#again. we only got 11 episodes out of this arc and they felt like they should scrap all of their scenes??? but lord druitt gets to talk???? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dazais-guardian-angel · 9 months

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Chapter 110 is 13 pages long welcome to hell!!! so in a lot of ways this is just more fuel for a theory that I've had for a few weeks now, that's only gotten stronger with each recent season 5 episode, which is that the last episode of the season is gonna end on 110, and that Asagiri/Harukawa and Bones have been collaborating to make this happen, specifically because it's a major turning point that would be the only good place to end the season on.

When we started getting especially long chapters again (like from 25-35ish pages, with the exception of 107.5, the last two being some of the longest we've ever had), at first I just assumed that Asagiri/Harukawa got freed up from some other obligations they'd been having to cause the extremely short/half chapters, like promotional stuff for the anime/Beast movie, or working on light novels. But then 109 happened, with the "supposed" death of Dazai, and heavy emphasis at the end on how literally everyone is at their lowest point right now, and I got to thinking. 11 episodes is a strangely specific number for an anime season -- why not 12, or 13, or even 10, like you'd usually see? Why have we gotten suddenly gotten two 35 page chapters out of nowhere, that's almost unheard of at this point? They're both beautiful chapters, don't get me wrong (as always), and maybe A/H simply just didn't want to cut them in halves because they felt like the full emotional impact wouldn't hit/that there were no good cutoff points in them, but you can't deny that it's surprising, after all the shorter chapters we've been getting. Why has the anime been going at such insanely breakneck pacing for the most part ever since around the Sunday Tragedy chapters, even more so than it has in the past? So much so that it feels dangerously close to overtaking the manga?

Well, maybe, just maybe, it's because..... Asagiri decided a long time ago that whatever happens in 110 is the only point that feels "season finale"-worthy enough, in an arc that still isn't anywhere close to being completely wrapped up, and so both the manga and the anime have been specifically coordinated to reach that part within 2 and a half weeks of each other?

I've seen a lot of people now think season 5 will end with 109, and as much as my sadistic side would find that hilarious, I honestly don't think they'd do that and realistically don't want it to happen; it'd be so cruel to cliffhanger the anime for years like that, and just doesn't feel like a season cliffhanger BSD would do, a series that is ultimately hopeful and uplifting. Seasons 2 and 3 had a positive, conclusive ending; the only reasons seasons 1 and 4 didn't was because they're technically not really full seasons of their own, and are more like the first cour of another "season" that also came out that same year (seasons 1 and 2 both aired in 2016, so they're more like one big season, and seasons 4 and 5 have both aired this year, so they're also more like one big season, again taking into account how episodes 12 and 50 are not satisfying finales like episodes 24, 37, and hypothetically, 61, are). I really can't see season 5 ending with Dazai and Fukuzawa's supposed deaths, Sigma being unconscious and maybe close to death, Atsushi being vulnerable and limbless again, everyone we love still vampires, and the entire world being basically doomed; that's just too depressing and not like BSD at all. However, having said that, if it doesn't end there, there really isn't any good place to end the season before that, either, that feels in any way satisfying or like a finale at all. And so, to me, that only leaves after 109: chapter 110.

I think things are really gonna turn around next chapter. Like I said, everyone is at their lowest point right now, it cannot possibly get any worse, the framing of Dazai, Fukuzawa, and sskk at the end of 109 is telling us that; this is the time for the heroes to finally start winning again, with Aya being so close to pulling out the sword, and for all the thematic reasons other people have talked about to death that I don't need to go into here again. This upcoming chapter being so short again makes a part of me wary of 110 being "the one", so to speak, I won't lie, but at the same time, it's very possible that it needs to be that short because that's all the final episode of the season will be able to reasonably fit in, since it's already gonna be VERY close if they do make it all the way to 109. And at the end of the day, I don't doubt at all that Asagiri and Harukawa can make these the most monumental and game-changing mere 13 pages ever if they wanted to; a chapter does not at all need to be extremely long in order to be an important and impactful one, even if short ones we've gotten in the past haven't felt the most important.

An additional thought I've had, though this is much more crack territory than all this already is, is that since we know from Anime Expo that a Stormbringer movie at some point is highly likely (judging from Asagiri's reaction when someone brought it up), it's possible that chapter 110 and thus the final episode will involve the long-anticipated return of Verlaine and/or Adam, or at least some other major reference to Stormbringer, that would naturally and smoothly lead into a Stormbringer movie to explain things to people who haven't read the novel. It would make a lot of sense, especially since the s4 OP has the Old World sign behind Chuuya, which might be a hint that this has been in the works ever since seasons 4/5 were first in planning with Asagiri. We also know that Dazai and Chuuya's voice actors apparently struggled to record their lines together this season, which probably relates to 101 and possibly 109, but it could be 110 too.... I could be very wrong, as I'm no expert on this kind of thing, but I kinda doubt they would bring Chuuya's actor in for just the vampire growls, and Asagiri placing heavy emphasis on Chuuya's importance this season in that one interview gives me the impression that he's talking about much more than just 101/109. But that's the least solid evidence I have, that's just mostly based on vibes I get.

So basically, I think a lot of factors -- the unusual episode count, how close the anime is to catching up to the manga with three whole episodes left, the seemingly arbitrary recent chapter lengths, and the climactic events of 109 -- can tell us that 110 might be a very, VERY big deal. Again, there's of course no way this arc is anywhere near close to being finished, with so much left to address and resolve, but since it is currently incomplete in the manga, unlike the previously adapted arcs, if the anime was going to adapt it at all, they'd have to find a place that feels satisfying enough to end this season, knowing there won't be more anime for a long time after this, and so I think they specifically planned for that, from both Bones' and A/H's sides. 10 episodes might not have been enough to reach that point, but 12 or 13 might have been too many it wouldn't have been if Bones actually decided to slow down and let the story breathe the way it needs to, but this post isn't meant to criticize the anime, so maybe 11 was just right. And maybe Asagiri and Harukawa specifically pushed to make recent chapters longer than usual, in order to make sure that the manga reached the story content in 110 the monthly release right before season 5 was to end.

Is this just copium? Absolutely. Am I going to look like an absolute clown in two days when this post ages like milk? Probably. But the evidence is There, so let me just enjoy my delusions until Sunday, okay 🥂🫡

#bungou stray dogs #seriously call me a clown and point and laugh at me if I'm proven wrong all you want #but I really feel like there's solid evidence for this #either s5 isn't gonna reach 109 at all (but I seriously cannot fathom where you would want to stop before then) or they'll go beyond it #if they really do end it with 109....... well i'll give Bones kudos for having the balls to do that ig lol #maybe i'm underestimating (overestimating???) them idk #also just to clarify I don't wanna make it sound like I think Asagiri let the anime/Bones dictate the manga's pacing #like I'm sure these were his/their (him and Harukawa's) own decisions first and foremost #not that (if this theory is true) the anime had a major impact on how the chapters were split and that it-#-would have been extremely different otherwise #i'm pretty confident in that Asagiri does not do anything with BSD he isn't comfortable with #and he doesn't let anyone tell him how to write his story #I just feel like he worked with Bones to make this near-simultaneous release happen #BUT if this is the case I don't feel like it had any major effect on the writing/final product that is the manga #like the last handful of chapters have been so incredible #so I at least am still perfectly happy lol #(i mean i'm devastated and a nervous wreck but u know 🫡 in a good way lmao)#anyway 110 in two days please let this theory be true because I need some fucking hope already #please let Oda show up as Dazai's guardian angel to help (see what I did there-)#it would be the perfect way to end the collective season that is 4/5 with s4 beginning with Oda and now ending with Oda #Asagiri are you reading me are you picking up what I'm putting down please please a ghost Oda is long overdue please-#Oda Verlaine Adam just GIVE ME SOMEONE ALREADY 😭😭😭#MAYBE EVEN A TASTE OF THE FYODOR BACKSTORY TO TIE INTO HIM BEING IN ANIME UNTOLD ORIGINS. THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS

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jordanhaszane · 3 months

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Dragons Rising Needs To Do Better With Zane

Fix Zane's character and make him not a stereotype, not a plot device, not treated like shit. I am tired of seeing Lloyd take Zane's characterization of the "one with visions" I do not care that Lloyd got the dragon steroid injected into him, that was what made Zane interesting because look guys Zane's having visions of something about the future that involves him being blasted into another realm and being a genocidal emperor (everyone didn't care about that) But no holy shit Lloyd is having visions about the ninja dying and a blood moon (everyone cares about that because it involves them all in danger)

I understand having new characters and balancing them with the old ones, I get that, but you could have written both Zane and Jay out of Dragons Rising and nothing would change.

Zane has not done anything to warrant him even being in the plot as of right now. He stayed behind with a frog and a picture of his missing half trying to open a portal that can clearly be opened by The Savior Himself Lloyd when he goes into Dragon Steroid Mode most likely. The only thing going for him is that egg and finding Pixal and I am genuinely interested in how that will turn out.

"But Dragons rising only started and they are introducing a lot of characters and plots and we are about to get season 2-" The egg that Zane was in and him finding Pixal can be done in 3 or 4 seasons, after that then what? What is left for him to do because he obviously won't do anything near what anyone else is doing, he doesn't have a student to train, he doesn't have Dragon Steroids, and his name isn't Lloyd or Kai He does not have any long term progression in Dragons Rising like Lloyd or Kai does and he will most likely leave the main cast that he barely felt like he was apart of after a few seasons (after the Egg and Pixal things are taken care of)

Yeah, it's not all about Zane, I don't want that to be the case. Arin and Sora are the best things to come out of Dragons Rising, but treating Zane (hell even Jay) like this is insulting. Zane is a great character with one of the best character arcs in the whole series and I just want something new with Zane and not just have him on screen for 3 minutes and not again until 5 more episodes. I want that arc to be whatever is going on with the egg. I want that to be what makes Zane have the character arc he deserves and has needed since Season 11. His character is balancing between getting absolutely fucked over by the writers and decent character arc.

Will I still watch Dragons Rising? Of course. Is it good and do I enjoy it? Hell yes. Will I enjoy it more if Zane has more to do? Absolutely.

#i am very mad #this was a very heated rant i do not usually do this #but this has been in me since June last year #ninjago #ninjago zane #zane julien #zane ninjago #ninjago dragons rising #dragons rising #dr #ninjago dr

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inkstainedhandswithrings · 1 year

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TBB S2 EP 11: Metamorphosis

right from the get go already looks like cliché horror film intro (this initially made me dislike the ep, mainly bc we have too many bad horror films playing at the cinema where I work rn, but dw I came around)

the music was actually chillingly different than usually and continued into the scene in which Dr. Hamlock was introduced. I liked that, but in a bad way

the closeup on his hand confirms that the Zillo Beast ate it, no this is not up for discussion, Zillo Beast had himself a treat

I'm kinda coming around on Nala Se, ngl

Also for as uneasy Dr. Hamlock makes me, I feel like we're finally getting a high-quality villain on TBB and I'm here for it

BAD BATCH TELLING CID OFF BAD BATCH TELLING CID OFF BAD BATCH TELLING CID OFF

HUNTER WANTING TO CUT CID OFF HUNTER WANTING TO CUT CID OFF HUNTER WANTING TO CUT CID OFF

Cid, being a huge dick:

Me:🤨🤨🖕🖕🖕

I like watching Wrecker show off how smart he is. He knows all the weapons and how to use 'em. Yes. :D.

"Whatever did this wasn't human." <- I find that an interesting sentence, considering this is Star Wars. If this was a show that took place on earth, somewhere where it was unlikely for an animal to be, that line would've been chilling. In Star Wars? Not so much. Humans are only one of many species in that galaxy and while I do believe that clones = humans, via star wars lore, that doesn't apply. Clones are classified as their own species, meaning technically they aren't human. I'm probably over thinking this but whatever, the line struck me as oddly placed

"By yourself?" "Your concern is not warranted. I will be fine." <- ok, Tech ik you got the whole cool, logical, I-know-what-I'm-doing-vibe going on, but I gotta tell you, the person who says that in horror films dies first.

