#but i was like but isn't there another dragon episode???? and it's in season 6 and i remember that episode

[adhdvane]

im dying he r fkcuking face

#im rewatching mlp while farming gw or at least i think it still counts as rewatching but i dont remember #i know i never watched all of it #i got to season 5 and was like okay i def remember the first two eps and some in between #but i dont remember the finale so i must not have watched season 6 #but i was like but isn't there another dragon episode???? and it's in season 6 and i remember that episode #but i like don't think i remember the other ones???????? #i might have watched season 6 #there's no way i watched beyond that tho #did netflix ever actually have 5 & 6 bc i know they're dumb af and only have 1 - 4 right now? #did hulu ever have them??????? #bc i this is the first time im sailing the high seas to watch pony shit so i must have watched them in some official capacity before?? #anyways ive been wheezing at this fucking clip and idk if it's just bc ive lost my mind from farming #the FUKGCING FACE SHE MAKES IS ENDING ME

[reviewinghiccup]

DEFENDERS OF BERK | HTTYD SERIES | THE BREAKFAST CLUB

Blog Post Series: The Breakfast Club

Title: Race to Fireworm Island

Ep/Season: Episode 5, Season 2 (Defenders of Berk)

Premise:

When threats from the Outcasts get deep into Snotlout's head, he amps up his training much to the detriment of Hookfang. Now, he must deal with the consequences of literal burnout and the possibility of maybe losing something he's been under appreciating.

CHARACTER BREAKDOWN

Snotlout Gary Jorgenson

We've established many episodes before that the root cause of Snotlout's problems is his father. He lives by his dad's impossible principles and because of it, suffers from incredible personality flaws by virtue of obeying them. "Rest is for the weak" is the running theme of todays show and why I think, Snotlout is like many of us when it comes to people pleasing.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BURNOUT

Snotlout is a kid pining for his father's approval. Everything his dad says is gold to him. Impressing his father is his rasion d'etre and everyone knows that. And because its such a tender father-son issue, they don't really meddle. Pretty understanding viking community if you think about it.

He pushes Hookfang beyond recognition because he believes that's how he is going to defeat the enemy. Training can't kill dragons, but incessant exercises and drills without rest can drain them, as it would anyone.

We know this because, Astrid and Hiccup train hard too, but never at the expense of Stormfly / Toothless. [Well, not that badly or in this season at least, here's looking to you 'A Grim Retreat' (Episode 6, Season 5 (Race to the Edge)]

There needs to be a balance between rest and work.

Hookfang, Spitelout & the Untimely Sword Analogy

I like the conversation Spitelout had with Snotlout. It was a terrible analogy but it showcased the clear disregard Spitelout has to his son's interest or love for his dragon. Clearly anyone could see that Snotlout loved Hookfang. You'd think as a father, that should be something he would've picked up. Yet, he was too concerned with getting ahead, winning, he never saw what was before him, the pain in his child's eyes at the possibility of losing his pet.

And we know that these dragons are more than just pets to them or their armoury. They are extensions of themselves. And I'll take it a step further and say that Spitelout disregarding Hookfang is as bad as disregarding Snotlout.

This episode, to me, is a really good Snotlout background story. It's where he first starts questioning his father's principles and realising that maybe he isn't always right and what's right is what his heart is saying, calling him to save Hookfang and to not just "chuck" him aside.

Snotfang!

They do come off as the least affection dragon-rider pair, but they love each other more than it seems because the way they express love is very different but nothing less than what it means.

I love the tender moments between Snotlout and Hookfang.

I also love that this was the episode Snotlout finally understood the consequences of his actions and finally took responsibility for them instead shifting blame. In fact, he could've blamed his dad, but he didn't. He took charge and tried his best to work things out.

It was also a really touching episode where everyone was equally invested in saving Hookfang. I believe part of it is empathy because they know how painful it must be to see your dragon sick, but another part is also sympathy, caring for their friend.

My heart melted at the scene when they all huddled around Hookfang when he lost altitude to keep him safe and when Astrid's voice broke when she thought Hookfang died trying to save Snotlout.

This episode displayed major character growth for Snotlout. Him taking charge, owning up and defying his father's words saying "turns out my dad knows nothing about dragons" which came as a shock to everyone because Snotlout has never spoken anything against his dad. Ever.

Sure he's stubborn, pig-headed and difficult. But from this, we know he isn't dead inside and will grow into a very important member of the village and group, and hopefully be much, much better than his predecessors.

FUNNY MOMENTS & QUESTIONS

(1) Apparently Tuffnut tried milking the fireworms. And evidently, there is no such thing as fireworm milk. Now, that being the case... WHAT IS IN THAT BOWL GUYS!!!

(2) Hiccup & Astrid flirting and sharing one mind:

(3) All hail Hiccup, our words of affirmation King. Pretty sure his love language is words of affirmation. HAHA!

(4) Also, we gotta give love to our MC here, who was nothing but supportive and innovative in saving Hookfang. The Hiccup-Snotlout friendship here was precious, and also, maybe one of the only few times Hiccup didn't want to choke Snotlout.

AND, OF COURSE, OUR HAPPY ENDING...

I suppose its worth remembering that the HTTYD universe is larger than Hiccup and Toothless. It's nice to have these nods to the smaller schemes and plans of this adventurous world, where love and friendship transcend the bounds of the main character's view and what could directly affects Hiccup only.

It is really quiet amazing how the writers managed to make the side characters as interesting as the mains and their concerns becoming our concerns. It isn't easy to strike this balance and intrigue and maybe that's why the fandom holds strong, a good decade later.

#snotfang #snotlout snotlout oi oi oi #snotlout jorgenson #httyd #reviewing hiccup #the breakfast club #how to train your dragon #dob #defenders of berk

[localguy2]

...

Soooooo... DR Lloyd.

Yeah, he has fucked up badly in S2, Visions and Teacher wise

Let's talk. (S1 and S2 spoilers)

Right, DR Lloyd is genuinely so interesting, and mainly because he fails at SO MANY of his personal goals, ironically, in an attempt to achieve those goals, because he has the right mindset.

But he makes the wrong decisions...

First of all, I wanna bring up his Visions:

So we already know that there's been an ENTIRE year between Season 1 and Season 2 of Dragons Rising, so really quite a while.

And according to Lloyd himself, he's been having these visions since after the Imperium Source Dragon thing when they saved the world again.

So... Seriously, why didn't he just tell the others?

From a pure logic perspective this sorta doesn't make any sense, this isn't Wildbrain Era or Crystalized Lloyd, this is a whole new him, most accepted theory for the Merge is that it's been 5 years since it happened (6 by the time of S2), and we still don't know how much it's been since pre-merge and Crystalized.

Lloyd's obviously had time to heal and get in a better mental state, his behaviour switch from Crystalized to Dragons Rising is enough evidence of that not to mention overall Demeanor.

He doesn't have his Seasons 11-13 trust issues, or his Crystalized anger issues, so... What gives?

Now granted, some people might see that this is a bit insensitive or inconsiderate towards Lloyd, but given how much he's been through, how much he's grown and how much he should trust the ninja (which he VERY MUCH DOES BY THE WAY, Ep3 of DR Season 2 with his little chat with Nya, and the countless times she's comforted him during the Season), it calls into question as to why he didn't tell the ninja about his visions...

And like, I'm sorry but at this point this seems like extremely overlooked potential, Zane???

Like, there's literally a guy on your team who's had visions, terrible ones at that, before, why not go talk to him about it??

I'm just, really confused specifically by this aspect...

And another aspect, this being his Teaching:

Forgive me if I start insulting Lloyd but WHAT. IS. HE. DOING?????

1 YEAR SINCE SEASON 1, AND YOU HAVEN'T TAUGHT SORA OR ARIN PROPER SPINJITZU??? HELLO?

I am not holding back with this one, because this just seems like a massive oversight on his side that, depending on you view it, seriously fucked over the team majorly...

And you know why I find it so inexcusable?

1 Word: Wyldfyre.

The glow she's had when it comes to her fighting skills is actually insane, if you've watched the last 2 Episodes of Season 2 you'd KNOW how well she fought against the Wolf Clan, and Wyldfyre is not really even Lloyd's thing, she's more Kai's thing.

Granted, Kai's not taught her Spinjitzu, and he should be given shit for that as well, but when you compare her to Sora?

Yeah it sorta falls apart...

Sora didn't even know how to jump up high enough while preforming the moves for Spinjitzu, meanwhile Wyldfyre is fresh off of her injury and she's moving crazy quickly around every enemy.

That and... Arin.

Lloyd has no excuse for Arin, straight up.

Arin's got the motivation and drive to learn new skills, he's the same kid that managed to solo learn a weird form of Spinjitzu, with self taught ninja moves PURELY from watching his heros fighting.

So why, in the bloody hell, did Lloyd double down on his unique Spinjitzu, that he hasn't been able to get better at for the last year despite extensive training, instead of at the VERY LEAST teaching him Spinjitzu basics?

Again, 1st Fang ninja statue is designated to those who need to learn Spinjitzu first, and it's criminal that ARIN out of ALL people, had to be PUT in it.

And I have to say, all that considered + Lloyd's constant attempts at reassuring Arin like the kid missed up, and the times he told him to be patient, it really puts a bad taste in my mouth for Lloyd.

Lloyd you are not helping, Arin's been more then patient, and he's not gotten better any single bit at his Unique Spinjitzu or fighting Skills, this is a you problem and you don't even realise it.

