#bc the plot episodes are kind of few and far between

[thenamesblurrito]

I’m so far down the SNAP rabbit hole I’m now interested in the fictional tv show in a fictional transformers continuity

Anyways, what kind of media is As The Kitchen Sinks? Who’s Thundercracker’s favourite character? Will he ever get his friends interested in the show?

hehehe WELCOME TO ROBOT MAHOU SHOuJO HELL WITH ME!!

ofc there's no real substance to it in canon, we only get that single bit in G1, so i completely made up everything except the title for SNAP! ATKS is kinda an in-universe species swapped standin for the role that actual the Transformers franchise plays? it's a much smaller franchise with far fewer tie-ins, but it has the same feel as the 80's cartoon. i could also compare it to iCarly, Wander Over Yonder, or the animated Barbie movies/show. it's an animated show, mostly for nymphs/younglings, following a broad, wacky cast of organics from a fictional species (that are uncannily similar to humans! but not actually humans, i am doing other things with humans in this universe) in a more episodic dilemma-of-the-day simplified soap opera plot structure rather than an overarching story with a specific climax to reach. there's a few smaller spinoff cartoons, a good chunk of comics, probably a couple novels, games, and direct-to-TV movies? a broad selection of toys and merch also. smallish but ongoing and respectable franchise with decent sized fandom

while it's similar in tone, it's not a one-to-one equivalent of Transformers, or any Earth media. Cybertron has a very different media/entertainment culture than humans do and their genres, production methods, and publishing forces don't act the same way (don't ask me to elaborate on this, i have nothing solid beyond "their civilization has been digital, interconnected, and interplanetary from the start, unlike our extremely recent information age, which would have shaped their media industry tremendously"). it's part of a general genre of specbio organic fiction, which is distinct from extant organic fiction (usually concerning actual organic aliens Cybertron once encountered, or their local organic lifeforms). a critical eye would note that this genre is usually infantilizing, demeaning, dismissive, or otherwise condescending about organic life, with an underlying attitude that they are simply inferior, stupider, incapable, etc in comparison to mecha. subtle and often unintentional propaganda wound up in otherwise average entertainment, despite the current absence of any known organic contact with Cybertron

resident nerd Thundercracker is something of a weeb for the very concept of organics, largely due to this show. TC's favorite character would be his OC, Buster, who is a "dog", a species he very carefully designed to plausibly fit into the world of ATKS, and who is absolutely the Mary Sue protagonist of his novel-length fanfiction. the Sweeps are modeled directly after Buster and Galvatron had to thump him a couple times to prevent Scourge from actually calling them that, because basic infosec even about ur OC could be the thing that keeps your secret identity safe. if he had to pick a favorite ATKS character, it would be a close tie between a cute little genius who gets around on wheels (Chip Chase standin) and a determined spitfire warrior he's written as one of Buster's best friends (Marissa Faireborn standin). his siblings and Megatron are pretty tired of hearing about ATKS, but now he's got a buncha new folks to preach to at the JAAT! folks like Powerglide simply cannot resist!

note that i'm never going to draw what ATKS looks like, or actually name the characters, etc. it's supposed to be a wink at the audience, a meta reference to canon Transformers humans without actually being them. enough that someone can go "is TC talking about Agent Fowler???" but never confirming it. mostly bc i don't want to figure out how mecha would perceive and design organic characters, and also i don't want to preclude using those human characters for real after SNAP's plot is done. Earth might be out there in the big wide universe, i don't want to confirm it only exists as the setting of ATKS and nerf myself that way

[niklausie]

What are your TVD notps? 👀

you sent this almost a week ago but I’ve been holding on so I can best formulate my thoughts 😭 as eloquently as I can put it:

marbekah

this hurts me bc I love marcel and I love rebekah and in another world with better writers I can see them, but alas……. there’s no getting around the fact that she practically raised him with klaus. not even the actors’ incredible chemistry can make me overlook the fact that rebekah’s an adoptive aunt to him. even if she didn’t raise him and had moved to new orleans when marcel was an adult, it would still be weird considering klaus was a father figure to him.

maybe if they had met in TO instead, I could be ok with it bc they wouldn’t have known each other when marcel was a literal child. by the time TO takes place, marcel no longer thinks of klaus as a father (for the most part rip the show is so fickle about that) so naturally klaus’ siblings are not thought of as marcel’s family too. either way it’s a mess and way too kind-of-incestuous for me.

delena

I mean. yeah. I teeter between despising damon and liking him as a villain like 5 times a day. he was much more enjoyable to me for most of s1 until the last couple of episodes, but I hate how he’s pushed as a main protagonist at the expense of pretty much every other character, including elena. her character assassination to justify picking the man who compelled, harassed, disrespected and forced himself on her and her friends—it makes me see red. man killed her brother bc she didn’t let him forcibly kiss her while she was dating his brother and I’m supposed to think that’s true love?

the biggest problem I have with damon is that the writers want so badly for him to be seen by viewers and characters as redeemed… yet they do absolutely no work to make that happen. instead of evolving damon as a person, they retcon stefan and stelena. they regress elena until she’s barely recognizable. they villainize characters he’s abused and who hate him, like caroline in s4. I could talk about this for hours but I genuinely get angry thinking of how fucked the show gets bc the writers refuse to change one fucking character for the better and truly redeem him or commit to him being shitty and have him recognized as a shitty person.

that’s why I hate to see people comparing him to klaus bc there’s no way you think they’re anything alike. at the very least klaus is self-aware and isn’t automatically accepted by everyone around him just bc a girl chose him over his brother.

klamille (kind of. it’s complicated 😭)

LISTEN. listen to me. I fully recognize that klaus had big feelings for her and probably would’ve grown to really love her if they’d had more time. but in my humble opinion cami outgrew her usefulness and relevance to the plot before s1 was even finished. I love me a good “I can fix him” storyline, but they just…. fell flat to me. my man had some fantastic moments expressing his affection for her but they were few and far in between to make me root them him and cami specifically and not just him alone. she’s always felt like a self-insert the writers didn’t know what to do with, and I have no time for that 😭

all that when klonnie (and even klayley) was right there and had all the potential and chemistry in the world, don’t waste my time fr

jeremy and anna

boring. yawn. dated for like a week in cannon and I’m supposed to believe she’s his first love and worth cheating on bonnie with? at the very least have him cheat with the ghost of vicki, who he actually knew and loved for years, not some rando. to think bonnie brought this loser back to life TWICE at her own expense and literally died for him… julie plec when I get my hands around your throat

matt and rebekah

she could do so much better. that’s really all there is to it. I know she wants to be human and that’s the whole point of her arc in tvd and most of TO, but there are 8 billion people on this god forsaken earth. there’s gotta be a better regular ole human man out there who’s deserving of a woman of bex’s caliber. there has to be…

I could probably think of many more but I’m late for class lmao mayhaps I’ll return for another rant

[sopphiex]

The chances of this being accurate are low, but never zero, so here's my take on how the relationship between Eddie and Marisol could go:

7x05: Eddie and Marisol starting over because they don't know anything about eachother, their relationship based only on sexual interactions (which still baffles me bc what is this version of Eddie???? It's like he was unable to focus on anything else beside how pent up he was because he wasn't getting any????) and don't even get me started on her moving in and out in the span of a few days without involving Chris in any capacity. They could've showed them being unable to share stuff about their personal lives without this whole living together fiasco. What were the writers thinking coming up with this storyline? Truly the most bizarre thing to happen in season 7, next to Marisol being a nun (although if it was a plot device to kick start Eddie's journey with catholic guilt I will allow it).

