#mostly it made me want to rewatch the double

[butterflydm]

wot rewatch (book spoilers edition): 2x6

First, it looks like tumblr refused to actually let my non-spoiler post be in the tags so here is the link: deeper dive 2x6: eyes without pity; hopefully this post will show up in the tags!

Not only is this one going to have spoilers for all the aired episodes plus any teasers (including the trailer for episode 7), it will also have book spoilers through book 14: A Memory of Light

"A few weeks ago I considered hitting Renna over the head with that pitcher, and I could not pour wash water for three days. Once I’d thought of it that way, I not only had to stop thinking about hitting her with it, I had to convince myself I would never, under any circumstances, hit her with it before I could touch it again. She knew what had happened, told me what I had to do, and would not let me wash anywhere except with that pitcher and bowl."

It is a little stunning how the show was able to take that paragraph and make this heartbreaking episode using it as the spine. And by changing it from a wash bowl into a water pitcher, they made it even more of a fundamental torture because Egwene is literally being dehydrated until she gives in to her abuser's demands.

Which, her mention of 'weeks ago' (Egwene is damane for roughly two or three months in the books) is making me wonder about the timeline in the show. Because we were visually shown the brutality of the 'training' process already, I wonder if the timeline is going to be shortened, or if we're going to get a timeskip of some kind next episode. Because Rand is definitely not interested in waiting around for weeks now that he knows Egwene is in captivity, even if he doesn't know the full extend of what's happened to her.

Also, double-checking the books, Egwene hits Renna in the stomach with the pitcher and doesn't hit her over the head like I had remembered; hitting her over the head was what she had thought about but never did. Maybe she'll get to brain her in the show.

2. Note: Renna may be wrong when she says that any pain a sul'dam feels, her damane feels twice-over even to the death, because in the last book when Min comes to rescue Mat and (ugh) Tuon, there is a damane attached to a dead sul'dam. And Min just... leaves her to die in a fire instead of saving her because book!Min kinda sucks but, yeah (she actually screams at the damane to help even though she should know it's impossible for her to help while she's still leashed). Though I wonder if Renna is actually correct but the implication is wrong -- which is that the damane does feel the full pain of the sul'dam's death (twice-over) but just doesn't necessarily die as a result of it.

3. The show is really really evoking book!Tuon in both the characters of Renna and Suroth in this episode, I have to say. Renna makes a point of saying she's a ~kinder softer~ sul'dam because she believes in cultivating a ~friendship~ with her damane and that's basically exactly how Tuon presents herself and her relationships with her ~well-behaved~ damane. And then later in the episode, we get Suroth's scene where she purposefully mocks and degrades Loial for her own amusement, evoking... well, Tuon in many moments tbh -- she laughs at Mat like this frequently in CoT & KoD, because she sees him as her own personal court jester -- but definitely the moment when Tuon steals Egeanin's name from her.

It's... it's an interesting thing because I also feel like the show has deliberately evoked book!Min in some of Lanfear's characterization changes, mostly when she was playing Selene -- pretending that she doesn't want a romantic relationship with Rand but desperately wanting one; pretending that she's not jealous about the other people he cares about but actually being incredibly jealous; trying to make herself his emotional anchor and the one person that he depends on; using their connection to get him to do things for her that he doesn't want to do (in Min's case, it's about using sex to get Rand to take her into dangerous situations, like the fake!DotNM meeting that ends up with Rand losing his hand while trying to protect Min). And taking characteristics that belonged to 'love interest' characters in the books and giving them to villains is... an interesting choice.

4. Is Lanfear questioning Rand near Shayol Ghul in TAR (that large blasted area) or is she just dramatic?

5. Turak's room of curiosities... I really wonder if we're going to sub in the Stone of Tear's storage room from TSR to Turak's room of curiosities and if there is a twisted stone doorway in there. That would give us a chance to do (some parts of) the beginning of TSR in 3x1 next season by having Mat, Rand, and Moiraine potentially all going into the doorway.

@markantonys was talking about how it was interesting that Min's romance viewing didn't come up in her scenes this season and speculated that the show is hedging its bets somewhat with regards to how much time they'll get to play out the storylines. And wondering that if that's the case for Rand's Situation, then it might end up being the case for Mat as well, and the show might hold back on the marriage prophecy (because if s4 or s5 ends up being the final season, they might not want to have to deal with squishing in Mat marrying some random slaver that we just met a handful of episodes ago). Definitely interesting to think about!

I personally love the idea that Avirandlayne could all get together without the viewers actually having heard about Min's viewing (besides the little hint of it we got in s1).

I do wonder sometimes if Jordan regretting sowing Mat's marriage prophecy in so early once the book series really started to stretch out, because it really handcuffed him to a very specific Mat plotline and some of the authorial choices that Jordan made to shackle Mat to that plotline were... very weird and involved characters behaving very strangely to their normal behavior (I have an entire post at the end of my WH reread where I go over how WTF some of Jordan's writing choices were to 'justify' Mat going on his road trip with Tuon).

6. I know that some people take issue with Alanna, Maksim, and Ihvon confronting Lan over potentially being a Darkfriend but... as Pevara says in A Crown of Swords, “You were very brave coming to me, Seaine. I’ve known Darkfriends to kill brothers, sisters, parents, to try hiding who they are and what they’ve done. I love you for it, but you were very brave indeed.”

Holding Lan above suspicion because of his background seems like it would have been foolish for Alanna & co to do, after having found that poem in his belongings. After he and Moiraine have been doing secretive journeys together for twenty years, very soon after Moiraine herself changed to be much colder and much more isolated from her fellow Sisters (especially since she and Siuan likely 'broke up' at that time).

I do think that book readers were potentially so distracted by wondering whether or not Alanna was going to get Lan's bond that they didn't necessarily realize that he was being covertly interrogated all of episode 4 by her and her two Warders, trying to figure out what Moiraine is doing and why she dumped Lan this way. I didn't look at the storyline like that on my first viewing because I was looking at it as a Lan plotline, but on my rewatch, it was actually very clear that Alanna, Maksim, and Ihvon were all trying to get information from Lan in various ways to try to figure out what's up with him and Moiraine. Alanna doesn't want Lan's bond; she wants his secrets.

7. More eye trauma for Mat in Rand's dream here. Both Nynaeve and Rand give Mat eye trauma foreshadowing in their visions, which does imply to me that the show wants to do the 'Finn plotline.

8. "You can travel too, see the world as it really is." hmm, I almost wonder if Rand is going to do what Egwene did in LoC, and use TAR to get to Falme quickly? (but then how do Moiraine, Lan, & Mat all come too? hmm. Might just be set up for a later season)

9. My constant emotional surprise when Randgwene keeps being a thing even though we haven't gotten to the part in the books where they break up For Real: my own personal toxic book reader trait, lol.

10. We once again have it kinda being hammered into Rand that going off entirely on his own and abandoning the people that he loves is a bad thing, actually. It's very very difficult to see the show ending in the same place that the books did, because "Rand off on his own and emotionally isolated" is definitely being shown as a negative.

(of course, it was mostly treated as a bad thing in the books too, until it's suddenly Rand's happy ending. but the show has the advantage of already knowing the journey they need to take to the ending, so I feel like they wouldn't be pressing this button so hard if they planned to end it the same way -- plus, this Rand doesn't even smoke pipes, which was really just Jordan, known pipe-smoker, stapling that trait onto every single male character in the series, no matter what their culture)

11. I really hope that the show is able to find some excuses to let more character reunions happen in the show than happened in the books because the idea of Mat and Rand splitting up in s4 for their respective narratives and then not seeing each other until they get one single scene in s8 is absolutely excruciating. My biggest disappointment with the Sanderson books...

...okay, no the biggest disappointment was Mat magically teleporting to Ebou Dar with zero explanation in the text of how it happened or why he changed his entire set of character motivations in between ToM & AMoL.

One of my disappointments was how... hollow the Mat & Rand reunion was. It happened on enemy territory, while Mat was still in full 'fawn over the slaver' mode and hadn't yet gotten his spine back, and it ends in this weird bro-out one-up competition that didn't really match their previous relationship in the books at all. So if the show could just... do all that differently... that would be great.

12. I wonder if Rafe & co noticed the same thing about Rand and Mat that I noticed in my last reread -- which is that their lives kinda drastically go downhill once the plot forces them to separate for the rest of the book series. Because we really see them being a source of comfort and support for each other here. Which is also very true in portions of the book series -- I think especially of moments like Mat quietly sitting with Rand after Rhuidean, which is literally exactly what Rand needs at that moment in time.

13. So, my current theory re: Mat and the dagger viewing is that he is going to essentially be the 'proof' for show-onlys that Min's viewings are unavoidable. Because Mat does not want to stab Rand and he even knows now that there's (essentially) a prophecy that he's going to do just that. And Mat stabbing Rand anyway, even though he actively does not want to and does his best to avoid it, would serve as a harsh lesson for the viewers and for Mat himself that prophecy cannot be avoided (my money is still on compulsion from Ishy, but we will see!).

