#I still have only seen the first episode but I'm so damn ready for more

[melrosing]

so stuff I’ve not liked about the finale and S2 more generally…. unfortunately it’s a lot and i'm thinking i might need to say this in several parts but first and foremost: the pacing really was shit and i don't just mean there weren't enough action scenes i mean the whole season they've had almost nothing to say about these characters and have just been making us think they do by having them repeat the same ham-fisted monologues about power and peace and the cost of war and whatever whilst moving at a glacial pace from one minor plot point to another and by the end of it most of these characters STILL haven't changed, and where they have it feels undeserved, and yes they really are at roughly the place they started so what have they even got to show for these eight hours of TV?? like damn

and I do get that the writer's strike has really effected them here and HBO hacking two eps off their season affected them too and that really can't be helped. but the pacing has been pretty poor from kick off and I can't just put it down to this being a more 'internal' season. i do not care about big battles. it's fine to have a season of a show that’s more about the characters’ interiority rather than plot action. that’s the exact reason why I like AFFC so much.

but these characters barely have interiority like idk what to say. some like Rhaenyra, Jace and Alicent have been spouting the same monologues every episode about wanting peace/wanting agency/wanting peace again etc etc, and the more interesting moments like Alicent's apparent suicide attempts, Rhaenyra's butchering of the dragonseeds etc... I mean where IS the interiority here?? unless they are spelling out a character's thoughts in the most literal way they can (as per Jace's diatribes about the dragonseeds), they leave their audience to do absolutely all the work by showing us nothing, and just leaving us to figure that the characters must be having some kind of thoughts but y'all can decide what they are.

and even Daemon, whose entire ARC was about his interiority.... like look I was so so ready to love this arc. i love fucked up little dream sequences. i love harrenhal. i was really enjoying the angle they took with alys. i was here for it. but now we've seen the whole of his S2 arc, im going to say yes, it was intended as a redemption adjacent kind of arc, and it isn't a very good one. Daemon has a handful of weird dreams, gets shouted at by some Riverlands folk, and he's a changed man.

consider the character everyone compares Daemon to (and who I'm always more than happy to talk about) and that's Jaime. and look at the sheer ground covered in ASOS: Jaime breaks out of a dungeon, Jaime meets a younger version of himself, Jaime gets his hand hacked off, Jaime reveals his anime villain backstory in the bath, Jaime deals with Roose Bolton, Jaime has a weird weirwood dream, Jaime fights a fucking bear - and at this point we're still only about halfway through.

now in contrast, what have they actually managed to do with Daemon this season. where has that finale moment with Rhaenyra been earned. this is not slow pacing for the sake of powerful character development, it's slow because they don't have anything else to say.

and also look at the state of characters like Aemond who seemed really promising in S1, yet in this season he barely reflects on the fact that he hadn't meant to kill Luke, and this war is an accident that he started, etc etc - he's just a killing machine lol. there were some nice touches in there, like i say i enjoyed Helaena telling Aemond how he'll die in the finale. but I no longer trust these writers to do anything with their more inspired ideas because they just consistently fail to do so.

look at Baela!!! like my god, has Baela had the opportunity to do anything except A) what she's told and B) counsel men on their feelings. she has like one moment looking at Daemon and you feel like the series is going to explore how complex it is to be Daemon Targaryen's daughter.... but my god they never do!! so where IS this interiority we've spent eight episodes on! what have they got to show for it!!

and i talked more weeks back about how frustrating i've found the writing of women more generally in this series and as of the finale I am finding it so egregious and so condescending. women want peace. women want to protect their children. women are tired of men. women are tired of war. women are trying to end this war peacefully. women are pacifists. women hate violence. and so on and so on and so on like jesus christ who am i even talking about here. even i don't know. it's so boring. it's so dry. and it requires female characters to always be the paragons of virtue, never do anything truly condemnable, never be unlikeable, never fucking anything except stand around saying how much they hate this. im bored of it and it makes me angry that they would do this in a series that specifically seeks to make everyone grey and everyone complex - they keep suggesting that might extend to the women before abruptly shutting it down again. see Alicent and Rhaenyra even STILL, after EVERYTHING, trying to peacefully shut down the war for the sake of love and friendship in the goddamn finale. I don't believe it anymore!! it's not cute! it's just dull!!!

and finally that just kind of brings me to how shortsighted a lot of the plot developments seem, when you see how the characters fail to reckon with their pasts or shit that just happened. Rhaenyra and Mysaria make out, and then that's never mentioned again and the tone never changes between them. Rhaenyra is done thinking about Luke. Helaena is done thinking about Jaehaerys. Aegon actually didn't mention Jaehaerys in the list of things he's 'lost' in that finale. Alicent's relationship w Viserys was just now condensed to 'we were fond of each other but he always liked your mum better'

like idk it's just. if this season's pacing is all about giving characters the chance to change and grow into the people they'll be when this war REALLY kicks off.... do it. write it. do not just write the same monologue a dozen times and hope it'll hit harder with each. doesn't work like that. sorry.

[st-eve-barnes]

You know that I'm no good (chapter 5)

(Modern Aegon x fem Reader, Modern Sihtric x fem Reader)

Summary: You want Sihtric. Aegon wants Skade. There's only one small problem: Sihtric and Skade are dating each other.

This chapter: in spite of your growing and confusing feelings for Aegon things get cozy with Sihtric as well. (I know my Sihtric girls have been very patient, you're getting a bit more of him this chapter!)

The movie I picked in this chapter was random and I quickly picked one of my fave songs from it not realizing it's actually pretty perfect for Aegon, so go listen to Girl you'll be a woman soon by Urge Overkill.

Warning for the entire series: 18+ for explicit language and smut. Angst/comfort/fluff. Fake dating and so much mutual pining. Mentions of depression/drinking/self harm.

This is an Aegon x Reader fic with a bit of Sihtric x Reader on the side. I've wanted to write a modern AU that combines The Last Kingdom and House of the dragon for a while now so here it is!

Word count: +2900

Masterlist

***

All my fics are also on AO3

***

You were on your couch again the next Friday night, determined not to open the door for anyone this time and enjoy your Netflix alone time. Before you started your Stranger Things rewatch you took one last look at your phone.

Zero messages.

Aegon had been quiet since last weekend. You supposed you could always text him first but you didn’t want to appear too eager, which you of course absolutely were but you didn’t want him to know that. Your feelings for him still confused you and having slept on Helaena’s words you were determined to at least try and follow her advice. 

Focus on just having fun with Aegon and try not to overthink things. And get back to the plan with Sihtric. You were in the middle of the second episode when your phone lit up with a text, from Aegon. You reached for it so fast you almost dropped your phone on the floor. 

So far for not appearing too eager.

“Good evening, moon of my life ❤️”

His text made your heart skip a beat and your lips curled up into the biggest smile. Damned, you hated the effect he had on you.

“Hey, loser,” you texted back.

“Whatcha doin?” his answer came immediately.

“Watching Netflix and not leaving my couch, and you?”

“In my bed watching a movie. I would ask you to come over but you don’t wanna leave your couch so I won't bother.”

Shit.

“What movie?” you typed, ignoring his invite and trying not to think of the image of him lying in his bed all cozy and alone.

“Pulp fiction.”

“Oh, a classic.”

“You’ve seen it?”

“Of course I’ve seen it, a long time ago though, I think I remember I loved it?”

You jumped when your phone rang and your heart leaped again seeing Aegon’s name appear on the screen. You eagerly accepted his call,”Hey, loser.”

His voice was soft and heavy in your ear,“Watch it with me.”

“Aegon, I’m not coming over.”

“That’s not what I meant, look for it on Netflix and we can watch it together, I’m only 5 minutes in, I’ll wait for you.”

You sighed,”I was watching Stranger Things.”

“And now we’re going to watch something that isn’t crap. Come on, doll face, do it, I’ll wait.”

You stopped the episode to type the movie into the search bar. 

“Stranger Things isn’t crap,” you stated in the meantime, settling back in your spot on the couch.”And what gives you the right to interrupt my plans again by the way? Is this going to happen every Friday night?

“Maybe,” Aegon teased,”Would you mind?”

You could practically hear his shit-eating grin through the phone.

"Ask me again in a few weeks," you teased him back and he laughed.

“You ready?” he then asked.

“Ready.”

Aegon let you watch in silence for ten minutes before he started giving you his opinion on certain scenes, which resulted in you having to tell him to shut up because you were missing things.

“But you’ve seen it already,” he ignored your complaints.

“That was years ago, I don’t remember every little detail!” you threw back,"Let me pay attention."

“Okay, fine, I’ll shut up,” he promised. Which lasted for exactly five minutes. You gave up on trying after that, and you had to admit you were kind of enjoying the sound of his voice a little more than the movie anyway. His laughter through the phone warmed your heart and when he sang along to “Girl you’ll be a woman soon” your heart wasn’t the only thing getting overheated.

By the end of the movie he turned more quiet again but you could still hear him breathing right next to your ear, making it feel as if he was right there in the room with you. 

