#3rd season 3 extended episode

[maneaterwithtail]

Why Belos role and characterization and treatment in narrative or character parallel bothers me

I cannot help but feel it confuses a therapeutic uhm... end goal

"Your abuser despite his (and it is ALWAYS a he) affect, power, influence, or even your feelings to him, is wrong about you and told you lies that control and undermine you. Leave them behind. Don't engage. Separate yourself and reasoning from them. You will be free and see them as powerless a shadow and not even need the same thing from anyone else. Because you have a more substantive and whole thing from yourself"

with 

"Abuser is inhuman blind liar and nothing like you so have no fear. Its all a conspiracy and you'll never be like him no matter what you do!"

This is a common thing. Over and over and over. What grants the greatest... win or catharsis or validation for the audience's hero/standin.  Moreso if queer representative.

Now, I do like the talk Luz has about this. And its meaningful, without prompting, she comes to this bad emotional place by her own reasoning and feelings. SHOWING how much she's grown and avoided being a Belos.

Its the "you were never alike along" that really bugs me. Not you changed and avoided that path thanks to acceptance of and by others so have become better. But He was conspiring and lying because that all he is which you never were doing (which is remarkably...untrue in my mind. Or says forgiveness is only for the innoecent uwu baby which no matter what the polycule aspirants are)

Moreover whenever its time to imply or make decisions its to absolve the likable or standins (or useful) or scapegoat Belos like some "The Devil Made Me Do It" figure which creeps me out.  I thought the entire point was to AVOID that

Its not that

there are guys so hateful so ambitious so DANGEROUS you had to use violence and people who willfully double down do these things. It sucks but.. this how it goes.  here what like and how we get from there to here and how deal with even the psychological aftereffects

Its that

said stubborn blindness in everyone is all sourced by this one conveniently hatable guy.. who also is just smart enough to cause and control all but you're just so smart and special and vigorous enough can't compel you, never did. Or he is stupid enough basic teenage stubbornness foils him time and again with little cost or effort but to the fee fees.. maybe  true defeat when don't feel bad anymore

Again it, to me, has always felt like at ODDS with where Owl House started.  A mature take on dealing with differences and expression and learning to get along and yes tolerate not just differences but 'enemies'

Not least because they don't ever have to

Hey? Girl who has career investment and resents you and etc etc etc secretly just repressed lesbian for you.

Hey? Guy who is true believer in cause and dismissive of everyone interrupting to it? Just woobie tormented by evil abuser. Not his fault and never going to hurt you because he's so nice and tortured. But also his beliefs have no validity or positivity and were never necessary.

Hey? Guy who avoids emotional conflicts and the difficult human investments, neglecting his relationships to focus on his hobbies and then turns people into components...for his self image is TOTALLY different than a stage mom because.. uhm... well she's socially ambitious and DIRECT as toneglectful exploitive in their abusive action.

Hey? Your teasing super popular bully is secretly just like you once they accept that they will have to get along (serve to) your goals while adding to your found family (staff and servants to ease your struggles with difference, labor, money, resources, or knowledge. Conveniently.. well save for occasional emotional maintenance whew no things and effort and time and work you value thought)

ETA Hey the family who blames you for your failure, resents your marginalization, and arrogantly wishes to fix you? Always outshine by you in clash knows less than you. And after come Crawling back to you benevolent forgiveness confess they cursed you! Once convert and undermine their worldview or prioritize you as to have serious issues with your criminal, self harm, and possible addiction behavior, then perhaps you can forgive them if will continue the obsequious or usefulness. (damn maheshwarens look at the clawthornes going there for the grace of God would go i)

Hey? Those horrible parallels you notice between yourself and people you hate is just an illusion put on by an evil white guy who embodies what you hate about society and authority or that asshole from that institution you have to put up with for your education. You're not at fault because you made a mistake and you feel bad about it and with perfect knowledge and power you'd never be like them so striving for same you won't do the same things.

And AGAIN i get where this comes from and why and even in some cases its necessary but tell me there isn't something just a little TOO damn close to

The Narcissist's Prayer (by Dayna Craig)

That didn't happen.

And if it did, it wasn't that bad.

And if it was, that's not a big deal.

And if it is, that's not my fault.

And if it was, I didn't mean it.

And if I did, you deserved it.

At the least we're at lines 6-4 for the lesson/character assessment/embodiment so with the NARRATIVE supplying lines 1-3.  Information always happens to clarify a situation so the initial hook gets put down.

​Moreso with the idea of the supervillain narcissist who all your own problems and bad actions can be attributed or sourced. (I avoid the Invisible man movie for a line implying this. sure sure I'm certain 'in context' its justified. that's the thing lines 1-3 is ALWAYS made 'in context with what feels a powerful idealized stand in' where things bend just enough for the character. Not really the dread female or minority character accusation word but close enough or evokes my same issues (have same or similar problems with Shinji, the world is or reflects or exists to further his depression so feels.. unreal)

Made worse because of the ... meeting in the middle  of the lines or the completion the problem isn't "narcissism" -which can be inborn in exceptions who are people or exceptional people- but also develop in you and me. No the problem is the "narcississt" this shibboleth (forgive my cultural appropriation and feel free to correct with better less sacred or more accurate term) Archetype Modern Folklore Myth ("but its real I used The Sciencetm not Re-lulz-gen") I Learned From Validating Empowering Source. The Narcissist is always a collection of traits in a person who is other and despicable who has made the real mistake of being both ambitious, respected, and un-ignorable/supportive down to the core. enviable AND stronger.

  Oh and Belos is always lying, to himself and others .. but doesn't believe or operate in a way to best support the lie. Say, recruiting a mob or authority or gang to go into the demon realm to enact a plan?

Why did he try that stupid lie? He's a MUCH better liar than that!

Heck he hasn't really had a hatred of Luz so much as witches and the demon realm mixed with an immature hero narrative that foregoes compassion or self reflection.

But even if it was ALL a lie. If he was at the desperate point he was willing to humble himself to the witches and Luz just to save his skin why be THAT preposterous?  

Because the only threat he's EVER allowed to make is emotional to trigger Luz/audience trauma in a way that them having been marginalized in a way very VERY likely shared but specific enough to neuroatypical queer younger people or folks who have been near such can very much relate to. 

Its like the bad guys in Dragon Prince becoming demonic untalking firezombies in contradiction to preaching following a religious appearing figure.

Too damn indulgent.

Have Raine, King Clawthorne, and Eda beat down Phillip or older Belos. not the Wicked Fals Wizard of the South East from The Bad Times of SUPER PATRIARCHY (and why its bad this season's finest ideological threads)

Have Luz hug her mom after resolute seeing his death, no "save"of her innoencence or responsibility. However vulgar, necessary, or more she killed a dude.

Just... stop it with The Devil Belos who is the Real True Evil because *insert things hate here* who if killed all his influence dissipates as to perpetuates because he's The Source Of All The Flaws, Even Yours Or They Were Mistakes After All He Doesn't Fit In The Found Family/Polycule Dynamics.

I guess end of the day I just disagree with

Dad Titan.

I mean in one way. The assume part. Hate can come from a genuine place. OR false place. Or an insecure place.  Or a narcissistic place.  I suppose not disagree with his point or even actions.

 Its GOOD he makes the distinction he does between Luz and Belos.  But Luz wanted guidance and she got validation, particularly the kind that without context doesn't guide to good.

Its why feel so adolescent.  Which is FINE as that the primary target of the show. But blows the conflict out of proportion with that target's ACTUAL challenges and needs and keeps the adult responsibility and restraint down to convenience if this is about her coming into her own as an adult woman or taking that adult step.

Compare Camilla's journey to Luz and its... off

Moreso for me the sense sending Luz to camp was 'forced on her' and was 'a bad thing' Lucedas should feel guilty for as to a critical step to better Luz and did end up for the best even in the equivalent of Luz's doppleganger/sister where it happened when she stood in as Camilla planned!

"You can do all the same things without self reflection or ethical consideration if you find the right ideology/cause or are actually a True Victim" feels easier to get than

"This is how you balance your dreams and goals and ambitions with the fact other people are just as rich with their own inner life as you. EVEN IF YOU, as entitled and rightly, HATE THEIR GUTS"

That's taught to the Collector, but surprisingly only when absolved or 'retooled much like EVERY OTHER antagonist before to be a new party member in disguise.. also weaker now with easier exploitable weakness so not have to tolerate the threat of his power and another convenient evil abusive older shadow adult is behind it ALL! I mean don't have to deal with the possible mind warping idea of a clinical socipath or someone inherently more powerful than you you have to WORK to habituate, rehab. Or he is too attached to his trauma and wrath and vengeance, or yoy have to develop and prepare means to substantially restrain/neuter/nerf/drug/etc

much same as not have to tolerate the threeat of Belos's influence or connection and effects. Or that he's one guy when need to dismiss him but Extant all powerful shadow when need to justify your actions that support your hero narrative.

[multiverserift]

Why do so many people not like Star Trek Enterprise?