Which is relevant to Mat's arc in a lot of ways. In the books, it was really frustrating how he thinks about how he'll run away from the DotNM if he finds out who she is but then once he's face to face with her, he basically rolls over and caves to fate pretty much instantly.

He didn't have to take Tuon with him when he escaped Ebou Dar. He didn't have to stay with the circus once he'd left the city; he literally could have just walked away from her and yet he inexplicably actively courts someone that he never, at any point, wants to marry (even after the final vows are said, Tuon's slave Karede notes how Mat looks miserably resigned to his awful fate), and fawns over her despite her being basically the lovechild of Suroth and Renna, in terms of characterization (Suroth's Mean Girl (TM) behavior towards Loial in this episode vividly reminded me of Tuon's Mean Girl (TM) behavior towards Egeanin; show!Suroth and book!Tuon both have the most fun in life when they have someone to mock and look down on and treat like shit).

If, in the show, he's already learned the hard way that some fates cannot be avoided, then we might get into a more interesting situation where Mat tries to find a way to make the prophecy come true in a way that still helps his friends, and tries to manipulate fate for the better. It's also a way to make the relationship somewhat more palatable for the viewers

Just... the whole way that Jordan played their relationship in CoT & KoD will eternally leave a bad taste in my mouth. Especially since WH set Mat up to challenge Tuon's beliefs. (though probably the worst part is running across that certain variety of 'Mat fans' who either don't notice or don't care that he threw away his morals in between WH & CoT and did a near-complete 180 turn on his attitude about slavery). It's just wild how much shit Jordan makes Mat swallow with a smile for the sake of this terrible prophecy marriage -- and other characters get covered in Tuon's shit too, because of Mat's choice to bring her along in the escape. Joline, Teslyn, and Edesina get tortured because of Mat's choice. Yeah. Pretty much any decision that Rafe & co make about this storyline is guaranteed to be better than the original version.

14. So Siuan coming here is basically the show's version of the scene from Fal Dara, given what we have of the set-up -- fourteen Aes Sedai making a traveling journey to a major city. But that is definitely worrisome news for Moiraine, given the differences in the show vs books.

15. I don't think that Alanna will bond Rand next week (it feels way too early for it) but I do think that the seeds of why she believes that he should be bound might be planted. It depends on if Rand gets publicly outed as a man who can channel & who believes that he's the Dragon Reborn. Because we do have those fires and potentially a riot going on in the Foregate in the next episode, based on the trailers. Rand may do something that 'proves' to Alanna that the White Tower needs to control him so that he doesn't destroy the world. Especially if he disappears from the city after the riot, with them having no idea where he disappeared to.

16. ...I am really looking forward to Egwene putting that damn collar around Renna's throat.

#butterfly watches wot #wot #wheel of time #wot on prime #wot show spoilers #wot prime spoilers #wot s2 spoilers #wheel of time s2 spoilers #wot 2x6 spoilers #wot book spoilers #a memory of light #cauthor

[cinnamoncountess]

Fellow Travelers Rewatch Party | episode 1

Content warning: NSFW, strong language (likely)

This will be mostly a reaction and based on observations, given the knowledge about how things will unfold in later episodes.

What a perfectly beautiful way to start a show! The song flows amazingly with the cinematography and it encloses around the viewer like a warm hug, simultaneously delivers an underlying sadness, the lyrics preparing us of what lies ahead, a tragic love story that yearns to end happily, but won’t. It sets the mood and gently announces with a toe-deep dive that we’re about to journey backwards into a different decade. I love it! <3 (song: Stevie Wonder - If It’s Magic)

Marcus drives down the sophisticated suburban lane to meet Hawk in his perfectly cultivated family nest to hand over the package, according to Tim’s wishes. It’s sweet to know that he supports and protects Tim, because - as we find out later - he knows Hawk and his shenanigans the best. 

Promotion party! Lucy and Hawk certainly know lots of people. Also, how many grandchildren do they have? I’d assume the other kids are probably the children their guests brought to the party, playmates of his granddaughter, right? No, wait, Lucy says „grandkids“ - so there are more than one? 

Lucy: The grandkids are going to miss Hawk so much when we got to Milan. I don’t know what Kimberly’s going to do. - Hawk’s a beloved granddad.

Hawk: Well, she’ll ship them over in the diplomatic pouch. - The sass and wit never ceases. 

Lucy: I almost gave up my dream of moving to Italy with the man I love.

Hawk: In the end, sh settled for going with me. - OH. The foreshadowing, the ambiguity. The HURT. For BOTH of them. My heart.

Did we ever find out how and when Lucy got to meet Marcus, though? 

Marcus is sooo distressed about the AIDS situation killing all his friends, his beloved ones around him. I want to hug him! 

Marcus: Tim doesn’t want to hear from you. He asked me to make that clear. - It’s another verbalisation of ‚Promise you won’t write’, Tim might have been hoping to hear from Hawk. Then again, of course Tim made sure Hawk will receive the paperweight. It’s the same ‚message‘ that Hawk delivered to him when he left it as a gift before betraying him - to let go. Tim wants to let go. 

Flashback to 1952!

Tim ordering a glass of milk, almost snapping at Hawk for questioning his beverage of choice.

The beginning of the milk odyssey…

What a beautifully shot scene, the lighting, the music / score, the switch between scenes, paralleling the scenes between society conform married life of a ‚straight’ man and cruising through park bathrooms - the double life of Hawkins Fuller and preparing us for what lies ahead, truly marvellous.

I think that’s the roughest and most mechanical, unemotional sex we’ll see in the show. Hawk literally punches Eddie like a donkey.

Hawk: Milton. But my friends call me ‚uncle Milty‘ - Cracking up. Hawk, be serious. 

Hawk doesn’t care about your little life, Eddie. He got what he wanted. He doesn’t give him his number. Important detail since that’s the first information he receives from Tim, already going one step further than he does with Eddie here. 

The small „:|“ glance Mary and Hawk share in reaction to Miss Addison’s disapproval of commies, only the eyeroll and irritated sigh missing. Love Hawk’s and Mary’s interactions and friendship overall, so entertaining how they’ll constantly talk ambiguously. 

Tim and Hawk first meeting at the park! 

Tim: I have a degree in political science and history. I think I should aim a little higher, don’t you? - Oh, baby, you should! Too bad he’s never got to indulge in a profession that fits his education. But then again, maybe it’s for the best that reoriented his career and found a better path for himself, for his eagerness to be politically vocal! He still became a spokesman. 

Tim flusters as Hawk inquires him about memorising his biographical entry! His reaction is sooo endearing. He’s already so smitten. 

The banter between them! 

Hawk: Down boy. - And so the dynamic starts.

Hawk: Perfect. I’ll spend the afternoon picturing you kneeling in prayer. - Pants flew to the moon, ovaries and peepees exploded!

Smith: Your plan, me in the White House in eight years. - Hawk intending to ‚manipulate‘ his mentor’s career, making him president.

Tim and his little cupboard where he hangs his very few white socks and pants. D: Also, he is a plant person! In this apartment as well as in his 80s one he own quite a bunch of greens. 

Jean: … could stand to improve his spelling. You’ll have to do this one again. - Is Tim dyslexic? 

The book Tim bestows Hawk with, as a present for getting the job is titled ‚Look Homeward, Angel.‘ Angel. Skippy, in the book apparently, is derived from an angel’s name. So maybe that’s Hawk’s inspiration in the show?

Hawk visits Tim for the first time and wants to take him out for dinner! So much to the ‚we NEVER eat in restaurants!‘-complaint in episode 3. Hawk wanted to take him out to a restaurant before. <3

Tim is very, VERY drastic in his political views, which is a bit concerning, but also understanding, given the historical context. 

Hawk asking for consent before lifting Tim to his feet and undressing him, love it. 

Tim showing Hawk the family photo album.

Tim: This is uncle Ronald, the drunken designated hopeless sinner of the family.

Hawk: I think you’re giving uncle Ron a run for that title.

Tim: Thanks to you… - and the little smirk, I can’t.

Mary: How are you enjoying ‚Look Homeward, Angel‘?

Hawk: Immensely. Although I have trouble finishing a book before I wanna start another. - he says while he eye-flirts with the next guy standing closeby, oh Hawkins. 

Eddie making a scene out in the open, in the hallway…That is very, very awkward and risky and Eddie should know that, not a clever move. I feel for him, for what happens to him later on, but he had it coming, unfortunately. He should’ve let it go when Hawk made clear he doesn’t want further contact during their encounter and then clearly signifies he doesn’t recognize him. It’s like having an ONS or anonymous sex, the rules about how this will go and what it entails are set. 

