#also everyone was especially adorable and sassy this ep

[mariusslonelysoul]

"The trouble with tribbles" is the peak of comedy actually

#funnier than the entirety of friends #also everyone was especially adorable and sassy this ep #also i want a tribble #the trouble with tribbles #star trek tos #star trek the original series #star trek #tribbles #nyota uhura #spock #bones mccoy #jim kirk #montgomery scott #pavel chekov

[yukipri]

Obi-Wan Kenobi show Episodes 1 + 2 thoughts

So I'm sure everyone else has already shared theirs, but now that I've had the chance to rewatch a few times, here are mine!

This is rather disjointed, just a ramble of my own thoughts!

Spoilers, obviously, beneath cut.

First of all, I think I found the setting that Obi-Wan was in to be very interesting. It's simultaneously less reclusive wizard and more reclusive wizard than I think most of fandom/Legends assumes. Less reclusive: he has a job, a minimum wage one for sure but he has one! He commutes! He isn't just mystery hermit in the sands; I doubt he socializes, but he is in contact with other humans regularly who probably know "Ben."

At the same time, it's more reclusive, because he lives in a friggin' cave. He has a little hut, we know this from Ep IV, and I think most of us assumed he lived there, because why wouldn't he? He certainly lived there in the Kenobi novel. Ngl I kinda like the cave, it looks less stuffy than I'd imagine a hut to be, but the change is very curious and I can't help but wonder what was behind the change.

One thing that made me incredibly sad: Nari.

A Jedi who survived all of these years, who looks younger than Obi-Wan and may have been a Padawan at the time of Order 66, like Kanan. One who wasn't looking for Obi-Wan, but stumbled upon him by chance, and clearly both desperately needed Obi-Wan's help and was just so incredibly relieved to find someone, especially someone he probably really looked up to. Nari was someone who has obviously been through a lot, but still never stopped helping people. Given how he talks about "the fight," there's a chance he was involved in the Rebellion; perhaps not necessarily on the macro scale, but at least in small personal ways, helping where he can.

And Obi-Wan turns him away.

Like, I do get it. I'm not exactly disagreeing with the writers but, it also hurt and definitely isn't my favorite interpretation of Obi-Wan's solitude. It's one thing to protect Luke because of his sense of responsibility to Anakin and Padmé, along with this being his final assignment from Yoda. It's one thing to say he can't abandon his post and go out of his way to help people if it means endangering Luke.

But someone literally fell in front of him. Someone who really needs him, a fellow Jedi, a fellow survivor who is actively doing good. That Obi-Wan rejects even speaking with him kindly, to at least tell him he's done well, to say anything that Nari likely desperately wanted to hear from another Jedi even if they have to later part ways...

On one hand, the positive: it was a good narrative way to show how broken Obi-Wan truly is. Past Obi-Wan never could have done that. This Obi-Wan is barely hanging on, doesn't have any empathy to give to even other Jedi. It likely also shows how disconnected he is from the Force, which we'll get to later too. I get it. It's heart breaking, but I get it.

On the other, the negative: I was defintiely not fond of the implication that "Luke is more important than all other Jedi, likely because of the Prophecy, or some weird extra expectation that he is Super Special." Like I had admittedly thought that that was in the back of Obi-Wan's mind, but that he's mostly protecting Luke because he's a young, helpless Force-sensitive whose parents were dear to Obi-Wan, and that Luke's life is not, intrinsically, more valuable than that of anyone else, especially not other Jedi. From Obi-Wan's rejection, I got some, "My passive duty to protect the Chosen Child is more important than the pressing and immediate help that could save this other Jedi's life." I don't know if anyone else felt that, but I was not a fan.

Moving on, Leia. Honestly I absolutely adored her, and I think her dialogue and actress were incredibly spot on. Clever, smart-mouth, sassy, hyper, disobedient, rude but eloquently so, and probably drives all the adults around her up the wall. I could literally feel Obi-Wan gaining more white hairs just being in her vicinity, and I think that's very fitting. Also has a great stranger-danger sensor, I'm proud of Bail and Breha's way of educating her.

I also adore that it adds to canon stories: the fact that Leia immediately trusts Luke when he comes to rescue her on the Death Star because he names "Ben Kenobi." The fact that she named her son Ben; I always hated the idea that she named her son after Luke's pseudo very short term mentor. But her own savior, who left a lasting impression on her? That makes far more sense.

And lastly, it gives far more depth to Leia saying, "Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope." I didn't predict that Leia would be in this, but in hindsight, I should have. I really, really appreciated all the ways in which her presence, and her meeting Obi-Wan really just gives so much meaning to all of these things.

I loved the bittersweet Padmé reference. Because gods, Luke and Leia aren't just Anakin. And Obi-Wan was there, when Padmé's tried so hard to talk to Anakin but he broke her heart. He was there when she gave birth, when she named the twins, and she spoke her very last words to him. Their past friendship aside, I think it obvious that he would be reminded of Padmé when he sees Leia again for the first time in ten years, when the last time had been beside her dead mother. And regardless of whether Padmé makes any actual appearances in flashbacks, I'm grateful she is recognized in this way.

Another thing I was grateful for, jumping back a bit: Bail telling Obi-Wan, "She's just as important as [Luke] is." We know this, but it's so cathartic to hear someone say it so bluntly. Bail and Breha's love for Leia is so bright, and I'm so glad we get to see it, even if it makes their deaths and Alderaan's destruction that much more heartbreaking. We don't get to explore much of how devastated Leia was in the OT, so I'm really glad they're doing that here.

I have to take a moment to talk about the one interaction that absolutely gripped my clone-loving heart: the clone veteran interaction.

That...was a 501st veteran. There's no way Obi-Wan wouldn't recognize his paint, though with his weakened connection to the Force he may not have been able to tell with that. It's heartbreaking enough to see a clone as a presumably homeless veteran begging for credits on the streets, especially with Tem playing him--but the fact that he's 501st, means that he very likely was one of the men who stormed the Temple. Obi-Wan saw the recordings, likely stepped over the bodies of his fellow Legion-members. So many thoughts must have gone through Obi-Wan's mind...but he still gives the man credits.

Just...that small gesture, there is so much to interpret there.

I don't know if the clone was still chipped, or if he broke free. It's been ten years, but he's still wearing clearly painted clone armor. I don't know if he recognized Obi-Wan. But even though Obi-Wan likely saw in him the men who slaughtered the Jedi at the Temple, his own 212th who tried to kill him, he still gives the man credits...still shows that he is worthy of life and simple comfort.

I am still hoping there will be more clones in this show, but this small moment was still incredibly precious and meaningful. It's a sharp contrast to how Obi-Wan treated Nari (perhaps even affected by guilt for how he treated Nari?), and that's something to ponder over too.

(although, ngl, given the context of the clone veteran speaking was directly after Obi-Wan says, "Master Qui-Gon, if there was ever a time I could use your guidance, it's now," or something like that don't remember exact quote...I was really expecting the clone veteran to show up later in the episode to help them out, RIP)

Which, speaking of the Force: I think it's really interesting how they're showing how difficult it is to reach for Obi-Wan. It's most obvious when we see how much effort it takes for him to catch Leia (the almost-Spiderman scene), but other things too, like I feel like he should have known that the dummy wasn't Leia. He's out of shape physically, getting beaten by thugs in a way that General Kenobi or even Knight Obi-Wan likely never would have. He punches dirty and uses a blaster and is more physical than he was before. He lacks a certain Jedi grace, which I have a hunch we'll see gradually return to him (perhaps). Perhaps his lack of empathy to Nari is also related, as well as how he had separated himself from his lightsaber by burying it.

(tho speaking of lightsaber can i just say--Obi-Wan, my dude, get a holster or something with deep pockets man, you're just letting it swing around out there for everyone to see. Also cover your dang face and Leia's too, that's more important than a coat maybe. I appreciated the Leia costume call backs, but in terms of common-sense, ahhhhh......)

Next, Haja. Gosh, I actually really enjoyed his character and his scenes. Given the lack of real Jedi, it's interesting to see how the public, non-Jedi people have perceived their absence, and his little gig shows that people still remember the Jedi (at least on Daiyu), even if he's using the title to take advantage of people. Him pretending to "use the Force" to close the shutters is like, that thing that I'm sure everyone has done with automatic doors (that Ewan himself has confessed to doing) where you pretend to use the Force, and it was hilarious to see that in universe. His trick levitating things with magnets reminded me of how Jango uses that trick in the Open Seasons comic, and momentarily baffles Count Dooku.

The moment where Obi-Wan pulls a freakin' blaster on Haja just made me laugh so hard, along with the line, "Goodness, that light is unforgiving." That sass. Like on one hand, ok gangster Obi, but on the other, just gosh idk what I meant to say but I found it hilarious.

Then, of course, it turns out that Haja has at least a bit of a conscience. I'm not sure if he just saw that Obi-Wan's a Jedi, or if he was actually a genuine fan of the Jedi and remembers names like Obi-Wan's specifically, which is how he ended up with his current "job." Either way, what a great way to show that some people, even those with dubious ethics, still remember and genuinely believe in the Jedi. Facing down Reva was no easy feat. I really do hope that's not the last we see of this character.

And lastly, oh, Reva.

I have...I want to say I have mixed feelings about her, but that wouldn't be true. I wanted to like her, so badly, but I was wary ever since she was announced, because I'm always wary when a POC is cast as the face of the Empire. There's an excellent post here that puts it in words better than I could why I feel that way.

Moses Ingram looks amazing, and from what I've seen of her in this show, she's an incredibly skilled actress who can project a phenomenal aura. I'm glad she's part of the Star Wars universe, and always think it's great when there's more black women on screen--but again, her specific role as an inquisitor made me wary, and watching the first 2 eps unfortunately did nothing to dispel that worry.

I get that they wanted to write a "strong woman character." A character who takes no shit, who is ruthless, who does what needs to be done. But at the same time, the way Reva is in the first two eps, made the other inquisitors look kind??? in comparison. Made child kidnappers seem like they have more of a conscience. There's strength, and then there's going too far to the point of cruelty, and I kept thinking yikes. And I get that she probably doesn't have a great relationship with the Grand Inquisitor, and he says some pretty shitty things too...but generally speaking, I think he was established as a cool antagonist in Rebels, one with dignity and to a degree, honor, and the dynamic she has with him really made me cringe.

I think it's likely that Reva was the first Initiate we see at the very beginning Order 66 scene, and I'm sure we'll get backstory as to why she's so fixated on Obi-Wan and why she knows Anakin's identity. I hope they will explain if not necessarily justify her actions.

I really wanted to like her...but given what we've seen of her so far, I'm baffled how, with the way she is written, she is supposed to be a likable character. You can write likable antagonists, you can write compelling but evil people in the Empire. Reva's character has left me feeling baffled, because I don't think this is it.

I'm trying to keep an open mind, and it's only been two episodes (or already a third of the show...). I'm hoping future episodes will change my mind. (But also, I can't help but wish they had written a different character for the actress.)

Oof that reveal at the end of Episode 2 though, oof. I'm not surprised he didn't know about Anakin, and am glad we got to see that moment. (I'm now pretty convinced that "oh no we have to delay 2 days but we'll air 2 eps at once instead!" was a bullshit excuse to just do a premiere 2 episode showing that gives a first glimpse at Hayden at the Star Wars Celebration, just for maximum hype)

I'm very curious what Ep 3 will bring. Other than Inquisitor Island, I think we've already seen most of what was in the trailer, so I'm curious whether we'll return to Daiyu/Tatooine or see new places, and what other new characters we'll see before we inevitably reach Vader.

...is just a pre-ep 3 ramble! Do let me know if you had any thoughts about the show so far!

Edit: Also wanted to give a shout out to the Asian Jedi who died at the very beginning. Couldn't see her face, and she dies a few moments in, but that's still the most we've ever seen of a live action Asian Jedi so. That's something ^ ^;

#Obi-Wan Kenobi #Obi-Wan Kenobi show #Star Wars #YukiPri rambles #really this is very much a ramble and me trying to process prior to Ep 3

[skullsandwineglasses]

Remembrance of Things Past - Eps 1-10 Impression/Rant

Not really a first impressions post since there are only 2 episodes left, but as I’m waiting on the last few episodes, I thought I’d rant a bit about the drama here. 

First of all, I agree with everything that AvenueX said in her review of the first 6 episodes. Her review is what prompted me to start the drama. I needed a realistic slice of life drama to balance out the idol drama that is You Are My Glory (which I’m also waiting on for new episodes), and ROTP seemed to fit bill. ROTP is just so good.

I binged ROTP in 3 days. It could have been 2 days, but I started it at 2am on a Wednesday night, so I didn’t get very far the first night. Each episode is about 75 minutes long, so almost the equivalent of 2 regular lengthed episodes, but not quite. 

I cried during the first two episodes. The character development is just phenomenal. You really feel for Jing Jing’s character even though you’ve only seen her character for an hour. There are little moments throughout the drama that made me tear up too, like when the girls were celebrating Nan Jia jie’s 36th birthday and I got emotional over how close their bond is, or moments when the girls reflected on their aging parents and how we often take our parents for granted. 

Plot pacing and structure

The plot is tight and well-paced, and each girl’s storyline is interwoven well. Sometimes they’d cut between simultaneous scenes between the girls to compare and contrast what they’re each going through. For instance, when Xu Yan is having an argument with her boyfriend, the drama will also cut and flip back and forth to Qiao Xi Chen going through problems at her workplace. When Xu Yan makes up with her boyfriend, the drama cuts to QXC and Nan Jia being romantically pursued by Jian Yi Fan and Ou Yang. It’s interesting to see how their lives mirror and differ from each other. 

