#Not like any of my other hyperfixation tests have been coming through lol

[sysig]

Things I deeply enjoyed while rewatching Osmosis Jones:

Drix saying “effervescent”

Richard Horvitz free screening cell

Thrax

[shyphonics]

Salad Days - Chapter 1: I Against I Against I Against I

Rodrick Heffley x Reader

Baby-Punk AU ✨ (part 2 here!)

No use of y/n, no physical description of reader, fem pronouns

Put yourself in the shoes of a snarky, hyper-competent punk bartender with a tragic backstory (but it's totally not a big deal! Who needs therapy?? lol lmao 🤪)

Some loser from the ‘burbs comes into your bar, and against your better judgement, you decide to show him the ropes of the scene. Even though his band name totally sucks.

Rodrick is kind of a sad, insecure boy in this. He's on bad terms with everyone back home, and absolutely refuses to fully acknowledge it. He refuses to acknowledge any of his emotions. And his quickly growing crush on his new bartender friend…

Also it's 2005 because I say so. Flip phones and email babey B)

Lightly angsty. Lightly based on my own experiences bullshitting my way into the bar scene. Lightly based on my hyperfixation on punk history lol.

Songs for this chapter:

(I haven't written anything in YEARS so I'm sorry if this is bad lol. part 2 and 3 are almost finished oops so let me know if you like it)

/////

In a quest for the test to fulfill an achievement

Everybody's only going to pursue themselves

When the fact of the matter is they just don't care

To extend a helping hand to anyone else

“What the fuck are you doing?”

The kid turns around. He looks like a wet rat. His facial expression says he knows he’s in trouble. He's tall and kinda goofy-looking. His dark hair is messy, and his eyes are overlined in black.

“Uh, hi. I'm Rodrick. I'm in a band, I uh, I wanna play a show?” He squeaks out, waving a barely legible flier in the air.

“Have you been in touch with Mike?”

“Mike?”

“You gotta get in touch with Mike.” you cross your arms and lean against the doorframe, one foot kicked over the other.

He stares at you, guilty and confused. Your expression is throwing him off. Raised eyebrow, pursed lips. It’s the face of a disappointed mom, but you’re… young. And pretty?

“Do you want the email, or what?”

You break his thoughts.

“Yes! Email. Mike.”

You retreat to the office, rifling through papers until you retrieve a business card.

“Mike Morello. By the way, you might wanna change that band name.”

He looks at his flier, “Why? What's wrong with it?”

You look at him for a while, raising your eyebrows higher and higher, as high as you can, until he’s frustrated. His lanky figure is bouncing all over the hallway. Like a dog who needs to go outside. A big, dumb dog. You look at him in true disbelief. You can’t believe he doesn’t know. He has to know.

“What? What?! Stop looking at me like that!” His eyes are wide and frantic, begging you to say something.

“It sucks!” you laugh.

“It does not suck!”

“Dude, it totally sucks. It's gross. What kind of music do you even play?”

“Fucking rock n roll, baby!” He’s pissed off. It’s hilarious.

“Uh huh. And what are your influences?”

“Influences?”

“Influences. Motives. Backstory.” You clutch your hand into a self-important fist.

“What's with all the questions?” He nearly screeches.

“I'm preparing you for Mike. He's a cynical old fart who's mentally still in late 70s San Francisco. You need to impress him, get a good story going. He's not gonna put some suburban garage band up there.”

He frowns. That's exactly what they are…

“I-” he starts.

“That's exactly what you are, yeah. I know.” You smile, “I can smell suburbs, dude. You'll figure it out.”

“Can I have your email? Or y'know, your phone number or something?” he looks nervous, “Just for, like, advice.”

You cock an eyebrow, think for a minute, then grab a sticky note. It’s surprising after how riled up you got him, but boys are weird.

“Number’s too risky. What if you're a weirdo or something? Here’s my email.” you finish scribbling down the address and extend your hand.

“Cool. I’ll use it.” He nods, taking it from you very delicately. Weirdly careful not to touch your hand. Again, boys are weird.

“…cool. See you around. Maybe. Diaper boy.” you smirk.

Before he can retort, you shut yourself in the office. He stands there for a while, trying to think of something to say back, but nothing comes to him.

~

I am a patient boy

I wait, I wait, I wait, I wait

My time’s water down a drain

Everybody's moving

Everybody's moving

Everybody's moving, moving, moving, moving

“I think she’s saying we need, like, punk cred. It’s a punk bar, after all.” Rodrick leans back on their crappy couch. It was free on the side of the road when they were moving in.

“Pshh, we are so punk!” Chris chimes in. “Ward has a shaved head!”

He points at Ward's head. Ward crosses his arms and nods approvingly.

