#i kinda want to rewatch it but i remember it dragging a lot

[essektheylyss]

The Crownsguard being overly suspicious and trying to detain anyone who even seemed involved in the attack are definitely meant to set up how law and order the Empire is, but then the Nein decide to be the SHIFTIEST motherfuckers in Wildemount and it's like, guys, I don't believe in jails but also, y'all are really undercutting the thematic severity of Matt's imperial overlords.

#megs rewatches c2 #norda like 'I just want to fucking SLEEP' as fjord drags her back to deal with beau's dumbass lmfao #it's so funny #like honestly the nein are so shady that I remember getting to hupperdook and going 'oh the empire is OPPRESSIVE I see now' #prior to that I was like 'I don't believe in 'if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear' but y'all clearly have a LOT to hide' #like it just tracked that the guards and the law was kinda shitty lmfao

[weebsinstash]

Hello! I don’t know if you do this but I was wondering what your thoughts were for a Yandere Lucifer Morningstar from Hazbin Hotel? I’m having trouble writing a good representation of him and would like some advice.

Honestly I'm gonna humble myself and say that it took reading someone else's post to make me like, REALLY notice the nuances of Lucifer's character

This post right here literally made me rewatch his scenes and go "oh wow he IS like DANGEROUSLY DEPRESSED"

He doesn't remember Charlie told him where she is, or what she's doing, and he can barely follow a conversation despite clearly trying to pay attention. He also just seems kind of scattered, and um, HE LITERALLY MAKES A JOKE ABOUT DYING FROM FALLING OFF THE HOTEL BALCONY like dude is making jokes about death in front of his fucking daughter, like my dudes, I think this guy is BARELY holding himself together

He clearly loves loves LOVES Charlie but he doesn't really know how to properly articulate himself and I have a feeling there's a lot he's concealing from her, and another big question is, is his depression from being cast out of Heaven, or from something to do with his missing wife, or a combination of both? Either way this man is clearly dealing with like, really bad issues. And Charlie also mentioned he wasn't around a whole lot when she was younger, so... did he have depression back then too?

So, that all said, I feel like a yandere Lucifer would almost be, potentially invigorated by his darling? Given a new lease on life? He may not be 100% his old self again but, you get him to like, 65, maybe 70% on a good day. You give him another reason to get out of bed in the morning, or afternoon, or evening or, whenever he can drag his depressed ass out of bed

Given what we currently know, I feel like a romantic yandere Lucifer would pretend to only be platonic and do his best to poorly conceal his feelings because of his whole... "can't ask his missing wife if it's ok for you to be their third" ordeal, the man still wears his wedding ring, and a platonic yandere Lucifer basically adopts you like another kid, because uh, I mean for one he apparently canonically missed a lot of Charlie's childhood, and he's also an ancient fallen angel, so he's got that age advantage on you no matter how old you are. I mean what are a few decades when he's literally thousands upon thousands upon thousands--you get the idea

Yandere Lucifer would want to stay close to you, helping watch over you, maaaaaybe being overly paranoid about you randomly disappearing and going missing For Very Obvious Reasons, and in the process he winds up being unintentionally overbearing. I mean, he did it in irritation, but he basically showed up at Charlie's hotel immediately saying it was a dump and all of HER FRIENDS were 'a bunch of losers'. He never completely pulls his punches when there's something he's displeased with, even if it has something to do with someone he loves, so his darling would get much of the same treatment. "Ohhhhh, you uh, you wanted to move across the city? That's, um, definitely a fun idea! BuuuuuUuuut, what IF, instead of doing that--", like, he tries to playfully tug you in 'the right direction' until you make him put his foot down

Hmmm... what would him losing his cool look like... well, we've already seen that he doesn't mind throwing hands and WILL KILL, but will stop if he's asked to or there's a good reason. With you, though, you're not typically going to be there to stop him from offing any rivals or bad influences, so I imagine he'd be kinda casual about it, actually! He already thinks pretty lowly of Sinners, so say he finds out you've been ditching him and Charlie to go out drinking with strangers, making new friends, maybe having a few one night stands? Yeah, some of those people definitely aren't calling you back, and Lucifer doesn't really see a problem with it. These people are kind of the worst and really don't deserve you, anyways! If anything he's helping clean up Hell for you and his daughter and keeping you safe :)

Losing his cool with YOU... I think would involve him using his powers to finally confine you, maybe even going demon mode to intimidate you into submission in a very dad-esque "now you listen HERE" kind of way. We don't really know the scope and scale of his powers but I can picture him at least being, obviously much stronger than he looks, and transforming to fly you "back home" where he puts you in your room where no one can reach you without his explicit permission (and you also can't leave~)

One second you're just drunk and jokingly defying him, teasing him, maybe even picking him up and swinging him around because you're bigger than him, to you he's just a silly little guy! Meanwhile this Grown Ass Man Who Is Also The Actual Devil is getting more than just a little frustrated you basically view him as a wacky little cartoon more than a grown man, one who has had sex and has had two wives and sired a child. You're just teasing him and stumbling around drunk when he's trying to get you to your hotel room to get to bed to sleep, like you're clearly not taking him seriously, maybe even playfully putting your hands on him (TOTALLY not riling him up in 'fun' ways) and he finally just huffs and snaps his fingers and, you're suddenly magic'd to bed! You're laying there blinking confused and he's tucking you in and chuckling that "you're such a handful!" before leaving you to sleep and somehow INSTANTLY knowing when you're up.

You ARE in his house, after all...

Not to be gross but uh..... I'm not saying "yandere Lucifer who has the power to still get a Sinner pregnant if he wanted to and you wind up fooling around with him and you're waking up with his little apple symbol on your lower tummy as one of those like hentai womb tattoos to show you're pregnant" but uhhhhhhhhhhyeah that's what I'm saying, and whether it was accidentally or intentionally, he's keeping it, and thus, keeping YOU

I just feel like he'd be very goofy and awkward and bad at hiding his feelings and being very clearly overprotective and jealous in ways everyone else but you manages to pick up on (god Alastor would have some MATERIAL) and, in a romantic/sexual setting he eventually just loses his patience with you not seeing him as a man and just gets... progressively more forward. You pop back into the Hotel after a night out and Lucifer's already hammered at the bar with Husk, stumbling up to you, hanging off of you, slurring and embarrassing himself, "You'reeeee SO pretty... like SO pretty.... do you wanna have *BELCH* you wanna fuck? Cause I LOVE to fuck, like when I FUCKED my wife to make my DAUGHTER, my wife and daughter that I have, 'cuz im a DAD, 'cuz I'm a MAN!" and you're just giggling and ruffling his hair, "You're so weird, dude ^^" and walking away while Lucifer internally screams, wondering just how DIRECT with you he's going to have to be

meanwhile Charlie is totally cool with all of this and sees this as a weird double whammy of Curing Dad's Depression + new family member and friend hurray! and she's totally actively either shipping you with her dad or aiding and abetting him in his weird attempts to absorb you into the Morningstar family

#yandere hazbin hotel #yandere hellaverse #yandere x reader #hh #sinprompts

[imminent-danger-came]

I was rewatching s2 last night, and ohhh man mk looks over mei so much it's not even funny. times mei has been ignored:

maybe you need to really listen! (during the blindfold ep)

mk just? grabs stuff she's using out of her hands all the time? (video game ep)

maybe you shouldn't skip the tutorials? (video game ep again)

the way he addresses her in dumpling destruction and then immediately pushes her aside for tang

i honestly remember it lowkey kinda bothering me on first watch but now it's REALLY egregious on rewatch. are you scared? I'm so scared. do you WANT to end up like shadowpeach MK

2x03 is so rude because the whole fucking episode they're like "MK you don't listen" and it's so true. He doesn't. Pigsy literally points it out again at the end of 4x14 with the whole sun screen bit:

Pigsy: "Tch, don't bother, I've been telling him that for years but he LITERALLY never listens." Sun Wukong: "Yep! That's how we role."

-

THEY'RE SO FUCKING RUDE. "That's how we role." We. We????? Wukong and MK???? Like WHATEVER. FINE. (("I told you going against the Jade Emperor was a bad idea, but no. Wukong doesn't listen to ANYONE! He just does whatever he wants" Like shut up. Shut up!))

MK gets so stuck in his own head ("You're all stuck up in your own head! None of this is your fault!" +1 to the MK ignoring Mei counter from 4x08) and I think that really contributes to his s2 scramble to get more powerful.

LIKE:

MK: "Stop? Now? Never! I just have to try harder. It's just like the Monkey King said! *laughs manically* I just need to get stronger!"

(2x06 Game On)

VS

MK: "Why didn't he just stop, right here? He was already so much stronger than anyone ever needed to be!" Macaque: "Wukong didn't think so, he always felt he had to be stronger—more immortal."

(4x11 A Lifetime of Mistakes)

-

(Bonus thing between eps 2x03 and 2x06, look at 0:42 in this video for MK hearing Mei but not listening to her. Because of course that's what he would do. *head in my hands .png*)

The terrible s2 choices both Wukong and MK make in relation to their friends is just absolutely delicious after 4x11. Like, OH. This has been a lifelong pattern of Wukong's—paranoia is one of his fatal flaws (paired with his terrible communication and self-sacrificial nature), and while he had the power to stop LBD before he still feel's the need to go after the Samadhi Fire to stop her now, and to protect MK.

Hold on look at this parallel that I don't know what to do with:

MK: "Ugh, I can't do it!"

Mei: "It's alright MK—you did it before, you'll do it again!" Sandy: "Yeah! Maybe it's like Monkey King said: the power will come when you need it most!"

(3x04 The Winning Side)

-

MK: "What! But you said the Samadhi fire was the only thing that could stop her!" Sun Wukong: "I KNOW WHAT I SAID! But I've beaten her before I'll- I'll do it again! Mei was right—I need to stop dragging you into my fights, all of you."

(3x10 The Samadhi Fire)

-

Wukong and MK's reach for power inspires a lot of fear in me! It does! Because, well, MK's current reach for power is going to lead him to his Monkey Form, and uh:

Like I'm scared. I'm scared!

"All doomed to play a role in tearing this world apart!" ; "This is Azure's utopia, and this barren wasteland is the price he paid to build it." ; "I'd do anything for my friends! But at the cost of the world?" "I'm sorry pal, ain't NOTHIN' worth that price!"

#I've said it once and I'll say it again: 2x06 is one of the MOST retroactively mean episodes #Game motif. The callback that 4x10 does. Whatever the fuck is going on with the MK and SWK parallels in that ep #I hate lmk's exchange theme I hate it. Like FUCK #Anyways #asks #wlw-wukong #lmk #lego monkie kid #lmk MK #lmk SWK #lmk Sun Wukong #lmk analysis #lmk theme: exchange #fuckasdfoqweg #Sandy saying ''Helping my friends is more important than anything in the world!'' in 2x08 vs #''I get it! I'd do anything to help my friends! But at the cost of the world?'' in 4x13 is SICK. SICK IT'S SICK #Sometimes it's like. Hmmm. ''If you aren't doing everything in your power to help your friends you are nothing!'' #''I'd watch my sword shatter 1000 times so long as I used it to protect the ones I care about'' #I'm telling you Mei would choose MK over the world. I'M TELLING YOU #MK'S ALREADY CHOSEN MEI OVER THE WORLD (thank you 3x10) AND PIGSY/TANG/SANDY OVER THE WORLD (4x02) #MK really went: ''Oh releasing this curse could end the world? Well I'll risk it for my friends!'' and I went ''ohhhh nooooooooo'' #WE ARE IN SOME DEEP SHIT IN S5 #And Wukong? Lol of course he's choosing the people he cares about over the world. No surprise there. #He's like ''yeah I'll go fight the jade emperor to finally be strong enough''. If eamk theory proves true he like #Chose MK over the world initially #And he was totalllyyy willing to sacrifice LBD's child host to protect his friends (MK)/the world #I'm. AUGHGHG. #''It's what he would do if he had to. That's the hard part of being a hero!'' OKAY BUT MEI WOULD YOU DO THAT SO EASILY IF IT WERE MK #ME THINKS NO #ME THINKS YOU WOULD NOT

[valc0]

Hannibal rewatch and Baldur's Gate 3 ramblings

I recently re-watched the first season of Hannibal after almost 8 years and since I’m now deep into another fandom (BG3) I analyzed some of the themes of the show and how parts of it could tie in with the story of the game, particularly when it comes to the Dark Urge.

