#6th episode of the entire series btw.

[r1caner]

Hey why are you looking at her like that

HEY WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT HER LIKE THAT.

HEY WHY ARE YOU

[horizon-verizon]

Is Rhaenyra, demanding that Aemond be questioned harshly (after Aemond loses his eye), mean that she meant him to be tortured, or simply questioned by Viserys? (This question applies to both the book and the series)

*POST IS EDITED (6/11/2023) as my view has changed a bit*

In both, definitely wanted Viserys to come down on Aemond hard. She is making an appeal to her King/father to be ruthless and discipline his son/subject. In the book, this is what is written. At the same time, it's arguably more ambiguous to tell if she meant just verbal discipline to apply pressure (less likely), or if she genuinely meant physical torture in a heated moment that came AFTER Alicent demanded Lucerys' eye (more likely since she's already a much more impatient, fiery, and entitled person than her show counterpart).

I saw show!Rhaenyra--in comparison to book!Rhaenyra--as the more self-possessed but also more stricken by the hostility.

When we go back to how Alicent forced her to bring her son up the stairs in episode 6 AND dismissed her several times during the council (Stepstones, her leaking nipples, and the proposal), we see how Rhaenyra faced 10 long years of similar harassment from Alicent over the safety of her sons.

Why publicly order for the freshly-born infant in front of the entire court if not to publicly and tacitly announce that you think something is wrong with that infant? Alicent -- a mother herself -- is well aware of how worried, anxious, and attached a mother can get to her infant after birth and she still decides to do what she does...and it's clear that it's happened before, so was she actually surprised that Rhaenyra came with the baby? Why not let Rhaenyra have a few more moments alone with her new child and in real rest after putting herself through that pain to deliver it? (Because she was seeking to take advantage of Rhaenyra's state). Plus, even if this is a medieval-modeled world, people did and would know that freshly-born infants need to be handled carefully and not so exposed to so many different elements too soon. Newborns are understood to be delicate.

To me, she (show version) just wanted to expose the person responsible for telling Aemond that her sons were bastards ("now they see you for what you are"), which endangers their lives because Rhaenyra would be considered someone who not only lied to the King, but gave him false information concerning the Targ lineage/"confused" the line of succession. The "sharply" would come from her being upset and putting emphasis on it. Or it could be her feeling the need for blood but also trying to restrain herself near-simutaneously. While Book!Rhaenyra is more likely to not have that much willingness to restrain herself.

All the more reason, BTW, why their friendship could never logically be restored and in truth was long gone years before the 6th episode.

[rachelbethhines]

60 Years of Doctor Who Anniversary Marathon - Martin: 6th Review

Power of the Doctor - TV Story

Dang this was so good.

I had to play catch up with Chibnall’s era to get to this episode, hence the delay, but damn what a story to end on!

This was the best anniversary special ever aired, the best episode of the Chibnall era, and perhaps my new favorite story of all time.

But is it a Fugitive Doctor’s story?

Eh.... It’s more a multi-doctor story that the Fugitive Doctor cameos in along with a bunch of other Doctors, but it’s not a superfluous appearance by any means. Granted, we still get no real answers to her existence, and we never will, but she does arguably save the day in what is indeed a badass scene. Arguably the best on screen appearance for Jo Martin.

So what is the story?

The Master sets up an elaborate trap to finally steal the Doctor’s body/regenerations, and for once, actually succeeds. 

And what I love about this plot twist, is that it’s made evidentially clear that it’s no longer about survival. He no longer needs those regenerations since the Time War... and the fact that he’s basically immortal anyways (the master is really the timeless child, prove me wrong) but rather his motivations are something far deeper, something hinted at since the beginning.

The Master hates himself. He hates being the Master. He wants to be the Doctor, because he wants what the Doctor has... fame, attention, adoration, love... but he doesn’t understand how those things work; how the Doctor acquired such loyal friends and a universe wide reputation as a hero.

He thinks it’s something innately special about the Doctor’s being, something that he can require by inhabiting the Doctor’s body... but really, it’s just because the Doctor has chosen to be kind. They’re not perfect, by any means, but they try.... They try to help when needed, and they learned that through their companions. The Doctor is the hero, because the Doctor has friends.

The Master, drives away anyone that may have given him a chance. They may have been his friends, he may have been the hero even, if not for his self destructive behavior and lashing out at everyone and everything. Hence his tragedy. 

And this is further backed up by the First’s Doctor run. He became the Doctor, the Hero, by learning how to be a better person from his first companions; Barbara and Ian.

And yes, I loved all of the companion cameos! btw

It’s stuff like this, that reinforces the fundamental themes of the entire series, are the things that make the whole Timeless Child/Other/Morbius Incarnations, stuff so baffling. Martin’s Doctor can’t be a pre-Hartnell Doctor because the Doctor didn’t learn to be the Doctor until he met Barbara and Ian. Insisting that she is one undermines the story.

That’s why the 6B theory makes so much more sense, and why I’m deeply disappointed that Chibnall didn’t have the guts to confirm it. To give us that final twist that would have fixed so much shit, but oh well.... I guess it’s up to us fans.

But enough should of, would of, could ofs... Lets get to the Fugitive Doctor’s part of the story... spoiler warning below.

Apparently the Doctor has built an interactive hologram of themselves that can take the form of any known previous incarnation. Including Martin’s version.

We’ve seen similar holograms created by the Tardis before, but this is the most advanced version to date as the Doctor has apparently been working on it since well.. forever basically. Since they’ve been in possession of the Tardis itself anyway.

The Martin hologram appears before the Master pretending to be the genuine article. Just long enough to distract him so that the companions can defeat him. This is helped by the fact that The Master doesn’t recognize this incarnation, but she apparently remembers him... make of that what you will.

So in essence the Martin Doctor gets to save the day. Which is honestly more dignity than the character has been shown thus far in the series and is a nice send off to them. 

Honestly , I could talk about this story for ages, but we’re here for Martin’s doctor this go around so I’m keeping the review just to that... but seriously if you haven’t seen this episode yet, and are a fan of the series, you need to.

[makeste]

BnHA 6th Popularity Poll Reaction Post - Risky Spoiler-Dodging Edition

hey guys, so seeing as the results from the 6th popularity poll were leaked today, I figured I would do a separate reaction + analysis post this year, rather than piling it in as an extra on top of the chapter reaction post tomorrow. I figure this makes more sense anyway, since they’re really two completely different things. also this way I can write as much as I want lol.

also, just fyi, I am still completely unspoiled for chapter 293. and probably the smart thing to do to keep it that way would be to log off tumblr and hold off posting this until tomorrow, but I apparently have no impulse control today so oh well. anyway, so I’m hoping you guys will keep this spoiler-free if you don’t mind! as always, I would prefer to just jump right in completely unaware tomorrow like Troy returning to the study room with the pizza boxes lol.

okay so this first part is just going to be my predictions. fyi I am writing this part on Wednesday night, and then I’ll add on the results part on Thursday or Friday (ETA: Thursday, apparently, since I am impatient.)

okay so first of all, just as a refresher, this poll was open to Japanese voters from Aug 3 to Sep 30. meaning chapters 279 through 285. meanwhile last year’s poll took place around the tail end of the MVA arc. so between then and now we had Heroes Rising, the Endeavor Agency arc, and the War arc up to the part where the 1-A kids took on Gigantomachia in Gunga, and started battling Tomura in Jakku. so technically only a couple of arcs, but a LOT of stuff going down in them. oh and season 4 of the anime as well

so! firstly, I predict that my truculent africanized honeybee son will hold on to his crown at #1, coming off a year in which he did some internship-boosted soul searching, borrowed OFA in movie canon, and finished out the voting period as the my-body-moved-on-its-own character development MVP. like CALL ME CRAZY lol, but I’m pretty sure his title is safe. and then after him will be Deku and Shouto as usual

Aizawa should hopefully also have a strong showing because the dude had a banner fucking year. reunited with his old dead friend, took on Tomura with his hopelessly inept hero pals, and then chopped his fucking leg off. he had better be in the top 10. his fucking leg died for this, idk what else he has to do

Endeavor also stands a decent chance of doing well given the internship arc and the final episode of season 4. which I’m sure will go down just swimmingly if that does happen lmao. especially if he somehow manages to rank higher than...

Dabi, which I don’t think he will btw, but you never know. anyways though, but I’m thinking Dabi’s going to have a stronger showing than in past years (in the last poll he only got 367 votes and was ranked 19th). mostly because of his fight in the Gunga mansion, and his cheekily censored name reveal to...