“She knew I was from the suburbs just by looking at me.” He puts his head in his hands.

“So what are you gonna say to the guy?” Ben asks.

“I dunno, I kinda wanna email the girl first and ask for advice.” Rodrick mumbles.

“Oh, sure. Advice.” Ben rolls his eyes.

“Yes! Just advice!”

“Is she hot?” Ward giggles.

Silence falls upon the room.

“Whatever! What are our influences? Punk influences!”

“Dude, you're, like, totally wearing a Dead Kennedys shirt!” Chris pipes up.

“Okay, yeah, I like Dead Kennedys.” Rodricks sighs, relieved. He knows ‘Police Truck’. Who doesn’t? It was in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater for fuck’s sake!

“Okay! Uhh, shit, what else did she say… motive!”

“Dude, what?” Ben's eyes go wide, “Like murder?”

“No, dumbass, like why did we start the band?” Ward tosses a crushed beer can at him.

“To get girls? To, uhhh…” Chris trails off.

“To rock and roll! To tell everyone to fuck off and prove them all wrong!” Rodrick yells.

The rest of the guys give a resounding yeah! and raise their beers.

Rodrick opens his laptop, making a big show of stretching his hands. He’s gonna write a masterpiece. Löded Diper is gonna take over this town.

He starts typing furiously, ignoring all the little red squiggles appearing among his words. It doesn't take him long to slow down, though, and he gives up and passes the laptop to Ben. Rodrick’s mind is cloudy. He’s thinking about that girl at the bar. You’d been so… mean. But not? Did you like him? He doesn’t get it.

Heather Hills had made it incredibly clear she did not like him. In fact, she hates him.

He remembers the last day of senior year. He’d handed her a Löded Diper CD, masterfully engineered by the man himself in GarageBand, and asked her to sign his yearbook.

Are you being serious right now? You still owe me for my ice sculpture, pleb!

Oh, uh, right, he’d replied, how much is that again?

Four. Thousand. Dollars. And you’ll never make that much in your life, freak.

He grimaces as the memory infects his brain. Four thousand seemed like a lot for just some ice. He remembers fantasizing, though, about getting signed and nailing down a solid deal. Reimbursing Heather for the sculpture and so much more. Maybe she’d marry him. Hot rockstar with a hot, blonde trophy wife. That had been the dream. Until…

Well. Don’t focus on the past. The past sucks. The future is now.

“Rodrick!” Ben’s hand shakes his shoulder.

“Sorry. Um. I don’t know. I think it’s pretty good!”

Between the bones he had put down, and some additions from the guys, they have what they think is a pretty kickass email.

Rodrick’s mind is still elsewhere, though. The thoughts of Heather had kind of messed with him, and now he’s just thinking about home. He hadn't left on great terms. He really wishes everything could be better. The only support system he has is the band, but they don't talk about that kind of stuff. Not more than once in a blue moon.

He’s where he wants to be and everything. He's living his dream. But something still feels wrong. He feels a little empty.

Your emotions make you a monster

Your emotions make you a monster

Your emotions make you a monster

Your emotions make you a monster

[knickynoo]

hello there!! i’m currently hyperfixating on bttf, so reading your thoughts/headcanons about it has been giving me so much joy and i really appreciate your blog a lot. :)

this might be a strange question and i apologise if you’ve been asked something similar before, but what are your headcanons about marty and doc’s respective relationships with sleep? i doubt that either of them ever get a full eight hours, somehow.

Hi!! Thank youuu; I'm glad you enjoy my blog! No need for an apology. I love getting asks like this about topics I've never really thought about before. This is a fun one. Let me dig through my brain for some headcanons.

DOC!

- My immediate thought when it comes to Doc is: Sleep? Never heard of it. As a man of science, Doc understands the value and importance of sleep, he just doesn't care to actually get any himself. There's just too much to do! So many projects to work on and thoughts in his head. Even if he is tired and attempts to rest, he usually just ends up spending the time doing mental planning and calculations. Some of his best ideas come when he's on the brink of sleep, and he has to then grab a notepad and pencil and jot it all down before he forgets.

- A lot of the time, his poor sleep hygiene is because he simply forgets to go to sleep. He gets so completely absorbed in whatever current super interesting thing he's working on, that everything else around him becomes a void. He has no awareness of any other goings on. Forgets to eat, forgets to go to bed, etc. Then suddenly, something breaks his concentration and he looks up and night has turned back to day, and he's like, "Whoops."

- Whatever semblance of a sleep schedule he does have is largely due to his current dog at the time. Being aware of their needs (when they need to eat, go out, and such) helps to kind of prompt him to be more aware of his own. Not that he always listens, though, lol. It isn't uncommon for him to walk over to Einie in his little dog bed, give him a pat on the head, and go, "Goodnight, Einie. Sweet dreams." *notes that it's like 2am* "Well, back to work!"

