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absolutebl · 4 months

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Best & Worst BLs of 2023

My Top 15 BLs of 2023 are (in order)

1 Our Dating Sim

Korea Viki

Nerds in love, deadlines, gaming, teasing, pining tiny idiots, casual affection, linguistic oops, ADORABLE. If you haven't watched this, it's a must. A perfect short form KBL, an office set reunion romance featuring geeks that really suits 8 eps with no fluff and no chaff. Just comforting and yummy.

I adored every aspect from the casting to the pristinely simple premise to the quietly smooth execution. Sure it’s low stakes, but that makes it high domesticity and extremely warm and gentle. This is a fuzzy blanket of a story - a cozy BL. It lives in my rewatch pile and you know what’s best about it? Every single episode is in that pile. There’s no skipping with this one, it might be good natured and calmly sweet but it’s tight and the pacing is excellent.

Also recieves my 2023 award for best giggle.

2 I Cannot Reach You

AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai

Japan Netflix

This classic friends-to-lovers BL is everything Japan does best. Angsty. Emo. Aching. Driven by real thirst. Yamato is deeply in love with his childhood bestie, Kakeru, and has been for ages, unable to hide his ungainly damaging high school need. He wants Kakeru in every way possible and it oozes off of the screen.

Kakeru is silly and a little simple, but not frenetic or overly camp about it. He is earnest, and genuinely wants to keep Yamato in his life which means giving a romance (and gayness) a fair chance. We watch him realize his affection and what form it can take in a truly authentic way.

This show was impossibly kind to both of its lead characters and I felt almost honored that I got to watch something so lovely and rare play out on my screen.

Also wins the best thirst award.

These were the 2 BLs that got 10/10 from me in 2023. The rest of these got 9/10 from me.

3 My School President

Thailand YouTube

GMMTV gave us a classic high school set Thai BL with tropes like messy boys singing their feelings that made this one Love Sick for the modern age with all the gentle sweetness and pining ache, but none of the dated damaging tropes or issues. Who let my BL be this wholesome and funny? My favourite GMMTV BL offering to date. And yes, I've watched them ALL.

Received the Namgoong award for best wingman 2023.

4 I Feel You Linger in the Air

Thailand grey

IFYLITA is an exquisite BL, from filming techniques to narrative framework. Steeped in history and family drama this is an elegant and classy BL. The main couple (both as a pair and individuals) were excellent, particularly Bright (Yai) whose eye-work acting style is a personal favorite of mine. It's a marker of how great it was that it's so high on my list despite the ending which was very much not what I wanted.

Additional accolade, sexiest moment of 2023 - (the oil scene).

You could try to fight me, but you'll have no grip.

5 Kiseki: Dear to Me

Taiwan Gaga & Viki

The plot is totally ridiculous and slightly unhinged. There’s a gum-ball machine of cameos, elder gay rep, great chemistry from all pairs (everyone is queer), and a KILLER side couple. It involves all the tropes under a very offhand framework of gay mafia gangs + food = love. As a result Kiseki is a poster child for Taiwanese BL, and I happen to love Taiwanese BL. Bonus? They also managed to END IT WELL, which we cannot expect from Taiwan.

Best side couple 2023!

(thank goodness Taiwan made this list!)

6 Jun and Jun

Korea Viki

A delightful office romance about an ex-idol who joins cubical life only to find his new boss is his first love. With a snappy (sometimes even raunchy) script, enjoyable sides, a pretty as peaches cast, and descent chemistry this show made up for in style what it lacked in substance. I like fluff. I loved this. I smiled every moment I was watching.

Best flirting 2023.

AKA "the tongue knows" award

7 The Eighth Sense

Korea Viki

This one is a bit chewy and sticky and less perfect than most KBLs. It’s got a bit of an age gap, country boy/city boy, stellar acting, complex characters, and leads with great chemistry and tension. This isn’t in the KBL bubble, there’s sharp edges and lots of triggers. For a BL the darkness of the content left me feeling unsettled (which is the only reason it didn't get a perfect score) but it has a glorious ending and that counts for a lot.

2023's most likely to appeal to non-BL watchers.

8 Unintentional Love Story

Korea iQIYI

The lead, Gongchan (maknae of B1A4) is a fucking GIFT, who carried this show. He was luminous with extraordinarily expressive eyes, which he used to carry a killer plot and challenging role. Forced into a totally understandable betrayal, falling in love despite himself, put into a corner he can't get out of, the AGONY, the eyes EMOTING at us in PAIN. Driven by external conflict, social tension and pressure this story seems simple but it's actually refined and quite complex. I loved this show.

Best story structure 2023.

9 My Personal Weatherman

AKA Taikan Yoho

Japan Gaga

This is classic yaoi of the kind that really only works from Japan. Basically: boys who fell in love in college end up living together but both are so repressed they actually don't realize they're in love. It's high heat is well done, but it leaned into the "why don't they just talk for fuck's sake?" which is exacerbated by the fact that they're already fucking. Sure is sexy tho.

Best use of props 2023 for the shower of sheets.

10 Our Dining Table

AKA Bokura no Shokutaku

Japan Gaga

Lonely salaryman and talented cook gets accidentally adopted by a college kid and his little brother. It’s a quiet & cozy little parable of found family alleviating loneliness. It's lovely & sweet with the romance beats used to build a family relationship, not just couple intimacy. Special.

First prize for domesticity.

11 Laws of Attraction

Thailand iQIYI

This is a great gay suspense thriller with several solid couples, fun plot, killer characters, queer rep, and a happy ending. It’s tons of fun and I had an absolute blast watching it.

Charn wins my favorite character of 2023.

12 La Pluie

Thailand Viki

This BL takes to task the fated mates trope and what it means to have love chained intimately to predestination. It’s about how faith in destiny before choice diminishes the authenticity of emotion, relationships, and connection. This is a high concept to examine through the lens of a BL. With good chemistry and decent acting all around, plus some excellent high heat and representation of consent and a few other rare tropes, this one has to (like it’s sibling show My Ride) earn high marks.

Most interesting concept 2023.

13 The New Employee

Korea Viki

So good, SO QUEER, so soft, a near pitch perfect office BL with conflict derived from that setting. Also found family and a lesbian bestie. This is what I wanted from this new crop of office set KBLs ALL ALONG. Rainbow rice cakes forever!

Best overall queer rep from Korea.

14 Step By Step

Thailand Gaga & YouTube & Viki

This was Thailand’s answer to The New Employee, and everything I loved about that show I loved about this one. This was an office romance between stern boss and sweet subordinate that felt more authentic to an office environment than previous Thai BLs of this ilk which added tension to the narrative and character development.

Chot wins best queer character 2023.

15 Love Tractor

Korea iQIYI

Most of this country-set BL had me feral for the beautiful broken city boy and his hot young farmer. Hyung romance, puppy/cat pairing, open frankness meets jaded reserve, language play, water hose frolicking, only one bed = all my favorite silly tropes.

Biggest "he so pretty" gasp of the year award.

10 Worst BLs of 2023 (that I watched)

My Blessing

My Universe: Casanova Begins

Boyband the series

Cafe In Love

Chains of Heart

Hit Bite Love

Only Friends

Senior Love Me

The Luminous Solution

The Promise

Yes, you read that right. I know I'm against the flow but I really did not like Only Friends. Everyone's taste is different.

However I DNFed faster and more BL's this year than ever before, so that means my 10 worst probably aren't quite reflective...

10 Probably Actually Worst BLs (I dropped 'em)

My Story

The Day I Loved You

Beyond the Star

Crazy Handsome Rich

Dinosaur Love

House of Stars

Mr Cinderella 2

Love Bill

Stormy Honeymoon

The Star Always Follow You

Codicils in General

I only carefully track/watch Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. Other countries are not fully represented.

My Numbers

So my spreadsheet chronicled 138 BLs that finish airing in 2023.

101 = watched & reviewed

2 = still in the docket (WDYEY2 & Love Syndrome III)

15 = CNF (could not find)

20 = DNF (which also accounts for how few very low scores I handed out in 2023 as opposed to previous years, I just stopped watching). Speaking of which...

Ratings spread

(# of stars. #of BLs given that rating)

0 (see the DNFs instead)

2 - IT'S DEPRESSING they killed the gay, save yourself

7 - I DON'T KNOW WHAT I AM WATCHING AND NEITHER DOES IT

7 - FATALLY FLAWED but still basically BL, however… do we want to support this kind of behavior?

9 - WATCH IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO but don’t expect much, it’s a total hot mess

17 - WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED probably around the ending or in narrative structure/cohesion or censorship

14 - RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS i.e. isn’t quite BL, convoluted, not strictly HEA, too short/long, or chemistry issues

30 - RECOMMENDED some concerns around tropes (like dub con) or story structure but still satisfies as BL

13 - ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED probably a few pacing issues or one flaw

2 - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED faithful to tropes, happy ending, good chemistry, few flaws, high rewatch potential

(source)

#Best BLs of 2023 #Worst BLs of 2023 #Top 15 BLs #Our Dating Sim #Korean BL #I Cannot Reach You #Japanese BL #Kimi ni wa Todokanai #My School President #Thai BL #I Feel You Linger in the Air #Kiseki: Dear to Me #Taiwanese BL #Jun and Jun #The Eighth Sense #Unintentional Love Story #Our Dining Table #Bokura no Shokutaku

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curestardust · 1 year

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Dust Watched: Macross Δ Movie 2: Zettai Live!!!

Genres: Action, Mecha, Music, Space // 2h movie // M01 (x)

My experience with this movie could be summed up in a single sentence which is ��Slow the fuck down!!”

✧ story ✧

Obligatory note that I’m not really into Macross or Mecha stuff. I do enjoy it but its plot leaves my brain the second the anime ends, which is kind of a problem when you’re trying to write about a franchise branching across 50 years.

Anyway, this movie is the sequel and ending to the previous one which shows us an Alternate Universe story of the events of the original Macross Delta series.

The biggest problem this movie suffers from is that it tries to tackle about 100 things at once. Character drama, character relationships, character progression, a movie only plot, expanding on the original plot, wrapping up elements of the original plot, wrapping up this movie only plot, referencing the previous franchises, bringing back old characters, introducing new characters, giving character focus to THESE characters, a huge dose of exposition dumping then add a sprinkle space battles in the mix and the flow and tonal shifts of the show felt like *I* was the one sitting in one of the mechas and going at lightspeed.

I feel like I’d need a thesis to talk about the story and not get something wrong so I won’t. All in all, it was your usual affair of Big Bad Mecha needs to be taken down, and then it is. Yay!

✧ characters ✧

Offta, they really tried to force a lot of things on the characters. The tonal shifts are the worst here; we can go from one scene where Makina is pushing her boobs up against Mirage and they’re goofing around only to then transition into a scene of someone dying a tragic death. A good example of just how much is going on is Bogue; he goes from hating humans still, to losing one of his comrades in battle, to joining up with the humans and taking orders from their commander. All the while, we basically see no reaction from him to all this besides one or two side comments. They try to give Mirage a plotline as well, and it... I mean it’s alright? RIP to all Hayate/Mirage shippers out there tho. And speaking of...

Freyja, oh my dear girl. Freyja (and Hayate’s) plotline gets the most focus even though with everything going on their scenes have a lot less impact than they should have had.

<spoiler> I almost was about to say that the last scene was truly heartbreaking but they pussied out. BRO!!! Show me her passing on properly! Her vanishing into the wind in her lover’s arms would’ve been so impactful but before that can happen they just show the credits? Why?? This an AU, you don’t have to do the “did-she-or-didn’t-she” game here, she is alive in the original series, so just commit to it! <spoiler>

Oh right, almost forgot about them. Yami_Q_Ray, who are even on the cover, went really underutilized which is a big shame. Would’ve loved to see more of them.

✧ art ✧

The art was also veeery wonky most of the time. The background art were gorgeous, the mechs looked good enough I guess (I don’t know anything about mechs) but the characters... in some scenes they looked like paper cutouts pasted on a background. They lacked detail and depth. The animation was the same. Weird and janky. The CGI looked the best (the inro sequence of Walküre was a treat). The battles were really hard to follow too.

✧ sound ✧

Fantastic as usual. Macross has always been about the music and I’m glad that at least that didn’t disappoint.

✧ overview ✧

In conclusion, I feel like they spent 90% of the budget on the 10 minute long Macross F short in the beginning of the movie. Which I didn’t talk about cause I genuinly have no clue what was going on but damn did it look great.

My Rating: 5/10

#macross #macross delta #dusty reviews

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thejakeformerlyknownasprince · 4 years

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Re: Star Wars prequel novelizations - the Revenge of the Sith book is genuinely one of the best things I have ever read and changed my life.

THANK YOU, anon, for reminding me about the Revenge of the Sith novelization. I just reread it, and my crops are watered, my skin is clear, and — I cannot overstate this — I actually remember why I love Star Wars. That love has been for too long stolen by The Fandom Menace sucking the life out of those movies to invent a new definition of suffering while digesting them slowly over a thousand years.

Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover is one of the greatest works of adventure fiction I have ever read, and it continues to inspire the way I write action sequences and character conflicts. It does so damn much to transform a movie that is, to be honest, just okay. There are a couple of big additions from the novel that make the whole Skywalker saga richer, and there are about five hundred little tweaks that deepen the lore in a way that shows that Stover loves Star Wars to the core.

First big addition: having Obi-Wan tell Padmé that he’s in love with Anakin. This is great because yay, queer representation! But within the specific context of RotS, it also sets up the super-important contrast between Obi-Wan and Anakin. Obi-Wan, Stover’s novel makes clear, is the quiet and unassuming embodiment of everything a Jedi is supposed to be: he’s selfless, loving, hard-working, and incredibly skilled with the Force. Obi-Wan falls in love with Anakin, realizes that Anakin doesn’t love him back in that way, and... lives with it. He spends time with Anakin, supports Anakin, enjoys Anakin’s company, and doesn’t act like the world will end if Anakin isn’t his.

Anakin loves Obi-Wan, in a siblinglike way, and he loves Padmé. But he’s got a nasty habit of expressing that love through possession and control, through going behind Padmé’s back to “fix” her life without her permission. Anakin falls in love with Padmé and immediately concludes that he cannot possibly live like this: they must begin a secret relationship, and he must both marry her and remain a Jedi. Later he destroys the Jedi and eventually Padmé herself because he sees himself as having no way out of that dilemma.

And all the while, Obi-Wan is there in the background. Also in love with someone with whom he cannot have a relationship, and just… dealing with it like an adult. Because millions of people are in love with people who don’t love them back, and that’s just how it is sometimes. It’s selfish to obsess over “having” their love at all costs. For Anakin, that obsession with saving Obi-Wan and Padmé eventually leads to him killing them both.

When Yoda tells Anakin that he must deal with his fear of losing Padmé through letting go, Anakin takes this to mean “let her die.” But what Yoda means is not “let her die,” but rather “love her the way Obi-Wan loves you: quietly, selflessly, and with a willingness to do what’s best for her, whether or not that means you get to have her.” And Anakin never understands that, because Anakin’s view of the world is so intensely egocentric.

Second big addition: updating the Force to explain the Dark Side. Revenge of the Sith, even more so than any other Star Wars, is all about the contrast between the Dark Side and the Light Side. Here, Stover’s contribution is brilliant; he makes the Dark Side egocentric and the Light allocentric.

Terminology! “Egocentric” in psych refers to the perspective that focuses on how the world affects you and how you affect the world. At the extreme, egocentric thinking can be believing that a baby is crying in a deliberate effort to annoy you, or that every person in a crowded cafeteria will remember what shirt you wore when you ate there a week ago. “Allocentric” refers to the perspective that the self is one of several disparate elements buffered around by the world. At the extreme, allocentric thinking can be failing to realize that others are reacting to your presence, or viewing your own life as one thing you can give to help others.

Stover doesn’t use those terms, but he does describe how Dooku “drew power into his innermost being until the Force itself existed only to serve his will” (p. 64). Later, Obi-Wan “gave himself to the living Force… the Force moved him, let him collapse as though he’d suddenly fainted, then it brought his lightsaber from his belt to his hand” (p. 285). Dooku ultimately loses his fight against Anakin because he focuses on how everyone is responding to him, and misses that Anakin and Palpatine are beginning to build an alternate alliance right under his nose. Obi-Wan ultimately wins his fight against Anakin because he allows the Force to shove him around, and sets aside his concern with both his own life and that of his best friend while fighting for the greater goal of peace.

Not only that, but Obi-Wan’s understanding of the Force moves beyond that of most Jedi. He compares “the will of the Force” to “the will of gravity,” in essence stating that simply because it is beyond human comprehension doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its own rules. One can be a Jedi without needing to understand the Force in the same way one can be a pilot without needing to be a physicist. In RotS, we see that his refrain of “search your feelings” is a way of calling on a Force user to be mindful enough to accept realities that are already evident, if one can only allow oneself to have that knowledge.

Stover also uses these competing perspectives — allocentric and egocentric — to explain why the Jedi Order falls. The tight control the Order exerts over the Jedi moves them away from the will of the Force and toward the will of the Council. Its insularity creates a sense of superiority, which is the reason so many Jedi fail to see their clone troopers as threats until it’s too late. Stover tweaks the Jedi Purge scene to emphasize that the only reason Obi-Wan and Yoda survive is because of their selflessness. Obi-Wan takes the time to befriend his alien mount, repeatedly confirming her well-being, and then she shields him with her body when his troopers open fire. Yoda respects the Wookie command and puts himself in a position to assist rather than lead the resistance movement on Kashyyyk, meaning that when a fight breaks out between him and his troopers the Wookies don’t hesitate to side with him. Yoda and Obi-Wan are the only two Jedi who truly give themselves to the service of others, and thus they are the only two to survive the Purge.

