#the show's first 13 episodes AND its last 13 episodes just happen to be its best episodes

[almalvo]

About An Official Spiderverse Artist...

Please do not just scroll past this post; read it.

If you guys follow me on twitter, you probably already know.

But if you dont or still want to read this anyway - here you go:

I aint big, but I got a growing platform that I see as important for me to use as a force for things that matter.

So here I am.

And I got something to say about a certain "artist".

There are so many fucked up people who call themselves artists who are so heavily worshipped by us who both get and or dont get outed in the world for things they do and for their general piss-poor behaviours and persons.

Im here to talk about one in particular (and certainly wont be the last).

There is an artist that basically EVERYONE here has seen art from before, printed in the official Sony artbooks too.

If you have seen this:

Then you have seen this artist before.

His name is Alberto Mielgo. He goes by @/pinkman_himself on twitter.

He is a HUGE part of the art direction and stylisation of the spiderverse movies, if that isnt already obvious. Because he was the former original art director of Into The Spiderverse.

Yes. Former.

Cuz he got "mYsTeRiOuSlY fiReD" from Sony 2 years into pre-production and completely removed from the project.

You may have also seen this character before:

Yes. THAT asian character from Netflix's Love Death + Robots, from the episode "The Witness".

Familiar? Yeah. Because this episode was also made by the same guy, Mielgo.

I aint going to talk about what happens in that episode and hesitate to encourage anyone to watch it - cuz all it basically is is a megalo-misogynistic, assault "glorified for the sake of aRtT", racially fetishised showcase of this crazy makeup/haired bdsm stereotyped asian girl sex worker who essentially gets murdered over and over and over after running for her life completely naked through the city for all of us to see for some fucking reason.

BUt yeah anyways, you can see it in the first pic, but Ill put it here to show more clearly - this here is NOT the character from LDR. But I can understand why you might think so:

Yeah. You read that name in the bottom right corner correctly. This is Peni Parker. His concept art of Peni Parker. A 13 YEAR OLD CHILD. Lookin suspiciously like and dressed as the adult person from LDR with ALSO the crazy hair, make up - WITH AN O-RING CHOKER AND BALL-GAG LIPSTICK (BDSM).

13. year. old. child.

This man only sees east asian women this way.

He likes them crazy, sexy, broken--

and young.

Cuz this man also wrote this on a now-deleted post on his website:

Yeah. He, this whole ass middle-aged white cishet male spaniard thirstin for kids since he was 18 for 12 year old girls.

Cuz 12 year old girls are a fuckin "KNOCK OUT" when they grow up, when they ripen up into adulthood, to this man Alberto Mielgo, aka @/pinkman_himself, this creature.

And if auctioning NFTs isnt bad enough (cuz yes, ofc he does that too - its literally the first option on his website) -

His entire fucking portfolio is of drawing women he had sex with.

His fucking PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO is all of painting and drawing women in very compromising, questionable ways of the VERY SAME WOMEN HE HAD SLEPT WITH THROUGH HIS LIFE.

They look as creepy as they are.

But the scariest part?

While I myself had only just found out about this some days ago as of writing this, some of us have known about this man and his antics for years.

And he keeps getting greenlit by the industry, over and over and over; winning awards, getting respected, praised, admired, even by fellow at-home artists like many of you out there if you dont already do so.

And nothing will happen to him cuz he is a white cishet male artist who has money and a following and connections and influence and power.

So yeah.

I just wanted to talk about a certain official Spiderverse artist to just let yall know there are freaks everywhere, and that no matter how small it is, it's people like me and you who need to do what we can to keep up awareness and warn our communities and protect our most vulnerable.

My suggestion is to take heed of what I said, ask questions about everything you will ever see again from anyone around you, no less the industry, THINK for once, and actually give a fuck.

Keep away.

Do not support this man.

But the decision is ultimately yours.

Stay awake, yall.

-------

(His face, publicly available as his imdb profile):

scary.

#have your truth but do not go harass this guy #jodido pedazo de mierda. #alberto mielgo #reblog to spread the word #likes dont do a lot #stay awake. #across the spiderverse #across the spiderverse fanart #into the spider verse #ATSV #ITSV #spiderman #spiderverse #concept art #art #psa #artists to block #marvel #sony #animation #pinkman_himself #love death and robots #netflix #im fucking tired of this shit. #dont miss this man for his artstyle - just take his artstyle for yourself and make it your own. #if you are a decent human being #you are already leagues better than this shite could ever be. #just take his technique and make it better by making it your own. thats it. #we wont miss you mielgo. #bai.

[nastyburger]

Please say more about the awful Asian designs in Danny Phantom. I'm not Asian but I'd love to have a rundown on the elements that make them offensive so I can avoid and critique those elements in other works. And also you deserve to speak your mind about it

im gonna mostly talk about southeast asian designs since thats what i am and the most familiar with and also what i feel are the show's worst transgression with their casual depictions. tw for racist imagery im gonna link pictures.

there's not much to say about the designs aside from, you know, everything but things to note are the unnatural yellow tone for the skin and closed slanted eyes. veggie burger (fan name for the bg character in the middle) also suffers from the huge nose that sometimes shows up in racist depictions. the straight edge/cut hair as well is somewhat stereotypical. this one isn't as bad but in conjunction with everything else its not ideal. i will give the smallest molecule of credit that at the very least dp never gave any of these bg characters buck teeth.

some depictions are better than others, but theres still missteps happening in one aspect or another. kwan's eyes in a lot of shots/episodes can be too skinny and even too slanted, the girl in the middle is almost perfect but her skin is too yellow (she looks kinda okay on my computer screen but i remember when watching dp on my tv she looked real brightly yellow), and principle ishiyama (who was weirdly forgotten about pretty early on in the show and was replaced by lancer doing most of the school stuff despite not being principle?? which is a whole other issue with how dp treats its poc characters) the same usual notes about the slanted eyes but also the upturned nose is pretty reminiscent of racist japanese art during ww2. again it is not the worst way to draw a nose but combined with everything else in this show's depiction of asian characters its not great, they are on thin ice man.

not to mention, principle ishiyama is the only character here with brown eyes. this is a problem that extends to all poc characters in dp and to my knowledge i think ishiyama might be the only one with them tbh. this is, again, a whole other issue though.

i think the thing that bothers me most about these designs though is that dp is very clearly aware that these depictions are bad. the only difference between the first set of characters and the second is one singular thing: they have a clear speaking role.

suddenly when theyre not stock background characters, dp knows how to act when drawing them. i cannot for the life of me find the image of it, but the last jock guy in the first set gets a speaking role in reign storm (he's cosplaying phantom) and he is drawn with proper open eyes! (theyre also blue but whatever) it just makes me sad that this was a clear choice they made.

the show also went in a different direction in the final product, but early development stuff was really drawing from a lot of japanese/asian influences like danny was originally gonna have a motorcycle (pulling from ghost in the shell) and was even referenced in the show via the akira motorcycle reference (which i once again, for the life of me, cannot find. danny took johnny 13's motorcycle and did the classic akira slide i think it was in million dollar ghost?? idk whichever one where the giw are trying to blow up the ghost zone). danny's name was originally gonna be jackie, named after jackie chan, this i assume was given to jack fenton afterwards. and i think the show having a more martial arts direction with the action was also gonna be a thing? that one could be wrong dont quote me on that, there was an episode where danny and vlad have like a weird ninja fight though im pretty sure.

either way my point here is that they wanted to pull from all these influences and it was prominent enough during development that they sprinkle references to it throughout the show and yet their portrayal and treatment of asian characters in the show is so abysmal it just feels Bad™, you know? i cant really put it more eloquently than that, like its very take and no give with it.

it overall just puts a bad taste in my mouth, and its sad that it still affects people years later. like i mentioned in the tags of the post that started this discussion with that whole old trend of putting yourself into the bg of dp screenshots, i felt alienated by that. and its not the people who participated's fault obviously but most of the people i saw participating were white fans (going off of how they drew themselves) and it made me a bit mad that they were able to enjoy the style of the show in a more carefree manner than i ever could. i didnt want to ruin anyone's fun obviously, but a small part of me wanted to bring to light how i wasnt on equal ground with them in that situation.

#seance #considered putting this under a read more but i decided i dont want to give people the choice to just not look at it

[bigb-enthusiast]

Hi! I don't watch much Bigb because I don't have time to watch more than one or two life series povs usually, but I feel bad about making him an afterthought in my content cause he has such good vibes. As the local Bigb enthusiast. I wanna watch a few of his videos at least, if there are any you can recommend that are particularly useful for getting a better idea of who he is generally, or if there's any advice you can give on how you think he should be portrayed that fanon tends to get wrong?

Hii! I can help uhh the best way i Can help you with portraying him is like? Watching every episode? But yk. Its a lot of episodes. But heres some i can help with

3rd Life episodes 12 + 13 (his finals)

Last Life episodes 4(pt 1 + 2), 5, 7, & 8

Double Life episodes 3, 4, & 5

Limited Life episodes 6, 7, & 8

Secret Life episodes 1, 2, 5, 7, 9

Sorry i just gave you (and whoever else follows this) like 18 videos 🧍 he just used to split his videos into parts and then also he showed more of his character further as the season(s) went again id really recommend watching Every video of his cause theres just so many details you can find but i picked what couldve been seen as more important within his character

Fanon wise he is normally not going to betray people on purpose, its usually by force of the game and hes actually rather caring. He tends of isolate but also stay quiet when theres more than at least 2-3 people in an area unless hes Really close with them, despite isolating a lot hes very easy to force or drag into an alliance and also when he does he tends to become super clingy to at least one person such as ren and then cleo who despite betraying he tried to get back with her whether its on good terms or an alliance for at least around the 3-4 seasons that happened after she declared he was dead to her, ive seen people characterize him as innocent which no his first interaction with joel EVER in 3L was a big dick joke /t /lh, and also he is also portrayed as ruthless or mean specifically during the soulmate scandal. He wouldnt have really did it if he knew it hurt scar THAT bad (which in canon it DIDNT. Sorry scar did NOT care)

#salt talks #bigbst4tz2 #trafficblr

[samwinchesterswifu]

Hammer of the Gods (Gabriel x Reader) Blurb

Requested: No

Season 5 x Episode 19

Warnings: Just a small moment showing the quiet relationship between the reader and Gabriel.