- Oh, and getting married changes things a little, as well. Clara is very adamant that he not run himself ragged doing work and forces him to go to bed at a reasonable time. Doc complies, but does so reluctantly. His ability to run on only a handful of hours of sleep comes in handy, though, when Jules and Verne are babies. Clara doesn't argue with him at all when he's the first one out of bed to tend to one of their crying children in the dead of night.

MARTY!

- It's strange, because when you take into account Marty's overall personality, most signs point to him probably never sleeping either. But oddly enough, I don't headcanon that as being the case. In fact, I think Marty is all Go, Go, Go!! except for when it comes to sleep.

- I mean. Look at the way he sleeps? That's somebody who is a deep sleeper. A kid who just passes out and is dead to the world for a solid 8+ hours. Marty flies through his day at full speed--just a flailing, fidgety, impulsive, blur of a boy--and then he falls into bed and is out immediately.

- This is largely the reason why he so often ends up sleeping in his day clothes. There's just such a short window of time where he's capable of actually changing into pajamas. Like, he goes into his room with every intention of putting on pj's, but then he makes the mistake of sitting on his bed for four seconds and, oops, too late, he's asleep already.

- Marty's default response to situations where there isn't anything interesting or exciting going on is just to go to sleep. He's bored in school? Sleep. Gets detention for falling asleep in class? Sleep. He's on a long car ride, confined to his seat and with nothing to do? Sleep. He also sleeps in response to stress. "Ugh, I've got this huge test tomorrow, and I haven't studied a single thing; I'm doomed. Guess I'll take a nap."

- His friendship with Doc also allows him to develop the unique ability to sleep in an environment filled with the sounds of drills and hammering and the occasional small explosion. Nothing phases him. He's curled up having pleasant dreams in his little cot while Doc is running around the lab, screaming frantically about the fire that's started by his workstation.

In conclusion: Doc is constantly sleep-deprived but doesn't even feel it, and Marty is actually very well-rested all the time, which is a good thing, because imagine how much more frazzled and uncoordinated he would be if he was always tired.

Thanks for the ask!

[rollercoasterwords]

I LOVE ZOMBIES TOO

I have this zombie hyperfixation that comes back every few years and at least one tri-yearly zombie apocalypse dream.

I have this podcast where I talk about spooky stuff I find interesting and the zombie episode was at least twice as long as all the other ones.

Ok so what I find rlly interesting is ancient Hatian zombies, which were real. It wasn't like an actual zombie but basically somebody was tricked into thinking they were dead with drugs and herbs and medicine or smth, then actually buried, then dug up again to be used for slavery. And theyre actually called zombies too. And it's just. wow.

LOOK https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/10/how-america-erased-the-tragic-history-of-the-zombie/412264/

lol love the enthusiasm!! i am definitely the same way about zombies as previously stated they are probably my favorite monster <3 and this response got very long so i am putting it under a cut lol

personally i have not studied actual ritual practices enough to really talk about how much truth there is to the notion of "real-life zombies," what that practice might have looked like, or how widespread it was. i've read a bit of ethnography + anthropological writing about zombi rituals, but my understanding is that the extent to which there may have been "real" zombies has been largely exagerrated and exoticized in a way that is...not great. so while it's definitely super interesting to research what sort of historical practices + rituals were/are attached to cultural understandings of zombiism, i'd just caution against any portrayal that inaccurately exagerrates the history or seems to be mysticizing "real-life zombies."

if u (or anyone) are interested in some reading that adds a bit more nuance to cultural conceptions + origins of the zombie, some recs!

haitian zombie, myth, and modern identity by kette thomas

new narratives of haiti; or, how to empathize with a zombie by kaima l. glover

zombi narratives: transatlantic circulations by gudrun rath

figures of terror: the "zombie" and the haitian revolution by raphael hoermann

not all of these scholars are in complete agreement with each other, but all of them are doing really interesting things re: questioning the way the zombi has historically been tied to Haiti + Africa in scholarship + pop culture, and how oftentimes those ties have been examined or portrayed largely through a neocolonial + racialized lens

anyway--thank u for sharing that article (here's a link minus the paywall for anyone interested)! another great jumping-off point for anyone interested in zombie history. i definitely appreciate the point he's getting at--the idea that zombie media has become so immersed in consumer culture that it no longer contains any meaningful critique of such a culture, and instead functions largely as a mechanism for escapist fantasies. this echoes some other interesting research i came across in undergrad about the idea that the "dystopian" genre has really become the new "utopian" genre, though i can't remember where specifically i first encountered the idea (i think it was somewhere in my zombie research, but i'd have to go hunt for the specific article/book/etc).