Hawks, who is also going to rank pretty high here, I think. might be he loses some points for killing off Twice, but his back was basically to the wall there. and he has always been very popular, and I think season 4 will also give him a boost, along with his heavy involvement in the first half of the War arc

Tomura was already in 6th place last year and I think he cracks the top 5 this year. he’s gotten exponentially more popular since the MVA arc, and got a boost in the last poll even though his flashback had only just barely happened, and he hadn’t finished Awakening yet and all that stuff. anyway, so he’s only gotten cooler and more tragic since then so I think he makes a big play here

Kirishima, Momo, Tokoyami, and Mina should also hopefully do well, since the poll opened right in the middle of all that Gigantomachia action, and Toko had just got done being an absolute badass and protecting his birb dad. I don’t think he’ll quite make it to the top ten, but he should

and last but not least, I’m hoping that Mirko will come out and take the polls by storm, although I have no clue how popular she is in Japan lol. she’s clearly Horikoshi’s favorite though. she SHOULD be everyone’s favorite, but I mean, we’ll see how it goes

anyway that’s it as far as predictions! and so now, through the magic of writing stuff at different times, we will fast-forward to the part where we actually find out the results!

OH MY GOD YES, STEAMPUNK KHLKSLLKL. HERE FOR IT. JOLLY GOOD SHOW. 5 STARS

Kacchan looks SO COCKY and SO HAPPY and SO ADORABLE, YES I SAID IT. he is adorable as FUCK. I don’t quite know what it is about this particular Kacchan that just screams “LOOK HOW FUCKING CUTE MY STUPID, LOUD SON IS WITH HIS BIZARRE WINDOWPANE-LOOKING CONVERTIBLE SUNGLASS GOGGLES and his POORLY TIED CRAVAT”, but I think it’s because he looks like if a Digimon character and a FMA character had a baby

anyway, so it looks like most of the people present here are more or less who we expected to see. except that I can’t tell for sure if that’s Dabi or Shindou, and if it’s Shindou I’m going to punch somebody in the face so you will have to excuse me

Iida wearing a TRENCHCOAT and a TOP HAT with ENGINE EXHAUST GOGGLE ACCENTS is my new favorite Iida of all time. take note how there is no possible way he can wear those goggles with them sitting on top of his hat like that. plus he’s already got glasses on. these are just purely for aesthetic and IF THAT AIN’T JUST THE STEAMPUNK WAY

Deku out here speaking softly and carrying a lead pipe. Kacchan you best look out. seems like he’s done watching you take first place year after year while he languishes in the number two spot. your only hope is that he trips while attacking you because his boots are unbuckled

Shouto’s standing over there with the rest of the non-first-and-second-place characters, but what are the odds his results are actually within spitting distance of Deku’s same as always. anyway he doesn’t mind, though. also his outfit is by far the most sensible one here, but if you look closely he’s got some sort of fire extinguisher/jet pack thing strapped to his back that’s got a control switch on his belt. Shouto are you jetpacking or putting out fires

Kirishima out here all “I’m not sure what steampunk is so I’m just going to take off my shirt and pose”

AIZAWA WITH THE EYEPATCH SKLKSDLKFJLSKJLDFKJSLDFFJLDKSJFL:KS. SIR. SIR. also, lowkey furious that Horikoshi refuses to show us the automail leg that he is clearly sporting here but which we just can’t see, SHOUTO MOVE GODDAMMIT

Endeavor has TWO fire extinguisher-slash-jetpacks. THE BETTER TO... WHATEVER. look at you here in the top ten again. you really live for that controversy

HAWKS OUT HERE WITH HIS STEAMPUNK BEATS BY DRE AND HIS WEARING A RING ON EVERY FINGER. nice to see you’ve still got your wings there, kiddo. then again Deku still has both of his arms too so who even knows what is going on

BUT SERIOUSLY THOUGH, IS THIS DABI OR SHINDOU. as if I don’t know the truth deep down in my heart. y’all I am gonna flip lmao. it’s not that I dislike Shindou, strictly speaking. but just... I can’t explain what it is, but if you put him and AFO next to each other and told me “you can only punch one”, I would be having a serious crisis. just, THIS FUCKING GUY, idek. STOP SMILING

Tomura looks like he just wandered onto the set here by mistake and has no idea where he is or what is going on. it’s because you’re wearing a bigass severed hand that’s blocking your entire view, Tomura. just take the hand off your face my sweet murder dumpling

anyway! so I managed to also find a link to the full poll results while somehow managing to avoid spoilers, and then I wanted to compare the results to last year’s poll, and so I made... this

hopefully you can all see this. if you’re on desktop you might be screwed, but on mobile you should be able to click and enlarge it. I mean, assuming you actually give a fuck about boring poll analysis spreadsheets lmao

anyway, so there were actually 13k fewer votes cast this year which is a bit of a surprise. is the series not still growing in popularity? do people apparently have better things to do during their quarantine lol

anyways but despite this, and despite getting 8k fewer votes overall, Kacchan still managed almost twice as many as his closest competitor. well fought, Deku. please put down that pipe

I somehow always underestimate the power of ship popularity to influence these things. but for example, it looks like Present Mic got that Vigilantes Trio bump. ride that wave for all it’s worth my man! hell, you got me on board

Iida fucking Tenya somehow got some sort of POWER BOOST out of NOWHERE which I can’t explain at all lmao, but I’m here for it. NOT BAD FOR AN OLD MAN

Sero managed to get the exact same number of votes in both 2019 and 2020. clearly the most loyal fans in the business

Mirko being all the way down at #20 is, of course, a travesty, and I hereby nominate her to be the one to punch Shindou in the face

ngl though, the lack of a single female character in the top ten hurts just a bit. it’s not overly surprising, but still. the worst part of it is that even if you kicked Shindou to the curb and moved everyone else up one slot, it would still be all dudes since Mic beat out Momo by a margin of a little more than a hundred votes. hard to stay mad at Mic for too long, though. ah well

Tomura actually lost a bunch of votes which is a genuine surprise to me. I know the villain standom isn’t as dominant in Japan as it is in Western fandom, but still. you can go ahead and punch Shindou too I guess

Tokoyami lowkey doubled his vote count over the past year while hiding down there at #18. he is slowly becoming more powerful. biding his time

anyway so I think that’s it! I mean not really, but I’m getting kind of tired lol. so just, you know, insert the usual gripes at Overhaul’s ranking here, although we can be happy about Magne making her way onto the list (r.i.p.), and Mineta and AFO taking a very satisfying slide down (all the way out, in AFO’s case; good riddance you bum). Hadou also got a huge boost which is awesome. Mustard’s persistent ownership of the #36 spot will forever remain a mystery to me, but oh well

anyways, this was fun. and I really do feel like everyone is looking away on purpose so that when Deku brains Kacchan with that pipe in about two seconds from now, there will be no witnesses, oh my fucking god

[kannra21]

I watched NBC Hannibal first 6 episodes and it's rly cool so far especially since I love crime series.

The 6th episode where Alana sits down and conducts an interview with Dr. Gideon, who is behind not only bars, but also a bulletproof glass enclosure reminds me of the scene where Clarice visits Hannibal in The Silence of the Lambs! They're even wearing the same blue onesee! 😂

I love the parallels and I love NBC's Lecter as well. I mean, Anthony Hopkins is a great actor and he did an amazing job impersonating him but Mads Mikkelsen made him less scary and more put together as a psychiatrist. Idk why I thought that Hannibal looks Russian when Mikkelsen is actually Dane. 🤣

And Will def needs a real therapy bc Lecter is just manipulating him haha but yea. I don't know much but from what I've seen Will has incredible analytical skills and Lecter enjoys hearing them bc it feeds his ego. It's like they're trying to find this copycat killer when he's been in front of their noses this entire time.

Lecter's pleasant home, gentleman-like mannerisms and elegant atmosphere makes you forget that he's a bloody-ass psychopath but that's what makes him so interesting. I think that Alana likes Will in a way and it's been implied so haha I wish her luck, they'd be sweet. I also like his relationship with Beverly btw. Idk how they're going to deal with Will's mental state considering that he's a sad man who's been exposed to the world of the dead for far too long. Bringing in changes like basic kindness and love, even if it's from a stray dog, means a lot to him. He's not the touchy kind of person and he probably doesn't appreciate hugs *exception being someone whom he trusts*, but having a companion, someone to share similar interests with would be nice.

However, Hannibal and Will are only cooperating bc he's his psychiatrist. I hope that Will can find his inner peace.

[spookyboogie3]

The trope Last Minute Hookup shouldn’t be used for LGBTQ+ relationships.

AND DEFENDING MY LAST POST ABOUT THIS.

I DO NOT hate any of these pairings. A good many of them could have been handled differently by the creators, writers, and networks. But this isnt me hating the relationships or characters or shows. Just going off about how they shouldnt have been tacked on at the end of their respective series. 

