#and as of this episode. Sheer Audacity like What

[noirshitsuji]

i like watching kdramas bc western tv has never had and will never have the same amount of Audacity and downright Insanity to pull of what they try to

[mechieonu]

but like maybe bill had a point if i saw a man that wasn't yet infected w The Horrors but was very clearly intending to run headlong into them I'd snatch him up and ruin him for anyone else too

[angrykittybarbarian]

About that Dragon Age: The Veilguard audio web series

Thinking back about the marketing for DATV I now realize it was kind of deceptive.

No, it was not literal fraud. They did not make specific promises and then broke them, not explicitely and in a way you could hold them liable in court over. And I get when you are advertising your product you will of course highlight its most favorable aspects while not shoving its negative sides into everyone's noses.

However I do think that EA/Bioware did stretch out the boundaries between regular endorsement and fraud.

It started with the web series Vows and Vengeance they uploaded weekly on Youtube right before release. At that time I was still hopeful and excited for the game. And Vows and Vengeance all but encouraged that excitement.

You know why? Because, and this surprised me, it was genuinely good.

Vows and Vengeance functioned as an early introduction to the companions. While they were not the main characters they did play a key role in each episode. The plot was what could be typically expected from a regular DA installment. It had a dark, gripping story. The dialogue was well written. It dealt with mature themes, it actually discussed the classism of Tevinter.

Lucanis was a proper crow who killed a good man because he was hired to do so. He was positively morally grey. Davrin had actually strong opinions when the main character dropped the Dread Wolf's name. Bellara was interesting in that it became clear how she struggled with her ADHD without using infantile language, Scout Harding acted smart, mature and competent, Taash was a morally grey bad ass, fitting for a freelance treasure hunter and with smart and witty dialogue to go with it.

It was amazing, I found myself excited every week for a new episode. It got me interested in the companions. I already contemplated to romance Taash because they were so cool and charismatic in that series. I thought, if a FREE webseries that was made for advertisement was already this great then the game had to be nothing short of phenomenal.

And then it just...wasn't. There was nothing of the depth that came through in the web series. It was as if I was presented with a sample of a multilayered chocolate cake but got a dry brownie after I actually paid the full price for it.

The sheer audacity behind this course of action is still so inconcievable to me, I sometimes still wonder why they put effort into writing the free thing and not the product they demand payment for. I still don't get it. The only explanation is they purposefully put out a misleading sample to lure in the customers in the beginning to spend money, right?

This fraud adjacent behavior does not stop there.

Remember when we thought we would be importing our worldstates from our previous games? There wasn't even a question about it in the beginning because this is such an intrinsic Bioware feature. But then the info about the three choices in the character creator leaked.

Leaked!

Meaning they never intended for this information to be known pre-release. They fully intended to keep it secret until it would be too late. They also never said they wanted a soft reboot.

This is the conclusion the fandom has drawn after they destroyed their own lore and went scorched earth on the entire south of Thedas.

And the biggesr lie was when they said this was their best work. After all this!

This is the reason why DATV's shortcomings are so devastating. This is why so many feel like the game was a slap to their faces. EA/Bioware gaslit and manipulated us from the very beginning. We have been cheated and betrayed.

The last bit of trust I and many others had in Bioware, they mercilessly crushed.

I personally will never take even one thing they say at face value again. You can only trust their actions from now on.

[legendlarkpod]

Well.

Here we go a-fucking-gain.

Newer listeners might not know this, but we recorded the very first episodes of this podcast—then Dames and Dragons—in Fall 2016.

Before we had even begun releasing episodes, Donald Trump was elected to the US presidency for the first time.

Our first episode was posted January 14, 2017, just a week before his inauguration.

It was so difficult to believe then, and it’s somehow even more difficult now.

We know from last time, it’s going to be chaotic. Strange and terrible things will occur.

But we keep going.

For younger listeners, I want you to know that along with Donald Trump’s rise to power in 2017, those with conscience rose against him to fight back at every level.

There will always be ways— no matter how small — for us to fight, for us to donate, for us to march, for us to throw pebbles into the gears of fascism and halt its ascent.

We must do everything we can, for the future, for ourselves, and for each other.

Last time, it was bad. It was awful. But without the fierce and constant grinding of the fight against darkness, it would have been worse. Now we have to do it again. It’s difficult. It hurts. But we will do it again.

Despite all this, LegendLark will continue as usual. We will continue if for no other reason than out of sheer spite in the face of the anti-trans, anti-queer, racist, anti-immigrant, anti-woman rhetoric currently in power in our country, but we will also continue because we need to laugh amidst the work. We need to have the audacity to imagine people like us fighting back, so that people like us can fight back. And we want to do our small part to give that laughter and hope to other people, too.

It’s what we did in 2017, and we’ll do it again now.

As we Larks have been saying to each other the past couple days, “We live in a hellish garbage timeline, but at the very least we live here together.”

We love you, and we’ll see you soon. 

- The Larks

[shootinwebs]

( Content notes: childhood trauma implied )

My new headcanon about what else was behind the somewhat strange interaction between Alastor and Zestial in episode three:

Zestial finds Alastor a bit appalling. Fascinating, sure, but Alastor was the only other demon to successfully unsettle him in ages.

During their last interaction, Alastor and Zestial were hanging out, and Alastor asked Zestial if he could critique his writing, Zestial being the most eloquently spoken and well-read person he knew.

Zestial asked Alastor if he could write an example: the first few pages of a memoir, starting from his earliest childhood memory.

Alastor went right to work, and seemed to be having a lot of fun.

When he was done, he handed the pages to Zestial to read. Alastor had spared no details.

It was sickening. Horrific. But that wasn't what unsettled Zestial.

Alastor had been smiling and humming and overall having a great time while writing it.

And everything in what he'd written was not only honest, but it wasn't anything Alastor had inflicted on anyone else. Alastor hadn't killed anyone until the age of fifteen or sixteen. They were all horrors that had happened to him or terrible things he'd witnessed.

He knew Alastor only slightly better then, but he felt as though he understood even less.

Zestial had already analyzed Alastor as "nurture, not nature." As in, the man was the way he was as a result of his circumstances, not because he was born that way. And, a lot of Alastor's actions seemed to be out of vengeance, which some might even argue was justified.

