#8 eps that are an hour long each i mean

[judesstfrancis]

the thing is that like the 8 episode season where each ep is one hour to an hour and a half long IS good IF. if if if. BIG IF. if it's a one season only show in the first place. if the whole story is contained and it is clearly over at the end of the very last episode and it was INTENDED to be that way not just rushed bc it got cancelled. that goes hard as hell. u binge the whole thing and feel hollow at the end and then start it all over again. but doing it with a show that is clearly intended to continue is crazy. if I'm supposed to sit with these characters for multiple seasons and I'm supposed to watch them develop and grow and experience the epic highs and lows of high school football then I NEED silly exposition episodes. I need episodes where people just talk and the action isn't really there. there needs to be a balance between jam packed crazy ep and slice of life ep where the characters get a breather and go on a goofier adventure. the 20 ep season format gives the characters time to become PEOPLE instead of just like. a guy on a screen. do u know what I'm saying

[absolutebl]

I Cannot Reach You - Kimi ni wa Todokanai REVIEWED

This image perfectly captures how I feel about this show. You ready? I wasn't.

I Cannot Reach You

AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai

Japan 2023 - 8 eps 20 ea approx 2.5 hours

Themes, main tropes & archetypes: friends to lovers, tsundere/sunshine, self acceptance, self worth, high school BL, live action yaoi, soft romance, kindness

Rating? 10/10

Yeah, it happened again in 2023.

Adapted from a manga.

The moment I finished binging this show I was thinking about writing about it and re-watching it. This is a sure sign that I adored a piece of media. 

This is a wonderful BL.

Truly well executed, with smooth filming and lovely acting, both of a simplistic style that felt slightly more Korean than it did Japanese. It reminded me a little bit of Seven Days and a little bit of Takara and Amagi, and since these are my two favorite high school JBLs obviously I was bound to adore ICRY.

But what it reminded me of more than anything was Cherry Blossoms After Winter.

Odd for JBL and KBL to be so closely linked. 

Like CBAW show, ICRY is classic live action yaoi.

Like the MOST classic of CLASSIC.

All the JBL tropes. I mean look at that image above? It's rooftop assignation, kabedon, and a handhold ALL AT ONCE.

There was also multiple runnings of the gays, surprise kisses (one on a bridge), and shoulder leans.

There is even a “seme looses control to desire” scene which leads to dub con. There is an abject apology after but still - you’ve been warned. 

The premise is: smart sporty hot (and hella gay) Yamato has a long standing crush on his silly sunshine sweetheart bestie, Kakeru. Yamato is also stiff, self isolated, shy, and has only ever really managed to get along with Kakeru. I love this kind of pining seme so damn much, it probably biased me. 

Unlike most uke, Kakeru starts to slowly figure out that his best friend is in love with him by ep 2 (let the chaos bisexual identity crisis commence).

So do some of the friends around them.

The story thus revolves around Yamato trying to unsuccessfully suppress his desire, and Kakeru trying to figure out if he can return Yamato‘s affection.

This biggest barrier is actually Kakeru's feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness (when compared to Yamato). But this is tempered by his genuine kindness which forces him into act with integrity around his dear friend's love and strive to fix everything (even himself) to prove worthy of it - whether he can ultimately return it or not.

Kakeru's struggles are pitted against Yamato‘s repressed need that keeps bubbling over and figuratively (sometimes literally) attacking Kakeru with romantic, emotional, and physical intensity. 

Quick pitch:

This classic friends-to-lovers BL is everything Japan does best. Angsty. Emo. Aching. Driven by real thirst. Yamato is deeply in love with his childhood bestie, Kakeru, and has been for ages, unable to hide his ungainly damaging high school need. He wants Kakeru in every way possible and it oozes off of the screen. Kakeru is silly and a little simple, but not frenetic or overly camp about it. He is earnest, and genuinely wants to keep Yamato in his life which means giving a romance (and gayness) a fair chance. We watch him realize his affection and what form it can take in a truly authentic way. This show was impossibly kind to both of its lead characters and I felt almost honored that I got to watch something so lovely and rare play out on my screen.

I’m not gonna lie, I dithered over whether to give this a 10/10 and nearly didn’t. But there is nothing wrong with it AS A BL.

And it's so GOOD to ALL of its characters and they are so good to each other. It's quiet, and because of that and its goodness, it will get overlooked, but I LOVED IT.

It's not one of those that BL outsiders will get and you must like Japan's style to enjoy it. But I'm in it. It's for me.

What am I hung up over? Even the kisses are good.

10/10

I CAN'T RECOMMEND IT HIGHLY ENOUGH

Welcome to a very elite club. I gotta change all my best of lists now.

I am sorry to tell you how difficult this show is to get hold of. It deserves a much wider distribution. As of Nov 2023 I do not know where to legally find it internationally with eng subs. Please check the comments for updates.

It's on Netflix in some countries!

Try to find it, you won't regret it.

(source)

[peachjagiya]

Are You Sure?

Episodes 1 and 2 thoughts

I've had a chance to watch them properly now.

My main takeaway is absolute bafflement at the characterisation in that weird W article?! It's not even that they misinterpreted the show, it's almost like they didn't even watch it? JK is his sweet and soft silly self. Jimin is full big brother.

I have thoroughly and genuinely enjoyed it. I must confess, in the first episode they do seem awkward with contrasting energies. As they say, they haven't met up and I think it does feel like it for almost all of first ep. So I was worried how I'd handle 8 hours of that considering I get severe second hand emotions.

The shift seemed to take place at the meal prep at the camp site. I guess this is terra firma for them, a safe space reminiscent of ITS and the dorms etc.

I don't know if anyone will agree but the phone calls at the table seemed to put a lid on the awkwardness entirely. The switch to super comfortable besties was complete after those. I found that very interesting.

Did you notice the matched energies in the calls too? We've talked about Taekook's call a lot but we can't ignore how natural Jimin's voice was with Yoongi. I'm wondering maybe if they needed those moments with their closest members to put a line in the sand almost? I don't think I mean they were planned and forced as such but getting to be real in that moment must have been like a sigh of relief after such a long time dancing around the truth. Maybe this is delulu but I'd love your thoughts on it.

As for Taekook's call, I am now convinced Tae said something sweet or rude or otherwise disallowed that was muted when he first answered. Mainly because of how he then made clear they were filming. I also think that JK hung up because he was about to get a lecture about the bike and that his texts to Tae were jokingly apologetic like "sorry sorry I like you so much I love you forgive me that was just too funny"

I felt awful for Jimin and his tummy issues. On a BOAT?! And a HIKE? guys what the hell. Let him sleep.

I cannot with JK eating his way through Connecticut. Relatable king. Food is the only thing that will get me out of the house too actually.

I loved their dynamic in the second episode. It made me kind of peak mad at the Jikook ship- actually no. Not at the shipping. At the characterisation that goes with it. Because they're such great brothers, it does a disservice to the best bits of their dynamic to put them into gross alpha-omega dynamic when they're prototypical siblings. It's so enjoyable to watch.

I've gone from wondering why they bothered to thinking it's for the better that they did this. Getting to show what they really are to each other finally actually makes for much more interesting TV than I thought.

In conclusion: never seen a better representation of my ADHD than going for a sponge but getting distracted by guacamole.

💜💜💜 let's hope next week doesn't absolutely destroy it with editing nonsense 😂

[mhsdatgo]

The Helaemonds/Helaegons need to calm down.

Don't get me wrong, it's always refreshing to see some people fill in the gaps of a basically untold relationship such as the one between the green kids in general, but this goes beyond basic obsessive shippy discourse. Leave this poor girl alone. Why's there an obsession with having her be romantically paired with her brothers, one worse than the other?

I understand the show has basically shown so little of her to the point where we didn’t even have a coronation for her on screen, so therefore you can self insert through her and have fun with headcanons regarding Aegon and Aemond. Really, I'm not faulting their girlies, you can be head over heels for whatever actor in character you want (unless you put them on pedestals and start acting like they did nothing wrong and pounce on whoever contests them, THEN we have a problem) but I assure you, Helaena would barely want anything to do with either of them.