Because the storylines between the girls are so interwoven and keep flipping back and forth between each other, it makes it hard to skip scenes because you can’t just skip an entire segment or else you’ll miss something important in all 3 storylines. I can see that this might be a little annoying if you have a preference for one of the girls and want to skip someone else’s storyline. But I actually like seeing all 3 of their stories play out, so I’m not bothered by it. 

Another aspect about the plot’s structure that I appreciate is how they use the mystery behind Jing Jing’s suicide as a throughline for the drama. Up until episode 8ish(?), each episode ends with a question about Jing Jing’s life prior to her suicide and the next episode opens with the girls trying to find an answer or a clue to it. The girls and we the audience learn more and more about Jing Jing with each episode. However, episodes 9 and 10 deviate from the structure a bit and so the drama has recently been less and less focused on Jing Jing’s story, especially after they found out that she had depression. The drama seems to imply that her depression due to the stress of living in Beijing was the main factor that led to her suicide, while the successive unfortunate events that happened on her birthday was the trigger. 

Characters

I like all the main characters in the drama, albeit some a little more than others, which I’ll explain. I think the 3 male love interests are a little too perfect though, and so I guess this slice of life drama is actually a little idealistic after all. 

Xu Yan - My least favourite of the four girls. She’s materialistic, but not as spoiled as I though she would be. But it does annoy me how she keeps picking fights with Shen Zi Chang, when he’s just trying his best. He’s so tolerant and patient with her. He apologizes, they make up, and then the cycle repeats. It’s just a very unhealthy relationship, and I’m tried of seeing them fight and make up. 

EDIT: So, I started writing this review when I had only watched up until episode 9, but now that I’ve finished episode 10, um, wtf?? Xu Yan made a bad choice and got scammed of all her money, her friends try to comfort her, loan her money, and tell her not to repress her emotions like Jing Jing. And then she just lashes out at them saying they have no right to comfort her because they were the ones who caused Jing Jing’s death. Xu Yan starts off blaming QXC for not knowing that Jing Jing had a crush on her boyfriend, and then she blames Nan Jia for being a bad older cousin. She blames both of them for being ignorant of Jing Jing’s depression and only caring about themselves. QXC (rightfully) retorts back than Xu Yan knew all along that Jing Jing had a crush on her boyfriend, and yet Xu Yan never told anyone, so she’s just as guilty as all of them. Honestly, I was sympathetic towards Xu Yan before, but she was just so ungrateful and entitled in that scene. What right does she have pointing fingers and assigning guilt to people? And to weaponize Jing Jing’s death against them? That’s just cruel. The argument between them in that scene at the end of episode 10 just felt so random and out of place. All of a sudden, Xu Yan points out all of these problems she has with QXC and Nan Jia, when all they’ve ever done is pamper her. Also, you can’t blame QXC for dating Lin Rui even if Jing Jing liked him first, and not to mention that QXC wasn’t even aware. QXC might not have even chosen to date Lin Rui if she had known. But it happens all the time between friends where your friend might date someone you like. All’s fair in love and war, and there’s no first come first serve rule when it comes to dating.

Jing Jing - She becomes more complex as you learn more about her. She puts her friends first and is fiercely supportive and protective of them. We get a glimpse of how far she’s willing to go for them she pulls a butcher knife from the kitchen and points it at QXC’s debt collectors in the first episode. Her friends see her as being really open, expressive, and bubbly. She’s the first one they each go to whenever they need help with a problem or want to show off an achievement. But in reality, she’s really secretive. She hides her feelings to keep her friends happy, and when they slowly uncover her secrets, she becomes less and less recognizable to them, as though she’s been living a double life all along. 

At the end of episode 10, Jing Jing is described as the “hole in the tree” that everyone goes to to share their secrets, but they forget that she’s also a person with her own secrets to share, and she’s not just a tree hole to serve others. Can we blame the friends for not paying enough attention to Jing Jing and only using her for emotional support? Yes and no. It’s complicated. We should always do more to try to care for others and to be more attentive to them, but at the same time, it’s impossible to completely know a person. I purposely hide parts of my life from my friends because I don’t want them worrying or judging or commenting. So I would never expect them to be able to figure it out, and neither do I want them to figure it out. I think it’s interesting that the drama is exploring the friends’ self-imposed guilt, but I don’t agree that Xu Yan should be the one to point it out them and to be Jing Jing’s spokesperson. Xu Yan positions herself as Jing Jing’s heroic and righteous advocator, when really Xu Yan is the most problematic person out of the three remaining friends. 

Also, after seeing how the friends interact, they don’t feel narcissistic. Yes, they each readily vent about their problems to each other, but they also ask about the other person. It’s not one-sided. Xu Yan talks about her problems with her boyfriend, but she also asks and cares about what’s happening in QXC’s life and vice versa. Nan Jia is more mature and is busy with her business, but she always takes the time and effort to help her friends. All of their conversations are reciprocal and they are genuinely interested in each other’s lives. So, I don’t think they have a major communication problem or that they don’t care or that they’re ignorant. Which again, makes Xu Yan’s accusations in episode 10 feel even more unfair. 

Ji Nan Jia - Jing Jing’s cousin and also the oldest of the three girls (about a decade older). Sassy, witty, unapologetic, confident. She’s who you’d think of when you imagine a successful, independent, career-driven woman. She’s extremely annoyed by her mother’s nagging to get married. But she herself is trying to figure out whether she actually wants to find someone to settle down with or if she just wants to beat her biological clock and have children while she still can. She’s pursued by Ou Yang, ten years her junior, and he’s absolutely enamoured with her. He seems to be unconditionally in love with her, which is what I meant when I said that the male leads in this drama seem too perfect and idealistic. But I like Ou Yang though. He’s adorable. 

Qiao Xi Chen - The main character of the four main characters. Like Nan Jia, she’s also quite sassy. In some ways, she’s like a younger version of Nan Jia. QXC is also very career driven and competitive. She’s confident and believes in her abilities, but she also gets easily overwhelmed and emotional (like when her stress and nervousness prevented her from being able to give her proposal presentation and she ran out of the room. I’ve definitely felt that way before my committee meetings). QXC is a character you can self-insert as because she represents the everyday employee who struggles with the long commute to work and tries to stand out and make a name for herself in the company. QXC is also extremely paranoid, which is understandable when you’re a woman living alone in the city. I know what it’s like to have to briskly walk home late at night and constantly having to look over your shoulder to make sure no one’s following you, or having to check your hotel room before you change, or having to make it seem like you’re not the only one living in your apartment. QXC is smart, logical, helps people when she can, but is also reasonably selfish when she needs to protect herself, like when her co-workers try to take advantage of her or throw her under the bus. She’s a character everyone can relate to.

She and Jian Yi Fan also make such a cute pairing. I love all their interactions. I love how Jian Yi Fan can’t help but smile when he’s with her, but he tries hard to clamp it down. I love how QXC is aware of her own attraction and easily admits to to Xu Yan that she does have feelings for him instead of beating around the bush. And I especially love the awkward but adorable confession scene in episode 8. Such great banter and play on words (”你是什麼意思” “沒意思” “你對我是不是有意思?”). The drama did a great job of depicting the frustration of trying to guess whether someone likes you when they seem to be sending mixed signals. A lot of dramas that don’t focus on romance seem to do a better job of showing romance than idol dramas that focus on nothing but romance. I grew up with TVB dramas, and in most of them, romance is usually secondary to the main plot, but I always loved the romances in those dramas.

Like Ou Yang, JYF is such an idealistic love interest. He’s so supportive of and attentive to QXC. I haven’t watched too many slice of life dramas, but To Dear Myself and My Best Friend’s Story both had flawed (and sometimes even irredeemable) male love interests. This drama’s rose-coloured glasses definitely reduces the amount of performative angst, but it also makes the drama a little less realistic. The men in Jing Jing’s life aren’t villainized either even when you expected them to be sinister. I think the most antagonistic character is Lin Rui, but even he’s made to be sympathetic. In fact, nearly all the characters in the drama are sympathetic characters because many of the choices they made were forced because of the situation they found themselves in, and what they did was an act of self-preservation. And so, you can’t hate them or blame them. 

Acting and Dialogue

I mean, what’s there to say? The acting and dialogue just sucks you right in. I love it so much. The characters are so animated and charming because of how well the actors delivered their lines. I’m not a mandarin speaker (I’m a cantonese speaker but learned mandarin afterwards), but even I was able to notice the colloquialism and slangs and idiosyncratic ticks in speech that made the dialogue feel so real and alive. The actors had great comedic timing, and when they cried, you could feel how vulnerable they are. 

Lastly, I also like the little “life lessons” they include at the end of the drama where there’d be a voiceover by one of the actresses and they’d muse about life. One of my favourite musings when when they talked about what it means to have a sense of security. For some people, having a sense of security is about having a certain amount of money in your bank account, or having someone waiting for you to come home, but a sense of security isn’t something tangible or physical that you can achieve or possess. It’s a belief. It’s a belief that you’re able to face any problem and that life will go on. It’s a belief that the one that you love will be faithful and supportive. It’s a type of belief that allows you to be confident to face uncertainty. And thus, a sense of security is something that only you can give yourself. I really like that little food for thought because it’s a great reminder to be self-dependent and to not rely on external gratification. Que sera sera. What will be will be. Don’t get too hung over on failure and don’t let stress dominate your life. 

Note: Watching this at the same time as You Are My Glory is extremely humbling. YAMG is an idol drama, and so they make the romance look so easy. Heck, idol dramas make being a protagonist easy. The protagonist is destined to stand out from the crowd. It’s easy to be noticed. It’s easy to cause a change in the status quo. But ROTP is a reminder that we’re all practically nobodies in the big city. It feels impossible to make an impression when there are millions of other people living almost the same life as you are. There’s nothing special about you, and it’s hard to find meaning and purpose. Obviously, the drama shows that even when it feels like you’re trying to swim upstream in a big city, we each have a life worth living. We may feel insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but to our friends and family, we’re their world and they’re ours. I think it was Camus who said that we should find meaning in the face of absurdity. Live in spite of how absurd and meaningless things feels. Anyway, this drama gives you a lot to think about, even though I don’t really like the melodrama they’ve recently added to drag the plot (*cough cough* that explosive argument scene at the end of episode 10 that I keep ranting about). You’d think that a 12-episode drama wouldn’t have filler, and yet here we are. 

#我在他乡挺好的 #remembrance of things past #cdrama #zhou yu tong #bai yu fan #cdrama review #jolin jin #ren su xi

[twinferns]

wandavision ep 6 rant

1tumblr keeps deleting as im almost done which is great!!

anyways instead of doing a super thorough reaction im gonna talk ab highlights and theories. 

THERE WILL BE MAJOR SPOILERS FOR WANDAVISION EP 6 UNDER THE CUT READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION 

- i love love love the malcom in the middle-esque style intro but, as someone else pointed out, malcom in the middle is from the 2000s so does that kind of hint at the fact that wanda’s losing her grip a bit?

- OK OK so this really stuck out to me. so in the opening credits everyone was labeled as their names (wanda as just “wanda” or billy as just “billy)  but pietro was labelled as “pietro maximoff as himself” wtf as himself?? 

- why is agnes in the opening credits and her pants say “naughty” idk it’s very sus

- i really really really wanna trust pietro he’s so adorable with the twins but i just cant and ill explain more in a bit

- pietro called the twins demonspawn?? hello??

- director hayward is a piece of shit, especially with the sassy best friend remark even if he isnt a main bad guy i still hate him

- I SCREAMED WHEN WOO AND MONICA DECKED THE SOLDIERS - so what im getting from visions little adventure is that the farther people are away from wanda, the more they get all glitchy it was so fucking creepy

- so pietro’s chat with wanda. creepy bruh. he remembers being shot? but he also knows that vision’s dead which mcu pietro wouldnt know. he’s also being creepily ok with the whole “holding a town hostage thing” idk

- i dont believe a thing agatha told vision. she’s the only one who name dropped wanda, i think she’s just trying to victimize her to keep herself safe

- watching vision nearly die again was so painful

- THE CORPSE JUMPSCARE IM GONNA SUE MARVEL I NEARLY HAD A HEART ATTACK - my main theory ab pietro is that this is the real mcu pietro, but bc everything gets transformed to fit the time period (and pietro wasnt alive in the 80s) he turned into x men pietro

- WHO IS MONICA’S CONTACT 

- i love billy and tommy so fucking much i wont see any slander on them

- i really hope wanda made the hex swallow hayward

anyways that’s all for this week ik it’s short. i cant believe i have to wait another week for the next ep

see yall then

#wanda maximoff #pietro maximoff #wanda and pietro #wandavision #wanda marvel #Vision #the vision #billy maximoff #tommy kaplan #tommy maximoff #wandavison spoilers #agatha harkness #westview

[qqueenofhades]

almostcanon replied to your post “Someone come talk to me about my Diego Hargreeves feelings?”

Did someone say Diego Hargreeves, Team Zero founder and himbo extraordinar?

NO BUT YOU MUST UNDERSTAND, I LOVE HIM.

