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stuffnonsenseandotherthings · 9 months

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Crackpot Predictions - Only Friends Episode 1

Welcome to a new thing I do where I try to predict (*cough* wildly guess *cough*) what's going to happen in a show based solely on my read of the first episode. I'll try to cover all of what I think are the main story beats, record them here for posterity (and so I can either say "ha I told you so" or you can all point and laugh at me later), and hopefully by the end of the series we'll all be able to see if I'm a clairvoyant with a magic orb or, alternatively, a numpty with a glass paperweight. Some of these predictions are completely serious, others are complete crack, and some are just random thoughts that had the misfortune of wandering into my head.

With that, let's get started shall we?

The Hostel

Setting up a hostel for your graduation project? How cute!And with your best friends too? How adorable!

Too bad that hostel is absolutely Not Going To Happen. And not only is the hostel Not Going To Happen, its also going to be the site of some of the worst moments of your entire lives!

Prediction: is this is where it's all going to go down, this is where they're going to have the final argument, this is where the climax is going to happen, this is where shit hits the fan and then explodes. I mean why else would you introduce a building site if not to have all your characters have mental breakdowns symbolically in the middle of it? Scaffolding and painter's tarp is for screaming matches and for saying things you never meant to say.

Mew

Oh Mew. Soft, virginal, innocent Mew. Mew who lives in a completely different world to his friends where he wears cute pastels, gets a teen movie montage when he wakes up in the morning, gets a public confession like something out of a romance movie... Surrounded by people with impure thoughts and even worse intentions. What on earth is going to become of our sweet pastel boy?

Who am I kidding, he's going to be fine.

In fact he's probably going to be one of the few people who is fine by the end of this series, and will probably be at least partially responsible for quite a lot of other people being very fucked up (especially Top, sorry my man but you are doomed by the narrative). He's definitely doing to be hurt and he's definitely going to lose his honour student title and he's definitely going to have less friends by the end of this but he'll be fine, he's literally the only one in the friend group other than Chueam with the emotional maturity to cope with and process what's about to happen.

Prediction: He's going to lose friends (but not Chueam, she'll stick with him), his academic record is going to be messed up (but not irreparably so, he'll just have to put in extra work to repair it), and he won't have a boyfriend by the end of the series but he'll be okay, he'll be able to walk it off when it's all said and done. He may even start to get his man back (if he wants him, that is).

Ray

Poor Ray, he's a rich brat who clearly has some self-esteem issues and is whipped for his best friend. He's in for a rough ride I fear, especially seeing as he currently deals with his emotions by getting very drunk and/or lashing out.

Sand will probably be good for him (perhaps a little too good for him) in both bringing him down a peg and hopefully giving him the kind of ego boost he actually needs (no Ray you are not a burden but please stop ruining your liver) and I'm really looking forward to the development of their enemies to fwb relationship and all entails.

Unfortunately for Ray he looks like he might be a bit of a bleeding heart romantic on the inside so he's probably going to get his heart broken twice in a very short space of time; once by Mew and his new relationship and then once again by Sand and his refusal to play second fiddle and Ray is only going to realise this when it's a bit too late. Needless to say Ray will probably not be having a fun time for most of this series and of all the character he is tied as most likely to end up in hospital at some point.

Prediction: He's going to lose friends, he's going to fail his degree, he's going to get his heart broken twice and he's probably not going to be okay about it (but hopefully he'll be on the mend by the end of it all). Ray is going to start shit he can't finish and he, more than anyone else, is going to be a victim of his own actions but hopefully he's also going to be the character with the most growth. Sand might be around to scrape him off the floor at the end, but Ray is going to have to work himself out first.

Boston

Boston, what to say about Boston other than currently he seems to be trying to break the record of most men slept with in a single episode (his competition is Brian Kinney from Queer As Folk btw).

There's definitely a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to him and I look forward to unpacking all of his messy laundry when the time comes. He seems to be both incredibly confident with his life choices (good for him) and incredibly insecure about them at the same time which is fascinating and I definitely get the feeling that he has issues with Mew (to the point where I wouldn't really say they're actually friends) because of that insecurity. I genuinely wouldn't be surprised is at some point we get a lot of pent resentment spilling out from Boston about Mew because no one casually mocks someone they're genuinely okay with that many times behind their back.

Prediction: Boston wants but he doesn't quite know what. He is definitely blowing up every single friendship he has in the process of working it out and he's probably going to find himself on his own for a while too, which might actually be what he needs. That being said, if anyone decides to put forward a laurel at the end of the show though, I also think it's going to be him. I also predict no romance, but I also don't think that's what he wants or needs.

Top

Top the Top Tier player who's never not got his object of interest before. He likes casual sex, comes off as a bit of a sleaze (but at least a sleaze who respects boundaries), and is apparently looking for a new challenge now sleeping around has got boring (but not boring enough to not sleep with Boston again).

The problem for Top is that he thinks he's approaching Mew in his world and on his terms where in reality he's already dancing to the tune of Mew's fiddle and it's only going get worse. Mew's world has rules and regulations and things you just don't do (like sleeping with your boyfriend's best friend) and Top is going to find himself caught up in them. What's worse is he's probably going to find out (much too late) that he wants to be caught up in them. Top might be the big man now but he is well and truly fucked.

Prediction: Top isn't going to take his relationship with Mew 100% seriously until he realises he's already completely invested in it and at that point it's going to be too late. He's definitely going to break Mew's heart but Mew is going to break his ten times over and he's not going to recover easily from that. He might have a chance at redemption, but only once he's completely wrecked himself first.

Sand

Sand was just trying to live his life and then he threatened to pee on someone's head and it all went down hill from there.

At the moment he seems like the audience stand in: watching all the chaos and wondering what on earth is wrong with all these privileged brats (semi-affectionate). Like Mew he definitely seems to have himself together in a way that makes me think he'll come away from this pretty okay emotionally (it'll hurt but he's not allergic to emotions, he'll heal). Unlike Mew he definitely doesn't seem to completely together life-wise (i.e monetarily) though, which does make me wonder if our 3 friends (I'm not including Chueam in this, she's not a guilty party) are going to mess that up for him instead.

Prediction: Emotionally he's going to be okay (although he probably has heartbreak in the cards), in every other aspect I think he'll sustain the most damage (and therefore will be entitled to compensation). He feels the most like an innocent bystander and, as such, is definitely going to regret the day he lay eyes on the back of Ray's head. Out of all the characters, he's probably going to be the one due the most apologies all while having done very little to anyone else.

Nick

Wow well Twison changed when he went to uni, wasn't expecting that trajectory at all 😋

In all honesty I feel like I have the least to go on for Nick in terms of predictions (not that I have much to go on for anything else I've been saying). He seems to be completely gone for Boston already (oh Babe he is not a good target to fall head over tits for) and I like the idea that's floating around that Nick is already familiar with Boston somehow based off his reaction to their first meeting.

That being said, I am getting a little bit of a creep vibe from him (maybe it was the invasion of his client's privacy and subsequent masturbation scene that pinged the alarm idk) but I can't help but feel like everything Mew said he'd do if he slept with Top? Yeah Nick would actually do all those things and more. So yeah, while Boston is going to mess him up with their ambiguous relationship, it's only because Nick was pretty messed up in the first place and he'll end up messing Boston up right back with his clingy/obsessive tendencies.

Prediction: Looks like a marshmallow, is actually on fire. Things are going to go wrong for him but only because things were not right in the first place. Possibly the most likely to actually need therapy. I also wouldn't be at all surprised if he's the one to swing the bat that brings it all crashing down, in fact in this crack-pot prediction, I'm expecting him to.

The Friendship Group

Is going to be in tatters by the end of this series, I'm so sorry Chueam. (I mean is this even a prediction or am I just stating the obvious?)

Prediction: Mew and Chueam are probably still going to be friends (they seems like the closest to each other) but no one else is going to be talking. Ray might have Sand (and Chueam if he doesn't fuck up too much) but Boston going to be on his lonesome and so is Top unless they want to throw a pity party together. At the end of the show there will be a tentative reconciliation, but with the knowledge they're never going to be the same, never going to be as close as before.

TLDR + Extra Predictions

Mew: About to have the worst time of his life but he'll make it through, his pain is going to end up being other people's problem.

Ray: Poor, unfortunate soul checking in at heart-break hotel twice in the space of a few months. Most likely to get his man though.

Boston: Needs to figure out what he wants. Probably going to end up completely cut off from everyone but also most likely to extend the peace offering at the end.

Top: Fucked. (Might get a chance at redemption at the end if he's lucky)

Sand: Emotionally fine, financially screwed. Out of everyone he has to most to complain about and he doesn't even go here.

Nick: Most likely to need actual therapy.

Climax: A big argument at the hotel surrounded by the ruins of their hard work

Likely scene: All of them at Yo's bar they used to go to as friends but this time ignoring each others existence.

Likely scene 2: Boston unleashing a load of suppressed resentment towards Mew, possibly to do with their different lifestyles/world views.

Best chance at romance: Chueam

Best chance at staying friends: Chueam and Mew

Key theme: The importance of friendship

Me: happy to be proven right or wrong with these predictions and here for the wild ride regardless.

And that's it! As I said, these predictions are completely pulled from the air around a single watch of episode 1 so they're not at all serious. If I'm right yay, if I'm wrong also yay, I'm just happy to be watching, I just thought it would be fun to test how well I can predict a narrative based on very little information indeed. If anyone wants to share their own crackpot predictions I am more than happy to hear them, let's clown together.

#only friends the series #only friends #ofts #crackpot predictions #if I'm going to make predictions it will be with absolutely no information #because how else are you going to make them?#with actual information?