7x06: I honestly don't think we will see Marisol at all. First of all, the actress hasn't posted anything from set from this time (and we all know she wouldn't pass up the opportunity to show her wedding outfit or another selfie from the trailer with her being the attention seeker that she is). Second of all, there's probably not enough screen time and she's not that important of a character to be included in this whole storyline. Eddie might mention her in passing like he did in 7x04 but I think that's it.

7x07: Now here's when things might get interesting. I want to see them break up, I really do, not only because the actress is shitty but she's basically a nobody this far into the series and I don't see how they could suddenly make us care for her. Tim saying how he didn't know what to do with her tells me enough that she's not sticking around and he's just trying to fix the mess KR left. Let's not forget Tim saying that at least one relationship (bucktommy or eddisol) will have complications. I'll bet my money the couple in question will be Eddie and Marisol. The episode being titled "Ghost of a Second Chance" (which literally means sth has a little chance of succeeding) makes me think we will see Eddie trying to get to know Marisol (but i'm begging, no more sex scenes between them, once is enough, don't do this to us again) and him coming to realization how little he truly likes about her. I would like to see him go "wait, I actually don't want to do this with her, she's not someone who i want to be with". I think it's too soon for him to see how uncomfortable relationships with women make him and why he always feels like "he has to perform" but it would be a pleasant surprise if they did actually dive into it already. I don't know what exactly could trigger him to break up with Marisol (and I think it will be Eddie who puts an end into this relationship based on the ending of the last episode) but it would be nice if we got some kind of parallel to his breakup with Ana and the "I thought it would work". Since Ryan said in one of his interviews that Eddie has enough on his plate this season, I don't think he will have any kind of feelings realization regarding Buck in 7x07, but if this storyline further explores his repression then count me in, I'm getting my snacks and my drinks and I'm seated.

(just watch this being completly wrong when E*y Gan*m posts another selfie in her 911 trailer in a few days)

[balancethescales]

911 s8ep15 spoilers below because i have so many thoughts and i will explode if i don’t share them

now that the tears have subsided and have gotten over the denial and anger, i think that bobbys death, despite being well written, was poorly supported by the context of this season.

what i mean by this is that s8 used so much run time on nonsense story lines and throw away plots, making the amount of emotional, relationship building moments with bobby and the team very far and few in between. as a result, the placement of bobbys deaths felt disconnected from the rest of the season and very much felt like it was shoehorned in there for the shock value.

was it emotional? absolutely! but it could have been so much more.

like my main criticism with s7 and s8 has been that the 118 no longer felt like a family. yes, we know that they all are very much family because the early seasons have already established this fact, but it’s felt like in the past two/three seasons that they’ve kind of put the family bonding to the wayside, resorting to just explicitly stating it rather than demonstrating their bond. which, that’s fine, whatever. im not expecting the wee woo show to produce found-family crack fics every week.

except.

this is the season where tim had some lightning strike moment to make the “creative” decision to kill off bobby, the character who has arguably had the most impact within said found-family. a found-family that has been very noticeably lacking in found-family qualities lately…

if they wanted his passing to shake up the fabric of the show, they should have spent the entirety of s8b if not ALL OF THE SEASON to hone in on the impact he has on the team and people around him. they should have given him the walking dead writing (wherein u pay lots of attention to a specific character that doesn’t usually get attention and explore their origin, emotions, and relations for the entirety of an episode or two then tragically kill them off) to really make his death a [loving] punch in the face. i mean, tim said it himself in the interviews—after 8 seasons of no major character shakeups, the audience gets secure (im ignoring the fact that this security is exactly what draws lots of fans in bc that’s another conversation). therefore, if they had ramped up the bobby/118-bonding scenes this season, the gp probably would have had no reason to suspect that he would die, they’d only think that the writing was finally getting its shit back together!! the moments didn’t even need to be dramatic, just fun shenanigans that involve/revolve around bobby interacting with the team would have sufficed!! instead, all we got for bobby too much gerard/brad, megachurch mom, and a house that he’ll never get live in.

i guess my opinion is that overall, bobbys death, when separated from the context of the entire season, makes sense. i think that his final words to buck and athena, the sacrifice of his actions, and the going out in prayer was an apt ending for his character. but, in context with everything that had preceded the contagion plot, it ultimately was mishandled. this episode deserved to be in a season that gave his character, and peter krause for that matter, the respect care and love that he deserves.

for me, the next three episodes are going to really make or break this show. i mean, we all saw what happened when they killed glenn off in twd. yeah the show continued on but that’s bc the tone of the show suited such a plot twist and bc the writing team handled his passing very well, as they handled all the character deaths (in my opinion at least). with all that being said tho, twd’s viewership and the gp outlook of the show was never the same and i just don’t know if 911 has the same type of hype from the gp to maintain network viewership and pssst i don’t trust that 911 will do the aftermath of his death justice WHAT WHO SAID THAT.

i do hope im proven wrong though, but honestly, if they don’t give three 10/10 episodes in a row, i might finally give this show up. like i would have survived buddie not going canon, but to also have dead bobby??? that’s a double whammy im not strong enough to survive.

anyways, rest in peace bobby wade nash. you deserved better </3

[rockanroller]

That origin story honestly makes Lucifer sound like a bastardized version of Fen’Harel from Dragon Age…right down to him being described as a ‘dreamer’ obsessed with free will who was cast out by his own kind and develops a strong emotional relationship with the wife of a paternalistic asshole be cause she happens to agree with his freedom crusade.

I’m not saying Viv stole that backstory from DA, I doubt she’s ever heard of the games, let alone played them, but my point is that an origin story like this could in fact work and be very compelling. That said, the difference between DA and HH is that Dragon Age is a completely fictional universe that’s inspired by but isn’t meant to *directly represent* a pre-existing mythology.

I know Lucifer being a fallen Angel is part of the biblical canon, but if Heaven vs Hell is essentially the new plot (if it wasn’t always the plot) then why not just go with the mythology that already supports that? Why make up all this new nonsense that does nothing but confuse the issue?

And if she’s going to invent brand new mythology for the Bible of all things, she could at least do so in a way that makes sense? Because whatever she’s got going now has holes EVERYWHERE.

Why is there no god? When did humans even show up in this world? Who made humans if there’s no god? Did the angels make them? Who made the angels? Did the angels also make the animals? Where did this world come from? WHAT IS GOING ON???

i can't say for sure bc i know nothing of Dragon Age lore, but thank you for pointing it out! as you say she may not've stolen that backstory, but it's a story that has been shown to work. i'm fine with the removal of god, but i can see how it's confusing. as far as "who made humans if there's no god" in the Hazbin Hotel "creation story" of the first few min of the first episode it was angels who created humans. as far as who created angels it isn't said, just that they were "beings of pure light" which one could maybe assume are timeless beings that always existed for some reason. animal creation isn't mentioned in the Hazbin creation story but i'm assuming it was also the angels. again tho not to say any of this makes sense lol, lots was left out or just not considered for one reason or another.