Obviously he is SUPER my type to start with (damaged loner who desperately wants to do good and loves so hard and is Sassy but also Angsty and needs, like Charlie Brown, to learn the True Meaning of Christmas) but also jUST

/waves hands in the air and whines

We were admiring his truly gold-plated 24 karat Stupidity in season 2, and trust me it’s glorious, but I was rewatching season 1 and laughing my ass off about how this boy does not have the good sense god gave a brick. (See: leaping through the plate glass of Leonard’s door despite it being unlocked, rushing to attack Hazel in ep 9 while circus music plays and Five sips a margarita and getting knocked out, being like “jail” when his siblings want to know where he was, his Diego-ness in general). GOD HE’S SO DUMB. HE’S SO DUMB IT’S BEAUTIFUL. (The Threatening Olga Foroga scene in season 2 was possibly my favourite because it’s so on brand for him.) Diego Hargreeves: pure of heart, DUMB. OF. ASS. He is the original Himbo. GOD BLESS HIM.

And yet he so DESPERATELY wants to do the right thing all the time, even if he is generally a disaster about doing it. He gets dropped through the time portal in the beginning of season 2 and before he knows a damn thing about what’s going on, he rushes to help a woman who’s being mugged and gets her purse back. Obviously yes, Dear Old Dad messed him up like he did with the rest of the kids, but Diego’s hero complex is just so PART of him. He is genuinely hurt if he can’t help everyone all the time, and he does it constantly, even while grumbling about how he has to do it by himself. (Shut up Diego you are incapable of not giving a shit, especially when it comes to your family, nobody believes you baby.)

He loves everyone RECKLESSLY. He loves his mom. (Catch me crying.) He LOVES his siblings (catch me crying over him and Klaus, him and Ben, him and Vanya, him and the “I know what it’s like to love dangerous people, but the difference is they love me back” line, etc). The beautiful Dumb Boi volunteers to give blood to Allison in 1x09 (after Luther and Klaus have been rejected) and then immediately faints at the sight of the needle. (YOU MUST UNDERSTAND! I LOVE HIM!!!) He loves Patch, he loves Lila, he fights to avenge and help them in different ways. (Catch me crying yet again over him passing up his chance to kill Cha-Cha in 1x10 because Five reminded him that it wouldn’t honor Patch’s memory.) Get you a man who loves you the way Diego Hargreeves loves John F. Kennedy and is like GREAT HE DOESN’T CAUSE THE APOCALYPSE NOW I CAN SAVE HIM!!! I honestly think he even still loves his dad, despite Reginald being demonstrably the Worst Father Ever. All this reckless, wild, sassy, cranky, desperate adoring love that Diego pours out on everyone. It hurts me. It hurts me deep, Shrek.

He busts out of mental hospitals in style. He would like to inform Herb that he is Diego and he has a knife. He and his brothers have absolutely not one, not one single brain cell between the lot of them (they rank collectively in the double negatives; any functional brain cells in the Hargreeves family belong to the sisters). AND YET SOMEHOW I LOVE THEM FOR IT? (Also I almost died laughing in episode 1x10 when the lady at the bowling alley comes up and mistakes Five for Klaus and Diego’s son and asks him if he wants to play “if it’s okay with your two dads” while Klaus and Diego themselves sit there in shock, shhh just go with it boys.) He’s so happy to see Ben again after years. He harnesses an entire army’s worth of bullets and throws them to the side to stop them from hurting his family. He is the softest and most heart-driven out of almost all the boys (absolutely none of them are the brains of the family, as we’ve established, but Diego does everything because he just can’t help himself from caring ALL THE TIME ABOUT EVERYONE). He is definitely a bottom and annoyed about it (see: him loving it when Lila takes charge). He is, especially with the Antonio Banderas hair, Extremely Hot (and I say this as a lesbian who only finds like.... three men attractive.) PURE OF HEART, THICC OF ASS, DUMB OF ALSO ASS, DIEGO HARGREEVES.

He is Perfect.

I love him so much.

#almostcanon #replies #tua spoilers #diego hargreeves #love of my life #(one of several but shh) #the umbrella academy

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Riverdale 5x15 Review

I really loved this episode. I do think it was more of a stand alone episode as it didn’t really contribute anything to the overall plots of the season but it was still a very entertaining one. I kind of got the same feel from it as I did from those earlier episodes of the time jump and I think its because, like those earlier episodes, it was something new, the focus was new but it still had that nostalgia about it. I loved the focus that was given to the pussycats and the other POC on the show particularly the WOC. So lets go through the episode naturally these are just my own thoughts and opinions and there will be spoilers. 

The Pussycats

The episode starts out with a new narrator and this time it is Melody that is narrating instead of Juggie. I also love how she starts out saying ‘this is a story about a town’ but then changes it to ‘no this is a story about three girls.’ I like that emphasis that this is focussed on the pussycats and not the usual Riverdale town plots. We get given some information on what Val and Melody have been up to in the seven years+ since we last saw them. Melody is now a published writer and Val is an activist and actress looks like she also does alot of painting. They both are in healthy relationships. I have to say I did love how supportive Alan, Val’s boyfriend is of Val and how he doesn’t rush her on the whole marriage thing if she isn’t ready. Also love the relationship between Melody and Nancy and again they seem very supportive of each other and like I said both relationships seem very healthy. Also I love getting more backstory on them both especially Melody because she barely talked the last time she was on the show and the actress is very good so I am glad that she was given the chance to shine in this episode. 

Josie arrives at Pop’s and it was really adorable seeing Tabitha fangirling over  Josie. But right away its a bit of a mystery as too why Josie is back and I actually like that they didn’t tell us right away. I did think it was a little cheesy when Josie began to sing ‘It’s All Coming Back To Me Now’ but its the kind of cheese I like and I love that song, it the kind of song you just have to sing along with, plus Ashleigh did an amazing job with the song. I also think it worked well with the trip down memory lane that she takes. Also those dresses the three girls were wearing when Val and Melody showed up were stunning. All three of them just looked amazing. Also it leads into one of the best moments in the episode which is when Hiram comes to Josie’s room complaining about the noise and she calls him a little b*tch, not once but three times. I just loved how sassy she was in that scene and not intimidated by him at all. Josie goes to the school because she wants to do some writing and wants to use the music rooms which makes sense if she is trying to kind of go back to her routes and reconnect with herself then she spent alot of time writing in those rooms. Through teaching a music class as payment for using the rooms she reconnects with Archie who convinces her to come out with the gang that night. Once again we see Josie’s no holds barred attitude come through when she calls everyone out on all the crap from the past, pointing out that she was never given a choice during there old times to veronica, about jughead robbing pop’s, betty never really talking to her in school and Cheryl with the pig’s heart. As she is leaving she runs into Sweet Pea and I think he is exactly what she needed at that moment, he was able to offer her that comfort she was looking for and they were super sweet with each other. 

Josie reaches out to Melody and Val and they all meet up at the Whyte Wyrm, I think Josie was really looking to reconnect with them both because they were such a big part of her time in Riverdale as were the Pussycats. Josie is hoping they’ll record a track with her for old times sake. I do love that when she asks if they still perform both girls get their own solo performances. They kill it too I really enjoyed the songs in this episode and it does make me wish we had seen more of them in previous seasons, I think episode really did show just how much their talent was wasted in those earlier seasons. Also I am glad that they called Josie out on the way she treated them back then and how she didn’t appreciate them. But I also like that when they left it wasn’t on nasty terms you know, they weren’t trying to tear Josie down or be hurtful or mean they were just saying it how it was.  They tell her that it was good to see her and they promise to think about making the track with her.  

When Josie gets back to her hotel room her mother is there and we see Josie just break down in tears and we find out her reason for coming to Riverdale, whilst in Berlin she gets a call from her mother telling her that her father passed away suddenly from a heart attack. Devastated and unable to perform she just leaves it all behind and heads back to Riverdale hoping she could disappear for a while. As a quick side note here one thing I am confused about and that is are Tom and Sierra still married? Because Josie is surprised her mother is in Riverdale but that could just be because she was expecting her mother to be in New Orleans dealing with her father’s death as Sierra told Josie on the phone that she would deal with it all. But also at the end of the episode Sierra leaves with Josie. Yet I am pretty sure I saw her wedding ring still on her hand. Also in Katy Keene which I am pretty sure was set five years after the original Riverdale timeline so two years ago in the current Riverdale timeline Josie introduces Kevin as her stepbrother so if Tom and Sierra did break up then it was in the last two years. On top of that in ep 11 which I think is the last time we saw Tom he was wearing a wedding ring. So many questions. But anyway back to business. Sierra calls Val and Melody and I love her for this, she clearly understood that her daughter needed her friends support in that moment and so she explains that Josie had just lost her dad and this is what urges them both to agree to record a track with Josie but they also decide to do a one night only concert to help raise funds to reincorporate Riverdale. Josie is inspired to do this because she was given a second chance by Val and Melody and so she wants to give the gang and Riverdale a second chance too. I do feel like that has been a theme of this season, of making amends, mending broken relationships and starting over, of healing. I think last season was very much about exposing the trauma the town has gone through and this season is about trying to heal that trauma. 

So we are treated to some more amazing musical performances from the Pussycats and I actually got a really warm fuzzy and very nostalgic feeling when I saw them back up on the stage with that Pussycat symbol behind them. Also the way it was shot just looked really cool, how it started out with just their silhouettes. It was also really great seeing those iconic cat ears and tails again. Josie also had a really emotional performance when she sang a song for her dad and she sees him there. Ashleigh did an amazing job and it did bring me to tears. Come the end of the episode the three girls talk about how good it felt to perform together again and how right it felt. So they all decide to go on tour together. When they are boarding the bus we learn that Alan has chosen to go with Val on the tour but sadly Nancy will not be and her and Melody have a really sweet seeing Melody off scene where Nancy assures her that they will talk on the phone all the time. Again loving the supportive significant others. Then Sweet Pea shows up and asks if he could come with them too which is another sweet moment. I am sad to see Sweet Pea go but I am also happy that he is going with Josie and that they can be happy together. Just before they leave Josie replies to her mother asking if she is ready to go with ‘Unless this town has anymore surprises for me’ and girl honey you shouldn’t have said anything this is Riverdale. So of course a old band mate comes up to Josie and Sierra and tells them that her dad was messed up in some bad things including voodoo and that he believes Josie’s dad was actually murdered. So Josie decided that her first stop on the tour is going to be New Orleans. Personally I think this would be a perfect opportunity for a spinoff.   

Tabitha, Veronica and Alexandra  

The other storyline in this episode was centred around Tabitha and her endeavours to turn Pop’s into a franchise. At first she asks Veronica if she would be willing to invest but Veronica explains that it would be a bad idea because of the bad money schemes Chad has got her mixed up in. But then Alexandra Cabot shows up in Riverdale and it turns out she is one of the people that invested in one of Chad’s schemes and now she wants to withdraw her money which isn’t a good thing for Veronica. So she tells Alexandra about Pop’s and encourages her to invest in that. I do have one complaint about this plot point though and that is I wish they didn’t have the part where Alexandra has come back to withdraw her money and instead just had Veronica call Xandra up and tell her about Pop’s as a way of helping Tabitha out. As it was it seemed more like Veronica was more helping Tabitha because it was getting her out of a sticky situation than because she legitimately wanted to help Tabitha. For me just having Veronica call up a potential contact/ investor just because she wanted to be a good friend would have given that women supporting women moment more impact. I mean I do kind of understand why they did it the way they did, it was to remind the audience of that plot so that when it comes up in the next episode there is some consistency there. Also it was still good of Veronica to help Tabitha out I am just a little wary because from what I remember from Katy Keene Xandra was a bit of a shady one so I am really hoping that going into business with her doesn’t cause problems for Tabitha down the line. I really enjoyed the performance of Little Shop of Horrors but what I loved even more was when Xandra suggested changing the recipe for the milkshakes Tabitha stood up to her and explained the history behind Pop’s and how its wasn’t just a milkshake or just a diner it was a legacy. Also this is kind of irrelevant but I really liked Tabitha’s lavender suit. So now Tabitha is going into business with Xandra who after being inspired by Josie’s speech has agreed to not change the recipe. I do wonder if that means she is going to be on the show more often now or whether it’ll just be a background type thing with phone calls between them. I am also wondering what Veronica’s involvement in it all is. Is she just going to be redirecting the money Xandra put into Chad’s scheme into Pop’s so that Xandra doesn’t find out that Chad’s scheme was a bad one and tell the other investors so they don’t pull out too before Veronica can fix the situation? Finances and businesses are not something I really understand. Still I did like having that representation of three strong independent business women. I just really hope this deal doesn’t go wrong somehow. 

Toni and Baby Anthony 

Toni’s back! I also love that the way they introduced her again was just to have her pop up from behind a counter during a musical number. In this episode Toni is about ready to pop. I enjoyed those moments when she was hoping to induce her labour like when she was dancing. In the end she goes into labour during the Pussycat’s concert interrupting the performance. Still like they said better to be upstaged by a new baby than a dead body. I am still a bit unsure as to what the family situation is going to be and whether Kevin is still going to be involved. I mean Fangs was in the room with Toni and was often seen standing next to her like at the end when they came to introduce the baby to everyone. But then Kevin was pacing outside the room like an anxious father to be and when Josie commented about how gorgeous the baby was she congratulates all three of them, so she does include Kevin in it. I mean just because Kangs broke up doesn’t mean the three of them can’t still co-parent. I also loved that Cheryl jumped in to help deliver the baby even if that delivery did happen in true Riverdale fashion and take place in the back of a diner. She also looked genuinely happy for them too. It was also super cute that they named the baby Anthony after Toni’s grandfather. 