As of writing this all of these shows have ended their original runs. Except for Supernatural which is on its last few episodes. And Supergirl, which announced its coming to end with season 6.

LGBTQ characters and relationships aren’t as common in the media as straight-cis characters and relationships. Sure things are improving but a lot of networks and writers still don’t fully understand why representation is important why they can’t keep using the same throwaway tropes they’ve been using for the straight-cis relationships.

You could name any piece of media and find and name one character that isn’t LGBTQ+, but you can’t do this with LGBTQ+ characters. We haven’t gotten to the point where they are as common as non-LGBTQ characters.

I have a whole paper I wrote on why asexual representation is important to have in the media and the same logic applies to any part of the LGBTQ+ or anything that falls under minority.

Back to the topic on hand. The trope of “Last Minute Hookup.”

Its exactly what it sounds like. Characters get to together at the very end of the story. These characters could have a on and off again relationship, lots of ship teasing, the classic “Will They or Wont They?” trope. What makes it different for non-LGBT characters in relationships to do this, we know what these relationships look like. Not to say the that both Non and LGBT relationship cant have similar struggles, however members of the LGBTQ+ community know how hard it is to feel like your identity and self matters and is normal.

I know that the whole “will they, wont they” thing is done for drama and networks and showrunners think if they give the fans what they want that they’ll start losing viewers and they have nothing to look forward to. Which is true to some degree. But most of this comes from the writers not knowing how to fucking write relationships.

Let’s just focus on whats it like to be in a non-straight relationship.

Heres an example: you have an action series, with 2 male leads and halfway through the show, they get together. Cool. Now you have a Battle Couple.

By making LGBTQ relationships happen at the end of a series that’s already had plenty of other non-LGBTQ relationships happen before it, it makes it look like the people in charge don’t care for it or were afraid of backlash. But it’s the end of the series so its not like they can get the show cancelled or anything. (The only people who are going to lash out at LGBT couple or characters are homophobic people, we don’t want them around any way so just make stuff super gay, so they’ll leave)

This is especially a problem when the writer and network have spent the whole series queerbaiting the audience with these characters.

 Side note for anyone is doesn’t actually know what queerbaiting is:

It’s a marketing technique used in entertainment, which the writer or creators hint at but then don’t actually depict sex-same romance or LGBTQ representation. They do this to attract (bait) the LGBT/queer or straight ally audience into the show with the suggestion of representation but at the same time avoiding this as not alienate other audience members *cough* (homophobes) *cough*

Definition is from Wikipedia, not a reliable source says my highschool teachers and college professors but fuck em

The Legend of Korra is a great example of Last-Minute Hookup. Korra and Asami had VERY little ship teasing, and that was in the last 2 books/seasons. Any thing that was perceived as romantic came from the fans wearing shipping goggles. So to a lot of people just casually watching, yes this looked like it came out of nowhere. Nickelodeon had some serious balls to say how brave they were for putting 2 girls into a romantic relationship.

Theres a few problems with this.

A. It never actually aired on TV (to my knowledge). The last 2 seasons of Korra were put on Nicks website.

B. The confirmation that this Korrasami was canon had to come from the creators on twitter because of how unclear it was.

C. The show did the bare minimum when it came to hooking them up in the series. They walk off holding hands (very cute btw). They didn’t even get a kiss. Aang and Katara had a Last Minute Hookup at the end of ATLA after 3 seasons of ship tease and THEY GOT A KISS. Hell the original end of LoK*, has Korra and Mako kissing. *(the first season, they didn’t know they were getting more seasons at the time, no matter what you hear the writers say, they’re full of shit)

D. Anything continuation of Korra has come in the form of comics, which her and Asami are in a fairly well written relationship. Yes, they do kiss. Yes it would’ve been great to see this stuff happen in series.

A show that handles this a little bit better is Adventure Time. Not by much though. It implied several times that Princess Bubblegum and Marceline have history together and its shown more and more in its last few seasons that there is some ship tease happening. However its not until the finale where they kiss, and they are shown in the last minute of the show cuddling together in Marcy’s house. HBO has picked up Adventure Time and has a miniseries called Adventure Time: Distant Lands, where Bubblegum and Marceline’s past relationship is shown.  

I had brought up in my original post about being upset with networks making LGBTQ+ relationships canon in the last season/episode. I originally had Catradora tagged. While Catra and Adora have history together, they did not become official couple until the end of the series.

Yes, I was wrong about the network making things canon in the last episode as they’ve always had ship tease with each other, and it probably was the writers’ intent to put them together by the end. They do technically fall under the Last-Minute Hookup, however.

I wanna talk about Once Upon a Time really quick. Fans of the show were hoping and wishing for an LGBTQ couple for the show as a lot of characters, especially Regina and Emma, have alot Ho Yay moments. The showrunners weren’t going to put those two together, for whatever reasons they may have for that (im indifferent on all the shipping going on with this show). The showrunners thought to put two characters together, and hoo boy did it not make people happy. The characters they put together are Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and Ruby the red riding hood, which would be fine if they had properly been developed.

The entire episode they did this in was a mess. They stopped the current arc during the season 5 episode ‘Ruby Slippers,’ to go over the characters that haven’t been seen in years, Dorothy was introduced and last seen in season 3, and Ruby was introduced in season 1 and was last seen in season 5 before ‘Ruby Slippers’. The characters get together in the same episode the meet in and are never seen again. The characters barely interacted, barely got along, and showed little to no ship tease or interest in each other and BOOM they are in love and together aaaaaannnnndd they’re gone. Other than having One Million Moms, a Christian fundamentalist organization, protest against the show and want it taken off the air (yes this really happened). The fans weren’t please with this development of the characters either.  

(also Mulan was right there and already knew Ruby from a previous episode, and Mulan already is established to like girls as shown by her being in love with Aurora. Don’t know why the writers didn’t just put these 2 together but whatever I guess)

So they tried again in season 7 with MadArcher. The characters of Alice, a version of Alice in Wonderland from another realm (its complicated) and Robin, the daughter of Robin Hood and the Wicked Witch (it’s also complicated). And the writers did a lot better here. Both characters were allowed to have time together and have a history together too and it was done over the whole season. Not just one episode.

Now even though the writers decided to do something different with the last season and it could be detached from the previous 6 seasons, MadArcher is not really a Last Minute Hookup per say but still falls under my thing about it being the last season so who gives a fuck if One Million Moms gets mad us and tries to get us cancelled again.

 I would like to say I have never watched a single episode of Supernatural in my life. I may one day. But as of right now my knowledge of it is coming primary from what ive seen on tumblr. You know a great source for doing research and looking for reliable information among the piles of shitposting.

From what I know from fans, the writers of Supernatural have been queer baiting for years. I mean it’s the CW, I’m not that surprised. What also wouldn’t surprise me, that by the end of the series Castiel is back and he and Dean actually start and relationship or strongly hint at starting one. I actually fear for the writer lives if they threw out a confession scene after years of queerbaiting and potential ship tease (debatable) and they don’t put them together. Fans are going to be angrier than they probably ever have been with this show and the showrunners and writers really would be known for queer baiting.

From what I know about how previous shows have done and if anyone that has ever worked on this show wants to continue living, Castiel will be back from Super Hell (is that what yall are calling it?) and he will get together with Dean. And they will fall under the Last-Minute Hookup trope and my networks make LGBTQ relationships canon last season.

 One last show I want to talk about is Supergirl, which in has been recently announced that the 6th season will be the last. The show started on CBS but moved to the CW after the end of season 1. So more CW bullshit. There is no confirmation about whether the CW or any of the Supergirl writers are planning to do this, its all speculation. Supergirl is more LGBTQ friendly than some other shows on the Network. One of the main characters came out a few years ago and had a girlfriend a season and has had plenty of hookups with other ladies around the Arrowverse. They even introduced a trans-woman superhero in the form of Dreamer.

Let’s talk SuperCorp. Lena Luthor was introduced in the 2nd season and has been a major character in Kara’s life ever since her introduction. Even if she isn’t involved in the plot, Kara always goes to her to talk and check in on her and worry about her. They are best friends. Since the 2 have met, there has been plenty of Les Yay going on. The writers seem to be aware of the fans wanting SuperCorp to be canon and they keep throwing in moments like Kara and Lena struggling together or Kara carrying Lena bridal style.

Why I bring this up after the announcement of Supergirl’s final season to start next year. We may get SuperCorp. Kara has a relationship with William in the show and not a single person likes this relationship. The writers may scrap it and get put Kara and Lena together for the final season. This is a big maybe though. The Supergirl writers and crew get called out a lot for queerbaiting.

   Let me know if you guys have any other examples of last season/last episode LGBTQ+ hookup.

And please let me know if you see any mistakes. This was all done in one sitting so I may have some things wrong.