Aegon is a sex pest turned sex offender, a drunkard and a neglectful father and husband at best. Her infamous toast in ep.8 has us believing that he cannot for the life of him interact with her unless he's horny drunk or that he forces himself on her at worst.* He was ready to leave them all in ep.9 before he was caught. Even the book is subtle about their relationship: all we know of them is that they sleep in shared chambers, that she was someone important and reliable in Aegon's council before B&C, and that he named her and Alicent the true Queens of his reign.

*(⚠️TW: PERSONAL OPINION⚠️ I'm not saying this last one isn't a possibility but it's sill outrageous for the way people speak about Helaena in defence of this "claim". No, she wouldn't joke about her own r*pe in front of the whole table full of people she doesn't know and right beside her abuser, and despite the hour-long metas I've read about how she's basically "too sheltered" to know what r*pe even means, I assure you she's a high-functioning autistic, not 5 years old. She can understand it perfectly.)

Helaemond is a pure show invention, I honestly wasn't expecting this many people to go up this kind of train. They barely interact, and most of the time it's Aemond saying he'd "perform his duty" should Helaena ever be wed to him, or that stare in ep.9 when he enters her chambers toiling after Alicent. It's, as always, the Aemond girlies who think poor Helaena would live her best life with Aemond, or that they are already romantically involved behind the scenes. The amount of "if one possesses a thing, the other will take it away" edits from people that are FULLY CONVINCED "the thing" is Helaena and that "the one" and "the other" are Aemond and Aegon respectively is honestly concerning.

Fics that are all about Aegon doing the worst and unspeakable things to her so "Aemond can come and save her" are y'all okay? Out of all people, HE has to save her?

Babes, I'm sorry to break your bubble, but this isn't Aegon IV/Naerys/Aemon on steroids. Aemond didn't give two shits about Helaena. No, he wasn't jealous when Jace came to ask her to dance, he just wanted to stir some shit. If we talk about the books, he didn't fucking hesitate to leave King's Landing, his sister, his mother and whatever he was doing for the Riverlands the second he heard that Daemon was there. And he brought the only means of defence they had with him. If he knew how important Vhagar was for the city's defence, he's evil, if he didn't realize it, he's dumb as fuck. Which one is it, Aemond girlies?

People beat each other to the curb about Jaehaerys, Jaehaera and Maelor's paternity like it's the Wars of The Roses. They put Helaena and Alys against the other like they have personal beef with one of them.

Stop mentioning this sweetheart only when it's about praising or hating one of her brothers. No, it's not the only option you have because she's underdeveloped as a character. There's actually another one.

LEAVE HER THE FUCK ALONE.

[wafflexdguy]

V SFW Alphabet!

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For people on Tumblr, the book on Wattpad is where you're a worker drone, but you can interpret yourself being whatever you want.

Follow my Wattpad account for more content.

Masterlist

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A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

She doesn't really show affection often, but that's not to say that she doesn't show any at all. She'll occasionally do handholding and hugging. If she's really feeling flirty, she'll kiss you just so she can say how much you blushed.

Ignoring the fact that she was blushing as much as you were.

B = Bad Habits (What bad habits do they have?)

She can come off as careless. So much so that it almost seems like she doesn't care at all.

She doesn't really have a solution for this, because despite already being in a relationship, she really doesn't want to get too attached in case someone destroys the planet. It really only around Episode 4 that this ideology gets snuffed out.

Other than that is just that she can be a huge nuisance when it's inappropriate.

"Damn, should have brought marshmallows."

"V, my house is on fire. Not the time."

C = Comfort (Are they a good shoulder to cry on or do they get awkward?)

They get awkward. I mean, wouldn't you?

How she thinks about it is dependent on which episode you place yourself in. If it's prior to Ep.1, then it's more of:

"Ok, I kill Worker Drones for a living, but now I have one crying on my shoulder what do I do-?"

After that, It's more of just actually being awkward, since she hasn't shown affection in a long time, if not years. They'll listen, but their comfort isn't going to be the best.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Does she want to settle down? Mayhaps.

She doesn't really know. She likes the idea of finally being able to relax and just enjoying each others company, but at the same time, is it really even worth it?

If you ask her nicely, she'll probably do it.

E = Energy (Would you have trouble keeping up with them?)

No.

She's generally laid back but also semi-energetic, like what we see in the show. If you're not hugely energetic, you'll have no problem keeping up with her.

F = Fear (What are they scared of when it comes to you?)

Probably just you dying.

She doesn't like to think about the idea of you dying for obvious reasons, but also because she won't really know what to do with herself afterwards.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

She's not gentle per' se, but she's also not really overbearing. Occasionally she'll fuck around with you, getting you riled up and/or get you annoyed if she's really bored. If it gets too much for you though, she'll stop.

Now physically, she's actually kind of gentle when it comes to that. She won't go rough, since if she's showing affection, she's likely just feeling icky or bad. So she'll just want comfort normally like anyone would.

H = Honesty (Do they have secrets they hide?)

Really?

Yeah, she has secrets to hide. Like how she had assisted in killing an entire planet. But other than that, she doesn't have other huge secrets to hide.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Not fast. It's probably going to have to be a major event that happens that doesn't have to be Ep.8 that'll scare her enough to where she'll just say "I love you". It can be just to where if you both somehow get really close to death, or if she gets close to death, It doesn't really matter.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they're jealous?)

She doesn't get jealous often but she get jealous enough to where she'll get really annoyed. Why are you spending 5 hours talking to them?

Yeah, it'd take a bit to get her jealous.

If she's jealous for whatever reason, she'll just kill the drone in question. Simple as that. She needs the oil anyway.

If you manage to catch on early enough, you can stop her from killing said drone.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Sloppy kisses if she's feeling really teasy and if you're okay with it.

L = Listen (Do they hang off your every word or have selective hearing?)

They don't hang off your every word, but they also don't have selective hearing.

She'll listen to you if she's not busy (obviously) but if she's doing something that isn't major, but still requires her attention, she'll hear you, but she probably isn't listening.

M = Maintenance (Are they high maintenance? Low? Maybe so?)

They aren't high maintenance. They're definitely low maintenance, because she was literally made to take care of herself.

Mentally though? They are also low maintenance, but she can get easily stressed. She might need your help to calm down if it ever gets to a point where she might lash out.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

I eventually want to make a oneshot out of this, but basically how she typically sleeps (Upside down) but just hugging you.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

They probably won't open up at all. More specifically: she wont just start telling you about her past, since she does her best to repress that as much as she possibly can. But she'll maybe vent to you about how her life sucked before she met you (or N) but that's about it.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

If you want to speedrun pissing her off, get hurt. To be more clear, if you ever got hurt by another drone/person, she'll get instantly pissed off. Other than that, just being annoying can also anger her.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

They'll remember all the things you like and don't like that are easy to remember. She doesn't hang onto every little thing you like or dislike, but she'll make an effort to do something nice for you.

"Oh! A... Dead flower???"

"It's the only one they had."

Please note that results may vary.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

"I love you." You said out of the blue, looking away from her.

You and V had been sitting on top of a roof, just looking at the moon and embracing the moonlight above you. V, caught off guard choked on her own spit as she tried to process the sudden surprise.

She looked at you indescribably. You two had been unofficially been in a relationship, but hearing that made her core vibrate. Almost like it was reaching out to you. Craving that affection.

"Okay..." Was all she could say, leaning her head onto yours.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

She's protective over you. She doesn't like seeing you getting hurt (naturally) and typically will be quite murdery when it comes to your safety. Don't confuse her for yandere, it's just her usual attidtude.

You can't really protect her, let's be honest. (Again, you're worker drone in this scenario) So at most you'd be emotional support.

T = Temper (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

She'd put her fair share of effort into dates, much to your surprise probably. Gifts, though?

"V, not that I don't appreciate your gifts, but are dead flowers really the only thing they had?"

"Yes."

U = Unwind (How do they relax?)

Spending any amount of time with you probably helps her wind down, and typically just likes doing random bullshit with you. It can be anything, really, but it'll help her relax around you.

V = Value (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Probably not much. Maybe her hair, but that's about it.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Yeah, but she probably won't show it. This is assuming you haven't died by the way, so she knows you'll come back, but in the meantime, it's almost like there isn't much of anything to do.