...and the million little favors this book does for the movie.

During the opening battle, having Obi-Wan tell Anakin to “use the Force” to fly a narrow trench and having Anakin roll his eyes at such an obvious suggestion. It’s a callback to A New Hope, but one that drives home how much more the Force is integrated in the lives of Old Republic Jedi than it is in the lives of Imperial kids like Luke.

Fixing the minor continuity error from Episode III to Episode IV — why would Admiral Motti dismiss Vader as following outdated superstitions if there were millions of Jedi within his lifetime? — by explicitly stating that the Sith are considered a dead culture. Ergo, Vader’s “ancient religion” isn’t the Force in general; it’s specifically the Sith creed.

Making Palpatine scarier and more seductive than he is in the movie. Stover’s rhetoric about killing even the Jedi children is frighteningly rational and coherent, and he uses it to give Palpatine some stomach-churning speeches while corrupting Anakin.

Using the novel format for all it’s worth. Stover skims over the physical-comedy elevator sequence in favor of having Dooku and Palpatine discussing their plans for the war. He only tells us about Anakin’s conversation with Yoda after the fact, in scattered flashes as a panicking Anakin runs through the halls of the Jedi temple. He gives us intense focus on Anakin’s mindset while trying to land the broken halves of Invisible Hand, less on what the ship itself is doing. He cuts away from Anakin and Obi-Wan’s final battle, toward R2D2 and C3PO as they struggle to drag a dying Padmé into her ship out of a desperation to find some small way to help her.

Revealing that Palpatine spends the entire story trying to kill Obi-Wan. This gets hinted at in the movie, but Stover includes several moments throughout Palpatine’s “rescue” from Dooku when Palpatine sets Obi-Wan up to die, and mentions like eight other attempts on Obi-Wan’s life as orchestrated by Palpatine. It’s a great character addition, that Palpatine assumes he cannot get Anakin to fall unless he first eliminates Obi-Wan.

Expanding Padmé’s role in the movie (set dressing, and later refrigerator filling) by having her secretly organize and launch the Rebel Alliance right under Vader and Palpatine’s noses.

Those are just examples of how Stover clearly knows the Force, gets the Force, and strives to make the Force more internally coherent. How he sometimes translates, sometimes preserves, and always improves the pacing and tone of the film.

I haven’t even touched on the FUCKING AMAZEBALLS imagery or introspection in the book yet, but this post is getting wicked long, so I’ll go ahead and leave it here for now. Point is, all y’all should go out immediately and get a copy from your library and/or used bookstore, because Nonny is right and it’ll change your life.

#star wars #revenge of the sith #star wars episode iii #matthew stover #revenge of the sith novelization #book review #long post #nothing to do with animorphs #the force #star wars episode iii: revenge of the sith #anonymous #asks

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mrslackles · 3 years

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what do you think are gg's biggest flaws?

Ooh, Anon! It’s like you’re in my head.

I’m busy making a video (that will probably never see the light of day) about this -- my distance from the show has really helped with some super objective clarity -- so I’ll use my notes from that to help me answer.

I’ll preface this by saying what I was most shocked by after putting down all the points was that Rio isn’t even mentioned until really far down??

Anyway, let's get into it.

These are Good Girls' greatest flaws in my opinion (and relative to season 1 -- while I think it had its flaws too, the list is far smaller and I think that's a separate post)

1. It didn't stick to its guns

What set this show apart from others in the 'Everyday person does crime (poorly)' genre was its comedic lightness, strong friendship element, relatability and emphasis on girl power.

a) By season 2, the lightness was already slowly disappearing to make way for season 3's darkness. (Quite literally; this show said sunlight scenes for WHO.) It also stopped being as fun. Remember how it genuinely used to be fun? I mean let's not forget The Best Scene Ever where Ruby shoots Big Mike by accident and we all laughed our asses off. (Compare and contrast to a similar-in-tone-and-context scene -- or even the whole episode -- like Boomer popping up behind them as Rio's package in season 3.) I think season 3 had some great lines and laughs, but in general, the fun element was completely missing for me.

b) As was the friendship. We already know Annie and Ruby basically became Beth's backup dancers in season 2, but at least then they still seemed to have some type of agency. In season 3, they rarely question Beth's (truly questionable) decisions, don't talk to her about shit like why she's still with her horrible husband and have very few true friendship moments as they did in season 1.

c) Which made it less relatable, but what also contributed was the major plot holes (it's less easy to relate when you're constantly having to remind yourself to suspend your disbelief). And, to be honest, their stupid actions. Just the most common-sense things weren't followed, like not taking your children to a crack den or not putting a hit out on a gang leader. It's frustrating watching a TV show -- where characters are supposed to learn things, have arcs and improve over time -- and feeling like you have more logical sense than all the main characters in every scene. (WHO would think a hitman was going to use a sniper rifle on people in broad daylight on the side of the road???)

d) You don't have to look any further than the title or the stans who shout "THE SHOW IS ABOUT THE GIRLS" -- or, hell, the first 10 seconds of the show where Sara is literally talking about the glass ceiling -- to know that the main characters being women is very important to the show. If not formally feminist, it was at least supposed to be empowering or feel like "girl power" (a term I hate, but we won't get into that now).

And I think it did it pretty well in season 1 -- it actually played on my favourite theme of the show, which is the world's perception of these women being what ultimately allows them to get away with so much. (Rife with opportunities for commentary about white privilege, but also a genius way to upend patriarchal beliefs.) But more and more it seemed like the show was asking you to accept empowerment as simply "these things are being done by women, yay".

And, well.

2. Its marketing

I'll keep this one short because I think we all know how messed up this situation is. Basically they're selling a show (every week!) that they're not making while ignoring all feedback on every social media platform. Which brings us to...

3. The marriage of Death

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times -- Beth's character development starts with getting rid of Dean. Her growth is stunted by him on multiple fronts and it's frustrating to viewers since she's constantly put forth as the main character. Not to mention how the audience, separately from Beth, was originally conditioned to see Dean as the scum of the earth (think of scenes like him crashing his car because he was perving on a woman jogging) so keeping them together is really... a choice. To actively root for this marriage (which seems like what the show wants, at least for the protracted moment) means either thinking Dean is a great person (which, as I said, we've only seen the opposite of) or believing he's all Beth deserves. Which leads me to...

4. Beth's (socio)path(y)

Is sociopath a 'good' word? Probably not. Have I seen dozens upon dozens of posts talking about whether Beth is one? Yes. And I see it from a huge variety of people -- from viewers who just binged the show last weekend to those who've been watching for years, the question keeps coming up. And I entirely blame the writing of the show that, by the way, I don't believe is deliberately creating Beth to get this reaction. I think she's written (and, to an extent, acted) in a way that is much too aloof and I'm not convinced it's meant to come off as cold and unfeeling as it does. Everything else leads me to believe that the audience is supposed to root for Beth, but it's just so difficult.

Beth does a lot of messed up shit that requires dialogue to sympathise with her and the inner workings of her mind, but in the later seasons Beth rarely gets to express herself verbally. And every time she does get to speak about her emotions, the dialogue is a pick-your-own-adventure between "She's in so much denial", "This person feels no emotions" and "I'll go find an analysis/fic later to explain this" (scenes like "Nothing" or "I was just bored"). Compare and contrast with some of the great scenes in season 1 where she emotes, like her paralysing shock after they first rob the store or admitting she enjoys crime, or (one of my favourites!) the one in the park where she's mimicking the other mothers beside her.

5. Brio

I said in the beginning that I was shocked Rio doesn't get mentioned until this point and that's because I've always felt like he was an integral part of the show. When people say the show is about the girls, they're truncating -- the show is about the girls getting into crime. That crime is represented by Rio over and over again -- they never bring in another criminal at his level (which is another one of its flaws, but that's also a different post); Rio is it.

And though I stand by Rio's importance, the truth is that Brio isn't as essential to the show, by which I mean that if all of the above were done well, it wouldn't be as sorely missed. In lieu of riveting plot, a fun friendship, character development and empowerment, most viewers have glommed onto Brio like a lifeboat (or ship, heh).

Unfortunately it's also what the show has most stubbornly refused to develop significantly.

It's honestly a toss-up for why I feel Brio is a flaw: is the flaw that they got together? That they never got together well enough? That the writing keeps bringing in these 'chemistry-filled' scenes that are ultimately filled with air?

I don't know. Maybe all of them; maybe just one, depending on the day.

6. Its criticism falls flat without intersectionality

This is a big one because Good Girls is *trying* to do something very clever. As mentioned previously, my favourite theme of the show is how the women's apparent innocence/vulnerability in the eyes of society is their biggest strength. The show plays with this and other interesting themes with varying levels of success, but ultimately they all fall a little flat when they don't feel intersectional.

When Ruby gets sidelined. When Turner, who sees and all but calls out by name Beth's privilege, is portrayed as the villain. When Rio is told he's gonna "pop a cap" in his young child's "ass". When the racist grandma becomes a sympathetic character whom we must later grieve. (And she really didn't have to be racist, now that I think about it? It was just that one line for laughs and that was it.) When, despite the real-world implications, Dean can loudly announce in a store that he's buying a gun to kill someone with and the show just glides past it. When Ruby has to grovel for forgiveness from Beth for trying to protect her husband and family from the system, with no acknowledgement from Beth about how their realities are different. When Rhea gets booted off the show as soon as she's done serving Beth's plot. When Rio gets treated like a prostitute for absolutely no reason. (Oh, and is accused of raping Beth and is literally spoken of as an animal and starts only existing in zero dim lighting as a one-dimensional stereotype... the list goes on.)

7. PR/The actors

I'll risk my life here to sprinkle this in because I do think it's a massive problem. The Manny/Christina of it all is just the tip of the iceberg (although wtf Good Girls? There's nothing you could do to get these two into an interview together??). The main actors do the bare minimum to promote the show and it's weird. I also think it's the height of unprofessionalism to keep characters on the show against the wishes of the majority of the audience just because you enjoy their actors (Boomer confirmed; Dean highly suspected). While, on the flip side of the coin, limiting a character's screentime because you aren't best buddies with them. Having less and less Rio when he's such a fan favourite is dumb; as is not including him in any series marketing material. It feels personal and that isn't how a TV show should be run.

8. The entire hair and wardrobe department needs a stern talking-to

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whoovesnassistant · 3 years

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A Hello, A Thank You, And A Brain Dump.

Dear PwPP team,

I am a recent fan, and I am quite an odd one. I am a lover of everything Doctor Who, so much so I have memorized everything about the Doctor and his interactions during the 2005 revival. Yet since I have watched basically all the doctor who media I had access to (Excluding the most recent season because it does not interest me in the slightest, no offence to 13’s actor) I was without any Doctor Who content that actually interested me.

Well until I made a discovery. You see, when I was moving to a new house, I found a figure I did not remember owning. It looked like a My Little Pony version of Doctor number 10. It fascinated me because It was officially licensed! So, I went down a rabbit hole, and found a whole new Doctor Who community, lost to YouTube, or even, Internet time entirely.

That’s a little bit of a dramatization, but the point still stands that I discovered something that a lot of people forgot. The thing is, I know nothing about the My Little Pony area of fandoms, but I found this new world of Doctor Who so fascinating. Not only that, but it was a whole community!

It was intoxicating! Doctors that I’d never dream of! And actually seeing the doctor see something he truly did not know! But most of all… people who understood what made Doctor Who, Doctor Who.

I’m not a My Little Pony fan, not in the slightest, but as a Doctor who fan, your series is beyond stellar! I know when people understand Doctor Who or not, and you all did know on a level I don’t even thing some real Doctor Who show writers do! Also, your adaptation of the doctor feels so real, it is just stellar!

So, now I have to thank you, all of you. You gave me hope about the future of Doctor who will be bright and full of life! You let me see a new world of story telling. I never saw audio plays used like a legitimate series to such effectiveness and its truly brilliant and has inspired me to try to work on something similar, in due time.

Yet, lastly, thank you so much for the pure, utter joy your work emanates. Yet again, I’m only a Doctor Who fan, but this series has genuinely gave me more enjoyment that some Doctor Who episodes. It is just, raw, stupid, enjoyable, and oh so timey-wimy fun! Even with some real Doctor Who-esc dark/sad moments that makes it feel like I’m listening to a real BBC and Hasbro collaboration!

In fact, the work of your team gave me a Idea for a episode I just couldn’t keep in my head. I know you most likely have plans for all the future audio plays, but I am a story teller through and through, so consider the last part of this letter like a pitch. Yet again, I’m not trying to be entitled and be like “Here’s my idea, Now make it!”, no I literally have no other living soul to share this idea with and its killing me.

Now if I had to title it, it would be a two part play called “Turn Timer” and “Pestering Past”. “Turn Timer” would start with the Tardis crew just bumbling around in time and space. Maybe heading from or to an adventure. Yet when the Tardis enters modern times, it gets thrown off course due to a temporal blackhole (Or something?) making the Tardis materialize in front of a mansion that should not exist, that stands right dead center in the Evergreen Forest (if I got it wrong don’t kill me). The master of the house would be a unicorn named Turn Timer, and would be letting any travelers stay.

Yet when the Doctor reluctantly stays in a room, they discover that some of the travelers have been seeing a hairless ape-like creature attacking residence, even Turn Timer who would have been attacked, saying that they just popped up a few months ago and he’s been trying to cover it up for business.

Soon, after the Doctor and Tick Tock (Sorry but I have to say this here, that name did NOT age well) go off without Derpy who does not quite trust Turn Timer because…. well I made the name reverse Time Turner for a reason. Yet both the Doctor and Tick Tock does not notice the clearly weird name, so that means duel plot! Yay!

Eventually the smart duo would figure out that these creatures are just human like Autons. Yet, since humans, or even humanoids, don’t exist in this universe, this is extremely odd (at least I think, I still know jack about My Little Pony). Also Imagine this would lead into some funny jokes about how the Doctor needs to explain what the hell a human is, and I just imagine Tick Tock confused Autons being exactly like humans and not just modeled by them.

Meanwhile, Derpy would be grilling Turn Timer (Also again, only a Doctor Who fan but I can just imagine the Donna theme here and it makes me smile) and I Imagine that 70% of this second plot would be jokes. Until before the Auton realization, where Turn Timer makes the mistake of saying Doctor instead of Time Turner (Which I assume he would sign in as) and would be forced to knock out Derpy. Now, after they figure out the Autons are Autons, and the jokes are done, I’m guessing that Turn Timer would project some sort of communication hologram or magic thingy to the Doctor so they can have an exchange that goes along like this.

TuTi “Hello Doctor! Sorry but i did not expect for your assistant to be able to see past my perception field.”

Doc “ What did you do to Derpy Turn Timer?”

TiTo “and what perception field?”

TuTi “ Oh don’t be daft, Doctor! I swear ever since you regenerated you have become so thick! you can’t even see what is so clearly obvious! You only know one person who would know the correct configuration for a humanoid Auton, and be smart enough to do it! ”

Doc, in his serious voice, “ Who are you?”

TuTi, Outraged “Don’t act like you don’t know! We are best friends! The bestest of friends that have ever existed. Long before you started taking your pets onto your Tardis. You know deep down, and you are running away from it! Like you ran away from your universe! Our Universe! I am tired of seeing your adventures in this world like you did not live in another.”

TiTo “Who are you then?”

Doc, still serious “Don’t humor him”

TuTi “ Oh Doctor….Can’t even ask your own questions anymore can you? How far you have fallen from what you once were. You once could snap your fingers and make army’s turn and run away. Now you can’t even keep your pets (Companions) on a tight enough leash anymore.”

Doc “ Wait, fingers? how did you-”

TuTi “Oh now you are getting it. Finally, we are getting back the Doctor that counts. My Doctor, The Oncoming Storm! The Great Exterminator! The Destroyer of Skaro! And lastly, The Timelord Victorious!”

Doc panicked and angered yelling (Probably) “Who are you?”

TuTi “ Finally…. Well… I am the master of the house.. the Master! Of the house.”

That is where “Turn Timer” would end and go into “Pestering Past”, which would pick up with the Master finishing his evil monolog and him and Derpy being in some sort of cave with the Masters Tardis being rigged as a paradox machine. Derpy would probably be in some sort of status field but still being able to interact with the Master.

I am sure they would discuss why the Master was so obsessed with getting the Doctor to recognize him. The fact that in the Doctor Who universe, The Master was so utterly empty without his “Best Friend” he could not stand to exist in a world without him, So he tracked the Doctor down, even through different universes just so he could have fun with his “Best Friend”.

Also probably telling Derpy more about the Doctor than he has. And most likely telling stories about when the Doctor was very angry, and why he is the last of the timelords. I thought this would be a very interesting thing to pop up later on, a Derpy is wondering if the Doctor is worth being around if they could do such a thing then turn around and say its horrid.

On the topside, I’m imagining the Doctor more scared and upset than seen in your audio plays. The fact that he came to a whole new universe, a place to make a new start and have less weight to carry, has been shattered by probably the only person that could have followed him. And to make it worse, it was someone who knows almost as much as the Doctor without his self control, and knowledge of his past life.