Also check out the video by @aretheygayvideos on this topic too.

undefined

[blog-of-reaction]

I take anything I ever said that was remotely nice or civil about Xue Yang back. He sucks. I excepted him to be in this more but no instead he is the center of a 2-3 episode arc that is one of the saddest and most tragic of the entire show. And this is the Untamed. A show that people really should have warned me away from it is so fucking sad. The tears are a lot. Yanli’s death was just horrible. I had kinda forgotten a bit of what happened in the first 2 episodes so went back and rewatched them once it jumped back to the 16 years later part of the story and that helped me calm down a bit. Honestly, I didn’t while watching and still don’t quite have the emotional fortitude to deal with anything that happened past episode 35. At least, anything sad that happened. I did quite enjoy drunk Wangji. And then he bought the rabbit lantern. Like, my heart. Lol the poor person who’s house they technically vandalized is going to be so confused, like at first they’ll probably just think oh some kids played a prank. But then when it’s revealed that Wei Wuxian is back and him and Hanguang Jun are inseparable they will be like “wait....” also, I really hope Wuxian put those roosters back in their cage so they didn’t run off. And just like oh my stars Lan Zhan giving him roosters ❤️❤️❤️

“Are they good?”

“Uh...yes Lan Zhan, they are very good.”

Wuxian is just so bewildered at Lan Zhans drunken love confession and he doesn’t even realize that it is one.

Oh, and Sizhui is the best. Also, him looking at the toy stand, not just at the stand but at the very same things Lan Zhan bought him way back when. And he feels safe and like he doesn’t need to be afraid or worry when he’s around either Lan Zhan or Wei Wuxian I just 😭😭😭 feels

I can’t wait for when Wuxian realizes that his little kid a-Yuan is in fact Lan Sizhui and that Lan Zhan adopted him (speaking of which I am very eager to learn how that came to be) and when Sizhui realizes it. Of, lots of feels. I can’t wait. But also it’s possible he’ll realize it just before he dies and if that happened that will be the final straw. It will be the last thing needed to break me. I will be a sobbing depressed mess just like when Elhokar died.

Fucking Xue Yang. I hate his guts. I cannot believe what he did to Xiao Xingchen. It is horrible. And Song Lan too. And little Ling. It is horrible and I hate it and why didn’t anyone tell me that for my own sanity and well being I should not watch this storming show? And the worst part, the very worst part, is the way I kind of almost get Xue Yang. I mean like, that “candy every day” it is horrible and heartbreaking and what why does this have to be so storming depressing?! Xiao Xingchen better come back please tell me he comes back. And Song Lan😭😭😭😭😭😭

On a slightly less depressing note, but still a bit depressing just in a different way, Wuxian and Jin Ling’s relationship and the way it has evolved over these episodes. I love it. Of course nothing fucking good ever lasts in this show so I think I’m in for more heartbreak.

I am going to buy a thing of Ben and Jerry’s and eat it while crying my face off. Anyone asks me what’s wrong and I’ll just tell them a stupid amazing show ruined me. Why? But seriously I love this show. The pain is worth it. (Also it activates my tear ducts when nothing else will which can be a good source of catharsis.)

Btw, Lan Xichen continues to be an amazing brother who is way to trusting because if it isn’t Jin Guangyao who is the evil mastermind I will eat Wayne’s hat (if you are familiar with the cosmere, or at least Mistborn era 2 you know how much of a statement that is, if not it is probably confusing in which case I apologize)

Like seriously, I have been betting since like, episode 23 that Jin Gaungyao is evil.

Also, I seriously expected more of Nie Mingjue. And he fucking died?! Why?! I need to watch the movie about him and Nie Huaisang even more now. He was one of my favorite tertiary characters and he died. Why? Jk I know why if it really is Jin Guangyao he probably figured it out and confronted him. But still, I am sad and upset about his death. (However he only ranks like 6th in the sad about this characters death list which actually sucks because like, Wen Qing, Yanli, Xiao Xingchen, Song Lan, Jiang Cheng (he hasn’t died yet but I know he’s going to and it is going to utterly destroy me) and Nie Mingjue. Like, this is worse than a Sanderson series finale. Literally my only comfort at this point is the knowledge that both Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian make it out the other side and end up being together forever. I am choosing to take the canon ending of the show as a precursor to what I’ve heard about the ending of the book. So in my mind the show ends, they get married and get a farm and are happy for the rest of their lives together. But that is literally the only good thing I know will last. I don’t like this show. That’s a lie I love this show.

[tsuncda]

book trope tag game

thanks for tagging me @amortensie! your choices were all superb, btw. 

tagging: anyone who’s a reader and wants to do this!

— what are your top 5 book tropes?

in no particular order...

found family/sibling bonds (i come from a large family myself, so really what i just love is seeing wildly different people interacting and creating strong relationships with one another. it’s about the bickering and the solemn vows and the willingness to die for the other even though you find them annoying as hell. a good example would be the pevensies from narnia or the crows from six of crows.)

rivals (or begrudging allies) to lovers (it’s about the fact that they probably hate each other for stupid, arbitrary reasons that get broken down and you realize it’s actually just self-hate, and through the course of their story we get to see them accept themselves and accept the other and-)

vengeance turn tragic acceptance (this is the one where the ~mysterious`~ character is out for revenge for something that happened to someone they care about deeply, and through the entire story they have people who are trying to tell them that revenge probably isn’t the healthiest coping mechanism, and in the end, it ends with them crying and really leaning on the friends they’ve made on the way to cope with the tragedy of it all. you know what i’m talking about. it’s the good stuff. an easy example would be katara in the southern raiders episode.)

generational saga (this is the one where you read the story of the main character, then the main characters kids, then the main characters grandkids. it’s the legacy theme for me, and the general chaos of the main character’s family. a good example would be the warrior cats series or even the hobbit and the lord of the rings.)

friends to lovers (we all knew we were getting here. it’s about how they’re already so in it. they both care so much, and they have the history that makes them so comfortable with the other. it’s about the mutuals pining (a close 6th trope) and the way they just know each other. so precious. so sweet. an example, you ask? how about jacin x winter from the lunar chronicles? i remember that being good.)

— what book tropes do you hate?

in no particular order...

jealous mean girl as an obstacle in main couple’s relationship (nixie got it right when she mentioned this one. it’s tired. can’t girls be more than a part of a petty rivalry over a man?)

miscommunication (i hate it with every fibre of my being when things could be fixed if two people actually talked to each other. it’s especially bad when it’s used as drama in a love story because ohmygod,,,,, how did you two get together in the first place if you can’t carry a cONVERSATION. it’s doubly bad when one person tries to explain but the other is just like,,,,, “i don’t want to hear it. all you do is lie.” like,,,, lisTEN AND MAYBE IT WILL MAKE SENSE.)

“i have brothers” (did you guys know that it’s possible for girls to have interests in things that aren’t particularly feminine for no other reason than they find them interesting? did you know that women are able to like and fix cars? and like football? and throw knives or whatever the hell else? wild concept, am i right?)

woman gets killed off so man can have a vengeance arc (now this might sound hypocritical since i love a good vengeance arc but here’s the difference - good revenge happens because the one who died had an actual personality and wants and needs. area man who loses his beau is 90% of the time a forced backstory and it’s done so main villain can be bitter about something. the woman who was actually killed off has little to no appearance in the story, and she’s only ever talked about as the bad thing that happened to a poor boy who was once good and is now justifying murder. i’m tired. have you ever heard about depth??)

— if you could live one book trope, which would it be?

idk if this is a trope, but the quest. just going on a soul searching trip with my bffs, saving a town along the way, creating a found family, and dealing with the life changing quest and finally settling down at the end of the story, sitting in your house and writing all of your adventures down.... yeah.

[huntress-of-stories-and-dreams]

Shokugeki no Soma: Fifth Plate - OP analysis

Hi guys! 

Since this week’s episode will be the last before the delay that has touched half of this Spring Season’s aired shows, let me present you the analysis of Shokugeki no Sōma’s last opening, “Last Chapter” by nano.RIPE. Keep in mind that this analysis will contain spoilers, so...

If this doesn’t stop you, then let the fun begin.

The OP starts with a purple curtain with Tōtsuki’s emblem, showing that the story happens in the theatre called the Tōtsuki Academy. It’ll be important a bit later.