Little Moments 

There were some little ship moments in the episode, obviously Cheryl helping Toni deliver her baby and also she looked a little sad when Toni was introducing the baby at the end which I think indicated that she was regretful about how things ended up between her and Toni. Also when Josie congratulates them Fangs does look over to Kevin so I think he too is happy but also a little sad about how things didn’t really turn out exactly how they planned it. There was also a glance between Barchie and another glance between Jughead and Tabitha. But I am glad that whilst there were little moments there wasn’t anything that would detract from the Pussycats as this was their episode. There were little crumbs just to plant seeds for the next episode but the main focus of the episode was never overshadowed. 

Overall I do think this was a great episode that really celebrated the POC on the show and the pussycats in particular. I just really hope that this continues into the rest of the episodes going forward and characters like Tabitha and Toni do still get the attention they deserve. So far this season they have done a decent job of giving them screen time and keeping them involved with the plot. The same with the other side characters that were often neglected like Kevin and Fangs and Reggie. I would also love a Pussycats spin off so fingers crossed for that. Anyway that’s it for now so until the next episode.           

#riverdale #riverdale review #riverdale spoilers

[kakakakashi]

Also I wanted to say that I’m so sorry that your experience with your father was even worse than Shoto’s. It is so upsetting to hear you have had to live through/with that. I hope you’re doing better now and have been able to heal from that experience. I do agree that it is nice that they made Hawks not a perfect character, “grey area” as you mentioned. It just makes me sad that he still idolizes an abuser, especially a child abuser and it seems like he forced Rei into procreation. Pt 2 next 🍡

My favorite of the teenagers is still Izuku &he will be till I die (sorry Sho!). I want to adopt him. Lol like his family seems great but I want to steal him& Eri. I can’t speak for everyone, but I would ❤️ to read your fic if you feel comfy posting it! I also suffer from insomnia, night terrors, anxiety, & MDD, as well as a huge hormone imbalance brought to you by PCOS lol so I could empathize a lot more with it & I feel like no one writes for those things & would ❤️ to see more with it! 🍡

Also, sorry for Pt 3 lmao but I loved when they worked with the “bad” kids, because my actual HEART UGH but yeah, gonna go ugly cry now lol ty for the cute lil blurbs of nicknames for IcyHot (sometimes Katsuki hits the nail on the head) you out at the end there. Gave me the giggles 🤪 🍡

In regard to your first message with the spoiler: Yes, you’re right. Just wait for the reveal. It’s so good.

Meh, don’t worry. It’s no big deal. I manage just fine. Shoto & I are just out here being sassy, sluuurping our soba, and trashing our fathers while we ignore their texts & laugh at how dumb they are.

Omg! I know, right? It’s so interesting to watch Hawks. You know? Ugh, don’t get me started on that.

I LOVE IZUKU, OKAY? He & Shoto are tied for my faves in class A. I want to adopt Baby Izuku, I want to be UA Izuku’s big sister, and I want to marry Number One Pro Hero Izuku. Like, I just love him so much. Same with Shoto, but that’s another story. Okay, Inko needs to be protected too. I adore her. I have an idea about her I eventually want to expand on. Eri! Omg! Eri is so precious my heart can’t take it. Just… let me make her candy apples. She’s too good for this world. I just… I see so much of 6-year-old me in her & it always makes me want to hug her & tell her that I’ll never let anything bad happen to her again.

Okay, I’ll put it on my list for posting once I get through my current story & the Christmas with Izuku thing I want to post after because I DIDN’T GET A CHRISTMAS DON’T JUDGE ME! 😭

OMG! THAT EP MADE ME LAUGH SO HARD BECAUSE IT REMINDED ME OF MY PARTY PRINCESS DAYS!!! I am not a big kids gal, and I always feel like Shoto just being like “Idk how to treat children, so I’ll talk to them like normal.” I was debating on applying to another company for the tips since theatre isn’t really a thing rn, but watching that made me reconsider. Lol!

Dude, I just want to make him laugh & remind him that he’s worthy of love just the way he is. I would 500% get him Icy Hot as a gag gift for Christmas. I just need people to know this. I adore Shoto. I just want him to be happy & smile & laugh all the time, and it breaks my heart that next to nobody understands his dry sense of humor either. Like, Shoto’s actually quite clever & funny. I wish more people talked about it. I think it’d make him feel good to know that people laughed at his jokes. Man, I just love him so much. My heart can’t take it. Someone just let me beat up Endeavor for him. 

#cherry chats with friends #🍡 anon #Anonymous #also can we talk about how all the teens are drawn like they're in their mid 20s? Like... it always makes me go '???'

[introducingmiggymackerel]

Finished my first KFAM relisten last night and I’m still reeling from the heartbreak of ep 100 so here’s a short list of some of my favorite things:

The Pomchi Palace jingle

Just the whole first Mission: Apparition episode. “Four score and a cap in your ass” is iconic. Also very good Bemily content

Also re: Bemily when she visits them at the first Best Small Town in America celebration and Ben just gets so cute and flustered and Emily almost says she loves him and aaahhhhhh

The little post-credits bit at the end of ep 61 where Herschel and Cecil sing Shake It Off

Any time Sammy laughs post-ep 75 (but esp in 79, it just hits particularly hard the first time)

Just Herschel and Cecil in general. This show endeared me to two very old men and I would die for both of them FUCK

MARY JENSEN. She’s incredible and I love her and she’s amazing

The Tim 1 vs. Tim 2 fight happening in the background of J Fink reading from the fucky list during the telethon at channel 3

Troy roasting the FUCK out of Gundersen at the debate

The whole bit Emily and Sammy have when they tease Ben for his “Ben-isms”

“Snap, crackle, pop, diabetes!”

Honestly? Calvin. What a wild concept. Chaotic evil at its peak

Also Gwendolyn. She sucks but she’s so funny and I get so excited every time she shows up.

The fact that they actually adopt “Jack-in-the-Box Jesus” as an expletive for the rest of the show

When Ben hears the recording of Can You Hear Me for the first time and hypes up his own vocal performance

“Let’s make this fuckin’ mean somethin’” is such an excellent line and moment

“It’s been locked up for far too long” also makes me cry every time without fail

Ben not knowing what nonbinary means when Sammy brings it up but immediately becoming a very excited ally

The first time Mr. X calls and Ben puts him on hold and they both say at the same time “I don’t like this”. It was early on in the show and they were so in sync it makes me so happy

Whenever Herschel says “my/our boys” 🥺 it has big Grunkle Stan and Mabel energy

(Or “my Cecil”)

Also whenever Sammy says “my Jack”

Agent Reagan Spears. I know I already made a little separate post about her but I just wanted to reiterate that I adore Reagan, she is the light of my life and she is so weird

Every time Ben and Dan get into a 90s boyband fight. It’s so dumb and so fun to listen to

Fuckign,, I know it’s incredibly awkward and strange but when Jacob and Pearl sing Satisfied in Troy’s car I just laugh until I cry they’re so WEIRD

The whole back half of ep 44. The music. The sound design. The acting. I just,,

Ben losing his shit at Gundersen in ep 73. That moment is painful and it sucks but I love me some quality acting and patented Ben Arnold rage

Every time they date themselves with cultural references that were topical at the time but are kinda outdated (ex. various Trump jokes, baby shark, Hotline Bling)

Sammy “Sassy Dad Friend” Stevens. Just whenever he does the dad voice and especially when he gets called out for it

Every Sammy “mmhmm!”

The Beauregard announcement at the Best Small Town in America celebration in ep 78!!!! The suspense and the shock are just very good

Ron just,,,, loves Kingsie so much

“What the f*** are you saying that for, Sammy?!” “I’m sorry, did you just say fuck?!”

Chet clearly caring a lot about the boys. He’s a shithead but everyone has just kind of adopted each other into their weird family over time and I live for it

The first time Ben says “bad times are tough, but not tougher than you” and Sammy is like “wtf did you listen to the tape??”

When #OperationKingFallsKringle showed up and Sammy got all excited like a little kid like “wait he’s here?? Oh my god he’s here!!! Look at what I’m wearing!”

Darlin I’m Gone is such an earworm I get it stuck in my head every time I hear it

Any episode where we get content that’s not from the show. Town hall debate? Channel 13 news report? Wright On? Gimme it all

Sammy being all big-brother protective of Lily when she and Katie start… hanging out and denying it when Ben gets on him about it

Sofa King Beer. Such a stupid pun

CECIL motherfucking SHEFFIELD!!!!!!! AAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And that’s just off the top of my head! I know there’s not a lot of Emily or Lily content here but I just wanna make sure I don’t spoil too much

#anyway thats my ramble bye #kfam #king falls am #long post

[drunklander]

Drunj!Der Yells About Outlander

Thoughts on Ep. 501

We’re back again for another season of men never having to demonstrate any personal growth on screen because the writers don’t feel like that’s important to show and instead force the audience to just forget everything that previously happened because look! The characters, who aren’t real and are just what we write them to be, are all cool now so why aren’t you? #BadFans

As a standalone episode/series premiere of a new show, this episode was really good! I enjoyed it a lot, with some obvious exceptions. As the season five premiere of a show with a long history? What the actual fuck, why do you keep doing this, writers?

In season one, Jamie beats Claire, never actually apologizes for it, and we’re expected to be like oh lol it’s cool now. No worries.

In season two, Jamie takes his pants off with some prostitutes while his pregnant wife is at home, blames it on his “mission,” and we’re expected to be like oh lol it’s cool now. No worries.

In season three, Jamie is an asshole and a half to Claire when she gives up literally everything (including their daughter) to come find him and knowingly marries the woman who tried to have Claire killed because of one dance with random children at a holiday party, and we’re expected to be like oh lol it’s cool now. No worries.

In season four, Roger is a rancid garbage heap to Bree all season and is only begrudgingly down to stay with her as if *he’s* the one who’s been wronged by her, and Jamie literally sends a guy into what he thinks is like certain death/slavery without getting any real information, and we’re expected to be like oh lol it’s cool now. No worries.

So watching this premiere, I was not at all shocked that there was a convenient time jump where everything was so handily worked out off screen and we’re all super cool now, and Jamie thinking Roger isn’t good enough for Bree is played for a joke instead of being THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH. #BreeDeservesBetter

Anywho, onward under the cut because I’m back on my drunken bullshit.

Ooo, a rape warning before the episode, starting off very on brand for you I see, show.

Fuck them very much, again, for including that very unnecessary story line in the first place.

I miss Scotland, y’all. Also, young Murtz can get ittt.

So can old Murtz.

#TeamMurtz

This bit though with wee Jamie made me feel feelings. Jamie and Murtagh’s relationship is literally one of my favorite parts of this whole damn show and saving Murtagh was the best adaptive choice these fuckwads made.

Unpopular opinion alert, but I actually really like the new credits music. I will always like season one’s the best, but this one is up there.

Also, am I a giant weirdo for being happy that even though they change stuff in the credits all the time, they keep in the shot of Claire’s legs running from the pilot? Idk why, but I’m like sentimentally attached to that shot.

Also, that is a fucking microscope I see in the credits, are we gettING SCIENCE!JIZZ?!??!?!?!

SCIENCE!JIZZ! SCIENCE!JIZZ! SCIENCE!JIZZ!

“Careful, or ye’ll lose yer head.” And we’d all be definitely super sad if that happened. Yep, can’t have that. #TeamCutthroatRazor

Jamie threateningly shaving and insulting Roger is the fandom minus the stans who for some inconceivable reason still like that fucker.

Seriously, fuck Roger. Jamie is apparently the only one who hasn’t gotten amnesia about how terrible he is. I guess it’s because Jamie has been really fucking terrible many times and like recognizes like.

I fucking love that Murtz made Bree’s ring. Makes it more meaningful than the random trinket Roger picks up at the Gathering Without End in the book. Like Claire’s Lallybroch key ring was more meaningful than the book!ring. Fuck the show for ditching the Lallybroch key ring because tHe BoOk RiNg Is WhAt FaNs LiKe. No. Stop. Bad choice.

The aerial shot going over the big house makes me hopeful that this season won’t be as fucking claustrophobic as last year. Because seriously, we can all tell you’re still in Scotland. Doing a whole season in basically closeups doesn’t make it seem any more North Carolina-y.

CLAIRE MAKING BREE’S DRESS AND GETTING TO BE THERE FOR HER DAUGHTER’S WEDDING WHEN SHE DIDN’T THINK SHE’D BE ABLE TO GIVES ME ALL THE FEELINGS! CLAIRE DESERVES ALL THE GOOD THINGS! I JUST LOVE CLAIRE A LOT OK! SORRY NOT AT ALL EVER FUCKING SORRY! #BeauchampBrigade5Eva

Bree’s dress is fucking gorgeous. I lowkey like it better than Claire’s.

Da!Jamie on his something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue quest is fucking adorable. He also never thought he’d get to see this one of his kids’ wedding so yay for him too.

“And we’re giving her away to a man who loves her.” “Oh.” “What? You doubt his love?” “Um, I’m sorry, did you SEE all last season?! Did everyone else get amnesia?!”

Also, bullshit about Roger being terrible aside, this right here, with Jamie and Claire actually talking to each other in an adorable and snuggly way. Like being all close and cuddly and shit. THIS IS MY SHIT. When we all bitch about wanting more Jamie and Claire couple stuff and the writers are all like “but the sex doesn’t advance the story” it’s like no you fuckwits, we don’t always mean sex! Sometimes we mean sex, because sex is important in their relationship (and sex does not necessarily equal nudity), but most of the time we mean SHOW US THAT THESE PEOPLE LOVE EACH OTHER WITH THE SMALL CUTE STUFF LIKE THIS! I’m *rull* curious to see how much more of stuff like this we get this season now that Balfe and Heughan are producers. Balfe especially, considering how dirty they did Claire last season...

