#1. i forgot how different this season was from s2

[kashmirichaiwithmehr]

.

[acediscowlng]

you ever think about how tentpole fandoms from 00s-2010s shows with huge followings that are going strong even now would just not exist if they were made in this day and age

[aestheticaltcow]

Last Updated: 09/13/2024

Teasing

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Carmy is a tease, and you love it. MDNI 18+

Elementary School

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Carmy comes to pick you up from work while Richie teases the two of you

What Happens In Vegas Doesn't Always Stay In Vegas

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x OC A four-part series about a past mistake both Carmy and Ellie had long forgotten about. Part 1: Those are Legal? Part 2: The Bear, Abuse of Power, and a Dick Measuring Contest Part 3: The Fight Part 4: DC in October

Family Ties

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Carmy butts heads with his 17-year-old daughter

Father's Day

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Father's day cards covered in glitter and a surprise, what more could Carmy ask for?

High School

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Carmy didn't like high school, but he did like you, so when you asked him to come speak to this year's graduating class, how could he say no?

Food is Love

~Requested~ (forgot to give it a title) Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader After the passing of your father, you have a hankering for "Daddy Soup." You can't figure out the recipe, so you enlist the help of your Michelin star boyfriend to figure it out

Slumber Party

~Requested~ Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader You didn't take Carmy as a 3-in-1 guy but I guess sleeping over at his place for the first time gives you a good amount of insight on your boyfriend.

Feral

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader After work fun ~ MDNI 18+

Our Future (2 Parts)

Richard "Richie" Jerimovich x Reader Age gaps can be difficult. Being at two different times in your life makes the idea of the future seem impossible. Part 1: Our Future Part 2: Our Present

Social Media Manager: The Series

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Marcus's friend Rusty is intriguing, and Carmy wants to get to know her better. Why not hire her to revamp The Bear's social media pages? Part 1: Introductions and Donuts Part 2: Meetings, Meetings, Meetings Part 3: Drinks? Part 4: Bars and Miscommunication

The Carmy Blurb Playlist

A collection of Carmy blurbs inspired by songs I dig that give me Carmy vibes

A Different Point of View

Natalie Berzatto's POV on the events of Season 1

Cigarettes Multiverse (3 Parts)

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader MDNI 18+ Friends with benefits worked for you and Carmy until it didn't. Part 1: Cigarettes - Rozei Part 2: Girlfriend Treatment Part 3: Boyfriend Treatment

Six Months (5 parts)

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Six months postpartum and six months of celibacy, is a sexually frustrated Carmy going to risk his marriage and future relationship with his daughter for a woman who smells like artificial vanilla? Part 1: Six Months Part 2: The Night It Went Wrong Part 3: The Aftermath Part 4: Two Months Part 5: Healing

Three-Three-Three

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Based on the fridge scene of the S2 finale; you help Carmy calm down when he's having a panic attack

You're un-beet-liveable

Sydney "Syd" Aduam x Male Reader (actually, it's Paul Mescal) A cute delivery guy makes Syd a little less annoyed that Carmy asked her to come in early.

Is this what you were looking for?

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Carmy has a habit of misplacing his wedding ring, so he came up with a better alternative.

The Playdate

Richard "Richie" Jerimovich x Reader Tiffany asks if Richie can pick Eva up from a playdate.

Lockdowns & Ladyfingers

Chef Luca x Reader Luca is the hot neighbor, after getting the 411 from the grannies in the building; you make your move.

Our Life

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader You see Carmy's sketchbook and can't help but fall more in love with him.

Love Story

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Just a sweet lil narrative of Carmy fallin' for you

Sorry?

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader The story of the time you don't get off MDNI 18+

Cooking Class

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader "Six Months" universe spin-off sorta... Sugar actions off a cooking class hosted by our favorite little chef,. Carmy is a sexy man here's his response to some unwanted flirtation.

That Poster Trend

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader With Carmy's 30th birthday fast approaching, you were struggling to figure out the perfect gift for him—at least until you were reminded of that TikTok beer poster trend.

Fatherhood: Carmy Berzatto

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto's adventures in single fatherhood.

Proposal Gone Wrong

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Carmy wants nothing more than to marry you; unfortunately, with his luck, Murphy's Law took over.

How do you do it?

Richard "Richie" Jerimovich x Reader Richie's at his wits end with Carmy. Some advice may make it a little better.

To Chicago and Beyond

Carmen "Carmy" Beratto x Reader Long distance becomes short distance- so short you're within arm's reach of each other.

The Joy Of Cooking

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader You and Carmy are moving in together; nothing bad could happen, right?

Gimme a Minute

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Just something I threw together while I was waiting for my individual supervision session to start.

Drunken Escapades

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader It turns out you met Mikey before he passed; you just didn't know it. Part 1 Part 2 (MDNI 18+)

No Phone Policy

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader I'm in an angsty mood; I'm sorry, everyone. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 The Prequel Part 5

Allergic to Sunshine

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Request!

Double Trouble

Richard "Richie" Jerimovich x Reader MDNI 18+ Double the trouble but twice the joy. Thank you, God, for giving me a twin. Do you ever have one of those stupid ideas that sticks in your brain even though it feels kinda stupid? Yea... that's what this was. Part 1: Double Trouble Part 2: I'll Raise You One Better Part 3: Wedding of the Year

Coffee Run

Sydney "Syd" Adamu x Reader Someone requested a Syd x fem reader story a few months ago, and here it is!

Hot Stuff

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Request! Carmy with a plus size reader and him comforting her while she’s not feeling pretty.

Written Romance

Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto x Reader Request! Carmy finds love in an indie book shop.

[joefangs]

There are so many discrepancies if we compare season 1 Louis' memories and season 2 recollections of his. He made Lestat look almost bad, devilish in season 1, blamed everything on him, and stayed clean with Claudia. In season 2, we can finally see the issues with his memories of Lestat. Even in season 1 Louis changed his words in front of Daniel. In S2 it kind of proved that Louis' collections were muddled. He changed his memories way too many times. At last he admitted to go on with Lestat's version. I mean, I know and I can confirm that Lestat has always been good as far as the definition of "a good vampire" can go, and all the things Louis said about him are not all true.

If I go according to the books, Interview with the vampire and The Vampire Lestat are two different books with different Lestats to be precise. TV Louis said that Lestat didn't hesitate to kill, but the book Lestat from the second book, said he made a grave mistake of making Claudia ( About who, he said that he loved his dark daughter, and he didn't want that fate for her. He regretted making a young fledgling because Marius warned him about his mistake of creating Armand that young) and other than that he vowed to never kill any innocents. He only killed the damned ones, and the ones who were about to die. Also, got me thinking, how can he kill innocent people, when he took care of his family in France, who were all human. Even his mother opposed his actions, but Lestat didn't listen. So, how can a century old vampire, who still cares about his human family, gives them financial support all along, can kill mercilessly. It just didn't add to my wits. Most important of all, he loved Louis, more than Nicki even and admitted it over and over again. He longed to be with Louis, not because he always felt lonely, but because he loved Louis the most, so much that he rejected Armand in the book.

Louis' recollections of Lestat in season 1 is filled with somewhat hatred, because at that moment he thought Armand was his saviour. In S2, he started to have some clarity, mostly thanks to Daniel, and finally we know what happened.

In the book, Lestat was there at the Theatre the Vampire, he did accuse Claudia for his attempted murder, but let me tell you, he wasn't even in his right mind at that time. Even so, at that time he didn't accuse his Louis, and looked for his love, asked Armand, who (the B***h he is) lied to him about Louis' whereabouts. Lestat was somehow tricked by Armand, his thinking didn't work, as he mentioned that everything went in a trance, and after he accused Claudia, he was taken away forcibly, and he screamed Louis, Louis but with no avail, and they again fed him blood, and he forgot everything. I think Armand used magic, or he fed something to Lestat so he doesn't protest. After all of these, Lestat looked for Louis, and asked Armand to help him, and that BHole said he will not.

So, what I can surmise is, whatever you watched in S1, do not entirely believe it. This is mostly because, Lestat wasn't the one who lost his mind and hurt his Louis entirely. Louis was the pioneer of trouble in their home. He wasn't satisfied, he didn't accept the dark gift completely, and despised Lestat for that. That physical fight between them you can see, Lestat was hurt the most, both physically and mentally. And now I understand, why Louis kept seeing Dreamstat over and over again. Because, his guilt made him conjure Lestat everytime he thought he wanted a "home" with Armand.

Finally, the last episode depicted almost what The Vampire Lestat book has. They didn't show it, but Louis came back to Lestat, which he said was 'you came back to me'. Here, Lestat talks about a world tour, which is his rock concert in San Francisco. Here, Louis asks him to take him, and Lestat complies ecstatically. Also, they hugged compassiontely after meeting each other, just as they showed in the series. However, TV version displayed it as a part of Interview with the Vampire book, which is in reality from the book The Vampire Lestat.

[anderants]

Before s2 of heartbreak high me and one of my friends made a bunch of predictions / hopes for the new season and I’m quite proud of how many I got right.

We both agreed that Spider was gonna get more development, it seemed fairly obvious that his heart wasn’t really in the whole being a jerk shit, but we were slightly off about why - we assumed that his family was gonna be worse in a very different way, like mr Voss kinda family. I’m so glad they explored him more though! I really like his character.

I’m also really glad we got more of a look at Ant! We didn’t get a lot more but I think he’s interesting. Didn’t predict him and Harper before watching s2 but I really like them!

There was more of Missy (as there should be!) but not quite enough for my liking, but I’m so here for it! I thought they might explore her relationship with Sasha more, because in s1 she seems to follow Sasha around and go along with everything she says and I thought that might come up. It did to an extent and I’m glad we had more of her as an individual person but she deserves more. (I like her and Spider though, I think they’re cute!)

I’m kinda disappointed with Sasha’s character development, I really thought this season would have her work on herself and have her realise how she acted in s1 was not ok, but I’m holding out hope we get that in s3 (which there better be an s3!!). She seems to have become more superficial in her activism which sucks.

Any prediction I had about Dusty was wrong given he went to a different school. He gave me the ick from episode 1 and I thought we might see a worse side to him, but tbh his arc was kinda done by the end of s1. It was interesting seeing him talk to Darren, that was a friendship I didn’t see coming.

Didn’t see any of Quinni’s arc coming!! So here for her unmasking and learning who she is. I don’t really remember what I thought she would do in s2 but I am glad we got more development.

I’m sad we didn’t get to see who was updating the map. I was really hoping for some closure on who made the map on the table, because it seems strange that someone new would do that and we wouldn’t find out.

Anyways I loved season two and I probably forgot a ton of stuff, but! Character analysis my beloved.