Tim toe-sucking bj-ing himself to the fancy party is still wonderful and he must’ve done a spectacular job to convince Hawk. Also, he’s wearing Hawk’s coat here. Wonder if they acted out the little monologue and Tim really went there with the taste of him in his mouth. 

Alsop: My wife says the aroma is somewhat reminiscent of feet. I can promise you it tastes perfectly marvellous. - This is a very feet-heavy episode.

Lucy and Hawk share such entertaining banter moments, I wish they could’ve stayed just really good friends, without all the heartbreak and pain.

Bringing up Lucy is a red rag to Hawk, but Tim just can’t help it. These two have severely different perspectives on life at this point and Hawk told Tim multiple times that he can’t give him what he wants, the life he dreams of, that they can just enjoy these occasional moments of fun together, which of course isn’t enough for Tim, who craves for everything straight couples have, to date his partner openly. It’s not possible in this environment and Tim acts very stubborn and naive here. He is also constituting a great risk for Hawk, who doesn’t shove him away just yet, which is surprising, giving what we’ve seen of him and how cautious he wants to be, leaving no traces endangering his career.

After hearing McCarthy’s speech it’s actually so disturbing and irritating to know that Tim holds onto this man’s ideals so firmly. 

Shout out to the beautifully nuanced OST created by Paul Leonard-Morgan.

And that’s it for this episode. 

#fellow travelers #fellow travelers rewatch party

[celestiall0tus]

Luka Couffaine Notes - All That Remained

So, I think I see what issue I've had with Luka that I don't with Kagami. And, I ask your forgiveness for the blasphemy I'm about to speak. But you know what they say, right? Better to ask forgiveness than permission. So, let's crack into this.

With all due respect to Luka, he's a decent character in concept. However, from what I've seen, he's dreadfully bland. It's honestly hilarious seeing what a far cry he is in show versus what the fanon is. I've known this fact, but it really isn't until rewatching the older seasons that I see what my issue is. He was really just made to be for Marinette. He is the typical love interest catered to be for the main lead.

Now, there's nothing wrong with the original intention of a character being a love interest. One of my favorite characters, Sally Acorn, was originally intended to be a love interest for Sonic in the Archie Comics. However, for those that read the comics and know her, she became so much more. It's honestly arguable that the world of those comics was built for Sally and not Sonic. Sally became such a big part of the comics and her role was incredible, but she was still intended to be Sonic's love interest. Same goes for Kagami. She is a love interest for Adrien and rival to Marinette, but she feels so much more fleshed out. Like Sally, she's utilized so much more than Luka, which is a shame.

Luka, for all the potential he has, is nothing more than the would-be gold medal. He comes in to offer emotional support and be the rock for the main leads, but mostly Marinette. He is perfect for her, is everything she needs him to be. Day on the ice rink? He's a professional skater. Having trouble with your feelings? Shoulder to cry on and advice giver. She's feeling down and needs a pick me up that the girls can't give her? Enter stage right, Luka.

We see this even in their akumatizations. Luka is akumatized because of Marinette. It is only ever because of Marinette. Kagami did have her share of akumatizations because of Adrien, but for different reasons. Wanting a rematch, Lila, and Adrien lying. And let's not forget the cloud titan that was due to Marinette, not Adrien. Then there's Luka who was akumatized because of either an injustice to Marinette or wanting the fucking truth. (I'm not counting Migration. You all can fuck off with that. That was just bad writing all around that fucking episode.)

Doubling back on the bit about fleshed out. We see more with Kagami about who she is, her struggles, and so much more. We even see her GASP grow as a person. Whereas we have Luka. The man who is always kind, caring, protective, understanding, and patient. Well, that's all fine and all, but what else? What are his flaws? What are his weaknesses? What makes him human? I'm honestly reminded of the scene in Barbie the Nutcracker with the Rat King reading on the Sugar Plum Fairy and just being like "That's it?" Or in Swan Lake when Odette asks "What else?" and prince asshole asks "What else is there?"

You know, it kinda makes sense that when I see canon Luka, I just laugh. I don't see a character like I used to. I see a character with potential relegated to a glorified plot device. He only ever served as a way to advance the plot, which is a fucking sin. If Kagami was allowed to be important later on (which I get for what season 5 was) why couldn't we get that with Luka? I would have loved to have seen more than just a glorified plot device and, I wager, almost falls into the everyman trope. He is ordinary at the time we meet him. The one bit of normal in Marinette's life that we all honestly became attached to. Well, most of us anyway. Makes sense given his borderline blank slate personality of generic good traits.

It also makes sense why I latched onto the Luka in fanon. The entire fandom, all of y'all, make Luka such an interesting character. And I, for one, thank you all. We see more with these characters that don't get the spotlight, especially with Luka. It's amazing seeing what we do with him with the meager template provided by the show. Thank you.

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #ml critical #miraculous critical #writing critical #ml analysis #writing analysis #analysis #character analysis #character critical #miraculous luka #luka miraculous #luka couffaine #mlb luka

[kerubimcrepin]

Liveblog 6: analsysising harder

I am having a finals' nightmare week in university, but finally found the time to sit down and relax, so here's to episode 3.

He's so supportive. For all his faults as a father, (like the fact that Joris might not be able to read yet in here, despite seemingly being pretty ready to be taught how to, as was pointed out to me by @dullard during our separate rewatch from this rewatch) the fact that Joris can sell things at the market all by himself at 7yo and knows what a commission is, is actually really cool. Good job, Keke! This once, I will not kill you with hammers.

Do start teaching your son to read/write soon. Please. Please.

ANALYSIS EVENT LEVEL 10 ALARM WEE WOO WEE WOO. CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS.

Joris is seven years old. Kerubim was, by his own words, "barely older than him," during his confirmation ceremony at the Orphan Temple. Can we actually ask what Kerubim Crepin was doing, at seven years old, in the orphan temple??

As we know from Dofus Heroes Kerubim comic, he was busy being an orphan, plotting to resurrect his parents, (either adoptive, or step-father and biological-mother. It doesn't really matter !) and being sad, to the point that, as an adult, even while amnesiac, he empathizes greatly with a stray kitten.

Having dreams of not wanting to be lonely, projecting his loneliness onto stray animals... It's the reason why he's afraid of showing people that he's weak and driving them away, and what makes him a compulsive liar, as I've pointed out in the last post. He can't bear being alone.

No wonder, then, that despite being old, and having a decrepit house, he didn't try to find Joris a better home. It would be a betrayal of his own ideals of protecting children from what he went through. It would mean that someone so similar to him would, too, be all alone. And, a bit more selfishly, he does need someone by his side.

I would point out, that Atcham was in the temple, implied to be mistreated, that they are both full brothers who grew up in the same family, and that him and Kerubim didn't have the best relationship even as kids, — with Bashi also disliking Atcham heavily, for unstated reasons, — and how it all might tie into Kerubim also adoptng Joris out of guilt, because he feels like he might end up like Atcham, but I don't have ten hours.

And also bc Atcham doesn't appear often, and I am mostly delusional about this.

Kerubim avoids mentioning Atcham or any of his adventures in Brakmar, so... man just give us anything to work with.

Despite Keke playing it off now, he really didn't have an easy childhood.

For all the times I say he's a bad dad, or that I want to beat him up, it is all in jest. I think he's a very tragic character who was just... never really given a chance to develop a healthy way of interacting with the world.

And for what it's worth, he grew up to be as decent of a person he could have, and did the best he could, at becoming a family with Joris and raising him, as flawed and uneven as it is.

He really just wants this kid to have a good childhood, or an approximation of one, with no violence, loneliness, or fear he went through — and it's all going to be ruined in the movie, isn't it?

It won't stop me from joking about beating him up in the future of this blog, but I wanted to make my stance clear. No non-joking slander of Kerubim in this household. Ever.

I think he was scared shitless of having a deadly quest here, but HAD to pretend he wasn't, for the public. He looks happier now than seconds ago in the queue line, lol.

Low self-esteem can result in seeking attention through being loud and obnoxious, as well as a fear of embarrassment, so, it checks out. Lying is a likely thing for Kerubim to do, and I love and respect him for it.

His immediate reaction to being embarrassed by getting a clothespin, and made fun of, as audience laughs? Double down, baby! Though, his angry facade doesn't last until the end of the line. He's just... looking sadly to the side.

By the way, considering he's only a bit older than seven, the "I've been training for years" is a bit haunting.

Do you know who DOES deserve to get beaten with hammers for real, non-ironically? The god Ecaflip. Can I get an amen?

No wonder, Kerubim coddled Joris and wanted his life to be better! His life sucked!

Of all the things not to lie about, he seemed not to lie about being trained. Doesn't stop him from being beaten up, though...

We have to beat God Ecaflip with hammers. There is no other way.

For all his cockiness, he's so stressed out. His facade is so, so ruined, the second he realizes his plan is not working.