When the Doctor and the New Master meet face to face, I imagine it would be a battle of chaotic personalities on each side. Also, In my characterization of the Master, I think he would be sarcastically energetic to counteract the Doctors normal energetic craziness. Also, for the hell of it, let’s make the Master obsessed with pegasi instead of unicorns because narrative symbolism.

Lastly, we would learn that creatures that don’t belong in the world of My Little Pony (Cybermen and Terror are my best examples) where caused by the Masters Paradox machine. This gives a reason why they appeared and connects things in a neat little bow. Also gives a reason for Tick Tock to be mad too, due to the fact that the Master indirectly fueled the war he lost his family and time period for.

And that’s all I have. I don’t know how it would end except I think the Master would snatch Derpys Tardis key to use it to make something to keep tabs on the Tardis crew.

I’m sorry that half of this thank you and appreciation letter was more about my ideas than how I adore yours. Everyone on the PwPP crew to me is absolutely stellar! You all have made something truly amazing from a Doctor Who story telling standpoint. Lastly, please have fun making your audio plays or whatever you go on to do. It breaks my heart watching people create and have no fun in it.

With love and appreciation,

Raven.

We’re happy this show has brought you plenty of Doctor Who entertainment, even if you’re not an MLP fan. It’s always fun to learn about people who are generally a fan of one but not the other, who are still big fans of our series.

We aren’t really taking any ideas since we have a solid outline of what the rest of the episodes will be, and we can’t really reveal what characters might be appearing later. Your idea was a fun take on the Master though, perhaps consider writing a fanfic, as I’m sure people would enjoy it and we’ll be willing to post fanfics here.

#long post #submission

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alyrae13 · 3 years

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Alright, time to explain my weeb ass! As promised, I’m gonna tell the reasons why I like each Gold Saint and why I see them as the way I do. Keep in mind, I’ll also may have to make this into two parts because of how long this would be in one single post, so please bare with me! Anyway, onward ho!!!

Libra Dohko

Starting off simple! Being a Libra myself, it’s easy to see that I would like this cool madafaka; He’s basically a better, more sensible version of Yoda. The reason I don’t feel very attracted to him is because I see him as the badass grandfather type, like the cool Chinese grandfather that could teach you how to kick ass while also being chill enough to unwind during tea time. 100% Dope Grandpa through and through.

Taurus Aldebaran

Now for the other one! Alde is a man who’s sweet as sugar cane yet as powerful as a raging bull. Despite his height, he’s a kind man when off the battle field and ready to fight for Athena when on said battle field. He’s not a character I’m attracted to because I see him as a strong yet sweet uncle figure who’s ready to stand alongside ya in both normal life and when fighting. He’s a tender giant of a man who supports those around him. Gentle Giant Uncle 100%.

Capricorn Shura

Now we go on to the tricky stuff. Shura, dear god do I love him. His character ideology is just so interesting due to the differences between the manga and anime. Wielder of the holy sword Excalibur, he could cut you to bits and think nothing of it. There’s also a possible angst hanging over him; He was the one sent to kill off Aiolos, knowing well how it would have affected little Aiolia. Imagine the amount of guilt he had for killing someone’s only family member? Even worse when you take the consideration of him realizing that he was willing to kill an innocent man without knowing about it, meaning he now knows he just tore a family apart and cause so much pain in vain. And please don’t get me even started on the Hades Saga and Soul of Gold. His character is just so great to me and I’m glad he was able to get on good terms with Aiolia in Soul of Gold. Plus, he’s a sexy Spanish man who’s super loyal, so why wouldn’t I love him?

Aquarius Camus

Camus, oh boy... Camus is someone who just gives me a whole array of emotions despite him not openly expressing them himself. On the surface, he is rather cold and distant due to not wanting to draw people into despair by showing exasperation, yet he’s still in control of his emotions rather than just suppressing them. His willing to fight for his ideals and for what he believes as correct (Soul of Gold anybody?), and although his way of teaching Hyoga is questionable at best, his only doing what he thinks will make Hyoga stronger as a saint. Despite being a man who appears uncaring and emotionless, he really isn’t. After all, we’re taking about the same man who one stated about hating people who mourn over the past yet also deeply cares for his pupil and about being true to his word to an old friend. Camus is a man who truly cares for those around him despite him appearing otherwise. He’s also a Frenchman, and who doesn’t love a beautiful French?

Gemini Saga and Kanon

Oh good grief this will be a long explanation. For the sake of respect and love for these two, I’ll be going over them individually because why not make this post into a full on essay?

Frist of all, Saga, poor Saga. Dear lord the amount of trauma this man had to go through is just heartbreaking. A man with an undying loyalty to Athena with an evil split personality... A more tragic version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Not only was he forced to see his evil side kill Pope Shion and take over his identity, he had to see him try to kill baby Athena and send another saint to kill Aiolos; And he had to endure that fact for thirteen years. By the time he was finally free of his evil half, he was practically begging his beloved goddess to forgive him for all the hurt he caused. A powerful yet tragic man indeed. Then there is his relationship with Kanon (of who we’ll talk about in a moment), because it’s also a little sad. Kanon was definitely, a bit of a traitorous prick in the beginning and it was his imprisonment that led to Saga’s split personality in the first place. Yet you could still say that they at least cared for each other despite all the bullshit they must’ve gone through whilst growing up, because Saga was definitely happy in the Hades arc when he found his brother fighting for Athena.

Now for Kanon, fucking Kanon who despite starting out as an infidel of a man, then became a great character in the same vain as his brother Saga. Dude wanted to overthrow the Pope and kill baby Athena but ended up getting his butt locked in Cape Sounion. Now we know what happens there; Finds trident, get’s Poseidon half awakened, poses as the Sea Dragon and yada yada. It’s only when fighting Ikki does he end up changing because it’s then when Ikki told him the only reason he’s even alive is because of Athena’s Cosmo. So, plans in scrambles and now possibly gripped with an overwhelming sense of guilt, he goes over to Athena and without skipping a beat, becomes a shield against Poseidon‘s trident and begs Athena to forgive him before falling unconscious. And of course, we know about everything in Hades arc.

In the end, both men are equally cherished characters of mine and I won’t have it any other way. Also their handsome Greek men who need hugs and kisses and need to be told that they are loved and appreciated, so...

Cancer Deathmask

Oh Deathmask, you beautiful bastard you... Now Deathmask is more of an asshole than Kanon for reasons we all know at this point but I’m guessing his behavior could be explain simply due to the fact he is literally surrounded by death everyday. Like seriously, is it really a surprise that he’s like this when he’s constantly exposed to seeing the souls of the living fall right into practically hell? Nobody would be the same if they had to endure that, especially since most likely he started training to become a saint at a very early age. Now, this is when Soul of Gold comes into play, because god damn it how they wrote his character is just something. Firstly, he’s shown to be an gambling addict and an alcoholic, clearly unhealthy coping mechanisms for not being able to use his cloth and you know, being exposed to death at an early age and onwards for most of his life. Then we have Helena; Now, I’m not gonna lie, the whole ‘Changed better because of love’ trope is very much old at this point but it’s kinda ok because it shows us ‘Hey, even he has the opportunity to change and become a good man’. Deathmask, despite all the things he’s done against mankind, still has the potential to become an honorable Gold Saint and a decent human being; Plus his a sexy Italian who can rock the goatee look, so yay for the crab.

Pisces Aphrodite

Ah yes, the beloved fish boi. Honestly, I love his character simply because he breaks so many boundaries that it would be hard for me not to like him. He plays into the whole ‘appearances can be deceiving’ stick so well; He looks feminine yet his personally is quite the opposite (to some extent). His personality is something that’s interesting to me as well; Despite being so god damn beautiful, he doesn’t act narcissistic at all and doesn’t even care about having his appearance messed up in battle. HIs belief that power and strength are the most beautiful things in the world speaks fucking volumes to me and explains why he was willing to follow the False Pope’s orders. His character in Soul of Gold was just great as well! Like, to see his abilities and power being fully used to it’s full potential was simply badass and I doubt others won’t disagree with me on that one; He was definitely key in the story despite showing little of him. That’s way I love him so much; He’s a gorgeous Swede who can kick your ass and think little of it. He’s the type of man who will look damn good beating you up while shrugging off any damage to his figure like a frickin’ boss... He’s just that dope.

OK, that’s the first part of this really long post; Honestly this took me nearly an entire day to write, like, really. I had to take a break and ended up taking a nap before finishing this, it was that long. Hope many of you agree with my reasons for loving these characters so far and if not, that’s ok! Opinions are fine as long as no one gets hurt, so it’s fine if you don’t like them like I do! Anyway, I’m just gonna rest now because my fingers are killing me. Have a great day guys!

#saint seiya #gold saint #soul of gold #capricorn shura #aquarius camus #gemini saga #sea dragon kanon #cancer deathmask #pisces aphrodite #libra dohko #taurus aldebaran #anime #favourites #knights of the zodiac

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lieutenant-amuel · 3 years

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My top 10 Gabe episodes

Asked by Anon.

Note 1: Months ago, I also made a post of my favourite Gabe moments. If you're interested, you can check it out here.

Note 2: To make this top a little bit more interesting, I decided to put all Gabe-centric episodes into "Honorable mention" category and tried not to write too much about them. There's a lot to tell, and they're obviously the best episodes for him, but I would like to highlight the other ones too, because he truly does shine in some of them :)

Honorable mentions:

Olaball

This is like the first episode that makes Gabe a little deeper character. We find out about his family, his doubts, a little bit of his backstory.

I love Gabe's origins. An ordinary boy who dreamt about something more than just following his father's footsteps and got misunderstood by him. Roberto wanted Gabe to be like him: an olaball player and a baker. Probably, Roberto was very famous one day and thought of Gabe doing the same. Roberto is very strict and demanding, but Gabe couldn't live up to his expectations, and that, I think, might be one of the reasons for his secretive nature and preference to keep his feelings inside.

and maybe, it also was a reason of his over too confidence and arrogance in early episodes? Like, Gabe wanted to play cool to hide his insecurity and worries that he can't make anything to make his dad proud?

I love that Gabe has such a strong feelings for his family and wants to do everything to make them happy and proud of him. Seriously, the whole plot is focused on his desire to make Roberto proud (even though, Gabe is a terrible olaball player) and to show him his true "way." I'm sure that Roberto and Gabe have argued for years because of this, and very happy that they finally get along :')

And his bond with Blanca!!! 😭 I can speak endlessly about how much I love them 🥺

The Curse Of El Guapo

Gabe's origins, yay! Seriously though, I Iove how the whole episode is about Gabe trying to prove he may be a good captain. He makes a mistake borrowing the sword, but thanks to Elena, he realizes he doesn't need a good weapon or to come from a rich family to be a great leader and an honorable person. All that matters is to be kind, supportive, and selfless. This is honestly a very important moral!

The scene of Gabe coming back for Rico is still of my biggest favourites, and I can't describe how much I actually love it. Rico is not that person to whom Gabe should help (and honestly, the fact that Gabe tries to help Rico even in the first round is so meaningful! He's simply such a nice person, I can't), but Gabe, literally giving up his dream, lends his hand to him, and then Rico suggests to make Gabe the new captain, because he came back for him. I'm just 🥺

A secretive Gabe who prefers to keep his feelings inside and not to show them to the other people is something that makes him very attractive to me. I can relate to him at this point, and I'm pretty sure that my love to Gabe started since this episode.

Also, I think this episode is kinda a crucial moment for his personality. I wrote a little analysis post about it almost... one year ago ×)

Crash Course

Olaball is about Gabe's family, The Curse of El Guapo is about his becoming captain, and Crash Course highlights "the magical" side of his character. I find it very interesting how Gabe had like a complete disinterest to magic, but now, he wants to teach his guards magic and even understands its value!

I talked about it before, but I really love how Gabe's arc is built in season 3. It combines the magic and his role as a captain, and these two things are so closely connected. Gabe can't be a good leader without knowing magic that makes him unsure if he deserves to be a captain at all.

He takes shortcuts, because he wants to prove he's worthy, and omg, I LOVE the reference to The Curse of El Guapo! Gabe doubts about his role as a captain is the thing I really wanted to happen to Gabe someday! I was so pleased when this episode came out :')

His apology to Mateo remains my ultimate favourite scene. This is so heartfelt and sincere, and speaks so much of Gabe's growth.

And I can't help but mention Gabe and Mateo's friendship! These two have come so far!!

My Top 10:

10. Naomi Knows Best

First of all, this is the first time Gabe appeared after Snow Place Like Home. He was gone for four episodes, six months. You can't imagine how much I missed him.

To be serious and fair, this is not the best episode for him, as he doesn't listen to Naomi and, therefore, fails the mission. I'm biased, but I still think that Gabe's plan is not that bad. Like, they really don't know where Mateo is, this is not really reasonable to waste their time trying to find him. It actually could work, if they had more time to think. And yeah, Gabe have chased Delgados for months. This is more than okay for him to want to catch them as soon as possible. Anyway, as I said, I am biased ×)

But.

Probably, his failure is exactly what I like, actually, since I'm still convinced that his arc in season 3 was foreshadowed before. He fails in every magical battle, because he's not a wizard and doesn't know how to use magic, and this episode shows it pretty well.

Anyway, I really love his dynamic with Naomi and the comical parts in this episode! And I love how he accepts he was wrong eventually. He's so mature :')

9. First Day Of Rule/Spellbound

I can't choose between these two episodes. Both of them introduce Gabe and his, I don't know, main flaws? Like, in First Day Of Rule, Gabe is over too protective and confident guy who tries to impress a princess, behaving quite... arrogantly; in Spellbound, we see his cluelessness and distrust of magic and in general, he is pretty obnoxious in this episode. Even for me ×)

These are like the main aspects of his character growth, and honestly, I really love rewatching these episodes, because it's so interesting to see how much he has grown!

these are just me and my crazy obsession about Gabe's origins, but honestly, it may explain some things about his behaviour, especially in early episodes. Like, he was born in a humble family. He never thought he would actually achieve his dream of becoming a guard. And then, boom! He becomes a lieutenant, he's by a princess's side. He feels like he's valuable now, and the only thing he wants is to show it.

he was born and spent eighteen years of his life in unmagical kingdom which queen is a usurper who owns magic and did overthrow the previous rulers. Of course, it can't explain 100% why he was so rude to Mateo, but this is a weighty reason to not trust magic.

8. Prince Too Charming

In early season 1, Gabe is kinda a comical character, but Prince Too Charming is one of these rare episodes that shows us his true strengths: responsibility and hard work. Gabe doesn't like Alonso for his frivolity and childishness, and I like how he tries to tell Elena to keep working and not getting distracted by Alonso's offer.

yay, me and my obsession with Gabe's origins again. I find it interesting that Gabe and Alonso are pretty opposites. Alonso is a royalty. He was born in the rich family and didn't get used to work; Gabe is from a humble family, and everything he has is a result of his hard work. These two have a very specific dynamic, honestly; and an unpopular opinion: Gabe isn't jealous of Elena for Alonso. He is annoyed by his behaviour, because he can't stand idleness and irresponsibility.

By the way, I love the interaction between Gabe and Elena. This is like the first time when they work together and feel free talking to each other, they even laugh together!

7. The Scepter Of Night

This episode is one of the first ones that shows us "the captain Gabe." He became much more serious, and I find it interesting that he tries to take charge of the mission even among his friends. He still cares about Elena, but at the same time, he realizes his responsibility as a captain it's also shown in Shapeshifters, and in that case, "the captain side" wins. Seriously, this is very cool that Gabe tries to find a balance between being a friend and a captain.

Also, I love this episode for showing "Gabe's leadership side" and his analytical thinking. I think this side of his character is little underrated in the show, he has a potential to be "the mind" of the group, but his plans usually don't work, sadly it also would balance Gabe's powerlessness in magical battles, but c'mon, he's my boi, and I love him anyways.

Also, I really enjoy the comical parts! Gabe's face when Elena comes behind the curtain is precious 🤣

6. To Queen Or Not To Queen

I love the entire episode in general, and the story of alternate!Gabe is great! It was very interesting to see how Gabe's life would've changed, if he wasn't a guard (for example, he would've been good enough at baking to be king's favourite baker, lol). The training for the king's challenge, expressing Gabe's talent in swordsmanship, joining Elena to revolution (I swear on my life that Gabe was somewhere in the crowd when Elena overthrew Shuriki in Secret of Avalor. He just had to be the part of the rebellion), everything was amazing! He was meant to be a Royal Guard, indeed 💖

Also, I like this episode for showing the interaction between the four amigos. They barely had fun together in season 3, so it was very enjoyable to see them that relaxed and free! And I love that Gabe is the one who makes Elena think about her true destiny. Right before her coronation. He's such a disaster 🤣

And the casual outfit. Yeah, I had to mention it.

5. A Princess Knight

First of all, I love the fact that Elena and Gabe fence together! This is a very sweet detail and really makes their relationship much closer! The reference to Olaball, the fact that Gabe trains Elena the same way he did himself THIS STILL AMAZES ME, his strategical skills and ability to choose the right tactics for every opponent, the fact he has his signature move, the knowledge of famous fencers and fencing in general. I love every.single.thing about this episode!! Oh, and Gabe is a morning person. This is a canon.

