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chirpsythismorning · 1 year

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I think what really puts into perspective the likelihood of ST5 premiering in 2025 (I’m gonna predict March 21st for fun), is that a year from now is just barely Summer 2024, and yet as of now, they have not even started filming.

Are fans really expecting them to have season 5 filmed, fully prepped with marketing and promo ready, with everything ready to be released within one year from now (roughly speaking, give or take a couple months)?

In all honesty it's very much the norm for Stranger Things' to have promo leading up to an upcoming season last for months. And I'm not talking like 3-5 months I'm talking a year+.

This isn't like s1 where they put out a trailer and a release date and some low budget marketing roll out on social media, which is something they do for every new Netflix show. This is a $35 million + budget per episode series and thats just to budget for the literal episodes... There are dozens of partnerships they have going on with merchandise and things like that which are discussed and planned for months/years. There are music rights negotiations which go on for months upon years. Shit, post-production has the capacity to take, at the very least half of the time it takes to film, and in some cases as much time or even more. This shit takes time!!!

The build up to a new season is so huge, that each month leading up to it, there are different things dropping, creating the hype that guarantees millions of fans engagement for a long time.

Like 1 year up to the 6 months before the release, promo starts heating up officially. The main accounts for the show will start posting stuff, initially it'll be cryptic using old footage to kind of recap the characters and get us refreshed on where we left off. This time could have some really awesome surprises, but it's mostly casual. If we're lucky we can count on Atlanta filming paparazzi bc those people are insufferable...

6 months up to the one month mark is when it starts to get more real. At this time we're likely to get an episode list announcement, along with sneak peeks and teasers that are quite short, being that they're still likely in the editing process when they are releasing these so it's very much in part them trying to tide us over and keep us interested.

The final 3 months leading up to it is when it gets REAL real. This is at the latest when we'll get a release date announcement, but that's a worst case scenario. I feel like it took so long for them to announce s4, and not until like Feb 2022 bc they wanted to be certain certain. And that could apply to s5 as well. The state of the world isn't like awesome I would say... Look what happened last time? Like it sucks to be the person to say that but I think also considering delays in general, for any reason are a possibility, is also what contributes to my open mindedness about an early 2025 release.

And so based on what we should be expecting for marketing, that means that assuming s5 would somehow premiere in summer 2024, means we are already close to the one year mark, which means promo should be ramping up right now, with literal content to share? And yet we have nothing filmed...?

A lot of people have this idea that s5 is going to take as much time to film as s1 took, which is just not the case. Not saying it will take as long as s4 took, however it's still going to take a while. One of the main factors for this is an in demand cast with conflicting schedules. In a perfect world, everyone would be available all the time throughout the entire production run. Instead what you have is certain actors not available at this time, and so you have to overlap those that need scenes together and schedule according to all of that. And so even if it wouldn't take more than 7 months to film literally, adding another 4+ months might be necessary to accommodate everyones schedules so that they can have these A/B list actors be able to film scenes together.

And then there’s editing and VFX to account for, happening during filming yes, but also with them needing months to focus on AFTER filming is complete. S5 is arguably going to have more VFX than any other season, as most of the season is expected to be surrounded by UD conditions and with the final battle being pretty epic with a 3 headed dragon potentially. Editing is more likely to be 7+ months post filming AT LEAST, vs. like the 4 or less, which is what I think everyone is imagining and telling themselves.

This is also the last season and so they obviously want to focus on the quality, not their ability to churn it out as fast as possible. Rushing for a quick release is just setting themselves up to flop.

The story is over forever after this (excluding spin-off prospects). It would make sense for them to give themselves the wiggle room to make it perfect (the stakes are so fucking high you guys), as opposed to rushing the entire time just to have it release as early as possible.

This also reminds me of what Noah said when asked about s5 premiering in 2024, where he basically just deflected and said that they want to focus on quality… essentially hinting at the fact that it’ll probably not be soon as we’re expecting, but we’re better off for it bc it gives them time to ensure it's the best that it can be and also is just realistic in terms of considering potential unplanned delays.

And then there are the strike implications. While I think the ST production is lucky in that they wouldn't be impacted as much as other productions, that doesn't mean the solidarity won't impact other parts of the production beyond just the writers. This is an industry where people are extremely overworked and underpaid, where a strike could be on the horizon at any moment. And we’re out here telling them hey i know the conditions are horse shit, but I'm gonna need you to step it up and experience even worse conditions bc I need s5 asap... which is just, it’s asking too much if I’m being honest.

Not trying to rain on anyone’s parade here. I know it sucks hearing that it could be another 1 year and 10 months. But lets be serious right now.

All the action that happens in the fandom, building up to the release is arguably just as exciting as the actual premiere and I think we overlook that. Again, once it premieres, it's over. So being so hellbent that it comes as soon as possible, is built on this idea that getting it is the only worthwhile part of this experience, which couldn't be further from the truth. Hiatus and all of the activity that happens during that time is what makes this experience so unique and without it, none of us would be here.

I think realistically, the timeline for s5 production is likely to look something like filming taking place from May 2023-Feb 2024 (giving them AT LEAST 10 months, but if you ask me srs i think it'll take 12...). We should get an announcement post from the official Netflix/ST social media accounts the very day filming starts.

As time passes and they're filming more and more, we will start to get teasers and sneak peaks from the little bit they have filmed from the earlier episodes in the season. Technically they can't spoil that later stuff too much in promotion, so it does work out for us in that sense.

But in all honesty, well planned out and detailed promo is likely to not start getting official until this fall when they’ll actually have at least (hopefully) over half of s5 filmed, and be planning ahead plenty in advance so all of the promo leading up to the release is well thought out.

I won’t rule out Fall 2024. But there are no Friday dates in fall 2024 that ring any bells to me as being the perfect day? Maybe Winter 2024? Or like January/Feb 2025?

The problem is Netflix loves ST for their summers... But summer 2024 is too soon and Summer 2025 is too late imo...

So what it will likely come down to is them trying to be realisitic about their options, and how to ideally get it to match with the setting of the show, which is something they have tried to do with s2-3, but couldn't in s4 (for obvious reasons), and so I definitely see them thinking ahead to try to bring back that approach for s5 if they are able to.

So filming, best case scenario, ends maybe Jan-Feb 2024. If we give them at least 7 months, which is still arguably rushing to me, that lands them in September 2024.

BUT if they were smart they would be realistic and just plan for late 2024/early 2025 so that they don't have to keep delaying... also why they haven't announced a date/year... if it was for certain going to be 2024, they would say it. But they aren't. That alone should tell us they are not willing to make that commitment bc it's not something that can be made when there are so many impromptu factors at play.

I imagine a scenario though honestly, where it takes them a year (12 months to film), so they won't be done until May 2024, which means that they would have until January 2025 to edit with 7 months for that strictly. And that just honestly feels realistic to me to look at instead of hoping that everything just is swift and fast as possible.

Not to mention ST5 2025 just fits.

However, I don't see anything wrong with hoping for late 2024, since as of now I think it is still possible.

But I also think, keeping all of the factors in mind, most notably a potential strike and also them ensuring quality over a speedy release, I think 2025 is something people should also be prepared for as a possibility.

The good news is that we'll know eventually as s5 starts filming and as time goes on.

If filming is complete in 2023 then we could definitely hope for a fall 2024 release. If filming isn't complete officially until early/mid 2024, then pack up your duffel bags bc we're going back to spring break...

#byler #stranger things #stranger things 5 #st promo #st5 preditioncs #i had this in my drafts but bc that rumor from that source #i felt the need to post this #i always get passive aggressive asks when i try to explain why it would be valid for a 2025 release #and i get that people just want it #like i do too #but lets remember we want this shit to be epic crazy good #and we want them to be able to sleep and eat and live not on god awful conditions to succeed in that #marketing is going to go crazy for the final season also #it's going to be like every other season combined #and there there's the potential implications of a 2 vol release....#hell we could get vol 1 in 2024 and vol 2 and 2025 #idk how they'd do it #but 2 vol seems like a major possiblity #and i personally enjoyed getting to theorize in between #i'm sure netflix enjoyed having hype for a show last over 5 months instead of 1-2 at most #it would make sense for them to what to apply that model for the last season of their most memorable series in history...#so that's another thing to consider in terms of release possibilities #AND THEN LETS NOT FORGET ABOUT THE MOVIE DNA BOARD LIKE COME ON WE WILL BE SWAMPED WHEN THAT DROPS #AND THAT COULD LITERALLY DROP WITH IN THE NEXT MONTH TO 5 MONTHS OR SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN?#or not at all...#we are not ready regardless of thinking we are #which is the best part honestly #we are not ready!!!

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theresattrpgforthat · 6 months

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Hi, I recently saw a game that used cribbage scoring for resolution, I know I've dabbled with craps as resolution, and hands of blackjack/poker have been a common diceless alternative for years, but are you aware of any other interesting uses for "classic" games as part of a ttrpg's core mechanics?

THEME: Classic Games - Remixed

Hello there! I’m assuming that the cribbage game you are talking about is Hey Boss, by Zaftikat, which is inspired by Nimona! Let’s see what else we can find. It was easy to find poker hands as methods of resolution, but I did find a few that use a different game!

Headcanon, by radiantfracture.

All the apocalypses blur together, but this one could be special.

In which our heroes play collaborative poker for their fates and the fate of the multiverse. …No pressure.

In Headcanon, the two(ish) of you – friends, enemies, allies, lovers, all of the above – play out the final episode of the Eternal Show, a nearly infinite low-budget horror-speculative-fiction-suspense-medical-drama-police-procedural-apocalyptic TV series.

In this low-prep ttrpg, players create collaborative poker hands to determine their characters’ actions and the success or failure of the scene.

If you want some two-player fun with poker hands and some inspiration, you might want to check out Headcanon. You’ll start by deciding what’s canon - where is the story set? Who are the factions at play? What does the end of the world look like? You’ll use cards from the deck to help you narrow down some of the options, as well as create characters for each of you. You’ll then play establishing hands that flesh out some details about the beginning of the episode - what happened to your characters, and how they’re feeling about it. Then recap a bit and try to determine what brought your characters to this moment. You’ll play through 5 acts using a shared hand in order to create a narrative, with actions available depending on the number of the card you played, ending in a final scene where you get to decide how it all goes down.

If you paid for the TTRPGs for Reproductive Rights Bundle a year or two ago, you already own this game. If you want a game that gives you and a friend the chance to make the season finale you’ve always wanted, you might want to check out this game!

Howdy, Stranger, by NumberNine.

This is a wild west RPG that uses blackjack as a resolution mechanic. The first thing this gives you is a new way to resolve actions - the Dealer and the player each play a hand of blackjack. The Dealer always hits on a 16 or lower; on a 17, they stand. If you win the hand, you did it! If you lose, you run into complications. If you get blackjack, not only do you win, but the dealer adds a twist that makes you even more awesome.

The game also has a little bit of structure around character creation and combat, using card values to assign numbers to three skills, and more cards to determine how long you last in a gun fight. Finally, it gives you a starting scenario, with a mysterious death and a number of rumours for the players to follow up on. If your game group already has a comfortable style of play, you could plop this in and take it for a spin - if you’re a new group or new to GM-ing, I’d recommend something else with a little more guidance.

Rowan Queen Blues, by Vyrdine.

Rowan Queen Blues is a game for the 2022 Cover Game Jam, under the theme of Rituals & Folklore. Three players work together as The Rowan Queen, a single authority [though not necessarily a single person] attempting to lead her people to safety against the oncoming threat of the Darkness.

What I like about this game is that it gives you digital tarot cards to play with if you don’t have your own deck. The game also comes with the basic rules of cribbage, in case you’re unfamiliar with it. This is a game of three-player cribbage, using prompts from the tarot deck to help spark the creativity as you play. What exactly the darkness is (and who the Queen is) looks to be up to you.

DROWWORD, by Ursidice.

The Drow – sometimes known as Trow or Dtrow – are mischievous sprites with pale skin and dark hair that inhabit the Orkney Islands. At night, when the moonlight paints the earth, they emerge from their drowie knowes to sneak into nearby towns, causing mischief and stealing items to take home to their burrows. They love music and are particularly beguiled by songs and stories, drawing the power for their tricksy magick from written and spoken words. As they run through the darkened streets and across the wild cliffs, they draw letters from their sporrans to cast spells on those who would spot them or stand in their way.