personally, though, i think it's a bit of a reach to imply that the zombie used to contain a significant critique of "societal ills." specifically, where he writes:

For a brief period, the living dead served as a handy Rorschach test for America’s social ills. At various times, they represented capitalism, the Vietnam War, nuclear fear, even the tension surrounding the civil-rights movement. Today zombies are almost always linked with the end of the world via the “zombie apocalypse,” a global pandemic that turns most of the human population into beasts ravenous for the flesh of their own kind. But there’s no longer any clear metaphor. While America may still suffer major social ills—economic inequality, policy brutality, systemic racism, mass murder—zombies have been absorbed as entertainment that’s completely independent from these dilemmas.

what i think he's perhaps overlooking here is that--yes, zombies have historically represented different "social ills," that doesn't necessarily mean that representation has been somehow more radical or liberatory than the zombie media of his time (2010s--article was written in 2015). even in the earlier 20th century when "zombie" media stuck more closely to the original lore of the zombi, the zombie was still typically represented in a way meant to reinforce existing systems of power rather than call them into question, and this has been a theme of much zombie media throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries. i also think to suggest that there was no longer any clear metaphor by the time 2015 rolled around is a bit facetious; i can think of two zombie movies from 2015 specifically where zombies are being used as a clear cultural critique in different ways, and multiple other zombie movies from the 2010s where this was also the case. so while i appreciate what he's trying to do here re: making a point about dystopia-as-utopia and how western reimaginings of the zombie have fundamentally altered it, i think he's detracting from his own argument a bit when he suggests that using zombies as a tool for valorizing western individualism rather than exploring oppressive power dynamics that result in dehumanization is reflective of some sort of deterioration in modern media, and not part of the way zombies have pretty much always been used in western media since their co-option

[rel-bis]

long post of me talking about the three storylines + rivals of Pokemon scarlet & Violet, I love this game okay bye ;___;

Starfall Street

At first I didn’t think I’d care much for this route, because it bothered me that we were getting yet another discount Team Skull as an evil team lol(And I hope they stop now and we get something new next gen) BUT. I really loved the Team Star Leaders and their backstories... Just a bunch of  quirky outcast kids who stood up to bullying.... and their designs are all really cool... My favorite is Ortega because I love a superpowered haughty kid, but they’re all very charming

I loved the boss battles, the music(def my favorite boss music out of the 3 routes), the atmosphere, the leaders’ animations, it all worked really well. Didn’t care much about the let’s go battles tho, they felt a bit more clunky than they looked in the trailers

Also it took me an embarrassing long time to realize their Starmobiles were not in fact normal Revavrooms but rather monotypes with custom movesets. I was so confused why my fire moves weren’t super effective lmaooo

I LOVE Penny so much, she is peak character design, her dialogue's really fun and I just Relate to her. She feels like someone I'd be friends with in middle school and share my pokemon OCs with and she would show me her angsty emo Umbreon fursona. I love the fact she is an Eevee stan, it reminds me of my deviantart pokemon fandom days when eeveelutions were everywhere. am i making sense. do you think Penny ever gets in internet arguments with people that say they hate eevelutions because they’re overrated. she calls them her “veevees” i love her so much

Idk shy characters can often be written in a very one-note “precious cinnamon roll who is so fragile and pwecious” way and Penny feels like a much more genuine portrayal of that kind of socially awkward geeky girl. Also she is a literal criminal so good for her

Victory Road

I liked the gym leaders of this gen but there’s not much to say about them in terms of plot lol, they’re just random bosses that you beat and that’s it. The gym leaders usually function mostly as celebrities/important people to provide more worldbuilding and their characterization is more subtle. I liked how they show how Grusha has become cold(ha) and detached because he had to abandon his snowboarding career, little things like that. It would have been nice to see these characters been developed slightly more, maybe through some sidequests or even the Gym Tests. For example, I love that the Gym Test tells us that Tulip and Dendra are childhood friends but it would have been nice to see them interact or maybe have some more exposition dialogue about that somewhere else idk

Nemona as a rival IS a bit boring but i feel that’s because the Victory Road “storyline” really doesn’t have any "plot" for her to shine, it’s just basically has her repeat the exact same dialogue every time you challenge a gym. But it sucks because they could definitely have worked that better, because you see the potential of her character in the final storyline when she’s bantering with the other two and in her post-game dialogue.

Like, I love that she's actually just a huge dumbass with a hyperfixation for battles that wants to be able to share her passion with others but everyone else is too intimidated by her and thinks she’s just some “gifted” champion that they can’t measure to, and meanwhile she’s frustrated that people feel this way because she’s not special at all, she just worked hard for something she loved and she loves seeing others doing the same, but now all of a sudden because she has this title everyone treats her like she’s too good for them

And THAT is the reason why she is so ectastic to find someone like the Player who doesn’t back down from her. But they don’t show this side of her AT ALL until the post-game pretty much. So she just comes across as generic cheerful rival and it gets repetitive.