God, how you wished he was right there in the room with you. 

And how you wished the movie was longer than it actually was because before you knew it the end credits started rolling and you could hear Aegon let out a long, tired sigh and yawn.

“Thanks for keeping me company, darling,” he then spoke sweetly.

“Next time you’re watching Stranger Things with me,” you teased him and you could hear him laugh softly.

“Next time you come over and watch it in bed with me,” he whispered in a sleepy voice, putting your stomach in knots.

“Good night, Aegs.”

“Sweet dreams, my beautiful girl.”

***

You had just finished breakfast the next morning when your phone lit up with a text, not Aegon but Helaena this time.

“Party at Sihtric’s house tonight and guess who got us all an invite? You can thank me later, pick you up at 10!”

You couldn’t help but smile and feel excited by her message but your initial excitement wore off quickly when you realized Sihtric wasn’t the one you were excited about. Your first thoughts and the butterflies in your stomach were all for someone else.

When did this happen? Sihtric was the one you’d been crushing on for the past six months or so, the guy you so desperately wanted to date only a few weeks ago, your ultimate dream guy, the prettiest guy you’d ever seen. And now?

Did you even still want him? Or had Aegon wormed his way into your brain and your heart to the point there was no more room for Sihtric?

You closed your eyes, trying to conjure Sihtric’s beautiful features and unique eyes and cast Aegon out but all you could see was two beautiful blue eyes and a dumb smile that didn’t belong to Sihtric.

Fuck.

Another text from Helaena popped up on your screen:”You’d better wear something slutty, I have a feeling tonight is your night, babe!”

You decided on something mildly slutty, one of your best fitting jeans with a low cut top showing off your back and a little cleavage.

When Helaena texted you the address you found out Sihtric didn’t live too far from your apartment. As you walked up the steps to his house you were amazed by the size of it, it looked more like a mansion than a house., you knew he was pretty well off but you still hadn’t expected that.

Helaena locked arms with you as you both walked into the luxurious garden, there was a huge swimming pool, bar and barbecue and quite a few familiar faces hanging around.

“Not bad, huh?” Helaena whispered.

“Not bad,” you agreed,”I’m gonna go look for a bathroom first, I’ll meet you back out here.”

You walked up the stairs to the house and through the kitchen, looking for the bathroom but failing to find one you walked up the stairs.

“Lady Y/N?”

His voice made you turn around instantly and you stared right into his beautiful mismatched eyes. Sihtric was standing at the bottom of the stairs, wearing black jeans and a simple white t-shirt and it looked ridiculously good on him. You almost felt relief when the sight of him still took your breath away.

Maybe your dormant crush on him wasn’t as dead as you had assumed after all.

“You remembered my name,” you smiled surprised.

He returned your smile,”Of course I did. You’re hard to forget.”

He carefully walked up the stairs to get closer to you, reaching out his hand again and when you offered yours he shook it firmly and then held onto it just a little too long, the contact making you blush. 

“How are you enjoying the party?” he asked.

“We’ve only just arrived, but I’m already in awe of this gorgeous house you have here.”

“Ah, I wish I could take credit for that but it’s my parent’s house,” he explained,”I’m just house sitting for them while they’re away for the summer. Let’s just say my place is a little more…modest.”

He gave you a sweet smile that you couldn’t help but return.

“Well, does your parent’s mansion also have a bathroom?”

He smiled,”It has five actually.”

Your eyes widened and he nodded his head and laughed,”I know, so over the top, right? I’ll walk you to the closest one. Follow me.”

You followed him up the stairs, swallowing down the nerves in your stomach and trying not to stare at his ass too much.

“It’s the first door right there,” he pointed,”Do you…want me to wait until you’re done?”

There was a teasing, almost flirty tone to his question.

“No, I think it’s a little early on in our relationship for you to hear me pee,” you teased back.

He laughed again, so loud and so genuine it lit up his entire face and it made you swell with pride. Not only had you managed to talk to him without letting your nerves take the upper hand but you actually managed to make him laugh as well. It made your confidence soar.

“Come find me when you’re done,” he then spoke softer,”The price for using my personal bathroom is a dance. So you owe me one.”

He winked at you again before returning his way down the stairs.

You entered the bathroom with a big sheepish grin on your face and when you looked at your reflexion in the mirror you covered your face with both hands, both excited and slightly embarrassed.

You jumped when your phone beeped, expecting a text from Helaena but it was Aegon this time.

“Just arrived at Sihtric’s but my pretty girlfriend isn’t here :( “

“I’m in the bathroom,” you texted back, smiling to yourself,”Unless you mean one of your other girlfriends…”

“You’re the only one for me, sweetheart. Come find me.”

Your chewed your bottom lip and sighed, feeling those butterflies pop up in your stomach again. 

So that crush definitely wasn’t dead either. You knew Aegon was just playing, pretending to be your boyfriend like you both agreed to and flirting because that was the only way he knew how to communicate with women. None of it meant anything. 

Right?

And Hel’s words still floated around in your head too:“do not fall in love with him because it will not end well”.

Was it too late for that already? Had you already started falling in love with him or was there still time to reverse everything and give Sihtric an actual chance?

***

The party was in full swing by the time you got back outside, Helaena was dancing her ass off on the dance floor with some guys you didn’t recognize. Jace was chilling on a floaty unicorn in the pool and you even spotted Aemond by the bar, dressed in all black as always and filling up his drink while hiding behind his sunglasses even though the sun had gone down a while ago.

Sihtric was talking to some of his friends by the barbecue and much to your surprise you caught his eye almost instantly and he gave you a little wave and a smile. You waved back but didn’t walk up to him, instead you kept looking around until you saw him. 

Aegon, walking up to you with a happy little smile on his lips. His hair was messy and curly and he was wearing light blue jeans, sneakers and a black t shirt. He looked so good for someone who wasn’t your type at all. You couldn’t look away from him and he didn’t seem to be able to look away from you either, not breaking eye contact once until he was standing right in front of you.

“Hey,” you smiled.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he teased, placing one hand on your hip and leaning in to place a lingering kiss on your cheek. You leaned into it and placed your hands on his stomach. It seemed to encourage him because he cupped your cheek and kissed you again, on the lips this time. It was soft and sweet and you fucking melted.

Aegon smiled into the kiss and you slipped your tongue into his mouth, unable to hold yourself back. He didn’t hesitate to reciprocate, kissing you deeper and digging his fingers into your hips as he pulled you closer.

You leaned back too soon for his liking and his mouth chased yours, pulling you into another kiss. You didn’t need to be persuaded, you kissed him back just as eagerly.

There was nothing wrong with playing the game, right? After all he was supposed to be your boyfriend and you were just acting your part. 

Eventually you leaned back again and this time he let you.

“You missed me, huh?” he teased, his smile soft and his hands still resting on your waist.

“Like a hole in the head,” you teased him right back, making him laugh again.

“Shall I get us some drinks?” he suggested.

“Good plan, yeah,” you stepped back from him, relieved to be able to put some distance between you two. 

You could so easily get addicted to his kisses, and his hands, his gorgeous blue eyes. Fuck, you could get addicted to all of him. Maybe you already were but you were just too stubborn to admit that.

“Lady Y/N?”

You turned around to find Sihtric standing right in front of you.

“May I steal you away from your boyfriend for that dance?” he asked, a sweet smile on his face as he reached out his hand to you.

This was a dream and not real life, it must be. Just a month ago you were all alone and ready to give up on men altogether and now these two gorgeous guys were practically begging for your attention? This couldn’t be real, things like that didn't just happen to you.

But when you placed your hand in Sihtric's it felt very real.

He guided you to the dance floor and you followed him eagerly. 

Maybe giving into him would help break this spell Aegon seemed to have put you under, it sure couldn’t hurt.

The song was slow and Sihtric didn’t hesitate to place both hands on your waist, carefully pulling you closer to him but waiting for you to close the final distance. You wrapped both arms around his shoulders, gazing up into his eyes for a moment and finding him staring right back at you, and straight into your soul. 

His eyes were intense and when his lips curled up into the tiniest of smiles you looked away with a smile of your own. 

Sihtric pulled you closer and you leaned into him, giving into the warmth and comfort his body was offering you. He hugged you tighter, you hugged him back, he gently nuzzled into your hair, you moved your fingers into his neck caressing his skin. When his lips brushed against your cheek, obviously very much on purpose, you shamelessly leaned into it.

It felt good to hold him and be held by him, his undivided attention and playful touches felt even better.

He didn’t speak for the longest time but just danced with you, letting you get comfortable with him and helping you relax in his arms. His one hand carefully moved up from your waist to your back and underneath your top, tracing patterns on your exposed skin. His fingers featherlight and leaving goosebumps in their path. His forehead rested against yours, locking eyes with you again and not looking away this time.

Every caress from him was slowly starting to erase Aegon from your mind. 