You're trying too hard to be like Wu, when in S1 you should've at least gotten a small hint you don't have to be like him, like not even full acknowledgement, just a hint!

This might seem a bit rambly and emotion fuelled so I'm sorry for that, but DR Lloyd frustrates me with his decisions, don't get me wrong I still like him, the show emphasises the importance of Mental Health a lot of times through him, by Representing panic attacks and his extreme anxiety using him, and that's awesome!

What isn't very awesome however, is all the aforementioned problems with his character (that I find at least).

#ninjago #ninjago au #ninjago dragons rising #ninjago dr spoilers #ninjago dragons rising spoilers #lloyd garmadon #Who knows tho #Maybe this is all intentional #And it might be Arc set up for him #But we'll have to wait and see for that

[dropintomanga]

Initial D - The First Stage to the Overall Magic of Anime and Manga

Seeing this display at my local Kinokuniya Bookstore branch made my day and got me reminiscing.

In the early 2000s', I was still in my phase of consuming everything Dragon Ball. I followed Dragon Ball GT at the time and knew it ended around 1997. Since simulcast streaming wasn't a thing, I had to rely on Chinese-dubbed VHS tapes to rent for all the episodes.

When watching one of the final episodes of Dragon Ball GT on a tape I got, there was a trailer (which was actually the opening) for another anime that played before the episode. It wasn't for a Shonen Jump series and I heard some really cool-sounding techno music.

That opening began my journey into a series that highlighted what anime and manga was really like outside of American marketing - Shuichi Shigeno's Initial D.

For those who don't know, Initial D is about a young man named Takumi Fujiwara who gets himself involved in the mountain street racing scene. He drives a car that isn't suitable for street racing, the Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno. The car lacks horsepower and speed, but Takumi is able to utilize amazing drift techniques to make up for it. While reluctant at first, Takumi gets pulled into a race when a street racing team called the Akagi Red Suns challenges Takumi's local team. Takumi beats one of the Red Suns' top members and he slowly becomes a legend as he encounters more street racers who want to challenge him. The manga lasted 49 volumes, had 6 anime seasons in 16 years, and a Hong Kong live-action movie adaptation of the manga (which I appreciated as a Cantonese speaker) was made in 2005. The series also inspired a good amount of people all over the world to get into Japanese cars due to every car featured in the series existing in real life. It did not hurt that fans loved the Eurobeat music that played in races throughout the anime.

As you can see from the photo I took, Kodansha USA decided to re-release the entire Initial D manga in a 2-in-1 omnibus print format for a newer generation as the original English manga release by Tokyopop in the mid-2000s' left a lot to be desired for translation reasons.

After watching the OP teaser in that one tape of a DBGT episode, I decided to watch all of the First Stage season of Initial D in Cantonese Chinese on VHS. I became hooked. I absolutely loved the music. I appreciated how analytical some of the characters were. Even though I didn't understand a lot of the conversations being had due to my Cantonese not being good enough to talk about vehicle intricacies, I had the help of Initial D fansites to summarize things. I became obsessed when the manga was ongoing at the time to see who Takumi was facing. Fansites helped to bridge the gap.

Speaking of fan-related material, I learned about yaoi/boys' love through Initial D. I saw many fanfiction sites about the relationships between the major male characters. In a sense, I got to see why sports-like series appealed to female fans way before the current sports series boom we have now.

Initial D also helped me get close with my dad. He actually watched the anime with me. During the years when I was so depressed, my dad always spent time with me. We played a lot of basketball, talk sports, and watched Initial D together. It helped that he was into car culture, so he helped explain a few things to me about certain cars.

One more thing Initial D did was that it got me to go to my very first anime convention in 2003. It was the Big Apple Anime Fest and the Third Stage movie was screened. While I watched the Third Stage movie before, it wasn't dubbed in Cantonese. This time, I got to see the full film with English subtitles. I stayed for the 7:30pm screening and was excited with so many fans around me. The convention was also where I finally got to connect with a friend who lived in the same area as me. I still talk to and hang out with them today.

While Dragon Ball got me into anime in the first place, it was Initial D that got me to expand my worldview about anime and manga. The series gave me a glimpse of the other anime/manga communities out there. I got a first glimpse into series that weren't mainstream yet loved by passionate fans.

When both the Initial D manga and anime ended in the 2010s', my anime/manga interests were in a different place. But I still enjoyed Final Stage when it came out because I got to see Takumi grow immensely over time and the payoff was good. The final battle felt like two very similar individuals trying to impose their superiority over one another. It was a perfect way to end Takumi's story, given that almost all of his opponents were different from him.

I know Initial D isn't talked about as much as Dragon Ball or Sailor Moon in terms of impacting people's lives, but it has done wonders for me in genuinely seeing what the world of anime/manga fans was like outside of the usual fare. I know I'm not the only one.

So I want to say that if the super-mainstream anime and manga series aren't your thing, it's okay. There will always be something that will catch your eye and maybe change your perspective for the better. And maybe it will find you a community that you love being around and help you grow.

To quote one of the Initial D opening songs sung by the group, m.o.v.e, let's move into the brand new world and let's dive into the brand new trip.

For more perspective on Initial D's impact on its fans and car culture, this post from a car enthusiast is worth a read.

#Initial D #manga #anime #street racing #mental health #fandom #community #Asian culture #Youtube

[limesandcoconuts]

Ranking RTTE Seasons

This list might offend some people 😬😬 here goes nothin

6) Season 1

Season 1 isn't bad - the first episode is actually one of my favourites - it's just it was more of a taster, a dip in the water shall we say. No huge plots or anything, everything's mostly being introduced. But still fun.

Fave episodes: Eye of the Beholder, Imperfect Harmony, Gone Gustav Gone, Have Dragon Will Travel Pt. 2

5) Season 3

Again, nothing wrong with Season 3 - hello?? Buffalord Soldier?? Flawless - but just purely out of the most memorable episodes and most enjoyable episodes, wasn't as much as some of the other seasons. But RTTE is perfect so Season 3 is still top notch TV 😩

Fave episodes: Buffalord Soldier, A Grim Retreat, Defenders of the Wing Pt. 1

4) Season 4

I feel like I'm committing a crime ranking this one so low because this season is so good but somehow the others are even better (idk how no one is talking about RTTE outside of the Httyd random). For me, there were a couple of great filler episodes but there was also great plot related episodes. I just think apart from the the Hiccstrid episodes and maybe one other, i don't think about this season much, I rewatch the other ones a lot more. That's not to say it isn't good because the episodes i do watch are *chef's kiss*. How can we forget this season is the long awaited birthplace of Hiccstrid??

Fave episodes: Gruff Around the Edges, Not Lout, The Longest Day, Out of the Frying Pan, Blindsided, Shell Shocked Pt. 1 & 2

3) Season 6

For me, a lot of my nostalgia for this show lies in the earlier seasons (1-3) so how it went was I lost touch with the Httyd fandom for a couple years (around 2018) and then came back in 2020 after RTTE Seasons 5/6 and Httyd 3 had been released so I kinda missed out on the hype for it which is really annoying because as season 6 is the finale, I feel like it would've been a great high for the fandom. And then Httyd 3 was the ultimate finale but that's a story for another day. Anyways, I enjoyed a lot of episodes in this season, filler and plot. I think the episodes were enjoyable and it was a very well done send off to the show, i mean the final battle/epilogue always makes me emotional for some reason. Plus, all the little Hiccstrid moments were so cute this season, i mean, the hair touches?? Too much. I also liked how they tied everything up to Httyd 2 quite perfectly, with Drago, Valka, the Bewilderbeast and other small details - it was well thought out.

Fave episodes: All Bark, No Bite, A Gruff Separation, Mi Amore Wing, Family Matters, Darkest Night, Guardians of Vanaheim, King of Dragons Pt. 1 & 2

2) Season 2

This was a real toughie because Season 2 is such a great one, I mean it's nostalgic and so enjoyable and funny and there's so many great moments that happen. The filler episodes are so entertaining and the plot based ones were really interesting, I find season 2 to be so easily rewatchable. I also liked the subplots in the season between certain characters and i think it had some of the best stories.

Fave episodes: Team Astrid, Night of the Hunters Pt. 1 & 2, Bad Moon Rising, Snotlout Gets the Axe, The Zippleback Experience, Snow Way Out, Edge of Disaster Pt. 1 & 2, Maces and Talons Pt. 2

And finally...

1) Season 5 - My Favourite Season

I feel like a lot of people are gonna disagree with me on this bc i don't really see a lot of people talking about the episodes in season 5 much but what the hell. Season 5 was definitely my favourite season. The lighthearted episodes were just so goddamn rewatchable and good, most of my favourite episodes in this season are actually fillers. But I don't know why, there's something about the vibe of season 5 that i just love, it feels...calm?? In a way?? I don't know. But this season just has so many of my favourite moments in the show, maybe in the franchise.

Fave episodes: Living on the Edge, Sandbusted, Something Rotten on Beserker Island, Snotlout's Angels, A Matter of Perspective, Dawn of Destruction, The Wings of War Pt. 1 & 2, No Dragon Left Behind, Snuffnut.

And there ya go! Just a quick reminder that this is completely my opinion and how I feel about the seasons, definitely not saying any of this is a straight up fact.