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peupeugunn · 1 year

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okay but imagine if shadowhunters had had filler episodes. just them doing dumb nonsense that didn't have any effect on the plot. bonding.

clary learns about the nephilim education system and she doesn't know whether to be horrified or amazed cause on the one hand they're giving knives to four year olds, on the other hand, izzy is a fully certified forensic pathologist at 19.

simon spends an entire episode dragging raphael around new york tryna find him a replacement jacket because even though the kidnapping situation was very fucked up he feels really bad!!! the episode ends with them picking out a really amazing jacket and then raphael having to pay for it because with all the supernatural crap happening, simon honestly forgot that he's a broke college student.

jace and alec episode with them on their day off just chilling (izzy and clary following them because clary Does Not Understand Parabatai and izzy thinks this will help. somehow.) they go to the library and spend some time curled up together reading. they get coffee and go to the park. jace screams at some ducks while alec provides moral support. they go for a movie. they walk around the city holding hands. they go back to the institute to spar a little and then head off to bed. clary through the episode keeps asking "are they dating? are they not? seems like they are?" but izzy keeps denying the dating allegations. clary then finds someone in the institute that can actually explain parabatai with actual words and she barges into izzy's room in the middle of the night screaming "YOU COULD HAVE JUST TOLD ME THEY'RE SOULMATES ISABELLE!"

there's an episode that is literally just. magnus' cats. nothing else. magnus provides narration like this is a nature documentary.

malec's second date, where they just sit on the couch and watch tv and trashtalk the characters. the entire episode is edited to look exactly like a youtuber-reviewing-a-tv-show thing. the first time time an action scene comes up, alec gets so mad at how unrealistic it is and magnus gives him a detailed explanation of how and why movie fighting is so different from real life fighting and why they're choreographed that way. the episode is an hour and a half because magnus and alec keep getting sidetracked and start talking about random stuff. it ends with them falling asleep together on the couch.

a magnus & catarina & ragnor episode with them just hanging out. cat and ragnor keep making fun of magnus for being so in love but he keeps agreeing with them with a lovestruck expression and that takes the fun out of it. the episode is a clipshow style thing except it's not clips of stuff we've already seen, it's their adventures (including, obviously, peru.)

a jimon episode where simon sits jace down and explains in detail the entire plot of star wars. all the star wars. jace asks so many questions and they get so sidetracked at times but simon powers through. at the end, jace reveals that he actually has watched star wars and he knew everything simon was saying but let him go on and on for hours because he wanted to see whether simon would figure it out and also cause jace likes spending time with him.

a clizzy episode where izzy jokingly asks clary to paint her and clary gets so excited!!!! so izzy goes along with it. clary keeps talking like she's doing a tutorial on painting except izzy can't see what she's doing. through the episode, izzy keeps doing more and more ridiculous poses and clary paints and sketches them and somehow they turn out actually good?

i have more ideas but like. idk about you guys but i'd have watched the hell out of this stuff.

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codelyokooutofcontext · 6 months

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Today marks the one year anniversary of this blog's first post!

One year ago today, I acted on a whim and made a new blog to post moments from this show that, without context, look absolutely insane. I thought it was funny, my friends thought it was funny, but I didn't really have any big plans. I thought "I'll keep this around for a little bit and then probably drop it". Like I usually do with most projects of this nature.

If you'd told me I'd still be here a year later, I wouldn't have believed you. I especially wouldn't have believed you if you told me how many followers this account would amass in that time period. Honestly even being here now and seeing all of it, it's still a little hard to believe.

Thank you all for supporting this ridiculous little blog. It means a lot.

And after all this time, perhaps it's time for a proper introduction.

Hi, I'm YoshiStack! I've been utterly obsessed with this show since I was 4 years old and I've been involved in the fandom in some capacity since I was 13. Given that I'm about to turn 24 here in a little over a month, you could say I've been here for awhile!

Aside from this blog and the other few video edits I've done, my main contribution to fannish materials is fanfiction! I mostly write gen work about the friendship between the characters, as that's always been one of my favorite parts about the show and characters. You can find my CL work (and other oddities too if you're feeling adventurous) on Ao3 also under the name YoshiStack.

I'm also on YouTube! Right now I'm wrapping up a playthrough of the original Super Mario RPG before the remake releases and in the middle of a playthrough of a childhood game of mine, Thrillville: Off The Rails. I'm still a novice when it comes to recording stuff, but I'm having a lot of fun doing it and it'd mean the world to me if you checked it out.

(And as an aside: if you have audio or video editing you need done, hit me up either on here or the email I have listed on youtube! We'll see if we can work something out!)

Zero obligation to check out either of those ventures, but it'd mean a lot to me if you did!

Now here's some answers to some basic questions for CL and this blog that you may or may not have wondered about:

Favorite Character: Definitely Aelita! I love her arc! Her development from this character the others feel very protective over to ultimate sass master is so fun to watch

Favorite Episode: Oh that's so hard. But If I had to pick just a few...[REDACTED UNTIL POLLS CONCLUDE]

Spoilsport. Favorite season then?: Oh this one is easy! Season 2 for sure! It does a great job introducing all the new elements you need to know about in the beginning of it (Franz Hopper, William, Sector 5, etc) and has well done pay off at the end. And the stuff in the middle is just downright fun! A well executed season all around

Favorite Sector: Prooooobably forest? Something about all the trees is fun to me. Honestly I like most of the sector though. Minus desert. Too much desert in S1

Favorite Monster: I used to be all about the Bloks, but after running this blog for a year now I've gained an appreciation for the comedy that the Tarantulas often pull off. From well timed devirtualizations to killing one of its buddies with their own lasers, they're unintentionally really funny!

Favorite XANA Attack: I unironically love the food monster. Also the rat army. It's absolutely horrifying but pulled off so well

Favorite relationship: Ulrich and Aelita all the way man. Platonically I mean, their friendship is so underrated in the show itself but the few times they get to interact they're just gold (I am Jerlita trash too if you want to know more in that kind of relationship sense)

How do you pick out of context moments?: Honestly most of the time I just pick a random few episodes and skim through until I find something. Sometimes I'll have a particular moment in mind, but sometimes the funniest clips come from me just mindlessly looking through some episodes

Will you ever do Evolution out of context?: I considered using a clip from it for April Fools Day but I got lazy and never got around to it lol. Aside from that idea though, I don't know Evolution well enough to pulls clips from it, and I'm just not super interested in doing so at the moment. If anyone else reading this though has a burning desire though then you absolutely have my blessing (not that you need it obviously)

What do you think about the idea of the show possibly getting a continuation?: So I’ve always been pretty set in my thought that the show doesn’t really need a continuation. While more backstory on Project Carthage would be cool, it never really mattered to the Lyoko Warriors in the end, and the idea of bringing XANA back after they fought so hard to bring it down always felt cheap to me. They had their fight, they won, let them move on in peace.

That being said, the idea of the brains largely responsible for the original show having a genuine interest in continuing does have me at least a little intrigued. It’s way too soon to say whether or not anything will come from that interest of course—TV is a complicated thing and interest from creators alone isn’t enough to make it happen. But if nothing else, it’s nice to know that even all these years later, there’s still interest in the show and these characters from them.

How long will this blog be around?: Honestly I have no idea! I never thought I'd make it this far! I have no plans on stopping any time soon at least—there's tons of episodes I haven't even touched for out of context moments, so I'm not running out of material any time soon!

For now I’m just going to letting things run their course naturally and enjoy the ride.

That’s all I can think of to put here, but my askbox is always open for more questions!

Thank you all once again for your support for this year. I hope you'll join me going into our next one and beyond.

Here's to another year out of context!

#yoshi speaks #not a clip #not out of context #code lyoko

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shallowseeker · 7 months

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As a follow up to my previous message about Dean’s grief being colored through Sam’s vision, it’s striking in that *that’s* the full circle moment of the show the writers were leaning to. Sam was initially the viewers eyes into learning about the supernatural and the Winchester family. We learn they support their lifestyle by running credit card scams, as an example. While undoubtedly Dean became the main character, after over 300 episodes, we wind back to Sam and see Dean through Sam’s eyes. He deflects about losing Cas. We get just the tiniest glimpse things aren’t right with Dean when he’s by himself - that hug with Miracle, getting up and leaving the bed unmade - but ultimately that’s it. Everything else Dean experiences in the remaining 20 minutes of the episode where he’s still alive, he’s with Sam.

And speaking of visions, I almost wonder that what we see of Sam’s life might not actually be what happens but rather a daydream of where he might go from here. He could marry a faceless random woman, have a kid - if it’s a boy, definitely name him after Dean, and try to hide away from the hunting lifestyle. If he doesn’t put pictures up, maybe the images of people like Cas and Jack, Jody, etc will fade from his mind. He’ll teach the importance of family to his son. We know that’s important to Sam by the enlarged picture of his parents and Dean (from Lebanon promo pics) in the middle of it all. And he’ll definitely keep the Impala.

And that might be what happens in Sam’s life. Or it might not. We really don’t know what happened after he closed the bunker doors.

"I almost wonder that what we see of Sam’s life might not actually be what happens but rather a daydream of where he might go from here."

❗❗❗❗❗❗❗

OH MY GOD. THE DREAMY LAST SEQUENCE AS SAM'S DAYDREAM WHILE DRIVING HIS WAY TO THE NEXT HUNT. See, Sam's listening to Carry on My Wayward Son, but in his mind, it becomes...this.

I friggin' love that idea, though! Like, when you lose someone, you do find yourself thinking, "I'll see them again, someday. They're probably in Heaven right now. Jack fixed it, so it's better. Cas helped. Everyone is together. I'll probably meet him on a bridge...when I too cross over." That's so...normal.

"He could marry a faceless random woman, have a kid - if it’s a boy, definitely name him after Dean, and try to hide away from the hunting lifestyle. ...And he’ll definitely keep the Impala. And that might be what happens in Sam’s life. Or it might not. We really don’t know what happened after he closed the bunker doors."