And again, his dynamic with Elena! He feels so easy with her, compared to the previous episodes, especially while the training seriously, I can't imagine early-season-1-Gabe throwing the mangoes at Elena, drowning her in the lake, and teasing while walking up the stairs backwards and eating the mango ×) Oh, and the iconic "If it was a complaining contest, you'd be ready to go." lol!

He's by Elena's side to help her to defeat every opponent and to support her when she gets injured (ohh, and may we talk about Gabe performing the first aid? 👀 This is so cool!!). And honestly, the scene in the tent is so heartwarming, I love the fact that Gabe is there with Elena and her grandparents :')

4. Changing Of The Guard

I love Gabe as a captain, and this episode is truly the best to highlight his leadership. He's in charge of the recruitment, he comes up with the tasks, he chooses and meets the new members of the guard. Seriously, if take a thought that Gabe, like them, was an ordinary recruit a while ago, and for now, he takes such an important role in the guard, this is so impressive!! I can't stop thinking of Gabe passing the same course a few years ago :')

And I love they way Gabe treats Antonia. He doesn't care about her gender and even doesn't focus on this. All that matters is her potential and desire to be a guard. Even when she fails the task, he says this is not her fault and she could pass it, if her team didn't let her down.

"Your Highness, I'm interested to find the best talent Avalor has to offer, whoever they are." is still my favourite Gabe's quote. I'm so proud of him 😭

And honestly, I love that Gabe is not the only man who accepts Antonia. The other recruits, besides Rocco, support her too, and this is such a beautiful thing 💖

3. Snow Place Like Home

I can speak endlessly how much I love this episode for Gabe. He doesn't have a big part, but even those little scenes speak so much of what kind of man Gabe is. He supports and inspires his guards to not give up when they lose any hope to celebrate Navidad, remaining a bright person and a great leader. And Elena's words ("You have to be a great soldier and a great person") describe Gabe perfectly in this episode.

And may we just talk about how Gabe celebrates Navidad away from his family again? May this guy relax and spend time with his parents. On holidays, at least. Please 🥺

2. Coronation Day

Gabe shines in this episode! It makes me so happy that he gets so many good scenes in the finale! The battle between him and Vuli and Yolo is one of my most favourite Gabe moments, and the fact that he defeats the shades by using his true talent and achieving success then just warms my heart so much. Of course, he uses magic to defeat them, but he does it in his way, remaining himself, and I love it a lot 💖 And the leaping stag!! Yay!

Just tell me that the magical swords are the new official weapon in Avaloran Royal Guard now. These turned out so helpful in the battles!

And Gabe becomes a general!! I really really love how his story ended! He's been by Elena's side since the beginning, he helped her to defeat Shuriki, he was in charge of many missions, he was the one who accepted the first female guard member, he taught guards magic. He achieved so much during the time he was a captain, and he's more than worthy to be a general 💖

From a baker boy to the head of Avaloran Royal Guard :')

Aaaand, I was so happy to see Gabe's parents!! They're so proud of him 😭😭

1. Captain Mateo

The best episode for Gabe.

I really love the reference to what happened in The Magic Within, and, as I mentioned above, I still like to think that Gabe's failures in the magical battles are actually very important details for his future development. I wrote two analysis posts about Gabe a while ago, so if you're interested, you can check these out ×)

My main point is that Gabe can't do magic, and this thing hinders him to be a good captain. He's good at strategy, he's a talented swordsman, he's a leader. But he's powerless when it comes to magic (that was shown for a multiple times), and considering the fact that Avalor faces only magical threats lol, Gabe's role seems absolutely unimportant. Doña Paloma's words emphasizes it that makes him wonder if he deserves to be a captain. And his words in the end of the episode ("I know I have to do a better job") actually make me think.

Also, I love that this episode shows Gabe's true strengths and focuses on them. He's a strong person and knows how to "lead", he's smart and analytical, thinks before doing anything. And the other guards respect him! This is so nice to see :')

Another thing Iove is Gabe letting his emotions out. It actually is interesting to see how he reacts when the Grand Council chooses Mateo over him he was so vulnerable, I wanted to hug him :'( I love the reference to his hard work to become a captain and that he calms down eventually. He's mature :')

And the scenes between him, Elena, and Mateo are great! His relationship growth with both of them is spectacular!

Gabe might have not a lot of screentime, but some episodes do amazing work to show his strengths, development, relationship growth with the other characters and to tell something about his personality, backstory, and family! He's a fantastic character, and I'll never stop loving him 💙

this post turned very long, but I hope it wasn't too boring to read ×)

#Elena of Avalor #Gabriel Nunez #Gabe Nunez #Thank you so much for this ask!!#I love Gabe so much #:')#but I'm so sorry for making you wait for soooooo long Anon!#I hope that's okay!#And what comes to requests #I saw them all guys!#I will try to make them as soon as I can!

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dreamerandcrazy · 3 years

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Ok, so I haven't been able to comment much on my Riverdale rewatch mostly bc i'm watching it with my boyfriend and we have an agreement of no cell phones when we're watching, otherwise we can't pay proper attention to it. But I wrote down some notes about the episodes I did watch (I watched up until ep 6, which is very ironic bc apparently today is its anniversary, so yay for my perfect timing). I actually remember most of the stuff that happened in s1, so here's mostly a few things I paid more attention to or noticed about the characters and the ships, or things i'm able to look at through a different view now that i've watched all the seasons. Strap in if you want to see my notes, if not just scroll please, no ship or character hate here please. Also, feel free to ignore, this is really just a personal look in some stuff I didn't notice in my first watch.

- Betty's character used to be much happier and lighter in season 1. I know we're introduced to "Dark Betty" right in episode 3, but still, I feel like the way Lili played Betty in season 1 did not hold the same "darkness" as it does in the following seasons. The scene where she is dancing happily in her bedroom because she's going to homecoming with the boy she likes? The scene where she introduces Jughead to the Blue & Gold and gets him to work with her? Her genuine innocent happiness at seeing her sister again after so much time? The way she interacted with Kevin and Veronica? Those were all chef's kiss because she actually feels like a teenager in them. In all her girly glory, she radiates youth energy and it's a thing that was sadly lacking after s1. Btw this is not a critique at Lili's acting at all, I blame it entirely on Ras and his obsession with dark Betty.

- There's actually so many indications of Cheryl being a lgbt character in the first episodes that I have no idea how I missed it the first time. But then again, there were many indications with Veronica as well, and sadly that's not the path Ras chose for her.

- Jughead in s1 is truly so superior in so many ways that it's not hard to see why he quickly became such a fan favorite. I think even if he wasn't played by Cole Sprouse, he still would have conquered many fans' hearts. Sadly, the things that made Jughead such a loving and interesting character for me also fizzled out in s2 when the writing team decided to make him a woke serpent leader instead of allowing him to sticking to his true personality as a passionate mystery lover, a dedicated friend and very nerdy, which was very cute. I feel that we got some of that back for him in s4, which was good, but sadly s1 is where my love for him really stayed to stay. But I still care for him, and s5 has a promising storyline for him which i'm excited about, so let's see if s5 Jughead can become better than s1 Jughead.

- Going back again to Cheryl for a sec, I just noticed that the red lipstick actually wasn't that common for her in s1? At least not in the first five. I wonder when did it start becoming her trademark? Anyways, it's actually a really good look her and allows you to appreciate Madelaine's natural beauty even more.

- Also, did anybody notice how Alice lowkey figured out who killed Jason in ep 2 lmao, like... in episode two she legit says she wouldn't be surprised if the Blossoms themselves had killed Jason, which... is what happened LMAO, considering we know it was his father. And even more hilarious and tragically ironic note, in ep 6 she's laughing at Betty suggesting that Hal killed Jason because "do you think your father has the stomach for it?!"... Ma'am... i'm-.... 😂😂😂😂.

- This rewatch has reminded me of how much I adored and how I much I miss Josie and the Pussycats. The girls were such a nice addition to the cast, and their songs were so beautiful. I truly wish we get to see them again someday, but at the same time I also think the actresses deserve to be at a work place where they're given the treatment they deserve and not completely ignored and treated like extras.

- Archie/Valerie was super cute and is very underrated in the fandom, but i'm glad Valerie stood up for herself and didn't take any of Archie's or Cheryl's sh*t. Still sucks because they were really good together, though.

- Why was Jason not allowed to talk, lmao? Like, i'm sure it's become a running joke in the show at this point, but back when season one was airing what was the excuse for it? He appeared in so many flashbacks and scenes and we still never heard a single word ☠️☠️☠️☠️. I just want to know what was the reason lol.

- I liked s1 Reggie, but I feel like Charles Melton's Reggie is better because he actually feels like a douche with good intentions lol, and he has more of a personality. Most of the time I even forgot about Reggie in s1, but after s2 he definitely made me more aware of him. So for that, I like Charles Melton's Reggie more. But the actor from s1 still did a good job with what he was given.

From now on I will be talking about the ships, so bear with me, and know that I am a multishipper. Yes, I have my preferences. No, my word is not law, it's just an opinion, so please respect it.

- Bughead is still super cute in s1. I feel like from s1 they will always be my otp, even if I no longer feel as strongly about them now and have a different insight as to where I would like their story to go, and now I definitely see the problem others had mentioned before of how they kind of took over the show, which is something I kind of closed my eyes to before... But I really loved them in s1. It felt like a very juvenile teenage relationship, they didn't give much thought on why and if they should be together, they just went for it like teenagers usually do, and they were very very cute together.

- I feel like if you don't count Beronica (because they really were the best no matter what you say or ship), if there's a ship that deserves "best chemistry" award for s1 is probably Varchie. I lost my interest in them years ago, but this rewatch reminded me of why I actually loved them once. They never really became an otp for me, but Kj and Camila's chemistry in s1 was VERY GOOD, and I really liked them. Their kiss in the pilot was electric and the s&xual tension was OOF, and that chemistry carries on through the season. You can easily tell something will happen between them eventually. It makes me sad bc I don't know what happened after s1, but their chemistry from s2 onwards was just... not there for me. Which is ironic bc it's the season they truly started dating and they got a lot of smexy scenes, but I just... didn't feel it. But I'll leave that comment to my s2 rewatch. For now just let me enjoy Varchie's chemistry in s1 while it lasts because it was really good.

- Now we get to Barchie, who I made clear was the reason for my rewatch, so let's get to it. I LOVED the way Barchie was written in s1. I remember when I first watched Riverdale, I was curious about their dynamic but didn't put much thought into it because I loved Bughead too much and wanted them to be together, and I thought Barchie would be the traditional "first og ship" thing and wouldn't have a big follow up, but boy was I WRONG and am I GLAD for it. I'll talk more about their development in the next seasons when I get there, so for now let's focus a bit on s1. Just in like the first two episodes, there is so much Barchie foreshadowing, like, it's legit insane how it was right there in my face and I missed it the first time! "I have never felt what i'm supposed to feel with betty", "it's not my fault he doesn't like you", "I can't give you the answer you want"... Omg, those are obvious eyebrow raising "this will come back to bite you in the a$$" moments and it's incredible how they actually DO! I would call it clever writing, but like... it's Riverdale lol. So I really am just glad that the ship was done this way, i'm glad Barchie has the back story that they do, they've really come a LONG way and i'm happy I get to experience their whole growing storyline. It's also especially good because s1 actually provides you with scenes that show you their friendship and how they're so close, you see them hanging out, talking, their pictures together, everything was just really done well with them. Still have a bit of critique with the way Archie contradicted himself sometimes regardinf his feelings for Betty, but let's be honest, we've watched enough Riverdale to know that's just a problem with the writing.

- Kevin/Joaquin is still my favorite Kevin ship, i'm sad it's completely impossible to go back to them someday so for now i'll just be really glad it existed and that I got to see them even if it was short-lived. They had great chemistry and their kiss scenes always outsold.

- Beronica... sigh. Beronica. The most wasted chemistry i've ever seen on CW and I've watched a LOT of CW shows. There was so much potential there, s1 was practically overflowing with them and it's one of the reasons it became some popular. I remember when the Beronica fandom was the biggest one, ah, good times. Veronica and Betty were easily the best part of season 1, their friendship, their lowkey romantic moments, they were just superior in every way. This ship deserved better, not even just as a ship, but as a friendship.

- Veronica's s1 hair >>> Veronica's hair in seasons 2-4. I loved the side part and I am glad it's back in season 5, it looks so much better like that.

- Cheryl, as always, deserves better. Can't wait for her to meet Toni so I can watch again Cheryl finally get to love someone and be loved back, which is exactly what she deserves.

For now, that is all! I will probably make another post soon when i'm done with season one and from season two on I will be live-blogging the episodes since I will be watching it alone. Once again, pls, no hate, my thoughts are my thoughts. Peace.

#bri rewatches riverdale #riverdale #barchie #choni

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nomoneytoplay · 3 years

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GOT MONEY TO PLAY (Yay!)

Bought for: $59.99

Played on: Nintendo Switch

Release date: November 20, 2020

Developer: Omega Force

Publisher: Nintendo, KoeiTecmo

Genre: Role-Playing, Fighting, Adventure, Hack and Slash.

Platform: Nintendo Switch

ESRB Rating: T for Teen - Fantasy Violence

Pros & Cons

A prequel based game to Breath of the Wild.

Voice acting in a Zelda game!

You can play as Link, Zelda, Impa and the Champions with their own fighting style.

Giant machines to control!

Horde of enemies to take on.

Beautiful matched graphics just like the ones in BofW.

Order a character, that you aren't using, to another location in the map. Is a great feature, however they just stand there and help a little.

The map of Hyrule works as the main menu of the game. Here you can choose challenges, buy items, train your characters to level up and continue with the story.

Great cutscenes to watch!

Special Story Surprise.

Button mashing that can make your gameplay a bit repetitive.

Map areas are a bit closed in and linear.

Camera angle issues.

You will play the same mission over and over again to get the much needed items to complete a side challenge. The rewards you receive is great, it can help you gain more health or a power up, but it gets a bit tiring at times.

While the game features a variety of skills in weapons, most of the time they don’t seem to make an effect on gameplay.

Finding Korok seeds can easily be missed in this game making them a but pointless to find.

My Experience

Like many fans, I have been patiently waiting for more information on the upcoming sequel to Breath of the Wild. But during that waiting time we got a special announcement from Nintendo:

It was time to see the story of what happened one hundred years ago in Hyrule!

Set in the gameplay style of Hyrule Warriors, I was all in to play this game and who knew I had money to buy it! The best thing about it, it is a big improvement from it’s counterpart back on Wii U. There were two things that I disliked from the original Hyrule Warrior game.

The first thing was how terrible the guide map was, it was so small that I barely could see my exact location. In Age of Calamity, you can zoom in and have a better view on your location. Truly a plus in the experience for me!

The second thing, I wasn’t a fan of the Adventure Map challenges. I loved the 8-bit style look for each of them based on a different Zelda game. But while I was doing the challenges and finishing them. The game would show me that I really didn’t unlock the main prize. In Age of Calamity, while still you need to work hard, it’s better explain on what to do to complete a challenge.

The same features from the original Hyrule Warriors are present in Age of Calamity. Special attacks when an enemy is dizzy and when the special gauge is full. Every character has a different fighting move set and are voice acted…except Link of course.

One negative experience that I had, was after completing a mission (the one where you meet Daruk). The rewards I got were great, however my inventory was maxed out and I couldn’t do anything in the menu to discard items or weapons to make space. I had to do reset my game and do the entire mission over again. While first I selling and getting rid of a few things. A few? I mean a lot!!

There’s a special place in my gaming collection for games such as this. The hack and slash story driven with fast pace gameplay. When this style was combined with the Legend of Zelda, it piqued my interest. Hyrule Warriors is a spinoff done right, it absolutely works well together. The first game brought a fresh and unique story. As for Age of Calamity, it gives fans a glimpse of a story we were told and gives it a true epic standalone tale.

Age of Calamity was described as a love letter to Breath of the Wild and I would say that it truly is! While it may have its flaws, I would recommend this game to any Legend of Zelda fan. While you wait for the sequel of Nintendo’s epic adventure, gather the forces of Hyrule and face the Calamity!

A score of 85/100 Rupees!

#legend of zelda #rupees #money to play #video game review #nintendo #breath of the wild #age of calamity #zelda #link #impa #urbosa #daruk #revali #mipha #april fools #special

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x0401x · 4 years

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Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun: After-School Radio #0

I have seen bits of the Hanako-kun radio show translated here and there, but never the entire episodes, so here’s to the people who wanted to know how the rest of them goes down. The whole thing is ridiculously funny.

Raw || Index || Next →

Ogata: Everyone... happy... New Year.

[Quiet chuckes]

Ogata: I’m the one who voices Hanako-kun from “Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun”, Ogata Megumi.

Akarin: *giggles*

Ogata: I was—

Yuu-kun: What’d you say?

Everyone: *laughs*

Yuu-kun: Sorry, what’d you say??

Chikape: Cut it out, Handsome.

Ogata: You’re such a clown, huh! I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! I was put under a spell that took away my voice for today.

Akarin: A supernatural! A supernatural! It was a supernatural!

Ogata: I’ll leave the progress of things to Yashiro from now. Here. Counting on you, Yashiro!

Akarin: Yes!

Everyone: *laughs*

Akarin: Ah! Ogata-san has stood up from her seat. *laughs*

ChibaShou: If it was a supernatural’s fault, there’s just no helping it!