When Aegon returned with your drinks that’s where he found you, wrapped up in Sihtric’s arms. His jaw clenched at the sight and he quickly turned around, not wanting to look at you both any longer than necessary. For a moment he wasn’t sure what to do with himself and he just froze. He took a long sip from his drink, and then another one until the glass was empty. Then he put your drink down on the table and returned to the house and as far away from the dance floor as he could.

Helaena had witnessed the whole thing and closed her eyes in a deep sigh.

Dancing with Sihtric felt surreal, you’d dreamt about this so often but you never imagined it might actually happen. And you definitely never imagined him being so flirty and sweet with you. You could feel his warm breath on your cheek, his lips inching closer to yours and for a moment you actually thought he was going to kiss you.

He pulled back at the last moment and just continued dancing with you.

“Sorry,” he then whispered,”I didn’t mean to overstep.”

“It’s okay, you didn’t,” you reassured him.

“I know you and Aegon are…”

“Oh, right,” you realized,”And you and Skade of course.”

He just smiled,”Me and Skade aren’t exclusive.”

“Oh.”

“She’s…um…a bit of a free spirit.”

You couldn’t help but smile at his choice of words.

“Anyway, I should let you get back to your boyfriend,” he moved back but not before taking your hand and looking into your eyes one last time,”If things don’t work out between you and him…or if you two are not as exclusive as I think you are…give me a call. We can still do that double date, or…I could just take you out on a date.”

And then he walked away from you, leaving you completely baffled.

You jumped when Helaena put her hand on your shoulder.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” she grinned,”What was that?”

“You watched that happen, right? That wasn’t all just in my head?”

“Oh, no, it happened, he was shamelessly flirting his ass off. I thought he was going to kiss you!”

“So did I…fuck,” you sighed, biting your lip while fighting a smile and feeling your cheeks heat up.

“He wants you, babe, that was so obvious for everyone to see,” Helaena teased with a huge smile on her face,”If you ask me he’s liked you all along and seeing you with Aegon just gave him that little push he needed to pursue it.”

Helaena’s words made your smile fade and your eyes met hers,”Shit, where’s Aegon?”

[amphiptere-art]

Dagnabbit YouTube. Why do you tempt me.

Let me guess it's just another episode of Eclipse going mad and Moon taunting him over it. Perhaps even eclipse getting close to death because he's so violently wants to know before he dies.

How do people enjoy this? How do people enjoy seeing a man go insane and people laughing at him for it? Eclipse is a villain, yes. But we've gone over this. Eclipse is being judged for things he remembers doing but never actually did. This eclipse isn't even a backup. There a copy.

I'm going to guess that moon ripped him a new one for yelling at ruin to try and get him to tell Eclipse why he was created. He's going to call Eclipse a lunatic and a no good bad guy. He's going to say Eclipse is insane and he should be dead now. He wants him to be dead now. He's only alive because he'll come back and be irritation all over again. He's going to tell Eclipse that he's a worthless nothing. He's going to tell Eclipse that he wants him to die and is ready to do it at any time. He's going to yell eclipse for searching methods that are too violent. Perhaps even use some sort of button to torment eclipse with an electrical shock or something.

Why do people like moon?

Why do people think that this man who was tormenting his villain purposely, and using him as a slave is such a good person to look up to?

I'm pretty sure at this point Moon knows that this is a copy that only remembers stuff. They never actually did anything. And yet here he is tormenting them anyways. Here he is yelling at a person that he's pretty sure his insane for being insane. Do you realize how rude that is? You realize how absolutely terrible that is. To yell at a person who's going insane that they are a no good person and should die.

I don't care if eclipse is a bad guy. He was a damn good bad guy. He had motive. But when you look in totality at his crimes he's what. Kill the two people? One stupid government official and lunar. Of which he knew lunar would live. Or at least realized very quickly that lunar was going to live. He hasn't done anything else. He tormented moon and sun for years by chucking them into worlds for goodness sake. The worst torment he ever did was when he induced pain protocols upon moon. He never did anything else.

He caused moon pain. Because moon honestly deserves it. He killed a government human. Which we don't care about. And he tried to kill his lunar. Which was a failure. The only other thing he's done for the entirety of his life. Is throw empty threats, And chuck them into worlds they handled pretty well.

Moon is honestly a more prevalent abuser than eclipse was. I hated seeing lunar get hurt. I think everyone did. But have you seen sun?! This man is scared to say anything to Moon. At least lunar still has a sassy backbone. While he might run away from eclipse. I couldn't honestly not imagine a scenario where lunar talks is fucking head off. Berating eclipse for everything.

You think sun's going to do that? It's taking years of bonding between the two before sun even thought he could voice his opinions. Even after his brother's death. Eclipse is a bad person but can you honestly expect anything better from him? What has he had? Abandonment! That's what he had.

He was locked in a box. And even when he first showed himself. Despite being totally angry and villainous. What did Moon say? "I'm sorry. I didn't know you would get sentient." No! He said you're a fucking virus that I thought I left behind and I never wanted to see again! Eclipse was doing bad things yes, But Moon could have at least owned up to the fact he abandoned a sentient being.

Plus if the solar timeline, as wavy as it is is to be believed. Not eclipse only comes around because they find him early. Like incredibly early. Presumably before the first video occurrence of eclipse happened. Before the year passed. Eclipse had been stuck for a year! I think at that point he probably had already gone insane. Having nothing else to do But watch a version of himself live a life he could have had. Stewing about how he would make sure to tear that life apart if he couldn't have it.

I think everybody knows, That eclipse had every reason to hate moon. And Moon wasn't exactly making his case any better. His abuse upon Sun is clear in so many ways that I am baffled by how it is somehow hidden. I don't care how many people say that siblings have tough love. It's not that tough. It's not tough enough to make the other sibling get so afraid they don't feel like they can say anything to contradict them. Even when Sun tried to. Moon would usually ignore it. Son was continuously battered about he was the weak and dumb one. When moon would say it was just a joke. Which was very few might I add. It felt like he was only saying that so Sun couldn't point it out to him. Because it was "just a joke."

Eclipse is abuse upon lunar is physical yes. It is something that will scar the body forever. Eclipse was consistent enough in his partaking to make sure that lunar always remembered that he was really just always a tool. It's not like eclipse tries a disprove that. The word brother was just a way to get him to listen because Sun and Moon are brothers. And just like Sun and Moon. He has to listen like Sun does. Eclipse was just copying the practices moon had done. He didn't really try anything new. The only thing that was different was the physicality of it. And lunar only had it for the month that they were both free.

Sun has had this abuse for years. Being used as a test subject. I'm not saying what lunar went through is justified. But saying that Eclipse did worse is hilarious. I don't care about the whole adjective of sticks and stones hurting bones. Words hurt. They hurt a lot more. And unlike of the wounds that heal, words will say permeated inside of your psyche forever. There's a reason his taken sun so long to finally tell Moon fuck it. Even after he died and was basically replaced with a copy.

New Moon is following the same footsteps as old moon. The only difference is that he's trying to improve his relationship with Sun. Which is so good for him. Guess what. He's exactly the same in every other avenue. He's the type of person that will look out for the bat of the world and unrightfully torture and kill them because he thinks it's okay. He thinks it's okay to put bad people through pain. There's a reason our legal system only puts them in jail. There's a reason the death sentence is kind of hard to get. Because it's not right!

Moon is basing his goddamn hatred upon another moon. The old moon. New Moon didn't even know who Eclipse was. New Moon just knew the eclipse was causing Sun pain. He really has no reason to hate eclipse so thoroughly, other than that. Shouldn't he be more forgiving towards what is essentially a copy?? Like himself?? Why are people cheering this man on? Why do people think what sun, moon, and solar are doing is okay?

Call it empathy for the villain. But unlike OG Eclipse. Who actually had every reason to hate moon. Unlike the backup who only watched the show to remember what he was supposed to do. Given that he's in blood moon, and since blood moon was lost There's no way he would have the memory without watching the show. Meaning that back up eclipse is only doing revenge for OG Eclipse. Backup Eclipse dies. Very sadly. After killing Lunar he did nothing! Absolutely nothing! But sat around until he came down and Sun and Moon killed him!

And then we have wonderful copy Eclipse. Who is so muddled down this line of eclipses. Coming presumably off of the backup. Who was only doing revenge because of the memories of the previous OG Eclipse. Of which copy Eclipse definitely didn't come from a backup. Has only been given the memories of backup presumably. Another layer of I didn't actually do the crime! I just act the same! Layered on top of each other to create a villain who is basically nobody! Even caster calls him a nobody. Eclipse knows himself that he is a nobody.

He is not eclipse! He is the furthest from Eclipse these dangan copies and backups can get! He has done none of the villainous actions. He only remembers them. He didn't do shit. The only thing he has done is kidnapped ruin. Who was returned the same day! Moon is placing crimes upon this eclipse that he never did! He only remembers!

This eclipse has shown remorse in so many ways! He realizes that he as a character, As a copy, after copy, after copy. Is a bad person and no one will ever forgive him! He has given up any idea that he will ever be accepted into anything ever again!