I’m also doing a review because why the hell not. I divided the text into sections for convenience, so if you want to read only the review or are exclusively interested in my speculating ramblings on BG3 you can easily do that.

It’s a long one so let’s start.

REVIEW

THIS REVIEW IS NOT SPOILER FREE AND WILL GO INTO GREAT DETAILS ABOUT THE TWISTS AND PLOT POINTS OF THE SHOW.

If you didn’t watch it and you like thriller/crime/horror please do yourself a favor and watch this show now!

I’ll start by saying season one, to me, is almost perfection. It’s 13 very well crafted and acted episodes and almost none feel like filler (almost but we’ll get to it). The crime of the week structure is integrated with the horizontal themes of the season seamlessly and the story avoids exploring too many parallel plots, making the theming very cohesive.

I remember watching this show for the first time and finishing season 1 in about 2 to 3 days, but I’d never think the same would’ve happened a second time. The first 5 episodes had me in a clutch from the start. Every character is fleshed out and extremely well written, the acting is impeccable, the writing is phenomenal and the visual, even when getting symbolic, never seem gratuitous or nonsensical in their use of analogies and dream-like visions.

The photography is also phenomenal, with great use of contrast that makes the image and scene clear even though it's set in the dark or at night.

If I had to rate the season I think I’d definitely give it a 9/10, and the 9 is only because of two small things that I figured I’d get out of the way first:

(I must remember whoever is reading this that these are my opinions, they don’t mean to offend anyone else differing opinion. You’ll see what I mean in a second.)

Alana Bloom x Will Graham is forced, comes out of nowhere, and makes Will act out of character most of the times.

I’m not getting into ship-fighting, this is not about shipping, I like Hannigram but I have no dog in this fight so this is totally not about it. Episode 8 is great, it has one of the best kills in the whole season and Will deteriorating stability makes for great lines and visuals, other than a lot of tension since he can no longer be predictable and ends up disrupting Hannibal plans.

And though I could attribute the way he acts towards Alana as something he does because of this deteriorating mental state, it doesn’t really feel like it. He seems very present during those scenes and acts weirdly romantic for the reclusive stray-collector, whose primary hobby is fishing and who’s been plagued by visions of death in the past episodes.

I would have rather see them to grow more of a non-romantric connection that may or may not have become romantic in later seasons. It all seems a bit rushed imo.

I also know they are setting up the Alana x Will x Hannibal. Which I’ll be honest I don’t remember liking the first time I watched it...but we’ll see.

2. Episodes 9 and 11 slow the show and kind of drag the pace.

Episodes 9. The totem of bodies is a very striking and memorable visual, but the crime in itself is very bland and the killer only gets a 5 minute scene towards the end which is anticlimactic and kinda too much tell with too little show. It’s honestly a shame because the murders in the previous episodes were very well crafted and paced. This one, not so much. I understand the need to connect the themes of “legacy” and “family” with Abigail’s actions but I feel like there could have been better ways to do that in previous episodes.

Episodes 11. I loved the whole Chesapeake Ripper fake-out, but I’ll be honest I don’t think I needed a whole other episode of Abel Gideon’s story. Didn’t really care for the plot of this and the pace was a little too slow. Good things about this episode are the ending with Hannibal at his most manipulative, and the fact that it starts Chilton’s comedic chain of misfortunes– which cracked me up the first time I watched the show because come on!! this guy is awful and can’t catch a break, you love to see it.

Now that the “bad” is out of the way let’s talk about the good, which is honestly everything else.

Episode 1

Banger of a pilot. Everything for the rest of the show is set up in only 42 minutes if you can believe that. Characters are fleshed out, themes are placed, conflicts are started. By the end of the episode all you want is MORE. I have very little else to say other than the pacing of this one should honestly be studied, a lot of modern series would need the lesson imo.

Episode 2

Interesting case with a lot of great scenes that reinforce the characters and their relationships. You get a first glance at how campy? the show can be, which is honestly something I love, I’m kinda tired of the “realistic to the point of boredom” trend I’ve been seeing lately. Freddie Lounds is properly introduced as the disrupting force she is and we get a jumpscare that made me curse. Sorry, did I forget to mention I’m watching Hannibal and I cannot stand horror? Lmao

Episode 3

LOVE this episode, the way this show makes you feel powerless as you watch the events unfold knowing full well what is happening and who is responsible...amazing! I love Abigail’s character and the very innocent and pristine way she is portrayed when you know later on the truth will come out is chilling.

Episode 4

I remember how grim I found this episode the first time and the feeling returned the second time around. Hated the killer with every fiber of my being and the fact that she kinda looks like Catherine Tate made me die a little. Also the scene of Hannibal making himself a family through gaslighting and creative use of drugs and lies was amazing.

Episode 5

I loved this crime and the way the episode paces the killings. The angel symbology was great, I’m a sucker for catholic and religious themes tied into vicious crimes. The series also introduces Bella, Jack’s wife, which I’ll be honest I don’t remember having a good ending...I don't remember exactly how, but I know I will cry.

Episode 6

Favorite episode by far, the tension in the flashback scene is palpable and when you see Miriam looking at the sketch with the silhouette of Hannibal pacing towards her in the background AAAHGGG- RUN Miriam OMG! This is the episode where you realize how absolutely scary Hannibal’s physicality can be. Mads Mikkelsen is 1,83 (5ft 11) but he feels like a giant in those scenes, like you can do shit about it.

Episode 7

The episode’s case is a botched transplant one and it’s just okay, nothing too spectacular, but the way this series makes me hungry should be concerning, since I just watched Hannibal kill and butcher people who slightly wronged him to make a feast out of them. I’m sorry, whoever is directing the shooting of the food is doing a good job, okay?

Episode 8

My second favorite episode yay! I love this kill because it’s so over the top. Also the visual of a person played like a cello is haunting just as much as the sound they decided to give it. “He had to open you up to get a decent sound out of you.” okay Will go off?!?! A bit sad they took this murder from Hannibal since I believe it was his in the books, but the end fight was worth it (though when Tobias started swinging his impromptu cello string weapon I did cackle because omfg calm down)

Episode 9

See section above

Episode 10

I shat myself watching this episode with all the horror vibes I’m dying please, I’m watching this through my fingers like a baby. I did love this episode though, and the final twist of Hannibal going to such lengths to be sure he leaves NO ONE behind is terrifying. Dr. Sutcliffe even agreed with him and didn’t show signs of wanting to betray or rat him out, and yet in the big scheme Hannibal still found it better to kill him. Scary stuff.

Episode 11

See section above

Episode 12-13

Putting these together because they are the finale and are closely linked to each other. There is no real “crime of the week”, though Georgia Madchen dies at the start of episode 12 and Abigail...dies at the start of episode 13. Will continuously declining psyche is very well portrayed, you really feel powerless with him as his brain keeps betraying him over and over at the worse possible times. Also Hannibal fake-empathy is so uncomfortable to me...knowing the lengths he’d go to manipulate the situation after seeing all the “behind the scenes” is chilling. All in all it’s a good finale though it really doesn’t feel like one. By the end Will managed to see Hannibal’s true colors, but I don’t think he’ll fully understand what he’s fighting against until he actually sees Hannibal in action, so it does feel inconclusive in a way. We do get Hannibal funny naked fursona is all its glory though so, big happy for me!

Now let’s get in my current fixation and tie in some of the themes of Hannibal with Baldur’s Gate 3. YAY!

BALDUR’S GATE 3 – Dark Urges, Bad Dreams and Worse Influences

Let’s get something out of the way first.

The Dark Urge is a very flexible and versatile character which is mostly – if not completely– shaped by the player. We get to decide if they refuse the Urge, with the bittersweet realization they still took all those lives and will have to deal with that guilt. OR we could make them machines of slaughter and death, embracing their father’s plan for them to be the killer they were made to become.

There are other variations of this and from what I’ve seen many Durges have very different characteristics depending on how the player interpreted and played the game.

This to say, all of the following dissertations on BG3 and the themes of Hannibal are my personal view of MY Durge or the way I see the character in general, which is extremely personal and could crash with someone else’s interpretation or headcanon. Keep that in mind while reading, if you see me using absolutes or if I forget an “imo” at the end of a sentence, remember this is ALL In my opinion, none of this is to be considered as a general and all-encompassing statement for every Durge out there.

That said, you’ll be surprised to know in my interpretation the Dark Urge isn’t Hannibal, what’s funny is that the Dark Urge isn’t Will either.

Durge is both characters at the same time, and depending where they are in their journey, this may change.

In the case of Will, towards the end of the series you get a more “start of the game” Durge. The memory loss, the confusing thoughts, the haunting dreams and then this weird hellish creature (Sceleritas Fel) guiding them. By this point Durge is still a victim of their circumstances, they can’t really grasp who or what they are and their mind is in complete shambles.

I can see a Resist!Durge in this scenario, someone completely horrified by their actions starting to question who they are, what they did, and if they can ever change. This point in the game isn’t spelled out as much, the narrator often refers to it but the real extent of psychological damage a Resist!Durge must face is left completely to the player’s interpretation, that’s why I think Will is such a great starting point to understand and visualize the character of Durge from a distant POV.

With Hannibal you get a more pre-tadpole pre-Orin-meddling Durge. Someone who knows what they’re doing and how to get what they want. I personally never saw my own Durge as this calculating, something in the feral way the Urge gets to the character in game made Hannibal a tad too composed to fully be an inspiration for Durge, but I’ve also seen other people Durges as cool and collected killers, and the comparison in that case works really well.

Another interesting characteristic of Hannibal we can see in Durge is the twisted way he thinks in relation to others. Hannibal calls himself Will’s friend, and I believe he’s genuine in his affection since the way he helps Will is in done in earnest.

This helping though, it’s monstrous in all sense. Hannibal lies, literally gaslights Will, meddles with his head and denies him medical help. He manipulates him into killing, only to watch what unfolds simply because he needs someone who understands him. By dragging Will deeper into his world and making him a killer, Hannibal cultivates what he perceives as Will’s true nature and potential, making the man a suitable friend for himself.

It speaks to Hannibal narcissism that he would consider helping someone as making them more like him. But then again that’s also why Hannibal is so drawn towards Will, because he thinks differently and he IS different from him. He doesn’t have the same amount of interest or even respect for someone like Tobias, who’s probably the most Hannibal-like killer we get to see in season 1.

He needs the challenge, he needs to feel in control. And ultimately, though not in an usual sense, Hannibal needs a friend. He is lonely.

This works a lot for Durge in the sense that they may or may not corrupt people around them. As a player we get the choice and power to influence how companions act and react, and this kind of duality of “I like them, I want to help them” and “I want to make them like me” is a good motivation to give a Durge who may, for example, ascent Astarion, or turn Shadowheart more towards Shar, or give Gale a power complex (more so than he already has) ect.

BONUS! And then came Durgetash

In episode 1 Hannibal visits Will and brings him breakfast. While they chat in a honestly beautifully lit scene, this exchange happens.

Hannibal: You know, Will, I think Uncle Jack sees you as a fragile little teacup. The finest china, used only for special guests. Will: How do you see me? Hannibal: The mongoose I want under the house when the snakes slither by.

Did I mention I love Durgetash? Did I mention I go completely feral over unhealthy dynamics and specifically this kind of dynamic?

“The mongoose I want under the house when the snakes slither by.” is an amazing line for Gortash because I do believe the reason he wanted Durge to side with him was that Durge was extremely good at being undetected, and even more so skilled at killing the right target at the right time.

I love the idea of Gortash using Durge as a shield/weapon, and Durge using Gortash to economically sustain and socially shield Bhaal’s cult. I love to think their relationship was born because they were useful to each other and that in this completely selfish ecosystem they somehow found company.

Because I’m sure Durge pushed back. I’m sure they realized they were being used and didn’t like it one bit, and Gortash kept Durge around even though they may pose a threat, for the same reason Hannibal keeps running circles around Will. Gortash needs a challenge. Being head of Bane’s cult means that other than his God, no one else is above him, and I think a man who’s been fighting his whole life to gain control would feel a bit lost when this control is automatically given to him without a fight.

In the same way I think Durge would yearn for something more, something different than what they’re stuck with, which is a dying cult forced to hide beneath the city, and a jealous and over-zealous sister who I’m sure tries to kill them once a week. I think they would get pulled in by the promises Gortash would make. To rule together, above ground, for once not having to hide, getting back the power Durge feels like belongs to them.