[stripedtabbycat]

since I’m rewatching gravity falls rn I thought I’d make a post about my thoughts so far. (I wanted to start on August 31 which is dipper and mabel’s birthday but I ended up starting on September 1 instead. watching 1 episode a night and challenging myself to do the credits code each time)

under a cut because this will probably get long:

first of all this show is so funny. not all the jokes hold up but I really enjoy its sense of humor in general

i remember liking the second season better than the first and not just because it’s more overarching plot-driven, I just think the plot is a little more focused and the characters and their relationships are more solidified

I love seeing the development of Stan bonding with the kids over time. I noticed in “carpet diem” (the season 1 body swap episode) he’s commending dipper (who is really Mabel trying to turn him against dipper) for finally standing up to him and the next episode is the best we see them get along all season. it’s nice but still done in a funny/weird way that fits the show’s tone

dipper and mabel are siblings of all time. I love how clearly the show establishes how well they get along and work together and how often they’re goofin around and having fun at the beginning of episodes and how realistic their teasing and bantering and bickering feels…if you hate on mabel you’re wrong btw

i appreciate that the show doesn’t need to bluntly state the lesson we’re supposed to learn at the end of each episode but still has clear themes for each one. i also like when they kind of have a subverted/parodied version of a typical cartoon moral like in the truth teeth segment of “bottomless pit” when the expected lesson of “sometimes a small lie is okay” turns into “sometimes you have to let your uncle lie to the cops so he doesn’t get arrested for regularly committing tax fraud”

that said sometimes i’m a little :/ at the conclusions of certain episodes. I try not to harp on this bc I think part of what drives the more intense discourse about kids’ cartoons is the idea that they have to be teaching good messages to their target audiences, or at least not teach them harmful ones. I don’t think all kids’ shows should be Wholesome and Morally Edifying but sometimes you’re like. oh this is imparting a particular viewpoint I don’t love

anyway I’m just thinking about how “fight fighters” seems like it’s going to be about how physically fighting over petty relationship jealousy is dumb and immature but instead it kinda comes off like dipper has to learn “you have to fight your own battles” which…idk. I could be misinterpreting

then again I just watched “the love god” which tries to raise the interesting dilemma of “is it right/okay to meddle in others’ relationships [using magic or not] if they genuinely end up happier?” but given all the baggage around using love potions in fiction you can tell they had to walk that back a little in journal 3. I don’t think the element of “it actually wears off after a few hours” would have undermined the question too much but whatevs.

(i will say that stan in dreamscaperers saying he's hard on dipper to toughen him up kind of gets questioned later when we see the stans' backstory and it's clear their dad was not actually that great of a guy. room for interpretation there too i guess)

another reason I like season 2 better is because the show is finally done with the dipper/wendy crush plot that really dragged down parts of s1 imo. mostly because it felt like dipper had to learn that a relationship between them wasn’t happening a number of times before the show definitively said it and it lead to some of those dubious episode conclusions.

(whenever people claim that mabel was selfish and dipper always had to sacrifice things for her sake I just think…most of the time what he was “sacrificing” was a chance to impress wendy or spend more time with her, and I feel like this is more a problem with that aspect of the show than anything else)

(ALSO when people say there are too many "mabel's crush of the week" subplots - i never really got that impression? when she's going over her failed summer romances i realized there were only like, 4 episodes up to then where there was a plot about her liking a guy and it didn't feel overdone to me. however that's also why i was disappointed with her part of "northwest manor mystery" because i thought we were done with that. i guess they figured she and pacifica had already had their bonding episode in "the golf war" but i still wish she got to be involved with the main plot in that episode, even if i mostly liked it. kind of felt like the writers couldn't think of anything else for her to do)

anyway back to positive thoughts! I really appreciate the show’s creativity with the supernatural elements especially when they need a way to do a standard fantasy cartoon trope. need to shrink the characters down to miniature size? crystals that change the size of things that get caught in the light they refract! need to do a body swap? how about a carpet that swaps your electrons when you static shock someone? time travel? the time machine is in the form of a tape measure. they can get pretty outside of the box and it’s always cool

i also like the balance of humor and (kid-friendly) horror it engages in. there are a number of moments throughout the show that seem like a sudden intrusion of sheer horror but because of their suddenness and (relative) over-the-top nature they’re also really funny. I’m thinking of dipper opening the convenience store freezer and seeing a horrifying brain monster, the summerween trickster eating a kid, bill cipher summoning “a head that’s always screaming” and its skin peeling off (or like. anything he does in that episode), a lot of moments from the shorts like the island head in “the tooth” or the ending of “lefty”…

this show is i think a lot of people's first experience with a cartoon that has overarching continuity and encourages the viewers to analyze it for clues to the greater plot and i love how it does that. also love how it still works as a show even if you're not actively looking for clues to the mystery. they knew full well how much the fandom was engaging with it and both the show and supplementary material are just chock-full of details that really reward repeat viewings in a way that very few other children's shows do.

i did a pretty good job keeping track of the end credits codes in season 1 but by season 2 i had to just look up on the wiki what the vigènere key words were because i don't have the time to scour the whole episode for those sorry. especially when they get more and more hidden throughout the season. i'm still proud of myself for figuring out how to decode those messages using the grid of all the letters though

i think i first caught up with this show right when "not what he seems" was airing and now that's next up on the schedule. it's a very different experience watching the episodes all in a row and not having to wait at least two weeks between each one lol. on the plus side it gave the fans plenty of time to pick over every episode and theorize like hell

final thoughts: i love that a disney channel kids' cartoon devoted an entire extra-long episode to the surprisingly realistic and sad backstory of the main kid characters' great-uncles, one of whom had mostly been a comedic side character for the first season, and it's fantastic. once i'm done with this i cannot wait to get my hands on the book of bill

[tavina-writes]

Till The End of the Moon - Thoughts

So I've been watching TTEOTM on and off, and I'm currently midway through ep 12, which is the second episode of the Bo'er Dream, and I have to say that there's been a few major thoughts rattling around in my brain regarding this show. This isn't meant to be overly negative or overly positive, ultimately these are just my thoughts!

The Bad:

I don't think this show has heard of pacing. I think this is to its detriment and certainly isn't entirely tied to the fact that they had to chop 16 episodes (which! I am sympathetic to!). Ultimately, I think the pacing of this show and its problems run deeper than the loss of time, especially since while lots of individual scenes are lovely and get me right in the feels, and the chemistry between the leads is off the charts, the scenes themselves don't do a whole lot, either plot wise, or worldbuilding wise, or giving us a deeper understanding of the characters. They're often long, very pretty, and give me the feeling of deranged icing? Everything else that kind of makes me ??? about this show is tied to this first point tbh.

I am still unclear what they want me to think about Ye Bingchang as a character. I'm not opposed to a virtuous woman being pushed to the brink and falling into evil, and I'm a strong supporter of women's wrongs and I'm certainly not upset with that if that's what they want to do with her character, but uhhh at least so far the worst thing that's happened to her is getting pelted with vegetables and becoming 'only' the crown prince's concubine when he also doesn't have any other concubines or a wife (the breakdown there didn't make sense to me) and I guess the bird theatrics at her wedding also sucked, but ultimately, I'm not sure what we're supposed to be feeling about Bingchang and Xiao Lin and I think it's because we don't have enough character building moments for them OR the rest of the Ye family so far.

this Bo'er arc feels mildly extraneous to me right now bc while I love Sang Jiu and Ming Ye and I'm sure they're super tragic they're also....not our main leads and I'm not entirely certain we need to spend SO MUCH time with them. Maybe this has later plot consequences I haven't yet seen and that's why it's happening, but the leadup into it isn't...entirely great.