The woman is blurry, because Sam doesn't have a clear idea of it just yet, but she will be transformational and zen and so, so normal. Sam has a very poor idea of what aging will actually look like for him, too because none of his fam has ever actually made it that far. Which is why the wig looks so weird.

Sam has a very poor imagination of what "normal" looks like, because he is and has always been a weirdo. Like, he really thinks he'll be decrepit and elderly by the time his son is a young adult.

Not only do I love this, but I spent the last three minutes laughing at how Sam put his entire neurodivergent heart into his grief-fantasy, and it looks like that.

spectacular! @lemon--verbena

#asks #HELP I'm LAUGHING #spn finale #cw spn finale #sam stuff #sammy #sam + grieving #tfw + grieving #wayward on main street #fic brainstorming #file under best asks ever

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lenteur · 5 months

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random thoughts about tell me that you love me, episode one

(the rest is under the cut because i'm worried about your eyes having to read ALL OF THAT and this post might contain spoilers)

First of all, I'd like to say that the scenery is gorgeous 💘 I'm in love with it 😍

The first thing I've noticed is how peaceful and slow this drama is. I really like that. I wonder if there will be a lot of moments of silence because cha jin woo has a hearing impairment.

The music ambiance in this episode is amazing. You can feel how the main character feels about the world around him.

I like that mo eun understood jin woo can't hear well and went back up the rooftop to save him.

Mo eun still taking the time to reassure jin woo that everything's going to be okay in the middle of a fire, how caring of her.

So now we know jin woo is triggered by fire because something happened when he was younger. It must have taken place during high school but we don't have the details yet.

I'm in the middle of this show and I'm already in love... I think it's cute how the more they meet the more they communicate with each other and find ways to do so because jin woo can't hear.

It's amazing that they're both thoughtful about each other: she came to rescue him during the fire, he's serving her the dish and even bringing her a towel when it started raining on them. It's those little gestures that mean a lot.

Mo eun even tried to cover her ears to understand how it feels to be in jin woo's shoes.

I noticed that the first time jin woo smiled is when he was with mo eun, the only person who seems to notice him. She's the first person who went to him and tried to understand him. She even went as far as saving him because she knew if she didn't chances are he'd have been caught in the fire.

And now mo eun is learning sign language for him? Oh take my heart while you're at it! I know they're not in a romantic relationship but it's just heartwarming to see them BOTH put effort into communicating with each other and no just jin woo. It proves that she is a thoughtful person. She's thankful for jin woo helping her and she wants to let him know in the language he understands the most.

The shift in jin woo's eyes when he saw her communicate with him in sign language 💖 followed by "I always thought I was the one who should make efforts" Kindness and understanding go a long way.

Jin woo has been rejected by others (ie the grandma who swiftly went back home when she learnt he can't hear) so it must have been a relief for him to see someone not be deterred by that and trying their best to communicate with him.

What I really liked the most about this episode was that it matched with jin woo, whether it be the pacing or the sounds, it helped us put ourselves in his shoes. I'm glad this decision was made because it's rare to find shows (didn't say it was impossible) that put a spotlight on a disability that well.

I'm going to give the episode a 9/10

ps: i was made aware this is a remake of a 1995 japanese drama Aishiteiru to Ittekure. I haven't watched the drama so I won't be making any comparisons between the two. So if my opinion differs from yours because of that, please know that i am aware the japanese drama exists but i won't be watching it (for now, who knows?)

#what a great surprise!#i can't wait to watch the next episodes #thank you to the talented gifmaker that made me want to watch this thanks to their beautiful gifs 💗#random(al) thoughts #kdrama #tell me that you love me

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spacevixenmusic · 1 year

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What's your opinion on the subject of filler and episodic television? Is it "dying" as some have bleated on about? Are stories that keep up plot momentum better or worse?

By "episodic," I don't strictly mean that there's never any continuity so much as the Myth Arc across a given season is flexiable enough so certain episodes can be ordered a certain way with enough care. By contrast, any given Netflix series may be episodic but with a set order that cannot be flexible.

First off, we have GOT to clearly define the word "filler" so people can stop misusing it. "Filler" occurs when a show is being adapted from a different original source (typically manga, games, or visual novels), but the studio ordered more episodes than are needed to complete the adaptation, and writers must create additional episodes full of stories NOT included in the source material in order to "fill" the episode quota. You can usually spot this in extremely long-running anime series when the plot catches up to source manga (Dragon Ball, One Piece, Bleach, etc) and the writers have to get creative while they wait for a new volume of source material to be released.

Anyway, what was the question again? Oh right, episodic shows.

Serial vs episodic: neither is better or worse, they're two different types of storytelling, and they work to different ends. I'm a fan of both honestly!

Episodic shows only seem to be "dying" because there's been a huge rise in the popularity of serial shows lately. If watching reaction channels has taught me anything, it's that modern audiences have started really undervaluing episodes that don't drive the plot forward or reveal new Lore or Character Development. And y'know, it's fine to have a preference for serial shows, I get that, but I don't understand the sheer disdain for light-hearted episodes or self-contained adventures that don't lead into something bigger. You can blame Marvel movies if you like, but I blame TVTropes and CinemaSins and Youtube comment sections personally. These places have fostered and created a generation of people who LOVE feeling they're somehow "smarter" than the show they're watching, rather than just, y'know, watching the show and coming to their own conclusions all the same.

I have a special fondness for episodic shows that take on a mini adventure every episode. A staple of my childhood was a show called Mighty Max, about a kid who fell into the possession of a magic baseball cap that could open hidden portals that took him all over the world. Every episode, he and his two semi-immortal guardians would be tasked with saving people from weird B-movie sci-fi and horror creatures, which required them to travel to foreign countries on the regular. Max would get a message that the world was in peril and have to find a portal located in some completely random location, - for example, the frozen food aisle of a local grocery store - that would drop him off in the middle of the wilderness in Sumatra or an ancient castle in Scotland or wherever. By the end of each episode, the world would be saved and Max would try to get home before curfew so he wouldn't get in trouble with his mom, and before the credits, would take a moment to talk about the geography and culture of the place he visited in that episode. No overarcing plot (just some occasional recurring villains), just a classic case of Putting A Guy In A Situation, and it played a huge part in my love of travel and culture and geography, which then led to my love other multi-cultural media, like Cowboy Bebop, The Fifth Element, and Adventure Time.

^ That's the sort of thing modern audiences seem to dislike though. Episodic shows aren't "dying" so much as people are just less fond of them than Serial ones these days.

#anonymous #filler #mighty max

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sherwoodknights · 5 months

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SP 1999 EPISODE 4 LIVEBLOG

And we are back!!!! Been a couple of days but I'm super excited to see what happens now

Yessss you go you random man you hit chauvvy with your gun for no reason!!!

HELENE IS WITH THE FOREST REBELS?????

GO OFF GIRL TEAR HIM APART!!!

"God is on our side!" "Then why are you losing?" Damnnnnnn

ALUCARD FROM CASTLEVANIA IS BACK AND HE IS BEING A WHINY BITCH

Awwww him and Helene are kinda cute tho <33333

They are my new stupid babygirl otp actually <333

Coughy fucker be GONE!

NOOOOO GABRIELLE IS AT THE CONVENT WE'RE ALL FUCKED

Gabrielle is 2 seconds from backhanding a nun and that's honestly iconic

Oh fuck they're searching it they're gonna find Margot

Yep they've got her

MARGOT WHY CAN'T YOU MANAGE 2 SECONDS WITHOUT BEING ARRESTED SMH

Chauvelin has a talent for hitting nerves my god

HELENE YOU IDIOT HES GOING TO FIGURE OUT ITS YOU IF YOU ARENT CAREFUL

Percy and Andrew swordfighting, I am looking respectfully <33333

He just wants his wife back goddammit

Jesus christ that's a lot of dead nuns

Damn they didn't even bother to give Margot papers that were convincing

DONT SLAP MY WIFE JUST BECAUSE SHE CALLES YOU A BITCH GABRIELLE

YES ALUCARD YOU ATTACK THOSE HEATHENS OR WHATEVER I BELIEVE IN YOU <333

Oooo Chavvy getting told again

COUGHY FUCKER STOP STABBING PEOPLE CHALLENGE

Percy really just walked in and demanded to see Gabrielle and it worked

OH SHIT HES IMPERSONATING CHAVELIN AJDJDJSNDBJDIEEND

Stop flirting with the hot evil woman!!!!! But also honestly who wouldn't

"Be careful" "I'm always careful" actual literal lies but okay whatever you say

DONT GIVE IT AWAY MARGOT YOU CAN DO IT I BELIEVE IN YOU

Percy bigging up the Pimpernel while he's in disguise <3333

"Resourceful beyond belief, a thorn in the side of the Republic-" "and altogether too big for his boots" SIR ANDREW FFOULKES YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS

They're all enjoying the Chavelin disguise ploy way too much and it's amazing

DONT TOUCH MY WIFE GABRIELLE

OH SHIT REAL CHAUVELIN IS AT THE GATE ASKING TO SEE HER

THEY'RE GONNA CONVINCE HER THAT CHAUVVY IS PERCYYYYYY

YES MARGOT GET HIMMMM

YES GABRIELLE BACKHAND CHAUVELIN LIKE A GIRLBOSS

More Henri and Helene content wooooooooo

Gabrielle why are you locking the door

PERCY NO

GET AWAY FROM HER CLEAVAGE YOU HAVE A WIFEEEE

OH SHIT YOU GO PERCY

Sexiest prison break out there tbh

Rip to Gabrielle what a loser

Shut the fuck up don't you dare hurt Henri or he'll Alucard your ass

Nvm Henri is so pathetic but that's why i love him <333 wet rag of a man

Oh their plan is going to go so horribly wrong isn't it, they're so fucked

BREAKING NEWS: Pathetic Boyfriend and His Catholic Peasant Boy Band Lose So Hard It Hurts

NOOOOOO SHE SHOT MY BOY

Honestly Helene knows what she wants at least

HELENE WHY WOUKD YOU GO TO THE MIDDLE OF A BATTLE YOU IDIOT

BREAKING NEWS: Reinforcements Doomed To Pathetically Fail

NOOOOO THEY SHOT HENRI RIGHT IN THE CHEST

HELENE DONT RUN TO HIM DO YOU WANT TO DIE

AND HELENES BEEN SHOT AS WELL NOW

BREAKING NEWS: My Favourite Pathetic Loser Couple Are Doomed

Awwwwww Chauvvy cares about Helene and wants her to be safe, that's what we call character development boys and girls

BEGONE GABRIELLE

GO CHAUVVY

HE SHOT GABRIELLE MY GOD

Pathetic teary-eyed Chauvelin is best Chauvelin?????

