#Idk I feel like this could be a nice change of pace kind of episode even a mini arc

[lazlolullaby]

Batman Beyond arc concept: the semi-retired Matthew "Matches" Malone + his new apprentices, Cameryn "Cam" Min-Jun and Julio "July" Jimenez

Idk it's just a set up and some vibes. But uh. I don't think Alvin Draper (Tim Drake's underworld cover in the comics) ever made an appearance in the DCAU helping out Matthew "Matches" Malone (Bruce's underworld/henchman cover identity across several universes). so.

Welcome (back) to the underworld, Terry.

After years of surviving in the Gotham underbelly, feeding Batman information and dodging both the cops and angry mafia dons, Matches Malone had decided to retire.

But money didn't go as far as it used to. After a few decades of disappearing, his nest egg ran out. Batman had also vanished in the meantime. He thought he had a few connections, some street kids he fed and put through school, but it didn't work out. They'd made it clear that they'd steal whatever pittance he had left.

So. he thought he'd go out with a bang, burning down one more warehouse in the name of his arson hobby and disappearing into the flames.

That's when Cameryn comes in. Hotheaded and lacking some street knowledge, but with some spit and polish he could be great. A notable lackey for one of the big Rogues. Cam is from Bludhaven, scrounged up his savings to make it big in the mega city of Gotham. It didn't go well. He was homeless and squatting in the aforementioned warehouse where Matches wanted his funeral pyre. Cam tackles Matches away from the flames, angrily demanding why he was trying to kill himself.

Realizing that he couldn't find an answer, Matches decides to take Cam on as an apprentice. Teaching him sneaking techniques, the main families, the history of Gotham and Old Town. They become this duo of gossipers, of grifters and information brokers. Cam is - per his name, good with cameras. Using them, hacking them, hiding from them. Eventually Matches finds out that Cam was sent here by one of his old contacts - it's unclear if it's one of his kids that can't partner him full time like Cam can, or if it was Batman, trying to both help him and train a new underworld contact.

It goes well. Then they get noticed.

A young man named Julio "July" Jimenez thought he recognized Cameryn. But he thought his name was Terry McGinnis. And Cam knew their secret handshake, but disappeared before July could check.

A few days later, Terry shows up at Julio's door, apologetic. Cameryn was a cover story.

Matches is actually his boss, Bruce Wayne. Bruce, after a lifetime of living in Gotham, finally cracked. Back in the day, Bruce was interested in helping people from the ground, not just through donations and social movements. So he created an identity he used to get information that the police and Batman could not.

Now that Bruce is elderly, sometimes the memories between "philanthropic CEO" and "mob mole" end up blurred. Sometimes Bruce doesn't recognize Wayne Manor or Terry. Matches picked up where he left off, defending fellow henchmen, but also being really tempted to just burn everything down.

It took some improv work, but Terry was able to convince Matches that he was an ally. And when Neo Batman realized their predecessors friend was back in the game, they offered help as well. They point Matches to missions and work with him while he's going through his "episodes".

But Barbara had to mess it up by giving Terry a civil service award. (Not exactly for this, no one can really know how bad Bruce got, but.) Now he's burned, he can't be on the streets with Matches. He's stuck as mission control at Wayne Manor.

Terry explains all of this to July. And sits and breathes for a moment. "I haven't actually told anyone else."

"Why not?"

"I can't tell my folks because they'd get worried and make me stop working for Mr. Wayne. Last two times I went to a shrink for myself they turned out to be connected to Rogues, I don't want to risk Mr. Wayne's rep. Powers wants any excuse to get rid of him, and if he's fired, then I'm out of the job too. I told the commissioner because she was a family friend but that got me the award and now my cover is blown." Terry puts his head in his and. "Matches and Bruce ain't bad, they're just. Needing some help."

"I see. Why tell me?"

"I didn't want you to think I was screwing up my life again."

"Wayne was as straightforward as they come. I can't believe you found that skeleton, Terry. Just your luck, huh?"

"yeah."

Another pause. July reaches, starts to hope. "you really believe in him? You think you can take them down?"

Terry immediately knows where this is going. "July. It's dangerous. I can't ask you to do this. You're trying to get out, not go in."

"I'm trying to support myself and my family. You're my family too."

He gets an ear piece and instructions, memorizes faces and places the gangs go to. July gets a stipend, weekly payments that help him and his family out. Terry says he's not paying him his PA salary but July knows better. Terry was right about Mr. Wayne and Matches: they aren't bad, just a bit rough.

Later, when it goes to heck in a hand basket and Neo Batman has to intervene and bail July out:

"You used that same voice when trying to intimidate Charlie. Try again."

Neo Batman pauses, flicks his hand under his chin and then signs "I love you" with narrowed eyes.

Commissioner Barbara Gordon gives July a witness protection deal and a new job in a better part of town.

Terry visits, eventually confirming he's Neo Batman. July is in the loop, helping out where he can. Even if it's just an ear and a break.

Idk it's an outline I don't know how to end it but it ends well. I ❤️ you.

[laroinda]

i just caught up to wind breaker manga (the satoru nii one) and i desperately need to rant abt it

let's start from the fact that i'm not a fan of this genre of manga. the only other delinquent series i've actually read was t*kyo r*vengers but we shall not speak about this one and it certainly didn't leave a good impression of this type of manga on me. so imagine my surprise when i tuned in to the first episode of wind breaker and i found myself tearing up by the end of it, let's just say that it was quite unexpected.

the thing that surprised me the most about this series is the heart that it has. yes it's cheesy, yes it's cringe at times, yes the premise of the town and the school is so silly it might just fall apart if you start looking at it too closely. but the series manages to build the sense of community within this place so fast and so well that i never actually found myself questioning any of that.

another thing that was a really nice surprise was how kind the series is, both with its characters and with the themes it builds itself on. the main one of course being opening yourself up and learning how to trust others. every time we see a character struggle with that it tugs at my heartstrings so much i end up barely able to read the chapter cause my eyes water immediately, especially when it's about sakura himself.

sakura, oh my dear sakura. i could sing him praises for hours i fear so i'll try to keep it short. he's just incredible. he's truly the heart of the story in every sense of the word. he's so kind! he's such a good person, even if he doesn't believe it or doesn't know how to properly express his care for others! he's so lovable from the start, even before you see him grow into the person he is at the current stage of the manga. and he keeps growing and changing and becoming the person he probably never thought he could ever become before he came to furin. and it's all because of the people around him that accept him and let him grow at his pace, even if he makes mistakes or doesn't do things exactly right immediately.

i love the slightly more recent imagery of comparing him to a plant that started to grow since he joined furin. it started in the stretch between the keel arc and the red lights district arc when he decided that furin is the place that he belongs in and we saw a little sprout, but i feel like it's gonna come to full fruition in this arc. it's pretty clear to me considering that endo literally compares him to a flower and his whole thing is to try and set sakura on fire (metaphorically of course... i hope). it's probably gonna be contrasted to umemiya who's literally a gardener and under whose care and leadership, directly or not, sakura was finally able to grow because he was nurtured by those around him. in this case the main person who allowed that to happen would be umemiya as he's the one who made furin into what it is now. also, i've seen quite a lot of people be worried (?) about sakura potentially going with endo to protect furin but idk man i don't think that would happen. the angst potential is incredible but he was literally calling out that girl in the red lights arc (i'm sorry i forgot her name, it slipped my mind cause i've read like 90% of this manga in two days) for... basically doing just that. giving herself up so that others could be safe without thinking about their feelings. i feel like he's probably gonna take that lesson and apply it here.