The Good:

this show is SO PRETTY it's SO PRETTY and I'm SO FOND of Tantai Meow Meow and Susu.

The costuming and chemistry between the leads is SERVING (as is the OST that bangs)

I'm having a great time watching it! No one told me The Agonies (TM) are also so funny! The show is great in terms of getting how to make me FEEL THINGS and that's sometimes the best part of the fun rather than "does this make sense?"

[bookinit02]

HI HELLO GOOD EVENING

I'm dead tired bc I got barely any sleep last night + braindead because I've spent the past several hours binging through your Stranger Things Byler retelling and I'm a bit out of words, HOWEVER. It finally clicked in my head that you have a tumblr and I, also having a tumblr, can use said tumblr to throw my appreciation upon you in a more direct manner.

On that note... the retelling is AMAZING and I love it so very very much!!! (I've also been leaving a whole stream of comments on the fic itself, so a lot of my feelings have already been described in detail there XD). It makes me feel so very many emotions, both good AND bad, and for a fic to trigger THAT MUCH of an emotional reaction in me is really an achievement. It's so beautifully sad and tender and joyous and realistic, and all the more painful for it—and all the more beautiful IN that pain. I haven't actually been a big active part of the Stranger Things Fandom (TM) for several years, but I still often return to Byler fics, sort of like a comfort blanket in story form—and yours are some of the BEST (I think it was also you that wrote one of my favorite ever painting scene fix-its; I'll have to go back and re-read that as well!!)

I started reading season 4 last night (which is in part to blame for my lack of sleep) and finished up the rest of it today. I'm so extremely excited for season 5 and to see what you've done with it—I already started reading the script for episode one and it looks amazing (god, I bet that Mike having a panic attack/Vecna episode hurts WAY more in prose)!!! I can't decide between reading all the script first, then reading the fic; or reading the script episodes and then reading the according fic chapters; or just barreling on ahead in the fic and coming back to the script if it strikes my fancy later (which is, if I'm being honest, the most likely outcome). All will have to wait til tomorrow, however, as I have dinner and a warm bed to get to. All the love to you and your fic!!

(Love how I said "I'm so braindead I've run out of words" and then proceeded to give evidence to the EXACT OPPOSITE claim. I'm really a bit like Mike lmao, even if I'm struggling to actually describe my specific emotions or feelings about something, I can run my mouth about any old thing for ages XD)

hi hello good morning!!! i have been watching ur comments come in with so much joy and happiness—hopefully i get time to respond to all of them within the next few days! i hope that you have gotten so much rest and that you are all refreshed for the next day🫂💗

thank you so much for all your kind words, in this ask and otherwise! the rewrite is really a labor of love that has been sustaining me for over a year now, and it is always so impressive and awe-worthy to me when new people discover it and start from the very beginning. that is SO much to read!! several novels worth!

as for the script, read it in whatever order you would like! my recommended order was originally to read the script first, then the fic chapters—but i know that some people want to experience the plot twists and developments as they happen, so really any way you decide to read it is completely fine! the byler scenes are all the same (with a bit extra in the fic), it’s really just the other characters and plot lines that are expanded.

thank you for “running your mouth,” as you’ve called it—but i prefer to think that we’re just chatting🥳 i really love interacting with people through both comments and asks, so feel free to do both (and to talk as long as you’d like)! i am super grateful and honored that you’ve chosen to read my story, and i hope that you enjoy what i have so far of season 5!!💗🫂

[bossthebicon]

What are your thoughts on The Jungle so far? Honestly I am enjoying it but I really did think this show was gonna be so much wilder than what it is, also can Pat and Off's story start soon that one scene I was like damn the chemistry is already chemistrying

I'm so glad u asked bc I was gonna make a text post about it hehe, the thing is... I'm not really feeling the jungle tbh. and that is SO disappointing. I feel like it feels completely different from ps: I hate you & more in the vein of the three gentlebros with basic love stories.

here's what I like so far:

the ost is THE BOMB.com, I love it so much!!!

off (duh)

offpat (extra duh)

off FINALLY getting a solo ost like I've dreamed for him for 4 fucking years!!!

the acting is good

the lighting & cinematography are good as well

the cast is mostly composed of people I love, especially the actresses

here's what annoys me:

the writing feels honestly kinda childish

the stories are suuuuuuper rushed bc they only last a few eps each, so the actions of the characters make no sense. I'm sorry but how could I believe in the leemook ship being sooooo in love when they've known each other for 1.5 second?? and lee was in love with lookjun's character 1 second before?? I wish all the stories would be interacting & cutting between each other so that we'd actually have time to care for the characters, especially since it means that early on many main characters aren't developed whatsoever.

the jungle guys are SAID to be players, but WE NEVER ACTUALLY SEE THEM BE PLAYERS??? how am I supposed to know they fuck then, especially since every sex scene so far has been cut lol

similarly, I can't really take these guys seriously lol, maybe if they showed us them being players & dangerous it would work, but there are scenes that honestly feel really corny.

so yeah, I'm mostly really disappointed in the writing, since ps: I hate you was honestly phenomenal. at this point I feel like every time off works with a great director that has created one of my fave shows (ex: ps I hate you & happy birthday), they make a kinda mid show instead just to spite me (the jungle & 10 years ticket) LMAO. I do still have hopes that there will be some kind of plot twist or whatever, but so far I'm really not a fan of the writing & the format of the episodes...

xxx

[walmart-sekai]

heyo, as a resident leo/needer on tumblr, I was scrolling through the leo/need tag and I found your thoughts!

so like. I'm kinda just gonna respond to your dislikes as I kinda am a leo/need oshi (I apologize if this ask annoys you I am so very sorry if it does)

ok ok so we start with the realism thing. yeah that's just a personal taste thing each to their own etc etc .

conflict wise, I think the best way to phrase it was not that they fell out, but they fell apart. like they didn't hate each other, it was more of a "the social pressure got to me and now my sense of self worth is garbage and as long as the others are happy without me it's fine" situation (read that day the sky was far away we love you hinomori shiho). and generally, I would say in middle school, it wasn't the conflict but the absence of conflict that hurts the most.

and my main point of contention is about Ichika as POV character. um. yeah read event stories. I get your point bc I thought about that too but ultimately, it makes sense because it was mainly ichika's inaction that led to this. ichika also did not tell saki about the friend group slowly falling apart so. ultimately this is kind of an ichika mess

anyways sorry if this ask bothered you have a nice day

No need for apologies! I put my thoughts out there, you sent yours back. Now imma send mine back.

Okey dokey, so:

I do fully admit that most of my gripes with Leo/Need are just a personal preference thing. I think “they fell apart, not fell out,” is a very good way to describe the conflict; but again, my issue is that that’s not really much of a conflict at all. It’s not suspenseful for me as a reader. (Again, this is a personal preference. I’m just not a huge fan of the specific type of YA fiction Leo/Need draws on)

As for your disagreement about the Ichika thing: I’m sure Ichika is great in event stories, and that they elaborate very well on her role in the main story. But that doesn’t change my opinion that she was not utilized well as a POV character in the main story. The event stories are a whole other ball game, and no matter how great they are, they don’t absolve the main story from any and all criticism.