MINORS DNI

A/N: I just finished this episode and thought it would be a sweet last message blurb for the reader

Word Count: 400

Summary: Gabriel sacrifices himself to save two of his lovers, and the boys, but he doesn't leave without one final message for his favorite.

“So, he wanted you to guard this with your life?” Sam asks, sliding the disk into the cd slot of his laptop.

“Yeah, I don’t know why.” She sighs, looking over the disk cover again confused as all get out.

But as the opening credits of Casa Erotica 13 plays, her and the brothers watch as Gabriel opens the door in the film. She lets out a giggle after realizing what was happening. The woman portrayed in the film was the character she played whenever they fooled around.

“What the hell is going on,” Sam says completely flabbergasted at the scene in front him.

Then, Gabriel stops, and turns towards the screen.

“Sam. Dean. Prrrrincess.” The boys give her a puzzled look as a deep blush forms on her cheeks.

“You’re probably wondering what the hell is going on,” Gabriel snickers.

“If you’re watching this, that means I’m dead.” A small gasp left her lips even though she knew deep down that was probably the case.

“Without me, you’ve got zero shot at killing Lucifer, sorry.” Gabriel continues on.

“But, you can trap him.”

“The cage you sprung Lucifer from its still down there fellas.”

“And just maybe, you can shove his ass back in,” Gabriel smirks at the thought.

Gabriel continues on with details of a possible plan for the three of them. Looking at each with puzzled thought not even realizing this was an option for them.

“Can’t say I’m betting on you boys, but uh, hey I’ve been wrong before.”

She lets out a small pout.

“I’ve always count on you princess, don’t worry bout that.” Gabe blows a kiss to the screen.

The boys again take a look at her, unaware of the history between her and Gabriel.

“Oh and uh Dean, and I’m looking at you Sam, keep your paws off my girl yeah? I know that I’m dead and all, and she can do whatever she pleases, but unless she approaches you first, back off.”

Then Gabriel turns back to the woman on screen, Sam getting disgusted and shutting down the laptop.

“So uh, you and Gabriel?” Dean asks, smirking and scratching the back of his neck.

“It was a few…times, when you boys weren’t looking.” She says choking slightly at the awkwardness in her voice.

“Huh,” Sam says getting a pondered look on his face.

#supernatural fanfiction #sam winchester #dean winchester #supernatural #gabriel x reader

[moxielynx]

@whatudottu hihihihiiiii so ur ramblings about tetrax has me wanting to talk about tetrax cause i will take any opportunity to talk about him

d-23 tetrax is cool even if he didnt speak much in the episode, honestly d-23 ben deserved to be smacked around a little (/J /J that kid is like 13 😭), the twist that they were actually the good guys this whole time was great, especially since sixsix was also working with azmuth, which was a nice perspective

i like to imagine that d-23 tetrax is actually a total sweetheart and didnt actually like fighting ben since ben is just a dumb kid who doesnt know any better (even if he is a stubborn brat)

im pretty certain that petropia in the reboot is perfectly fine because for a while Vilgax wasnt. Vilgax, so he couldn't have hired Tetrax to steal whatever that crystal was from petropia then destroy it, so reboot tetrax is just what happens as a result of Tetrax not facing the consequences of his actions so now he's a MEANIE!!! but the dad instinct is still there judging from the way he interacts with Ben in "Mutiny for the Bounty"

as much as i prefer classic tetrax i really like that they went with a completely different approach with reboot tetrax, and like it makes sense too considering theres no way petropia would be destroyed in the reboot as well if vilgax couldnt do it (if petropia were to also get destroyed in the reboot then that would be so funny cause that basically means the planet is fucked no matter what 💀💀), its really cool to see that this might be what tetrax was like before working for vilgax and makes me really think about how different each version of tetrax is, and only makes me even more depressed that we never got prime tetrax in Omniverse, especially since there could've been so many moments where tetrax could've showed up

classic tetrax obviously isnt as cruel and uncaring as we see in the reboot or as he said when he was telling ben about his backstory because if he really didn't care as much but was like "okay this is fucked up i need to get my act together" then he wouldn't have looked so distraught watching his planet fall

i refuse to acknowledge the change in reaction in uaf tho cause it fucking SUCKED they cant just turn him into this stoic fucking guy after he literally shows up and shakes ben like a rattle, that and also they obviously didnt gaf about his backstory cause in the og backstory you can tell petropia's destruction was YEARS, probably decades ago cause he had those back spikes and even a different outfit but in the uaf version its just the same exact model THEY DONT CARE ABOUT TETRAX LIKE I DO!!!!!!

uaf tetrax made me so sad because i was already insane about the idea of dadtrax because of Secret of the Omnitrix, but when tetrax first showed up in uaf he picked up ben and for some reason my first thought was "omg is he going in for a hug" only to have that ripped away from me when he just straight up starts shaking ben around like a ragdoll 😭like imagine you dont see a guy for like 6 years, last time you saw him he helped you save the world/galaxy, and the first thing he does is fucking shatter you for no reason (or at least appears to be no reason), and all you get from it is a "sorry but i had no time to explain", like thats crazy, the REAL tetrax would never harm ben that is his SON !!!!!!!! and then after the single episode we had of tetrax and even petropia we just. never see him or the planet ever again. like we could've had so much world building for petropia and they decided to just throw it out like it was nothing

tetrax is genuinely such a cool character and its horrible how underutilized he is in every show, like yeah he was in 2 (technically 3 counting the reboot) movies but that doesnt really make up for how little we really saw him, especially since like i mentioned earlier prime tetrax wasnt even in OV which is probably the biggest missed opportunity in history, and the strangest part about it is that we got plenty of episodes exploring different planets and even a whole other system (galactic monsters special) so it was literally the perfect opportunity to write an episode about petropia and how its holding up

also never apologize 2 me about rambles, especially rambles about tetrax, i fucking LOVE reading people's silly little thoughts on things they like :3

#tetrax makes me sooooooo crazy #ouuggghhhh i love him sooooo much #dont let my harsh criticisms of the various tetraxes fool you im still very much in love with all of them and would absolutely kiss them al #i just love classic tetrax more <3333333 #also can we talk about how tetrax's hoverboard is just never fucking used again #cause in “destroy all aliens” tetrax very much gave ben a new one #and it just never appears ever #tetrax doesnt even use one in the one appearance he had in uaf #strange. #ben 10 #ben 10 classic #ben 10 alien force #ben 10 ultimate alien #ben 10 uaf #ben 10 omniverse #ben 10 reboot #tetrax shard #ben 10 tetrax #rambles #lynx posting

[thepringlesofblood]

so. i watched the trailers for the A:TLA live action netflix series. i went in expecting nothing, and I gotta admit some parts look intriguing. the casting, the set, the bending, the costuming, all look pretty cool. not a big fan of the cgi or how it always seems to be the dead of night in the fire nation, but i was considering watching the first episode at least, out of curiosity and mild respect.

then I saw Zuko's scar.

I thought well, it is really dark, I should wait to get a better look at it before totally freaking out.

are. are you kIDDING ME?

[important: I know nothing about this actor, this aint a dunk on him, I doubt he had a lot of input into his makeup.]

for reference, here is zuko in the OG show.

zuko’s scar isn’t a fucking bad eyeshadow job. His ear is half-melted. It takes up like 1/4-1/3 of his face. It’s not just his eye - it’s his cheekbones, it’s his forehead, it’s all down the side of his head, boy should not have a second eyebrow! I swear to god if they spend their money animating each individual hair on appa but don’t bother to get something as iconic and central to the series as zuko’s scar right? it'd be like messing up Spock's ears, except real-life people don't have Spock ears and struggle with how they are perceived by society because of it.*

*that I know of. maybe there's a secret Spock ears genetic condition I don't know about in which case I apologize

also... there was this bit. we get a quick flash of this shot

ok, we know this shot. we've seen this shot. it's the agni kai where zuko gets his scar. note the relative positions of the two people, and what the floor looks like.

then a little later, we get this shot

it's clearly the same scene. it's ozai burning zuko. but. why is there fire on both sides of zuko? it looks like he's deflecting it. like he's fighting back.

it. it is so so so important for zuko's arc and character growth that he refuses to fight his father in his first agni kai. he shows mercy when ozai does not. he is a child - he does not think to defend himself against his own father. throughout his whole arc, the whole show, but most especially season 1, it is so important to remember that the last time he showed mercy and humility, he literally got burned. that's why he's so aggressive and angry and scared and defensive.

so. why is he defending himself? is this why his scar is less pronounced? because they decided to mess with established history?

maybe we can give them the benefit of the doubt and say this is a different agni kai, or zuko re-imagining how it could've gone, or something, but like. why choose to show this then?

further rant below the cut bc its very long I haven't felt righteous fury this strong in a while

I just. I personally don’t have a facial scar or birthmark or anything, but when Hollywood sugarcoats or makes them look less “gross” or “obvious” it’s a real fuck you to people out there who do have obvious scars, birthmarks, differences, that don’t fall into the neat lines of what is considered “presentable” by the film industry. It’s important that it’s not downplayed bc then the people who see themselves in the original get betrayed by the adaptation that tells them they’re not pretty enough or that they’re “too much” to be seen on tv in live action.