After Zestial finished reading and looked back up at Alastor, the much older demon couldn't help but stare at the younger for quite a long moment, before relishing in the most emphatic laugh he'd experienced in eons.

Alastor knew exactly why Zestial was laughing. It wasn't at the torment that Alastor had experienced in his life, it was at Alastor's sheer audacity.

His audacity to be so pleased by the monster he'd become, that he was either glad for everything that had happened to him, or he thought of it all as so inconsequential that it was even mundane.

Zestial then saw Alastor like a child. A toddler, even. A child who had just done something so ridiculous or even shocking in the eyes of an adult that it was a riot to behold.

And, to Zestial, there was no possible way to understand the mind of a child.

[absolutebl]

Pit Babe - it's time for a Trash Watch!

I had to. Well, no I didn't, but COME ON. It's like Thailand is negging me. Let's burn rubber, shall we? Burn rubbers...?

The things I had been told going in about this show:

it's about car racing (this bores me)

it stars Pavel (my BL ult bias, he is my icon for a reason)

it started as an omegaverse y-novel but the A/B/O aspects would be stripped from the BL series

it's high heat

(There some chatter about whether point 3 was a mistranslation of something the author said, but don't bother me with trifles.)

Here's a definition of omegaverse:

Omegaverse, also known as A/B/O (alpha/beta/omega), is a subgenre of speculative erotic fiction, and originally a subgenre of erotic slash fan fiction. Its premise is that a dominance hierarchy exists in humans, which are divided into dominant "alphas", neutral "betas", and submissive "omegas".[1] This hierarchy determines how people interact with one another in romantic, erotic and sexual contexts.[2] (Wikipedia)

In my experience and opinion, omegaverse archetypes and tropes are often used to strip out female characters (and The Feminine) and as a tool to excuse extreme hyper-masculine behaviors without a critical feminist lens (leading to lazy characterization). Just as heat is an excuse to get nkd quickly, A/O/B is often an excuse for taboo and dubious consent actions and behaviors. Do I get why writers/readers enjoy it? Yes I do. Do I personally like it? Not particularly. (Although there are always exceptions.)

Putting all that aside, the above represents my foundational knowledge before Pit Babe started.

Oh and that the familiar BL faces appearing in this show were follows:

Pavel Naret (aka Pavel Phoom) from 2 Moons 2 & Coffee Melody - Pavel is a fluent English speaker, a bit of a drama monger, and a motorcycle rider/car-dude, this role suits him

Nut Supanut from Oxygen & Something in My Room - has an amazing voice, his somewhat wooden acting has improved steadily since Oxygen

Pon Thanapon - one of Star Hunter's stable first seen in the Gen Y series (where he stole the appeal of an intended pair), also v good in Make a Wish, I wish he'd get a lead role as he has a likable screen presence

Pop Pataraphol from La Cuisine - he's playing the Alpha rival and I'm not convinced he's suited to this role

Michael Kiettisak from Love Sick, Oxygen, Call it What You Want, Till the World Ends - playing the comic relief this time rather than his usual tortured stoic... huh

All the rest are either fresh faces or older experienced actors. Interesting mix. They must have some money behind this.

And now, get out your marshmallows! The dumpster is on fire! Let's start the roast.

Episode 1 - Platypus, Pickles, Pavel, & other Smoking Hot Problems

This first segment told with a 4 day retrospect, because I decided to do a trash watch only after @aliceisathome said I should.

My initial reaction:

the sheer audacity of Thailand being like "PitBabe is not omegaverse" and then serving "Alpha" to us on a platter in the first sex scene is

how dare

but also

what the actual fuck is going on? what world are we living in where a/b/o is LIVE ACTION ON OUR SCREENS?

we getting heat, knotting & mpreg next?

apparently this is my reality now

I'm not sure what weird quantum time stream I've jumped into but someone was all,

yes the whole world is hella screwed, but also...

Thailand has decided live action mm fanfic is gonna win it the culture wars

and I'm beginning to think they may be right

BL is now the platypus of the film industry

4 days later:

Considering how much chatter this caused there's a part of me that wondered if it was all intentional and a marketing ploy (to say it wasn't omegaverse when obviously it is). In which case... brilliant Machiavellian tactics, production.

But Thai studios are rarely this calculated in their promo. So I think it's all accidental. But it certainly caused a raucous few days on Tumblr.

On a completely different note, Babe's house looks like it started life as a particularly inventive Olive Garden. Or is that just me?

More random thoughts:

Pavel has had work done, why honey? You were the definition of perfect.

The smell thing is great, I love stuff to do with scent and necks. If omegaverse brings this to the table, fine. But...

Being all Alpha perfect butch manly man = I do not like Babe at all, I kinda want him to be brought down a peg. (Woo... pegging!) I never like narratives that glorify the captain of the football team (side eyes Cdrama CEO romances and Love O2O), Babe better have depth and damage (forget the pegging) of some kind or his behavior will get old FAST, faster than he drives (also, forget the pegging idea)

Nut is ideal in the Beta role. I mean, that's Way's character right? We all can see that. If it's not intentional, it's a miscast. I love how soft he is as as screen presence. He's great in this part.

None of the other characters are sticking out to me yet, but I'm prepared to love the side dishes in this, please make them swoon worthy!

I'm glad they didn't hold the Charlie = trickster reveal off, I like knowing he is a double agent up front.

Finally, with respect to an adequate trash watch, I'm in a pickle.

How am I going to drink for this show when there is so much else airing on Frigay? I can't keep track, if I'm drunk.

I need a strategy for this trash fire if the puns and snark are to spout forth! (HA Fourth!)

Controlled burn?

Anygay, see you all next week.

Episode 2 - Side Dish Addiction + Second Lead Syndrome are both infecting me at once

[FYI I gotta have my backup computer to watch this so that's why Imma sometimes be delayed getting the trash out to the curb.]

3 minutes! 3 minutes in and I needed to pause and wax snarkful. (Ouch, bet that hurts. Is waxing snark similar to a Brazilian but for BL? Is that why they all so hairless in The Sign?... I digress, where was I?)

Okay so the subber said Daddy but I don't think that word means what they think it means. Because Way said simply nong paa.

Usually they'll use the English word Daddy (pronounced Dah-deee) for, ya know, Actual Daddies (tm).