Different reasons.

The theme song broke the rules Star Trek traditionally had big orchestral arrangements as intro songs. Enterprise tried something different. The song “Where my heart will take me” is a pop rock song with actual lyrics. It also sounds like country music, which many fans associated with a rather conservative mindset. Many fans criticised the song for being campy, right wing, not Star Trek. I personally like the song, but I'm not from the US. They ruined it with a horribly worse version from season 3 on, though.

Enterprise right-wing mindset 9/11 happened two weeks before the first episode of the show aired. Especially Enterprise's 3rd season gets a lot of criticism for being too right-wing, it's basically an allegory for 9/11. This assessment seems a bit unfair. in contrast to the real US, the Enterprise crew went out of their way to clear the air and explain a misunderstanding. Not let their emotions and rage control their actions. In that regard, it's very Star Trek.

Character development The show focuses on Archer, Trip, P’Pol. Phlox and Malcolm Reed get their (fewer) moments too. But Hoshi Sato and Travis Mayweather are totally abandoned by the writers. And those two are the black man and the asian woman. Malcolm’s actor wanted to play the character gay, which was shut down by Rick Berman. So what we get from ENT (Enterprise) ist straight white characters, others get left behind. The Original Series (TOS) did the same thing. The show focusses on Kirk, Spock, McCoy. But time moved on since then. We had DS9, with a great diverse cast, a black, widowed father as the captain. Voyager with Janeway and a (sadly, fake) native American XO. After this, ENT felt out of date. The focus on the core characters gets also critiziced on Discovery.

Sexism Also out of date and forced felt the blatant “sex sells” attitude. Decon gel. Hoshi falling out of an air shaft, losing her shirt so she has to cover her breasts. Shower scenes. Star Trek in the past liked to code their sex stuff into alien metaphors. ENT was more like “look, sexy straight white people in the nude!” No nuance. Gets critiziced a lot up to this date.

Simply bad episodes Star Trek always had episodes that are really bad, since TOS. Spock's Brain is a good example for that. But ENT did worse: They even copied previous episodes. In season 1, we have an episode where a man fills his home with fake hologram people, for his daughter. Ironically the man is played by Rene Auberjonois, who played Odo in the Deep Space 9 (DS9) episode where a man fills his home with fake hologram people. Phlox in season 3 has to stay awake while the whole crew sleeps. For weeks. He starts hallucinating. In a precious Voyager episode, Seven of Nine had to stay awake while the whole crew sleeps. For weeks. She starts hallucinating. Even in the (liked and well received by many) season 3, there are episodes that are just bad, like Extinction. And they are so bad that you can't even watch them and have fun, like DS9’s Move Along Home. And the there are episodes where the solution of the ethical dilemma just feels off and un-Star Trek-y. Cogenitor. Dear Doctor. Yeah, some episodes of ENT simply suck. More than usual.

Akiraprise The NX-01, the titular ship of Enterprise, is just an upside down version of the Akira class from the TNG (The Next Generation) era. Felt like copy-paste. People were upset.

Enterprise is still good Finally, I want to tell you that , besides the bad stuff, I like ENT. I love the design of the NX-01. They had to ruin it with the refit, though. Although this doesn't happen in the show. Just in extended canon. There are great characters here, great stories, great retro design. The interior design, the retro bridge, the retro warp core were actually of the most expensive assets created at the time. For all of TV. So I recommend to watch Enterprise. It's mostly nice. It has Shran. The final episode never happened.

[duncan-rohanne]

i haven't really talked about a knight of the seven kingdoms, mainly because i was off tumblr when any news about it were released. but i'm really hopeful of the show, the cast looks great, imho the stories are perfect length for 6 episode series and since there are no dragons to blow up on the cgi money, i'm expecting the series look great and focus on the characters.

pretty sure we are in the "asoiaf show every year" era, house of the dragon every two years, with a knight of the seven kingdoms filling up the empty year (as this is theoretically 3 seasons series), possibly with the animated show and all this giving time to prepare the aegon's conquest series.

so my possible timeline would be:

2025: akotsk s01

2026: hotd s03

2027: akotsk s02 + aegon's conquest production

2028: hotd s04

2029: akotsk s03

2030: aegon's conquest series

i mean, it looks insane, looking at it like that but hotd season 1 began filming in march 2021, finished in february 2022 and premiered in august 2022. that's year and a half from beginning to the premiere. season 2 was shortened and had delays but it's a still pretty much a year long cycle from start of the filming to the premiere. akotsk is shooting right now with estimated premiere early/late 2025. even if hotd s03 starts filming this year, it's improbably they could push it out before spring 2026. the post production is just too big.

obviously hbo could always surprise us, they could film akotsk seasons 2 and 3 together and push it out early and late 2027, effectively make a room for another production in 2029. they could axe hotd after 3rd season. they could extend it to 5. they could shoot and air aegon's conquest parallelly at the same time. but i don't think hbo is printing money on that scale.

[iffeelscouldkill]

It's taken me nearly two weeks (sorry!! XD) but here we go! I was tagged by @apollo-cackling to press Shuffle on my listening playlist and list the first ten songs.

I had to think about what playlist to use for this, since there could be a few, but decided to go with my Recently Played playlist on Windows Media Player, which is my go-to for listening to something on my laptop (and is more up-to-date than some other playlists I might dip into).

1. Fear For the Storm (Full Cast Version) - this doesn't have just one artist credit, so I'm going to copy the whole thing from Bandcamp: Vocals by Cindy Chu, Ishani Kanetkar, Jamie Price, and Brittony LeFever. Mixed by Erin S. Lyrics and chords by Jessica Best, arrangement by Jamie Price. I wrote a whole fic recently having feelings about this song, so I'll let that stand in for any commentary XD

2. Y (BS Style) - ND Lee: we are going to get some niche ones on here because I recently went through a whole spate of listening to DJMAX music, heh. This is a song from the rhythm game franchise DJMAX, and it's a lot of fun.

3. White Flag - Dido: I can't remember why but Dido's name popped up somewhere and I felt nostalgic and listened to this. It's still really fun to sing along to (it's squarely in my singing range and has some bits that you can really belt out. "AND YOU WILL THINK... THAT I'VE MOVED OOOOOOOOOON-")

4. Keys to the World (Extended Version) - Planetboom: Another DJMAX song that's been stuck in my head a lot lately, so I've been hammering it on repeat. I like the lyrics!

5. Rocket Science - Tin Can Audio: This is the Starship Iris end credits song from season 1 episode 10 onwards. It still gives me season 1 finale feelings 😍

6. A Normal Life - Marianas Trench: Still REALLY OBSESSED WITH THIS SONG and the lyric video for it. I actually wrote a fic about this one, too!

7. Head & Heart - Joel Corry feat. MNEK: Just a pop song that I enjoy!

8. Wings of Time - Tame Impala: Ah, D&D: HAT. Speaking of end credits music: this is the credits music for Honor Among Thieves, and I still love it!

9. 황성제 Project 슈퍼히어로 3rd Line Up - First Kiss - Sunny: Technically this is still DJMAX music, but it's a pop cover by American-Korean pop artist Sunny. I love both the original and this cover, which is delightfully upbeat and well, sunny xD

10. my ex's best friend - Machine Gun Kelly: This is one of the songs on the playlist for an origfic I wrote recently, whichhhh I will be posting some more about in a little while, but 🤐 for now! And it's a good fun song with some excellent guitar.

[fangirling-paradise]

WE HAVE THE FIRST TRAILER/PROMO FOR SEASON 4!!!

So it seems like based on the promo & episode descriptions for the first couple of episodes for the season, it seems the season opening emergency is weather-based. Extreme (-ly weird) raining patterns & eventually extreme heat conditions, which is a HUGE contrast to season 3's big emergency.

Now let's look at some moments from the promo

- Looks like, similar to last season, the promo doesn't extend/show content beyond the season premiere's big emergency. This promo might only cover content from episodes 1-4 of the season. 4 episodes is an overestimate.

- Owen gets a motorcycle, and is possibly having a mid-life moment. We kinda knew this already from some released photos

- A decent portion of the emergency will take place at like a county fair. And if the possible extreme heat conditions are to be believed, the season starts in, maybe late, summer. Which is when most county fairs take place.

- Marjan says nothing will be weirder than lava/volcano on a mini golf course. I would like to argue a snowstorm in Texas might be weirder.

Image time!

- The Ryders & the Vegas go to the same church. Makes sense, especially if Grace was the one of her & Judd to be raised in this church. This looks to be a typical Black Gospel church

- I'm wondering if this scene will be connected to a scene of TK at a syngogue. We saw they were filming in one towards the start of filming for the season. And also Marjan in a mosque. We haven't seen much of her faith since season one. It would be nice to see a montage of all the Abrahamic religions in the show.

- Carlos stops by the firehouse & TK is obviously very happy to see him. Especially if this big season premiere emergency is anywhere close to last season's ice storm emergency. They might be anticipating not seeing each other much as they will both be on duty for quite awhile & on conflicting schedules.