Bonus: My Overall Fave Episodes:

Night of the Hunters Pt. 1 & 2, Bad Moon Rising, Buffalord Soldier, The Longest Day, Blindsided, She'll Shocked Pt. 1 & 2, Sandbusted, Snotlout's Angels, Dawn of Destruction, Mi Amore Wing, Darkest Night and King of Dragons Pt. 1 & 2.

Lemme know what you guys think!

#httyd #how to train your dragon #rtte #race to the edge #hiccup haddock #astrid hofferson #fishlegs #snotlout #tuffnut #ruffnut #fishlegs ingerman #snotlout jorgenson #viggo #ryker #krogan #viggo grimborn

[darkpoisonouslove]

First Episodes of Winx Ranking

I've ranked the Winx finales, I've ranked the Winx seasons and I've ranked the Winx canon ships. This has been long overdue. So without further ado:

8. Season 7

The crux of the episode is Winx being defeated by a bird. Not only do they have the Dragon Fire transformation now (which should be the strongest one by default), but they've also defeated a ton of actually threatening villains by that point. And they still... lose to a bird.

If that wasn't bad enough, Stella is made a complete clown once again, who is selfish, inconsiderate and the burnt of the - at this point dead and turned to ash - gag of her designing terrible outfits before making beautiful ones.

Now I am not the biggest fan of Roxy but I have to say... It is idiotic to leave her behind to watch Kiko when the victim of an attack is a fairy animal and the perpetrator is another animal. Honestly, Roxy using her powers on Kalshara is the biggest missed opportunity regarding her character in this season, which says a lot considering that she was robbed of Butterflix despite doing everything that Winx did to get it.

The only saving grace of this episode is the kangourmet sequence as the sugar-crazed kangourmet is more threatening than the actual villain of the season, and the following moments with Faragonda taking care of it and being amused by Bloom and Stella's silent argument are fluffy and funny.

7. Season 6

This episode singlehandedly destroyed Daphne's character. For that I should banish it not just to the end of the list, but to oblivion. However, I simply cannot put losing to a BIRD (can you tell I'll never recover from this?) over the fight against the Beast of the Depths. At least its design is better and there is some - mind you, just some - sense of suspense there.

It is, of course, tragically undermined by the Winx' search for the Inspiration of Sirenix and the musical number at the end. The idea that Winx would be the Inspiration for a transformation that has existed for centuries is, frankly, laughable. And I would be laughing if the whole point of the episode did not rest upon it.

Daphne, as the Nymph of Sirenix, certainly would not have needed Winx to inspire her. Like I said, her character is completely butchered by the bad writing and the childish prism through which she's viewed. Even her finally taking action by trying to sacrifice herself to save everyone else from the Beast is a complete misinterpretation of her character from the first seasons. Daphne did sacrifice herself for Bloom's safety, and the Dragon Fire's, but she did that because it was the only option left. She went down fighting! Despite the trauma she's been through and her recovery, the only plausible way to write her amidst a new crisis would have been to let her fight tooth and nail.

Still, I can sympathize with her despite the writers' best efforts. Partly because my love for her is indestructible and partly because I can see a lot of potential for crafting a truly awesome arc of recovery and reclamation of her life if she'd been treated like the character that she was in the first seasons. For that I am willing to place this episode higher than the very bottom.

6. Season 4

This episode had the difficult task of continuing a series that should have ended, and expanding beyond Enchantix. Considering all that, I can cut it some slack but that doesn't change the fact that it is extremely poorly constructed (which you can tell by how low I've placed it on the list).

Frankly, the Winx are unlikable during half of the episode. They are shoved into a role that they're unsuited to as teachers. Their course is chaotic; they lack any structure, discipline and professionalism in a way that isn't charming and meant to make the young fairies feel at ease. They are all riding on the fame of being the girls that saved the universe three times, even if the only one that's called out on it is Stella. I fully blame for that the fact that the writers knew that this job would be a one-time thing and didn't bother with making the Winx seem like they're actually putting effort in it and it instantly brings down the whole episode.

Besides that there's the way that all the Winx act towards Alice. Yes, they think that her prank could have killed Flora but the girl looks so upset and desperate to convince them of her innocence and none of them ever consider the possibility that they're in the wrong, especially Tecna, who had an episode (2x09) devoted to exploring her rash decisions. It truly comes off as if they believe they are always right and their methods cannot fail them, which just confirms that fame has gotten to all their heads.

The plot is barely hanging together, too. Believix is introduced for absolutely no relevant reason other than that the writers knew it would be important later. And if that weren't insult enough to Enchantix, then we have the fight scene with the Wizards, who are brought in in a truly mind-boggling way, summoned by... the unveiling of a painting. They toss Winx around as if Enchantix is a joke, which is simply bad form as it undercuts the first three seasons without which this episode would not have existed. It's bad all around.

The only positive I can think of is that the Wizards come off as strong and ruthless but their exit leaves something to be desired. Sure, they have no interest in the WInx anymore but they just attacked Alfea and left like it's no biggie. This could actually be considered another point in favor of how unbothered they are by the mere idea of facing opposition but it doesn't say much about the state of law enforcement in the Magic Dimension.

Oh, hey, I like the Winx deciding to pursue the villains for once instead of merely reacting to being targeted. That and the little moment with Griselda and Clarice towards the end are the best parts of the episode.

5. Season 8

This episode's biggest fault - barring the art style - is that it's pretty lowkey for the most part. That and the fact that Obscurum does not convey a sense of immediate threat in the beginning of the episode. However, that is mitigated by the "monster" that was shown to chase Twinkly and the fact that they are saving the reveal of Valtor's return for later.

Everything before the fight sequence is serviceable. Twinkly's introduction and the involvement of the Specialists are functional. There's nothing wrong with having a somewhat chill opening to the season and the Winx' willingness to help Twinkly is heartwarming. There are cute moments sprinkled throughout the episode and I love the fact that Stella and Tecna get to be more central in the interactions with Twinkly and, therefore, the introduction of the main plot.

The battle is... actually good. I love that Faragonda gets to do something (although we could have used more from the other teachers). And for once they have the excuse that only Stella's powers actually work to explain why no one else gets to do anything (it still doesn't check out fully but it's better than the usual logic of "Winx simply are better than everyone and get to do it all even when characters that should be more competent are around"). I love the way that they make the star yummies actually somewhat threatening by showing that most of Winx' powers don't work against them. The decision to solve the problem through a team-up between Stella and Twinkly was also solid as it makes Twinkly useful and pretty powerful.

Topping it all off with the threat of starlight being stolen until the stars go dark makes this first episode solid enough to place in the middle of my list.

4. Season 5

This episode is surprisingly good where openings are concerned. It starts out pretty chill and immerses us back into the Winx' lives on Earth. I love that it takes the time to show us the Winx and Specialists spending time together. The subplot about the Pendant of Eraklyon was completely unnecessary but I did like the talk between Flora and Sky. Finally a Specialist and a Winx that aren't a couple interacting again!

There is a sense of suspense also introduced with the oil platform, however, and a grandiosity injected into the episode by the coronation. I am not a fan of suddenly inventing a king of the oceans and replacing Tressa as heir to the throne. The attitude towards Tritannus before he's even done anything is also extremely off-putting and could have made him root for him if he'd been better written. That and the way that he ends this episode doesn't really sell him as the big bad of the season but it leaves enough ominous intrigue to promise more action during the rest of the story.

Once the action hits, the story really is at its best. There is suspense. The Winx actually use their powers instead of solving everything with a single convergence (although, in the end they do just that and I hate it but at least it's more minor). The Specialists actually help them out and most of the action is happening in the air and underwater, which is a more rare environment for a Winx action sequence and sets up the rest of the season. And Layla gets an individual moment to shine! All in all pretty good.

3. Season 1

This episode is all-around solid, especially for a pilot episode. Bloom is a little quick to decide to go to Alfea and her parents' reactions are somewhat nonexistent but everything else works well.

We get a sense of Bloom's frustration with her life, of her being drawn to the magical. Her discovery of her powers works well. Knut and the hunting troll are pretty threatening on their own and we are shown that there are puppeteers behind the curtain, promising to escalate the action soon. The boys work without coming off as too competent and save the day. Alfea is introduced.

Honestly, the only minus here is that the other Winx are not introduced yet. I understand that they couldn't have been considering the construction of the plot but the Specialists are introduced before them, which I find somewhat iffy.

2. Season 2

This episode opens on such a strong note. Layla is introduced as a protagonist. She is shown to be determined, brave and very loyal to those she considers friends. Along with that we get to explore Shadowhaunt a little bit and are introduced to Darkar's quest to find the location of the Codex (albeit in a somewhat roundabout way). There is action, there is suspense, there is fear for Layla. Darkar comes off threatening enough even if his obsession with the pixies and inability to break them does him a bit of a disservice.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have the Winx returning to Alfea. There is a sense of new along the sense of returning back to something familiar. We are reintroduced to the girls and given a little information to bridge the gap between this season and the previous one. Bloom stumbling upon the secret archive is random, unnecessary as of yet, and an oversight on Faragonda's part (for not moving it once it becomes clear what Darkar's after) but it does cement the pixies as an intended part of the season instead of just a plot device to introduce the villain's goal and the stakes.

We are reacquainted with the Specialists as well and they get to spend some time with Winx. We witness the group dynamic and the heartfelt bonds between all of them only for Layla's reappearance to act like a gut-punch. It sets up an ominous and foreboding feeling for the rest of the season and elevates the impression that the episode leaves upon the viewer.