Wait wait:

Calling Daddy Actual

(My dumb sci-fi loving arse will see myself out the back before I start drawing Battlestar Galactica = Pit Babe connections. TOO FAR ABL. Too far.)

Look, I like the tension in this show. It's good to set up an unlikeable Alpha dog and then immediately turn him into an underdog, makes him a bit more likable. I still don't like Babe, but now at least I'm on his side.

Charlie = cute but v sus. Fortunately for him, Babe = cute but v thick.

Everyone calls Charlie Babe's dek. Yes sounds a bit like what you think but also means kid/child and SHOULD be translated as boy in this show. Why doesn't the subber get that? They a sub...ber after all. (I'll see myself out.)

Honestly, the script writers might know what they are doing with abo but our eng sub translator sadly does NOT. I'm so glad this is coming now in my BL watching life. When my ear and knowledge of Thai is so much better than it once was. Others much be SO CONFUSED.

Snicker. They just fucking with us, but it's fun to watch the mpeg speculation abound.

File this one under: Thailand's trouble with ESL plurals and also "you should have Pavel helping with these subs" sweethearts.

Production knows entirely what it's doing with this show and its omegaverse shizz (even if the subber doesn't) and I am very much enjoying the online carnage that results.

This dumpster fire continues off screen into the blogosphere and I continue to roast things over it.

Meanwhile, hi Pon! You so adorable! When you gonna lead out a BL for us?

Is Idol Factory stealing all of Star Hunter's talent? Are they the Red Racers of the BL world? These are the questions I ask myself as I watch this.

Is that AGE GAP I smell before me?

Is the 20 yr old college kid meant for the pit boss? Cause you all know I am a slut for age gaps.

Moment of a/b/o: Jeff's fear of touch/heightened personal space would be a plot marker for "baby doesn't want Alphas close cause he smells like an omega" but of course this show it not omegaverse. Not omegaverse at all.

nuh-uh

Linguistic corner!

Lung (sounds a bit like loo) is uncle(ish) it means basically a male relation older than phi. So Alan is the oldest in the crew.

Alan calls Jeff nu (which the subber translated as boy I would have gone with cutie or little one). Nu is a diminutive affectionate term that's technically gender neutral but is most often used by/on cute girls/women. Jeff did NOT like it. Then Alan sort of dodges through pronouns/particles settling on phi for I, ger for you, and ja for a particle. This is interesting because ger & ja kinda lower his age and status into a casual sphere. Not more intimate more equal to jeff... fascinating.

I love the new "Korean" red racer, he drinks my brand of soy milk. He is now my baby snake in the grass.

Get it? Snake.

He and Babe should end up together.

The fight wasn't bad, do both actors have kickbox training in their backgrounds?

Who am I kidding, I care only about Uncle Alan and Nu Jeff now. All others are irrelevant to me.

Also...

WHERE IS A BOY FOR WAY?!!! Or a Daddy. I do not care. (Methinks nether does he.)

I am now captain of the Way Appreciation Society. Let's all find a way... to get him some dick.

Also the BTS stingers are tons of fun. Looks like the set was a blast.

Finally, and I mean this kindly. Why isn't Noh Phouluang in this? He should have been cast as Winner. Bah. I'm biased.

But one should be with Noh.

Episode 3 - Side Dishes Delux

Gayest bridge n Thailand has made its obligatory appearance.

How much do I love uncle & nu? They are SO damn cute. Also nu flustered is the best kind of nu.

I could not care less about Babe and Charlie. Except I do love the smell thing.

Way will break my heart by getting his broken. He is right tho.

Tra la la. I feel like this is a bit like KP 2.0.

Charlie is a such a princess (and ace manipulator). Good thing Babe clearly likes being buttered up.

Babe's backstory was more interesting than I expected, I didn't think we would go so far into the paranormal side of a/b/o. I like it and I hope they lean into it quite a bit more. Make it part of the plot.

Unlike the kissing thing which seems to have been gotten over rather quickly.

I gotta say I'm enjoying the corporate sponsorship jockeying and tension more than I thought I would. I'm curious as to who Jef and Charlie are working for and what their motivation is. The plot itself is keeping me intrigued and that is rare for me with BL.

So no trash talk this ep, I was largely absorbed and entertained. I didn't event need booze. Shocking behavior on my part.

#giveWayaboy2023

Episode 4 - I (who never ship) am shipping the impossible

Here’s the thing. I just want this to be a better story than it is. Right now it’s kind of like a soap opera. I don’t hate lakorn, I really don't. To Sir With Love is a glorious chewing of the diamanté scenery (completed with death glitter). But...

If this is gonna be a soap opera it needs to lean into the messy side more than the tailored high concept side. Support characters and evil needs more screen time.

Instead, right now, I don’t know where I am with this show because it doesn't know where it wants to be. I’m kind of dangling in the middle of a dirty situation. It’s uncomfortable for me, and the show feels uncomfortable for the performers. 

Also... I have questions.

Yes, of course I want to know what Charlie & Jeff are up to. Why can Jeff see the future?

But more importantly I NEED to know why Babe has a flying saucer bed?

That kind of lighting makes nobody look good, especially not at that angle. It’s very traumatic and I’m not wild about the shag rug either. I have concerns about Babe's taste. I guess is what I am saying. 

On a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT note:

There’s absolutely no chemistry to justify this, but I have decided that I am going to personally advocate for, and ship, Way and the interloping not-really-Korean. They are both sort of own-moral-code types. I have tiny crush on Kim, and Nut is the prettiest, and Way is Best Boy so there it is, I would like them to hook up, please & thank you.

#giveWay2Kim2023

Arrow guy is cute, too. Will we get to see him bone?

Is he going to be another one of the adopted alpha super-kid pets?

What the hell, throw Arrow Boy a bone! All hot boys in BLs deserve bones.

Plot thickens.

Hah.

Thickens.

(I am an immature idiot.)

Episode 5 - wait wait way-t, can arrow boy have Way?

Look, BLabies, I didn’t get any screen caps this episode because frankly there wasn’t anything worth capturing.

I guess Charlie really does love Babe? Very dramatic if idiotic saving from the burning car. But Babe has gone to the broken Alpha place of extremely unlikeablability (frankly he was almost there at the start). If I were Charles B Spectacled I would be OUT by now. 