Maybe I can possibly forgive him for killing Tony a little bit

Helene my babygirl dont leave me like this

BREAKING NEWS: This OTP Has No Fucking Survivors What The Fuck

Episode 4 is finished and with it comes the end of the second 2-parter!!!!

This one was an absolute roller coaster and had me feeling a lot of emotions, but I enjoyed it nonetheless, shoutout to this shows ability to get me invested in a couple that have only been together on screen for a single episode

#sky liveblogs #sky watches sp1999 #the scarlet pimpernel #the scarlet pimpernel 1999 #richard e. grant #martin shaw #elizabeth mcgovern

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beyonddarkness · 1 year

Note

Hi. There's mixed information for and against the Witch King being a black Numenorian but who knows, Tolkien kept changing his mind. There's some strong evidence, however in the Silmarillian, chapter Akallabeth, "Sauron was ever guileful, and it is said that among those whom he ensnared with the 9 rings, 3 were great lords of Numenorean race." So I guess we will never know 100%. Some believe since the Witch King is least afraid of water that he is Numenorean. Interesting.

If nothing is random, and everything has a purpose, then we can also look at: 1. Theo's and Galadriel's encounter with each other. Does it move him in a positive direction? It must mean something. 2. These characters settle by future Gondor. Isildur is also in Middle Earth now. So we can look at it through that lens. 3. The Faithful will also settle in this location. On this show if every little thing means something, the door is open to many possibilities. Theo Witch King, possible. Or not.

Also, Sauron death glare at Elendil in episode 3, so blatantly obvious, even when I didn't know he was Sauron. Sauron death glare at Arondir, the jury's out on that one. I rewatched all scenes several times and did not specifically see it. I am trying to, believe me. I love your observations but for show only characters there are too many possibilities available using the Easter eggs we are given. It can go in several directions and Easter eggs don't clear the way for 1 specific result.😀

Yes, isn't it great? There are so many possibilities!

Even though the phrase "it is said" could be viewed as ambiguous, I think there is an extremely high chance that we will see three Númenóreans receive some rings. I am really interested in spotting foreshadowing, and the shot below looks like a subtle piece of foreshadowing in the direction of what you quoted from the Akallabêth:

"Yet Sauron was ever guileful, and it is said that among those whom he ensnared with the Nine rings, three were great lords of Númenórean race."

"Take it."

(Not saying Tamar and his buddies are those Númenóreans; they're just guys. But the below exchange between Valandil and Sauron is pretty scary. Just saying! Not definitively suggesting that Valandil is going to get a ring. I haven't thought that much about it. But you know. Talk about foreshadowing. haha)

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

You're right about the dynamic between Galadriel and Theo being loaded with significance. I don't know if the association itself guarantees a happy ending for Theo, although there certainly is a chance that her advice will get him out of pesky situations; he may go back and forth. Being around Galadriel, Isildur, the Faithful, and even Bronwyn and Arondir, is nothing to sniff at.

But I mentioned before how Theo says a bunch of things that show that his gaze isn't in the right direction. I think the most obvious example is in his conversation with Galadriel, when he says, "What light?" Meanwhile, Bronwyn told him before to "find the light," and he's apparently failing to do so.

He certainly ended on a high note in Season 1, but he is very vulnerable to Sauron's deceit in the future. I'm jumping headfirst into the shallow end by saying that he is going to be the Witch King, because I know how far-fetched it sounds. But 1) he's a main character, 2) he's vulnerable, 3) he's gazing downward into the vast and irresistible darkness of the water, and 4) I thought that Halbrand being Sauron was far-fetched, and look where that got me. Nothing is out of the realm of possibilities anymore (although there may be many said possibilities).

Food for thought: at Comic Con, before the show came out, Lindsey Weber said that Galadriel's armor was "a gift from someone else." That's a strong indication that Sauron (the Lord of Gifts) made her armor, but in addition to making her armor, he would have made that sword.

That might be one reason why Galadriel had to stop and think before giving it to Theo; at that point, she thought Halbrand had died on her account... making that sword a gift from a fallen friend.

In any case, we know that Sauron touching things (let alone crafting things) is not a good thing. The following quotations are just two indications:

"Sauron was become now a sorcerer of dreadful strength, misshaping what he touched, twisting what he ruled [...]" (Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin).

Galadriel: "The powers we forge today must be for the Elves alone, untouched by other hands" (1x08)

The fact that Sauron made that sword, which is now Theo's, seems pretty suspect to me. Theo already had a 'sword [hilt]' made by Sauron, and it had made him feel powerful. Once he no longer had possession of the hilt, he didn't just feel guilt, but loss. And now he has ANOTHER sword made by Sauron.

The kid can't catch a break!

Not to mention, Sauron steadily watched Theo walk by, right after Galadriel said to keep the sword.

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

Speaking of death glares, you're right about the death glare Sauron gave when he hugged Elendil (assuming that's the one you're referring to; if you mean another one, let me know)...

...then yes, it's blatantly obvious. His death glare at Arondir is a little less obvious, sure, but it's pretty conspicuous if you consider the context. I can't put my finger on it, but something about Arondir's explanation of how Sauron was found (and the way he says it) is odd.

Is it vague? Too specific? Does it sound like something that someone might say if they made a deal to leave certain information undisclosed?

I don't know.

But it's off.

Arondir: "Southlanders found him on the road like this yestereve." Sauron: [glares at Arondir before lifting his gaze up to Galadriel]

We won't know what happened for sure until Season 2, so you can decide what it means (or does not mean).

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

I admit, I'm a bit confused about the "Easter eggs" thing.

I've always considered Easter eggs to be fun elements hidden here and there, with no purpose or significance in the story, just nods to fans or the general audience. By that definition, I didn't think I was paying attention to that at all, since Patrick said:

"We’re not really coming from a place of wanting to add Easter eggs, although that’s there too. We’re coming from a place of wanting to create something that is as visually sumptuous and rich as those books are, literarily. If you like the show, hopefully, maybe you’ll watch it again and you’ll notice all kinds of new things, whether it’s something in the dialogue, or something in the set design, or something in the costuming, that is hopefully communicating a whole other layer of meaning. And if you’re a fan, there’s no end to the deep dive you could be doing. We wanted the show to be something that rewarded reviewing. We wanted the show to be rich and layered and overwhelming. The way you do that is to just keep adding ideas. And when you’re dealing with Middle-earth, there’s no end to how far you could go."

In my observations, if there is something from the book that ties into something in the show, I always frame my thought process with the presumption that it is not a mere nod to the fans, but carries real weight in the story. And sometimes, a character might be aware of something in the book (particularly The Silmarillion), as if it's written history, depending on when it takes place.

I don't know if that's the kind of Easter egg you're referring to, so I may be totally missing something here.

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hils79 · 7 months

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Hils Watches Goblin - Ep 4

I love that he is so far from the angsty brooding character I was expecting. Finds out Eun Tak can see the sword, acts all cool with her then runs inside flailing to scream at his his BFF

Oh my god he just tried to hug the grim reaper and the grim reaper is like NOPE. I hope they hug before the end. It won't kill him, right? He's immortal

Oh my god are the three of them going to live together? OT3! OT3!

Haha! Well, they were BFFs for a whole 5 minutes

Let her live with her boyfriend, and her boyfriend's boyfriend

Oh my god what is happening?

I wondered who that random kid from the first episode was. He just died as an old man so I guess we'll find out. Maybe a reincarnation of someone the goblin knew?

Oh he's just a regular person who the goblin happened to help and who took the opportunity to repay that kindness to others. I'm legit getting emotional over this

Oh my god he's drunk after 2 cans of beer. Surely being alive for hundreds of years would have let him build up an alcohol tolerance

I suspect the angst is going to hit when she eventually finds out her role as the goblin's bride is to kill him

Aww he really does make flowers bloom when he's happy

Kids, don't mix medication and alcohol or you might be open and honest with the girl you like and then inexplicably make flowers bloom in the middle of autumn

Oh my god the grim reaper is hanging out in a cafe so he can watch his drama on tv

I legit cackled. Everyone in this cafe is watching the drama except the goblin who is nursing his hangover. This is what fandom is like, with the one person who doesn't go here

The goblin: remembers he went on a drunken date with Eun Tak and told her stuff he shouldn't Grim Reaper: still thinking about his show This is also what being in fandom is like

Aww Eun Tak's ghost friends got the girl who was bullying her into trouble. I love this.

Aww they're back in Canada again. Is this going to be a regular thing now

I love how happy he gets whenever she thinks he's cool

#hils watches #hils watches goblin #hils watches kdramas #goblin #guardian: the lonely and great god #kdrama

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master-of-the-railway · 2 months

Note

(Questions incoming also sorry I haven't been sending asks much lately)

(General questions)

Of all your aus, which one is your favourite to talk or think about?

