#the emotional arc of that Ep is chefs kiss

[aryaadrottning]

Reviving this account to say I’m back in my criminal minds era bc I’m rewatching from the beginning

#criminal minds #first off I wanna say that I don’t believe a single word that the actress who plays Elle says #the hallmark of acting for me is whether I believe them and it really annoys me that I don’t #I don’t see any sincerity in how she says what she says or the things in her face #which is so tough to watch sometimes bc she’s surrounded by such strong and subtle actors that it stands out how much she’s not doing it #okay but enough about her #I love reid hes such a lil kid #I love thé moments where hotch is so serious and then he cracks the most deadpan joke #I totally forgot he did that and I’m obsessed #Garcia throws me off so much but I think it’s bc I just realized I grew up to be her lol and all this time I thought I was a Morgan #meanwhile Morgan is kinda mean?? is that just me?? #also I love Gideon a lot #oh man the ep w Lila was so good #that pool make out?? are you kidding me?? #and my fav Ep of the rewatch so far is ride the lightning with the guy who played Hoyt in rizzoli and isles #he’s such a good actor oh my god #the emotional arc of that Ep is chefs kiss #I actually cried like pretty hard lol #I’m so excited for the things I remember are coming but also nervous about the things I don’t remember #I’m loving watching this series like a decade older and in a completely different career path and with a healthier mindset #I feel like I’m remembering how sad I was during my first watch but also getting to experience it joyfully as an adult #it’s a good feeling to be just a kid who loves a show again

[do-not-resuscikate]

A long, slight critical, rant about The Bad Batch.

Let me preface this by saying, I love this show, I think it has been one of the best animated shows to ever come out of Disney or Star Wars. This rant comes from a place of love.

-------------------------------------------------------

I think it's pretty clear at this stage that The Bad Batch Season 3, while excellent in so many ways, is not quite sticking the landing when it comes to human moments.

There's a reason The Outpost is a fan favorite ep.

There's a reason a lot of people resonate with The Crossing.

And the reason is not action or setpieces, it's the human moments. The emotional moments.

The moments where characters stop and react.

I always thought it was an odd choice to bring back Echo but then have him not even mention Fives, nevermind not giving us any insight into Echos feelings about the circumstances surrounding his death. Rex even talks about how Fives tried to warn him about the chips, in front of Echo, and nothing!

Maybe it's a fluke, an oversight, I thought? Maybe, a story arc they had to trim so they could better explore the new characters!? 

And wow, did the writers do some amazing character work in season 2! I mean, chef's kiss, 10 outta 10. Gorgeous. Give me more of that.

But then, season 3 came.

Do we see proper conversation about the loss of Tech? No.

Do we see Crosshairs reaction to learning of his death? No.

Do we see Phees reaction to his death? No.

Do we see the groups immediate interaction after Crosshair returns. No.

Hells, Omega is taken AGAIN and Hunter doesn't even blink.

We maybe get a token mention here or there, and then on to the next copy/paste rescue/escape.

The writing team leave these beautiful breadcrumbs for us, we're dying to know how X will react to Y next week, and then they just never follow through.

I love this show, I really do, but I can only excuse this so many times.

With the series almost at its end, I think it's becoming increasingly clear that the writers think action setpieces, and escape plans, and heists are what the fans want. 

Don't get me wrong, the setpieces are great. But action is a dime a dozen these days. Plenty of shows and movies give us awesome explosions and shoot outs.

Far rarer are shows, and especially animated "childrens" shows, that give us genuine, gut-punching, emotional moments.

With so little time left, I'm doubtful of a truly satisfying finale to the Batches story. 

So many threads are still dangling, and we're all dying for answers. But we'll spend the next precious few episodes watch Omega break out of Tantiss AGAIN.

Whoever's under CX-2s mask might be significant, but will we see anyone's reaction to it? Will we have time to explore it's impact? Would they explore it even if they had the time?!

The thing many fans fell in love with about the clones is not that they're badass soldiers blowing up droids, it's how they behaved as people. 

How they interacted with each other, defined themselves, pushed their individuality, morality, and goodness to forefront despite being told they are only weapons.

 It's how they reacted to the world around them and their place in it.

The point of the clones stories is not action, it's reaction.

#star wars #star wars the bad batch #the bad batch #star wars tbb #tbb wrecker #tbb tech #tbb hunter #tbb spoilers #tbb crosshair #tbb omega

[silver-starss]

I have (spoilery) Thoughts on Ahsoka episode four

First of all how dare you

Second of all how dare you

THIRD OF ALL HOW DARE YOU

Bro why is Hera taking Jacen on this mission? I know she has a penchant for lugging around badass kids, but he's what, 10? A bit young imo.

Called it. Marrok was a red herring. Filoni knew that we'd all go nuts about the identity of yet another cool masked dude and let fan speculation run wild. Though him turning to dust does bring up new questions...

Sabine and Shin round two! I like that Sabine was actually able to use her armor/equipment this time and fight Shin on more even ground.

That moment when Marrok died and Shin seemed genuinely shook? And Sabine recognizing this and trying to take advantage of Shin's shookness? *chef's kiss*

Really good special effects in the shot with the ring coming out of the atmosphere! That was stunning!

Ahsoka and Baylan fight was genuinely cool, and the choreography felt much more Ahsoka-esque. Particularly that flip she did, which didn't look wired like the one from Ep 2.

So Clan Wren is dead. :/ Not surprising, I assumed that would be Sabine's character arc when the series was first announced (feeling survivor's guilt after the Purge), but what does Ahsoka have to do with that? Is it an emotional support thing?

Sabine joining up with the bad guys makes sense. Her #1 priority is finding Ezra and they're her only means of getting there. She's probably planning to gun down Thrawn in the process, though I imagine Baylan is fully aware of that and planning accordingly.

On the bright side, this gives us more opportunities to explore her rivalry with Shin...