Is that?

NO.

Don't get the plastic bowl.

No white towel sponge bath. Please kill this trope.  

I mean, it's not as bad as singing, but that's because NOTHING is as bad as singing in a Thai BL.

AND the main boys are back together.

I don’t find their relationship or Babe’s lack of senses a particularly interesting aspect of the plot.

Unless, of course, Babe is pregnant and that's why he lost his Alpha sniffer.

BUT I do love the sides.

Jeff = the introvert precog who can’t/wont do people and Alan = the extrovert people person who WANTS but doesn’t understand him. 

Were Jeff and Charlie ALSO raised by Evil Daddy MacEvilPants? 

I liked the way Arrow CEO & Way looked at each other. Way, hon, give up on Babe (he sucks) and get thyself a billionaire bf with great aim and BDE.

On a completely different note, the best thing about this show is the blooper reel. That thing with the green smoothie going down his pants was hilarious!

In conclusion, this was a green smoothie down the pants episode. I was entertained, and it’s probably gonna be good for the plot in retrospect, but it was kind of squishy and unpleasant at the time.

Episode 6 - Are they actually listening to us now? Is Tumblr bugged?

This was a fun ep full of like actual racing and shizz.

Whatever.

Charlie is on the team now. All the teams, apparently.

Can we talk about Jeff and Alan?

The apology scene! Did you hear that Alan dropped to chan/ger? Eeeee!!! So cute. (He equalized their relationship in a soft way.)

Get it with that language play hottie. Next up: lengua play.

Please & thank you. 

Meanwhile, as all of the Internet knows, they went fully in for omegaverse - no bars.

I have to say, one of the greatest typos (or whatever) in existence is enigma instead of omega.

That's where I personally would rank in the omegaverse.

Hello, my gender is... enigma.

 Apparently it's a/b/o and sometimes e!  Also sometimes switch-ee 

Oh I'm very proud of myself with that one.

Funfunfun

Charlie. Babes. When a man asks to be thrown up against the wall. You throw him against that wall.

OMG is that arrow boy looking at Way in the bar?

3 seconds later.

Noooo.

Wait come back.

Noooooo.

That’s what I actually want to watch! 

OMG. Who said nu was the first step to teelak?

I flipping love Alan. 

Ah the boyfriend ep. Thank you, but I still don't trust Charlie.

Poor Way.

But nice crying jag, and I don’t say that often in Thai BL.

Now let him go, Way.

A boy with his arrows is waiting. 

(source)

Note for the future: tumblr has a bug that stops allowing edits after a certain time/number, thus my full trash often occur in 2 segments as a result. Click on the "abl trash watches bl" tag for the full thing if you're reading this and later episodes are missing.

[ilikekidsshows]

My main problem with Marinette is that she has absolutely no respect for either Chat Noir or Adrien, despite all the lip service she does. To me, she sees Chat Noir as a pet she can ignore whenever she wants and Adrien as her manic pixie dream boy who exists for her fantasies, not as actual people with thoughts or feelings of their own.

She never takes the time to understand either of them meaningfully; she just thinks she knows best and thrusts them into situations that could end up damaging them in the long run. For example, her various plans involve Chat Noir risking his life while revealing nothing of value to him and not telling Adrien the truth about his father. If she really respected or loved them, as she says, she would tell them the truth about the situations they're in for their own safety. Oh, and can we forget that in this latest episode, she played Russian Roulette with 'her true love's' life instead of doing anything to try and get Milly to reject the Akuma on her own. Or how about the fact that none of this would've happened had Adrien known what those rings meant.

Frankly, it's gotten to the point where I honestly don't think Marinette is any better than Gabriel. She sure lets him have amok, but she's still willing to lie to him as Adrien and use him as Chat Noir, but she still expects them to be there for her during her various pity parties. That's not even getting into her treatment of Sublime just because she had the sheer audacity to be a female near Adrien.

To end a long rant, Adrienette should not be a thing at this point in time. Adrien needs to learn self-worth and true acceptance, and Marinette needs to get over her controlling and toxic behaviors if they are to ever be a healthy, functional couple. As is, though, it feels like Adrien left one cage for another, and even Chat Noir can't save him from this one.

---

True and factual. No notes. Seriously, though, this is all stuff I said already during season 5 and the hiatus, and the way you’ve described the current romance in a similar way just showcases how nothing has changed. The writers had a chance to tweak this dynamic now that they were starting a new season with them already dating and with a proper hero team established, but they just didn't bother.

One of the first things we see about the “new and improved” Ladynoir is Cat Noir being Ladybug’s whipping boy, someone she can yell at out of misdirected frustration at her own failures as a girlfriend, and he’ll just be understanding. Charming. Meanwhile, our first reintroduction to dating Adrinette is Marinette neglecting Adrien just like Gabriel did. Lovely. 

Marinette doesn't treat Adrien or Cat Noir as human, and I hate that she's still getting no pushback on this or even easing up on it. Marinette needs to leave them both alone until she has a handle on herself. Rena Rouge can be the go-between for her and Cat Noir, let her and the team get used to her in a leadership position before it gets thrust on her unceremoniously. But that would require Marinette to think about anything other than her personal comfort, so Alya is right there with Adrien on the chopping block of sacrificial pawns for Marinette's comfort, only there to be used and never given consideration.

[rebeltigera]

Haiii!! I got question:

Do you have any head-canons for mk? Mac? Wuk?

And what is your personal opinion on season 5?

I am responding second time because the first one didn't send :'D

Pls end me.

I don't remember the headcanons I've mustered out the first time damnit -

*sigh*

Those are general ones , I use the design of the character most of the time to show headcanons

For MK

-He's wasted after one beer.

-his tail subconsciously curl against legs of his friends or person he trust

-he chirp subconsciously

-he don't like bitter things like dark chocolate

For Wukong

- he got thick , strong curly fur . When fluffed up texture it reminds of the dust brush

- his body temperature is much higher due to the furnace punishment

-gets headaches due to the circlet (phantom pain)

-he speak and read fluently ancient Chinese , however he got problems with modern language

-he usually sleeps with lil monkeys around

-he can't get drunk.

-monkeys take care of his fur

For Mac

- his ears are too delicate for piercings. They would hurt.