Also love how in the beginning of the game we see that she lives in a big ass mansion full of servants and the game just never makes any mention of that and then in the very end they just casually mention that she’s the daughter of Pokemon Steve Jobs

Path of Legends

ARVEN..... MY BOY ARVEN.....

ok uh I’m tired now so this will be short. Like pretty much everyone else the minute Arven said his dog was sick I was immediately 100% more invested in this story. That final cutscene when Mabosstiff is fully healed got me genuinely teary-eyed. He was just so happy......

I don’t have much to say except Arven is the best character in the game and I loved him so much more than I expected. Titan battles were fine tho I wish there was more to them than basically just running around after them, like some more elaborate puzzles to find them and all.

Anyways, by the end of the game I really loved all 3 rivals and was sold on their lil friend group. And this game has definitely become one of my top favorites up there with B/W and Su/Mo. In general this game gives me some similar vibes to Sun&Moon, specially in regards to the subtle character writing which I love

[flying-elliska]

Shadow and Bone Season 1 Review

Ok so I got distracted by a need to watch all of Ben Barnes' filmography (lmao) but here is my review : It was really fun to watch and it was clearly made with love which is already the main thing with YA fantasy, which is often turned into a soulless moneygrab when put on screen. The actors were GREAT. I did think that the Crows suffered from being mashed up with the Shadow and Bone story, but they were still a highlight. I also think it was a bit rushed, esp. when it came to Alina's training. The costumes were beautiful, I want a kefta now. Plus the crossover fanfic interactions btw the SaB characters and the Crows were just pure joy. Also Milo, obviously <3 I'm in hyperfixation mode so here, have an essay :

The "Shadow and Bone" Characters :

- Jessie Mei Li !!!!!! She really made me like Alina so much more than in the books, she absolutely is the 'human embodiment of literal sunshine' and she was a joy to watch. Her character's arc is cliché but her acting is so expressive and endearing, I really felt for her all the way through. (maybe I'm biased bc Jessie talking about her ADHD and seeing her thrive at the same time is like!!! i love them they deserve all the best.) I like that they made Alina more proactive - even though she does make some stupid decisions... but I just don't understand people who put that down as bad writing, like ??? have you ever met a real person who only makes wise, good decisions ?? a character like that would either be at the end of their story or just in the background because that makes them static. The things with the maps in the beginning does a good job of illustrating how she is just this one girl making rash, erratic decisions out of fear and loyalty and doesn't have a sense of the bigger picture, caught in the tide of bigger events. It works for her character. When it comes to the choice of making her half-Shu, I do think it really makes sense re: her character feeling like an outsider but I do understand the criticisms that the microaggressions felt too relentless and one-note. I am really looking forward to them introducing Tamar and Tolya and hopefully connecting to them over her heritage in a more positive way.

- Mal in the books was one of the most annoying YA characters I've ever come across, so I really liked that they made him much more of a loyal, devoted friend. I found his relationship with Alina cute, it really gives us the sense that these are two orphans who found a home in each other, childhood best friends (and potential sweethearts) separated by war, two army grunts and ordinary people caught up in the wheels of power and war that usually crushes people like them, it's a great way to introduce the dynamics of their world and it's a trope that always makes me emo. It felt a bit too one note to me, though, and too heavily on the nose, like Mal's only personality was his attachment to Alina (and his resentment towards the Grisha) and too much of her emotional arc also relied on him. Them hitting us over the head with the meadow scenes felt like pure telling instead of showing and it ended up being super repetitive and kind of annoying. I am willing to like this pairing, but I wanted more scenes of them just having conversations about things and really understanding why they like each other beyond the whole childhood friends bond that we're asked to accept exists at the beginning. So I hope there's more depth there in next seasons.

- Ben Barnes!!!! Just jksdfhgkdjghdf. I'm not a big villain stan usually and I hated the Darkling in the books but DAMN his performance is just amazing. They managed to make him more sympathetic and human while at the same time making clear the stuff he does is deeply horrible. There's the Magneto-aspect of 'well clearly his methods are fucked up but he's addressing a terrible injustice nobody is doing anything about' that makes it very tempting to root for him ; and again, well, like, Ben Barnes is so hot and charismatic it feels uncomfortable (which I guess is part of the point lol). His loss of humanity is, up to a point, understandable, brought about by despair, loneliness, grief and a sense of powerlessness - living so long he starts to see other people as disposable, losing so many people he stops caring, seeing over and over how hate never seems to stop, etc. It's a logical explanation for going insane.