OFC THE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT IS KAMINOAN FCK

everytime tech checked what's going on in the hallway I yelled "nO" at him. and then he did it anyway. rude.

The second we first saw it I realised it was the Zillo. I've been wondering when/if it would ever come up again, since the Chancellor did order for it to be cloned when the og episodes aired and then we never saw it again, so the arc felt incomplete.

BUT I LOVED THE ZILLO BEAST ARC SO THIS MADE ME V HAPPY AND V SCARED AND I KNOW IT'S NOT CANON BUT CAN THE ZILLO BEAST PLS GO EAT PALPATINE NOW??? IT DESERVES A TREAT!!!!

Hunter grabbing Omega to protect her from the beast 🥺

Tech's slow "Fascinating." followed by his "Take cover."???? sir u already had me, u didn't need to go harder

Wrecker grabbing Omega to protect her from the explosion🥺

Tech casually causing the explosion

"It ate the crew?" MY POOR BABY

"I can help. I know my way around Kaminoan tech." hmmm omega tryna stay out of the fight? she scared? hmmm Tech whatcha do???

Omega being better with Kaminoan tech than Tech and him just going with it and trusting her expertise. Yes. :D

idk where the "Zillo Beast feeds on energy" thing came from bc that wasn't part of the original arc and kinda threw me off, but alright, they needed a reason for it to grow real fast, I'll take it

they're already fighting the beast and then the empire shows up hhhhhhhh whyyyyyyy

omega just casually pulling the plug on tech's research, I love her

Tech grabbing Omega to protect her from the explosion 2.0 🥺

yes, hello, I'd like to inform you all again that I hate the empire, thank you

Tech allowing Hunter to keep flying even though he is the designated pilot and clearly very skilled. Just shows how much he trusts his leader and brother to keep them save. Love that :))

When the Commandos began rounding up the villagers I immediately knew what it meant and GAH HONSLTY WHY ARE THEY LIKE THIS

The Empire only destroyed Kamino to control cloning, not to end it, hm? surprise surprise (these fcking motherfckers i swear)

"Send the data to Echo and Rex. See what they can find out."

....

........

............

YES HUNTER YES SEND THEM THE DATA YES GO WORK WITH ECHO AND REX AND SAVE THE GALAXY YES LET'S GOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

end of the ep confirms yet again that Dr. Hamlock is a bag of dicks :)

Prime Minister said f you and I'm here for it

and then he brought up Omega and I was not here for it anymore

finally the music during the last shot makes me think that this facility is going to come up again and it will likely be very traumatic and horrible and terrible and um ya. sucks man.

gonna tag @jealous-sloth77 and @saturn-sends-hugs bc I'd love to see their thoughts too :))

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absolutebl · 2 years

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This Week In BL - The Rankings have CHANGED

Oct 2022 Wk 3

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying the most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

My Only 12% (Fri iQIYI) 11 of 14 - pretty disingenuous of iQIYI to muscle in an ad for its own app and not show it immediately serving ads to the boys. In other news, I still love Peak on screen, the years have not changed my delight in that boy. (I may need to do a Make it Right rewatch.) The question is does Cake feel left behind and jelly as a friend or is he actually in love with Eiw? And if he is, does he realize that about himself? The conflict is so good with this show, so well established, entirely based in characterization, and not an ounce manufactured. I couldn’t be happier it this BL got handed off this this pair, it was made for SantaEarth. I do think, since we got a ton of family life establishment (not to mention Love of Siam reference) that the big separation for these two will be family driven in ep 13. But first we get a whole ep of adorable boyfriends! Yay!

Big Dragon (Sat Gaga) 3 of 8 - bathroom drama, naturally. This is a true enemies to lovers, these two spy on and bully each other. They even talk about non-consent. It’s the harshest version I’ve seen since China existed the field (aside from the Japanese dark stuff, of course). But also this show is using actual BDSM to drive plot and character (not just touring kink), the stuff Unforgotten Night couldn’t even dream of and Mame has never bothered to research. We got Dom voice, roll play, service submission, orders, humiliation. It all turned out to be a tease but the point was also to show these two have compatible kinks (which means compatible intellectual and physical chemistry, so the narrative arc is going to be around emotional chemistry) and that they both know the scene. Someone behind the camera knows what they’re filming too.The way these two transition between anger, resentment, titillation, and flirting (and the way, with kinksters, this can all be the same thing) is really well done. I guess what I’m saying, ultimately, it that this BL is proving itself to be a lot more sophisticated than I expected. I could not have loved the Domme rep more, quite frankly. I’m excited for next week as Big is playing the faen fatal and I love him.

The Eclipse (Fri YT) 11 of 12 - A very tense 11 doom ep but also... off. I did see the twist for the teachers but not the students. That’s because the teacher twit was set up but the student betrayer twist was... not. If Thua was so into the truth why never tell it himself? The resolution was abrupt and most of the second half very odd. It made me wonder if this had a really intended to be a 15 episode arc, in which case they compressed the last 5 eps into 2? The pacing felt totally off from all the previous eps and the pool scene felt like reused footage.The rapid fire character and relationship changes and shifts in arcs was rushed and confusing. But the flirting and claiming was cute, I guess. Also horrible suspicion we may get a sad end now? Truth or another round of Bad Buddy suckering?

Ai Long Nhai (Mon iQIYI) 4 of 10 - I don’t know what to say about this show. I’m enjoying it but I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t be. (This happens to me a lot with pulps.)

Ghost Host, Ghost House (Weds YouTube) 3 of 8 - Honestly I speed though all the ghost stuff for the few BL moments. But it’s worth it because Pluem delivers the softest most seductive krap ever and watching them flirt over noodles is an unalloyed pleasure.

Remember Me (Sun Gaga) 2 of 8 - The BL parts are good, and JaFirst excel. But it moves incredibly slowly with way too many establishing shots, just like The Yearbook. If it’s Mean directing again, he’s gotta shake of the New-yoke right quick.

Hard Love Mission (Sat WeTV) 1-2 of 4 - it’s a short run, so what not? Well because the subs are terrible, everyone looks like they should be in high school, the acting is awful, there’s a dumb feen fattale, the actor/seme seems to have been chosen on the basis of height not talent, and they already leaned in to awkward in a big way. On the bright side the uke is older then the seme and v cute, tropes are dropping thick and fast (there’s only one bed!), and the size difference is vast (if that’s a thing you’re into). All in all, it’s not good but what the hay?

Work from Heart (Thurs YouTube) 5 of 7 - I like the lead pair better in this show then their last one but its nothing on JeffGame, and the lack of plot is challenging for me.

Love in the Air (Thurs iQIYI) 9 of 13 - I still mostly think Pai’s a douche, but it’s nice to see him taking care of Sky, especially as Sky clearly needs someone to do it so badly. Still Sky could do better... and Pai still has to. DUMPSTER FIRE TRASH WATCH ALONG HERE.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

My Tooth Your Love (Taiwan Fri Gaga & Viki) 3 of 1 - Honestly it’s such a relief to watch something from Taiwan in amongst all the Thai folderol. I might be liking this that much more because it’s restful by comparison. I could not be happier with the bratty rich kid kissing a waiter to make a point to his parents. I know, consent, but also... great characterization. I fucking love the ultra-grumpy bar manager character. And the dentist with the sad eyes who worries too much. And our poor boy who needs a therapist more than a dentist. They are all so awkward and broken and CUTE. GAH!!! (I’m getting very @heretherebedork level emotional about this one.)

Roommates of Poongduck 304 (Korea Thurs Viki) 2 of 8 - Poor JaeYoon, HoJun is so mean to him. The camera work in this drama has much more voyeuristic gaze than most KBL. In other words, the directing of this show makes it feel a bit more genuinely gay than a lot of the other BL that comes from Korea. It is fun to watch these 2 slowly become friends. I wish we had enough time to watch them also slowly fall in love. But since this is KBL, that part will be a rush job.

Kabe Koji (Japan Mon Viki) 3 of 10 - I guess this episode was a little bit better. The show is just so painfully EXTRA. As is often the case with Japanese stuff, I keep feeling like there's bones of great story in this drama. And I get glimpses of it, but then it’s covered again - like tasty steak smothered in Kewpie mayo. Oh, Japan.

It’s Airing But I’m Not Watching It

War of Y 20 eps - it’s just all too much for me.

My Roommate 32 eps of 2 minutes each + terrible production values? - I’m not bothering.

Fahlanruk (Sun GaGa) 12 eps - I cut my losses at ep 5. Someone can tell me if the 2nd half is worth it, after it finishes, but I’m not gonna bother to watch it every week. I don’t like any of the couples and the fujoshi framing is repulsive under the context of a narrative trying to be this authentically gay. I’ve lost all patience.

Oh My Sunshine Night 20 eps - I’m scared it’s gonna be sad, so I’m waiting for spies to tell me it’s safe, so far reported to be quite the soap opera.

To Sir With Love AKA Khun Chai 28 eps - dito

2 Moons 3 Thai (Mon ??) 10 eps - I searched for it in a lacklustre manner but couldn’t find it legally anywhere convenient. I will watch it if it’s easy to do so. Possibly as a binge. Rumor is it’s quite banal.

SELF (Thurs ??) - same again without any rumors

Wish Me Luck (Sat ??) - seems to have be delayed into next year

In Case You Missed It

That’s Work From Heart, The Staircase is back.

Gossip

I’ll have more for you next week as I process the Nov release announcements.

UWMA rewatch! The plan was: one UWMA ep a day for the 17 days before Between Us launches on Nov 6. However, I missed the start date (stupid work) so I’ll start tomorrow (Mon 24) and double down on the days when there’s no other BL airing (see calendar below). Wish me luck!

The UWMA Praise Watch along (opposite of a Trash Watch) will happen here on this blog.

Next Week Looks Like This:

October 2022 line up is here.

This week’s best moments?

Ai Long Nhai serving up the Gay Advice Dads!

That’s Aye for ya, brutally honest.

I love a bit of self reference.

I will love her forever. (Big Dragon) Viva la bisexual rep!

Look could we please get a BL featuring this boy? I love him.

Gay identity ownership in BL is still so rare, I cheer every time it drops. (My Only 12%)

Ouch.

(last week)

Current earworm? N.Flying - The Night (Pairs well with My Only 12%)

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themirokai · 1 year

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For my new followers: I’ve been watching Person of Interest really slowly and posting reactions to each episode with gifs. Check out the tag #miro does poi if you’d like to see more. Or, ya know, blacklist it.

POI 03x23: Deus Ex Machina

I thought some parts of this episode worked and some did not. Gonna do some big overarching thoughts, then call out some specific moments.

I generally liked Collier as a villain. Some of that is an affinity for Leslie Odom Jr., but as I said in a prior post I also really like villains who have a point but take it too far. And I thought Odom played him really really well. The guy is crazy charismatic and brought every ounce of that to bear in this role.

So I felt a bit let down by the trial as culmination of his arc. It’s just… kind of dumb? Like did they actually believe that doing this show trial at gun point - of two political operatives and three people no one knew - was going to … what? Convince people to rise up against the government and demand greater privacy rights? Or was it to make themselves feel better about killing the people responsible for Northern Lights? It just seems pretty half-baked for a character who I felt had been previously set up to be intelligent and driven.

And I didn’t really like the reveal that Greer had been pulling the strings the whole time. It made sense for the broader Samaritan plot but it undermined everything about Collier. I think I would have preferred if they just had Decima influence how the trial went rather than have them be responsible for the entire Vigilance movement.

The trial did create the set up for Harold to be self-sacrificing. Again. Still. Some more.

So much of Harold’s actions throughout the series seem to be motivated by guilt. Actually, remorse is probably more accurate. He only thinks he’s important in terms of what he can do for others. BRB my heart is breaking.

Another thing that got my wheels turning was this part with Control where she gives her experience on 9/11 as her motivation for undertaking the surveillance program, and I’m interested in how that reads to younger people and people who aren’t American.

I was 17 on 9/11 and it isn’t much of an exaggeration to say that you could feel the country change in real time. Control’s story of having the rest of her life motivated by that day isn’t at all rare. I know several people who signed up for the military on 9/12 or shortly thereafter.