Who is your favourite character out of that au, either by design, story or just general character?

(Monster au specific questions)

Do any of the engines gain hoarding instincts? (I think that's what it's called anyways)

Does Gator show up in your au, and if so is he a monster too?

Out of all the monster engines, who would be the most likely to go sit in the middle of a lake for fun (or to get away from people bothering them) (I know the above was a random question but now I really want to know lol)

(Children of Sodor au specific questions)

Do the kid engines (Thomas, Percy, Carly, Sandy, etc.) ever try to follow the big engines on their jobs? (Like, imagine the episode where Gordon drags Thomas behind the express, but instead Thomas isn't coupled up and Gordon isn't trying to teach him a lesson, Thomas is just running behind the express as fast as he can because he wants to be like Gordon, and Gordon doesn't realise until Thomas catches up at a station)

Not a question but I have a feeling that during the time before Sandy got to big to be picked up, if someone picked her up and she wasn't expecting it she would probably squeak (based off my cat sounding like a little squeaky toy if I pick her up and she wasn't expecting it)

How does Toad get along with Bruno? (If they've met)

And how does Duck view the kids? Does he stay away from them or does he chat/interact with them?

And now that I'm thinking about the Little Western branchline engines, does Oliver get along with the kids? Or Donald and Douglas?

(ToH au questions)

Does Willow discover she has magic, or does magic only work on the Boiling Isles? (sorry, I'm a bit rusty on ToH lore I cannot remember if magic works in the human realm) If she does discover she has magic, how does she and/or the people around her react?

How do people react to King? He's clearly not a very normal creature even if he is adorable.

Does Hunter ever meet Lady?

Is Belos looking for a way to get to Sodor/Shining time, to get his Golden Guard back, or did he just get a new one and forget about Hunter?

Sorry there's so many questions here lol you don't have to answer them all if you don't want to.

(Anon Orange)

EXCITED STIMMMING YESSSSSSS I LOVE TALKING THIS IS SO GOOD!!!!! Gonna take em' out section by section.

General questions: 1.) Mmmm that's rlly hard to decide on. I love a lot of them equally. I miiight say Children of Sodor? Purely bc AEG is a very big comfort show for me, I love the kiddos a lot, and I love my versions even more. 2.) Out of the group...either Gordon or Kana. COS!Gordon is beloved to me as the gentle old father he is, and Kana is just my favorite AEG in general, so I think about her a lot in my au content.

Monster AU questions: 1.) I'd say none of them are particularly hoarders. Mainly because they don't have anything they'd really want. They are enamored by shiny objects but once they're snapped out of it they don't really care too much. They've got plenty of water, coal, diesel fuel and such, so they're not hoarders of fuel either. The closest you could get would be yard leaders like Gordon, who sometimes would push their "packs" together and try to keep them in one spot because they were worried about losing any of them. They just didn't want any harm to come to their fellow engines and the leaders have particularly strong urges to guard everyone, Gordon was especially bad for it. 2.) I try to include everyone, so yes, Gator would be here too :) Seeing as I'm doing this to pretty much EVERY engine, I think it'd be unfair to leave Gator out of the fun. Adding onto that, despite being a steam engine, I think it'd be fun if he actually resembled an alligator instead of being a fluffy beast. Mainly because hey why not, and also c'mon, his nickname is Gator!! 3.) I think a lot of the engines would take advantage of the ability of getting to chill in water. As long as it's not super deep and they aren't doing it for too long, they can actually swim a bit. And in shallow waters they can just relax and cool off in warmer weather, they all enjoy it quite a bit.

Children of Sodor questions: 1.) The kids absolutely have always been trying to copy the adults. They have basic "instinct" to do jobs, but they don't know how to do things exactly, so they were looking to the older machines to learn how to do what they wanted to so badly. Carly was swinging her hook when Cranky would in an attempt to load cars the way he did, Thomas would beg Annie and Clarabelle to let him pull them so that he could pull a passenger train like Gordon (which he eventually started doing for real!), so on and so forth. 2.) Sandy did get very surprised the first little while, but eventually she got fully unbothered, mainly because Carly was far faster so she would lift Sandy and just carry her along all the time. 3.) Bruno likes to stick to routine and schedule, and he's usually with Diesel or Thomas if he's working, so he's not on the same branch line as Oliver and Toad all that often. He's met Toad before, and he likes him a lot, he's a very polite brake van and they have that same natural solidarity that all rolling stock of the same type feel. 4.) Duck thinks the kids are all very lovely! He'd heard about them when they first arrived, but didn't actually meet them until a few months later. He's not as intensely involved with their lives as some others are but he doesn't mind them at all, he's friendly towards them and will chat with them if they cross paths. Sort of similar to how Edward is with them, but Duck isn't as involved as Edward. 5.) Oliver is actually also a kid! Duck considers him his little brother, and Oliver is the only kid that Duck is almost constantly around. He likes hanging out with the other kids, Percy most of all, but finds himself more comfortable with the older engines. Namely Duck, Douglas, and Edward. 6.) Based off of my headcanon that Donald and Douglas are both really great with human kids, they're FANASTIC with machine kids. They're like the really fun uncles to the Tidmouth kids, if they get the chance to they're going to be spending every second they can with the kids, especially during the wintertime! They wanted to be as involved with the kids' lives as they could and were very present at the sheds when Kana and Nia had each first arrived so that they could make sure the overseas additions were settling in okay. The twins actually taught the young engines to clear snow!

On The Horizon questions: 1.) Magic from a natural born witch works pretty much anywhere, and in canon it does work in the human realm, though I feel I should point out that Sodor and Shining Time both are completely different from the "human realm" that Luna (aka Luz, I finally decided on the new names) came from. But yes, Wendy (aka Willow!) does indeed have magic! She didn't figure it out for a long while as there wasn't anything that really prompted her to do so and for many years of her life she fully believed she was human. The first time it happened was when she was 12 and it was a complete accident, one of her machine siblings had startled her and she just swung her arm around, managing to somehow summon a pretty large thorny vine from the ground. Wendy panicked and they ended up calling Hunter and MC over to investigate, and during that investigation Hunter finally confessed that he'd thought Wendy was a witch from the day he'd first seen her. He then sat down with Wendy and explained to her the very few things he did remember about wild magic, coaching her with his limited knowledge so that she could start training her powers. Her mother and all of her other loved ones were all quite shocked by this fact, but they didn't force Wendy to hide her magic just like the Hatt family didn't hide Oscar (Aka King) from the world. 2.) Speaking of the little guy! The rest of the island was pretty surprised by Oscar's existence. Topham had kept him hidden for the first few months, but he didn't want to keep the little guy cooped up forever, seeing as Oscar's clearly just as intelligent as any other kid and forcing him to hide for his whole life would be cruel and impossible. He did indeed startle many upon first meetings, but everyone adjusted and pretty soon Oscar was out among other kids his age with barely any issue. He did face a bit of bullying due to his strange appearance and clearly being nonhuman, but he has family and some friends who'd stand up for him and fix those problems. 3.) Hunter met Lady about 2 months after he'd been properly adopted by Mr. Conductor, actually! Seeing as the kid was already from a different magical world and he was healing from some rough times, MC thought it'd be a good idea to introduce the kid to Lady. Lady was a very welcome change of pace, she was calm and easy going and being an engine meant she didn't move that much and her facial expressions were far easier for him to read. Her kind voice and demeanor were really soothing to Hunter and him meeting her proved to benefit him greatly. 4.) Originally, I'd had the idea for Belos to go after Hunter. But then I thought about it. Belos, in the past, would kill the grimwalkers for the tiniest betrayals and then just start over with a new one like nothing happened...so I came up with a different plan. At first when Hunter was reported missing, Belos asked the coven to keep an eye out and listen to gossip. Interview residents of the isles. After a week of that, with no sign, he sent scouts to actively search for him. After a week of that? Belos sighed, shrugged, cut his losses, and cooked up a new grimwalker. This one's hair is a bit long and messy, but he looks enough like Caleb that he'll do. And this time, Belos is going to ensure this golden guard won't be going anywhere.

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luckydragon10 · 2 years

Text

KinnPorsche Ep08 Lines of Power

Deep breath, everyone! This is probably our last chance to breathe easily before the finale. Enjoy the calming atmosphere while it lasts.

Without further ado, I shall address the lines of power, staging, and framing in Episode 8 of KinnPorsche... actually, I'm gonna take it easy because it was a very chill episode without too much wild, crazy line business.

More LoP posts: [Trailer] ... [Ep04] [Ep05] [Ep06] [Ep07] [Ep09 Part 1] [Ep09 Part 2]

Look, if you didn't already realize in the first 10 minutes that this episode is pure comedy, this shot should seal the deal. A head popping out at a random angle from a doorway is peak comedy, a pure classic staging art.

Porsche, why so cute? 😳

You guys. You guys. This looks like just a normal, cute shot on their date, right? Right?

WRONG. You've been FOOLED.

Look in the background. It's a mirror, another damn mirror!

Kinn is perfectly framed in the mirror, his other self haunting their date in a much more subtle way than Tawan did. This is a clever reminder that even though things seem sweet and fluffy now, they still have Kinn's alter ego and other life to contend with (and integrate?) if they want to be happy in the long run.

I haven't had a chance to review it yet, but I know @daltoneering has published a huuuuge meta about the mirrors in KP, so check that out for more mirror thoughts.

Nope, nothing serious. Head empty, only cute boy with beautiful golden Wat Arun temple to frame his face from the background.

Now, I ask you, what's better than one cute boy with a beautiful temple behind him?

Answer: TWO cute boys with a beautiful temple behind them!

Again, nothing serious here, but I just want to point out that the sweethearts are off center to better incorporate the pretty golden glow of the temple behind them into the shot.