- If the season starts in summer, like i am hypothesizing, then they might also be in that newly engaged bliss & excited for their wedding. Also, just excited to be married.

This is all my thoughts for now. I am so mad the Season 4 premiere is pushed to what it was for Season 2. We really got spoiled with that January 3rd premiere date for Season 3.

[ourmondobongo]

That's it.

I think this is why we were hearing the end would be made into a movie/extended episodes since last year...

We got it.

Snk Season 4, Part 3, Cour 01 is a 1-hour "episode" set to aire on March 3rd!

[blogger360ncislarules]

Hit faith-based drama “The Chosen,” which just launched its fourth season in theaters via a partnership with Fathom Events, is already prepping the start of production for Season 5 next month. Variety has confirmed that cameras will begin rolling on “The Chosen” Season 5 in Utah starting April 11; the series will shoot there for six weeks before shifting to the show’s home base in Texas for the remainder of the production.

“The Chosen” has been mapped out as a seven-season series; for Season 5, the show will pick up where Season 4 left off, during Holy Week before the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Back for Season 5 are the full “The Chosen” cast, including Jonathan Roumie as Jesus.

Also returning is exec producer Dallas Jenkins, who directs and also writes with Ryan Swanson and Tyler Thompson. “The Chosen” also continues to be a fully independent production, with global distribution rights handled by Lionsgate.

“The response to Season 4 has been overwhelming so far, which provides a nice lift for us as we head into filming,” Jenkins told Variety. “Of course, we’re about to try to portray the most famous week in the history of humans, so the euphoria from the previous season never lasts long. The entire Season 6 will cover one day, so covering one week in Season 5 feels luxurious.”

Jenkins added that he’s most excited to get to work on the set for the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus gets betrayed and arrested. “No one’s ever seen what we’ve got planned for that sequence,” he said.

“The Chosen” Season 4 opened last month No. 2 at the domestic box office, with $8.6 million after just six days in theaters. Timed to Holy Week, the show’s theatrical run was recently extended from Thursday, March 28 to March 30 (with the season’s eight episodes spread out over three days), and the first two episodes have also been made also available for screenings at churches via a grant from the Come and See Foundation.

“The Chosen” is also being released theatrical worldwide in 30 additional territories — most recently in Brazil, where Season 4 premiered in Sao Paulo last week, followed by a release on more than 1,100 screens in the country (marking 1/3rd of all screens in Brazil).

“One of the things we’re doing differently this year is releasing all of the episodes in theater,” said Kyle Young, the exec VP of global marketing and revenue for “The Chosen.” “It’s innovative, it’s disruptive. Last year, we did a little bit of that with Season 3. It has been a wonderful experience for fans to watch it in community together, laughing at the jokes and being able to cry together.”

“The Chosen” started in 2017 as a partnership between Jenkins and Angel Studios, originally financed through crowdfunding. The show was originally distributed mostly on “The Chosen” app, but last year the show greatly expanded its distribution footprint to third-party outlets like The CW on broadcast. And its windows were shortened, so “The Chosen” hit streaming services including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Peacock soon after its premiere on the app.

“One of the things that we did differently with Season 3 was we expanded our partnership with streaming platforms and with broadcasters,” Young said. “Prior to 2023, we were really an app-first model where Seasons 1 and 2 were maybe in the app for a year or a year and a half before they released anywhere else. With Season 3, we shortened that significantly. And last year, the audience grew so significantly. Part of the goal at ‘The Chosen’ is to get the show in front of as many people as possible. It took the first four years of the series to reach 100 million people. And then in the last 15 months, we’ve reached another 100 million people.”

Beyond theatrical, Season 4 distribution will next go to “The Chosen” app, followed by home video and third-party broadcast and streamer outlets. The CW has not yet confirmed if it plans to pick up the new season, having previously aired the first three seasons last summer and fall. The series grew throughout its run on the network, ending with 719,000 viewers on Christmas Eve for the Season 3 finale, making it the most-watched telecast on Sunday night that season.

Young said there’s no timetable yet for when Season 4 might premiere on broadcast and streaming. And beyond that, he says “The Chosen” team is exploring whether to switch to making “The Chosen” exclusive to one outlet.

“That is something we’re exploring,” he said. “As we’ve adapted our distribution model, we can see that there’s huge appetite for the show on partner platforms. But a non-exclusive licensed series is not going to get a lot of promotion on the platform, because they don’t own it, and it’s on other people’s platforms. We’ll see where we go. But part of the promise of ‘The Chosen’ is that there always be some kind of free component via ‘The Chosen’ app. So, working through all the things is complex.”

Young said the success of “The Chosen” this past year even took his team by surprise. “There’s a much higher awareness of the series now,” he said. “Some of our research shows that something like almost 50 million Americans have now sampled the show. And there’s a huge amount of retention, as they watch subsequent episodes and even the full three seasons. And of course, I would say that with this director, the producers, the writers, this show is really good. The real secret here is that people really love the show.”

[beacon-lamp]

with hermitcraft season 7 slowly coming to an end, i figured it was time to consolidate all of the Informative Posts about hermitcraft that i and some of the other members of hermitblr have made over the last several months.

if you enjoy:

minecraft youtube content, but want to see more traditional vanilla minecraft gameplay like building and redstone

fun, lighthearted interactions between genuine friends including Elaborate pranks, collaborating on massive projects, light roleplay, proximity voice chat mod

weekly 20 - 40 minute long youtube videos and consistent upload schedules

chill grind stream weekends where CCs interact with chat and each other

an entire youtube channel dedicated to weekly 20-minute recap videos on what all the hermits have been up to so you don’t have to piece it together from the posts on your dash/timeline

insanely talented people who have been doing mcyt for nearly, if not more than, a decade and essentially built minecraft youtube from the ground up

give hermitcraft a try!  

you will find all of the information you will Ever Need below the cut.  it’s Very Long so view it on desktop.

and if you ever have any more questions, just shoot me an ask :)

what is hermitcraft?

the Basics: what, who, where, how

more details on the Basics

bonus: the historical impact many hermitcraft members have had on mcyt

where do i even start watching?

start with grian.

good mix of Incredible builds and fun server shenanigans.  instigator of many server-wide events.  interacts with many other hermits.  generally entertaining to watch.  but zero redstone knowledge.

check out hermitcraft recap.

great way to be introduced to other hermits and learn what everyone’s up to.  if you find what a hermit’s been working on interesting, go watch their video and maybe give them a like and subscribe.

official hermitcraft website with links to every member’s channel

more information on every hermit’s attributes and general vibes

do hermits every stream?

short answer: yes, most do!  but these streams are mostly chill grinding or buildling streams.  and you don’t have to watch the streams to be caught up on content.  check the official hermitcraft website for each member’s twitch links.

long answer that covers most of the hermits

what do they do on hermitcraft?

let’s start with some examples of their incredible builds.

hermit cribs: some of the megabases in s7

goodtimeswithscar’s s7 magical village with shaders

stressmonster’s bakery and ren’s star wars world

Capitalism

they have a shopping district where hermits can set up shops and sell items and resources that other hermits can buy with diamonds.  here’s season 7 shopping district set on a mooshroom island:

some of the most advanced redstone you’ve ever seen

if you’re more into the technical side of minecraft, you can be rest assured that hermitcraft has some of the Biggest Brains in redstone.

tangotek: a fucking madlad.  Singled-handedly created the minigame Decked Out.  im Begging you to watch his tutorial video on how to play.  currently finishing up his Among Us but in minecraft minigame. all of this was built Entirely in survival vanilla minecraft.  get this man to 1M subscribers.

mumbo jumbo: the man himself.  built a 128 x 128 block industrial district in both season 6 and 7 packed to the Brim with mechanical farms.  half the brain behind the masterpiece of engineering that was Sahara in season 6.  currently working on Pacific, the sequel to Sahara, in season 7.

iskall85: the other half of the brain behind Sahara and working on Pacific with mumbo in season 7.  also has an industrial district like mumbo’s in season 7.

xisuma: built an automatic potion brewer in the second half of season 7.  this thing churns out potions by the Shulker Box.  can also turn a shulker box full of potions into splash potions and extend duration all with a press of a button.

impulseSV: incredible example of form + function.  farms are scattered throughout his base.  he has a farm for nearly every farmable resource in vanilla minecraft.

etho: the pioneer of some of the most widely used redstone mechanisms to date.  content isn’t super redstone-focused.  mostly does compact modules that serve a specific function.

zedaph: makes strange contraptions.  he’s basically if grian knew how to redstone.  impeccable vibes and fairly underrated.

bdoubleo100: he occassionally does this segment called “redstone with bdubs” and it’s the only redstone i understand so that’s why he’s here.

what about roleplay?  and lore?  

yeah they have Plenty of that too.  

it generally comes in the form of self-contained storylines that involve most members on the server and take place over the course of several weeks in multiple videos.  it’s fairly light roleplay, if that’s not your thing.  but the plotlines also have a Massive Potential to be angsty and whatnot if you really look into it, which a lot of people also do.

here’s a more in-depth look into the Major Plotlines over the last 2 seasons (season 6 and 7).  huge spoiler warning though.

um also there’s this post that highlights how truly cursed hermitcraft can be if you dig deep enough hahaha.

so do the hermits only make hermitcraft content?

nope!!  many of them are involved in other mcyt content as well and are friends with other prominent members of the mcyt community!!  