speaking of which, i love this whole theme of passing down knowledge and advice on how to handle things that are new to you. first it's kotoha telling sakura that he needs allies to be at the top of furin, that he should start facing people that want to be there for him and even the small things like telling him to just say "leave it to me" when someone asks for help. and then, in the keel arc, he uses the same advice he was given before and gives it to someone else who's also struggling with quite similiar things to him. then there's him learning how to rely on other boys in his class and going to kaji for advice, who's very clearly meant to be kind of a parallel to sakura. kaji's went to somewhat similiar things, he's just further down the path of figuring out who he is, what he can and can't do that sakura is (or at least that was the case when they talked). so he gives sakura advice, one that was given to him before by hiragi when he was struggling as a newly made grade captain who felt like he was wholly undeserving of the trust that people placed in him and felt like he's gonna dissapoint them. he knows exactly what sakura is struggling with so he can help him the way he was helped before, the same way that sakura helped nagato before.

i have a lot more thoughts about this series but they are not sorted out in my brain in any way yet so i'm not gonna say anything more cause this on its own is messy as hell

[vanillaxoshi]

If its ok, imma voice out some of my opinions or thoughts about the series sori episode 1

So first of all, the models, like boboiboy's, when i first saw it i was like "oh he looks baby!" And yes he still looks like mochi

Though it is cute. Character or age wise i think that they couldve or shouldve kept it the same face structure like season 1 since at season 1 the expressions are more ok?? And he looked older. Because when i see boi in the sori ep 1 being serious or mad(mostly blaze)

It looks cute, like the face expressions all look cute and i dont think it kind of matches

Bc season 1's model can look cute and mature at the same time

Though its too early to say that comment since not all episodes are out but based on the trailer id say it could be frequent

It feels like it doesn't match the serious elements

And the rendering or colors, its not bad from the upcoming thumbnails and some scenes its beautiful and i like it but is it bad if i prefer bbb movie 2 rendering???

The fire seems like its from a 2d game unless thats what theyre intending and with yaya's power having a full visible ball with outline and everything

I heard theyre using a new program?? Maybe it will improve or kept the same depending on the studio's decision

Im gonna say outrageous on how they didnt make adudu struggle or pushed back to a corner by yaya and yings attack and how easy the got pushed off (gravity and a thousand kicks that fast are that easy to block/defend/offend against)

The fighting didnt intriuge me and i rewatched season 1 the choreography, angles, animation and perspective of the fighting felt better but once again, this is not a full deduction bc of the later episodes

The episode wasnt bad in general but there were alot to point out like lets say i yelled loud and screamed magical girl transformation but then cackled at blaze's pose

Sorry his pose there felt goofy, maybe the camera shot made it goofy idk

Once again face doesnt match and i do hope that hed look older because even if he looks older he could still look cute as its shown in season 1

First half was nice, second half was decent

Sad they didnt include the triple split, wouldve loved to see the elements interacting again but i guess production costs??? Or time limits since this arc is 6 episodes long and i worry how theyd pace and handle it cuz they'll change some scenes and delete some

Boi is de-aged or became more cuter and its nice to see image wise but i guess its a 50/50 animation wise

[hughjidiot]

Thoughts on Season 2, Episode 1 of the Total Drama Island Reboot

So I still haven't seen season one of the reboot in full, only bits and pieces. (IDK what the hell is going on with the US release schedule.) But I've seen enough to get a feel for the plot and characters, and it seems really good. Now the second episode of season two has been leaked and I was able to watch it in full, so here are my thoughts. Spoilers below the cut, obviously.

So Priya is mentioned multiple times as being the season one winner, and to my knowledge Bowie's ending hasn't aired anywhere. Some are wondering if Bowie will even get an ending, but I think he will - alternate winners have been a thing in Total Drama since the beginning, and the finale of the season one was shot in a way that the winner can be interchangeable. So I'm pretty sure Bowie will get an ending where he canonically wins.

Not sure how long Priya, Milie and Bowie will stick around to be honest, since they already got a lot of screentime in season one. Pretty sure Bowie will stick around for a little bit to give us some Rajbow, but I'm not sure about Priya and Millie.

Speaking of Millie, she continues to be her socially awkward self. It's also a nice change of pace to see her genuinely trying at the challenge, even if she still isn't very good.

Caleb is an interesting one. He's obviously still bitter about being voted off first last time, and now he's determined to prove himself. Some have been predicting that he could evolve into a full on antagonist like Justin did in TDA, but I think it's still too early to tell one way or the other. If they go the antagonist route I at least hope he's better than Justin was, who was basically just Alejandro's buggy prototype.

Chase and Emma broke up offscreen, which I'm honestly glad for. I hope this doesn't lead to another "will they/won't they" that lasts for much of the season. In fact if I'm being honest I kind of hope Chase is an early boot and Emma finally moves on to someone who can actually treat her right. That'd be some good development on Emma's part.

Ripper... I'll be honest, he's one of my least favorite contestants of the new generation. He does fit his role of an obnoxious jerk, I'll give him that. But if I'm being honest I hope he's also an early boot because there are other characters far more deserving of screentime; particularly those that got eliminated instead of Ripper back in season one. Which leads me to...

Axel is one of the contestants I'm most excited to see in season two. She's the newest in the "abrasive tomboy" archetype after Eva and Jo. Eva never got any major character development and Jo always stayed a jerk with the occasional moment of kindness, so I was hoping Axel would be the one to break the trend and get some real character development. What we've seen so far with her saying she's trying to be nicer has me cautiously optimistic.

Speaking of character development, how about Nichelle? I and many others expected her to get training and become a stronger contestant, but I wasn't expecting to see evidence of that right off the bat in the first episode! She's another contestant I'll be watching closely.

Damien didn't do a whole lot, which kind of surprised me. Damien was at the top of my list for being a major character in season two, after he lost in season one right as he vowed to start taking the game seriously. But that can still happen; it's only episode one after all, and you can't frontload the first episode with every single plotline right away.

Seeing Julia and MK being on good terms and showing mutual respect was something I didn't see coming after how things went down between them in season one. But you know what, I'm here for an MK/Julia alliance arc. Also MK is my favorite character of the new generation and I look forward to seeing her schemes, especially after she talked about getting her hands on an intern uniform.

Wayne and Raj are wildcards to me, I honestly have no idea how long they'll last or what their specific plots will be. But like I said earlier with Bowie, I think at least he and Raj will stick around for at least a little while for Rajbow. It's genuinely one of the best written couples the show has given us.

Zee I don't picture getting very far. As much as I like Zee he already made it fairly far in season one, and not sure how much material they can get out of his whole "influencer" arc.

Last but not least, Lauren AKA Scary Girl. As a fan of her it hurt to see her voted off first, but I understand; there's other characters that are far more deserving of screentime, and Lauren is pretty one note. That being said, it's obvious we haven't seen the last of Lauren. I'm guessing she'll pull an Ezekiel and keep sneaking back onto to the show to disrupt things.

And that's everything. So far I'm really enjoying this new season and I'll be following it closely.

[citrusacidic]

TELL ME ABOUT ALL OF THEM.

REHEHEHEHEEEEE EVIL CACKLE OKAYYY ZEE SHIP TIMEEE

firstly i do love the Zee ships that are like.. normal??? the ones that make the most sense at least, which tends to be with Chase (self explanatory), Damien (“he’s my biggest supporter”), and Scary Girl (he is generally unbothered by her batshit insanity). like. that shit is cute. love. especially him and scary girl like tehehehe its so good

after that my brain starts turning into mush and i just be shipping him with whoever tf. Ripper? yeah. Caleb? sure. Julia? why not. Emma? giggles and kicks feet.

With Ripper, its very much a “high energy and aggression with most laid back person ever” dynamic, which is silly. Also that specific scene where Ripper is flexing in front of the “ladies” and one of them is Zee.. like okayyy yeah.

Caleb? idk, he didn’t get a chance to be on the show at all really, or make any close friends, so i feel like as Zee is the most friendly and easy to get along with character ever, who better to become close with first.