She'll probably hang out with Lizzy until you come back.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

Random Teasing Headcanon (RTH tm)

She'll occasionally show off her strength by picking you up. It can be anything, from a piggy back ride, to picking you up bridal style. She loves it when you blush uncontrollably.

Y = Yearning (How do they act when separated?)

Already answered, but bored and incomplete.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

She occasionally sleep talks. It can be from anything embarrassing, or just kind of heartwarming.

[panromantic-regency]

Depression Barbie is Rambling about Ep.8 Polin Angst

I am legitimately crying again because I just realized this isn't the 2nd morning of their married life it is the 3rd. What did Polin do in the evenings? We know at bedtime they were apart, but did they not speak to each other at all? Were they in the same Bloomsbury rooms together? Or was she relegated to their empty bedroom when he was home, since that is where her desk and personal effects are? Did he eat dinner at Bridgerton house (#5) without her and only come home to sleep?

How did Colin behave on the second morning? I assume more like the first, since he had a formal mission to achieve, that of persuading Cressida. So he was up and fit at dawn. He knew to meet them at Featherington house later, so some planning had to take place, was it between them, or pre-arranged when Portia and Eloise were present?

Do Colin and Pen go home together from this scene? Was he a depressed emo boi in the carriage? Did Pen think they had turned a corner from ire to grief and that there [wrongly] was an opening for intimacy? But then he rejects her overature that night and she's off carriage rides with him for good?

Or did they NOT go home together after this scene and she's simply stating fact that they've been avoiding proximity when she says, "I'll spare you the confines of a shared carriage" the next morning.

What does it mean that Colin didn't flee home on the 3rd morning as he did the prior mornings? Yes he's in his depression era after failing as the stoic hero. But that's unfortunate since this is the morning of Francesca's wedding he absolutely could have headed straight to #5 first thing and it would have been packed with family getting ready. A ready-made reason to leave Pen in the morning and distract him all day.

Perhaps he didn't want to get to #5 early and have opportunity to lie to Benedict. Perhaps he didn't want to field questions about how the honeymoon was going.

My clowning Polin heart whispers that maybe Colin was hanging around on the settee to be near Pen? Was he ready to break fast with her, spend the morning talking to each other? [I'm an idiot sandwich, of course not.]

No, Pen is just learning and adapting that ire and now depression are both Colin emotions he wants to process alone.

It's just so damn heartbreaking. Finally free from the constraints of courtship, they can speak freely. Hours upon hours of opportunity to try and understand one another. Bton show runners decide that since Polin wasn't horny like Daph and Simon, to insert Ben's threesome instead and drown Polin in silence.

The Polin clock after Francesa's wedding was painful enough, he spent all his days and evenings at #5 (definitively evenings now because he came with fam to the ball). And that ball certainly wasn't the very next day [day 4 post marriage] because the Queen said "earlier this week" So from Fran's wedding to the ball was multiple days.

DAYS of silence where the ire is gone and Colin is dealing with depression and envy. Depression and envy are keeping them from speaking to one another? Being in the same rooms together?

I mean I get why she offered annulment, a week+ of signals that he was miserable.

And even in all that silence, Pen still carves out a message to Colin in her speech about worth, his worth.

And I guess what Bton was going for is the reverse of Daph and Simon, they were horny newlyweds and then everything fell apart. Polin everything was a mess and then we got 22 seconds of horny newlyweds. I guess I should be grateful that consumation/reunion was still within the standard "honeymoon" period of social custom and at least it wasn't as long as Charlotte and George?

I know, I know I shouldn't think about in between the scenes or timescale, its just going to ruin a good thing.

That final love confession was LOVELY. But Colin waited DAYS to tell her he read her letters and understood her as one voice. He couldn't have a LEAST told her that in a timely fashion, not acceptance, just acknowledgment. Just the acknowledgement would have given Pen such a boost as she mentally prepared herself to speak to the Ton and perhaps would have kept the word annulment out of her mouth. [and then Colin could have kicked off the final love confession with highlighting how transformative her bloody brilliant voice is, how she shattered the wallflower.]

For the mental jumps I have to endure trying not to feel deep injustice about newlywed Polin's lack of relating to each other screentime, I deserve this at the final ball:

I got stiff hellos, call backs to days ago, and an offer for a no-fault divorce.

[muchcelebrated]

The Artful Dodger has the vibes of an episodic 20+ ep show despite fitting the serialized 8 ep streaming model: an analysis

I think one of the things I love so much about The Artful Dodger is that it feels so much like the old 20+ ep format of shows. And I’ve been trying to place why, and I think I’ve pinned it down to a few things. Also this is going to be a long post so bear with me.

Each episode has a beginning middle and end and they connect to each other but also there isn’t really a super strong overarching conflict across all 8 episodes.

Instead, there’s multiple mini conflicts that connect to each other but are also each their own contained plot. Episode 1 and 2 deal with the issue of Jack’s gambling debt and that’s a conflict that we see the full resolution of. But that plot line introduces the issue of the stolen money and Darius which is the focus of episodes 3 and 4 and something we again see the full resolution of. The beginning of episode 5 is part of the aftermath of Jack and Belle’s argument in episode 4. Episode 6 connects through episode 5 a number of ways but especially through Jack and Belle’s romance. And episodes 7 and 8 focus both on a new plot line, Oliver Twist, as well as established ones, Gaines and Jack and Belle’s romance.

The main plot line is made up of multiple plot points that each have a conclusion while still connecting to each other and the overarching story. But also, there isn’t a super strong overarching conflict and I don’t mean that there isn’t a main plot, but rather than centering the main plot line on a single conflict like Jack’s gambling debt, they instead keep it centered around a single character, Captain Gaines and the many different issues that he causes for our main characters. It’s genius because allows for there to be different central conflicts to be dealt with in different episodes while still feeling cohesive.

There’s also multiple subplots that occur and cross over into other episodes which provide variety so we’re not even stuck on the same conflict within a single episode and instead get to cut between different things. But since these subplots carry over, they still weave seamlessly into the main plot points and overarching story. Obviously a big one is the romance which is a subplot turned main plot. But also each episode generally has a surgery subplot happening as well. And we have the continued conflict of Belle’s condition that’s given to the audience in bits and pieces but isn’t explicitly revealed until we find out with Jack. Rather than relying on a single main conflict to connect the episodes they allow for the main conflict of some episodes to be resolved then and there and instead use the sub plots to solidify a stronger connection. It’s satisfying and so incredibly genius.

Another big reason I think the show feels episodic is that there’s a distinct feeling of the passage of time between some episodes. Part of this is through things that come back up like Charlie making a reappearance, Rotty having a scar, but also just things in the dialogue and way the characters act. The whole show in general has great control over the passage of time in the sense that it’s very clear when time is supposed to have passed and when it hasn’t. Episode 8 clearly happens right after episode 7, but then between episodes 4 and 5 with Jack and Belle fighting and then Jack deciding to do a heist you get the sense there’s been a couple days between the two events.

I also feel like the repeated sets aid in this feeling but am not quite sure how to articulate why.

Anyways TL;DR one of the things I love about The Artful Dodger is that despite fitting the standard 8 episodes an hour long each streaming format, it actually has a more episodic feel reminiscent of the days of 20+ ep seasons that’s very satisfying and genius for a variety of reasons.

[akookminsupporter]

https://www.tumblr.com/akookminsupporter/759301385593536512/so-arent-they-going-to-announce-the?source=share

I was thinking the same that what if the 8th ep itself is behind the scenes cause they didn't showed us any media file or whatever that's called in July that ppl were using to understand which ep is from which trip...man if that's how they're gonna release the behind then they again played us saying it's 8 ep like u should mention it's 7 ep with last behind behind the scenes....this is fked up if it's true. If true that again means we had 4 ep of jkk and 3 of vminkook. They really played us

Anon, sorry, but some of you are reaching a point where you’re complaining about absolutely everything. We already know there are three behind-the-scenes segments, each around 19-20 minutes long. If you add that up, it’s about an hour, which is basically a whole episode—so the 8th “episode” would be made up of things we didn’t see in the six other episodes. So, what on earth are you complaining about? Because that doesn’t sound like a bad thing.