Really, this whole scene puts their relationship together the best. He's a God, holding Kerubim, a 7-9yo orphan, on a tiny string.

His whole life, Ecaflip just belittles him over some random bullshit, makes him hate his brother for being bald, and then gives him a gambling addiction before putting him into a mental asylum to treat it. All of that because he loves him that much.

We have to kill him. There is no other way. I may be a wakfu season 3 hater, but Oropo was right.

Yay, trauma bonding, in its correct definition!

If my whole family died, and a god cared so much about me, he made me the protagonist of various sad cringe stories of overcoming personal adversities mostly caused BY him, I too, would develop some sort of complex to cope. So I get it.

But I feel like, even if Kerubim will never voice it out loud, considering what repercussions may follow, deep down he knows that Ecaflip himself is one of the reasons for his loneliness, and that most of all, he's scared of him.

#ro liveblogs dofus #dofus #wakfu #kerubim crepin #ep3

[loud-whistling-yes]

I saw you going insane in the tags and figure I'd give you this idea to work off from:

In double life, having had her loyalty scorned by Scott, she doesn't actually try to win it back at any point. She just tries her hardest to take everything from him (she uses his slip to take ownership of his house but beyond quoting that exact line always refers to it exclusively as *her house* not their house as well as making many attempts to get Cleo to stay with her, even when rabid she never attacked Cleo first,) attempted to make him suffer as much as possible (mostly through the powdered snow but also often in other ways,) and when they had seemingly made up she told him to his face that she planned to betray him and join the other side, so she is unflinching loyal but also incredibly vengeful if that loyalty is tossed away and discarded.

LITERALLY. SHE DRIVES ME SO FUCKING CRAZY I CANT WITH THIS. its almost like she embodies the parts of scott and cleo people associate them with and went absolutely batshit hogwild with it. scott's unwavering loyalty + cleo's bloodthirsty vengeance + pearl's own tendency to fixate ALL that shit towards one and a half of a person and be fucking unhinged while doing it = whatever the fuck dl!pearl was on. she forgives scott at the very last minute when she thinks scott gave up the victory for her BUT by the time limlife comes around you can tell shes not completely over it. like i fucking cant with these two. i CANNOT. the way the two of them work how when together they're unstoppable and loyal to the bitter end but simply by the nature of how they are once betrayed their relationship can NEVER go back to the way it once was. they're two sides of the same coin. pearl is devoted the way scott is loyal and scott is petty the way pearl is vengeful.

like seriously just typing this out i just realised??? the traits many people associate with scott???? how petty he is and how loyal he is???? pearl has it too. the thing with her is that with her she takes it to the extreme and always to one person only. just take a look at her and impulse in limlife. impulse kills her once(1) and she DOES NOT let go of that grudge for the rest of the entire fucking series. im not joking rewatch the whole fucking thing again and count the number of times she declares wanting to kill impulse after the boogie kill. scott might do it more frequently but when pearl hates someone shes never letting that shit go

and the fact that she dies this season, underwater, stabbed by scott, trashing around and yelling "this isnt fair"? i wonder if that's another grudge she'll be keeping for a lifetime

#limited life smp #pearlescentmoon #scott smajor #yknow what i feel like it deserves the tag #galaxy duo #mcyt #god im so fucking insane about these two #they'll never be on friendly terms ever again probably given everything that happened in dl but GOD DO I FUCKING WISH THEY WILL 😭😭😭 #DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT DRIVES ME NUTS WHEN THE HC X ESMP THING HAPPENED AND PEARL GOT TELEPORTED TO CHROMIA #AMD THEY DIDNT EVEN KNOW EACH OTHER 😭😭😭😭 #they are probably never gonna be able to share a room without dreaming of enacting violence on the other ever again jfc i CANNOT #I CANNOT WITH THEM #something something forgiveness cant mend that wound in your heart forgiveness cant make that pain you felt never exist forgiveness #forgiveness cant fix what happened between the two of you #the wound may heal but the scar will still ache and you cant just pretend the hurt didnt happen and AAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHH THESE TWO #asks #joey's asks

[mygreatadventurehasbegun]

Here’s the rest of my Phantom ‘43 liveblog notes...just too tough to do tons of individual posts when I actually want to watch the movie....taking notes is much easier...though I still had to pause a few times because I just can’t type fast enough, lol.

~The Tenor in Marta has an amazing voice.

~The side eyeing between Raoul and Anatole has begun!

~M. Villeneuve looking almost amused when he comes across Christine being told off by M. Vechers.  I’ve always loved how in Christine’s corner Villeneuve is.

~I love M. Villeneuve’s speech about artists, and them needing to be around people who understand it.  And choosing between art and “a normal life”.

~NOT CLAUDIN RIPPING MY HEART OUT DURING THAT FOYER SCENE.  

~The fact that they just held on Claudin’s face while he’s playing The Lullaby of the Bells shows just how good of an actor Claude Rains was.  You can watch an extreme closeup of him, not speaking and still be enthralled.

~There is so much vulnerability when he says “what am I to do, Maestro?”  He’s so vulnerable, and yet still dignified....and I love that they didn’t make him beg.

~I love the random cat outside the window of Claudin’s apartment.

~THE WAY HE BARELY PAUSES AND LOOKS AT THE BUST, I CAN’T

~Not me crying when he almost cries while playing the piano

~I love the dress Christine wears during her voice lesson.

~The camera shot that reveals Claudin hiding from Christine is fantastic

~Before Claudin tells Signor Piretti about being dismissed, you can see his hands fidgeting in his lap...either from nervousness or the pain of his arthritis, or both.

~Speaking of Piretti, his “Italian” accent always makes me laugh: “The girl means nothing-a to me”

~The way Claudin’s face falls when Piretti starts laughing about the concerto.  Hasn’t this guy been through enough?  Jesus.

~As a kid, I always used to think the guy walking into Pleyel’s at the beginning actually was Pleyel...but it’s just an extra that look like him.

~M. Pleyel is such a dick

~I could watch that scene with the murder/acid throw a hundred times in a row, and still not be bored.  Just watching Claude Rains’ face change just before he snaps...also, the fact that they included Pleyel actually gagging is pretty intense for 1943.  And of course, Claudin’s screams are probably the best horror screams I’ve ever heard, especially coming from a man.  It’s so visceral.

~I do find it odd that he gets the acid thrown onto his entire face, but it’s only the right side that actually gets burned...maybe it was only supposed to hit the one side, but the take they went with was just too good to not use...

~Claudin, how did you manage to survive that long after throwing sewage on your burnt face?  

~Lecours reacting to the food that was stolen is hilarious.  In the script, it’s revealed that his “troubles” mostly boil down to indigestion...so when pickled pig’s feet and ham are mentioned, he grimaces and reaches for his 19th century Tums.

~The look on Anatole’s face after Aunt Madeline says: “please remember you’re speaking to a gentlemen”.  It always makes me laugh.

~I love that Christine says she encountered Claudin in the foyer, onstage and outside the opera...I wonder how many “surprise” encounters Claudin arranged just so he could see her?

~Time for something I never noticed before!  When Anatole presents the theory that Claudin probably fell in love with Christine, he says to Raoul: “You admit that is possible, no?”  And Raoul does a friggin’ double take.  I cannot believe I never noticed this before...It is hysterical and I rewound the blu-ray three times to rewatch it.  And even though the shot is on Raoul, you can totally see Anatole smiling at that reaction.  Maybe it made Nelson Eddy laugh or maybe it was in character, but either way, I love it.

~Is Anatole suggesting that he wants to do a bust of Raoul next?

~Just noticed that there is one woman in the orchestra who’s playing the harp.

~Anatole opening a conversation with “You’re going to be a great and famous singer, I’ll help you” is kinda odd...couldn’t say hello first?  lol

~Nelson Eddy and Jane Farrar’s voices really work well together.

~I wonder what the reason was for Christine to not be onstage during the first scene of the opera?  Other than to create suspicion for her drugging Biancarolli...though she was never actually accused...Biancarolli assumed it was Anatole...hmmm.

 ~M. Villeneuve being so proud of Christine as he conducts makes my heart melt a bit

~I always wondered what happened after Christine and Anatole’s duet?  Did Christine finish the opera or did Biancarolli push her out and finish it herself?  They’re only in Act I when she’s drugged, so there’s at least two more to go!

~I love the shot of Claudin listening to the thunderous applause for Christine.

~”Hearsay is not evidence Madame!”  Nice to see a police officer doing his job.

~M. Villeneuve is pissed when Biacarolli wants them to tell the press to ignore the fact that Christine sang.

~I love how Claude leans into the gravelly part of his voice after he dons the mask.  And that shot of him opening the curtains is so creepy!

~I don’t think I’ve ever actually mentioned how much I like the design of the mask...I like how it feels sort of sleek, and the deep-set look of the eyes.  And making it pale blue is such a cool choice.