- thin , straight/wavy fur like smoke . He can't stand cold

- he can always hear past and present but future is randomly whispering to him

- he got lower body temperature (due to the shadow nature)

- when drunk he looks like a beast but he's a snuggly wuggly teddy bear

-he takes care of his fur regularly himself

For Mei (because it's lacking in other categories and I don't remember more :'D)

- When she fights she tunes into imaginary music in the background. Like Gwen from spiderverse 2

About S5

*sigh* Vent warning. not directed at anyone in particular

I am unable to put up presentable opinion on this season

Also warning to everyone that will read it

If you are here to defend/ you are touchy on subject of S5 please avert your eyes.

The season was mid at best. , script was rushed, the core of it was S3 with meek antagonist, the most evil character there was a bug demon with many eyes, and SACRIFICE was basically word for this season.

Other things I remember from it is a burnt dumpling and Nezha's mech. Oh and Wukong being useless, Mac carrying season on his back , MK being even more stupid than usual. A random guy with a pagoda and a Twink snake. Nothing else .

Let's put my opinion about the animation now :D

Flying Bark got sacrificed just like MK in this season lol

The animation was a pure nightmare, it's like Seven deadly sins Incident

And if you guys think it will get much better from that in one year (let's say for example they will produce another season next year) you live high on copium and delulu.

Our juicy yummy frame by frame animation was taken away and they gave us RAGDOLL animation.

What does it mean? -AND HERE TUMBLR DECIDED TO CRASH ON ME AND IM WRITING IT 3rd TIME :D- you know how hieroglyphs are animated? Ye, that's basically it with extra steps! HOW FUN. NOW WE HAVE PUPPETS 2D. A FREAKING GACHA FROM YT IF YOU MUST. THOSE IN SOME CASES ARE EVEN BETTER ANIMATED THAN OUR SHOW ITSELF BTW. This has it's perks! I guess. It's cheaper and easier to make episodes! :D the cons are we will no longer see good battles in the show. yay "But we saw Wukong vs MK! And snippet of Wukong vs Mac fight!" please, spare me. If you are telling me those were good fights , that is half assed animation they have no idea how works and two dots clashing with eachother you should go rewatch other seasons. the fucking disgrace and audacity.

But no matter. That i can live off, that i can gulp down.

YOU KNOW WHAT I CAN'T? THE SHEER AMOUNT OF MISTAKES ON BASIC LVL IN ART. I am sitting here looking at those colors, those lines this fucking scenography and ask- what a fucking newbie did this .

YOU CAN'T EVEN GET COLOR RIGHT

AND BEFORE ANY OF U F NERDS WILL COME TO ME AND SAY "UUU ACTUALLY ITS LIGHTING FAULT-" NO ITS FUCKING NOT.

THEY CAN'T EVEN USE SAME COLORS AS IN THE PRIOR SHOT , THEY CANT EVEN SAMPLE IT PROPERLY . BETWEEN THOSE SHOTS NOTHING CHANGE THEREFORE THE LIGHTING IS THE FUCKING SAME

IF YOU DON'T DRAW , AND HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT , JUST -

we have a shiny wukong here

What is this scene , please someone can explain to me the scenography of this

Why this perspective is wrong, the shading, the lack of lighting

Here characters don't even stand properly

WHAT IS WITH THIS AWKWARD SCENOGRAPHY ?

WHY THEY ALL LOOK OUT OF PLACE. AND IM NOT EVEN TALKING ABOUT THIS SHADING BECAUSE ITS SHIT.

HAVE THEY MISSED LIKE ALL BASIC LESSONS IN ART SCHOOLS? OR SOMETHING? LIKE THIS IS A JOKE. NO WONDER PEOPLE THOUGHT TRAILER WAS FAN MADE.

Now this- this is just hillarious.

Just add to it some dramatic intense sound effect and we have another nightmare.

The voice acting was great tho

[hheartsdramas]

here we goooooo, final two episodes of love of the divine tree!

love how sys just calmly disintegrates the shadow wei jiu. totally casual.

everyone else: "it's fated! we can't do anything to stop it!" mqg and sys: so you're not gonna believe this

i just love an otp that work as a team. it makes me giddy

don't save ranwu, please. drop her in a volcano

the lingering issue i will have with this drama is that they made perfectly lovely people like zhou feihua and this suizhi boy into simps for terrible terrible people who don't deserve even a drop of their interest let alone their lives. neither mu ranwu nor su yu are redeemed

i don't know if the translated phrasing makes it funnier that sys basically said, "you're going to go sacrifice yourself again and not include me??? fuck that i wanna die with you this time!"

our petty king

i am struck by the sheer audacity of dun tian to assume that in this other universe he'll have a family to step into. like what if they hate him because his alternate self fucked up there too? what if she married somebody else and his daughter doesn't even exist? it's just like a man to assume like that

su yu is still not redeemed

good to see you madam fan! thanks for helping save the day, your stepson would be proud and impressed

"endlessly regenerating"? was that him telling her it's time to procreate?

feihua deserves so much better than being stuck taking care of ranwu in this remote cabin. should've dropped her in a volcano on the way home

"let's start drinking" i love her so much

now that's a kissssss (by cdrama standards anyway)

okay that's a decent grovel from wei jiu. and i like that she's not letting him off the hook completely even though she clearly still has a major jones for him

omg we get a wedding and everything??? the writer was really paying attention to what the people want

and ai mi survived! is this her first time?

look at them living their best lives. i'm so happy for them.

awwwww i loved this drama! i love when xianxia commits to what it’s doing but also doesn’t take itself too seriously. fun stuff!

now xiao shui, my poor baby boy, let’s get you some therapy.

[dragonlordazuroth]

Sometimes I think about how Knockout is treated by both the show's writers and the other characters in the show, and I go a little bit insane.