Now, after I made that post, it occurred to me that maybe it’s not like that because the behind-the-scenes content was sent to the content regulator—or whatever it’s called—in Korea. And if those behind-the-scenes clips were meant to be the eighth episode that would air on Disney, it wouldn’t make sense because the other episodes weren’t sent for review. This made me think that the behind-the-scenes content will be released on Weverse, or maybe it’ll be part of the photobook. We will see 😪

[falcqns]

𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞

◎ pairing: Joel Miller & Ellie Williams

◎ summary: after Silver Lake, all Joel can focus on is his girl.

◎ warnings: Post Ep 8, slight mention of D*vid, insinuations of SA and canon typical violence, blood, Joel finally admitting Ellie is his daughter, mentions of Sarah

◎ a/n: my first TLOU fic!! i hope you like it! tagging @natashasera like always <3

Joel had never truly realized how small Ellie was. He knew she was little, a small girl of only 14, but until now, when he was cradling her in his arms, he realized how small she was. This child, the child that he told Marlene and Tess that he didn’t want, that he shouldn’t be entrusted with, was small. Too small. But then again, he hadn’t been around a child her age for 20 years. 

He watched as her chest rose and fell with each breath she took. They’d managed to make it to a small abandoned cottage close to Salt Lake City, but far enough from Silver Lake to keep Joel’s throat from closing up. Seeing Ellie, his kid, stumble from that burning building covered in blood, ponytail falling apart, was a sight he never wanted to see again, as long as he lived. All he wanted to do now was get her to the Fireflies, let them run their tests, and then take her back to Jackson. To their farmhouse, number 38. Even though they’d only spent a night there, he could see himself, and his new-found daughter, living there. 

He wanted to help her redo the bedroom that she had claimed. Repaint the walls, get a new, bigger bed. The biggest he could find. Fill the room with all the pillows and blankets he could find and trade for in Jackson. Maybe add some string lights, like ones hanging on the main strip in the town. Find her things to do with space. Books, posters, figurines, anything. Anything and everything she wanted. He wanted to give her a bedroom where nothing bad had ever happened. No tears, no fighting, no ‘you’re not my daughter, and I sure as hell ain’t your dad.’ Because the truth was, she was his the second he laid eyes on her. 

And could anyone blame him? He may have lost his daughter 20 years ago, but that paternal feeling, the feeling of needing to protect those smaller than you, didn’t go away. It remained, spreading through his whole body, like the virus. And like the fungus, it exploded out. The second he laid eyes on Ellie Williams, on the ground at his feet, glaring up at him, he was screwed. 

Ellie’s legs began to slip off of his lap, and the motion jerked him out of the trance he was in, watching her chest rise and fall as she slept. He cleared his throat quietly, and picked up the wet cloth he’d been using to wipe off the blood caked to Ellie’s pale skin. He’d managed to check her over for any breaks earlier, but hadn’t gotten the chance to clean her up, in his panic to keep her alive. 

They’d been walking for hours. Both of them were tired, ready to fall asleep standing up. But, Joel had been determined to push on. The man who took his Ellie was dead, but that didn’t mean his followers were. He wanted to get them as far away from Silver Lake as possible. He stopped though, when Ellie collapsed. Fell, into the snow. Had Joel not been gripping her so tightly, making sure he didn’t let go, he may not even have known she’d collapsed. That’s when he spotted the abandoned cottage. He knelt down next to her, and checked her over. 

He pushed away the sides of his coat, and reached for the brown crew neck she had on. He lifted it up, trying to get a good look at her ribs. A large red, purple and blue bruise was blossoming on her rib. “‘m sorry, baby girl,” he whispered, before, as gently as he could, poked and prodded her midsection, trying to see if she’d broken any ribs. From his inspection, she’d broken at least one, but it was low enough that it didn’t endanger her lungs. He lowered her sweater down, and continued his inspection. There were no other injuries that he could detect, and as long as she wasn’t bleeding internally, she had simply collapsed from exhaustion. He cradled her head in his elbow, and slid his other arm under her legs, groaning as he stood and lifted her. After a breath, he continued on to the small cottage in the distance. 

Joel lowered the cloth once her face was free from any blood. Her nose appeared to at least be fractured, but other than that, she seemed okay. Physically, at least. He dropped the cloth onto the bed next to him, and lifted her legs back up. As he held them, he remembered the last time he held his other baby girl. 

Sarah would have loved Ellie. If Sarah had lived, she would be 34. And knowing his Sarah, she would have been attached to Ellie right away. Joel had always known Sarah would be a mother, and after meeting Ellie, he knew she would have thought of the younger girl as her own. She was great with children, and always talked of being a teacher when she was younger. He just wished she was here, so Ellie could have a female figure to look up to. Something neither of his daughters had, he realized. 

He sniffled, as a tear ran down his face. He gently laid Ellie’s legs down, and lifted her up, so they were chest to chest. Her head flopped around briefly, before snuggling into his neck. His right hand settled on her lower back as he slowly began to rock her, while his other buried itself in her messy hair. 

He had been so scared, when he woke up and she was gone. He couldn’t lose her. He’d lost one daughter, and that’d been one too many. Ellie needed to survive, so he can give her the life she deserved. 

Ellie whimpered, her head moving around briefly, and Joel found himself shushing her like he would a newborn baby fussing. But yet, he couldn’t find it in himself to care. Someone had hurt his baby girl. Hurt this small, skinny child. She wasn’t defenceless, in fact she could defend herself better than he could defend her, but she was 14. She shouldn’t have to worry about anything other than who she had a crush on at her age. 

As he sat there, against the wall off the cottage, cradling his Ellie in his arms, he vowed to make sure no one ever touched her again. No one would harm her, bruise or break her porcelain skin. She would never have to defend herself again. Not while he was alive to protect her. 

Just because her small hand was able fit around her too big knife, it didn’t mean it should. 

[thisisnotthenerd]

back at it again with thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats.

this time we're talking runtime. this is referenced directly from dropout--i manually entered each episode into the spreadsheet, no shortcuts. why. times are recorded as hours:minutes:seconds. anyway:

overall runtime stats:

total runtime for all seasons of dimension 20 (at the moment, including oneshots and the episodes of Burrow's End that are currently out): 462:43:30. That’s the equivalent of 19 days, 6 hours, 43 minutes, and 30 seconds. Almost 3 weeks.

average runtime per episode: 2:10:21. around 2 hours per ep.

longest season by time: fantasy high sophomore year, with 52:13:31

shortest season: shriek week, with 7:49:30

season with the highest average: fantasy high sophomore year, with 2:36:41. this one is skewed by the long finale episodes, and the fact that this season was livestreamed rather than pre-recorded, as most d20 seasons are. this stat doesn't include oneshots, as those tend to be longer in order to contain a full narrative. the stats are listed though.

season with the lowest average: fantasy high freshman year, with 1:39:43. as the first season, fhfy tends toward shorter episodes overall--combat episodes usually ran shorter than non combat episodes.

longest episode: Spring Break! I Believe In You! (Part 2) from Fantasy High Sophomore Year, with 5:06:42. by far the longest episode of dimension 20. truly an unbelievable finale.

shortest episode: Brawl at the Black Pit from Fantasy High Freshman Year, at just 1:07:53. like i said, combat ran short during fhfy.

total number of episodes (as of 10/17/23): 219. this will change tomorrow, i know. i'll update when the season is over so i'm not neurotically changing this

total number of battle/encounter episodes: 106. again, this will be updated at the end of the season. quick note about battle episodes: this category includes all of the episodes with a designated battlesets, whether that was physical, on roll20, or on talespire. for theater of the mind, i narrowed it down to specific episodes that had designed encounters, and not just spur of the moment encounters, unless those spur of the moment encounters were significant enough to take up an episode. key example: fabian's no good very bad day in leviathan.

i marked whether you could finish watching a season in one day, with no breaks for each one of the seasons: this doesn't mean could you do it in 24 hours, it means you could do it without losing sleep. in the waking hours.

d20 season runtime data

fantasy high freshman year:

total runtime: 28:15:12

average runtime per episode: 1:39:43 seconds

number of episodes: 17

number of battle/encounter episodes: 9

longest episode: episode 12: the sisterly showdown (1:57:11)

shortest episode: episode 6: brawl at the black pit (1:07:53)

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ❌

escape from the bloodkeep:

total runtime: 14:02:07

average runtime per episode: 2:20:21

number of episodes: 6

number of battle/encounter episodes: 3

longest episode: episode 6: the tomb of ultimate evil (2:57:59)

shortest episode: episode 5: bloodlines and lifelines (1:56:44)

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ✅

the unsleeping city:

total runtime: 34:11:27

average runtime per episode: 2:00:40

number of episodes: 17

number of battle/encounter episodes: 9

longest episode: episode 14: showdown at the stock exchange (2:35:07)

shortest episode: episode 2: mutant santa melee (1:28:12)

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ❌

tiny heist:

total runtime: 12:27:12

average runtime per episode: 2:04:32

number of episodes: 6

number of battle/encounter episodes: 4

longest episode: episode 1: big little crimes (2:11:12)

shortest episode: episode 5: fighting with fire (1:55:38)

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ✅

fantasy high sophomore year:

total runtime: 52:13:31

average runtime per episode: 2:36:41

number of episodes: 20

number of battle/encounter episodes: 8

longest episode: episode 20: spring break! i believe in you! (part 2), with 5:06:42

shortest episode: episode 7: the friendship section, with 2:08:50. even the short episodes in fhsy are over 2 hours.