Speaking of, love the dynamic with Shin being the feral one yet actually listening to/respecting her master. I imagine there's a story there and I'm very curious to hear it.

I don't know whether to be mad or impressed that Jacen said part of the Iconic Star Wars Line but not the full thing.

Beautiful transition between the ocean and the World Between Worlds. It looks absolutely gorgeous in live-action.

Why and how is Ahsoka in the World Between Worlds?

HAYDEN ALREADY???? I didn't think he'd show up until episode 5.

"SNIPS" (!!!!!)

Holy fucking shit I'm losing my mind.

He looks way better than he did in Kenobi, but the de-aging isn't 100% great. Still though.

Interesting that Ahsoka's first instinct was to call him "Master". Old habits (and attachments) die hard I guess. They're going to have some serious issues to sort out next ep though.

Lmao casuals must be super confused by this ending. Imagine that.

Goddamn that's a cliff-hanger. And on the strongest episode so far!

#ahsoka #ahsoka spoilers #star wars spoilers #ahsoka series spoilers #star wars #ahsoka tano #ahsoka series #sabine wren #hera syndulla #star wars ahsoka #baylan skoll #shin hati #morgan elsbeth #grand admiral thrawn #jacen syndulla #anakin skywalker #star wars rebels

[dantevhell]

Ask you about Amphibia season 3? Okay.

What did you think of the decision to have Marcy in a coma and then possessed for 90% of season 3?

Oooh. Now that. Now that is what I call a sore spot, buddy. Warning: this is gonna be a long post

Simple answer? It was okay-ish

More real answer: it was a disappointment

I genuinely was very excited to see possessed marcy, I was excited for it since the little s3 opening preview after true colors official airing and well... it felt like for me things peaked at olivia and yunnan... and then went absolute downhill from there on.

I love the possession trope, I love possession arcs, I think marcy being possessed would be a very good writing idea bc it represented SO WELL how abuse worked. Like tell me what screams "marcy was groomed by an adult and is being abused" than her after being almost killed, having her bodily autonomy being ripped away from her! It was a good metaphor! It was perfect!

Like LOOK AT THIS. LOOK AT THIS AND TRY TO TELL ME THIS DOESN'T LOOK LIKE AN ADULT GROOMING AND ABUSING A CHILD! YA CAN'T!!

Olivia and yunnan brought a lot of interesting stuff to the table: how olivia and yunnan felt about marcy (and this is another can of worms to me to rant so let's not even begin), how ANDRIAS felt about marcy, how marcy was healing from her almost death experience and how her body was dealing with it, how she was dealing subconsciously with her guilt, what made andrias and the core think about making marcy the host etc etc! Like so many good stuff! And i felt like after this ep. All these things there were little snowballs that could become an avalanche of events... instead turns into dust.

I HATE how darcy was a character that instead of being used to showcase how marcy feels about all those events and instead of showing MARCY'S emotions about being betrayed ... it was used to showcase andrias emotions and to make him look sympathetic and allow him to have an atonement arc... I hate it so much.

Like don't get me wrong I loved the complexity of him being part of cycle of abuse so intense that it affected all his other relationships, I loved that he cared about marcy! I love that he cared about her because it showcased how abuse is complex! How an abuser can care about his victim but still feel such pleasure in hurting them!

I love these scenes because it shows exactly that:

Care

And sadistic pleasure:

Like these scenes were great! The complexity of him loving her but also still torturing her and having a mixed reaction of loving/hating seeing her suffer. Mwah chef kiss! But every scene where he was around darcy was made to showcase how he was regretting his choices and making him look like an poor man who had no other choices then kill and torture this child like...that's obviously not true...

These scenes? Oh I hate these scenes:

I wished marcy's possession was used to show how MARCY felt about herself and her guilt, about how she felt about her relationship with andrias and his pain towards him, about how she losing her autonomy felt, i wished they showed her escapist fantasy created by the core waaaay before the finale!!!

If yall wanted to show a scene that focused on marcy while still showing andrias complexity why not create a scene of how their flipwart match went? Or any bonding scene from >> HER << point of view? From a scene that focused on >> HER <<

Now at fear of repeating myself too much a resume of everything i said: marcy s3 arc was not truly about her but only a device for us to create sympathy towards andrias, her abuser, and all the scenes of him reminiscing about her and their relationship (like this one)

Should have been scenes focused on her point of view instead.

The only moments where the core/darcy was used to truly further marcy development/emotions were:

- during the beggining of the end where darcy told Sasha and Anne about how they rejected marcy's interests

- during her escaping her fantasy land

- and in the ending where she told everyone what was the cores intention with becoming the moon

But aside from that? It was wasted potential in my opinion

Ps: (Andrias should've died and marcy deserved to show even the slightly amount of anger towards him as well. As a little treat)

#amphibia #king andrias #andrias leviathan #king andrias leviathan #the core #darcy #darcy wu #marcy wu #amphibia s3 #amphibia season 3 #// #abuse #abuse mention #genuinely so mad bc #they could've have writing these two as one of the best depictions of abusive relationships in a cartoon #and then. they thrown it out of the window #marcy regina wu #dante speaks #media analysis #amphibia analysis #meta

[zorobae]

just finished watching opla and I enjoyed it tremendously! I've heard of one piece but never watched or read it, so I went in blind with opla. and it made me a fan! I absolutely love the strawhat crew! luffy is so precious and best boy, zoro got my heart, nami is one hell of girl, usopp grows on you, and sanji just cracked me up! and the bond between luffy and zoro in opla is just *chef's kiss* (I kinda lowkey ship them...). the opla makes me want to dive in the anime next but the number of eps scares me LOL!

Hello there~

This is amazing! ^-^ Easily one of the best things that's coming out of this live action adaptation is that it makes new people become fans of One Piece and even give the anime or manga a try. As a longtime One Piece fan, it just makes me happy to know our fandom is growing. One Piece looks f-cking ridiculous at first sight, I get it, but it actually has so much to say. Its longevity is absolutely earned.