The similarities I found between these characters are way more than these but I think I’ll have to make a part 2 of this once I’m done re-watching season 2. I’m aware the series has been out for a while and I’m sure people already made way more interesting and in-depth analysis. I still hope you liked my little morning ramble that turned in a full on essay on the subject.

Thank you for reading!

#bg3 #hannibal #the dark urge #baldur's gate 3 #nbc hannibal #durgetash #hannigram #i love murderous idiots what do you want from me

[oreo102]

I am vocally very very supportive of 13’s era and vocally don’t understand the writing complaints

However. I do have my complaints with the writing, so I’m gonna talk about what I don’t like of the writing

A) consistency

The consistency of the writing is… off? They flip flop on how much 13 dislikes guns quote a bit in s11 (hating them in ep2 and 4, fine with the shot gun in 6, refuses to talk to the woman in 10 until she puts the gun down but will talk to the brother in 6 with one in her face etc) and I feel like they forget about the points system a bit (mentioned in 3 and I think 8 but j don’t remember it being mentioned again until s12 with Ruth/fugitive doctor, but I could just be forgetting), and this one is more nitpicky than consistency but I feel like they should’ve kept with Swiss army sonic for at least one more episode, if only with Ryan and Graham

Another nitpicky point but speaking of the fugitive doctor I wish they would’ve done more with her, even just as a mention which I’m including as consistency cuz she really just disappeared after that episode

B) character arcs

Yaz is basically the second main character imo, and she doesn’t really get a character arc? She definitely grows as a character, adopting bits of the doctor’s personality, taking charge when separated from the doctor, etc, but to my knowledge she doesn’t get an arc? Or maybe I missed it? She definitely gets the most screen time/character of the fam + Dan but I think even background characters got better than her sometimes (the first that comes to mind is Bella from s12 ep3), I could be wrong on this of course, I don’t like- analyze media and I totally might’ve missed shit but moving on

Dan also wasn’t dealt with the best. I mean- I really didn’t like him the first time I watched s13 and while now I think he’s fine I’m not sure I’ll ever truly like him like I do with most/all other characters? I feel like he’s under utilized and doesn’t really fit into the story very well? I think it’s good when he’s comic relief or a supporting character for yaz but a lot of the time he’s just… boring/plain

Graham and Ryan I think served their purpose actually pretty well and Graham in particular had one of my favorite developments, like he started off as kinda a jerk but he grew to love everyone a lot and I like that they were able to explore his grief pretty well, although I hate the message of s11 ep10. I think in s12 he worked pretty well as a comedic character that had some deep moments

Ryan, out of the original fam is my least favorite but not because he’s bad, I just think the other 2 are better. I don’t think I have much to say about him, tbh? Like overall I think he was used really well and had some nice development (s11 ep9 with the blind kid, his relationship with Graham, his fear of the earth becoming orphan 55, him being the first to want to leave the tardis) and I don’t really have any notes- I with we’d have seen more of him and 13 but that’s a common theme of all the companions

C) resolution

I think resolution is a terribly boring episode, and I’m sure that’s not a super popular opinion but any time where 13 or yaz isn’t on screen it feels like it drags on, which of course, could just be my bias. But like- I don’t really care that Ryan’s dad is back so for half the scenes im just… bored. It could be a really interesting topic if they had incorporated him more, have Ryan get a letter or message from him one or two times, have Ryan be jealous of the relationship between a kid and their dad, smth like that

But as it is, I think the extra characters are boring and under used, Ryan’s dad has no emotions connected to him, and while the dalek is cool it could have been better used?

Also 13 and yaz should have been allowed to hug and hold hands more, like let them be affectionate damn

None of this is especially bad, though. Other than resolution, which is easy enough to just- not rewatch, it doesn’t retract from my enjoyment of the show, in any way

#doctor who #new who #13th doctor #thirteenth doctor #yasmin khan #yazmin khan #ryan sinclair #graham o'brien #the fam #Dan #Dan Lewis #my ramblings #thasmin #chibnall era #13’s era #the writing really isn’t bad #if you think it is tell me why /srs

[starofhisheart]

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR OFMD S2 EP6-7 under the cut

Ok, that was A LOT. I have so many feelings but no coherence so i'm gonna do this bullet point form but def not in order, just in order of me remembering wtf happened lol

-IZZY AND WEE JOHN IN DRAG!!!!! Wee John looked STUNNING with that Divine-esque appearance and Izzy had that transmasc drag king kind of thing going on (iykyk) that made me love him even more

-Izzy singing LA VI EN ROSE took me tf out!!! i'm glad he got to finish it after the *ahem* distractions bc Con's voice is so beautiful I could listen to it forever. We better get it in the album!!! Also someone posted the lyrics translated and i cannot get over the lyrics:

"It's him for me,/And me for him, for life/He told me, he swore to me, for life"

-But not only was he singing the second half had fucking gentlebeard doing the dirty in the next room asdfghjkl which.....was hot, ngl. The passion was electrifying. I'm sorta glad we didnt rlly see it with everything that happened after bc it all kinda left a bad taste in my mouth.

Also Stede Bonnet canonically gets turned on by violence confirmed

Or trauma. Whatever.

-What else happened in ep 6 cause all i can think of is drag and singing and sex-

-oh yeah there was that shortlived sexually-charged torturer who i distinctly recall him being in another scene in the promo so unless that got the cut perhaps he's not dead...?

-Lupete missing all the action cause they were doing the nasty all night lmao so real

-Jim best wingman (gender neutral)

-Stede...Stedey boy, can I call u that? Now i'm gonna say this nicely, but WHAT THE FUCK DUDE? Stede in his white guy w undue confidence era fr. Zheng Yi Sao was so right for what she did truly

-But in all seriousness i feel like this whole thing in ep 7 was such a parallel to s1 but also a very necessary bit of conflict in their journey together that was bound to happen. THey want different things and neither is wrong or right for that. Stede did react poorly tho but like he just had sex w the love of his life, his first man, and Ed the very next day is like "aight i'm out". I'd be pissed too. After killing someone which we know is a big trigger for him historically.

But Ed also had a valid reaction. He's wanted to retire for a while and stede knows this but it hasn't seemed to have sunk in quite yet. He fears that Stede only sees Blackbeard and...its fair of him to have that impression tbh. These are two messy, traumatized dudes who have never had a real relationship and there's gonna be bumps. I hope we get s3 so we can better explore that like Djenks wants.

-Ok back to the fun stuff:

-Izzy barging in on GB and the docking joke. love his cringefail ass.

-IZZY IS HAPPY FOR ED EVEN IF ITS NOT WITH HIM

#growth

-the edizzy apology which was so typical of them. i expected it but bc i'd been building it up in my head all week w twitter pals it felt a bit anticlimactic but thats not the shows fault. it was very much in character and if they're satisfied so am i. i always have fic for more

-stizzy commiserating over losing ed pls thats all i've ever wanted!!!!!

izzy: "when i told him i loved him he-"

stede, like he's heard this story before: "shot u yes"

and the look they gave each other after!!!!! stizzy nation how we feelin?!

-izzy being like "stede no" when he was on his macho bullshit w zheng yi sao (also motivated by trauma bc he just lost ed, he cant lose MORE family!!!). i just like how protective iz seems of stede now.

-izzy''s "you're good for him" CRYING THROWING UP ETCETERA

-ed catching 1 fish and deciding thats his life now. adhd realness fr

-the swede whew is it hot in here or is that just jackie's effect on her husbands?

-jackie and ed actin like old friends. swede highkey shading ed adfghjkl

-anyway im sure there's more but i need to rewatch. there r things i wont go into bc its possible spoilers for the finale (tho its mostly just speculation some is based on bts not everyone may have seen). i am looking forward to and terrified for the show to end next week thats all i'll say

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd spoilers #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

Would Spider in the games use a bow as his weapon of choice, like in the movie, or an ax, or maybe something else? And what about Kiri's weapons? (If they decided to fight instead of hiding)

So I went back and rewatched Hunger Games last night (and wow did I not appreciate that movie as a kid. I'm so excited to rewatch all the other movies now) so I've got a lot of new ideas for the Hunger Games Avatar A.u.

First I learned from an explainer video that kids aren't actually allowed to train for the Hunger Games. The career tributes get away with it because they're training to be peacekeepers but everyone else is just out of luck. So every character I mentioned training would have to do it in complete secret. So for Spider, since his parents live in victors village and are filthy rich after winning the games, they have a training room in their basement. It's not nearly as fancy as anything from the Capital. In fact Quaritch built most of it himself. And if anyone asks Spider isn't allowed down there. The training room is just for mom and dad. The room is stocked with every weapon under the sun, so Spider would be well versed in any weapon that could be put into the games but yeah he'd prefer a bow over anything. I could also see him with a knife or a spear but I think an ax might be too brutal of a weapon for him.

I think Kiri would also go for a less brutal weapons, bow, knives, those sort of things but really I think she'd get by more like Peeta, and Rue. Making alliances, using the environment to her advantage (I'm thinking of the trackerjackers here, which even though Katniss was the one to cut down the nest it was Rue who gave her the idea) and basically just surviving since they said in the movie that most kids die from exposure, dehydration and starvation.

Also after watching the movie I realized they kinda couldn't just hide the entire time because the gamemakers would push them towards the action. I guess the scene with Katniss and Peeta in the cave just took up way more of memory then it did the actual film. So yeah let me revise hiding to being stealthy, camouflaging themselves to blend with their surroundings, setting traps for career tributes but never going after anyone that's not down with the child murder games. I could even see them setting out food and clean water for less capable tributes.

Bonus thoughts you didn't ask for but I forgot to put in my original post because I was insanely sleep deprived when I wrote it:

In my head like how Katniss was nicknamed the girl on fire, I thought of Paz being nicknamed the spider queen after her arachnid trap won her the games. The Capital is obsessed with the fact that she named her son Spider ( and as I write this I'm realizing she pretty much named her son after herself instead of Quaritch which I kinda love) and low key I bet all the kids would be mini celebrities.

I started watching Catching Fire and in that Haymitch says flat out that the show never ends. That each family would get dragged out every year, there lives constantly watched for entertainment. Which was kinda what I was thinking when I wrote about the quarter quell. The citizens of the Capital would have watched each of these families grown. They would have seen the parents grow from teenagers to adult, probably cheered for them as they had their kids and built "happy" lives (i remember in an explainer video that averaged capital citizens actually didn't like the 75th Hunger Games too much because they had such an attachment to the past victors. Now imagine that, plus you watched their kids grow up, and now you're probably going to watch those kids die. I imagine the emotions of the watchers would be at a fever pitch)

Anyway this was a really long winded way of getting to what I really wanted to say and that is that I had outfit ideas for Spider and Paz's chariot entrance in the quarter quell, lol. They wouldn't be dressed up like trees or lumber jakes like most tributes from district 7, they'd be decked out in opulent spider motifies. I imagine Paz with a spider web vail fixed to her long dark curls by a silver circlet that has one ruby teardrop that hangs in the middle of her forehead, blood red lips, sharp red nails, and a tight black dress. Spider is high key uncomfortable because he can see everyone lusting over his hot mom, and he matches her, like her little spider prince, with an off the shoulder spider web capelet, a spider shaped cravat with a ruby in the center, and fitted black suit (like world war 2 dress uniforms. I couldn't find a better name for it) his hair pulled back tight and tucked into his collar. He fucking hates it and so does his mom but they have to play nice for the cameras soo...

I'll probably get more ideas for this au as I keep watching the movies so if you like this au send me ideas! I've got some thoughts on how to go about an ending now (who gets captured, who dies (though I don't want anyone to die)) but I do want to actually watch Mockingjay so I can fully form these ideas.

#avatar fanfiction #spider socorro #miles quaritch #miles spider socorro #paz socorro #avatar 2 #colonel miles quaritch

[winderlylandchime]

I’ve seen you every once in a while mention your partner and I was wondering if you could (would want to?) tell us a bit about them/you guys? Obviously by still being as much private as you’d like to be. Swear this is not meant in a creepy way but more in a ‘awww’ type of way because they sound like a very lovely person through the little moments you’ve shared. But also if you don’t want to, that is completely understandable :)

Oh dear sweet anon! Thank you for this question. I am happy to share a bit about me and my spouse and our relationship. I’m very proud of them and who we are as a couple. It hasn’t always been easy and we have been in couple’s therapy at difficult points in our relationship. But for now I’m just going to gush. Sappy shit under the cut.