Julia? again the jackass x unbothered and laidback. and also Zee is probably the only kinda person to be able to actually like Julia WHICH SOUNDS MEAN but shes rlly just a jerk. also the eating episode was so silly, she was egging his ass so bad with that milk lmao.

Emma with Zee LORDDD I really like this one guys. This is very much the “fuck Chase” route but its cute to me. Like Emma has had HORRIBLE history with Chase. and Zee and Chase are pretty close WHICH IS INTERESTING because Zee is SO KIND and SO FRIENDLY and Chase is so none of that. So its like IDK she interacts with Zee and is like “woahh... men can be.. nice..*mind explodes*” and its like a startling but nice change of pace being friends with him. Then it could.. idk.. teehee *kicks feet* get romantic or smth. Also the fact that Emma offered up the idea of flirting with Zee instead of Chase in the show like oh yeah baby time to overthink that big time.

[calliethetrekkie]

Star Trek TOS S01E17: Shore Leave

Original Thoughts

"…okay I knew from fandom osmosis that ST got weird at times, especially in Season 3… but WHAT DID I JUST WATCH?! That was… weird. Not necessarily bad, but weeeeird. I guess it was an attempt to be more comedic and considering that they look like they filmed in a park, save budget. I really can’t give an opinion on this one because I honestly cannot figure out what my opinion is for this one. It’s bizarre but harmless and I’m having a hard time deciding if I liked it or not. Spock more or less tricking Kirk into shore leave was funny though and the idea of a planet that essentially creates your daydreams is interesting, haha. The fist-fight at the end was also fun, so there are some enjoyable aspects if the bizarreness turns you off."

Rewatch Thoughts

Why was past me so anti-fun?! This episode is great!

Ah man, where do I even begin with this one? This episode is ridiculous and cheap... and I love it! You can tell that they filmed most of this in some local park and outright stuck someone in a cheap bunny costume. Yet it doesn't distract from the experience at all, if anything it adds to the bizarreness of it all. It's a chance to let everyone be stupid for a little while and sometimes you need those kinds of episodes. You need to be silly and fun and let the audience have fun too. I kind of feel like we've forgotten that as of late and it needs to change.

As I have gone in production order for this watch, I think that this was well-timed for me. We've had several serious, dramatic episodes in a row such as Conscience of the King, Galileo Seven, and two court martial episodes (well three since The Menagerie is a two-parter). I was kind of glad to get back around to this one when I did. The rabbit, Finnegan, and all the other crazy illusions that pop up make the episode pure chaos. And to think all of this could have been avoided if the planet inhabitants had just left a freakin' sign up or something.

Kirk is an absolute delight here. The guy is stressed and overworked, all of which he brought onto himself but doesn't want a break. Why? Because the Enterprise is full of workaholics. The scene where Spock tricks Kirk into ordering himself to take Shore Leave is one of the freakin' greatest Trek scenes ever. There is NO WAY that I can ever be convinced that Spock and McCoy did NOT plan on pulling this stunt. McCoy knows that Kirk is a stubborn ass and likely wouldn't listen to him, so giving Spock his log entry and Spock baiting Kirk into giving himself the order? Perfection.

Not that Kirk gets a relaxing time... well for the most part. The guy gets annoyed by an old Academy bully (twice), his best friend gets 'killed', and one bad illusion pops up after the other. Even when he's on break he can't catch a break. At least he gets to imagine an old crush of his cause he gets distracted by flowers? Hooray? Okay, that was kinda cute how he was all 'where the Hell is Sulu... oh hey, a flower!'. Never change Jim. Plus he gets to beat the shit out of Finnegan and get his shirt ripped... again. IDK why he even bothers with a shirt, it's just gonna get ripped to shreds.

Though as much as I love Jim here, McCoy is the highlight for me. Yes I realize that this being me that's not saying much, but every scene of his is pure gold. There's the whole Alice in Wonderland scene, then him calling Jim to tell him that he's possibly lost his mind ever so calmly. His flirting with Barrows is cute as is him encouraging her to play princess if she wants to. IDK, he's just kind of endearingly adorable in this one? Mind you he also seemed to have forgotten his brain cells considering he decided to not get out of the way of the knight and got stabbed for his troubles. I blame the rabbit, it broke his brain. But yeah he's so lucky the caretaker managed to fix him. Look, we often see McCoy all grumpy and dealing with everyone's problems, seeing him all relaxed is a nice change of pace!

Not much to say about Spock outside the 'trick Kirk into Shore Leave' scene. I kind of wish we had Jim and Bones yank him into it with them cause Vulcan or not he needs to have at least one. But I supposed that wasn't meant to be. I almost feel like he could have been kept on the ship the whole episode and it wouldn't have really hanged much, but I guess since Nimoy has a Starring credit and is the popular one they gotta include him. Also at the end when the Chorus Girl goes up to him and he seems to have no idea how to react, poor guy. No wonder he prefers to stay on the ship XD

There are so many good moments. Sulu and his glee for guns, Barrows in the princess dress, McCoy and Barrows flirting, it's 40 minutes of ridiculousness and I love it. It's nice to see these characters able to let loose and have fun since thus far it's not a side we've gotten to see much of... well at least by choice. We even got a bit of a feelsy scene when McCoy got 'killed'. Kirk looks like he's on the verge of crying and sounds about ready to beat the shit out of the caretaker until McCoy pops back up alive and well. Even Spock is at a loss and this is around the time that their relationship becomes more argumentative. But that scene aside it's a fun episode.

So a planet where whatever you think of can be created... why did anyone think that this was a good idea? Why did no one think of having a sign or a greeter or something to inform anyone who showed up how the planet worked? Why did they wait so long to clear everything up? Did no one think 'hey maybe this is a bad idea since someone could think up so and so and get someone hurt or worst'. IDC if they have machines that can bring someone back from the verge of death, that won't do shit if someone is legit dead (I refuse to believe that McCoy was dead-dead, none of these people checked his pulse properly and I'll die on that hill.). I have SO many questions on why NO ONE thought through any of this. Maybe the Enterprise crew ended up being the trial run... that's not a bad theory actually. That is now my headcanon!

Not sure if Kirk letting everyone go on the planet was a wise move at the end, but ah well. He gets to have his time with his old crush and actually gets the break that Spock and McCoy wanted him to take. Kind of nice to see him all relaxed considering how tense he was at the start. OH the massage scene! How could I forget the massage scene at the start? Now most everyone knows I'm not a Spirk shipper... but that scene and a few during the climax sure have plenty fo context even I can't ignore haha.

Wow, kind of surprised I managed to make the review this long. I figured I wouldn't have a lot to talk about given the nature of the episode... and I was wrong. But this episode is plain fun. The first time I watched it, I think that I was so taken aback despite knowing that this was one of the weirder episodes that I was unsure of how to feel. Three years later, I can now safely say that it was a delight! The characters are fantastic, the plot is chaotic in the best way, and the cheapness only adds to the fun. You don't always need fancy sets or a million-dollar budget to make a good episode, and this is a really good example of saving on budget but still making something enjoyable. It's not my favorite cause I like me my feelsy plots, but I still had a fun time revisiting this. I highly recommend this one especially if you need something to lift your spirits, it sure lifted mine~