MCC

mcc9 blue bats video essay: the time the hermit team won the whole damn competition.  a wonderfully made video worth Every second of your time.  especially if you don’t typically watch the hermit teams.

falsesymmetry: mcc10 ace and mcc’s First Back-to-Back Winner

lord grian dreamslayer: that time grian Popped Off, killing dream, tubbo, and fundy in mcc9 survival games

Vault Hunters

a modded minecraft server coded entirely by iskall85′s team.  all the content is streamed live on twitch.  

current members are: Iskall85, AntonioAsh, Stressmonster101, HBomb94, CaptainSparklez, Fundy, CaptainPuffy, 5UP and Tubbo

more info on the series 

3rd Life SMP

hardcore minecraft server with a twist that started on 4/20/21.  all content is posted to each member’s respective youtube channels.

every member has 3 lives, as indicated by the color of their name: green for 3 lives left, yellow for 2, red for 1.  if they lose all three lives, they can only spectate the world (like in hardcore mode).  the series ends when all members have lost all three lives.

the twist: once a member is on their 3rd and final life, as indicated by a red name, they are Hostile and their goal is to take the lives of the remaining players.

the members (hermits are italicized): BdoubleO100, bigbst4tz2, Etho, GoodTimesWithScar, Grian, impulseSV, InTheLittleWood, Renthedog, Skizzleman, Smajor1995, Smallishbeans, SolidarityGaming, Tango, ZombieCleo

the tumblr tag for 3rd Life is “#3rdLife”, “#3rdLifeSMP” and “#3LSMP” if you wanna see more content, as it’s Not supposed to be cross-tagged with “#hermitcraft”.

do you have any free serotonin to spare?

here’s a bunch of posts that’ll make you smile

scar’s friendship with a bunch of the hermits

grian, false, cleo, bdubs, iskall: why they deserve so much respect

same post as above but with an addition about ren

small hermit things that give you serotonin

why you should watch tfc

if you’ve made it this far you are Contractually Obligated* to watch one (1) hermitcraft episode and reblog this post.

*for legal reason, this is a joke.  you’re not contractually obligated but consider this: Please. i spent way too much time on this.

shoutout to everyone who’s posts i’ve linked and anyone who has helped answer a question about hermitcraft.  this all started because i was frustrated that people were writing the hermits off as cannon fodder in mcc and im genuinely so glad that many of you have given hermitcraft a shot.

[lollytea]

Im v sad that the period between Hunter n willow when they were texting before HM didn t last longer. Do you think that if the 3rd season wasnt cut, would there be more hints about it?

*shrug* To be honest, I have not been remotely disappointed with huntlow interaction thus far. I haven't felt like it's been lacking. I love everything we get. The insinuation that Hunter was sending her cute pictures of Flapjack? Brilliant, adorable, I will feast off that for the rest of my life. I kinda like that we don't know much about that period of time as it can lead to people filling in the gaps with their own imagination. But I do get what you mean. GG!Hunter gradually forming some semblance of a normal teenage friendship is very cute and I can understand why people would be upset that they didn't get to see more of it.

As for if there would have been more with the long season 3, idk. Season 2's story arc as a whole was reconstructed with the knowledge that they weren't getting their extended final season, so it's possible that Hunter and Willow weren't even intended to he texting buddies in the original draft. Maybe that was their way of establishing that the two were growing closer behind the scenes of all the plot related stuff happening to Luz, and you didn't need much info on it to know it was happening. I kinda really like that.

(It's kinda the same thing with Gus and Mattholomule. You know they're kinda buddies now because an episode ended on them promising to meet up at a graveyard every weekend and work together to build defenses. Like you don't see it. But you know it's their friendship is building. And you know why it was written that way.)

Me, personally, I'm not gonna think much more about what we could have gotten if they had hypothetically got their extended season 3. It doesn't bring me much joy to do so. Huntlow brain go brrrr

[kaythefloppa]

The Double-Feature

So we've previously established that the Double Feature of Wild Kratts that's coming up this summer is in fact NOT the Season 7 premiere, and is likely a re-run. But today we now know what it is a re-run of.

So apparently the "Double-Feature" will be a back-to-back airing of both the Season 3 and Season 4 finale, which makes the airing two hours long, and consisted of 4 back-to-back episodes (parts 1 and 2 of each consecutive episode).

So for those of you that predicted that the Double Feature would be a back-to-back extended airing consisting of several episodes (whether it'd be of new or old), turned out to be correct.

To be frank, Lost at Sea, and Swamp Things were also double-featured (extended airings consisting of two or more episodes that were always intended to be separate). So if they have this double-feature be another 'special event' or even bring light to it, it'll be only the 3rd time Double Feature of the series.

And to be honest, having in-take all of this info now, I'm very glad that we found out in advance that Season 7 was set for next year, because it would've sucked HARD to wait months for the new season only to find re-runs.

[eclecticflowerbanditathlete]

I may be too optimistic but I’m starting to get the feeling that there was a last minute rewrite of Titans S3 to focus on/extent the Redhood storyline. And I’m about to rant about it and what they should’ve done

The 3rd season of Titans started off ignoring how Kory got her powers back, telling the Titans about her recent trauma, and remembering how to active her suit; dealing with Connor and Gar trauma from Cadmus, how all them picked their hero names, or the team dealing with grief of Donna’s death. Where was all of this, it happened off screen during the time jump. Also what happened after Kom came to earth and took over that lady’s body, it could have been a great introduction to the character. Like she Kom really there or she still inhabiting that lady, cause she was not wearing those cuffs that hold her suit; and if that is really her where is the ship she came in and how’d she get captured by the US government so fast and no heard of the fight she put up to be considered hostile?

Then they rushed Jason becoming Redhood (he was barely even Robin) and gave us episodes on the background on how that happened rather then scenes that would develop Titans characters *Korys background and Gar discovering how to turn into other animals. We were supposed to have Blackfire become the villain second half like it was rumoured-but there’s 3 episodes left and she still with the Titans and we hanger really seen or heard her doing anything shady beside steal Korys powers.

I think someone higher must have saw the excitement for seeing a live action Redhood and thought they’d get more views and fans by extending that story and the writer had to abandon their thoughts on the story arc for season 3 and or the story that they planned Blackfire.

Redhood could have waited until s4 or not at all; Jason could have become Robin in Gotham, cause in s1 the cops said robin hadn’t been seen in a year. During that time he was training with Bruce, then he was with the Titans where he was also training; never really seeing action. When he returns to Gotham (not told how he got back with Bruce s3) and be Robin for a couple of months and dies late in s3 off screen, Dick and the team hear about it Dick returns to Gotham and mourns before returning to the Titans. Since Jason has a vendetta against the Titans it would make more sense to attack them in San Francisco, where that have made a name for themselves, once he was resurrected. During the time jump between season could’ve had him working with other Titans villains giving them info about how to beat them before revealing himself mid season to Dick. They fight resolve some stuff and that’s where the Redhood spin off starts

[the-paris-of-people]

Hi. This is really not a question but more of a rant. A really really long one. I apologize in advance. I honestly care waaaaayyyy too much about this show than I should. Clearly too bored🙈.

After reading people's comments on this show and the ships, there are so many things that irk me and I thought I'd share even if I might get crap for it. So here goes:

1. "Ben only wants Devi when she is with Paxton." I.e. it's about Paxton. Lol people are funny. As though Ben thinks he can compete with Paxton on a social level. He's not stupid, he knows full well he can't. It's about Devi and in part her obsession with Paxton. People don't like thinking about things from Ben's perspective because they just don't like him. He's the one that finds out Devi is cheating, she runs after Paxton at the party ( now granted before she runs out, she's intensely staring at Ben and then realises Paxton is leaving but Ben's not gonna remember that) and she was busy chumming it up with Paxton in episode 3 in front of Ben with absolute disregard for him. So his natural defence is to guard himself and have his walls go up. It is a valid response. He burries his pain (exactly what Samberg said). And does not let his guard down around her romantically until episode 10 when Paxton literally rejects her at school. At the school dance, sparks are flying between those 2. Is Paxton around at the time...Uhm no (I'll get into the whole Aneesa thing). In his mind Paxton is out of the picture and it's like he can almost trust her again. And then when Paxton shows up with Devi, he basically feels like a fool for ever thinking that he was ever something more than 2nd best or sometimes anything at all ( especially considering Devi still wants Paxton after Devi and Paxton's last public interaction that Ben witnessed- I mean he does not get to see the shit behind closed doors). But then when Eleanor spills the tea, that look on his face is disbelief, yes a little bit of jealousy but overwhelmingly heartbreak. He is essentially watching the chance he never knew he had go away. Now you could argue that he should have known that she wanted him back but she broke his trust and does not explicitly say, " I want you back". Ben's not trying to get burnt again based on some assumption/hunch. He has been wrong before.