DROWWORD is a mini RPG that uses Scrabble tiles instead of dice, where you play as naughty dark elves trying to steal as many shiny trinkets as possible!

The basic method of resolution in this game relies on drawing letter tiles and counting how many you need to get 10 points. The less you need to draw, the better - but if you draw too many, you can always try to negate it by spelling a word! This replicates the drows’ use of magic as an attempt to save themselves from failure. It’s a simple little game with plenty of opportunity for mischief!

hook, line, & cyb3r, by satah.

a go fish-powered cyberpunk-flavoured game of blade-wielding bounty hunters, originally developed for the fishblade 2023 game jam

a zero prep, GMless, pick-up-&-play one shot of dastardly neon-tinged montages, leaning on mechanics you've known like your entire life & a vast array of generative tables to slide you effortlessly into playing out the chaotic professional lives of shadowrunners, bounty hunters, or some other type of high tech dystopic gig economy adjacent freelance criminals for hire.

You'll still need some d6's to play this game, but the basic rules use the mechanics of Go Fish. The suits of cards represent four different kinds of intel, which you'll need to gather to build a scenario. Using the cards and some roll tables, you don't need a GM, because the story is partially generated! If you want to play a roleplaying game with friends but nobody has a lot of time or mental energy to learn a new ruleset, I recommend hook, line, & cyb3r.

Go Directly To Jail, by Typhos Games.

Go Directly to Jail is a game of prison break. Two agents have each been asked by a different crime syndicate to rescue one of their members from the Elmira Correctional Facility in New York State. This maximum security prison houses some of the worst mobsters in the entire world, and you've been tasked with breaking one of them out.

Two players will take turns moving around the board, and will alternate acting as their character and as the narrator. Both players are trying to get in and get out as quickly as possible, but don't get in each other's way!

This game uses the pieces of Monopoly, but not necessarily all of the rules. The board becomes a prison, out of which both of you are trying to escape. You use Monopoly money to represent assets, that you can use to overcome Obstacles rather than attempting to roll for it. It doesn’t matter what version of Monopoly you use - although I think it would be very fun to re-skin the setting based off of the Monopoly board you use!

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #dnd #game recommendations #asks #indie ttrpg

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lastweeksshirttonight · 8 months

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I've been recapping Strike Force Five both for my followers who can't access or don't really have time to listen to the episodes, and also for myself to get more comfortable with longform writing, something I was doing as well with reviews of S1 episodes of Last Week Tonight. (I promise I will keep doing those, I know they keep falling by the wayside.) Going into episode three of the show, I know I have to address Jimmy Fallon and his toxic workplace, the news of which dropped as I was listening to the third episode of SFF for the first time. Putting this below the cut, and I'm going to be mentioning toxic workplaces, alcoholism, and maybe getting more personal than I need to again, so trigger warning for those.

To start, every worker deserves a safe, non-toxic workplace. This is the LEAST a company can do for their employees as far as I'm concerned. The things a toxic workplace will do to your mental and physical health are things I don't wish on anyone, and things I'm still wrestling with after being two years removed from one of the worst environments I was ever in. The stories that Fallon's staffers tell ring extremely true, from weaponized HR to cruel, dehumanizing showrunners/CEOs, and crying rooms. I want the best for them and hope, despite the very bad "I'm sorry if you were offended" apologies given by NBC staff and Fallon, that there are concrete efforts taken to provide them with a much better, safer workplace. Those apologies don't give me much hope right now, unfortunately.

The other thing is that I really hope Fallon commits to some sort of treatment for his obvious alcoholism. It's been an open secret for decades at this point - the article dances around it but anyone with even a modicum of knowledge about the New York comedy scene knows this. Again, I don't wish alcoholism on anyone. It's a horrible, destructive disease. But I don't think that the culture rot at Late Night can be fully addressed unless Fallon makes an effort to get help.

I've struggled with excessive social drinking and alcoholism runs in my family. It's almost impossible to get out of that hole until you realize you need to make the change. I hope this is the push to get him out of that hole. This isn't me trying to avoid holding him accountable for his part in making his show so toxic, far from it. This is me, coming from a similar place where I had to work incredibly hard to rebuild my life because of the shitstain behavior I perpetuated while drunk, recognizing someone that needs to do the same work to make things right in some way.

I thought about making this part of the recap for Strike Force Five episode 3, but it didn't feel appropriate. I don't know if I will recap the third episode, honestly, and if I do, it won't likely be for a bit, or at least until I know what the future of this podcast is. Last week, episodes dropped on Wednesday and Saturday, and there's noticeably no fourth episode as of today (Sunday). The part of this that sucks is that listening to the show DOES help the staff of all these late-night shows monetarily, including Fallon's, and I want to continue to support them. (Because it will come up, I do financially donate to multiple strike funds as well. You should do the same, if you're in a position to.) It's, understandably, a mess.

In the end, I just really want things to improve for Fallon's staff. It'll take a lot of work, but it's not impossible to turn things around.

#strike force five #lee's stream of consciousness #jimmy fallon #john oliver #stephen colbert #jimmy kimmel #seth meyers #tw: alcoholism #i may delete this later just bc i don't know if anyone genuinely wanted my thoughts on this #i just needed to get the thoughts out

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raptorsgust · 7 months

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hello! so i was lucky enough to snag a ticket to the tgcf donghua s2 fan screening right here in singapore, so here's a short report on the happenings! under the read more as there will be spoilers including those from the novel

arrived at around 1:20pm and it already looked like a full house! lots of people queueing at the photobooths and stuff, LOTS of cosplayers, mainly hualian and beefleaf. after a while i asked an usher about the merch booth but it was already closed due to the long queue, so i just went to find my seat which was near the back (in front of a bunch of cosplayers haha)

the hall had at least eight screens but none were positioned in a way where i didn't have to turn/crane my neck lol i can still feel the strain

the screening itself started at about 10 minutes past 2pm! we first had some voice actor greetings first, both of shi qingxuan's voice actors seemed to have received the loudest cheers from my pov! all of them ended their greeting with 天官赐福，百无禁忌

there was also a quick announcement of another tgcf collab cafe in 2024! sg just keeps winning and winning

after that we finally started the screening with a recap of s1 starting from the cart scene all through the banyue arc. xie lian's lines were all newly voiced by his new voice actor deng youxi, and he sounded alright to me! (note: not 100% sure that he did replace jgt's voicing but that's what i remember, correct me if im wrong!)

more than an hour of s1 later, we smoothly transitioned into the first episode of s2, and the following are some highlights and points:

s2 is still based on the unrevised novel as far as i can tell

everyone loves shi qingxuan!!

ghost city is very extravagant and fun! lots of quirky ghosts, there's joss paper flying around everywhere

xl's 不举 was omitted even though it's already rated m18 lol

the part where hc teaches xl to shake the dice has a lot of hand touching and cute reactions from the ghosts and sqx and lqq

a LOT of teasing leading up to the reveal of hc's true form, they'd show part of his face, his hand, his boots, and when he stepped out from behind the curtain and xl laid eyes on him for the first time there were shoujo bubbles

also A LOT OF SCREAMING FROM THE AUDIENCE tbh it was already loud enough throughout the gambling scene it was just hilarious

frankly i couldn't see hc clearly cuz, bad seat, but we all know how he looks like anyway

idk if it's just mE but the audio of the entire screening had its pitch raised, all the songs were a key higher, everyone sounded higher-pitched...... to ward people from secretly recording it?

feels bad for fulgur cuz it feels like most of the audience didn't care about him? half of them left their seats for the photobooths during his q&a segment

quiz time was interesting......

for "what is hc's weapon?" the host accepted the answer E-Ming, as in the person who answered said cAPITAL LETTER OF THE ALPHABET E which i would personally not accept as correct but o wells

the last question was "what did hc give to xl at the end of s1?" and the lucky person who answered very precisely said "his ashes in the form of a ring" and the host went aRe YoU sUrE and tried to make us recall an oBjEcT and i think we were all second-guessing ourselves there lmao please get a host who did their homework next time

pretty sure that was a huge spoiler for donghua-only fans tho HAHA

after the event was over i hung around texting friends and then tried to see if the merch booth was available but all the nice merch was sold out, and frankly just thinking of trying the queues at the photobooths was mentally draining so i just left haha

overall it was a great experience! watching and reacting together with so many other fans is truly a rare experience and despite going solo i had fun!

excellent door gifts too, the acrylic stand is of great quality and is now set up and sitting on my mxtx shelf~

#tgcf #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #天官赐福 #tgcf donghua #tgcf donghua s2 #hua cheng #xie lian #shi qingxuan #lang qianqiu #idk how tumblr works anymore hopefully the formatting is alright

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saltygilmores · 7 months

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Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls- Season 2, Episode 22 (Last Episode of the Season). "I Can't Get Started" Part 4

Aaaaand we've finally arrived at the finish line for Season 2. I began recapping this season on November 25th, 2022, the day after Thanksgiving...310 days ago. SaltyGilmores! SaltyGilmores! Can you tell us a little about how you're feeling as you prepare to begin season 3?

You ever watch a Stars Hollow crowd scene on Gilmore Girls and go, who the hell are all these people and where did they come from?

This is so ridiculously corny and cute. This is what we live for. This is what Gilly Girls is all about. You ever see some of the spicy tight and low cut blouses Lane wears on this show and wonder how Mrs Kim ever allowed her out of the house? I'm asking the important questions today.

R: I'm about to cheat on your ass so hard your head will spin. I am gonna kiss my stepcousin so hard.

D: (pointing to Miss Patty, Babette, and the Stars Hollowans gathered around the piano) How many cocktails caused that? R: None, but when they start drinking we're going to have to hide you. One of ASP's favorite recurring jokes is the one where Miss Patty, left to her own devices, would inevitably try to force herself sexually onto Jess and Dean; it's unclear in this scenario whether that is the threat or if it's "we're gonna have to hide you or she'll make you sing.". But I can take a guess here.

There's another sexual predator who loves tall pretty teenage boys lurking around this wedding that you should be more concerned about.

Dean gets a "We're calling to discuss your car's extended warranty" call and pretends it's someone important on the line so he can keep fooling Rory into thinking he actually has a life. Uh, anyway, it's Paris? Calling Dean's phone? Alright.Rory asks Paris how she got Dean's number but It's never explained. Paris is a wizard.

Sookie is having her wedding on a Friday afternoon. It is a Friday and Rory is not in school (AGAIN!), Dean, Lane and Jess are not at school (AGAIN), Rory is missing ELECTION DAY at school where she may potentially be elected Vice President, Lorelai is not working and making Michel fill in for her, there are dozens of other people attending this wedding who are not working, IT'S A FRIDAY AFTERNOON NO ONE IS WORKING (EXCEPT MICHEL) OR GOING TO SCHOOL THEY'RE ALL AT THIS WEDDING. Also, everyone is DRUNK on a Friday afternoon. Well I can't hate on that. What else is there to do in the Hollow besides drink away your troubles? Headmaster Charleston: Miss Gilmore, would you care to explain these multiple unexcused absences? Rory: Well, two weeks ago I ditched school to take a bus to new york city to eat wieners with my cousin and this week I skipped school to go to my mother's friend's wedding which she scheduled for the middle of the afternoon on a Friday, and I had to stick to my agenda of going to the wedding and kissing my cousin. Paris doesn't directly say that GellerMore won, but Rory thinks it's implied (and we already know they win). She proceeds to notifiy Dean. Who is just...over the moon upon hearing the news.

Well...okay. Fine. I'll take it. Where's the angry posseiveness? Like the time Rory wanted to spend time away from him volunteering? Or spend one night away from him doing her laundry? Or spend an hour eating lunch with Jess? Or.. It's probably because this time there are witnesses around, although that would imply Dean actually has some level of self awareness that his behavior is inappropriate. Speaking of Inappropriate...

Well, that answers THAT question.

...Says the sexual predator, as she drools over him like a dog eyeing a well cooked 6'4 steak.

Don’t drag my girl Babette into this, she's devoted to her Morey. Unlike you two beasts, Lorelai and MP, she has some standards).

Chris Hansen would have a field day at this wedding with all these predators in one place. Why does Crusty's suit look like it's incredibly ill fitting? Maybe it's just me.

STOP IT!!!! I COMMAND YOU TO STOP IT!!!

