#book 2 hype

[petrovna-zamo]

[theowritesfiction]

Book 1 Closing Thoughts

Before starting my Book 2 re-watch, I thought to do a little reflection on Book 1, especially in the context of my totally objective Jerk Point scores.

I was not at all surprised that Zhao won the Book 1 Jerk Point competition, but I was surprised that he only snatched it at the finish line. I think until those final episodes before we realize the true insanity of Zhao's plan, he just felt like an arrogant jerk with some creeper vibes, but he really took his crazy from like 5 or 6 all the way to 11 at the end.

Aang's second place, and him leading up to the final episode, is probably controversial, but I totally expected myself to be annoyed with Aang.  A lot of it is rooted in my dislike for Kataang and the way that relationship is framed. Whenever I see Aang wistfully pining after Katara, and Katara just isn't reciprocating, I personally find Aang irritating in those moments. I hate this framing of 'waiting for Katara to come to her senses and realize how great Aang is for her'. I'm sorry, but their friendship moments are FAR more convincing and enjoyable.

That said, I was pleasantly surprised how almost nonexistent Kataang was in this season. It's possible to watch the entire season without realizing that it's something they're going to lean on heavily going forward. There really was next to nothing.

Ozai earned third place in Jerk Point standings all due to one appearance. That's impressive in itself.

I expected myself to be more annoyed with Iroh, but he left me more confused than annoyed. He doesn't really offer Zuko much of a moral guidance. Most of the time he doesn't do anything at all. I honestly don't know how to characterize him because his motives are so enigmatic and I constantly ask myself why is he even there. If it's to look after Zuko, then he's going about it in a very weird way.

Zuko got way less Jerk Points than I thought he would, but I'll be honest with you - as a villain, he really is very soft. He only has very few moments that made me go 'asshole' at him.

Some characters didn't get any Jerk Points. That Katara was one of them should not be a surprise. If you expect her to get Jerk Points in Books 2 & 3... you've probably subscribed to the wrong blog. This is the 'Katara can do no wrong blog'.

Sokka not getting a single Jerk Point surprised me much more. I remember watching the show on Netflix 2 years ago and finding Sokka a bit insufferable in Book 1, but now upon re-watch, I don't know why, but I just came to appreciate him a lot more. Now, will Sokka earn some JP going forward? It's not impossible. But don't expect him to earn a lot. I have a newfound appreciation for Sokka that will probably shield him.

Now, who's going to win the Jerk Point competition for Book 2? I mean, it has to be Azula, right? She's the main antagonist, after all. Well... it might not be quite that clear cut. Long Feng is not in the show for very long, but he does some heinous shit. Also, Iroh will probably have more bad moments in Book 2. Also, Toph is coming in, and I remember her getting on Katara's nerves, which automatically means that she's getting on my nerves as well. I remember Kataang getting pushed more heavily in Book 2, so I will probably continue to be annoyed with Aang. There seem to be a lot of contenders for the Book 2 Jerk title. :)

[twst-mer]

[essektheylyss]

literally every time I look at Verin's stat block in Netherdeep I laugh a little bit. he poses like he's in an emo photo shoot. he's referred to as a beacon to the town despite being the elven equivalent of 23. his weapon of choice is a glaive. absolute best boy, he might be a let down to his family but he sure is successful at carrying on the Thelyss name for drama.

[bugsinshoes]

ok so i just watched @fordtato and @hkthatgffan 's respective videos about their interview with THE alex hirsch and i wanna just say OH MY GOD like SERIOUSLY

im gonna put my thoughts under the cut so theres no spoilers if you havent seen it already (BUT GO WATCH THEM NOW PLEASE !!!) + its gonna be LONG so BEAR WITH ME

ok, so i have MANY thoughts so sorry if none of this is coherent 😭 (this is not in chronological order of when the questions were asked, just me spewing out my totally normal thoughts about this interview so apologies for that)

starting off:

THE BABY IS SHERMIE?!?!?!? IM SO SO GLAD WE FINALLY HAVE CONFIRMATION WE CAN FINALLY LEAVE THIS TO REST !! I WAS RIGHT THOUGH SO HA !!! ACTUALLY SCREAMING !! TIMELINE BE DAMNED (also another thanks to hana, your timeline video is genuinely awesome. i never shut up about it. ever. any time i talk to my friends abt gf and i need to refer to the timeline i go: "IN HANA'S VIDEO-") anyways, i do understand it was a last minute decision on the writer's part of "oh. dipper and mabel need a grandfather, its not ford, and its sure as FUCK not gonna be stan sooo... third brother?" and i do understand alex being like, "oh, this is about ford and stan only having eachother" so i think making shermie younger was a GOOD THING? like, stan and ford had 18 years of just them so shermie wasnt in the picture, so stan and ford technically grew up on their own so ig it works? also, when stan got kicked out, he never got to see shermie grow up, probably only saw him at events when he had to pretend to be ford (post-1983) and as for ford himself, he was too busy in college and gravity falls to really visit the family so... it works! (despite everything)

that aside, lets talk about THE CRUMBS??? like i have some quotes here because i have a LOT to say:

"theyre both so damaged and they desperately need each other" - alex hirsch (talking about stan and ford)

LIKE SUIUHUSHUSH i HATE these brothers SO MUCH (LIES) i cant actually properly express my thoughts because WOW like its clear that they both have their own trauma and they NEED to address it but theyre both too STUBBORN to do so. theyve both been alone for 40ish years so of course they need each other. they grew up by the hip, so theres no surprise that they both need each other (whether they like it or not)

"[ford's] grateful for the forgiveness he thinks he doesnt deserve" -alex hirsch

ford thinks so lowly of himself at times it HURTS. like the lines in the journal about "only then would the freak return a hero" or about his guilt with bill and everything its just so important to his character im so glad we got so much ford content in this interview. like i am EATING ALL THIS UP RN

"[ford] has to always have a mission in front of him, because if he doesnt have a mission in front of him, hes thinking how have i treated people in my life?" - alex hirsch

ford distracting himself with things instead of facing his problems. probably something he had to do a lot, especially with his time in the multiverse. but it really hurts because i can imagine in the 60s, they never had any great coping mechanisms? so i can assume ford was just conditioned to distract himself from stuff so he never learned how to deal with things. and i KNOW in the journal hes like "i meditate!" and im sure that does help somewhat, but it doesnt address the issue itself soooo... sorry ford, but you cant just breathe your way out of everything

ALSO alex calling ford and fiddlefords falling out a "BREAKUP" (air quotes used) BUT A BREAKUP??? this is just adding fuel to my fiddauthor-infested brain rn. i CANT

and alex saying mcgucket is thinking like, "oh i gotta be a better partner" is HEART SHATTERING like the whole talk about fiddleford being "the building guy" who is kind of just there to make machines and please ford. its honestly so heartbreaking because fiddleford loves ford so much he'd leave his wife and child to go to absolute nowhere, oregon and the fact ford is too arrogant to see fiddlefords admiration and overall love for him its just IUIUAHHAS

and i do wanna say, i KNOW bill played a big part in this, by stroking fords ego and buttering him up with his kind words because he knew exactly what ford wanted to hear and that really affected how ford and fidds' relationship was like but THATS A TOPIC FOR ANOTHER TIME. all i know is that ford isnt entirely to blame, but he still is a massive arrogant asshole and he wasnt the best person to fidds at times (love him tho <3)

but im actually so happy because this interview sheds SO much light onto FORD bcs we BARELY got to know him, and hearing it from MR HIRSCH HIMSELF is just so good because we KNOW its a reliable source because its coming from ALEX YK??? like he wrote ford so he probably knows "oh yeah, that man is guilt-ridden as FUCK" and im so glad we get some crumbs of this guy i cant get enough of him !!! (impatiently waiting for the book of bill)

ANNNDD THE TALK ABOUT MAYBE GETTING A SEA GRUNKS SPINOFF/MINISERIES??? I WOULD EXPLODE GENUINELY ANYTHING WITH MY FAVOURITE OLD MEN PLEASE !! i would genuinely love to see more of their dynamic and how everything is after weirdmaggeddon and like dealing with trauma and UGHHH i would kill for stan/ford content PLEASE

also...

hippie ford.

hippie. ford.

i am never getting over this (im internally SCREECHING)

ANYWAYS THAT WAS MY RANT ABT MY FAV THINGS FROM THE INTERVIEW THAT WAS A LOT GODDAMN

im genuinely so happy with all the questions that got answered, as well as getting some deeper insight into characters and stuff. IM NEVER GETTING OVER THE AMOUNT OF FIDDAUTHOR CRUMBS YOU GUYS

im gonna end this by saying another MASSIVE thank you to hana and hk !! you both put so much effort into your respective videos and it was super super cool !! this was totally worth the wait !!! :D

[luckthebard]

The Midst comic coming out reminds me of the guy on Reddit who was convinced Liam “might leave CR first” because he “doesn’t really have another job at the company” and it’s like. I know they don’t, like, shout about it but how have you missed that he’s clearly the main liaison with Dark Horse and all the publishing companies. Like. Just a baffling statement that no one pushed back on.

[long-suffering-little-spoon]

i survived the gatsby slime tutorial and all i got was a breathtaking show with beautiful costumes and sets and lighting and amazing performances and a banger score. and this second hand suit.