DA!JAMIE AND ANOTHER OF HIS KIDDOS! Da!Jamie being sappy and sentimental at his kids’ weddings is 100% my jam.

HIS FACE WHEN BREE SAYS JE SUIS PREST MAKES ME FEEL ALL THE FEELINGSSS.

MOM AND DAD ARE AT THEIR LIL GIRL’S WEDDING AND MY SKIN IS CLEAR AND MY CROPS ARE THRIVING. Except that one weed over there in the groom’s place that just won’t go away.

I am so fucking glad they did away with the Gathering Without End. I swear to fuck 17% of a book that’s just like camping and periods and breast milk is aggressively not my jam.

Unfortunately the groom being a douchenozzle is not a legal reason to object to a wedding. But it really should be.

Fersali being all snuggly and cute during the vows is fucking precious. I love Fersali. Protect Fersali at all costs.

I’m ok with playing Jamie and Claire’s music over Bree and Roger’s wedding because like, this is the culmination of all the shit that Jamie and Claire went through together and I’m all for making stuff just about them, haha. But otherwise, weird choice to not give Bree and Roger their own theme?

Also, I get that it’s a better choice to have a character we already know and have established stakes with be here to do the red coat stuff, but loool at the thought of the fucking governor coming to this random backcountry wedding. Tryon, buddy, I get that Murtz is your white whale, but you look obsessed in a bad way, bruh.

GERMAIN!!! I FUCKING LOVE GERMAIN! I FUCKING LOVE THAT JAMIE TALKS SHIT ABOUT PRESBYTERIANS TO GERMAIN! GIVE ME ALL THE SASSY SMOLS!

“Some of us like to think before we act.” Oh fuck all the way off, Roger. ALL THE WAY OFF.

“There was me thinking that you were just trying to shut me up for a minute.” I mean, that was an added bonus, Rog.

Sophie has really gotten so much better at acting. She’s always such a goddamn delight on press tours and I’m like *rull* glad to see her growing into the role.

Lizzo/Flute Lady from the Wedding Band 2020

I 100% wanna chill with JQM and Fersali. This squad of cool kids seems aggressively more fun than the dancers.

Oh Isiah Morton. If only you could keep it in your pants.

I LOVE FERGUS WITH MY WHOLE HEART.

I LOVE MARSALI POSSIBLY EVEN MORE.

GODDAMN IT I JUST LOVE FERSALI SO FUCKING HARD.

Seriously, the sass and theatricality and sarcasm of Marsali Fraser. I stan. I fucking stan.

Also I 100% kept reciting “To sit in solemn silence...” through that whole scene. Once a theater kid, always a theater kid.

Don’t be a buzzkill, LJG. I love that posh nerd. Except when he’s being a fucking creeper about Jamie to Claire.

“Mistress, can I dance with the guy I thought raped you because he was such a twatwaffle?” “Sure, Lizzie, go for it! Because we’re all friends now.”

We’re just leaning in on the dad stuff this episode. The hot dads of Riverdale should form a gang with the hot dads of the Ridge just for kicks.

Obligatory fuck the writers for including Bree’s rape. Since they did though, good on them for showing her PTSD. Although fuck them for including such a graphic flashback. Much like the choices they made in the season one finale, it centers the rapist and the act more than the survivor.

Can this please be the only Fred reference this season? Also love to lightly joke about an emotionally abusive asshole who treated Claire like shit and used Bree as a weapon against her. Claire, being the bigger person she’s always been, will obvs not speak ill of Fred to Bree (unlike how Freddy boy undermined Claire in front of Bree), but Bree is now aware of just how shitty Fred was. Even if he wasn’t overtly shitty to her, her still being all lovey about him, knowing what he did to her mother, is lowkey super fucked up. “Well I know he was shitty to other people, but he never did anything to me” is never a good look.

Bree hugging Jemmy, oh man, I just wanna give her a hug and tell her everything’s gonna be ok.

Jocasta is still trash (there’s no such thing as a benevolent slave owner) but this Murcasta scene is a goddamn delight.

OK BUT NOW I NEED FAN ART OF MURTZ AS A FAIRY KING!

Roger singing to Bree is cute and all, but then using the music for the whole montage is cheesy af and I don’t think I like it.

Is that Arch and Murdina I spy there in the crowd?

Marsali is literally the most fertile woman in the Colonies.

Grannie and Granda trying to get it on veryyy quietly so they don’t wake Jemmy is fucking adorable as shit and I lowkey love it.

Awww, poor LJG. I ship Lord John with someone who actually loves him.

Ok I get Murcasta having to break up because of his regulator stuff, randomly introducing Duncan Innes is a fucking weird choice.

Maria Doyle Kennedy really was the fucking perfect casting choice.

Oh hey, Josiah Beardsley. I was hoping they’d cut out the whole thing with the Beardsleys and Lizzie, but honestly, I’ll take that silliness over Emo!Roger any day.

Good on Jocasta for being a clever MacKenzie, but fuck Roger for only doing the right thing when he’s insulted into it. TL;DR: Fuck Roger.

Is Gerald Forbes going to randomly turn into Neil Forbes at some point like he does in the book?

DOCTOR CLAIRE FOR THE WIN GIVE ME ALL THE DOCTOR CLAIRE.

Srsly, I am here for Jamie shitting on Roger at literally every opportunity. Preach, Jamie. Preach.

“I’ll leave you to yer patients. And to wage war with your wee invisible beasties.” Seriously though, this is my jam. This playful banter. For so much of the series, it’s been like do these two even like each other? Because the writers kept trying to make the show into something it wasn’t. Politics, war, characterization flipflops and assholery FoR tHe DrAmA. It was so hard to see why Claire would ever pick this guy. I’m very cautiously optimistic that more shit like this will be peppered in this year because dammit, this is why we’re all fucking here.

“Then ye must find yerself a lieutenant.” Can it be Marsali? Please? Can Marsali be Claire’s lieutenant?! Because cutting the whole Malva bullshit would be ideal. And Fersali gets so sidelined in the later books that I’d fucking LOVE the writers to make changes so they can be more centered with the rest of the fam. And I am fucking obsessed with Claire and Marsali’s relationship. Marsali is the most Claire Jr. character in this whole damn show and I WANT THEM TOGETHER IN FRONT OF MY EYEBALLS.

Roger pricks his index finger but smudges the blood on Jemmy’s head with his thumb. Not the takeaway of this scene at all. But since I don’t like Roger, that’s my bullet for it.

Also I love that they switched the whole raise a militia thing to a hunt for Murtz & Squad rather than needing to do it because some randos are somewhere doing a thing and then lol jk they left so you can all go home like it is in the book.

Totally called it that they were going to combine the two bonfires and that this was when the kilt was gonna make its triumphant return.

Also I fucking love that it’s the music from Je Suis Prest during the scene when Jamie puts his kilt back on.

And thank fuck they didn’t put any dialogue/voiceover in this scene when Claire sees Jamie. It’s so much more powerful without it.

Aaand we’re burning a cross. At least they were smart enough not to burn a Roman cross, but they’re still burning a cross instead of just doing a bonfire. The scene could be just as powerful had it been adapted to not have a burning cross. Fuck them, tbh.

Remember that time that fuckwit Roberts tried to be like oh we’re not *really* burning a cross so we’re not racist but we’re not gonna address it directly because lol out fanbase is fucking wicked conservative and also a fucking cult who will yell at us for changing anything.

Because seriously that twatwaffle really tried to pretend like a celtic cross isn’t a religious symbol so they’re not having a KKK rally in this white supremacist hellscape. FUCK THAT GUY FOR BOTH HIS SHITTY DECISIONS AND ALSO FOR ACTING LIKE WE’RE ALL FUCKING IDIOTS.

BuT hIsToRy AnD tHe BoOk! Fuck that. Do. Not. Burn. Crosses. But they showed a lynching last year for the sole purpose of showing the shocked white people, so of course they fucking burned a cross.

Jamie being both himself and Colum from the Gathering in season one at the same time is a fucking sight to see.

The look on Knox’s face is *chef’s kiss*. Bruh you don’t even *know* who you’re dealing with.

Aaand in a move that is not at all shocking, Roger hesitates *again*, when Jamie extends his hand to him. Fuck, and I cannot stress this enough, that guy. I get that he’s untrained and scared or whatever, but buddy you deal with that shit tomorrow. You don’t fucking leave Jamie hanging when he’s doing this big theatrical thing in an effort to fucking save his land and tenants. Ugh.

FERGUS, SON OF HIS NAME AND HIS HEART! Jamie and Claire’s first kid getting the props he fucking deserves. ILY SO MUCH FERGS!

Marsali’s face when Fergus goes to give his oath. Just the pride and love there. I JUST LOVE THEM SO FUCKING MUCH OK.

I appreciate the commitment to the shitty green screen of that titular Ridge, haha.

That is a *rull* phallic rock in your circle, Murtz.

BUT...ALWAYS TAKE A MURTAGH! *cries*

This is a real gut punch of a scene, tbh. It’s 100% the right thing to do, but damn, right in the fucking feels.

This episode, with my selective amnesia activated per the above lol, has me more hopeful for how a season might be than I’ve been in a while. But this feeling has consistently been crushed in the past. Here’s to hoping the show finally stops doing us dirty!

#* #outlander starz #outlander 5x01 #drunj!der yells about outlander

[knight-of-the-kitchen]

I just started watching Fate. God help me. I’m watching Stay Night so everyone be gentle with me. I’m just trying to understand things.

Initial reactions to the first like five eps:

• I love Archer. I love him SO MUCH

•Cu Chulainn, I know that’s you you sassy wierd blue motherfucker

•Arthur!!!/SABER!!! Whoever you are, and whatever pronouns you decide to use, you have my loyalty. Adorable. Wholesome. A kickass lady.

•Shirou, you’re so fucking adorable and I’d die for you but HOLY SHIT YOU ARE ACTIVELY LIKE IGNORING RULES OF ENGAGEMENT MY DUDE!!! I AM SHOCKED THAT SABER LETS YOU LEAVE HER SIGHT.

• Rin is soft but trying to be hard, I appreciate your efforts. Also. Archer knows things sometimes and maybe listening to him once in a while might help things dear.

•the grail is exactly as scary eldrich as I headcanon. What the fuck you goddamn rustbucket?!

•everyone has trauma. I love almost everyone. Most of the main cast deserves warm hugs and snuggles. Especially the kids. Mostly the kids.

•Do I want a Servant? Hell fuckin yeah I do! Cool magic, awesome historical figure, someone to kick ass while I throw gems around and try to kill other people? IDEAL!

•I downloaded the phone game. I might be invested now.

#fate #fate series #fate servants #arthurian #arthurian legends #king arthur #arthuriana #FGO #fate stay night

[starryace]

my personal introduction to vav

so i have a few friends who’ve been wanting to get into vav but dunno where to start so... i’ll just do this lil thing. obviously there’s gonna be my own opinions so don’t take everything i say to heart but like... here we go

vav (very awesome voice -- pronounced vee-ay-vee but i say vav bc im lazy) debuted in 2015, but when they debuted they had a different lineup. zehan, xiao, and gyeoul all left to pursue other activities. ziu, lou, and ayno joined the group in 2017! the fandom is called vampz because of the groups original concept but we don’t talk about that

title tracks/mvs: *under the moonlight | *brotherhood | *no doubt | *here i am | venus (dance with me) | flower (you) | abc (middle of the night) | she’s mine | spotlight | gorgeous | give it to me | senorita | **so in love | **thrilla killa | **i’m sorry | give me more

* = pre-line up switch! | ** = without jacob (due to his participation in a chinese program)

more about the members under the cut!

st van (lee geumhyuk)

note: during updating i ended up having to redo this entire section bc my computer deleted it all... sigh.

everyone’s dad

kinda gives off party vibes, like a cool club dad, you know?

super duper soft :(( he laughs at everything and he loves gentle things and he may be the oldest but he’s babie

gets really embarrassed really easily and blushes and laughs it off

oh! he also laughs with like... his entire body ekhrbgj

tattoos! on his shoulder and right arm

full sleeve completed

self composed the track “im sorry” off of the thrilla killa album

he lived in china for 13+ years and can speak fluent (if not, almost fluent) chinese

he’s super good cook and he wanted to be a chef before becoming an idol

loves jacob :(( with all his heart

weird but he can drink a lot of water really quickly, that’s his special talent

got a dog with the group! her name is cash and she’s super cute

im sure there’s more but i got mad after my computer deleted everything so i’ll get back to updating this part when things dawn on me

baron (choi chunghyeop)

dancer extraordinaire! he actually used to be in a dance team before vav

smiley boy ;;;; literally he has the prettiest smile and the nicest teeth

he can play the piano and a lil guitar im p sure!

he’s honestly a lil shit but we love him anyway

he’s very mom like, and loves taking care of the members, but i spy with my lil eye someone a lil more mom-like but that comes later

he choreographed a cover of shape of you!

unfortunately, his mom passed away early this year (may she rest in peace).

his nickname is baby prince (from his mom) and it was because of his mom that he was able to become and idol

baron singing??? yes,,, yeS!! his voice is godsent istg

he loves loves loves music and dance

wont shut up about millennium dance studio

was the pizza delivery boy in minx’s why did you come to my home

has a very intensive skin care routine

he!! loves!! food!! constantly nomming

ace (jang wooyoung)

remember how i said how i thought there was someone more mom like? meet ace.

