#can you believe it literally took only five episodes for them to be like

[quinnmorgendorffer]

And on the fifth episode, the House writers created the "House and Wilson laughing together in an episode-ending montage" and mixed it with "House is playing the music in the final montage" trope. And they saw it was good.

[yourdoseofapple]

I think there should be a building game show for Minecraft. Like Lego Masters, most cooking shows, etc. Like listen. I think fighting is cool and all, and I myself was raised on watching bed wars and Minecraft hunger games and all that, but like also… builder are insane? Like I love watching, Empires, Hermitcraft, other big builders (and redstoners for that matter) because I’m so fascinated by how their brains work???? Like you’re telling me Bdubs took some dirt and made a literal mountain as a BACKDROP for his build in a season??????? Bro????? Like I want some builders to go head to head in a building challenge.

Like, okay hear me out, each week their “building themes” could go from mimicking IRL architecture styles - medieval, French colonial, minimalism, etc - OR could rely on game mechanics. Like you gotta make a build, but it must include five red stone functions - could be as simple of auto lighting and stuff - all the way to farms included into the make of the build!

Judging wise, I think that would be the hardest thing to pin down, because the issue with Minecraft building is that there are a lot of factors when it comes to the concept of building because every builder has an inherent “style” they have and so to compare isn’t necessarily fair???? Because what one person likes may not be the same as another person, so I don’t believe you can judge inherently on how a build looks, but more so if it fits the criteria - did you do your research and keep to the prompt 100% or did you take some liberties in the favor of making it seem stylistically “better” - also, while I am inclined to be like “hey look we could have it audience choice” I am aware that in previous Minecraft events - every tournament event live-streamed like ever - every YouTuber is gonna have bias on their side, and if there is someone with a larger viewership that others, there is of course going to be favor towards them. The ONLY way I could see this being different is if it was all pre-recorded and episodic, but I still believe there would be a heavy amount of bias if someone was on the show with more viewership than others. We would want it to be fair. I do think audience participation is important though, and should be a major inclusion! Like, before an event is to occur I think it would be fun to choose the prompt of what they’re building that week, but the contenders just can’t tweet/say/promote one they wish to do, so it is STRICTLY up to the audience without bias.

Also, I think everyone should come out a winner, not in the “No one came out on top because we are all equal” way - because while that is important it is still a tournament, and as we’ve seen in literally every competition show ever there is always a first place winner - but more so in the, while you didn’t win, let’s reflect on how you are still fantastic and getting something out of this. I know it sounds a little basic, so I do think it would need to be extrapolated on. But I wouldn’t want anyone who “loses” to just go away with “you got clout” award. You were featured on the show, that’s inherent, you deserve more than that, again this can be fleshed out later, but they deserve more too, somehow.

Also for the finalists - I’m thinking either 3 left or 2 left - it should be a mega build level prompt. Could be something like “build a city!” Or just “build a mega base with x block being the main block” and, again, not sure how it would be judged, but winner comes out, with second/third place having some reward as well, not as good, but still considerably great. I also think it would be fun to have prior contestants come on and have to participate in the “here is your block that I got to choose for you” to add some spice to it. IDK what the prize would be, I know it is normally money, and while it could be that, I think it would be more fun to have something a little different that would still be fun and a true “winners” item. Again, not sure what it could be, but it would need to hold to the truth of “oh, hey, this is a true prize and its still fun and I’m getting something out of this!”

Anyhow, enjoy the strange thoughts of my brain and if any streamers/youtubers are out there reading this, lemme know what you think cuz I’m curious. Do I think I could ever do this? Probably not cuz I’m an opera singer doing my masters so time is bet a dream to me at this point, but like. I think it is interesting and would love opinions on it just from the standpoint of discussion. I streamed at one point, maybe I’ll start back up again one day if only to have fun. I feel like that should be what it is, fun, that is the most important thing at the end of the day and builders should have some competitive fun too!

Also, I will admit that I am obviously not knowledgeable on everything - again opera singers not full time Minecraft anything - so I don’t know if something like this has been done before, and while I think it would be cool if something like this existed, it may already exist and I quite simply don’t know! Thoughts, opinions, anything else?

Anyway, if anything, have a good day!

[leandra-winchester]

sorry in advance if i come off degrading or rude here (not my intention at all) but i'm sending this to you because you mentioned fictional narrative re: buddie, so i wanna add my thoughts about plausibility in relation to narrative format and medium conventions. long rant & full disclosure, i just watched 911, so i don't know how the conversation around this was pre-tommy but i don't understand how people thought/think it's a slowburn romance arc they were building with buddie that could actually happen. literally no romantic relationship on this show has been slowburn because it's just not how procedural shows of this kind are written. bathena barely interacts in s1 and were put together in a couple episodes. madney are only friends for five episodes or so. none of buck and eddie's relationships have build-up that lasts more than a few eps. the closest i can think of is buck and abby and even that wasn't much. i just don't think it's the nature of these type of shows, with the exception of something like the show castle where two main leads are set up as one day becoming romantic, to give breathing room for romance to go from zero to established. they're written in on-average 6-episode arcs and planned according to audience response, this is basically how every aspect of these shows work including the romantic plots.