My spouse and I met in graduate school. They’re older than me but a year (kinda) behind me in school. We bonded over a shared love of music and values around social justice. Plus they are a hottie and the funniest person I know. As a result, we are both in the same field - I work primarily in the applied part of the field and they teach. Since the pandemic, they teach from home so I get to hear them lecture whenever I’m not in an appointment during their class. Um, hi, they are so talented and also the best professor.

We have been together for 16 years (17 next January). We were engaged after a year and a half together but (if you’re doing math) that was in 2008 and we had plans to move to CA but then Prop 8 passed so we had to wait until it was overturned (as well as DOMA - I don’t know if many people know this but things like health benefits got taxed at the federal level as part of income so when we were still struggling financially and domestic partners, we couldn’t shared insurance because it would have bumped us into another tax bracket). So we have been married 9 years (we didn’t immediately rush to get married as our eldest nieces had just been born and we wanted our siblings to be able to come to the wedding). Anyway! That’s the time line.

We love many of the same things. We watch most of the same TV shows and movies and we do so together. There is A LOT of pausing so we can Seriously Discuss what is happening on the screen. Together, we love Brooklyn Nine Nine, Schitt’s Creek, Drag Race (and going to live drag shows!), Good Omens, Our Flag Means Death, Heartstopper. And pretty much all the fandoms you see me scream about on here.

Queer As Folk. When I met my spouse, I hadn’t fully identified my sexual orientation. I came out as lesbian and then queer as part of being with them. When I met them, they had a chubby one-eyed cat named Kinney. Their walls were decorated with cut outs of Gale Harold from magazines. They had watched most of QAF as it aired (you know the scene in the bar where they’re watching Gay as Blazes? that was their experience watching QAF). So immediately, they sat me down and had me watch the show. They gave me a kitten for our first Christmas together and I named him Emmett. I did a rewatch in 2018 (?) and remembered that fanfiction exists and the rest is history. Unlike many couples, my spouse fully knows I read and write fanfiction. They have read some of my fanfiction and enjoy it. They think I’m talented and that I should write book (?). They buy me candy to eat when I’m writing, they let me close up for hours on end to write.

During the pandemic, we spent every day together in our apartment and we did so for longer than most folks. I have mentioned that they have a chronic pain condition and it appears to be autoimmune in nature and I have a heart condition so we’ve been especially careful (we haven’t totally avoided getting COVID which goes to show how transmittable it is). During lockdown, they also pursued top surgery and came to the non-binary identity (we’re in our 40s, identities are understood now that we didn’t have words or options). I think we became even closer during this time. I can honestly say, my spouse is my very best friend and also the cutest non-binary-bunny.

All the sappy stuff I can’t stand in fic? Tons of I love you’s, tons of (non-canon) nicknames? Ugh I make myself a little sick with how much we do all that. (Btw that is an individual fic preference)

It’s not to say we don’t have problems and we don’t argue. Of course we do. But overall they’re the best and I’m super lucky and we have worked hard to get here. Everyone who wants a partner in life should be so damn lucky.

#dear sweet anon #ask winderlylandchime #sorry this is so disorganized and rambly

[charlieconwayy]

What are ur issues w Hulu Futurama?

tbh when it was announced i did have excitement in me about my number one show ever returning, but then i remembered all the bullshit that i hated in the cc run and i was just immediately skeptical and for good reason bc i am usually right. i will say that i rly am a fry/leela as characters and as a couple girlie so i am being insanely biased (my man stays dragging me saying i need to put more energy into other aspects of the show lol) but i do like other characters if the show cares about them. but that's the main issue with this revamp. the show put care into literally EVERYONE except fry and leela who are the MAIN characters. (i do think a lot of the weird "there's no main character" kinda stuff was due to bendergate - and yes i am annoyed that dimaggio allegedly has billing over billy who plays the LEAD as well as two other main characters - but it's also strange that w all that fuss, even if it was just for publicity which i doubt at this point, that bender didn't rly do all that much either?) i started noticing like two series rewatches ago that as we get later into the series, we get more planet express crew centric episodes rather than fry/leela/bender episodes, and i'm fine with that for the most part bc i adore amy and hermes, but it feels weird that they kept so much of the vibe of the cc stuff in the show considering how much most people despise those seasons.

to answer simply, almost every episode was either bad, boring, far too fanservicey (looking at you pointless parasites lost "sequel" bc how dare u shit on that episode's legacy so fucking badly), or just forgettable. the episodes i genuinely liked were children of a lesser bog, related to items you've viewed and i know what you did less xmas. i found all of those to be enjoyable and everything else to be complete and utter shit. COALB honestly surprised me bc i have never cared about kif/amy bc the show didn't rly ever care about them (always felt soooo bad for their shippers w the zapp shit and then the bender shit), and i rly rly like that they did a major status quo shift by letting them have children and actually letting those children be a part of the cast. lauren tom is mother and she killed that episode and i am so happy for her that they allowed her to show her acting chops bc i think her line delivery is insanely underrated in general. (off topic but anyone complaining ab them switching leo's voice actor to an asian man needs to grow up, that should've been the case from day one.) i knew i would enjoy RTIYV bc it was a freela status quo shift but i actually also really enjoyed the momazon plot and found it amusing/funny. very very odd that there wasn't any~major freela moments in their ONE focused episode, but w/e. it's a mixed bag bc i also would've literally died for the cc seasons to give us background stuff w them. i do love that they kind of threw back to the fry/leela/bender days with this, it felt nice and nostalgic. the xmas episode was GREAT esp bc i always hate the xmas episodes (the first one has a special place in my heart bc you're lonely and i'm lonely but together we're lonely together <3), it was so fun getting to see everyone as a family (SO happy they're acknowledging dwight and cubert exist again even tho canonically they should be grown men by now lmao) and the bender/zoidberg stuff was surprisingly sweet (honestly when they give zoidberg an ep where he bonds w any of the pe crew it's enjoyable, the hermes episode was good, the professor episode was good, now this episode is good)

now to get to my issues. i don't want to say that they shouldn't have listened to fans and given us what we want to see, but i feel like there was so much weird shit that no one was asking for? parasites regained is the most egregious example bc who tf was like "omg we need to see the worms again but this time in a gross out potty humor episode!" no one. they need to STOP with bringing back every fucking character too, like barbados slim is a good example of this. he's been used so sparingly that he is pretty loved in the fandom, but w them making hermes/labarbara an actual stable relationship (a good thing that they then immediately ruined for jokes no one finds all that funny) it was SO weird and annoying for them to play back into the "haha labarbara is cheating on hermes!" schtick again. why was the whale biologist back? why was the time machine brought back?! like i know i said i liked the xmas episode but certain things are just so iconic to the show that they need to remain untouched. pissed me off. why can't they give us shit we actually want to see? robot devil song and dance number. zoidberg/marianne (just give her another fucking voice actor if they can't get emilia clarke jfc). hedonismbot as long as he's not overused and just given a few one-off lines (did we even see him????) hmmm idk the main thing a HUGE majority of fans have been asking for for twenty fucking years in a SEQUEL TO THE WHY OF FRY????

also did anyone think it was odd how after the cc seasons cramming zapp down our throats every other episode we barely saw him?? even in COALB he was kind of irrelevant. my guess would be they didn't want to over exert billy but the professor had a ton to do so ???

there's so much else that i could probably complain about and go into but i will leave it at this: i do not like the cc seasons BUT i am glad they exist bc of the late philip j fry which is not just a perfect episode of futurama, it's a perfect episode of television. until the hulu seasons give me a TLPJF than they don't have a reason to exist. this sadly just felt like a money grab and yes, i will admit that there were good moments/episodes but as a whole, it did not need to come back. i'm hoping they're saving the masterful writing that i KNOW they can do for the next season (look at season 4! banger after banger. kif gets knocked up a notch, jurassic bark, the why of fry, the sting, the farnsworth parabox. three hundred big boys, the devil's hands are idle playthings) but tbh i feel like that fire/spark is just gone from the production team.

[theashemarie]

First of all, I’m in LOVE with Aftershocks! It’s everything I’ve been looking for in a post-movie fic. Buf I’m super curious about how Aftershocks came to be and how you guys manage to create a cohesive story with such a large group of writers!! How did you even find each other? How does this all work?

omg I'm so glad you're enjoying so much!! :DDD!! Thank you for reaching out to let me/us know! (This got long, so I'm putting part of it behind a read more.)

Okay so for a bit of history the five of us have been friends for years and @katiemonz basically dragged me kicking and screaming into watching Rise a few weeks before the movie came out because she wanted to rewatch it and she knew I would like it. And, basically, I latched onto it super hard super quickly. When this happens, I do the typical special interest thing where I talk about it nonstop and make my other friends watch the stuff I'm obsessed with. First my brother in autism (Ben) @dunkalfredo fell into my trap and soon enough we were off to the races. @octolingkiera and @mcbethins followed shortly thereafter.

The five of us have always been writers in some form or another, so, after we all watched the movie together on premier night, it felt natural to float the idea of a giant collab fic where we each take a POV and run through the aftermath of the movie. I volunteered to post first because I'm the fastest writer out of all of us, with a promised post-date of the next Saturday (a week after the movie dropped) and I got to work. Originally, the fic was supposed to just be five chapters--one from each of us--but the plot line we agreed on turned out to be a lot bigger than we intended, so I got to the end of the first day in my first chapter, looked at the projected two weeks we were supposed to cover, and consulted the council with my worries. I was already 5k words in and there was no way I was going to finish in a timely or concise manner, so we agreed to bump it out to 10 chapters (2 each).

While writing my second chapters, I cracked 10k words and realized that we would need 15 chapters. Everyone agreed.

As to how we wrangle this thing: what I wanted to happen was for everyone to write simultaneously, but that didn't exactly happen. What ended up going down was I did the initial exploratory writing with Mikey's chapters, established a timeline, and wrote the whole thing, and then everyone else kinda used my chapters as a skeleton to hang theirs off of. There's nothing wrong with this and it ended up working out, but it did/does require a lot of cross-referencing from my collaborators, while I was allowed to kinda just write what I wanted. It's a fair tradeoff, I suppose; I had to do a lot of the legwork, so I got to set up the timeline and write to my heart's content.

We brainstormed a lot on Discord, but a lot of it actually happened between Katie and me because we live together. Emotional Trauma Uno actually started as a sort of joke, but then I took it and spun it into a serious recovery ritual. I'm glad that it came into the fic, but it wasn't something we discussed ahead of time and I'm grateful to my collaborators for running with it. I remember the moment when I introduced the poker chips, because originally the Uno games were supposed to be a lot like the one that happens at the beginning of Mikey's third chapter: no chips, just raw vulnerability.

For cohesion: everyone was really good at latching onto small details that were mentioned in other chapters, and we tried to run major character beats past each other. (For example, when Ben wanted to have Mikey use a poker chip on Donnie in his chapter, he made sure to okay it with me so that I could slip a reference to it into my chapter). I also edit every chapter (except Ben's because he's a good noodle) and read everything as a sort of final continuity check.

Even now, as we pump out the final chapters, we're cross-referencing and running things past each other. Kiera's working on a Splinter POV scene and McBethins has made sure to remind her that Raph already had a talk with Splinter; Ben made sure to ask me how many days occurred between events because Donnie is very attuned to the passage of time while the days blended together for Mikey; Katie is closely counting the blue chips the rest of the family has to use on Leo and running checks to make sure she hasn't missed any; when I was writing my chapters, I made sure to explain my thought process for non-Mikey character actions so everyone knew both how Mikey was perceiving their actions and how I was actually picturing them reacting to things.

Quite honestly, I've always wanted to do a giant collab like this, so it's been a LOT of fun! I didn't expect this story to balloon this much, and I certainly didn't expect it to be this fun and easy! Even with the few hiccups we experienced, it was a blast, and I can't wait to collaborate with my friends again!

#ashe talks #aftershocks #rottmnt fanfiction #ask #anon #lads

[totaldramafan-lauri]

Eurovision 2023 final thoughts

Well, it’s been a few days since the final....the post-Eurovision depression is surely hitting many people like it is me. That feeling of “......now what? We have to wait a whole year?” after the dust clears......