literally babies everyone

eSPECIALLY ayno + ziu (sometimes lou, when lou will let him)

sassy, diva, can also be a lil shit -- esp with baron... 92 line is just lil shit line

lil fucking tease, too--

he has an oral fixation-- licks his lips a lot no bueno for me

teal hair? god tier. senorita? also god tier. everything about him? god tier.

plays the guitar... see senorita

“you’re doing wonderful sweetie” but like... a living version of that

abs... abs for days..........

works out with jacob

dimples!! but it’s more prominent on the right cheek.

god he’s??? literally ethereal. like i can’t put into words how pretty he is

he ;;;; has the purest, most sweetest heart

they need to start letting ace have more lines bc omg his voice ;;;;;

really good with kids ;;;;; they love him

he’s a BIG flirt, it’s like when he opens his mouth the only thing he thinks to do is say “i love you” or “you’re mine” or smthn

Prince Wooyoung™

ayno (noh yoonho)

was on no.mercy -- still kinda keeps in contact with monsta x now (hims was lil babie minhyuk)

yknow how baron is dancer? so is ayno -- aYNO IS GOD TIER DANCER ok he ;;;;; ugh he’s literally so talented

he raps too! also god tier

hims a soundcloud rapper -- dropped zero coke (mixtape) and god that boy is talented

self composed their song touch you (aka one of my fave vav songs)

ace’s baby... really, he’s vav’s baby, but still

fake maknae to the max. it still baffles me that he’s older than the others ima list

hims also pretty shy, but it’s real cute ;;;;

lou has such a big fat crush on him and he’s always embarrassed by it

he zones out a lot and is very mellow & quiet until something inside him switches and then he’s like BAM loud and crackhead

ziu.... brings out... the crackhead in him lbr

former happyface ent trainee w/ ziu

puppy!

also really good with kids!! prolly bc he is a big kid himself erhbjeg

often writes his own raps for songs

jacob (zhang peng)

resting bitch face to the max

800% done with everyone’s shit

chinese member!

he was performing in a chinese show called all for one -- his team got eliminated (sad) but that means he’ll be returning to the group (happy!)

that’s why he wasn’t in so in love/thrilla killa/im sorry

hims loves his st van

he also eats... a lot.

ok but like... he works out with ace, right? boy has such chiseled and nicely defined abs, it pains me

he’s a happy lil sunshine boy

savage as fuck

his smile literally adds 5 years to your lifespan

all of the members miss him so much ;;;; its honestly super wholesome and every once in a while they’ll be like “omg cobi would love this” or “jacob....... we miss you”

but then you have shithead lou being like “i mean... its nice having the room to myself” wrehbjehg

he dance too! idk what type of dancing it is but he does it!!!

he was in the chinese movie “the dreamer on the catwalk”

BRING HIM BACK ATEAM PLS I MISS HIMS

HE HAS RETURNED AND HE’S STRONGER THAN EVER

lou (kim hosung)

my #1, my one and only, my precious sweetheart

tall as fUCK

has a deep ass motherfucking voice

grew up in georgia as a kid (can speak fluent english) and then the philippines when he was a teen!

kinda the more quiet & reserved member

but dont let that fool you......

he too is a lil shit

AND A CHAOTIC GAY -- ziu bothers him a lot but he has a big ol’ crush on ayno and he never shuts up about how pretty he is and how much he loves him

he can be a grouchy lil bitch too tho hkerbjeg

in this interview baron and st van were being cute and he’s just in the corner like “youuuu shouuuld daaaate” -- gay. in the same interview thats one instance where he wouldn’t shut up about ayno

hims a rapper too!! he often writes his own raps for songs (much like ayno)

his own mixtape (goodnight) literally is so nice i listen to it all the time

he has a vlive thing he does called lou-dio and it’s real cute

big ears = the cutest thing ever ehkrbgjeh

he collects a bunch of stuff!! like pop figures and toys, like souvenirs from everywhere they go

he was in the youtube webdrama “lemon car video” (eps 1, 3, 7, and 8)

his stage name is lou (pronounced “low” but i refuse to say that) because his voice is so low

ziu (park heejun)

chaotic. just chaotic. chaotic gay, chaotic maknae, chaotic man.

he’s the real maknae tho... doesn’t look it, huh?

manly af

literally so charismatic and funny as hell

wants kisses + love + attention from everyone

goes in for a kiss -- everyone else usually backs away but he’s always disappointed that no one gives into him

kisses kisses kisses

did i mention kisses?

he makes a lot of random ass noises all the time

screm... lots of screm. like you know opossums?? think that kinda screm.

his vocals ;;;;; his singing voice is so, so nice ;;; i adore it.

his room is dirty af i could NEVER

he does some really questionable things sometimes... see here.

like i said, i cannot express this enough... he’s so charismatic. so charming. so handsome.

also!! super hyper fluff ball. hims cute.

aegyo up the wazoo too

former happyface ent trainee with ayno

was in the fri.sat.sun teasers by dalshabet

can get p loud & annoying but that doesnt change how much we love him

idk if any of that made sense... but there you go! there’s so much more to vav and everything they do and who they are, so i hope this just kinda gets more people to look into them? it’s a stepping stone, not everything possible to learn.

+ keep in mind, a lot of this stuff comes from both kprofiles, what i’ve seen in videos, and my own personal opinions & inputs. so... yeah. don’t use what i say as truth/fact unless you see stuff to back it up (or you adopt it as your own opinion idk).

thank you for taking your time to read this!!

#vav #*intro #god what do i even tag all of this #idk #n e ways!!! #lmk what you think #also im not 100% well versed with vav #im kinda a newer stan #but i also did a ton of research #and they're like my 2nd/3rd ults now idek

[taste-in-music]

My Favorite EPs of 2018

For all the larger releases and albums dropped in 2018, I also think it’s important to focus on smaller projects, many of them debut efforts, from lesser known artists. I’m limiting myself to two top tracks per album so I don’t end up just saying every song. So I present to you, (in no particular order,) my favorite EPs of 2018. Enjoy!

Make My Bed by King Princess: King Princess is the quirky queer pop star that I’ve needed in my life for a while. Not only are her songs the best mix of laid back and melodic, but her music videos are also great, (just to reiterate, I freaking ADORE artists who give a crap about their visuals.) This EP is short, but wastes no time getting to the bops. It’s also been great seeing her gain traction in the pop scene and start to get the recognition she deserves. (She’s going to be playing in my city but I can’t go, so guess who’s salty...)

My Top Tracks: Holy, 1950

Ungodly by BAUM: I first came across BAUM’s music when she opened for Dagny, and I was interested immediately. (She was great live BTW.) Her deeper voice suits her powerful pop anthems wonderfully, and she’s got the charisma and the songwriting skills to stand out from the rest of the pop scene. I hope to hear more from her in the future.

My Top Tracks: Hot Water, This Body

Raw by Sigrid: Sigrid, the unsung sunshine goddess of Scandinavian pop music. How is every song she releases perfect? I love everything about her, from her get-stuck-in-your-head-in-the-best-way hooks to her first-raspy-then-clear-as-an-angel voice to her style, (seriously, all her outfits are adorable,) to her beautiful hair, to her smile... I’m convinced she’s an actual ray of sunshine. You keep doing you, Sigrid, it’s working.

My Top Tracks: High Five, Schedules

Burn Slow by Jaira Burns: I first came across Jaira Burns when YouTube recommended me her music video for Ugly. That song was solid, so I went looking for her other music and found some of her more recently released singles. I didn’t know she was going to drop an EP, and finding it in my Spotify release radar was a whole treat. Her brand of pop is upbeat and totally bopping, complete with sparkly production, playful lyrics, and sassy vocals. 

My Top Tracks: OKOKOK, This Time Around

Medusa by Kailee Morgue: This EP is witchy as fuck, and it always gets me in that spooky sexy chaotic enchantress mood. Kailee Morgue filled the slot in my music rotation that used to belong to Melanie Martinez, balancing creepy atmosphere with super sweet vocals. I’ve had the title track of this EP on repeat throughout the whole year, as well as her other singles. I hope to see an album from her in the future. 

My Top Tracks: Medusa, Unfortunate Soul

Sunset Season by Conan Gray: Much like the title suggests, this EP is drenched in golden-hour glory, rich with complex vocal layering and ethereal instrumentals. From the catchy hook on Crush Culture to softer tunes like Lookalike, this EP gives me major Blue Neighbourhood vibes while also carving out it’s own unique identity. I can’t recommend this enough.

My Top Tracks: Crush Culture, Greek God

Bad Habit by Your Smith: This EP is super short, but super sweet, too. The music is as sunny and bright as a warm summer day. Spotify recommended me the track “The Spot,” and I was instantly hooked on Your Smith’s subtle vocals and smooth production. The title track and deeper cuts on this EP are just as good, catchy and top-tap inducing, (especially the song Debbie. What a BOP) 

My Top Tracks: The Spot, Debbie

chapter 1 by girl in red: Chill and laid back with a low-fi, homemade sound, 19 year old Norwegian singer/songwriter girl in red may not be as well known as other entries on this list, but certainly deserves more recognition. This entire EP is wlw bops, and she produced everything herself! Think Clairo’s sound meeting Hayley Kiyoko’s lyrics. (Her we fell in love in october/forget her single is also great, so check that out too.)

My Top Tracks: girls, say anything

diary 001 by Clairo: Apparently liking Clairo makes me a basic local and she’s allegedly an industry plant or whatever, but that doesn’t detract from my enjoyment of her music. Her relaxed vocals and simple production are totally likable and help me unwind after a long day. I’m not always into the whole whispery low-fi thing, but she does it well.

My Top Tracks: 4EVER, Pretty Girl

Spring EP by Wallows: An indie rock/pop band with easygoing vocals, bright instrumentals, and an all around nostalgic feel? Sign me the heck up. I first heard of this band because Dylan Minnette is in it, but that’s not why I decided to seek them out. I decided to after hearing Pictures of Girls on the radio and getting a recommendation in my ask, (thanks to @ delightful-unicorn.) I always love getting recommendations, so y’all send me some more!

My Top Tracks: Ground, Pictures of Girls

As She Pleases by Madison Beer: My sister got me into Madison Beer, specifically with the tracks Dead and Say It To My Face. While this EP can feel overproduced at times, it’s stuffed with catchy and danceable pop tracks, as well as some softer moments. I had the opportunity to see Madison Beer live, and it was a ton of fun, (she sounded pretty good. She’s got mad pipes, and I feel like she’ll only get better at controlling them with time.) Her newest single Hurts Like Hell slaps and she’s got a debut album in the works. Heck to the yeah!

My Top Tracks: Fools, Teenager In Love

Young by Charlotte Lawrence: If you’re into the whole Bea Miller/Olivia O’Brien/Maggie Lindemann kind of pop scene, I’d definitely say that you should check out Charlotte Lawrence. You know what? Check her out even if you aren’t into those artists. After hearing Seventeen, (which might be one of my favorite songs EVER, what a banger,) I was hyped for this EP and wasn’t disappointed. She’s got party jams and slower songs, all which showcase her lovely voice.

My Top Tracks: Sleep Talking, I Bet

Nina Cried Power by Hozier: We can say that, despite all the shit that’s happened this year, that at least Hozier emerged from his mossy hovel in the fae realm to bless us with new music. I’ve always found Hozier interesting, but I wasn’t always a giant fan of his. I think my experience with his music was like when I first heard Royals by Lorde on the radio: I knew it was something unique and different from everything else, wasn’t sure if I liked it, and then grew to appreciate it. This EP has got some power and bombast to it, but also showcases Hozier’s softer side. And he’s got an album on the way! Color me excited. 

My Top Tracks: Nina Cried Power ft. Mavis Staples, Shrike

Read my top albums of 2018 list.

So that’s that on that. What were your favorite EPs of 2018? Any newer artists you think everyone should know about? Leave your recommendations and thoughts down below. 

#EP of the year #jaira burns #kailee morgue #clairo #king princess #sigrid #wallows #madison beer #BAUM #charlotte lawrence #girl in red #hozier #album recommendation #taste in music #taste in music 2018 faves

[chrisodonline]

On Mosley, Redux

As I mentioned in my loooong post earlier, I had thoughts reflecting on the Joelle episode and Mosley over the course of this season.  

About a month ago, the lovely and sweet @aprylynn spammed me with the best asks in the world because she knew I needed some distractions.  There was one I never answered because it was impossible not to write a treatise to answer it.  I never stopped thinking about it, though, and working on today’s post reminded me of it.  

The question was essentially about what I thought would have helped Mosley’s character be more consistent over the season.  I’ll touch on that, what I would have liked to have seen (more) in the character -- purely subjective preferences, and why I feel like the Joelle episode wasn’t as much of a drop off before next season as it seemed at first -- even to me.

For the record, I don’t need to see new characters love and adore our core team players, especially if they are the boss.  Enabling is not a form of support, and you can be supportive and constructive -- in fact, that’s better for everyone.  It would make sense for a boss to come in and be supportive but not enabling.  Friction is inevitable, but need not be the only plot contribution of the new boss.  Your mileage may vary, and that’s always fair.  People are not all a hive mind, or all TV shows would be the exact same thing. 