~I would like both Claudin’s and Anatole’s capes, thank you.  Also love how they color coded them, with Anatole in white and Claudin in red (hero vs. villain)

~Every single thing that Anatole and Raoul do and say in the final scene at Christine’s apartment makes me smile.  The talking in sync, the side eyeing...everything.  I think this is the scene that makes every person who watches this movie ship these two characters.  The honestly have the best chemistry in the movie and I’m sad that these two actors didn’t make a series of buddy comedies.  WE WERE ROBBED.

~Nelson Eddy looks so good in that brown suit when he meets Franz List.

~I love that Hume Cronyn is in this movie.

~I need Christine’s pale blue dress in my closet now, please.

~The shot of Claudin coming through the curtains is genius.  I mean, it’s the officer’s fault for standing with his back to an open hallway...but it’s so creepy the way he appears out of the shadows.

~I love the third Opera sequence...I mean, it is Tchaikovsky, so that helps.  And Nelson sounds incredible.  And I’d still love a translation of the Russian...apparently, his pronunciation is really good.

~There is only one good bit of trivia that I got from the podcast I listened to yesterday: the set was reused from the silent film (I knew that), but the chandelier was actually in too bad of shape, so they rebuilt it, but built it in such a way that it could be dismantled for after the crash and put back together so it could be reused.  They said how much glass and crystal was used, but I can’t remember what they said.

~That shot where Claudin snaps his head back towards the camera before he begins sawing the chandelier chain always used to scare me as a kid.  On VHS, it looks like he’s looking directly into the camera

~I wonder how Raoul knew to go up into the catwalk to follow Claudin...was he dropping breadcrumbs?  Also, Claudin must have flown to get backstage and find Christine that fast, holy crap.

~He calls her “my little one”...how could anyone think that his love was anything but paternal?  Also, that “yes, what?” is such a parental thing to say...

~This Christine is so smart...thinking on her feet to try and get him to take her back...also, the fact that Susanna Foster is actually trembling is amazing.  I wish she’d had a bigger film career.

~I kind of love the fact that they are playing the concerto while the chandelier is still laying there.  Hope there aren’t any bodies underneath!

~Christine looking like she might make a run for it before Claudin helps her sit...good for her!

~God, that first look he gives her when he’s playing the concerto.  He can see that she recognizes the melody, and he thinks this crazy scheme just might work...he hasn’t started willing her to figure it out yet, but that look of recognition is incredible.  He looks down at the keys three times just to compose himself.

~I love how determined Christine looks when she goes over to grab the mask.  She knows who he is, but she just has to see his face.

~The shame on Claudin’s face after the mask is removed....whyyyyyy?  And then that quick snap to rage when Anatole and Raoul burst in.

~I love the look of panic on Anatole’s face when Christine says she’s always felt drawn to Claudin.  He wonders if she’s figured out the truth...more evidence of what was cut!

~I like how Christine has redecorated the leading lady’s dressing room.

~When Christine suggests they have supper...is she really suggesting a threesome?  LOL

~Anatole and Raoul walk off into the sunset and live happily ever after.  

THE END.

#phantom of the opera 1943 #phantom 1943 #phantom 1943 liveblog #claude rains #nelson eddy #susanna foster

[mrbensonmum]

TV Show - CSI: Las Vegas V

Currently, I'm watching the episode "Fight Night" S3E7, quite far along considering when I started, but it's running, just like the other series, always in the background once I'm home. It would be terrible if it were also running in the office!

What have we been through? In "Stalker" S2E19, Nick gets quite a beating, and this is even though we know that the Tarantino double episode is still to come, where Nick will get more than just a beating. The two actors who played the medium and the killer are incredibly distinctive; you've seen them in many series, mostly in individual episodes. Doug Hutchison has also made it to the big screen and appeared in The Green Mile (1999) and Punisher: War Zone (2008). But Leland Orser is certainly not unknown; he has movies like Alien 4 (1997), Seven (1995), and The Bone Collector (1999) under his belt. Both actors belong to the second tier but play at the forefront, and I'm always excited to see either of them.

"Anatomy of a Lye" S2E21 was also quite interesting, as we see a very young Mr. Spock, also known as Zachary Quinto. And yes, don't worry, I know this is the Mr. Spock of the modern era. Leonard Nimoy, as far as I know, does not appear in CSI, but who knows, maybe the series will prove me wrong.

Otherwise, the end of the second season is relatively calm; there are no major cliffhanger episodes yet, and I sincerely hope it stays that way for a while longer. Even though I can watch everything back-to-back, I still find such episodes quite exhausting.

Fortunately, Catherine's attitude has eased up; it's not as frequent, but when it happens, it's more intense. People are just being chewed out without her even introducing herself, and nobody knows who she is or what she wants. If someone talked to me that way, I'd react the same. Unbelievable level of arrogance, but well, I guess it's something I have to live with. I didn't want to mention it anymore, but this strange behavior towards Horatio in the last episode of the second season just doesn't sit right. It's a different jurisdiction, for goodness' sake! And those who come at me with "Yes, but she's a strong woman, has to assert herself… BLA BLA BLA!" Yes, she's the strong woman in the series, but a strong woman also asserts herself through respect for others, regardless of their position, and doesn't belittle others to highlight herself.

Despite the calm towards the end of the second season, we also saw the backdoor pilot episode of CSI: Miami, as briefly mentioned earlier. I like Miami, even though I can't handle the overly candied stylishness for too long. It's an interesting bunch that, after watching several seasons of CSI: Las Vegas, is quite refreshing. Yes, I didn't last very long on my last rewatch, but I think if it were available to stream, it would be different (I only have the first half of the first season on DVD).

Now that I think about it, the last episode of the second season is quite interesting because it examines the madness of the beauty ideal. And back then, there was already MySpace, but nowhere near the level of social media we have today. How would such an episode look under today's circumstances? After all, we not only have the modeling industry but also everything else like social media and various services that I don't want to mention here.

#csi #csi las vegas #crime scene investigation #nick stokes #catherine willows #gil grissom #warrick brown #sara sidle #greg sanders #csi vegas #csi lv #tvshow #tv show #tv shows

[foggyfanfic]

Hi! I noticed that your works feel very thought through and you mentioned couple of times when you researched something for a scene or in general for the plot

So I wanted to ask, how much time do you usually spend researching for your fanfiction or your art? Do you rewatch the source material and if yes, how many times?

Oh hey look! Things you sent while shadow banned are beginning to reappear! At least, the date on this says it was sent two months ago, but it wasn't in my inbox when I checked it a few days ago.

As usual, I am wordy, so I'm putting a cut.

To be honest, I've been way better at researching things since starting my ADHD meds. That said, generally if I want to include a detail in my story, but I'm not sure how realistic it is, I'll take a few minutes to google it. The amount of time I spend researching it is directly proportional to how much I think people will actually care. So when I need a culturally appropriate food for the characters to eat I'll google a Colombian cookbook, take the first one that looks reasonable for the circumstances (would they have the means to make it? store it? is this a breakfast, lunch or dinner food?) and slap it on the story. Takes me about fifteen minutes at most and it keeps the characters Colombian, so to speak. On the other hand, I wanted to figure out what labels a queer Colombian in the 1950's might have used for themselves so I spent a couple hours researching the queer history of Colombia (although I didn't find much before the 70's). I return to that subject whenever I feel the knowledge blurring away, because I know there's a chance somebody who is queer and from Colombia might read this stuff, and I want to do right by them. I remember when the movie first came out, the arguments over whether or not it was racist to headcanon the characters as queer, so I want to be very careful not to erase their culture while still being true to what I believe about the characters.

Other than that, I can mostly fall back on life knowledge, I grew up in an agriculture heavy area, I went to a community college and took classes in every random subject that caught my attention (from Human Sexuality, to Shakespeare, to basic architecture), and I've had a wide variety of jobs (from personal trainer to deckhand to gallery attendant) so I just kinda know stuff. I double check if I feel like it, like checking what contraception was available in the 1920's, but for the most part I've spent the last ten years trying to figure out what I'm good at other than writing, and in doing so, just made worldbuilding easier for myself. (I have now given up and I'm going back to school to get the damned artsy degree I should have gone for ten years ago.)

As for watching the source material, I have rewatched the movie specifically for fanfic twice (every other time I've rewatched it has been for funsies or in the spanish dub to practice). So far, when I start a new project, I watch the movie again and focus on whatever character my new project is about. For Love and Fury I focused on Bruno, for Mirabel's Super Secret Adventure I focused on Mirabel (and wrote that whole thingie while I did), I just got an idea for a PepaxFelix AU so I miiiiiiight rewatch again, depending on whether or not I want to commit to another big project.