Lorelai and Crusty are shamelessly swapping spit in the middle of her friend’s wedding reception, sullying the virgin eyes of Rory and a minister and Sookie and God and Lane and everyone else. Lore to Crusty: Stop looking at me like that or everyone here will think we did it! Pretty rich coming from soneone who looks at Dean Forrester the same way. I HATE that I'm recapping this FILTH and don't know WHY I'm doing it. Crusty (before Lorelai's parents walked up and mercifully interrupted them) Do you feel embarrased about last night? Sorry about it? Want to repeat it?

IN FRONT OF HER GOSH DANG MOTHER/GRANDMOTHER OF HIS CHILD. Disgusting, filthy, shameless psychopaths.

Dat's a good question.

I mean, it's a half truth, at least. Now you wanna tell your Mom how he used his daughter's medical appointment as a springboard to dive straight into your pants?

Has he now? Golly gee whillikers, I must have missed that part, must've happened in between all the rounds of projectile vomitting I've been doing.

Lorelai, with the world's worst poker face as she daydreams about her next Crusty Porking, convinces Emily that Christopher is only here to spend more time with Rory and Emily is like well isn't that nice. Are we really supposed to believe Emily is that fucking stupid?

Let's check back in with some of the more non-loathsome residents of the Hollow. Take it away Kirk! Then take ME away. Please.

Rory, for your own sanity and wellbeing, please keep your mind unsullied and pure and don't ask your crusty father questions like this.

Oh Rory. Oh my poor sweet innocent bubs, Rory.

Nobody owns calendars in the Hollow, I suppose. Please see my throbbing, rock hard photographic proof above that this wedding is happening on a Friday. (Not to mention, if it was Sunday...Paris is at school?) I will have to squeeze the remaining four minutes (The Jess Minutes) into one final post. After I mop up my barf. Toodles.

#gilmore girls #denise rewatches gilmore girls #gilmore girls season 2 #rory gilmore #crusty #DALA #anti dean forester #anti crusty #I cant get started

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kurisus · 7 months

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Link Click Season 2: Thoughts

Just a post of everything that's been going through my head over the course of this season. First reflections, then theories for next time. Spoilers for all episodes under the cut, obviously. This is also so long Tumblr started glitching out on me, so I hope it reads well~

LU GUANG TIME TRAVELER THEORY REAL BITCHESSSSSS

I know literally everyone had figured this out already but the execution of it was sooooo satisfying. It was to the point where if that wasn't where they were going with him, I wasn't sure what their plans were, and then everything fell into place just perfectly.

I genuinely don't have anything bad to say about that last episode. It was perfectly done in every way, and I'm super excited to see the next season play out--after we get some much-needed conflict establishment in that prequel, whatever it is.

As for the rest of the season though...I agree with the stuff I've seen about the pacing being a sore spot. It didn't ruin the season for me, but the constant recapping of scenes we've already seen + long fight scenes that didn't advance the plot was just kind of frustrating especially watching this weekly as I did and knowing I wasn't going to get answers this time. Episode 2 was the weakest for this, imo, since it felt like half of the episode was made of scenes from the first and the CXS + QL fight, while cool, didn't really do much for me. It felt like I was watching the chimera ant arc from HXH all over again, sometimes.

I've also seen takes that they forced the length of each episode to end on a cliffhanger but I kinda disagree? Season 1 had cliffhangers too, and the episodes were a little shorter. They could have shortened the episodes (to not repeat scenes and not draw out the fights) and still ended on cliffhangers, and I kind of expected those since again they were common in the first season. If I expect anything from Link Click, it's that they'll find a way to make a cliffhanger out of it.

I don't really have an issue with most of the season taking place in a single day either (again...chimera ant arc...literal peak fiction, but holy shit it took like 10 episodes to cover 1 minute in real-time but it wouldn't have been so effective if it didn't take its time), although it is a bit of a change from the first season, which was spread out over months. I rationalize it as the cases themselves happened within 12 hours, so this was kind of just one longer and more detailed case.

The director said he was going for a suspense angle this season rather than heartwrenching, and in that regard I think he succeeded. I didn't cry this season, but I did feel very stressed out the whole time, and the middle chunk of episodes simply flew by every week. They felt 5 minutes long. I have a feeling the next season will balance the best of both worlds--plot-relevant suspense with heartwrenching moments, kind of like the final scene of this season.

So yeah, a sore spot, not really a dealbreaker. I did read the interview with Li Haolin where he acknowledged the pacing issues and said he'll try to do better next season, which I really appreciated. I've seen it happen too often where the following season is too far into production or the showrunner thinks they're above criticism, and the show drops in quality as a result. I think season 3 will be the best yet, but I'm also scared by him saying the main story and ending are set in stone--what are they gonna do to us? How many seasons will they go on? I'd rather have the story come to its natural conclusion than be dragged on because it's popular.

Moving on, I liked the way they used the time travel powers this season to figure out more about the people chasing them, and to give Chen Bin some closure. Basically in a way that was plot relevant as opposed to exposition, although I wish they'd used their powers more in the back half. I thought it was a cool utilization of what we already know.

I liked the new characters we got this season, esp the parts revolving around the twins (and episode 9!!! it was so artsy!!!!). They made for very compelling characters, and I think Qian Jin will be back for more. Though I feel like the Li Tianchen we got was a bit different than his presentation last season where he was a childish, but highly intelligent, serial killer who is single-minded in his ruthlessness. This version seems to be struggling with his own motivations, mainly because his sister didn't follow him down the same path and he doesn't trust the guy giving him orders. It's a more rounded character, but not as compelling of a villain. I'm excited to see what happens when he teams up with Liu Xiao, though, since I have a feeling LX is going to be like my original interpretation of LTC. Redemption arc for LTC? Or will he get worse?

And what was up with Captain Xiao telling the main characters he was planning to resign once he caught Chen Bin's killer, then announcing he was promoted at the end? I know technically Tianchen is still at large, but cmon, he got a promotion for getting his colleagues killed? They should have just omitted the line about him resigning, tbh.

In terms of expectations vs reality for this season, I tried not to have expectations because I didn't want to be let down, but I sort of developed them anyway. My sole expectation was "challenge the idea that death is unchangeable" which they did get to--but only at the very beginning with LG's flashback, and then again in the last episode when they gave more context to it, so it wasn't the focus. This is because my vision for the season was one in which CXS experiences LG's death, then rewinds time to try to fix it, each time getting a step closer to solving the mystery. We didn't end up getting that because he remembered his character development, but I do kind of wonder what that would have been like. Maybe a little too close to Steins;Gate, and then I'd have been disappointed that they did the same thing as another time travel show I love, lol.

In any case, it seems they're going to do that next season. Or the following. However long it takes for them to elaborate on whatever the hell it is that Lu Guang did.

I also felt like they were going to go back in time to when CXS thought LG was dead and absolutely broke down, and how much of that was just a miscommunication, except this time he would be dead for real. But the more I think about it, the more it seems unlikely with the direction the story has been heading. Instead, LAN was simply trolling us with LG's fate for 2 years and pulled a switcharoo that CXS was the one we should fear for next? idk I want them to go back to the absolute despair of thinking your partner/best friend/boyfriend died while you were separated, but not hit the brakes on it so quickly.

Which brings me to my next concern--because of how everything happened so close together, the main characters didn't have much time to process everything that happened to them since last time. Qiao Ling didn't reflect much on her being possessed and stabbing someone she thinks of as a friend (remember how she screamed when she saw the blood on her hands? I wanted more of that), CXS and LG didn't get to talk about LG being stabbed, almost dying, and then kidnapped, also while thinking he was dead for a few hours there; and CXS didn't get a breather after being thrown into an extremely intense domestic violence situation unexpectedly, and coming out of it nearly collapsing. Because of the short timeskip at the end of the season, it seems like they may just skip over this and leave these conversations between seasons. Or the trauma they endured may come back up in new and spicy ways. I'll be interested to see what they do, but I'm going to be kind of bummed if they don't talk about any of what happened to each other, since that was such a big part of season 1.

So from reflections, on to theories...After watching episode 2, I developed a theory that I will lay out here because of how much I got right. Yes, I'm gonna brag a bit:

I was right about Cheng Xiaoshi dying originally and Lu Guang apparently having both sets of powers, as seen when he clapped back in time, but the rest I have a few questions about.

First, the matter of the powers. I've seen a lot of people saying powers are passed when their user dies, but I don't think they are because I don't know how CXS would have powers in the present day unless a whole character we don't know about died in his arms before he even met LG. I also don't believe that Tianxi is dead either (they didn't show me a body and I won't believe it until I see one), so while I think it's possible QL has her powers and doesn't realize it, she didn't transfer them with death.

Next, how many times has LG rewound time? My gut feeling was that this is his first time because of how much has changed this time around. He didn't know about Tianchen and vice versa, so either CXS died before the twins came into the picture or the timeline has changed enough that now other people with powers are involved when they weren't before. Then again, he leapt so far back in the timeline (that basketball game) it wouldn't surprise me if none of the show's canon was part of the original timeline.

Third, how did CXS die? And who killed him? Maybe it was LX, maybe it was QJ (thinking of how LG's first instinct when meeting the guy was to try to LITERALLY PUNCH HIM TO DEATH), maybe it was someone we haven't met yet...I think we can agree he was murdered, though, and it wasn't an accidental death. Perhaps he was shot, perhaps stabbed, but more than anything I'm interested to see how that unfolds since LG seems to feel responsible and I have to wonder how much is survivor's guilt and how much is because he caused it.

Fourth, if death is a node that can be changed, would it have saved CXS's life if LG had died there? The times we've seen the timeline change, the same person still died at roughly the same time, but the circumstances got altered. I'm thinking here of Emma's death changing from suicide to murder (? I haven't rewatched season 1 since before season 2 started so I could be wrong), and Chen Bin going from jumping off the roof while possessed to losing the possession but being pushed (we saw the door closing on him originally). If someone else had killed themselves at that time, would he still be alive? It seems strange the laws would work as "someone has to die, it doesn't matter who." The only way I can think of this idea working in the context of our main duo is if CXS and LG are somehow the same person and all I can say is, god I hope not lmao, but then what was up with LG thinking "better me than him"?

Fifth, CXS apparently died on September 13 (or September 12, since LG leaped 5 minutes after midnight), but season 1 skipped right over that date and the end and this whole season took place in late October (going by the dates. I have seen the posts about time being broken, though, so let's see if that was stuff changing in the writing process without being fixed or something intentional). Was LG really able to delay his death by a whole month (causing a major timeline shift), or do we still have most of a year left before it happens? CXS was wearing his season 1 outfit when he died, but that could very well be a red herring.

Sixth, does LX have powers? I think he must, but what are they? How much does he know (ie just that the timeline is being fucked with, or does he know who is doing it?), and is he working for a higher power to "fix" time or simply himself? How will Tianchen help him achieve his goals? To me it seems likely LX is aware of other people with powers since he appeared to give advice to Tianchen in a crucial hour, then was in the same foreign country as our main two. Maybe he keeps tabs on all power users, or maybe he actually knows the main two personally but they don't know he's the one after them. He's certainly wise beyond his years is all I can say for now.

My post got so long Tumblr is yelling at me about a character limit, so that's why there's a break here. To the next text block~

I'm curious to see how much of what happened this season will be changed, nullified, or otherwise wiggled around in the timeline. Since it seems like a lot of this didn't happen in the original timeline, what of CXS possessing LG? Were those inconsistencies (how the window was broken, the phone being faceup/facedown, the password knowledge being only incidental) a result of animation errors or small shifts in the timeline? Will these things be important later? Until they say otherwise, my resting theory is that LG took that photo and used his power to read forward into time, see the boat's location, and send it to QL, and the actual hospital breakout was him originally. We have seen now that he can fight.

Link Click's time travel has always been less rules more vibes to me so I don't mind if these inconsistencies don't end up being important after all, but all the same it will he cool if they are.

That scene of CXS and QL as little kids is very precious to me, but it just occurred to me that took place before they knew LG and thus before he started fucking with the timeline. How much of pre-series canon will be changed as a result, ie those memories QL has? We still don't know anything about CXS's parents either, so both of these things may get overwritten in the timeline. Imagine a timeline where CXS was completely lonely...