I would have liked to see Mosley do more rather than just say what she wanted to do and what her expectations were.  She could still be the super confident and classy lady, which would be a fun contrast.  I felt that’s where they were aiming, but they had Nia hit some notes that just weren’t right when setting up Mosley’s classiness. She came off as more haughty and superficial at times, again, to me.  Moving on.  So, a classy but sassy new boss who truly takes the team to task by making them all do psych appointments, reviewing their old files and talking to them one-on-one about past performance reviews, what she sees could be improved, and making them do paperwork/reports on old cases and missions -- mostly theirs but some from other teams, perhaps old cases, to get them to review how to improve. Send them to some professional development opportunities with training -- mix up the dynamics of who goes while there’s a mission -- allowing for the cast to work around their needed schedules.  Ask reasonable, straightforward questions that needed answers after each case, etc.  Obviously, this would be strewn across multiple eps -- office things aren’t made for a whole hour of TV.  She could have been someone who just really loved rules or who had seen firsthand in old roles the dangers of not being careful enough or when agents aren’t given the proper guidance, etc. 

Mosley didn’t do that, though. Again, she was a lot of talk and no show on taking issues with the way team does things, what her goal was, her disagreements, etc. She would then intermittently support the team when they’d least expect it and flaunt how helpful and deserving of trust she was -- despite not really earning it.  She was owed their respect as the boss, but trust takes time.  These are people always on edge and not easy to get to -- they have to be for their jobs.  It’s also very common in this line of work. She gave them a figure harder to pin down than Hetty, whether intentional or not.

Back to the Joelle thing.  Throughout her episode, she kept talking about how she was doing everything for her family.  Even when she lied and G pretended to fly off the handles to test her, he noted to Sam that she was telling the truth in that moment.  The most consistent thing she said was her motivation was her family.  She was all over the place at times, and it seemed to be her using her spy craft moment to moment to figure out what move would be the best to get what she needed to keep her family safe, especially her son.

Cut back to Mosley.  We know how much her son has motivated her to do things.  If you look back at everything, you can see a very, very consistent figure if you see someone who is doing what it takes to get her son back -- with shrewd knowledge of how these organizations work and the ability to be what’s needed at any given time.  The threats to the team, constant voicing of issues, call for improvement, insistence on a weird glass office to watch over everyone more effectively, bringing someone who is on her side and could slide into a position if she gets someone transferred, etc. It begins to look very performative. Now, anyone who’s ever worked for a highly formalized and structured organization -- whatever the entity -- knows how much saying the right thing gets you a lot further than doing the right thing.  Mastering that empty/vague admin-speak is a skill, and people who can do it go far. Mosley can do it.

So she works really hard to make connections, she knows how to be one with the higher ups.  She works to find out where her son is, or speculate it.  She looks for opportunities, and she finds one.  She comes from a Secret Service background, so it makes you wonder how much she’s been looking into this particular opportunity.  Has she scoped out other nearby agencies with LA offices? It’s been years since she’s seen her son, and she knows how to do a long plan. 

She starts doing the NCIS angle -- if anything it’s an agency that might not deal with her ex enough to have a red flag about her, but it’s one with access to various locales.  She eventually gets to this job.  She’s heard about the team, they’re the best, they’re a bunch of cowboys who can get stuff done; G Callen’s reputation surely precedes him in all agencies he’s worked with.  The legendary Hetty Lange’s does, as well. And, hey, all these people have been trained by her!  Hidoko, at one point, tells her these are the people she’d want to have her back if she were ever in grave peril.  I don’t think she needed convincing.

She sells herself as someone who can shake things up and make things right in the OSP, and the higher powers believe her.  She says the right things to make it look like she’s doing power moves and what she was sent for, and she says them continuously with audiences -- no one has any reason to suspect she’s not there to do the job.  She tells them she needs time to figure the team out and see where they’d be better fit, trying to get them to improve in certain areas while also building their trust. Again, the higher ups all think this is well and good.

Of course, she has to keep two sides happy: the higher ups and the team.  She slides whenever she can, when the stakes are low or when it’s reasonable to say yes.  She has to gain their favor while also keeping the favor of the higher ups.  She’s going back and forth, not always well, but she’s probably learning gradually that her son really is nearby.  The stakes are high.  She’s also not the best people person, so knowing the right ways to gain personal not professional favor is not her strong suit.  She, like Joelle, is a woman with a mission. She plays the cards she needs for her own purpose. It is a very understandable purpose.

The question going into S10: Will having achieved that purpose make her leave OSP? Will she get the boot for not doing what she was told, while the team is also seeing some temporary consequences? Will they be able to explore this more and give her a quasi-reboot, now that she’s no longer dealing with the high stakes of her son?  

Again, though, all just theories/thoughts. 

I promise I’m done for the day!

#z rambles on #ncis la #/ #// #//// #shay mosley

[dual-a]

Voltron Tag Game

Tagged by: the lovelies @dragonfoxstar and @galratrash-mercenary-hacker

How did you discover the show?

I was following cosplayers that I liked and they started reblogging lots of stuff when season 2 came out and it looked really interesting so I started.

Was it love at first sight or did it take a while to warm up to?

I had to warm up to it for the first episode but after like ep 3 I really started to enjoy it and kept on watching till now.

Do you have a favorite episode?

dnD DND DND DND DNDNDNND DND EPISODE DID I MENTION I LIKE THE DND EPISODE THAT OMG SHIRO WAS JUST SO CUT E F I GH T M E but also that episode with the fight scene between shiro and keith just i dont have any words i loved it

Favorite Paladin?

I don’t know. Technically, does Kuron count as one?? Or I could say season 6 shiro. But don’t get me started on Lance. I’d die for both Kuron/Shiro/Gyro and Lance.

Favorite Lion?

Maybe Red? But I’m not really sure.

Favorite Villain?

Lotor, Kuron, Sendak, but Kuron being number one (even if his villian arc wasn’t the best I love that man.

Favorite Aliens?

Galra, Olia (i even got a blog for her), those things Pidge has in her room and brought out of the castle, and there are more, but I can’t think of em 

Favorite Side Characters?

KEITH’S DAD (FIGHT ME I LOVED THE COWBOY) The Blade, Ezor and Acxa (idk if they side ones but) Olia, Sendak, and a whole lot more.

How/Why did you join the fandom?

The animation looked cool to me and people that I liked and really enjoyed watching liked it and if other people like it that used to really make me smile liked it, why shouldn’t I?

Best part of the show?

The side characters. I love how much work they put in for the little characters like finding them a voice actor and paying them for it even if they only are shown once and they leave so much open for us to have headcanons about and get deeper into the show/

Hopes? Wishes?

Bring back Sendak and Kolivan back into the show, show more blade and what they are gonna do now, show how the Galra are gonna be ruled now and how it all won’t fall to pieces again and again like before, more dnd but just mention that they are playing it y’all already know i loved that ep.

Will you stick around for the show?

After season six?? Heck yeah I loved and I mean loved season 6. I’ve never been actually more invested in a Voltron season and i just cannot with this and in my heart I’m not sure it can be topped but they can try and I wanna see that attempt.

Favorite Character?

Okay time for my talk about Kuron because I’ve only loved him for about a couple hours and if anybody tries to mess him up I will kill everyone and then myself. So I don’t even know why I love him I just do. Like I’ve nver really had Shiro as my favorite like a lot of other people but this season he was just so adorable. (Especially dnd episode like he was so stubborn about the paladin and he had tragic anime backstory) but the fight scene it was so angsty and he was ready to stab a bitch (the bitch being keith) and i loved that fight and how the animation was he was so ready and aaaaaa also lance I’d die for lance but i wont explain why ALSO KEITHS DAD CAN  I GET A YE E HA W

I don’t have many friends and I dont wanna tag peoplel that just got tagged so:

@cairis-in-the-field @sassy-wolf-satyr and anybody who wants to

#voltron season 6 #vld s6 spoilers #spoilers #s6 spoilers #thANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE TAG I GOT TO TALK ABOUT SHIRO/KURON AND I LOVED THAT THANK YOU

[gyeommine]

MONSTA X as Best Friends

this is one of my lil’ au’s that i whipped up whilst i was away with no internet. i need to write more mx stuff(: i tried anyway - i hope y’all like it.

(gif credits to the original owners)

Shownu:

(boiii look at u w that bandana !)

biggest dad friend you'll ever have in your life

makes sure you're fed

gives you lifts whenever you need one

also makes sure you never have to walk on your own.-will fight a mean s/o who he may have had a bitter disliking to anyway bc it's you

basically is super protective of u

he is always v sleepy tho, esp if you're just chilling at your place.but you forgive him bc he's an overworked dad of 6

he is super down to earth and most chill human being in your lifehe is also super dependable, and is always there when you need him

he also gives the best hugs – they're rare but bOI are they worth it

is always awkward about you seeing him at shows or watching shows he's on bc he doesn't feel like he's a big idol, he's just your best friend

but you force him to tell you when he's doing anything so you can shout the loudest

most easily mistaken for your boyfriend

is a lil' bit dense at times, and is least likely to laugh @ your jokes

doesn't get sarcasm either

he's also clumsy

but apologetic, extremely apologetic

he can be a lil' blunt and straight forward at times but he's never as bad as the 'shownubot' he is v sensitive to your emotions, and is super caring

you also see the cute side of shownu

him beaming at small animals, when he talks about his fave food or his parents

again, far from the showminator everyone sees on variety shows

buuuuuuut he's v difficult to read, thanks to that beautiful but often blank face he has 

you also get really flustered when he juST strips??? boicouldunotwearepalswthpls 

you look at him awkwardly but he'll either not get it or be like “what? We are friends?”

and you remember your best friend is the most endearingly dad-like human in the world and nobody can change that

Wonho:

(a d o r a b l e)

I am convinced he will just giggle 24/7

ray of sunshine hoseok will just make you so energised and happy when he's in the same room as you

which makes you fiercely protective of him

you get to see his cute, bubbly side all of the time and it's literally a goddamn blessing

you guys just eat together

you'll deliberately plan on going to different restaurants or food places just so you can sample everything

but his eyes will always light up when you say “Ramen?”

like dad!sonhyunwoo, he is fairly shy about the stuff he does and is v bashful when you compliment his idol stuff

he'll shrug it off like its nothing and you'll be like “??? ur one of the most talented people ever you can literally fite me”

wonho and you could literally make anything fun, so hanging out w each other is never ever dull like, you'll create random dumb shit to do that only kids would think of and it would be great

but he's a really sensitive and sweet friend

he just gets you, and will immediately be on the same page as you w whatever you are feeling

he is so supportive and cares about you to the moon and back

it's bloody adorable literally treasure this man 

like he will literally stay up to ridiculous hours in the morning to listen to you rant or console you 

(my heart is melting whilst writing this send help)

but as we found out in the monsta x ray finale, boy needs that support since he spends all of his energy worrying about his pals and like how he gets you, you completely understand him it's weird, neither of you understand how you're in so in tune w one another 

but it's great honestly a++ friendship

Minhyuk:

(y’all don’t even understand how much of a look the red hair was wOW)

most of the time he just ??? you can't explain him ???

he is one of the loudest, and goofiest people you know

when you guys go out together, ppl are stunned bc he's super handsome

but you know that he's not this super cool, standoffish model-type – he's an idiot

he sends you pictures of cute animals all the time

or he tags you in them on every social media possible

and you guys watch a lot of disney

w a perfect aladdin duet where minhyuk is jasmin (ofc)

lil' dumb things like that brighten your day

he just has a knack for cheering you up

and he just radiates kindness – he's just a sweetheart

but when you guys are together, the sheer amount of noise you guys make is incredible

you guys are literally tied at the hip

you do everything together, a lot of spontaneous stuff too

lots of random sleepovers where you stay up way too late

you hang out so much, that the rest of the mx are just used to having you around

like an 8th member tbh

it gets to a point where you guys miss each other like crazy when his schedule is packed

and the guys tease that you might as well go out

but it's fine, you've both talked and thought about it (midnight chats is all I can say)

but you both know that you're more like siblings

and that's chill

like wonho, he just gets you

he knows when your sad, and exactly what to do

he'll have some takeout on speed dial and a shoulder to cry on

he's actually one of the most attentive people

and sometimes it makes you sad when people just assume he's a shallow idol

but you're just happy to have him in your life.