I understand her inaction is a big factor in their friend group falling apart, but that happens before the main story. By the time we the reader tune in, all of that is over, and we only view it through the occasional flashback. She takes on more of an active protagonist role in the second half, but for the first like 4 or 5 episodes, Saki is absolutely the one driving the plot forward. Ichika’s just kind of along for the ride (this is not a dunk on Ichika by the way, I would also be along for the ride)

Honestly I think Leo/Need would’ve really benefited from more alternating POV. If I were writing it I probably would’ve done a lot of switching between Saki and Ichika throughout, with a main focus on Ichika near the end. Because I think Ichika’s a great choice of POV for the final few episodes, her development there is one of the reasons I love the ending.

I’m absolutely still going to read the event and side stories for Leo/Need, and overall, I did like the main story. I really did love the ending, it made me very exited to see how they take things moving forward! Especially with Shiho, I think there’s a lot of potential there.

Anyway, thanks for your thoughts on my thoughts! Hope you enjoyed my thoughts on your thoughts on my thoughts. (That sentence got away from me.)

[macisms]

my pre-rewatch personal enjoyment episode ranking for s16 bc. lists. everything between 3-7 is muddy though i can be swayed to think otherwise.

1. shoots - probably the best pacing of the season, the only episode where i feel every character felt complete. good episode for both the characters’ pasts and where they stand now wrt to their families. dog frank. mac and charlie’s legacy :)

2. inflates - still had a fairly good pacing and good division of screen-time between characters. fun character dynamics especially between frank and all the others. charlie “won” at the end. there was only one bed.

3. celebrity booze - before you yell at me hear me out. this is where my ranking starts to get silly and more personal. i love breaking bad i was excited for this episode to come out before i even watched iasip. mac was serving. charlie threw up nickels over some guy. however frank dee and charlie were sidelined hard. this episode isnt that great im just heavily biased because of braaron. if it was any other celebrity this would rank in the bottom half for sure.

4. bowling - lost points because the men vs women stuff was handled poorly. dennis should not have won that strength competition against the waitress. i could go on about how this episode failed at the actual competition and ways they could have improved. i loved all the side characters though. i liked mac charlie and frank in this ep but they were kind of useless to the plot. also dennis’ misogynist rants were too on the nose. good sibling lore though.

5. dtamhd - some of you are going to kill me for ranking this lower than celebrity booze which is deserved just remember that im hugely biased because of braaron. also because this was the only episode i had any expectations for, which you should never do with this show. plotwise pretty solid though parts of it did get repetitive (we get it, its the systems not the people). i wont lie though ill never like "it was all a dream" endings. also in general i dont enjoy watching episodes where the majority of the gang dont feature in general (part of the reason why i found mfhp boring too). also the gore. i loved the gore. you did so good sweetie.

6. fvr - the hysteria surrounding that episode was so fun but honestly i think the actual frank versus russia part is soo underdeveloped that it throws the episode off balance. also i didnt love the character writing, especially for mac, he was a little too cartoonishly stupid for me here. oh and unfortunately i had expectations for this one too (mac having a bf) so while the catfishing stuff was CRAZY it didnt fulfill my need to see mac be gay onscreen. please let him be gay onscreen. to me the episode is full of pieces that didnt quite fit together. why did dee disappear for the last few minutes. why was uncle jack there he was so useless and unfunny. the sinned system reveal and the dating sequence was awesome though.

7. cursed - i really need to rewatch this episode. none of the plotlines feel fleshed out enough so it all kind of blurs together. why was cricket involved? why was uncle jack there again someone needs to kill him fr. i liked mac's chase utley lore but other than that i feel like nothing actually happened this episode lol?

8. risk-e-rat - i just. cannot get past how nearly every scene is some iteration of "wow i dont like X, that's not how it was when we came here!". the characters barely did anything they just kept saying shit. this season has episodes that are so goddamn repetitive and this by far is the worst. it was boring. they didnt even fuck the rat. not even their criminal activities can make up for that.

[picnokinesis]

I finally got up to date on the Campervan AU a few days ago; I’ve been meaning to send this for ages, but dejumbling my thoughts took longer than I thought.

I really liked the way you’ve incorporated Grace into the respective reimagining of each plot, not just keeping her to the sideline, but making sure she gets an amount of screen time compared to everyone else while also writing her in such a way that her decisions and dialogue feels like something she’d do in-canon. Which, similar to your handling of Jamila and other supporting characters w/ limited screen time, is really impressive. I also liked how you were able to tweak a few endings so they weren’t so bleak - maybe I’m a sap, but I was genuinely heartbroken watching Vilma and Benni’s fates during Orphan 55 ngl.

Similar to the show itself - altho given the au’s overarching plot you do have a bit more leeway here as far as spreading breadcrumbs - your ability to have Koschei and co. have an almost tangible presence in each ch. is just Great, no notes (I do admit, however that much like our beloved, if not over-frazzled Doctor here, I think about this Master entirely too much. So, I probably would’ve been thinking them all plotting in the shadows even w/o the occasional mention here and there). Speaking of, I love Gat sm and I’m equally excited as I am worried about her being about to scheme w/ Koschei bc that’s just asking for all kinds of trouble - especially as we making our way towards the end of s12 and all that entitles. I do wonder how a canonical interaction between them would go, she’d probably be as wary of him as Ashad was tbh.

But above all, I think what I enjoy the most about this series is the little moments you’ve fit in-between all the bigger, more intense ones. I’d make this ask longer than it already is by listing my favorites, but I wanted to make sure I mentioned how much like ‘em.

Ahhh thank you so so much!!! I absolutely love hearing your thoughts! <3 I can't remember when you sent me this ask, so I think I might have posted a chapter or two since you sent this - so I hope you've enjoyed those chapters just as much as all the others!

With regards to Grace - I'm so SO happy that you love her in this story because I just adore writing her! I was actually very concerned that I would accidentally end up side-lining her when writing the stories, simply because she's obviously not in all of the s12 episodes that have inspired all the fics. But when I started the au, I made notes on pretty much all the main cast to figure out what they wanted, what they needed, and some flaws and strengths that they had, so I could work out how to show their development over the whole series - and so I did that for Grace too! Which actually opened up SUCH an interesting thing, because in the process of deep diving on her character (by watching the episodes where she's there/talked about) and also on Aaron's character, I could sort of...extrapolate a few things. Like if Graham says in Resolution that family means everything to Grace, then how much must it have broken her heart when everything happened with Aaron, and Ryan's mum dying? And then, of course, there's stuff I could extrapolate from the set up of the story - like, the Doctor lowkey lives with them half the time for the sake of the plot, but what kind of person invites someone like the Doctor into their life like that? And asking that question gave me some really interesting answers about Grace as well as Graham.

Regarding character voices though - I'm genuinely SO glad that everyone rings true to how they sound in the show! I think my trick with that is that I can kind of 'hear' the characters in my head - and some characters are easier than others. Grace is quite distinctive, for some reason, so if I can 'hear' her saying the lines, then the lines make the cut. Same with all the others. I actually find, of all people, Jack to be one of the hardest characters to 'hear' in my head - except for in Campervan AU, where I find him really easy to write! It's extremely odd. (Also SKSKSK Vilma and Benni BLESS you actually have to thank my beta for saving them - she was like 'make grace being there make a difference', which I really liked, so they got to live!)

And then ahhHH yessss Gat and Koschei!! I'm so glad Kosch comes over as a tangible presence, even when he's absent - I feel like that comes from me being as obsessed with him as the Doctor is, bless. But ahhh yess they're so much fun to write, honestly. I'm excited for you guys to see more of them!!