QJ was built up as a villain a lot this season so I wouldn't be at all surprised if he busted out of prison in the second half or the end of next season. Another one for LX to manipulate? Will he be the one getting him out?

Does QL have powers now? It seems like Tianxi gave her powers at the end there, but she hasn't realized it yet. I was kinda hoping she doesn't since I'd prefer one of the three remains "normal," but if that's the direction they're taking, I trust they'll do something interesting with it, especially since that power is required for Tianchen to kill people.

Speaking of, I'm super excited to find out what will happen when CXS inevitably discovers what LG has been keeping from him. Maybe QL will confront LG first and the two of them will try to figure things out, only for CXS to feel doubly betrayed that the two closest friends he has in his life know he's died and haven't said anything about it to him, and have been actively trying to prevent his death again. The angst fallout with that will be delicious. I'm also thinking of the shot in the season 2 OP of QL turning her back on him once the song reverses, hmmm.

LTC only became aware of CXS in the first place because when he was talking to Emma on the bridge, he said he's a time traveler and gave his name. So, it's a loop, but we have yet to see how LTC figured out where CXS worked and learned who his friends are to go after Xu Shanshan. Will LG reach the same conclusion and somehow cause that action to be undone, and will that in turn affect LX's perception of events?

All in all, despite some issues with the pacing of season 2 dragging it down and making it not quite as good as season 1, I still really enjoyed it and thought the music especially was a big upgrade from what was already so good (VORTEX, Until It Dies, and Mastermind will be on loop for a while longer). I also had a great time checking the tags regularly for fanart, gifsets, and theories, and I'm excited to see what unhinged theories we'll develop by the time season 3 rolls around. Until then, see ya in the prequel!

#Link Click #shiguang daili ren #时光代理人 #this is so LONG hdkjfhkjd sorry but POV you're my friend on Discord and waking up to these half-baked thoughts every morning #these are at least more formulated than that #shoutout to my friends for supporting my insanity tho. yall are real ones #live update

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whumpslist · 1 year

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A bunch of answers 4 and recap

Hi everyone,

I’m sorry for my lack of answers, I’m trying to keep up with the current airing whumps’ lists but also completing the finished shows’ one and the new seasons’ episodes’ ones:

* The current airing shows’ lists are all updated: Law & Order SVU, The Flash, Magnum PI, Taxi Driver; I’ll soon watch Carnival Row and update it with the first two episodes aired as well;

* I am doing a whumpslist for Will Trent, which is currently airing, and the books by Karin Slaughter the TV show is based on, I'm still undecided whether to publish it or wait to complete them all. What would you prefer?;

* I have to update the Titans' list with the first part of the fourth season;

* I’ve finally updated the Prodigal Son's list with the second season (I will reblog it right after this post); The Boys' one has already been updated with the third season;

* I’ve recentely updated Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan and Strike (TV show and books) too, and posted a new K-list, The Veil;

* I have started to watch the second season of The Witcher (I’ve watched the prequel Blood Origin and enjoyed it so much);

* I have K-drama The K-2 list to complete from... forever, I will gather my courage to finish it and goodbye one of my favorite character; same for The Musketeers, only a bunch of episodes left to review...

You can find all the lists and the links into the Whumpslist’s links Sheet here. Plus, I've made another sheet to include all my gifs, short clips and audios posted as Tumblr allows only a certain amount to links into a single post.

-- . .- -. .-- .... .. .-.. .

Meanwhile I’ve received many messages, I’ll gather the answers here into a single post.

Have you ever seen doctor who or torchwood? cuz they have a lot of whump, especially jack harkness

Doctor Who would take an eternity to be watched from the first episode, besides it’s not my kind of show so I’ve never watched it. Neither Torchwood, and that’s because I don’t like John Barrowman very much.

in your endeavor post, what ep was the second to last gif from?

Hi Anon, I suppose you mean the post of January 12th. It’s from Endeavour 1.00 “The Origins of Inspector Morse" when he’s listening at the Rosalind Galloway’s disc.

Ooo have you watched ER I’ve wanting a whump list for John Carter

Sorry @marahm30, I’ve never fully watched it back in the days, only some (whumpy) episodes already reported into The Whumpapedia.

I love love love your lists! Do you think you'd ever do Stargate SG1? I have a list of the daniel whump eps from the first handful of seasons, I'd be happy to help if you wanted to make a list

Maybe, @ravenwingdark, but surely not in the foreseeable future, my hands are full.

would it be possible for you to do Rise of the teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Series and the movie? I saw that you had done the 2003 version and was wondering if you would do the 2018-2020 one

You’re mistaken, @the-true-alpha-04, I’ve never watched nor compiled a list for it neither I will do it in the future, sorry @rachealwolf25.

Clay Spencer

Nope, as I’ve already answered it several times: I will not do a list for SEAL Team, I've only made a gifset for episode 2.17. Despite the potential, it’s pretty lacking in whumps (even if the last season had some improvements). The ones shown are widely reviewed in The Whumpapedia, though.

Do you know any good Chloro Man scenes from shows?

Interesting trope, Anon! Not one of my kind, so I can’t really recall some specifically, but I report it in my lists when it happens. Maybe you can use a selected filter to serch it into The Whumpapedia, though.

Could you do whump lists of…Forever, TVD, The originals, Legacies and other crime sci-fi shows?

It’s highly unlikely it will happen, sorry @anonymous-persona, especially the vampire shows, because of the immortality things, whumps are almost pointless...

Hi! would you be able to make a list for the Mandalorian? specifically pedro pascal’s character! thank you

I’ve thought of making one while I was watching it, but they are just a few, plus Pascal always wears the mask and it’s limitating.

do you know of any whump from All Saints, the '00s australian medical drama? the stabbing episode whumpypepsigal posted was amazing, but the whumpapedia doesn't have much to offer for more... i don't know if the show just isn't very whumpy or if it hasn't been combed through yet, but maybe you'd know, or people in the notes would? thanks!

Nope, I don’t know the show. After receiving your message, I’ve looked for it but I was unable to retrieve it. Please, let me know if you have more luck.

That’s all, folks!

#Thanks for the input #ask whumpslist #suggestions for whumpslist #Doctor Who #Torchwood #Endeavour #ER #Stargate SG1 #Mutant Ninja Turtles #SEAL Team #the Mandalorian #All Saints #Will Trent #recap #The K-2 #The Musketeers

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chip-and-ironicus · 1 year

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Six Feats Under’s Mouse Guard Campaign is Complete

This fall we brought it back from a production hiatus to give it a proper ending. So if you’ve been waiting to know the full scope of the thing before listening, or before sharing it with someone else, now is the time. And I really think you should.

Over 2+ years of in-game narrative, and 5 years of production (including that previously mentioned hiatus) we fully explored the possibilities of the Mouse Guard RPG, the setting as we shaped it, and our characters. Sometimes it was silly, sometimes it was sad, and always it was under the weight of history. I’ve called this campaign a “laboratory for me to test my ideas on long-form storytelling, narrative, and adaptation; made all the better by having those ideas tested and challenged by eight collaborators.“ And it is that, but it’s also very goofy and fun.

The best way to follow the campaign is at sixfeatsunder.com which has a dedicated page for each season with descriptions and character bios. You can also find Six Feats Under on any given podcast app, but the organization of the site is helpful. Both are also good places to find non-Mouse Guard stuff, like the episode on the game I designed, Last Shooting; or the Monsterhearts 2 miniseries I’m so proud of. Supplemental material, like writeups of important setting elements or a set of letters sent by NPCs for each season, are also on the show’s tumblr page, helpfully tagged.

Any given season is a good enough starting point but the very beginning is here, and has all the advantages a beginning has. Year 2 starts with a recap episode built with all you need to get up to speed as things start to get heavy. And, because I’m weird like that, I think it’s entirely valid to start with the finale, and I’m curious what that experience would be like. And the epilogue game (Part 1, Part 2) that just went live is essentially a one-shot that stands in its own right, with half the cast being new characters.

I also made a set of behind the scenes posts for the three parts of the greater big finish. Those are very bad places to start, but I’m including the link for completeness’ sake.

So that’s what I’ve been up to, in some stage or other of active production since summer 2017, and in planning since the fall before that. And every part of it was a joy to make. Each season left me prouder than the one before. All my warmest and sincerest love to the cast members and collaborators, who made each step and each element stronger and sharper than I could have imagined. And my deepest gratitude to every listener, especially those who reached out and made themselves heard, for joining us on the journey.

-Grant.

#Six Feats Under #6FU #Mouse Guard #Plug

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theemarsrover · 2 years

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I’ve been wanting to make this post for awhile but have been back and forth on it in fear that I’ll come across as a bitchy youtube comment or one of those people who are just “waiting for the death of RT/AH”.

I am neither of those.

I’ve been a part of this community, consistently, for the last 11 years. I’ve watched series, cast members, entire production teams, and offices come and go. I was here during the kickoff of the Project Freelancer arc in RvB. I started watching the same year Michael Jones was hired full time.

I know there’s a lot of opinions going around about the new editing style of YDYD and the whole ‘catering to the algorithm’ debacle. I’m not here to tell anybody what I think the right answer to this is because

1) I am not behind the scenes and I don’t have an extensive knowledge on how the algorithm works

And 2) I don’t think there is a right answer because of how often the algorithm changes

However, if Achievement Hunter is interested in feedback then I have some.

Way back in the day we had journals and forums on the Rooster Teeth website. I know a few of you remember them but for those who don’t: these journals were a way for RT to update the community about big things that were happening. Gavin and Barbara got their start in RT from being active on these forums in the company’s early days. And I stay active in this community, on this platform specifically, because it’s the closest thing to the camaraderie I felt in the old forums.

Once journals were becoming more obsolete, I transitioned into watching AHWU (and the RT Recap) weekly and got updates about what was happening in Achievement Hunter since that was the content I watched the most. AHWU gave us live action shenanigans, a tease of what videos we could expect, and other special announcements like Extra Life, live shows, new merch, livestreams, etc. etc. Then we had P.O. box openings and it really felt like those videos were a place the entire community could come together and everyone got something out of it. And, with a handful of exceptions, they were short form videos!

When life got busy for me, I knew that AHWU was the best starting off point because they told me about anything I missed, any videos that were already out, and I felt like I was still part of what was happening in the community as things were happening rather than weeks later, especially with time-sensitive announcements. AHWU was a tool I could use instead of relying on youtube’s algorithm to show me a video or having a twitter account to see announcements for a livestream.

Now with that being said, AHWU had a lot of valid reasons for ending. None of which I’m going to get into here because I don’t think bringing back AHWU as it was is the answer. What I’m highlighting here is that since the end of the series there has been a disconnect between the content/announcements that are coming out and the community not knowing they’re there or where to find them in the first place.

I listen to the Off Topic podcast where a lot of these things are announced. Sometimes it’s at the beginning of an episode, sometimes it’s not until we’re 45 minutes in. Something can be said about the fact that people aren’t watching this specifically to get AH news, people who don’t watch it probably don’t know things even get announced there, and also I don’t watch every single episode so I miss things. But I digress. This is not the only place announcements are being made. There’s announcements that happen in random twitter threads, reddit threads, instagram stories, and while that’s all well and good it’s too much to keep track of. I’ll make a post on here about a new series or a returning one and half the comments and tags are people saying they didn’t even know that series existed much less there being multiple episodes out already. Gifmakers will make a post from a video and their comments are a lot of the same.

I consider myself a fairly active member of the community, but it feels like now, if I get busy for even a week, there is so much I miss and I don’t know where to look for it because it could be anywhere or nowhere.

Like… We literally made a website to combat this issue.

I don’t know if I’m feeling this way because I’ve been a fan for so long. Am I standing on my digital lawn shaking my fist in the air at change? Maybe. But I don’t feel like I am.

Achievement Hunter is so important to me and has been for over a decade. I’m genuinely so proud of all of the things that they do, even the things they try that don’t work out. I want more people to engage in their content and be excited about what’s coming next! Unfortunately, that’s hard to do when we don’t know where to get the information in the first place.

I do not have all the answers. I only have what I can do, what I can say, and a community here that’s willing to keep the spirit alive as the seasons change.