And they just decide we're going to bury this plot further. We're going to make him insane because that's such a good ploy to making a good villain. Oh joy! We're going to have Freddy call him an evil essence! We're going to make sure he lashes out in panicked violence because that makes him such a bad guy!

Don't you dare tell me. Don't you dare tell me this is going to end out okay for eclipse. Look at these characters and tell me what the fuck is going to change? Is Moon ever going to realistically say "I guess you never actually did those crimes, and maybe I should be better to an insane person that ruined me and my brother's life?" Is he really going to say that? It Sun realistically going to say "Oh I guess we're just going to forget all these horrible crimes you've done against us. And I'm going to care for your mental well-being because you're going mad." No! None of these characters are going to ever say that!

Monty has a distaste him. Eclipse is trying to berate solar to feel better about himself, So he's not going to like him. Sun and Moon hate him enough to want him to die! Lunar is terrified of his guts! Earth basically gave up a long time ago when she said that because eclipse doesn't want to change. He can't. What amount of these characters are ever going to say sorry to eclipse. Are ever going to say okay this man might be a little too mentally unstable to treat this bad?

Sun and Moon on multiple occasions have mocked villains for their mental disabilities. Whether it is blood moon not knowing how to fend for himself. Or laughing at eclipses lunacy, because it makes them feel better about themselves. These main characters. These characters that we are supposed to love and root for. Are worse than the villains have ever been right now.

The creators of the show have basically shelved Blood Moon with stitch wraith because of the absolute outlash he got! They tried to shop in the eclipse again because oh no their villain is gone. But they're making him pitiful because making blood moon more villainous backfired. But at the same time they are sticking with the character development save always had around eclipse. Which is that everyone hates him! Making their villain tone down meter. Just turn into torment the underdog actions. They have an improved shit about how to handle their villains. In fact they had made their main characters villains themselves. And yet they keep trying to push eclipse into the villain category. Because that's what he's always been. That's what he's supposed to be.

Guess what creators! If you're attempt is to make your own main characters villainous by making the main villain a soggy cat. You succeeded. No nobody wants to say that Sun and Moon are good people. The only good people we have left in this dumb place. Is Earth and lunar. Solar is riding this weird ride of just following Moon around. Making him just as evil as moon. I don't care how much you are going to try to make moon a good guy again. By making your villain a sad guy. You have stripped every likable fact out of moon that he ever had.

Fuck this show.

[gravityglitch-blog]

To All the Drones, Always and Forever, Part 2

First part here.

Third part here

The rambling returns.

Again, spoilers ahead

Uzi’s shot at the Solver-planet? I admit, I'm a little confused about where they are; I don't think it's Copper Nine, because of reasons I'll get into later. The way she and N react to it are some of my favorite scenes in this episode.

I love them so much💛💜

To have that scene followed by this...

Tell me I'm not the only one who started screaming here. I went into this episode fully aware that one or more of our main characters might not survive, and I thought that's what I was seeing.

N to the rescue again while Uzi reclaimed her heart.

But then the Solver goes after him, clawing at his chest to pull out his core.

"Let me in. Let me in."

This monster from who-knows-where, that uses the skin of one of its victims like a costume and burns through lives like they're nothing, is truly one of the most terrifying things I've seen.

Uzi manages to pull N to temporary cover, but the Solver is relentless.

You can see it's still trying to take over Uzi, but she's doing her level best to fight it and comfort N at the same time.

It hurt when V entered the tunnel, calling out to N. I don't think I've ever seen her look so vulnerable while she confesses her fears, and that she should have been honest with him. She's almost in tears.

But the second he responds, the Solver zeroes in on him.

The damned monster taunts V.

V is so scared, she almost seems willing to submit to the Solver's control again.

But now it's just toying with them.

Maybe I was overly prepared for doom and gloom, but I honestly thought this was it for N here.

Fortunately, Uzi (and Liam) had other ideas.

I will never get over the little smiles in response to this.

I wish I could post the whole fight scene that comes next. I smiled so much when the Solver tried and failed to take control of Uzi.

"I'M FREEEE!!"

And her proud mom cheering her on!

I should have been ready for this next part.

I really should have.

(Cue more inhuman screaming from me.)

Continued in a minute.

[cocktailjjrs]

Okay, so i thought long and hard about this, and i just thought that, this season can't end on a cliffhanger right?

Episode 10 ended halfway through ch 110; so if we think that the remaining .5 chapter takes a minute or two, so excluding op and ed we have 18-19 mins of anime only episode.

But then there isn't anything else remaining in this whole arc that they can leave the 11th episode on a cliffhanger and pick up in season 6 and have enough storyline to last that whole season (or even half). This whole decay of angels things is stretched thin as is, any more and it won't make any sense.

(I'm conveniently going to ignore the fact that the new episode is titled 'Twilight Goodbye'; theories aside, that shit sound terribly depressing. My soukoku heart cant take the possibility of it really being a goodbye...)

I also know that the whole mess getting magically cleared in one episode seems like a pipe-dream (unless the episode is 40-45 mins long); but spilling over next season to wrap this up in another two episodes seems weird anime pacing.

So i can only think that someone missing from the story till now is going to come in at this last moment to set things straight.

The only people still unaccounted for in all this mess are:

Yosano

Kyoka

Mori

Koyo

Verlaine (does he count if he isn't yet introduced in anime or main story?)

Katai

Naomi

Natsume sensei

Kajii (?)

the whole of Guild

I have a feeling that since Yosano was no where near the airport, or even in Anne's room, means she is away from this whole scene and possibly ready to jump in to save Dazai (i really hope) because the ADA members don't exactly need her there at this moment they can survive off the machines a bit longer, but Dazai needs to be saved.

Then we need someone to overpower Fukuchi if we are thinking of taking one order back from him...

Also, someone to outsmart Fyodor now...

All of ADA is down... So in a situation like this, i think the PM top brass (Mori, Koyo and Verlaine) coming through in the clutch would make more sense. The DOA marked them off in their first move, severely underestimated them...

Mori for all his vices is a very cunning man, he has an ability to be cool and calculating, and arrive at an the optimal solution without letting emotions interrupt his decision making. He is a war veteran, he knows how a war is fought and won and he is ready to take any means necessary, however ugly, to reach his end goal. With a bit of intel about the battle field, he can turn the tides in their favour. He already knew about Tachihara, so i don't think he will just sit back after knowing what dangers are just round the corner. He would have started planning then only, if not earlier.

I don't know how can one win over Fukuchi at this point, till the time he has that damn sword, he seems invincible (plot armour and all that crap included), but i think Natsume sensei will have seen him in his cat form, so i really hope he will have a plan to deal with that too...

We also don't know where the big hitters from guild are, Fitzgerald himself is a whole package and he even has eyes of god; something that was used against Fyodor before this... sooooo.....

OR the vampirism get's lifted and this time Shin soukoku finally beat the crap out of Fukuchi, i would love to see that...

Is there anything else that can happen?

[xf-cases-solved]

S1E24: The Erlenmeyer Flask

Case: Our very first season finale! We made it! And as far as X-Files finale episodes go, this one is moderately comprehensible. Mostly. It all starts when Deep Throat recruits Mulder (and by extension, Scully) to investigate the disappearance/presumed death of a guy named uh—gimme a sec—William Secare (I forget names more than I forget locations, and y'all know how often I forget locations). You will remember Secare from the cold open, when he was chased down by some cops and then shot as he jumped into the water, and also his blood is green (think Vulcan, but more acidic). Deep Throat insists that getting to the bottom of the Secare case will get them closer than ever to the Truth. 

Spoiler alert: They do not learn the Truth by the end of this episode.

They do, however, meet a grumpy scientist with a room full of monkeys, who then gets murdered and leaves behind an Erlenmeyer flask labeled "purity control" that might be relevant to the title of the episode. Between bacteria that shouldn't exist, and our first (but not last) encounter with naked guys in tanks, things start to get pretty chaotic. To top it off, Mulder gets his first hit of alien blood burny face disease of the series, and then gets taken captive. Scully and Deep Throat have to work together to save him before it's too late. This goes... not great for Deep Throat in the end. 

Mulder finds extremely damning evidence, only for it to disappear like five minutes later like usual; Scully comes face-to-face with an alien fetus as well as exterrestrial bacteria and yet somehow there are still like 6ish/7ish more seasons to go before she even considers hopping onto the alien belief train; I have that problem I have in every X-Files conspiracy ep, which is that I can't tell middle aged white men apart, nor can I remember names, so I have no idea who is doing what for the majority of the episode (wait until we get to episodes with clones and shape-shifting bounty hunters, man, it's fucking torture); Deep Throat imparts some very important wisdom; and, oh yeah, the X-Files gets shut down.

It's a season finale for the history books, y'all! But I hope you're ready for shit to really get real, bc now it's time for... season 2! ( 🛸🛸🛸🤫)

Does someone die in the cold open: I dunno, does he die? Sure looks like he should have died, what with that gun wound and everything. There's no way he couldn't have died, right? (No, he didn't die.)(At least not in the cold open, I mean.)