[aemiron-main]

I understand that sooo many things point to time travel in s5, but I have a hard time believing that there's enough time and space to thoroughly and accessibly explore the concept of different timelines in the show. Different timelines will take a lot to explain, and we're just down to 1 season with sooo many characters to give endings to and plot lines to close out already.

I know you and others have picked up on a lot that might be pointing to different timeline stuff, but it's not often big, obvious stuff that the GA have picked up on. Time travel with references in dialogue and the clocks and Nancy's diary, yes, but the timeline theories are very complicated, and there just seems like a lot to fit in with everything else.

Do you have an idea of how it could all be fit in and explained in a way that could be accessible for the GA? That's my major stress with the timeline theories. different Henry's and Edward and multiple versions of the Rainbow Room, like I see your vision and it's really interesting but have a hard time translating that in my head to how it could fit into s5 on screen.

Like what are the themes attached to the idea of multiple timelines? What's the purpose of it, fitting into the existing themes we already pick up on from s1-s4? How does it mesh with what we already have? What is the reason behind exploring that instead of focusing on our main characters? What does it add as far as storytelling that can't already be shown through the party or the older teens or adults that we've known for several seasons already?

And why not make it more obvious in s4? Bc I really do admire how much you've done looking into those blurry ass newspapers, but why wouldn't they plant more seeds for the GA (who aren't combing over the show and those screenshots like a lot of us are on tumblr) to prevent the idea of Edward and multiple Henry's and Virginia's, etc, to not feel like it comes out of left field for the GA?

Those are just some of my thoughts and questions about it all! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

How Does Timeline Theory Stuff Tie Into Other Events In ST and How Does It Tie Into The Themes of ST and How Are The Duffers Going To Pull It Off Without Blindsiding the GA?

YES!!!!!! Hello, anon! I totally understand your concerns, but I actually think that they've set it up in a really great way where it's going to explain a lot of major plot points/gates, and is also going to be tied to the lore of the UD & how it was created (something that the duffers have said that they're definitely exploring in S5 & that there's a LOT left to be revealed about the UD in s5. These are all great questions, let's get into them! So, first of all, what other major plot points is timeline stuff going to help resolve?

Birthdaygate I don't think that people actually forgot Will's birthday. I think that his birthday is likely on a different day and we're seeing two different timelines. Especially with the Duffers joking about making his birthday May 22nd? I think that March 22nd birthday Will and May 22nd birthday Will likely both exist, and that we're either seeing two cmpletely different timelines in S2 vs S4, or Will has switched timelines, or characters like Joyce have switched timelines. One of the biggest criticisms of birthdaygate is "since when does Vecna have the power to make people forget things, and WHY would he do that?" and I AGREE with that crticism. Because I don't think Vecna specifically erased his birthday memories/the memories of others, I think it's far more likely tied to timeline weirdness, especially because in Edward's timeline, the Creel murders happened on Will's March 22nd birthday, making it a significant date for Edward. Edward, who very very likely has TIME-related powers considering that it seems to be Edward who we saw turning back that clock with his mind, and all the imagery of grandfather clocks etc. He’s not erasing memories, he’s messing with time and dates and timelines.

Will's Vanishing I have no doubt that the timeline stuff is tied to Will's vanishing. He's literally dressed like Marty McFly on the night he disappears. Hell, Vecna's grandfather clock was behind Will on the night he vanished. We also here a clock sound when his bike falls, and we hear a clock ticking when El pokes the demogorgon in the void.

We also see two different Wills on the night he vanished, which I've been calling "warm Will" and "cool Will" based on the colour grading. TLDR warm Will is much younger looking whereas Cool Will's hair is longer and he looks more exhausted and is physically older and looks like the vision of Will that Joyce saw when laying on the couch. And two different UD versions of Castle Byers. I'd need to dig and find my poster about this from forever ago, but we get two scenes of Will in the UD in castle byers (one where El finds him in the void and one where we see him singing "should I stay or should I go" to himself) And to top it all off, there's two conflicting articles about his vanishing that seem to be the SAME ARTICLE from different timelines, it's not just two totally separate articles in the same timeline presenting different stories, it's physically the same article with the same title, the same picture, and the same author, just with different content (one of the articles, the one from S1, claims that Will was found as a test subject at Hawkins Lab and that Richard Brenner was running the Narcotics Division, whereas the other article, from S2, claims that Will was found in a cabin in the woods)

There's also the weirdness regarding "how did Joyce and Hopper get out of the UD but more importantly, out of HNL?" And how were they allowed to take him to a normal hospital? HNL was prepared to straight up murder Hopper, and Brenner was convinced that they wouldn't escape the UD. So how did they? We never see them come out of the gate, and we never see them come out of HNL. How did they get through all of the keycard-locked rooms in HNL? But if they simply broke into HNL and took Will out of there, and THAT'S the Will we see at the hospital? In the sense that the Will we saw in the UD with Joyce is a different timeline entirely than the Will at the hospital? It would explain some things for sure, especially considering that the S1 newspaper articles straight up says that Joyce found him as a test subject at HNL. Because as we saw with Terry, breaking into HNL and grabbing a child from the first level and getting out, is much easier than getting out from the bottom floors/UD gate area, especially since there's those guarded/locked hazmat suit areas. And HNL would never have let them go to a normal hospital. It's all extremely weird, and definitely tied to timeline stuff, imo.

How The Blue UD Was Created I talked in this post about the rooms and walls in the Creel house magically changing in certain scenes/retellings, and how I won't be surprised if the Creel house that has the green wallpaper in that one scene during the Massacre At Hawkins Lab Creel house sequences is the Creel house that's currently the UD. We have all of these references to the UD being a "parallel universe," and all of the time references to it, so I won't be surprised if the UD was once a regular timeline, and something happened to it. Like, this house:

And this house:

Are likely physically the same house in the same timeline. And it would tie into explaining why and how the UD looks like Hawkins- because it is. It's just Hawkins in another timeline, a parallel version of Hawkins, a concept that has been referenced in the show since S1.

How Brenner Survived The S1 Demogorgon Attack Brenner should not have survived that S1 demogorgon attack in Hawkins Middle School. It chewed on his face. And we see demogorgons kill prisoners in S4 in half the time that the S1 demogorgon was gnawing on Brenner. That man should not be alive. But maybe he isn't. After all, we have references to both a Martin and a Richard Brenner- maybe one of them died and the other one is the one we see in S4. And even if he did survive, HOW? Timeline theory stuff is very easily connected to this, especially with all the strange parallels between Henry and Edward vs Martin and Richard and the idea of time loops etc and that being tied to Brenner's survival/timeline manipulation allowing him to not have died in S1. What Henry/Edward Was Doing When He Turned Back That Clock?

We literally watched Henry/Edward turn back a clock with his mind onscreen while ranting in 1979 about the constraints of time and escaping said constraints. And we got no explanation for what the outcome of that scene was/what he was doing, and we got no explanation why he was turning back the clock in 1959/what prompted it. We still don't know WHY the grandfather clock is significant to Vecna either. Timeline theory stuff is ABSOLUTELY going to tie into this.

It also answers even MORE questions than this, but hopefully that gives you a base idea of just how connected timeline stuff is to the major unresolved questions and plot points of ST. IMO, timeline theory stuff answers more questions than it creates because the ST team has been very careful about making sure that all of these things are intertwined.

And as far as themes go, with all of the time loop stuff that's referenced in ST, that ties perfectly into the themes regarding the cycle of abuse in ST, and people struggling to escape a time loop much like how it's difficult to escape the cycle of abuse and ALSO difficult to prevent it from repeating.

I think it's also narratively powerful in the sense that it shows us just how differently things could have turned out for people if they'd made one small, different choice, how people like Henry or Edward end up differently based on how their family interacts with them, especially with Mr Clarke's reference to "a timeline where none of this awful stuff ever happened," there's defiinitely a powerful message there about how seemingly small decisions impact peoples' lives, and the cycle of abuse and how people don't realize the impact they're making on other people until it's too late. It brings up the question of nature vs nurture and to what extent a person's circumstances affect who they'll grow up to be, and how differently peoples' lives could have turned out based on minor changes.

You also mentioned "what's the point of exploring that (timeline stuff) instead of exploring our main characters?" to which I say: the two aren't mutually exclusive. They're very much intertwined, exploring things like Will's connection to Edward/Henry, and what actually happened with Will's vanishing, exploring things like "why is the Wheeler family dynamic the way that it is and why does it mirror the Creels so much?" (see: Karen being Daughter-Virginia from the Edward timeline), etc, so I very much think that timeline theory is tied to exploring the characters because one of the core things that makes time weirdness in ST work is the way that the Duffers have approached it from the start- time travel/multiple timelines ISN'T going to be an easy way of just fixing things at the last minute- instead, it's been making things more difficult and complex since the beginning. So, the timeline weirdness has been affecting who these characters are, and how we've come to know them, and how they behave, and how their lives have been/what they've experienced, so it's fundamentally tied to exploring who they are and why they're the way that they are.

You also asked : "And why not make it more obvious in s4? Bc I really do admire how much you've done looking into those blurry ass newspapers, but why wouldn't they plant more seeds for the GA (who aren't combing over the show and those screenshots like a lot of us are on tumblr) to prevent the idea of Edward and multiple Henry's and Virginia's, etc, to not feel like it comes out of left field for the GA?

To which I say: first of all, thank you <33, second of all, how much more obvious can it be? Go to almost any ST comment section or ST youtube video search or GA-written article theorizing on ST, and there's CONSTANTLY people talking about the idea of time travel in ST

Like seriously, Will is dressed like Marty McFly the first time we see him, Back to the Future is playing in S3 in the movie theatre and we specfically hear lines from it about time travel and literally watch scenes from Back to the Future during ST, there's constant references to movies like the Bill and Ted movies, there's CONSTANT CLOCKS, LIKE SERIOUSLY, THE CLOCKS IN S4 ARE NEVERENDING, AND WE LITERALLY WATCHED EDWARD/HENRY TURN A CLOCK BACKWARDS WITH HIS MIND!!! I don't know how much more obvious they can be about time travel references, genuinely, like we literally had an entire letter speech from Hopper in S3 about "turning back the clock," and then also literally watched Henry/Edward physically turn a clock backwards while monologuing about escaping the constraints of time. There's so, so, so many references to time and time travel and timeline weirdness in the show, and not just "super tiny easter egg refrences,' but literally stuff like Back to the Future literally playing on screen, and Nancy saying outloud "your timeline is wrong," and Edward/Henry ranting about time and Hopper wanting to turn back the clock etc etc, it's all stuff that you literally Cannot Miss if you even do a surface level watch of the show! (also my caps here are just Excited ranting, not annoyed <3) And also, most importantly, because all of those things I mentioned earlier, like birthdaygate and the weirdness surrounding Will's vanishing and how it isn't resolved and how the UD was created, are ALL things that the GA has picked up on, even if they don't know the ins and outs of full analysis on it, they understand basic concepts such as "Will's birthday was forgotten," even if they think it's just a production error. They understand that the UD hasn't been fully explained yet, they understand that we haven't gotten the full explanation for Will's vanishing yet. And so, timeline stuff is going to tie into the answers to all THOSE questions.