Excuses I have seen thus far (mostly on reddit admittedly)

“They didn’t want to make it look too gruesome so that kids would want to watch it too" Think about that sentiment for 10 seconds, and tell me what it says to people out there who have scars like this. Are they too “scary” to be seen by children? Is their existence automatically PG-13? Something horrible and uncontrollable happened to zuko, and because of that, his life and body are irrevocably changed. People with scars like his who related to and felt seen by his representation and the way he struggles with acceptance, both by himself and by others, will receive the message that can only happen for people with less “gruesome” scars than that. Seriously.

“Of course it’s going to look different in real life vs in animation” Yes, it will. I’m not talking about the appearance of the burn necessarily, but the extent of it. The new series has it limited mostly to his eye. His ear and eyebrow are unaffected, as are his cheekbones and forehead. That is not the case in the animated show. I’m not expecting a big monochrome pink and purple blotch like there is in the OG show - animated visual shorthand is different from live action. But it should look like burned skin. And it should be as extensive as it was - it goes over his ear and eyebrow, and partway down his cheek. the whole point of it is that it’s big and unavoidable and horrifying, and that zuko was a 13 year old kid who didn’t deserve it, but now is stuck with it. That’s war. That’s what ozai is capable of.

“The makeup would be too hard” It really wouldn’t, especially not for something as important to the series as this. Zuko’s scar is central to ATLA as a whole - a symbol of the cruelty of his father and the fire nation, and more importantly his survival and eventual resistance to it. Even if it did take extra time to apply, which I don’t think it would, I’d say it’d be worth it. I’ve seen cosplays and Halloween costumes [and this excellent fan film] without access to a professional makeup and prosthetics team that looked closer to show accurate than what they’ve currently got going.

Let me also point you to examples of both comparable and much more dramatic makeup/prosthetics used regularly (as in every episode, every week, for many years) on 2 shows with smaller budgets, older technology (as in, from the 1990s), and many more seasons: Star Trek: the next generation & ds9

trust me. they can do it. this is a choice.

“What it if made it hard for him to act?” See above for examples of other actors in much more dramatic prosthetics crushing it.

"Well at least it's better than the other live action adaptation"

that CANNOT be the bar we measure things by. standing still and doing nothing is also better than getting brained with a shovel: that doesn't mean it's good.

"He has darker skin than the animated Zuko. the burn probably blends in more."

that's not how burn scars work. it's not just a darkening of the skin - the skin itself is fundamentally changed in texture and color. and again, even if the burn has a different general appearance, it should at least be as big and extensive as it is in the OG show, and it's clearly not.

“They probably didn’t want to shave his eyebrow” No, really I saw this as a point on a Reddit post. Drag queens and cosplayers have been making their eyebrows disappear and reappear for decades without access to a professional makeup and prosthetics team. He’ll be fine I swear.

#atla #zuko #original post #atla live action #atla netflix #rant #i just have a lot of feelings #ik the trailer came out a while ago i found this in my drafts bc i wanted to cool down a bit b4 posting #but unsurprisingly i agree with all the stuff freshly-angry me said

[be-curious-and-not-judgemental]

The last installment of The Reluctant Male Bridgerton Re-watch.

We sat down and binged the last 3 episodes as he was busy on Thursday evening and leaving on Friday morning. So here's the recap until season 3 (in no particular order)

1) "these two have the best chemistry. Much better than the first couple. But i think cuz one doesn't look so young. I have no idea how anyone will beat them." Kanthony for the win!

2) "they tease each other like brothers, they did great casting." A/B/C

3) "ooh, someone is scheming the other one. Is he playing her or is she playing him?" Lord Featherington and Portia

4) "I think Edwina has the right to be pissed. But how are they gonna fix it so those two can marry?"

5) "uhh, Eloise keeps going back to this guy. Remember when I thought it was gonna be the Footman? Oops, got that one wrong!"

6) "so Colin is starting to like Penelope now heh? it's good to see that cuz he was so hung up on the other one, I couldn't figure how he was gonna start liking Penelope but I can sort of see it happening now." Said after the cake-purpose scene. But he unfortunately changes his tune at the end of the episode.

7) "the acting is much better this season. Like everyone is good. I think the Bridgerton mom is really good. And the Queen is good too."

8) "I predict Portia kills Lord Featherington during the ball." Haha! What a scandal that would have been!

9) "I like that there are so many unresolved storylines going into season 3. Like the art guy and Penelope and Eloise. Like it's not just gonna be about a couple, other things are happening. Season 2 was better than season 1 for that too."

10) "not gonna lie, I like this over Pride and Prejudice. It has funny moments and more drama. I'm not as bored. I'll watch season 3 when it comes out." So another Bridgerton fan was made in less than a month, nice!

11) "I like that those two fought. Like it made them interesting, but I think they'll make up, before Colin and Penelope at least." Gosh, I really hope Peneloise are back in season 3.

12) "ouch, she's had a rough night. I thought he was supposed to be kind to Penelope? But I guess that's the way guys are, all talk and everything is for laughs. But the way he says it, I mean, damn!" He actually read the scene as Colin making fun of Pen. I wont post what he actually said cuz I vehemently disagreed that THAT is how the show meant for Colin to perceive Penelope. And I was a bit shocked he viewed it that way. Anyway, he thinks Penelope shouldn't forgive and move on. I spoiled him about the books and showed him the Season 3 pics in hopes to turn the tide. It's interesting to note that his view of Colin hasn't been overly favorable whereas I think Colin is a great character. More impassioned and impulsive than the books but overly a good guy. His views on Penelope aren't as clear. He loves her reactions mostly. Although he says she's a better character in season 2 over season 1.

13) "geez, this show sure likes to show the guys going downtown on the ladies. Its like the Bridgerton sex trademark!" OMG, 🤣

14) "Okay, is everyone just watching these two make out? The moms are right there!" Epilogue, haha

So that's it. It's been a lot of fun watching through the eyes of a non-Bridgerton fan. Kept me more honest. Both Colin and Penelope are not perfect, but I can't wait to see them grow and develop as individual characters and as a couple. Season 3 cannot come soon enough.

Thanks for sticking around! I encourage everyone who can, find a reluctant male (it doesn't have to be your spouse, mine was my ex) and do your own re-watch. We could start a series, lol!

#polin #bridgerton #bridgerton season 3 #the reluctant male re watch #bridgerton season two #and now we pray for a swift and fair resolution for the writers #cuz season 3 is so very far away still #he has no desire to watch QC

[lol-jackles]

Netflix finally released viewing statistics for its movies and shows. What do you think about it? And what about our beloved SPN and Gilmore Girls? about*netflix*com/en/news/what-we-watched-a-netflix-engagement-report

Link. Long live Excel lol. Steaming services don't get paid by views so it's no surprise that Netflix was willing to share the views data when the real metric is how much each show/movie contributes to getting or retaining subscribers and weighed against licensing and production costs to determine viability of continuing the show. But Netflix will never release that information for their competitors to see.

The main reason why #1 Nielsen rated Neftlix shows get cancelled is because they're front-loaded success, meaning people start watching but quickly lose interest and don’t finish out the series. Gilmore Girls has impressive completion rate from season 1 through season 7, which helped explain why Netflix was willing to produce a revival limited Gilmore Girls season. Gilmore Girls has 29.4 billion viewed minutes for the first 6 months of 2023, nearly 3 times the number of SPN, and averages out to 13 million viewers per episode. To put in discourse contexts I get from my Ask box, Gilmore Girls has 5 times more viewers than The Boys and is a proven cultural mainstay after 20 years. Also, Gilmore Girls' 7 seasons nearly beat out Grey Anatomy's 19 seasons. So little wonder that Jared is going outside the SPN-only conventions.

Supernatural ended 2022 with 18.8 billion viewed minutes at 21.8 million viewed minutes per episode, which averages out to 66,852 viewers per episode. In the first 6 months of 2023, Supernatural has 11.4 billion viewed minutes so it's on its way to beating their last year's record. Supernatural's completion rate is far less impressive than Gilmore Girls, but nonetheless has steady viewers through to the final season. Similar to the live & 7day ratings, most of the audience dip happened after season 4. If either Netflix or WBD plans to produce a SPN reboot/revival that stars both Jared and Jensen, then my guess it will be based on the first 3 seasons' formula i.e just two main leads and not have to pay for additional regular actors, so at best the low-tier recurring actors will only be back for an one-off, if that.

#supernatural #gilmore girls #ratings #netflix

[brunhielda]

Haveing one of those days where I’m not in pain but I am just all out of sorts. So what do I spend my Sunday doing?

Watching multiple versions of Treasure Island. Obviously.

First Treasure Planet, then Muppets, because again, most fun, obviously.

Although, side note: as someone who has seen more adaptations and read the book, Muppets might be one of the most faithful adaptions I’ve seen. Because Muppets- they value that good literature 📚👍

It is hitting me this time around that many of the adaptation changes in any media version have to do with culture, and what makes sense to the intended audience.

In the book:

Jim is like 12/13, maybe even younger.

Sure, his dad is dead, but it’s more of prerequisite to needing the income from going to sea than it is a a main character trait. It is not implied he needs a father figure. It is simply understood, in a British way, that men will influence him as a young man going off into the world to learn. There is a lot of comparing the different types of men he meets and deciding for himself what makes a man, but it is not about father figures, just observation and lessons along the way.

Jim never really trusts John. Even as he learns useful skills from him, he is cautious and wary, and as soon as they confirm John is a pirate, Jim’s attitude is very “I knew it!” And “Finally, here it is. Here we go.”

As soon as John is a pirate, he is evil. It is never implied he is anything better than the devil figure whispering charm in your ear. His one single redeeming quality is that he actually does like Jim. That doesn’t make him special. Jim is the youngest cabin boy and the ship mascot. Everyone likes Jim. The question remains- is this character willing to kill a child anyways? In the end John isn’t, and it’s a surprise. Him getting away at the end still has that feeling of the noted enemy getting away at the end of an episode of a super hero show- “Another day- Jim Hawkins!”

