though. -Scout

#anime #steins;gate #monthly girls' nozaki kun #angel beats #puella magi madoka magica

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recentanimenews · 5 years

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Is That Another JoJo Reference?! JoJo's Bizarre Adventure References in Non-Anime Media!

In our previous article, we took a look at the many ways that various anime have paid homage to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, from small sight-gags to extended visual parodies, the amount of creators who felt some love for the series was easy to find! But what about in non-anime media? It isn’t always easy to make a JoJo pose seem tonally correct in your video game, music video, live action TV show, comic, or other media after all, but these creators we found had more creative and interesting ways of paying homage back to Hirohiko Araki and his amazing series. Much like our first article, we’ll be keeping these reference sightings up to Part 5 only to avoid spoiling any of the future fun, and do be warned that some of these references might be spoilers for past JoJo seasons. Overall, the range of these references varies from minor cameos and callbacks to characters and situations being developed with JoJo characters in mind, so let’s get right into it and take a look at the various non-anime JoJo references we’ve found!

It probably comes as no surprise, but musicians and JoJo go together pretty well. Many of the original names and influences for the series come from Araki’s love of various types of musical genres and artists, and it seems that they love him right back! Numerous singers and even idol groups in Japan have given the nod to their favorite JoJo poses and characters, with some even going as far as reaching out to meet Araki as superfans themselves. Hello! Project’s ANGERME and Iikubo Haruna have done various JoJo inspired poses in their blogs and choreography, even recreating the infamous “Go Go Go” SFX with their arms! The iconic Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is a huge fan of the JoJo series, often making JoJo poses in her own videos, such as in "PONPONPON," and even wearing JoJo themed merchandise, going so far as to even name one of her pet dogs JoJo.

Perhaps one of the most famous idols, Shoko Nakagawa (AKA Shokotan) is a notoriously huge fan of the JoJo series, busting out JoJo poses so often that she even injured herself doing Narancia’s pose on stage, breaking her tailbone! Her devotion has paid off, however, as Shokotan got to meet Araki to interview him! Shoko’s interview even lead to Araki making a special stand, Love Note, with an interesting origin involving... Shokotan and Jotaro’s child?! Outside of Japan, the group Starbomb included Giorno’s “I have a dream” pose in their video for “SMASH!,” with Luigi of all characters striking the iconic pose!

Some of the most interesting homages to JoJo pop up in various video games, with some being blatantly obvious, and others needing developers to pull back the curtain and reveal their true intentions! Given the nature of JoJo’s storyline of vampires and supernatural powers, it might not be surprising at all to learn that the Castlevania series has featured numerous nods to the JoJo series throughout its legendary run. Castlevania Symphony of the Night features a Stone Mask, and it makes another appearance in Curse of Darkness. There are a few “Ora ora ora” references laced throughout various Castlevania equipments and attacks, and Dawn of Sorrow features a fight at a clock tower against an enemy named Zephyr who can stop time and throws knives… Now, where have we heard of someone like that before?

Speaking of stopped time, the DOTA 2 hero Faceless Void seems to have some JoJo influenced nods to everyone’s favorite vampire. His ultimate ability, Chronosphere, stops time for anyone caught in it but himself for a few seconds, sure seems coincidental, but his model also adopts a similar pose to DIO’s classic WRYYYYYY! pose while casting it. In a recent update to the game, Phantom Assassin got a new splash image featuring her in Jonathan’s pose for her unique cosmetic set, the Bloodroot Guard. In Persona 5, the main character is given a choice to answer the question “What is the name of the phenomenon where the second hand looks like it stops moving?,” with one of the choices being “The World.” And in the fighting game Skullgirls, DIO is referenced numerous times between characters Valentine, Peacock, and Eliza. Valentine can stop time, Peacock drops a steamroller on her foes, and Eliza features an obvious color palette reference to DIO’s classic Part 3 outfit! The game also features Big Band, a character who has a move where he shouts “Tuba Tuba Tuba,” similar to “ora ora ora” or “muda muda muda,” depending on how you hear that in your head. Night Warriors: Darkstalker’s Revenge has a few nods to DIO as well, with a design sketch of Donovan by Takenori Kimoto posing like DIO in one of the art books; more interesting, Donovan, known for his ability to summon various spirits to aid him in battle, also has a sketch where he summons Abbachio’s Moody Jazz!

In a series already filled with lots of crazy references and homages to other anime and video games, it probably comes as no surprise that the Danganronpa series has numerous JoJo references throughout its titles. Some of these appear in both the games and anime, such as Junko posing as DIO and her penchant for quoting “Muda muda muda,” while others are specific to the games, such as Super Danganronpa 2’s Hanamura saying he can taste if people are lying, Monokuma using a Heaven’s Door like ability, and there’s even a reference to the Bow & Arrow, called the Meteorite Arrowhead. Some other fun references include Mondo, whose hairstyle (and attitude regarding it) seem like they might be related to Josuke, a reference cemented in place when players learn that his biker gang is called Crazy Diamond! These JoJo references likely don’t come as much surprise, considering Naegi’s initial introductory comments about not having a Stand, but the dedication to weaving them into the various games, and in somewhat natural ways, is pretty impressive!