Probably most of the people using this site weren’t even born on 9/11 and I wonder if Control’s story comes off as contrived or manipulative to you. I know that for me, I do feel the remove of 22 years. I know that 9/11 jokes and memes are pretty common now. But I don’t think that was the case when this aired. I think we were still too close to it then, and Control probably came off as sympathetic or at least doing the wrong thing for the right reason. I’m not sure this part of the show has aged well. But also Camryn Manheim’s performance is fantastic.

I find it super interesting that when I try to use gif search, the majority of gifs that come up, and the first ones, are ALL Shoot. I’m not sure if that’s because there’s just more of them or if Shoot fans tag their stuff differently or what. I didn’t embed any here because this was getting lengthy, but this scene was great, they have excellent chemistry, and I generally love how their dynamic is developing.

Fusco’s arrival was fantastic because I’m always happy when he shows up but also Root … apparently sent a message on??? with??? Bear? We’re not going to interrogate the mechanics of how Root got Bear out of the library while she was going after Samaritan but I was very glad Bear was there too.

Also! Fusco still doesn’t know about the Machine!!! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Oh look, Hersh ends up being great and I’m kind of attached to him now. Of course he’s dead at the end.

Let’s talk about the Rinchiness. As always, we have John’s single-minded determination to get Harold back for the majority of the episode.

But then there is this oh so gentle and affectionate scene that I suspect lives in every Rincher’s heart.

Sigh.

And the ending. Goddamn the ending was gutting. RIP Library.

That’s a wrap on season 3! Thanks for sticking with me, y’all. Reminder that my ask box is open if you want to share your thoughts!

#miro does poi #fewer gifs because this got so long #poi 03x23: deus ex machina #person of interest #irrelevants #rinch #long post

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dominickeating-source · 4 days

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Unbelievable!!!!!: Interview: Dominic Keating

In Unbelievable!!!!!, Dominic Keating plays Hacky – a name that seems very appropriate when you see his character in action. The sci-fi parody stars Snoop Dog alongside a host of familiar Star Trek faces from across the franchise. The movie gets its online premiere on 1 August, and Paul Simpson chatted with the former Star Trek Enterprise actor during lockdown…

How did you get to hear of Unbelievable!!!!!?

I think BarBara Luna [who played Lt. Marleau in the classic Trek episode Mirror Mirror] contacted me first.

I watched BarBara as a tender 9 year old. I nagged my dad rotten to get one of the first colour TVs in our street in Leicester to watch Star Trek in colour. It was one of those multi-broadcast TVs, it had a louvred door, looked like an aircraft hangar. It was the size of a coffin almost. These chiffon clad ladies were my first foray into erotica! BarBara and I had known each other from early on in the convention days – she reached out first. I think I was busy the first time they wanted to use me for something and then everybody else I knew did it and I felt a bit left out, so that’s when I reached out and got to meet Angelique [Fawcette] and realised it was her producing and her husband [Steven L. Fawcette] directing. They found a nice little cameo for me and happy to join. I’m going to be in a movie with Snoop Dog. Word! What a feat to get Snoop Dog to do this!

And you’re working with Captain Kirk Stillwood – the puppet…

I’ve done some things – I’ve worked with chimps and I’ve worked with puppets. I did a campaign where I got to work with a chimp; I was the Hollywood manager of a chimp!

Yes, I worked with the mannequin – it was a lot of fun actually. I only had a day’s work on it, literally a spit and a cough. It was lovely to be there. We all know each other from the conventions. I’ve been doing them for 20 years – I was the first out of the gate on our cast. The rest of my cast were all a bit sniffy about it to begin with until I drove my Porsche 911 onto the lot, paid for by conventions that first year. God bless those fans, man! I never stopped thanking them. We’ve all known each other for many a year – and to actually be on set with each other as actors was a lot of fun and a real treat.

So it was nice to work with everyone again – Casey [Biggs] particularly. I’ve known him, he’s a dear lovey love, and Max [Grodenchik] too, a great scene partner.

Have you kept up with the latest Star Treks?

Discovery and Picard? I haven’t. I don’t have [CBS All Access]. I was meant to go to the premiere of Discovery here at the Cinerama Dome, but sadly one of my cats died that very day, and frankly the idea of putting on a happy face wasn’t in my wheelhouse that night. Jason Isaacs and I go way back – we started out with the same agent in London 35 years ago. I know it’s gone down well.

I know originally it was going to be Bryan Fuller, and I know him of old. I thought I might get a good guest star or recurring role; he loved me, but then he and his writing partner parted ways, and he went on to do another show.

My first memory of Enterprise is going on set very early September 2001, and everyone talking about the plans – and then 9/11 happened.

It changed the show entirely. What is our relevance? I’d been here quite a while at that stage. I wasn’t a citizen, still a Green Card holder, but just to be immersed and to be in an American working environment, I never felt more American.

Very happy days at Paramount on the show. Scott [Bakula] was an amazing family leader – we couldn’t have hoped for a nicer man at the helm. He made those years joyous, frankly. I miss it.

It was a terrible shame we didn’t get to do our full stint, which I think we were well worthy of, certainly by the time Manny took over running the show in Season 4. No disrespect to Brannon, but he’d done this for sixteen years – he was tired out. I remember reading Manny’s first script in the Xindi arc, which was our riposte to 9/11, and thinking, “That’s good, who wrote this?” I phoned up the writers and asked to speak to Manny Coto! He’s gone on to bigger and bigger things. We were certainly worthy of another couple if not the whole seven years, but unfortunately the network was tanking and there were bigger things afoot than the success of our show. There was talk of going to Vancouver to shoot but Scott had two small children.

Marina came and did our last episode with Jonathan Frakes to a lot of people’s consternation – I had no idea that Scott was so affronted by that last episode until we all did the 10 year reunion at CBS for the release of the Blu-rays and we all had a big interview. It all came out in that that it really ticked him off. By that stage we’d known we were cancelled for about six, seven weeks if not longer, and I was over the shock of it. I won’t say that I think that the device to get those two into our episode was a bit clunky, but that said one of my favourite days’ shooting was doing the galley scene with Jonathan Frakes. He’s hilarious.

I’d always known he was funny – there’s a story I often tell. We’d gone over to Birmingham to do a big British convention. I went into the green room and there were all these young hotshots, cheeked and ab-ed actors, all flown in from their hot shot shows in Toronto and Vancouver and all were waxing on about how great things were… I was remembering how it used to be when it was me. They petered out and went back to their signing tables so there just me sitting alone there finishing my sandwich. There was this rustling underneath the trestle table on the other side of the room, and Jonathan Frakes popped his head up from where he’d obviously been having a nap, or trying to, and he saw me and went, “Hey, Dom, how are you? Are all those *********s gone now?” He’s a real actor’s actor. I had a great time working with him.

What else are you up to at the moment, apart from staying in for lockdown?

I’ve got a film I’ve been promoting, The Host, which sort of got a release virtually. It’s a psychological horror movie set in London and Amsterdam. I’ve been doing some voiceover work for Blizzard, God bless – I did quite a lot of voices for them for World of Warcraft. I have another voiceover on Tom Hanks’ new movie, Greyhound – I play the captain of the English battleship in this flotilla chasing U-boats. You never see me unfortunately but it’s my voice, but a mate of mine told me I’m in it quite a lot, and referred to quite a lot too! I got to work with Tom – he was in the room when we recorded, and what a lovely chap he is. Shortly after that he got COVID!

The worldwide online premiere of Unbelievable!!!!!! is 1 August – tickets for the all-day event can be purchased today (31 July) here

Thanks to David Roberson & Ian Spelling for their assistance in arranging this interview.

Source: scifibulletin.com, published 31 July 2020.

#dominic keating #the keating cult

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sofia-curtis · 5 days

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hello again! can you imagine if they gave us the female friendships we deserved 😭 like sofia/sara/catherine would have ruled 😭 instead we got that awkward sofia/sara rivalry over grissom (which was also quickly shoved aside and forgotten forever??) what were the writers even thinking

anyway, my favourite characters are grissom (I see so much of myself in grissom - both good and bad traits) and sara (she's so sweet amd smart) but I like everyone, really.

I'm doing something really unhinged - which is I jumped to immortality (which i felt was kinda weird for a series finale, but i digressk) and then started Vegas s1 (although I must admit, I'm not really liking - i hope it gets more interesting). perhaps after I'm done with this, I'll go back to s9 or just jump to s11 like you suggested - maybe a fresh cast is what I need. although I don't want to lose willows too :/

I would have just about killed for a girls gone wild (oh yeah you'll have to watch season 14 and 15 just for these two episodes. All three of the girls go on a girls weekend, x2, and things happen) style episode with the three of them. Literally would have given anything for them to hang out together, they are my girlsssss.

Okay this is interesting! I always think I hate grissom when I haven't watched the show for a while but really I just hate GSR, I don't think it feels like a natural dynamic at all but that's a whole other can of worms. So we get Sara back (season 10 properly iirc) but we don't really see grissom again until imm. But I maintain that we got better content of the girls in the later seasons because it wasn't the 00s anymore and female rivalry was SLOWLY going out of trend.

Immortality was 100000% built for the GSR shippers (aka NOT me) but I was glad to see heather and cat back of course. Vegas is... not the best. I have only watched it once through, and I only admittedly started it when season 2 was airing because I saw they were bringing cat and lindsay back and the concept intrigued me, but they fucked it up big time imo. But also I'm like... just really gay for catherine so it was nice to get to just see her again 😂 regardless of things I did or did not like about various other plot lines.

Cat's leaving arc is SAD but also is probably my favourite character exit. I feel like they gave her the respect she deserved after spending so long on the show. There are many other unrelated to the plot reasons that I really really like that season and it will always be special to me personally. But I do also think that Russell and Finn both get really epic character intros.

Season 10 has, arguably my least fave character (apart from hodges) from the whole series so it's probably the one I have watched the least out of all the seasons. But I think 9-11 are worth watching at least once. Actually this rewatch I found some episodes in season 11 that I liked quite a lot as stand alones. But the overall arc of those seasons are not super enjoyable for me personally.

#asked and answered #rambles #like this really is just a ramble #CSI brain rot at it's prime #I've watched this show an embarrassing number of times to be honest #in terms of sheer number of hours it's probably my most watched show #in terms of actual rewatches it's not because I've watched BOP through more times but that show is SHORT #anyway I have very strong opinions on SOME things to do with this show and.... i feel like it's searingly obvious but yeah

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jinkieswouldyoulookatthis · 3 months

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you bring up such a good point regarding tptb creating weird dilemmas, and you may disagree but i think it was just them doing very depthless, desperate writing in every ep after swan song. i did a s12-13 rewatch recently and was blown away by how ridiculous the characters' choices were considering knowledge we saw them obtain in MUCH prior seasons. a lot was contrived the entire show's run just for drama but it really got nauseating often enough i had to stop the rewatch. i know the heart of the show is always a case, but we're meant to care about the characters solving the case to stay seated and you could tell the writers didn't give a shit if we did or didn't, which is, admittedly, sorta slay. i had a lot of complaints on substance but actually the strangest thing to me was forcing the bros to disagree on things that no two people who are genuinely compatible companions would ever bicker or waste breath about. literally any other character could have been used as a narrative tool to draw out the other side of the argument or create the needed tension, but them full on brawling between themselves about big ticket worldview/ethos things like if mary's dead or if jack is evil was just so forced and so pathetic! maybe the thought was the show would get boring if they didn't seem like two separate people anymore, but it did a massive disservice to the story of these specific men who genuinely simply wouldn't, on certain levels, be two separate people anymore.

I know that a lot of folks weren't happy with the later seasons. But I also know some folks who prefer the later seasons. Me, I like the entire run and found each season had its own strengths and weaknesses, but in general were all worth watching.