2. "How dare Ben be upset that Devi is with Paxton when he is with Aneesa". Fair point. Just like how dare Devi be upset and lose her shit over Ben and Aneesa. But yet it still happend. Devi gets 5 episodes allowing her to be upset and Ben can't even have one moment when a firkken bomb gets dropped on him.

Aneesa and Ben should have never date. Everyone knows that. He was never over Devi. He just pushed those feelings down to make him believe he was over her. I obviously don't agree with this. Aneesa doesn't deserve that. Ben needs to go to therapy. He needs an outlet. He is similar to Devi in that he doesn't want to process what happened and would rather move on and react. However, his reactions are far less impulsive/severe as Devi's. Him dating Aneesa is unfortunately a reaction. He didn't give himself time to really process how he feels. People say he dated Aneesa solely to spite Devi which is not true. Is there an element of " you never wanted me but someone else does"... absolutely but Aneesa is also very kind to Ben, they get along really well and she puts him first. Technically what's not to like. I mean if it was just to spite Devi, could he have not tried to hustle his way back in with Shira?? Problem is that dumb dumb didn't work through his Devi feelings and let's just be honest, the same spark and chemistry he has with Devi, is missing with Aneesa. It often feels forced, especially in regards to the pace of the relationship. I so wished Aneesa remained friends with Ben. That's what he needed...not another relationship.

3. "Aneesa is so amazing, she doesn't deserve to get hurt." I agree. She absolutely doesn't deserve to get hurt just like Ben and Paxton didn't deserve that crap Devi pulled. I think Aneesa is a great addition and I like that Devi has someone within her community to connect to. I'm South Asian myself and I genuinely value this aspect of my own life. I mean she is pretty great, kind and the anorexia rumour Devi unintentionally started was pretty heartbreaking. That scene where she talks to Devi at the relay about it, is so sad (especially coz we as viewers know Devi messed up). Now that being said is Aneesa also low key shady? YES. And it's not because she dated her friend's ex. It's because she started dating him knowing that Devi started the rumour about her because she was jealous about Ben and her. How does she think Devi would go from being so jealous that she starts a rumour, to the next week becoming their biggest "Stan". Come on girl. But there was no way Devi could say no after the crap she pulled with Aneesa. Ben did ask her out so if there is blame, he absolutely gets it too but he didn't know why Devi started that rumour (based on his surprised AF face when Eleanor spills the tea). Which leads me to my next question. Why didn't Aneesa tell him? Aneesa said Ben was supporting her through the rumour. She probably told him Devi started the rumour but didn't tell him why? That is odd? Clearly if Ben had known, he may changed his perspective on Devi actually wanting him instead of ignoring his feelings.

Lastly Aneesa knows there are unresolved feelings between Devi and Ben. This is evident from that dance scene. She literally runs to cut in their pretty intense conversation. Like why you running girl? I didn't think much of it at first but coupled with another moment, it makes a lot of sense. When Ben agrees to dance with Aneesa, he looks back at Devi and lingers and Aneesa picks up on this and pulls him away. It's a blink and you will miss it moment but it is there.

Now all of this doesn't mean she needs to get hurt but they probably need to break up. Ben needs to be single for a while and work through how he feels about Devi, Aneesa and most importantly himself. Whilst I don't particularly enjoy their relationship, you never get to see it from either of their perspectives. Maybe that could change things but honestly I just prefer Ben and Devi.

Also can everyone stop acting like Ben is dating Devi's best friend. Being brown doesn't make you automatically best friends and Ben and Devi met Aneesa the same week. People are acting like he is dating Eleanor.

4. "Devi chose Paxton". Please! The only thought through decision that girl made in regards to these 2 boys is when she chose herself and decided not to be Paxton's little secret. I mean in episode 1 and 2 she can't decide so she dates both. In episode 3, she interacts with Paxton because of the whole tutoring thing. He says they don't makes sense. While she seems a bit sad she doesn't seem too upset like she is season 1 and she isn't looking for any opportunity to spend time with him (unlike season 1). Episode 4,5,6,7 and 8 she is losing her mind over Ben. Half way through 8 she knows she has no choice but to let him go. But even after that she doesn't pursue Paxton. He does that at the end of episode 9 when in all honesty she hasn't really thought about him in a while. Then of course Paxton does what he does and she finally choose herself, issuing an ultimatum essentially. Paxton does eventually show up...but it's a choice by default. She just yo-yo's between them. She also needs to be single, deal with her loss, love herself and think about what she wants.

5. "Devi loves Paxton". Sure bud. Does have Devi have feeling for Paxton? Duh! But is it love. Nope. People like to confuse infatuation for love. She has been infatuated with this boy this the 3rd (she knew squat about him). When her dad died, she turns that infatuation into an obsession. It like becomes a full time hobby in season 1. She ruins relationships over it. In season 2 you can argue there is more depth to it and Paxton does grow in Season 2. But somehow she is still fixated on the fact that it's Paxton Hall-Yoshida. I mean she smells him (totally normal), Mc Enroe's comment at the relay was, "did this hunk of beef just say he likes spending time with her", when she breaks up him she says , "you are very good at kissing" not possibly any of his other good qualities. And at the end she says , "I guess I'm Paxton Hall Yoshida's girlfriend now". This boy is so far up a pedestal that if he fell of it, he'd break something. Now granted if he fell of it in Season 1, he'd be dead. So progress I guess...

Maybe the relationship will change in Season 3 and she genuinely falls in love with him. I mean Id be sad but obviously a real possibility. But also that relationship needs to move on from being just the "Paxton project" which it was basically all of season 2. Maybe actually talk about her every once in a while.

Also people who find the ending so amazing because he shows up...bare minimum bro. I understand his perspective, how does it look to go back with someone who cheated on you. Fair point 💯. However she didn't start this shit up again. He did. He liked her so much that he had to make out with her In the middle of the night out of the blue but not enough to respect her publically. That's some BS right there. If he started it, he should have thought it through instead of guilt tripping her. But he is a teenager and ALL of them make incredibly stupid decisions (we all have). Devi messed up big time too and she apologized. The same compassion must extend to him but in no way is it a grand gesture, it's the bare minimum...like her apologies

6. "Paxton forgave Devi forgave Devi so quickly whilst Ben didn't and was so mean". He did forgive her pretty quickly. Good for him. However let's not act like circumstance didn't carve the way for that. They were pushed together because of the whole tutoring thing and he knows that they have to see each other all the time. So logically just makes sense to keep the peace. But still mature oh his part. Also he wasn't as emotionally invested as Ben. Did he have feelings? Yes. However, based on his inner monologue (Gigi Hadid) his ego took more of a hit because how could Devi, the "weirdest girl" he ever liked two time him with Ben Gross. Did his feelings deepen by the end? Yes. But at the start...it isn't that deep.

Also it's great and all that he "forgave" her so quickly but he sure did like bringing it up a lot. Like at the relay guilting her, upset at the end of 6 because he failed...I mean wtf girl you owe me- I don't really care what else is going on in your life, again in episode 8 in the car and finally we all know the mess that is episode 10.

In regards to Ben. His anger is justified for reasons stated in point 1. In fact his reaction seems more real because he is deeply hurt by Devi. Do I like some of his reaction (i.e. nose piercing-will discuss this further) ...nope but she only sincerely apologises to him in episode 8 vs 3 for Paxton. He accepts it. People acting like they would be so calm and chill about being cheated on. And yes he did cheat on Shira. He tries to kiss Devi at party twice but apologises that day and the following week. He doesn't try anything with Devi the whole of episode 10 until she kisses him. He acknowledges that it was wrong and immediately breaks up with Shira. Although cheating is not something we should condone can we actually acknowledge that Shira was the worst and doesn't even remember Ben's name. Compare that to Devi's premeditated cheating. Her Eleanor are literally laughing at how amazing they are for pulling it off and Devi didn't care about either of their feelings cause she was going to be India. Sorry but that is far worse. She also thinks she can bullshit her apology with Ben. He isn't here for that...which is fine! He kept trying his level best to avoid her but even that she wouldn't let him do.