But, I don’t feel like it’s truly over until I give my full thoughts on the results after I’ve calmed down and rewatched, so.....here goes!

MAN this was a good year. I’m not sure I can call it one of my favorites - it wouldn’t be fair to do that since it’s still fresh in my mind - but it’s certainly up there! Not only ending with a worthy winner and a worthy runner-up, but the production was incredible! You would’ve never guessed that this contest has given the UK so much grief over the years, cuz you can TELL that they still love it. I-it’s like....an unhealthy relationship, pfffff......

B-but I’m getting ahead of myself.....so, here goes.

Just a warning: I-I may come off as a bit....harsh at times here. I’ve just....seen some things I don’t agree with, and I wanted to respond to them in my own way....None of what I say is meant as an attack on any specific people, and you don’t have to read this if you don’t wanna. I-I just think it’d feel good to....release it all at once, both my happiness and my frustrations.....

This is coming from an unbiased American perspective, keep that in mind. Also, I’m someone who loved both Sweden AND Finland, so if you expect the venting I mentioned to be about me taking a side, it’s not.

Thoughts under the cut!

O-OK......so, first of all, production-wise....I really loved the co-hosting this year. I thought it was really unique, and it worked super well! I loved how the interval acts incorporated music from both countries, how the hosts were from both countries, Eurovision alumni from both countries were brought back, etc. Super cool and heartwarming at the same time. I did look it up, and yes, this IS the first time this kinda thing has happened, so I’m surprised at how well it worked.

That being said, the intervals weren’t my favorites ever.....but I personally LOVED the Sam Ryder song (”Mountain”, I think it was called), and I liked the Liverpool Songbook (the highlight of which being Daði Freyr  FINALLY getting to sing live at this dang contest, complete with the audience singing along with him), but the covers weren’t all-time greats for me, and a similar thing already happened in 2019 with former contestants singing each others’ songs, which I thought was more entertaining. Still, I had a good time! However, I think my favorite interval was actually the drag queens in the second semifinal. (I can’t remember the last time I preferred a semifinal’s interval.....this might’ve been the first time?)

The energy in the arena was contagious throughout the whole thing, as usual (especially when they absolutely lost it whenever Finland got points and chanted “CHA CHA CHA”), and of course we also had Graham Norton just.....being himself. I loved getting to hear his comments without having to wait for cheeky fans to provide links to BBC feeds I’m geoblocked from. That was cool. Also, thank GOD they got him to host, even if just for the final. It would’ve been a huge missed opportunity if they didn’t. XD The other hosts were good too, but he stole the show.

My only real “complaint” (besides the jury vote segment being less varied and fun to watch), and I use that lightly, is more of a nitpick, and that’s.....there was WAY too much red. I have no idea why this was, like.....there’s no way the lights were THAT limited, so it had to just be a really weird coincidence, right? But this is just a nitpick. It wasn’t awful, it was just....pretty distracting in points, how we’d have multiple songs in a row where everything is just RED. I get wanting to use a striking color, but I really could’ve used more variety in places. XD

As for the results, it’s....mixed. I agree with a lot of what did well, but there were a FEW songs I think deserved better than what they got. I don’t have a LOT to complain about, especially when looking at these numbers, but there were a few results I was absolutely scratching my head at. I think this year had more of those moments than other recent years.

I-I’ll do my best to try to understand those results......but FIRST.....I have some choice words.

(This is your last chance to stop reading)

So, I’m SUPER happy Sweden won. I think it was a well-deserved win, even if a bit predictable. Their song was amazing and well-performed by Loreen. While I don’t like “Tattoo” as much as “Euphoria”, it’s still a masterpiece, and her voice is still incredible and elevates it further into greatness. Not only that, but this is one of those songs that I like more when watching the live performance. It’s such a BIG BIG BIG song, that having it boom and resonate throughout a full arena just feels so right. And finally, one thing that I cannot praise enough is the EMOTION she sings it with. Especially in the final, and especially at the end of the song, I got goosebumps cuz it legitimately sounded like she was tearing up at the slow bridge. She knows how to sell you on every emotion this song wants you to feel, and almost comes off as....unpolished, but in the best possible way. Sometimes, vulnerability helps a lot in music.....

So, yeah, even though I DID want Finland to win, since I loved them more, I literally have no complaints with Sweden winning. It was a moving performance, one of the best vocals of the night, a beautiful song, the staging was great too....yeah, it was pretty much flawless. And I think Sweden were FAR overdue for tying Ireland’s record, since they’ve given 100% effort every single year, are absolutely in love with Eurovision, they know how it works and how to send quality. Ireland clearly haven’t been the masters of this contest for a LONG TIME, and it’s pretty obvious who took over.

THAT. Being. Said.....

While she HAS gotten a lot of love, I’m not gonna act like it’s all sunshine and rainbows. And the way some of Käärijä’s fans have been taking Loreen’s win, particularly on Twitter and even YouTube comments, has been just downright toxic. I can’t even read it after a while. Not saying they’re ALL like that, far from it......I’m just talking about the ones who say things like:

“The contest was RIGGED!” “The juries are ALWAYS biased towards Sweden, no matter what they send!” (they aren’t, but OK) “The result was predetermined from the start!”

Um.......did you miss the part where she came SECOND IN THE TELEVOTE!?!?

With Sweden’s highest televote score in....probably close to a decade!?

She did win the jury vote, yes, but jury winners have lost before. Heck, that exact thing happened to SWEDEN before. And Sweden have gotten poor televote results before, and they ARE able to finish on the right side of the scoreboard, which happened in 2021. The system is NOT rigged towards them at all, from what I can tell. And heck....I’ve been watching this contest since the votes were split, and literally the ONLY TIME the juries have piled votes on Sweden that they didn’t deserve was 2018 with “Dance You Off”. That’s it. (And before anyone says “well what about 2019?” THAT song was INCREDIBLE and it DESERVED its jury score and should’ve had more love from the televote, FIGHT ME) Yes, “Dance You Off” wasn’t that good a song, and didn’t deserve finishing in the top five. But it was elevated by its staging, so I can somewhat rationalize it? But that was literally the ONE TIME.....

From an unbiased point of view, I can say that Sweden ARE just that good at Eurovision, and people just LIKE their entries that much. This one, they brought back not only a former winner, but a near-universally-loved one, with an honest-to-god emotional powerbomb of a song. You shouldn’t immediately shout “RIGGED” when the juries love that, OK?

And AGAIN, even though their lead in the jury was by a wide margin, it wasn’t an insurmountable lead by any means! Finland would’ve won...

....if YOU PEOPLE didn’t vote for her so much, too!

You liked her. You loved her, even. Stop acting like you suddenly don’t love her anymore, just cuz she wasn’t the winner you personally wanted. Shouldn’t you be happy that A song you liked won, even if it isn’t your number one? C’mon....it should go without saying, right?

I myself would’ve LOST IT if Finland won, don’t get me wrong. Finland were my number two this year, and Sweden were my number eight (six in the final). So, yes, I WAS rooting for Finland. But I do love them both, and either would’ve been a worthy winner. Even though Loreen wasn’t my ideal winner, I still celebrated when she won, cuz hey, a song I loved still won! A good song, that deserved its acclaim! Even if it wasn’t the one I wanted more.

......I-I probably shouldn’t dwell too much on this.....There’s barely ever a winner that doesn’t have discourse around them in recent years....It’s in a Eurofan’s nature to be competitive....so, I-I’m sorry for going on about this. I-I just....got really bothered by the people claiming this win wasn’t legitimate in some way. I think it’s gross. This was a clear fan-favorite song, people loved it, and it got a lot of votes!

If there ARE people who actually didn’t like the song, and NEVER liked the song, and didn’t contribute to its win, then......I can’t, and won’t, force you to like it. And I get being salty when something you didn’t like won. I would be a hypocrite if I called you out on that, cuz I was in that exact position in 2017. I still remember how disappointed I was. But do you know how I dealt with that in 2017?

I kept my complaining to my personal bubble (this blog) and didn’t attempt to shove my opinions in people’s faces. I didn’t try to directly insult the artist or his fans when I did. I didn’t try to claim that he cheated! I just let off some steam, and talked about how I hated the song and didn’t agree with the win, and once I got it all out, I moved on. I got over it. No matter how I felt, he won fair and square.

And Loreen won fair and square. If you wanna cry about it, go ahead, but don’t claim the system is rigged just cuz you couldn’t handle it. The system is fine. She came first in the jury vote and second in the televote. That means she won. If you can’t deal with that, then cry about it where we who support her can’t see you....

Also, while a lot of people do agree with me on this, I still feel like there are some people who don’t realize how amazing a second place is for Finland. Normally such an underdog in Eurovision, this is literally their FIRST second place and only their SECOND TIME in the top ten after their win in 2006. Heck, it’s their FIRST time in the top FIVE since their win in 2006. All other years, either DNQ or towards the bottom in the final, no matter what they send. Good song after good song, overlooked. This is AMAZING for them. I don’t think anyone over there is complaining about this result. Even if they go back to the status quo next year, they can be proud of this one runner-up for a looooong time.

Not to mention that runners-up can be winners in their own right! Look at how iconic “Dancing Lasha Tumbai” has become! Heck, I even made a comment on Twitter saying something like “Why do I get the feeling that ‘Cha Cha Cha’ will be to ‘Tattoo’ what ‘Dancing Lasha Tumbai’ was to ‘Molitva’“. I was partly joking when I said that, pffffff...but I did make that parallel. The goofy, fun runner-up that was a huge fan-favorite, and the emotional winner that won people over come the contest proper. Which one of those two songs is the one that keeps showing up and has been kept alive as a symbol of the Eurovision spirit? That’s right....And there’ve been plenty of other songs that didn’t win, yet still became iconic. Ooh, ah, just a little bit~! Heh, so yeah, I really do think that Käärijä could easily become a Eurovision icon. You don’t have to win to become one of those~

Actually, since I’ve said all I wanted to about Sweden and am moving on to Finland.....Even if they didn’t get that win, they actually.....still did BETTER than I was expecting? I was legit worried about their jury score. I didn’t know how much the juries would like such a strange song, especially the live performance when the music kinda swallows him in the second half. But Finland actually got fourth with the juries, which made me super happy! They DO know how to have fun!

In my rankings post before the contest, I called “Tattoo” a masterpiece, but now that I think about it, I think “Cha Cha Cha” is a masterpiece too. I loved the song from first listen, but I mainly loved it for its catchiness, its wild energy, and how intense yet fun it was. But when I really listen to it hard, it’s kinda....INSANE how well it works? The two halves are so distinct from each other, yet they transition into one another so seamlessly, it’s crazy! If I tried to tell past me that I’d be in love with a song like this, and tried to describe it in text, I wouldn’t believe myself. On paper, this sounds like it’d be super disjointed and messy. “So, the first half is an intense nu-metal rap, and it turns into a happy party song in the second half“. WHAT? The fact that this works so well just means it was put together expertly and I HAVE to get credit where it’s due. I guess that could be part of what the juries saw in it too.

This might not be my overall favorite Finnish entry (that’s “Jezebel”), but it’s definitely in my top five favorite Finnish entries now. Could not be happier that it did so well and got Finland their second-best result ever. This song deserved to be the one to do that. They might’ve not beat Sweden, but they were the true underdog story this year. Finland CAN DO WELL IN EUROVISION, they can send bangers of songs, and people have FINALLY put respect on their name. WOO!

So.....I-I think that’s all I have to say about the top two......So, on to how I feel about the rest of the results. I-I’ll try to go a bit faster now.....

So, Israel in third......I-I didn’t totally call this at first, but after watching the performance, I realized how badly I underestimated them. Their song is normally only one that I can enjoy when I’m not thinking too hard, cuz the lyrics bug me and are, uh, hard to take seriously.....but as a spectacle, I enjoyed it a lot more, and I totally got swept up in it. It got the crowd energized in the similar way Finland did, and the dance break was the best one this year. It’s still far from a favorite of mine, but I get what people saw in it. I will admit that, once I figured out that they were gonna do a lot better in the jury vote than I expected (and Sweden weren’t super far ahead yet), I was briefly scared. I-I think I’ll always be scared of Israel winning in the upcoming years, cuz it’s.....it’s not worth the....everything that a win from them would cause, even if their song is good, so.....Yeah, I was briefly worried, but there was nothing to be worried about in the long run, so that was on me for having my mind jump to that, pffffff.