But the hunger for power is also very much present as a motivation and this ambiguity is there constantly. Does he maybe come to genuinely care for Alina or is it totally bullshit ? I think he does, he's just so fucked up that it comes out as possessiveness and a need to control her. He wants Alina to be his equal but he's incapable of treating her that way. It's tragic, in a sense, but the show doesn't excuse his actions either. Like his monstrosity is a product of this world full of injustice, yes, and that warrants some compassion, monsters are always a symptom of their environment in some ways and dehumanizing them completely is an excuse ; but at the same time, he sabotaged his own cause anyway the moment he started to treat other people like things, as he does with Alina, because that just perpetuates the cycle of violence and hate. At some point he started feeling like he was the only solution and he was owed power for his sacrifices, and he's using his cause as an excuse. When Alina came to him, there was a possibility for redemption, taking down the Fold, and it's a test because there is finally someone on his level of power. But instead of seeking to remedy the power imbalance between them, he made it worse, by lying to her, manipulating her, etc, and the antler collar is the ultimate sign of this.

I love those scenes towards the end (the antler-based body horror has big Hannibal vibes, so messed up). I like Alina telling him they could have had this, that she had compassion for him and his cause, that they could have worked together, and he's the one responsible for screwing it up and this time his claim that he's the misunderstood victim ("Make me your villain") appears delusional and self-serving instead of somewhat justified. The almost-lovers to enemies vibes, the sense of lost potential, and the angst of the whole 'oh you could finally have been loved by people, too bad you fucked it up !', very juicy. There is this fundamental idea that power/respect/love is not something you are owed no matter how good your intentions are or because you're strong or you have suffered or you're willing to commit horrible drastic actions, you have to keep proving you deserve it, and trying to claim power without responsibility of care turns you into a monster. The thing with the stag was an excellent metaphor of the fact that there's things you can't take, they have to be given to you, and the wonderful power there is in understanding that is what allows Alina to harness the stag amplifier's power. This is really when she escapes his grim utilitarian outlook and a different way forward and owns her own power fully on her own terms.

Anyway I hope Alina gets to beat the shit out of him at some point that would be very sexy but I'm also looking forward to see how their arcs parallel and diverge from each other as Alina starts to grapple more with the implications of her power and the harsh dilemmas of war and her own dark side. I want to see him become scared of her, and I feel it will be more visible than in the books where he just has this cold aggressive facade all the time. This one feels a lot more openly emotional which is just a lot more interesting.

- As for the other characters ; Zoya mostly made me sad. The actress has the perfect vibes but I'm not sure I love their take on her character so far, it does make sense in terms of the later books - that she has internalized prejudice regarding her mixed-race heritage, that she is jealous of Alina because of how hard she's fought to get where she is and Alina kind of takes it away from her, etc. But I would have liked to see a bit more of her being badass and sharp-tongued in a clever (even if mean) way instead of spending most of her time being rejected by men and being racist towards Alina. I did like the ending though, of her actually seeing the monstrosity of the Darkling in action and the mention of her aunt. And her brief bonding with Inej was great, just because it was badass but also maybe because it could be a part of Zoya learning to accept her Suli heritage in turn, maybe not right away but in time, when thinking of that part of herself, she won't only think of her parents' ruined marriage and all the pain it caused, but also of that badass and brave acrobat girl who went toe to toe with these really scary monsters without even having any powers and !!!!!

- Also Leigh's cameo was so cute and as an aspiring writer this is just such wish fulfillment

- I honestly think that having the Crows there actually made the S&B story better ? Not only in terms of the much needed levity breaks but also in terms of themes. For instance, Matthias and Nina's story gave us a really raw and visceral view of how the Grisha are hunted. And Inej's relationship to Alina really gave us a sense of what Alina actually means to people who believe in the Saints in a way that doesn't feel just like 'ugh those superstitious people' because we know that Inej's faith is part of what makes her who she is and a person with morals, and something that saw her through the worst moments of her life. It feels so special that she got to meet Alina and given a sign that maybe the world is not completely shitty. And Alina's kindness towards Inej really gives you a sense that she might be, or become worthy of that belief in time, or at least that she wants to, that she's figuring out her power to really touch people's lives might be a good thing, and that she's starting to accept this responsibility more fully. And her arming Inej is a nice parallel to that. I'm very emotional about this scene, because one of the first things we see of young Alina is her taking out a knife to defend Mal from the bullies, because she's protective and brave, but she's also aware the world is a shitty place, and so her giving that knife to Inej is a sort of spiritual transmission and recognition of sorts, that she trusts Inej with that fighting power, that she'll use this knife to defend herself and her loved ones and not abuse it. It's so interesting. And a counter point to the Darkling's fucked up relationship to power that Alina might at some point get afraid she'll replicate. That you could see Alina trying to gather followers and using people's admiration for her like he did but instead she sets them free and empowers them. It's great. And I feel that when Inej takes to the seas, she'll think about Alina. (I do hope somebody tells her Alina's not dead at some point though god). Girls giving each other knives is my spirituality, honestly.