7. "Ben is Horrible". Has Ben done some shitty things. Absolutely. People complain that he has never apologised for anything. Fair enough. He needs to apologize for the UN comment and the psychosomatic comment. It was incredibly hurtful. However, no one does call him out of it. Now you could argue he should just do it. Please... have you watched these particular set of teenagers? None of them apologise without being called out on it first(except maybe Fabiola). And you only get called out my your support system ... which Ben does not have. He practically looks like he raised himself. He doesn't have parents to put him back in line or a sister to call him out on his shit. Devi has her mom, cousin, grandmum , Elanor, Fabiola and her therapist. Does she ever listen to them the first time? Nope. And her first time apologies are such messes. She only gets it right the 2nd or 3rd time. All of them have some form of support but not really him. And it is heartbreaking. It's why I genuinely believe he needs to go to therapy. He needs an outlet to express everything he feels. He also needs to be held accountable for those comments and understand the root of it (ok let's be honest Devi even in their rivalry was probably the most constant person in his life, and fighting with her meant she stayed close by- it's a subconscious thing). He should apologize to her and also find better ways to communicate what he is feeling. The nose ring thing was manipulative. I agree. He should apologize. But I'm not gonna lie, it doesn't piss me off as much because I think it's pretty messed that it took that for her to realise how much she hurt him. Also tbh if you were willing to alter your body on a 2 minute thought out dare, you wanted to do it anyway. But again not a healthy way to emote on Ben's part. The David thing doesn't upset me because he knows how to pronounce her actual name. It's not like he doesn't know how and doesn't bother to try. It was part of their rivalry to irritate her. I honestly find it quite endearing as part of their friendship and think Devi does. I may be wrong and she may not like it and in that case he needs to stop and apologize.

I am not upset by him coming over to her house and calling her out about Aneesa. She deserved it. Also if she was that uncomfortable she could have taken him outside to talk like she did with Paxton. She is clearly comfortable enough to have him in the house. And her therapist agrees with Ben. If he hadn't, she wouldnt have known that Aneesa was leaving. Her mom took away her phone. And even then her first attempt at an apology was soooooo bad. And I don't think Ben did it solely to get Aneesa to stay so he could date her. This is Ben, he was willing to do long distance with Devi from India, I think he could have done the same with Aneesa from like the same town 🙄

I genuinely like Ben because he is a good kid. He makes mistakes like they all do. His personality is hilarious to watch but also his and Devi's relationship is so special. Me liking Ben and Devi has nothing to do with what Paxton has or has not done. I just like the dynamic between the two. They obviously care deeply for each other. Their conversations are hilarious. I love their banter. I love how comfortable they are with each and am sometimes surprised by the depth of their conversations. But also they have amazing chemistry. All the jealous looks and angst are between these two idiots pining for each other. I think she does have chemistry with Paxton but it's more because he is PHY, school Adonis. I mean let's be honest, he'd probably have chemistry with Fabiola solely cause he is PHY. The two nerds just match each other and it's so funny how often they are in sync. It's honestly adorable. They just get each other. That bathroom scene was the sweetest thing and also proves he's not this terrible person. She only comes out of the stall because of his support. He is genuinely hurt for her when technically it should have been a great moment for him.

I do believe the two have to be single for a bit before admitting their feelings for one another and moving forward. That's why my main thing for season 3 is that he absolutely cannot interfere in her relationship with Paxton. He needs to give her the space to figure that. Do I think there will be moments between them... absolutely but no cheating please. Everyone needs to move on from that. If they do it...I honestly think il be done with the show.

Anyways sorry for the really long ramble. If you made it to the end thanks for your patience 😌

Thank you for this beautiful masterpiece, I pretty much agree with everything and need to put it out there for the world to see

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

Sakura is prettyyyyyyyyy

Yeah so ZLS Revenge’s last episode huh? I mean let’s just cut to the chase, it was a lot of fun! It’s pretty slow, even despite the extended length, but that’s basically all in service of building hype and anticipation for this live show, and being satisfied as fuck when we see the crowd pour in. And the show even goes as far as to have the girls perform not one, not two, but three fucking songs? Badass, absolutely badass. First 2 are oldies but goodies and the 3rd one - though not fully animated unfortunately since there are panning stills of some disaster relief stuff instead - is our big hype new song they do for an encore, and it was solid. Didn’t blow me away and far from the best of the season’s new songs, but still felt like a nice note to end on. Really this finale was just, pretty much everything I really could have wanted it to end on. Pretty content with that.

Then we get a season 3 tease of some sort of UFO or something attacking presumably Saga with some sort of death laser. No idea how to feel about that one.

[tl-notes]

Kobayashi’s Maid Dragon S2 Episode 2 Notes

Here’s some notes for episode two, too, if you’d care to join me.

The “stay quiet” here is 大人し[い] otonashii, which takes the word for “adult” and adjectivizes it. It’s a common word with a variety of meanings, such as  when something is “behaving” properly and not raising a fuss (from children to computer code to a chronic disease to political forces, all sorts of things) or when something comes across as “mature” (like a clothing design or a young person). 

In this case the idea is that the dragons had chosen to “behave” and mind their own business, which (they seem to assume) led the humans into underestimating them and deciding to attack. (”Stay quiet” probably does a pretty good job of getting that across, but just to fill it out.)

This is 残念ながら zannen nagara, or “unfortunately...”. 

The reason I bring it up here, is that it’s not a particularly intimate way of speaking and leans somewhat formal—potentially implying Ilulu has no more close relatives left to give her this news (and/or maybe her family’s social position is one where other dragons had to treat them with respect).

The second line here is 平常心を保つよ、私は, which is a fairly strong declaration of intent. I kind of feel like “I need to keep a clear head” sounds less confident, like convincing herself “ok bad situation, but if I just do this I’m fine.” In contrast, the Japanese imo is more of a “[Ilulu can do what she may,] but it won’t get it to me either way.” Just a mild point of characterization I suppose.

Just for clarity, she does use the word 雄 osu here, which is the more biological term for “in a sexually reproducing species, the one that produces sperm,” rather than a more gender-based term.

The TV show, シャシャシャシャキーン Sha-sha-sha-shakiin, is a combo reference to irl Saturday-morning kids’ variety show じゃじゃじゃじゃ～ン Ja-ja-ja-jaaN and weekday-morning シャキーン! Shakiin!. 

The former’s name comes from the Japanese equivalent of ta-dah!, while the latter’s comes from the ”sound” for becoming alert, going from relaxed/sleepy/bored/etc. to “wide awake let’s go.” (though not necessarily sleep/wake related)

If you’ve seen these two emoji:

(´・ω・｀)  (｀・ω・´)

The one on the right is the “シャキーン” one, and is the contrast to the gloomy one on the left (ショボーン shobon). Or these, going from asleep to awake:

( ˘ω˘ )ｽﾔｧ…  (｀・ω・´) ｼｬｷｰﾝ

In manga and stuff you’ll also see it used for e.g. someone drawing/brandishing a sword, striking a cool poses with a lens flare, things like that.

I think it gets translated to metallic-y sounds in English fairly often in those cases (like drawing a katana, or a mecha pose), hence the translation above. 

The verb for “frolic” here is じゃれる jareru (no relation to jajaan above), which is like to play/mess around, typically in a physical sense. For example it’s used in the compound word じゃれ合う jareau, which is often used in the same way English might say “playful wrestling” about kids or animals.

Though the word Kobayashi uses is actually a different じゃれる compound, じゃれつく jaretsuku, which is like playfully/affectionately grabbing/cuddling up/etc., (also primarily regarding kids or animals). There’s a bit of overlap with some of the uses of あまえる amaeru mentioned in the last episode’s notes.

Assuming I had the visuals, I’d probably just write this as “Please not on my lap...” or similar. (Kobayashi also uses a different verb conjugation for Tohru vs. Kanna in this scene, ~つくな vs. ~つかないで; Kanna’s being more plead-y compared to Tohru’s more “cut it out!” feel, hence the “please.”)

“Contact” here is “skin-ship,” a portmanteau-esque combination of skin and kinship or relationship. It’s primarily a Japanese word (you won’t find it in English dictionaries typically), but it was apparently coined by an American speaker at an international WHO seminar in 1953 (from which a Japanese attendee brought it back to Japan and it was later popularized). 

The original use of the word was in reference specifically to parent-child physical intimacy, but as it became more widespread in usage the meaning extended to all sorts of relationships, from the platonic to the romantic. 

One reason, presumably, that the term caught on so powerfully in Japan is that it has historically been a very touch-adverse culture (at least compared to say the US), and this extends even to parents with their children after the first few years. You’d see (and still see) psychologists recommend “more skinship” to people, for example.

The relative lack of skinship may partially explain the head pat thing mentioned in last episode’s notes (e.g. when you want to touch your kid, but hugs aren’t on the menu) and things like the old “hand-holding is lewd” meme. (Note this isn’t just me getting all orientalist here; there’s been a good bit of research on the skinship gap, and how it may be shrinking, by Japanese scholars.)

This line is also a bit of foreshadowing that Tohru has realized Kobayashi’s... situation already.

The Japanese here is 心と心でつながった後は体ですよ, which I only really mention because I kinda felt like the English’s “Now...” implied she was saying they only recently ‘connected their hearts,’ which I don’t feel from the Japanese wording and would say is probably not how Tohru thinks. E.g. more of a “Our hearts are already connected; now it’s time for our bodies!” kinda thing.