This shot (and some smaller ones concentrating on smaller groups) presents the established after the Regiment de Cuisine Elite Ten Council and new Headmaster. From right to left, it shows them in their seat order:

10th Seat: Megumi Tadokoro playing plates, which represent her famous hospitality

9th Seat: Nene Kinokuni playing a roller used in soba preparation

8th Seat: Etsuya Eizan shaking expensive wine bottles, showing his “Alchemist” side

7th Seat: Takumi Aldini holding his mezzaluna

6th Seat: Alice Nakiri dancing with a fork and a spoon, used in eating her molecular cuisine

5th Seat: Ryō Kurokiba with a pot used in cooking sea food

4th Seat: Akira Hayama playing on a frying pan with cinnamon

3rd Seat: Terunori Kuga playing his wok

2nd Seat: Satoshi Isshiki with chopsticks and a plank to serve his signature Japanese food

1st Seat: Sōma Yukihira holding his knife

Dean: Erina Nakiri conducting them with a ladle

The lyrics in this sequence is worth noting (source: https://www.animesonglyrics.com/food-wars-the-fifth-plate/last-chapter):

How beautiful the melody has to be To be able to reach that girl who's been hurt The girl is obviously Erina, hurt by her father’s ‘teaching’ and people’s attitude towards her becasue of the God Tongue, who, thanks to Sōma’s and their friends’ (but mostly Sōma’s) cooking, starts to enjoy cooking. This is the beautiful melody - sincere cooking.

One last note about the lyrics, because if I analysed it in its entirety, it would take me ages - the song is sung most likely from Sōma’s persperctive.

The next shot shows Tōtsuki Academy hill on spring, sigifying the new year (most of our chefs are second years now) and new beginnings. At the front are the three Headmasters, though from Nakiri household, each of them is different. Senzaemon stands tranquil and firm, looking at the Jewel generations students, Azami looks as if he was trying to convince the world to change their ways - both of them are sure of their work, unlike Erina, who’s hands hugging her body and darkened eyes show her uncertainty.

Next is the title panel, swiftly transitioning from fire to snow to finally sparkles and cherry blossom, showing Sōma’s path from conquering (usually he was the one to bring fire) to protecting - this will be important later. Also, Sōma seen in this frame has just begun to cook his dish.

After the title, let’s skip to the big character exposition panels! First we have the peach themed frame with Nakiri girls: Erina, Alice, Ikumi (who, at the beginning, was working for the God Tongue) and Hisako. The peach may represent feminity, as there are only girls in here, and luck.

Next one’s the Polar Star Dormitory group shot with all of its residents present, with apples in the background. While apples may refer to various dishes cooked by Sōma and Megumi that included these fruits, apple symbolises youth, which is often brought up by Isshiki, Madame Fumio and Jun Shiomi. 

Then we have a lemon-themed shot with Sōma’s “rivals” (apart from Isami, he never was battling Sōma on his own - it’s a reference from their first encounter during the Hell Camp). One of lemon’s symbolisms is freshness, which perfectly fits each of their meetings, bringing freshness into their lives.

Finally, with cherries signifying maturity, we get to see the original Elite Ten Council members. 

Each group pannel is separated by a dish frame. It’s important that only the white backgrounded frame has dishes prepared by various cooks - the rest were cooked by (from upper left to right) Sōma, Erina, Megumi and Takumi. This shows their strong connection forged in the Tōtsuki Train arc, where they were together, and predicts all of them participating in BLUE.

Until now there was no clear shots focusing on strictly Sōma - now’s the time they are here. We get shots from his early past, reminding us also of the Karaage Wars arc, and from Stagiaire. Each time he’s standing in the bright light, surrounded by cherry petals, symbolising him being ‘spring’, beginning of the new era. The light here is very bright and yellom, as if he was standing on a stage - remember the opening shot with the curtain? Sōma is this story’s main hero, the one that iniciated the whole process of change in Tōtsuki.

The contrast between Eishi and Sōma in this frame is spectacular - gourmet cuisine vs family diner, autumn vs spring, showing how Sōma became Eishi’s successor to the First Seat in the Elite Ten Council. Look at how gorgeous they look with flying maple leaves and cherry petals flying around them!

(keep in mind Tsukasa’s red kerchief/tie, this will be important later)

The sequence right before the chorus is so full of hidden meanings! The first frame of this sequence is Sōma, standing in the light, probably on the top, reminescenting. His signature headband, now on his left wrist, is connected to...

... his late mother, Tamako Yukihira! This is the first time we actually get to see her, besides the covered in light family photo from the very first episode. I love the gentle difference of colour shades between Sōma and Tamako - Sōma is bright as the light around him while dim shades of Tamako imply her being already in the realm of shadows, however she returns for a brief moment to life everytime he starts cooking. The frame is full of love and support Sōma got from her, showing how important she was in his life. His signature headband is most likely a memento of her - it’s the thing that keeps them tied after all these years.

It quickly changes to Erina tasting one of Sōma’s dishes, seemingly taking pleasure from it. This screen (and two others, each getting closer to Erina’s blushed face) indicates Sōma’s desire to make Erina say ‘delicious’ - she’s the one he wants to make happy with his cooking. His mother was first btw :)

Sōma’s knife is brightened by cherry petals - it shows his power coming from his cooking, cumulated in the cutting edge. This is the blade of change.

Finally, Asahi Saiba appears! As you can see, he’s the one surrounded by flames, it’s not Sōma anymore. The leader of Noirs is the one who wants to disturb the balance. There is also some similarities between him and Sōma - their cooking look is similar, probably because both of them were raised (though differently) by Jōichiro. Also, he has a signature red kerchief around his neck, similarly to Eishi, however his kerchief isn’t loose on his neck, it’s tight and Asahi used it to cover his face, also covering his true intentions.

This shot presents the famous BLUE fortress where the contest takes place. The frame shows the entire building, particularly the final building where the Bookmaster is staying, in the fantastic blue light, not calming as it may look like, but giving the one looking at it chills of excitement. The moon also reminds of the Autumn Selection and the Moon Banquet, taking place at approximately the same time as BLUE.

Erina, held by Asahi surrounded by Noirs, is clue to one of this arc’s plot, as her freedom depends on Sōma’s ability to win against Asahi. Yes, it looks like she’s the damsel in distress - it’s direct parallel to Erina being ‘imprisoned’ by her father.

There’s also a group shot of all of the WGO judges that we have met and the ones that we’ll meet during BLUE, of course on a blue background.

This frame is very intriguing. There is a silhouette visible behind the two fighting cooks - it’s Mana Nakiri, Erina’s mother and the Bookmaster, the one behind all of this. There is an astonishing contrast between Asahi and Sōma - Yukihira wields a single, pink (like the cherry petals) blade while Saiba has two, which refers to his special ability, the Cross Knives.

Finally, FINALLY Sōma gets his presenting shot. It’s worth mentioning that Erina was the first one to be presented - this is yet another way of showing their connection. She’s the beginning, he’s the end. Or maybe the other way? 

In both this and the following frame we can also see Sōma being on the top/looking at his opponent from the top, foreshadowing his victory against Asahi in BLUE.

This screen presents the two possible destinies of Erina: the upper is with Sōma by her side - most of their bonding moments take place under the starry night, so this shot is really meaningful, the nether - Erina as Asahi’s bride. While they both stand in the same place, the upper destiny seems more realistic, as the nether looks like a mere reflection of what could happen and the duo from the top is the one that moves a bit the water.

Note: Sōma and Erina were supposed to get married at the end of the series, but creators didn’t have enough space. The couple however has been claimed as canon.

This is the final group shot of all Tōtsuki students we came to love, watching sakura blossom at night. It’s simply beautiful, watching their silhouettes near the bright water, cherry blossom and Tōtsuki Academy. This frame is full of love and reminescense...

The penultimate frame is a direct continuation of the ‘destiny’ shot. Sōma and Erina are standing here, together. It’s gorgeous, beautiful, showing how close they have become and that a bright future awaits them, written in the stars. The lighting of this frame, warm and delicate, gives us a sense of intimacy and fondness.

The last shot presents a dim silhouette of Sōma who ended his cooking (it’s the position we often got to see either on the episode’s numer frame or at the end of the episode) and, most importantly, Sōma walking away in the sunlight. It predicts Sōma’s parting from Tōtsuki to travel around the world, just like Jōichiro once did, but with a difference.

There is no storm to swallow chefs who want to reach the top.

Sōma and his cooking dispersed it, saving himself, his friends and Erina from it.

[zeravmeta]

Ok so, my thoughts on the VR ending and VR overall as the 6th entry.

Also because most of my thoughts aren't...complimentary im editing the names so they dont appear in the general tag. This also got LONG so readmore.

The Good:

- A//i's character still managed to be the one thing that saves VR as a show for me. Even with all the weird...contradictory plot issues, A//i still manages to be a compelling character who brings up the question of the right to live. I actually do like how he made it so itd be an ultimatum that he loses in either way, even if the ending kinda ruins the weight behind the action (which I will get to in a bit).

The meh:

-the ending was left somewhat open to interpretation which for a show as...empty as this was works out but honestly it was so vague as to A//is fate is that it may as well not exist.