#achievement hunter #i'm so hesitant to put this in the main tag but i just cannot be quiet about this anymore lol #anyways if you want to catch up on AH news and exciting things that are happening in the community check out our website that i linked #it's also the pinned post on my blog #long post

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popculturebuffet · 6 months

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Transcontinental Hustle: Ghosts UK and US (Commission for WeirdKev27)

Hello all you spooky people and welcome back to Trans-Contiental Hustle, my occasional look at shows and their foreign remakes to see how they compare. This is our second installment and I honestly didn't INTEND for it to be almost 9 months between these but it happens. I"ll try to do more next year. Last time I took a look at That 70's Show and it's half assed British Remake, Days Like These, which replaced a talented cast and one sex criminal with a few british specific references and... nothing else. And while a few other remakes like this have happened like Mad About You (Which I now GOTTA see) or Married With Children.. for the most part when it comes to remakes we usuallyt ake from britian. Just looking at the list on wikipedia, the breakdown for us remakes of other countries shows is... pretty lopsided

Argentina, Brazil, France,Germany, Norway, Portugal : 1 Belgium, Columbia, Denmark, New Zeland, Spain: 2 Sweden: 3 Australia: 10 Japan: 18 UK: 53

I mean I knew it'd be going in but JESUS FUCK. Combining all the other countries it STILL only adds up to 38. We steal/adapt/borrow/rob from the UK a LOT. I will try to have variety, but expect this to happen a lot. I mean Gordon Ramsey alone has MULTIPLE shows on both coasts. And yes reality shows aren't off the table.

So naturally that leads to our first US adaptaiton of a UK show, Ghosts. The original Ghosts launched in 2019 on BBC One, the newest show from acting troupe Them There, who previously did the show Horrible Histories and were looking to do something adult albeit along the lines of Blackadder or the Simpsons: meant for adults but still something older kids can enjoy. After watching an episode of who do you think you are, Co-Creator Jim Howick, was fastinated by the story of a castmember of eastenders who turned out to be related to british royalty and having already had the haunted house idea, ghosts was born. Not much later in 2021, Joe Port and Joe Wiseman , longtime sitcom producers and writers, got the job by CBS adapting it for the US, though with the british cast helping advise.

So not only are both very recent as a result both are fairly similar. In fact the two episode pilot of each show .. follow the same plot, simply with some adjustments: A late 20's early 30's woman inherits a mansion from a distant relative, said mansion has ghosts and after falling out a window finds out she can see them. Hyjinks insue. So the question is what makes these two shows unique, is one better than the other and most importantly is the american version a good adaptation. Let's find out under the cut as I break down these episodes.

As I said the basic plot for both pilots is the same, so i'll be recapping them together again.

We start with a bunch of ghosts as the lady of their manor expires, with them thinking she'll join them before she aburbtly passes on. it quickly establishes this house has ghosts, ghosts can move on and who our main casts of ghosts are

As for introducing our ghosts...it's a lot as while a lot of the ghosts have counterparts between versions, the ghosts are mostly entirely unique between versions. This is one of the things I like most about Ghosts US as an adaptation: it copies the basic premise and a few characters, but still gives most of the archetypes it borrows their own feel and recognizes that you'd have diffrent ghosts in america than britan. It also just combines the two most annoying ghosts into one person and makes him far less of a buttwhiff but we'll get to that. So i'll be throwing a lot of characters at you at once, which the series does.. but still uses a scene early on in each version of the first episode to let you get used to them. INstead I have to infodump like a motherfucker so hang on.

Our UK Ghosts are...

Kitty Highham (Lolly Adefope): An excitable ditzy black aristocrat from the late 1700s. She's your standard bubbly woman with no brains, a sterotype I thought we'd buried but it's ghost lingers here. Thomas Thorne (Matthew Bayton): A tortured poet and a character I liked at first, an overly hammy young man.. but becomes annoying once Alison, the alive lead for the US series, comes into frame as he moons over her, despite having a husband, asks her to die to join him and generally is a creep.

MP Julian Fawcett (Simon Farnaby): A disgraced politican who as the papers reporting his death accuratley call him "a sex pest". He died with his pants down, and is generally egotistical and creepy. He's annoying but ballanced by the fact that researching himself only leads to his shock that

A public figure dying during a sex act. .is only going to be remembered for that. Shocker. Even Alison has at least heard of him for that and nothing else.

Lady Fanny Button (Martha Howe-Douglas): The uptight lady of the manor whose husband horribly killed her. She's also grating, calling Allison a whore multiple times, but eventually aquesing she might be a button after all. THey smartly.. toned this the hell down in the us version but we'll get to her.

Pat Butcher (Jim Howick): A doofy camp counsler who died via a fatal case of arrow to the neck in the 1980s after a scouting accident gone wrong, and whose the nicest and most friendly of the bunch and the only one to be happy Allison's here who dosen't also want to reinact that one scene from ghostbusters.

Rogh (Laurence Rickard): Their biggest swing, a caveman who lived on the grounds and the oldest ghost. He's kinda fun but I can see why he was replaced by a slightly younger ghost in the american versoin Sir Humphrey Bone (Also Rickard): A decapitated Tudor Nobleman whose constantly having to fumble with his head The Captain (Bill Wilbond): A boisterious WWI vetran and insufferable blowhard. He's also a closted gay man which explains a LOT.

Mary (Katy Wix): A victim of the witch trials, kinda friendly just wants people to renounce satan, ironically enough.

Our American Ghosts are:

Captain Isaac Higgenfoot (Brandon Scott Jones): Our Captain counterpart who was in the revolutionary war instead. He's also far less successful in pretending to be a tough military man like The Captain was.. or that he's at all straight.

Alberta Haynes (Danielle Pinnock): A prohibition Lounge Singer. She's the rough countepart of Kitty, both being black women in fancy dresses, but that's about all they have in common, with Kitty's personality transplated to another ghost. Instead Alberta is simply boisterous, loves to sing and is fun to have around without sinking into sterotypes. Top notch reinvention.

Pete Martino (Rich Moriarty): Pat's counterpart, complete with a similar death. Out of all the ghosts he's the only one not changed really at all. Only some details in his personal life I don't need to go into got changed between versions. I'm fine with this as Pat was both one of the best parts of the UK one and they change up the backstory enough to change the stories they tell with him. Plus Scouts just.. fit both coasts too well not to have him.

Trevor Lefkowitz (Asher Goodman): A buisness bro, whose a combo of julian (buisness dude from the past (If 2000's instead of 1990s) who died with his pants down) and Thomas, but with both's worst traits gone: Trevor hits on the lady of the house, but she both brushees it off and he's not nearly as creepy about it, and he isn't you know.. asking her to kill herself. And while he'll ocasinally say sex stuff, he's not nearly as gross as julian, nor pompus and it's later revealed he didn't even die mid sex act. I wont spoil how, but I bumped into it. All in all a MUCH better character than either of his basis.

Flower (Sheila Carrasco): A hippie who died trying to huge a bear while high as balls and Kitty's full counterpart, though the spaciness I buy more due to being a flower child and works better when you have more than two POC characters and two others who aren't idiots to ballance it out. Thor (Devan Chandler Long): Our Caveman replacement, instead being a viking and a LOT of fun: his talks were a LITTLE much at first but I grew to love the guy and his boisterious attitude and little comprehnsion of how much things have changed.

Hetty Woodstone (Rebecca Wisocsky): Fanny's counterpart. Basically just her but less obnoxious. So better.

Sappisis aka Sass (Román Zaragoza): a snarky lenape native american and a faviorite of mine. The one holding the braincell out of his ghosts Crash (Hudson Thames and Alex Bonello): A greaser and our counterpart to Humphrey. Far less prominent.

It's a lot I know, and even I mostly kept up with them by their perfession or personality.

Our human leads are easier to keep track of: For the UK version there's Allison Cooper (Charlotte Richie) and her husband Mike (Kiell Smith-Byone) and for the US we have Sam (IZOmbie's Rose McIver) and Jay (former rapper and almost Aaron Burr, Utkarsh Ambudkar) Arondekar.

And here's where our first big diffrence sets in as the reason for moving into the house is different: The Coopers are trying to FIND a home but having no luck as most flats they find are awful. The Arkondar's have one.. but Sam instantly sees the benefits of moving from a cramped city apartment to a luxrious mansion in the country.

The vibe between both couples is also different: Allison suggests renovating the mansion and Mike is all on board instantly, the two happily singing along to pop as they approach in one of the best gags of the pilot as it segues from them singing goofily and adorably to the outside of the car which has the standard "your going somewhere haunted" music cue you'd expect.

In contrast Jay.. is a bit more skeptical, seeing it as Sam jumping into this and not "holy fuck we got a mansion" and wanting to flip it without thinking.. maybe she wants to do this? Or that it's worth the risk? I get pointing out how much of a money pit this idea is.. but it's also hard to like him when he's often dismissive of his wife, only agreeing to the idea after she gets hurt. It made me like him more but ther'es a genuiness to mike that Jay just dosen't have in these early episodes. Mike is more of a lovable goofus and has more chemistry with his wife. I'll say this with the caveat it might get better with time and early episodes of a series can be awkward, but Mike was the clear winner of the two. Both share the doomed ambition that they can fix an ancient house that hasn't been updated in years with the power of google and some power tools, it just fits Mike more to buy him as that overconfident.

The ghosts are happy to have new owners at first... but things turn sour once both couples plan to turn it into a bnb. So in both versions the ghosts plan is to simply haunt them out with what limited powers they have. The US version does take better advantage of this as each of the ghosts has a little trick they can do: Trevor can move stuff (as can jullian) but only with IMMENSE effort, Alberta can make sound heard, passing through the captain makes you smell smoke etc. The bbc show does use the levitation and passing thorugh thing but just not nearly as much or for as much great comedy as Jay and Sam barely notice or like it. Simple gag, but one that works.

So it's here things take a turn. Now in the US versoin, Trevor's attemtps to move a vase finally work.. but all it does is get Sam to trip on it seriously injuring her and making all the ghosts regret their actions. It's a nice humanizing moment for them, to show they didn't want to KILL anyone, just have some peace.

Allison also falls out a window.. but it's less of an accident and more of an intentional. See you know how I don't like Julian? Well while part of it is him just

Unlike Trevor his harming sam is not only very intentional.. IT'S A MURDER ATTEMPT. He tries to SHOVE HER OUT A WINDOW

Yeah the rest of the ghosts think so too and all hound him over it, NONE OF THEM having wanted this and it makes it hard to really take his presence: HE TRIED MURDERING THE MAIN CHARACTER because it was easier to kill her.. forgetting she both might join them and not exactly be happy she was murdered, and that her dying dosen't solve the problem. Mike would still be around and as we find out he can't sell the place, more on that in a moment, and even if he COULD.. it'd just mean someone ELSE wanting to make it into a hotel or outright tear the building down leaving them without their nice giant fancy house and instead in an office building or a big new mansion or something. I don't question this from a plot standpoint as well.. Julian is a politican. They dont' think shit through, and we get the great scene of him trying to politc his way out of actually admitting to it and it not remotely working, so it works a little.. but it's also something the series apparently ignores till much later for understandable reasons.

At any rate both the accidental near muder and the very intentional near muder have the same result: sam returns, the ghosts are mildly relived.. and she notices the buisness douche in the room among the contractors they brought in. She can see them and both Allison and Sam end the episode screaming as the sight of their roomates.

So the next episode which MOSTLY has the same plot... but there's one exception. The british version has a subplot where Fanny has night terrors and jumps off the balcony every night, reliving her death. Julian is pissed about this.. because she keeps waking him up as the balcony is in his room

Both ladies of the house have a subplot where the husband is trying to do dyi repairs, and accidently destroys a wall, leaving them unwiling roomates with Kitty or Flower depending on the version.

So with Sam and Allison seeing ghosts their respective husbands advice to her having possible concussion ghosts? Why taking a tip from mr paul anka of course: Just don't look. If you ignore a head injury it will go away!

And this is another reason I don't like Jay so much as while both husbands give the same life threatening advice, Jay comes off a lot more condesencding. He's not full on "Oh you women and your emotoins you just need a hair cut" levels of punchable, but he's still very "Your wrong sweetie" levels of punchable. Mike on the other hand while also not a doctor and not taking his wife to one, at least seems more calm, patient and compassionate.

The episode goes about the same as the ghosts now realize they can run a war of attrition with their respective soldier ghosts leading the charge. The Captain fits this kind of thing better, and I also love how he's stopped: Allison gets the tv hooked up and he gets super horny for tanks. They do a similar gag in the us with thor and vikings, which is neat, but I like the original a smidge better. It's fucked up in a way that works.