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ❌❌ (double because you couldn't do it in two days)

fantasy high oneshots:

total runtime: 8:11:31

average runtime per episode: 2:02:53

number of episodes: 4

number of battle/encounter episodes: 4 (they're oneshots)

longest episode: Boys' Night! (Roll20Con) with 2:45:17

shortest episode: Fantasy High LIVE at RTX Austin with 1:26:53

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ✅

a crown of candy:

total runtime: 36:18:00

average runtime per episode: 2:08:07

number of episodes: 17

number of battle/encounter episodes: 9

longest episode: episode 11: at the mountains of sweetness, with 2:30:34

shortest episode: episode 10: blood & bread, with 1:36:59. this came down to emily not coming in as saccharina in this episode.

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ❌

pirates of leviathan:

total runtime: 13:02:06

average runtime per episode: 2:10:21

number of episodes: 6

number of battle/encounter episodes: 3

longest episode: episode 4: i'm worth this, with 2:25:55

shortest episode: episode 5: scramble to the ramble, with 1:52:21

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ✅

the unsleeping city chapter 2:

total runtime: 42:35:35

average runtime per episode: 2:21:59

number of episodes: 18

number of battle/encounter episodes: 10

longest episode: episode 6: collaborators, with 2:46:31

shortest episode: episode 2: heaven and hell on earth, with 1:40:52

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ❌

mice & murder:

total runtime: 20:46:20

average runtime per episode: 2:04:38

number of episodes: 10

number of battle/encounter episodes: 4

longest episode: episode 10: unfinished business, with 2:46:06

shortest episode: episode 8: outfoxed, with 1:22:43

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ❌

misfits & magic:

total runtime: 9:45:13

average runtime per episode: 2:26:18

number of episodes: 4

number of battle/encounter episodes: 2

longest episode: episode 4: we're the heroes, with 2:54:57

shortest episode: episode 3: family on six, with 2:08:58

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ✅

misfits & magic oneshots:

total runtime: 5:19:32

average runtime per episode: 2:39:46

number of episodes: 2

number of battle/encounter episodes: 2

longest episode: misfits & magic holiday special, with 3:14:57

shortest episode: misfits & magic live at gencon 2022, with 2:04:35

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ✅

the seven:

total runtime: 23:55:12

average runtime per episode: 2:23:31

number of episodes: 10

number of battle/encounter episodes: 6

longest episode: episode 6: belles of the baronies, with 2:58:43

shortest episode: episode 7: bloppelganger blitz, with 1:28:09

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ❌

shriek week:

total runtime: 7:49:30

average runtime per episode: 1:57:23

number of episodes: 4

number of battle/encounter episodes: 0

longest episode: episode 3: parents' weekend, with 2:10:15

shortest episode: episode 4: van helsing's party, with 1:39:33

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ✅

a starstruck odyssey:

total runtime: 39:54:33

average runtime per episode: 2:13:02

number of episodes: 18

number of battle/encounter episodes: 10

longest episode: episode 18: the luckless, the abandoned and the forsaked (part 2), with 3:08:38

shortest episode: episode 17: the luckless, the abandoned and the forsaked (part 1), with 1:23:40

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ❌

coffin run:

total runtime: 10:19:38

average runtime per episode: 1:43:16

number of episodes: 6

number of battle/encounter episodes: 3

longest episode: episode 2: attacks on the tracks, with 2:05:18

shortest episode: episode 1: down for the count, with 1:10:21

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ✅

a court of fey and flowers:

total runtime: 20:27:10

average runtime per episode: 2:02:43

number of episodes: 10

number of battle/encounter episodes: 4

longest episode: episode 3: duel on the southern lawn, with 2:32:06

shortest episode: episode 10: you will never know a lonely day again, with 1:14:24

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ❌

neverafter:

total runtime: 42:25:08

average runtime per episode: 2:07:15

number of episodes: 20

number of battle/encounter episodes: 9

longest episode: episode 20: the ending of all things (part 2), with 2:38:33

shortest episode: episode 6: the curdled web, with 1:39:05

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ❌

the ravening war:

total runtime: 14:59:17

average runtime per episode: 2:29:53

number of episodes: 6

number of battle/encounter episodes: 4

longest episode: episode 5: the seventh kingdom, with 2:39:27

shortest episode: episode 3: yonder where the fruit do be lyin', with 2:19:26. matt mercer likes himself a long episode

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ✅

dungeons & drag queens:

total runtime: 9:31:03

average runtime per episode: 2:22:46

number of episodes: 4

number of battle/encounter episodes: 2

longest episode: episode 3: the time has come, with 2:42:23

shortest episode: episode 1: queens on a quest, with 2:03:47

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ✅

mentopolis:

total runtime: 12:31:14

average runtime per episode: 2:05:12

number of episodes: 6

number of battle/encounter episodes: 3

longest episode: episode 5: emergency powers, with 2:31:00

shortest episode: episode 3: f for freezer, with 1:53:48

could you watch it in a day, doing nothing else: ✅

burrow's end:

the season isn't done yet, so the spreadsheet will be updated weekly as episodes come out, and this post will be updated when all of the data is present.

and that's all for this edition of thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats! this one was a long one. as always, the spreadsheet is open to perusal.

[intertexts]

GMORNING !!!!! u know what time it is

EPISODE 8 TRIVIA:

- the big monster they fought in the beginning was called a Crawling Apocalypse which looks like this. terrifying !!!

- bizly really liked that william banished it. he was originally not gonna let him do that but then "i realized your character can do so little and that was cool so i said fuck it" we love william pity points he is such a loser and he rolls so terribly <3

- they start talking about one piece because grizzlys saying things abt how certain parts of dakota are inspired by luffy and bizly goes "ive never watched anime" which is the biggest lie in the world

- grizzly: "yknow we were about an hour into the episode before i realized wow i havent done anything productive yet"

condi: "you just hit on vyncents mom for like 20 minutes!!!!"

- and then they start talking about how dakota and chip (bizlys pc from riptide) would either be best friends or hate each other which is really funny bc there are now MULTIPLE what if crossover episodes where they meet and interact and thats exactly the dynamic . i love them

- condi wasnt expecting his dad to be dead, he thought theyd have to fight him

- he kind of hesitated taking the sword !! vyncent doesnt really know how to feel about using something that belonged to his father

- he wasnt entirely Present for the part where his dad betrayed the party, he was sort of fading in and out of consciousness so theres a chance he didnt actually get the full picture. condi knows this out of character and vyncent knows it in the back of his mind somewhere that his dad might not actually be fully evil but hes too angry to come to terms with that yet

- hes struggling a lot with the fact that his mom.doesnt know about the betrayal. he doesnt want to tell her because "its not his fathers pride at stake, its his mother's memory of him" and that makes me so . :(

- THE GREATS!!!!!!!! THE GREATS ARE HERE i love the greats. surely nothing bad is happening to them

- they have a couple theories as to whats going on with the greats:

-- condi: theyre in this state because vyncent took too long getting them back here out of his head

-- condi: they were killed when they got transported to the other world and there was no way to get them back completely

-- charlie: something happened in the time where vyncent was transported to prime and the greats had died, so someone did something to keep them alive by putting them in his head. maybe they could only be kept alive by being in vyncents head