The main dilemma facing a show with only two regular characters, and that is ultimately just about the relationship between those two characters, is that the drama is most likely going to involve, or come back to over and over again, conflict between those two characters. So with Supernatural, we got the boys' multiple break-up and make-up arcs. And yeah, those got tiresome after a while. But, I found that starting in season 11 the boys really were together and on the same page more often than not. But, Sam and Dean are different people, and they have different views on things and think about things in different ways, feel and process stuff differently, and this makes them more interesting, at least to me.

So yes, the drama throughout the show (even in the early seasons) often feels a bit contrived, but it is contrived, it's fiction. And more than just fiction, it was a 22-23 episode/season show so some repetitive and contrived drama is to be expected. I don't know, maybe I'm the weirdo with it, but I think that the entire 15 season story is pretty good, feels consistent to me (allowing for the various practical/real world changes outside the show's control) and at the end felt like it told one big epic hero's journey story about these two brothers.

But the best thing about Supernatural, is that anyone can just pick and choose what parts of it they want to watch now. Really only like the Kripke era? Just watch 1-5. Like Castiel? Start at season 4 and only watch about a quarter of the episodes from there on. Or do what I do and subject yourself to watching all 327 episodes in order every year or so.

TV shows, especially 22-23 episode long season shows, are a collaborative effort that have a lot of cooks in the kitchen. So sometimes they crank out huge gourmet meals while at other times they just end up fighting about what's on the menu. Honestly? We lucked out with Supernatural because it really is way more good than bad and that was due to Kripke and Singer and Manners, and Jared and Jensen, and the majority of the crew that was there for so much of the run, really caring about the show and the characters and putting everything they had into making something that they so obviously loved.

#I have no idea if you had an actual question so don't know if I answered it or not 😬#thanks anon!

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theheightofdishonor · 8 months

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I'm gonna take the leap and finally talk about only friends on here. There's only one episode left so I think it's a good time to just write about it

Top and Mew

I won't lie, these two are probably the most boring pair to me and from the little i have perused through the tags, it seems like it's the same for a lot of people? But I do appreciate them. I think the lack of chemistry between them is 100% intentional. We know Force and Book can pull off chemistry. And on top of that, this crew is wonderful in bringing out the best from its cast so the fact that Mew and Top feel like they're missing something, that's on purpose. I think @shortpplfedup has mentioned a couple times about how Top and Mew's relationship is wrapped up in ego and image and how it warps their perception and expectations from each other and I agree! Even when they're vulnerable with each other, there's a guard there because they're unable to not be playing this game they've got going on with each other. And this tracks into ep 11 because the only reason Mew agrees to forgive Top is because Top threatens to walk away for good (because he can't handle the idea of being the loser in this relationship forever) and Mew can't have that because that would make him the loser permanently. I've been referring to their situation as 'gone girl-ing' irl because they're that couple who don't really like each other? but they're still never going to leave because they know they're well matched and would be more miserable with someone else and also leaving would mean admitting that they've made a bad choice so they stay together but they also kind of enjoy this mutual toxicity? Like Mew is 100% going to run to his friends again complaining about Top and then when they suggest breaking up, be like 'well, I should but" until it gets exhausting for everyone involved.

I know tons of people like this in real life. And they're not my favourite but i've made peace with it. That being said, I still don't quite understand what the team's intention is with Top because he really is very neglected in this cast. We know nearly nothing about him and the things we do know never get looked at. Again, I do think this is intentional and Force is doing a phenomenal job with the character but I just don't get what they're leading to. I won't make a solid judgement on this though til the finale airs so moving on

Nick and Boston.

My favorite pair and favorite characters? Yeah they are. Nick, my adorable little psychopath, we've had our ups and downs and I was skeptical if you'd ever stop being embarrassing but you did and I am so proud of my absolute favorite boy. He's accepted his own toxicity, taken a good hard look at himself and his feelings for Boston and he is on top of everything. When he's telling Ton in the club to not look at other men, there's (to me at least) no hint of that worry or insecurity from the first couple episodes. And Boston's reaction too was more of a guy who's heard his partner complain about the same thing a million times instead of taking it as a sign of Nick's clinginess. It felt like echoes of an old, worn 'argument' that's just rote. And then in the conversation where Boston offers a short term committed relationship? He doesn't just jump into and instead thinks about whether it's something he really wants and what it means for him and what it means for them. Not to mention how well he was able to establish expectations with Daddy Dan about their relationship. There's still time for him to backflip next week but for now, baby boy is winning.

And Boston! I think his character arc so far has been very well done. He's not had a complete personality makeover but he's changed too and has made adjustments to the way he looks at things. The entire conversation about a committed relationship with Nick was everything. It's such a huge step for him and you can feel it in just Neo's posture and his tone how much it means to him. I don't actually think I have the words to dissect him well and I think people far more eloquent than I have already done so so i'll just leave it at that.

Oh wait actually brief mention of the Atom-Ton thing because I don't know yet how I feel about Atom being let off so easily. On one hand, it feels true to where Boston is now that he doesn't want to pursue it too much, especially when he's leaving in a couple months and he's also had some revenge with Nick. On the other hand....I don't know. I guess i've shelving this til the last ep too.

One more thing, I've seen the idea that Nick and Ton haven't had enough screentime and I disagree, I think they've made a perfect amount of sense with the amount they've had. Would I complain about seeing more, of course not. But i'm not dissatisfied and their time's been used well and where their arc is at now, they don't need a lot either. Though from the preview, it seems like we will be getting a fair bit of them next week due to the Boston-Boeing storyline.

Sand and Ray.

If I had a firstkhao bias going into this show, it's definitely been worn down. I've more or less given up on Sand developing any sort of backbone or self-respect + the idea of Ray finally reciprocating and taking care of him. They're still cute though and I don't mind any longer that it's an imperfect relationship. That being said, it was so fun seeing Boeing come back to wreck them this episode. Sand's mom tells us that the way Sand is with Ray is just how he is with everyone he cares about but I don't think Ray understood that til we see Sand and Boeing in action. Sand is very clearly uncomfortable in Boeing's presence and yet! He says they can be friends, he asks about Boeing's job, he tells Ray to leave so they can talk in private, sweetheart this man CHEATED ON YOU?? And on top of all of this, he brushes away all of Ray's attempts to claim him in front of Boeing too. Talk about creating all your own problems.

I do want to muse for a bit on Sand saying that Boeing is exactly his type and how he doesn't deny it when Boeing says Ray is the opposite of that. I think they're actually more alike than they seem on the surface. Their mutual disregard for boundaries and willingness to exploit Sand's weaknesses are sure similar as is the need to be seen as special. Boeing turns nasty at the idea of Mew meaning more to Top than he did and a lot of what draws Ray to Sand is the way Sand treats him as something special (and he's not happy either when it's revealed that Sand's behavior towards him is something he gives everyone) On the other hand, Boeing is very put together and barely shows a hint of vulnerability whereas Ray wears his faults on his sleeves and is generally a mess. I haven't quite verbalized any conclusions about this yet but i'm mulling over it. We'll see if I have time to write something up later this week.

Now Ray. Ray's having the time of his life parading around as Sand's boyfriend until it all comes crashing down. They're having cute record shop dates, talking about their future, being domestic in front of elementary school kids, the whole nine yards and even when Sand is being so shifty bringing up Boeing, he's confident enough in where he stands that it doesn't faze him whatsoever. I love Ray but seeing his uncomfortable crawling realization that perhaps Boeing might pose a threat was everything I wanted. The confirmation about his threesome proposals being a front was unneeded but fun. I'm looking forward to seeing how he continues to react to Boeing next week. That little look they shared when First stepped into the water? I suspect these two are going to eat that man alive.

Boeing

Boeing is my darling little agent of chaos. He had his turn with TopMew, he's currently wrecking SandRay and from the looks of it, he's moving onto NickBoston next week. I adore that he's apparently the final boss for all our main couples. I think he's gonna lose 3 for 3 which i'm a little crestfallen about but it's a fun time. I'm enjoying the chaos. I do hope we get to see a little more about his motivations and personality next week though.

Cheum

The fandom's response to Cheum is so weird. First she's on this pedestal of being the perfect girl who can do no wrong amongst these dumb messy boys and now she's the worst of the worst. It's the messy gay show and she's being a messy gay. I've been waiting for her to do something properly awful. The show's not done yet so I do think her response to the Atom-Boston thing will get more screentime next week. Of course I'm not trying to gloss over how terrible her treatment of Boston was but I'm also not expecting her to suddenly grovel nor do I think she should because it's not something she feels sorry for! Her just apologizing for it and feeling bad would be glossing over the fact that these are genuinely things she's thought about Boston all along and that she was just using the opportunity Atom provided to say it. The fact that Boston didn't do what she thought he did doesn't matter to her. And that's what they should address. This storyline is still ongoing though so again, holding out judgement til the end.

Overall, I've loved following this show week to week. It's been messy, it's been dramatic and it's had a lot to say about promiscuity, friendship, relationships and fandom amongst like a dozen other things. Watching the show and fandom reactions to it have been eyeopening. Additionally, the performances have been excellent. Only Friends is proof of how a good director and environment can bring out the best in all its cast because I honestly can't pick who has given the best performance here since they've all just been that good. Even if this show somehow flops next episode, I won't even be that mad because it's been so good and enjoyable that it deserves a bit of leniency and i've enjoyed it all the way through.

#only friends the series #i think i've covered everything?#i might not have though #ofts #if i think of something else i'll make another post

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whirlwindsworld · 2 years

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I posted 11,925 times in 2022

23 posts created (0%)

11,902 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess

@ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2

@morganzephyr

@the-dork-web

@in-an-ecotone

I tagged 305 of my posts in 2022

#ml spoilers - 47 posts

#dndads spoilers - 21 posts

#woe.begone - 20 posts

#wbg - 16 posts

#my art - 11 posts

#the owl house - 9 posts

#unreality - 8 posts

#tdp s4 spoilers - 7 posts

#dndads - 6 posts

#mike walters - 6 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#jesse we need to go get some food for the first day of the park tomorrow at the church center for the first church in church and then park

My Top Posts in 2022:

Dndads s2 spoilers

I am thinking again. Gen 4 dads with newborn infants or toddlers. The idea that their kids will have to grow up under the doodler…. They won’t even have good early childhood memories to fall back on like their parents did. It would be all they would ever know. Their is some real Adult Fear there.

I do get why they condemned the people of Faerun. Then the sunk cost fallacy kicks in. Who would you condemn to protect your children? Another realm, full of demons? But its your friend, your brother’s home. Him as well then? Well okay, you’ve betrayed your own, but he also forced your hand right? And you’ll look out for his kid maybe.

Now the enemy is back. Everything and everyone you have destroyed to save your children threatens to be for nothing. Do you do it all again? Delaying it, and passing it down like it was passed down to you? Or do you end it? You can’t undo the damage done. But you can stop the casualties from becoming exponential.

It will end here. Your children will not inherit it as you once did. They will given what you never truly received. Time to heal.

16 notes - Posted October 5, 2022

We all thought Ron was alone. That when Willy tried to drown him, Ron was alone and no one protected him.

And while it doesn’t change how Ron felt as a child, or the original narrative arc from season one…

I think its still important that the Doodler was there. That it wanted to protect Ron. That even a supposedly eldritch horror could see that a child should be protected.

The Doodler could see what Willy never could.

20 notes - Posted December 1, 2022

So I’ve been on Doctor Who hiatus while the current show runner does his thing. It just hasn’t been for me and that’s fine.

But I was invited to watch Eve of the Daleks last night and uh, might have to start actually caring again because holy this got gay and I was not expecting it!

22 notes - Posted January 2, 2022

I wasn’t an autistic!Link truther until this episode’s dad facts.

37 notes - Posted September 6, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Wednesday Spoilers!

Yeah they better give Tyler some space and respect and let him grow into his own person next season or I will be rioting.

He was failed by his father and taken advantage of so severally by a woman who only saw him as a tool, a weapon, a slave.

She targeted him, drugged him, chained him up, and tortured him. I don’t think his monologue and violent talk to Wednesday was in an any way indicative of this just being who he is now.

I think its part of the super weird and creepy bond that Laurel forced on him. The loyalty and all that.

I want to see him get better. I really hope he’s not just “the monster” now.