Akarin: It was a supernatural’s fault.

Yuu-kun: Hey, hey, go on!

Akarin: Yes! Anyway! Hello, all!

Everyone: Hello!

Akarin: I voice Yashiro Nene from “Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun”. My name is Kitou Akari! Also, happy New Year! Cheers!

[Applause]

Akarin: Eh, the very popular original work by AidaIro-sensei, serialized in G Fantasy, “Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun”, will finally have the first episode of its much-awaited anime adaptation broadcasting from next week onward, on January 9! For those who can’t wait for it to air, today, I, Kitou Akari, who play the role of Yashiro Nene, am intruding into the studio in the middle of the recording, to ask everyone in the cast about their passion for it! Yaaay!

[Cheering]

Akarin: It’s already clear that it’s pretty lively here, though!

Yuu-kun: Thanks!

Akarin: *laughs*

Staff: Aren’t you the same?

Akarin: True. That’s right. I’m the same. *laughs* Talki—Talking like that to your Senpai— *laughs* That’s true. It’s a bit—

Ogata: *whispers* Yashiro, take it seriously!

Akarin: *laughs*

Yuu-kun: She ain’t taking it seriously!

Satou: She is! Come on!

ChibaShou: It’s a supernatural! A supernatural just came by!

Satou: A supernatural is doing this!

Akarin: A supernatural passed us just now. *laughs* Okay, anyway. Well, let’s get right to it. Eh, then, first... I want to ask about the enthusiasm of Kou’s voice actor—

ChibaShou: YES!!!

Chikape: Whoa! He’s so eager!

Akarin: *laughs* Chiba Shouya-san!

ChibaShou: Yes!

Akarin: Chiba-san, how about it?

ChibaShou: Please stop playing around like I’m so cool when we’re at a stage where I haven’t said a single line yet!

Akarin: *laughs*

ChibaShou: That’s a pretty good retort! Hum—

Ogata: The one who played around was Mizushima Takahiro!

Akarin/ChibaShou: *laugh*

ChibaShou: That’s right. It was Mizushima-san. Hum, speaking of Mizushima-san, I’m Chiba Shouya!

Akarin: *laughs harder*

ChibaShou: Hum, I voice Minamoto Kou. My name is Chiba Shouya. Everyone, happy New Year!

Akarin: Cheers!

ChibaShou: Cheers. Man, seriously. This was such a long-awaited anime adaptation.

Akarin: Hm-hm!

ChibaShou: Ever since this work was announced, as expected, each of the viewers were like, “Ah! That thing’s gonna get animated!”, so it seems this series is truly loved by people of many age groups.

Akarin: Right?

ChibaShou: Anyhow, the more you read it, the more you become a captive of it! Hum, for me, this year is coming after a bad one...

Akari: Oh!

ChibaShou: Erm, things are going horribly...

Akari: “Horribly”... *giggles* Huh? That’s awful.

ChibaShou: Kou-kun has really been exorcising all of it this whole time.

Akari: Oooh.

ChibaShou: Because he says in the PV, “Hanako, I’ll exorcise you”.

Akarin: Hehe, true.

ChibaShou: So maybe he’s exorcising my bad year too.

Akarin: Whoa!

ChibaShou: That’s what I think.

Akarin: You said something kinda smart. *laughs*

Yuu-kun: *laughs* Aaaah...

Akarin: You said something smart.

Yuu-kun: He said something good.

Akarin: *giggles*

ChibaShou: Hum, I’m the first, so I’m just contemplating. Being the first in turn and all.

Akarin: *laughs*

ChibaShou: Hum, but anyway, for real, I want a lot of people to watch it.

Akarin: Yep!

ChibaShou: And we’re very... how should I put it? We’re recording a fun series with a fun atmosphere.

Akarin: Yep, yep!

ChibaShou: That’s why I kinda guess it’ll be a fun start of 2020 for the people watching. So please do look forward to the broadcast every week together with us! We’ll be in your care.

Akarin: All right!

ChibaShou: That’s it.

Akarin: Thank you very muuuch!

[Applause]

Akarin: Okay! Anyway! Then, next is... Uchida-saaan!

Yuu-kun: Yeees! Heeere! Hellooo!

Akarin: Welcooome! Hellooo!

Yuu-kun: ‘Ello, thanks!

Everyone: *laughs*

Yuu-kun: Ever since this thing started, my “little brother” has been kinda—my “little brother” has been kinda—

Akarin: *laughs*

Chikape: You’re stammering!

Yuu-kun: *laughs*

Chikape: Sorry!

Yuu-kun: Now the older brother—the older brother is here!

Akarin: Oh! Onii-chan!

Yuu-kun: Hello. I voice Minamoto Teru. My name is Uchida Yuuma.

Chikape: Onii-chaaan!

Akarin: Counting on you.

Yuu-kun: Yeees, I’m in your care~. There’s an (illustration of the) Onii-chan right behind me too~.

Daichuu: So handsome!

Akarin: Handsome!

Yuu-kun: Of course you’d bring that up!

Everyone: *laughs*

ChibaShou: We’d already been saying it since earlier!

Yuu-kun: Of course you’d bring that up! What kind of malice is this?

Akarin: It’s because the Onii-chan is indeed handsome!

Yuu-kun: Oh, yeah, yeah. The Onii-chan is really handsome.

Akarin: That’s right!

Yuu-kun: You see, in the Minamoto family, Kou is still quite a lively kid and he’s all over the place.

Akarin: Hm-hm!

Yuu-kun: So the brother watches over him gently, kind of as if cherishing him, and by God, he’s also student council president and can manage his studies well.

Akarin: Hm! He’s brilliant.

Chikape: Wow!

Yuu-kun: What a brilliant Onii-chan he is.

Daichuu: He’s gotta be popular!

Akarin: *laughs*

Yuu-kun: “Popular”! *wheezes* My bad!

Akarin: He’s definitely popular.

Yuu-kun: *villain voice* M-My bad!

Everyone: *laughs*

Yuu-kun: My bad, Kou! *evil laughter* Well, he’s not that kind of character, though! But, that’s right, he has quite some popularity amongst all the fans, so I keep thinking that it’ll be great if I can perform Teru-kun well. The pop-like and cute worldview of the series really does unravel in the anime too, so it’d make me happy if people could look forward to it! That’s what I think.

Akarin: Hm-hm!

Yuu-kun: Yes, I hope everyone will look forward to “Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun”~~~!

Akarin: All right~.

Yuu-kun: Thank you very much!

Akarin: Thank you very much. *claps*

ChibaShou: *Kou voice* Onii-chan just said something nice!

Yuu-kun: That’s right! *rough voice* Praise me, praise me!

Akarin: *laughs*

ChibaShou: Awesome!

Yuu-kun: See ya! Bye!

ChibaShou: “Farewell” seems better!

Yuu-kun: Farewell!

Akarin: “Farewell”! *laughs* Farewell. Then, next is Satou-san!

Satou: Yes!

Akarin: Come over, come over!

[General cheering]

Satou: I’m in your care~.

Akarin: Please!

Satou: Yes. Erm, I play Akane Aoi-chan. My name is Satou Minako.

Akarin: It’s a pleasure!

Satou: Pleasure is mine.

Chikape: Eeeh, she’s so cute!

Akarin: Cute! *laughs*

Satou: Eh, hum—

Everyone: *laughs*

ChibaShou: Radio! It’s your first time on the radio, right?

Satou: Yeah, it’s my first time in a radio show—

Akarin: Ah!

Chikape: Ah! Eeeh!? Waaah! Yaaay!

Akarin: Amazing!

Satou: Yes! It’s amazing. My first!

[Commontion in the background]

Akarin: That’s so rare! Having your first time on the radio with a scene like this!

Satou: Yes. I’m super nervous!

Akarin: It’s not a sight you get to see everywhere.

Satou: Yes! I’m incredibly nervous.

Akarin: Hm!

Satou: Erm, “Hanako-kun” is my first participation in an anime—

Akarin: Oh!

Yuu-kun: Eeh??

Akarin: Waah!

Satou: Yes! I didn’t know left or right at the beginning, and even now—

Daichuu: You still don’t know?

Satou: I don’t! I don’t know where right or left is!

Akarin: Right is... Right is that way~.

ChibaShou: There’s only the right side in here!

Everyone: *laughs*

Satou: I get nervous even now, but I keep challenging the recordings while being helped by these Senpais and the people behind the production every time.

Akarin: Hm-hm!

Satou: The one I play, Akane Aoi-chan is the most super popular girl in the academy.

Akarin: She’s cute!

Satou: Very. And I—

Akarin: Both so popular!

Everyone: *laughs*

Satou: There’s both a popular girl and popular guy here. And she’s quite different from me, but—

Akarin: No, no!

Satou: —I want to do my best from now on too, so that I can keep performing Ao-chan with all my might!

Akarin: All right!

Satou: I’ll be in your care.

Akarin: Counting on you!

[Applause]

Akarin: Thank you so much! Then, next is Anzai-san!

Chikape: Yes!

Akarin: Please!

Daichuu: Ah. Cute.

Chikape: I voice Nanamine Sakur—you liar!

Akarin: “Cute”! *laughs*

Chikape: You liar! That was such a monotone!

ChibaShou: Hey, beauty!

Chikape: Liar!

Ogata: There are only supernaturals in this studio!

Everyone: *laughs*

Ogata: Only “supernaturals”!

T/N: This is a pun with the similar pronounciation of the words “supernatural” (kaii) and “cute” (kawaii).

Akarin: “Supernatural”~.

Yuu-kun: They called her a “supernatural”~.

Chikape: It’s full of “supernaturals” here~. I voice Nanamine Sakura. My name is Anzai~! Yay~!

[Cheering]

Akarin: Counting on you!

Chikape: Hum, today, Mizushima-san and I were revealed as part of the cast.

Akarin: Ah! That’s right.

Daichuu: Yeah.

Yuu-kun: Hm-hm!

Chikape: Right. Well, we can’t talk much about what kind of roles they will be. *chuckles*

Akarin: Hmmm, true.

Chikape: That’s right. We’re in charge of two mysterious figures!

Akarin: Yes! *laughs*

Chikape: I want to keep this up mysteriously!

Everyone: *laughs*

Akarin: That’s just like them!

ChibaShou: Can’t tell what’s on the inside!

Chikape: But really, she’s kind of occasionally here and there all of a sudden, and it just makes you go, “Uh, could she be...?”

Akarin: That’s true.

Chikape: So I hope people will eventually become a bit interested in her.

Akarin: Hm-hm.

Chikape: The recordings are fun. *laughs*

Akarin: *laughs* Right~?

Chikape: It’s fun. We always do it like this, don’t we? *laughs*

Akarin: Right~? *laughs*

Chikape: Is it enough yet?

Everyone: *laughs*

Akarin: Nothing else to say about your enthusiasm?

Chikape: None at all, none at all!

Akarin: “None at all”?

Chikape: From now on—

ChibaShou: What kind of year do you want this year to be?

Chikape: What kind of year I want this year to be? An olympic...

Everyone: *laughs*

Chikape: An olympic year??

T/N: This has to be the most ironic thing I’ve ever translated, omg.

ChibaShou: That’s got nothing to do with the series!

Chikape: Ah, the series? For the series, let’s see...

Daichuu: May it become a series worthy of a gold medal.

Chikape: Ah, that’s right!

Akarin: Aaah!

Chikape: *claps* As expected of you~~~!

Akarin: *claps* As expected of you!

Chikape: I hope we can convey this joy right now to everybody through the anime.

Akarin: That’s right!

Chikape: We’ll be in your care. Look forward to it! Wey!

Akarin: Thank you very muuuch!

[Applause]

Akarin: Now, Mizushima-san!

Chikape: Yay, yay!

Daichuu: Yes!

Akarin: Daichuu-san, counting on you!

Daichuu: I’ll be in your care. Haah~!

Chikape: Whoo! So cool!

Everyone: Cool~~~!

ChibaShou: Coo-coo!

Daichuu: For real?

Everyone: *laughs*

Daichuu: Do you think that from the bottom of your hearts? Do you?

ChibaShou: He seems pretty happy.

Daichuu: Then I am.

Akarin: Yes.

Everyone: *laughs*

Daichuu: Okay, eeeeeh... I play Hyuuga Natsuhiko. My name is Mizushima Takahiro!

Akarin: All right, counting on you!

Daichuu: Okaaay!

ChibaShou: Yay~!

Chikape: Whee~!

Daichuu: Man, it makes your heart race, doesn’t it? That the show will soon be running.

Akarin: Hm-hm!

Daichuu: And also the fact that we’re now here—we’re now here, in a situation like this.

Akarin: “In a situation like this”?! *laughs*

Daichuu: My heart’s racing right now.

Chikape: This isn’t some matchmaking date!

Daichuu: Eh, it’s not? I think this whole thing about being interviewed by Kitou-chan...

Akarin: *laughs*

Daichuu: ...is kind of... really nice.

Akarin: Ah, really?

Daichuu: Hm.

Akarin: What are your hobbies?

Daichuu: My hobby is—

Ogata: To create an air of misunderstandings.

Everyone: *laughs*

Daichuu: My hobby is Akari Kitou, I guess.

Akarin: Uh? Your hobby is me?

Chikape: Shouya, run.

Akarin: *laughs*

Chikape: Hurry and run away~.

Daichuu: No, this is my role! My role! I’m incorporating my role!

Akarin: “Incorporating your role”?

ChibaShou: Your role is already showing!

Akarin: Ah, you’re in your role?

Daichuu: Yeah, I incorporated it a bit too hard.

Akarin: You’re in your role, huh. I see.

Satou: We’re in a recording site, after all!

Daichuu: Erm, might kinda happen when I get in front of a microphone.

Akarin: Indeed.

Ogata: *whispers* Liar!

Daichuu: It’s part of me—

Akarin: “Liar”, she says!

Satou: “Liar”!?

ChibaShou: *laughs*

Akarin: Ogata-san is calling you a liar!

Ogata: *whispers lower* Liar!

Yuu-kun: *laughs*

Daichuu: Eh, Ogata-san, what was that?

Ogata: *gets close to the mic* Liaaaaaar!

Everyone: *laughs and claps*

Daichuu: Please just re—

Akarin: Daichuu-san.

Daichuu: Please—please rest. Please go rest.

Akarin: Please let her rest. *laughs*

Daichuu: That’s right. Okay, anyway. Well, the recordings are really like this—I mean, they’re not that messy, but they’re extremely fun.

Akarin: Hm-Hm!

Daichuu: And it’s almost like it leaks from the series. So the serious part of it is hoping that people will enjoy it like this, I guess.

Akarin: Hm-hm.

Daichuu: Also... what was it again? I’m... what again?

Akarin: *giggles*

Yuu-kun: You’re what?

Daichuu: Eeeh, anywaaay...

Akarin: What is it?

Daichuu: Anyway, I’m... thinking of chopping Chiba to shreds.

Chikape: What do you mean?!

Akarin: *laughs*

Daichuu: In a cool way.

ChibaShou: I’m gonna be chopped up!

Daichuu: I’m gonna chop you up.

Akarin: *laughing* “Chop you up”...

T/N: This is a joke with Chiba Shouya’s name and the term “chop up” (“chibachiba”).

Daichuu: *laughs* Really, none of the things I’m saying have substance!

Akarin/ChibaShou: *laugh*

Daichuu: But this is how it is! This is it.

Akarin: This is it!

Daichuu: Yes!

Chikape: We won’t lose!

Daichuu: That’s right!

Akarin: That’s true, indeed.

Daichuu: Story-wise, we’re still not there, I really want people to look forward to us.

Akarin: Hm-hm.

Daichuu: That’s how I want to conclude it.

Akarin: *laughs*

Daichuu: Anyway, I’ll... I’ll be gone.

Akarin: “I’ll”... *laughs*

Daichuu: Thank you very much!

Akarin: Ah, you’re leaving?

Chikape: Please don’t create a misunderstanding.

Daichuu: Yes! Well, we’ll be in your care~~~!

Akarin: So we will!

[Applause]

Staff: Now, the last is... Kitou-san.

Akarin: Ah! Is that okay?

Staff: Yes.

Ogata: Yashiro!

Akarin: Ah!

Ogata: Go, Yashiro!

Akarin: “Yashiro”...! Can Yashiro... Can Yashiro also speak? *laughs*

Staff: Please proceed straight to the point.

Akarin: *laughs* Okay. Well, I, Kitou Akari, want to talk about my excitement—

Daichuu: Waaah. Cute.

Akarin: *laughs*

Chikape: Sooo cute.

ChibaShou: AWESOME!!

Akarin: “Awesome”?

Chikape: That sense of transparency is extremely good.

Akarin: No, no!

ChibaShou: It’s like she’s the heroine!

Yuu-kun: So cute~!

Akarin: No, hum, I am, in a sense, playing the role of the heroine, Nene-chan. *laughs*

Daichuu: Behind you! Behind you!

Akarin: Ah, Ogata-san is behind me... *laughs*

Daichuu: You just can’t relax looking at that!

Everyone: *laughs*

Akarin: Well, about the anime “Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun”, the staff transmits even to us when we’re recording that they made it with a lot of enthusiasm, and all of us, the actors, are performing with our very souls, so I think it’ll become a truly wonderful series when it broadcasts. Thus, I would be happy if everyone could watch and stick with it until the very end! We’ll be in your care!