Original Rating: 2.5/5 Rewatch Rating: 7/10

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[narkinafive]

ahshowka breakdown! tagged #ahsoka spoilers and #ahshowka

the good:

when i tell you i almost stood up and cheered during the memorial ceremony. i could feel the great cosmic energy surging through my VEINS, senator jai kell and clancy brown and UGH. thank GOD

relatedly, i really liked having hera be the first person to say his name. idk. it felt nice and in character that she still thinks of her crewmember-cum-son-and-boy

i, for one, am really, really really digging the slow, deliberate pacing. time will tell if it ends up more plodding than contemplative, but i love having the space to breathe and observe... almost like a jedi? lol, but mostly i'm happy not to be taken on a roller coaster

kiner bros putting their whole pussy into the soundtrack

EMAN ESFANDI ON THE RECORDING WHEN HE DOES THE LITTLE HEADSCRATCH i was like yes. yes. this man understands

showing sabine's helmet in the foreground and having her twice avoid it to pull out other stuff from under the table. i have so many thoughts

man i love that they're all kind of bitches to each other. i support unlikable women

huyang: man you suck ass at this whole force thing, huh

the... less good:

ignore the makeup ignore the makeup ignore the makeup

i'm interested to see the show tackle the idea of how to transition from empire to republic, and i think it can be a salient critique of capitalism to have the republic essentially absorbing the imperial workforce so as not to stop production, but i am, as always, skeptical, since LF has uh... not been great about this before (i mean narratively, not even like getting into unfortunate implications lmao)

utterly bored with we-have-asajj-ventress-at-home and the other dude (rip ray stevenson tho, what a phenomenal talent) but i'm hopeful that will change!

dreading thrawn just bc i hate thrawn but that is entirely personal and not at all a critique of the show 😂

seated and watching:

i am extraordinarily interested in the sabine/ahsoka dynamic, and i am dying to know more, because it really is reading like a nasty lesbian breakup. which i am totally okay with

i am less... concerned? wary? of sabine as ahsoka's apprentice than i was before we started. idk, given all the visual emphasis on sabine avoiding these two "opposed" poles (avoiding the jedi by not going to ezra's memorial, avoiding the mandalorian by shoving her armor away under the table) i am curious to see how this plays out. it feels like a natural evolution from her rebels arc of choosing her new family in the ghost crew, but inverted? which i'm interested in. idk. feeling hopeful, tho

there's an interesting motif of seeing things through (and failing to do so) in these first two episodes. obviously ezra says that to sabine almost verbatim, but there's also ahsoka walking away from both anakin and sabine before training was completed, there's the new republic failing to fully eradicate imperial sympathies (sometimes deliberately so), and there's something there too, i think, about failing to confirm thrawn's death. or account for his return? anyway. i'm interested

but truly, highlight of the premiere is huyang being like good god you are bad at this

[liannova]

discussing my thoughts about the different generations of lego friends

— generation 1

i absolutely love this generation. it’s simple, it’s sweet, it’s nostalgic. i was never a huge fan of lego friends growing up, but i still enjoyed it as a kid and have a couple prominent memories in relation to lego friends. (but anyway)

this gen is simplistic in a good way. the plots of the episodes are easy to understand. the characters feel super familiar, you kind of know what to expect with them. and they were established with the intent for at viewers to be able to relate to at least one of them, whether it be in terms of looks or interests. no, it’s not the most diverse lineup ever. if anything, the diversity in this generation was really bad.

i love the way they handled friendships in this, though, specifically with side characters. i liked how mia had plot points with characters like lacy, kate, livi, and fiona. and i always enjoyed the rivalry between stephanie and tanya (and the brief friendship between tanya and emma). there are more dynamics i could state, but these are the ones that come to my mind quickest. i feel like the side characters were unique enough, and every dynamic was unique in its own way, too.

i wasn’t the biggest fan of the voice and animation/design change that happened. it made sense for the movie, but for the episodes, it got confusing to me. a couple voices changed before then, but the alteration of the series between The Grand Hotel and Getting Out The Vote, i’ll probably never be the biggest fan of. i definitely prefer the earlier episodes, and while i absolutely do not hate the later episodes, i kind of just wished the voices stayed. idk why they changed, tbh, including the animation style. maybe it was contract related, or they just wanted something different??? i have no clue, in all honesty

overall, i love this generation. i still have to dive into the webseries lore, though (with the 2D animation). anyways, my favourite character from this generation is definitely mia, and my favourite ship is always mia x emma (miemma).

— generation 2

this is by far my favourite generation. i’m gonna be real, though… i used to not like it at all. i wasn’t a fan of the changes they made (this was when i was heavily into the first gen) and i thought the characters were “too different”

but now, i fight for the exact opposite of what i initially thought about girls on a mission. the animation change is great. the new voices are much more accurate both in terms of character and representation. the modern take on heartlake city is nice for modern times. and the characters personalities aren’t much different from the original… if anything, they’re more interesting. they stayed similar to their original designs and personalities, which is a good thing for fans who previously knew the main five in the previous generation. i’m always gonna defend olivia’s design change (because apparently, it’s a common theme that people are very upset about her new look). it’s easy to tell who is who, and they look different enough in terms of fashion style, too, lol. idk! i just really love the artistic expression within this gen

i like how they continued to have character problem focused episodes in goam. while they were a bit shorter, they were still nicely setup and nicely paced. it’s hard to pick a fav season, tbh. i really love season four because the mall and the fun faire are just beautiful to me. but i’ll forever love the go-kart arc of season one. i feel like they lost me a bit between seasons two and three, but i was not disappointed at all. 

in terms of characters, i would’ve loved to have seen the side characters in goam from the previous gen (specifically livi and tanya). i know, though, that it’s a reboot, and often in reboots, old characters aren’t included and new characters are introduced. that’s okay, though! we got iconic characters like vicky, savannah, camila and claire out of it! and i liked the inclusion of the boy characters within this season. i liked how ethan was the most prominent one for awhile, then it switched over to river.

i’ll forever be a defender of goam. i could write an essay fr. my favourite character from goam has fluctuated over time (going from mia to vicky to stephanie to andrea), but i’d say that andrea and mia are definitely my best girls from this gen. my favourite ships are tied between andrea x emma (andremma) and stephanie x mia (stephmia).

— generation 2.5

this generation confuses me so much. i don’t necessarily hate it. it just came at a time where i was really hoping for a goam season five. i feel it was a bit of a downgrade in terms of animation, and i fear it might be due to the criticisms of “girls on a mission doesn’t even look like lego media at all, the girls don’t look like legos”. i will say, though, that i’m not mad that heartlake stories exist, because it’s a nice closing to generation 2 and bridge into generation 3

i haven’t watched these episodes as much as i’ve watched the episodes of the two previous generations. i will say that at first watch, i don’t enjoy the voice changes as much as i do for goam. but maybe that’s where i just need to be open a bit more (also researching the actresses may help, i always love researching voice actors). the stories feel very close to the vibe of generation one, though, which i rly enjoy. and the new take on heartlake city feels cozy.

you can still tell which character is which. and i like the inclusion of side characters. from what i remember, i think the side characters were included a LOT more than side characters have ever been included in lego friends media.

i don’t have much to say about this generation, as i haven’t given it much thought, let alone much of a chance. i’d be happy with or without it, to be honest. but it was nice to have between goam and generation three. idk if i much of a change in my favourite character for this gen, probably still between mia and andrea, which is probably my favourite ship in this generation, too.

— generation 3

alright y’all, i have tons to say.

i’m OBSESSED with this generation, and it’s only november 2022 (meaning it hasn’t officially released yet, only officially announced).

everything about this generation is so exciting. i’m walking into this gen with an open mindset because i know this is the biggest change within the lego friends franchise, and it’s a change for the better. there has always been a debate on the mere existence of lego friends and how it forces (feminine) stereotypes. i find myself writing against these critiques, as i feel that the existence of lego friends is a positive thing! but now i’ll definitely be writing in favour of lego friends due to this new reboot.

i love love love how media is getting more diverse throughout the past few years. diversity should’ve been set from the start, not followed through a trend. but i’m glad it’s happening, especially even more past girls on a mission. i’m gonna say that i thought goam was pretty diverse already. they diversified the main cast and included many other unique characters within the antagonists, love interests, side characters, and even minor characters. we already had disabled rep in goam, but there’s even more to expect in the new generation, and i’m excited for that.

i’m especially excited for the rep of neurodivergence?!?! this is major. no, like, this is MAJOR. i already have a hunch that, if explicitly stated, liann and nova are very neurodivergent coded (based on their bios), but who knows. dude, they’re probably all neurodivergent. anyway

i’m glad the main five won’t be completely gone. i wonder about the other characters, but mia already appears in a (teased) set for the new generation. the fact that they said “the main five are all grown up” has me in shambles. like, wow. they really have because mia is apparently now a mother?? this is big, everybody.

i have a lot of hope for this generation. i love the inspirational stories around why they are rebooting lego friends, and i am very excited for the animated series. yeah, i’m gonna miss the goam animation style. but i already love the new friends and i can’t wait to get to know them. my favourites based off bios are definitely nova, liann, and paisley. and i’m really excited for the (possible ship) dynamic between aliya and autumn.