And you know, I get that he wasn’t a great love interest. I don’t particularly want Wednesday and Tyler to get back together in the event of a recovery arc. But!

I’m a sucker for stories that show the fact that boys and men can be victims of abuse too. He deserves some good screen time to just be his person again.

88 notes - Posted November 26, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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sheacouleecametoslay · 2 years

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All Stars 1 (2012)

Yeah... I'm gonna go ahead and say this is the worst Drag Race season I've watched so far (I've yet to see Down Under). I blame the format not the cast though; since this is a cast worthy of being called All-Stars. I felt hyped when the queens were walking down the street doing the intros in the premiere. But then the teams twist was introduced and the season was ruined from that moment. Part of the issue is the judging - what happens if one half of the team gives a stand-out performance and the other half flops? What if another pair delivers two equal but average performances? You could make arguments either way on which is better or worse. I think the twist also hindered group interaction since it pushes the queens to mostly talk to their partners. Plus the season only has 6 episodes with double eliminations every week, so we barely get time with the cast. Furthermore, the challenges were unfamiliar and poorly executed. It was a bad decision to replace the usual staples. The premiere was a photoshoot instead of a "make an outfit out of a junk" challenge, which is what the first 4 seasons all started with. The Snatch Game became the Gaff-In; a challenge so unfunny it becomes ironically funny. The Makeover turned into lip sync choreo with a celebrity; where all 3 teams were even. The Ball turned into this superhero/supervillain story; where one team talked about melanin and the other talked about vaginas and nipples.... yeah. There's also an outdoor basketball game for a mini-challenge. And the finale is a series of public appearances instead of a music video. Oh, and there's one episode where the queens had to prank people in the streets... WTF was that? Talk about CRINGE. It felt like I was watching an entirely different show. It's so awkward trying to convince strangers to do embarrassing things. And it took up 15 minutes of the episode. I also wasn't a fan of the red siren twist for the lip syncs (ie. where the partner could tag themselves in). It was such a mess when Yara Sofia pressed it. Speaking of lip syncs, the final 4 face-off between Jujubee and Raven was a very emotional one, and one of the few good moments of the season. The Latrice vs Tammie lip sync was good as well. But the rest were meh. The other issue with AS1 is the winner's story. I love Chad and all, but I don't feel like she did anything to warrant a win here? It's like this season was treated as a formality or a rubber stamp or a means to end just to give her a crown. All in all, this does not feel like an All-Stars season. I'm glad that most of this cast got their chance at a real All-Stars season in later years.

Queens Ranking: 12. Pandora Boxx She spent the entire premiere complaining about having to be paired with Mimi Imfurst, and that defeated attitude is what sent them both home first. 11. Raven Here she goes again, being an asshole to Mimi in Untucked; all mad because Mimi was 3rd in the fan voting. And then next episode saying Mimi didn't deserve to be there. I did enjoy Raven's stand-up routine though, and her Supervillain look was one of the top runways this season. Her getting naked in the photoshoot was a bold decision too. But I do think Raven was the weaker half of "Rujubee" in other challenges. 10. Nina Flowers I still love Nina, but she had the smallest edit of the 12 All-Stars this season, and she didn't really do anything memorable in those two episodes. 9. Chad Michaels It's funny how I wanted Chad to win Season 4, but I couldn't care less if she won AS1 or not. Talk about a boring winner's arc. I don't mean boring because it was predictable, it was boring because she didn't do anything memorable this season. Sure, she won 3/5 challenges with Shannel, but those wins didn't feel notable. Part of that is bad challenge design, but at the same time, I can't think of a funny quote or an iconic runway she delivered. I didn't laugh once at her Bette Davis in Gaff-In or her vaginal rejuvenation story in the superhero challenge. 8. Mimi Imfurst Mimi was calmer this time... until everyone ganged up on her on Untucked, but can you blame her? She was the bigger person and tried to make things work with Pandora though, even when Pandora was resistant. And I actually liked her lip sync better than Chad's, even if she was overdoing it and getting into Chad's personal space and giving an underwhelming reveal. "Mandora"'s photoshoot and runway weren't great. Both photos were just expressions of their tense partnership in an uncomfortable way. While on stage, the blue outfits with the lime green fur weren't visually pleasing. 7. Alexis Mateo More or less the same Alexis as Season 3. She had outside beef with Mimi on Untucked, and she made points about the Latina queens being discriminated. Otherwise, she played off of Yara well in the Gaff-In. And "Yarlexis" had good chemistry in general. But I felt like Yara was the more prominent half of the pair. 6. Shannel Shannel was this stern workaholic and she took charge in a lot of the challenges. She was frantic in the pranking, and she lead the choreo twice - in the girl groups and the F4 superhero number. If anything it felt like Shannel was the stronger half of "Shad". Her premiere and finale runways were great too. But she fumbled the finale challenges; where she had the worst stand-up routine and overtalked in the group interview (which is just classic Shannel). I don't think she was making Final 2 either way though. "Shad"'s photoshoot came off pretentious. Their Gaff-In impressions weren't funny. And their superhero stories about vaginas and nipples felt juvenile. They had the tightest choreo in the girl groups, which is why I gave them the win for that one, but their outfits were the least matching. 5. Latrice Royale Latrice is still one of my all-time faves, but all the things I love about Latrice were kind of missing from this season? She played Oprah in the one comedy challenge and it wasn't funny. She was then shown digging in that trash can in the next episode. And her runways weren't the best this time. 4. Jujubee I'm probably going to like Jujubee less with each appearance, but she was my favourite of the Final 4, so there's that. Her Fran Drescher laugh carried her team in the Gaff-In and she had the best stand-up routine in the finale; although she was swallowed in the group interview. "Rujubee" had my second fave photoshoot in both categories. But they suffered from poor communication in the pranking. Jujubee had a stand-out lip sync in girl groups, but the pair just repeated the Season 2 choreo. The superhero stories were... okay. 3. Tammie Brown AS1 cemented Tammie as an icon, with the show fully embracing her weirdness as everybody kept commenting on it. "I'm from Planet 15, we have two moons"; "I CURED MY GRANDMOTHER"; "HA! HA! I'm acting"; "Well come on Teletubby, teleport us to Mars!"; "We have to sniff the Flowers" (as she sniffs Nina Flowers); "She likes to wear grass... grass underwear because it's always green"; "Sexy orangutan shake it and do your thing". 💀💀💀 Her Gaff-In "jokes" were so confusing and dumb, but she sold them with such conviction that I actually would've saved their team from the bottom 2 lol. "Brown Flowers" surprised me in the photoshoot though. Tammie looked great in the Opposites Attract, and I liked the pair's sensitive embrace in Half Baked . 2. Manila Luzon This season made me appreciate Manila more. She could've been a decent winner, and she carried confidence here. I was impressed by her Cruella de Vil entrance look. The Teletubby was... an idea. And I liked her runway with the black high heel and feather on her head. Her Madonna in Gaff-In was fine but not really funny. And then she gave us a creepy lip sync to "Nasty" and that was that. "Latrila" looked high class in the Opposites Attract photoshoot, but Half Baked was weird. As for the pranking, Latrice revealed post-show that they actually had the second most points but were put in the bottom 2 anyways. Shady producers. I mean, I thought Raven and Yara were the least effective on the street anyways. 1. Yara Sofia Yeah, she remains my favourite from the first 4 seasons. Her Charo is one of the few things I enjoyed in AS1. I loved her hair clothes line runway look, despite what Michelle said. And I liked her 60s Glam look including the reveal. She really didn't need to tag herself into the lip sync against Raven though; I face-palmed during that. "Yarlexis" were the only funny team in the Gaff-In. Their sinister Half Baked photoshoot was my fave, but their role reversal in Opposites Attract didn't quite work for me. They had the best outfits in the girl groups, but their choreo wasn't as good. And Yara seemed too pushy with the strangers in the street in the pranking. Teams ranking: 6. Mandora 5. Shad 4. Rujubee 3. Brown Flowers 2. Latrila 1. Yarlexis Favourite entrance: Manila Luzon Challenge ranking: 1. Finale public appearances 2. Photoshoot 3. All-Star Girl Groups 4. RuPaul's Gaff-In 5. Superhero vs Supervillain 6. Pranking in the streets Lip Sync ranking: 1. Jujubee vs Raven ("Dancing On My Own") 2. Latrice Royale vs Tammie Brown ("There's No Business Like Show Business") 3. Chad Michaels vs Mimi Imfurst ("Opposites Attract") 4. Raven vs Yarlexis ("Don't Cha") 5. Chad Michaels vs Raven ("Responsi-T-slur-ty") 6. Jujubee vs Manila Luzon ("Nasty") Season ranking so far: 4 > 2 > 3 > 1 > AS1

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tameila · 2 years

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TLOVM Thoughts.

THE GOOD

PIKE-CENTRIC STORYLINE HYPE TRAIN!!! First of all, it’s what she deserved. Second of all, it was perfect. It captured that perfect juxtaposition between Pike’s love for revelry and knocking heads and her earnest and always-trying devotion to her faith. She loves them both equally, enough so that the thought that she may have to choose caused her magic to splinter. The moment between The Everlight and her was nothing short of, and I know I keep using this word but, perfect. The most quintessential lines being...“Any path can be a holy one. So long as one walks it with truth. You can be whoever you want to be in the light...” That’s exactly what Pike needed to hear and sums up her character to a T. The only thing I hope we get a little more of next season is exploring why The Everlight is so important to her. When I heard the “Pike Trickfoot” song, I was hoping for a little something, but then it got demoted to end credits, so...😔 but, otherwise? Wonderful! So happy for my girl!

Pike’s tenacity. I’m just so happy that we got Pike’s tenacity to the MAX.

Scanlan’s earnest, tender-hearted affection for Pike being given its moment in just about every episode. They fumbled a lot with Scanlan’s character, which I’ll get to, but his feelings for Pike? I thank them for letting him have his moments both of quiet, speechless awe and of ‘I-Don’t-Know-How-To-Feelings’, lovedumb fumbling. The intensity on his face when he turned away from her in ep 4? The doe-eyed awe on his face when she first arrived in ep 9? That same wide-eyed look coming back in ep 11 when she saved him? Just...those moments when you could see the full brunt of his feelings hitting him before, with the last two, he didn’t know what to do besides act the fool. because Scanlan genuinely loves Pike, and he hasn’t done love before. I still worry where they’re going with them, and I hate that I have to worry, but...for now, I’m happy with how they’re setting up Scanlan’s feelings. Now, if only they’d show the mutuality of the attraction from Pike.

as you might know, I have a love-hate relationship with Percy. He’s a classic case of ‘great character ruined by the stans’ for me. However, I knew I wasn’t gonna have any fun watching season one if I didn’t try and open my heart to him again. and, for me, the thing that won me over was his relationship with Cass. When I first watched CritRole, before I really got into the fandom and still loved Percy, his relationship with Cassandra was my favorite sibling dynamic on the show. The guilt he feels over unknowingly leaving her. The happiness at knowing she is alive. Everything, in the end, being about her. When he lost his will to fight because she turned on him, I felt that as an older sibling. I would become the same limp noodle in that situation to see my little sister turn from me. Percy doesn’t need his dramatic one-liners or to be oh-so-sad and sexy. His saving grace is his love for his sister.

All the Pike and Grog moments! Best of siblings. Best of buddies. Like Scanlan, I think Grog got a short stick this season, but he shined in his moments with Pike. Crossing my fingers and hoping so hard for Westruun arc next season!

THE BAD

I know I have to accept it as a separate entity. I know I do, but...Everything moved so fast! The drawn out, lingering horror of the campaign fit the setting of Whitestone so well, but we didn’t get any time to sit with the corruption and decay with the animation.

Also, because of the rushed nature, they had to make “characterization cuts” to streamline things. For example, Vex became the main strategist, because you can’t animate 30 minutes of party planning, but it meant that Scanlan -- who was always at the forefront of strategy -- got pushed to the side.

I know other people have commented on this as well, but the overly polished dialogue of the show compared to the improvised but heartfelt dialogue of the table? So jarring.