You know, you're talking to someone who ships Zoro and Luffy quite hard xD I'm not exaggerating when I say they have the healthiest, possibly strongest and most meaningful bond that any two characters have in the story. And we get to see so much of it. Their understanding and devotion is just on another level. In fact, there are things that the live action left out which make certain events in the future more meaningful/emotional. Though I'm curious how they're gonna adjust the story to keep a similar effect, so to say...

To be honest, I would recommend the manga rather than the anime anyway. The anime contains a lot of filler material which can range from elongating scenes to entire arcs that aren't canon. You might want to see certain scenes from the manga in anime form but you can just go ahead and do that after you've read it. There are more than 1000 episodes and also more than 1000 chapters but trust me, it doesn't take 20 minutes to read one chapter so you'll be able to catch up with the manga much sooner than with the anime. The number may seem daunting but it really isn't when you're reading it. Plus, seeing Oda-sensei's art improve over the decades is a joy. You can read all available chapters on the official shueisha site here. (Or you can download the mangaplus by shueisha app.) You can only read each chapter once for free, though, so do keep that in mind. If you do decide to read it, I would love to know if your opinion on any of the strawhats will possibly change and what you think of ZoLu's bond in the manga~

#ask #faethebae

[ablatheringblatherskite]

my thoughts on ep 1 and 2 of the live action ATLA series!

So it is absolutely GORGEOUS. like the visuals??? the costumes?? THE VFX??? OUTSTANDING. CHEF'S KISS. INCREDIBLE. the worst thing is Zuko's scar and like ok whatever nothing we can do about that.

Episode one was fantastic we actually see a lot of great additions, which is COOL! like more of Monk Gyatso, and the actual attack on the Air Nomads... 😭

I'd say writing wise it's not as great as I want it to be. A touch too many monologues for my taste, especially in the first episode, but nothing too bad. Could've been better, but definitely DEFINITELY could've been worse *eyes the movie that will not be named*

You can tell they're trying to squish important plot points together instead of spacing it out across more episodes I mean especially since Netflix decided everything has to be EIGHT EPISODES. but the pacing is actually good considering that LOL

but oh the EMOTIONS. THE EMOTIONS?!?!!

the actor of Aang oh my gosh, Gordon Cormier, OMG. DUDE I NEARLY BAWLED MULTIPLE TIMES BASED ON HIS PERFORMANCE ALONE. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY HEARTBREAKING 😭 HE'S SO GOOD 😭 and he's so cute too he's so baby I'm wjrhwhrhwhdhwhdhwh

I love the actors of Sokka and Zuko whdhwhdhshdsjjdhsjd. Ian Ousley and Dallas Liu? DID NOT DISAPPOINT.

SOKKA WAS HILARIOUS we BURST out laughing SO MANY TIMES, he was so GOOD 😭 the jokes he cracked were genuinely funny wwhdhwhgd and the SARCASM especially. and HIS ACTING THE ACTING HE NAILED IT?? It was so natural and THE EXPRESSIONS HE'D MAKE AND JUST. ALL HIS ACTING CHOICES IN GENERAL WERE SO GOOD. HE WAS HILARIOUS. and other than the funny parts in general he was just so good! HE GETS IT. HE IS SOKKA.

and Zuko was so good too like, we haven't gotten to all the juicy angst yet so I can't fully judge, but so far he's done SO well. Like especially the moments he'd get really angry and also HE'S SO GOOD AT MARTIAL ARTS. SO.

BUT HE'S ALSO RLLY FUNNY TOO??? especially when he gets annoyed with Uncle Iroh LIKE THE BODY LANGUAGE WAS SO SUBTLE BUT IT WAS HILARIOUS. and YES UNCLE IROH WAS GREAT TOO, I LOVE HIM SO FAR. HE IS ALSO HILARIOUS and does seem like Uncle Iroh to me so far!!

Katara hasn't had much to do yet and much like. acting stuff or much to do with her character yet but like that's okay, I'm pretty confident they're still building it up. They haven't gotten to the JUICY bits yet. But she was already so good too.

I'm really interested in some changes, like how they focus more on the Avatar State as a plot point? It's interesting LOL. There was also a shot that showed that in this universe, Katara actually saw her mom die?!?? like omg, that's so gruesome I'm crying.

and it's true that they cut out the sexism arc of Sokka 😭 BUT BUT BUT. IAN OUSLEY. OH HE GETS IT. Like you can see he's really doing his best to keep it a part of the story, like in his acting choices, he's still trying to include the more sexist aspect of his character even if the script isn't supporting it. Like he really truly did his best with what he had and he nailed it, it's the script's fault

And I will say I'm not crazy about some of the stuff they added to Suki? like, I wasn't crazy about the whole "thank you for bringing the world to me" thing, but it's just okay LOL. She's frickin GORGEOUS tho

(also I was really hoping we'd get the scene of Sokka wearing the Kyoshi warrior outfit and makeup but sadly they didn't put it in but it's okay)

OH BUT THE CRUMBS. THE SOKKA AND SUKI CRUMBS. OH THEY'RE SO CUTE. ESPECIALLY THE SCENE IN THE DOJO WHERE SHE'S TEACHING HIM?? OH IT WAS SO CUTE. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. you can tell they're doubling down a bit more on their romance, especially since we know it's already gonna be endgame, but it's making me wonder how they'll tackle Yue 🤔

but yeah. Sokka and Suki stinking adorable I was SQUEALING MULTIPLE TIMES, I LOVE IT I LOVE IT

and the BENDING. THE BENDING IS KRIFFING GORGEOUS. IT'S SO GOOD. THE STUNTS?? THE MARTIAL ARTS?? BEAUTIFUL!! MAGNIFICENT!! PERFECTION!! and the VFX?? HECK YES. AUGH!! I'm definitely not disappointed about it. And I love how dangerous the bending legitimately feels?? like it feels so LETHAL. And there were some really shocking bending moments that were done incredibly well. I loved it.

so YEAH. IN CONCLUSION. so far, judging from just the FIRST TWO episodes... I rate it a 7.5/10

The writing is maybe a 6.5/10, but the acting for sure a solid 9/10. DEFINITELY worth the watch imo, BUT so much more enjoyable with an open mind and acceptance that it's not supposed to be a carbon copy of the show.