In any American adaptation:

We age Jim up. I will say, again, Muppets are more faithful here. Still, every adaptation makes it more ok for him to go to sea. Jim in Treasure Planet is a troubled teen who needs to prove himself. Jim in Muppets is an orphan with nothing to tie him to land. We as Americans don’t like the idea of a Mother sending her son to sea for months to earn income, so that’s not what happens.

A boy needs a father. In the US it is expected that a father teaches thier son all the things that make them a man. Boarding school is last resort rather than expected. So of COURSE Jim is taken in by John- he was missing a father in his life. It is a main character point of the story. The comparison of different men becomes more emotional than intellectual.

This shifts the tone of the story so much. Original book is very much “kid character off on an adventure.” He’s clever, thoughtful, and important to everyone. He gets himself into trouble, but he gets himself out of it, and saves the day multiple times- not just at the end to show growth. It’s personal fantasy for rambunctious little boys. But the family friendly versions written by Americans? The kid is a kid, and it’s about him learning to lean on the right adults and build self confidence. If he’s great right off the bat- where is the story? Well, the original story is a little boy proving to the adults he can do stuff, which is a completely different view of how growing up is supposed to work.

John is so much more sympathetic. You actively root for him to do the right thing and be a good man, despite his love of gold. In Treasure Planet he is mostly a scallywag, and he builds a real bond that makes you cry. In Muppets the ending feels like Jim has won over John’s worldview. You WANT him to be good.

Why? Because Americans have a much different relationship with pirates. Pirates won our wars and built our port towns. They were the first sparks of rebellion against the structure of the British society. They are freedom- in all its worst chaotic ways and best democratic equality ways.

Pirates are chaos- They are clever, disruptive, and write thier own rules. How your society relates to chaos will inform your view of pirates. Often in American story’s- Errol Flynn, Pirates of the Carribean, ect- they are the chaotic hero against the oppressive structure, akin to Robin Hood or Bug Bunny. We do love our conmen.

Meanwhile, British society is built on the idea that structure and bureaucracy keeps things running and people from falling to the wayside. Pirates cause battles and destroy innocent port towns. They disrupt trade routes and people go hungry.

Neither view is wrong, but focus on different aspects of a complex group of people of a very vast spectrum.

It is an interesting intellectual excercise to pull pirate depictions apart. 🧐 Perhaps someday I’ll have a whole thing on that.

I think what I get from this analysis of “Treasure Island” in general is that I want a TV show. Not because you get more info from the book, but because the book is very serial, with many smaller adventures, and you could get more of that feeling of the kid hero solving problems and proving themselves to everyone, while also possibly exploring some of the emotional aspects that we have come to expect out of John Silver and Jim’s relationship with him.

For a modern example- it’s why Percy Jackson works so much better as a show than a movie. Even if they had done the movie well, the show still would have been better, because the book is episodic like that.

A show could also actually portray the Doctor, Trelany, and the Captain the way they should be done. In the original book, they are a wonderful trio akin to Star Trek’s Bones, Spock and Kirk. Only imagine all of Kirk’s charm and daring with none of his brain in Trelany, the Doctor being later Spock with all his intelligence and warmth, and the Captain as a very practical, very firm, often grumpy Bones. Obviously the Doctor and the Captain spend far too much time reigning Trelany in 😂.

Like, I get why two out of three of these guys get squashed together into one character in adaptations- that’s a lot of characters for a movie. But a tv show could be really fun. And the fact that you have these three on one side, with John Silver on the other, as the angels and much louder more charming devil on Jim’s shoulders, fighting for his heart and mind, is amazing. Intrigueing. Dynamic.

The fact that evil can be one charming clever guy, while good is so difficult and complex it need three entirely different guys to portray it is one of the best parts of this story and it is NEVER explored in on screen adaptations.

Finally, it’s a minor note, but Ben coming out of nowhere would stop feeling disruptive. It’s just another episode with another aspect of this treasure hunt to focus on, not some random character out of nowhere. I did appreciate how the Muppets solved that. Picture in the Captain’s quarters and suddenly the appearance on “Ben” is cheered, lol.

Also- could I have a version, of any media, where it is blatant that the Pirates need this kid’s help because he can read? It is such a huge “learning to read is important” moment in literature, and I think I’ve seen it in like one version? Maybe? I think it’s in the Disney live action?

I really like the “Jim knows machines” from Treasure Planet, but it does steal that moment, and in the Muppets, who you think would run with this, it is more about his compass than his reading skills.

Reading lets you have adventures, both imaginative and literal, and I want that to be important in this story. It doesn’t need to be a big hokey moral lesson, but if it was just more obvious, kiddos would make that connection themselves. Sorry- Librarian bias here, but I want it back.

Anyways, I could do with a tv with different seasons just being different classical children’s literature. Most of them were serial, and would lend to that structure really well. We could explore more classical aspects of the story while keeping the bits we tacked on in later adaptations.

Could be fun 🤷🏻‍♀️

#treasure island #the muppets #muppet treasure island #treasure planet #adaptations #robert louis stevenson #media analysis #American vs British #I want a tv show #someone make this happen

[transmascutena]

these are the episodes that have the fairy tale prince story at the beginning: 1, 3, 8, 13, 16, 31, 33 (the visuals are different here, and i think the voice is too, but i'm not certain), 35 (starts out the same but goes on to show what really happened as revealed in the previous episode.)

lots of rambling about this with no real conclusion under the cut:

i've always kind of assumed it was a little arbitrary when they chose to reuse this scene, and usually it feels like it's simply there to take up more time in the episode, hence why it's there in some of the more filler-y ones (even though i hate using that term for the show.) of course the repitition in itself is thematic, but why at these specific times? obviously it has to be in the first episode, and it makes sense to have it in the third as well, to remind people and to show its importance, but also because utena's desire to be a prince is more relevant than usual in that episode, and is the first time we really see it outside the context of the dueling game. it makes sense that the recap episodes have it too, 13 because it is a recap and utena's backstory is important, and 33 because both the story and that episode are very important for utena's arc. 33 is especially interesting because it's the first time the scene changes, reflecting that utena might be starting to think about it differently. or think about it less, maybe, since the visuals of it are missing. and then the last time we see it in 35 makes a lot of sense too, since we've just gotten the true story which recontextualizes the whole thing.

this just leaves us with 8, 16, and 31. all of which are nanami episodes. if they wanted the story repeated to the audience more times, why not have it in episodes centered more around utena? like 9, the first time we get more context to utena's backstory? or 11 and 12. maybe 25, where akio reveals that he is the prince? or 30 where utena starts to question her devotion to the prince? why in nanami's episodes?

the first two are the body swap episode and the cow episode, and those could be written off as needing more scenes to pad the time out, and it not mattering too much since they're the sillier ones anyway. but her tragedy? i feel like there has at least has to be thematic relevance in that one. although, it does have several other scenes that seem to just be taking up time, like the one where we have to look at touga standing in the shower for a full 18 seconds. you could say these are all episodes that explore the theme of princehood, but i think that's a little bit of a stretch, and is only be true because it's a theme that shows up in every single episode of the show in some form anyway. these are not particularly special as far as that goes. as an example, i think it's a way more prevelant theme in episode 6 than it is in episode 8, both of which are first arc nanami-adjacent episodes. i can't see much reason for one to have it over the other than just. filler. but i want to read more into it so badly.... is it just that nanami and utena are parallel to each other? but then, not all the nanami episodes have it. is it in the cow episode because the cowbell and the ring are parallels? i think they could be, in the same way that people have pointed out the parallel to the earrings, but an even more obvious parallel is between utena's ring given to her by akio and nanami's own dueling ring given to her by touga, and we don't get the prince story in episode 10. does it mark episodes particularly important to nanami's arc? ehhhh, i could see that for cowbell of happiness and her tragedy, but curried high trip is not anywhere near as important as, say, the egg episode, or, again, episode 10.

i really wish i could come to a conclusion other than "it's there to fill up time" because that's so boring, but i can't really find much evidence to support any other reading. if you have other thoughts on this, please share them with me

#utena #nanami #m

[about-faces]

Hi, I want to read some DC comics about how Harvey transformed from former DA to the criminal mastermind who ruled half of Gotham's Underworld (against the Penguin). I've already read/seen: Two-Face: A Celebration of 75 Years Batman: The Long Halloween Batman: Dark Victory (1999) Batman '89 Batman: The Animated Series Batman: The Audio Adventures

Any other reading recommendations? Thanks a lot for your help. :)

So you're looking for origin stories, or at least ones that shed more light on Two-Face's origin? Well first off, I'm glad you read the 75th Anniversary collection, because that has three of my very favorites: the original Harvey Kent trilogy from 1942-43, the Grace Dent story from Secret Origins Special (1989), and "Eye of the Beholder" from Batman Annual #14 (1990).

Besides those, and the ones you've listed, here are a few others to check out. Some are great, some are mixed bags, and some are downright lousy.

First and foremost, I STRONGLY recommend the 1989 Batman newspaper comic strip, which I loved so much that I posted the whole two-year saga on its own tumblr account. You can start from the very beginning right here, but keep in mind that Harvey's storyline--which runs all the way to the very last strip--doesn't really start until the second arc.

Next, Batman: Dual to the Death by Geary Gravel is a YA novelization of the BTAS origin, seamlessly combined with the two-part Batgirl origin episodes. It improves on both the animated versions in small but crucial ways, and it's highly recommended for BTAS fans. Unfortunately, it's pretty hard to find.

On a similar note, Peter David's movie novelization of Batman Forever can be found more easily, either in used book form or on the Internet Archive, and it's absolutely worth reading. I love the movie of Batman Forever, but it's objectively a terrible take on Harvey. The novelization adds SO MUCH, including an original prequel scene with D.A. Harvey Dent, and his ending is far more satisfying.