He's arguably a main character, but he doesn't get much spotlight. He's the Decepticons' only available doctor, but he's not even really a medical doctor, he just manages to play the role well enough. Every single Decepticon treats him like complete shit except for Breakdown. He keeps getting sent on missions that inevitably will end up with him fighting Autobots despite him 1.) not really being a combatant and 2.) BEING THE DECEPTICONS' ONLY DOCTOR. Sure, he usually is sent with backup, but still, he is one of the LEAST ideal Decepticons to send out. He's shown to seemingly grow resentful of the Decepticons but it's barely touched upon at all up until the END OF THE SHOW. He isn't taken seriously by the writers, having most of his dialogue be either cheesy one-liners (a franchise staple) or self-centered comments meant to be seen as comical. If he wins a fight, he gloats about how great he is. If he loses a fight, he complains about how his paintjob is ruined. Breakdown, his partner, his ONLY FRIEND, THE ONLY PERSON TO TREAT HIM WELL, gets kidnapped and experimented on, and Megatron blatantly refuses to try to rescue him. Then later, Megatron sends him on what is effectively a suicide mission. Megatron makes no effort to recover his body, puts on no fascade of mourning, and we NEVER SEE Knockout truly REACT to his friend's death. He makes the occasional comment about missing having someone to help him out, but that's basically it.

AND THEN, when the man who previously kidnapped and experimented on Breakdown shows up WEARING HIS CORPSE, proclaiming himself as part of the Cybertronian "race" now, asking to be part of the Decepticons, Megatron HUMORS HIM, in front of Knockout no less, despite his objections. I DO NOT CARE that Megatron was likely planning to punish the man the whole time. The amount of sheer disrespect, the AUDACITY of it all, should NEVER have been tolerated, even for a moment. And YET, despite ALL OF THIS, all we see of Knockout's reaction is the pleasure he takes in finally getting to torment the man who so egregiously violated his partner. There is a scene where Knockout is asked if it bothers him at all to torture someone who has the appearance of his former partner, and Knockout's response is essentially "Not really, plus he'd appreciate the payback." I AM CHEWING ON THE COUCH, RIPPING SHIT APART. YOU CAN'T JUST GLOSS OVER THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TWO CHARACTERS LIKE THAT, ESPECIALLY SINCE KNOCKOUT IS FULLY A MAIN CHARACTER AT THIS POINT. I CAN'T STAND IT. THERE'S SO MUCH THERE THAT THE WRITERS DID NOTHING WITH. I'M LOSING MY GODDAMNED MIND. Anyway I think the "not really" was said in a way that can be interpreted as him trying to brush off the question without going into his actual feelings.

ALSO it's referenced multiple times that Knockout is a big fan of Earth and some parts of human culture. Street racing, horror films, drive-in theaters, automobiles. This does not get explored nearly as much as I'd like it to be. Also his dynamic with Ratchet? It comes up in a handful of episodes, and I wish we could have seen more of it.

[rachaelrobin4]

haha, i’m late but i’m here!! let’s get into the review (warning it’s long):

♥️ ep. 5: love never felt so good ♥️

jun is po’s #1 op ain’t he? just a hater (i say this lovingly cause i do love some frenemies) you can’t argue w/ a hater—ultimately they always win because of sheer will power and audacity lol

also po’s bold to admit he stayed up with thame on the phone all night. very cute and sweet 🥹 don’t let jun gaslight you baby, you’re special!!

immediately followed by jealous thame haha

i do ship jun with both po and thame so 🤷🏽‍♀️

once again, thame means the world to me. he’s so baby it’s crazy—like it’s fine girl po’s all yours

guys these divas cannot build a tent, like be so for real. “show what they’ve got”—they ain’t got nothing friend

i stand corrected; here comes head diva in charge nano to the rescue. should’ve known the youngest is good at everything

po my perceptive king. if other BL protagonists had an ounce of this skill, we wouldn’t have to wait until episode 8-9 to get confessions lol

i adore how vulnerable po is, always wearing his heart on his sleeve. that’s why the group (esp. thame) trusts him so much. too honest and soft for the world

ahhh i’m literally screaming—i’m a character analysis god lol. “thame is tearing the last page and rewriting the whole page with you” YES HE IS

idc idc i love jun

this is also the episode where i fall deeply in love with po it seems. perhaps he’ll receive a tangent or sonnet as well

awww, they are so sweet (the BP reference took me out)

THE BAND IS BACK TOGETHER BABY!!! quick and efficient, i like it

again, i ship jun with both thame and po so 🤷🏽‍♀️ i think it’s amusing how he has somehow hijacked this relationship by being an ass

jun deserved at least 3 slaps this episode, but i’ll let it pass for now

mvp this episode is pepper. i’d go to war for him and his glasses

thame self-actualizing into a full human person that can feel romantic feelings is sooo sad and funny (sad that it seems like his life had been on hold/ in limbo for so long; funny that he’s realizing in real time that maybe he too exist on the ace spectrum)

awww, he’s so happy to like po!!!! my demi baby

anyway, it was great and perfect and i’ll be back next week!!

[shadows-shells]

Headlock prime is why Leo and Raph’s relationship is way more than being rivals. 03 has a lot more Leo and Raph bonding moments even small ones then i remember. What am I trying to say? *snaps fingers* right I was saying Leo and Raph hating each other holds no grounds when you have episodes like this.

that ep was even more fun than i rmb and honestly i could watch more bro shenanigans like this 🤣 Raphael's sheer audacity in claiming that a wrecked city, public live broadcast pro-wrestling showdown and aborted police chase to be a 'quiet night out' 🤣 HE is fearless not Leo lmaooo

and Leo, although mostly soundlessly, VERY clearly had fun too being a delinquent 😂 he grinned even wider and more smugly than Raph did at their final escape 😂

they enjoy troublemaking together and that gives me endless joy

best bros vibes for them in 2003 for sure, zero resentment or rivalry haha we can save that for the other iterations!

[chaserainbows]

Week 8

(the reading challenge is here you know what that means)

Usually I skip over the reading challenge but this one has some funny results so we're gonna observe

NOT PETER IN SWIMSUITS

He did do great in the Crazy Sexy Cool category I trust his power to pull it off

Also Touya straight up got called boring Scholar does not hold back

Peter saying this is funny considering that he IS god

He gets 3 reads and takes the opportunity to whack Touya's hair and Steven's vocabulary

You guys think that winning the lipsync tournament activated Peter's bad boy mode

STEVEN'S NOT EVEN WRONG SANCTUS CANCELLED AND PETER BOOKED THIS GIG

I might ask Cuil to launch Sanctus on season 8 so she can duke it out with Kozu

Cyrus said FUCK YOU IN PARTICULAR SCHOLAR I'M THE ONLY BRAINY BITCH HERE

Touya clocks Grimsley's big forehead and WHY IS EVERYONE MAKING IT SEEM LIKE PETER'S A BUFF GUY IN A SPEEDO

Maybe he's spending too much time around Nico and/or Cordie

GRIMSLEY????????????????