In general, I think The Legend of Vox Machina, as beautifully animated and well voice acted as it is, is just proof that there’s no way to truly capture the magic of playing D&D around a table with your friends. Something was lost, and I missed it the whole time.

THE SCANLAN

ah, blue-eyed Scanlan...my beloathed...I do like his design otherwise. I really do, and I know I was given months to prepare my sensibilities but...[clenches fist] blue eyes? ??

if I have to hear Scanlan say “Scanlan’s Hand” one (1) more goddamn time, I WILL snap. I am begging you, TLOVM, to let Scanlan do literally ANY other spell. BEGGING.

Scanlan, in general, felt like a cardboard cutout of himself. like, a strong gust of wind could knock him over flat on his face. he was a plush toy with pre-set phrases that you pull the string on the back to hear.

Where was his cunning? His intellect? As I mentioned earlier, Scanlan was one of the biggest strategist of the party, but we got next to nothing of that in the show. There were small moments -- him translating the book and him bringing back that knowledge later at the ziggurat but they were so few and far between.

Scanlan’s is VM’s second most important healer and support after Pike. You wouldn’t know it from watching this show, however.

Please, for the love of Sarenrae, where are Scanlan’s spells and battle prowess? Where are the clutch moves that made him the MVP of VM? That made Vecna himself falter and scramble for purchase? In the beginning, I thought that they were just holding back to make Scanbo that more exciting to new viewers but...yeah. even that felt...Not Great. A lot of Scanbo was luck of the dice, but it was also so successful because Scanlan is resourceful and analytical in battle. He can make a quick plan. He will execute it with all the bravado of a man who doesn’t care what happens to him, as long as it’s a good story.

Which, to add to that point, why was Scanlan such a goddamn coward? In the campaign, a big part of Scanlan’s character was the fact that he had a cavalier attitude towards his own wellbeing. He was constantly dismissing the other’s concern for him. His nihilism is a big reason that Kaylie’s request that he stay alive hit him so hard. People keep saying “such-and-such is foreshadowing for Bard’s Lament” but I can honestly tell you that I have yet to see anything in the show that feels like they’re foreshadowing that storyline for Scanlan at all. Would love to be proven wrong.

Continuing the coward point, in the campaign, Scanlan was always fighting on the front lines. He wasn’t a melee fighter but, as a support, he was always in the fray. Which made it all the more upsetting when Scanlan spent so much of all these fights running around, screaming, and doing absolutely nothing. Love to see his Pikey jump in to protect him but would love it more if we got to see Scanlan look after her in return (which he did a lot, see: my Pike Health Watch supercut) while also holding his own in battle.

It actually felt mildly insulting that Vox Machina was constantly groaning and rolling their eyes when Scanlan would perform. Whereas, at the table, everyone would laugh and sing along. Scanlan’s inspiration and songs brought a sense of togetherness to the table.

idk man!! i just...i just felt like I was so excited to see my man and all I got was a shadow of him 😔

#tlovm blogging #tlovm spoilers #forewarning that this is mostly just me bemoaning the terrible treatment of Scanlan #i have...Many Thoughts...#now im gonna go spite write #if anything TLOVM made me more confident in my Scanlan POV #because it may not be the greatest but at least it's not TLOVM levels bad #also -- would love to hear other people's thoughts!#would love any reason not to despair at Scanlan's characterization!

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mandareeboo · 3 years

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SU Music Rankings

Bc I can and I wanna start some Disk Horse rip. These are all in order of preference, with explanations, etc. It’s a long bitch. That said, I’m not counting little short jingles or small joke songs like Little Butler. This is the meat and potatoes of SU music- just under 30 songs. I might do the rest if people like my takes lol.

I scored it mostly on three bases- how dear it was to my heart, how much/often I relisten to it, and also what it means to the plot. That said, little fun songs don’t automatically go farther down than big, plot-heavy songs either! It’s a strange little balance.

Special Note: I don’t dislike any of this music! I love SU and that includes its bumps and glitches. I just pick favorite children lol.

1.) Change

Was there ever a more Steven moment than when he wiped the blood off his face and kissed it into sparkles? I think not.

If “Be Wherever You Are” is an ode to young Steven, then this is teen Steven’s. Talking about change, and how much and how little it can do. How he holds his arms up for Spinel to hug him, so trusting. How he seems able to just. Break into soft tears at will, and not to be manipulative- it’s just his kind nature. The warmth in his voice. Fuck yesssss.

2.) Change Your Mind

This song is only fifty five seconds and it’s EVERYTHING to me. It really felt like someone was speaking the words I’d always held deep inside of me, unsure of how to say. It feels like a goodbye to someone who never really loved me.

As much as I enjoyed Future, if this was the finale of SU, I would’ve been perfectly okay with that.

3.) Drift Away

This song gave me legitimate shivers the first time I heard it, and it still haunts me to this day. Spinel stayed, and waited, and all she got was a transmission thousands of years later. Fuck.

4.) Here We Are In The Future

THE MOVIE IS SU AS ITS BEST AND I WON’T BE SWAYED ON IT. Steven being a teen who loves his weird family but is growing just a bit sarcastic to their drama. The adorable love he and Connie share. His slow realization that he will always be working, always have things to do, is both somber and real. The Crystal Gems won’t be safe with one epic battle. They’ll be safe with years of hard work and love. HIS LITTLE HANDSHAKE WITH AMETHYST.

This is a helluva bop and a great way to summarize the main character’s backstories.

5.) Let’s Only Think About Love

Did ya’ll know that Zach Callison killed his throat with that last note? He gave his all for this performance in a vocal range he no longer comfortably do and by god did it SHINE. The FLAIR. The FORESHADOWING. All of the Gems all being awkward about Rose and Steven trying to bring them to the present. Peridot having a mini-existential crisis in a cute yellow dress. I love Zach Callison’s normal singing voice but man is that a fucking bop. Nothing will ever beat it.

6.) Here Comes A Thought

This bad boy helped me out a LOT with some mental issues I was dealing with in high school. I was unmedicated, unsupervised, and full of anxiety. I’d have break downs when I tried to speak about certain things. I couldn’t function. This song inspired me. It helped me feel okay with my intrusive thoughts.

And the episode! -chef’s kiss-. Once again bringing up the morally gray area of training child soldiers. Connie expanding her social group. Steven’s trauma hauling ass in that second half. The ANIMATION. Stevonnie’s gorgeous singing voice. GOD yes.

7.) It’s Over Isn’t It?

Just barely squeaking above Stronger Than You, this ballad is everything gorgeous. The whole episode is. I think Mr. Greg stands in the top five of my episodes for the entire show. It even got nominated!

There’s just so much about this song that I love. The gentle melancholy of Pearl’s voice. How the crew had to redo the shots for this bit bc Deedee went so fucking hard. The hard cuts between Pearl, remembering the love of her life, and Steven, who has begun to feel like he took her away. I’d recommend this song to anyone, regardless of what they do or don’t know about SU, simply bc it tugs so many heartstrings of love, loss, and responsibility.

8.) Stronger Than You

Did you realize this episode aired SEVEN years ago? This bitch was what got me into SU! Hearing about Ruby and Sapphire made my little gay heart so happy inside, and then getting a whole song confirming that they were a couple, that their love powered the strongest Gem on the team? Aaaaaaaaa

To this DAY I get excited when I hear Estelle start singing. This song is timeless. This song will live in media history. God I fucking love this song.

9.) Other Friends

I’m not the biggest musical person, so I hadn’t heard of Sarah Stiles before her casting as Spinel, but JESUS CHRIST the lady went hard. She went SO fucking hard. Sarah Stiles started on 100 and somehow just kept CLIMBING. You can just hear the sheer manic energy building in her voice, the anger and resentment. 10/10 Sarah Stiles is a queen.

10.) Independent Together

This made the list entirely bc the crew was like “you’re gonna get a himbo ass Steven-Greg fusion singing with Opal while Garnet flies across the moon on Lion while floating” and I am forever thankful to them for it

11.) Who We Are

Bismuth deserved more songs. ‘Nuff said.

12.) Peace and Love (On the Planet Earth)

It Could’ve been Great is EASILY one of my favorite s2 episodes. I love the entire concept of this song. Of Steven making music to reflect how much Earth means to him and his family. Of him teaching Peridot some self-care. Also Peridot’s singing voice is really cute and squeaky.

I know it’s silly, but I would’ve really enjoyed a flip around of this in Future! Like Peridot reminding Steven how much he loves music, that he needs to take time to relax for himself, maybe with a new verse or just a remix of the original song!

13.) Something Entirely New

I watched this episode as it aired, and I legitimately almost cried. I love Charlyne Yi’s voice so much ya’ll- her raspy, not perfect singing voice against Sapphire’s deep soothing lull is great.

And to have Ruby and Sapphire’s meeting be the way it was- for Ruby to bemoan Sapphire losing Homeworld, to being stuck with a single Ruby, while Sapphire is a noble who has always been taught everyone in her “caste” is vitally important (and has, in her own mind, taken that to mean every Gem, as she should) and how they come together and make each other happy. Good shit good shit.

14.) I’m Just a Comet

The fact that Greg’s music career never really blasted off pisses me off to this day bc Tom Scharpling’s voice is fucking BUTTER. Also the song really feels like a jab at his parents now that we know the kind of dynamic he had growing up. “This life in the stars if all I’ve ever known” is definitely him wiping away their existence after reminding them (and himself) the things they used to say about him.

15.) Do It For Her

This episode. This fucking episode. This episode got me permanently hooked on SU. I’d just binged season 1 and was kinda meh about it overall after the bop of Stronger Than You. “Oh,” I thought to myself, foolishly, “I’ll probably just casually watch this from time to time.”

Like three days later Sworn to the Sword aired and that was it. I was hooked! Pearl’s gentle training song turning darker and darker, Connie’s accompaniment from nervous to determined to fully into such a toxic mindset. The fact that SU had the BALLS to discuss the repercussions of training child soldiers, now and later. This episode was everything to me, STILL is everything to me.

Six years and well over 100 fanfics written later, I think it’s safe to say this show swallowed me whole and never let go.

16.) System/Boot.pearl_final(3)

I debated putting this on the list because it’s not anything crazy important, just a way to show things are Wrong, but I had to do it entirely bc Pearl is so damn SALTY.

Like telling us about the Gems makes sense, she felt like she was given a duty, but she went so damn petty. WHY is that Ruby alone. Gross. This Amethyst is a trash dump. Wtf are you people.

17.) Full Disclosure

This episode really feels like a turning point for SU. Before, the show had its dark moments- but now we’re in the thick of it, and it’s not going away. Full Disclosure felt like an rebuff to the idea of returning to any normal we’d established in season 1. Gems are actually a giant species now. Gems tried to kill us now. There’s this Yellow Diamond bitch who got namedropped. Something about a Cluster.

The song itself is BALLER, with its ingenious use of Steven’s ringtone and photos as he tries to decide whether to clue in Connie on all this nonsense. Meanwhile we, the audience, already know damn well Connie about to yeet some common sense into him.

18.) What’s the Use of Feeling Blue?

I’mma admit it- I’m a Yellow Diamond stan. I’ve always loved her- her anger, her poise, her hardworking nature. I actively argued against the “Yellow Shattered Pink” theories back in the day. But, man, when this arc leaked? I got so overexcited I was too jittery to watch it for like two days. It’s easily my favorite arc of the series. The sheer alien nature of the zoo, the Famethyst, and absolutely Patti Lupone’s beautiful ballad. Goddamn. Yellow singing to Blue to try and help her regain her old status, the warble in her voice as she reminds Blue she misses Pink too, the movement of the bubbles as she talks about attack. It gives me shivers to this day. FUCK.

19.) Tower of Mistakes

This is, fun fact, that only SU song I have completely memorized. The story itself is kinda funny! See, we lost internet at my house for a solid 5 to 6 months when these episodes aired, so I only got a very brief window to view them all. But this was the first Amethyst song in a long while, and I didn’t want to forget it! So I keep replaying it in my head for ages. And that’s still definitely a thing.