#atla #avatar: the last airbender #netflix avatar #live action atla #live action avatar #asterrisks #longer asterrisks

[vestaclinicpod]

Audio Drama Sunday - 17th September ✨

Happy #AudioDramaSunday! Here are the wonderful shows I’ve listened to this week. You should listen to them as well!! 

SPOILERS!

🌲@hellofromthehallowoods (133) Honestly not even joking when I say that I’m more upset having to listen to Polly and Yaretzi divorce than I was my own parents’ divorce. The too-little-too-late realisation being thwarted by Lucy’s arrival is GUT-WRENCHING. PLEASE, just let them be okay. Oh, and it was so good to hear from Moth again, I’m so glad that moth is going to try to escape, even if it is so bittersweet that people are getting left behind. 

🦀 @thesiltverses (32) I have to take a moment to say how much I bloody ADORE the use of music in season three so far. The sound design is already *chef’s kiss*, but the addition of the music and the panning is somehow playful and sophisticated and just generally masterful. That ending!! Hooo boy, this is SO fun in a stressful, kind of perverse way. I just love this show so much!!  I really hope Carpenter gets a chance to share with Paige (who it was a delight to hear again!) about what happened with the Trawlerman saving her. These gods do be picking favourites, though it seems like Paige’s is less than impressed with everyone… 

📻 @monstrousagonies no-one does bloopers like Hero!! They clearly have SO MUCH FUN recording and you can feel the joy diffusing into each episode. It’s so delightful! 🥺

🤴Had the pleasure of starting season 2 of InCo (@itmeblog) this week! There is so much delicious backstory to uncover about why Nova is the way she is and why it’s everyone else’s problem. I love that the eps are so short because I think it actually creates the opportunity for more world-building not less as there’s a focus on the present and not the story’s overall arc. I really like it!!

🧛‍♂️ @re-dracula oh my god. The re-dracula cast are so incredible. I keep saying it, but they are bringing this book to LIFE. It’s so much more intense, emotional and engaging like this. We all know that Beth Eyre is is incredible but GOD Beth Eyre is INCREDIBLE. 

🧬 Regina Prime (8) This episode had me gasping out loud! HOW MANY?! Omega and Epsilon have such an entertaining dynamic and I love the exploration of the wider ethical concerns of what Regina has done.

🥾@doyoucopypod (9) The dead zone moves?! I did wonder what could be so urgent that Alex would interrupt Reese’s explanation of their experience in the dead zone. Eeeeek, I hope Alex gets out of there in time!! 

🐬 @patterspod P Files #3. Seems like Ryan is wearing ill-fitting footwear in his mind palace. You need to put those crocs in sports mode to get anything out of there, dude. 

⛪️ I finally started listening to KILL FM and loved the first few stories! That one with the cat food though . . .  MAN. It was so disturbing, and I was listening so close to bed that I had to pause haha. Maybe I’ll take a morning walk to listen to the rest this week! 

Wishing everyone a great rest of their weekend and a fantastic week ahead!! 🥰

#audiodramasunday #audio drama sunday #audio drama #hfth spoilers #tsv spoilers #monstrous agonies #inco #re dracula #regina prime #finding pattersby #kill fm

[rays-of-fire-and-ice]

BLEACH: The Thousand Year Blood War Ep 18 & 19 Reactions and Thoughts

Overall reaction:

First up, I didn't write anything for episode 18 last week because when I sat down to do it, all I could think to talk about was Renji's bankai reveal, which was epic, but didn't have much more to say beyond that. I loved the whole thing though, they made Renji look like such a badass throughout. And the reveal itself was *chef's kiss*

As for this week...WOW. JUST WOW. INCREDIBLE, AMAZING, WOW. There's one main highlight and you all know what it is. Just...look at her:

This is one of the most stunning things I've ever seen coming out of this show, that includes the original series. Hell, this is one of the most stunning bits of animation I've ever seen. How did they make her bankai more pretty and elegant than it already was in the manga?! I just love that her collar and sleeves are transparent, and the little details like the snowflake pattern that constantly moves over her clothes.

The visuals for this episode were so amazing, and as you can tell, I can't reblogging gifs of it. I loved every second from a visual standpoint, everything was beautifully drawn and coloured, whether it was make Rukia look fierce or terrified or beautiful, or to make As Nodt more creepy and hellish than he already is. I mean, just look at this creep:

I loved this design in the manga, and I am LOVING it here now! Paired with church bells and music, this was a fantastic reveal.

As this adaption continues to show, when it comes to the fights of this arc, it's 10/10. Whether it's added content, hearing these characters say the lines, or just finally seeing these panels animated, it's reminding me of why I was so desperate to see this arc adapted into an anime. The moment I saw As Nodt's hand graze Rukia's, and she flinches and tries to find him, I got hyped. The moment he transformed into his Vollstandig, I was screaming. And then Rukia unleashes her bankai, and I was rolling in my chair. If As Nodt vs Rukia doesn't go down as one of the best anime fights from this year, I'll be shocked.

For one, while it goes without saying at this point, I cannot emphasis enough how GOOD the animation is:

I also loved the call back to decaying characters and the flies and how they were used for Rukia's greatest fear. It's a connection to Byakuya, an experience they can say they've both shared now, and it adds to the scenes that come next when he tells her he's proud of her and he helps her defrost.