- And I also noticed an interesting parallel between Kaz and the Darkling in terms of being two emo dudes who like to wear black, are prone to violence and have a thing for two very powerful women they think are special and want to have at their side, but of course, they go about it in very different ways. The Darkling comes at it from a place of power while Kaz comes from a place of utter powerlessness, first of all, and he understands why it's important to set Inej free. Him spending the entire season trying to earn enough money to pay off Inej's indenture is the opposite to the Darkling putting that collar on Alina and while I do have issues with how the show portrays him, I do love that. Love is about setting the person you love free !!!! And that confrontation scene was so powerful, when Kaz tells the Darkling Alina was tired of being a captive ! Drag him !

- As for Genya, I liked the actress and her chemistry with Alina, but I'm not sure they did a great job of making her arc very clear, for instance what it means for her to get that red kefta, her relationship with the other Grisha, etc. Her and David are already very cute though. Also very much looking forward to see where that goes.

So yeah I think they did a great job with this bit actually, I enjoyed a lot more than I think I would and even though it is a very tropey story, there's plenty of depth there too.

The Crows :

- I'm a bit more nitpicky about this because I care about these characters so much. I think overall the problem is that the SaB story in the books happens on this massive scale with enormous stakes, and that next to that the Crows' issues feel less important ; it's like their impact is distorted by the gravity of the much larger story. Like for instance, Kaz in the books is very much at the center of everything, this larger than life trickster figure who knows and controls almost everything by sheer cleverness, and he has this sense of allure and mystique that can't happen here, and so his aura just shrinks. On top of that they're not on their home turf. Being introduced to these characters before they've reached their full levels of badass is weird - there is a reason why prequels generally happen after the main stuff, because they count on the love you have for these characters at their full potential to make you interested in their story when they were less badass and interesting. So I had several moments where I was like 'oh this feels wrong'. Tbh the idea that they would even volunteer to kidnap Alina in the first place, what with Inej's backstory, feels kind of wrong, esp since they had no idea of what would happen to her if they succeeded.

- But I still enjoyed a lot of it though, especially the fact that they were this force of chaos in the midst of this bigger narrative that's a lot more self-serious. The bits with the train, or the circus acts were very clever. A lot of the best moments in the show happen when they come to disturb the other plot in unexpected ways. I'm still dead over the whole 'Alina jumps into their carriage' scene, that was fucking gold. The team up at the end !!!! Alina and Kaz making a deal ! Inej stabbing the Darkling !!!! Them stealing the Darkling's carriage !!! They don't give a shit that the story is supposed to be super dramatic it's great.

- Jesper is the one character they completely nailed from start to finish and he's probably my favorite part of the whole show. He's very funny without being reduced to the role of comic relief ; he's just so! damn! cool!!!!!!! I honestly feel this is a thing they actually did even better than in the books, or at least Six of Crows where I felt Jasper kind of disappeared behind Kaz and they insist a lot on his flaws and issues. So before we dig more into those problems I love that they gave him time to be this ultra badass who saves the day several times ; while at the same time, hinting at further developments like his powers or his gambling issues. Kit Young is just perfect, confident without being arrogant, a bit cold when it comes to crime while at the same time being so obviously caring with Inej - I loved their friendship, that was so sweet. My main criticism is that they should have made it clearer he was bi because there are already people calling him gay and that's very annoying. I know some people had a problem with his hookup and like...I can see it's a bit of a cliché...the charming badass bisexual adventurer....it's a trope I kind of love though lmao and the scene itself felt kind of cute and fun. He's not the only person who is shown to have an active sexuality and he's also not the only queer person around and we know he's going to have a more substantial romantic arc later so eh. On a larger note I loved the little casual hints of completely normalized queerness - Nadia thirsting over Zoya, Fedyor and Ivan, Poppy, etc. Having grown up with fantasy where queerness was either completely erased or very tormented and problematic, this was refreshing as hell.