Anyway will never not be sad that this entire song was about making it up to Garnet for Amethyst’s perceived slights with Sugilite (which was a two-way road), only for Garnet to pressure her into fusion later when pissed and never discuss it again bc Garnet probably never thought twice about it and Amethyst has the emotional openness of a clam that’s just been told its ugly. Helluva way to make someone feel like shit, G. Helluva way to bottle that shit, Ames.

20.) On the Run

I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: Amethyst! Needed! More! Songs!

The dichotomy between Steven’s play and Amethyst’s honest desire to run away from home is so well-done, especially when you consider a lot of Steven and Amethyst’s actions are playing together. The song is also near and dear to me simply bc it’s my favorite Amethyst episode to exist (well, maybe second to What’s Your Problem, but not by much). Moments like these are all the proof I need that they were right to fuse first.

21.) Be Wherever You Are

This tune really just feels like an ode to who Steven was as a kid. Trapped on an island with no way home, and he’s just happy to be with his friends. The stars are beautiful and not oppressive. Also that one animatic with Lars and the Off Colors playing in the Homeworld Kindergarten to this music was iconic and made this song get stuck in my head for a solid month.

22.) Familiar

I ADORE how the crew use bright neon colors to show how alien Homeworld can be. And Steven recognizing that the Diamonds treat him how the CGs used to, and how prepared he is to “fix” a broken family. It’s a soft, gentle tune about melancholy. Also the Pebbles are beautiful.

23.) Let Me Drive My Van Into Your Heart

Such a cute little love ballad, but every time I listen to it now I just imagine the heart attack Rose must’ve had at the line “And if we look out of place/Well, baby, that's okay/I'll drive us into outer space.” like there’s a Vietnam war flashback if I ever heard one

24.) What Can I Do?

I’m kind of neutral on this one? Rose and Greg both have great voices, but the song itself lacks many lyrics. I think it was definitely a good way to show Rose’s flaws in thinking.

Also, I’m shocked they managed cram that much vaguely sexual innuendo into two minutes, followed by how Not Hetereo that dance between Rose and Pearl was, and not get their asses chewed by it. You go guys.

25.) Cookie Cat

I love a lot of the vibes this song has. The lyrics are so damn prophetic, but they also sound like the kind of weird 90s commercials I grew up on. It’s been like two decades since I saw the Shirley Temple commercial but I’ll be damned if I don’t remember “Animals crackers in my soup! Monkey and rabbits loop-de-loop.”

26.) Giant Woman

I am. NOT the biggest fan of Steven’s original singing voice. I feel bad saying that, since it was just Zach Callison as a kid, but he never jived well with me for some reason. So I wouldn’t listen to this on the fly.

The song itself is still really good though, with all sorts of fun animation of Amethyst and Pearl being bitchy to each other. It’s a bit sad in hindsight to see tiny Steven trying to get his moms to get along. Ahh, season 1.

27.) Strong in the Real Way

This song has SUCH a strong start. Pearl reflecting on Sugilite’s problems, but the show making sure to show us that Pearl’s lack of enthusiasm towards her also lends itself to jealousy as well as just general malaise. How much she cares about Steven, and wants him to grow up strong.

And then Steven just kinda. Ruins it? I appreciate his enthusiasm for tryna bulk up but to take what was starting as such a rich, personal song and broadcasting it to random strangers just makes me a bit sad. Almost a bit angry on her behalf?

28.) That Distant Shore

I KNOW this is gonna create some discourse, but I’m just not the biggest Lapis stan. I love her voice. I love the visuals of the song. And I get why she felt afraid and needed to flee.

But Lapis never got to take responsibility for her own actions. And, in the end, the song feels hollow to me- because we all know she’ll never talk to anyone about it, know she’ll burst back in and destroy the barn, and no one will ever question it. I like Lapis a lot, but I feel like her arc never was fully finished. She never got help. She never learned to feel safe.

29.) Dear Old Dad

I’ve yet to meet a single human being who likes this episode tbh. There’s some great discussion about what kind of parent Greg is from it, and what kind of dynamic he has with the Gems that he felt he had to fake an injury to hang out with his son. Honestly the first half was fine and dandy. It’s just that then they Greg just went out of his way to drag Steven away from missions and such. It never jived well with his character before or after.

Also, is it just me, or does Zach himself sound like he hates the song as he sings it? There’s no passion or heart in his voice. It sounds like they told him to read off cue cards and he did. Tom Scharpling’s best attempts didn’t save this one for being a skipper. But the episode, unfortunately, isn’t, so it gets a spot on here.

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cyndavilachase · 4 years

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I’m Looking Forward Now 💖Thank you and good bye

So, it’s been a little over a week since Steven Universe Future ended…

I’ve been hesitant to write this, honestly, but I’m tired of holding myself back from properly expressing myself in fear of appearing overly invested in the media I consume, even in private. Writing helps me organize my thoughts and feelings, and I feel like these thoughts in particular may resonate with many, so I want to share them. I want to talk about what Steven Universe has done for me personally, both as an artist, and as a person.

I’ve been around since the day the first episode of the original series aired. I actually remember when Steven Universe was just a logo on Wikipedia’s “List of Upcoming Cartoon Network Shows” list, back when I was a freshman in high school. It piqued my interest, but when commercials finally dropped for it, I thought it was going to be bad because of the way marketing handled introducing Steven as a likeable character. There was still something about it that made me want to give it a chance though, so I went online and watched the pilot before the first episode's release. I was hooked immediately. I knew I was going to love it, and I did. I fell so absolutely in love with Steven as a character, and the world that he and the gems lived in. I became obsessed. I was always so excited for new episodes to come out. Little did I know what else it would do for me as I went through my adolescence alongside it.

As the show progressed, it was evident that what I wanted out of a western animated childrens’ cartoon was finally coming into fruition: this show was becoming serialized. There was continuity, there was plot, there was character development-- it was getting deep. It was pushing the groundwork that Adventure Time laid out even further (thank you, Adventure Time).

I will give credit where credit is due: earlier western childrens’ cartoons I grew up with like Hey Arnold, and Rugrats, among others, also touched on heavy topics, but Steven Universe was able to take similar ideas (and even more complex ones, concerning mental health and relationships) and expand on them outside of contained episodes and/or short arcs. These themes, which were a part of the show’s overarching story, spanned across its entirety. Continuity was rampant.

What did this mean? It meant kids cartoons didn’t have to be silly and fun all the time and characters weren’t just actors playing a part in 11-minute skits. Steven and the gems would remember things that happened to them, and it affected them and how they would function and play a part in their story. This was a huge deal to me as a teenager. I always wanted the cartoons I grew up with featuring kid characters to feel more. In my own work, I often felt discouraged when combining a fun, cutesy western art style with themes as dark or layered as anime would cover. I always thought it had to be one or the other because an audience wouldn’t take a combination of the two seriously enough, based on discussions I had with classmates, friends, and online analysis I read at the time. Steven Universe proved to me otherwise. This show was opening the door for future cartoons exploring in-depth, adult concepts. I felt so seen as a kid, and was inspired to stick with what I love doing.

I was actually very worried about the show’s survival. It was in fact immensely underrated and the fandom was miniscule. Then in 2014, JailBreak dropped, and it’s popularity exploded. Part of it was because of the complex plot and the themes it was covering like I mentioned, but also because of its representation.

I remember when fandom theorized that Garnet was a fusion due to grand, tragic reasons. Turns out, she’s simply a metaphor for a very loving w|w relationship. This was huge. I cannot stress how important it is that we continue to normalize healthy canon queer relationships in childens’ media, and Steven Universe finally was the first to do that proper. Introducing these themes offers the chance for a kid to sit there and ask themselves, “Why is this demonized by so many people?” I asked myself exactly that. Ruby and Sapphire were my cartoon LGBT rep. They were the first LGBT couple I ever ecstatically drew fanart of. I was dealing with a lot of internalized homophobia at the time, and they showed me that I was allowed to love women and feel normal about it. The process of overcoming this was a long one, but they played a part in my very first steps into becoming comfortable with my sexuality. I could go on and on about it’s representation in general-- how it breaks the mold when it comes to showcasing a diverse set of characters in design, in casting, and in breaking gender roles. It’s focus on love and empathy. Steven himself is a big boy, but he's the protagonist, and the show never once makes fun of his weight, or any other bigger characters for that matter. It wasn’t hard to see why the fandom had grown so large.

Fandom was always a joy for me. It was a hobby I picked up when I was in middle school, like many of us here did. I would always cater my experience to fun, and fun only. I only started getting more deeply involved in SU’s fandom when I had just turned into an adult. During the summer of 2016, between my first and second year of college, I drew for the show almost every day non-stop when the Summer of Steven event was going on and posted them online. This was a form of practice for me in order to become not just more comfortable with experimenting with my art, but also to meet new artists, make new friends, and learn to interact with strangers without fear. I dealt with a ton of anxiety when I was in high school. When I was a senior applying to art school for animation, I decided I was going to overcome that anxiety. I made plans to take baby steps to improve myself over the course of my 4 years of college. Joining the fandom, while unforeseen, was definitely a part of that process. I started feeling more confident in sharing my ideas, even if they were fan-made. I fell in love with storyboarding after that summer, when I took my first storyboarding class, and genuinely felt like I was actually getting somewhere with all of this. I remember finally coming to a point in my classes where I could pitch and not feel hopelessly insecure about it. I was opening up more to my friends and peers.

But this process, unfortunately, came to a screeching halt.

My life completely, utterly crumbled under me in the Fall of 2017 due to a series of blows in my personal life that happened in the span of just a couple weeks. My mental health and sense of identity were completely destroyed. All of that confidence I had worked for-- completely ruined. I was alone. I nearly died. My stay at college was extended to 4 and half years, instead of the 4 I had intended. I lost my love for animation-- making it, and watching it. I could no longer watch Steven Universe with the same love I had for it beforehand. It’s a terrible thing, trying to give your attention to something you don’t love anymore, and wanting so desperately to love again. I dropped so many things I loved in my life, including the fandom.

Healing was a long and complicated road. I continued to watch the show all the way up until Change Your Mind aired in the beginning of 2019, and while I still felt empty, that was definitely a turning point for me with it’s encapsulation of self-love. I was hoping James Baxter would get to work on Steven Universe since he guest-animated on Adventure Time, and it was incredible seeing that wish actually come true. The movie came out and while I enjoyed it and thought highly of it, I was still having issues letting myself genuinely love things again, old and new. It was especially difficult because cartoons were my solace as a kid, when things got rough at home. I remember feeling sad because the show ended, and not getting the chance to love it again like I used to while it was still going.

By the time Steven Universe Future was announced, I was finally coming around. I was genuinely starting to feel excitement for art and animation again. I wasn’t expecting there to be a whole new epilogue series, but happily ever after, there we were! Prickly Pear aired, and the implications it left in terms of where the story was going did it. I was finally ready to let myself take the dive back into fandom in January of this year. My art blew up, something I wasn’t expecting considering my 2-year hiatus. Following this, I was invited into a discord server containing some of the biggest writers, artists, editors, and analysts in the fandom. I had no idea there were so many talented people in the fandom, some already with degrees, some getting their degrees-- creating stuff for it on the side just for fun. The amount of passion and productivity level here is insane, and so is the amount of discussion that has come out of it.

I didn’t realize it at first, but it was actually helping me gain back the courage to share ideas. I lost my confidence in pitching while I was taking the time to heal, and graduating meant there would no longer be a classroom setting I could practice in. This group helped immensely.

I have made so many friends through this wonderful series, and I have so many fond memories talking to like-minded creatives, getting feedback and a myriad of sources for inspiration, as well as all of the memes and jokes and weekly theorizations that came about as we all waited on the edges of our seats for episodes to air. I needed this so badly, I needed to get back in touch with my roots, when I would go absolutely hog-wild over a cartoon I loved with people who loved it as much I did. Future has been a blessing for me in this way. I graduated feeling like I was back at square-one, but now I feel like I’m on my way again.