You can also take this as slight foreshadowing of the religious element coming later in the episode.

The lines of power were a bit shy this episode, but for this scene, they came out in full force.

This is reminiscent of the Emperor Korn shot in Ep 05 (for good reason considering they're the same set), but this is so different and so romantic. The sparkles from the waterfall, the glowing lines of the pool, and the lower lines of the ceiling are all pointing to the central couple, giving them the focus and the power.

The lines say this is love, and love wins.

Steal every bit of happiness you can! (I'm not just saying that to Kinn and Porsche, btw.)

Lots of soft, wavey lines of light... I can't help but think that all the soft lines are helping to emphasize how much their relationship has softened.

Yet the shot also shows Porsche clutching at Kinn's face for dear life. I'm not over that, not in the slightest. The boy is holding on with all his might. He's gonna be fierce about it.

...he probably also needs some air.

Q: When is a line of power not a line of power?

A; When you really just need a divider.

I could try to say that the big thick wooden line in the middle symbolizes this or that, or it's about Porsche being sneaky and not just asking Kinn the questions he should ask... but sometimes a line really is just a line.

For this gag to work, the characters have to be divided and unable to see each other.

So? Not a line of power, imo. But the shot is still very nicely framed with dynamic composition.

Pretty, so damn pretty.

Great staging composition of the three cast members -- Porsche low, monk middle, Joe high.

Scenery is fantastic and engaging from foreground to background.

The angle of the sidewalk line on the left helps draw attention to the actors.

On top of it all, Porsche stands out in his black suit against the soft white, cream, and orange color palette.

If you didn't give this shot much thought during the show, take a minute to stare right now. Enjoy an aesthetic moment!

///

More LoP posts: [Trailer] ... [Ep04] [Ep05] [Ep06] [Ep07] [Ep09 Part 1] [Ep09 Part 2]

For LOTS of great meta from all over the Tumblr community and dozens and dozens of contributors, check out the Damn Good KinnPorsche Meta doc.

Also, absolutely shameless plug, but today I posted the prologue for my soulmate AU fic. It's going to be a wild ride and a big multichapter fic, so hop on board early: The King's Tree.

#kinnporsche #kinnporsche meta #kinnporscheep08 #cinematography #cinematography breakdown

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delta-the-mando · 2 years

Text

Alright..

Alright!

It is done! I have finally finished this rambling! Good way to start off July, don’t ya think? :D

As I’ve said in a previous post, I’ve switched from trying to piece together the odds and ends of The Cuphead Show to possibly predict future plot, to just..talking about things I’d like to talk about. You’ll see some things listed here from the list of unfired Chekhov’s guns, but I of course won’t talk about everything on that list.

It’s still a long post though, so..proceed, if ye so desire!

NOTE: THIS DOES ALSO CONTAIN TALK OF THE DEVIL’S PITCHFORK, SO BE AWARE OF THAT!

And also just quick apologies to people I’ve tagged, I just wanted to let you guys know I referenced some of your posts in this so that’s why I tagged you and linked your posts. 💙 If you want me to un-tag you or remove the links, please let me know!

The Good, the Bad, and the In-Between

"Come with me to the Inkwell Isles; it's just off the coast, maybe 29 miles; where there's good and there's bad and then there's in-between; with Cuphead and Mugman you'll see what I mean."

The intro lyrics state there's good, bad, and an in-between at Inkwell, and seemingly hints that the cupbros are said "in-between". Personally, I believe this "in-between" is referring to neutrality, grey morality, or otherwise middle ground. However, while the brothers could represent the middle ground between good and bad, the line "With Cuphead and Mugman you'll see what I mean" could alternatively mean that if you follow Cuphead and Mugman on their misadventures, you'll see the good, the bad, and the neutral all around Inkwell. Doesn't necessarily mean they're the in-between, just that these things exist all around wherever you go.

JERRY

This guy could’ve been just some random background character we’ll never see again, but the fact that he’s not only a named character (his name isn’t spoken, but his name is listed in the end credits) but ALSO in the INTRO, that clearly indicates SOME kind of importance. But WHAT’S his importance?? @dimonds456 theorizes that Jerry is out to collect the bounty on Cuphead (as well as mention other interesting things) in their post regarding the black market, but regardless of whether or not this ends up being true, we’ll definitely see Jerry again in the future.

Another question I personally have though is, what is Jerry? And I don’t just mean his profession. I have been pondering this for a while now and had a theory...but it got parry-slapped out of my hands when I realized Jerry is a bit of red herring, or otherwise wild goose chase. Now I'm running back and forth between two different possibilities that would have different outcomes in the overall storyline.

Why do I say he’s a red herring/wild goose chase?

Well, first I want you to look at his nose. It shares a major resemblance to the Devil's nose, and the noses of his imps (most of them have purple noses, but some do have red).

Jerry also has a slim body type like them, too (with the exception of Henchman). And, before you ask:

His tall hat could very well be hiding horns.

The long robe he wears could be hiding a tail.

The Devil and many of his imps don’t have wings, so he may just not have any to hide.

No, I'm not saying that's the Devil in disguise or anything, but I'm saying he could very well be a type of devil nonetheless. The only thing that would really throw the theory off is how Jerry has white eyes with black pupils, rather than the yellow eyes with red pupils that devils have. Even when the Devil himself shapeshifts into something (or someone, looking at Quadratus) else, his eyes remain red and yellow..

..EXCEPT FOR THE TIME WHEN HE WAS THE CARNY.

When I rewatched the episode to double-check his eye color, my dad said “They probably made a mistake.” And normally, I would agree. In cartoons, there’s a lot of times where you’ll see something missing for a frame or two, or something is incorrectly colored, etc., so if the Devil’s eyes were black and white for only one quick scene in that Carny segment, I could understand that and would only pass it off as simply an error in the sense that the animators wanted to mimic old cartoons in that exact way, that sometimes things are incorrectly colored, though it would definitely be weird for that to be the only time that incorrect colors happen in the show.

However, because the coloration is consistent throughout the whole Carny segment, and because of this last scene where we actually watch his eyes go from black and white to red and yellow, that right there indicates that it was an intentional choice. He can change his eye color if he really wanted to.

So Jerry still could be a devil with at least some shapeshifting ability to change his eye color.

..HOWEVER, that was my ORIGINAL theory.

I want you to redirect your attention now to this spider guy in the trailer. So far we haven’t seen this guy in any episodes, we don’t know his name, and he seems to be glaring at Jerry from across the street. He’s a blank slate character, and we currently don’t have a lot to go off of to figure out his importance in the series.

But what we can see is his appearance, and he actually shares similarities with Jerry!

Think about it:

Their noses are also the same.

White eyes with black pupils.

Jerry’s scarf could be hiding big fangs.

Jerry’s robe could also be hiding yet another set of legs.

They both have black faces and, I’m assuming, arms.

They both have those little hairs on the sides of their faces, a detail that previously escaped my notice.

Now, the one tiny problem with this possibility is, unless spider-people aren’t all shaped the same, Jerry’s body type is still slimmer than Mr. Spider here. But because we only have the one spider to really go off of, this problem could easily be brushed aside for the time being.

Could Jerry be one of these spider-folk? Are these two glaring at each other in the intro because they might know each other? Are they rivals, or just not get along with each other? Only time will tell us at this point.

Mugman’s connection with Quadratus

Now obviously some good questions one may ask would be “Who exactly is Quadratus?” or “Why’s Quadratus—this all-knowing ancient being—just..out there?”

But a more important question to ask would be, how exactly does Mugman know Quadratus and how to summon him?

Here’s what I personally think happened:

Mugman first found out about Quadratus from either a book or a story told by Elder Kettle.

Let’s say the isles have a library. I’m not sure how often the cupbros go into town or if the library would have many books about such things as this, whether Quadratus would fall under their ancient history or myths and fables I’m not sure (In-game, Quadratus is known by others, and it’s said that very few have spoken with him). But either way, maybe the book caught Mugman’s eye and he decided to give it a read.

Or better yet, he found the book not at a library, but in Elder Kettle’s house. Elder Kettle has bookshelves with both books and potion bottles (the potion from the game, anyone?). There’s a possibility one of those books is historical/fantasy with mention of Quadratus. Maybe Mugman read it out of curiosity and even asked Elder Kettle if Quadratus actually exists, and got to listen to Elder Kettle tell a story about Quadratus in response, which would also happen to include the necessary information of making the water fizzy to summon him (I don’t know if it would be in the book). Or maybe he only found out about Quadratus from one of Elder Kettle’s story times.

Elder Kettle is a war vet, so of course he has stories to tell. And how he fabricated the story of the “handle fairy”, he’s also good at making up stories. So whether or not the stories he tells are actually true, chances are Cuphead and/or Mugman will still believe them. And believe Mugman did. He never told Cuphead, probably because he figured Cup would think this Quadratus story is—and I quote—“banana oil”, which is why Cuphead doesn’t know about Quadratus in Sweater Off Dead, but Mugman does.

And the fact Mugman knew exactly where to find Quadratus indicates that he’s visited him before in the past. I believe Mugman had gone out in search of Quadratus during the night (because if he went out during the day, Cuphead might get worried when he can’t find his bro, and if Mugsy told him he was searching for Quadratus he’d probably talk him out of it, which would clearly cause obvious lack-of-sweater problems later on) and when he did finally find him, and summoned him, he probably decided to stay and ask some questions so it’s not exactly a “wasted trip”, summoning an ancient being and then like..leaving right afterwards, y’know?

I wouldn’t be surprised if Mugman had asked Quadratus about the future, and was warned of great danger ahead, perhaps even more specifically warned to keep an extra close eye on his brother. This right here could also be the start of Mugman’s increased paranoia and fear of danger. Mugman’s attention to detail and how he immediately springs into action to save Cup’s soul from Soulball, despite literally trembling in fear of the Devil moments before, would show that he already knew something might happen and he had to be ready to help his bro.