And finally Yuki's still salty about Steven taking away his ep1 win

Grimsley wins for the sheer AUDACITY and with that we move on to the main challenge

It's just a runway challenge this is actually kinda boring so I'm gonna pretend it's a design challenge and they have to make the outfits

The category is denim and diamonds which means as the blue bitch of space Cyrus is in his element

Predictably Cyrus does GREAT

Scholar's bringing a good performance again and Grimsley and Steven continue to eat up this season

Meanwhile Peter does fine but nothing spectacular Touya's not good at sewing which explains why he was only safe in the ball and Yuki SHOULD NOT be allowed near a sewing machine

Steven's safe and since this is top 7 that was the last safe placement of the season now you either eat or you flop

CYRUS GETS HIS FIRST WIN

He's really picking up speed the last 2 episodes we might be seeing Cyrus domination in the latter half of the season

Grimsley does a great job too and Scholar gets his second top placement of the entire season he's surviving

Peter lands in the bottom 3 for the first time ever meanwhile Yuki's not known for good runways here on the simulator so this is expected and Touya's in the bottom A G A I N

When will Touya know peace

Peter gets by with only a low placement since he still did decent and with that we have Touya's third bottom placement to Yuki's second

Will Touya continue his streak of eliminating people or will Yuki defeat the evil LET'S FIND OUT

OH THIS IS DIFFERENT

It's surprisingly a bop I'm living

I see this song being Yuki's vibe but as we know Touya's at his most powerful when he gets to channel his angry energy and this IS a rock song

YUKI FELL MID LIPSYNC

and he STAYS down

Touya takes the opportunity and runs with it to mow Yuki down because sending people home in lipsyncs is what he does

TOUYA WINS YET AGAIN

yuki being eliminated in 7th place with no wins is kinda gaggy but it came down to the lipsync and touya just straight up crushed him

Meanwhile in Untucked Steven realized that he's been kinda stagnating in the competition and so he unleashes his villain era and comes for EVERYONE

He's getting into a fistfight with Peter and clocking Touya for somehow managing to stay in the competition despite landing in the bottom 3 times

And you know Touya's gonna fire back that Steven should've been eliminated in 10th place instead of Alder if he wants to talk about fairness

Violence is happening in this household Grimsley is also beefing with Peter nothing is sacred

Touya's in last place right now hanging on based off the strength of his lipsyncs while getting a low placement did nothing to take Peter away from first place but did let Grimsley close the distance a little bit

Scholar is actually slowly but surely rising from the depths and Cyrus pushed ahead of Steven the Cyrus domination is COMING

And now Alder vs Yuki another champion battle Alder and Touya are basically tag teaming the entire cast

[cedarxwing]

What was the most romantic scene in Hannibal for you?

The end sequence of Antipasto, hands down. Just everything about it. It makes me tear up every time.

The way Hannibal, heartbroken at Bedelia's rejection and betrayal, sits alone on the train en route to Palermo with Antony Dimmond's corpse in his trunk, recalling his last dinner with Abel Gideon while Ravel's Pavane plays.

The way even Gideon, who was always the Ripper's biggest fan, now finds Hannibal banal and tiresome, calling him pathetic and lonely to his face. The way Hannibal is disgusted by Gideon's poor manners, but puts up with him because he's that desperate for connection.

HANNIBAL: Why do you think I'm allowing this? GIDEON: Snails aren't the only creatures who prefer eating with company. If only that company could be Will Graham.

The way Hannibal is speechless at that. Not only does Gideon call out his obsession with Will, but he compares Hannibal, Mr. Firefly himself, to a snail. That's what Will's reduced him to.

Side note: LOVE how Gideon becomes a prophetic figure as he approaches death, "becoming brighter" as Hannibal puts it. Remember, this exchange takes place before S2b, sometime between Futamono and Yakimono.

Gideon can see how Hannibal longs for the kind of cannibal date night Will gives him at the end of Naka Choko, but refuses, out of sheer pettiness, to be his perfect dinner partner, snarfing down those snails with the utmost incivility. Love him. <3

"I'm just fascinated to know how you will feel when all this... happens to you." <- referencing how Mason will try to eat Hannibal, but on a deeper level how Hannibal's heart will be eaten as in the first sonnet of Dante's La Vita Nuova (which he quotes earlier in the episode):

Joyous love seemed to me, the while he held My heart within his hands, and in his arms My lady lay asleep wrapped in a veil. He woke her then. Trembling and obedient, She ate that burning heart out of his hand; Weeping I saw him then depart from me.

The way Hannibal looks SO SAD as he folds the Vitruvian Man into an origami heart, obviously still thinking about La Vita Nuova and how Will's eaten his heart. The way he extends the heart metaphor into the Three of Swords tarot presentation in the Norman Chapel to signify betrayal. The way the soundtrack swells with violins and the solemn heartbeat of a drum over beautiful close ups of Dimmond's skinned carcass.

Side note 2: I have searched high and low for the track that plays during the Vitruvian Man folding, but it doesn't seem to have been published anywhere. Tunefind says that it was adapted from Hayley Westenra's Never Say Goodbye (which is sooo romantic lol), but it doesn't sound anything like that song to me.

Finally, this is the most insight we, the audience, get into the conception of any Ripper tableau and it's a valentine for Will. Oughhhh. I'm going to cry just thinking about it.

[The Naka Choko dinner scene is a close second tho! The audacity they had to score it with Mahler's Adagietto... And the end of TWOTL would be my third pick.]

[kattythingz]

I know what I’m getting into by asking this for the ask game, but I gotta know: 03 Ed AND Broho Ed.

Chen you know the language of my HEART

(red for 03 and yellow for broho)

So 03 Ed's chart speaks for itself. No notes, perfect character. I love love LOVE his tragic development, I love that he's called out to fix his goddamn prejudices and I LOVE THAT HE DOES. I LOVE THAT HE GROWS TO UNDERSTAND SCAR'S MOTIVATIONS AND MR. MILITARY BOY DOESN'T PREACH TO THE BROWN MAN BUT MURDER IS WRONG!!