It’s 2020 and while I’m doing great right now, I am honestly still recovering from the total exhaustion that followed after graduating a few months ago, and finally leaving the campus where my life fell apart behind. Needless to say, watching Future was like looking into a mirror. Watching one of my favorite characters of all time-- one that grew up with me-- go through so many of the same things I went through not too long ago was absolutely insane to watch unfold. It’s such an important thing too, to show a character go through the process of breaking down over trauma and all the nasty things that come with it, and to have them go on the road to healing. Steven got that therapy. He wasn’t blamed. The gems were called out. The finale was everything I could have ever hoped for. The catharsis I experienced watching it was out of this world.

As I continue my own healing journey, I will always look up to the storyboard artists, revisionists, and designers that I have been following over these past 7 years, as well as the new ones introduced in Future. It's been such a joy watching these artists release their promo art for episodes, talk about their experiences working on the show, and post the work they've done for it alongside episodes airing.

Thank you Rebecca Sugar, the Crewniverse, and the fans, for making this such a truly wonderful and unique experience. Thank you for reminding me that I am, and always will be, an artist, a cartoonist, and a fan. Thank you, my followers, for the overwhelmingly positive response to my artwork. I have had so much fun interacting and discussing the show with you all again over these past few months. Steven Universe and it’s fandom will always have a special place in my heart, and it will always be a classic that I will return to for comfort and inspiration for decades to come. I am sad that the cartoon renaissance is over, but so many doors have been opened thanks to this show. I am so, so excited to see what this show will inspire in the future, and I hope one day I get the opportunity to be a part of that.

Goodbye Steven, thank you for everything. I wish you healing, and I wish Rebecca and the team a well-deserved rest. ♥️

-Cynthia D.

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mingying · 3 years

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[spoilers] hospital playlist s2 ep 11; ikjun/songhwa

I can’t believe this finally happened. And it happened in arguably the best ways possible for us IkSong shippers. As usual, this post is just basically my own thoughts and opinion of the episode and my interpretation of things - feel free to disagree, and I hope you enjoy reading this musing of mine!

22 years later, finally they found each other again <3

TL;DR: Everything happens for a reason and we have finally reached the rainbow end <3

Let’s begin by addressing the ER scene, but before that, I would like to point out that since Ep 10, Songhwa has been shown to be somewhat forgetful and a klutz - in Ep 10, she was searching for her socks and insisted that she wore them for her rounds. She also seemed to have forgotten to take off her surgical cap until Seonbin pointed it out to her.

In Ep 11, the episode starts off with Songhwa leaving her handbag in Ikjun’s office, and subsequently her handphone, followed by her handbag in the car again. This is not a dementia arc, guys (haha) but I genuinely think that this is her mind being occupied by her newly realised feelings for Ikjun that her normally composed self had started to crumble (and that’s entirely ok!). Another interpretation of this scene could be that unintentionally and subconsciously, she just wanted to remain in the hospital knowing Ikjun may return to collect his gift later.

Can I also point out her sixth sense in this scene? When she peered out of her window and heard the sound of ambulance, followed immediately by Dr Bong calling, she looked disturbed. Normally, she would have answered her calls immediately without hesitation but this time you could tell that she frowned and waited for maybe 2 seconds before answering Dr Bong. Well, never messed with a woman’s intuition I guess!

The ER Scene. Gosh. I actually have a lot of things to say about this. I know some people do not like this trope and that it is a typical trigger for characters to realise their feelings. But, I’d have to say that ShinLee did not intend for this scene to be a trigger of Songhwa realising that she likes Ikjun.

Because she already knows and had realised, somewhere around Ep 8-9 but more obviously 9, that she does like him as a man (all over again). If anything, this ER scene was meant to give Songhwa that one last push to confess, otherwise she may end up regretting not to. Another reason why I felt this scene was necessary was that Songhwa has been too comfortable in Ikjun’s constant presence by her side -- perhaps she has been wanting to confess but still lack the courage to and she didn’t think she needed to act on it rightaway because Ikjun would always be there by her side.

Gosh, the way she rushed to Ikjun and didn’t even hear Dr Bong trying to report to her that he actually wasn’t in such a terrible state. The way she slipped her hand in his and was so gentle in her questions - you can really just tell that she was trying her best not to crumble.

(side note: Jeon Mido, your acting was truly stellar during this scene. That suppressed professionalism vs personal feelings. I really felt her worry and regret in this entire scene. I loved it so much)

Now, why do I firmly believe that Songhwa already intends to confess to Ikjun eventually? Other than the fact that Songhwa herself confirmed during her confession that “I should have told you that I liked you”, it’s because of the Gift that she has given him for his birthday. It’s a cap, and initially we don’t think much of it until the flashback sequence showed and we realised that, a cap was what 99z Songhwa wanted to give to Ikjun but never did because he had turned her down for dinner and lied that he has a blind date.

Present day Songhwa gifting Ikjun a cap can be interpreted as her having let go of the hurt he had caused her in the past and that she was willing to try, again.

Interestingly, I’d like to also point out that the 99z flashback in this episode was truly necessary for us to understand Songhwa’s aversion to ‘Sad Sea’ and why she has rejected Ikjun in the first episode. 99z Songhwa didn’t give up when Ikjun stood her up for her birthday but mustered the courage to confess to him - she tried twice too, asking if he really has to go on that blind date that evening and couldn’t he go another time? Ikjun, in that scene, was playing Sad Sea.

I would like to apologise to Ep 7 Songhwa because I had been frustrated with her then, but now that everything has been rolled out beautifully, I do not blame her at all for her hesitancy and year long passiveness. Ikjun kinda deserved it after breaking her heart twice (HA!) and remember this shot of Ikjun in Ep 7?

I now interpret this scene as him realising that he knew Songhwa’s reasons of rejecting him. Because there was no way he didn’t know that Songhwa had liked him in the 99z, and he was perhaps regretting turning her down for dinner that day during his birthday. He knew he had a chance with her then but blew it, and that is perhaps why he never faltered in making Songhwa happy now. Not that he expects anything in return, but perhaps he wanted to make up for the indirect hurt he had caused her.

Bab Meokja had been something initiated by Songhwa back then. And now, it is a treat he gives himself -- I really do think that is the reason why he keeps asking Songhwa out for meals in the present time, because Ikjun probably wanted to indrectly make up for what happened in 99z.

Let’s move on to another great scene! The card game scene!

For some, it may seem to be a random scene but for me, I saw it in a different way and I’m glad Kfans and some users on Twitter pointed out this theory as well.

As you all know, the card game IkSong was playing was “Bluff/Cheat”. Here, you could see that Ikjun could read Songhwa so well that he knows when she would lie. But Songhwa on the other hand, could not read Ikjun as well -- and this is further affirmed by Songhwa’s confession when she said “If your feelings for me haven’t changed,”. This is beautiful because it makes Ikjun’s expression during the confession scene even more sense -- a user on reddit pointed out that his expression at that time wasn’t more of a “omg she likes me after all”, it was more of a “she has realised her feelings for me,” and I think that’s absolutely beautiful. He even nodded subtlely a few times as Songhwa struggled to get her confession out, as if encouraging her and saying “you can do it, just a bit more”.

Back to the card game - Ikjun even threw down a 9 Hearts - which I believe is a metaphor of his feelings for her, steady and still unwavering.

(Bonus note: I absolutely love how Iksun caught on to them being lovey dovey at once and Junwan’s expression catching them was HILARIOUS)

On to my next scene which was absolute favourite.

Songhwa had finished a difficult/challenging surgery, and out of excitement (she even skipped omg whipped girlie), she called Ikjun first to convey the good news to him. Her tone here really depicts a difference in how she talks to Ikjun before. This scene alone tells you that Songhwa has pretty much fallen for Ikjun again and I love love love that finally she has someone she would want to immediately call to share her good news with!

And the best part? Our best boy Lee Ikjun never went to Changwon. Instead, he waited for her for probably hours (it was bright day when they said goodbye, but night when Songhwa returned to her office) and even told her straight that he has to see her before he leaves because of how worried she had been before. Good lord find me a man like Ikjun please?

image cr: iksongarchives @ twitter

This entire shot, with I Knew I Love playing in the background pretty much hits. It is in this exact moment that Songhwa has probably made up her mind to confess for real, that she wasn’t going to waste another second because I am sooo sure she would have ran to hug him if not because of their status at that moment. I love this scene so much. It is the personification of the lyrics of I Knew I Love, which goes “I called you out of habit today and you answered warmly, you make me the happiest in the whole wide world, I love you so much”.

And finally.

Finally.

*takes a deep breath*

SONGHWA CONFESSED!!!!!!!!

AND THEY KISSED!!!! UNDER THE RAIN!!!

The whole directing of this scene, with the slow camera panning into them - Ikjun was restless, probably breaking into cold sweats (he commented it was cold) while Songhwa was nervous and trying to muster enough courage to confess (she commented it was really hot). I held my breath for so long I felt like I was about to faint I swear to god.

Songhwa looked legit terrified that Ikjun was going to reject her man, and it all makes sense why after we got the 99z flashback this episode.

And Ikjun, he really waited for her cues. Even after she was done confessing, he looked at her and waited for her to look at him back before he went “I’ll give you my answer”. And it was only after Songhwa nodded in fear and anticipation, that he swooped in to kiss her!!!!!

Songhwa definitely also leaned in first before Ikjun pulled her closer. She wanted this just as much as he did and it showed through their first kiss. Gosh I’m still shaking just thinking about how perfect that entire sequence and kiss was. They really went all out for it (yes I believe there was tongue involved) rather than soft and gentle. 22 years of suppressed yearning and feelings really popped out in that kiss alone and I am so blessed to have been a part of their beautiful journey.

And now, with only one episode left, we are finally able to see IkSong as a couple and on dates. I have a feeling Songhwa would be the clingy gf man, judging from the Preview keke. I cannot wait to see the rest of the boys finding out, and for sure, I cannot wait to see how their dynamics would change now as lovers rather than just best friends. I do think their transition would be seamless, only that now, they get to do what other lovers could.

This post is so long but I felt the need to address another matter that I have seen roaming around the internet. Apparently, some people are annoyed that Songhwa was ‘forced to change her mind’ and that we cannot accept her ‘No’ in ep 1. I would humbly and respectfully disagree on this point. Songhwa’s ‘No’ in ep 1 was not a “I don’t like you therefore I am rejecting you”. It was more of a “I do not know how to sort out my feelings yet, and am not ready to revisit the past, so it is best not to tamper with it”.

Songhwa did not change her mind overnight or weeks. It took her one year and a few months. She has had all that time to weighs her decisions again and properly thought out how she wanted to bring forward her relationship with Ikjun. She was not forced.

She may have said that she liked being single in S1, but she has never been averse to love. In fact, she is always encouraging other people to go for it. I for one, am single and absolutely enjoying it. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to ever change my mind if I find someone worthy enough to share my space and happiness with. I like being single now because guys around me are idiots and I’d rather save myself that headache LOL.

Her conscious decision to accept Ikjun now does not and will never invalidate her decision to reject him back then - in fact, it goes to show that as human beings, we constantly undergo character growth and our minds are often changed to suit the present circumstances.

ShinLee did not portray Songhwa in that light where ‘women needs to say yes if a guy treats her right’. Ikjun did all of those things for her without expecting anything in return. He never once crossed the line and never once forced Songhwa into accepting his love for her. Songhwa said yes because she likes Ikjun and is now ready to move their relationship to that of romantic. It is as simple as that.

And one last point to make is that Songhwa being in a relationship does not in any way invalidate that she is a strong and independent woman. Please do not associate the relationship status of a woman to her being ‘strong/independent’. A woman in a relationship and a woman not being a relationship are still BOTH strong AND independent. Love is a universal element in life, why deprive a person of it simply because she’s portrayed to be a “strong” female character? If that love brings her greater joy and ardent happiness, why stop her from enriching her life further?

Anyway. I digress.

If you made it until the end of this ridiculously long post, thank you. I hope it was an enjoyable read! Till Ep 12!

#iksong #hospital playlist 2 #lee ikjun #chae songhwa #lee ikjun x chae songhwa #my otp #season 2 episode 11 #the best episode ever

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