1.Season 3

This truly is the best opening episode. It takes the time to focus on Winx who are preparing for summer vacation while at the same time focuses on the Trix' fate. It's an amazing way to build the tension as it leaves you anticipating the trouble that the Trix are going to stir while the Winx have every intention of chilling only to, surely, get interrupted by a new crisis.

However, the episode doesn't rely on that to be the only point keeping the viewer's interest. Instead of meandering through small, directionless interactions, it sets up things for the girls to do. Each of them has her own plans but the announcement of Stella's ball is a very natural way to keep them all together even as it's time for them to separate for summer vacation.

Stella's personal life and emotional state are instantly put in the spotlight in a way that truly focuses on her character rather than only on setup for what's coming. Because of that, the conflict with Chimera has more weight. It seems to be the one cloud on Stella's sunny sky, the thing that's ruining her perfect vacation and her upcoming Princess Ball as well as the restoration of her family.

The episode keeps cutting back to the Trix to focus on the consequences of their actions in the previous season, acquaint us with more of the Magic Dimension (a prison world in particular) and kickstart the plot. These sequences remind us of why the Trix have gotten as far as they have. They are smart and ruthless and still powerful, which sets up Valtor extremely well because he is obviously leagues above them. The team-up between those four is bound to bring headaches to the Winx, which is instantly demonstrated.

By doing nothing more than merely breaking out of prison, Valtor upsets the natural course of the universe and interrupts Winx' plans. Sure, they weather the current problem easily and efficiently enough but not only does it put a hitch in their plans for the afternoon, but completely alters their planned summer vacation by tearing Layla away through trouble on her own planet that is serious enough to warrant her immediate return. And to really drive the point home we are shown how Valtor transforms the Andros mermaids into monsters, takes control of their will and steals their power for himself.

It truly is the first episode that best builds up the threat and stakes that the rest of the season will spend working with. And it does so without Valtor even knowing of any of the Winx' existence yet and vice versa. A magnificent study in starting a season.

#winx club #winx club season 1 #winx club season 2 #winx club season 3 #winx club season 4 #winx club season 5 #winx club season 6 #winx club season 7 #winx club season 8 #ranking

[lolotheparagon]

Sofia the First Season 4 in a Nutshell

Oh boy... Season 4. The one with the Wicked Nine story arc.

Day of the Sorcerers - 1/10

For some inexplicable reason, the writers wanted to redeem Cedric and finish off his story arc of being a villain, DESPITE 3 ENTIRE SEASONS OF HIM CHANGING PASSIVELY OVER TIME AND BECOMING A GOOD GUY AND A GOOD TEACHER TO SOFIA AND THE CHILDREN, BUT NOPE WE GOTTA HASTILY CONCLUDE THIS CHARACTER ARC. SO LETS HAVE HIM TAKE OVER THE KINGDOM AND ACTUALLY NEARLY SUCCEED ALL BECAUSE THE BILLY WEST WIZARD AND A BIRD PERSUADED HIM WITH VERY LITTLE CONVICTION. Its fucking hilarious cos at the third act, all it took to get Cedric to stop usurping the throne was Sofia giving him a glare like a child angry at her dad for not picking her up from soccer practice. And despite nearly taking over the kingdom, Cedric gets a second chance thanks to Sofia and her mum and everything just goes back like nothing happened. WOW ITS ALMOST LIKE THIS WHOLE EPISODE WAS COMPLETELY FUCKING POINTLESS.

The Secret Library: Tale of the Eternal Torch - 2/10

Remember, kids. If you have a history with invaders constantly trying to take over your home at every opportunity, befriend them! Its always good to share your land, even though its your land by right! Thank god we're dealing with dragons here not people, otherwise this wouldve been REALLY FUCKED UP. I mean this is fucked up, but still.

The Crown of Blossoms - 9/10

Finally, an episode that didnt make me wanna gouge my eyes out! A wonderful lesson about not using other people's valuable treasures for a festival and you should rightfully give it back to them. Even the boring Clover being greedy sideplot doesnt bother me.

Pin the Blame on the Genie - 0/10

Oh great, another episode about the Culturally Fucked Up Genie Police and the kid genie getting needlessly harassed and villified by the public all because of one racist wizard's opinions. Btw its established that the Genie Patrol have prison cells for misbehaving genies, WHILST THEYRE IN THEIR LAMPS. So its a prison within a prison. WTF?!

The Mystic Isles - -5/10

So, this is the famous Mystic Isles special...Honestly, for a world that's supposed to be where all magic originates, this is pretty dull. Like isn't the world of Sofia the First already magical as fuck? There are magical creatures everywhere in Enchancia, what makes this place so special? Also I really dont like the alicorn Skye, his oldtime medieval mannerisms get older after 5 minutes and it really feels like the show one-upped poor Minimus, since he was Sofia's first flying horse. Oh yeah and Sofia wants to be part of the Crystal Justice League or some shit, cos we need SOMETHING for our main character to do!

The Mystic Isles: The Princess and the Protector - 4/10

A tough fairy named Chrysta becomes Sofia's mentor into becoming a glorifed cop for the EverRealm and because she has this preconception of Sofia being this spoilt snob because she's a princess, Chrysta proceeds to not teach her anything and snark at Sofia throughout the majority of the episode. In any other series, this would be hilarious but here, I just feel sorry for poor Sof. I really grew to like Chrysta later on but this was NOT a good first impression.

The Royal Dragon - 6/10

Crackle and Sofia in Spyro form joins a dragon summit and the former fight with her egocentric rival in order to get people's attention cos her rival always steals people away from her before she can even make friends. Ngl I was expected to hate this episode but it was worth it to see that Crackle's rival is just as insecure as she is and made up half her boasting was made up so people would be friends with her. Also Sir KMR the Knight appears again to play schoolyard pranks on a bunch of dragons cos he's a petty bitch lol

The Mystic Isles: The Mare of the Mist - 6/10

Minimus is understandably pissed off that Sofia arrived with a brand new alicorn TM as her new best friend and tries to string along both of them on her new mission to find this mystery horse for a test. I dreaded this episode was gonna go with Sofia gaslighting poor Minimus into thinking Skye is the better companion and he should deal with it. But No. Sofia couldnt even finish her test cos the mystery horse she was looking for chastises her for not considering Minimus' feelings and favouring Skye over him. I like that, it really puts Sofia in a humbling position and helps her realise how important Minimus is to her.

Through the Looking Back Glass - 9/10

Its a good Cedric episode so its already a step up and we get to see Calista again, which is always fun. We find out the actual reason why Cedric has had this reputation from everyone, especially his sister Cordelia, that he was this bungler who would never amount to anything, and its revealed to be a completely accident which Cordelia forgives him for and apologises for all the teasing and petty rivalry she had with him over the years. Its a very sweet victory for Cedric and I honestly wish THIS was the final episode of his character arc than Day of Sorcerors cos it really shows how much he's improved as a person since Season 1 and that he doesnt need to take over the kingdom to prove his worth. Side note: I love how Sofia and Calista team up to clear Cedric's name and its cute to see Sofia act like a big sister to Calista.

Princess Jade - 8/10

Wasn't expecting a non character like Jade to get her own spotlight episode but here we are and its really sweet! I love how Jade was originally excited to go to Royal Prep to be with her bestie Sofia when they found out Jade's a descendant of royalty but quickly grows to hate it when she realises she'll never see Ruby or any of her village friends that much anymore, her entire life is changed upon this revelation...AND THEN WE GET A FUNNY AS HELL SIDEPLOT WITH AMBER BECOMING A MASTER ARCHITECT. Why wasnt this an entire episode alone about Amber being into architecture, that is wicked cool?!

Ivy's True Colors - 0/10

Ooo, the villain Princess Ivy's getting a redemption? Skip

Too Cute to Spook - 10/10

And we now return to our scheduled programming of serotonin-filled spookiness cos this time Sofia, Lucy and her toxic witch friends are doing trick or treating and Calista wants to join in but they dont want her to join cos she's too adorable to be scary and they're worried she'll "cramp their style." But Calista just wants to have friends and make Sofia happy. Man, I miss when Sofia the First episodes were like this.

Pirated Away - 8/10

After crashing into a pirate ship by accident, Miranda, Sofia and Amber have to help a bunch of geographically challenged pirates find a golden figurehead so Sofia and the family can see a meteor shower along the way. We get to see Miranda being a bad ass mum, Amber learning to respect her mother's word and have a heart to heart talk with her and a lesson about just fucking listening to people.

The Mystic Isles: The Falcon's Eye - 5/10

Oh goody, another Mystic Isles episode and this time, Sofia has to search for the Wicked Nine, a bunch of magical items belonging to the greatest Disney villains of the past to stop the villain from the Mystic Isles special, Prisma from gaining all their powers. Cos apparently Sofia the First really needed a daedric artifact storyline.

The Mystic Isles: The Great Pretender - 4/10

The Mystic Isles: A Very Mystic Wassalia - 7/10

Okay, the fact Chrysta has spent the whole of Christmas with Sofia doing protector tasks in order to distract herself from her incredibly lonely life cos she has no family or friends to spend the holiday is truly sad. I really felt for her when Sofia rounds up everyone in the Mystic Isles for a Christmas party. Just...awwww.