#foggy asks #foggy rambles #love and fury #Mirabel's Super Secret Adventure #Probs more info than you wanted but its that time of night where my meds have worn off #so I'm full of many words #also!! #since I mentioned it again #if anybody has any good sources on LGBT Colombian history I would love a link #surprisingly hard to find #I should go to sleep now #good night

[cuddlytogas]

GOOD OMENS 2 SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT!! spewed out right after binging last night and then added to today. I'm mostly gonna ramble about structure rather than content, but the last few bits get quite spoilery

before that, though, one other thought: I DO hope the power of fandom now will mean that we'll get an influx of people listening to Cabin Pressure and JFSP and Double Acts and all that good stuff!!! John Finnemore is such an incredible writer and comedian, and I know the "following fandom brain into a rabbithole of someone's previous work" is a lot more common for actors than writers, but. one can dream!!!!!!! knowing Finnemore was a co-writer was what reassured me that the new season wasn't going to be an unnecessary sequel, he's so fucking good, and in conclusion ---

okay onto the s2 thoughts

obviously I'm, like. insane now. like I'm gonna shatter into a million pieces and also be sick. I have LOST my MIND. and it WAS good!!!

but also

I thought the pacing wasn't nearly as good as s1? obvs s1 had the ticking clock element, which is hard to recreate without just having another ticking clock, but especially some of the flashbacks tended to linger a smidge too long, and you could tell some of them were written by other writers - the "minisodes" thing I think didn't HELP. obviously I don't think this was a MAJOR problem, and I'll want a rewatch when i feel less Fully Insane to judge properly, but even ending aside, I feel like it didn't have quite the same structural/pacing qualities that made s1 so watchable

I thought the extension of the preexisting 1941 flashback felt... a bit hack-y? (it also went on too long tbh.) the reason those worked so well in s1 was because they were these little snippets, extending it (again, especially to the length that they did) was a little... hm. not, like, a cardinal sin, and it might just be a taste thing, but. again, the "minisodes written by other writers" thing didn't help.

and I'm REALLY sad it was released all at once!! with all the mystery elements, I would've loved a week to week format - even two episodes a week - to really digest all the clues, to sit and speculate and process each reveal/development! I just read that Neil Gaiman wanted that too, so it's extra hurtful. it would've been such a satisfying way to consume the show, but alas, Binge Culture must prevail, I guess :\

finally... I might be genuinely disappointed by the ending? I mean, the religious trauma is Strong With This One, and it'll depend on what they do with s3 (I'm not even going to humour the idea of no s3), but just... okay, real spoilers from here

it felt like Aziraphale really backslided?? like, wasn't the whole point of s1 the learning of "heaven and hell are both a bit shit and we're on our own side"? I understand why the final choice was compelling, both to him and the audience, but even across the season - and especially taking both seasons' flashbacks into account - he really sort of pinged back and forth between learning the lesson and going right back into denial about it, in a way that started to feel less like a character flaw and more like a cheat to keep the drama going. obvs his final choice was DEVASTATING, but also I couldn't stop thinking that Aziraphale... knows better??? not just "he should know better, how heartbreaking", but haven't we SEEN that he KNOWS BETTER?? it felt... inconsistent? again, as a writing choice rather than a character thing

like, I've slept on this thought now and calmed down a little about it, obviously I'm a bit biased by how also extremely painful that whole last scene was to watch, but - thing it, it's not even the decision itself that sits so formally wrong with me! the "I could fix things if I were in power" self-delusion is a very believable and narratively compelling (READ: HEARTBREAKING) move, as is him believing "if Crowley were an angel and I fixed everything then we could be safe and together and everything would be fine"!

but specifically the "but heaven are the good guys" - that gets me! like, after everything?? you really still believe that?? I thought it was obvious you learnt your lesson?? something something, "how can someone so smart be SO stupid?" - except we already did that bit in s1!! ahhh I dunno, it just rings a bit too much of the kind of undoing character development and recycling drama that I reeaaaally don't like :\

like, just. the pure disbelief in crowley's face - "tell me you said no" - like, yeah. and not just in a character sympathy way, but - come on, Aziraphale!! we've been through this so many times now!!!

again, this will also all rest on how it's handled in s3. and I have some faith! s2 actually bringing up crowley's "I was there when you tried to destroy Aziraphale, I saw your face when you told him to shut up and die" was revelatory, I loved that they actually made reference to it. and the writers are good! this isn't going to be a wwdits situation, I think we're safe in that. but s2 definitely had a few more plotty/pacing flaws, and that's just SUCH a huge betrayal - that whole ending was so massive - I have a lot of gay fear about how it'll all be resolved.

or, I dunno. maybe I'm just still too sad to think straight.

#Good Omens #Good Omens season 2 spoilers #spoilers #Good Omens spoilers #GoodOmenss2spoilers #GO2 #GO2 spoilers #pointless post is pointless #okay i think i'm done #just needed to throw some thoughts into the void

[zalrb]

“I found less quirky and original than even I expected. Like Barbie verged on boring for me.”

different anon but THIS! i found it so boring and at first i thought it was the anticipation of seeing oppenheimer immediately after (bc i did the double feature shamelessly). but i rewatched it with my sisters and like… i could not wait to leave. like i was keeping track of the third act for the movie to just END.

and then also i was watching fleabag yesterday and it was episode 2x03 were fleabag is talking to kristin scott thomas’ character, and i found the speech given there about women aging and loosing value in society much more refreshing and radical than anything said in barbie. and it made me realize that my issue with greta is that she keeps everything surface level yet somehow gets praised as this great radical feminist director of our times despite never having any follow through in her films

The third act was rough for me, too. I didn't need the Ken danceoff. Even the second act, I was like, OK she goes to the real world, realizes that she isn't seeing women as construction workers, a guy slaps her ass so she punches him, goes to jail where the cops who book her objectify her, gets out immediately; steals clothes and goes to jail and gets out immediately again (which is its own form of pretty white female privilege but whatever); finds the tween she thought was playing with her, gets called a fascist, cries, goes to Mattel where they literally want to put her in a box (symbolism!) then Gloria comes to the rescue and I watched it, like, OK?

I've been seeing defences of the movie being so pointed and ham-handed about its themes but for me it's not even about that, it's like you said, it's pretty surface level and therefore kind of easy. In the beginning of the movie, during their dance routine, there's a Barbie in a wheelchair dancing and I'm guessing Barbieland is accessible af, what if she went to the real world and realized things aren't like that; what if she did see women in positions of power and they were all white and she's like this is very different from Barbieland; what if instead of the Mattel boardroom which I know was meant to be over-the-top and satirical but still too much for me, we saw a bit more of Gloria's life or at least Gloria in relation to the Mattel execs. And there are other things like Barbieland has its own Mount Rushmore featuring Barbies and when Barbie comes back from the real world she realizes that it features the Kens faces but Mount Rushmore is a monument to settlers who colonized Indigenous land so its very existence in Barbieland should be antithetical to its core values, no? So if you're going to include that, maybe also include the dismantling of that? And maybe they did and I missed it but I don't think so.

So I was just kind of like I know we couldn't stay in Barbieland forever but the most original and clever aspect of the movie imo is the first thirty minutes and even then it's mostly set design.

The Fleabag speech was definitely a speech that made me think about it when I first heard it, it didn't necessarily strike a chord with me but it was different from the type of speeches that I was used to listening to so I was like , well this is certainly a different perspective put into words.

[tiny012]

I was rewatching Episode 3 of SuperS called Protect Mom's Dream: Double Moon's New Attack. I realized the girls are such huge ass bitches to Usagi for getting upset that ChibiUsa and Shingo (mostly ChibiUsa, who suggested the idea to Shingo in the first place) for eating the lemon pie that Usagi's mom made for the whole family.

They told her that Usagi shouldn't act like a brat because ChibiUsa is a "scared little girl away from home" and that her behavior is excused. Honestly, if I were in Usagi's shoes, I would've slapped ChibiUsa across the mouth a couple of times. Since ChibiUsa was added to the show, the girls act like ChibiUsa's pink sugar shit doesn't stink.

This is why whenever I used to write fanfiction adaptions of the seasons, I made another kid for Usagi who'd keep ChibiUsa in check.

Episdoe 130

I didn't liveblog that episode but I did watch it when I watch SuperS and I did remember that Usagi did throw a temper tantrum on the floor.. ( she is 15....)

But her mom did go too easy on Chibiusa as always and was like

Instead of scolding Chibiusa and Shingo for eating the pie.

and Usagi called her out on it

But I don't agree on her calling her mom an idiot tho

She also said this

Which she said almost the same thing to Mamo. Damn this girl self -esteem and insecurity levels are low .

But lets see what the girls say

Rei right off the bat being her usual self...

Skip Mako and Mina words and go right to Ami's...

But ami

USAGI IS HER DAMN FUTURE MAMA!!!

THAT'S HER FUTURE CHILD!!

WHAT FUCK IS THAT SHIT??

CHIBIUSA DOES THAT SHIT ON PURPOSE CAUSE SHE KNOW SHE CAN GET AWAY WITH DOING THAT SHIT TO HER PAST MOM SELF!