The Bad:

-The main conflict behind the entire show is...simulations. No joke. Every conflict in the show can be traced back to someone doing a simulation and deciding to lose it. Even if they gave the (rather stupid) explanation that AI experience simulations like actual life (which btw the first villain wasnt an AI so this reason doesnt work), the fact that Yu//sa//ku took a bullet for one of A//is robot bodies that he literally has millions of is...just stupid and there solely for the "uwu drama".

-They actually killed A//i off but wait hes actually alive, so like the final duel literally had no purpose aside from...drama??? The episode is called Compromise and yet A//i had to lose just to keep Yu//sa///kus win streak and theres no compromise whatsoever. Yu//sa//ku litetally destroys the CompromA.I.se card so its just, no comrpomise in any way.

-This....wasn't a happy ending??? I have no idea why both the show and the fanbase frame this as a happy ending bc think about it in context: A//i pretty much loses everything, so does Yu//sa//ku who just isolated himself from everyone else for 3 months in order to comb the network for whatever remnants of A//i exist.

- So many of the supporting characters are just...there. Like, there is no side/supporting character who actually has a character arc in this show. Lets go through the list: Ao//i is pretty much the same character as when she started and goes through 2 unnecessary costume changes for a character growth that isnt there because she has literally ONE victory against an opponent that was stated multiple times to be weak and faulty and have her lose and tortured multiple times for no reason whatsoever, G//o had this weird deterioration that may have lead to something but ultimately didn't, Ak//ira is pretty much the same, J//in has ALL HIS TRAUMA ERASED SO THERES THAT, literally the only side characters who have some sembalnce of an arc are Sho//ichi (the best one anyways) from his "betrayal" in S2, and E//ma with her reconciliation with her brother. Outside of that, nothing. Yu//sa//ku, Re//volv//er and Ho//mu//ra are pretty much the only characters with an arc and even then they're not too solid? Which brings me to-

- Yu//sa//ku has been so wildly ooc since the end of S1. Ive seen so many say that his enphasis on bonds and friendship are character growth but actually looking at the sequence of events he suddenly just like. changes completely around his first duel with Ea//rth. Plus, the message of "revenge is good" was always so weird? Like, he got his revenge so all his trauma is ok now and never brought up or explored again aside from within the first 20 episodes. Theres nothing about it after that and its never built upon. The whole point of a revenge arc is to show that its BAD and yet he starts preaching that revenge is wrong AFTER he successfully gets revenge??? And even then its not exactly a revenge as it is more lashing out since it was Ko//ga//mi who was behind it all. Yu//sa/ku was definitely at his strongest characterization in S1 where we see how badly the Lo//st Incid//ent hurt him but S1 had its own share of problems that led into S2 and so many random plot threads that never went anywhere (such as the Anot//her Incid//ents, the Cy//berse deck being irl despite that A//i didnt have a physical body before then, The Bl//ue Mai//den meetup that was repeated by Nao//ki like 10 times in S2 which seemed to be leading up to something but never did, and the fact that theres 4 recap episodes in S1 already spelled some early problems). So much of the supporting cast function to just say "he turned this whole situation around...with ONE card..." i kid you not watch back every Yu//sa//ku duel I GUARANTEE you'll see someone saying hes a great duelist and serve only that purpose. ALSO THE END OF THE SHOW IS JUST MORE DRAMA?? They make him suffer for no reason other than that they can??? What purpose does his suffering at the end serve aside from just "uwu...poor baby..."???

-Re//volv//er is not a good rival. At all. He's so incredibly bland because much like Yu//sa//ku he was at his strongest characterization in S1 where he actually had some solid motivation in continuing his fathers work and being unable to accept that his dad was evil, yet most of that just flies out the window with all the collateral he's willing to inflict with the K//O//H?? All his character amounts too post S1 is "yeah i told you robots are evil and YOU didnt believe me". The most we got of him growing out of this mindset was calling A//i by his name exactly one time and nothing ever again. Also the fact that in the end we see him and his crew working for S//O//L despite the fact that they were gonna turn themselves in for their crimes just. leaves a rotten taste in my mouth. hes not a good rival at all. All he proves to me is that a good design can get anyone to like a character.

- Ho//mu//ra is...there. I literally cant say anything about him because he absolutely has the strongest motivations of the three but then the show jumps through hoops to push him to the back of the other two. He also has a bunch of early victories I do feel are undeserved (ESPECIALLY the A//oi duel that one pissed me off so much). Also the fact that the show just made him Yu//sa//kus friend immediately whereas it took Sho//ichi several months to get Yu//sa//ku to warm up to him just had me :/.

-The speed duels were a cool concept but they just became these huge cheat fests? Seriously Play//Maker uses StAccess literally every speed duel to pull out a new monster from whatever plot holes the writers need to patch up. I am not kidding. You can go back to every single speed duel Yu//sa//ku was in and youll see this. Skills just werent a good mechanic because when a protag pulls a new card its supposed to be representative of some growth/characterization but he stays the same pretty much throughout the entire show up until S2 where he wildly just switches personality. Plus the fact that Que//en could literally use a skill whenever just shows that it was cheating???

- The villains were overall lackluster. Boh//man was the best because Re//volv//er is just flat whereas A//i struck me more as an anti hero. And again: simulations are the enemy. Light//ning ran one and decided to go ham. Kog//ami ran one and decided to go ham. A//i ran one and decided to go ham. The conflicts are all the same and it just makes things happen rather than following a consistent plot thread? I will say that Boh//mans characterization of a hive mind to become perfect does strike my tastes but thats more my personal preference in villains rather than any merit he has.

- This is a bit of a personal pet peeve but I've seen some of the praise to this show about being the "darkest Y//G//O to date so therefore its good" and im just...no? Edge does not make a good show and just because they lightly focused on the tragedy in Yu//sa//kus life (and it IS lightly because its barely touched upon after mid S1) most of the stuff that happens in this show is pretty tame in comparison? The most that happened here was an attempted global hack of everyones minds from S2 and destroying the internet in S1, with a few references to the torture that happened during the Lo//st incid//ent. To compare: the previous series had this huge interdimensional war that, even if they could reverse the carding of people (which makes Den//nis' attempted suicide even more tragic), ended with an entire dimensions full of brainwashed soldier children, a dimension with huge class inequality that was still being heavily worked upon since there were canonically slaves, and a dimension that was savaged by a genocide and total global destruction. Hell, the series before that had a huge war where the arc actually did focus on the tragedys the characters faced and held consequence (even if they pulled a dbz revive everyone at the end). And as far back into the very first series there were even more graphic depictions of war and death? Idk i feel like people are overplaying the edge here just to find a way to complement this show.

Overall:

I'm...genuinely dissappointed. VR really had so many strong starting points but it all just fell apart at execution. Really the only reason I even bothered to watch it as kong as I did was because Im a longtime fan of the series and wanted to give it a chance rather than jump on whatever love/hate train the show has. Its been rated poorly on the JP side and most of the approval is a vocal minority. Just to be clear: this isnt me bashing the show, my opinions are mine and you can agree or disagree to any capacity, and even if a show isnt well written you can still find a reason to enjoy it despite the flaws.

But if Im being perfectly honest? I do not like this show. It's rushed, choppy, has no consistent or clear plot threads, most of the genuinely interesting characters are wasted for the protagonist to look better and he never really does because he ALSO has an interesting idea behind him but it never goes anywhere. It started strong but ended so poorly. Id be angry but im more dissappointed because Ive watched this show from day 1 and wanted to see the good things it has rather than focus on the negatibes but. yeah. This show really had potential and yet it just fell flat.

[polar-stars]

So more then 1/6th of S4 is out of the way and its still the third bout... But this a JC staff production so pacing doesn't mean anything to them despite being the last of any new episode set for the series for the rest of our lives.... Any ideas of what the anime exclusive ending is going to be like or do we have to rely more on fan fiction??

Honestly, the moment when it was announced that it’s going to be 24 episodes...my hope for an anime-only ending kinda died? The anime as been following the manga’s story to a tee up until this point and I just find it kind off hard to imagine that they will actually completely break out of manga-canon once RDC is concluded and do something entirely different. (even if that would be GREAT. Like don’t get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing against an anime-only ending....I wish for one, to be precise. But I just don’t have my hopes up very high onto that)

But let’s say JC staff has noticed that the BLUE Arc has nothing in common with Shokugeki no Soma anymore and that it’s been not received well either, which makes them approach an anime-only ending once RDC is over.