Italy did a LOT better than I expected in both votes. I did think the juries would like it, but I didn’t see this as a top five song, and I especially didn’t see it doing so well in the televote. This was definitely one of the best vocals of the final, hands down, and the song itself is gorgeous, yet I still underestimated it.....This is probably because I was comparing Marco’s result in 2013 with a similar ballad, and was like “this is of the same quality as that, so it’ll probably do about as well”. I....I have to stop underestimating Italy. They clearly know what they’re doing. Their streak of top five finishes does indeed continue....Do I agree with this result? Hmmmm.....um, not sure. I think I do. Like I said, one of the best vocals in the final. Definitely the best male vocal.

And Norway round out the top five! This was one of my favorite songs, and the favorite of so many other people to. I think that this is one result this year that literally no one will have a problem with. Even on Twitter, I have seen NO hate for this song. Everyone loves it. It’s the perfect example of a great, solid entry that doesn’t take huge risks or anything, but instead aims to just be a good dang song, and it succeeded at that. Everything about this song works and comes together perfectly. A top five finish feels so RIGHT for this cuz it just does its job so flipping well. Do I wish they did better with the juries? Of course, but I wasn’t worried about them for a second. I knew this would be in the top three in the televote. Again, everyone loves this song, or at least, no one dislikes it.

Ukraine came sixth. I did originally call them finishing in the top five, but Italy doing much better than I expected pushed them down. XD I was actually really impressed with their staging! I thought it was really creative, and probably one of the best of the final. And no, I’m not saying this cuz it was one of the few that didn’t use nothing but red. XD I thought the screens were cool, and there was always something interesting to look at. The song’s still not one of the best, but I saw their 100+ televote score coming, so I didn’t mind it. They didn’t do nearly as well as last year, that’s the important part. Don’t wanna open that can of worms again....

I’m really happy Belgium finished in the top ten! I thought that was definitely a top ten-worthy performance! It was cool to see them get multiple 12s from the juries, too! I expected their televote score to be, ehhhh, a BIT higher? Cuz it really felt like the arena really got into the song, so I thought people at home would too. But I cannot complain with this result, cuz it’s still Belgium’s best in a few years. The song’s fun and was performed well. And I gotta remember that Sweden, Finland, Norway, Italy, and Israel stole a looooooot of the televotes this time around, so songs like this probably suffered from it.

If you ask me, probably the one song I underestimated the most was Estonia’s. This was the only song I was indifferent to. I liked the vocals and the lyrics, but thought it was too boring music-wise to keep my attention. And that opinion does stay true, but I can see why others would like it. I can especially see why Estonia did so well with the juries. This is the kinda song the juries eat up every year. Even with 100% televoting in the semifinal, at least one of these songs still got through, heh....But I can’t say I’m surprised. They did well in the semi, but in the final, they were stuck between Italy and Finland. Their televote score surely suffered from that.

Coming in ninth are my semifinal-winning, best-of-the-worst kings, Australia! Look, I’m not even gonna front, I adored Finland, but my actual favorite song was this one. I ADORE this song and I’ve been quoting it constantly all week. It’s just such a perfect song to me with how it captures an emotion I feel all the time, and to have a song I can listen to when I’m in that mood is SO nice. I’m gonna be listening to this song many times in the future whenever I wanna be told everything’s gonna be alright, while also in the mood to shout at the top of my lungs at same time.....Not every comfort song has to be happy and cheerful, or soft and sweet, right? It’s perfect. And I literally cannot complain with their result either. Do I wish they got more televotes after that kinda performance? Yes. 21 points is way way waaaaaaayyyy too low. (And yet it’s Australia’s best televote since 2019, so blegh) The only real justification I can come up was that Finland took votes from them, or Belgium took votes from them (Belgium performed right after them) But at the same time....they broke even, like I said before. I expected a higher televote score, but I also expected a WORSE jury score, by like, a LOT.....but the juries had them so firmly in the top ten that they stayed there after the poor televote score! That’s nothing to complain about, not to mention that this is the best result a number one favorite of mine has gotten since.....really? 2016? Gosh, my luck with favorite songs hasn’t been the best since my lightning-in-a-bottle year....So yeah, ninth! Solid ninth! Considering Australia’s luck AND my luck, that’s awesome!

I read that this might’ve been Australia’s last Eurovision. Took long enough, honestly.....but, y’know? They finished well. Part of me still thinks they overstayed their welcome, but this song made it worth it. I also think it’s kinda funny that, if this ends up being true......then, the only Australian entries that’ve been in my top five were their first one and their last one. Pure poetry, huh? XD

Rounding out the top ten is Czechia, one of their best results! Another country who didn’t do super well in the televote, and for good reason - they were stuck between Finland and Australia. It was EASY for them to get overshadowed (and yet, I think they still got more points than Australia? I think?) Still, tenth place for a normally underdog country is solid, and I think they deserve it.

Right outside the top ten is Lithuania, who also did better than I expected with the juries, but the televote....Look, songs that qualified from the second semi, even that semi’s winner, didn’t do well in the televote in the final (Estonia were carried so high by the juries). The two semifinals were SO lopsided this year, to the point where it was a slight problem. NONE of the songs from the second had any winning power when put up against the ones from the first, and I’m pretty sure everyone knew this. The only possible exceptions were Australia (who I already talked about) and Austria (who I’ll get to soon). I really hope that next year, this isn’t that bad of a problem, cuz seriously, having ALL the hard-hitters in one semi makes that one semi overly stressful and the other feels like it has barely anything going on, or it gets your hopes up for some songs doing better than they end up in the final once they have stronger competition. Lithuania did well with this, eleventh is a great result, better than I expected, and her vocals were great which was definitely the reason, but the same can’t be said for the other second semi songs (except Estonia and Australia cuz, again, juries).

Another song I majorly underestimated was Cyprus. While I don’t agree with them doing better than Austria, I will freely admit that they made me eat my words. Before the contest, I wrote them off as a non-qualifier, cuz, and I quote “It’s not catchy enough, or emotional enough, or punchy enough. It’s just....there, and I say that as someone who likes it” (I’ve always liked the song, but cuz of slight bias reasons). Come the live performance, I was VERY impressed. It was staged well, and he sounded great. I couldn’t complain with being proven wrong. I do think they deserved to be in the final. I don’t think they quite deserve twelfth in the final, but it’s still a song I like. It’s not their fault, it’s just that I believe multiple songs below them should’ve done better. XD

Then we have Croatia at the bottom of the left half, and aside from the top two being the top two, this was easily the most predictable result of the final. I called it a MILE away. Of COURSE this would rank toward the bottom with the juries, and of COURSE they’d be saved by a 100+ televote score. Especially since they performed second-to-last. Have you heard this song!? The result writes itself! This isn’t so much of a song as it is...an experience. And it wasn’t an experience the music professionals wanted anything to do with, but for the audience? I could hear them singing along. There was no way this was gonna do any worse.

Now we move to the right side of the board, which is where the problem results are for me.....Armenia’s fine. It’s whatever. I know a lot of people loved them, and their staging was really good, but for me, there were plenty of better songs than this one. They were still good, but this was still about as well as I thought they’d place in the final.

No, the problem results for me start with Austria and France. What the heck- O-OK, I don’t really have THAT many complaints with the top ten we got, but that doesn’t change the fact that I really believe these two should’ve been up there. And yes, they still scored more than a hundred points each, so they weren’t flops. But come ON! What happened!? These were fan-favorite songs! Consistently both in the top ten in the betting odds, too! And both of them had great performances!

With Austria....you CANNOT convince me that they were penalized THAT HARD just by opening the show. Songs that’ve performed first can still do well in the televote and score highly! Ukraine 2014, Belgium 2016! This song should’ve done as well as those! It had it in the bag! Everyone I know loves this song! So.....what happened? I can think of two things: one is that the staging didn’t make them stand out well enough (I do agree that their staging should’ve been better), and the other is that the people who would normally vote for them voted for Croatia instead, who was fresher in their memory. But still, even if those things happened, it’s not much of an excuse!

But at the very least, Austria did get one set of 12 points from a jury. We got to see them celebrate that. France didn’t even get that much. Again, this wasn’t a flop like last year, so I guess my prediction of “justice will be served” was....true? But more like “justice will be technically served”.....Still disappointing for such a good song that was seen as a darkhorse for so long. And I can’t even think of a reason for this one other than just “it’s France”! Being performed so early is not an excuse when SWEDEN also performed early, and the staging was pretty, and the live voice was great....My brain hurts trying to think of what happened.....Maybe I can just chalk it up to “there were just songs people liked more”, but that still doesn’t excuse that the juries also mostly overlooked them, so.....I-I’ll just move on....

After those two is Spain.......Look, I don’t like their song. I’ve never liked their song. But I still respect it, and I respect Spain for taking a risk with it this year. And I was still surprised by this. Coming last in the televote.....Even if it was my least-favorite song, I still respect it enough to kinda think it was unfair? I mean, it was unique, and the live performance sounded just like the studio version! Shouldn’t it have...stood out more? Then again, maybe it stood out in a bad way.....I-I didn’t expect that many people to be on the same page as me....I thought this was an unpopular opinion.....but no! How should I feel about this.....? I dunno....I guess I’m happy I don’t look like an uncultured idiot for not liking the song? But I’m also kinda stunned....? I-I’m not used to feeling these kinda....mixed emotions....

After THAT are the last of my top five favorites, Moldova and Poland in 18th and 19th, doing worse and better than I expected respectfully. I thought Moldova would be in the top 15, but this wasn’t that far off, and their televote score was respectful (I think it was over 60), so I can’t complain. I’m glad there are people who loved their beautiful song as much as I did. And while Poland tanked with the juries like I called, getting over 80 points in the televote blew my mind! I remember when I was told how HATED their song was....I believed it. I believed it, cuz of the stories I heard, and how it really is just a catchy, mindless song that doesn’t make you think too hard. That’s why I love it, but that could also be why others hated it.....but now.....geez! You played them dirty, but now who’s laughing? Sure, 19th is 19th still, but for a song I was surprised even qualified for the final? Again, no complaints! Poland really went all out with their staging, too, so I could tell how much effort was put in to make people like this song. And surprisingly, they succeeded.

Switzerland....I find that I can only slightly enjoy their entry when I’m trying not to pay attention to the lyrics and just focus on his great voice, but it’s hard, especially when part of the staging resembles.....y’know what...raining down....I still don’t like this one at all, but the staging is disgustingly good, and his voice is great, so I actually did expect it to do better. I predicted this’d be in the top ten with the juries, actually. But again, like with Spain, more people were on the same page with me than I expected. Good. Stay down there. Send something fun next year, or if you’re gonna send a singer that good again, give them a song that doesn’t leave the listener feeling depressed. I couldn’t be happier that this was performed third. Got it outta the way. XD

Slovenia, I expected better from, since they were so late and also sounded good live. Can’t think of what happened to them other than they just got overshadowed, perhaps due to going right after Israel. Still, the people who loved Slovenia, REALLY loved Slovenia.....I guess they were just fewer in number than I thought. Albania and Portugal did about as well as I expected, so not much to say about them.

Serbia, tho....I do feel bad for them, but I also get it. After learning that they were only three points away from not qualifying for the final, I’m just happy to have them there at all. I really do like the song, it was in my top ten, but let’s be real, it was always a guilty-pleasure type song. It’s.....OUT THERE, and not everyone’s thing. The whispery vocals were hard to hear in places live, too. I didn’t mind since the vocals aren’t my fav part of the song (I love the instrumentals), but that might’ve cost them a bit. They’re LUCKY. If the semifinals still had a jury vote, they definitely wouldn’t have qualified and we would’ve had Latvia instead (whether that’s an improvement is up to you).

Every few years, there’s an entry where the song isn’t the best, but the live performance is a spectacle, having creative and fun staging, and/or the artist having a great stage presence, and when that entry doesn’t qualify, fans online fly into a rage, crying out “Why didn’t they qualify? They were so fun! They know what Eurovision spirit is!” and maybe pin the blame on a ballad that got in over them. Off the top of my head, there’s “Igranka”, “Space”, and last year had two of these in “Eat Your Salad” and “Stripper”. “Samo mi se spava” was SO CLOSE to being one of these. It just BARELY made it to the final, getting the respect it deserved. If it had lost to Latvia, the fan outrage would’ve been massive. And I’m so happy for that, cuz I really do like this song (and its staging) a lot. I really hope Serbia keep sending out there and experimental stuff. Their entries have been so interesting the last couple years.