[scentofdriedflowers]

first of all my my, Mariska and Kelli back in a scene of barely 2 minutes, and chemistry is back there, like she never left. 😭😭 That scene was awkward but it was supposed to be that way and damn they delivered, Kelli knows so well Amanda gOd I missed her.

And I know they had to write something for her return and giving us this 'particular moment' between Amanda and Olivia is one, I don't know how much is the story and how much is the 'Kelli coming back fix-it' lol, but I'll take it, we can work with that. Beside it's in character of Amanda having difficulty sharing feelings and problems, she's not poof perfectly healed now that's she's happy and married. And I sooo understand Amanda trouble on keeping up with Liv after leaving, especially after Liv initial reaction (and vice versa, Liv probably has her own problems in doing so). And especially now that we discover she's bored in her job. She's scared of maybe disappointing her and feels probably more guilty and doesn't know how to explain, and the more you wait the more it gets awkward after, lol being there done that I feel you girl. Kelli so delivered that feeling. Hopefully next week we will have a nice and deserved emotional deep rolivia scene.

Well personally I always thought she was gonna get bored, Amanda needs 'excitement' in what she does, solving mysteries and getting into people heads. She doesn't hate teaching but she's not challenged, she needs that. What happened to her put a rein in that, she was rightfully scared and deciding to completely change not only job but the energy/pace of it, and choose a teaching position, could have felt right in that moment, but in the long run it didn't work, not for somebody like Amanda.

BUT they HAD to write her off because of assholes so they went with this, probably underestimating the impact that Amanda/Kelli leaving affected viewers. Now I feel like they need to backtrack and find a way to get her back. And I believe they want her back, in what capacity I still don't know but they wouldn't have put the line in there that she's bored if they didn't want to follow through with it. Imo with her job as a detective she has always been in danger kids or no kids, Sonny or no Sonny, but she has changed and it's how she could react to it that should/could be different, but there should be an in between possible from 'going back to work too soon after traumas, overworking and being kind of 'reckless' as she said' to just instead 'being completely scared and drastically leaving svu'. And that's how she could come back, permanently maybe. She can still work as a detective and be more careful, putting her family first and also idk go home sooner maybe (she was more often than not one of the last to leave even after Fin), and Liv would help with that. They just gotta put the effort in writing that, Kelli would deliver, we all know that. And yes she can come back as a consultant too I would be okay with that too, but who am I kidding I miss her as a detective so bad too. Whatever it is I'll take it as long as she comes back. (And oh my this new team doesn't work at all, I had stopped watching after the 11-12th ep I think, and I just had to watch few last episodes to get a hang of it again and follow through, but dear god people weren't kidding when some of them wrote Liv was a kindergarten teacher now jeez lol, unprofessional much?! Hopefully some of them leave next season with the showrunner too please).

Anyway, last thought, welcome back Kelli you were dearly missed, you were there for a bunch of minutes and I was already so excited again to watch the show.

[pjsk-writin]

aaa hey!!! its me i requested haruk with a s/o who has pots i just want to tell you how much i appreciate u <33 idk if u did any research but it definitely looks like you did you wrote it very nicely!!!!! i wouldbt wanna change anything at all you represented it rlly well!! but could i request one more if its ok? (i understand u have a lot of requests so if not you can always decline this or if its out of your comfort zone)

but if you are ok with writing one more could you do maybe smth about what she’d do if the reader fainted? like for me personally (pots is different for a lot of people, some people need walking sticks im so sorry i forgot the name my brain isnt braining today some ppl dont like me thankfully when i do gymnastics i just have to pace myself and take a lot of breaks because if not my heartrate gets too fast and i could faint lol) sorry i got off topic ahah but badically for me sometimes my episodes r really bad and i faint back to back but i can tell when an episofd is about to happen bc i get dizzy and i start sweating/feeling rlly hot and shaky and my heartrate gets waaay too fast which theb i know to sit down n stuff but even then i faint anyways and sometimes its back to back liek once i wake up i could go iut again and it can happen a few times so could you maybe do hcs of what she’d do if the reader was having an episode like that and the reader maybe feels kind of scared bc honestly no matter how many times it happens its always scary but 🤗 tysm one last thing DONT OVERWORK URSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF WE KNOW U LOVE US BUT WE LOVE U TOO AND WANT THE BEST FOR U anyways god this paragraph is long

awww, well ty!! i did do research, id hate to write smth and get it completely wrong- im glad you think so!! and ofc it's ok!! but ahhh I see I see,, well I am making sure to take care of myself, i appreciate you all and I hope yall are also taking care of yourself!!!! idm the paragraph at all, but I do hope you like this!! <3

♧ FAINTING - Haruka Kiritani x Reader

As I mentioned, Haruka gets really good at noticing your symptoms, so when she picks up on them, she'll rush to your side

During the ones where you end up fainting, she'll help you to either sit or lay down, either way keeping you leaned against her

She'll rub your shoulders even while you're passed out, her touch as gentle as can be

Once you wake up and you don't faint again, she'll hold out her bag to you. She doesn't know what exactly you need after fainting, but she's pretty certain that her bag has everything that you would ask her for anyway

If you wake up and promptly faint again, she continues to support you and keep you safe until you eventually wake up again

She's aware that those episodes are scary, she'd honestly be surprised if you weren't scared, so afterwards, she's very gentle with you

"Hey, dear? You're okay, you're safe. I'll always be right here for you." She'll always make sure to say something like that to you after an episode, she just cares about you a ton <3

[single-malt-scotch]

have you been watching old sms episodes yet?

ha well. i watched some old season 3 just earlier... since i have one ep queued bc of some old post i made i looked a few episodes prior and watched those instead to jog my memory. i actually still need to rewatch the uhc sms videos too though.

its weird to say i have been like. hesitant? to watch old mindcrack. not in any bad reason but like. idk if its weird to say that i feel like if i get really back into watching old videos, then ill just be stuck in that time period... and that its weird to live in a bubble of that time and not watch anything new from them- since things have changed so much?

oh anon get ready for a wall of rambling sorry

the first thing i rewatched old mindcrack wise while getting into some hc videos for the first time was team canada's prank on guude's s3 house. but ive like.. barely touched anything since bc of my Weird Anxiety about getting real focused on old videos haha... ive watched loads of new stuff from bdubs, and etho. i mentioned before im not always super into this current day stuff either, and now as i sit down to watch a bit more of the old videos i am seeing such a disparity between them now to where its kinda really hitting me how much less im into the new videos (namely the hc ones bc i dont watch much else new things). my god. new videos are so fast paced.

i just watched over and hour of zisteau and kurt digging out a giant hole in the ground. very little talking (especially from kurt). some small talk but, otherwise... very slow hole digging. and saying its slow isnt an insult to these videos either bc man, it was a nice breather. i remember the moments in mindcrack where stuff would pick up- series of pranks, the bteam stuff, etc, could get 'faster paced' but otherwise it is not comparable to the stuff i see coming out now. and its kind of exhausting to watch the new stuff!! i have to pay attention to the whole episode because they speed up building, they cut out mining, they jump straight to where they fly, etc... other fancy stuff.

so now i really am sitting here like, oh. okay. maybe i will still prefer the old stuff..... which feels a little bad i guess. being stuck in the 2013 era of these ppl wouldnt be so bad if uhhh that wasnt almost 10 years ago, and the fact that barely anyways currently on tumblr cares about that era specifically lol. uh. to summarize, i will probably try to watch em more. gonna work past my guilt because i do miss those videos. my memory is so shit itll be like watching it for the first time (nearly).