Speaking of that scene, it was already a great moment in the manga, but see it not only animated but voiced, I teared up a little. I looked forward to seeing the dub version of the scene too, I have no doubt Michelle Ruff and Dan Woren will do great here. It's a small, emotional moment for the two them, and it's more or less a conclusion their brother-sister arc. We've come a long way since the beginning, huh?

While we're on voice acting, can we give As Nodt actor absolute praise. He made him so gosh dark creepy throughout. This is the kind of voice I would hear while reading the manga, and the way he was able to morph his voice from quiet monotony to raging growls was just amazing. He was a standout in the episode for me honestly.

If I had two nit-picks about the animation, one is that As Nodt's eyeball monsters looked a little weird and out of place, but it's so small it didn't take away from the fight for me. The other is the weird video filter they used over Rukia's flashbacks; not sure why they used that filter? Is it trying to say the original show is that old now? Were they trying to be creative? Regardless, it jarred me a little, but again, it's a nit pick in what is otherwise a fantastic episode.

Overall, it was an amazing episode that will likely be in my top fifteen of the arc of the show. Next week, I'm preparing for two shikai reveals and maybe a few tears ;_;

#bleach #bleach episode reactions #rukia kuchiki #as nodt #byakuya #renji abarai

[marblenarwhal]

hot take time ..,,,, can i say something controversial

.... i miss the angst of s2e1-3

dont get me wrong i love the fluff and the moonlight kisses and stuff too but as a longtime reader and occasional writer of darkfic, angst, and hurt/no comfort wump eps 1-3 felt like they were literally made for me. or i ghost wrote them somehow on the astral plane.

like i know it cant all be like that and that's not the fun romcom that ofmd is, but god, it was so so so good!!

also (and maybe this is even more controversial?) i know Stede has kind of had his main character arc already in s1, but i really want him to fail soon. he is getting everything he wants and succeeding far too much this season! and im sorry but i just dont find self-assured Stede as compelling!*

but on the flip side, i love the insight and interiority we're getting on Ed this season, it really is chef's kiss. i think that's why stede being a bit one-note stands out to me.

dont get me wrong i am having a GREAT time, and i loooove prissy, bitchy Stede, but it's my hope that a lot of Stede's cockiness and machismo will bite him in the ass at some point and he will be forced to find a more authentic way of existing - that's what i'd like to see in the rest of the season!!

*please note this does not extend to soft dom top Stede, who i feel more and more certain will become canon sooner than i can cope with on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level

#boring marble no one cares #ofmd s2 spoilers #spoilers #our flag means death #ofmd

[my-ghost-monument]

DW Positivity Drive

Saw @jolivira doing this - a drive to share what we love about doctor who - and wanted to spread some more positivity! Heads up, it's mostly about 13's era, lol.

Thirteen. She's just - ahhhh. My absolute favourite doctor ever. I never knew how much I wanted to see a woman playing the doctor until I watched 13. I love her energy, how she moves and bounds across the screen, how she delivers her awe-speeches and her anger too (her rage against the Master is just *chef's kiss*). Her way of delivering emotion too. I also love her outfit! It's so cool. The magenta shirt is a favourite, but I love her coat the best.

Thasmin. What can I say about this, other than it's everything I ever wanted? I've shipped Yaz and 13 since their first ever episode. I fel the vibes from them, and to see it be canon on screen is a feeling that will never leave. I adore the way they interact together, especially as s12 hits and that slow burn/crush/feelings make themselves obvious. Their hints that are scattered in s12 are magical - the lingering look in Praxeus, the comparison with Bryon and the 'get off me, Yaz' bits are just more ahhhh! I love how it pans over into flux (the hug!! The way they fly the TARDIS together!!) and into the love story of the specials.

Which need their own point: the 13 specials. All of them are just such favourites. Time loops and daleks and love confessions! And then LOTSD is one of the eps I will always remember just watching with my jaw dropped in amazement. And TPOTD is, imo, one of the best finales in dw. The independance and beautiful drive Yaz has. The hand/arm touch when 13's regenerating. The bridal carry! The implict and very much there intimacy the two have, where it's almost like the viewer is intruding.

Yaz Khan. I adore Yaz. She's one of my favourite companions. Her journey through the series - how she grows and develops herself. Yaz's arc is so subtle and beautiful and amazing, and it really shines now her whole era is done. She's such a good character, and I love how she stopped taking 13's shit and confronted her, and actually got so much of 13 told to her, and got to experience her first taste of love. How she'll be able to go on in her life now knowing what she's capable of, and that she deserves everything. And I will always love the fact that she can fly the TARDIS.

And of course, Mandip and Jodie specifically, because their acting was phenomenal. Towards the thasmin scenes and in general too.

Thirteen's TARDIS. It's honestly so beautiful. I love the colouring and the vibes, and how warm and cost it could feel and how cold and alien it looked in s12. It's such an organic structure, and really looked fascinating and alien.

Dhawan's Master. He is hands down the best for me. He's amazing in acting, he brings such energy and gusto. His chaotic evil, lashing out and hoping for that strike, his gambling, has made him so good to watch. His anger is explosive, his humour is great, and the way he interacted with 13/Jodie just was so good. The Rasputin dance scene - just wow, lol.

For S11 eps: Demons of the Punjab. What a stunning, heart-wrenching ep. And The Tsuranga Conumdrum since it's probably my favourite of s11 and I love the story progression. Also the 'come to daddy. I mean mummy' line in Ghost Monument.

Chibnall. I love how his era went (It's, if you can't tell, my favourite). The ideas he used, his timeless child arc and how it relates to adoption and abuse. The fact he gave us canon thasmin. How he brought in the 'terrible/imperial time lords' again, with the timeless child. The existence of Karvanista. How he ended his era in a perfect way, that wasn't devestating or grimdark but fit the natural tradegy every doctor must face while also giving Yaz a whole life to explore from now on - how every 13 companion got to live and go home too.