- grizzly tries to insight check bizly irl to see if any of their theories are close so far. this does not work . he rolled a 17 btw

- none of them trust minerva they think she might be secretly working with the lich. bizly defends her by saying "shes also in the middle of basically an apocalypse i think shes allowed to be a little mean to you"

- le frog is the only french person ever. this is brought up with NO context no explanation

- bizly is sharing some of the thumbnail art from youtube because this was right around the time the first few episodes were being put up publically !! most of them are just the same as the official refs but the most important one is le frog bc im not actually sure if youve seen his offical design yet . also tide used to be white. we dont have to talk about white tide

- bizly says pd feels more like a DC comic than a Marvel comic. hes right about this

- charlie starts talking about marissa meyer books and this is important 2 me because the lunar chronicles was an extremely formative piece of media for me . she apparently has a book called renegades thats superhero themed and i have not read it yet but i put it on my list specifically because of this. wahoo!

tgis is SUCH good trivia for this ep thank u dude... ouagh. really solid meal here. i love these last couple episodes so much.. there's so much fun stuff happening here i'm enjoying all of the greats stuff & getting like a solid Vyncent Moment for a while.

i LOVE the william pity points its great! it WAS cool as fuck!! also i gain +5 hp every time a gm goes "who give a shit if this isn't technically how the game mechanics should work, it's fun for everyone at the table & makes for something cool and makes sense narratively."

that being said. i DID take SO MUCH PSYCHIC DAMAGE from how long dakota spent hitting on his fucking mom. Please. Please king !!! sob.

I ALSO WAS EXPECTING THEM TO FIGHT VYN'S DAD???? still not unconvinced that some lich undead bullshit isn't going to happen with that. god i'm so invested in figuring out what HAPPENED there... i love this type of murder mystery situation. & i also was genuinely unsure if he would take the sword or not!! really kind of an ohhh shit! moment when he did. imo. vyncent virion sol i love u.... also it's still INCREDIBLY funny 2 me that he's still in his normal clothes. i have not forgotten that he is just doin his fantasy bullshit thing in the just some guy drip. (<- i might have forgotten something but i've been assuming they no longer have/wear Official Hero Drip since they're no longer really sanctioned or on great terms w/ them? also i've been assuming that the episode-specific clothes & shit isn't really permanent... now that im thinking about it though please tell me wiwi hardcore blue flame black leather kickass spiky biker jacket remains. it's too cool for him. but. still.)

I LOVE THE GREATS SO MUCH... i hope nothing permanently bad happens to them :( i like them so dearly..... you know they r really solid folks because they spent a YEAR and change living in a teenager's brain & came out of the experience still bein so nice 2 him.... augh. also in general big fan of the system-adjacent bullshit :] i love it when theres. guy with guys in his head. etc. will b sad ab their departure but i hope they r OKAY and return 2 Being Alive & shit!! nervous laughter. also god i can't wait to find out what Actually Happened with them. hhrhrghghgghh.

THIS IS SO TRUE ALSO???? free my girl minerva she did nothing but have Literally Normal Reactions to TERRIBLE things happening!!!

I DON'T LIKE THAT LEFROG FACT. it raises the question of is he actually even french or like, is there even a point of reference for his behavior. like. What is going on there. Horrifying thank you!!!! also man this entire degree im working on would be useless! well. maybe prime quebec exists. somehow. independently of a hypothetical europe. HIS DESIGN IS SO FUN BTW. its so cute.. i WAS kind of imagining a mutant Big Real Fucking Frog situation but i think this is a lot more reasonable. also literally ignoring white tide I Do Not See it. It Does Not Exist.

ALSO. NOT GOING TO START TALKING AB COMICS FOR EVEN MORE PARAGRAPHS. BUT. he is so so so right. (<- dc comics guy with Opinions. well. technically im not even much of a dc guy im just a vertigo guy. but. still.) hghghghbhgh.

[buffyfan145]

having my fingers crossed that the fact that there is SO much promo being released (seriously though, they leaking the entire season) YET the only sauron x galadriel moment we get shown is the finale confrontation makes me hopeful that it means there is more. maybe it's delulu of me but would they be showing the finale scene if it was the ONLY shared scene between the two? i guess they can be just hyping the finale fight up but still...

They are spoiling a lot but this actually is normal for streaming shows now. They go on hiatus and then all the press and spoilers right before it airs. However, remember the show's 8 episodes are usually over an hour long, so in the long run there is still a lot they haven't revealed yet. The finale doesn't air till October 3rd and I do feel there is still a lot, not just for Haladriel, but everyone they are keeping secret. Most of the clips and spoilers are actually for the first half of the season, which will air in the next two weeks, and then we'll get teasers each week for each ep. But then the next 2 year hiatus begins, and I just hope they actually switch to how Netflix does and still interacts with the fandom as they messed up in a lot of our opinions last year by barely posting anything. LOL Netflix shows put out things and teasers all the time even for shows like "Stranger Things" which takes multi-year breaks between seasons.

And I'm certain there's more Haladriel scenes too between their shared mental bond and them confirming Nenya gives her foresight. There's so many possibilities to do scenes with them using those until they finally see each other in person in the finale. But I also can't figure out how he's in Eregion almost the whole time with Celebrimbor knowing who he is and thinking she overreacted and he's not Sauron but a different Maiar, and Galadriel doesn't see him there so who knows maybe they do. LOL

[unpassive-viewer]

Acolyte Ep.8 Opinions (spoilers)

I'm gonna say it, the ending felt cheap. The character arcs were rushed, and I actually cannot stand how self-referential Disney's Star Wars instalments are with almost no payoff. Half the time they throw characters or names or props in there just for the fans who know everything about the franchise, and it means nothing to people who don't "know the lore".

Oh, and I hate Mae. She was not redeemed at all. I can feel that the writer understood her characters, so maybe it was the directing, but I had a real tough time connecting with any of them (Sol being the exception - Lee Jung-jae did so good).

If there's no season 2, the flashes of Yoda and Darth Plagueis were a cash grab. If there is a season 2, they're going to start it off with absolutely none of the characters that viewers care about. I feel they could have skipped a lot of backstory and had more impressive payoff than a bunch of dead Jedi and hinting at the rise of the Sith. To make a whole season that's effectively an appetizer for a larger story is really slimy. Not to mention that we don't need a backstory for Darth Plagueis, because he was only meant to be a metaphor to motivate Anakin's story in the first place.

To be fair: a multi-hour long setup that could have been one episode is the Star Wars way. The original trilogy accomplishes so little in each one of the movies, I guess this follows suit. I felt like this show dragged on even for Star Wars standards.

I like the allusion as to why Qimir wears the helmet. I like Osha's arc for the most part, although I think her initial isolation could have been projected better. I lost my mind when she bled the lightsaber, and the fight choreography is very reminiscent of the old Kung Fu movies which George Lucas famously used as inspiration for almost the entire series. Most of the acting is good, too. Somehow I still don't connect to the actual content.

The best way I can summarize it is that the show just feels like fanfiction, which I suppose it is. In my opinion it spent too much time at climax-level drama over too many episodes, and the main characters (Mae+Osha) were simply not that interesting. It's more faithful to the original material than the god-awful new trilogy, at least.

Anyways, I don't think it's something I'll add to my yearly Star Wars marathon, but I still like it more than the Mandalorian.

[pharawee]

Okay so after 4 gifsets it’s time for my review of Big Dragon ep 4. Just for me. As a treat.

And we’re already halfway through this series. How did this happen? I feel like I spent the whole year just waiting and now it’s all going by so fast. I’m lowkey hoping for StarHunter to continue promoting MosBank together, if only so they’ll do more travel vlogs.

Also, if possible (yep, still biased) this show has become even better. I’m mostly just someone who gets pulled in by the mood of a show, but this time I really tried paying attention to the motifs the director and actors have mentioned before - like the colour coding, cinematography and Mangkorn’s and (especially) Yai’s comfort levels. 

And it’s really paying off:

Look how subdued Mangkorn’s signature colour is here. He’s literally fading into the background, with his and Hong’s father taking control over his (and Hong’s) life. I’m glad that it’s immediately established that both mum’s are super uncomfortable with this whole situation. They’re not even indulging their husbands. Mangkorn’s mum even makes it clear later that arranged marriages are a thing of the past (and I’m super glad they put that in) and that if Mangkorn were to speak to his dad he’d back off.