The Birthday Wish - 10/10

Sofia has a shit birthday so she wishes for a redo of her birthday and she gets it...40 times over. Yknow that segment with Huey, Dewey and Louie in Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas? Its basically that but with Sofia slowly going insane. The biggest highlight is definitely Sofia getting more exasperated and pissed off with each repeat. Its so rare to see Sofia mad or even angry cos Sofia's a very grounded kid who's got a big heart so seeing her being pushed to the limit is hilarious. And as always, there's a good lesson about looking on the bright side of things, which is especially true since Sofia still had a pretty good party to begin with, despite how chaotic things got.

In Cedric We Trust - 8/10

I feel like this whole episode was an apology for Day of Sorcerors cos this ep tries to address the fact Cedric nearly usurped the throne a few episodes ago and Roland's not happy about that. But unlike a lot of kids shows where the villains make shoddy attempts to atone for their actions and the characters just immediately forgive them without any repercussions, Cedric is nowhere near the levels of vile monster levels of Starlight Glimmer or Catra so im a lot more on board with Cedric's redemption cos he's got a far better track record of being a good person than any 2010s redeemed villain combined. Also Cedric earnestly trying to restore Roland's trust not just to get everyone to trust him again, but also because the two shared a friendship together when they were children is very sweet. I kinda wish that was explored a lot more in the show earlier. I wouldve loved more Roland and Cedric bonding.

The Mystic Isles: A Hero For The Hoodwinks - 5/10

Clover wants to be a hero like Sofia so he pretends to be one after hitching a ride to the Mystic Isles and manages to garner a fanbase of flying hedgehogs. Trust me, its not as exciting as it sounds.

The Mystic Isles: Undercover Fairies - -5/10

Another boring Chrysta episode, this time its about Chrysta having a bad experience with other fairies cos they all thought she was too rough and tough and not delicate enough to be a fairy. I mean, good for Chrysta to embrace her femininity but I really dont care at this point.

A Royal Wedding - 10/10

Aunt Tilly's wedding? Okay sure, but what if there was a main plot where its revealed Amber is actually the heir to the throne, not James, causing him to have an identity crisis and immediately tries to humilate Amber in front of the whole reception but nothngs working cos James still thinks Amber is her season 1 self, not her current self who's mastering all her royal duties like a pro and not caring about getting her dress dirty. So he accidentally summons a sea monster, which causes havoc at the wedding and can only be calmed with the promise of cake. So Amber, Sofia and James work together to stop said sea monster and the twins reconcile, James makes up for his actions and Amber dubs her brother First Knight. A heartwarming episode with a dash of crazy shenanigans thrown in. Finally, James gets a good story right before the show finishes.

The Royal School Fair - 3/10

Its nearly the end of school for Sofia and the gang but the former doesnt know what school she wants to go to after finishing Royal Prep, so everyone tries to get her to join their personal fave school rather than one of them sitting down with her and actually working it through with her. Oh and for the cherry on top, Amber signs Sofia up to join a school WITHOUT HER CONSENT and despite being called out for it, Sofia decides she wants to go there anyway. OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE. WRITERS, YOU HAVE ONE JOB, DONT TEACH KIDS TO BE COMPLACENT WITH PEOPLE'S BAD BEHAVIOUR.

The Lost Pyramid - 4/10

Sofia and the gang are exploring the inside of a pyramid, where they have to rely on different senses other than their eyes to solve the pyamid's riddles? Nice! A blind princess who's also an archaeologist?? THAT IS SO FUCKING METAL I LOVE THAT AND OH MY GOD, HILDEGARDE. GO AWAY!

Return To Merroway Cove - 2/10

"Remember, kids. If your parents are infantilising you and don't think you're capable of handling more difficult tasks, prove them right! That'll show 'em! Wait..."

The Elf Situation - 8/10

Sofia encourages James and Amber that just because a peace summit is looming over them and that they're trying to prepare being future monarchs with newfound responsibilities, doesnt mean WE CANT HAVE FUN. And she's right! You guys are in your early teens, enjoy life while you can before the ! Btw i love how 3 kids managed to solve a years-long rivalry with two elf clan leaders in one afternoon when the king took years to get them to reconcile but to no avail lmao. Especially when the two elf leaders in question were mostly petty squabbling and got along the moment someone suggested to do something fun. See, Sofia's always right!

Forever Royal - -6/10

The sheer mood whiplash from an absolutely wholesome first act that wouldve been a great bookend to the series with Sofia graduating Royal Prep, Amber training to be queen, James becoming a full-fledged knight in training and everyone in Enchancia is all coming together to celebrate how much our main character has grown over the couple of years...only to spend the last two acts of the special hastily wrapping up the entire Wicked Nine story arc with a brand new villain instead of the one we've been building up over and the season, complete with higher stakes, a world-ending threat and ending with Sofia defeating said villain like a Kingdom Hearts cutscene spiritually reminds me of this

CONCLUSION

Oh boy this was a difficult season to get through. S3 had a weird story arc with the Secret Library, but at least that wasnt NEARLY as intrusive as the Wicked Nine arc, where it clearly felt like Craig Gerber tried to crowbar it into the season, especially for how out of place the usual episodes are. Craig said in one of his podcasts that the Wicked Nine was meant to be a serialised story arc for the whole season but Disney shot him down, saying that it'll be too complicated for a pre-school show. And honestly, I fully get behind Disney on that. But Craig had enough creative power to jam that shit in so we're stuck with a boring ass daedric artifact plotline that meanders until the finale, clogging up what couldve been a decent season to wrap up the series.

Still, apart from that awful last season, I really recommend Sofia the First. It's such a cute, fun show that has its problems and defnitely isnt for everyone as its very straightforward in its themes. But if you like musical numbers, silly characters and cute saccharine stuff like me, you'll like this show just fine.

Peace out, bitches

#sofia the first #Youtube

[umihoshi]

Autumn anime 2023 is so STACKED, it's illigal!

Aside from the obviously amazing continuing shows, there's TOO MANY great new ones.

Based on first episodes, here's my top ranking (may be subject to change cuz Apothecary Diaries isn't out yet. And excluding SpyxFamily, dr. Stone and Tokyo Revengers which are all *chef's kiss*)

1. Kamonohashi Ron: Deranged Detective

you had me at Detective. and then you had me at Deranged. Also, I'm a big fan of Amano Akira's other works, Reborn and eldLIVE (Psycho-Pass not so much, but she only did the character art) Depressed adult who is too curious for his own good, what's not to love?

2. Undead Unluck

I saw the manga before and had been really anticipating the anime. They're such a fun duo and their personalities and abilities compliment one another really well. looks like there'll be a lot of cool unusual superpowers. Reminds me a lot of Blood Lad, just hoping this anime won't end with virtually nothing solved T~T;

3. Kingdom of Ruin

Bit on the over the top side with the amount of tragedy, but the worldbuilding seems very interesting. I'm a slut for witch hunting too. May end up severely traumatized if I continue, but we'll see how it goes.

4. My New Boss Is Goofy

My soul is healed, my crops are growing. Grown men doing stilly stuff is comfort food for the eyes. Looks a bit yaoi baiting, but can't complain if it's cute. Reminds me of Cool Douji Danshi.

5. Migi & Dali

I don't even know what's going on at this point, it's so surreal. Elder couple wants to adopt one child and genius twins thought 'we can work with that'. The silly love children of Johan Liebert and Sakamoto desu ga. (same author as Sakamoto too. it sure shows.)

6. Crash course on Naughtiness

Last season, I was confronted with the pet-peeve of feeble waifu syndrome (I finished My Happy Marriage, but I'm sorry, I could not stand that girl...) And this season around, I realized the formula that breaks the curse of feeble waifus: a batshit crazy counterpart. This man is just bullying her with kindness. plus points for another excelent job done by Sugita Tomokazu.

7. Frieren

As a big fan of DnD, I can't say no to such a DnD-based series. Plus the pressure of having to live such a long live as elves do is very interesting. It's a bit slow to my liking, but the characters are amusing and layered.

8. Yuzuki family's 4 sons

a young man who has to take care of his 3 little brothers after his parents died, give me some napkins Q-Q not a single person looks or acts their age (the youngest has better vocabulary than I do;;) but it's all fun and sweet and trying to find your way in an unusual family-hirarchy

9. I'm in love with the villainess

My eyes hurt from looking at this. But the over the top artstyle works quite well with how silly the story is. I too would like to say 'step on me, mommy' to my favorite villain. Just hope it won't become repetitive in its jokes.

10. Tearmoon Empire

Wow, will you look at that. Another reincarnated villainess. Luckily, this one has no memories of living in a different world or something. Just her future self's diary. Enjoying the concept where she's not suddenly a saintly good girl for a change.

11. Oujo to Banken

This dude is on THIN fucking ice. I commonly enjoy age gaps very much. but in no way what so ever, would I support a relationship between a teenager and the 10 year older guy who basically raised her. Him being her parent figure is where I draw the line. That said, I'm eating up the amount of over-protectiveness and yakuza-logics. It has the amount of spice I had hoped to find in Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting that wasn't there.

12. Ragna Crimson

I'm sorry. just...... you can't make me believe that the ditsy loli-girl is the best dragon killer in the world. stop. The maincharacter is quite interesting, though. I like how it's like... his actual own power that he has for his OP special snowflake thing. Borrowing tomorrow's energy for today.....that's the description of a burn out I read the other day;;; But you do you, boy. good luck dying very early in life.