Speaking of Polnareff, video game designers must have loved him, because aside from poses and thematic references, Polnareff’s mere existence may have had the most influence on game design of the entire JoJo series! Katsuhiro Harada, the director of the Tekken series, directly cites Polnareff as inspiration for series mainstay Paul Phoenix’s iconic hairstyle and first name. Tekken features a few other nods to JoJo, with Jin and Kazuya having gloves similar to Star Platinum’s, and Tekken 7’s newcomer Claudio not only poses like DIO, but can even equip an “Ancient Mask.” In the King of Fighters series, Benimaru Nikaido is another clear homage to Polnareff, again sporting a unique and reminscient hair style and style of dress, and in fact, Benimaru looks so much like Polnareff that developers of the game referred to him internally as “Polnareff!”

A few other references pop up in King of Fighters, with Leona Heidern’s Earring Bomb 2: Heart Attack special move is an homage to Yoshikage Kira’s Heart Attack. Leona can either wait for the bomb to explode, or detonate it on her own, much like Kira’s Deadly Queen, and Leona’s voice line upon detonation, “You’ve lost in the end,” is similar Kira’s “You’ve lost in death” line. Another King of Fighter character, Mian, has an attack called Rangurenbu that has her shouting “Ariariariariari,” just like Bucciarati! Finally, Street Fighter’s Guile owes his creation to Polnareff, who started as the base model for the character, according to producer Noritaka Funamizu. Ironically, a dev decided to play with Guile’s sprite, and his hair spread to look a bit more like Stroeheim’s, which stuck! The name “Guile” is even a reference to “J. Geil,” Polnareff’s archenemy! Street Fighter has quite a few obvious nods, most notably Rose, who wears a nearly identical outfit to Lisa Lisa, who also hails from Venice.

There are many more one-off references to be found in various games. Persona Q has a quick segment where the Persona 4 cast pose as various JoJo characters. The original Ninja Gaiden game decorates a stage with Stone Masks and Pillar Men, while Senran Kagura 2 has a few clothing options for Mirai that directly reference Star Platinum and The World. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey has a reference to the Sword of Anubis with the equipment Cursed Sarai, stating that it is the “Sword of Anubis that drives victims mad,” and an attack ability called Bites the Dust, which inflicts Bomb status on a target who then explodes during their next activation!

The Touhou Project games have numerous soft references to JoJo sprinkled throughout, with characters such as Remilia and Yuugi making a few references to the series, but the most obvious is Sakuya Izayoi. Sakuya has the ability to stop time, and throw knives! Other references might be quick and hard to miss, such as Yakuza 0’s quick and cheeky nod to the JoJo series: During a fight with a secret boss whose first name is simply “Jo,” Goro Majima (the best boy in Yakuza, by the way), thinks to himself afterwards what that “Jo” guy’s deal was and what a “bizarre adventure” it was to fight him.

When you move away from video games and music, it’s interesting to see where JoJo references might pop up; after all, many of these mentioned were still developed by Japanese teams and artists, meaning that JoJo likely played a big part in entertaining them growing up or while they worked. But if you were to look towards American comics, you might find some odd homages! Now, one of the most infamous is a comic known as Diesel, which isn’t so much an homage as it was an adaptation (for lack of a better term; it really just takes the entire plot and renames and Americanized people and locations) of the Fool and Iggy storylines of Part 3. The comic was pretty obscure, but got attention in 2016 when the Stardust Crusaders anime hit, and became a source of some odd laughs and memes.

For an actual homage, X-Man Annual has a page where the Hulk gains some very unique yellow armor, making him look like The World! In the Archie Comics’ Sonic the Hedgehog comics, quite a few little references found their way into the Off Panel section in the back of the book. In issue 270, Sonic and Knuckles face off (with Sonic as Kenshiro and Knuckles dressed as Jotaro) in “manliest anime” challenge, and in the first issue of Sonic Boom’s spin off comic, another Off Panel segment features Knuckles posing like Joseph, complete with a green scarf!

Western television and web shows have also made a few nods to the series. Adult Swim’s anime inspired Ballmasterz:9009 character Chimpendale strikes Jonathan’s pose at one point. One of the most overt and direct references to the series happens in NBC’s Heroes, with Hiro Nakamura writing in his blog that he wants to “Be like JoJo and go on adventures,” with Part 3 being his favorite. Beyond a few mentions to other JoJo characters in his blog throughout the series run, Hiro’s superpower shares quite a few similarities to that of DIO and Jotaro, as Hiro is able to stop time! Even the grim, dark future of the 41st Millenium of Warhammer 40,000 isn’t safe from JoJo references, as the popular parody series If the Emperor Had a Text to Speech Device by Bruva Alfabusa on Youtube features three characters called the “The Fabulous Custodes,” who look suspiciously like a few half-naked superhumans!

It seems that JoJo fever is worldwide, with creators from all over the world, in various media and genres, have all worked in ways to pay respect to Hirohiko Araki’s unique and wonderful series. As JoJo's Bizarre Adventure continue through Part 5 and gain more and more followers, we can only assume that these fun nods to Araki’s world will continue; we even left a few off because they’d spoil some of the fun of Part 5, so consider this just a small taste of the influence Araki has had. So while you’re enjoying the new season of JoJo, keep your eyes peeled for other references in shows you’re watching, games you’re playing, and even music you’re listening to; you never know where a JoJo reference might pop-up!

Know any other JoJo references you flipped for? Let us know in the comments!

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Nicole is a features and a social video script writer for Crunchyroll. Known to profess her love of otome games over at her blog, Figuratively Speaking. When she has the time, she also streams some games. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries

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