[nightshadeslament]

Long vent since it happened over the span of a month-ish. Remember that I’m writing this for me to process so it’s gonna be all over the place. Here’s a tw for family issues? Idk it triggered me into a manic episode so beware ig

I’ll say that this way definitely seem very…whiny? (Not that I’m on here to make myself seem like a saint) but each person here (besides partner A) has traumatized me in the past. I was tryin to work through it just to try to do something fun and nice. So it may not seem like a big deal but it unfortunately digs deep for me. Anywho…

All I wanted to do was something nice to celebrate my mom.

I’ve been trying to convince my two older siblings to help me set something up to celebrate her since BEFORE Mother’s Day. They weren’t very helpful. I pitched a picnic idea two weeks or so before Mother’s Day and they seemed gung ho(??) about it. I figured that since it’s OUR mom we’d all be pitching to figure out what kind of picnic foods we’d have and stuff but everytime I’d bring it back up they just didn’t have anything helpful to say. I suggested dates they were…aloof? Idk how to explain it. They were responding but they weren’t putting in any sort of effort to figure stuff out.

Something about our mom is that she doesn’t like people and most holidays. So having the Mother’s Day celebration doesn’t mean it has to be on Mother’s Day. Honestly it didn’t have to happen at all but I can’t think of a time that we did ever do something to celebrate her. Even on her birthday. I just wanted to try a change of pace. One of my siblings has addressed over the past year and even recently that they wanted to start celebrating little things more in our family too. Practice what you preach? Mmh.

Well I pick the day, the time, the place and tell them in our sibling gc. I’m providing the picnic blanket, I bought a little picnic table, and flowers, all that’s left is the menu. They suggested a charcuterie board (bout the only thing they helped decided). THE DAY BEFORE THE FUCKING SHIT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN oldest sibling thought it was on a Sunday not Thursday and they’re asking to move it back cause they want to go grocery shopping together….mom was already made aware of the plans and was excited. I had to tell her that we had to reschedule and why. The flowers id bought her died on the dining room table. I couldn’t front myself to do anything with them. I asked partner A to get rid of them at some point. There was a lot of frustration and sadness and anger that I was really struggling to process because there way so many layers to the disappointment. I really wasn’t in the right place to process it so I swallowed it best it could and gave up on it all.

The month after was my mom’s birthday. I honestly planned to just go do something with her instead of dealing with my siblings again. Lo and Fucking behold the middling sibling decides to say that we need to do something for her upcoming birthday and the oldest sibling immediately started tossing ideas/helping. You’d never believe that they decided to do a picnic :). I’m not even kidding when I say my eye twitched and I had to set my phone down cause the feelings started bubbling up again. I was very very upset. I don’t remember what I was doing during that time, but it kept me busy thankfully. I didn’t respond to their messages that day when they asked to use my picnic stuff nor the next when they addressed me by name for a separate reason.

The fact that they didn’t give a shit when id tried to plan something but expect me to give a shit now was really ticking me off.

I didn’t respond floor a week or so. I wanted to but everytime I went to say something I’d get so pissed off that I couldn’t think of anything productive or conducive to the conversation to say. So I didn’t. I’ll also say that as upset as I get, I’m terrified of unjustly taking it out on others so I’ll sit on it and process it when and then address it properly.

Middle sibling addressed my being mia. I brushed it off with an excuse cause I wasn’t ready to talk about it. And I didn’t wanna even mention me being upset because that would put tension between us. And tension makes me XTREMELY avoidant and I give a shit about the relationship with my family, so imma try to not trigger that.(Prolly supposed to not care about managing their emotions by suppressing myself own but at least in writing this shit out instead of SHing so take improvement when you can damn it) I don’t want my being upset to prevent my mom being celebrated. So I heart some of their text messages about the whole thing and leave it at that.

Let’s see middle sibling brought up mom’s birthday 3 weeks before the birthday happened. I was admittedly petty for not ever bringing it back up to my siblings so that we could start actually putting it together despite being very aware of time flying by. Again, I was just gonna take her somewhere to celebrate just us two.

But alas the middle sibling come swooping in a whopping three days before moms birthday with the ground breaking text “moms birthday is in three days”.

*tim Allan face with caption “you don’t say”*

I told them that it’s also predicted to be hot humid and potentially rainy. Then went all “well what are we gonna do now hurrrrrr” and then didn’t say anything else. Rolled my eyes cause I’m not doing this again with them. The next day “so mamas birthday????”

Oldest gives a very helpful “uhhhhhhhh”. I woefully suggest hosting a dinner at my house. (We’ve never gone on a trip out of the city as a family none the had a “formal” dinner together) and get a visit from Simon & Garfunkel’s sound of silence. So much much later in the day I say “Going twice for dinner at my house”.

This The only response I get is “what are we gonna make” from the middle. And something snaps in me a little bit and I just give in and take over. My mom’s a vegetarian. They’re both picky eaters so when I asked them what they don’t like middles response was “everything she likes” and i literally tell AI to list SIXTY fucking vegetables and pull off NINE vegetables they I know for a fact that they like and say that they will be enough for a meal. Teetering between being fed up and trying to hold it together by this point.

Prior to this I was trying to get my life together. My house was a mess. I’ve been fighting a depressive episode triggered by the picnic thing failing and other stuff. So now I have to make the menu, by the ingredients, clean the house, and make sure it all stays within the budget that I’ve been working on to keep the house running smoothly.

I think it’s normal for people with AuAdhd to be overwhelmed because instead of looking at a task as the task you break the task down into steps. So it’s like hella steps to get done and you’re just wanting to die the whole time lol.

The oldest helps iron out some details and puts my middle sibling on decorating duty. I do a lot of work to get everything together for the next two days. I have Ehlers Danlos syndrome so I was in a lot of pain after all of that and then having to stand and cook for 4 hours. Middle sibling comes over and is bouncing off the walls irritated and then excited and trying to plan stuff. I dissociated once my oldest sibling came over. Oldest started snapping on everyone cause they were overwhelmed with the music playing and the middles bouncing off the wall and my dogs being exited to see them. My partner was doing everything to keep me from having a meltdown myself by helping get everything ready and fulfilling the middles 800 requests for things cause I couldn’t step away from the stove. They’re a saint truly.

Oldest is trying to get their TWO things in the oven while complaining about everything (well come back tk this). I’m trying to finish the food. Middle is asking a million and one questions and then ushering me to go get my formal wear on while they go and get mom and bring her over.

So the oldest and they’re complaining. It’s gotten worse over the last year but it’s weird for my thought process to be that it was what they were destined to turn into. They complained about the dinner. They complained about dress code. They complained about having to come after work. Complained about work. Complained about what decided to wear. It was triggering because it reminded me their former best friend (who has has traumatized me) and a former friend of mine who’s also messed me up pretty bad. Theres something about it that I can’t put my finger on. Like they’re complaining for comfort and attention? Idk if that’s what it is. But it’s in the manipulative category and it’s escalating on their end and I can’t tolerate being around them anymore because of it. My BIGGEST thing when dealing with anyone who does that is like…what do you want me to say? What SHOUKD I say? Do I play into it and like “aww I’m so sorry”? It’s hard cause I know what they’re doing and i don’t even think I could play into it fr without sounding really fake. I don’t like being fake no matter the situation so it’s just awards for them cause they’ll be all “Ugh this is so much work AND you want me to dress up?! Yall are doing to much. I have to work tomorrowwwww.” Let it be known that they don’t ever see us and we don’t ask these kinds of things of them EVER. So like…if you didn’t wanna be here don’t come idk. PLUS they can’t take a joke. And again any inconvenience to them will make them want to leave. Just…cringey and triggering.