But more on that later.

I’ve read the novel but still, I’m glad Mangkorn and Hong get along so well. I mean, they’re essentially in the same boat (negl their dads get along so well, they should just marry each other ugh). Plus, I’m super tired of the “female rival” trope in BL. It’s distracting and unfair to everyone involved.

And, yeah, maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about, but Mangkorn’s colour makes a bit of a return in this scene - even though he’s wearing the same shirt.

Yai’s family crisis, meanwhile, lies in the past and I’m really glad his sister tells him so outright. I mean, it’s immediately clear that the death of his mother is something that’s deeply troubling to Yai and has shaped him as a person - to the point were he refuses to move on. To him the house is empty and I totally get why he doesn’t want to stay for long. His sister, in contrast, finds it peaceful and relaxing out in the garden, even at night (and with about 300 mosquitos around 🥴).

Only then, of course, Yai makes the “female rival” a thing. You do it to yourself, Yai (I mean, with good reason - seeing as they’re both known womanizers). I’m glad that the show subverts this whole trope early on and makes it all about Yai’s insecurities. There’s only 8 episodes, nobody’s got time for that. In the novel it wasn’t as clear because Hong turned up much later when Mangkorn had already explained the whole thing. Yai only had breadcrumbs and suspicions to go on and of course he drew the wrong conclusions.

And because Mangkorn has lost access to his LINE ID (possibly because *someone* decided to destroy his phone) he decides to wait for Yai in front of his faculty building. For hours. That’s some dedication.

And, honestly, pouting back at someone who’s pouting might be the most valid strategy I’ve ever seen. Put that UNO reverse card away or so help me!! 😤

I really, really love Mangkorn’s shirt. And I love how their individual colours get more similar when they’re not fighting/testing their boundaries and just being themselves. It’s like they’re on neutral ground here.

And, holy shit, every second of that scene was so adorable, from their playful banter to their not-so hidden smiles.

Oh, how the turntables. This time it’s Mangkorn’s turn to ask if Yai has been to supervise the pub’s renovations today (he hasn’t because it’s boring without Mangkorn).

Which brings us to my favourite scene of this week.

Just look how soft these two are 🥺

And they’re in neutral colours again, on neutral territory, with Mangkorn dispensing a piece of wisdom that rings rather hollow considering that this “sacrifice” he mentions is impossible to achieve in his own case (unless at this point in the story he actually considers marrying Hong out of filial piety).

We also catch a glimpse of Yai’s family ring. Surprise - there’s a tiger on it.

Kissing Yai (and it was such a sweet kiss - I just wish it hadn’t been in slow motion) doesn’t really bring the closure Mangkorn probably hoped for - if he planned for any of this at all. Because as dominant (with a small d - I’m talking personality traits because I’ve no idea about any of the rest) as he might seem, I feel like he’s just as much out of his depth as Yai is. He’s just much better at keeping his cool (and the upper hand).

This is one of the pics Yai stares at as he masturbates and negl, that’s kind of touching (full pun intended 🤡)

But apart from the fact that he’s still wearing his ring while he goes to town (ouch??) it struck me how lonely and unsatisfying this whole scene felt. He’s in this big bed and occupying only one side of it. It just feels like something’s missing.

Oh ffs, show 😂

Anyway.

Finally. 🫠

No but seriously if at any point in the future you don’t find me stanning Big Thanakorn then please assume I’ve been replaced by an impostor and call the police.

I’m totally with Yai on this one.

Bank has said that when Yai is with Nine he’s in his comfort zone and it really shows. I don’t think Nine is any serious competition, though, even if Mangkorn weren’t in the picture. It’s like Yai is on this fixed trajectory now and that has everything to do with Mangkorn.

Oh well, looks like Big’s character will end up alone again. Why must you hurt me so, StarHunter? 🥲

Aand we’re back to Mangkorn wearing a red shirt (with red back-lighting uh-oh) and... how do you even explain this, Mangkorn? The girl slipped? She wanted to see your tattoo up close? You actually caught a glimpse of Yai talking to Nine and this is your revenge? 

“How could you do that?”, indeed.

Feels like they’re both blaming and deflecting here (ah, yes, how could you do this to poor Hong??) and I’m pretty sure we’ll see Mangkorn’s side of the story next week because they wouldn’t just leave it like that...

But Mangkorn’s “Are you mad because you like me?” really felt like a gamechanger because it seems like up until this point Yai didn’t even realise. He doesn’t even look defensive or angry, he’s just shocked and hurt (with a side of confusion).

Also, I love how Yai’s background is all cold blues, and Mangkorn’s side is earthy browns/reds. Something’s about to go down next week ( and it’s exactly what it sounds like 🤡)

Meanwhile, the bodyguards have monkey-pawed their relationship into existence and now I want some Tao Kae Noi 😭

[olivieraa]

I'm 5 eps into Avatar and I'm very... mixed

Now Avatar is one of my most precious shows. For the longest time, Avatar and Sex and the city were my only shows. And then Stranger Things and Barry entered my life and they all became my top 4 (would love a fifth but Lost and OITNB ended so terribly)

These are non-animes ofc

Let's just say my Avatar weekend was planned months ago, and been getting through a few a day

By the end of ep 3 I had thoughts, and by the end of ep 5 I had basically the same thoughts

My biggest con with the show, bc I cant, currently, understand the motives behind it, is... why are they showing season 2 scenes??? And characters??

Like... season 1 of the animated series has 20 eps that are 20 mins each, and season 1 of the live action has 8 hour long eps. There is enough content from season 1 of the animated series to fill your show, no???

Like Ozai's reveal is season 3, but we knew of Ozai's casting quite early, and idk, I dont mind them showing him. But Azula? And Mei and Ty Lee? Why??

And the Owl??? Why??????????? Is it to make Toph the only big reveal/new character in season 2 or something? I've no clue.

But anyway. The bulk of the changes I actually dont mind. I think they did it in a way that flows well. However, they kinda cause something that is truly essential to the story to like... not happen.

So in ep 3, they go to Omashu. Instead of it being like in the OG, they decide to combine the Jet episode and the Northern Air temple episode, INTO the Omashu episode so that the 3 main characters go off and do their own thing. Aang with the wheelchair kid Teo up the mountain (tho they didn't fight off any firebenders which is a fave scene of mine in the show), Sokka with the mechanist talking about the blimp (accurate enough), and Katara off with Jet (accurate enough but would have liked their hideout to be up in the trees, would have been awesome scenery and also made more sense, y'know, being a hideout).

So what this created was separation, and the characters had just gotten to know each other by this point. With the show being only 8 eps, I kinda need to see them connecting more lol this show has a heavy friendship and love theme. Aang and Katara have literally only talked about waterbending every time they've spoke (and Aang has not waterbended once even tho he was an immediate natural at it, but whatever about that).

Again, I didn't mind that they made all these stories happen at Omashu, instead of one of them being Omashu, one of them being at the Northern Air Temple, and the other being in a pretty forest. Missed out on great scenery but, again, wtv.

The most important thing to me is that I need these characters to build their bond first and foremost. Then those changes would matter less.

Even the ep after that, the ep that Omashu should have originally centred around, was Aang meeting Bumi without Sokka and Katara. And instead of Aang and Katara in the love tunnel (since they're basically implying Aang and Katara are not gonna be a thing), they show Sokka and Katara's sibling love as a mean's of escaping the tunnel.

So we're at ep 3 and 4 by this point and they've been separated from Aang the whole time.

Changes from what I can remember off the top of my head (that I want to assume, are for a reason, so I'm not going to say they're changes that I hate, I just, currently, don't get them):

Aang is mildly playful, but defo not Aang level of playful. I'm not expecting him to go penguin sledding or ride the elephant koi, but idk........... something. Anything. It would have been fun if they made him play airball at least. I'm glad there was at least a brief BRIEF scene of them using the mailing system in Omashu.

There's no room at the air temple that shows all the past Avatar statues, which glow when Aang goes into the Avatar state which basically alerts the world he's awakaned. People just kinda........... learn he has awakened. Somehow. But Kiyoshi's statue on Kiyoshi island glowed and it led to a cool scene.