#you can see I gave up on writing reviews somewhere halfway

[astro-break]

Thoughts on the 9th ep of Hypmic Rhyme Anima+. Spoilers beware

Season 1 | Ep.1 | Ep.2 | Ep.3 | Ep.4 | Ep. 5 | Ep. 6 | Ep. 7 | Ep. 8

rip kuko isn't athletic weakass punk (affectionate)

oh those are some pretty neat names i guess, their dynamic is pretty cute, very shippable imo

so it does seem to be something that only we as the audience can see, the effects and stuff. I still hope its explained as a mass hypnosis bc if it is, that has such cool implications for the series as a whole

ugh again pacing is weird. The fight scene just felt stilted and not great. Leagues better than season 1 for sure but i still mourn what could have been if the animators were given the proper money, time, and resources to do it

DoHifu is very cute and still one of my fave dynamics

HAHAHAAA DOPPO TAKING SELFIES STILLL

I love how Dice mixes up Momotaro and Journey to the West lmaooooo

Poor Doppo always getting the short end of the stick

OH damn, theyre following the myth pretty closely with the magical circlet and all. In the myth, Buddah puts a magic circlet on Monkey's head so that Tang Sanzang (or tripitaka depending on the translation) can control him from goofing off too much. Very intriguing in how they might use the circlet in the episode

If you're curious Dice is Zhu Bajie (Pigsy), Gentaro is Sha Wujing (Sandy) and DoHifu is Bai Long Ba which directly translates to white dragon horse. Because thats what it is, a shapeshifting dragon who took the form of a white horse. Rip horsey

RIPP LMAO I love when each other know their strengths

Damn bad guys being bad guys montage

Thats cuuteeee I love the little roomba device he rides

LMFAOOOO RAMUDA AS THE SISTERRRR

Oh huh so thats the origin of that idiom. Wasn't aware of that which is fun, always leaning something new

I like the reverse of what you'd think of what a ninja is by being larger and beefier.

I like the imagery of Ramuda rushing ahead like Monkey, its a nice comparison

LMFAOOOOO so thats how they do that, very clever. Tho Jakurai has like box shoulders and i think thats hiarious

THE HORSEEEEEEEE I CAN'TTTTT IM SORRY

Poor DoHifu they got done so dirty just being horses among the amazing outfits

Oh look at that my faves got very pretty matching sets now!

THe multiplying of Ramuda is another Monkey power which is that he can transform his hairs into clones of himself. very fitting for Ramuda The answer to the question of if Monkey would fuck his own clone is undeniably yes but would ramuda?

They're also sitting on the palm of Buddha, a very instrumental place at the very start of Journey to the west. It speaks of Buddha who challenges Monkey to jump out of his hand but when Monkey tries, he realizes that Buddha is infinite and there is no escape from even his nail. This is how Monkey gets trapped eventually leading to his addition to the tripitaka's party

Hm, im on the fence about this one. Its good but not great. I think over time it will grow on me a lot but not anytime soon

The beat is very good tho, i would love to just listen to a instrumental version of this

Idk i think fling posse's overall voice is just a bit too high for the song while Matenro makes it nice and mellow

awwww thats sweet. Also Gentaro is very fitting for Sandy who is an idiot but a fun idiot as opposed to Pigsy who just wants to beat monkey at one thing but never can

I never realized but in the illust, Ramuda has a tape measure on his costume and only there. its a neat little detail

#hypmic #hypnosis microphone #Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle: Rhyme Anima+ #hypnosis mic rhyme anima #hypmic spoilers

[kristinakyidyl]

S1e7 Trailer

Hey, it's that time again where I amuse myself by going through the next HotD episode in great detail and see how much I can correctly guess.

As always *THIS POST HAS SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK*.

We open on Laena's funeral, and I really like that they added some more cultural detail here by showing us the funeral traditions of house Velaryon. I also think that it is interesting that Laena was first cremated in the way of House Targaryen and then buried in the way of House Velaryon. It makes me think that Daemon must have cared to go through the trouble of arranging that for her.

Next we have the funeral group, and they're again leaning into the color coding. Interesting to me that Viserys never wears green during these kinds of things.

When we saw the funeral in the series trailers before the season started, a lot of people were looking at that overhead shot of the coffin and saying that the water looked too shallow and you couldn't see any previous coffins, but here we get a shot of the coffin sinking and there are others in the background, which I thought was neat:

The next interesting thing to me was Vhagar. Now, I'm pretty sure the claiming by Aemond happens at night, so this isn't from that. I'm not sure what's going on here, but I'm glad we'll get more than one shot of Granny Vhagar.

Vhagar again, a shot down her mouth as she's about to breathe fire. I think this is during Aemond's claiming of her:

Ok, this is hard to see bc of the size, but what we're looking at is Baela and Rhaena looking out a window at Driftmark, with a dragon walking through the scene at night. It's *probably* them seeing Vhagar when Aemond claims her. During the claiming there's an altercation between Aemond and Rhaenyra's kids wherein Aemond loses his eye (shoutout to Dreamer Helaena.). If it's happening at night, then someone has to wake the boys up so they go down there and see what's going on. So I think what happens is that the twins see or hear a disturbance and wake up the boys.

I especially think that because the next shot is of the girls waking up another child with dark hair, likely Jace:

Next there is this scene of Daemon, still at Driftmark (maybe Dragonstone? But I think most of this episode happens on Driftmark.), breaking someones' neck. I have no *idea* who this is, but I'm going to add a closer up pic we get from later in a trailer and maybe you guys can tell me who you think it is. My only guess is Laenor's boyfriend Qarl Correy, and this is Daemon covering his tracks after paying Qarl to kill Laenor. Qarl DOES kill Laenor in the books, and it's portrayed as a lovers' quarrel by Gyldayn, but Mushroom says that Daemon paid Qarl to kill Laenor and then murdered Qarl. So...I'm thinking that Mushroom might be right here. It's hard to tell in the second screenie, but that's Daemon grabbing him from behind.

That first screenie there is followed by this one of Laenor fighting with someone, presumably Qarl. It's also an interesting mirror of their play fight in e6, and his play fight with Joffrey. This is likely Laenor's death scene.

There's this scene at a dock, and IDK what dock and who that is in the foreground. Typically it's Daemon that we see skulking around in a cloak, but now that we have Larys to account for there could be more spy-type stuff, or more people creeping around wanting to be unnoticed.

I'm only going to put one screenie from this scene, but there are a lot in the trailer. It's the aftermath of Aemond losing his eye, where Alicent takes the catspaw dagger from Viserys and tries to stab Rhaenyra. Baela and Rhaena are there, and Corlys and Rhaenys are coming down the stairs. It's at Driftmark. The one thing that has always struck me as odd about this scene was that Rhaenyra is crying in the close ups of her face. Now...in the book, Laenor dies 6 months after Laena does, and this scene is happening during the aftermath of Laena's funeral (as it does in the book.). But...for the sake of brevity and time jumps, I'm wondering if Laenor does concurrently or shortly before this end up dying and *that's* why Rhaenyra is crying. So Laenor dies while Vhagar is being claimed, Rhaenyra is told he was killed, and then they find out about Aemond in quick succession so she hasn't even had time to stop crying about Laenor's death before learning that Alicent wants to poke her kid's eye out.

These next two shots are from the altercation itself. The first is Jace and Luc, one in the foreground and one injured in the background. The second is Baela and Rhaena looking on. It tracks with the idea that they see Aemond stealing Vhagar, wake the boys, and the 4 of them go to investigate. The boys try to stop Aemond and then the fight happens.

Otto the Asshole is back, and is made hand again. I was really hoping we'd get more of a reprieve from him, but no. He's back.

Alicent and Larys exchanging a look...and I think Rhaenyra standing next to Otto? IDK she's the only one with hair that color and texture at the moment. I'm assuming this is him being like "you're welcome for bringing your dad back".

Vhagar being stolen by Aemond. There are a lot of scenes of this.

This is Otto hauling one of his grandkids up by his shirt front. I can't tell which one, but I suspect it's Aemond. I wonder if maybe it's Otto that puts the idea in his head to steal the dragon in the first place. In which case....wow, fuck you, Otto. You gave not a single fuck if your grandkid got burned alive.

And that's it for this week's trailer. Basically there's not a TON about it that's a mystery. Seems like they go to Driftmark, Vhagar gets stolen, the fight happens, and Laenor dies. That makes me think that if that's the case, then 7 to 8 will be the last major time jump. I think the thing I'm most likely to be wrong about is Laenor's death. Because next episode is called "Lord of the Tides", and Laenor's death/Daemon and Rhaenyra being married is the last thing to happen before Viserys dies and the Dance really starts. So it could be that Laenor dies in ep 8, but IDK.

What did you guys think of this week's episode?

#asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #got #game of thrones #hotd #house of the dragon #house targaryen #westeros #asoiaf fandom #targaryens #hotd spoilers

[luna-wolf-fangirl]

I just finished the second part of Dragons Rising and it was so fun!!

However I was reminded of something I've been disappointed about throughout the entirety of Ninjago. Which is that a lot of secondary characters only appear once and have very little impact.

Some spoilers below the cut!!!

Like I love the show but I wish the other characters and events had more impact. Like season 6 being erased completely.

In the second part, a Djinn was introduced and I was kind of disappointed when no mention of season 6 was made. Especially since Nya was part of the two who found him. Like I know it's a kids show but idk I expected a bit more of a reaction considering the last djinn she met.