“But Del, wouldn’t he have noticed the carn-evil sign before they entered the carnival?”

Good catch, but the boys were probably too focused on having fun at the carnival and evading responsibilities for even Mugman to initially notice the sign’s a little off. Think of a time when you were too focused (or not focused at all) on something and didn’t notice something else. It happens sometimes, it’s natural.

And hey. They’re still kids. They’re going to get distracted. Also natural. :3

“Stunned” souls and Mugman’s “parry” ability

Still on the subject of Mugman, I’d like to draw your attention to how he can literally grab Cuphead’s soul and shove it back into his body, and also look at the way Cup’s soul behaves.

The only other character we've seen handle Cup's soul is the Devil.

Mugman has the apparent ability to revive someone (which is done in-game with a parry-slap).

Cuphead’s soul doesn’t actually seem to respond outside of his body, from what we’ve seen.

Souls are temporarily stunned when they first leave their bodies.

Allow me to explain Points 3 and 4 real quick:

While the first case of Cuphead’s “stunned soul” (Carn-evil) could be explained in a way that everything was just happening so quickly that Cuphead couldn’t register what was going on—

—the second time, however (Sweater Luck Next Time), he doesn’t do anything till he’s back in his body. He just stays in a dazed unresponsive state and slowly begins to float away, before Mugman jumps in to revive him again.

And I say souls are temporarily stunned because in both of these cases, Cuphead’s soul had just left his body; compare this to the other souls that were freed when the Soulball game was destroyed, that immediately flew back to their bodies. They had some time to adjust, whereas Cuphead didn’t even get the chance to before being “parry patty-cake’d” back to life.

So now going back to Points 1 and 2, while Mugman’s ability to grab Cuphead’s soul could just be used as cartoon-logic comedic factor or whatnot (like how Cuphead lassoed the moon in Root Packed), I’d instead say he legit has the ability to revive someone - something that no one else may have (though we don’t know for sure yet). The question then is, if only he has this ability, then how?

Well...remember Quadratus?

Mugman likely found out from him that he would need to protect his brother’s soul, and Quadratus probably gave him a potion to grant him this ability, similar to the potion in the game that allows us to parry (and have literal finger guns, of course, but that's another topic). It's clear that Quadratus keeps strange and rare items in his pool, such as the ball of invisible yarn made from the fur of a long-extinct creature, so it wouldn't be surprising if he had a potion in there too.

Also I’d like to point out that neither time that Cuphead was revived did he even THANK Mugman for saving him. The first time he was revived, he took a deep breath and yelled “RUN!” before running away with his brother. The second time, he just stood next to his brother, looking up at the Devil. No acknowledgement whatsoever that he had literally just lost his soul and was brought back to life.

So this leads me to another question..

Did Cuphead even know that Mugman revived him, or that Mug even has this ability?

Honestly? I don’t think he knows. Remember that unresponsive soul state? I believe that when Cup is revived, he retains zero memory of what happened during that dazed timeframe. Maybe to him he just got really super dizzy, or blacked out, or his memory just goes YEET. All he can really assume is that Mugman helped him..but what he doesn’t know is how exactly.

Nightmarish foreshadowing

I had already been freaking out over this, though @masteroffakesmiles already beat me to putting it into words both here and here.

I believe Cuphead’s nightmare in Sweater Off Dead is heavy foreshadowing for future episodes.

The first thing that happens in the nightmare is that Mugman gets taken away..

..and we see that happen in The Devil’s Pitchfork.

Cuphead next turns to Elder Kettle for help..

..and I think you see where I’m going with this.

I brought up this theory to a friend of mine, and to quote their response:

“So in the nightmare in Sweater Off Dead, like you pointed out, Mugman was taken, which could be foreshadowing, but the fact Elder Kettle supposedly DIED in the nightmare?? Look I’m not saying Elder Kettle is gonna die, because I don’t think this is the type of show to do something like that, but I am saying there could very well be a death fake-out or something.”

Sorta like what masteroffakesmiles said. We’re all on the same wavelength here.

The chances of something actually happening to Elder Kettle is still pretty darn slim, despite the show taking a more angsty turn, but making Cuphead think something bad happened? Oh heck yes, that’s going on the Devil’s to-do list.

Reminds me actually of the second Lego Movie when Emmet’s dream was foreshadowing the movie’s events. Maybe, just maybe, we’re getting the same thing happening here.

Also..remember: Ol’ Scratch may not actually know who Elder Kettle is, but Cup did slip and say his name once, to which the Devil asks “Who’s Elder Kettle?” before having a door slammed in his face. He might think about this later on..and get an idea of what to do next.

The “saving Mugman arc”

Also brought up by masteroffakesmiles here, it’s clear the “saving Mugman arc” will take at least two episodes, judging by a scene in the trailer that doesn’t appear in The Devil’s Pitchfork.

What worries me is how challenging this might actually be for Cuphead. This whole ordeal does not seem like it can easily be resolved in two episodes already (which is why I say at least two), and not only that...but when you think about just how joyful Cuphead was to zap the Devil with his own pitchfork, even tricking him by saying he was gonna give it back..then zapping him again..

...I think the Devil will play dirty and do the same thing right back.

He’ll say he’ll release Mugman…but then NOT do that..

Not only that..but it’s clear a lot of us are thinking that “vile Mugman” from the game’s bad ending is gonna be a thing. And that right there, my friends..is a whole new door to so much angst potential.

It would actually be fairly easy for Ol’ Scratch to manipulate Mugman. Remember, both the Devil and Mugman heard Cuphead say “There’s nothing you can take from me that I care about,” so poor Mugsy would still be thinking about this and the Devil would obviously bring it back up. Think something like “Oh, but you heard your brother.. He doesn’t care about you.” Mugman would then remember the day’s other events, and think..maybe..maybe the Devil is right..

And there you have it. He’s got the little mug right where he wants him.

My friend and I had dug into this and here’s a couple important chunks of their reply:

“One thing I find interesting about the entirety of (The Devils Pitchfork) is how the dynamic between Cuphead and Mugman is showcased. Cuphead seemingly wants to be more independent from his brother, but the way he expresses that makes it seem like he’s tired of him, or annoyed with him. Not only that, but instead of apologizing when being confronted with that, he goes on to say, ‘well, if it makes you feel any better…’ (…) For Mugman, throughout the day, it probably seemed like Cuphead wanted to get rid of him. This is emphasized by the fact that the last thing Cuphead said was ‘There’s nothing you can take from me that I care about.’”

“All this is to say that if it does go the route that the Devil claims Mugman’s soul, or something along the lines of the game’s bad end, he could bring this up, as a way to touch a nerve. ‘Oh, you didn’t seem to care about me before, why are you suddenly doing it now?’ And even if nothing like the bad end happens, and it turns out Mugman was just taken and nothing more, that could still be brought up, during or after the rescue attempt. Think somewhere along the lines of ‘But I thought you didn’t like me anymore’.”

There’s a LOT of potential here, and it hurts. And it hurts that it makes sense.

So now, if “vile Mugman” is gonna happen, let’s quickly talk about the next obvious thing: the missing chunk of his handle.

It’s very odd to think his handle would just..lose a chunk of itself when he turns evil. If the show does go this route, I’d like to believe something caused it to break.

Like, say, I dunno…an accidental blast from a certain pitchfork? Maybe out of carelessness, perhaps? Hm?

This would actually be a great angst point, as Cuphead, most likely the cause of said accident, would feel absolutely terrible that he hurt his brother..

And Mugman..?

Oh..How do you guys think he’d feel…that his brother hurt him?

And from Handle With Care, we know he wouldn’t..*ahem*..handle the situation well, with his handle breaking again.

I dunno about you guys….but all I’m hearing..is a big “STAY AWAY FROM ME!”

The sweater

The sweater is still out there somewhere!! This is still a key item of importance!!

Maybe it could be used against the Devil again in the Saving Mugman arc!

Or maybe used against Jerry to help Cuphead if the whole “bounty hunting” thing is true!

“Wait wait, Del, you mentioned Jerry..what do you mean by that?”

Let’s step back to the possibility of Jerry being a type of devil. So far the only devilish type we’ve seen the sweater’s effect on is the Devil himself. Quadratus said the sweater would keep the Devil at bay. That was the purpose of the sweater, as that was the problem at the time: to keep the Devil from taking Cup’s soul. But I’m curious to know if the sweater’s effect would work on just ANY devil, including the imps. If it does, and if Jerry is a devil, then that could be a way to keep him at bay too!

…Buuuuut there IS another thing I’ve been thinking about..

The Devil obviously got the sweater off of him somehow at the end of Sweater Luck Next Time. But if he couldn’t remove it himself, because he can’t touch it, then who removed it? Did Henchman? Some other imps? If that’s the case, then either the sweater doesn’t affect other devils, OR the effect can’t go through GLOVES.

And Ol’ Scratch doesn’t wear any, so he had to rely on someone else to remove the sweater.

But y’know what else?

JERRY wears gloves.

That means, even if the sweater could shock him if slipped over him like what happened to Mr. S in Sweater Luck Next Time, he could easily just pull it off and keep it at arm’s length. So much for that.

Or.. Maybe..

The shocking effect can’t go through clothes at all..

And that’s why Jerry is so darn bundled up in clothing..

Because he prepared himself for anything.