And even regarding Edward SPECIFICALLY, look at how many GA people are picking up on the references to Eddie "Edward" Munson returning in S5, and the fact that Edward Munson's missing poster parallels Wil's missing poster scene and the fact that Eddie's age is inaccurate on it. The GA is picking up on a lot of the "something is going on with Eddie" stuff, but they just don't quite realize that Edward Munson is meant to deliver subtext about Edward Creel, which is something that is going to be revealed to them in S5, and something that they'll be able to understand, because they'll be like "OHHH, that's why everything seemed so weird about Eddie/why we thought he didn't die, a lot of that was meant to be referencing THIS edward, okay!"

But yeah! I'd absolutely say that the GA is aware of time travel references in ST. I actually think they're more open to the idea than a lot of byler tumblr is LMAO. I hope that helps explain my thoughts! And for me, at the end of the day, even if I couldn't see how it tied into the story, the evidence is there, and so, I feel like even if we don't fully know how that evidence fits into the story, the Duffers definitely do.

For example, imagine telling someone in S1 that all of the clock imagery in S1 was going to be tied to some guy named Henry Creel who shows up in S4! Imagine telling someone in S2 about Starcourt Mall and a secret russian base under Hawkins and how it was going to work narratively.

[harmonytre-reblogs]

MP100 Reaction

I just watched MP100 for the first time and wrote down my reactions to nearly every episode! I thought it'd be fun to share, even with them being small. I'm not fixing typos because I think it's funnier to show the full emotion I was feeling lol. This has to be my favorite anime of all time.

I unfortunately didn't write out for Season 1, but DID share some thoughts with friends:

I'm not finished watching, so please no spoilers, but DANG Mob Psycho 100 has to be one of the few shows I can NOT see the twists coming. /vpos (I'm on the final episode of season 1)

And I now see why Reigen's a fav. I didn't get it at first but now it's ASDFGHJKL

The way people talked about him, I went into the series expecting him to be a jerk or something. But it turns out he has a huge heart, kindness, and strong morals, while also being an odd mix of collected and confident or screaming and frantic.

Goes from being very expressive with his hands to -_-

Scam artist but "hey don't you dare hurt these kids I'm their guardian now and harming people is a low low idea"

and now he can see ghosts which is VERY fun

the end segment of the finale when he picked like, 2 tons (?) of mushrooms I was like "go autistic king"

they all autistic in different ways I can see it (mostly Mob and Reigen atm)

Now I binged liek 5 episodes when I was supposed to draw maaaaaaaaaan

SEASON 2

MP100 S2 E1 Reaction: I don't think I like Emi. Maybe there'll be a growth in future episodes, but DANG the "you don't have feelings" line gives me a very bad taste in my mouth. I did find it cool when Mob grabbed all the papers though. And Tsubomi watching from the sidelines is intriguing.

MP100 S2 E2 reaction: bad idea to watch that episode before bed last night, but luckily I didn't get nightmares lol

MP11 S2 E3 reaction: Dimple ace?? Reigen ace or ace adjacent?? Oh…the second half of this episode OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH I love Mob. I love Reigen. grarararrararara MY HEART Dimple's a little gremlin but his plan failed so it's better than fine

Episode 2 had me going "people said this season was better?" Second half of Episode 3 had me "UAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

MP100 S2, E4 reaction: Reigen is very observant. I found "Is he a chihuahua?" a little too funny. LITTLE GHOSTIE MOB IS SO CUTE?! I hope Mob gets out of this without fully changing who he is. Oh and Dimple protecting Shigeo's body is a W.

MP100 S2, E5 reaction: I giggled when Mob grew a flower on top of his head. And when he joked with Dimple with the little smile on my face, I verbally let out an "oh AWWW" and strtled my brother. The fight was cool, but Sheo with anime eyes is oddly enough unnerving XD "???%"???????????????? YOOOOOOO??? I love Mob so so much. Reigen feels iffy this episode, but I'm unsure if it's a front or not hmmm.

MP100 S2, E6 reaction: Yeah Reigen really messed up with Mob and I'm glad Mob is getting more confident and taking time to be a kid! And Dimple sticking with Mob is cool too. But DANG the scene with the emails and the computer as Reigen realized it was his birthday and he had no in-person friends? DANNNNNNNNG THAT HIT HARD. Both because it's close to home, and because the sound design and timing and layout of that scene was absolutely perfect and gut-wrenching.

MP100 S2, E7 reaction: OH I HAVE STRONG FEELINGS ABOUT THIS EPISODE OH MY GOSH????????? I didn't expect that ending and oh my gosh I'm stimming so much and I'm freaking CRYING. He's done it all because of Mob and Mob knew this WHOLE TIME. I knew he probably did, but saying he stuck around because he knew Reigen was "a good guy" OH MY GOOOOOOOOOSH MY HEART IS EXPLODING. They are friends, your honor. hey love and care for each other OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH.

I'm crying so hard oh my gosh

I haven't happy cried from shock like THIS since the DBH ending.

I got so caught up in the ending I forgot to mention I find it funny how this is the first show I've watched to not only acknowledge the existence of memes, but to verbally mention it. I also found all the social media logo parodies to be fun!

OH AND the first season outro whiteboard marker style making a return and becoming made IN COLOR was so so impactful.

MP100 S2, E8 reaction: I was gonna say how much I appreciate how Mob has such a strong support group now. And then that freaking ending. The fire. The corpses. What the FRICK.

MP100 S2, E9 reaction: Thank goodness. I kept telling myself they weren't real bodies but the fact I spent so long putting off the next episode [3 days] tells you something lol. Also now he can pinpoint exact locations and fly so that's cool. They've made a huge mistake messing with Mob oopsie. Oh phew the parents are just at a spa. Still don't think "daddy issues" is a good excuse for burning a home and placing fake bodies. I also loved Reigen and Dimple this episode. Poor Mob is so tired and shouldn't have to deal with all this ;^;

MP100 S2, E10 reaction: BODY IMPROVEMENT CLUB W!! Also some fun Dimple scenes let's gooooooo.

MP100 S2, E11 reaction: Mob now has an intimidating presence in the best way. I also LOVED his speech about creating things on your own. Reigen's self-defense punch made me wheeze out-loud. And that last "Dimple, stay with him" from Reigen has a tone that- oof.

MP100 S2, E12 reaction: VERY good episode. I adore Shigeo. He can take and give powers now eugh. I'm sorry, in the middle of a very serious scene, the "You're annoying. Begone" took me EXTREMELY off guard and I guffawed. "No one should be able to put value on someone else's way of life." I LOVE THIS. Reigen being his usual very calm turn into very panicked, I love it. Shigeo's PISSED.

MP100 S2, E13 reaction: Shigeo staying with the boss oh my gosssssssh my heart. And he healed everyone with his blast? Awesome! The little "I think I just peed a little" made me wheeze. The giant broccoli has finally come into play . . . OH SERIZAWA IS THE THIRD GUY I KEEP SEEING IN FANART!

SEASON 3

MP100 S3, E1 and 2 reaction: I don't have much to say about these yet except "Mob smiles" make me very happy <3

MP100 S3, E3 reaction: Chad Mob isn't real, it can't hurt you. Chab Mob . . . I don't have feelings about the monkey shirt but his pink hoodie is SO CUTE! Dimple looks creepy yeah. Also very worried why everyone's phones were out of service . . .

MP100 S3, E4 reaction: I watched it this morning, but? Fear.

MP100 S3, E5 reaction: Shigeo doesn't want to hurt Dimple and Dimple's making that verrrrrry difficult ;^;. I didn't expect the episode to end with the monkey shirt tbh. I still don't get it.

MP100 S3, E6 reaction: Oh. I did NOT expect this episode to hit hard. Mob and Dimple friends and Dimple just wanting to be SEEN? OUGH/pos. Mob walking away while Dimple makes an illusion of himself. Dimple carrying the broccoli into space. Mob CRYING in his blanket?????? Owwwwwwww.

MP100 S3, E7 reaction: Oh this is a fun one! I like Takenaka, and Mob smiles a lot in this episode. Plus, Reigen totallyyyyyyyy (/sar) not excited to drive a bunch of friends to see UFOs.

MP100 S3, E8 reaction: In general, this episode was super cute! I'm a sucker for friends just hanging out and doing weird things, especially this group. Inukawa being taken at the very end was funny at first, but the implications are ehhhhh and then he got kawaiified asdfghjkl.

MP100 S3, E9 reaction: In general, I loved this episode because I love when autistic-coded characters are able to unmask and Shigeo seems so happy! Of course, there was the ending…. I must have seen fanart or something, because as soon as I saw him at the crosswalk with flowers, I was filled with dread. The cat was saved and I was relieved, then immediately proven right. Guhhhhhhhhhhhh.

MP100 S3, E10 reaction: GUHHHHHHHHHHHH MOB DIED AND LEFT ONLY HIS POWERS BEHIND. This is gonna be an emotional doozy for sure. Teruki's battle with him and all Mob can do it watch. And the photo slowly sinking in for Reigen HURT.

MP100 S3, E11 reaction: GUHHHHHHHHHHH RITSU. And jvghdkbvgn,fzsbdxfhvkdcg Reigen too. And Mob trying SO SO HARD to stop himself.

MP100 S3, E12 reaction: I cried for a large majority of this episode and am still currently crying oh my gosh. Mob exccepting all of himself and Reigen revealing everything and Dimple's return and Mob's major improvement in the Body Imporvement club and everyone throwing Reigen a birthday party (I started stimming like crazy when I noticed)and Mob LAUGHING WITH HIS FULL HEART

MY HEART IS FULL AND I AM SOBBING /VPOS

[rueitae]

Season 2, Episode 8: the Stockholm Syndrome Caper

Liveblog for @csweekly

I’m so normal about this episode.

WE MADE IT TO THE ANGST. My serotonin is on full blast right now. I apologize right off the bat I might be so taken with this episode that I may not pull together all of my thoughts. This is the episode that made me go from “oh this is a fun iteration of CS!” To me sitting up wide eyed and going “the French Connection Caper was not a one off you have my full undivided attention CS 2019”

Since we are on my favorite episode, I want to stop at the title sequence for a moment and point out one of my favorite things I forgot to mention in week 1. It’s so neat that on the title card with the silhouette of Carmen with her voice actor credit, that she literally tips her hat to Player when they show his credits. Bestie moment, and homage to all of the players that came before this one.

Maelstrom is Done 24/7. He just wants to be evil and they have to make such mundane decisions such as MOVING and blowing up their current home 😕 I love how fierce Brunt and Cleo are about staying they are the definition of stubborn in the looks on their faces. Bellum doesn’t care she’s got a state of the art facility in the Himalayas.