Martha Jones. She was my first favourite companion and I adore her personality and her sense of self and drive. And that leather jacket! (Smith and Jones will always be a favourite ep for me too, because of how cool Martha is in it).

The Runaway Bride and Partners in Crime. They're absolutely hilarious eps I love coming back to.

Lastly, I love the doctor themselves. How they are a character who is so full of love and will gladly sacrifice themselves to save their chosen home and people. They have flaws, but at their core all they want to do is help and be loved and love.

All I can think of right now - if you've reached the end, go and make your own post to keep sharing the positivity! <3

#dw positivity drive #doctor who #thasmin #loved this idea #I adore just getting to gush about favourite bits in this show #yaz khan #thirteen #13

[morphogenetic]

Mediaposting 2023, #12: Succession Season 2

i think I like season 2 Overall less than I do with season 1, but when the episodes are bangers (6, 7, 9, 10) they are fucking BANGERS.

i also have literally no idea where season 3 and 4 are gonna go. like other than the one spoiler I know about s4 [which I'm not really surprised happened at this point] and the fact that kendall gets a shaved head eventually....NO idea what happens. at all. other than the repercussions that I'm sure happen after ep 10 lol

more spoilery thoughts under the cut (though tbh they're more about what I think is gonna happen next season)

-I knew about the "can't make a tomlette without breaking a few greggs" line. vaguely. what I did NOT know was that the line was said in THE SENATE

-honestly just so many good tom and greg moments. "we here for you" is still so fucking funny. the water bottle thing. Tom complimenting greg on his blackmailing skills. it's all so toxic and so so good

-speaking of Tom. "i wonder if the sad I'd be without you is bigger than the sad i am with you" is such an augh line and it's phrased in such a tom way. divorce arc so real

-shiv was so real for letting rhea be ceo and then immediately leaving bc of the cruises stuff. she girlbossed too close to the sun in episode 6 but then girlbossed her way back down to earth too

-i REALLY want to see if Roman actually gets therapy or if they just let him suffer like they did w kendall only getting two days of rehab. im also feeling like he might get more attention next season since shiv was more focused on during s2, when kendall was most important for s1, so maybe each season is more focused on one particular character?

-it's also fascinating to me that even though Roman is clearly the comedic relief sibling...he's smarter than he looks. he couches it in a lot of acting like he doesn't know anything - and he doesn't a lot of the time, lol at him buying the wrong soccer team - but like...the piece of episode 10 where he doesn't think the buyout will work? and in a way where his dad won't really get mad at him for it? he's kind of incredible at socially engineering people, in the way that youngest siblings often are. i don't think he'll ever lead the company but he could definitely be a way bigger player next season

-i know the entire point of kendall is that he's incredibly inscrutable and hard to figure out and like, a+ to jeremys acting on this, but he is even more inscrutable than usual this season. which felt weird after season 1 where he was definitely complicated but at least I could understand what the fuck was going on with him. now I'm a little ???? about it. i guess that's what happens when he's more of a background player this season though

-...but the divide between ep 9 and ep 10 kendall is both wild and totally expected. constantly going between defending his dad and treating him like a God and then saying he's a horrible person? on point. 10/10 no notes

-also I didn't really start paying attention to this until near the end of the season but the way that people have conversations in terms of the physical space between them is so important. it stood out to me with Logan and his kids. with Roman and Logan they sit apart but not distant, like business partners. logan and shiv? at first they had business partner spacing, then they had family member spacing. logan and kendall? circling each other like fucking sharks until the very end where kendall kisses his dad on the cheek right before betraying him. God. peak

-(SPEAKING OF THAT. THE PHYSICAL DISTANCE BETWEEN SHIV AND TOM DURING THE THREESOME CONVERSATION USED TO SHOW THE EMOTIONAL DISTANCE BETWEEN THEM. CHEFS KISS)

-ending the season on a boat was perfect after the season ends up being about the cruises drama. so perfect. i know it has the metaphor of pushing someone overboard too but (gestures) Boats

-i feel like I need to rewatch this season specifically when everything ends because a lot of the episodes felt....not pointless, totally, but more filler-y than season 1? like I really don't even remember what happened for most of the season outside of a few specific moments and I literally just watched it. idk. i mean the same is kind of true for season 1 but season 1 felt like it had more defined mini-arcs and I can remember more of what happened in that way

-i could write a whole thing on the pierces bc I think that was the most compelling part of the season outside of eps 9 and 10 but. ill spare you the details

-i like how by the end of the season greg is totally unimpressed by the size of the boat. luxury corruption arc

-tom and greg are absolutely having a screaming match next season about having the documents even after burning them and i cannot fucking WAIT

#(finished yesterday technically but I wanted to make this post sooner rather than later so) #mediaposting #successionwatch #junpei.txt

[supermacaquecool]

Top 5 characters from anything ever?

Huh... In no particular order...

-Takamachi Nanoha: bc I'm obsessing over this early 2000s franchise again. So yes, it's the recency bias. But I genuinely love her as a hero in s1 and how interesting she is as an adult in Strikers, so...

-Koito Yuu: bc I was obsessing over bloom into you just a little bit ago. Biy is p much only interesting as a romance story bc Yuu is the protagonist constantly questioning her relationship to Touko and her own feelings, despite how much she actually sucks at discerning her own desires and emotions lol It's a fun tension.

-Shibuya Aoi: she's still my special bday girl. I love she gets her own route and the material cements her as the most morally dubious person in the cast LOL Aside from making all her "motherly" traits look horrendous lol Chefs kiss. Visit my blog @digisurvive if u want to see more.

-Takatsuki Shiori bc shes funny lol And she had me doing wall of texts explaining the boarding in eps 7 and 17 LOL She's such a massive loser, I love her.