[Applause]

Akarin: All right! Thank you very much! So, lastly, is it okay to have Ogata-san, who voices Hanako-kun, talk about her excitement with a bit of whisper voice?

Ogata: *whispers* It’s all right.

Everyone: *chuckles*

Akarin: “All right”, you say?

Ogata: Because everyone is doing this properly.

Akarin: *giggles*

Ogata: I think it will turn out to be a series that will stick to the viewer’s backs like this.

Akarin: *laughs*

Ogata: What an unpleasant series that would be!

Akarin: *laughs harder*

Ogata: All right, that being said, please support us. That’s it.

Akarin: Okay! Thank you very much!

[Applause]

Yuu-kun: Her attitude was incredible when she sat there.

Akarin: When she sat there?

Daichuu: It was a different atmosphere.

Akarin: *laughs* Okay, anyhow. *laughs* I think Ogata-san will soon be able to carry out this show in a better condition.

Daichuu: If not, I’ll do it.

Akarin: Ah, then, do that.

Ogata: I ain’t letting you! Buzz off!

ChibaShou: That’s the only thing she’ll do whatever it takes for!

Akarin: Okay, we’ll be in everyone’s care. Now, here’s some news! Chiba-kun, please!

ChibaShou: Ah, yes! I’ll do it!

Chikape: Choppily!

ChibaShou: “Choppily”?

Akarin: Choppily! Please do it choppily!

ChibaShou: Eh, let’s see. “Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun” has... This isn’t working. Forget the “choppy” part, seriously.

Everyone: *laughs*

ChibaShou: The comic version of “Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun”, from volume 1 to 12, plus volume 0, the artbook and the official spin-off comic, “Houkago Shounen Hanako-kun” are all on sale.

Akarin: Hm-hm!

ChibaShou: Eh, it turned into a end-of-year sale. Everyone, did you buy them? I did. Eh, please try reading them during New Years break!

Akarin: Please!

ChibaShou: Now, information about the TV anime. It starts airing on TBS, a Thursday, at 25:58 on January 9! And other than TBS, it airs on Friday, January 10, at 24:03 on Sun TV. On January 11, Saturday, at 26:03 on BS-TBS. On January 15, Wednesday, at 26:03 on CBC. It’ll be aired in sequence. Please look forward to it and wait for the broadcast!

Akarin: All right!

ChibaShou: Gonna be aired in lots of places, huh?

Akarin: Hm-hm!

ChibaShou: Also, “Hanako-kun” can be watched in the streaming sites of each. For the people who can’t watch it in real time, please check the official home page!

Akarin: Okay! Moreover, we—

ChibaShou: *sighs* I ended up talking seriously like normal.

Akarin: *laughs*

Daichuu: What the—Why are you saying that now?

Satou: He’s regretting it.

Akarin: He regretted it! He regretted it. Also, we have happy news from this After-School Radio too!

Chikape: What is it?

Akarin: From the next episode onward, guess what!

Chikape: “Guess what” what?

Akarin: We’ll stream it live~~~!

Chikape: Eeeeeh??

Daichuu: What the...!

[Applause]

Akarin: Amazing!

ChibaShou: Awesome!!

Akarin: Live!

ChibaShou: Live streaming!

Akarin: My, my!

Daichuu: We’ll be on live.

Akarin: So, the scheduled date for the next streaming is January 17, Friday!

Daichuu: That’s when it’ll stream?

Akarin: It’s the day just after the second episode.

Chikape: Oh! Amazing.

Akarin: People will get to hear everyone’s voices live, immediately after the anime’s broadcast!

Chikape: Amazing!

ChibaShou: Amazing!

[Applause]

Akarin: Whee, hooray!

Chikape: Amazing, amazing!

Daichuu: That’s so awesome...

Akarin: Yes! The details of the streaming will be publishd in the anime’s official Twitter, so please look forward and wait for the news flash!

[Background music starts playing]

Akarin: We’ve promoted the “Hanako-kun” anime right before the broadcast here in the radio! Everyone, let’s enjoy both the radio and the anime together!

Everyone: *laughs*

Ogata: Whether or not we managed to promote “Hanako-kun” will depend on each of the fans when it airs.

Akarin: *laughs*

Ogata: Soon enough, I want to be delivering more of our excitement to everyone live.

Akarin: Hm!

Ogata: Look forward to it~!

Akarin: Look forward to it!

Ogata: These have been Hanako-kun and everyone that will make an appearance in “Hanako-kun”~!

Akarin: *giggles* Bye-bye~!

Everyone: Bye-bye!

Chikape: Look forward to it!

Akarin: Look forward to it!

ChibaShou: Look forward to it. We’ll be in your care.

Akarin: We will!

#jibaku shounen hanako kun #toilet bound hanako kun #hanakodaily #jshk #tbhk #hanako kun #kitou akari #hanako #ogata megumi #chiba shouya #uchida yuuma #anzai chika #mizushima takahiro #radio #my translation #seiyuu

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popculturebuffet · 3 years

Text

Loud House Reviews: The Loudest Thanksgiving

It’s almost Thanksgiving! And a vastly diffrent one than in recent memory: Most of us are slimming down family gatherings to just whose in our house, you know because theirs a pandemic going on and it’s not worth risking your life for it. To those either guilting their families into it or doing so because MAGa or some such I only have this to say.

Speaking of Black Friday i’ts spread over a week and it’s cyber deals mean I got a ton of graphic novels for a dollar a piece and my christmas shopping almost done. So in other words, boo Maga, yay safe and responsible captalisim. But while the holiday may be diffrent, as well as the pseudo holiday attached that spawned a wonderful musical and many many injuries, one thing stays the same; Holiday Episodes. And despite being the less popular of the three holidays, Thanksgiving still produced tons of great holiday episodes and specials. And with everything being so busy I simply didn’t put too much thought into what to do for Turkey Day.. well okay the day proper i’m going to eat, spend time with family and watch a bunch of mystery science theater 3000, stay the course even in these troubling times, just with only the 4 other people who live in my house. But in terms of episodes I thought i had nothing.. then I started actually thinking on it and what do you know I have three things I want to do for the holiday, though one might wait till next year, and possibly a fourth. But given my workload currently, i’m not one to back away from a challenge, so welcome to a three or four course meal of reviews. First course: The Loud House thanksgiving special, the loudest thanksgiving. I originally wasn’t going to do this one, mostly because due to my large workload and constant battle with procastination, I keep having to push back the latest episode review, and I have to do that one soon, as there’s a new episode in december and a christmas episode i’ve put off watching for far too long , as I INTENDED to watch eleven louds a leapin for every chirstmas up till now and never got to it before the season was over. But just like elven louds.. Nick forced my hand.. and by that I mean the SPINOFF got a thanksgiving episode that’s also a sequel in some fashion to this episode. If I wanted to cover that episode this thanksgiving or the next I had to at least watch the original. And frankly, this close to the holiday there was no reason not to review it. So with that out of the way.

Let’s Get At Er. This is The Loudest Thanksgiving... after the break

The Loudest Thanksgiving takes place during season 3, and still pre-casagrandes spinoff launch despite the christmas special taking place earlier. This is actually easy to explain: The Loud House runs on Comic Strip time... i.e. the characters don’t age unless the writers decide they do. But while the spinoff was in motion at this point, it was still a season off airing wise, and ill advised raitings stunt mini series wise, so in order to keep the Casagrandes fresh in people’s minds presumably, they did a crossover that at this point wasn’t a crossover but now technically is because the show exists but this existed before the show.

It’s just a show, and I should really just relax. Point is this is a pre-crossover crossover, the two families meet for the first time, the man already said pitter patter, let’s get back at er. So we open with Flip serving as our magical snowman narrator and regaling us with the tale of steven. Every compastionate can you imagine it... and i’m fucking with you, it’s of course abotu that time the louds and the casagrandes tried having thanksgiving together.

We then cut to Lori and Bobby being all cute, as usual, and both talking over the phone as each show off their thanksgivings to each other and the enusing family shenanigans. On Lori’s side Lynn is wearing baggy pants so she dosen’t miss the game or the meal by going to the bathroom.. because that’s how pissing yourself works. Look if your going to do something that gross, stupid and broish just woman up and wear an adult diaper. The twins are guarding Lynn sr and the food, poorly, and Lisa has invented a Gravy Squriting robot. I can only see this ending one way.

Yeah those single function robots really get useless once the exestnetial crisis kicks in.

On the casagrandes side, Rosa is likewise guarding her kitchen, Frida is painting and Hector plans to sernade eveyrone because Hector is the best and you all should know that. Even with the recent Bobby Abuse he’s still awesome. As for the Mercado, CJ and Ronnie Anne are running the annual canned food drive because CJ is better than the best and should really be used more often. Both wish they could be there.. and both honestly talk about possibly spending thanksgiving with each other and just one of their family. It’s not a wild proposition: Both are going to college soon, both are in a longterm relationship.. they plan to get married down the line for now. If things hold they will eventually have to figure this out. Of course rather than fate let them figure this out themselves, Hector overhears on Bobby’s end and Lincoln, whose busy A Clock Work Oranging himself so he can stay awake during dinner, overhears on Loris, leading to an emergency family meeting for both sides. Both families are worried their prospective teenager going to another house of their longterm significant other for one year will mean they get all the holidays. Having never had a relationship last long enough to worry about this, I don’t quite get it as in my experince watching couples juggle this.. they usually just alternate years, spoilers the solution the episode goes with, or trade off christmas and thanksgiving, both fair solutions. Buuut as much as this bothered me at first the more I thought about it the more it actually made sense: People.. aren’t always rational and won’t always do the smart or correct thing, especially when it comes to their children. And with Lori leaving college and the casagrandes being togehter for thanksgiving for the first time in about 5 years, with both ronnie anne and her mom not having had a proper one in some time due to her mom needing to work thanksgiving, presumibly because of the eternal curse of gravy chugging contests, they have valid emotional reasons to go a bit nuts and do some irrational and assholish things. They just don’t want to loose their big sister and big brother, and that’s fair. It may not be at all accurate but it’s fair.

So thus began the great Guilt Off of 2018. ON the Loud side they START with a fairly soft pitch, the twins simply offer her food early, and she takes it because honestly I would too. Then again, i’d also take free food in just about any situation, so i’m not really a good gage for this. As long as it’s not poision i’ll probably eat it if it’s free. The next two are a little.. less subtle, with the kids talking about Lori’s roll in the annual thanksgiving skit.. which I’m assuming is soley for Lynn Sr. as no one else seems to be going to their thanksgiving. Which granted theirs valid explinations for why their neighbors didn’t go, the mcbrides and mr grouse have their own families and while Mr Grouse rarely gets to see his, he now has neighborly friends after the last holiday special happy to help. But Pop Pop.. makes no sense as his girlfriend, the only plausable reason he wouldn’t be there, was said to not have much family in her debut. So he’s just.. absent from thanksgiving for no reason. Thena gain we later find out this play is movie length, so maybe he was just trying to escape that which in that case, who can blame him. Rita almost reigns things back in with the mother’s trump card: parental guilt. Almost. She then almost crushes lori’s hand but it’s funny enough. At the Casagrandes, their opening move is largely the same only Rosa wins in terms of execution, cooking up some of bobby’s faviorites to specificially target him. Frida paints him into a painting, again the Casagrandes win his one in terms of effort. They do tie in the last bit, as Maria and Ronnie Anne try the same sort of guilt slining with the same bone crushing. Eventually both teens get fed up with the next bit; For Lori, Lucy gives her a long overdramatic poem about an empty chair which is easily tied with one bit later for best bit of hte episode.. which granted when I can only think of two or three gags that really made me laugh...

Bobby likewise gets Hector telling the story about a realitvie not going to thanksgiving. Both get angry.. which for Lori, isn’t all that suprising, if entirely warranted. For Bobby though? It’s like pissing off a dolphin. IT’s hard to do and very much not something you want to actually pull of. Both families are forced to admit they eavesdropped, and are incredibly worried about this whole situation, with Lynn Sr selling lincoln up the river for telling them... this man’s capacity for selling out his children is as awe insprising as it is truly pathetic.

So the two teens go back to their rooms to figure something out and come upon a reasonable solution: just have one of the families host and both come to it. That’s more than fair. But given we still have a full special to pad out, both families are still treating this like a competion: while the louds win the coin toss, both sides are determined to win thanksgiving. IT’s far from the most insane contest i’ve seen this month, x of swords was happening and i’ve seen a russian yank a goblin out of the demonic alligator skin he was using as a puppet. And we don’t know for sure Arrakoa and Krakoa didn’t have a trial over a baby turkey being adorable as one of the challenges. Other challenges included getting drunk, an eating contest, telling someone to murder a kitten and a wedding, all of this is actual stuff that happened in this recent crossover, I have made up nothing.

So after the break and Flip realizing oh shit the audience is back, the war begins. The Louds are preparing for war, with Lola putting out a picture of herself instead of bobby and laurie because of course.. still not a half bad gag. The Casagrandes arrive and in in a passive agressive move that was already done a year before this special by Brooklyn Nine Nine and better, brought their own food.. though the roast pig is a nice and unique touch. Points for that. And this.. is where the special gets tedious. Yeah while the IDEA of this episode was really good and I was excited to cover it in practice it’s just similar gags on both sides done for both halves: The first being “let’s guilt them into staying” and the second being “Let’s one up each other” with only two bits really working: Frieda having a painting and the louds annual skit. And the skit is because it raises a LOT of questions: Why is it 90 minutes, who played the adorable turkey in the years between babies? Was it just whoever was youngest? Who wrote this? Who is this for besides Lynn Sr and Pop Pop? Who all has sat through this thing at some point? Is that why the mcbrides don’t come over for thanksgiving? It’s just.. fantastic is what i’m saying.

But otherwise this part is just the family trying to one up each other with food, or toasts, or song, before devolving into a big fight. What makes it not work is.. there isn’t a lot of personality there. You have these two big, plentiful, intresting casts, even at this stage with the Casagrandes far less established and fleshed out. And instead of finding interesting ways for them to play off one another meeting for the first time, and to use that to also flesh the characters out more for the inevitable spinoff, it’s just

For most of the second half. Thankfully it DOES manage to bring things around as after things degenerate into a food fight, the families decide to just ASK the two of them where they want to go.. and find them entirely missing. It then turns out, in a nice twist, this is where Flip came in. Since his place is the only place open 24/7 and 365, barring fishing season, Bobby and Lori fled here to flee their insane families.. who then follow them there because Carlos and Lisa have them chipped. I was suprised at first Carlos had a tracker on bobby but honestly, i’ts just common sense. The man is like a golden retriver in a man’s body. Here’s an artists interpretation

Both families breifly bicker before Lori and Bobby announce their starting their own family thankgiving with blackjack, and hookers. They really shouldn’t of let Flip in on the brainstorming session. Both families don’t want that, and apologize, admitting they just didn’t want to loose them and both genuinely offering to let the other have them next year. Flip, who despite having a “pay for my colonoscopy jar” with a picture of his ass on it, is somehow the voice of reason and just suggests trading thanksgivings every year, everyone accepts, and we do get a genuinely heartwarming ending of both sides gathering everything for a gas station thanksgiving. Honestly reminds me of king of the hill’s airport episode, but in a very good way and still unique enough circumstances to work.Also Flip, of all people, donates the cans needed to finish the can drive.. granted i’m not sure if they WANT any of that meat, but hey, he meant well and it made me really like the character. We get a heartwearming duet between hector and luna and sono the whole family and we’re out.

Final Thoughts: This was disapointing. I’ve listed most of my complaints already, but overall it wasted a good premise of two families coming together, and even the feud parts could’ve been funnier. As it is it’s just.. ehhhhhhhhhh. It has some good parts, and bobby is an angel here on earth as always. But the whole just feels padded. Like this was SUPPOSED to just be 11 minutes, got bumped up, and thus here we are. It’s not the worst Loud House has done, i’ve seen and heard of muccch worse, but for a holiday special it just feels stale and i’ve seen way better thanksgiving specials. And i’ll be getting to that. If there’s an episode of a cartoon you’d like me to cover, just pop in my ask box or dms and you can comission a review for 5 bucks a piece. Discounts on bulk, 15 for movies. Until then , happy thanksgiving.

#the loud house #the casagrandes #the loudest thanksgiving #bobby santiago #lori loud #flip #thanksgiving #i'm .. i'm not tagging everyone #there were two fullf amilies involved andi 'm tired #reviews

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hrh-selene-r · 4 years

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Who is the protagonist in the new Star Wars trilogy, Kylo/Ben or Rey?

It’s something I’ve noticed after re-watching the movies finishing off with the rise of Skywalker. We start the series with Poe getting a map to Luke and being intercepted by Kylo Ren, our “antagonist”. Over the course of the movie we find out that he was Ben Solo, son of General/Princess Leia Organa and smuggler/war hero Han Solo, and that he has a personal stake in finding the map to Luke. In his attempts to get the map he meets Rey, a scavenger who’s recruited(?) into the resistance and he finds out that she’s strong with the force because of.....reasons (plot?) and tries to convince her to join his cause. We learn his backstory of how he was born to an absentee father and a workaholic mother, making him a child of neglect, and how he was strong with the force (both light and dark) since his gestation. His parents fear that he could be a new Vader and so they fear him and what he can be capable of, so they send him to boarding school with his uncle, effectively cutting off any parental affection during a delicate age, instead of...I don’t know having Leia train him and console him or Han reassure him....Like a normal parent would do. (I mean Kylo wasn’t Damien in the Omen. He didn’t kill anyone.)