We also get one of the ghosts researching themselves, Julian in the UK and Isaac in the us, on the husband's laptop and the husband having no idea what he's doing DIYing. We do get Mike singing to himself which is glorious.

The ghosts basically spend their time annoying Allison or Sam , my favorite from either version being Mary just saying GETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUT over and over.. probably meaning Sam will never watch get out. Thanks a lot Mary. You deprived her of a horror classic. I hope your satisfied.

Eventually Allison and Sam have enough and get their husbands to take them to the hospital. We get a great bit with Allison that I must've missed if they used it in the american version where she talks to a doctor about the ghosts.. who then reveals he's dead. It's a nice, simple way to show that no, her power is real, ghosts are real, and the actual doctor after, whose quite good accoding to ghost doc, confirms her brain is fine.

I do like the diffrent reactions and that instead of just having both ghost hosts be the same, their diffrent people. Same with the husbands though taking a functional couple and making them "we're oppsites ain't that wacky" which CAN work. I love me a good opposites attract. Exhibit "Thing I Watched Yesterday"

youtube

Those harmonies man. Also I couldn't review it this spookys eason but check back in February.

But here it's more for annoying tension than actual chemistry. Again this is with the caveat it CAN improve, the show has two full seasons, it seems like he gets the stick out of his ass as it goes, but for these two episodes it's a lot.

Anyways those reactions: Sam is excited and being peppy decides to kindly approach the ghosts and ask what they want. They.. prefer this and begrudingly accept the new status quo and getting help.

Allison.. takes a bit more of a blunt approach. She TRIES to leave.. but their hooked in for tons of debt as while he's ace in every other department.. Mike just "skimmed" the contract for their loans. Mike come on....

He's Mike. So Allison, fed up, just has him pull over, and confronts her ghosts. Mike.. think's she's having a psychotic break, poor bean, but she stops him from calling a doctor , instead asking WHAT DO YOU WANT MOTHERFUCKERS. The motherfuckers is strongly implied. The ghosts are taken aback by this.. and meekly give requests. Which are mostly reasonable: Fanny wants her husband's portrait removed from her room, The Captain wants an hour of tanks a week Pat just wants to say hello, and Julian wants his articles removed from google.. well okay from his perspective it's resonable. Allison at least can tell him ther'es nothing she can do. Thomas.. wants her to "Leave your husband for me and kill yourself" She does instantly shut that shit down, and his response of "To which part" as she just ignores him and moves on is hilaroius.

And thus both women settle in with their ghosts. I do like Allison just casually hanging with all of hers a bit better but it works. We also get both women helping with the boiler their husband was working on with the help of the mass of ghosts in the basement, with the same gag of them lying about how many there are down there.

Overall Ghosts in both versions... is excellent. The original is a bit funnier, likely due to looser censors but using most of it's adult content for jokes instead of screaming

Though it sometimes falls into it and some characters don't entirely work.

The remake's husband isn't nearly as charming and it plays it safer due to being on broadcast television, but it's ghosts are more charming in places and it still has the nice charm of the original and Rose McIver gives it her best. All in all... i'd recommend both shows. I'll probably go back to the uk one first though you'll have to find seasons 4 and 5 through.. other means in the us as none of the services you can buy the show from have them. Series 5 I get as it just aired, but Series 4? What? WhY? Why exactly?

At any rate this was fun and what I suspect will be one of the few of these where one version doesn't clobber the other. Thanks for reading and have a happy halloween

#ghosts #halloween #ghosts uk #ghosts us #Youtube

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animation-recaps-by-sean · 1 year

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The Owl House-Watching and Dreaming Recap

Thanks For Watching Spoilers below.

Well here we are. It sucks that The Owl House was cut short. It is possible that Disney Branded Television just wanted to focus on comic musicals, but the fact it was the Gay show that hit the worst will always be an asterisk next to this show. When I started this blog, we were in a golden age of animation. Adventure Time had ushered in so much serialized storytelling that I built these blog around. Today Netflix and Warner Bros are burning down their feet to save a few bucks. It’s not a good time to be an animation fan. I don’t think this will last, these dark ages never do, but it’s gonna be a rough few years. It is an end of an Era. It was beautiful.

While the first two episodes dealt with the condensed plot very well, this one struggles a bit. The dreaming we get from the trailers last barely five minutes before we move onto Steven Universing the Collector. This goes way too fast. I wasn’t a big fan of the collector as it was, and this rushed timing wasn’t helping. Don’t get me wrong, I get WHY it’s rushed. I don’t know why I don’t gel with the Collector’s arc. I liked similar stuff from other shows. I guess they were presented very differently in their first appearance. I do think sending them away to find themselves works though.

The good news, the rest is fantastic. Belos merges with the Titan’s heart, and Luz get’s King’s Dad, who is voiced by Arin Hanson which I did not expect. And he has a Hooty cause of course he does. Where else would Hootys come from?

He gives Luz gets a cool Titan transformation. The final Belos battle is fantastic and he melting as he fails to manipulate Luz and Eda, King, and Raine JoJo stomp him. Also, amazing ‘eat this sucker’ call back. Belos was a fanatic villain, cruel and interesting in all the right ways. Charismatic enough to get his deal, but not to sympathize with. Real love to hate. A new england witch hunter vs the witch loving teen. It was such a great thematic contrast. A perfect foil to Luz.

The poor Hex Squad don’t get much to do. They try to catch the people turned puppets during the final battle, but it’s not much.

The fake out where they looked like they were gonna Amphibia it, but nope. Luz is going to college in the Boiling Isles and she’s been in contact with everyone the whole time. Everyone’s future designs were fantastic!

The Bat Queen favor thing never came back, but with the shortened season that would be something to put in the backpocket for a revival.

Maybe the show will come back. Executives and trends are all ways moving behind the scenes. Stranger things have happened.

I love the Owl House. The witch aesthetic really does it for me. And the story hit me in ways I haven't been hit since Gravity Falls. Even the compromised ending was great, if a bit shaky. In an age of giants, it was a Titan.

#the owl house #the owl house spoilers #toh spoilers #toh season 3 spoilers #watching and dreaming spoilers #disney #animation recaps by sean

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duhragonball · 1 year

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Dragon Ball Super 001

All right, time for Dragon Ball Super.

Let’s set the stage first. In 2013, the Dragon Ball franchise returned with the feature film Battle of Gods. I often refer to that film as “Movie 14″, in keeping with the convention of the previous DBZ movies, but Battle of Gods was on a completely different level. In addition to being longer and more complex than the old movies, this one had Akira Toriyama overseeing things much more directly than in the past. It added new characters and lore to the franchise, and it capitalized on the pent-up demand for new DB content. In short, it was a hit, and a sequel was planned soon after.

Shortly after Resurrection F premiered in 2015, there came announcements that there would be a new manga and a new TV anime for the Dragon Ball franchise. Chapter 1 of the Dragon Ball Super comic was published on June 20, 2015, and Episode 1 of the anime aired on July 5, 2015.

And so, the Dragon Ball Renaissance was in full swing. The only problem was that Dragon Ball Super had a pretty weak start. And a lousy middle. And a pretty dull third quarter. And... it didn’t really get good until episode 97. Well, that’s just my opinion. There are plenty of critics who hated the entire thing, and there are others who enjoyed it from beginning to end. Still, I maintain that Super was a mixed bag, which kind of tarnishes the brand’s reputation.

On the other hand, I’m not sure that mattered much in the long run. Fans love Dragon Ball, and I think most of the fanbase was just hyped to get a new show, even in spite of its problems. The classic shows were far from perfect, after all, and the important thing was that there was something new featuring Goku and the gang. And there is a lot to enjoy about Dragon Ball Super, even if it takes a while to get there.

Continuity-wise, this series takes place between Episodes 288 and 289 of Dragon Ball Z. If you’re not familiar with DBZ... seriously, why are you reading this? Anyway, Goku and the others defeated Majin Buu in episode 286, and then there were some epilogue scenes, and then the series skipped ahead ten years for a finale depicted in Episode 289-291. Dragon Ball Super takes place during that period, what fans have termed the “Ten Year Gap.”

Accordingly, this episode opens with a recap of the Kid Buu fight, since that was the last big thing to happen recently.

Just so we’re clear, this is the big distinction between DBS and Dragon Ball GT. Both were presented as sequel series to DBZ, but their chronology is different. GT is set five years after DBZ 291, while Super is set 0-9 years before it. Also, Dragon Ball GT sucks ass, while Super is just kind of bad in a lot of places.

Let’s get that straight up front. I’ll probably draw some comparisons between Super and GT as we go, but I’m not interested in doing some “which was better?” discussion here. GT is awful, and I recently spent six weeks writing about exactly how awful it was. I’m not really eager to refer back to that. There’s some really lousy episodes of Super, and I’m sure I’ll bring up the matter of whether or not they’re GT-level terrible, but there’s no point in doing that every single time. Super has a lot of problems, but GT is a problem.

The big issue I’m faced with here is that the first 28 episodes of Super are mostly comprised of a decompressed re-telling of Battle of Gods and Resurrection F. There’s also a few filler episodes of varying quality, but very little actually happens in any of them, and they’re mostly warm-and-fuzzy-feeling stories with little meat to them. Which means that there really isn’t a whole lot for me to write about.

So what I’m going to try to do is zip through these relatively quickly, so that I can move on to the important stuff later on. If you haven’t seen Battle of Gods, then do yourself a favor and check out the movie, because I have no interest in giving it a thorough recap here.

All right, so there’s only a handful of things that actually take place in this story. Goku’s a farmer now, and sometimes Goten brings him his lunch and drives the tractor for him. Goku wishes he could train on King Kai’s planet, but Chi-Chi wants him to earn a living, and Goku’s not interested in the kind of celebrity business that Mr. Satan does.

Meanwhile, Mr. Satan has just received a big cash award for his heroic defense of the Earth. Remember, even though Goku defeated Kid Buu with a Spirit Bomb, the people of Earth don’t remember Majin Buu, because they used the Dragon Balls to make everyone forget Buu’s involvement in that crisis. So the world believes Mr. Satan saved them from some kind of alien invasion, but they have no idea what it was. Satan brags about his power in press conferences, but in private he offers the money to Goku, since he actually deserves it. Also, Vegeta refused the cash off-screen, possibly because he’s already married to the richest woman on Earth.

Goku reluctantly accepts, because, as Goten points out, the money would convince Chi-Chi to let him go train on King Kai’s planet.

Then we’ve got a few subplots that go nowhere. For example, we see Satan here giving a speech about receiving the award, when Buu barges in demanding food. No one knows who Buu is, and Satan has to explain that Buu is an alien who sought to train under Mr. Satan as a disciple. The press buys this, which sets up DBZ Episode 290, where Mr. Buu is widely known as Mr. Satan’s top student.

Meanwhile, Videl buys Gohan an expensive academic book to aid in his research. Gohan feels bad that he can’t reciprocate the gesture, but Videl doesn’t care because she can afford it, and the smarter Gohan gets, the more appealing he gets as arm candy. Also, Piccolo watches them from the rooftops. I remember seeing this in 2015 and foolishly thinking any of this was going to lead to anything in later episodes. I guess Piccolo was irked about Gohan not keeping up with his training, which did get paid off in the Super Hero movie last year, but it looks more like he’s jealous more than anything else. As for Muzakashii Hon (lit. “Difficult Book”), you’d think the long, detailed look we get at this book means that it would become an important plot device, but no, it never gets seen again. Well, it appears in the opening credits, but so what?

Meanwhile, Beerus visits an alien planet, samples their cuisine, and then destroys it. I remember thinking this depiction of Beerus meant that the series took place after Battle of Gods, since we saw Beerus wake up from a 39-year nap in that movie, but in this episode, he’s already on the move, and it isn’t clear yet whether the events of Movie 14 have happened or not. But no, we’re just re-doing the same story, only with details changed for no reason, and much slower.

Finally, there’s a whole thing where Goten wants to buy a gift for Videl, since she’s going to be marrying Gohan soon. He doesn’t know what to get her, so he asks Trunks for advice, and he settles on eau du toilette, since his mom likes that stuff. This just leads to a “hilarious” misunderstanding, as the boys overhear an old man complaining that the cosmetics at a store are nothing compared to the rejuvenating hot spring. So they go there, thinking they can just fill a bottle with water from that place instead, but when they see all the old people bathing in it, they fly further upstream and get that water instead.