Okay but Bellum is right about relocation being invigorating. After a change of scenery I’m always reinvigorated to write fic.

“Only a matter of time before invading forces come rowing to our shore” knowing what Devineaux is about to do makes this so funny.

Look at Julia being assertive at the beginning here! The Fashionista caper really gave her the confidence she needed after what happened at the end of s1. It…stings knowing how quickly it’s about to go down the drain.

Love that Chief’s obsession with catching VILE is her early downfall. Her single mindedness prevents her from patience and seeing the whole picture as Julia suggests. It’s her undoing in the s2 finale.

The way Carmen shows up at the perfect time. And she is NOT pleased.

“Those suits” the way Ivy is so smug about leading ACME on when she literally joins them at the very end. May you and Zack never change.

Okay, so Zack says that this is Carmen’s actual coat? This means that Zack and Ivy have their own haha. And I really love how Ivy responds “little tight in the shoulders, but powerful” please the way Ivy looks up to Carmen literally slays me.

Zack: does a bad imitation of Player info dumping

Player: laughs dryly, rolls his eyes, and then proceeds to do said info dump

Me: this will never get old

Honestly, it’s stated so many times that Player chats with the sibs during capers almost as much as Carmen. If this conversation is any indication, I’d have loved more. Just to hear how they fill the time. Talking about software and hardware updates for red drone maybe? Where are the forbidden video game nights?

“That’s a ton of bridges for trolls to hide under!” The best troll comes in s3.

Also good time to point out that the geography brief in every episode foreshadows future events and dialogue in the episode.

Lol Carmen has the pen. Also! She learns Chief’s name!

I love Julia this entire scene. She’s trying to be SO coy, playing to what she remembers of Carmen, that is a confident and witty thief, with her own wit and lighthearted banter. It’s the first time she’s had an opportunity to speak with Carmen sorta on her own terms with enough information. But Carmen for once isn’t having it because of the nature of this particular caper. It’s like, one of the few times Carmen is not excited about a caper. For good reason considering they’re NUCLEAR LAUNCH CODES. This screams Dr Bellum, though I see Maelstrom enjoying the psychological power play that he could work with, once again coming in clutch for heists that endanger literally everyone on the planet. Go big or go home.

And then Chief spoils everything. Again. And it’s literally right after Julia says trust me. I think she and Devineaux both have bad luck, but in different ways. Neither can catch a break when it comes to Carmen. The difference is that Julia can’t control hers where Chase’s is one of his own making.

The move Carmen pulls off the wall and over the agent and the agent knocks themselves out with their own gas. One of my favorites.

Zari right at the top, coolly giving Carmen a dose. *chefs kiss* revenge for Milan. Zari as an agent character is so cool.

It begins it begins it begins IT BEGINS. Carmen is drowsy and Cornered at the top of the bell tower. The PERSPECTIVE from Carmen, showing how heavy her eyes are, jumping from scene to scene as she takes each desperate step. That’s the kind of imagery writers dream of.

PLAYER’S MUDDLED and INCREASINGLY concerned voice from Carmen’s perspective. She can’t concentrate on anything.

Whump/Angst Tally:

Carmen: 2 (gassed/falling unconscious and chased/“betrayed”)

Player: 1

The way Ivy invites trouble by staying in character is delightful. Do it again.

Moose Boy and Otter Man are such underrated VILE operatives. TASER

Whump/Angst Tally:

Carmen: 2

Player: 1

Ivy: 2 (tased and kidnapped)

MORE ANGRY JULIA. You tell her.

Carmen unconscious in the snow.

THE SCENE

Quite possibly my favorite scene in the whole show.

“But if Carm’s MIA, too, who do I support?”

***Anguished silence***

“Go get your sister, Red knows how to fend for herself in a pickle”

This scene kills me so much. Player speaks with confidence and sureness but that brief silence and anguish on his face tells us all we need to know about his feelings. He lost his best friend for a whole semester while she was Black Sheep having to retake her classes. And now he’s faced with potentially losing her for good. He knows how serious the situation is. He knows she’s probably unconscious in the cold and he’s sitting at home in his room in front of the computer instead of being there physically. He could have told Zack to go after Carmen, but he knows he can’t. Ivy is the most important person in the world to Zack. And of the two, Carmen has the better chance of rescuing herself. He knows what decision he needs to make, but he can be sad about it. He takes the guilt and gives Zack his marching orders quickly and confidently, so that he can’t question Player’s pause or true feelings. Player, who has been ultra protective of Carmen since she left VILE island, is faced with the prospect that he might have failed her.

Whump/Angst Tally:

Carmen: 3

Player: 2

Ivy: 2

Zack: 1

The shot of Carmen banged up and lying in the snow unconscious. Super dangerous. Super amazing shot. The pen is intact but the communicator that was in her ear isn’t. So. Possible head injury/concussion then if she landed head first.

First thing she does is reach out to Player for help. 😭 “it isn’t getting any warmer” disconnected from her friends, cold, injured.

Whump/Angst Tally:

Carmen: 6

Player: 2

Ivy: 2

Zack: 1

This entire scene with Ivy is great. She really comes in clutch despite her situation. She’s cold and tied up and found out exactly what VILE is about to sell. And she is rightfully terrified.

She’s so clever though to figure out exactly how to manipulate Moose Boy and Otter Man both! And tease them! Either these two are fresh from VILE academy or they never hung out in the commons. This scene is simultaneously a comedy and so serious. Otter Man thinks he’s so smart but Ivy has him completely fooled. Where Moose Boy simply takes orders he’s willing to take Ivy at face value. It’s amazing to watch.

Also Ottoman LOL nicely done Ivy. "Sweden's coolest resort” idk Ivy, you kinda SOUND like Carmen. And very quick thinking to ask for the coat! Ivy knows the tools are there she made (assumingly) all of them.

Whump/Angst Tally:

Carmen: 6

Player: 2

Ivy: 4

Zack: 1

Carmen. Almost makes it to the top. : D and falls! :D immaculate. Counting that as two because not only is there the angst of almost making it, she adds to her injuries with the fall.

Whump/Angst Tally:

Carmen: 8

Player: 2

Ivy: 4

Zack: 1

And the geography brief comes in handy. Ivy uses the knowledge that Player gave her to earn rapport with Moose Boy. The great part about Otter Man is that he’s so focused on stopping Moose Boy from spilling the means, that he doesn’t realize that he can use that as his advantage. He’s basically confirming everything right now. But what if he were to give Ivy a lie? Then she’d be wondering which is true. It’s a great VILE character flaw. Otter Man does not see Moose Boy as a partner, just a lackey. They’d be terrifying otherwise.

Carmen realizing her choices are get arrrested or die. “Either way, VILE wins”. Absolutely screaming I love this stuff.

The horror on Ivy’s face when she finds out what the data crystal holds. Excellent dramatic effect.

LOL the chair does NOTHING

Literally ivy through the show:

Ivy: Carmen would do this.

Also Ivy: I am terrified

Also also Ivy: it’s the right thing to do *does the thing*

I love her for it so much.

The cool thing about Ivy’s part here is that she does it all her way. She took notes from Carmen but she ultimately succeeded because she’s herself!

Cool donning the red montage. Immediately slips and falls. Ivy ily

Whump/Angst Tally:

Carmen: 8

Player: 2

Ivy: 5

Zack: 1

Dgfggg the resigned and heartbroken look on Carmen’s face as she activates the pen. And she’s back in character as soon as Chief pops up.

Interesting to note that Chief must have reflected on Julia’s anger, because she is far softer on Carmen here than i expected the first time I watched this episode. Yes she’s professional, but she attempts a half hearted apology, which eventually devolves into genuine worry. Maybe it’s the cynic in me, but I wonder how much of that is caring about Carmen as a young person in trouble, or Chief’s ticket to finally catching VILE.

On Carmen’s side. It is interesting that she doesn’t trust ACME can take on VILE. I wonder how much of that is knowing Roundabout exists and just plain not trusting them to do it right after all the attempts to capture her. And then of course how much of it is Carmen putting it on her shoulders as her personal responsibility. Because it is telling that Carmen gives Chief the NASTIEST look when she points out that it need not be Carmen’s burden alone. She’s not even as angry at being chased that Chief is actually apologizing for.

In any case, Carmen waits until the last possible moment to contact Chief. Not only does it show her stubbornness and how much she values her freedom, but just how aware of her own body she is. She has just enough time to get information from Chief about how close they are to finding her…and then she can’t anymore. As soon as she knows they are coming, she gives out. Carmen plays her intel close, knowing now that’s her bargaining chip to stay alive, even if it’s in prison.

VULNERABILITY. : D in front of a not-ally (yet) Carmen can’t hold on she drops to the snow. And again it’s a bit hard to tell if Chief is legitimately concerned about Carmen or just the intel she has, but staying with her, talking to her, until help arrives most likely saved her life.

Whump/Angst Tally:

Carmen: 10

Ivy: 4

Player: 2

Zack: 1

That bartender is totally watching Ivy fall and not reacting at all like it’s a daily occurrence for guests to do that.

IVY DUBBING THE SALE PLEASE YOU ARE ALREADY PERFECT IVY you DID NOT have to go so hard so EASILY

LOL the lady just scoots away as Ivy crashes into the back of the chair 😂😂😂😂

SHE MISSED. And Carmen would be proud she covers it up.

Ivy has such a keen eye! She finds that data crystal so quickly. I think it’s because she’s used to working on small parts, like Carmen’s gadgets, and also the literal car she built from scratch.

Ivy: I need to summon courage

Ivy: SCREAMS as she does the thing

Moose is so great. The second Otter needs him he stops struggling and is like “okay I’ll just take the infrastructure with me”

“This is not what Carmen would do!” You’re right. It’s not. And for all you know, that’s why the caper succeeded. Because Ivy did it Ivy’s way.

And because Player told Zack to get his sister, he’s right there to pick her up and get away so she isn’t recaptured.

THE SIBLING HUG. One of the greatest scenes ever. Zack’s hopefulness and Ivy’s joy.

Ahhh and Zack is so focused he’s ready to go after Carmen. Look at Ivy’s increasingly horrified face. She had nO idea that Carmen was missing. The GUILT as she’s about to find out is so delicious

Angst/Whump Tally:

Carmen: 10

Player: 2

Ivy: 6

Zack: 1

Fhghcb Carmen’s resigned and peaceful face as the helicopter finds her.😭

And you think the siblings get there just in time but no.

It takes 44 minutes to drive from the airport in the northern end of Stockholm to the forested area to the south with water on both sides. Carmen is probably fortunate she didn’t glide long enough to get to the ocean. So, from picking up Ivy, estimate 45 minutes to get to Carmen. Add in half that time for Zack to get from the city center to north Stockholm. That’s the fastest, not counting traffic. Carmen was unconscious and alone in the cold for perhaps a little over an hour, as the sun is going down. That is PLENTY of time to get severe frostbite not wearing appropriate clothing for the weather, as she does.