AND THE FACT HER GRANDMA DON'T KNOW WHO SHE REALLY IS.

WE ARE PAST R SEASON WHEN SHE WAS A SCARED GIRL AWAY FROM HER PARENTS AND HER PARENTS WAS HALF WAY DEAD.

AND A MADMAN AND HIS PEOPLE WAS CHASING HER.

THIS IS HER SECOND FULL SEASON COMING BACK IN THE PAST AS A SENSHI IN TRAINING.

WE ARE PAST THE POINT OF HER FALLING IN THE RAIN CRYING AND WANT TO BE PICK UP BY HER MOM AND THINKING EVERYONE FORGOT HER BIRTHDAY!!

SHE DOES THAT SHIT TO BE A FUCKING BRAT AND MENACE TO USAGI!

AND DON'T ADD AN EPISODE WHEN MAMO IS IN THE MIX!!

MISS ME WITH THAT BULLSHIT!!

STOP

GUILT

TRIPPING

USAGI

DAMN

IT!

#happysmilehello #tanya rants about sm

[fabaceous]

i was tagged by @thenelse to do 8 shows to get to know me better...ok honestly i dont watch a lot of tv. i mostly watch the same shows over and over so i actually could barely list 8. fyi the first 4 are probs my favorite shows but the rest are just shows that have impacted my life in some way. please dont judge me i swear i have good taste in other things 👍

1. yellowjackets obviously because it has literally everything i could ever ask for in a tv show. it irreparably alters my brain chemistry on a weekly basis

2. always sunny in philly. i can always bond with my girl friends’ boyfriends over this one LOL. ive seen every single episode a truly embarrassing number of times and i dream of being randomly thrust into a trivia situation where there is a question about always sunny because i have an obscene amount of knowledge on always sunny lore and am 100% confident i would nail it.

3. arrested development. second only to always sunny in the making lanie laugh category. tobias funke character of all time

4. haunting of hill house. winner of the making lanie cry category. great autumnal watch, i love rewatching around halloween. bent neck lady reveal had me legitimately in shambles

5. i mean the office i guess. i watched it in high school or maybe college,  mostly because my friends were always referencing it and i wanted to get the jokes...and lol i rly thought jim/pam was peak romance. luckily now im older and wiser and know jackieshauna is peak romance

6. back in college i watched all of friends because of a vaguely homoerotic bestie situation that later imploded and the one perk of losing her was that i was finally free to admit that show fucking sucks especially ross fuck that guy fr. me and my friends would have killed ross with hammers i can tell you that much

7. i used to watch bones with my parents when i was probably a little too young to be watching it. perhaps this is the origin of my fascination with morbid things

8. another childhood nostalgia show is monty python’s flying circus which i always watched with my dad. to this day we are capable of annoying everyone else in the room by having an entire conversation made up of monty python quotes (complete with bad fake accents)

EDIT BECAUSE I FORGOT THE MOST OBVIOUS ONE I KNEW I WAS MISSING SOMETHING: DARK (the german time travel one) thats actually a legit favorite of mine, took me on so many emotional journeys and made me laugh and weep and theorize and ponder. and it was good german practice 👍

well now you know, for better or worse...probably worse...anyway i nominate @chel-c-fsea @jamesv-t @movingtoparistoshootheroin @excluded-from-the-narrative ummm ermmm ehhhm... i would also say @teabookgremlin but you already got tagged...but...get double tagged i guess? lol ok i wont be offended if any of you guys dont do this but i didnt want to be boring and not tag anyone hehe <3

#theres lots of other shows ive started and enjoyed but never finished... #ive seen a little bit of most of the popular tv shows but im just not really a tv show girlie #also not really a movie girlie #but more so a movie girlie than a tv show girlie #like i think a list of 8 movies would've been a lot easier for me #and i think i wouldve made decent picks that actually reflect my personality lol

[eemoo1o-animoo]

Ramblings about season two (but mostly just Claude):

(Tumblr kept messing and eating with this until it was completely destroyed because of the readmore doubling or tripling the open paragraph. Every time I tried fixing it, it kept gnawing up more and more until it was gone and I had to delete it. This is me rewriting everything back down from what I remember.)

Claude, whether he’s to be made the villain or a recurring character, being portrayed as pedophilic in the last few episodes just angers me a lot.

I call episode nine the ‘derailment’ so if you ever hear me say that you know why. I think it was either episode seven or eight that Claude had tasted Ciel’s blood and it’s just so sad because you can tell it was to try and get back on teach with the “season exclusive” story they had on paper, after — in practice — setting up characters that could easily have been recurring (didn’t Yana say she originally want Alois in the Weston Arc?).

The writing is terrible. The time crunch was probably the primary reason for that, and it’s so obvious that they had to get back on track after straying away from the original storyline they’d intended.

If they had to make Claude pedophilic, then I’m an advocate for making it consistent as opposed to swatching it in at the last moment (aka. episode nine), especially just to make him the villain. And, if they weren’t originally going to, then we could have had a villain that wasn’t pedophilic.

There’s a theory (or perhaps it’s fact) about each episode being written by different writers / writing teams and when I’d heard that it crushed me. But, yeah, it tracks. It crushed me because I’d recently rewatched episode one and came across a scene I’d completely forgotten existed.

That being this: soft Claude.

The general consensus for Claude is cold and unemotive (and perhaps even negligent, especially in contrast to Sebastian), but in each episode we get different characterisation choices diced in with both Claude and Alois.

But this… I’d completely forgotten it had existed (look at the face he makes), and while Claude has behaved flatly all episode, this sliver of compassion could have been recurring but it wasn’t. It only appears once and it’s so frustrating.

Claude could have also been a villain with this sliver of compassion for Alois (“Of course, highness. We’re companions – I’m not going anywhere.”), whether it turned into possessiveness or as a side-trait to his character.

The story was awful just to sandwich Sebastian and Ciel back in, and Alois and Claude in each episode got different low-key character traits or moments / dialogue that never appeared outside of that episode. (For example, in episode six Alois mentions twice or thrice about “punishing” Claude, although due to his previously set up admiration for Claude and his disdain for Hannah, not only does it seem unlikely for his character, but we’d also never seen Claude be punished or the act of punishing be mentioned again outside of that episode, both prior and after).

The scene in which Claude tastes Ciel’s blood just to completely change the directory of his character was so forced. I remember thinking when I’d first watched it how Ciel slapping Claude with his bloody hand (as well as Claude then licking it, after the brawl between the humans) and Ciel also ordering Claude to get away from him as to finish Alois (as if Claude would listen to him) was just so out of place and out of character for all involved.

You can’t even call that out of character for Claude (or anyone from season two) because they don’t even have a definitive character, just a “general consensus” from what the recurring character traits were throughout the season.

They’d used Claude as a scapegoat for the bad writing, to put their original idea back in the forefront as to wrap everything up as if to be like “We can still make this work” which, as we all know, they could not.

Claude deserved better characterisation. He could have been a pedophilic villain, as long as he’d been portrayed as that from the get-go (which he was absolutely not) or he could have been an apathetic deuteragonist, or even just an apathetic villain (caring or not caring for Alois aside).

#tw unwanted tangent #hastily rewritten #black butler #black butler ii #kuroshitsuji #kuroshitsuji ii #claude faustus #alois trancy #original post #mourning soft claude :’( #:’(

[seaholics]

do-or-die

as much as I am not fond of Papa Korn as a whole, I have to admit, not for the first time, that he's the right man in the right place; intelligent, composed, cunning, but in a very distinguished way, and most of all, as Tawan said, looking at the bigger picture, not acting on the whim, like a true strategist that he is. so, when his own brother puts his own life in Korn's hands, I'm sure he would love to put an end to this farce, and yet... he doesn't.

exactly my initial reaction

one could say it would be a fitting punishment, a blow for the minor family, mostly for Vegas who stepped out of the line. but I don't think so, and I'm sure Korn saw more to it as well. obviously, it would wreck a temporary havoc in the underworld. though the mafia creed would find a paragraph for this brotherly act, particularly after the blatant clash, and the only person who would dare to make a move would be no one else than Vegas, that is why I highly doubt Korn was having second thoughts due to the family image. no, it was way more. I haven't read the novel and have no idea about the future events of the show, but I wouldn't put it past Korn if he only postponed the inevitable. especially after the words he said a moment after he put the weapon down:

"the victory comes from not taking advantage from the ones who are weaker"

I was ready to give him a standing ovation. Korn refused to end the dispute in the seemingly easy way Kan gifted him on a silver platter. instead, he hit his brother with something more painful than a bullet; a perfect shot to Kan's ego, reminding him where he stands in the hierarchy and ultimately why he is in that position instead of Korn's, "you are the weaker one here, my dear brother, and you don't pose a threat to me after all."

judging by Kan's taut expression, he would prefer to bleed out right there and then rather to hear those words and deal with the obvious repercussions awaiting him and his son (which doesn't mean he wanted to cowardly avoid it, I think this act could also be a part of a bigger scheme that Korn most likely ruined). not to mention I believe it was a direct hit towards Vegas' actions, trying to get to Kinn through other measures, not being able to confront him face to face due to their positions in the family. a double dose of humiliation thrown into Kan's face.

at the end of the day, Korn is scheming behind everyone's back and he's doing it quietly and efficiently, moving the chess on his both figurative and tangible board, adjusting his moves to every unforeseen circumstance. it's unsettling, and I don't trust Korn in any way, however on the other hand it's truly fascinating to analyse how he operates. that being said, if you haven't yet, check all of the amazing metas you can find in the doc made by LuckyDragon10, especially the chess ones when it comes to Papa Korn.

well, doubt I can call it a meta post, I'd rather say it's all just my rambling after rewatching the episode, but it's all the fun of kp to scrutinize everything, isn't it? oh, I'm all in for the mafia mind games, that's why I absolutely can't wait for the tense situation between the families to unfold. it's gonna be the highlight of the finale to me. also, if perhaps someone has already talked about the scene in a better manner than me and my evaporating braincells ever could, feel free to link the post, and if you have something to add pls do, I'll gladly read other opinions.