My reply is getting long lol but in short THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU ARE SO KIND!! It is really REALLY nice to hear all your thoughts on this honestly - sorry it's taken me a little while to reply to this one but I wanted to reply properly <3 <3 I think Part 6 is definitely the most 'in-between moments' fic of the whole series - it's in its nature! - so I really hope you're enjoy this one in particular before we go off into the last leg of the journey with parts 7-9 (which will be chaotic haha)

[cloudysarts]

ok im not interested in debating with anyone (which is why im not reblogging any of the people who are arguing with me bc its obvious none of us are gonna change our minds about something so pointless) BUT i thought of some more points as to why i believe this so im adding on bc why not <33333

believing it shouldve been dipper is a perfectly fine opinion to have and there were a few points ive seen other people make in opposition to me that i actually think are pretty valid so im gonna touch on those real quick

one person pointed out that mabel isnt as keen on the supernatural as dipper is and i can agree with that! i never said that wasnt the case, dipper obviously is more interested in it than she is. the way it is in canon works because im sure mabel would much rather just enjoy the party than go out and fight ghosts the whole time. but i never argued that wouldnt be the case!!! and im not trying to discredit dipper here when i say this, but its not like mabel COULDNT do his job. she definitely could! and in a potential rewrite, i think she was doing it LESS for the ghosts/the northwests, and because she wanted a chance to further the relationship with pacifica that started in golf war. mabel is perfectly capable of fighting these ghosts. its not like dipper was doing it from memory; yes hes probably read the exceprts from the journal before, but thats just it! he has the journal! anyone who had it and who is aware of the blacklight secrets could do exactly what he did, maybe even more efficiently (not that i think that mabel wouldve done better, because like i said, i think the plot points wouldve gone about the same) (EDIT: quick note bc i touch on it later: when i say the plot points all wouldve gone the same i mean like. almost verbatim. we could still have that moment of mabel being upset to find out that pacifica was in on it the whole time, but rather than being MAD like dipper is, shed be UPSET, because she believes that it goes against the hope she had that pacifica can be a good person. thatd lead into the picture scene etc etc IT ALL STILL WORKS even if you take mabels perrsonalty into account)

another point was that this episode was also about the northwests darker pasts but,,,,,was it really??!?!?! we already knew the northwests were liars and frauds. we have seen much more reliable evidence to this literally in season one. DIPPER already knows this; he wasnt at all surprised by the room of paintings, or at least he didnt seem to be. it was PACIFICA who hadnt wanted to believe it, and that doesnt change no matter which of the pines twins are there. but honestly, i think this point only makes me MORE convinced that it shouldve been mabel, because SHES been looking for an opportunity to believe pacifica is a good person. DIPPER has been looking for an oportunity to believe pacifica is a bad person. this is up for debate of course, but i honestly struggle to see dipper being swayed by pacifica being upset by her past? im not saying hes totally unempathetic, but like. he already knew all of this. he knew the northwests were horrible. if anything, i can see him being annoyed that pacifica didnt realize it sooner. but MABEL would be! she knew all of that about the northwests too, of course, but shed take pacifica being upset as proof of her good heart, and be more inclined to help her/root for her!

ANOTHER comment i saw that kind of annoyed me said that its better with dipper because hes able to offer advice and sympathy to pacifica, which mabel isnt "emotionally mature enough to do" and. i would argue its the exact opposite way around. YES mabel is more immature than him, but shes more sociable. shes good with people and good with understanding their emotions! her empathy is something that is one of the biggest dividing differences between her and dipper! she is FAR more willing to see the good in people than he is most days, which leads me to my next point

the best argument i saw was that nmm and the love god are really close to each other. in nmm, its dipper working with mabels enemy, and in love god, its mabel working with dippers. and thats a good point! i have no idea if that was intentional, but its actually really solid in why this is the way it is. but also,,,,,,i think my biggest problem here is that dipper doesnt seem very suited for aiding in redemption arcs. like ive said a few times, its not that dipper is unempathetic by any means, but we see time and time again that when he gets an opinion in his head about someone, its HARD to shake. if he doesnt like you, you need hard facts and evidence to convince him to change his mind, and you need to SHOW him youve changed. pacifica does do this at the very end of nmm but considering that he is still distrustful/dislikes her later in canon, clearly he has not full been convinced. i think both of these episodes could be mabel-centric, and that would be fine! ESPECIALLY since they lead into nwhs.

talking briefly about nwhs, i think that episodes existance only furthers my point even more. it almost,,,,doesnt make sense to see dipper get a redemption story, and then see an entire episode where he vehemently refuses to see the good in his literal uncle. hes perfectly fine helping his sisters former bully despite his suspicions that she sucks being confirmed, but refuses to even CONSIDER that his grunkle is being honest ??? AND BEFORE ANYONE SAYS IT yes i agree that stan is a million times more untrustworthy than pacifica JHKSFHJKLSHJKL he is a terrible influence and dipper has all the reason to be suspicious! im not trying to say that dipper SHOULDNT have acted the way he did in thsi episode because that is a perfectly valid and reasonable way to react!!!!!!! he even apologized later. all im saying is that it makes more sense to ME PERSONALLY that mabel get TWO episodes of redemption, leading up to her desire to forgive/trust stan when it really mattered

i also think its fine to believe that dipper ignored old man mcgucket because he wanted a moment of peace but. peace or not, i STILL cant see him brushing him off the way he did JHKSFHJKL. dipper has been excited about "lore" after plenty of life threatening situations.

one last argument i saw was that it has to be dipper, because while mabel laid out the foundations for her redemption, she shoudlnt finish it, because pacifica needs brutal honesty. and sure?? i suppose?? but also iwould argue thats not. really what she needs. she needs someone to tell her that she can change. she clearly believes that shes 'a link in the worlds worst chain'. which is a belief that dipper instilled in her.

FINALLY im not saying that dipper and pacifica is a bad dynamic. it is a perfectly fine dynamic. i do think dipper provides a good balance to her arrogance and kinda puts her in her place some time but my point was never that dipcifica is BAD, my point was that it literally came out of nowhere and then went nowhere. ALL of the people arguing with me are dipcifica shippers pointing out that dipcifica is better than mabifica, and that is a FINE belief to hold, but that was never my point!!! I DONT EVEN REALLY LIKE CANON MABIFICA. its a fine ship and i DO like it more than dipcifica but my general take is that it doesnt HAVE to be a romance and i would argue that making it a romance (IN THE TERMS OF NMM not future stuff) even takes away from what this episode of really about

ok ok thats all sjhkdfhjks this will probably be my last comment on the topic :PPP im not trying to change anyones minds and im definitely not saying nmm is BAD i literally even said its a good episode as is!!!!! this whole argument is obviously very opinionated on both sides i just have A Lot to Say

All right I take the bait. Why do you believe Manel should have accompanied Pacifica at the party

AHHH THANK YOU IM SO EXCITED TO EXPLAIN MYSELF (in reference to this post)

ok. northwest mansion mystery is a great episode obviously. but HERES why i think the episode would've been even better if mabel was in dippers spot!!!!!! its kinda a lot so i put it under a read more

so this episode is sort of the middle-ish of season 2 i think, right before the ford reveal!! its not a super long show anyway so theres not a ton of pacifica appearances, anyway. BUT in EVERY SINGLE OTHER PACIFICA EPISODE, her energy has been bouncing off of mabel!!! from their meeting in double dipper, to irrational treasure, to golf war; they have been established as the main dynamic here. golf war is especially important here, because this is the very first step in pacfica's redemption arc! mabel saves her in this episode, the pines give her a ride home, and it seems like pacifica is going to start being a little more understanding of mabel because she had misjudged her, hence why she was treating her so poorly. it looks like theyre gonna establish a friendship between them!