Does Mulder present a slideshow: Nope, no finale slideshow :(

Does the evidence survive the investigation: Lol, good one

Whodunit: -vague gesturing at middle aged white guys who work for the shadow government probably-

Convictions: You're cute

Did they solve it: No, but I'll give them experience points, because I'm a kind and benevolent stat collector. They did lose Deep Throat from their inventory tho, whomp whomp. 

[how do i determine if a case is solved? check the scale here: x]

THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY: It not being monkey pee. You're lucky it's not, otherwise you'd be on your own.

***

General Total Stats:

(green means stat has changed since last ep; red means new stat added to list)

Total Cases *Definitively* Solved So Far: 12 (streak ended, and you got the x-files closed down, good job guys!)

Total Number of "Mulder/Scully, It's Me": 3 (FINALLY this stat goes up, also i changed it so it doesn't just pertain to phone calls, it's just whenever one of them says it)

Total Number of Times Scully Has Conveniently Not Seen Something Crucial: 5

Total Number of Times Mulder Has Been in Mortal Danger: 8

Total Number of Times Scully Has Been in Mortal Danger: 8

Total Number of Sexually Charged, Uncomfortably Intimate, and/or Flirty Moments Between Friendly Coworkers: 11

Total Number of Autopsies Scully Has Performed On Screen: 3 

Total Number of Times Scully Plays Doctor: 2

Total Number of Times Mulder Talks to an Informant: 13 (plus Scully and Deep Throat hang out some too) 

Total Number of Times People Making Out in a Car Are Hurt or Killed: 2

Total Number of Times Someone Correctly Guesses a Password: 2 (usually it's mulder, but scully got to do it this time)

Total Number of Nosebleeds: 4

Total Number of Times Mulder Has Tasted/Sniffed/Touched Something Questionable Without Following Proper Safety Procedures: 2 

Total Number of Times Someone Says "Trust No One": 2 (arguably the most notable "trust no one" of the series) 

Total Number of Times Someone Says "I Want to Believe": 3

Total Number of Times Someone Says "The Truth is Out There": 2

Total Number of Cigarettes Cigarette Smoking Man Has Smoked: 6 (apparently the one place he won't smoke is that storage room in the pentagon) 

Total Number of Maggie Scully Sightings: 1

Total Number of Lone Gunmen Sightings: 1

Total Number of Alex Krycek Sightings: 0 :(

Total Number of Times I Had to Look Up What State the Episode Takes Place in Even Though I Literally Just Watched It: 9½ (i upped the stat bc i did look, but i'm mad bc it was just one of those dc/maryland/adjacent areas episodes so i should have known better)

Total Number of Times I Had to Look at an Episode's Wikipedia Page to Fill This Out Because It Was Fucking Confusing and/or Too Boring for Me to Pay Attention: 5 (i followed this one fairly okay sort of)

[wowbright]

2023 Random Highlights

Since it's the end of the year here are some things:

Best Hour of Television: Squid Game Episode 6, Gganbu / 깐부

Obviously this episode relies on the buildup of the first five episodes, but still ... This is easily the most emotionally engaging, devastating, and cathartic episode of TV I have seen in a long time. I was ugly weeping at the end. It was great. The show has weaknesses as well as strengths, but this episode was nearly damn perfect.

Big Craft Project: Memory Quilt for Spouse

I've been working on this king size quilt for more than a year, but this year I finished piecing both the front and the back! The front just needs a few embellishments and then I could be ready for basting as early as next week. Might it be completed in 2024? That would be nice. (I probably won't ever post pictures of this to Tumblr, alas; because it's a memory quilt, it has personally identifying info on it.)

Big Thing I Did

I finally started posting Out of Eden to AO3! This story and universe mean so much to me. They have lived in my head for 10 years. Most of the people I used to talk about this story with when it was starting to form in my head have long left fandom, but new folks have shown up and I am so glad it has found people who love it.

New Foods I Tried and Liked

Tamarind fruit in the pod (I'd only had tamarind in the form of tamarind paste before). The structure of the pods is super interesting and fun to peel apart.

Yellow dragon fruit

Gyoza

Notable Things I Got Rid Of (And I'm Glad I Did)

Deck chairs, old depressing journals, our wobbly elliptical; and a lot of other things only I don't remember what they were

Things I Downsized

Reduced our number of spice jars from 36 to 24 (for some reason this felt like a huge achievement) and we also shrank our insanely large cat tree collection (don't worry we aren't depriving anyone, there are multiple things to climb in every room)

[jtl07]

jt (finally) watches warrior nun - s1 e1

So yeah I confess: I actually haven't sat down and properly watched the series yet! But with the mystery continuation coming, I figured I finally should do it (plus my life right now is about doing things that I've been meaning to do so here we are).

Anyway it's a weird experience, watching Warrior Nun because 1) I've not sat down to watch a show in a long ass time and 2) I already know the major beats and arcs and have characterizations and head canons formed. Still, it's a credit to the whole team that it's still rather compelling.

One of the biggest things that surprised me was how the camera lingers on Ava, giving us a chance to experience things alongside her. (There's some beautiful wide shots - it's interesting to see it all in context after watching so many fanvids lol) Again, I haven't watched a lot of shows in the past, oh, decade, but I'm assuming it's not common now for there to be this kind of breathing room, an opportunity for the actor to yknow, act (which Alba Baptista does brilliantly, not just in her facial expressions but really her whole body gosh). And it's a fantastic device to create sympathy for her, to connect with her emotionally.

I also didn't realize just how central Mary is at the start - and goddamn, does Toya Turner give us everything from the jump. Additionally fascinating is seeing how Vincent's betrayal is also set up from the start - it's kinda fun to know what's going to happen and see the clues. For example, how he deliberately manipulates Mary when she - rightfully - calls him out on choosing her to do the dirty work. The way he puts pressure on Mary by making it seem like she (already emotionally compromised) is the only one he can trust in a seemingly helpless situation made me want to punch him and that's brilliant writing.

Last and mostly, I have to of course talk about Beatrice. The thing that stuck out to me is how much leadership she shows in the small things she does. We see her both in action/in a stressful situation (which I'll talk more about in a sec) and in the aftermath - it's layers that I've only seen in experienced leaders when I was in the military. We see her both as a strategist (leaving Shannon and making Lilith stay) and an emotionally competent leader (reassuring Camila post-battle), but the thing that fascinated me the most is that we also see her as someone capable of doing a hard thing: potentially taking down Mary.

The moment I'm referring to is when they're going to take the halo out of Shannon and Mary refuses, pointing her shotgun at the surgeon.

Look at Beatrice here: She has immediately reached for what looks like a side arm. She glances only once at the surgeon but during the whole exchange, she is focused solely on Mary. There was no hesitation, just a steady at-the-ready the whole time. Would she have threatened Mary if Shannon not spoken up? We'll never know, but it's fascinating all the same, all these little hints of what she's capable of all here in just the first episode.

Also can I just mention just how amazing that "she's right" exchange was between Beatrice and Mary?

Idk if it was the lighting or the makeup or just Kristina Tonteri-Young's brilliant choices (or just all of the above), but the heartbreak in both of their faces is just damn, really freaking good.

In any case, we'll see how long it takes to get through both seasons lol

[gillianthecat]

Jack O' Frost - episode 5

first half of this episode: i am so pissed at Fumiya that I have to keep taking breaks. I'm having a hard time wanting Ritsu to end up with him, his keeping basic facts about Ritsu's life from Ritsu feels like such a massive betrayal of trust that I can't see any way back from it. Certainly if someone did that to me I could not have them be part of my life anymore. In stories I'm often willing to tolerate behavior from characters I wouldn't in my own life, but I think because, as @bengiyo said, Ritsu has already told him (and us!) he hates it when people lie and hide things from him, I can't really imagine a happy ending with them together, no matter how much Fumiya apologizes. I find myself rooting for Ritsu to dump his ass and have a triumphant self-empowered ending, a la The First Wives Club. Or possibily end up back with his ex-boyfriend, but I didn't really feel a spark there, and only ship them out of desperation to keep Ritsu out of Fumiya's hands.

Jack o' Frost saw Old Fashion Cupcake and went: bet. Sure our hand-held long take is only 3 minutes, but we've got nudity and extended making out. Sorry Jo'F, OFC did it better, but that's like trying to beat Simone Biles on floor. It served a very different purpose in the film (memory instead of climatic revelation) and it still was an excellent scene.

The whole birthday flashback did remind me about what Ritsu sees in Fumiya. He's charmingly sweet, and it's understandable that he misses his boyfriend and want him around more, even though he should just COMMUNICATE instead of dropping awkward hints.

And the moment leading up to kiss was really hot. Both actors are very good in the series, and really conveyed the shift from comfortably relaxed to I need you NOW. That tongue lick... the way Fumiya was devouring Ritsu with his eyes... oh my lord 🥵

ok, fun times are over, for them and for us. Fumiya, stop passive-aggressively slamming dishes.

i thought this was another 3 minute long take, but it turns out there was a cut in the middle (perhaps it was supposed to be, but didn't quite work out?) Even so, impressive work from the actors and camera operator. The rising tension in the scene had me on the edge of my seat. I also feel like they choose exactly the right amount of this fight to reveal at the very beginning of the series, just enough for us to get a vague impression of a breakup without actually understanding it yet. It made this 5th episode reveal all the more powerful.