#kinnporsche #kinnporsche the series #kp meta #of sorts #more like the cogs in my brain whirring and screaming at me to finally let them work #love all the kp analyses #it's mindblowing how many layers this show has and how we all collectively decided to peel them off every week #seaholics

[glitchbirds]

there are three major video game genres to me- "total focus", "foreground noise", and "spreadsheet games"

"total focus" games pretty much require my complete undivided attention, maybe with some moments of downtime (ex: lobby load times, pausing the game) sprinkled in, but otherwise they are the main thing i am invested in the entire time the game is open. most story-driven games are this by default, as are most multiplayer games. under most circumstances these are not easy to make myself sit down and play unless im fully in the mood for it, because i have to carve out a block of time to dedicate to whatever the game is, and if i have anything else thats even slightly engaging to me going on that requires less energy thats often going to be what i gravitate towards. dead by daylight is one example of this, since its a multiplayer game that i will play in several-hours-long chunks of time "foreground noise" games are ones that i normally play while doing something else, usually putting more focus on the other thing than the game, with occasional exceptions. these are games i found myself playing while listening to pre-recorded lectures for classes, or that i turn to while struggling to keep my attention on a movie or video without either pausing every few seconds or otherwise ignoring it, or just so i have something to do with my hands while rewatching something. while they CAN be played with full undivided attention, thats a bit of a waste of mental resources, but they Are very easy to just pick up again and again at any time. most pokemon games (after ive played through them at least once) fall under this umbrella, gen 3 games in particular i have replayed from start to finish more times than i can count (mostly as randomized roms these days) "spreadsheet games" are the hardest to commit to playing at any given time and often the easiest for me to burn out on and feel like im not actually enjoying them and just pushing myself through (and yet i still somehow want to play them and will normally just take significant breaks). with these games i get caught up on optimization and will completely ignore story-related content for as long as physically possible while grinding for the best encounters, best items, getting as close to 100% completion as i physically can, etc. because of this i rarely can play the games casually without fretting about whatever stuff im missing, and have to have some sort of document keeping track of what im looking for open or easily accessible at all times. not all of these games involve me using actual literal spreadsheets but, for example, i have MULTIPLE files related to the game pokemon conquest and my efforts to get every single character to match with their perfect link pokemon;

the oldest of these files was last updated in 2015 and is just a notepad document of sentences like "takatora[charmeleon] needs litwick, kanemori[gurdurr] needs croagunk, nobuchika[panpour] needs gyarados"... this information corresponded to a ROM file of pokemon conquest that i lost the save file to at some point, likely while changing computers in 2018. my CURRENT file, though, is an actual spreadsheet using a base made by someone else Similarly Insane about pokemon conquest and corresponds to a physical copy of conquest that i own, which is in the early stages of the very long postgame (i have never actually finished conquest's postgame because of my perfect link quest). it was last updated late 2022 and looks like this:

(my past self did not make a color key and im not digging up the cartridge right now to double check, but after a few minutes of deliberation i believe blue = "i have this character but not the perfect link", yellow = "i have the link but not the fully evolved version of the pokemon yet", and red = "i have the fully evolved version of the link pokemon". white ofc means i havent recruited the character yet)

anyway all this is background information so i can say that rdr2 is slowly becoming a spreadsheet game to me because i am obsessed with getting as close to 100% game completion in chapter 2 as physically possible so that from now on whenever i decide to replay rdr2 from the start, i can play the game normally until the end of chapter two THEN make a copy of This save and go on playing from that point so i can have all the pearson camp stuff completed, all the trapper items, all weapons unlocked, all challenges complete, all collectathons done, etc and play stress-free. but also i really wanted to actually replay rdr2 from the start right now so these two parts of my soul are at war. and yes i have an rdr2 spreadsheet open (keeping track of all perfect pelts collected for pearson and the trapper) as well as an interactive map of the game so i can keep track of collectables, easter eggs, etc

#txt #this is several paragraphs of rambling about how video games work in my brain. click at your own peril #ok yeah i had to edit this like 5 times in quick succession to finally force the readmore to actually show up Love Website

[littleragondin]

I got tagged by @petrichoraline thank you (ˇ∀ˇ)~♡

currently watching

Bad period for my general focus right now, especially after SO many good shows to start the year, but I have been keeping mostly on top of the following:

Bed Friend, to my surprise, I have been watching as it comes out. My current Hand Obsession Show

Midnight Museum, hoping that I'll manage to keep up with 2 episodes/week all the way through but the horror, June, the Bam/Triphob thing, and whatever Dome and Khatha have going on are keeping me pretty engaged so far

Chains of Heart, that somehow keeps me coming back every Saturday for some beautiful scenery (and Ken crying).

Jack O' Frost and The End of the World With You, I am always late on those two but I'm still enjoying both a lot

And Our Dating Sim, which I think I'm gonna manage to follow as it goes

rewatching

As always I am an avid rewatcher so I have a few stuffs ongoing.

I'm nearly done with my rewatch of The Gifted, and getting ready to follow up with The Gifted: Graduation (had a sudden PomNon-shaped hole in my life, u know how it is  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯). I uh, I am working my way through my (second) rewatch of To Sir, With Love (yes in like a month I know I know) (have always been a little obsessive, bon). And from my nearly endless "crime-of-the-week shows I can put as background at work" list, I have started a Castle rewatch.

Spring is coming (I say as we just weathered two days of snow storm) and I got myself the Cherry Magic (series + movie) DVD as an early bday gift so a rewatch of that is next. In line with the spring vibe, Secret Crush on You is officially a year old now, and it has the exact kind of unhinged but soft feel I am in the mood for so it's probably going to be my next binge after my The Gifted double feature.

looking forward to

Oof okay, I always have a ridiculously extensive "to watch" list, but here are the shows I'm probably the most excited for, old or new:

Released shows I have been too chicken to watch yet but I'll get to them this year i swear - 180 degrees longitude passes through you, I told sunset about you (and follow ups), Winter Begonia, To my star 2

Released shows I'm excited to watch, I just need to hit The Right Mood - 3 will be free (for so. long.), The Wrap Effect, Lovely Writer, Goukon ni ittara onna ga inakatta hanashi, Rainbow Prince, Koisenu Futari, Ted Lasso (now waiting for it to end before I take the plunge) and A League of Their Own

Upcoming shows (soon or not): Bokura no Shokutaku, 23.5, season 2 of Our flag means , Good Omens, AND SEVERANCE , I Feel You Linger in the Air (1920 Thailand? Time travel that's probably gonna break my heart?? sign me the fuck up), Love Upon a Time - if it gets made - (James & Net! btw, did I say I like historical and time travel?).

Ooooh and the Wish trilogy!! > Make a wish w/ Fluke Natouch (this one just looks bonkers and I am into that), Wish you luck w/ Tonnam & Title Teshin (post apocalypse?? Soft boys?? I'll be there), and Wish me luck w/ Fiat Patchata (♡) & Na Naphat (♡) (i do like a nice office romance, plus this one also has Tonnam and in GLASSES if you please!)

I'm going to tag @benkaaoi @heretherebedork @bengiyo @excessivelyobssesed @scienceoftheidiot @howdydowdy @fandomfairyuniverse @usermachikeita @sauvechouris @asdfghjklmpff if they want to! ^^

#sometimes I think it's really best not to think of the time I spend watching stuffs 😌😌😌 #also as always I have like #plans for what i want to watch and rewatch but uh #I'm not the boss of my brain so nothing's ever set in stone #or even written in the sand at this point #(obv i know the Wish series have nothing to do with each other but like. Those names.) #tag games