Cartoon Network's CGI animated series Beware the Batman (2013) also features a series-long origin arc for Harvey Dent, but it's one of the worst takes I've ever seen on the character. He's a petty, selfish, ambitious little prick, an absolute scumbag, completely devoid of depth or tragedy. Thankfully, few have seen this arc, since the majority of Harvey's episodes were never aired after the series was cancelled, but they're all available to watch for those morbidly curious to see just how badly someone can screw up Harvey as a character.

"The Big Burn" from Batman and Robin, vol 2 #24-28 (2014), also collected in B&R volume 5. After the huge DC reboot, this was Harvey new origin, which tried some very different things with him. A VERY mixed bag, but one that ended in a hugely exciting way that makes the whole thing worth reading. Follow it up with its sequel, "Ugly Heart," from Detective Comics #1020-1024, collected in Detective Comics Vol 5: Joker War.

Finally, watch the entirety of the recently-released/cancelled CW series Gotham Knights, with Misha Collins performing a surprisingly rich, interesting, and flawed Harvey Dent origin arc. The show got a lot of shit, some of it undeserved, but Collins' Harvey was an intriguing surprise, and I fear nothing we see from Harvey in any Reevesverse media will bring half as much care and interest to Harvey as GK did, for better or worse. All 13 episodes can be watched for free on CW Seed, region permitting.

EDIT: Oh right also the Telltale Batman video game! I haven't actually played that yet because I know enough about what happens and the illusion of meaningful choice indicative of Telltale games that I just don't feel like putting myself through that. People seem to like it a lot, though! I just... don't put me in a position of choosing to save either Harvey or Selina if you're just going to cheat and have him go evil anyway.

#ask hefner #harvey dent #twoface #two face #two-face #dc comics

[mdhwrites]

So, what do you think would have happened to Amphibia if its third season got shortened down to three hour long specials like Owl House did?

So A: this question is flawed. The shortening wasn't told to TOH's crew post S2. They were told WELL in advance. Dana is on record (source) for having said as much. The news came down on episode 7 of S2. Reasonably, this probably meant not a lot of S2A could have been changed due to deadlines but I don't know how all this works that well. For the sake of this, I'm going to mostly assume that something could have started changing starting episode eight and more drastic changes could be done after the mid season hiatus.

B: TOH needed S2B to mostly look identical to setup for going into the human realm, for having the Day of Unity as the finale and for the Collector to be set up as a villain by then. There are maybe two episodes you could change but nothing that is emblematic of the problems of S2B as a whole. Here's an entire blog about that. Btw, I published that blog before the finale came out and my opinion is mostly that that blog is kinder than it should have been.

C: I am not going to say this is a better version of Amphibia. Some might though. A lot of people think S2B and S3 of Amphibia is loaded with what they see as filler. Even I agree that you could probably cut a fair amount and not lose the core of the show. I'm about to demonstrate that. Also, just inherently because of a faster pace, the show would have to be more about the trio, or feel that way at least (again, I'll get into it), which the majority of the Amphibia fandom argues is what the show should have done anyways. So yeah, it's kind of an interesting conundrum.

D: I'll mostly talk about the weaknesses of this rewrite once I'm done. For anyone who needs a refresher though: S2, Episode 7 of Amphibia, the last one before this change, is one after Marcy at the Gates and has the segments "Scavenger Hunt" and "The Plantars Check In." Oh and before I get to the three specials, I'll mostly just be trying to slot in episode segments because that feels the most fair to actually capture a reasonable timeline for the show. Like I'm not coming up with cheats to handwave issues that this change would cause. As such, I'm not going to do something like cut The First Temple in half just for the sake of claiming more time. Once we get to the specials, that will change because those episodes' structures would have inherently changed, kind of like how The Hardest Thing has a different structure due to its extended run time. Until then though? I'll mostly be trying to effectively Mad Libs this off of what we already have despite the fact that the creators would have, at least if they're responsible, made changes to work within their new time frame. I'm going to give myself one unreasonable shift in return for this handicap effectively of not being able to change the core structure of the show or its plot points.

ANYWAYS. With that out of the way:

For the sake of pacing, you probably do Lost in Newtopia and then the Sleepover to End All Sleepovers as episode 8 because we can't literally go straight into leaving Newtopia and one could argue that the sleepover is important foreshadowing. However, the next episode is then a double whammy of A Day at the Aquarium to say farewell to Newtopia and still have that touching confirmation of the found family before then skipping Night Drivers and going straight to Return to Wartwood for the second segment, bringing us up to nine.

Then I would actually move Toad to Redemption into the first slot for episode ten because it is thematically important and a good rallying moment for Wartwood. You could also replace with Ivy on the Run for the sake of Sprivy and just make episode 13 into episode 10 by making After the Rain be the mid season finale. It's dramatic enough to do so and lets:

The First Temple opens S2B and episode 15 of the normal show, New Wartwood and Friend or Frobo stays too in order to help setup Wartwood's relationship with humans besides Anne and to get Frobo in. That brings the count to 12.

Then you do episode 17 as episode 13, Barrel's Warhammer and The Second Temple, because we do still need a bit more time with Sasha to prep for True Colors and The Second Temple is obvious. However, I'd probably swap their positions because then episode 14 is The Third Temple (so you don't have two temples literally back to back, even if the two are different episodes like in the actual show) and The Dinner... With Battle of the Bands being cut. It's Sasha's weakest episode, is just kind of reinforcement of a few elements and some expansion on the three's relationship, though mostly Anne and Sasha. The Dinner is needed though to get Sasha with the other two and heading to Newtopia because...

There is a quarter season finale now with True Colors. It is ABSOLUTELY the most radical choice in this rewrite and you could arguably say that it's not fair because Disney wouldn't have allowed them to have that episode as anything but a season finale. This is the only 'cheat' I'll give myself since I'm not altering episodes drastically or the like to fit in with the new time frame. Plus side: They'd have the compelling pitch that in five episodes, they CAN get back to Amphibia to make that the season finale. Otherwise there isn't really much to change before S3 because so much has to wait on the major turn of Andrias becoming the main villain. That version of this outline though, that S2 doesn't change at ALL, is... A genuine nightmare on a lot of fronts and honestly less reasonable than thinking this would be allowed and I'll get to why after the outline. Oh, there is one change that needs to happen unfortunately: Frobo probably doesn't make it in this version after this. Polly and him unfortunately just aren't important enough to really get the wrap up they do in S3. It does mean that mechanic Polly during the ending probably has an RC robo or the like with her to help explain where her being a mechanic came from.

Anywhos: Episode 16 is The New Normal... Mixed with Anne-sterminator. Anne is honest about the danger they're in from go and instead of the quarantine montage, we get her actually beating the Cloak Bot first try to show how far she's come to her parents and to show off the new powers alongside their cost.

Then you do Fight at the Museum followed by Turning Point for episode 17 to start the ball rolling on getting back as well as get Sasha into place and finish up her arc.

Episode 18 has Temple Frogs because the Plantars DO need to still connect with Earth and Temple Frogs is EASILY the best episode of that as it explores how different Anne is from the start of the show and how that isn't entirely a good thing because of the things she's now ignoring, fits thematically with the show as a whole and is just a lot of fun. The other side meanwhile is Olivia and Yunan. I would almost not advocate for keeping this episode for a lot of reasons but it's kind of necessary in order to set up for:

The Core and the King is in episode 19 because Andrias' backstory is REALLY important to how he is beat and to also understand what the Core is and what the kingdom of Amphibia can do. What the stakes are to all of this. It is also the one segment in the actual show itself that explores the villain so you can't really cut it. The other half of the episode though is If You Give a Frog a Cookie because we need Terry.

Especially because you might have noticed that I didn't include Mr. X. There just isn't room for them for the most part which luckily... Is okay. He's fun but his parts can be mostly replaced either with faceless people or Terry. You can also just go with his first appearance actually being him taking the Plantars in this episode. Maybe there's been foreshadowing at the end of Earth segments of someone watching. Something that only takes a few seconds but builds up to honestly having Escape to Amphibia be mostly the same as it was but with a reduced cast and less familiarity with Mr. X as a villain.

So that covers S2. Now there are 3 45 minute specials on average to cover all of S3B. Or more so there's two specials to cover the seven episodes between Escape to Amphibia and The Hardest Thing because Amphibia's finale already had an extended time slot. As 45 minutes is effectively two episodes each, you need to save on three episodes. Six segments.

That's... easier said than done because the segments are actually incredibly important to Amphibia's storytelling and these specials could technically be split into four segments each but more likely they actually have to tell a through line story per special. You can't jump AS MUCH as you could before.

So Special 1 starts with effectively Commander. The reintroduction to Wartwood and the finalizing of Sasha's new self after her character arc is not something you can really leave out. Plus side is that Commander Anne is a really efficient eleven minutes to introduce what Amphibia is like now and you probably don't do the pampered brat routine with the Plantars which is not a real loss. The theme of this special though is allies so the target of Sasha's mission when Anne gets back changes.

The goal is now to free Mother Olm. This way you can skip the Olms themselves and still get the prophecy and foresight from Mother Olm that sets up the finale. It also allows a smooth transition into meeting with Mother Olm in general. She warns them they'll need allies once they're done and we get a montage of the a lot of what people consider filler in S3 with getting allies, though mostly the Toads, Newts and the Killerpillars probably. You could also do this with people splitting up so that each one gets a truncated version of the full segment to get them. Then the final portion of the special is Sasha and Anne hoping their efforts paid off before Sprig shows Lief's hidden room to get Lief's letter.

Then Special 2 is effectively episodes 16 and 17 of S3. Just consolidating the army, heading out, then protecting Earth after midway through the special everything goes wrong. Not really anything even has to be changed here really except just smoothing out the transitions between segments. Admittedly, the Plantars probably rely more on Domino 2 to replace the loss of Frobo and unfortunately Polly just doesn't have a lot to do in All In.

Then Special 3 is literally just The Hardest Thing. Pretty much no changes I think because the elements for it have still been covered.