I'm sorry Fumiya, but I'm firmly on Ritsu's side in this one. I'm not saying that Ritsu is perfect; I can understand how his forgetfulness and absorption in his work can be frustrating. And probably if I had only seen this one moment in their relationship I would be more tolerant, but now this is just more evidence of Fumiya's refusal/inability to communicate. He has all these unstated expectations that he's not telling Ritsu, then all of a sudden blows up about them.

Speaking about communication, Fumiya better be telling Ritsu all this and not just remember it in his own damn head.

Ok, phew, apparently he did.

This show is really grappling with how fucked up Fumiya's decision is, which I appreciate. And Ritsu sees things the same way I do, thank god. I really do love him.

I do think the series is quite good. I think I'm not really reacting to it as a BL, actually, which may be why its' been hard for me to figure out what I think of it. There is a wide range of what a BL can be, but this feels a little outside that box. Although it's about their relationship, it really feels like the center of the story is about Fumiya's journey to (hopefully) grow up, and be ready to be in a relationship. It's about learning how to be in a relationship, not about finding love, even though there's an illusion of it being a story about falling in love, since for Ritsu it feels like that. But that's only an illusion, a fantasy world, for both us and for Fumiyo.

It's just really hard for me to see him as capable of being a good partner if he so easily tries to erase Ritsu's agency in their relationship. Like, I sympathize with him being scared, and jumping at a chance for a do-over, but they fact that he actually went through with the lie tells me that he's not really seeing Ritsu as a person, just a paper doll to manipulate into living out his fantasies of domestic bliss.

I wonder how they're going to resolve this in 24 minutes next week. I'm not holding my breath for them giving an ending that satisfies me, although I think I'll consider this a good show regardless. But I will be very impressed if they manage to pull it off. I think for me there will need to be a time skip, and clear evidence of Fumiya really reckoning with how fucked up his mindset was. And Ritsu needs to be the one to approach him again.

Alternatively, I think I would be happy with an ending where they don't get back together, although this show has enough of a romance feel that I don't expect that's the direction it's heading in.

[chibi-pix]

Chibi watches V3D 01

Heyo, lovelies! Been a while since my last "Chibi watches", huh? Well, I'm back. And we'll see how long I can do this because I've got Voltron: The Third Dimension to get through. And. Well. It may be an episode at a time thing. Now, as a preface to this, here's a couple things. I have seen an episode for certain courtesy of @lion-time suggesting one to me. And it's possible that I may have seen an episode or so as a kid with my little brother; but I've been hit in the head way too many times over the years, I can't be sure. There were a handful of CGI shows we would catch on weekends visiting Grammy. Anyway, without further ado, let's see if I remember how to do these watches.

Anyway. Episode 1. Something about Bastille-12.

I don't have much to say about the intro and battle. Sorry 'bout that. And by not having much, I mean I have absolutely nothing.

And. Seeing Zarkon? I just don't trust him being good. Something feels off. And if I'm right or wrong, please do not spoil it. And watching him move and sway. Like, dude? You acting like you're all that and a bag of chips with swagger. What the hell, man? Well, whatever. You do you. But it is nice seeing him move around instead of just sitting on his throne for the most part in DotU. Good on you for finally getting up. It's good for you.

And Lotor. Didn't miss you, man. "But he's not gonna win any beauty contests." Damn, Zarkon, I knew you were a jerk to your son, but still. "If you don't wanna talk to me, I brought someone who is a lot prettier." Ooh, self burn? But he's not wrong. Though, I gotta admit, I'm not too used to/big on this CGI style, but I do like how he looks in it.

Allura speaking and offering friendship and peace. Feels forced. Honey, I like to think there's good in folks, but... this is Lotor. A toxic bastard. There's no helping him.

And hearing Lotor speak. I'm just... Look. Don't get me wrong, I love the actor. But I for the life of me cannot hear Lotor. I only hear Tim Curry.

With the team retired, it feels nice seeing Lance doing stunt shows. And his piloting through the course, it reminds me of my childhood of playing Star Fox on the Super Nintendo (yeah, I'm getting old, I know). Except he's good at it. I always crashed. Of course, I spoke too soon with that one when he got ballsy and crashed. I'm actually not surprised. And I appreciate his sass. Gotta love that attitude a bit.

Poor Pidge feeling old. Buddy, wait until VF, then you can feel a little old. Not that you being 24 there is old. "Will you sign my jpeg?" Gods, that comment. I was gonna ask, "What is this, the 90s?" because that felt like a 90s comment and... uh... this came out late 90s, didn't it?

But, overall? I did enjoy seeing Hunk and Pidge. But poor Hunk didn't have his headband. C'mon, creators! Why'd you take his headband!?

Ah, Keith on his little solo mission. And I love Lance sneaking on. Also, watching Lance, does he have a tiny ponytail? Awww! And Keith giving in and letting Lance join. “Alright Lance, I’ll take you along. I don’t know what I’m gonna tell the high command.” “Tell them I’m your little brother. Mom said you have to take me along.” This dialogue made me giggle. I love it.

And seeing the portal open, my first thought is a wormhole. Okay, that may be my VLD coming in.

“What?! You brought me out here on a ship with no blasters?” “I didn’t bring you out here; you snuck onto my ship.” Ah, more sassy dialogue. I love it. And Keith calling it a "vector jump", I just wanna call it a hyper jump.

What is with Coran's appearance? Go figure. And it's almost amusing at how ready he is to shoot the others down. Not that I blame him. He just wants to protect the castle. "It's changing course! As if some power is guiding it." Ah, welcome to the 90s, with cheesy yet oddly amusing dialogue.

"Still crashing into everything. "You really ought to let me give you a flying lesson." Damn, Allura. But perfect.

"Cut the trip down memory lane, Pidge." Awww! C'mon, Lance! Let Pidge have his memories! He deserves to have memories and be happy about them. Or maybe that's just the part of me who loves stories and memories. I love Hunk just yeeting the equipment to the side. "We'd go to the end of the universe for you, Princess." Hunk, you're adorable.

"You always were kind of a bucket head, Lotor." Okay, look, I'm a Pidge supporter. But. That tone and comment. He's a bit of a little shit, isn't he? And his actions and teasing to get a reaction out of Lotor. I mean... Hmm. Well, in time I'll get more about this Pidge.

And seeing Lotor escaped? That doesn't surprise me.

"Ah gee, we'd love to stay and help you panic, but we better go catch up with our friends. See ya!" Hunk wasting no time. I love it.

Lance calling that robot dude a glorified calculator made me grin. That's the sort of thing I'd say, too. I love it. And I support him going off. Yeah, man! Screw the orders! You do you, man! His team better go and help him. They're a team. They shouldn't listen to orders telling them to stand down. They're the defenders of the universe for a reason.

Well, how about that. Going through the episode. Twice. I turned it on for my initial watch and for notes, and turned it on again while writing this. Go figure how I survived watching the episode twice in a row. But, here I am.

Anyway, that is the first Chibi Watches for this series. Hopefully I can get myself to watch more episodes over time. It'll be slow going, but I've got this. Hopefully. Wish me luck. Until next time!

[headspacedad]

One Piece: ep 5 spoilers

damn

First I've got to say that in Sims 3 there's this world that's got a pirate ship pulled up on the beach that you can eat out at in one of the worlds and yeah, I loved that ship. I miss that ship in sims 4.

I really enjoy the chef character too. I mean, yes, the one in charge of the kitchen - his mustache is magnificent - but the - and I never thought I'd say these words together - rebellious flirt line chef - is an interesting character as well and now that Luffy's found out what his dream is I can only assume he's going to become the next adopted crew member since that seems to be the resume for the job. That should be good for Luffy's stomach at the very least.

I also liked Nami's bit of this episode. First the drinking game with Zoro and then her decision not to split the crew with the Jimmy Buffett captain and run off. Both of them were well directed to put the emphasis on her and the actress really sold it with her facial expressions. Usually I'd find the 'only out for herself' girl annoying by this point in the series but she's allowed to be human and bond and have a growing friendship with the crew and care about them and I really still enjoy her. Her still always ready to make a run for it makes her interesting instead of annoying.

I also really like the introduction of the Shirtless Spanish Musketeer. I was all set to dislike him and be annoyed with him because he was so OP and that's usually a sign that he's going to annoy instead of entertain me - the yellow eyes weren't helping - but no! No, by the end of the episode I thoroughly like him and can't wait to see him come back down the line.