I could imagine that they would still adapt the Hot Spring Arc, plus the Beach Arc (with Asahi removed from it...ah, that would be a sweet dream) because that stuff tonish-wise still holds resemblance to Shokugeki no Soma I’d say. Then they might focus on rushed conclusion and bringing the 92nd with rather quick pacing through year 2 and year 3 and for the last episode they would remember Soma’s goal to overcome Jou and do that 🤷🏻‍♀️ It wouldn’t be perfect but it would be better than what we got still. It’s really just very unlikely speculation to me tho, but that’s what I could imagine to happen if they were to do an anime-only ending. It’s not how I would do it btw, but yeah. 

[moviestorian]

Les Mis BBC final thoughts

Alright, on monday I finished the 6th and last episode of the most recent, mini-series adaptation of Les Misérables. I was slightly hesitant about posting my thoughts (mostly because of the tag being largely dominated by negativity; any effort to post anything else seemed kind of pointless to me), but I eventually decided to go for it. I still wanted the entire show to sit in for a while (I also want to do a rewatch, because I can't guarantee that my feelings remain the same; I might just as well change my opinions completely). But let's begin!

Tldr; Also, unpopular opinion alert: I actually enjoyed it. A lot. I genuinely liked the miniseries. Yes, there were some choices and things I wasn't exactly fond of, but I have the same thing about literally every single adaptation I have seen so far (mostly thinking of the stage musical and 2012 film). Cause you know, you can like something and still see its flaws, and the other way round - you can dislike it and yet admit it is not inherently bad.

Now, the longer "review" comes in. It's gonna be reaaaally long. Also: spoilers.

The negatives/things I'm indifferent about/what could have been better:

- I'm following the popular trend of disliking that font. I care a lot about cinematography and visual parts of films and shows, so I wasn't satisfied with this particular choice. They could do better, honestly.

- For most of the time, the music was a bit meh. Nothing really striking or to hate, but compared to the War&Peace 2016 soundtrack (which was amazing!), this one was very undermining. There were some individual songs I liked a lot, though.

- The overall cinematography was ok. Again, nothing super special, but there were some pretty nice shots, too. I had some minor objections about cgi in a few scenes, but let's that the 2012 film wasn't exactly flawless in this aspect, too... If not worse.

- Ok, confession time & another unpopular opinion alert: I genuinely think the script is not half as bad as some people on this site try to tell everyone and the majority of their issues is either exaggerated to an enormous extent or comes from a huge prejudice. Or a general but pretty clear misinterpretation of certain scenes. Having said that, I had issues with the script, too. Davies did a waaay better job with his W&P, really. Although I actually like some of his changes or narrative choices, there is one thing I can't exactly ignore: how certain scenes were pure exposition. I think it got better in the later episodes, but I spotted at least two(!) examples just in episode one alone. Davies, being the experienced author as he is, should really know that it's not a good way to write scenes, especially in the first episode (which is supposed to encourage the viewers to keep watching). There's nothing more annoying to me than being treated, as a viewer, as a person who needs a straight-in-your-face explaination of what’s happening on screen.

- Another fairly popular trend: the brothel & the wet dream sequences. Even though I expected both of these to be A LOT worse, given what the fandom was saying (exaggerating again), and I don't think they are "out of character" or unrealistic in terms of the setting, I tried to cut these out from the episode (in my head ofc). And I think we could do without them; the brothel scene could remain in the final cut, but I would make it way shorter.

- What I REALLY disliked: a minor thing, but it bugged me a lot. I mean the main dialogue being in English, and the background dialogue in French. Christ, how I hate when they do such stuff in the movies...(thankfully the main characters didn't try to pull off their fake French accent, that would be even worse) Either you do it in French, or in English. One has to be consistent.

- The pissing scene in ep1 was...weird.

- Valjean being mean to Gavroche.

- The timeline was sometimes a bit odd, if not crazy, but could’ve been way worse (nothing can surpass P0ldark and its weirdly ageing children and even more weirdly, or not at all ageing adults)

- Valjean firing Fantine left me with very mixed feelings. On the one hand, I think it makes sense narratively, in this particular adaptation, it’s also not the first one who makes Valjean responsible for Fantine’s misery (to a smaller or bigger extent). On the other one, it’s not a choice I’m super happy about so...

Now, let's move on to the positives!

- Excellent choice in casting. I think all of the actors did a solid job. Obviously they had some veteran, experienced or acclaimed actors like Bradley, Sumpter, Jacobi, Colman, West... You couldn't expect any less from them. BUT there were also some younger and fresh faces, who's interpretations of their characters I really loved - Lily Collins, Erin Kellyman, Reece Yates, Josh O'Connor. Liked Joseph Quinn and Ellie Bamber a lot, too, especially the former. Obviously, I cannot NOT mention David Oyelowo! He was particularly impressive in the last episode.

- You have no idea how grateful I am for the entire Pontmercy storyline, honestly. I have so many feelings about Georges Pontmercy it's not even funny. Also baby Marius!!! Huge props for the Marius/Guillenormand dynamics.

- Fantine's storyline. I love the focus on her in this adaptation, and instead of merely showing her "downfall", we got to see her entire background story and many faces of her character. From naivety and joyful innocent to her determination to survive, and, finally, her desperate attempts to feed her daughter. I love that we got to see a glimpse of her relationship with Cosette. I love that, heartbreaking as that scene was, we got to see the moment of her leaving her child with the Thénardiers. Loved that she was also outspoken at times. I really felt for her in this series. Naturally, I always do have tons of empathy for Fantine, she's one of my favourite characters in general, but I found Lily Collins' version to be particularly relatable.

- Btw: I disagree that Fantine and Cosette were overly "sexualized" or fetishized. And don't even get me started on the supposed "sexual undertones" between Cosette and Valjean, cause this is utter bullshit.

- I actually liked the relationship between Cosette and her Papa, especially when she was little!

- I loved Gavroche in this adaptation. I'm usually not a huge fan of his, but Reece was so charming and impossible to resist!

- All the side characters (good or bad) we finally got to see at least for a while! I already mentioned the Pontmercies, but I also mean: Petit Gervais, Tholomyès and his gang (+Favourite and Zephine), Azelma, Gavroche's little brothers, Mabeuf, even Victurnien. And Sister Simplice, I love that woman. And Rivette. 😁

- Huge thumbs up for portraying the Thénardiers as the evil/malicious people they were (but not one-dimensional, esp. Madame Th.) instead of as some comic relief only.

- Contrary to the popular opinion, I count Les Amis as the positives. I actually think that narrowing down the number of the students to focus on was a good choice (like, excuse me, but giving a few lines to a character in an ensemble song is not enough to give them personality. Even in the book some hardly had one). And guess what? I legit cared more about this Enjolras or this Courfeyrac than in other adaptations. I liked Quinn's version of Enjolras more than I like Hugo's original character. This is obviously a personal preference, but to me personally Quinn's slightly toned down version, sort of a hybrid of Enjolras and Combeferre was way more appealing (I also think Quinn had more innocence and wide-eyedness in his eyes and face than some most popular actors who have played the role. To me, the accurate hair colour is the least sygnificant thing, honestly. Especially that some of the fans' favourites hardly fit the book description in that aspect).

- The Enjolras/Grantaire execution scene.

- Small interactions between Enjolras and Courfeyrac. Especially the ones in the final moments of the resistance. Oh my...

- Overall, the barricade scenes were very good.

- I liked Marius a lot, which is quite a thing! I loved that we got the awkward, but still adorable side of his. I had seen Josh in The Riot Club and I remember him being good but not memorable; I was impressed with his performance in Les Mis, he was so different!

- Erin's Éponine broke my heart. Especially in episode 5, she was fantastic. So many expressions in her eyes; I loved her fidgety hand moves, too!

- I appreciate that they started the show with something other than the galleys/bishop Myriel. That was a nice and quite refreshing take.

What else do I like about this adaptation? That it revived my passion for Les Mis; that it made me want to reread the book (or certain chapters at least), rewatch the 2012 film, listen to songs from the musical, check out other adaptations. That it’s gonna bring new people to the fandom. And, whether you like it or not, it DOES offer new interpretations of the characters and actually does give a fresh take. Every adaptations gives us something new to discuss, this one included. I also don’t believe it’s the worst thing that ever happened to Les Mis or whatever; I happen to think it actually is a good adaptation overall. Is it flawless or 100% accurate in everything? No, because it’s impossible to turn such a huge and detailed book into a 100% faithful adaptation; also it’s really not what the adaptations are for. I too would have added/cut out some stuff from various versions of Les Mis, but this is because it’s my interpretation; the fact that we imagine some things differently does not mean that other people’s interpretations are bad.