And finally, at the bottom of the board once again, are the UK and Germany. These are the other two songs I 100% believed deserved better, especially Germany’s. The UK’s song was a lot of fun and had cute staging (that WASN’T RED), but I can.....kiiiiiinda see how it’d be overshadowed? Germany, not so much. That song should NOT have been overshadowed. If that kinda music isn’t everyone’s thing, that’s fine, but that can’t be the whole story, right? Rock music has done well in recent years....I know rock and metal aren’t the same, but there’s overlap! What happened? They performed toward the end, and they sounded great! The audience really got into it too! I guess that’s the kinda song that probably goes over better in the arena than at home, since, like I said before, it’s the kinda song that was MEANT to boom throughout an arena, filling every corner.....At the very least, Germany actually got points from BOTH votes this time, but still, I feel awful for them. I REALLY want them to do well again. It’s been years. This should’ve been the song to break their streak, and people just weren’t feeling it for whatever reason. =/

And......I can’t believe I’m saying this, but.....that’s it for this Eu-red-vision! Overall, good results, with only four songs I think were either slightly (Austria, France) or majorly (Germany, UK) robbed, but up top, I have little to no complaints! I’m happy for both Sweden and Finland, and MAN I can’t wait for next year. Sweden KNOW how to host Eurovision. There were a lot of different factors that added up to 2016 being my favorite contest (I can’t list them all right now), and their production was one of them. “Love Love Peace Peace” part two, anyone? XD Also super excited for the return of Luxembourg! I never watched any contest they participated in (they dropped out before 1997), so this’ll be a first! I hope they send a good song, or else that’ll be a major anticlimax....if they DO send a good song, their return will definitely be a highlight of the year. We’ll see how it goes!

(Also, one final note: I’ve been watching......SOOOOO many reaction videos on YouTube over the week, and it got me a bit motivated to.....maybe....KEYWORD: MAYBE.....t-try to.....record some audio next year? Like....instead of my normal text rambling for my rankings, I could try that? Again, I DUNNO if it’ll happen....it’s too early....but I’m kinda in the mood to try it right now, so maybe....? O-one of my new year’s resolutions this year was to be nicer to myself, and one of the things I’ve always hated is my voice, so I’ve posted videos on Instagram with my voice in them to start....maybe I can try working my way up to something more elaborate....? I-it really depends on how I’m feeling next year tho, and how reception is, so maybe I’ll try some small things first)

See you next year! Cross my heart till the sky turns red in the sunrise!!

Promise me it’s gonna be alright! (BE - AL - RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT) ALRIGHT!!!

And a final “thank you” if you were one of the people who contributed to Malta’s three points in the first semifinal. You were doing god’s work. XD

#eurovision #opinions

[willel]

Decided to refresh myself to see how Vecna might be defeated since he takes a lot of inspo from Freddy.

So in the first Freddy, she takes him to the real world where he's weaker and shits on his day to defeat him. Makes sense. I can see that happening to Vecna. Not necessarily the verbal shitting on him, but him getting his sh*t kicked in in the real world where maybe he's weaker now??

I do vividly remember the final "scare". Or rather, I just remember their car doors being locked and they dive off into the distance unwillingly? And then Nancy's mom is dragged through her front door peep hole? Dunno what that really means. I'll rewatch it after this post, but based on this article, it's not supposed to make any sense.

This one is... interesting. 👀 The power of love has definitely been hinted at already with El defeating 001 not with her angry and sad memories, but from the memory of her mother's love. Though this would imply El would be the one to get possessed by Vecna.

I just can't imagine that happening after all she's been through. But you know, I mean, it would present the challenge of them saving her this time instead of the other way around??? But I still can't really see it happening.

But one of their friends??? Maybe... wait. Lemmie see why he wants to possess this character. Interesting... ok I still don't know why he wants to possess Jesse other than he has the body to do physical damage in the real world.

Gosh, from reading the summary, why I can see both Will and El in this character. Lol. So essentially Jesse is bullied or picked on at school. He moves into the house from the previous Night on Elm Street movie and starts having nightmares and visions of Freddy encouraging him to kill people. It seems like it takes a few visions before Freddy succeeds and "Jesse" commits his first murder and then it just turns into a classic slasher movie from there until he is saved by the power of love as the article describes.

It sorta reminds me of El in how 001 manipulated her kinda. But I could see this situation happening to Will or El.

This article doesn't say much but Vecna already has some similarities to this movie due to the whole "every victim I kill makes me stronger" logic. But let's see what else....

Oooo, there's some logic here that I mentioned in my theory once! To get a gist, I imagined El traversing through the minds of her friends to save them from Vecna's nightmares. "Dream hopping" or whatever appears to be a main plot point of this movie.

That said, defeating Freddy with holy water is indeed stupid.

#stranger things #theory

[munchflix]

NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET TIER LIST

Munch: So Biscuits had the great idea of doing some franchise tier lists, and though we love to clown, there are some we're just not gonna do. I'm not sitting through 18 Paranormal Activity movies for love or money. We're both fairly familiar with the Nightmare on Elm Street movies though, and by that I mean I am intimately familiar with them and Biscuits has at least seen them all.

Biscuits: Some other franchises we're gonna have to rewatch some movies for, so that's why we're doing this first. Nobody remembers everything that happens in the Halloween movies, c'mon.

M: Nightmare on Elm Street THE FIRST. On IMDB: Teenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life. If you die in the matrix, you die in real life. This was arguably one of the best of the series, it introduced the iconic Freddy and as a small child in 1984 when I was far too young to be watching it, it scared the BEJESUS out of me.

  B: This is an iconic film, it has some of the more memorable moments in the entire series, groundbreaking inventive special effects, some memorable kills. The scene where Tina gets dragged across the ceiling in the rotating room. The judge got fat and the lawyers got famous. It definitely stands on it's own merit as a film even if the other movies didn't exist. It does also have one of the worst special effects ever.

M: The door scene?

B: Yes.

M: That's fair. So what tier? A tier?

B: Dream warriors is gonna be in a class by itself. A tier.

M: Nightmare on Elm Street THE SECOND. Freddy's Revenge. A teenage boy is haunted in his dreams by deceased child murderer Freddy Krueger, who is out to possess him in order to continue his reign of terror in the real world. The gay one. Nancy has been scrapped in favor of some random teen boy and a completely different plot. Well it's not really different is it?

B: Well Freddy is trying to take over his body and not just kill him.

M: That's fair. Kinda gay though. This one wasn't great.

B: It's known for having a lot of homoerotic subtext. Why? I don't know.

M: The director has claimed zero knowledge of how incredibly gay this movie is. He insists none of it was intentional. I do not believe him. Neither did the main actor, who has a great documentary about it on Shudder. Scream, Queen. Shameless plug.

B: We're not sponsored by Shudder but WE COULD BE. You want us to review your shitty original movies, we'll do it!

M: They've had some good movies. So....it's watchable. It's not nearly as bad as some of the other ones. I'd put it in B tier.

B: I'd say B tier. It's watchable. It's not really good but it's far from the worst in the franchise.

M: Dream Warriors. (Biscuits sings the entire song first ) A psychiatrist familiar with knife-wielding dream demon Freddy Krueger helps teens at a mental hospital battle the killer who is invading their dreams.

B: That song SLAPS ASS. Obviously it's an S tier! It's an S tier just because of the song by Dokken. Also it's the best movie. Also little tiny baby Laurence Fishburne!

M: I agree. Nancy comes back, there's a wild plot. They finally really for the first time really explore the idea of a dream world and it's possibilities.

B: They create dreamsonas and fight Freddy. Also the vein puppet kill and the one where Freddy's head comes out of the walL.

M: It's the best of the series hands down. There's not much debate about that. But then, things get weird. Nightmare on Elm Street 4 - The Dream Master. Freddy Krueger returns once again to terrorize the dreams of the remaining Dream Warriors, as well as those of a young woman who may be able to defeat him for good.

B: What even happened in this one? Didn't they bring back the dream warriors and kill them all off?

M: Yeah and then Kirsten dies and Alice takes over the entire plot. Mostly Freddy just kills all of Alice's friends and she absorbs all their abilities and uses them to kick Freddy's ass but he comes back.

B: Obviously this movie didn't leave much of an impression on me. We'll make this the sole representative of the C tier. It's not as bad the next two.

M: I agree. Nightmare on Elm Street 5 - The Dream Child. The pregnant Alice finds Freddy Krueger striking through the sleeping mind of her unborn child, hoping to be reborn into the real world.

B: He tries to like, infect her fetus. There's the whole scene with the people's faces on sperm. And then it turns out the entire time his weakness was his mom?

M: Yeah they threw the whole weird mom nun backstory in there. The thing that bothers me the most about the dream child, is that the kid looks absolutely nothing like either of his parents. He got black hair, yo.

B: The mere concept is weird enough. What if Freddy tried to be the baby? And they just never said Nah maybe not that. Why are there suddenly so many mommy issues?

M: D tier for sure. Freddy's Dead - the Final Nightmare. Dream-haunting Freddy Krueger returns once again to prowl the nightmares of Springwood's last surviving teenager, and of a woman whose personal connection to Krueger may mean his doom. This is the weird one with his daughter.

B: He had a daughter and a kid that were never mentioned before.

M: And like 100 celebrity cameos. And there was bad 3d. Really bad. Yaphet Kotto was in it. They suddenly through a whole LOT of backstory about Freddy and it was really dumb and somehow this movie made more money than any of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. And the first one literally saved New Line. It's awful. I love Freddy to death and I would watch Robert Englund do his thang forever but ugh.

B: He gives it his all but nobody else did. Objectively the worst.

M: It's too comedic. There's no scary anything. The kills are dumb, the plot is dumb, it's just tons of one liners and it's not scary or gross or anything. D tier.

B: I don't even remember what happens in the movie.

M: Okay so technically....I think Freddy vs Jason came out next. Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees return to terrorize the teenagers of Elm Street. Only this time, they're out to get each other, too.

B: It's not good. They just rehashed a lot of Dream Warriors. It's better than Dream Child. It makes some sort of sense. You can follow what's going on and Katherine Isabelle from Hannibal is in it.

M: It's trashy but it's kinda fun. It's at least something to get drunk to. The kills are at least inventive. Also Jason is here. Not really sure why. It kinda felt like a Freddy movie with Jason in it.

B: And of course they couldn't let either of them win because they didn't want to piss off either fan base, pussies.

M: It's uh....C tier? B tier? Is it better than Dream Master?

B: I at least remember this one. B tier.

M: Wes Craven's New Nightmare. I fucking loved this. I thought the meta was handled well, I thought Freddy looked amazing, he was very creppy.

B: I like the concepts that Wes came up with, the meta doesn't overstay it's welcome. I like how it melds the nightmare world into the real world meta. I don't know if I'd put it in S tier but it's high on the list. It's actually a good movie.

M: I'm not saying it's flawless, some of the fx in the final fight scenes are really hokey but I give them mad props for not just Cgen-ing everything. But as a narrative, as a sequel, and as what I feel was a proper ending ( fucking fuck you Freddy's Dead ) to one of my favorite franchises, I'm putting it in S tier, fight me.  It doesn't retcon anything, it's really well done.

B: I wouldn't put it above Dream Warriors. Doesn't have Dokken.

M: You wouldn't put the greatest movie ever made above Dream Warriors. Unless Motley Crue did the soundtrack.

B: Fuck you.

M: Oh shit, we got one more! The remake! I'm not doing an IMDB blurb it's the same fucking plot.

B: But bad. I feel bad for Jackie Earl Hayley, he tried. He wasn't ever gonna be Robert Englund and nobody else was trying. They were just like, whatever. He had some much going against him and he could have been better. M: He was the best part of the movies, but you can't just take a character like that that's so well known and so iconic and just throw someone else in the role. You gotta reinvent the entire thing. You gotta go in a completely new direction.

B: Also the plot where they try to say he was falsely accused is so contrived and stupid. Why is that even in there?

M: So they could put a predictable plot twist in later and go oh shit he was bad all along. Also, oldest teenagers I've ever seen in a movie. This movie was never gonna be good. Hayley plays it too straight and too serious and it doesn't work. The cgen versions of the exact same effects from the first movie just make you hate it.