Zari please she’s down 😭

Carmen can barely speak let alone put on any defensive airs. She tries to sound angry but she’s clearly not well it doesn’t work. She’s steeling herself to never be happy again. And at this point, it’s very possible Roundabout can pull the strings and get her to VILE. Gets my hurt/comfort loving blood boiling.

And things turn for the better. That’s a lovely last look that Carmen has as she looks Julia’s way. It’s not hateful or angry, it’s very reflective. As if Carmen is realizing ‘okay, Julia was actually trying to help. There is some merit here. I understood why she did what she did. This was not her fault’ after Chief offers to let her go. It’s a far more peaceful look than Carmen had just a bit before.

Ivy wraps Carmen up in her coat and holds her to keep her warm and talk to her I’m emotional here’s the comfort part! She and Zack are so worried for her I’m eating it up.

“What, by who?”

Ivy’s tears and smile as she says “Carmen Sandiego who else”

Carmen does nothing this caper. She successfully leads ACME off of VILE I guess so that Ivy can work but that was NoT the plan. This episode is all character development for Carmen. Slowly opening her eyes that she CAN trust more people. Ivy and Zack (building off of their two parter), Julia, and maybe Chief. And this trend continues in s3 and s4. There are even more civilians of the day, and Carmen leans on their help more than in s1 and s2.

And Ivy is so sweet. She’s letting Carmen know that even if she wasn’t there, her team completed the caper. “What would Carmen do” was Ivy’s single motivation. And it saw her through. Carmen wasn’t on screen at the caper but her presence was felt. That’s my takeaway anyway. It’s building on the ‘anyone can be Carmen Sandiego’ message that the finale comes to.

Whump/Angst Tally:

Carmen: 12

Player: 2

Ivy: 6

Zack: 2

These are completely arbitrary numbers I’d love to see how you all scored it.

And the end with VILE announcing their decision. It’s a good thing they decided to burn the Academy, I don’t think Le Chevre would be comfortable in burning the goat lol. I love the lightning effects though! A good thunderstorm always makes the mood.

Such a good episode. Excited to follow up on the comfort part next episode.

[canonicallysoulmates]

Mr. Rolin Jones, creator and showrunner of Interview with the Vampire appeared on the post-finale episode of the companion podcast to talk about this first season but also season 2, and the future of this series. It's super insightful, I highly recommend giving it a listen, we learn so much about the process behind creating this show and this season but also about what's coming next like he's thinking about this show in long-game terms like going on for 8yrs minimum, and by the sounds of it so is AMC. The first book is going to be explored in 15 episodes total, we've got the first 7 which means s2 would be 8 episodes. And start getting excited for s3 because the current plan is that the third season will give our brat prince the opportunity to tell his side of the story and explore the second book, The Vampire Lestat.

In this post, I have compiled some highlights of his interview but I reiterate that if you can do so to give the full thing a listen cause it's really interesting.

On getting picked to be the showrunner:

"I came back to the loving arms of AMC. I had done some work with them before and there were a lot of really savy executives, I had a big overall meeting- here are 19 things I wanna do for you guys, talk, talk talk, talk, talk, as I'm leaving the door one of them goes 'you know we forgot to mention our bosses bought the Anne Rice books' and I stopped, and I put everything down, sat back down and said 'we're gonna take another 45 minutes for this meeting' and by the time I walked out I kinda knew that's that I was gonna do. And then they put me through a gauntlet of things to prove that I was the guy and it wasn't just about what's a good pilot story, what's a good first season it was what does this thing look like 8 years from now?"

Up until today, I didn't know showrunners basically had to audition.

About the decision to change Louis race:

"I kinda came around to his ethnicity through a very weird way which is through Lestat. So, there's a very famous sort of rewrite of Lestat starting with book 2 he's an aggressively different character than he was in book 1 but that's the Lestat that she carried on for the rest of time. And I was like okay that should be Lestat and so we tried to take the given circumstances that are set with Lestat and put him back into this time period, and so he had this sort of super emo relationship with this guy named Nicki, and then he had a very...uh, excitable relationship with his mother as his second companion choice- get into that season 3 y'all. And then I was like let's give Lestat a legitimate third attempt at trying to figure out how to be with somebody for the rest of his life and how do you not repeat your mistakes. So, I started from there and I wanted somebody who had some money cause I think he wanted to be you know with his own folks there, and I think he wanted someone I thought who could fight back and who could be a challenge and who would force him to restrain himself. And nobody at AMC was really interested in seven seasons of the regretful plantation owner so you know- even with that though you want it to have some connective threads to the novel so we made Louis come from a lineage that once did own a plantation, did own slaves. The other thing was sort of aesthetic if you were gonna take away the ruffled shirts and all the swampy goodness and you wanted to make this something new, what's the next hot time that had a sense of smell and taste and sound? The birth of jazz seemed pretty right on, and it just so happened there was a spot at that historical time where a black man could get in on some business and still have the sort of morally grey thing that owning a plantation would and- I don't know it all actually clicked into place pretty quickly."

How do they decide when they deviate from the books?

"There were a couple caveats. Make it here and now, make it grand and big but we said you know look she wrote a very transgressive groundbreaking novel in 1973 and try to put her in the room where she was tasked in 2021 with making a tv show out of this and you want it - there's no reason to do something if you're going to just run rough shot over it. So you're constantly, constantly revisiting the book and that's not only in the room where you're building story but that's when you're in draft, that's when you're in after production draft, that's when you're last minute like little things and you find some things that you had passed over didn't think were relevant like 'I'm screaming back at you' and dropping in as much Anne as we could, and that we were gonna write this sort of heightened language that is in the novel we're gonna make our actors talk like that; she is our safety net all the time."

This is insane, when they were in pre-production they were writing scripts for the entire book but due to covid and the cost of lumber AMC called and asked if they had enough in the first half to stay in New Orleans for the entire season. At first, Rolin's put up a fight but what they did was they turned what was originally the first four episodes into this first season. And they did so 50 days before they shot the first day! His original pitch was 10 episodes, they were aiming for 8 but it's now a 15-episode book. He does think the change was to the benefit of the show. I agree, it's mind-blowing to think that the amazing 7 episodes we got were originally compacted into just 4 and that they managed to change course and deliver a product of such high quality within just 50 days.

"Memory is a very, very huge part of this show. The tagline for this show should be: memory is a monster. We're only on episode 7 of 15, you only know half of it. Maybe." 👀

Why is Louis truly doing this interview?

"It is absolutely the question. If you wanna know what we're still digging out of it, it is the why of it. There's a real reason why this is a second interview and the first interview is super important. Tune in season 2. And I will just say this, these two (Daniel and Louis) have been brought together because something very significant happened, life-altering happened to them in 1973. And they didn't get it right and they weren't the right people at the time to do it, and know they think they are, and yet like all of us you still don't know who you are and you still gotta go deeper but that just means there is a lot of meat not only on Louis side but on Molloy's side and most importantly Armand's side who has become for us the single most fascinating character of season 2. Yeah, there's a lot in Dubai that's yet to be revealed."

I need s2 to hurry tf up because what does that mean sir 👀👀👀👀

The real reason he wanted to do this show is s3, The Vampire Lestat. He really knows how he wants to do it, and he couldn't be more excited about it. As goofy as body switching is, and they'll come up with some elegant way, he thinks there's something in the Tale of the Body Thief, Queen of the Dammed he has to think about because it's so massive, and he doesn't know if that's gonna be covered over one season or two.

[masquayla-the-splendid]

Normally my character analysis are for, well, their character, but this time I took it from a design and execution POV.

The character I've probably put the most thought into with these is Snively, so I'll be showing you the differences I've found between the pilot, 1st season, and 2nd season.

Design comparisons:

Execution differences:

My preference: Season 1

I love how shaped and expressive he is in the pilot, but he feels more organic (??) in season 1. That and the fact that reverb is put on his (and Robotnik's) voice when in Robotropolis to show the scale of the whole place. (For some reason, Robotnik always has reverb no matter where he is his S1, but Snively's is context dependant.)

Another thing I forgot to put on the Pilot side: That's also the only time he gets beat on screen. Sure, it's off camera, but you hear the impact and him yelping. Usually they're verbal threats or just picking him up by his shirt.

I love how his vocal range shifted more toward the lower side when he tries to be sinister in S2, but it would've been better if he used the whispery shrill side as often.

Some other things I noted:

So with that, I've combined the best aspects from each phase of the show, and created the ultimate Snively design.

As a bonus, I fixed a screencap of S2.

[butterflydm]

wot on prime rewatch: 1x02 shadow’s waiting

spoilers through the end of season one of the wheel of time. I will do a reblog of this soon after I post it, with additional book-related spoilers.

1. Aaah, the Whitecloak cold open. This one was fascinating, because it really brought the Whitecloaks out as dangerous to Aes Sedai way before the books really positioned them as real threats. This is very effectively scary! The music is also incredibly unsettling here.

2. The Sister that he’d killing here in Yellow Ajah and probably did not have a Warder, is my guess. And, at this point in time, they aren’t terribly close to Tar Valon/The White Tower, because they will run into Moiraine & co later. The whole thing with Valda keeping trophies from the Aes Sedai that he kills is very effectively creepy.

3. I love this intro so much. It took me a while to noticed how great the timing of the names was -- Josha’s name appearing just as the golden threads start to weave is an amazingly subtle bit of abstract storytelling, imo. And I just love all the imagery here. I’m so curious if we’ll get a slightly different sequence in S2. I’d prefer having the same opening with the threads pulling apart but them it being weaved into different tapestries that reflect this upcoming season.

4. We open with our people in flight from the wave of Trollocs, with Lan doing his Warder duty of keeping watch and scouting out their back trail to see how closely they’re being followed.

5. The crossing at Taren Ferry is our next piece of plot business and we learn a lot here -- we learn that Trollocs fear deep water; we see how determined Moiraine is; and this is the first time we really see how Aes Sedai can work around their Oaths. Moiraine doesn’t kill the ferryman, but she also doesn’t reverse her work to try to save his life. We also see a Fade here and he is very creepy. Like the look of him. That’s a lot of teeth. And Moiraine and Lan DO try to help the ferryman here, but once he’d made his choice to go back into the water, they give up on him.

6. We get some more characterization notes: Mat tries to lighten the mood when they arrive at the ferry, and afterwards, Perrin is fatalistic and Egwene wants to help, then after the ferryman is dead, we have Lan noticing how unhappy Rand looks about everything. We also get some more of Moiraine and Lan’s wordless communication here, which I always love.