Dinner goes okay. I made the entree, 2/3 sides, and the dessert. Oldest brought a wine, a juice, rolls, and a side that I ended up cooking. Middle decorated. Middle posts on their Facebook about how WE cooked her dinner. I’m not gonna trip too much on that case team effort a little bit. You know that joke where somebody starts a question about something you have to look at to answer and you’re very obviously not looking but answer anyway? Yea that upset the oldest and they were trying to leave the dinner early for the rest of the night. Like nobody way trying to be mean. Nobody was looking, I was refilling drinks. We all answered yes or no laughed cause haha we all just did that at the same time and then looked at the oldest and their face was just 😐 “im leaving. Dont touch me. No I’m leaving.” Had to clarify that we were kidding. They shed if they looked ashy. I thought we were talking ashy elbows and toes (cause mine were very ashy lol again don’t come for me it was a long ass day).

Anyway their response was triggering because of the aggression. Then I was on edge that the middle was gonna be set off. They were getting there. I just wanted moon to enjoy her dinner and have great convo. Got dessert out the over it was a hit and the oldest rushed off after we sang happy birthday.

What sent me into my episode was my mom looking at my partner and telling them “Thank you for hosting.” My partner being the amazing human that they are said “nightshade did all the work I just helped a little bit.” I can only imagine how pathetic I looked there. Just looking at my mom like ”…are you kidding me?”

She wasn’t trying to over look me or my efforts I’d gotten a lot of praise on dinner and the house. She just wanted to give my partner thanks for something cause she hasn’t thanked them for anything really that night. But that wasn’t going through my mind when she said it. All I could think was how even after all the bullshit I dealt with ask the work and pain I went through, THEY get the thanks for hosting. Fuck Mr and my efforts. They barely even helped clean the house!

It just killed the little bit of restraint I had left. Since then I’d wasted $200 on being impulsive and put myself in danger. I felt guilty afterwards and rejected for while before realizing that I’d entered a manic episode and I’ve been on damage control since. Preventing myself from doing anything else stupid. Have I mentioned how much of a saint my partner is? lol. They deal with a lot of my antics and fuck ups and trying to push through triggering situations because I want to be strong and work on my familial relationships. I’m lucky to have them.

Manic episodes are kinda scary for me especially now that I have something to lose. But I’m doing everything I can to stay grounded and work through it. Exhibit A: this post. Thanks for listening to the bull shit. If you made it this far you’re probably bored lol.

Mk bye.

[meanscarletdeceiver]

Idk if your still accepting episode asks so sorry if your not but.

James and the bootlace? (Or whatever the bootlace ones call? I think it's that but I can never remember aha /LH)

Ah, so, I'm pretty fond of this one!

Seems to be a minority opinion (judging from endless Twitter discussions). I've consistently seen "James and the Coaches" ranked among the worst episodes in Season 1—but, really? Ugh, why?

I don't really mind James the Red Engine (the "worst Wilbert Awdry book," as many have claimed, including Awdry himself), and I actively love the S1 James arc. Allcroft made an excellent call once again in combining one of the weaker RWS stories with another, and, as a result, this is probably the best of the three S1 James episodes. (I know lots of people like the following one for showcasing Jamesian determination, and that's cool too, but for sheer narrative structure "Coaches" leaves it in the dust.)

This was one of my top-tier eps when I was a kid. Season 1 James is so emotional and exciting and dazzling; I kind of dislike how he was portrayed afterwards as "irritable asshole supreme." He is such a nice rich character in this season. So up-and-down-y. Yes, he can be a right bastard (to Toby, and to the poor broken coach in this very episode), but it is also so clear in this season how sensitive he is to everyone's opinions, how ambitious he is for glory, how crushed he is by failure. I'm not saying the rest of it excuses the times when he screws up; just, from a character perspective, he is so much more relatable and interesting.

Also, his red paint was indeed very eye-catching and his theme song was super catchy. That definitely helped.

This episode remains a great example of how Season 1 could both do character arcs and let characters fall out of focus? I love how in this episode the narrative shifts from mostly-Thomas to James, I love how Gordon and Henry drop out of sight altogether, I love how Thomas is barely there (but he is there in a natural and useful small role, not shoehorned in—love his two lines so much! he's in the role of "encouraging the newcomers" that is used in later, non-RWS seasons, but he still remains so charmingly in-character and self-important here, not bland at all). Getting to pan over to James, with Edward as deuteragonist plus a focus on some human characters, is just such a great change in pace. In thes early days the show feels like such a terrific combination of "episodic" and "serial" TV.

Gotta love how this is one of the stories that end on an unhappy note. Season 1 was great at this sort of variety! It's not even an "unhappy ending" following a formula used a lot in the early Classic Series of "engine fouls up, gets scolded by FC at the end." Here James starts by flying high, gets scolded in the middle, fouls up, and at the end has regrets and has already "learned his lesson" without needing to be chastised by FC at all (even though it's coming, lol). There's something just so nice and natural and not-so-samey about these early stories. I adore the variety. Adore it.

Also, props to James's crew in this episode, they are so underrated. "Well, where is the bootlace coming from?" asks the guard, like THIS is the biggest objection to this bit of DIY audacity. Love it! And of course Jeremiah Jobling is a one-hit wonder.

Overall, to me it's one of the best "overeager new engine disregards sound advice and gets smacked down by hand of fate" stories out there, and the adaptation is easy on the eyes (and ears) to boot...

(don't say it don't say it don't say it)

... lace.

[stormyoceans]

do you think vegaspete ending is gonna be like an open one? or wrapped up nicely? idk there's only three eps left and idk how they're gonna do it, we don't know if there's gonna be a s2 and i'm starting to feel nervous lmao

tbh i never thought we were gonna get an open ending until talks of a second season started to come up and everyone was like 'oh of course vegaspete and kimchay are gonna have an open ending' which made me PANIC because god knows i wouldn't be able to handle that

i was getting really nervous about this in the past week, but weirdly enough after episode 11 im much more confident on the fact that we're gonna get some kind of resolution for vegaspete

i know some people say the pace is way too fast, and while i do agree vegaspete could fill a whole season by themselves, i personally don't find their progression jarring, so it makes a lot of sense to me if episode 12 is gonna end with pete leaving (however that's gonna happen), and then episode 13 is gonna deal with the two of them being apart from each other

we know episode 14 is most likely gonna be the big showdown between the two families and, more importantly, probably the first time vegas and pete will see each other again. personally, after all of this, i honest to god have no idea how they could end their story if not with pete leaving the main family to become vegas' bodyguard, which would be PERFECT, because it's a nice resolution while also leaving some things open to be explored in a potential second season

narratively speaking, it makes no sense to me that after everything that happened and will happen between them, they'd end the season apart, simply because they're already becoming so entangled with each other that they cannot reprise their previous roles without anything changing

[awu-wangxuan]

I've watched the first two episodes of the veil (kdrama) and I'm obsessed ???? hence I need to get some thoughts off me because ASJDVKFJGFK this drama seems to be sooooo good and interesting and I'm already hooked to its premise!

so first of all: I was not expecting and nor was I ready for such a huge snack to be given to us as a male lead. I am absolutely not familiar with the male actor, I personally have never seen him acting and omg. the shock I had when he appeared for the first time ??? this drama needs to put some warnings ahead and not for the gorey or more disturbing scenes, BUT FOR HIM. like watch out, this dude is gonna come with his huge ass and ripped af muscles and do the utmost to make you feel like he's impregnated you through a screen. i was left speechless, astonished, incapable of putting together any coherent thought and yeah. just watch out for him.