So Ben is in Jedi boarding school and we learn that his uncle/teacher/parental figure grows to fear his potential and in a very unjedi move he contemplates and attempt to kill Ben, but before the blow could land, Ben wakes up, catches his uncle in his murder attempt and is able to block/retaliate in order to run away. He’s chased by the other students when Ben joined a sith like gang “The knights of Ren”. At the end Ben kills out of necessity and finds a sith master; Snoke, who teaches him the ways of the sith and helps him move on from his past to forge his own path. This is when he expresses his lack of agency and how even his name doesn’t feel like his own and takes up the name KYLO REN. Dun dun dun 🎵

During the course of the trilogy Kylo learns that he’s just being used by Snoke and his ambitions to gain agency grow, making him want Rey to join him in an alliance that could truly powerful, she rejects his proposal but he still murders his master to save her, bumping him up to Supreme Leader. This isn’t a result of Kylo’s love for Rey, but more of his own emancipation from all his toxic parental figures; Han, Luke and Snoke. I don’t include Leia here because he still has a relationship with her, albeit an strained one. This type of relationship usually happens when your mom is the head of an opposing faction in a civil war. So Kylo ends up alone and is now the Supreme Leader of the self proclaimed first Order....

Now Kylo’s his own man, free from the influence of others; they can’t tell him what to do, now he’s free. His first order of business?? Track down oppositions in his own ranks and destroy anything that could challenge his position. Basically he wants to consolidate his power as the new Supreme leader. This brings him to search for Palpatine on Exegol to kill him and cement himself as his own authority. During this time Kylo learns that he was nothing more than a puppet to his master, who was, in turn a puppet for Palpatine, who’s been influencing and nudging Kylos path since he was a child, revealing that the character who is desperately looking to gain agency throughout the whole trilogy never had it. Palpatine offers him candy (I mean a naval fleet of star destroyers) and basically unchallenged control of the galaxy (ultimate POWA!!!!) The weird thing is that instead of killing Palpatine, even though he was aware his offers bullshit, he looks for Rey.....okaaay? Keep in mind that at this point Kylo is compelled towards Rey because of his natural curiosity of Rey’s potential while not having a single class in force usage and because he feels a kindred spirit in Rey’s loneliness and good nature. Is there some sexual tension there.....maybe? Then he tells her that they’re a dyad in the force as a way to explain their connection, which feels utterly forced (if you pardon the pun).

So Rey and Kylo meet in the water planet while Rey looks for a mcguffin and they fight, ending with Rey giving Kylo a cheap stab to the belly. Now Kylo’s being the superior fighter would’ve and should’ve won hands down by he senses/sees his mother through force Skype and he gets distracted enough to leave an opening. Rey heals his mortal wound, saving his life before leaving him presumably stranded there to die. Now, we’re expected to believe that because of her selfless intentions saving him, Kylo decides to forgive himself for his acts, including killing his biological father. He throws his awesome lightsaber into the ocean showing him abandoning of the sith or at least the dark side of the force and HE’S A GOOD GUY NOW!!! yay!! Whooo!! 😒

So he goes to Exegol, fights the knights of Ren and joins Rey in fighting Palpatine, gets his life force sucked, gets thrown down a pit, comes back out and then gives his life up to save Rey....okaaay? You can kind of see it from the whole, she saved her enemy and now her enemy is grateful and will repay his debt, hence Kylo sacrifices his life to save her; redeeming his character while having honor...so that angle works and when you look at it that way this is one of the few choices that Kylo makes that are truly his. It’s a waste of one of our most complex characters but sure...

Now, after that whole rollercoaster, let’s talk about Rey. What do we know about Rey??

She’s a scavenger

She’s friendly and nice....so yay altruism.

She makes the best of what she has.

She was abandoned by her parents on Jakku and waits for them in vain...she knows this subconsciously.

She’s strong with the force because of....reasons

She looks to Han and Leia as parental figures because....reasons. Granted Leia started to train Rey, but it wasn’t that long so they barely know each other still.

Luke was her first master and he started to teach her about the force....for a bit.

Palpatine’s her grandfather via cloning.....Although this sounds like a really contrived way to explain her affinity with the force, and it sounds like they made it up on the spot. Plus, that’s not how cloning works!

She an amazing pilot and can fly anything, despite never having flown before the first movie because....reasons.

She’s a great mechanic who can fix anything, despite not being a mechanic but a scavenger....I mean I can take apart a computer, it doesn’t make me an IT genius/engineer.

She can fight with a lightsaber and has beaten Kylo Ren in combat twice, despite having no formal training and having never used a lightsaber before as opposed to her enemy who’s had decades of training and combat experience and studies, because......being strong with the force is like the matrix, so she automatically has the theory, reflexes and muscle memory needed for combat?

She joins the resistance not because she has an emotional stake in this, believes in the resistance’s cause, or has a grudge against the first order; it’s because....she had nothing better to do that day? The gave her free food?

And she’s a dayd in the force with Kylo Ren because.....Reasons. They never explain that it just is because Rey is the rarest thing in the whole universe apparently.

She spends a short amount of time training and reads the Jedi texts, and now she’s a full fledged Jedi at the end of the trilogy...because she’s Jesus? Like remember when Jedism and the ways of the force was a way of life and people spent lifetimes learning and training in the force? Remember how anakin was to old to train as a LITTLE BOY? Or how her enemy in combat has been trained/did studies in the force since he was a child, decades ago?

See how short that was compared to Kylo Ren/Ben Solo? Now, do any of these characteristics help you know Rey? They do a bit, but this is what we know about her, not of her. The problem with Rey as a protagonist is that she’s too bland; she has no negative aspects and, as a consequence, has no character arc to overcome. Kylo searches for emancipation from peoples expectations and to have agency, to be his own person under his freedom. Rey doesn’t change in the whole trilogy.

The only reason she’s even invested in the rebel cause or the people is because of the plot, because other characters (and hence the author) tell her she has to. As opposed to Luke who goes with Obi-Wan because he knew he was destined for something bigger, wanted to get out of Tatooine, and found out his father was a Jedi killed by our main antagonist, motivating him to be like the father he idealized but never met.

Thats’s 3 different motivations to help out Obi-Wan and the rebellion, right there. Rey was just bored, I guess.

So I started to think: “What if our main character is a tragic one like anakin? What if our protagonist is Kylo Ren and Rey is just a proxy for the audience?” I mean, it’s no secret that Kylo got his comic book series (that sold out) apart from becoming one of the most popular characters in the franchise. When you look at it that way, it does make sense; Kylo has a relationship with almost all of the main cast in the movie in one way or another and he’s the most compelling one; the one that changes and goes through a character arc. The most interesting thing about Rey is whether or not she’ll join the dark side. So as much as I hate to say this; Rey is obviously a Mary Sue

The problem here is that the creators didn’t know on who to focus, she so special and flawless that it’s makes her uncompelling and boring. And to add insult to injury they kill of our protagonist, not in the service of a greater cause or to save what he has left, but to bring back this bland sack of Jedi abilities. This isn’t to insult Daisy Ridley, if anything Disney and the writers did them a disservice. Kylo’s story was supposed to be the reversal of Vader, but in the end it was the same story, down to sacrificing himself to save the Jedi fighting Palpatine.

Now, am I anti-Reylo? Kind of, if we go by the movies. My problem is that Rey isn’t a compelling character, so I fail to get invested in her or to even care about her at all, and the sexual tension/kinship that she has with Kylo isn’t a Romance make. You could say “oh they’re a dyad.” That’s not romance, it’s just a bond; you can have a strong connection and not have romantic feelings. Their relationship is about as well executed as Anakin and Padme...and even THEY had conversations in their trilogy. The whole reason Kylo (I refuse to call him Ben at this point) turns good is love, selfless love. From who? The negligent parents that abandoned him, or the scavenger he barely know? Adam said in the documentary that he chose Rey because no one has shown kindness to him, so the moment she shows that kindness and performs a selfless act (which is really not selfless at all, considering she stabbed him while his guard was down) makes him turn good and choose her, he know that if he’s with her he’ll be alright....How is he gonna be alright? Is it because of her Mary Sue powers....If the writers took their time to develop their relationship, maybe we could have something here, but as it’s stands Kylo and Rey have as much romance as Edward and Bella; they have little in common, but god damn they can’t run away from one another! 😒 And that’s not even addressing the troubles of falling in love with someone actively trying to kill you/trying to win a war. So even IF they do have a well developed romance to ship, Rey (being the good guy she is) has drank the Jedi cool-aid so much that it boarders on fanatism and she won’t even consider Kylo’s side or choose an alternative path. If anything Rey could’ve died saving the galaxy, making her a martyr and having Kylo left to forge his own path; not as sith or as a Jedi, but something in between.

So what do you think? I know this has been discussed to death but still...How would you improve the new trilogy? Let me know.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk 😘

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girlobsessed21 · 5 years

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The 100 6x11 discussion - burning desires of change

Hey guys, as usual, here’s my breakdown of the episode. Props to Mr. Bob Morley on his directing debut - insert applause emoji here. All in all, it was great, I enjoyed it, albeit a little weird. But it’s to be expected of a conversion episode taking us into the finale.

Like I explained in my 2nd predictions post, “Ashes to Ashes’ has Biblical connotation and it’s also a British crime drama about time traveling back to the early 80′s as well as David Bowie’s 1980 hit single about addiction.

Apart from Ash being Echo’s real name, I struggled to find the link to the title until it hit me with a wrench from behind. It’s about cycles, repetition, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results (which Einstein did not say btw). Only now, it’s breaking that rotation. Demons are overcome (apart from Madi), and it’s time to do better.

Octavia’s no longer Bellamy’s responsibility, Clarke refuses to kill innocents, the children of Gabriel learn the truth, Miller disobeyed to transcend and Echo (or Ash), well, I’ll talk about her later. To Monty! Will this also be the end of the ‘will they, won’t they’ dance for Bellamy and Clarke? See my thoughts on this.

That said, let’s fall into the recap.

A child possessed

Okay, Sheidheda was a lot creepier in this episode than the previous ones. if Madi wasn’t completely overthrown before, it seems like she is now and her driving force is pure vengeance. The bond between Madi and Clarke is harder to break than diamonds, which we saw in season 5 and here again.

For six years, all they had were each other. Since the little Natblida was only six when Clarke found her, she won’t even remember her real family all that well. To Madi, Clarke was her savior, her family, her protector, her mother and basically everything else. Having such an influence taken away from you is artery-slicing.

The demon in her head knows this, plays on it and manipulates in a way an abuser lures children in with sweets. Given her age and lack of experience, she follows blindly. I have a feeling this might continue onto season 7 but I hope Raven finds a way to eliminate him. That face freaks me out. For now, he’s gonna cause a lot more damage than we anticipate and will probably be a spoil of war for the peaceful plan.

John Murphy - court jester or hero?

Yeah, he’s been a fence-sitter the entire season, but you have to admit, Murphy provides some much needed comical relief. Granted, the writers have turned up the humor via Bellamy, Clarke, and Diyoza, yet Murphy’s sarcasm should never be taken for granted. “Houdini Miller.” He might not make it to the end of the season.

If someone threatens the life of the person you love, will you protect everyone else or only that person? Ask Bellamy, he did the exact same thing. Risked the lives of everyone else to save his girl, of course Murphy will do the same. He wants to marry Emori, he’ll face hell to ensure her safety.

Still, he warns Echo in good old Cockroach fashion. Don’t let them find out I’m on your side, there’s but one side and it’s mine - and Emori’s. As long as the primes think that, he’ll have a chance of being spared. Murphy is such a great character, sure, he has deviated from being good, but that’s what makes him interesting.

The more layers and substance a character has, the more convincing and relatable they are. All of us have flaws, Murphy’s biggest one is his selfishness, does this make him a bad person? Absolutely not. He struggles and sometimes stumbles due to it but he still cares. Only the size of his heart’s in question, not the existence and it gets them out of some serious syrupy situations.

The makes of the Blakes

So, Bellamy doesn’t care about the delusional cult followers, he merely wants to save his people, to hell with the rest. In a sense, he betrayed them to rescue his love? soulmate? person? and has to make up for it. Now, Bellamy, did Monty not teach you anything?

Being so determined, he calls his sister the queen of cannibals. Killing her own people to ensure their survival. She did what she had to do, why can’t he? I didn’t know Bellamy even knew about this, why didn’t they show his reaction to finding out? Wouldn’t it have led to him cutting her some slack? He was in the exact same situation many times before.

Probably not. His whole life has always revolved around her, everything he did was to protect his sister to the point of borderline, unhealthy codependency. Octavia was his purpose and yet she threw him in a fighting pit to die after he once again tried to save her - from herself.

Gabriel then tells Bellamy his sister is special, she returned from the greatest mystery of Sanctum. If I remember correctly, Lincoln called her special too when she was unaffected by the biological warfare. There’s more to it though, in my opinion, I still think Diyoza will return, they were both called by the anomaly, why would only O survive? That anomaly is going to be some crazy wow-factor, I’m certain.

I believe a cult won’t be too happy to find out that its leader is the exact thing they’re rebelling against. And the children of Gabriel seemed pretty pissed, especially Xavier’s sister. That is until Bellamy gives them a plan to fulfill their cause. Unfortunately for him, it means teaming up with O to find the powerful red sun toxin. For once the cultists weren’t useless!

Poor Gabriel, all he wants is peace. I thought Jordan would be a Monty reincarnator but apparently, that’s Gabriel. Or he’s more of Lincoln II? Either way, I hope he doesn’t die. Speaking of Jordan, I miss him in his recovery bed.

Anyway, “what do you say when sorry isn’t good enough?” Despite Bellamy’s countless efforts to keep O occupied, she won’t stop breaking down the walls around his heart. Those mushrooms were strong, Bell, we saw it. Octavia’s speech was so deep, honest and touching that Bellamy’s stray tears hardly seem enough.

The way it was resolved though, is more than satisfactory. After everything that’s happened, it wouldn’t be enough development for him to simply accept what she’s done and move on. But, he’s willing to give her a chance to prove herself while no longer being the core of his world. “You’re my sister, but you’re not my responsibility, not anymore” is probably the best metamorphosis I’ve witnessed on this show. It clips the umbilical cord for both of them to emerge as individuals.

Echoes of a cold-hearted spy

So, I assume Echo protected Ryker thinking she could bank on his morality to spare her. And of course, she keeps scraping at the flesh wound. But Ryker believes saving his family keeps the peace, killing Echo saves everyone else. One life instead of thousands - it’s for the greater good, right? Wrong. The acting here was great, I was totally convinced of Ryker’s bouncing morals.

Off-topic, I completely forgot Miller used to be a thief and I’m glad we got to see his pick-pocketing skills in action. He deserves some credit and screentime, since being a part of this show for six seasons. Oh, and the transcending moment between him and Gaia was super sweet.

For a second I thought Echo would become Simone and then I remembered that she also took ALIE’s chip and they wouldn’t rehash the neural mesh storyline. Meaning my fears were quickly soothed.

Onto the important part, what was that back story supposed to mean? All I got out of it, is that Echo’s cycle isn’t broken. That leopard hasn’t changed its spots. Don’t get me wrong, it broke my heart that she had to kill her friend and resume her identity in order to survive. But, it felt like a turning point in Echo’s character that plunged her into heartlessness. Will she become that person again?

I know Echo might not be a fan favourite, but she’s really grown on me this season. She’s smart, loyal and fierce, I like her. Not Bellamy and Echo together though, I can’t see a semblance of a connection between them. And their relationship is only hurting their characters.

Why would they build her up as a great character just to show that she cares about no-one, not even her friends? I mean I get why she killed Ryker, leaving him alive was too much of a risk - he would tell Russel about her, Miller and Gaia being at large. Though that murderous glint in her eyes tells me that was purely for revenge and completely against their newfound lifestyle. Maybe I’m wrong.

I’m curious to know what being a nightblood will mean for her now and how her character might change after being held at gunpoint.

Meanwhile, Monty’s mantra rings through Clarke

Oy, Bellamy risked everything and everyone to save Clarke and if she can’t play the part of Josephine convincingly, that was all for nothing. And our boy’s not happy about it - at all. Only, Clarke refuses a Mount Weather do-over.

I just need to mention Bellamy’s face when Murphy come’s through the tent - priceless. Then Jade finally gets a chance to knock someone out too. Yay for her!

The moment Clarke’s safe, she goes straight to Bellamy for reassurance and goodbye. Backtracking to the start of the episode, the way he flung to her side when she woke, touched and comforted her was toothachingly soft and way too intimate to be non-romantic.

Bellamy gets this shy, ‘aw it’s nothing’ expression when Clarke thanks him for saving her life. Because to him, it really is nothing, there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for her. And while he’s making heart-eyes at his friend, his girlfriend is being prepped for a blood transplant and murder. I cannot see how there won’t be any followthrough on this.

If there’s not, it’s altogether bad writing, showcasing and wasted potential. Right now, there’s too much going on for a decent conversation that’s years overdue and I’m hopeful they’ll get it. In the synopsis of the finale, there’s a hint at romance and I truly believe it’s theirs.

Well done Eliza! For playing Clarke and Josephine, Clarke as Josephine and vice versa. She’s an amazing actress and has come a long way from, “Stop, the air could be toxic!.”