and then. they dont. they basically never interact again. because the next time we see pacifica, she goes straight to dipper in northwest manor mystery. the cold open implies that the northwests wanted dipper specifically because of his knowlege of how to deal with the supernatural but IN MY OPINION that DOESNT EVEN MAKE SENSE because we NEVER see dipper fighting these monsters on his own? hes ALWAYS with mabel. at the very least, i think it shouldve been BOTH of them??? we see a brief shot of a newspaper clipping where dipper is fighting a vampire bat or something and i just. when did this happen. where is mabel

that would be a fine argument for it being both of them instead of just mabel so heres one of my bigger points thats gonna come back a lot in this breakdown: dipper. does not like pacifica. he STRAIGHT UP HATES HER. every single interaction theyve had has been negative!!! its even massively negative at the beginning of this ep!!!! though mabel often dislikes pacifica, she TRIES REALLY HARD TO LIKE HER. mabel has a lot of love in her heart, and if she could, shed want to be her friend!!! its always been pacifica whos been rejecting those advances!!! golf war was the start of pacifica understanding that about mabel, and it nmm wouldve been the PERFECT time to wrap up that arc, rather than leaving it!!!

and i would argue that could STILL LEAD INTO A DIPCIFICA ARC, if thats what the showrunners/fans wanted? most of why dipper hates pacifica to begin with is because shes so terrible to mabel. he only agrees to go to the party in canon because MABEL wants to!!! imo, i think the lead in to them being a couple would be a million times better if that massive problem in their relationship was solved first

i dont PERSONALLY like dipcifica but im trying to stay unbiased about this if you cant tell

i would also argue that like. dipper just seems really out of character. the reason i picked some of the scenes i did for my redraws, was because they were scenes that i think his behavior would fit mabel a lot better. examples:

why do the northwests have a suit in dippers size anyway. he literally doesnt even like wearing it sjkfhkj in a potential re-write of this ep, i considered that mabel would come in wearing her super extravagent home made dress, and it would 'violate dress code', so she would be forced to wear one of pacificas we could still have that cute dress-up expo scene that we do AND have some fun commentary/symbolism about pacifica being nervous about having her in the dress because its NICE and TOO GOOD FOR HER and she looked FINE BEFORE ANYWAY

mabels empathy is a recurring theme in the show. shed WANT to give pacifica the benefit of the doubt, and would be VERY betrayed when finding out her and her family already knew about the ghosts and knew what he wanted. i understand that dipper was so upset because it seemed like pacifica was changing for the better just to find out that she wasnt, but i think this fits so much better with mabel, because shes always WANTED to believe that shes secretly a good person. she would be glad to see her turn a corner, and would be upset when finding out she was 'wrong', and that she really was mean deep down. whcih would obviously lead to her comforting her later/finding out the truth about her etc etc. on the other hand, dipper literally never believed she had good in her. from the first interaction we see of them, he thinks shes as terrible as her family. he ISNT as interested in giving her the benefit of the doubt and if it wasnt a life or death situation i dont think he wouldve forgiven her. IDK i just think its more in character for her

the dancing scene!!! honestly this works fine as is (i can see both dipper and mabel being excited to make a mess on a fancy carptet) but idk i just think it carries so much more weight if its these two girls. silly moments for mabel!!!! pacifica getting to really be a kid and not just a sparkly prop!!!!!!! pacifica finally indulging in her sillyness that she mocked in irrational treasure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ok moving on. one of the bigger things that bother me about it being dipper here instead of mabel is one teeny tiny (honestly really irrational) scene at the party. in it, dipper is confronted by fiddleford, who tells him he has big news about the author/the laptop and the towns in danger and its vitally important and dipper just. shrugs him off???!!?!?!?! i cannot even IMAGINE. in alex hirschs words "the first season is about dipper being in love with wendy, and the second is about him being in love with the author" meaning that. those are the TWO things that dipper is completely and totally obsessed with. hes clearly not over wendy (as we see in later episodes) and this is not long after sock opera/society of the blind eye so youd THINK hed be more depserate for answers than ever!??!?! this child was willing to sell out his great uncle and raise the dead and stay up for several nights in a row for answers, and the second he is offered some (from a man who WORKED WITH THE AUTHOR btw) hes like like 'whatevr'?!?!?! it is so out of character and it drives me fucking nuts every time. i know hes starting to like pacifica now but as we see in the comics (if you chose to think those are canon) HE DOESNT EVEN SEEM TO LIKE HER THAT MUCH!??!?! hes STILL convinced shes vain, and mean, and selfish!!!! he DOES start to have a little arc with her but jksdfjksf IDK i just cant in a million years see him passing up the chance for answers to the biggest mystery in gravity falls to hang out with a girl he tolerates

but yknow who i CAN see doing that? MABEL!!!!!!!! mabel would be concerned when mcgucket comes up to her, and starts talking like this!!!! i can totally see her suggesting that he relax for a little while and enjoy the party like dipper did, and then forgetting to come back to talk/not running into him later!!!! ESPECIALLY since i can see mabel WANTING to spend time with pacifica where dipper just. really doesnt seem to want to MOST of the time

ok ill admit that this last one is sort of a personal opinion. but i just. i really dont like the B plot of this episode with mabel and the girls. IDK its just so annoying and pointless to me to have a plot where its just a bunch of girls turning against each other over a guy. im not gonna say its mysoginistic bc i know little girls can be boy crazy but i just. dont see why there was a need to make them fight/turn against grenda briefly??? even when they rekindled and it was all ok in the end its just. in comparison to the A plot its so. Nothing.

in my head i have a rewrite of this episode and how it goes is that pacifica approaches dipper and asks for help and he turns it down (like he does in canon). mabel suggests that they do it anyway, but he refuses, as he wants nothing to do with her. when dippers gone, mabel agrees to help (and pacifica begrudgingly accepts bc it seems like the only option) and so she steals the journal when dippers not looking. she goes to the party, and events go pretty much the same?? only major difference i can think of is that the B plot is replaced by one where dipper realizes mabel and the journal are missing, so he sneaks into the manor/sneaks around the house trying to find he rand get it back (and its so massive he has no luck). the reason i think THAT works is because we can even still have the scene where dipper turns to wood like shifty prophesied!!!! and i would even argue it makes more sense this way because wasnt shiftys warning that "if you keep digging so deep into the secrets of gravity falls, this will be the last form youll ever take" ?

OK IM SORRY THIS WAS SO LONG im probably forgetting points too so i might edit it later but THANKS FOR ASKING

tldr: pacifica and mabels friendship plotline was left on a total cliffhanger after golf war and if mabel replaced dipper in nmm it would've been a good resolution to it

[spacedlexi]

so i caught up on amphibia,, i dont think i watched the same show as you guys

[destinysbounty]

I think one of the things that made the original series so compelling is how interwoven everything was. Sure, it wasnt always perfect, but each season brought to the table some new connections to the lore, some character growth, some advancements in continuity. Even if a character or subplot only lasted one season, you could still feel their influence on the story several seasons later.