Kihyun:

(his lil’ smile i swEAr)

he's so sassy w you

he's literally like a middle aged mum

yes, so he's often ruthless but he gives the best advice

someone treating you like shit? cut them out

it makes him incredibly reliable

he's always got your back and is ready to stand up for you 

you guys wingman for each other too 

you pretend to be in a relationship to fend off unwanted ppl in clubs 

people think he's adorable but you know he's cut throat – and you love it

 yet, there are instances where you catch him cooing at a baby or a dog

despite appearances, he would literally drop everything for you 

he's loyal 

if something has happened to you, he's right there if you're crying and listening intently

he genuinely wants to give you the best advice possible 

he does love you, he just has v sarcastic ways of showing it

“i mean, if you were the last person on earth sure” 

and you roll your eyes and just continue 

probably will ask you weird questions at 3am 

doesn't get that you not responding means stop so he keeps going

he has a ripe selection of mugshots of you and will utilize them 

he's probably protective in a lowkey way, like he tries not to show it

he'll walk you home w the excuse “nothing else to do”

“for a sec, I almost thought u were showing affection!” and he'll scoff 

you nod in mock acknowledgement but ofc you think it's really sweet beneath the unending sass you will tease him with predebut mx and it's rich 

you always tell him you bias shownu just to irritate him

“he's not even that cute” he'll mutter bitterly

doesn't mean you won't have a funny picture of kihyun as your lock screen for months

Hyungwon:

(look at this dumb dork w his dumb ass smiley cute face what a dumb human)

one of your memeist friends

sends u dumb shit even if he's sat right next to you

also your laziest friend

if you guys arrange a time to meet, you always mentally add an extra 15 minutes

bc he's always late

he's also extremely sarcastic

even if it's just through an eye roll, he's a piece of shit

he's also a lil' awkward

you first met him through the rest of the guys, and he barely spoke

you just spotted a literal model on his phone in the corner

but as you were round there more, he let himself go

and came to know the lanky piece of shit u now tolerate

very much a love-hate friendship

from afar, it looks like you guys have no boundaries and you will say anything 

but both of you just toss it aside w “character building” and you laugh sometimes he's sweet and it surprises you (like w the kids ep in monsta x-ray omg) 

like he'll buy some food for a homeless man, or pull a funny face at a kid on the bus 

and you tease him about it again, just character building;)

he's silently supportive

he's not great at the words and talking bit, but he's happy to just sit and listen

or he will instantly know what to do, and just order some food before you say anything

so you know ppl are wrong when they say he's just a lazy and standoffish idol

but he's extremely good looking and you had to learn to avoid stares when you guys go out together

he probably has a gift he bought you abroad from 2 years ago

says he'll give it to you, but still forgets

you really hope it's not candy that went off months ago

as much as you love your best friend, you don't want mouldy sweets

Jooheon:

(cutest cutie that ever cutied)

funniest

whether he's making you laugh or you're laughing at him - he's funny

you guys were definitely childhood friends

and everyone loves him

your close family always talks about him, asks about him

he's like a brother you never had (as cheesy as that is)

most friends drift apart, especially w his idol career

but - you guys are the definition of inseparable

you met bc someone was picking on you at nursery and baby jooheon intervened

and since then, you guys have never been a part

he is v protective

even little things like accompanying you home when it's late

any partner he has to meet just to make sure they're good enough for you

you sometimes have to tell him you're okay on your own

and he'll apologise, that he's just looking out for you

he doesn't mind you ringing him at early hours when something's on your mind

and the same with you

when you guys hang out, it's simple

going out for a drive and just watching the sun go down

you'll blast your favourite music and enjoy each other's company

cheesycheesycheesy

it's like something out of a movie

he'll sometimes even treat you – like take you out to dinner or something

to say thanks for being such a good friend all this time

you tell him he's cheesy, that it's not necessary

but he just blushes a little and says it's no big deal

he's the boy you'll mum will nudge and say “oh isn't he lovely”

you'll roll your eyes and say“he's just my best friend”

but you've thought about it, trust me he's definitely thought about it

who knows, all I can say is that it could happen

I.M

( i fell in love w changkyun while writing this i am such a sap )

you guys are like the chillest pair of best friends known

that's probably bc lil' changkyun is definitely more the introvert

he would much rather retreat to his studio to unwind than go out

which you're all for

you guys sit for hours in his mini studio

you listen to his stuff, and you just beam as he talks about his passion

it just fills you w joy when your best friend is so talented and you get to hear it

you do have to bring him out of his shell a little

bc this dorky, funny side comes out that has you cackling

you guys get food together mainly

and he loves it when you cook

you also feel it your duty to take care of this smol

feed him, look after him bc he's still your lil' maknae although nobody thinks he is

but it's not patronising, he's completely chill w it

the guys joke that  he had/has a major crush on you

sometimes you question it, but he's like a younger brother to you

so you just throw something at minhyuk and jooheon to end the teasing

although changkyun always gets a tad shy when they mention it ??

there's never any arguments bc you guys are so alike

you have the same music taste, like the same foods, have the same opinions, watch the same tv shows and movies

it's really weird, but neither of you are complaining

makes life 10x easier !

he always feels super bad that he can't see you more

(which is v fucking cute fite me)

so he tries to plan these elaborate well thought out days for when he gets back

but he gets really bumbly and shy about it

bc it feels like a date but it isn't but he kinda hopes it is

so you guys always opt for a night long catch up w pizza

and you don't mind bc you're happy to see your fave human

i can assure you, so is he;)

hoped you guys enjooooyed! idk, this kind of helped me suss out their characters in my head a bit more - which is nice !! ty for reading <3

#mx #monsta x #monsta x imagines #mx imagines #mx reactions #monsta x reactions #mx fluff #monsta x fluff #shownu #hyunwoo #son hyunwoo #wonho #hoseok #lee hoseok #not shin lol #minhyuk #lee minhyuk #kihyun #yoo kihyun #hyungwon #chae hyungwon #jooheon #lee jooheon #i.m #changkyun #im changkyun #kpop #kpop reactions #kpop imagines #kpop fluff

[haltandcatchfiretothemax]

It's cool cos we're like, adventurers: Cameron and Donna go about things differently than they normally would in "Adventure", or, a H&CF recap

The fifth episode of Halt and Catch Fire is named for a computer game that everyone (or, a good portion of the Cardiff staff) gets sucked into; in the end, the coders who cheated/re-coded (?) their way through the game are the only ones who get to keep their jobs. It is Peak Halt and Catch Fire Metaphor, in this case for an episode where our main characters are initiating or escalating a different sort of game, and finding out what kind of players they are. J*e toys with his father (and also Bos, who only has one scene in this ep?), unwilling and also not really able to see him, and vacillates between behaving as obnoxiously as his father does and trying to be a better, kinder type of executive. Gordon steps out of his hardware geek comfort zone and attempts to wine and dine his father-in-law and Japanese executives, and it works out in the end, but just barely, and because he begs for help. Ultimately, both seem to recognize their limits.

Donna gets very little screen time in this episode, and most of it is with Hunt, of all people (RosaDiazEyeroll DOT GIF). Her parents are all over this episode, though they interact more with Gordon, and the way Donna gets eclipsed feels significant. When we do see her she's making French toast for her father's birthday, or making peach pies for her parents' barbeque. Ever the perfect wife, she even buys her father a putter and tells him it's from Gordon. All of this elaborately sets up Gordon's arc, in which he decides his p.c. is worth asking his douche of a father-in-law for a round of golf so he can ask him to set up a meeting executives from a Japanese tech company.

By contrast, Donna's scenes with Hunt are one-on-one, with no major professional stakes. Echoing J*e's evil boss act, Hunt yells at Donna for not submitting the right report, and then after she explains that the report is under a supplemental report, he snaps at her for not putting the report he wanted on top. Let that sink in -- Hunt yelled at Donna because he's so entitled and incompetent that he couldn't shuffle through a stack of papers; again, how is he her boss? (LOL jk I know how, it starts with a 'p' and ends with 'atriarchy') -- but later he calls her at home to talk about it, just after Donna has hung up on a drunk Gordon who's panicking about offending the Japanese executives. (Which sounds mean, but anyone who's been paying attention can see where Donna would be tired of having to endlessly listen to and reassure Gordon.) Hunt compliments her work and her efforts, and then he apologizes for taking his frustration out on her. They have a weird conversation about 'peach pie' (…..), and because Donna is so starved for halfway decent conversation with a vaguely grown up, emotionally responsible person, she gets out and ~plays her electric piano~ that night. Which sounds funny and like a cheesy, too on the nose metaphor, but this is one of the first times we see Donna by herself, not doing some kind of domestic labor, and it's when she starts to lean into and enjoy the tension between her and Hunt.

It seems like Cameron is always doing what Donna wishes she could do (as in, what Donna wishes she could do professionally, not in terms of 'piano playing'…), and this episode is no different. Cameron spends most of "Adventure" assertively claiming credit for her work, arguing with coworkers, and figuring out how to get herself promoted. She comes back from a business trip (which she understandably worries was another of J*e's set ups, even without really knowing what happened in the previous episode) to an office full of new people and a short lecture on how corporate and tech culture don't accommodate anxious introverts who'd rather do all the coding on their own so that they don't have to try to communicate with other human beings. She goes directly from the lecture to The Kill Room where Gordon and his team are coming up with the most ridiculously cliche geek culture names for her code. "Excuse me? I wrote the BIOS. I name it. Lovelace." After she reminds them that Ada Lovelace was the first computer programmer ever, they test the BIOS and it turns on. They pop champagne and congratulate themselves; Cameron skulks out without a word before they can offer her some, though she probably would've had to demand that from them, too, to get any.

In the following scenes Cameron struggles to adjust to having a new boss, fellow coders, and, as America's Next Top Model Host Tyra Banks might put it, not being the prettiest girl at school anymore. Meaning, Cameron isn't the only young misfit software writer at the office anymore, and it's both inconvenient and genuinely emotionally challenging for her. The writers and Mackenzie Davis quietly add considerable depth to an already compelling character here, addressing and unpacking a lot of gripes that unsympathetic viewers continue to have about Cameron. We see her interact successfully, if awkwardly with Lev and especially Yo-yo, who invites her to a group hang, and she hesitates; so yeah, she's anti-social, but she's also scared, and seems like she really isn't used to people not judging or looking down on her.

She interacts far less successfully with her new boss, and yeah, she doesn't respond well to authority -- but with how both the boss and J*e treat her ("no need to get your panties in a wad"; "If I've given you the impression that because of this thing we've got going on that you're entitled to special treatment…") , she frankly has good reason to not trust them. (And yeah, I'm gonna be That Bitch and point out that neither of them would have spoken to a male employee that way.) And yes, Cameron in an entitled young white woman (though lets be real, no one would be calling a white boy genius entitled), but she also is apparently qualified, it's just that she has to be unattractively forward about showing it. File under: Before You Write Cameron Howe Off As An Unlikeable Brat.

Of course all of this sets up Cameron's unexpected meeting with J*e Sr., which is surprisingly satisfying despite being miserable and uncomfortable. We see a retread of the pilot scene where J*e figured out that the way to get to her is to paternally and warmly praise her work; Cameron is characteristically ~sassy~ with J*e Sr. until he tells her, "When my guys came back to New York they couldn't stop talking about this prodigy named Cameron Howe!" She's skeptical, and then he says, "They said you're the modern Ada Lovelace." Boom. In the next scene they're having drinks. It's going fine and Cameron is adorably geeking out over how J*e Sr. worked with Grace Hopper until he figures out that Cameron's father was killed in action while serving as a helicopter crew chief in Vietnam. Anyone who's lost a parent who actually took care of them feels Cameron's reaction. She excuses herself, and J*e Sr. smiles unctuously. Because of course he’s been playing her.

Cameron figures it out though, and it results in her eventual triumph. Or well, she mostly figures it out -- she uses her very real grief to act all wounded and emotional and pump J*e Sr. for more information, before calling him out on trying to manipulate her into convincing J*e to see him. I'm pretty sure J*e Sr. was trying to poach her because it would hurt J*e, and that Cameron is still underestimating just how comfortable they are with turning people into pawns. She gets what she needs, though, and the following day she uses her rarely seen practical knowledge to dazzle J*e into giving her her boss' job; in effect, she figures out the (corporate bro) code, and rewrites it into her promotion. Cameron is slowly learning what someone like Donna already knows about corporate structures and dealing with male upper management. Now they just gotta figure out how to not sublimate their ambitions into pesky crushes on the upper management!

Stray bytes:

I love how all we see of Cameron's business trip is her spending Cardiff's money on hotel amenities. #incharacter I still have weird feelings about her not knowing what a concierge is, though

The opening montage is brutal though, did you see J*e trying to put on his shoe? Reminder that yes, he's an out of control abuser, but that J*e was the victim of p*lice violence/brutality. The beating he got in the previous episode was no joke.

J*e, who lied his way into a company, forced it do his bidding, and nearly destroyed it, calling Cameron 'entitled': L M A O

Today in "Oh my G-D Gordon STFU": "I'm not the one screwing Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!" You're not in a position to judge anyone's sanity OR sex life, GORDON, also just accept that Cameron is WAY OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE AND WOULD NEVER DATE YOU

How do we feel about how the show portrays the Japanese executives? Total Orientalist-type nightmare, or am I being overly-critical?

The storyline with the Japanese and their apparently strict corporate etiquette is very Mad Men, which is fine with me, tbh

"Donna was right, you're all hat and no cattle!" Speaking of which, Gordon is officially Halt's Pete Campbell/white dude who has ridiculous sounding outbursts, right? ("Hell's bells, Trudy!" "Not great, Bob!" "It's a shameful, SHAMEFUL DAY!")

As much as Gordon annoys me, his in-laws are terrible to him. Like, Susan really believed the putter was from Gordon? Gary thought Gordon wanted to spend time with him?! W T F. RICH WH*TE PEOPLE ARE SO WEIRD.

Compare Cameron's 'I name the BIOS' with Donna's facetious, "Don't you mean Susan Fairchild?"

According to the internet, a helicopter crew chief's primary job is to maintain the helicopter itself. Cameron's dad was basically a helicopter mechanic, which makes so much sense, if anyone needs me I will be tearing up over the idea of Cameron coping with her grief by taking apart computers as a kid

"You're both disgusting." Cameron Howe, Computer Programmer, Game Designer, and Misandrist

Steve, on Cameron: "She's got a real attitude problem." #THATSMYGIRL

The scene near the end where J*e seems to quietly panic at the idea of Cameron meeting his father. This…is textbook childhood abuse stuff. Just saying.

I'm just gonna say it, ICYMI: petition to make 'playing her electric keyboard' a common euphemism for female masturbation

‘It’s cool cos we’re like, adventures’: Be Your Own Pet, also fronted by a bratty, skinny, Southern bleached blonde known for heckling her own openers actually wrote a song called “Adventurers” back in 2006. How weird is that?!

#new season starts in 2 days and the world is exploding but i'm all 'let me keep recapping tho' #again no cut for accessibility #cameron howe #donna clark #donna emerson #the h&cf rewatch #halt and catch fire s1 #1x05 #adventure #halt and catch fire to the max originals! #hacf to the max original recaps