This 3/3 is March 3rd, which “equals” ♀ because that’s the date of Hinamatsuri, sometimes also referred to as Girl’s Day. The third day of the third month was originally a holiday brought over with the Chinese calendar, and it morphed from a more spring/peaches holiday into it’s more girl-oriented version at some point in the Edo period.

One of the highlights of Hinamatsuri is the doll displays, as pictured in this short bit with the Saikawa sisters. There are various types of displays, but this sort of staircase arrangement is the most common I believe. Each level has a certain type of doll that goes on it, with the top level having an “emperor” and an “empress” doll—which is the pair Riko replaces with dolls of herself and Kanna.

There’s some similarities between these doll displays and stereotypical Christmas trees: a family is likely to have a set of ornaments/dolls they mostly reuse each year, you put them up some time in advance of the actual holiday, then get lazy and leave them up too long put them away for a year after it’s over. A lot of businesses and such will put up displays as well.

“The judge in the underworld” is left vague here and isn’t a specific reference to anything, but is generally in line with the typical “image” of what happens after you die (setting aside actual religious beliefs) in Japan. 

Please see the documentary series Hoozuki no Reitetsu for more info.

As of right now in the anime, Ilulu has only shown up twice, and only once of those when Kobayashi was alone. The implication seems to be that there have been other Ilulu encounters that we haven’t seen. 

Also, for clarity, the Japanese is 私が一人の時にいつもイルルは来るから, which is more of a “whenever I’m alone Ilulu shows up” than a “she only shows up when I’m alone.” (The English could sorta be read either way I think?)

This bit is それだけじゃないって、争い以外もあると思ってくれているからだ。私はそんなトールを信じているから…　だからその為にイルルと和解したい

The main point of contention I have with this English is that it implies Kobayashi wants Tohru and Ilulu to make up. However, I’d say this is more Kobayashi wanting to come to terms with Ilulu herself (and just by extension Tohru/the other dragons/maybe other humans). 

That is, by making peace between herself the human and the “hostile” dragon Ilulu, she’d be helping prove Tohru’s belief correct—and she has faith in Tohru that it is (see also last season finale).  

(Notably while Tohru is Chaos faction herself, there’s not really been another Chaos dragon yet to be convinced like this. Kanna is no-faction, Fafnir is technically no-faction even if Chaos-ish, Quetzalcoatl is an observer, Elma is Harmony, and Tohru’s father is an exception on multiple levels.)

Without getting too deep into the “why,” one quick thing I’ll point out is that she says 和解したい wakai shitai, not してほしい shite hoshii or させたい sasetai etc., meaning it’s something she wants to do herself, not want/make someone else do. Generally speaking you can’t use the ~たい “want to” form for anyone but yourself (you don’t know what anyone else is thinking, after all), unless quoting them, asking, or in the ~がる “seems to want to” form.

This is a 防犯ブザー bouhan buzaa, a crime-prevention buzzer, also known as a personal or self-defense alarm. They emit a very loud sound when activated. The idea is you, well, use it like she does here, when someone is trying to do a crime to you.

Since most Japanese children walk to school, it’s extremely common for these devices to given to students (either by parents or a gov’t body). It’s technically recommended for adults to carry them too, though the advent of the mobile phone has driven down carry rates.

This particular one was probably purchased in episode four of season one, if you want to rewatch and see why!

This is 私にぶつけたい気持ちでもあるの？in the Japanese.

The verb for “tell” is ぶつける butsukeru, an evocative word meaning ~to slam against (somewhat similar to “vent” in English when used with emotions/feelings). 

The “something” is 気持ち kimochi, ~emotion/feeling/thought.

So the Japanese here feels a lot more expressive than "something you want to tell me,” I would say (that could just as easily be a translation of 話したいこと). That said it’s not an easy thing to express in English within the confines of the format here, especially if you want to keep the “target = ‘me’” part.

It might feel somewhat like “You got something bottled up you wanna hit me with?”, though I doubt if I’d use that either.

As a side note, the manga has Kobayashi say an extra line after this, about being the “main tank” to take her “hate” (Japanese for “aggro” in MMOs). 

A small note that “that girl and that boy” is あの子とあの子 ano ko to ano ko, so no gender specification in the Japanese (it’s a good language for talking about people without specifying a gender!).

“Next time” here is 今度 kondo, which is an interesting word because you can situationally use it for “recently,” “this time,” “next time,” or “soon.” 

The reason I bring it up here is the English “next time,” personally, leaves me thinking “Was there a previous time? What ‘next’ do you mean?”—just a heads up that that’s not really an issue in the original line.

Also: this whole extended scene with Kobayashi saving Ilulu is one of the “many senses” mentioned in the episode title. (see also episode one notes re ikemen)

As an aside, this "play” is じゃれ合い jareai, the noun form of the jareau that was mentioned in the above “frolic” note.

If you were wondering: “Do dragons use paper?”, the word here is 形骸化 keigai-ka, (almost) lit. ~reduced to bones, meaning something that once was strong/effective is now basically just a formality. It’s similar to the phrase “dead letter” in reference to old laws that aren’t really enforced anymore.

So two potential points of ~lore relevance~ here: 1) the rules probably used to be enforced, 2) we have no evidence (either way, from this) that they actually have them on paper somewhere.

こりゃトールの父ちゃんは本格的に���しかったみたいだな

This might just be me reading too much into the English (again), but one difference in nuance between these two lines is that the English has Kobayashi implying Tohru’s dad “seemed” kind (which implies he’s not really kind, just kind in contrast to this villain), while the Japanese is more taking this as evidence that Tohru’s dad was actually being kind (see also last season finale).

For those wondering if the みたい in that line would imply a “seems”: it sort of does, but it applies across the whole observation here. I.e. “seems Tohru’s father was genuinely nice” vs. “making Tohru’s father seem genuinely nice” (which I’d guess would probably use 優しく見えてくる or something). 

When you see “underestimate” in anime, most of the time it’s なめる nameru. It comes from the verbified archaic adjective 無礼し nameshi, meaning a combination of looking down on, acting rude towards, etc., and uses the same characters as “rude” (though often written in hiragana/katakana).

It also is a homonym of the verb “to lick,” so “Don’t underestimate humans” sounds identical to “Don’t lick humans.”

“Functional member of society” is 社会人 shakaijin, ~lit. person of society, which is a very commonly used word to refer to basically anyone who is an active member of society. It includes homemakers, so it’s not strictly “has a job at a company,” but in many contexts it’s used like “people with jobs” versus “students and NEETs.”

(Not that there’s anything wrong with the translation, just some extra context.)

A technique reminiscent of this shadow puppet silhouette style was also used in Hyouka, another Kyoani show and one directed by the late Series Director Takemoto Yasuhiro. 

I kind of feel like yelling “Stay with me!” at someone injured is something you do when they’re in danger of fading away, not when they’re waking back up? Maybe that’s just me.

The Japanese is お気を確かに o-ki wo tashika ni, a polite (since Tohru almost always speaks kinda formally to Kobayashi, as part of the maid thing) way of saying “pull/hold it together,” and is used in a variety of situations.

Kanna’s line is a question (e.g. like “are you okay?”) in the Japanese here, whereas the English sounds more like something you say to someone who’s injured to try to reassure them. 

This line is その子離れようとしないんです sono ko hanareyou to shinai n desu.

The English is a pretty literal translation: hanareru is the verb for leaving/separating (in some senses), and the ~you conjugation means “try to ~”. However, that conjugation also has a second use in just indicating intent—especially when used in the negative, like here—so e.g. “She didn’t want to leave your side,” or “She wouldn’t leave your side at all.”

（◎Д◎）

Just in case: this is an emoji for expressing shock. 

One thing that is left out of the English in this line is the だけ dake, “only.” 

So Kobayashi’s not necessarily surprised at this by itself, but in contrast to the fact that Tohru says she probably can hide her claws/tail (so why not this too?). 

The base phrase Tohru is saying here is 私たちの仲じゃないですか, which roughly means “that’s just our relationship,” and is used commonly when being thanked for doing a favor for someone close. It’s similar in meaning to something like “hey of course, no problem, I know you’d do the same for me.”

Tohru puts a little spin on it by adding the “eternal” to make it 永遠の仲, which is a separate phrase that means probably what you’d think it means.

This quick cut to Tohru’s feet and the light “foot pop” motion... I have a hard time believing it’s anything but the director trying to give some subtle “goodbye kiss when leaving for work” vibes, even if they aren’t literally kissing. Just me?

Here she says あのトール ano Tohru, lit. “that Tohru,“ which in this sort of context carries a meaning similar to using an italicized “that” in English: not just any Tohru, but that Tohru, the famous one. The implication is that yes indeed Tohru is well-known among other dragons—and known to be quite strong and merciless.

It’s not a particularly big deal, but technically this is 人間と, i.e. Living with.

The ball hands thing is generally thought of as “Doraemon hands” in Japan. Doraemon gets the name from the food “dorayaki,” but “Dora” is also how you pronounce the first two syllables in “Dragon” (ドラゴン doragon).