Again, Aang not knowing any waterbending. I wanna believe they've a reason for this.

Zuko doesn't have any moment where he shows any sorta, idk... respect or fear of Aang? Like he hasn't witnessed Aang show power enough to impress him

Zhao and Zuko didn't fight, another fantastic scene to show Zuko's character

Currently no pirates or foretuneteller, but may happen in the next

Iroh's dialogue is a bit... well... its different...

Changes I thought were fine:

Aang can sorta fly

Their discovery of Appa not being as dramatic was fine to me. Classic OG series moment of Sokka realising Appa could fly but I didn't mind them just getting straight to it

Aang not revealing he's the avatar but Gran-gran doing it instead

Aang already having the bison whistle given to him by kid!Bumi

The air temple backstory and Gyatso's speech to Aang not being in a flashback but in the spirit world

Zuko has a briefly important journal

The scroll being given to Katara by her gran instead of stealing it from pirates

Idk why Suki has a mother, she's not really relevant, but its fine

Azula shoots arrows, which is cool

Azula's reveal was half-cool and half-bad. I liked her in the scene, everyone else was an idiot. Did they think it would be that easy?

Aang and Iroh have had two scenes involving a prison together

Koh the face stealer was introduced early instead of during the North Pole eps where he tells Aang who the moon and ocean spirits are, which means he's going to find that out some other way in those eps.

Kioshi giving Aang wisdom before Roku

Katara and Sokka dont come down with a random illness which results in Aang looking for frogs and getting captured by Zhao and saved by Zuko

Scenes I really wish they'd kept:

Okay, this one was really important to me, bc it was the exact moment I fell in love with the show in 2005. Aangs first Avatar state moment.

In order, Aang playfully escapes some firebenders with some slick moves. An alert is made that he's escaped. Him and Zuko have a brief fight (Agni Kai music heck yeah), Aang escapes and attempts to jump off the boat with his glider, Zuko stops him and attacks Aang and then he falls into the ocean. Katara calls his name, he awakens his Avatar state and knocks out Zuko and the firebenders and then Sokka and Katara save him. And then Zuko and Iroh attack Appa and Aang redirects it.

Instead, Aang fights absolutely nobody. There's no alert that he's escaped but Zuko somehow knows?? Aang jumps off and successfully uses his glider and gets onto Appa. Zuko attacks and Katara uses BIG waterbending to save everyone.

That moment adapted well could have sold this show for me.

In addition to that:

The "Avatar" test that proved to the Air Nomads that Aang was the Avatar. Instead they just kinda showed that he was more gifted than everyone else so that's how they knew.

The big change I think most people were a fan of:

Kiyoshi's appearance. Bad. Ass.

What I like:

Sokka and Zuko. I think the casting is fantastic for these two.

Appa and Momo.

People actually being burned alive. Idk, it shows the brutality more in this version

Azula has potential

What I h a t e:

Okay. Ep 1 31:38. This scene kinda shows a few things at once. Its just so… strangely written and acted by everyone except Sokka. Aang overacts (throughout the show), Katara underacts (throughout the show). The way Aang plays with the kids is odd. The way he doesn't even have any sort of reaction to seeing Katara for the first time sucks. Katara looks depressed most of the time and she just stands around a lot without a word to say. Tbh she doesn't even really know how to stand without looking awkward.

Katara did not give Aang her motivational and heartwarming speech at the air temple which basically told Aang that the three of them are now family. He just sorta… calmed himself down. All she did was call his name

Again, the lack of relationship these two have

Ozai continuously praising Zuko and Azula being insecure? So so SO early???

The season 2 stuff. There's enough to gather from season 1 so this makes no sense to me. They've basically shown the swamp ep already. And the swamp ep is where Aang first see's Toph, y'know, super important fan favourite character. Which means she's going to get a different introduction.

Bumi's "tests"? WHERE WERE THEY? HE KEPT SAYING TESTS BUT NONE HAPPENED. ALSO THE LAST ONE IN THE ORIGINAL WAS ABOUT GUESSING WHO HE WAS, BUT AANG KNOWS WHO HE IS THE SECOND THEY MEET. SO HIS CHARACTER WAS COMPLETELD CHANGED. WHY THO.

Uh, that's all I can remember off the top of my head (I just went to check that one timestamp, but other than that, this is all from memory).

I've one ep left and then the last two will be in the North Pole eps.

I know the one ep left before those two will feature Roku's appearance (hopefully on a dragon but prob not) and Zuko as the Blue Spirit as a combo ep, which I think is also combining the Sokka and Katara sick episode but instead of them being sick, they're about to be eaten by Koh (which makes him more menacing, something the OG show didn't do so I'm fine with this). I just hate that these characters are separated so much.

BUILD THE BOND GODDAMIT.

[dotthings]

The idea that a 23 episode season is necessary to flesh out characters and show different, fun situations, to pause and let the story and characters breathe and develop has no connection to my direct experience watching tv shows.

Speaking from the pov of intaking the story, “reader” pov.

The quality of the writing, choices on pacing, the size of the cast, the budget are all factors that can impact story, but I’ve seen large ensembles do deeper character more satisfying character interactions in 8-13 eps a season than some smaller ensembles do in 22.

Shows with 8-13 eps a season can make their worlds feel real and deep and rich in ways some 22-23 ep shows of the traditional era couldn’t. Maybe that richness in part is a by-product of seasons where the budgets aren’t stretched thin—if 22 ep season and a 13 ep season cost the same overall, the 13 ep season will have more money to deploy per episode, so there’s a richer, deeper feel to it.

Some shows are shorter because in fact their budgets are so high, and the results are beautiful but it’s expensive to make. A 22 ep season would be prohibitive costs and each episode would suffer for it.

Most of this pertains to the streaming model. Linear broadcast is a different model, an linear broadcast is gasping to keep its life.

It’s not great news when linear broadcast series get episode orders cut. It means budgets have been cut. It means danger of cancellation. It’s rarer on linear broadcast still. But since linear broadcast stories are practically an endangered species now anyway (and genre is almost completely extinct on linear broadcast) it’s almost moot. More change is going to come. Full length seasons are turning into unicorns even on linear.

But in the overall, TV shows as a storytelling format have evolved over time. “Filler” eps are over-rated. Or my definition of “filler” is very different than other people’s. Short seasons do eps that break their format. Long seasons do eps that break their format. That’s not “filler” that’s called doing something innovative.

“Filler” to me is oh not this again and low stakes episode I feel like I’ve seen before, it’s just a different dead body/monster/planet/threat. Something has to fill those 22 hours for ad time slots.

Length isn’t the determiner of brilliance and when I think about the incredible 8-13 ep season shows I’ve enjoyed, some of which have been wildly innovative, outside the box, or doing outside the box things playing with a box formula, this popularized nostalgia for the supposedly inherently creatively superior in all ways 22-26 season era starts to rankle. Saying this as a fan of many shows of that era.

Maybe it’s because I’m gen X and so I watched a lot of 22-26 ep season glory days series as they aired instead of inhaling a whole series in 2 weeks on streaming and experienced the frustrations of the longer season format live.

Fun fact, the reason traditional linear broadcast (which is different than cable network or streaming business models) had such long seasons was ad revenue. Networks wanted to fill up the broadcast hours slots during a traditional tv season time period. (A scheduling model that’s fading before our eyes).

Now, with streaming having to cry uncle and moving back to an ad revenue model, maybe longer seasons will return someday. I don’t know. But they can probably make more money capping seasons at 13 and it’s a completely different world and business model than it was in the 90’s and 00’s. (And the 80’s was an extra bloated era full of filler eps. I love many of those shows too but the formula wore out and styles moved on).

Seeing some really beautiful work on shows get trashed solely because people claim short seasons made them trash, it’s gotten old.

It’s dumping on the work of creatives who are having to work harder and be more innovative to tell their stories effectively in a shorter format for less salary (because fewer eps to write and they’re paid per ep). And it’s dumping all over TV as a format, period. If you no longer enjoy TV that’s valid. It doesn’t mean it’s a universal truth that longer seasons = better storytelling.

How is it people can understand that a film with bloated runtime is not necessarily creatively superior to a brilliant tightly plotted 90 minute masterpiece but not get this about TV seasons?