And that's it. It's not by any means perfect of course. Elements are rushed and some elements probably feel neglected or abandoned entirely. I already mentioned Polly but this version also means Sprivy is ignored post S1 effectively and just has a nice come back at the end of the finale (which is a good argument for Ivy on the Run over Toad of Redemption for the filler segment in episode 10 of the rewrite). Worse yet... Sprig is kind of ignored and Anne and his friendship is mostly left fallow. I admittedly don't think the show does the best job keeping it burning post S1 but S1 sells it HARD already as part of the stable base of the show so it's not a big problem. It also harms the connection to Amphibia itself so a line like "They aren't Amphibia's greatest treasure" doesn't hit as hard.

It would almost certainly feel actually rushed... Which is a fuckton better than what happened with TOH because TOH doesn't feel rushed. Its three specials are incredibly bloated with plotlines THEY introduce, or S2B introduced, that go nowhere. Or hell, resolutions that mean nothing, like how Luz finishes her character arc THREE. FUCKING. TIMES. Even people who love TOH still will admit the majority of For the Future is filler. That it does nothing to actually move anything forward, wrap much of anything up that couldn't have been left alone (besides Stringbean but that moment is cut off at the knees immediately by the finale's dream sequence) and those are people who won't bring up how Willow had her power problems resolved literally two seasons ago. S3 is so bankrupt on what to do to fill the time that they bring it back anyways, alongside Kikimora who has NO REASON to still be a villain we're dealing with.

That is the HUGE difference here. TOH doesn't actually feel like we're missing out on anything with its S3 besides fluff and maybe a bit of exploration on the whole Grimmwalker thing. The specials just don't feel like they actually know what to do in the first place though. It makes it feel like we're mostly missing out on filler but there's already so much of that in these episodes. Even the elements that could have been expanded, like Belos backstory, the human realm shenanigans and the Collector's redemption are rough because none of these are from before the shortening. Only Hunter's arc is really something stared BEFORE THE SHORTENING. Belos' backstory and the contradictory nature of The Collector, like how he absolutely knows what death is during Hollow Mind and is a complete evil fucker there... Are written in S2B. They were included and written as part of the shortening. Hell, the human realm and the Collector as a whole weren't even planned for S3 supposedly. They were things they wanted to do but didn't have a place for them and so just jammed in these MASSIVE new elements that needed more time than was available with no care for the fact that they had NO TIME. (I don't have a source for this unfortunately.)

Admit you didn't have a plan for your show without admitting you didn't have a plan.

That also brings up an element that I brought up at the top: How much the story might have actually changed. I'm having to work off of the main outline provided by the show but it's entirely possible that The Core might not have been included. That Earth might not have. Changes would have happened to the overall story and it's kind of impossible to reasonably guess how. After all, I wouldn't have guessed that an all powerful child and a trip to the human realm would have been responses to a shortening for The Owl House.

So I did my best and I still stand by that this would still be a fine to good version of the show. That it wouldn't have been impossible to tell a full narrative with the time given. One that is still thematically coherent, has a strong finale that doesn't contradict itself and still has plenty of fun in it to counterbalance the higher focus on the more dramatic elements.

That's still a LOT better than can be said for TOH's finale, let alone its three specials.

======+++++======

I ended up just rewriting the outline as a way to give it more thought instead of copy and pasting the first one I wrote. *whimpers*

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#amphibia #toh critical

[airenyah]

Hi, I came to report to you that your ql music research is rubbing off on me 😅 I was watching ep 2 of Ploy's Yearbook (for Joong and Namtan 😍), when suddenly I recognized a piece of music!! But I couldn't place it, so I tried to remember which series have I watched so many times that I'm familiar with the music. I reached the tentative conclusion that it must be from SIMM or possibly from Hidden Agenda (but I definitely connected it to JoongDunk). Maybe I need to do a complete rewatch of both series to confirm, what a hardship 😂 I just wanted to tell you that maybe aside from being a JD vampire bl truther, this will be your other legacy

oh my god, that's amazing!!!!!! i LOVE to hear that!!!!! i'm actually planning on making a side blog focused on shared royalty free music in thdramas, but that's something that is earliest going to happen in the summer if not in the winter. i wanna work my way through some of my fave shows first, because those are the soundtracks i'm more likely to recognize and i just wanna have them on my google doc before i go put everything in tumblr posts (which is also gonna take forever bc my google doc is currently at 100 pages worth of entries sjkfkjsfdj)

aaaaanyway, re: music in ploy's yearbook

was it by any chance desert caravan by ludvig moulin? i haven't watched ep2 yet (i was actually about to go watch it when your message came in and i couldn't help answering it first kjdkfdg), but i did see a clip of it earlier in jimmy's insta story and the scene had this music in the background. it has come up in episode 1 already as well. if it was this, then good job on connecting it to a joongdunk show because it actually has come up on hidden agenda a couple of times! i'm still missing the last 3 episodes on my music collection, but these are the time stamps so far:

ep1 pt1 - 0:13

ep3 pt2 - 0:20

ep4 pt1 - 4:32

ep8 pt4 - 8:08

And here are the time stamps for ep1 of ploy's yearbook:

ep1 pt1 - 11:10 / 17:41

ep1 pt2 - 1:50

ep2 pt1 - 9:38

ep2 pt2 - 0:27

ep2 pt3 - 3:09

ep2 pt4 - 3:07

you might also have recognized get up on that horse by spring gang as the music that plays in bad buddy at the beginning of ep7 when pat is in the car (ep7 pt1 - 1:20) or also in ep12 when patpran claim they broke up (ep12 pt3 - 3:45). oh but wait, it's definitely connected to joongdunk, you said? well, as it turns out this one has actually come up in star in my mind a lot. like. A LOT:

ep1 pt2 - 5:55

ep2 pt1 - 4:00

ep2 pt4 - 1:02

ep3 pt2 - 1:15

ep3 pt3 - 1:55

ep3 pt4 - 1:17

ep6 pt2 - 1:23

ep7 pt2 - 1:48

ep7 pt4 - 0:48

ep8 pt1 - 4:33 / 5:41

ep8 pt3 - 5:07

and here are the time stamps for ep1 of ploy's yearbook again for reference:

ep1 pt1 - 13:00

ep1 pt2 - 2:26

ep2 pt1 - 8:37

and here, have a bonus because why the fuck not: moonshiner's turn by martin landström. this one has shown up in ep1 pt4 of both bad buddy as well as 23.5 degrees. also found in ep1 of ploy's yearbook at:

ep1 pt1 - 18:53

ep1 pt3 - 6:16

ep2 pt1 - 0:35 / 17:30

well, i'm gonna go watch the new episode now! feel free to check back on this post in a couple of hours, i might edit it or add a reblog with all my findings about the music in ep2 😂

edit:

i've added the ep2 time stamps to the aforementioned ones! and i found new music as well!!

maybe the one you recognized as a joongdunk series music in ep2 was winning hand by ealot. it came up in star in my mind a couple of times:

ep1 pt4 - 3:00

ep2 pt2 - 2:20

ep4 pt2 - 9:16

ep8 pt3 - 4:17

it featured in ep2 of ploy's yearbook at following timestamps:

ep2 pt1 - 16:58

ep2 pt3 - 3:45

and there was some more bad buddy music as well (diggin' the drama by the new fools) and it amazes me that my brain immediately went "we know this!!" considering it showed up in bad buddy exactly one single time (ep7 pt2 - 13:45). bad buddy really has wormed its way into my brain in every single aspect in the last two years huh djkfkjdfg. anyway you can find it in ep2 of ploy's yearbook at:

ep2 pt1 - 11:10

apart from these, there were also two pieces of music that sounded increeeedibly familiar to me but neither shazam nor google could come up with any results! i'm gonna have to click through my "not found" list at some point, maybe they're already there. here are the time stamps if you're curious:

first one i can't find (ep2 pt3 - 2:06)

second one i can't find (ep2 pt3 - 7:09)

this is gonna bug me for a while....

#anon it makes me so happy to hear that my ramblings about thdrama music have at least one listener dfjkkdfj #and no need to rewatch the series (except if you want an excuse to do so ofc dkfjkfd) because i have it all on my list!! #you can just tell me a timestamp or shazam/google it yourself and tell me the title and i can check if it's on my list <3 #also i'm telling you recognizing thdrama music is a curse really #you'll innocently be watching a video by one of your fave youtubes and suddenly be hit by a flash of ''oh this is gay thdrama music'' #or you know. instagram algorithm presents you with some reel and suddenly you sit bolt upright bc you know. gay thdrama music #airenyah plappert #asks #anon #adrm #ploy's yearbook #pyb music #ha music #simm music #bbs music #23.5 music #airenyah's thdrama music collection #ok no but for real tho #the other day i saw liam carpenter's sketch on ''tschechisches streichholzschächtelchen'' and halfway through the sketch some music started #and i go ''ah yes sneaky town by playtown from bad buddy. cool cool. i am fine :))))'' #thdrama music comes up on jet lag the game all the time as well #i've found thdrama music in max fosh videos and in a daniel thrasher sketch after the sketch that happens to be paid for #this skill is a curse #anyway thdrama music and joongdunk vampire bl truthing. what a legacy <3

[summerfevers]

if you’re up to it i would very much like to know your white collar neal timeline🎤🎤

this turned out to have many asides and be very long so the tl;dr is: peter have you considered that he's just a twenty-something teenage girl :( ?

timeline:

neal born 1984 ish. he's an aries and a millennial

neal, ellen, and neal's mom go into witsec 1987, neal age 3

2003 adler scandal i fucking guess. neal age 19

neal arrested probably mid 2005, 21

neal goes to jail for the first time, i want to say early 2006, age almost 22

pilot is set late summer 2009, age 25

same-sex marriage legalized in new york june 24th 2011, they talk about this in season 3 episode 14 which is soon after. neal's 27

more or less a year later–let's go with less–neal tells sam that he has spent the last decade running from the truth he learned at 18. taking him literally that it was 10 years ago he is now 28 it is the end of season 4 and 2012

the end of season 4 to the series finale is less than a year. he is 29 its 2013.