- Inej and Kaz...my faves... They have a kind of relationship which feels so rare and unique in terms of what exists on TV and while I don't feel they entirely replicated it, the core is still there - the mutual respect and building of trust, the longing, the repression, the trauma, etc. One thing I really like is their arc around faith - in the books, Kaz is dismissive of Inej's faith in ways that often feel really shitty and I like that he learns to be more respectful of it. It's very much linked to hope/survival ; Inej keeps this token from her parents and she hopes to find them again ; Kaz tells her it's no use and she'll survive better if she gives up. He believes Alina is a fake, while Inej wants to believe that myths can come true and there is hope for good things in the world. Kaz comes to accept that Alina is the real deal and, out of respect for Inej's faith, to stop pursuing her. I loved the bit about Inej struggling to kill as well - it's the dilemma of what her survival and that of the people she really cares about are worth in such a shitty world - her compassion is a good part of her but so is her survival instinct, and that's the part Kaz represents - that even after she's been through hell, broken in unfathomable ways, even if she gave up all hope and faith in the world, even she becomes dangerous and ruthless to survive, she will still deserve dignity, and to be treated better. And meanwhile she is willing to break her principles, which she holds so dearly, to save him, when he's never had anyone who cared for him like that - enough to keep him alive. That bit in the church !!!!! God !!!!!! Bye !!!!!!! And then him basically calling her his own version of a Saint, that he doesn't believe in miracles but he does believe in her !!! It's very emblematic of their whole arc ; he empowers her to survive in a ruthless world and loves her at her most dangerous ; but he loves her laugh too, he finds her a ship and her parents, he honors her capacity for love and hope even when he can't share it. And she sees that he's capable of doing better, that he's worth caring for. This whole thing kills me honestly and I can't wait to see where they take this next. I'm not mad they're a bit more soft and obvious than in the books, Kaz would just have come across as an an asshole otherwise.

- That said, there are bits of how they introduced their backstories I don't like. I get that making it so Inej was still tied to the Menagerie gave them a very powerful reason to want to kidnap Alina beyond greed so that they wouldn't look like very shitty people. But in the books Inej is terrified by the idea of simply seeing Heleen or the Menagerie and the way they have her interact with her feels weirdly casual and dismissive of her trauma. Also, in the books, the fact that Kaz had to convince Per Haskell to buy Inej's contract through a lot of effort, that he wasn't the one holding that above her head either, made the power dynamics more palatable. I especially disliked the scene where Kaz says he won't free other girls because just Inej is special, it makes him look like he has the power but he's just too much of a callous asshole to do it, and that he just freed Inej because he liked her which is absolutely not what their relationship is about at the start, it's a lot more about seeing Inej's dangerous side behind a facade of powerlessness and relating to her, in a sense, and this scene made it all feel cheap.

- Also, what was that about Inej having a brother ? Not a fan of that either. I'm afraid they're going to make her story all about finding what happened to him, and that's 1) too on the nose similar to Kaz's story and 2) it kind of cheapens her own arc, a female character realizing that what was done to her was wrong, reclaiming her own power and dignity and then making sure it doesn't happen to anybody else, harnessing her personal experience to save strangers, that's so powerful - making it about a family member at first, especially if it's about revenge, it's so much more simplistic and unoriginal and the perspective really annoys me.

- Also not a fan of Per Haskell not being there because he's a very important part of Kaz's evolution, so I hope he shows up eventually - and the way they introduced Pekka Rollins was kind of like...weird and out of place. I just found the Crows' introduction scenes stilted and not as cool as they should have been - well, Jesper and Inej were very cool, but we needed to see Kaz in action first, we needed to see why he's such a menace before we see him flounder later, and I just...I don't know exactly but it didn't work for me. Also this is a very petty thing but I wasn't crazy about the Ketterdam sets, I know this is probably a budget thing but in my head it looked like this incredible mix of Amsterdam and Venice - specific locations in the book directly remind me of parts of Amsterdam I know very well - and instead what we got felt like this very generic London-ish fantasy setting....so boring. Also a lot of scenes that felt to exposition-y. I don't mind that Kaz was a bit softer than in the books, like many people have said some things work in books and don't work on a screen, and you need to make the character's inner dynamics more explicit. But I do agree that, at the same time, he should have been more ruthless towards people outside of his group. Loved that scene where he faces the Inferni though, and how well they illustrated his disability and aversion to touch.

- I don't have that much to say about Nina and Matthias ; I'm still not super sold on the whole 'haha misogyny!' thing and I dislike that so much of Matthias' change of heart relies on the fact that he finds Nina hot. But I did think that the actors had enough chemistry to make their scenes together interesting and cute ; I loved the waffle scene. Even though it's disappointing that they didn't find an actress who was more clearly plus size for Nina, I still think Danielle does a good job bringing her bold, unapologetic energy. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Crows as a whole team.

So yeah, even though the season didn't feel like a perfect, coherent whole, it was just a lot of fun and I really hope they get renewed. In particular I feel like tying the first trilogy to the Crows' story could create such interesting parallels in terms of themes, about power, the cost of survival, hope, trauma, etc etc