7. Some time afterwards, Lan lets them know that they’ve lost the Trollocs for now, so it’s time to set up camp, rest, and finally have a chance to try to process what happened at the end of episode one. As a quick ‘this is a rewatch’ reminder: Egwene saw Nynaeve get dragged away, Perrin accidentally killed his wife, Mat had to leave safety to go into the battlefield to protect his sisters because his parents forgot about them, and Rand learned that he was an infant on a battlefield who was picked up by his father and raised by him. So everyone has a lot of trauma but it’s all different types -- Rand is dealing with an identity crisis along with nearly losing his father, Egwene has survivor’s guilt, Perrin is terrified of the potential violence inside him, and Mat has had to abandon his sisters knowing that his parents weren’t looking out for them because they would be in more danger if he stayed.

8. We see Moiraine refreshing the horses with the Power, and Lan worrying over her exhausting herself over it. Over at the campsite, Mat tries to lighten the mood by mentioning that if Nynaeve were here, she’d constantly be making Moiraine’s life a misery, so Egwene has to deliver the unhappy news that she witnessed Nynaeve being dragged off during the fight. Perrin tries to reassure Egwene (and himself) that Nynaeve (Laila) died so quickly that she barely felt it (though he knows it wasn’t true for Laila and probably suspects it wasn’t true for Nynaeve either). Rand, otoh, immediately attempts to assume a leadership position in the group by saying that they need a plan between the four of them, because Moiraine can’t be trusted not to turn on them. So, I am really REALLY interested to see if Rand ever finds out about Moiraine setting the Red Ajah after Mat, because they really do kinda hammer this theme specifically with Rand-Mat-Moiraine throughout the whole season, imo. Rand doesn’t trust Moiraine with his friends’ safety and wants some kind of backup -- we, the audience, are aware that Moiraine DID turn on Mat because she didn’t trust him not to fail when faced with the Dark One. (and it’s interesting that Rand looks to Mat during this line -- trying to get his backup here?)

9. Egwene, though, immediately steps in to defend Moiraine, which is VERY interesting because we saw that she was herself very upset at not being able to help the man at the ferry. Mat attempts to puncture this moment of potential tension between Rand and Egwene by making a mockery of the idea that any of them could possibly be the Dragon Reborn - “The most powerful channeler who ever lived”. Egwene points out that the Trollocs DID follow them, as Moiraine said that they would. Rand doesn’t have a specific counter to that, so falls back on the idea that they can’t really know what’s going on. Mat again attempts to keep the mood light by joking about the Dragon having wings. It’s very interesting here, how this already feels like a soft power struggle between Egwene and Rand to set the narrative of what’s currently happening in all of their lives. Egwene wants to Trust Authority/Moiraine and Rand wants to Question Authority/Moiraine, and the audience they’re both playing to is Mat and Perrin.

10. Moiraine interrupts the conversation between the four to tell them to stop worrying about what the stories of the Dragon say, and just get some sleep. I’m sure she wants to nip that “Question Authority” line that Rand is pushing in the bud as quickly as possible.

11. Rand insomnia count: 1. The reason that Rand sees Moiraine awaken Egwene to take her off for their private conversation is because he’s not able to get to sleep right away like the others. He sees them go off together but, unlike the books, he doesn’t appear to actually listen in on their conversation, simply moves his bedroll to the outside of the cave and sleeps there.

12. I notice that ‘in public’ Egwene defended Moiraine but, in private, she does question her, which is a very interesting contrast to Rand questioning her in front of the others. Of course, this is also a good time for some fun Aes Sedai lore-dumping. We find out about the Three Oaths and, very interestingly, in the show these are tied to ending Artur Hawkwing’s siege of the White Tower. We can also see here that Moiraine is already holding her arm and showing signs of continued injury.

13. But what Egwene gets here is exactly what Rand WANTED from Moiraine and never got in this early episode before they all parted -- she gets an explanation. Moiraine explains her reasoning, she explains why she made the choices that she made at the ferry, and she explains about how the Three Oaths impact her behavior. We know from what Egwene says that the stories about the Oaths do not have the Exact Words. So this is information that Egwene receives about Moiraine and the Aes Sedai that Rand, Mat, Perrin, and Nynaeve all do not receive. Egwene is given a unique look ‘behind the curtain’ of Moiraine’s calm surface here. The other four ta’veren do not get this glimpse behind her mask. Egwene’s experience of Moiraine is now fundamentally different from the others’ experiences. She gets walked through the entire potential sequence of events that might have happened if Moiraine had let the ferryman go back across the river.

14. And I think we can see here already that Moiraine WANTS Egwene to be the Dragon Reborn (and I think that’s why we get her taking Egwene aside like this in the show). Which makes a lot of sense! She disqualified Nynaeve for age reasons, so now she’s got three boys and one girl. If one of the boys is the Dragon Reborn, then he is going to get hit with the corruption that the Dark One placed on the male half of the One Power. And Moiraine, queen of wishful thinking (as we saw in the first episode), would very much like to avoid having a ticking time bomb as the savior of the world. So, the first test to finding out if Egwene is the Dragon Reborn is finding out if she can channel -- and Moiraine DOES establish that here. Egwene can channel, which means that it’s possible (in Moiraine’s opinion) that she might be the Dragon. Moiraine also does a good job here tying in using the One Power to something that Egwene would be familiar with - Listening to the Wind. This is a huge bonding scene between Moiraine and Egwene, trying them together with this huge thing that they have in common. Moiraine looks very hopeful at the end of this scene, imo, and I think it’s because she now feels like there’s a very solid chance that she won’t have to worry about the Dragon Reborn going mad.

15. When Egwene returns to the camp and sees Rand sleeping outside the cave, she tries to snuggle up to him and gets (relatively gently) rebuffed. And, again, I do understand both points of this scene -- I get why Egwene wants to reconnect with Rand but it also makes a lot of sense that Rand tells her that he doesn’t want that from her right now (”I came out here to be alone”).

16. When Egwene goes back into the cave, she finds that Perrin is now awake, staring at the fire (and the audience sees that he got wounded on his leg). Perrin is also having trouble sleeping. They talk about home, and Egwene says she doesn’t believe they’ll ever go back there.

17. Next is the first of our dreams. This one features Rand throwing up a bat. It makes sense for the ‘creepy rodent’ to be a bat instead of a rat, because they’re out in the woods by caves rather than in a city like Baerlon where the dreams started for them in the books. We get our first glimpse of ~the Man~ and Rand wakes to see that there really is a dead bat on the ground, and we find out that the other three also had creepy dreams about dead bats. Rand is instantly suspicious of Moiraine (as he was before) and asks her if she was involved in giving them the dreams (Lan immediately stands by Moiraine in a defensive posture).

18. So this is now the fourth time we’ve seen Rand challenge Aes Sedai/Moiraine’s authority -- it is officially a pattern. Instead of speaking directly to Rand and answering his question (like saying, for ex. ”No, I didn’t put anything in your dreams”), she instead questions all of them and asks them about their dreams. Mat mentions seeing bats with their necks snapped in mid-air. Perrin mentions the man with eyes of fire. “Dreams have power. More than you know.” Moiraine says, telling them to tell her about any future dreams. But not giving them any actual answers (again, very much in contrast to the specific detail that she went in with Egwene the night before).

19. This answer does not satisfy Rand and he challenges Moiraine again. He asks for clarity and she just straight-up brushes him off and refuses to answer. His temper snaps and he demands to have some answers from her before they go any further. He wants to know what the point of them following her -- he wants specific answers. Rand mentions that Egwene has a place at the White Tower, as a woman who can channel, but what place would the other three of them have? Moiraine essentially tells him to shut up and follow her. She rides off and pretends that she doesn’t care if they follow, but we also see later that Lan is sent off and around to watch them and see if they actually leave.

20. With Moiraine and Lan gone, we now go back to the power struggle between Rand and Egwene for the narrative about Moiraine’s intentions. And Egwene immediately starts getting ready to leave as well. Rand immediately reveals the information to the other two boys that he saw Moiraine taking Egwene off on her own the previous night. Egwene and Rand are fundamentally having two very different arguments here, from two very different bases of understanding. This is where that unequal understanding of Moiraine comes into play. Egwene has been given reasons to trust Moiraine that Rand has not been given (and Rand also looks over at Mat and Perrin again as this argument starts). Rand has stated why he doesn’t trust Moiraine (and we will get more information on this as we go further into Rand and Mat’s storyline in the future) -- essentially, it’s about what Mat says during episode six -- “I know what Aes Sedai do to men like me”. We’re going to play on this thread a LOT as the season goes on, so I’m, again, very curious about where this will go in future seasons. And Egwene’s trust of Moiraine is based on private information that was not shared with the others.

21. Then we get the two low blows of this argument (and, wow, Perrin and Mat look SO UNCOMFORTABLE in the background):

Egwene: “If I were her, I’d leave you behind.”

Rand: “You already did.”

22. Mat is instantly in peacekeeper mode as soon as Rand turns and comes back to him and Perrin -- he tells Rand not to be an ass to Egwene, but he also tells him that he’s right about Moiraine. He uses a friendly touch as a soothing mechanism. Mat’s extremely high EQ in these early episodes is just... really getting to me. He’s so good with his friends and with his sisters in the first episode! And it works! Mat affirming Rand’s feeling and giving him a personal connection makes him stop walking away, and he listens as Mat continues talking. Mat absolutely shows here that he understands how to reach Rand when he’s upset (and he shows it later with Perrin as well) and I’m just... oh, yeah, I am instantly seeing again why the show yanked me onto the Mat/Rand train. Mat is able to talk Rand down from his fit of temper and, with a touch of humor, convince him to carry on anyway. Egwene’s approach to talking Rand into continuing put Rand’s back up, and Mat’s approach smooths his ruffled feathers down and he moves into action (or gets a pufferfish to retract his spines, you might say).

23. Now we have our Whitecloak encounter. Moiraine gives her ring to Lan to hide, and she warns the kids not to mention anything dangerous, essentially. Again, we get to see here how seriously Moiraine takes the Whitecloak threat. More lovely sychronization between Lan and Moiraine as they dismount at the same time. We also see a bit of a crack between the ‘normal’ Whitecloaks and the Questioners (and the Questioners are repped by the same man who killed the Yellow Aes Sedai from the start of the episode). We learn a bit more about the situation to the south -- eight Sisters were sent to deal with Logain. The two sets of Whitecloaks split up at this point, and I think the implication may be that Valda splits off from the non-Questioner Whitecloaks whenever he goes Aes Sedai hunting.

24. Egwene rides up to talk to Moiraine privately and gets another insight into Aes Sedai and the Three Oaths that the other three don’t get. More on the importance of choosing your words so that you can misdirect without lying.