when we see him in paris he might be 30 but that doesn't count To Me

i present my evidence:

i don't know where we got "neal is 35" from i cant make it work. neal and co. went into witsec (which i have actually since learned is not available to people living in dc, they have their own version but it is not overseen by the federal marshalls, i don't think they can give you as many legal documents like a ssn, and they don't help you set up your new life as much? something about neal's life that would be interesting to explore.) when he was three and ellen says in season 4 that she's been in witsec for Nearly three decades. confirmed 33 or under in season 4

he also says to "sam" more than once that he's spent the last decade running from the truth he learned at 18–he very well could be rounding down here and mean like 12-13 years but i am Choosing to Believe he meant that literally. we are now at youngest 28, it is the last episode of season 4.

now due to the way the show is structured and the fact that it is never really winter. ok maybe winter 1 time because i can see in my mind neal in his little wool coat and earmuffs but largely it is summer and we never have a christmas episode. anyway due to All That our only real anchor in the timeline is that the episode where diana is Grappling with her engagement to Christie happens immediately following june 24th 2011, when same-sex marriage was legalized in new york. and also that later that season in the commutation hearing they say that neal has served 2 years of his sentence. so the pilot was set in 2009 when it aired we are at one year/season. but as the series goes on the episodes and even seasons have increasingly shorter gaps between them, and by season 6 we haven't even finished our four years. by the end of season 4 i want to say we are three years into his sentence and he's 28. between the end of season 4 and when neal dies in season 6 there has got to be less than a year that passes. actually deadass why was neal so obsessed with the pink panther case ending his sentence early we are like months out king. i get the injustice the system is broken they'd keep him forever but to people outside his circle he must have looked sooo silly for that. but whatever. he is 29 when he dies and 30 when we see him again in paris, his roaring 20s of crime and incarceration over.

Anyway where the "neal is 35 or at least claims to be much older than this timeline would say he is" probably came from in-universe is that the adler scandal takes place SEVEN years before s2 when peter confronts neal about it. 2003?????? guys the thing we have to understand, to embrace, about neal's personal timeline is that i do not think anyone in that writers room was really grasping how much they had neal do in so short a time. 2003 he is like 19 guys. maybe by the time peter says it was 7 years ago it was 2011 ? and the adler thing was 2004? but no that couldn't work because it's mid 2011 like a year later in s3. so basically neal walks out of st louis and has a magical girl transformation through which he immediately becomes a great conman and criminal. and he meets mozzie basically straight away. he should still be in like calculus and ap lit at this juncture. and then they go right into the adler con ??? and neal is obviously lying through his teeth to everyone saying he is at least 21 but probably more along the lines of 23. and while most of his aliases are eventually found out by peter if no one else, no one ever goes "wait IS HE a teenager?" no one is guessing this.

so we spend a couple months fucking around and fucking UP with adler, kate probably doesn't know how old we actually are, this relationship cannot actually last very long at all because we are truly on a time crunch right now. we have less than three years for neals entire criminal career before he goes to jail. i know i said on the bullet list he went to jail early 2006 he has got to have been arrested like summer 2005 at the latest to be tried and sentenced by then and i feel like even that might be tight because he was suspected of so many other things they wanted to get evidence for. but how is neal teaching kate to be a criminal less than a year into his own career. i think neal must have been a hardcore improv kid for this to work honestly. i bet he competed. so our golden days of mozzie neal and kate against the world lasts maybe a year at best before neal and kate fight and she leaves and he spends months trying to get her back and get her attention and commits a truly breathtaking amount of crimes in this time.

also i'm skipping through forging bonds right now trying to flesh out this timeline and it was incredibly shady of peter and co to see that kate is doing so much to stay hidden from her ex boyfriend and then to reveal her to neal in order to catch him. like that was fucked up they didn't know neal yet he hadn't been suspected of violent crimes but they didn't know why kate was working so hard to escape him. like it worked out ok (arguably, but that could be a different post) but they had no reason to trust neal not to hurt her like this. she could have been running from an abusive situation he's known to be a talented criminal with no fears about escalating his crimes he could have killed her. one thing about the fbi is that they never once care about kate's safety and it does indeed get her killed one day.

in conclusion neal is known as one of the best forgers in the world when he is arrested in 2005 at age 21 maybe 2 years into his criminal career. here i am 21 what have i accomplished

#hiiiiiii LOVE your wc fic explorations of neals childhood are everything To Me and really your characterization of danny brooks is exactly #the kind of child neal would have to be for him to have been essentially a child prodigy at white collar crime #truly hes gotta be canon #also one more thing why is james in that flashback like have a good day at school 🥰 or whatever. neal is 2 or 3 and his mom didnt seem #to work so he didnt have daycare. where tf is he going #anyway thank you for coming to my ted talk future talks will discuss my conflicting opinions on how neal and kates relationship is treated #in canon and how neal was obviously not an early 2000s emo kid but frankly? maybe he should have been. good night #white collar #poplars.txt #just put this throufh a word counter 1200??? sorry. #this post is nearly twice the word count of the assignment i was procrastinating while i wrote it 🧍

[absolutebl]

This Week In BL - The Rankings have CHANGED

Oct 2022 Wk 3

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying the most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

My Only 12% (Fri iQIYI) 11 of 14 - pretty disingenuous of iQIYI to muscle in an ad for its own app and not show it immediately serving ads to the boys. In other news, I still love Peak on screen, the years have not changed my delight in that boy. (I may need to do a Make it Right rewatch.) The question is does Cake feel left behind and jelly as a friend or is he actually in love with Eiw? And if he is, does he realize that about himself? The conflict is so good with this show, so well established, entirely based in characterization, and not an ounce manufactured. I couldn’t be happier it this BL got handed off this this pair, it was made for SantaEarth. I do think, since we got a ton of family life establishment (not to mention Love of Siam reference) that the big separation for these two will be family driven in ep 13. But first we get a whole ep of adorable boyfriends! Yay! 

Big Dragon (Sat Gaga) 3 of 8 - bathroom drama, naturally. This is a true enemies to lovers, these two spy on and bully each other. They even talk about non-consent. It’s the harshest version I’ve seen since China existed the field (aside from the Japanese dark stuff, of course). But also this show is using actual BDSM to drive plot and character (not just touring kink), the stuff Unforgotten Night couldn’t even dream of and Mame has never bothered to research. We got Dom voice, roll play, service submission, orders, humiliation. It all turned out to be a tease but the point was also to show these two have compatible kinks (which means compatible intellectual and physical chemistry, so the narrative arc is going to be around emotional chemistry) and that they both know the scene. Someone behind the camera knows what they’re filming too.The way these two transition between anger, resentment, titillation, and flirting (and the way, with kinksters, this can all be the same thing) is really well done. I guess what I’m saying, ultimately, it that this BL is proving itself to be a lot more sophisticated than I expected. I could not have loved the Domme rep more, quite frankly. I’m excited for next week as Big is playing the faen fatal and I love him. 

The Eclipse (Fri YT) 11 of 12 - A very tense 11 doom ep but also... off. I did see the twist for the teachers but not the students. That’s because the teacher twit was set up but the student betrayer twist was... not. If Thua was so into the truth why never tell it himself? The resolution was abrupt and most of the second half very odd. It made me wonder if this had a really intended to be a 15 episode arc, in which case they compressed the last 5 eps into 2? The pacing felt totally off from all the previous eps and the pool scene felt like reused footage.The rapid fire character and relationship changes and shifts in arcs was rushed and confusing. But the flirting and claiming was cute, I guess. Also horrible suspicion we may get a sad end now? Truth or another round of Bad Buddy suckering?

Ai Long Nhai (Mon iQIYI) 4 of 10 - I don’t know what to say about this show. I’m enjoying it but I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t be. (This happens to me a lot with pulps.) 

Ghost Host, Ghost House (Weds YouTube) 3 of 8 - Honestly I speed though all the ghost stuff for the few BL moments. But it’s worth it because Pluem delivers the softest most seductive krap ever and watching them flirt over noodles is an unalloyed pleasure. 

Remember Me (Sun Gaga) 2 of 8 - The BL parts are good, and JaFirst excel. But it moves incredibly slowly with way too many establishing shots, just like The Yearbook. If it’s Mean directing again, he’s gotta shake of the New-yoke right quick. 

Hard Love Mission (Sat WeTV) 1-2 of 4 - it’s a short run, so what not? Well because the subs are terrible, everyone looks like they should be in high school, the acting is awful, there’s a dumb feen fattale, the actor/seme seems to have been chosen on the basis of height not talent, and they already leaned in to awkward in a big way. On the bright side the uke is older then the seme and v cute, tropes are dropping thick and fast (there’s only one bed!), and the size difference is vast (if that’s a thing you’re into). All in all, it’s not good but what the hay? 

Work from Heart (Thurs YouTube) 5 of 7 - I like the lead pair better in this show then their last one but its nothing on JeffGame, and the lack of plot is challenging for me. 

Love in the Air (Thurs iQIYI) 9 of 13 - I still mostly think Pai’s a douche, but it’s nice to see him taking care of Sky, especially as Sky clearly needs someone to do it so badly. Still Sky could do better... and Pai still has to. DUMPSTER FIRE TRASH WATCH ALONG HERE.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

My Tooth Your Love (Taiwan Fri Gaga & Viki) 3 of 1 - Honestly it’s such a relief to watch something from Taiwan in amongst all the Thai folderol. I might be liking this that much more because it’s restful by comparison. I could not be happier with the bratty rich kid kissing a waiter to make a point to his parents. I know, consent, but also... great characterization. I fucking love the ultra-grumpy bar manager character. And the dentist with the sad eyes who worries too much. And our poor boy who needs a therapist more than a dentist. They are all so awkward and broken and CUTE. GAH!!! (I’m getting very @heretherebedork​ level emotional about this one.)