which brings me to my second point you already touched a little bit: medium conventions but especially in relation to queer rep. when we have queer rep in these type of mainstream shows they're rarely stories about bi/gay awakening. double gay awakening? honestly, i don't remember a single show where something like this happened. i'm shocked we even got bi buck AT ALL because nominally straight hot guy main character getting confirmed as queer rarely happens. i kinda find the notion of people genuinely expecting this to happen with two main characters over seasons-long burn kind of laughable. and don't get me wrong, i understand why people love the idea, i'm myself a slow-burn building-a-bond-before-romance type of gal but i just don't think that type of queer story would ever work in a format like this, considering the average audience. look at something like 911ls for example, carlos and tk are both openly gay and start having sex on ep 2 and are boyfriends by ep 10 - that's the space queer stories currently hold in mainstream media. where it's made clear from the start and executed quickly over a few eps (not saying there's no further story with them, i just mean the relationship development). so yeah i don't think buddie was ever an option for the writers beyond being aware of the interest in it which is objectively very small compared to the millions of people watching this show. tldr: i think being ship-baited by a mainstream procedural show on fox is like going to the hardware store and asking for milkshake.

Okay, so I don't agree that slow burns aren't possible at all on shows like 911. Afaik, that popular ship on the Rookie also took several seasons, and there are many more shows that had a "will they, won't they?" situation with two main characters. Sure, it's much more difficult to write, plan and pull through, but it does get done.

Many people were hoping Buddie was FINALLY gonna be a queer version of that trope, and the thing is, there was enough subtext in the previous few seasons to support it. There were scenes that were shot and composed with commonly used cinematographic and contextual tropes that are usually used for romantic couples; there was all that stuff with Eddie having panic attacks over Ana, seeming very distanced with her, Carla's "Make sure you follow your heart, not Christopher's", and much more.

I do believe that backdoor was always open a tiny crack wide, and the writers were aware of it being a tiny, tiny option and therefore included all these little bits that would later make it plausible. There were interviews in the past with Tim where he even hinted at something like that, or left the option open; and there were other writers and directors who also subtly confirmed some subtext. It was never explicitly spelled out but hinted at.

So I'm pretty convinced that it at least was some level of consideration, in the past - always with a tiny probability to become possible, but it WAS there. (And before anyone reading this says "oh so that WAS ship baiting?" Nope, it wasn't. Giving yourself the option to maaaaybe do something in the future as a writer is normal procedure.)

Also, just because something was never done before (i.e. a queer slow burn) doesn't mean it'll never get done. It just makes it a lot less likely and subject to MANY external factors.

But yeah, I definitely agree that putting TWO queer awakening arcs around main characters into the story is extremely unlikely to ever happen on a show like this. And actually, we kinda already had two: the show started with Michael coming out to Athena. So yeah, even though we were thrown into the last stage/aftermath of that arc in s1 rather than seeing it play out from the start of its development, we had that.

[i-write-sin-not-tragedy]

...Top five Charlie moments, I'm curious.

Sorry this took so long!!! I had many feelings lol

Here we go!

5. Her ranting to Alastor

It's just a cute moment to me! I especially love Alastors aroace stare of death the enitre time but also i think its a good moment to highlight how Charlie works? If that makes sense. It was nice to see her ranting to him, frustrated and confused over the situation with Vaggie. A runner-up to this is definitely her talk with Rosie, but i particularly enjoyed seeing Charlie just. Ranting lol

4. Her Hugging Angel

YALL HAD TO KNOW THIS ONE WAS COMING i Have so many things to say about the end of episode 4 but this this is my favorite scene. Like they could have easily played it off or not really addressed it but Charlie waiting up till Husk brought Angel home???? Specifically so she could apologize to him?? Just overall her realizing that she messed up. Angel accecpting the apology and telling her he understands that she genuinely wanted to help him.

This scene means a lot it was so sweet it was so kskfkwkfkekdkwkd Charlie is such a kind hearted person and it was eating her alive to know in her fury and anger to protect Angel she inadvertently made things worse,,,,god. Sweet girl im so happy they hugged im so happy he reassured her it was okay, he knows her heart is in the right place.

3. "Just, come see what im trying to do here. It's really important to me."

I just aaaaaaa god FUCK. She genuinely cares about them so much. Charlie has found company and family in this band of misfits and at this point knows they all believe in her, and this scene melts me. Charlie telling her dad how important this is (and the flash to Angel and Pens faces and how those words alone mean so much to them ill cry)

Charlie believes in them so much. She calls them her family to adams face later on, and i melt

2. "What makes you think you can treat him like that!?"