Let’s clear this up now, because I’ve seen eau du toilette jokes for most of my life, and I’ve never understood them. I mean, sure, it has the word “toilet” in it, but the phrase is always used in a pun, which makes no sense, because the pronunciation is different. “TOY-let”. “Oh duh twah-LET”. Goten’s not going to hear the word and think of toilet water.

So what is eau du toilette? It’s French for “grooming water”, but it isn’t actually water at all. It’s a dilute solution of fragrance oils in alcohol. Stronger than aftershave, but weaker than perfume. The punchline here is that Goten and Trunks show up at Videl’s house and give her a bottle of creek water, and she realizes that it’s literally just water, so she goes through the motions and tells the boys how much she loves it.

What else have we got? Uh... Master Roshi somehow hears about the money Satan gave Goku, and he wants to use it to buy pornography. Chi-Chi doesn’t like that idea.

And the Supreme Kais notice the destruction of all those planets and wonder what it could mean. So yeah, we’re just introducing characters at this point.

And that’s it. Very little actually gets done in this episode, although in its defense, it’s trying to reintroduce characters that haven’t appeared on TV in a long time. Even if this series wasn’t about to retell Battle of Gods, it would still play out pretty much the same way. On the other hand, I think it’s kind of dumb to make a show like this, cashing in on the success of two feature films, and then acting like no one knows who’s who.

#dragon ball #dragon ball super #2023dbapocryphaliveblog #goku #mr satan #majin buu #master roshi #chi chi #elder kai #kibitoshin #goten #trunks #gohan #beerus

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mad-madam-m · 2 years

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T&B2 Thoughts: Episode 8 – You can't judge a book by its cover.

Haha, y’all miss me? I thought I would take a little break before wrapping up these posts but then I blinked and it’s July. So let’s get on with episode 8, shall we?

- And we start off with a resounding what the fuck, Thomas?!

- I think this is the first time we've seen a hero really cross the line when dealing with a criminal. Hell, the last time we saw Agnes cut for something like this, it was when Jake was beating the absolute shit out of Kotetsu and Jake was. Uh. Not really what one would call “a good guy.” Subaru's almost too stunned to do anything at first, but at least he's able to pull Thomas off the guy before it goes too far.

- And Thomas doesn't really have a ringing defense of his actions, despite Carlotta's best efforts. I'm pretty sure saying "I was just immature" is not the excuse you want to give to the director of the justice department, especially when they're discussing your suspension and possible firing.

- I was kind of surprised that Barnaby and Kotetsu were there for Yuri’s debrief on the incident and Thomas’s punishment. Agnes and Carlotta have obvious reasons for being there, and same with Subaru, but Barnaby and Kotetsu really don’t? The only thing I can think is that, since they’re both veteran heroes and they’re the most veteran buddy pair, Yuri lets them in on stuff like this to assess how the buddy system is working.

- "I think there are people you can trust," Barnaby says, with a soft smile and to Kotetsu's visible surprise. I know I keep banging this drum in, like, every single one of these recaps, but I'm not over it and I'm not over Barnaby realizing that he used to be like Thomas. But he trusts Kotetsu now, and he trusts the other heroes, to the point that when he hears Thomas making an argument he used to make, he steps in to disagree.

- I do like that they lampshade the bits of Subaru and Thomas that are like Kotetsu and Barnaby, because watching it, that’s my first reaction. And it’s nice to see that the show follows that train of thought into the very next scene. Barnaby sees how angry and mistrustful Thomas is and recognizes how he was when he'd first started as a hero. He remembers why he was like that and that's why he wants to reach out, but he's also more aware that his overtures probably won't be welcomed.

- Also honestly Mattia, how do you spend this much time talking to Barnaby and not realize that he has a Hero Face that is very different from how he really is? I'm glad Barnaby has someone else to talk to but I kind of want to shake Mattia sometimes; he's so naïve.

- And speaking of Mattia, the amount of bad science happening here is concerning. Absolutely no way this could go wrong.

- I really like the scene with Subaru freaking out about the article he finds online and Barnaby and Kotetsu assuring him it's fake. I know it goes into the plot for this episode, but it's also another glimpse at the things the heroes deal with on a regular basis as public figures.

- Subaru really is trying to be a good buddy for Thomas but he's. You know. Seventeen. And handles delicate situations with all the finesse of a wrecking ball, which is not really a great way to handle someone like Thomas.

- Although guys, I swear to fuck, just because someone isn't home doesn't mean they've run away. Come on, I know you know this!!

- And now we get Thomas’s backstory, which is very ow, between what happened with his sister and seeing how NEXT discrimination prevented him from getting adopted. I appreciate the steps they took to make his background different from Barnaby’s, because when you’re already drawing parallels between those two characters in terms of their temperament and then Thomas’s backstory starts off with how he was orphaned, it’s hard not to side-eye a little bit.

My very first reaction was not really a great one, I admit, because there’s an instinctive wall that slams down when it looks like a show is trying to make me like a new character by making them very similar to an old character I adore. And at first glance, it looks like that’s what they’re doing here. However, that’s not why they’re giving Thomas the background they are---they really are making him his own character, not just Barnaby-lite.

- THE TWINS ARE IN THE HERO MUSEUM. And they’re are here specifically for the display on L.L. Audun. It seems like he had the Hundred Power, too, or at least the Hundred Power crops up in his museum display, which seems a little odd if it was Legend's and not his.

Was he really prevented from being a hero because his father was a criminal? Or did Maverick see the opportunity for ratings with an Audun vs. Legend rivalry? I really hope we get some more information on this in the next half of this season.

- Me @ Thomas for this entire scene in the couple's house: LEAVE. LEAVE. GO HOME. DON'T STAY FOR DINNER. DON'T STAY THE NIGHT. Nobody is this nice!! Nobody! Like yes, I want it to be the case, but my danger gauge is shrieking off the charts throughout this entire scene.

- This is the absolute sweetest thing: all the heroes with blue stress balls during their post-heroing interview, showing Thomas that they support him. And it’s Barnaby’s idea! I don’t think Thomas realizes that he has been adopted at this point---it’s a weird little family but they're there for each other, and that includes him, no matter what.

- Goddammit I fucking knew it.

- Also holy shit did Thomas actually kill these people?? Show?? Are we gonna get a resolution on that? (I feel like we have to, but still, holy shit.)

- What do you think the homeowners are going to say when they come home and find one of their bedrooms completely trashed and possibly two unconscious or dead criminals on the floor??

- The show’s done a lot with Thomas that's very different from what they've done with all the other heroes and their backgrounds (that we've seen so far). Even Barnaby never totally lost his cool like Thomas did in the beginning of this episode (and especially not in front of the cameras), and he was just a bundle of severe anger issues in the first half of s1. And it's got to be significant that we see Thomas repeating Audun's mantra in one of his flashbacks, just like the twins. I feel like there are a lot of ways they could go with it, but I do wonder if he's going to go darkside or something like that in the next half of the season.

- DATE ATTEMPT #5. They don’t even get all the way through “how about we go out tonight” before their PDAs go off and they’ve got to get back to work. I can’t. I can’t even that “five times Kotetsu and Barnaby tried to have a date” was an actual fucking subplot this season. I just. That SURE IS A THING THAT THEY DID.

- BARNABY NO

- The way Kotetsu fucking screams "Bunny!" at the end took me from "oh no" to "OH SHIT" in less than a second. Like damn there is no way to better indicate that this is not a normal hero injury than that. I don't think we've ever heard Kotetsu sound that panicked, not even when they were fighting the android at the end of s1.

- And thus begins the cliffhangers until the end of the arc. Buckle up, buttercup; we’re into it now.

- Hm, I’m sure that purple glowing stuff is in no way something to be concerned about.

#Tiger & Bunny #Tiger and Bunny #Tiger & Bunny 2 #M watches TNB #M writes meta #M rambles #Just gonna be screaming incoherently for the next few episodes #should be fun

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silvertsundere · 10 months

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Silver Talks AniManga (16/07/23)

wow actually on time for once impressive myself, a p chill week, tho I wanna catch up to something again soon, only got a couple more series to do before I fulfill my goal of being caught with everything on jump and then I can start branching out to other stuff I've had an eye on for a while but anyway

blue - finale/completed

Anime

Pokemon Horizons Ep13

after 2 weeks of absence the pokemon anime is finally back, tho this one was kinda like a recap episode for half of it while the cast had a picnic. they teased the possibility of roy catching a new mon next ep but we'll see how that goes since riko isn't getting one too for the new few episodes (based on the revealed titles)

Atelier Ryza Ep3

a cute episode overall, centered around ryza using her alchemy to help people around the island now. also greatly enjoy all the ryza x klaudia food, just for me 🙏 also, when they had that magical girl transformation esque scene for when she crafted last ep I was like "that looked way too good for them to not reuse it" and they did, just significantly shortened so lol

Zom 100 Ep2

good ep, I was worried abou them being able to keep up the quality from ep 1 but even if we didn't get any fancy sakuga this time the quality was still good. the new girl is cute and kusunoki tomori did a good job as her. next ep is the mc's friend which I assume is the blonde guy from the op/ed (and that I think was cameo'd on a photo near the start of the ep), and the next ep will be the samurai girl? haven't read the manga so completely blind

Manga

Saihate Quartet Ch18 (Finale)

honestly only started reading this cause I wanted to post the tokusatsu reference panels and I'd feel bad doing it without actually reading it, and also cause it landed on a not very busy day. it was alright tho, it's a comedy so it's very "you either like it or don't", the concept is p fun but shallow, more suited for something like a oneshot I think, I don't regret reading it tho, it had it's moments

Dandadan Ch113

the climactic finale to the big alien invasion team battle, maybe anyway good chap, that flashback page with the cute okarun momo moments was good and it also had 2 of yukinobu's signature "how can this series be weekly" spreads

The Ichinose Family's Deadly Sins Ch33

they spent all this time skirting around the older brother's story, taking many detours along the way for other stuff. this chap they finally revealed the final piece, he was the one that saved them from dying in that one car crash that put tsubasa in a coma, dying in the process himself.. only for it to be revealed a couple pages later that he's still alive??? I really don't understand what the hell ichinose is doing, really is a sad state of affairs when this can go into the 30s when better stuff gets axed way earlier

Blue Box Ch109

lots of cute chinatsu faces in this chap and finally saw hina again after what feels like a billion years. hype for the next chap tho should be getting some very cute scenes 👀

Cipher Academy Ch32

the final match of this tournament arc is finally here and it's.. a game of that of all things? I was wondering how the hell they were gonna incorporate codes into that but they did it in a way that makes sense looking forward to how this goes

Martial Master Asumi Ch5

very cool chap, letting nito show off how strong he can really be when he's not holding back for some reason tho he's totally gonna get clapped next chap

Sakamoto Days Ch127

the first of the slur fights is over and it was really good. good guys ended up losing as I expected but at least they managed to really fuck up the girl which should make things easier in the future, tho I'm hoping heisuke is the one to take her down as payback for this fight

Undead Unluck Ch167

woulda liked to see more from this fight but it was good anyway, even got feng's backstory and the reveal that he's a negator too tho I figured that'd have to be the case. curious to see who the next member is gonna be since we're still missing quite a few

My Hero Academia Ch394

the longest fight in the whole manga is finally over sheeesh not in terms of raw chapters amount but when it started vs when it ended cause it had a ton of stuff in between, it was good tho. not much more left now, I think just all might and AFO and the deku fights are left? getting closer and closer to the end OH today was also the 9th anniversary celebration colour page, I wouldn't be surprised if they had horikoshi keep this going til the 10th anni just so they can do special merch for tha occasion but we'll see

Akane-banashi Ch70

incredibly good chap, don't really got much more I could say than that, just wow, god akane is sooooooo good. anyway now that akane's performance is done I'm p sure my previous prediction about the placements is gonna be true but ofc I still want her to win instead

#silver talks animanga

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florrickandassociates · 1 year

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TGF Thoughts: 6x05 -- The End of Ginni

Finally making a dent in the backlog of recaps. Let’s go!