And of course we were all waiting for Zoro. I enjoyed him this episode too, of course I did, but he had a very standard roll to play. The actor did it very well, I really enjoyed watching it play out, but so much of this series so far has been new stuff for me that the fight was just a solid part of the story progression, not anything zingy for me. Good and I get why we had to have it but I'm glad we did it so we can get on with other things. I also think having the SSM be his goal is a really interesting bit because I really liked SSM so I'm looking forward to seeing where that goes down the line. I also appreciate that the white sword held up when his own broke. I'm not overly worried about him dying, we're too early in and I'm pretty sure I've seen him in manga for a long time past the first year of it but I'm curious to see how the show plays a wound that bad and its effect on him.

Lastly, still liking Garp. Him being meal fixated is a funny touch and I appreciate it. I also appreciate how he took the time to explain to Coby what was going on. Also like that Blond Guy also took the time to explain to Coby how the world was. Am I getting a budding teammate storyline with them? I hope so. I really enjoy that their interaction can be more than just 'dumb bully' 'smart kid'.

Another great episode. Thumbs up. I'm hungry though and there's no way the bagel I just had is going to take the place of the food I saw on the show. Of to be a starving pirate washed up on the shores of a floating fish restaurant.

[beachy--head]

I posted 759 times in 2022

That's 759 more posts than 2021!

243 posts created (32%)

516 posts reblogged (68%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@lonelypagess

@jenniferiawrence

@rose-marie-rose

@benwvatt

@thecountessofkilmartin

I tagged 703 of my posts in 2022

Only 7% of my posts had no tags

#japril - 267 posts

#ask - 186 posts

#april kepner - 152 posts

#jackson avery - 133 posts

#drabble - 101 posts

#grey's anatomy - 19 posts

#sarah drew - 19 posts

#b99 - 17 posts

#jesse williams - 16 posts

#japril ff - 15 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#also if you're a slow watcher like me and don't want spoiler from the new season tell me and i'll stop reblogging tua stuff for a few weeks

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I know we're supposed to believe that once a character is off Grey's Anatomy, he stops interacting with the other characters, but you can't convince me that April Kepner doesn't regularly talk to Arizona and that they don't do girls weekends in NY or Boston. Or that she doesn't follow Cristina's career and doesn't send her flowers to congratulate her for her professional achievements. And you know she definitely managed to get Alex's address in Kansas and sends him Christmas cards every year. In return, Izzie has added the Averys to her Christmas cards list, and April can gush over how Eli looks just like Alex.

48 notes - Posted October 28, 2022

#4

Some Japril headcanons I have

– April's middle name is Elizabeth.

– When they were married, Jackson brought April to a Harper Avery gala, and April impressed Harper, though he never said it.

– When she was back in Moline, April named that pig Jax both because she missed her best friend AND because she was mad at him for not calling.

– Back at Mercy West, it was April who sneaked Catherine Avery in the gallery so she'd be able to watch Jackson's first surgery when they were interns. It was then that their friendship started. She never mentioned it to Jackson.

– April still corresponds with Reed's and Charles' parents and sends them a Christmas card every year, with a quick note. They are not ready to receive the next Christmas card, which features April, Jackson and Harriet in matching pyjamas and equally matching grins.

– Harriet can get almost anything she wants from her dad, because he's a big softie when it comes to her, something that April brings up all the time but not so secretely loves.

54 notes - Posted May 7, 2022

#3

"So this picture is Hattie, and this one is April, and this one is April and Hattie, and this one is April and Hattie and me, and this–"

54 notes - Posted October 26, 2022

#2

Jackson Avery's office pictures 🥹

55 notes - Posted November 4, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Random thoughts about Grey's 18x20

– Catherine making people eulogize her when she's still alive is such a Catherine move. Kinda wish we could have seen April's speech though, I bet it would have been amazing. Also, Harriet on her grandma's lap, looking at her dad is so precious.

– That scene between Amelia and April was so sweet. Sometimes love comes back around <3 I knew it from that line everything was fine.

– From Sarah's interviews I thought we were going to see April in the ER way more. What a shame to put her in charge of the pit only to close the hospital to trauma right away. Liked her scenes with Ben though.

– I knew we weren't going to have lots of japril scenes, but I wish they spent those scenes delving a bit more into what their life in Boston looks like. Let's say they kept that for the spinoff.

– Harriet on a sugar coma in her stroller is a mood. SO PRECIOUS.

– That elevator scene is everything I wanted and more. The fact that as soon as they stepped into the elevator he looked at her and his eyes never left her <3 Man is still whipped. Now let's release the whole scene!

– I'm a little underwhelmed tbh, even though that's mainly because I didn't lower my expectations, but the episode just left me wanting way, way more. The whole damn thing.

78 notes - Posted May 27, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[popculturebuffet]

Next up for Warner Bros Animation, favorite character from the first wave of shows they produced for Cartoon Network from 2001-06 (don't worry, the Kids WB half will be in another ask): Justice League, Baby Looney Tunes, 3-South (okay, that was made for MTV but gonna throw it in this batch anyway), Teen Titans, Duck Dodgers, Justice League Unlimited, Firehouse Tales, and Krypto the Superdog?

Fair enough. I woudln't mind doing mtv but since it was part of warner animation it gets thrown in here anyway...

Justice League: Martian Mahunter. I thought this would be hard, the big 7 are damn great in this series and the sequel.. but no. This is the series that made me love Jonn who despite, as i've realized being out of focus, is one of the most intresting characters, someone out of place in his new home but damn well ready to fight for it. A soft nurturing soul and the heart of the team. The Flash is a close second as it made me love wally west before I even knew who was under the mask or that there was more than one.

Justice League holds a special place in my heart. While I did watch the other dc shows as a kid, Justice League was one I followed week to week with rapt attention and the one I saw almost all of (still haven't seen starcrossed) and one I need to rewatch. It was my introduction to a lot of the dc universe, being the reason i'm a fan of Jonn Jones, John Stewart GL, metamorpho, lex luthor , and gorilla grodd. It took these characters and brought me in, had tons of creativity from a horrifying take on the justice society (so bad they had to change them to mildly original characters), to the sobering a new world two parter, to the chilling two pater with dr destiny, taking his more horrror tinged later self and putting him against the league. I cannot say enough good about the series. It's not AS consitant as say BTAS, but it's still something truly special. It's ont perfect in everything it brings forward from the comics, but what it brings itself is amazing.

Baby Looney Tunes: I'm not sure honestly, possibly Lola. But the show itself was adorable and a decently done spinoff babies. It's not really looney or tooney, but it is sweet and is really only shown up by the fact the new muppet babies show managed to do both this and keep the zany insanity of the muppets in there.

3-South: I thought I was wrong I thought I was right, I thought it better not to fight. The show itself I dont' have a faviorite for but I did enjoy. IT's creator would sadly make bordertown

But 3 south is a fun dumb show with some good voice acting, a killer theme song and a gag about what's the captial of thailand that stuck with me for some reason and took me years to find what mtv show it was from.

Teen Titans: 3 2 1 GO TEEN TITANS! Weird pick but i'm going with Cyborg. He's a nice mix of comic relief and a geninely compelling character who struggles with the normal life he can't have, the only titan who really.. misses being a normal person. He puts the anger of his comic self early on aside for instead just some sadness and had some of the best episodes of the show. Sasdly not the best arc but it at least gave us bumblbee and cyborg's hilarious version of the theme.

As for the show itself it's one I need to rewatch in full (I've only rewatched season 1) and easily one of the best dc cartoons, best warner cartoons and possibly best cartoons period. It's energetic, and like the DCAU that's come up a LOT (and will wrap up talking abou tshortly), it takes the key strategy of stripping away the continuity glut down to what makes these characters special, with it's versions often being better than the original: raven is still largely defined by her cartoon self and i'm okay with that.

The show wasn't perfect: Brother blood started well but petered out, the brotherhood of evil, while awesome didn't quite fit as the final foes and the last episode can eat my ass, but the show deftly ballanced comedy and action, had one of the best villians in all of animation who while not really that acurate to the comics , still fucking slaps (Who is slade indeed), and pitch perfect animation, with trouble in tokyo making a better finale than the actual final episode. A childhood faviorite that holds up well for the most part, this ones well worth checking out if you somehow haven't. TEEN TITANS.. GO!

Duck Dodgers: IN THE 24TH AND 1/2 CENTURRRRYYYY. Look having tom jones sing your theme song feels like a cheat. Also the martian queen.. for.. reasons. Moving on.

Duck Dodgers is one I also need to rewatch but remember absolutely loving: funny, on point and a nice update of looney tunes taking a one off flash gordon parody and making an honestly fun flash gordon reboot out of it.

Justice League Unlimited; DUH DUH DUH DUH DUN DUN DUN DUNNNN WHOM WHOM WHOM WHOM WHOM WHOM wha wha wha wha wha shooom. Yeah that was embarassing but damn if it wasn't fun. So faviorite character is hard as Unlimited has a ton to choose from and unlike league wasn't as focused on a main cast. THe big 7 are still important, but others get the spotlight. Out of the new crop I'm ending up going with the question as while I like their ollie and a lot of their interprtations, jeffery combs stole the whole damn show before I even knew who that was, taking a forgetable character with an unfortgetable look and making him a fan faviorite overnight.