The woman must have been devastated when she walked in on Madi strapped to a chair, being drained for her blood. Yet, in the scheme of greater good, she acts oblivious. She plays the part of a nonchalant sociopath so well, while sparing Madi via a sedative and shifting the focus to her mind drive.

Those newlyweds sure know how to act and direct!! Like always, I’d love to hear your thoughts, did I read the Echo backstory correctly? Till next week, bye!

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florrickandassociates · 4 years

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TGF Thoughts: 4x05-- The Gang Goes to War

under the cut

This episode starts with Caleb and I don’t totally hate it. This means the writers are doing a good job with him so far. I’m surprised I feel that way considering I loathe the plot he’s here for.

This is the first case heavy episode in ages and I have more thoughts on the fact that somehow the space from 6x19 has become military court than I do on the case. As always, that’s not to say it’s bad (tbh, this case was the exact right blend of simple and captivating it reminded me of old school TGW). It’s just to say I have literally nothing to add.

Lucca’s off to visit Bianca. She is still extremely uncomfortable with very wealthy people.

Oh, a mention of babysitting! Kind of sad I’m surprised.

I forgot to mention that this ep is on the shorter side, almost network length. Woo!

Lucca describes her life as “I have a toddler. I’m trying to make partner.” Remember how last season either Lucca or Rosalyn (or MAIA hhahahahhahahaahahhahaahahahhahahahaahahhaahhaah) were going to be made partner and that plot just vanished?

Lucca says that of work, family, fitness, friends, and sleep, the three she’s chosen are work, family, and sleep. I believe it. Though we’ve seen Lucca exercise probably more than most TGF characters? But that was before she had a baby.

If you leave your phone on while you’re on a plane and someone places a voice call would your phone actually ring?

Marissa TOTALLY has a crush on Caleb.

Oh, a Francesca mention AND a mention of Lucca and Marissa being friends?! The continuity fairy likes me today!!!!!!!!

Caleb threatens to quit (I think he knows he wouldn’t be taken up on that offer) unless Mr. Firth lets him take a month for this case. Come on, Caleb. This is TV lawyering. This case will take two costume changes and you know it! Months are a thing for real lawyers.

Diane and Adrian aren’t in their offices, so when Firth finds a partner to assist on the military case (I do not understand why this is a thing he is doing in the first place, but alright), it’s Liz. How conveniently awkward!

(Adrian just isn’t in this episode-- he is apparently at a conference in New York-- and Diane is barely in it, and I’m fine with that. LET LIZ AND LUCCA SHINE!)

(Liz and Lucca are my faves, if that wasn’t obvious.)

Awkward awkward awkward, fucking your boss is very awkward. I hate everything about this plot in theory and yet somehow like Liz, Caleb, and maybe even the idea of Liz and Caleb, but every time I think about the boss/employee dynamic my only thought is: NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Liz’s divorce! Continuity fairy has blessed me again!

I do really like Caleb.

I somehow almost turned that last thought into a rant about Maia and I’m not gonna do that to y’all in this Maia-free season.

Rich people are getting away with more shit in Julius’s court. He’s resigned to it, until he meets his alter-ego from the play again. I get that they want to use this device to show why he’d change his mind so suddenly but omfg please don’t remind me of the last episode.

My first thought was “maybe that long ass episode was even longer and this is a cut scene” but Julius seems to be wearing a different tie in this scene than he was before. Oof.

JUDGE KUHN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love Judge Kuhn. I think I said this last week but it isn’t often we get truly good, considered characters who want the best and actually take fair steps to see it happen. Judge Kuhn is great.

And so is the actress playing her. Her expression as the seat shrinks-- which is some Kingsian bullshit-- makes the joke work.

This episode relies a lot on that device Jane the Virgin loved where back to back scenes will be linked by a theme or a word. In this case, Julius and Liz/Caleb are both dealing with continuances. Yay for structure, even a simple case related structure!

“A sofa would have blown up here”... I can’t, y’all. “A conference table would have blown up here”. Is this a joke about coronavirus or a real need for more graphics or both? I lean towards it being a joke, but before I say that lemme play these credits side by side with last week’s…

Okay so there are differences. Last week there was an aerial view of a wine bottle exploding while this week there’s a second one in the background. They replaced an exploding coffee set with the sofa text. There are some other differences too. But not enough to convince me they didn’t have footage they could have used. So I think it’s a joke.

Welcome back, season two Diane. I missed you, ya weirdo!

(But like actually Diane is staring out the window at a bird, not doing anything or responding to questions. Why so weird?!)

Now that Diane isn’t hunting down answers on 618, she has “nothing to do.” Oh, suddenly no one in the world is in need of pro-bono assistance? Sure!

Continuity on the SWATting, too!

AND A WILL REFERENCE.This episode may be nothing special but it sure is endearing.

Diane explains that Judge Kuhn is tough but fair and Will ended up liking her. That’s a pretty good summary.

Diane spots the woman who she dreamed was Weinstein’s lawyer in a meeting, drawing dots. Guess that’s one of the drawbacks of having windows everywhere. She chases her up the stairs to STRL and asks if they know each other because, and I quote, “I had a dream and you were in it. You were Weinstein’s lawyer.” HOW FUCKING WEIRD ARE YOU TRYING TO BE, DIANE? Are you microdosing again?! (This feels so season two.)

Props to this lady (do we know her name? Has it been said on the show) for taking that weird-ass comment in stride and joking she probably didn’t do very well. She needs a favor-- she has a case in front of Judge Cain and wants Diane to sit with her.

Diane asks about the dots. Apparently this lady draws-- and counts!-- dots. Hundreds of thousands of them. During meetings. Because it’s calming and nothing matters. See?! Season two!

Lucca does get a little bit of work to do on vacation-- Bianca wants to buy the resort.

Case stuff happens.

Someone explain to me what the fuck this bright neon lighting in the office late at night is all about. Why is it so bright?! Why do the colors change!? Am I just supposed to accept this?! I suppose it’s no weirder than a woman who draws dots instead of taking notes-- and admits to it-- but WHAT IS HAPPENING?!

I know there is supposed to be some sort of parallel between the case having an element about disobeying your superior and the Liz/Caleb dynamic, but as you will recall, I hate everything about the boss/employee plot AND find it incredibly boring so if you would like to see analysis of that parallel… I’m not your gal.

Oh look I can see the office bathroom of Willicia sexytimes in Liz’s office

My god this lighting is distracting.

It sounds to me like Caleb is in the legal field for idealistic reasons. I can’t get a sense of if wanting the country to stay the same is liberal or conservative or admirable or misguided but it’s definitely something. (I have a feeling he means “stay the same” as in “return to 2016” though.)

Since she has not been in the military, Liz worries out loud that she hasn’t lived much of a life. This leads to flirting and intimacy and another hookup. Bleh.

Creeper from Kurt’s office comes to visit Julius and compliments him while basically telling him to keep quiet and be corrupt. He promises Julius the chance to move up the ladder and implies Julius should rule in favor of some rich donor.

Julius, who, like all characters on this show and maybe just people in general, does NOT like being told what to do, promptly does the opposite. And he feels really, really, really good about doing the right thing.

Case stuff happens.

Lucca now gets invited to play poker with a bunch of millionaires and celebrities. Lucca is highly uncomfortable. The names of the celebs are bleeped which is… not as clever as I think it was meant to be.

Also I’d be uncomfortable in this situation too. I’m just ready for this plotline to go somewhere beyond “Lucca is uncomfortable with rich people”.

Recapping goes fast when most of the show is case stuff.

In another throwback, Diane (lit by the weird lighting) is watching what looks like a parody of SNL allowing 45 to host? Or maybe it’s just some unfunny bit that goes on too long? Odd target for a parody at this point in time.

Whatever the point, it prompts Diane to start drawing dots of her own.

Lucca’s luck at the poker game is fantastic. Bianca encourages Lucca to keep her winnings-- she wouldn’t give back a stuffed animal or goldfish won with someone else’s money at a carnival, would she?

Case stuff, now involving 45, happens. This is a missing season two episode, I swear.

Wow lol those establishing shots and stock footage do NOT convince me that Lucca lives in Chicago. Nor do they convince me that anyone involved with the show has visited Chicago.

Case stuff happens!

Another Lucca and Marissa scene! Lucca asks what to do about her poker winnings. Marissa says Lucca should keep the money because Bianca doesn’t need it-- get Bianca a gift if she feels guilty.

Diane sits next to the seemingly nameless lawyer and they compare their dots. Unfortunately for Diane, the case she’s decided to sit in on as a favor? It’s another case in front of Julius, and it also gets 618’d. How convenient for the plot! When Julius doesn’t go for it, Diane is intrigued and reenergized. She boldly goes to Julius’s chambers to suggest trading info about 618.

No matter how many times I write “618” in the context of Memo 618 I still think 618 = Loser Edit.

Case stuff happens! It’s good for Caleb and Liz!

MALCOLM GETS MENTIONED BY NAME! CONTINUITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Caleb and Liz continue the tradition of using meals as code for sex and now I have to watch them kiss. Pass.

Lucca gets Bianca a gift of a goldfish and a giant stuffed bear (a reference to their earlier convo about carnivals). Cute, but I still don’t quite get where this plot is going.

There’s a “Skye and Moon” logo on the plane. I wonder if that is the name of Bianca’s cosmetics empire.

Oh, it’s over. This episode was perfectly fine. Nothing challenging, nothing innovative, but a solid and enjoyable outing closer in length to the average TGW ep than the average TGF one. After last week’s long-ass episode, this is really all I wanted/needed.

#tgfthoughts #the good fight

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atopearth · 4 years

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Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age Part 2 - Balthier, Ashe and Vayne + Overall Review

I am surprised at the assassination of Emperor Gramis, and I’m not sure what to think of it. I wouldn’t discount Vayne from being capable of killing his father, since really, killing him presents more pros than cons, especially considering his old age and his alignment with peace (like Larsa) rather than war and military might (that Vayne grew up with and believes in). In addition, with the greedy Senate constantly trying to put Larsa as a puppet on the throne, Vayne needs to solidify his rule if he wants to protect Larsa and the Empire imo. Tbh, with how Vayne seems to be, I feel like he wants to do all the dirty work and then have Larsa get to live peacefully or something. On the other hand, Gabranth seems rather loyal to Gramis, since he was giving him updates on Vayne. He also seems to be aligned with Larsa, it was kinda hard to watch him have to kill the other lady Judge that was on his side to prove his fealty to Vayne though.

Who would have thought that Balthier was once upon a time a judge for a brief time? And to think that his father is the Cid guy at Draklor lab obsessed with nethicite. I think it must have been pretty disheartening to see his father like that and even have to make the choice to run away instead of staying with him. I think I can kinda understand better why Balthier chose to continue to go on this journey with everyone. He’s been running away from everything all this time, he probably thinks that it’s about time he faced it all, especially when despite all his efforts to escape from his father etc, in the end he gets roped up with Ashe and them anyway. It was nice of Balthier to tell Ashe his story hoping that she wouldn’t follow in the footsteps of his father, and be obsessed with the powers of a stone to rule Dalmasca. Cid seems pretty interesting! Not only does he have Venat (one of the Occurians, a heretic though) beside him, but I thought his plan to lead the party to Giruvegan to get the nethicite/treaty sword was smart. Well, the party don’t really have a choice either way though even if it’s a trap, since they do need the power, and only Ashe could have been chosen by the Occurians to wield it (due to her having the Dynast-King’s blood). I have to say though, Giruvegan was an annoying place lmao, I honestly didn’t remember anything much about FFXII, but I definitely remember summoning Belias to get through, and I probably got lost the first time as well, because dang were those areas a hassle to get through lol. But seriously, you can tell with how the Occuria acted with Ashe that they see humans as beneath them, and they just want to use Ashe to destroy the Empire because they’re trying to forge a future without their “guidance”. Yay, I always love guests so it’s nice to have Reddas join the party to venture to the Sun-Cryst. It’s kinda interesting how big of a decision Ashe will have to make when she gets there though. Will she choose to destroy it and all the nethicite or will she choose to break a piece off of it to make nethicite strong enough to fight against the Dawn Shard etc? It’s kinda nice but also saddening that Balthier is leaving the Strahl (his airship) to Vaan if anything were to happen to him…

I thought it was pretty cool to see how so many people around Ashe were trying to influence her decision, especially with the appearance of Gabranth revealing why Reddas decided to come here with them; it’s because he was also an ex-Judge, and he used the Midlight Shard once upon a time and destroyed Nabudis. It was because of that, he wanted Ashe to not repeat his mistake. Cid is certainly pretty out of his mind due to his research and will to experiment, it’s kinda saddening that Balthier and the others had to kill him in order to stop him. At the same time though, I feel like for Cid, he feels sane whilst insane? Haha. Is this the first time a Cid in the FF games has been evil though? How interesting~ Didn’t think the Sun-Cryst would go crazy like that though, it was disheartening to watch Reddas sacrifice his life to break it using the sword, never really realised that anyone could wield the sword to break it though, I thought it had to be Ashe lol. Either way, a difficult end, but something that one of them had to do. To think that the Sun-Cryst awakened Bahamut though! That is something to look forward to. Terrible that the impending war is now practically happening now though, and Dalmasca will be the battleground. Larsa’s heart is in the right place, but Vayne is right, if Larsa wants to show and prove that Vayne’s methods are wrong, he needs to muster the power to show him that his way is right then. Vayne is ruthless but that’s how he’s survived all this time and protected Larsa. It’s not easy when he has to put his guard up against most of the people around him. It was pretty brutal when Vayne shot that laser and destroyed a few of the Marquis’ ships, the Marquis honestly really doesn’t have much of a choice but to rely on Ashe and party to stop Vayne from inside the Bahamut tbh. I guess it’s good that Larsa is helping them out lol.

Well that last bit leading to the ending wasn’t long at all! Legit just defeat Gabranth and then killed three forms of Vayne and you’re done! Anyway, I’m not sure how I feel about the ending because it felt kind of rushed. But I guess I didn’t mind it either. I really liked how loyal Gabranth was to Larsa, so it was kinda saddening to see him die, but I think it was great to see Basch fulfill his dying wish by succeeding him as a judge and thus supporting Larsa’s rule. I think it’s really interesting how they truly are twins in the sense that even though they were on different sides, their loyalty to their liege was very similar throughout the game. Honestly though, it’s hard to think of Vayne as an “evil” person, like yes, he’s done terrible things that has caused people to die, I don’t doubt that, but I think you can really understand his motivations? He’s always been protective of Larsa, so a lot of my impressions of what Vayne did kinda felt like he set up everything that came to be through his regime of violence was so that he could give the best setting for Larsa’s idea of peaceful negotiations between countries to come to be. With the state of the Empire as it was when Gramis was alive or even when he died etc, it was obvious that Larsa didn’t have the power and influence to achieve what he wanted, but through Vayne’s actions, people were able to see the contrast between them. Also, Vayne needed to ensure that the Occuria who still think they have the right to interfere and rule over humans had no more power in doing that, in order to ensure that Larsa in the future wouldn’t have to encounter such problems. Destroying the Sun-Cryst fulfilled that and I’m happy they were able to free humanity even if their methods were questionable. I think Vayne underestimated Larsa’s strength and conviction though, but I think he’d be happy if he was wrong about that imo.

Anyway! Seeing Balthier the leading man protect Dalmasca by directing the falling Bahamut elsewhere with Fran was awesome! I knew he wouldn’t die, but I found it hilarious how later on, he just randomly took his Strahl back from Vaan and Penelo who were maintaining it hahaha. I also found Penelo’s new look really cute! Much better than her old look haha. It would be nice to see it as a costume in DFFOO! I find Ashe’s ending rather lonesome and saddening? She did everything to reclaim her throne and her people, and yet in the end, she loses the people she journeyed with to become Queen. I guess it’s normal though, and I guess like Penelo, I do hope that Basch can one day go back to be beside her. It’s nice to see that Vaan and Penelo get to be like Balthier and Fran, and travel together as sky pirates haha. I wish we actually got to see Balthier and Fran again though. Oh well.

Overall, honestly FFXII kinda renders the same feelings I did when I first played it, maybe it’s a bit more positive this time though! Like, really, I did enjoy the story but I definitely found the characters and their development lacking, mainly everyone aside from Balthier, Vayne and maybe Ashe, but then Ashe only really drives the story and doesn’t really thrive as a character so hmm. I feel like they could have added more scenes to really develop the others because I felt that I was just following along for the story, but didn’t really care for the characters. I still really liked Balthier’s personality and his background though and I find that the highlight of FFXII, especially when he interacted with Ashe and kinda told her about his past. But yeah, there were a lot of scenes I liked and I did enjoy it overall, but I’m not a fan of the gameplay either, so I kinda gave up on the side missions hahaha. I honestly took so long to finish the game because I just couldn’t get into it lol. BUT, I love how customisable the gambits are omg! It’s so crazy how much time I put into experimenting with them haha, but despite that, I found the gameplay rather tedious so I just went through the story. And yes, the story is really short imo, it felt like it would have been a great movie instead haha. Also yes, if FFVII Remake had even a tiny bit of these gambits, I think I would have cried in frustration less lmao. Anywho! Nice story, execution kinda choppy and short but still good, gameplay average, and characters just a means to an end. 7/10 imo haha.

#final fantasy XII

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