25. Ah, this shot has a great look at some ruins from the Age of Legends, love it. And it leads into the Manetheren song -- which is prompted by Mat noticing that everyone looks dispirited and trying to rouse their spirits. They did a good job showing how sensitive Mat is to his friends’ emotions. And after the song, we get Moiraine telling us the history of Manetheren. <3 Love this bit so much. So glad that Rafe & co fought for it to be in the show. I love us seeing that this bit of history has survived, if only as a song that no one still in the Two Rivers knows about the truth of it anymore, and I love Moiraine’s telling of the history. I’ve gushed about this scene a lot before, but it’s just so great. There’s some very apt reaction shots as well.

26. The next camping break, we notice briefly How Weird Mat sits. Love it. And I love how Moiraine and Lan keep getting off their horses in perfect unison. And we see that Moiraine and Lan noticed the trophies that the Whitecloak, Valda, was showing up.

27. Another break, another time when Egwene wants to talk about things right now, and Rand wants to have some time to actually process things for himself. Rand makes it clear here that he feels like what Egwene did needs to serve as a ‘clean break’ between them and that Egwene is making things harder by trying to reconnect with him before he’s ready to do anything like that. Egwene basically is making the argument that because the situation has changed so profoundly, they need to re-evaluate their break-up, essentially, but Rand never had a chance to finish processing it in the first place, because it was immediately superceded by the Trolloc attack and the news that he got from his father. Egwene is kinda demanding that Rand already process his emotions now, to make her feel better and reassure her. And we kinda do get the implication that this is a theme in their relationship from episode seven, I think, where it’s clear that Rand needs a lot more time on his own to process things that Egwene does, who prefers to process things verbally with other people.

28. I love Egwene’s traveling outfit here, btw. It’s definitely the most polished looking out of any of the Two Rivers’ kids, which is fitting since we do get the implication even from the show that she’s basically the darling of the town and that her family owns the inn that serves as the center of their community, and it’s such a lovely-looking traveling coat and belt.

29. Rand does reassure her here than he doesn’t hate her (”I could never hate you”), and his own processing essentially gets put on hold for Egwene’s sake, for the moment.

30. We see Perrin struggling with his wound and we get our first WolfSign!!! <3 His new wolf-friend licks his wound and, after that, he doesn’t seem to have anywhere near as much trouble with it. The wound is pretty nasty looking too. I like the music that starts up as his wolf-friend licks his wound. And then all the wolves head out. Their work here is done.

31. At camp for the night, Mat is Sitting Weird again. Egwene worries over Moiraine, and Lan tells them all to get some sleep, but Egwene is woken up later in the night and realizes that the Fade has found them, just as Lan is returning to warn them all. And Moiraine won’t wake. Lan makes the executive decision that We Will Go Into The Fallen City because even the Trollocs are scared of it, and we get a tense chase scene.

32. I love the set design of Shadar Logoth, very creepy. And the poor horses didn’t want to go in. Babies! Perrin is the one to notice there’s no sign of life in the city, not even birds or bugs. Moiraine has still not woken up at this point.

33. Lan gives them a brief history of Shadar Logoth -- how paranoia ate them alive during the Trolloc Wars, building a wall with no gate. An evil that isn’t of the Dark One, which is our first official introduction to that idea. Lan does give them a very clear warning not to touch or take anything, so he’s probably somewhat disappointed in Mat when he finds out about The Dagger.

34. We now get a moment of connection between two of the pairs that are about to be split up -- Rand goes off to the top of something tall to think alone (like in the first episode) and Egwene finds him (like in the first episode). In a wordless moment, Rand reaches out and they hold hands. I think it being wordless really helps Rand here, because he’s not being asked to process anything immediately? They’re just sharing a quiet moment together.

35. Inside the building, Mat goes over to comfort Perrin. He gives Perrin a knife that Laila had made, reassures Perrin that he also knew and mourns his wife, lets Perrin know that he’s loved. Again, Mat is so emotionally perceptive here. And this moment definitely made me half-ship Mat and Perrin for a hot minute. And Perrin then reaches back out to Mat to thank him for his kindness and reassure him that even if his parents aren’t looking out for Mat’s sisters, the rest of the community will -- his parents and Egwene’s parents.

36. Mat finds himself woken up in the night by the sounds of the horses being restless, and it seems like he’s being specifically drawn to the room with the dagger -- he sees some faint movements out of the corner of his eye and follows it. It does seem a lot more targeted towards Mat here, rather than Mordeth basically going for anyone that he could get in the books.

37. After Mat gets The Dagger, it is now time for some horses to die (poor babies) and for everyone to split up. Moiraine wakes up to find out they’re in Shadar Logoth and is Not Happy. And our pairs all split up: Moiraine and Lan; Perrin and Egwene; and Rand and Mat. Egwene promises Rand that she’ll find him and Mat tugs Rand along so that they can escape.

38. Poor Moiraine lost ALL her potential Dragons. And one of the things that’s interesting here is that our two potential leaders in the soft power struggle that’s been happening all episode each get split off specifically with the person who was already more sympathetic to them. Also, Mat touches Rand a lot in the this episode. And Egwene and Perrin hold hands as they jump off the wall. We also specifically have Egwene shouting for Rand and Perrin shouting for Mat, connecting back to the other half of the pair that they were already close with.

39. And our surprise ending is Nynaeve showing up not dead! <3 <3 <3 <3

[hadesbullshit]

hi hades! i have a lot of strong opinions on a couple specific spn episodes, and id love to hear your thoughts!! i will not judge for your answers, because this show fucking sucks but also its the greatest piece of media ever so any opinion is correct objectively. ok anyways

what do you think about: faith (season 1 episode 13) , roadkill (season 2 episode 16) , and playthings (season 2 episode 11)?

I'm gonna rewatch them to ansure this (bc y be normal about media when u can go ferral) but pre rewatch: Roadkill is one of my fav eps ever.

1x12 (faith is 1x12. 1x13 is Route 666 (also a very good ep as a dean charaitor study if u do want my thoughts it)):

i forgot how much i love this ep. I'm really into religious imagery in any media. dean on deaths door in the singlar reazon I'm gay /j. Sam's desperation to save Dean was always hinted at but this ep really does the "show not tell" thing right in a way most of the show doesn't. john not coming to help dean is one of the reasons i fucking hate the guy. Dean refuses to believe there is a God pre s4 because what god would put him though everything he's been though, i love him so much. the parrales between john and god with Dean's faith in an absent father.

Quotes:"i didn't pick you dean, the lord did" "why do you deserve to live more than my daughter" "it must be ruff. to belive in somerthing so much and have it disappoint you"

2x11:

of the 3 eps this is my least favourite I'm going to be honest but i still love it so much. The twist is so good. the sibling devotion, they would rather be dead together then one of them leave (Sam and Dean prrallels). "what do you mean we look the type" is iconic (Dean vs people knowing he's bi before he does). Sam's break down, begging Dean to be the one who kills him is so well done.

2x16 (this will be looooong):

when the audience learns things after Sam and Dean/the narrative isn't chronological but we think it is, it makes the twists better. Sam wanting to ease Molly into the fact she is dead vs Dean wanting to tell her straight up bc in Sam's life knowing about monsters has only ever been a burden wear as Dean (Has not met Mary yet and doesn't know she knew about deamons) thinks, as John thinks, that he would still have his family if more people knew how to protect themselves. (i might be reading to much into that part but i am a lit & media student). then after the half way point Sam wants to tell her because she thinks David is dead and that is the worst thing in the world for her whereas Dean wants to comic to lying because telling someone the truth this far in would be hard and he cant have emotional convocations to save his life (see also; Gadreel arc).

This ep is so good for rewatching it and putting into context the things Dean says. The resolution of her letting go of the loop AAAAAA.

Every motw ep in spn has a little twist in it and using the different graves to fulfil the audience expectations only to pull the rug out from underneath with the "Molly is ALSO a ghost" .

The enphisis on the idea people are not born monsters especially in relation to Sam. "what ever it is, they just hold on too tight. caught in the same loop" (sam talking about the ghost but also him and Jessica (among others)) and "something happened to them. something they couldn't control" (sam with his whole being a deamon & yellow eyes' army in s2) bc Sam in the early seasons is insane and so full of self loathing.

The question of what happens to monsters after they die (and people) being uninsurable, beng afraid of death and the unknown feels like a nod towards s3 with dean waiting to die having no idea what will happen. "hope is kinda the whole point" them pre hell, and pre knowning just how fucked up every is AAAAAA

[storiesbyrhi]

I just re-watched season 3 of Stranger Things (a.k.a. nobody checks on the children for four days straight) and here's the takeaway for me - whoever I was when I watched it in 2019 is not the girl you see before you. I have a wayyyy different interpretation of the characters and the show.

(Season 1 thoughts here. Season 2 thoughts here.)

Sorry to go all My Favorite Murder on you, but here's Correction Corner:

I should have mentioned Sam Owens in my S2 thoughts; I was suss of him in 2017. Still suss in the rewatch.

It was cool meeting Sinclair and Henderson families. Obviously, Erica was iconic from the get-go.

Needed more Scott Clarke.

Alright, it's Scoops Ahoy season, baby!

I'll never be as funny as Erica. I'm so glad someone realised that Priah Ferguson has impeccable comedic timing and tone. She makes the show better.

This is totally my personal feeling and definitely relates to the trauma I have experienced IRL, but I am so uncomfortable and scared of Hopper this season. I understand why he is so protective of El, but for me it crosses the line. The drinking. The way he reacts to Joyce not showing up at Enzo's. How he talks to her after. Gives me the ick. He's chilled out by the end but season 3 Hopper is not my fav.

Oh, hey, just another season of Joyce being absolutely fucking right from the get-go. When will people just believe her? As always, she's so great. Also, Joyce looking out for Alexei is so in character.

Alright, we're back on the Billy discourse. I saw someone write a post about how he wasn't the best choice for the Mind Flayer host because he was already an asshole so there wasn't enough contrast (I'm summarising, also if I can find the post I'll tag and link here). They're totally right. We don't get much character development for Billy because he's flayed by the end of episode 1, so I guess my opinion of him from season 2 stands? We get the backstory, but it still doesn't justify shit imo. This is probably a controversial opinion, but his death was less like 'I'm going to try to save these kids' or whatever, and more 'I'm awake and pissed I was mind controlled, so fuck you monster!' PSA: Adults shouldn't perv on teenagers. The Billy fan club by the pool makes me so uncomfy. Even if this is a thing lmao. Can't one single adult treat this kid right?!

I love Steve this season. He's totally himself for the first time. He's romantic, unhinged, smarter than people give him credit for, and a really shitty babysitter! He was always a great character, but Robin really makes him shine. Steve is so babygirl this season.

Karen Wheeler is a star. Not a perfect woman, but a brilliant character.

I forgot how smart Robin is? Why did they dumb her down in season 4? She is multi-lingual, a musical genius, generates a lot of the plot-driving ideas in the season, and is a charming mix of "hyper" (as Steve puts it) and warm empathy. She is also brave as hell; the way she spits at the Russian? I never really understood people's issues with season 4 Robin, but I get it now. She should have been more than just comedic relief - this season proves that.