Another example is the Finders in the episode where they find Cole. Like they were shown to have bonded quite a bit but Cole just leaves without saying anything to them??

It just seems like they introduce so many interesting things and do nothing with them. And this isn't just in Dragons Rising but the series as a whole. Like the Serpentine, when was the last time we saw or even heard of one of the original tribes that isn't a Hypnobrai or Anacondrai?

Idk this is kind of a random rant but I've sort of had a problem with this for a while. Overall, I love Ninjago but I just wish they didn't ignore the characters they have.

Y'all have any thoughts?

#ninjago fandom #lego ninjago #ninjago #ninjago rant #ninjago spoilers #ninjago dragons rising #ninjago dragons rising spoilers

[thephantomcasebook]

I'm with another anon, I would like to understand why they made Helaena a dreamer. And for me I believe the showrunners are creating something for her, I mean come on, in the books Helaena was described as lovely, adorable and as you said little princess, something like Myrcella, there we have the show and she is totally introspective, collects insects is weird. I adore her, but whatever it is, I don't see how the show will fit the people admiration and adoration for her, but we'll see.

Yeah, I think they're probably eliminating the popularity of Helaena as a queen for a bigger impact of people just being tired of the war.

I don't have any faith in the writers to do a good a job, since they really fumbled the final two episodes in terms of tone.

The Common People loved the Greens and they hated the Blacks. Alicent and Helaena were extremely popular. Helaena was like the Princess Diana of Westros! She was kind and sweet, and loved children. Being a Dragon Dreamer doesn't make you being on the spectrum. She can be a seer and be lucid - not a perpetual ten year old. Which, my whole point was that tween Helaena that we met in Episode 6 and 7 was lucid and normal just with strange hobbies.

It's as if they went out of their way to make all of Alicent's kids weird and unlikable in the name of giving them personality. I mean Sarah Hess admitted that she wanted Aegon to be a rapist, to draw "Comparison of the Modern World" and show Alicent an "Agent of the Patriarchy". I mean, the fact that Aemond being so beloved was probably a happy accident due to the actor being so good.

I can't believe the writers are surprised and annoyed that people like Daemon so much. It's like as if people watch and love fantasy to see bad ass dudes do bad ass things with swords and for women to be beautiful and cunningly dangerous in courtly settings.

I have a strange and bad feeling that they're gonna assassinate Daeron's character in the same way. That he's gonna be another victim of woke female writers insecurities that make him this effeminate and foppish sissy who is weak and gets bossed around by female characters - mommy's good little boy. When the dude literally get's assigned to be his mother's sworn shield throughout the war because he's that good a fighter that no one will ever get the drop on their loved ones again. A dude that literally won the war for the Greens on his own. And they're probably gonna turn him into some beta weirdo that gets easily manipulated by everyone.

If they do something more with Helaena in Season 2, if they put off "Blood & Cheese" till like the season finale and let the Greens get their footing as a family with all of them in the same place. Then, I'll agree with you that perhaps making her a "Dreamer" had a point and purpose.

But I honestly think that they only made Helaena dreamer for the sake of giving her a personality and to establish Alicent isn't a good mother because Helaena doesn't like it when she touches her - 'As if sensing her wickedness' as I saw someone say on twitter that got like 7K likes - like a majority of Team Black isn't bot accounts to push the political narrative of Hess and Spotchnik.

The potential is there for the show to kick it up notch and be great. But, like Rhaenys murdering thousands of innocent people for a 'Girl Boss moment" and Criston Cole being this spiteful and angry attack dog rather than the brains behind Alicent's ambition and ideas, I feel this show will be hampered with a lot of feminist insecurities about strong male characters and soft female characters.

A character like Helaena can be lovable, cherished, and interesting person without being some boss-bitch trying to take on the "patriarchy". You just got to be talented enough of a writer to build a character like that. And as long as Sarah Hess is a producer/writer strong male characters like Daeron and especially many female characters, are gonna be hamstrung by the insecurities and ideology of her personal dogma.

#Game of Thrones #Helaena Targaryen

[doeblossom]

Least favorite episode of the show?

ooooh,,, that's a hard pick

i found a lot of spike episodes lacking, like a lot of people did, since his character isn't awesome. i loved him at the beginning of the show, but the writers played into the "forgotten spike" bit in a way that makes him more embarrassing than the intended underdog. another character that had a lot of potential! (too bad i dont currently have any plans for spike. maybe he's a thestral? maybe hes still a dragon and i suck it up and figure out how mythical beasts would work? idk)

i really didn't like school episodes, as mentioned. not because they're BAD or anything, i just had less of a connection to the school six than i did the mane six

i can point out quite a few episodes i didnt really enjoy and why-

Season 1: The Ticket Master

as a first impression, it wasn't great. i understand the message the writers were trying to share, but a lot of actions taken by the characters felt off. yes, everyone can be selfish at times, but not everyone would resort to coercion

Season 1: Over a Barrel

The Apploosans never had any claim over the land. The fact that they're even settled there and generally undisturbed is generous. The lesson of "sharing" has been done before and in much less racist ways...

Season 2: (i have no complaints)

Season 3: Spike At Your Service

this is not because it's a spike episode! its because of twilight. the whole "being rude to spike" thing was a little funny at first, and made some sort of sense because twilight didnt know how to treat friends yet (not an excuse but a reason). i get she can be absorbed in her work. but this episode felt like the biggest takeoff of "useless and forgotten spike" and i dislike that characterization of him. i much preferred it, in later episodes, where he was almost treated like a third sibling. because he WAS a third sibling. and hes a baby dragon; cut him some slack

Season 4: Equestria Games

okok i know another spike episode. im just super sensitive to second-hand embarrassment and it's not enjoyable! i have to skip past the part where spike "sings" the cloudsdale anthem because it hurts so bad. otherwise good and relatable episode! acting on your instincts can feel like nothing since it was "effortless" even though you save a lot of lives! good for spike. he deserves it.

Season 5: Castle Sweet Castle

i hhhate the crystal castle i hate it i hate it

well i dont hate it. but i hate why its there. i like the table for lore reasons but the rest of the castle feels far too grandiose for twilight's reserved nature. the golden oak library was great! i loved that! and i would love it if the show gave twilight a massive library, but... crystal? right outside of ponyville? and OUTSIDE? wasnt the point of the library being near the center of town so it forced twilight to immerse herself in ponyville culture?

i hate capitalism and their love of easily manufactured cheap colorful plastic toys

Season 6: The Cart Before the Ponies

this one feels pretty ooc as well. i can see all of these events happening, but in more minor ways and subtle influences than completely taking over. i know the show needs to be blatant about their writing sometimes, which is totally fine, but it unfortunately sacrifices the writing of the featured characters.

Season 7: (i have no complaints)

Season 8: Horse Play

more second-hand embarrassment i can't stand. otherwise a pretty great episode! i love celestia episodes a lot because her character is pretty decently executed! im still not happy about them not addressing the whole alicorn thing, but as a ruler shes trying her best and thats what really counts. i also love seeing how hers and twilight's relationship developed.

Season 8: Non-Compete Clause

main example of appledash fighting and putting students in danger. this episode just rubs me the wrong way in a manner i can't find the words to describe

Season 8: Yakity Sax

i'm all for letting others enjoy what they enjoy! and i love that pinkie is given hobbies outside of baking and party planning and babysitting! but boundaries DO come first. the only issue i have with her playing is that it becomes visually physically painful due to the volume. sounding bad can be fixed and ignored, but volume is definitely something that needs to be discussed.

this is ALSO what feels like a tipping point for pinkie as well (at least in my memory) from a well-rounded fun character to the "loud funny comedic relief" with little dimension left

Season 9: She's All Yak

this one also makes me feel weird and rubs me the wrong way! the message is there and is executed fine but "teaching yona to be more pony-like" felt really really weird

Season 9: The Last Problem

i've talked more than enough about how i feel about the end of the series! it's... eeehhhh... lots of things i would change. and i am changing. i have a blog about this.

#doe's rambles #answered #reversal-mushroom #ask blog #ask doeblossom

[manygalaxiesinone]

Worst Fictional Friends in my opinion:

1. Heather (Total Drama). You know you fucked up when Lindsay and Beth became besties over their dislike of you. I would also put Duncan here as well as he technically broke bro code. Damn season 2 did my boy, Trent, dirty. But to be fair, Courtney was not making things easy. Her little controlling toxic ass. I should put her up here too after plotting to vote Gwen off right after the two of them made up, but I want to stick to just one character per series.

2. Rigby (Regular Show) there are MULTIPLE TIMES where Rigby fucked things up for Mordecai, (granted Mordecai isn't exactly innocent himself) but this dood bet not only his soul, but all of his friends in the park for a soul ball behind their backs! And let’s not forget that Rigby hid Mordecai’s college acceptance letter out of envy. Like I said, Mordecai’s not innocent either, but Rigby caused way more problems at the end of the day in my opinion.

3. Okay if you think about it, both Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno were pretty toxic. Do I really need to say anything in Sasuke's case? He tried to kill him like multiple times. And Sakura made fun of him for being an orphan in front of Sasuke, who is another orphan! Can’t really decide which one is worse overall, so I’ll just leave it at a tie and let you guys decide. They should've put Naruto with Shikamaru and Hinata on the same team.

4. Granted I still haven't fully caught up with My Hero, but from what I've seen, Bakugo can go die in a hole for all I care. The moment you tell your childhood friend to jump off a building you automatically get put in the toxic tier. I honestly don't see why people ship these two together. Valvatorez and Fenrich from Disgaea would make a better gay pairing than this.