#cuphead #spoilers #the cuphead show #the cuphead show spoilers #cuphead show spoilers #idk what else to really tag this with #I’m just kinda rambling here #rambling #theory #remember these are just my theories and findings - not claiming they’re actually canon #even if some things might make sense #everything could change in the blink of an eye with a new episode

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captainlordauditor · 1 year

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very serious question - have you watched Titans? i feel like. they have massacred my boy. re: Dick. like the characterization of Every Single Character kills me. i’m lowkey hate watching it but i can’t stop

I'm in the middle of it right now - I just started season three, since I have no attention span for binging.

I actually don't hate large portions of its characterization. It kind of reminds me of a lot of the, like, 2000s-mid 2010s B shows that you'd see on Syfy or similar channels, where the characters are just fleshed out enough to make them feel watchable. They're not full on real people, but they're more like bas relief carvings than cardboard cutouts (It actually pairs nicely with the 2002 Birds of Prey, which was definitely a B show of that vein, and works from the same point of view that Titans does, as an Elseworld). So far the characterization for the most part doesn't feel bad so much as simple.

The characters aren't all that different from comics counterparts at their base, but the plot often demands that they act like idiots - often rude or cruel idiots - to make it work. The episode where all the Titans gang up on Jason, for instance - okay, one, not in the comics, but two, it makes no sense that they would all instantly blame Jason, who has no way of knowing about half their triggers and not, like. One of the empaths.

If anyone feels the most off to me it's Donna, which I think is a result of the Titans take on the Amazons being excessively 2000s B-show-esque. I'm also not personally a fan of Barbara being police commissioner, which ties into my issue with their portrayal of the police overall as a force that Dick doesn't really contend with as an enemy until the middle of season 2, and even then only pretty temporarily. How this relates to the whitewashing of Dick is another matter. The thing about Dick's characterization in Titans is that it's pulling a lot from a lot of very different sources to create a new Dick Grayson, rather than showing one that already exists in a specific continuity. Dick's anger and estrangement from Bruce is from the 70s-80s Bat comics. A lot of his characterization in relation to the other Titans feels very reminiscent of New Teen Titans, where he's the straitlaced serious leader who's too similar to Batman. In Titans these attributes have been adjusted accordingly from the source material they're pulled from to meet the more violent tone of the show. They also included something that's one of my favorite Dick-things in the comics, which is his hallucinations when he's having a Bad Time - instead of hallucinating Jason in prison, Dick hallucinates Bruce, the family who's currently lost to him.

Where Titans really falls down is that it doesn't want its characters to change. It's pretty decent at set up (the scene where Dick talks about burning the Robin suit) but then it doesn't necessarily follow through (he keeps being ultraviolent and killing people just in civilian clothes). This is really apparent in its Jason. In his initial introduction, even post-Crisis, Jason was a sweet, bookish, caring kid once he adjusted to life at the manor. His violence was (and even as an adult to some extent still is) a manifestation of his powerlessness at not being able to protect people, which included both his dad and random people on the street. After his death, flashbacks and retcons turned him into the angry brash kid a lot of people think of him as, which is the route Titans chose to use. And this doesn't work, because if you're writing Dick during one of his "Fuck Batman" moments, and you're also writing Jason in one of his "fuck Batman" moments, and you're trying to show that Jason is the Bad One, then you have to flanderize Jason to have contrast, and then there's nowhere for him to go when he grows into Red Hood. They had an opportunity to do a really heartbreaking tragedy where the sweet 15 year old who quotes Jane Austen turns into a villain, and they didn't do that, because they can't write actual growth.

This ask was about Dick but I do want to touch on a couple of the other Titans real quick - Raven is fine, Titans just pulls from her more modern portrayals, which is not the version of her I prefer. Gar, again, fine, and I really wish they would give the actor more to do. Kon does seem to be younger, but it feels like a deliberate choice, and one I can't bring myself to have issue with given some of the shit that was in his 90s book. The other character I really want to talk about though is Kory.

Titans gets a lot of flack for its portrayal of Kory and as far as I can tell it seems to break into two main categories, which are 1)"I don't like Kory's life not revolving around Dick Grayson" and 2)"I'm racist". I'm paraphrasing, and maybe doing so in bad faith, but it really does seem that I saw a lot of people complaining about Kory having another love interest for five minutes but nobody complaining about Dick having other love interests in the show. And obviously, there was the "this woman who shows less skin than she does in the comics looks like a hooker" from people who didn't like that she was played by a Black actress.

But I'll take this in good faith. You don't like Kory because she's not like she was in the comics. Okay. In that case, I'm simply going to pull out my comics and ask you to consider the baggage a comics-accurate Kory would have on a live action screen played by a dark skinned Black woman:

(From New Teen Titans (1980) #2 - context is the Titans are at the pool, Donna gave Kory a bikini)

I for one am pretty glad that Titans went with "princess used to the finer things in life who's fed up with being royalty" instead of "scantily clad woman who lets her emotions guide her and is extra violent compared to the fully clothed White characters". (more panels under the cut so as not to clog your dash)

If I'd read NTT before Titans came out, I would've been pretty damn skeptical of the casting, because without changing her characterization I think it would've been one of those times where raceblind casting just absolutely does not work. NTT Kory really falls into that intersection of Nubile Savage and Green Skinned Space Babe that you see in stuff like JC's Avatar and Star Trek: TOS, and which has some pretty racist undertones already. As much as I love Kory, I'm incredibly glad that this characterization has largely been left behind for her, even though I'm also not fond of the cartoon's characterization.*

also from New Teen Titans (1980) #2

Both from New Teen Titans (1980) #16

From New Teen Titans (1984) #11. I'm certain there's more instances before this of Dick and Donna referring to her as "savage" but I don't have them handy because I didn't mark them in my notes.

*I think the cartoon leans a little too much into "let's laugh at this woman experiencing culture clash!" for my taste, which is... understandable given it's a show from 2003 for ten year olds, but is very unappealing as an adult. The ideal Koriand'r characterization is actually Red Hood and the Outlaws issues 10-13 and I will not be taking criticism until you've read the story

#titans dc #titans tv #dick grayson #bouncing off the walls #starfire #koriandr #jason todd #team tag for the teen titans #arsonist's lullaby #firebird's child #meta #ntt #anti marv wolfman

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elcorhamletlive · 3 months

Text

no one asked but here are some of my thoughts on the one piece live action show

the things I didn't like:

Nojiko not knowing about Nami's scheme and plan. I get that it was probably a way to raise the odds and emphasize Nami's loneliness, but to me it cheapened their relationship and took away one of the most touching moments in the manga, when the reason for Nojiko's tattoos is revealed.

humorless, stoic, sexy man Zoro. of all the characters it was the one adaptation that didn't work for me, and Zoro is one of my favorites so it was a bit frustrating. the actor gives a good performance, but whereas the rest of the crew is a perfect translation of their manga selves to the screen, Zoro feels like a fundamentally different character. which is unfortunately because the mix of goofiness and badassery is what makes Zoro so engaging. here's hoping that he's allowed to emote more in season two.

in a similar vein as the previous point, I wasn't a fan of all the "Zoro and Nami exhasperated over Luffy" scenes. imo making Zoro so mature changed the dynamic of the crew and made his relationship with Luffy ring a bit hollow, even when the show wanted me to be emotionally invested in their bond.

Mihawk's introduction makes him come across as way less of threat than in the manga. I get cutting Krieg because they had less time and ultimately I don't think it was a massive loss, but having Gin show up destroyed and hyping Mihawk up is sooo much more effective than just showing him in the middle of a battle.

Nami was also a bit too serious for my taste, but I'll chalk that up to East Blue being when she's still not fully comfortable with the crew yet.

this is the most nitpicky annoying thing but. Arlong was too small. like obviously realistically speaking the actor is jacked but he does not give off the same threatening air that he does in the manga when he's towering over everyone.

the things I liked (most of it!):

from a plot perspective I think they were very smart and strategic about what to cut, they managed to trim everything to make it fit in eight hours and it worked. having Koby and Helmeppo throughout the season was a great way to keep the story from feeling too episodic, and they're both really well cast and I loved watching them. They are in love

removing the jokes on Alvida's appearance: yes. Overall I think they did a good job translating the humor, keeping the absurdness and silliness while also removing what wouldn't fly very well in live action.

Luffy should have been Brazilian but Iñaki Godoy is truly a finding, his performance is top notch and I can't imagine anyone else playing the role. Also in the "might have been created in a lab specifically to play their role" category are: Jacob Romero (there was not a second Usopp was on screen that didn't fill my heart with joy), Craig Fairbrass, Peter Gadiot, Aidan Scott.

special bullet point for Buggy because yeah. you have already heard that but my god he is THAT GOOD. SO much fun to watch.

another special bullet point for Taz Skylar. I didn't mention him in the list above because I guess you can say that technically Sanji is significantly different in the LA than in the mange, but tbh the change was for the better. amping up his charm and giving him a wannabe womanizer vibe was the perfect choice. his chemistry with Zeff was amazing (that one second in which they're fighting and you can see Sanji mouthing along to what he's saying because they've had this fight so many times before? CINEMA). their goodbye broke my heart.

Baratie might have been my favorite arc. and it's a really good arc in the manga so I'm amazed by how much they got it right.

Usopp/Kaya kiss!!!

obsessed with the absolutely random flirting between Zeff and Garp. old men yaoi stays winning

Koby and Luffy's hug was everything I didn't know I needed. also Koby getting drunk. just... Koby.

usually I'd find "omg they did it exactly like the manga panels" kind of a meaningless compliment but the scene where Nami asks for Luffy's help hit me like a brick. it was perfect.

their vows at the ending of the season gave me chills. Watching this show was so much fun and made me relive the excitement this story gave me as a child; a lot is said about an adaption having to capture "the essence" of the original which is of course super vague, but however you interpret it, I think it happened here. This show has so much heart and passion and is just a joyful, fun thing to experience. I can't wait for next season

#opla spoilers #clawing at netflix's windows foaming at the mouth whispering “robin. give me robin.”

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