Keep this in mind.

挨拶 (あいさつ) aisatsu, often translated as “greeting(s)”, is a lot bigger of a thing culturally for Japan than it might be for where you live. Though translated as “greetings” it also includes farewells and more. Basically a general term for “in X situation, say Y” style semi-set phrases.

In more traditionally minded companies, for example, employees are often expected to give a rote ohayou gozaimasu when they arrive (even if they think no one is around to hear it), and may get chewed out for not doing so or half-assing it. Then when passing someone in the hallway etc., an otsukare-sama desu, and yet another phrase when leaving for the day. Also the ittekimasu and itterasshai (when leaving home/saying bye to them) or tadaima and okaeri (returning home/welcoming back) that probably many anime-watchers are familiar with. Even itadakimasu is an aisatsu. 

Obviously every culture utilizes “greetings” like this, but in Japan they’re pretty heavily ritualized and treated as a cornerstone of human relations, a key part of showing respect for your fellow humans (even people you hate!) and ensuring the smooth working of society. It’s not the thing they chose to have Tohru put first in her “living with humans [in Japan]” notebook for nothing!

The English “the” is a popular word to use in Japanese as an intensifier, similar to how it’s used in a sentence like “this isn’t just an [example], it’s the [example]!” 

It’s usually pronounced “za” and often written that way in katakana (ザ) for this usage. (If you type “za” in a Japanese IME, most will offer up “the” as one of the options to convert the text to, even.) 

The word she says here is 喝 katsu, which, in this sense, is a stereotypical thing for a Zen teacher to say to a student as a stand-in for explaining some deep Zen concept that words can’t describe. So here, it’s kinda like “Yes this may seem contradictory, but really it’s just too complicated for you! No more questions!” 

Obviously that’s oversimplified and it’s used in other ways too (see Saikawa’s father during the sports festival), but just for the purposes of this joke, there you have it.

The word used in the Japanese here is 建前 tatemae. If you’ve ever studied any Japanese, you’ve likely heard about honne vs. tatemae, your inner feelings vs. the front you put up for social reasons. 

People new to the language are sometimes prone to approaching that distinction with “well why doesn’t everyone just honne all the time, why play games?”, but of course almost everyone splits themselves like this. You probably hate your boss, but you also probably don’t tell them that to their face to avoid getting fired. Or maybe you have some family members you can’t stand, but act nice around anyway because it’s not worth the trouble to start fights. 

Japan just put names to the idea, and maybe leans a little more toward encouraging tatemae in more situations.

This is せいぜい悩むんですね.

せいぜい seizei as an adverb means doing something to utmost extent one is capable of. You’ve likely heard it from a villain somewhere saying something like “Struggle all you like, wahaha!”. 

Though it’s not necessarily down-talky like that, in modern times that is the trend (you can use it for yourself no problem, but if used to talk about someone else’s actions it may come off as belittling). Tohru, as one of the strongest beings in the setting and with the pride to match, uses it a lot.

悩む nayamu is to worry, fret, ruminate over (some difficulty etc.).

The sentence in general is one that is highly context dependent, but here it’s Tohru thinking to herself, somewhat impressed, that Ilulu is actually putting serious thought into the question of what she wants to do with her life. 

And, as the background suggests, finding it surprisingly adorable/admirable; up until just a few days ago, Ilulu was known as one of the most extremist Chaos faction dragons obsessed with nothing but destruction, yet look at her now. In a way, Tohru’s taken over an older sister kind of role for her.

(For the curious, if the ね was dropped or swapped to a よ here, that would imply she was directing the comment “at” Ilulu, rather than saying it in observation.)

The word here is 契る chigiru, which usually means to swear/pledge (e.g. swear a pact, pledge your love), but can also be a somewhat fancy word for having sex, especially of a married couple.

I feel like I personally would have used more of a euphemism for the translation.

The phrase here is ダメの助 dame-no-suke, where dame is no/bad/can’t do/useless, and (no)suke is a common ending to first names; both actual names and sort of on-the-spot nicknames; someone looking sleepy might be called a 寝坊助 nebou-suke in the same way as “sleepyhead.”

Or, as here, sticking to the end of things for comedic effect or as indication of a panicked/confused thought process.

（ ° ρ ° ）

Just in case: this one is also expressing shock, but a kind of dumbfounded shock. The ρ is a drooling, slack-jawed mouth.

In the next episode preview they talk about where Ilulu will sleep, since they don’t have room for another bed. Ilulu wants to sleep in the closet—or more specifically, the 押し入れ oshi-ire, which is a particular closet layout you’ll find in many Japanese bedrooms. 

The typical difference is that an 押し入れ was originally designed for 和室 washitsu, traditional-style Japanese rooms with tatami floors, primarily as storage space for folded-up futon/blankets/pillows, as you would put those away during the day to free up space. Thus they typically are rather wide, mildly deep, and have a waist-height, solid horizontal divider capable of supporting a lot of weight. 

They actually are pretty okay for sleeping in if you’re not claustrophobic or tall.

Anyway, I bring this up because you know who else very famously sleeps in one of these? That’s right: Doraemon.

[priceforrottenjudgement]

I’m gonna try and write out my feelings about this finale, so i can try to put this to rest and move on once and for all.

I feel sorry for the cast and crew who had nothing to do with this ending. I cannot possibly determine who had a hand in it and who didnt, I’m not going to write anyone angry comments on social media, but I’m also not going to defend anyone.

Whoever decided to do this did so deliberately and knew what would happen. The confession scene in 15x18 was calculated. They wanted the biggest possible send off for the show and wanted to maximise the viewers. How to do that? By activating shipper sleepercells. The cast and crew of supernatural are VERY aware of their fandom and the popular ships, they have shown this and said so time and time again. They knew there was a huge untapped reserve of mostly queer fans who had stopped actively watching the show, but were still keeping a close eye on the show bc of nostalgia.

They knew they would get a huge amount of attention for a confession and they did, possible more than they expected. 

They knew from the start that they wouldnt do anything with it though. You simply cannot tell me they had to rewrite the last two episodes bc of covid and bc Misha couldnt be there or something when they had no problems bringing back Bobby and some rando from season 1. I simply will not believe it.

They also knew they would get so much shit for burying a gay in 2020, you also can’t tell me they didnt know this was a bad thing in the year 20 fucking 20. So they held off on giving Misha a proper sendoff so that the fans could and would interpret this as a sign that Misha would appear in later episodes. Which he didnt. They even threw in a few sprinkles in 15x19 to keep people interested, like the voicemail and Dean demanding Chuck bring back Cas. 

And then on the day of the finale came the gaslighting. In the recap before the episode they focussed primarily on Sam and Dean and their fucking car, things that were outdated by season 3. They had little segments about recurring characters (Crowley, Jack, Rowena,...) and shit, but deliberately didnt place Cas in a prominent position, in fact, Cas’ segment seemed to blend in with the other ones. Absolutely nothing special about him. They even had his segment AFTEr Crowley’s ffs which doesnt even make sense from a chronological standpoint. They also kept harping about family and how Cas was a 3rd brother and at this point i knew they werent going to do anything. This recap was supposed to make anyone feel stupid who thought supernatural was about more than Sam and Dean and the car and the monster of the week and maybe daddy issues. Seriously, i think they could have almost had this exact recap before the finale of season 5 if they’d cut the Jack and the Rowena segments and the random footage of minor characters.

The confession scene was notably absent from the recaps, especially weird as it was Cas’ last scene.

So this was their fallback in case fans accused them of queerbaiting, erasure, etc. See, supernatural has ALWAYS been mainly about the boys, Cas is nothing special, I’m sorry if you thought otherwise lol. here is this recap to prove it.

Then that shitfuck episode aired and the baited community predictably lost their shit WHICH THE CREW KNEW WOULD HAPPEN. THATS WHY THEY ALL GOT THEIR GOODBYES OUT OF THE WAY BEFORE THE EPISODE AIRED. This episode wasnt a universal failure, i have it on good authority that it went pretty well with casual fans who also happen to be straight and have had a particular dislike against, say, Cas or Rowena or Jack etc., imagine that.

And now they’re going to portray angry fans as annoying little fangirls, who wanted these two poor men to kiss against their will and who bully actors off of social media by voicing their disappointment and hurt; this is all so fucking predictable. Why does this still hurt so much?

I was angry about Sherlock, i was fucking livid, but I didnt feel hurt and I didnt feel used and I wasnt ashamed for being baited. See, Sherlock has many many faults, but they didnt toy with their fans to the extend that spn did. This was cruel and calculated. They knowingly used a huge chunk of their fans, mostly the young, female and queer part, to generate views and that feels vile.

I dont buy for one second that they didnt know what was coming, not with all the backlash and criticism they have seen from other shows and THEIR OWN FUCKING SHOW. 

so sorry, I dont condone abusing and harassing the cast and crew (mainly the actors who i dont believe had muchsay in the script), but they wanted the maximum amount of attention, so now they have to deal with the consequences.