secondly, it was really long since the last time I watched a spy drama/tv show, so the fact that the veil seems to be very well made and nicely paced is already super intriguing for me. I love spy dramas and I love them even more when the male lead is as good looking and hot as nam goong min. besides his looks, he is also super fitting for the role that he's playing, like there wasn't a single minute where I doubted his ability in playing a spy. he looks like he was born for this role, idk he's just so perfect!!! also we have gangs and drug lords involved, lots of action, a little bit of disturbing / more gorey scenes which make the whole thing look a lot more real ... I mean, just looking at quality, it seems like you're watching a western tv show or movie and I'm in no way saying this because those shows are better, but mostly because of how explicit / fast pace the content is. the action scenes are phenomenal as well, and I love how we have a male lead that's not your typical kdrama male lead that solely goes down the road of goodness and kindness and whose only aim is to protect those who are weak, but more like a hunk that wouldn't think twice before punching you if that would get him closer to his aim. he's super goal-oriented and cold and aggressive, but I also appreciate how they didn't shy away from showing his weaker sides. like his loneliness, his ptsd, depression, everything which comes along with his job. it feels much more real and authentic to watch something like this, so truly, good job to the script writers!

they didnt show much of the other characters but I'm already in love with yoo je yi!!! now tbh I didn't understand who is the actual female lead of the drama, but if it's her it would perfect!! she gives the right amount of contrast with han ji hyuk's character and I already love those little glimpse of chemistry we got from the first two episodes!! I believe that, if well developed, they could make a really interesting couple and I don't necessarily mean it in a romantic way (although I would like it better if they had a little bit romance ... it's just that I don't think this is where the drama wants is heading towards). I mean, she has the right personality to make him open a little a bit but also to oppose his black-and-white way of looking at things, his recklessness and toughness. so I'm really looking forward to whatever these two will do as partners and to how staying with each other will change their personality. also, I think soo yeon is the other female lead of the drama, but I don't kinda get her role so far. hopefully they'll give us more hints on whether she's going to be a positive or negative character, in all frankness I'd appreciate the second option more, just to have more variety in the cast.

regarding the plot, the premises were laid in a very stable way, the storyline doesn't seem to be rushed and I feel like almost everyone was given a good enough introduction and time to be 'settled down' as characters. I'm absolutely loving the dark vibes, the politics and the intrigues, the whole idea of guessing who's the traitor inside the organisations, etc (so cliché, but this shit gets me every time). some things aren't exactly clear to me, as the fact of why on earth does a top class spy have his identity, name, face and position revelead to the enemies and is still somehow allowed to work on the field, knowing he could get killed in any moment, but oh well that's kdrama for you.

so, to sum up: I'm loving this drama so far and I hope it will keep its initial pace and level of intelligence and not just turn into trash after few episodes. it does seem to be very promising in my opinion and the fact that the total number of episodes is 12 is kinda relieving me from the fear of them dragging the story in the second half. I definitely recommend it to all of you, especially because I'm craving for more thoughts / opinions / fan content from y'all <3

ps I see how in kdramas 2021 is slowly turning into the year of the dilfs, I see it and I'm absolutely not complaining

[polandspringz]

g:L S2 Finale Liveblog

This one is even more incoherent than the last, im so sorry but i couldn’t be bothered LOL:

Genlock finale liveblog lets goooo

watching this in a dark room w/ my laptp super close is prbs not great w the seizure warnin g but whatever

MIgas in the tank- wait did i even watch last week when did mgias get in a tank

Yaz crying is a nice detail, but still mad they fucked up her backstory

GD THIS IS 31 MINUTES FUCK I CANT DEAL WITH THIS

why did this have to become about climate change

im sorry i hate baby caliban but i also LOVE HIM

Cammie voring everyone

Val is the real MVP f this season lets be real theyve done SO MUCH to support the team

GOD I HATE BROTHER TATE SO MUCH I HATE EVERYONE SO MUCH

Dr.Jha doing the most work

Not sure how i feel about cammie forcibly asceding everyone

Okay i keep clicking out of the video bc im so distracted but thats the point im at, i like cammie giving chase the new weapons but it also feels like im watching a video game

rip henry is dEAD

i dont have a clue whats happening why are we fighting nemesi, why are we fighting the holon frames, i come back to this show every week and forget what happened because i never feel invested enough to retain shit

like whats the point of this fight. What's the emotional investment, Nemesis isn't even someone worth fighting now, there's no combat teamwork in the fights,its just Chase while everyone else- whatever i cant be bothered

Wow cool more blood and thank GOD sinclair is clothed again i did not like seeing his almost dick last episode

Okay I spoke too soon Cammie in Nemsis' head that's cool

idk if u cant recode him just kill him

Wow cammie so you're plan is ruined

WHAT IS THIS MUSIC????? i kind of like it

is sinclair going to kill marin oh my god

I KNEW HOLCROFT TOOK UNLOCK

What is unlock again, using- YOURE GOING TO PAYWALL SURVIVE

SINCLAIR?qel q' q w qw rk

sorry marin i think ur about to die-

plz dont make me watch her die or ill lose it i dont need that gore- wow great cant believe they did that to me

WHAT THE FUCK

guess sinclair isnt on our side- oh we've lost the holon frames, what are we going to like massive link into them or something

no not the fucking monster face

WHY IS IT COUGHING BLOOD NONE OF THIS IS NECESSARY????

Cammie is just like tinkerbell now tbh

THE HOLON FRAME IS ASCENDING?????? WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING

i kind of had a feeling we would fuse- OH ITS EATING THEM

ive never watched eva but this feels like theyre trying for some big philosophical anime ending plot yknow like- why is this show so horror focused now geez

Dr. Jha SUPPORTING HER EX YEAH LETS GO WELLER CONTENT

she got the KOALA!!!!!!!!!!!!

wAIT WHY IS THIS LITERALLY THAT POST ABOUT HOW FUNNY IT IS WHEN SOMEONE IS POINTING A GUN DOWN AT YOU I SAW TODAY????

Was going to say "oh so we're steven universe fusing like i thought" but then i remembered s1's mindshare was basically that too-

Dr. Jha did you really make things better or worse and also I need to know if Kazu is permanently dead or if s3 (if we get it) will sinclair fill the void

How can Tate see this and be like "yes this is what god wants"

At least in s1 i could follow the tech talk but this season its ALL going over my head

oh so we are ALL nemesis now

watching these slow laser bullets is making me miss the cool action fast paced fight of s1 where we first fought nemmy, those camera angles how i miss u

brother tate PERISH

okay so the writers definitely just watched attack on titan before deciding to write this season i guess

HI SINCLAIR

wow call back to yaz's dream in s1 i was about to say and then we really did just become big giant robot

this sequence is cool ill give it that

KAZU HELMENT IM GOING TO CRY!!!! AND THE GUTIAR THAT'S HIS THEME IM GOING TO CRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay s2 hbo you got me there

primal i think u will like this robot a lot maybe s2 is worth saving

*sees the twilight monster again* okay nevermind

Wait that happened so fast I didn't even realize they won i thought we died

CHASE OUT OF THE TANK???!!

Can he exist out of the tank- OH we need to absorb him thats why

2 days later... play that song do it i know u want to

okay baby caliban u have my heart

guess we are NEVER fixing the issues with yaz's past

So Holcroft is the villain of next season

AW CUTE YAZ AND VAL WIN!!!!

So team is splitting up, i HATE this found family is broken up

I like that they didn't force Dri to ascend and we're addressing her trauma now that shit has calmed down and she has to just sit with it

yo what is sinclair up to or is that just the end