Roommates of Poongduck 304 (Korea Thurs Viki) 2 of 8 - Poor JaeYoon, HoJun is so mean to him. The camera work in this drama has much more voyeuristic gaze than most KBL. In other words, the directing of this show makes it feel a bit more genuinely gay than a lot of the other BL that comes from Korea. It is fun to watch these 2 slowly become friends. I wish we had enough time to watch them also slowly fall in love. But since this is KBL, that part will be a rush job.

Kabe Koji (Japan Mon Viki) 3 of 10 - I guess this episode was a little bit better. The show is just so painfully EXTRA. As is often the case with Japanese stuff, I keep feeling like there's bones of great story in this drama. And I get glimpses of it, but then it’s covered again - like tasty steak smothered in Kewpie mayo. Oh, Japan. 

It’s Airing But I’m Not Watching It

War of Y 20 eps - it’s just all too much for me.

My Roommate 32 eps of 2 minutes each + terrible production values? - I’m not bothering.

Fahlanruk (Sun GaGa) 12 eps - I cut my losses at ep 5. Someone can tell me if the 2nd half is worth it, after it finishes, but I’m not gonna bother to watch it every week. I don’t like any of the couples and the fujoshi framing is repulsive under the context of a narrative trying to be this authentically gay. I’ve lost all patience.

Oh My Sunshine Night 20 eps - I’m scared it’s gonna be sad, so I’m waiting for spies to tell me it’s safe, so far reported to be quite the soap opera.

To Sir With Love AKA Khun Chai 28 eps - dito

2 Moons 3 Thai (Mon ??) 10 eps - I searched for it in a lacklustre manner but couldn’t find it legally anywhere convenient. I will watch it if it’s easy to do so. Possibly as a binge. Rumor is it’s quite banal. 

SELF (Thurs ??) - same again without any rumors 

Wish Me Luck (Sat ??) - seems to have be delayed into next year

In Case You Missed It

That’s Work From Heart, The Staircase is back. 

Gossip

I’ll have more for you next week as I process the Nov release announcements. 

UWMA rewatch! The plan was: one UWMA ep a day for the 17 days before Between Us launches on Nov 6. However, I missed the start date (stupid work) so I’ll start tomorrow (Mon 24) and double down on the days when there’s no other BL airing (see calendar below). Wish me luck! 

The UWMA Praise Watch along (opposite of a Trash Watch) will happen here on this blog. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

October 2022 line up is here. 

This week’s best moments?

Ai Long Nhai serving up the Gay Advice Dads! 

That’s Aye for ya, brutally honest. 

I love a bit of self reference. 

I will love her forever. (Big Dragon) Viva la bisexual rep! 

Look could we please get a BL featuring this boy? I love him. 

Gay identity ownership in BL is still so rare, I cheer every time it drops. (My Only 12%) 

Ouch. 

(last week)

Current earworm? N.Flying - The Night (Pairs well with My Only 12%) 

#this week in BL #BL news #BL gossip #upcoming BL #best BL #worst BL #new BL #BL reviews #Thai BL #Korean BL #Taiwanese BL #Japanese BL #live action yaoi #Rakutan Viki #GagaOOLala #GMMTV #uwma #until we meet again watch along #Between Us #My Only 12% #Big Dragon #The Eclipse #Ghost Host Ghost House #Remember Me #Hard Love Mission #Work from Heart #My Tooth Your Love #Roommates of Poongduck 304 #Kabe Koji #N.Flying

[nerdylittleguy]

How Knockout could be Mr Smelt, continued!

This post is a continuation of my previous post, made prior to the newest episode releases. If you haven't read the prior post, you might want to. This should go without saying, but spoilers for episodes 11-18!

No, sadly no fancy mind maps this time round :((

Time to build on my theory with info from the new episodes! Here are some notes I made while watching them about things I found relevant:

FIRST FEW WORDS OF EP11 "DECEPTICONS ARE ALL AROUND US, HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT" AND WHEWWW KO??? ROBOTS IN DISGUISE???

EPISODE 13: Focus on "the teachers" at the beginning. Is teaching much more of a key theme? TARANTULAS WANTS TO DISGUISE HIMSELF WITH A HUMAN AVATAR???!!! JACKPOT!!! THATS WHAT I SAID KO HAS DONE, SO ITS POSSIBLE??? Remote piloting... Like my original theory!! Omg!!!

Episode 14: BREAKDOWN!!!!!!! AHSHAHYSHAISBAUANSOJAIANAJDJSJSJJ EEEEEEEEEEEKK!!!! what happened to him. He's basically only relevant bc KOBD, but that race was quite the STUNT, eh? What if mr smelt heard about it? He'd have even more reason to be paranoid, especially now BB is known about, and smelt has seen the new alt mode... And a lot of that race was on TV...

Alright, notes over. Yes, they are a little inaccurate as Tarantulas does actually get his holo-form thing sorted out, I just didn't bother writing it down lmao. But I must say - the holo-form did not disappoint! It did everything that I saw some people say holo-forms shouldn't be able to do, therefore stopping Smelt from being a holo-form, but as we saw, it's all possible! Tarantulas' holo could interact with non-holographic objects, move independently from his body due to the little floaty thing, speak, just generally seemed convincing once all the issues had been ironed out.

And yes, that quote from episode 11 could have been a reference to Tarantulas, Breakdown and everyone else who shows up out of the blue, but i found it fascinating nonetheless - being one of the first pieces of information from the new episodes, it's important... Probably... And somehow.

What with episode 14, I really was hoping for any small reference to KO, but yknow it was a great episode nonetheless!! The cinematography??! So good! There's a few things I found interesting - mostly that the 'speedster' personality so often associated with tfp knockout is actually one of BD's character traits. This could imply that KO will have a different personality - as might have been hinted at through Smelt and his rule following, for example - or, if KO and BD do run into each other, they'll be a chaotic speedster duo! Both. Both is good :))

Obviously, there is also the worry that actually, BD is... Offline, as his hand was seen hanging in Mandroid's lair. Personally, I doubt such an interesting character, especially such a fan favourite, would be killed off after just one episode, but the hand was there...

Anyway, in terms of theory stuffs: In my original theory (that massive mind map), I had a list of three things I wanted to say "I called it!" if they came up, and while the first two both relied on Smelt being in the episodes, however, the last was vague and said "holograms... If anything, holograms...". While there is no way I could have predicted Tarantulas and his holo-form, as I had no idea he even existed before that (yes I am very new here!), I'll still be proud of myself for all that analysis of how holograms work in Earthspark.

Speaking of Tarantulas and holograms, as holo-forms have been introduced through him, I see Smelt potentially being a holo-form going two ways: 1) he is a holo-form! Congrats to everyone who said so :)) - more of a headcannon: potentially he knew/ knows Tarantulas and they did science together? Or maybe they were rivals? 2) seeing as Tarantulas has a holo-form, maybe whoever's in charge would be worried that having two holo-forms would be... Boring? Making KO something else, or Smelt would be just Smelt.

Now, I thought it would be more likely that Smelt would get "exposed" as being KO - as that's the assumption I'm working with here - I now think that's a little less likely, as I think KO might get frustrated of being in hiding. This is mostly based on the fact that one of people I said would be likely to expose/ recognise him might be dead or MIA (Breakdown), one is wounded and teaching his own students (Bumblebee), leaving only one potential person - Alex Malto. Actually, if KO is going to be exposed/ recognised, I think Alex is my best bet. He's also a teacher and an expert in Cybertronian history - he's perfect! He also cares about his kids very much, so if anything would be amiss in school, he'd probably deal with that because he knows the teaching system, so to speak.

The other idea - KO being tired of being in hiding - is based mostly on episodes 17/18 where, in the background of the Bot Brawls, we can see Principal Dan. You know, the head master of the school Robby and Mo go to? (I have a post about some other familiar faces in the background of those opening scenes, assuming they weren't just model reuses). Now, while KO is associated with cowardice (tfp), I don't think he'd stand idly by for too long if his boss expressed xenophobic views about KO's own people.

Actually, the idea of KO exposing himself and Alex being involved could work together - maybe Alex would be worried about something happening at the school, if Dan starts expressing xenophobic views, and goes talk to Smelt about it? Perhaps that conversation would be the 'nail in the coffin' and KO would get angry and say "hey guys!! I'm actually a transformer!!", or something like that, anyway.

In terms of what I think is likely for the final leg of season 1 (it better be soon or I'm throwing fists!! /j);

- I stick by my idea of Smelt becoming paranoid, nervous etc - I mean, imagine you're a transformer in disguise, there's been many transformers showing up near to where you're hidden (including someone who might be your boyfriend/ husband) and now your boss is being an ass. It would make anyone more nervous, especially because I'm pretty sure KO would be smart enough to make the link between the yellow sports car in the parking lot and the yellow car at the races where Breakdown appeared. - people start to get ruder to/ about transformers around each other. This may be a sort of 'things get bad before they get better' type of thing - people get more prejudiced about cybertronians, only to later be saved by them. I would not be surprised if GHOST is secretly making anti-tf propaganda. This would obviously piss off KO, making Smelt more... unpredictable? Angry (rightfully!)?

Anyway, I'm sure I've missed something I wanted to write, but I hope this was fun to read :))

Again, sorry if this doesn't read coherently, I am still tired, and I've still got multiple languages running wild inside my head (thanks, tfa blitzwing!), and I might have blurred my own line between canon and my ideas, as I've already started thinking of a sort of fanfic (I've got so much to do!! It'll just have to wait). And again, thank you to @transformers-earthspark for having a post of where to watch the new episodes! I would go insane without it /lh

#transformers earthspark spoilers #earthspark spoilers #transformers earthspark #earthspark #earthspark theories #transformers knockout #earthspark breakdown #maccadam #tfe