B: It sucks. Shit tier. We're making a new low tier. F tier. If you're thinking of seeing it, don't. It's not worth your time. Join us next time when we tier some more horror franchises but we don't know which one because we gotta watch some movies.

M: I agree. I like to pretend it doesn't exist as part of the franchise. I sleep better. Munch and Biscuits out, yo.

#nightmare on elm street #freddy #freddy krueger #dream warriors #dokken #quentin smith #tier list #nancy thomas #horror #munchflix

[fictionfixations]

Aphmau. uhh... Thoughts?

So I've just. I remembered that I kinda wanted to know about what happened with aphmau from give-grian-rights' (no @ because i dont wanna bother em lol) profile thing cause i think in their pinned post there was something about aphmau

and like

so then i went back and searched 'aphmau' and like. so there was a document (< this is not mine)

so i read it. and just

bro wtf

no but why do like almost all the youtubers from peoples childhood just turn out really shitty?

and then uh. yknow i didnt know there was fuckin.. sib on sib?? i mightve missed it because its been awhile since then but like. what??

i mean okay, so I watched Aphmau when I was young, don't ask me how old I don't remember, but like.. so I joined around Season 1 or 2 of PDH, or Phoenix Drop High if I remember that right, I think maybe probably either towards the end of Season 1 or in the middle of Season 2? I can't remember but I remember waiting to watch it (I remember seeing that theres a new episode and clicking and then im not allowed to watch it because its not approved or whatever cause i had the i think restricted mode on lol ??) HAHA SPOILER WARNING FOR THE SERIES IG? its all from the memory of me though, who is really forgetful and watched it like years ago \/

uh. so. uhh i really dont remember what series is which -- the fuckin, that one season where they're like.. isolated. in the snow. in like a cabin (and theres that one ghost girl thing i think she was a ghost that fuckin kissed zane or something idk why that was so memorable?)

and like.. so ein is there and like. so yknow, children exposure to aphmau being like drugged or some shit (add on to this: I roleplayed with people on like Hypixel housing cause I found Aphmau fans and like.. i dont know man, the drugging was certainly a part of it with the whole green eyes and stuff)

bro i dont know why i thought that was normal?? i mean no one goes up to a child and says 'drugging people is bad' so i mean how was i to know??? and i was just like 'AWEE <3 <3 <3' I DONT KNOW MAN I LIKED BOTH SHIPS??? I WAS WEIRD I WANNA SAY I DIDNT KNOW ANY BETTER BUT LIKE ?????/ i mean the whole thing made me cry a lot because it was sad and shit but like.. thinking back on the plot now, idk man it was kinda weird

bro the only controversy i knew she was in was like when she for some reason fired all the i think VAs of the characters?? she fired someone and it was all really controversial but i was like 'uh.. this is fine-? idk man i just wanted to watch minecraft roleplay'

and she just like kept dragging it out and i dont think it ever happened (but her content nowadays isnt something i like watching)

also i like.. i rewatched one of her series, one of her newer ones i think with hte demons and shit

My Inner Demons

okay so like.

that show had a lot of adult jokes?????/ idk man maybe it was just me but there was like an amount of sexual-ish stuff and its just ???????????? and i dont remember that when i was a kid but i was oblivious to everything but like.. why put adult jokes in kid show i mean i think it was a kid series i dont really know but her whole channel is like some family friendly show to watch?

i cant name any specific scenes because its been too long but like srsly i feel like it was one of those storylines from a fanfiction that is probably offensive no but like

its y/n x demon boys basically

so that show never really hit hard and wasnt all that memorable, but i am sticking to my claim of adult jokes, and i might be wrong but i swear there was like at least one thing also while we're on the topic of her shows, can I mention like.. the entirety of Mystreet and the fuckin.. WAF??? When Angels Fall or something (the only reason i remember that name is cause WAF.) i like half dont remember what was going on but like

okay so i think so Aaron was like this special type of werewolf thing that I can't actually remember and when he looked at people -

i cant remember

did they die?? IDKK

BUT SO LIke it was like some fairytale thing BUT IT WAS REAL-- wait no i think he got rid of peoples hybrid features cause i think in like.. the series with Ein and the cabin he like went all 'D:<' and then ein lost his fuckin ears and shit /?

I THINK

but so like people were hunting em down because so they were wanted because of that and i dont know why. NO I THINK THEY WERE MIND CONTROLED WIHT THE THE emerald potion? forever potion?? IDK THEY MADE PEOPLES EYES GREEN AND MIND CONTROLLED THEM THEY WERE DRUGS (but the potion is like.. illegal? forbidden?? WELL NOT ANYMORE actually i think travis who i ThiNk is the white haired dude with like green eyes?? ' dad had like the book or something-- i really dont remember)

i ermember that they were probably mind controlled because katelyn or something, the blue haired girl had like green eyes i think and she was attacking aaron

uh

and then i think everyone was fuckin.. dying? i dont know what the fuck happened but then like blah blah blah adn then aphmau fuckin i think goes white eyed and like. irene from MCD or Minecraft Diaries.

with wings

and then i think it ended there wtf im so lost.

its like one of those stories where youre the protagonist so then you end up going a little overboard with crazy ideas that make zero sense when you look at the full picture or some shit idk

aghhh

#aphmau #thoughts

[davyjoneslockr]

1, 4, and 5 for “Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday” PLEASE

YMYYYD aka my documented downward spiral into being a Mista lover

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

I think I've talked about this before, but the fic was inspired by this song, and was initially going to be a oneshot. I'd been doing a lot of studies with braided narratives in my creative writing and literature classes, so I wanted to do something with that - the final fic didn't end up being braided, but I wanted to keep the "start right before the major conclusion, then go back and describe a series of snapshots that have led him here," so that's why the whole thing is framed by the scene at the bar.

I'd also been very into writing in the present tense for about a year or so, which is a trend that started with a creative nonfiction piece I'd written a while back, as well as a fic that I sort of consider the predecessor of YMYYYD: No Fair at All. It's not that good, in hindsight, and was also written before I read the PHF bonus chapter, which really shifted my perspective on the Mista-Giorno dynamic, but it has a lot of the same ideas, and a tone that I started carrying through my more "serious" Vento Aureo fics. So, yeah, present tense my beloved <333

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

Tbh, reading it back, I don't think there's any stand-out lines that struck me as being super well-crafted or poignant in the dialogue? I do still like the argument between Mista and Giorno in chapter 15, and I remember having "You're the one keeping grudges over a stupid teenage crush" as a line I planned on having from the initial outline. "Even I used to admire your resolve, but it seems it died along with -" *gets punched lol* is one I sorta like, too, maybe not for the dialogue itself so much as the moment as a whole.

I do like some of the silly lines, though. I've seen screenshots floating around of "We're not listening to fuckin' Weezer again, Fugo," and "Besides, you dated Pannacotta Fugo. Dude's greasier than a fuckin' McDonald's" is the only good thing I've ever written actually. People seemed to like "Uh, do you have bisexuality?" and "You're weird for thinking Purple Haze is hot," too.

5: What part was hardest to write?

The "down period" in the middle (from around chapters 7-9) and Narancia's death, for different reasons. Chapters 7 and 8, in particular, kinda suck imo, just because barely anything happens and they don't really move the narrative forward (besides 7 preparing the gang for Giorno and having a little ironic line like "I'm sure he's not that special" from Fugo, and 8 introducing Giorno and Trish a little), and I remember them being sort of a drag to write. Chapter 9 is at least a bit more interesting and serves a purpose in the plot, so I think I struggled with it a little, but not as much as the previous two.

I knew I wanted Narancia's death to be described in a more abstract and erratic way, to emphasize the horror Mista's experiencing. The whole time I was writing it, though, I was worried that it would be too confusing and detract from arguably the most important part of the fic. I also made the mistake of rewatching the whole death sequence from the anime multiple times, and that, combined with the realization that I'd reached the chapter where I'd have to take away all the joy that had been building up for Mista (and the whole cast, really), made me really reluctant to start writing. I actually didn't get many comments addressing this scene on AO3 or here, so I don't know whether it ended up being effective or not, but if it didn't, hopefully the several thousand words of grieving covered for it.

#if you count ltag i've been writing the mista fic for over a year now. which is absolutely wild #so reading it back is kinda nostalgic at this point #there's a lot i would definitely change and rewrite if i could do another draft #but i had a lot of fun with it and it's helped me make new friends. so at the end of the day i think it's kinda cool #jjba #davy discusses fics

[janedoe-ing]

rating all the tv shows that ive watched so far (that i could remember):

• the good doctor - medical drama - 8/10

omg idk why people hate this show sm but the hate is so forced like ??? freddy is such an amazing actor and all the other characters in this show makes sense and complete each other i swear to god. one of the best medical dramas i've watched personally. the plot flows well imo but the last season was dragging a bit for me when the writers started to make shawn and glassman arguing for SO LONG but honestly i get it too because both of their traumas and pain are SUPER VALID and that's the thing with this show because everything JUST MAKES SENSE so you barely have situations to pick sides.

• the walking dead - zombies - 5/10

boring personally to me maybe i just lost the energy to continue it... i stopped at s3 and have A LOT MORE TO LEFT... but ive saw some spoilers from tiktok and stuff which idm honestly bcs i love spoilers.. anyways the first two seasons rocks but in s3 it kinda gets a bit... boring? idk but yeah.. maybe i would change my mind after watching it till the end but idk

• modern family - sitcom - 10/10

one of my comfort shows. not the type of person who rewatches back movies or shows but if its mofy maybe i could consider it. and if i started rewatching it maybe because i was bored and i forgot the plot and scenes in it. but yeah their chemistry with the whole cast was just amazing, the jokes are on point, no annoying laugh tracks, and it's relatable as fuck. also lemme say this: IM SO FUCKING ANNOYED WITH TIKTOK EDITORS WHO IS NEW TO MOFY BECAUSE THEY MAKE THE EDITS SO SAD AND SERIOUS WHEN ITS ACTUALLY A HAPPY SHOW. i mean obviously it has some scenes but i just want to have a show where i don't need to overthink and overanalyse so much and just enjoy it while im watching it and mofy is THAT person. but these mfs is ruining it although the edits ate. idc.

• brooklyn nine nine - sitcom - 10/10

also same reason with above, and andy samberg is so hot and my type. also the relationships in this show is so cute it makes me wanna kill myself in a good way. oh and no annoying laugh tracks???? YOURE IN. OH AND GINA LINETTI???????????? thats all i can say. i rest my case.

• never have i ever - coming of age show?¿ - 7/10

the plot is so ridiculous tbh but the show gets better every season and i like how they did a lot improvement in devi's attitude and plot and not just bcs she wants to lose her virginity to the hot boy in school. and the fact that in every season the writers managed to make me changed sides every season is insane. also the writers is so cruel for treating paxton so badly istg imo but im happy he got another girl instead of devi because he deserves WAYYYYYYYYY BETTER than her. i meant it from the bottom of my heart. despite the shitty and cringey season 1, the season above that is okay ig.

• one of us is lying - crime - 8/10

i watched the show before the book and omg???? the plot twists are TWISTINGGGG, plot wise is AMAZING like as somebody who is a plot twist enthusiast i totally ate up this show... the casts were so amazing too ????? not to mention the cinematography is so good imo and the only comment i have is that they don't show some of the parts of the story in the show like how it is/changed it abit... i mean its normal to do that but i personally don't like when they went a bit astray from the book... idk but STILL one of the best shows for crime ive ever watched

• ru pauls drag race - drag queen tv show competition - 8/10

never thought i would be hooked to a drag queen competition show but omg the show is so good...????? and not to mention the lingo and amount of cultural pop history that changed the world mentioned and used in this show????? the face???? THE BODY TEA???? THE BEEF????? oh my god that is literally EVERYTHING!!!! and the best thing is every season you would always be surprised with each of the contestants like ????? omg i love it

• house MD - medical drama - 6/10

honestly a meh for me but im still in season one so i might change my mind after this but so far... boring... i mean its basically the same like other medical dramas: you have this weird case to solve, you start throwing out these theories and words and diagnosis of the patient, it turns into something else bla bla bla but idk there's just something lacking here but idk what it is...... will update this list when i saw the other seasons till the end

tbc

• new amsterdam

• chicago med

• iron chef

• cake boss

• tanked!

• sex education

• bridgerton

• the good place