[ratatatastic]

"And to follow up on Niko Mikkola...his sense of humour with him, like, maybe—lot of people don't talk—like, last night he was like, you know, he "woke Bobby up," or whatever. "Good thing Bob was awake—"

"He's a great personality and I've said this kinda during the year. And we've, you know, I mean we're always—...I was gonna say, "It'd be great if you guys could spend a lot of time with him," but then we spend a lot of time trying to make sure you guys don't spend too much time with our guys, so, there goes—so, forget that! But, he is an incredibly interesting guy. What's great is when he's coming to the bench... if there's something that's broken down, and I'm not sure if he's screaming in Finnish or it's in English, but it is funny as hell! And it's consistent. So, he plays really high-energy level. A lot of times these kinda big, lanky guys are... you don't really think they're moving that fast, but they are! He looks like he's getting across the ice, and, you know, he competes hard. That's what we like the most of him, but he talks at a high-energy level, too, on the bench. And that's great, right? We have some quiet players on our bench, and that's fine, that's who they are. But, those guys like Mikkola, who's got—nobody knows—Well there's four other Finnish guys knowing what he's saying, but nobody else knows what he's saying.

paul loves all his rascals and it is a joy to hear his takes on them its mikksys turn now!

media availability | 6.11.24 (x)

also if you want to see the moment mikksy is talking about in the interviews linked above because it is genuinely bonkers 10 or so seconds of hockey: here it is

[satosugusbowlofcereal]

hey. hey how do i cope when the trope is two characters who were clearly meant to be together and look deeply into each others eyes every chance they get and know each other in ways no one else can and are very obviously shipped together by the writers and are literally WRITTEN FOR EACHOTHER and desperately in love but they cant be because censorship is a cockblocker please send help soon I'm loosing it

[coochie-sniffer3000]

i decided i wanted to write a hybrid full plot summary of the mother 2 novel and an analysis, but thats WAY too much work for me to do, so it’s on the back burner for now. however there’s something in the book that compares ness and pokey in a way that i SUPER like, and it makes me appreciate some aspects of the novel despite its really flawed flaws.

i already summarized the portion of text in my draft, so here it is: its explained that ness’s father is away on a business trip managing his food chain “ness burger.” the reason it exists at all (and is named after his son) is because ness’s father made a burger to his picky son’s liking, and it was a hit with the locals. he later got tied in with a contract that placed him into a lot of debt under a man named aloysius minch (thats pokeys father, but you know that), and most of his profit is siphoned to him. minch has a very successful chain of supermarkets, which supply ness burger. he plans on decreasing the quality of the burgers and letting the gossip fly from there. he wants ness’s father to become insecure of the brands ability to be successful, then coax him into selling the business to him, where then he will rebrand it to “pokey burger” and restore the quality of the product.

i honestly like that. i dont know if this detail will be mentioned again, but it highlights the difference between pokey and ness’s relationships with their fathers. ness burger was founded simply out of a fathers love for his son, and aloysius saw that love as an opportunity to take advantage of another person and profit. then he wants to rebrand it and mimic another family’s father-son relationship, like performative love. it’s SO jarring that aloysius doesn’t actually do anything different. just uproots an unsuspecting father and slaps his own sons face over his family business so he can say “hey, son! look at me being such a selfless father, giving you your own burger joint.” cause pokey im gonna be real with you thats a little tragic. it couldve been executed better, but i see it and i like it…. im still appalled by an authors ability to make a game series called “mother” about characters relationships with their fathers 😭

[lambergeier]

started rereading baru cormorant due to the hypnotic influence of zoe's liveblog and the level up from book 1 to book 2 is SO funny and good. book 1 is solid and engaging but structurally insane and a bit light on characterization. book 2 is also structurally insane (spending like 150 pages in the elided keep..... dickinson you dog that could have been 60 pages easy) but every single character has become SOOOOOOOOOO funny and compelling and loud in between books 1 and 2 that i am eating it the fuck up. Tell Me More About Baru Stepping On Svir's Gay Little Toes. And Also You Are Both Mass Murderers

i forgot how stark the difference is, probably because it was a few years between reading them, last time i did so, but rereading was a very good idea. now i can appreciate the improvement AND i remember who all the aurdwynn characters are. i've had book 3 on my shelf since it came out but never read it bc i so poorly remembered book 2 that i kept meaning to read it after i did a series reread, which never happened. but now it's time girls

[petrovna-zamo]

Trixie and Katya’s Book Signing & Interview | Working Girls

[arowyn-m]

I recently bought the Realms of Runeterra companion book for League of Legends and while it’s outdated as far as lore goes, I hope the Arcane artbook has some segments that act similarly to it.

Realms of Runeterra is written and laid out like a lore summary and explanation for each region featured in League, paired with little pictures of citzens from each region (champions aren’t often depicted)…It has almost an illustrated history book vibe.

I don’t think the Arcane artbook is going to be as immersive—it’s probably going to be more technical explanation than a dump for extra story details but I’d love to see little scrapped snippets of story like we saw in that online choose your own adventure thing that Riot did for the release—maybe more random character thoughts and stuff idk im desperate for officially released content man

[volfoss]

Days late to the topic but truly it's insane how untalented Taylor Swift is lmao

[chipistrate]

NO ONE IS READY FOR THE DASH ON DECEMBER THURSDAY 14TH 2023.

[that-gay-guy-from-hell]

Oh hey look-! It's the Blue Man Group!

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