Since films and tv shows belong to the visual media, I think that Les Mis BBC could have done better in that aspect - I wasn’t exactly satisfied with it, as I wasn’t exactly over the moon about some choices in the script. It’s not a masterpiece, but I never expected it to be one; neither it is a “piece of shit”. Despite its flaws, I still found the miniseries to be very enjoyable and I will gladly rewatch it in the near future. I feel that it might even become one of my favourite adaptations(I will decide once I’ve seen them all, or most of them!), save for the interpretation of JVJ, which could’ve been better tbh. For me, it’s a nice 7,5/10

[eienias20]

The 100 Season 5

I’ve been wanting to get into The 100 and talk about the latest season. This would probably be more effective in video format but I’m lazy XD

That aside, this won’t be super in depth but it will have spoilers so y’know. Steer clear! The season ended a few weeks ago but you can never be too careful!

So first off.

The season was amazing. The 100 is a show I honestly did not expect to captivate me as such. Season 1 I started watching on the premise alone cause it sounded interesting. And though there were rough bits early on (Octavia’s first appearance being super awkward) I grew to enjoy it and by the end I just wanted to see what would happen next! I mean. They found Mount Weather (sort of) where to now?

Oh boy. Season 2.

All the seasons from 1 onward solidified The 100 as a show that just does things no other show I’ve seen will do. Clarke roasting all the Grounders at the end of Season 1 was pretty nuts but that just doesn’t compare to what she and Bellamy do to Mount Weather at the end of Season 2 like holy shit. That kinda stuff just doesn’t happen XD

Between that, the AI and Praimfaiya we get to season 5 that i truly didn’t know what to expect.

Real talk when I first saw the ship at the end of season 4 after the timeskip I assumed “prisoner transport” meant whoever owned the ship captured Bellamy and company. “Whoever” being aliens. Not so. That was surprise number 1. Surprise number 2 was everything else about Season 5.

Seeing where everybody went like woah. They all changed so much yet not at all.

I really do love Clarke, she’s a great main. However Season 5 was the one that had me questioning her the most. I’ve been on Clarke’s side for every decision EXCEPT seizing the Bunker towards the end of Season 4. That wasn’t cool. Aside from that, she was always right. Season 5 was kinda half and half. Why? Well my next point...

Bloodreina! Octavia. By the Architect she was at her absolute prime this entire season. I can’t believe how much I like Octavia. Then again same could be said for quite a few characters who went from love to hate and hate to love and back and forth.

She was my favorite this season and I could not stand how the show and characters seemed to keep painting her as the villain. I was on her side all the way. I don’t know if that’s the unpopular opinion but come on, all she’s done?

I mean. I’m still pissed that after SIX YEARS of leading Wonkru and keeping them united through so many terrible events and choices she had to do in the bunker, the SECOND a Nightblood shows up, the Grounders are like “Well. What have you done for me lately?” There is just no loyalty there at all.

I never let that dislike affect how I viewed...Maddie? I forget how to spell it. Madi? I actually liked the kid, it was how everyone else reacted to her that I couldn’t stand. Especially being such a big Octavia fan.

Yeah, Octavia did some things that were like “Woah. Don’t go that far” but Clarke did as well in the past. And heck, Clarke and Bellamy killed that one lady with the worms for NOTHING. So y’know. Not cool.

Kane. Kane. Kane. This guy. Love to hate to love to hate, he ended season 5 with hate. “I won’t let the devil into this garden” Oh sure. After all she did for you. And even on his deathbed what does he do? Place all the blame squarely on Octavia. He can’t even die with dignity (tho he isn’t dead. i expect an apology bro)

and Clarke’s mom was losing it. I couldn’t stand her in the finale either. Octavia shouldered all the hate and criticism of all the things she did. (The Dark Year anyone? Gosh that was scary) and she did it cause Abby convinced her too but she gets none of the hate or blame for it. I mean she probably blames herself too but there wasn’t enough in that confrontation during the finale for me.

Basically everything I dislike had to do with Octavia’s treatment and how people disliked her for keeping them together?

ANYWAY. The plot. Gosh. Prisoners in cryo sleep wake up, land in the only survivable land and go to war with Wonkru. I didn’t see that coming and its really interesting how the villains were handled this season. Diyoza and McCreary were both really interesting.

And the whole season had me guessing as to who would get Eden. I couldn’t predict it no matter how hard I tried. The expected answer is Wonkru but The 100 always pulls the unexpected and boy did they.

Quick note. I had no idea McCreary actually died. I think Clarke stomps on him and that’s it? She does say “You’ll never meet your daughter” but it still felt super unclear. Wiki says he was killed soooo okay.

Eden getting nuked had me go WTF. I thought that Raven or Shaw was gonna fly the transport ship into the “nuke” sacrificing themselves to preserve Eden but nope. They got the fuck out and there goes the garden. Shallow Valley I know but Eden is quicker.

The cryosleep idea to wait for the half life to end and Eden to return was cool. But of course the 100 was like “oh you’d think that”

I was an emotional wreck during the ending with Clarke and Bellamy watchiing Harper and Monty as they told them what they were doing and how things were going.

Like. It was happy at first but it just hit me and hit me and THEM each time Monty and Harper came back on screen and were older. There is one moment I remember when the video flashes on but the camera is on Clarke. And this look in her eyes as she sees the older Monty. Gosh i’m getting teary eyed just thinking about it.

I was wondering the whole season why no one got into the missing Eligius mission. I think Shaw knew what came of it? He smiled when Raven said she couldn’t get into the data on it.

Anyway, the war was going on. Too busy.

But i mean. Earth is dead and the remnants of humanity, 100+ years later are now moving to another planet. Wow. Much like the latest season of SHIELD I would have been completely okay with this being the series finale but nope. END BOOK ONE and season 6 confirmed has me like

WELLL WHAT NOW

Look, this whole post was an excuse to gush about the 100 and cry again about that incredible season finale. I don’t have enough words to get across how much I love this show. Which btw, the shorter season length was a brilliant idea. A lot of shows struggle with effectively using 24 episodes for a season, even some of my favorite shows. With how well The 100 used this, I know to look even more forward to SHIELD’s 6th season which will be the same length.

Anyway I think I’m out of things to say. If you wanna discuss anything else about the 100 or bring up anything you felt about Season 5 that i didn’t cover cause i didn’t cover a lot. Feel free too! I’d love to chat more about it.

[amazingsphelon]

09/14/2020

Hello again guys! For todays episode I’ll be posting multiple follow up

individual OC art characters from my Gijinka Pokemon series. It’s just

down to two btw.

Link of the original previous post:

Gijinka Pokemon 1st 4 Update

Gijinka WIP Update:

Gijinka Sketches (1st Post)

————————————————- Finally introducing my 6th and final Gijinka OC: Hanzo Hatoori, The Shadow's Nature Ninjask!

**The Sketch above is one of my 2nd n 3rd Gijinkas to draw along side anoldest version of Aedris. which kinda looked goofy on my books.

anyways you get the pic....

============================================

Hanzo- The Ninjask** based on Hanzo Hatoori

Age: 27 **he looks younger though abit

———————————–

Attacks: **He has a Katana Blade that allows him to cast more movesets

outside the Ninjask moveset line.

X-Scissor, Fury Cutter, Slash, Secret Power (fire base)

Human Fighting Style:

Ninjitsu + Iga -Ryu

Origin Similarities: Japan

Likes: His master (A humanize Shedinja), His clan, novelty and his status and staying often hidden in the shadows unrevealed for his anonymity.

Dislikes: **To be Written Soon. nothing much is particularly known even

though with friends around him (especially the 7 closest friends he got

outside his clan, and perhaps their might be more...!) Though Aeshi and

Sigmund might have appear to know more about his secrets.

============================================

This is one of those designs I didn't do a redesign for how I

automatically enjoy the way he looks. I basically just based him on

Samurai Showdown's Hanzo Hatoori and just put the Ninjask concept in just

for good to go!

**All designs and behind design. the only thing I actually forget coloring is his mail...but oh well.

**Armor design and some armor design**

Sword design also based on the Ninjask’s design.

and of all the 6 Gijinkas I drew, he has a very mysterious profile that

not even his closest friends could even decypher. Sparing much for Aeshi, who promised not to spill the entire beans for him, followed by Sigmund, Melody and Blare. then of course Aedris, Naiya and Raid are the trio who remained uninformed about his true whereabouts not until a few stories later the time Naiya and Raid got themselves into trouble.

What Hanzo may have looked like without his Mask.

and he is among the few Gijinkas that doesn't have a Mythical Birth MArk Fragments besides Aedris in the group.

and unbeknowst to the group perhaps, he might have been somewhere around skipping alot of time lately in the present day looking for hidden relics around.

The only thing his friends knew are that he's one of the few Ninja's that is capable of resisting fire and ice. and was able to cut a falling granite in half without dulling his blade. and especially for the 7 friends on his adventure, they eventually learned that he has a master he serves, who is a Shedinja (Gijinka) all along and is much  of a silent friendly fellow.

Alright that's all for to now and I gotta do something next.

See ya next episode!