5. Hartia from Orphen deserves to be here for one reason. He was in on Childman's plan to just hunt down Azalie in order to appease the higher ups while secretly finding a way to restore her from her dragon form, AND YET HE DIDN’T SAY SHIT ABOUT IT TO ORPHEN!!! How you go your best friend like that?! Look I know the tower has eyes, but you couldn't have said "Let's meet somewhere private so I can tell you what's actually going on?"! That's his older sister we're talking about!

6. Patrick (Spongebob) did have some loyal moments, but damn he did spongebob dirty so many times. Same goes for a good portion of Bakini Bottom if you think about it. Do I have to bring up the "No Spongebob day" episode?

7. Princess Bubblegum (Adventure Time) has done a LOT of crap. Calling her manipulative is honestly an understatement, BUT I will give her a bit of leeway because she has lived a very long time and has suffered quite a lot of backstabbing throughout the years, even from her own family. (Looking at you, Lemongrab). So honestly, her ending up at least a little paranoid isn’t really all that surprising.

8. Iza (Kingdom Hearts) literally went full on dark side because of his envy of Roxas and Xion. And before you said anything, yeah Riku did the same in Kingdom Hearts 1, but it was only during that one game and he recognized his mistake at the end of that same game. Iza went a step beyond though and tried to get Lea to stop being around them so much and even later started antagonizing him. Motherfucker really said “no new friends”.

9. Eric Cartman (South Park). ‘Nuff said.

10. Cerberus (Disgaea). This motherfucker plotted to used Zed to destroy the universe by turning his sister Bieko into a God of Destruction and have her kill him countless times. All because his true love got killed. That’s right, he basically pulled an Obito. And even AFTER they saved his ass when his body broke down. Yeah Zed wasn’t exactly the nicest person around, but after the shit Cerberus pulled, can you blame him? Even Cerberus himself pointed out that Zed used to be more of a kinder zombie before the God of Destruction appeared. Gee! I wonder why he changed?! It couldn’t possibly do with the fact with he was forced to fight his sister and die over and over and over and over again and was tricked into thinking he had to kill her in order to put her out of her misery for good! That couldn’t POSSIBLY why he started developing a cold shoulder! I was honestly thinking about putting either Etna or Fenrich up here, but no. Cerberus definitely tops whatever stunts those two pulled.

#the mun has spoken #total drama #disgaea #adventure time #kingdom hearts #south park #spongebob squarepants #naruto #my hero academia #sorcerous stabber orphen #regular show

[ashenlavellan]

get to know me better :)

hi there! ^.^

My nickname is Ash and if you're new here or curious about myself, I'd be glad to share some tidbits with you! here we go!

1. What is the story behind my nickname?

I go by the nickname "Ash," not just because my titles through AO3/tumblr are similar, it's also tied into my usernames on games that I go by as well. Most of my close gaming friends call me "Ash," instead of my real name.

2. What types of relationships do I like writing/reading the most?

I mostly write stories with fem!character/male!character pairings, but I'm intrigued and thinking of writing fem!character/fem!character pairings too.

(before anyone asks - I identify as bisexual, so it would be quite easy for me to write stories from fem!POVs with male or female characters.)

3. What/Who was my first fictional crush?

I had the BIGGEST crush on Poison Ivy when I was younger and she was my first ever fictional crush - initially, I believed I was lesbian for awhile too before I realized I was bisexual. (LMAO)

Zuko was my first male fictional crush - his redemption arc and everything meant so much to me. (I shipped him with Katara - but I know us Zutara shippers can still imagine!)

4. What will always be a comfort show / book / movie for me?

Adventure Time - this will always be my comfort show to watch and I adore every single character and liked the gender-bend episodes. ^.^

BOOK -

Throne of Glass - the series will always be comforting for me and got me through some of the darkest times in my life. I highly recommend it and it's an amazing YA series that still has smutty elements, but so much world-building. (Sarah J. Maas is the author).

Howl's Moving Castle - an all-time favorite movie of mine and once I have the time, I will sketch out the rough draft design of the tattoo I've imagined for years. I adore this movie and luckily, my fiance loved it too when I showed him.

5. What fandoms am I involved in / want to be more involved with?

I am heavily involved in the Mass Effect and Dragon Age fandoms, but I'm currently wanting to delve deeper into the Skyrim fandom. I have a series/saga in mind, but I'm working on finishing my Mass Effect project first.

(I was in the ME/DA fandom, but not known back in 2015 - however, I didn't play the games until about 2016 - 2017 ish.)

6. Are there any celebrities that I've personally met? If so, list them.

For sure -

Sarah J. Maas (Author of Throne of Glass/A Court of Thorns and Roses/Crescent City)

Leigh Bardugo (Shadow and Bone / Six of Crows)

David Vincent (Robin - Fire Emblem: Awakening)

Leah Clark (Himiko Toga - MHA / Blair - Soul Eater)

Through Streamily -

Jennifer Hale (Fem!Shep - Mass Effect / Bayonetta - Bayonetta 3)

Courtenay Taylor (Jack - Mass Effect)

Mela Lee (Tiki - Fire Emblem: Awakening / Lifeline - Apex Legends)

Keythe Farley (Thane Krios - Mass Effect)

7. What is an anime(s)/show(s) you highly recommend that's underrated?

Death Parade.

There are only twelve episodes so it's not long at all, but the show is incredible and I wished they released a second season - it did not perform as highly as they wanted since it's such a niche show. It's a psychological thriller with a little bit of comedy here and there...

I highly recommend it and the soundtrack is amazing.

8. What are some songs that mean a lot/describe you as a person? That scratches that itch in your brain?

I have quite a few songs that I particularly like, to the point I could play them on repeat for an entire hour. Here's the list -

Chasing Hearts - Breathe Carolina

Alkaline - Sleep Token

Follow You - Bring Me the Horizon

After Dark - Mr. Kitty

No Pressure - PLVTINUM

9. What's a random pet peeve of yours and why is it?

Any time I'm out walking and/or going to work, I hate it when I press the button to walk across the intersection and another person right behind me presses it after seeing me do it.

Like - you pressing the button right after I did it isn't going to make the timer go faster? Like, where's your common sense??

10. [RANDOM FACT] -

I heavily enjoy and implement zodiac signs into my characters and playlists - however, I know that everyone is not like their zodiac sign. (ex: my own mother has said that I act like an Aries more than my own sign [Cancer]. My moon sign is in Aries though.)

#questions for ash #ash answers #fanfic asks

[liopleurodean]

Season 6, Episode 12: Like A Virgin

Back to our regularly scheduled programming

Hah! She's a liar

Right

Uh oh

Not a bird

She's gonna pass out

Rip that guy

Cas!

Well that's good

He was kind of Terminator

Uh oh

Fair

Right

Definitely

Sleeping Beauty!

Aw

He doesn't remember anything

Yeah, I bet

Makes sense

Yeah

Sure

Not really

Nothing too bad

Not really

Yeah

Mm, not yet

Right

I think you should be happy for that

Fair

Don't itch the wall

Yeah

Nope

He's gotta be so sleep deprived

Touche

Convenient, Bobby

Oh, nothing

Interesting

I think I know

Tried what?

He did, actually

I'm proud of him for that

Yeah, I'd imagine

Dean.

Interesting

Poor girl

Fun

It's evidence

Oh, Sam

Wow, Dean. I mean, spot on, but still

Please stop

Yeah

I'm aware

Another victim

Definitely a dragon, this is awesome

She's alive

Yup! Dragon

Not anymore!

Yeah, I bet

Promise ring?

Dean, no

Oh boy

Is it?

Pfft

He is funny

Awesome.

WoW isn't just dragons

Sam doesn't remember the fairies

Nessie is real???

Absolutely

Better now

He'd remember

Uh, why?

Uh oh

Thanks, Bobby

Fun

Poor girls

Oh, it turns human

Uh oh

Not here for office hours

Dean, I saw that look

What did he do?

Huh

Yeah

20, actually

Exactly

A special blade, I presume

Awesome

That's even better

Dude!

The Sword in the Stone!!!

You don't

Dude. The music

Yeah, it's not gonna work

I love this show

ITS WOBBLING

THE MUSIC ASDFGHJKL

DEAN

Dean 😂

Absolutely not

Sewers?

Uh oh

Nope

A lot

That's not helping

Hey, Cas

Yeah

Aw, he wanted a hug

Liar

He's trying to trip Cas up

Cas, be careful

Cas.

Dang it

He knows

Oh definitely

That's not gonna help

Oh boy

If it blows up the sword-

Yikes

Well...

Dang it

DEAN

Fun

Crap

Ew

I wish

Treasure

That's interesting

That'll help

Up you

LARPing!

That's weird

If it were still full size, we wouldn't have this problem

Ouch

Ooh, nice

Well, at least it works

Dean.

True

Exhibiting some dragon tendencies there

Sam.

Does he?

Yeah

No, actually

No. You don't

Sam.

Dang it, Sam

Uh oh

Have fun with that

Awesome

Purgatory.

That's not good

Yeah

Awesome

True

Great

I wanna know what that Latin is

Poor girl

Why do they want to go into Purgatory?

Crap

That's concerning

They needed a host

That's not good

#ashla chick flick moments #supernatural #season 6 episode 12 #like a virgin