-Oumae Kumiko bc eupho s3 is about to air and you bet I'll be seated to watch. I also obsessed over eupho for at least two years and my friend had to read my excessive explanations over it for months to to end. Eupho has some of the most grounded and subtle characterizations I've seen in anime, and having such a strong arc for its lead sure helps. I'm excited to her final answers as a senior hs student.

Fun fact: most of those characters are quiet introverts that have a slow burn arc until they cement their resolve and become very glavanizing leads LOL I realized recently I like leads like that.

#Special mention to Rue Kuroda PT she's the reason I like PT at all lol #Asks #Also I was jsut rewinding and trying to remember all my obsessive interests in order to answer this lol

[daniels-rwby-blog]

V9EP2

Okay this was from my fourth time watching with discord chat, on the RT server.

WOOOOOO here we go! Gonna be another intro i never skip

Damm that rise "chef's kiss"

Wiess pose yaaaas I love Wiess poses this season

Surprised Blake is the one to come up with it. This major spoil is interesting and the morals being "metaded" makes me interested as to possible Twists perhaps the season isn't as close book as we think?

OMG the fan service finally, seems like RT is actually letting this volume be what a vast majority of fans (shippers) want, i really think v7 should have had what we seen now, but in Wiess's own words it's about time and I'm happy it's happening anyhow, from what Kerry said during the roundtable this seems like a bit of maintenance to the show and it's 100+ ep story and I'm all for it. Clearly that's not all and in looking forward to the Ever after.

¡FAT BIRD!

Yang in full yang mode i see, really thought we figured out the anger issues. Blake being the knowledge keeper this season isn't what i expected but hopefully (get it) we stop it soon. And thus the king arc is setup, will be interesting to see. Holy crap that got serious quick, hope, hope in a jar what is this story? The emotion rain strikes again, seems like this is normal according to the guards reaction. Wiess pouts Blake is logical for once, and i guess her reading all the time and knowing the plots makes sense as to why she's the exposition dump. Penny is still the MVP, heh, but no that was a heartfelt summary of her character certainly came for a dark ass place in ruby's heart.

Love the art and split frames, love Wiess's poses and the concept art was awesome also alliteration is the name of the show apparently, loving these ep names.

My main take aways are questions 1. Why are we getting the story now and what Twists will be introduced?

2. Will we meet Alex? Is it possible that she never left and has become the queen? Everything seems to have aged, so perhaps she fell through and became traped and so the world continues to age instead of being in it's fairytale state of never aging?

3. Is Jaune with the king, perhaps prisoner? Or has he become the white knight already?

4. This is more a prediction, i assume the king has crescent rose. In the game of chess or whatever that seems to involve tiny chibi team RWBY is she fighting for crescent rose or something else disguised as it, or something else entirely?

#rwby vol9 #spoilers

[izartn]

Yes I'm the kind of woman who enjoys some dumb rule of cool power ups in her Shonen so what. Really I don't really care much for power ceiling expept make your protags suitably alien to normal life to go with their ascension.

I did watch the first 105 eps season of fairy tale in a fever dream three-four days frenzy when I was 13 as the first anime subbed I ever watched. As in it got me into my properly otaku phase. I was mesmerized by one piece as a kid although even then I got bored of the long arcs XD maybe now I'm not 7-9 years old I could get into the manga...

I mean d gray man and Fullmetal alchemist and Pandora hearts (+Vanitas, Jun you Angel) for me don't count, they were written by women the vibes are different XD truly Shonen written by women have other vibe, the way they treat relationships and character development drama. Chef kiss! but yeah. Hyper fan of them!!!

Noragami, and Jujustsu Kaisen are also pretty nice and well done.

Because sometimes I crave some spectacular fantasy action and it happens Shonen does go pretty wild on that sense!! There's always fic for when I want emotional resolution anyway XD

#my thoughts

[glossolali]

TLOVM Watch Party EP 3 Summary

- De Rolo Daddy was played by Taliesin

- Matt: so weird they use his original design for the VM Emon keep

- Playfulness and rivalries between characters were important to establish, dick tap and ball tag were essential (lol)

- Foreign dubs for this show are incredible

- The evening wear is SO good and Phil Bourassa made multiple options for the ladies

- Another Matt Mercer NPC sighting!

- Scanlan's rainbow crotch piece was Sam's choice, of course

- Briarwoods' design is pretty dead on as Matt imagined, even Laura and Travis's Halloween cosplay of them (except for the sunglasses)

- Allura and Kima are such a cute couple with their coordinated outfits!

- Keyleth's reactions are perfect and adorable

- Vex has a fan! Of course, she wants to show off that she's money

- The Vax ponytail is choice, chef's kiss

- Simon!

- Silas' eye color shift is supposed to be subtle

- Grey Griffin, Delilah's VA is brilliant and great at voicing her, she thanked them for giving her a fun role

- Everybody wants the Briarwood's cool chest, and also the pie

- Percy's anime fishbowl lens and the glasses reflection is so good!

- The Vax and Briarwoods scene is burned into their minds, and was so cool to see on screen, every beat is perfect

- Vax is so cute, he's a hottie (yes, glad we all agree)

- Sam's Brother-In-Law and him did Scanlan's Beads of Love and worked on a lot of the music, sending voice notes back and forth

- Everyone talks about how hot the Briarwoods and Vax scene is

- The fight with the Briarwoods is very well done and all the sounds and effects make it amazing, and it's so well-directed

- They love how badly this fight goes for Vox Machina, it's real stakes

- The camera work in the fight feels visceral and real, and it was not easy to do

- Keyleth is the most powerful one (nature magic users are broken!) but she still doesn't know how to use her magic

- Percy is hot and sexy, the gun reload animation is hot too

- Don't make Keyleth cry!

- Scanlan is a little douchebag and he's covered in whipped cream, they hope.

Q&A:

Q: The Vax and Briarwood scene, first - how dare you, second - what the fuck, third - what was it like creating and voicing this iconic character?