Needs more Scott Clarke.

Will is so sidelined this season and I fucking hate it. He is the heart of this show. I know Mike is their star and by this point everyone was frothing Finn Wolfhard but man, they didn't need to bench Will. I understand that we're watching the boys grow up while Will feels different* and left behind, but surely there could have been more for Will to do? (*I'm not even gonna go into the queer subtext because it's way too much for this post.) Also, it's a goddamn shame that Will never gets to be in Hellfire and have Eddie as a DM. He'd have loved Eddie so fucking much.

I know how Nancy is treated at the newspaper is period accurate or whatever, but it sucks. She's such a hard worker, always out there researching and writing, and caring so, so deeply. I love her. She is constantly MVP. Glad they keep giving her guns.

Jonathan has lost some of his likeability, but I think there are a lot of interesting interplays between him, socioeconomic/class status, and Nancy. I totally get where he's coming from, and I think it says a lot about his character that he can admit when he's wrong.

Hive Mind Army isn't as creepy as anything we've seen before in the show because it's just like like... super cliche idk? I forgot they all turn to sludge to form the Flayer. The scene at the end of episode 6 where they just... melt... is kind of fucking horrifying though. Love that.

Mike gets more lackluster each season?

Lucas is funny and smart. I love him and Erica. I love him and Max. He's great.

Part of me wishes Dustin wasn't separated from the others, but Scoops Troop was so unexpected and works so well that I can't be mad.

It's kind of a joy to watch El come into herself more. I still would have liked more El/Will bonding but ya can't win them all. At least she gets Max, who also gets her own multifaceted personality this season too.

Murray last season was a non-event to me. Could take him or leave him. I vibe him this time around.

I remember loving Alexei. I was right to. God, his death sucked. It's almost like... hmm... no... almost... surely not... they... keep... they wouldn't... writing good goddamn characters and then kill them off instead of giving any real-life stakes to their plot-armored main cast?!?

I don't vibe Jopper as a ship this season.

Suzie demanding The NeverEnding Story in the middle of an emergency is the same energy as Eddie deciding the only way to distract the demobats was to play Master of Puppets on the trailer roof.

Every season ends with a time skip forward. I had forgotten that. Makes the season 4 one less weird.

Speaking of season 4... That's next, baby! I have re-watched it so many times but I'm doing it again, now armed with my brand new updated opinions and feelings! Yewwwwww. Here we go!

This has been a Stranger Things Rhi-Watch.

[rotblut]

i’m currently watching sweet home s2 (will finish today and i saved your rant ask about it to read after)

so far i’m mostly having a good time, it’s entertaining, but it’s just … making me reminiscent of season 1? i think s1 had more heart; learning about hyunsu’s backstory and the aching theme of wanting to live, of fighting to live, and humanity and hope in the darkness. idk if im explaining it well but like s2 just feels like a generic apocalypse show now. i know it’s completely diverged from the webtoon now, but i feel like we’ve lost the why of the show. i’m a little :/ because i was really really looking forward to this season because s1 left off on such a cliffhanger and i’d thought we could expand on the story, but lm not interested in military politics.

(also am i the only one put off by seeing song kang’s body so much!? im already not a huge fan of him as an actor - i like him in this show cause he’s just bloody and pathetic - but i think the directors forgot his character is supposed to be a teenager. his head is too small his shoulders are too broad his tits are too big like is this how lesbians feel?)

I agree with your criticism of the SH drama. that's why the drama shouldn't have deviated so strongly from the source material original story. again, looking at season 2 the title doesn't even make sense anymore. the story from the webtoon was always focused on hyun soo and his outer and inner struggles from the beginning till the end and strangly enough he was the human+supernatural anchor that held all the emotional storylines together and made it work but in the drama, it got lost and replaced with violent scenes of him being naked and chained, that had no meaning and felt flat and fanservice-y. also feel like it counts that hyun soo was hardly in s2 as well. and he felt more like a side character instead of the main one. I feel like they also should have explored eunyoo's backstory a bit more because in s1 it was all tell but not seen and they could have used s2 to show us instead of just told us all the time. and even tho i enjoyed her search for eun hyuk it would have been great if she had gotten room for her own character that did not have anything to do with either of the 3 guys. didn't also understand the reasoning why all the female characters were acting *antagonistic* in regards to her as well. also, the violence in general for s2 was just so different from s1. i feel like those kinds of dramas need to move on from having a military-political and scientific-medicine-focused subplot and just concentrate on the *normal people* as they struggle to survive but they won't let that cow die. see them put that same shite subplot in season 2 of all of us are dead as well once they finally decide to give us updates on that one after nearly 2 fucking years...............like as if anyone gives a fuck about any of the other projects that the main cast gets when we all want s2 of aouad.......... insanity

also i'm not commenting on kang's body. it's fine and pretty. and true he's not the best actor but when he hits he hits so it all depends on the role and writing. but also there was a 3 year time jump in sweet home so i guess they had to put some fanservice in there......... but i was surprised about all the bare skin left and right in s2.

[thestobingirlie]

One thing I have noticed about Nancy and how fandom perceives her, is the way some people act like she has no friends that are girls (or no real friends her age at all?), and that's why she has to become really close friends (or more, which I dislike the idea of) with Robin. There are some that seem to believe that she is truly alone and has no friends at all or anyone to talk to or spend her time with.

Yes, we don't see her friends, but we are given names in season 2 of two friends that her mom is happy enough for her to be spending multiple nights with. She tells her mom that she was going to be spending the night at Stacey's, and Karen instantly agrees that it sounded fun (this is the night her and Jonathan stay at the motel). And the next night, she's supposedly staying at Ally's (who we do see briefly in Season 1, when Nancy asks her if she'd seen Barb.) when her and Jonathan have actually been at Murray's, and when Nancy call's her parents, Karen just says "say hi to Ally for me." and asks if she'll be home for dinner.

There are a few explanations. The first one could be there's only one friend and the Duffers mixed up the name they used (this isn't 100%, but wouldn't be the only time it happens. They seem to do this with Steve's date in season 4, at the start of the episode he's talking about his upcoming date with Heidi, and later his date is called Brenda). But I think they'd be different, so that it could deter her parents from following up with her friends parents.

They could have fallen out in the way teenagers do

She could have lost the friendships because she pulled away because they don't know about the upside down and she wants to be around people that do.

She could have pushed them away in favor of spending all her time with her partners (Both Jonathan and Steve, but I think more Jonathan, because as above she is implied to have friends she hangs out with in s2, but after she starts dating Jonathan her other friends are never mentioned again, other than Fred but I think he annoys her more than him being her friend.) This feels most likely to me from how she is shown to behave in a relationship.

Another explanation is they could have pulled away due to her being nasty to them, which wouldn't be too out there, because she is shown to not be the kindest to others.

Or the Duffers forgot their existence and they weren't mentioned because they weren't relevant to the story.

But she does have other friends, and I want people to stop trying to push friendships that don't really work (or acting like they would be way closer than they actually are). Especially where they shove Nancy and Robin together as really close friends, and pulling Robin away from being best friends with Steve in favor of her being friends with Nancy.

honestly, i forgot about nancy’s friends lmao.

people just like to isolate most of the cast, so they have no friends outside of each other. probably because it’s kinda boring to have to make up what are essentially oc’s.

but yeah, i think a lot of people associate some of nancy’s… poorer behaviour with the fact that she ‘doesn’t have friends’ but she does! maybe they’re just school friends, but she clearly isn’t totally isolated.

i could buy that nancy drifted from them after she began dating jonathan tho, he’s in her year, so it would’ve been easier for them to just sit beside each other in lessons, and nancy does have a canon tendency to kind of abandon the old for the new.

but yeah, nancy has her own friends, and even if she doesn’t, once she goes to college she’ll make them! i just don’t ever see her being super close to robin the way people want them to be.

[akianessrosa]

Tsurune s2

[Sorry for my baby english] Does 12 ep is the end and 13ep is a special?

Tsurune story by Kotoko Ayano is so good and Kyoto Animation destroyed it. I can't believe how bad animeTsurune is, and they still call it adaptation. This anime has nothing to do with adaptation, it's completely different story, everything is different (story, personality, events, relationship). KyoAni made this story ridiculous, boring and homophobic.

Tsurune is my favorite story and I had high hopes for season 2. I thought they'll do better than season 1. Ohh I was sooo wrong. Director really said: "Adaptation? What's that? *reads* That's too good, and gay, ew- *trows light novel into trash can*". Too many ridiculous moments like Minato forgot how to shoot, Minato hurts his nail so Seiya freaks out like Minato was dy'ing, Seiya-Nikaido "pee" moment (wtf was that?), etc. Most dialogues were on kindergarden level or weird - It feels like writers didn't have ideas about what characters should talk. Homophobic - yes, KyoAni got rid of every gay moment, and LN has it a lot! Director Takuya Yamamura is disgusting. Tsurune is about Minato and Masaki relationship, their bond, fate. Weird things happening to Minato and Masaki is there to protect him. Kyudo is right next to it. KyoAni completely disposed of MasaMina relationship. AnimeMasaMina feels like they're strangers, in whole season 2 we got only few seconds of strict master-pupil moment and that is it. They're not close, not a lil bit. Minato not thinking about Masaki all the time, about his body, touch, their alone time, how he wants Masaki only to himself, how he's afraid of losing him. We didn't get Minato' confessions and Masaki's scar doesn't mean anything. Masaki has more screen time with everyone else, especially with Seiya and Nikaido, than Minato! Minato doesn't feel like MC, he's like an emotionless ghost in this season, MC is Seiya, Nikaido and Shu right after him. KaiSei, RyoNao and SaseMoto also don't exist. So yeah, no boys relationships screentime but we got a lot of girls screentime and even het love…Takuya Yamamura is really disgusting. What are they gonna do with book 3 and Masaki's real name, past and family? Because right now, when they got rid of MasaMina relationship, Masaki's name doesn't mean anything also cuz it's connected with Minato. I have a feeling that season 3 will be worse than s2. KyoAni gonna ship Masaki with 'that' woman.

Artstyle, animation, music, soundeffects - I'm on my knees! No words, 100/10, chef's kiss, delightful, respect. I have only good things to say.

Imagine if we could get an adaptation of LN, all that good moments from LN on screen - how popular this anime would be! Pls, Kotoko Ayano don't listen to KyoAni, keep writing the novel like you did with 1&2 book.

Anime Tsurune s2: art & animation - 100/10 music & soundeffects - 100/10 adaptation - 1/10 writing - negative/10 overall - 4/10 *crying*

Now I'm thinking to draw some moments from the novel in manga form, hmm… If some LNreader read also this post, pls leave in the comment what are your fav moments from LN :)