LOL at this episode title

Liz is on a morning show, talking about Ketanji Brown Jackson and the Supreme Court. She’s positive at first, but ends up expressing her concerns about Ginni Thomas.

After the interview, a white cameraman makes a finger gun pointed directly at Liz. Unsettling. She immediately calls Jay and tells him to prioritize keeping the firm secure. I still don’t understand why Jay, the investigator, seems to double as head of security.

She phones Diane (who’s getting high) next and reiterates her concerns about security. She tells neither Diane nor Jay about the finger-gun incident. I love that Liz still thinks of Diane as the one to call here, even though Diane pretty much has no power.

Diane hallucinates a lot of plants and calls in the doctor. It’s the woman again, who I think (and this is based on having seen the rest of the season but I don’t think constitutes much of a spoiler) is just Bettencourt’s business partner and not any sort of romantic mate. This woman seems to have a very bad bedside manner, though we might just be seeing her through Diane’s eyes. And Diane does not like her AT ALL. They have a very weird staring contest, which I assume is not actually happening.

The FBI shows up at the firm to talk to Marissa about what happened “last week.” Marissa insists that Jay be present for the convo. The gunman is still on the loose and seems to be affiliated with a white supremacist group, so the FBI suggests that Marissa “take precautions.” Marissa’s takeaway from the convo? She needs a gun.

Ri’Chard is talking to a producer guy about creating more content like the podcast from last episode. He also brings up a legal issue – a “pushnup,” which is like a prenup but it happens when a couple’s about to have a baby. I don’t remember much about what happens in this episode, but I’m expecting that I’m about to write “case stuff happens” quite a bit.

ELSBETH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love watching Elsbeth interact with new people. Here, she meets Carmen. Elsbeth is in the elevator, staring at a sticker on the ceiling that says “BUB.”

“Are you going up or down?” Carmen asks, just trying to get on the elevator. “That depends on the day,” Elsbeth replies. Carmen leaves the interaction confused.

At reception, Elsbeth learns that Ri’Chard is not “Richard,” commits that to memory, and offers the receptionist a paperweight because she started blowing glass during the pandemic.

Julius is the first to recognize Elsbeth. Trying to recall if we’ve seen them interact before. Probably?? She gives Julius a paperweight too.

Elsbeth is surprised that the conference room is Ri’Chard’s office. Ri’Chard doesn’t understand that’s why she’s surprised (he just thinks it’s a weird thing to say) but I’m pretty sure the line is meant to highlight that Ri’Chard doesn’t know who Elsbeth is or how many times she’s been to the office.

Elsbeth is there because she’s on the opposite side of the pushnup case.

Ri’Chard and Julius look at each other in confusion, but Julius doesn’t tell Ri’Chard much about Elsbeth (though I’m not sure there’s much more he could’ve done with Elsbeth in the room).

Elsbeth is at her most quirky in this scene, so of course Ri’Chard underestimates her and thinks she’s “easily confused.”

Liz is heating up dinner for Malcolm at home. Her kitchen is so pretty.

Liz gets a call from a woman claiming to be Ginni, asking her to apologize for her remarks on the morning show. Ah, it’s this season’s pee tape/Melania divorce episode. COTW heavy + familiar concept = hopefully a short recap.

The next day at work, Liz does not react to explosions happening outside. She calls Ginni back and gets her voicemail. She thinks about leaving a message, then stops herself and hangs up.

I have mentioned this before but I do really love the little detail that Liz always wears an Apple Watch.

In their next meeting, Ri’Chard comes to understand that Elsbeth is brilliant. Turns out he’s done exactly what she wanted and something something crypto is the real issue.

Diane watches flowers grow (or imagines she’s watching flowers grow). She’s interrupted by Ri’Chard, who wants her help. He mentions Elsbeth’s name, and Diane’s like, “is she here?!” Then she yells excitedly, laughs, and jumps up from her desk and heads to Ri’Chard’s office. Elsbeth greets her with a similar reaction. I love that these characters are genuinely friends now. I didn’t know I needed Super Happy High Diane interacting with Elsbeth, but I think I did.

Jay and Marissa go to a gun range. Before I could even fully form the thought, “But wasn’t Marissa in the army; why would Jay need to teach her how to shoot?” Marissa hits the target perfectly, repeatedly, and reminds (tells?) Jay about her time in the IDF.

Marissa and Jay silently mock some dick-measuring contest going on in the next aisle, but the conversation seems less funny when it shifts to being about political violence. As they shoot, they scream, “BUB!”

Marissa researches the group that’s supposedly targeting her, using actual Google (sorry Neil Gross) to do so. She ends up watching a video about the signposts of an upcoming civil war, realizing with horror that she recognizes most of them. I have so many thoughts about this wrt how this all turns out after the finale, but I want to keep these as spoiler-free and accurate to my initial thoughts while watching as I can.

Marissa making giant checkmarks on a sheet of notebook paper is absolutely a touch done for dramatic purposes because there is a zero percent chance that this is how Marissa Gold would count to ten lol

God I love these credits.

At home, Malcolm asks Liz if she’s worried about him because she’s been home for dinner every night lately. Awww, but also that implies she wasn’t before! He seems like a good kid.

Ginni calls again, just as Liz and Malcolm are sitting down to watch Below Deck. I am very shocked they’re watching a real show that, as far as I can tell, is not on Paramount+. Liz is too curious to not pick up.

Blah blah blah, they end up talking about Below Deck and bonding.

Marissa’s (correctly) worried she’s being followed.

Liz gives Jay yet another task (how does Jay have the time for all of this?) -- figure out if Ginni is really calling her.

“Alright. I sound a little crazy. Okay,” Liz says to herself. I am always a fan of lines like this. Alicia used to get them too.

Jay continues to do anything but his job (a criticism of the writers, not of Jay – and, honestly, maybe some unintentionally (?) good writing to show that Jay’s interests are shifting) as Marissa calls him and says she thinks she’s being followed. I will not nitpick the location of this scene. I will not nitpick the location of this scene.

Carmen does not like the “bub” sticker one bit and is attempting to remove it from the elevator ceiling herself. It’s interesting to see that this is so unnerving to Carmen, someone who is comfortable around some of the worst criminals out there.

The tulips outside of the building really make it look like October/November, A+ touch for realism.

Marissa heads back to the office; Jay follows the men who’ve been trailing her. He snaps a picture of the plates of the totally not suspicious at all black van they hop into and heads upstairs to share his findings with Marissa.

Jay tells Marissa to stop reading scary things online and that he’ll follow her that night to make sure nothing bad happens.

Carmen’s figured out what BUB means and it’s a white supremacist slogan, one Marissa’s already familiar with.

Meanwhile, Elsbeth and Diane are loudly laughing and drinking and having a generally good time in Diane’s office. Diane even calls Elsbeth “Beth” which feels so familiar and also so out of sync with how I think about Elsbeth that I’m a little shaken by it!

Diane and Elsbeth get to work; make a deal. Then Diane gives Elsbeth a flower (she’s still doing this, I guess) and Elsbeth puts it in her hair. I will miss Elsbeth. I will miss this show.

Jay calls Liz with some info that makes it seem plausible, though not probable, that the real Ginni is the one calling Liz.

The case has been resolved! Except that it hasn’t been! There’s a new lawyer in the mix! Elsbeth and the R&R team have to work together! Cool. I don’t care. But I’ll take more Elsbeth scenes.

Case stuff happens.

Liz watches Below Deck in her bedroom, chatting with Ginni the whole time. Seems like Liz needs more friends.

Ginni mentions trying to get Clarence to retire. This is an appealing tidbit to Liz, who now has to decide if she wants to try to persuade her new friend who may or may not be a prankster. Ready to be done with this plot, please and thank you.

Liz flat out asks if it’s a prank. She does not get a clear answer.

CASE STUFF HAPPENS! Sorry lol I’m so behind on these I’m excited when I have nothing to say.

Walking later that night, Jay asks Marissa why she’s obsessed with the idea of civil war when everything’s fine. Uh, idk, maybe it’s because her firm’s being targeted, she had to hide in a closet with Wackner after a populist uprising last year, her dad was just the target of an assassination attempt, and she’s being followed? (I wish the show would let these things be text instead of subtext.)

Marissa keeps her reply broad, reciting the talking points from the earlier video.

Marissa’s shadows come back. Jay instructs her to go ahead and then confronts them; they threaten him with the guns they imply they’re carrying. Marissa, instead of going ahead, circles back. Jay gets her to walk away; the shadows walk away too. So Jay takes out his gun and commands them to get down. They pull out their guns in response. Guess Jay thought they were bluffing a minute ago.

The men claim to be FBI. And then a lot of black people walk onto the scene with phone cameras recording. A man claiming to be a lawyer appears and tells the FBI agents why they’re in the wrong. It’s extremely effective to the point of being unrealistic. Which is, the Kings have said, the point of this plot – what if there actually was a group that was organized and effective and cohesive in a way that very few actual groups are?

The FBI agents say they were there to protect Marissa. I don’t buy it. Shouldn’t Marissa know she has protection?

Jay asks the mysterious man who he is, where he’s going. Good questions. I’d also like to know why they were there at this moment. Was it to scout Jay? Are Marissa’s shadows not actual FBI agents?

He gives Jay a number (it’s not clear what for) then disappears into a sleek black van. Intriguing...

Diane is looking through one of Elsbeth’s paperweights in the office the next day. Liz catches her and looks amused. I think Diane needs some hobbies. Or some actual work.

“What does the future hold?” Liz jokes, since it looks like Diane’s holding a crystal ball. Diane doesn’t seem upset or embarrassed at all, which I’ll take as a comment on how friendly she and Liz are... and not a comment on how high she is.

Liz tells Diane about her Ginni predicament. Diane is just like, if there’s any chance at all it’s real, go for it. Liz reasons that the worst that can happen is that she’s embarrassed. (And, honestly, among her friends, I don’t think the embarrassment would even be that bad if she says “I never believed it but... no harm in playing along, right?”)

Liz catches herself thinking that we’d all get along if we just talked about reality shows instead of politics. Diane gives her a look. I love watching these two.

Diane’s case involves “legally attacking a fetus.” (There’s some stuff here about complicating Diane’s Pro-Choice stance in order to win a case; I have nothing else to add about it.) Liz asks if Diane wants her advice and Diane does. Liz’s advice? “Don’t.” Solid advice.

This case should probably hit harder than it does. The problem for me, with nearly all TGW/TGF cases, is that there’s an interesting idea that can be summarized in one sentence (Diane arguing that fetuses should have rights even though that aligns her with Pro-Lifers)… and then there’s at least 15 minutes of developing that idea through twists and turns, and by the end of it I have nothing to say other than, “yeah, what a thought experiment!”

Liz is discussing her divorce (“we didn’t spend enough time together”) with Malcolm sitting next to her. She’s trying to signal to him that she’s just saying stuff. This seems weird! But at least Malcolm is in the show!

This is SUCH a weird conversation to have around a child?!

Ginni starts asking Liz if she’s dated recently. I repeat, interesting convo to have around your kid. Maybe Liz is always this open with Malcolm? I’d be kind of cool with that; he seems old enough to hear this. I just need to know he’s hearing and understanding the context, too.

Turns out it’s Del from last year pranking Liz. Why? Not sure. Will we see Del again? Nope! Is this closure? Also nope! Seems like Liz and Del are no longer dating but are friendly (and even flirty).

Liz asks Jay to prank Del in return. Jay can add “prankster” to his ever-growing list of responsibilities!

Carmen asks Jay if he wants to get a drink. He’s meeting someone – the mystery man!

Also the entire ceiling of the elevator is now plastered with “BUB” stickers. This show and its elevators.

Jay gets in the van. That’s when he meets the resistance leader, played by Phylicia Rashad. She’s great in this role, but I am... a little perplexed by *this* show casting her given her support of Cosby.

Jay says he wants to get involved in their organization because he’s looking for “competence.” Hell yeah. Good pitch.

Hypercompetent group is called “The Collective.” They want to know what Jay can do to help them. He says he can train people to use firearms. End of episode!

The Collective is so much more interesting to me than the COVID hallucinations of last year. I’ll have more on it to say in future episodes, but high-level? It just always comes back to one of TGF’s most familiar problems: how much is reality, how much is thought experiment, and how do you reconcile the two? The show doesn’t really have an answer, but I do think this is one of their more successful attempts.

#tgfthoughts #the good fight

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