03 Ed is frequently schooled and he just keeps and keeps growing from it, and he never feels stagnant. I adore him to pieces.

Broho Ed is... less great to me.

He reeks of privileged White boy energy and I know the manga claims to tackle the nuances of war and racism—but it sure fucking flops at it. Ed's sheer audacity to tell Miles, AN ISHVALAN, that bombing one station was just as bad AS AN ENTIRE MASSACRE AGAINST HIS PEOPLE??? ED BEING FUCKING PRAISED FOR THE SOOOO COOL CLAP-BACK? I WOULD'VE SLAPPED ED FOR THAT SHIT NO JOKE.

If 03 Ed is challenged and grows from it, broho Ed's prejudices are PRAISED and never once corrected as a result. I'm also just not a fan of how he ends up... marrying, having kids, and settling down VERY young? Like yes yes Ed does deserve to settle down after what he's been through—but he LOST HIS ALCHEMY. It's incredibly idealistic to assume he'll adjust well to settling down so soon as a simple househusband? He has to be even a little depressed about the abrupt shift. And that's not even mentioning how he looks NOTHING like himself anymore. The new clothes I can excuse, 03 does the same, whatever. But WHY did he need to grow taller? In fact, why does the manga hate him being short so much? Why is it such a gag? Legit WHAT is wrong with Winry loving her short king as he is?

The constant jabs at Ed's height just start to feel so mean-spirited after the first few times, and I despise it. I swear he only got taller because Winry said she'd only marry someone taller than her so it was supposed to come full circle or sth. I dunno. Winry going from independent work in Rush Valley to naggy wife in the last few episodes didn't help my opinion of edwin and Ed in relation.

I UNDERSTAND that a character arc is supposed to change a character even in looks. No shit. But the changes broho Ed visually goes through in the end are so extreme. I don't look at that and think Edward Elric. I look at that and think Hohenheim 2.0.

It's not great. I can't even rewatch broho anymore for edling's sake :/

[irkendogma]

tak is the main antagonist for this crossover fic im writing and due to the lack of canon content beyond literally that one episode and some of etf, sometimes i worry im not doing her any justice or it’s too ooc. what do you think would be the best way to write tak in your opinion? (if you happen to have any advice on the matter. just wondering! byeeee💃)

i'm genuinely so relieved at the specification of "in your opinion" because i have such a strange long-lasting attachment to tak that i think i would second-guess my thoughts on her in an objective vacuum to the point of just saying "she should be purple". but as it is i now have the freedom to go stupid crazy about it

i think there's a number of crucial elements to tak, but i think the one that people miss most in writing her is that she isn't just meant to be a more competent counterpart to zim - she's a direct parallel in terms of her ego, motivation, and backstory (the latter particularly as a result of treatment by irken society)

like zim, tak has an enormous ego and an audacity that places herself above anyone else, even the empire itself (see: her custom invader insignia. that's like drawing a crucifix but substituting yourself for jesus after being refused by the church), and like zim, in spite of her disregard for the empire's rulings she's striving for recognition both by it and within it (to quote her: "the plan i have in store for this nasty rock will so impress the tallest that they'll have no choice but to make me an invader"). the same way zim "quit being banished", tak "escaped" from the janitorial squad she was placed under as a stopgap job until the next elite test in seventy years

i've seen some people write her as tall, but in my opinion her being only very, very slightly taller than zim is not just a stylistic choice but an essential part of her character that draws her backstory together: technically that janitorial job wasn't even a punishment, it was just deemed the most suitable position for her in the absence of official imperial proof that she was capable of anything "better" or "higher" that would've been afforded to a taller more easily

that she made it so far in the elite course at all in spite of her height gives context and precedent to the competence and sheer refusal to admit defeat she exhibits in her attempt to destroy earth, a planet she initially believes is already undergoing an officially-sanctioned invasion judging from how bitterly she tells zim about what should've been "rightfully hers", down to specifically mentioning the great assigning - loops back to her audacity, in that she has zimlike degrees of ego regardless of how hard the circumstances logistically are aligned to stomp her back down (see again her quote where she confidently states her plan to hijack an official invasion will impress the tallest to the point they won't mind her flagrantly flaunting the rules). she would've spent so much of her life striving to meet her own exceedingly high expectations, not the exceedingly low ones assumed of someone her height, that this likely isn't far from her standard procedure of "show them i can do it better than the rules say"

what sets her apart from zim, i think, is in how much she's allowed herself to let those miserable expectations get to her and leave her pettier, more vindictive, less grandstanding speeches like zim than showing off everything she's capable of as often as possible, no matter how necessary (ALL the stupid parkour she does for no reason) - which i think is admittedly less her fault than partially being the result of her having actually experienced her confidence failing her when the entire future she'd set up for herself was pulled out from underneath her

unlike zim, who experiences failure regularly but never has it truly sink in, tak had the entirety of her progress wiped off the board in a single moment as a result of circumstances entirely beyond her control: i think a large part of the reason she resents zim so deeply and sincerely isn't solely because of the practical consequences of her missing her test (though it is in no way insignificant to it) but because he was the one who broke her streak - he was the one who made her brutally aware that no matter how she built herself up, no matter what proof she offered, she could still fail and be crushed into exactly the nobody she was expected to be

and she just cannot abide that, no matter what, because even if the memory of helplessness and humiliation will never go away (not that she'd acknowledge it wouldn't), if she can make him hurt the same way maybe that will give back to her some of the power and control over her life and her identity that she lost in losing her potential status as a real, sanctioned invader

also, i do think she should be purple. she seems to have a great attachment to aesthetics and individual style, given her custom pseudo-elite uniform (which we see her wearing even in training, on her test day), the fact she designed and programmed her hologram specifically to have the distinguishing marking of a beauty spot in the same place she has one on her actual face, and her penchant for making nearly every damn piece of her tech purple some way (minus mimi, who while being her own bootleg SIR unit still follows the same red color scheme as a functional one) - even the cockpit of the spittle runner she pilots is initially purple before it's ejected as an escape pod, and the magma pump's interior looks like this:

girl likes giving things her own little touches whether that's in terms of her trademark color, her near-blasphemous custom imperial logo, or her doing a tactical slide between bars of a railing instead of just stepping normally onto the floor