The show itself I only saw seasons 1 and 2 of (and like league proper need to rewatch) but it might just suprass the original. It exchanges a tight cast of 7 for a large cast that could be too large in theory but in practice get tons of focus and said focus still largely rests on a few key members: the big 7 (minus jonn who sadly gets bonked down to mission control and Diana who isn't as present), Green Arrow, Supergirl, and Question. But by expanding the league it also allows for bigger stories including a GIANT buffet of cameos from across dc history. The cartoon threw in dead man, had a whole episode for the seven soldiers of victory, stargirl and STRIPE , Wildcat. The series could easily double as a jsa cartoon and I welcome it.

The show's largely anchored by it's overarching plot: Cadamus, asking the question of SHOULD th eleague have all the poewr their amassing, with neither side being entirely right, all capped by an awesome finale and a solid epilogue.. then it kept going but apparently is still pretty good.

JLU is a glorious expansion of an already great show. it's not quite as consitant, but picks up for it by a sheer love for the dcu it gets to explore in earnest.. unless your a batman character. Godddamn bat embargo.

Firehouse Tales; I have no idea what this is

Krypto: KRYPTO THE SUPER DOG! And it's the dog stars. BARK FOR JUSTICE BOW WOW WOW. I loved them at the time for being fun, later for thinking they were a legion of superheroes fill in and now for finding out their actually their own obscure legion of superheroes knockoff the series expanded.

The show itself is unfairly forgotten: despite being aimed at younger kids, I dearly loved it, a fun campy take on a fun campy concept. It just has this energy to it that makes it work, this silver age give no fucks energy merged with great art and a spotlight on characters who probably won't get it again because that super pets movie looked like it missed the boat.

[thisisevenharderthannamingablog]

Liveblogging notes from Ep. 4.

Evidently Porsche was still pretty drunk. Whoops! Such a pretty kiss, too. :(

Oh hey, more mirrors. Who you trying to fool today, Kinn?

Obviously smoking is terrible and no one in real life should do it, but it so useful for writers. Enter Vegas (drastically unhinged, I am aware, but his cheekbones are unreal) with a handy lighter and instructions from his father to find out more about Porsche. Porsche appears relieved that Vegas doesn't want to kill him and is ready to be charmed.

Water again. Kinn you kissed the guy once and you are jealous? Porsche is like "WTF is your problem? Until a month ago I worked in customer service okay?? Don't piss people off for no reason."

Kinn's face through this whole conversation LOL. On the one hand I find this kind of plot tedious; on the other, confused and uncertain is such a different look and honestly it serves him right.

Khun's first hangover. Poor guy really has been sheltered.

Porsche's refusal to respect the local hierarchy is very Disney princess of him. However, this is SO AWKWARD although thematically it combines the fire/water elements which is neat.

Ooh, the tattoo. Oh no it's a mom thing. :(((

Kinn why are you so competitive about stupid stuff is this your dad's fault. Also what is up with this close-enough-to-touch-but-definitely-not-touching thing. This conversation is almost normal getting to know someone? Which under the circumstances, makes it weird. Ironically.

Never mind, it is no longer normal. Kinn has never had to flirt with anyone in his whole life, huh. And yes, this is his own damn fault but at least he looks amused about it.

A view through bars is always interesting. Oh no, look who's still here. And who's keeping an eye on him (or on Porsche, they're the same picture). Vegas is telepathing "you just don't want me to have ANY fun" at Kinn. That's right, asshole, we do not.

If the West inflicted processed cheese slices on Thailand I would like to formally apologize.

Vegas you are trying to recruit Porsche right in front of all of his co-workers and Kinn? Good thing the bodyguards aren't allowed cell phones, they would all be texting each other CAN YOU BELIEVE HE JUST? OMG IK???? and excited emojis under the table. Porsche is the only one who doesn't know what Vegas is talking about, right? Everybody else has worked there a while?

You go talk to him for me and how about you drop dead could we arrange that? Thank god for Tankhun and his absolute lack of filters.

Big, you need to move on. You and your sassy haircut deserve better.

OMG Porsche don't be a snoop, I know you were orphaned young but I'm sure your parents taught you better than that. "I don't know a damn thing" may be the most honest thing you have ever said, and also congrats on finally realizing that you are literally the only straight (for the moment) man in this entire impractically large building except for possibly Korn.

OMG did Pete bat his eyelashes. He is cute.

As "I Kissed a Boy" freakouts go, that was pretty mild. Can we move on from this now please?

Finally checking in on Chay! At least he hasn't starved to death since Porsche disappeared into Mafialand.

He is improbably beautiful. Whoever contributed the other half of the Therapeenyakul genes must have been inhuman.

Chay going right for the gold ring, good for you.

Kinn back in Weird Mode, and now there is Subtext. Is this the first time since the first episode we've seen him in anything other than black/white/gray? First blue, then a little later back to red.

Porsche clearly does not know what the hell he wants at that moment, but with that whole would you want me back question it's just as clear there are wheels turning that he didn't suspect existed until quite recently.

Vegas, why are you making it obvious that someone on the staff has been gossiping with you?

Aww, look at Porsche being almost professional. You'll get there!

Kinn is likely wondering who in the room is going to try to kill him this time, but at least his friends are teasing him about Porsche. They know what's up. Seriously, it delights me when a character generally played as cool isn't isolated and opaque to everyone except their love interest. And these two are like Kinn you are so fucking predictable just go be nice to him idiot?

How many things did teenage Kinn get away with by blaming Khun?

Did Porsche just get fucking roofied. Betrayed by a fellow bartender, that hurts.

This show has a lot of scenes in bathrooms.

So as I was saying about weird competitiveness, which is clearly not one-sided. Being stupidly rich must be fun.

I like how nobody assumes Porsche is just being dumb again, we've got past that.

That went from zero to squick central in a heartbeat, yikes.

Aw. Everybody is so worried!

Wait are you saying Porsche isn't nice? Rude and untrue on two levels, but we'll forgive you a final moment of denial here. Kinn making terrible decisions. Porsche making terrible decisions right back now that his inhibitions have been deep-sixed. The occasional ticklish flinch, omg?? All the slo-mo? Porsche clinging onto him for dear life? Problematic and hot, thanks, show. Hope Porsche at least remembers this in the morning!

Speaking of problematic, once again: yikes.

I have to say that despite the occasionally frequently bonkers material they're working with, the acting in this is solid.

[aarafox]

Arrrrrrggh it costs me all my willpower to not go in the Klance tag but I just HAV E TO K N OW where we stand after season 3!!!! Hhhhhhhhh!!!

[mysteriousowlspy]

This episode came into my house, treated me well, and then beat me to a bloody pulp. Thank you, Dana.

I have a lot to say about 'Hollow Mind' but I'll start with the more light-hearted aspects before delving into the shitload of trauma that was just dumped on us.

Darius.. Darius, Darius, Darius... ugh, I love this man.

He is a sexy villain who leans on doorways, drapes himself across couches, sprawls over armchairs and his first debut scene was a text-book definition of a diva who cared more about his mud-ruined cape and stiletto white boots than morals.

So surprise, surprise when he turns out to not only be a decent adult, BUT is also conspiring with the same person he just arrested.

I would have LOVED to seen how that went down. Imagine arresting a fellow coven head – you have them securely behind bars, ready to hand their treasonous ass over to your Emperor – only to realise your conspiracy about your deceased mentor matches up with their rebellious agenda?

Your co-conspiracy is going great, but the one day you get off a year is the one day the little prince (derogatory) decides to wear your old mentors golden guard sigil.

Which brings me to this:

In Belos' mind Hunter fondly reminiscences about his golden guard coronation and comments on Darius' odd behaviour during his big day.

If you look there are countless coven heads present at Hunter's coronation. Does this mean Darius was somewhat aware of the string of "catastrophes" surrounding the Golden Guard title? Or was he sad because it reminded him of his dead mentor?

I'm not sure but it was a very nice throw in and the fan-fictions are piling up in my head.

This? This was pure comedy... look at these idiots! I'd watch a spin-off on these three having silent conversations for a solid hour.

Darius motioning for Raine not to go and then practically lunging forward in shock when he realises the little prince (affectionate) is stuck in an abuser's mind. Raine silently chastising him for being a hypocrite AND for leaving the vile behind that activated the spell.

Can I just say that I really appreciated Eda's foresight not to crowd the kids when they came out of the mindscape?

Also, Hunter's panic attack was done so damn well. Additionally, I would like to point out that Hunter's first words were "He KNOWS" not 'he might kill me' or 'I can't believe I've been blindly following him this whole time!' This boy has been so deeply conditioned in his abuse that he's still worried about his upcoming punishment and what this'll mean for him.

The sad part for me was these parallels of him originally fawning over the cape as a sign of respect and achievement in child-like wonder before realising the true horrors of those who have come before him.

The bad news is that Hunter is having a panic attack. The good news is that Hunter is unknowingly running straight in the trio's direction.