Chen is my favorite example of this. He may have just been the villain of season 4, but his schemes introduced a lot of information about elemental powers, his defeat initiated season 5, and his impact can still be felt as late as season 7 (foreshadowing about Ray and Maya, elemental alliance stuff, etc.) In Way of the Departed theres even suggestions that Chen had Clouse use dark magic to corrupt the Time Twins, leading to their villainy and causing not just the plot of season 7, but also Kai and Nya's whole backstory. Clouse, having returned as a ghost thanks to season 5, is responsible for conjuring Nadakhan and starting season 6.

And on the note of season 5! That season introduced us to the Sixteen Realms and the Realm Crystal, which become important aspects of season 6, and Yang's temple, which became important in DotD and season 7. It also formally introduced Ronin and turned Cole into a ghost, which are *also* major plot details going forward. AND it planted the seeds for Wu's eventual character arc in seasons 7-9. This season's impact expands past itself.

A lot of times, not all the time but often enough, whenever lore gets introduced at some point in the og series, it gets utilized much later on. Captain Soto, formerly a one-off villain from season 2, becomes plot-important in season 6. The Golden Weapon is shot into space in season 2, melted into Golden Armor in season 3, then melted down back into the weapons to defeat the Oni in season 10. The Great Devourer causes Harumi's tragic backstory. Mystake, who started out as a background gag character, became a key participant not just in the show but the worldbuilding and lore. The love triangle and subsequent rift between Jay and Nya doesnt get fully resolved until season 6. The ninja return to the burnt-down monastery in season 6, DotD, and season 7, and eventually rebuild it in season 10.

See what i mean? Everything somehow ties back to itself. Its far from perfect, but there is a solid sense of continuity that connects everything in increasingly complex ways.

I think thats a big part of what makes Wildbrain feel so different. Dont get me wrong, i love Wildbrain and i enjoy a lot of it, but it definitely lacks the cohesion that had seemingly defined Masters of Spinjitzu. A lot of their Wildbrain adventures feel less like installments in a greater narrative, and more like a series of loosely connected sidequests. Exciting sidequests that are usually really fun to watch, certainly, but sidequests all the same.

With the exception of Seabound and Crystalized, you could probably watch Wildbrain out of order and not much would change. If Prime Empire or the Island happened before SotFS, none of those seasons would face any impact from that. They are largely episodic and detached from each other in ways the og series never was. But if you tried to shuffle up the season order in Masters of Spinjitzu, youd have to rewrite a lot of stuff to make it work.

I almost wanna say thats part of why Seabound and Crystalized feel like such a return to form, and why MotM is so well-beloved. MotM introduced us to Lilly, fleshed out Cole's backstory, gave Wu a lil character arc that built on what came before it (Wu feeling useless bc the past few adventures were done without him), and finally gave some kind of resolution to Lloyd's Harumi-related trust issues (not just referencing her, but actually giving him a character arc about it). Seabound introduced us to more lore about the world's history and the backstory of the FSM, gave Nya one of the most compelling character arcs in the whole show that builds on and satisfies her past arcs, even gave her name a backstory that ties into the lore, featured relevant cameos from prior seasons (Vania, Maya, the Keepers), and provided an ending that would have lasting repercussions on seasons to come. And Crystalized...well, i wont spoil anything, but you get where im going with this.

Now, obviously this isnt the only deciding factor of whether or not a season is good. Seasons 6 and 7 are a mixed bag in terms of quality, yet have very integrated lore and character arcs. But seasons 11, and 12, which many people dislike, are also the ones that most noticeably feel like theyre happening in a vacuum. Any effect they have on later seasons, or any effect prior seasons have on them, is not as significant or immediate as in other seasons.

With the original series, there was a sort of cause and effect, almost. Rebooted caused ToE, which caused Possession, which caused Skybound, and so on. Theres a clear and specific chain of causality, and the sequence of events has a large impact on the events themselves. The same cannot be said of Wildbrain.

Again, i do enjoy Wildbrain, and there are a lot of things i even think it did better than the og. But i definitely feel like it wouldnt be half as contentious among fans if it had the same cause-and-effect plot structure as the og. Like, something in ns11 being the inciting incident for season 12, and something in season 12 causing season 13...you get the idea.

Anyway brb i gotta go rewrite Wildbrain

[ambelle]

Just had a random thought about DC Titans and Dickkory. *bear w/me, it's kind of long, sorry.*

I listen to your podcast & remember something being mentioned about how some DK fans may be a little confused about the genre of the show, and I think that could be accurate.

I grew up reading and watching a fair amount of anime and manga. As you may know, specific labels are used to describe different genres. The two I mainly engaged in were either Shounen or Shoujo (pretty common and popular genres).

shounen

• a genre of Japanese comics and animated films aimed primarily at a young male audience, typically characterized by action-filled plots.

shoujo

• a genre of Japanese comics and animated films aimed primarily at a young female audience, typically characterized by a focus on personal and romantic relationships.

Now if I had to make an anime/manga comparison for DC Titans I'd definitely say it falls more in the Shounen category, as the main focus is the "action filled plot" as opposed to "romantic relationships". The Shounen media I consumed as a kid usually did have some primary "ship(s)" or romantic elements included, but it was hardly ever the main focus of the plot.

If I happened to like or ship a pairing in a shounen anime or manga, I learned quickly to expect the (romantic) interactions between whatever 2 characters to be sparse and few & far in between. However, it was never too difficult to tell who might eventually be "endgame" bc authors/writers more often then not made it a point to imply throughout the series that those characters hv feelings for eachother & will likely end up together in the end.

Even if they didn't hv a whole bunch of overtly romantic time together in the series, this was usually enough to satisfy me, bc it's just not the type of genre where that happens or is a priority.

I say all this to say, that's exactly how I feel about DK in Titans. Like I get why some ppl might feel cheated or unsatisfied but if you pay attention to how the structure of the show has always been, expecting all this "shoujo"-esque, romantic drama was just not realistic. Do I agree that DK could've had better & more development in seasons 2 & 3? Sure. But tbh I've rewatched the seasons, and the scenes they do share together were always important & impactful. It wasn't a reach to assume they would end up together. In typical Shounen fashion, it doesn't officially happen until the very end 🤷🏾‍♀️ but as long as it happens, me personally, I'm happy.

Oh, I love this comparison and wholeheartedly agree!

When I watched the pilot I knew right off the bat this show was selling me action first and foremost. I even feel like they go out of their way to create as many fight scenes as possible and when they can't fill the time building up to that the plot gets a little wonky.

In my opinion, I credit Prathi's addition to the writing staff as to why things were so much clearer romantic-wise in s3 & 4. Had she been around in season 2 I know DK wouldn't have gotten together but I do think they would have been more obviously romantic.

I also feel like Hank and Dawn's awful writing is proof they didn't know what to do with couples when they were together long-term. They actively dodged really writing Dickbabs as a couple for more than 2 episodes. It's hard not to notice.

So do I wish there were more shoujo elements in the first 2 seasons? Yes absolutely. Do I also love all that season 4 is so much about Dickkory that Dick doesn't even have another storyline lol? Yes.

Both can be true.

It just wasn't a romance show which is why they were all undercooked (Jayrose, DonnaGarth, Dickbabs, etc) or terrible to witness (cough cough Hank &Dawn) except for, ironically, Dickkory. Cause they got together at the very end but it's not quite out of nowhere. They've been a thread 1-3 and a complete focus this entire season.

In hindsight, I'm realizing a ton of Dickkory's biggest romantic moments came in the middle of some kind of dramatic fight. From the Trigon dream to Kory showing up to fistfight Deathstroke to him dying and dreaming about their daughter LOL.