Matt: Loves the Briarwoods and had to vie for the role of Sylas (Sam: it was a given that Matt would voice him) We wanted Sylas to be like a feral beast of the night, so he got to be more muscled and powerful, wolf-like almost

Q: The Briarwood fight scene!

Brandon: The board artists killed it, we barely had to change anything

Sam: Most of the storyboard team have mostly worked in children's animation, so the characters were just getting bumped or falling over but we were like "HURT US! Make it look really bad" and by the time episode 3 came around they were like "You want us to fuck up your characters? Okay, we'll fuck up your characters"

We watch the first draft animatic of the "Your soul is forfeit" scene (sorry didn't have screen record prepped!)

Matt: Working on this is a homecoming because I grew up wanting to be an animator

Q: How did you condense all that important info into a 22 minute episode?

Matt: Carefully

Travis: We had to condense The Briarwoods Arc from 35 to 40 hours to 6 hours, so we decided on what are the important things we need to keep for future storylines and episodes

Matt: What are the favorite beats that show essence of the things not included are still carried forward? That's what we focused on

Q: Favorite easter eggs?

Everyone: Matt's NPCs, and there are many Doors throughout the season

We can't wait for everyone to watch the next 3 episodes, this batch is the best one, Ep 4 is a favorite

Q: What was it like to see your characters animated for the first time?

Travis: Watching even the initial chicken scratch animatics was great, we were freaking out and being emotional after together, it was very special, a dream come true

Q: Let's talk more about the music, and Sam's songs!

Sam: Lots of demos of weird rhymes and gross stuff and fun that I hope to share with everyone one day, the VM song was too long at first but they loved it

Sam sings Beads of Love live!!!

#critical role #the legend of vox machina #tlovm #vox machina #cr spoilers #cr 1 #cr #tlovm watch party #glossopost #long post

[silviakundera]

Rewatch of Story of Yanxi Palace, episode 36/37 notes

This arc, with empress in the coma and 2nd male lead's marriage and her waking is just... chef's kiss !!! Perfection!

The main characters all have clearly defined emotional drivers and motivations, with clashing objectives and "bottom lines".

Everyone is a MESS right now and with their queen awake, the emperor and Wei Yingluo are back to what they do best: ratcheting up the stakes of their battle of wits & will.

Is the emperor a terrible love interest? Obviously YES. He's an emperor: he's been raised to consider himself a quasi diety and destined ruler of the world. The man has an avalanche of baggage. And he is unwilling to admit he even IS a love interest until now.

(empress: have u considered u guys get absolutely chaotically insane around each other cause u want to bang?? maybe??? I AM HUNDREDS OF YEARS BEFORE THERAPISTS, I AM TRYING MY BEST. WHY IS THIS MY JOB? HONESTLY.)

Emperor: ... ha ha ha I am laughing because this is funny to me and not at all spot-on. So ridiculous. Me? And my servant rival? That's ,,

Empress: How about u let my brother marry her, since we can't exactly--

Emperor: NO!! no, that.... Why? Because reasons.)

The opening of episode 37, where emperor finally stops repressing and admits that he is hot for his wife's faithful gremlin knight. And so naturally reacts to that vulnerability by tenderly hovering over her unconscious form and then aggressively fucking w her as they back & forth play absolute mind games on each other AND ITS SO SO BEAUTIFUL. 😭😭 Just toying with each other and pushing buttons. I do believe Wei Yingluo both respects him yet resents him, maybe even hates him a little. But I refuse to believe she doesn't get a rush out of going toe to toe with someone who can meet her head-on. I think she definitely doesn't want to enter his harem at this point, but part of her is hot for him. As much as a servant CAN have an emperor for a frenemy, that's basically their vibe in the 20-30's episode chain.

Their dynamic is so fascinating, because there's this massive power imbalence and yet when they really go for it and metaphorically duel each other, it never really feels for me like Wei Yingluo is outmatched.

Now, part of the reason for this is that, for instance in their showdown in ep 36, the emperor isn't just walking her off the plank (like he'd treat most anyone else). He gives her 2 paths to walk: give up your honor (by lying about her motivations in "seducing" the empress's brother) or perform a snowy death march. And once she has proved herself just as ludicrously stubborn, brave, and prideful as he is himself - when she once again will not break, will give up anything but herself - HE is the one who buckles. Who can't see the choice through? Not her. She always can and will go ride or die for her choices. He is the one who pulls back and again and again when they play chicken. BECAUSE of the power imbalance. Because when the imbalence is that wide, the only end is death. And even early on, he respects her as... an adversary? a foil? a kindred spirit, in a round about fashion? So at the last moment he has to be the one to yank back on the wheel and stop the collision. Because he is the one w the power, it often means it's on him to stop them when they have taken the game too far.

And so again in ep 37, she is the one who ultimately gets what she wants: not to be his concubine and go back to her empress. I don't believe he truly buys what she's selling (ooooh your majesty, I've been plotting for your favor for so looooong) - it's that he tries to push & push and she meets every turn w her own response. She shows him how she's going to play it and makes clear that she's unwilling (without ever saying she's unwilling) (showing how unwilling she is by making fake cloying displays of being willing). And he backs down, plays it off so they can both exit gracefully and return to battle another day.

Of course, the reason why he's an absolute bastard is he wouldn't respect her half as much if she ever took the easy way out.

and then the desperation, the delirious joy when she gets to see her empress again !!! ❤❤❤ who is self-sacrificingly turning her away !! THE ANGST. THE TEARS. THE KNEELING EMBRACE. And when the empress is despairing, Wei Yingluo is the one who bring up (who has been noticing!) how often the emperor has been secretly checking up on their empress gf but fleeing before speaking. gaaaawd these 3 are the worst, I hate (i love them)

(whyyyu can't she liiiiiiiive so I can have fun ot3 times w later wei yingluo harem hijinks. TOO CRUEL.)

#story of yanxi palace #wei yingluo