Just. Angry Charlie. Charlie looking ready to beat Valentinos ass into the ground (and she probably would have had Angel not stepped in)

Like I genuinely believe she'd be pissed if she saw ANY of the other Hotel staff being treated like this, but I do think it being Angel played a part in HOW mad she got.

(Let me cook here okay)

Its like. Angel up till then had been making a point to not let on bad things were for him. He only ever called Val his "Boss". He actively hid and covered up his text messages. Charlie had been operating under the impression that Angel was an addict and sex worker, but she had absolutely no idea he was a victim.

Thats why i love this moment. You see it click in her head. The way she watches Val push Angel, the way her eyes follow, you can literally SEE her putting the pieces together, the Realization of just how much Angel was dealing with.

I can only imagine what was going on in her head but I think a big reason why she got SO angry in this scene is because she finally understands.

And shes ready to kill over it.

1. That's princess of Hell to you, pig."

I have very little to add to this besides that this is badass. I LOVE angry Charlie. i LOVE seeing her pissed off. She has been building up to this. She deserved this moment to look Adam in the eyes and remind him EXACTLY who the fuck hes talking to.

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

I just I’m raging at this weeks episode and I know I should be happy but I’m not I’m so pissed off.

So the girls knows what happened in Atlas but they’re bickering about if it's really as bad as it seems and if they completely failed or not which leads to this:

“What good is saving anybody if Salem just destroys the world anyway.”

“That’s how Ironwood thought, you don’t mean that.”

NO RUBY IS RIGHT YANG SHE IS RIGHT IF THE PLANET IS DESTROYED EVERYONE ON THE PLANET IS ALSO DEAD GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY UNDERSTOOD THIS WHY CAN'T YOU.

Also are we now really trying to "but the economy" the entire fucking planet? How are they deluding themselves into thinking protecting the relics shouldn't be a top priority? Why are we trying to act like Ruby is wrong for recognizing Ironwood was right when he was very concerned about Salem getting the world ending relics? It's absolutely disgusting how the show in continuing to drag James's name through the mud like I knew it would happen but fuck it's got me so annoyed.

Salem ending the world is a real problem to be worried about, handwaving it away as "something only a bad person like Ironwood" would think is just insane to me. She wants everyone and everything dead, Salem getting half the items she needs to do that should scare the shit out of everyone but as we find out later in the episode this is not the case and it is the last thing on their minds.

Yes, saving people is important, but the mains are ignoring the very real problem of no amount of people saving from disasters like Atlas will matter in a world ending scenario. Everyone will die if Salem gets the relics. And even if the gods lied about ending the planet if humanity isn't united that won't fix the fact that as of right now they have every reason to believe they will and need to be acting as if that will happen. And saying Ironwood was totally wrong and we did everything right, shows a callous disregard for the consequences if Salem unites the relics. Why is the show trying to make us root for these girls again?

Now you remember the damn cat???? The one who literally was sacrificing themselves for you? It took you this long to wonder if they're okay? Once again we find out the cat might not be so good a person this episode, but at this point the mains have been thinking they are a friend and can be trusted so once again them forgetting about the cat and the civilian is just a gross disregard for peoples lives that feels so weird right after the girls try and boost themselves up as better then James for trying to save the people.

Also Jaunes explanation on the story is so confusing because we don’t fucking know the story so we don’t know what went wrong or why. Or why their storm isn't as bad or violent and Blake and Yangs given they should be in a really bad emotional position right now with everything they have found out.

Let's also finally talk about the elephant in the room. Yes the bee's being canon is a very good thing. They said I love you and kissed so we cannot deny they are canon. This is very good and needed to happen but it happened five episodes late if I'm being generous and 3 seasons too late worst case. But even how they got together wasn't....great. A storm that forces them to tell the truth? They aren't saying it because they're ready to? They're being forced to? Okay. This is so weird and awkward.

I also have to wonder how they started mentally talking to each other and why neither thought it was weird. This whole scene feels so awkward and forced and even if it leads to a good thing we've been demanding that doesn't make the writing work. I also have to wonder, why is the bee's relationship "more important" then finding out about Salem getting the relics? Why isn't that a bigger concern for literally all of the girls? It should be that's for sure. And just do not even get me started on the damn comedy surrounding them all getting out of the damn storm just. Don't. This post is way to long as it is.

Aaaannnndddddd Jaune has Crescent Rose how boring. This is the dumbest way to get Ruby her weapon back. All of the theorizing about how her losing her weapon was a sign of her losing herself and finding it again would be tied to her finding herself again just got tossed out the window. The interesting and complex storytelling tied to that arc are just gone and I am so damn annoyed. It's been established for a long time a persons weapon is apart of themselves and we could have had a great arc about Ruby's search for Crescent Rose mirroring her search to find herself again. It could have actually been a good use of wonderlands weirdness that is once again not utilized in a meaningful way.

[sevenrenny]

Having chronic migraine sucks, cause nobody took me seriously for years, telling me "Everyone gets headaches/I get headaches too!" meanwhile, without my medication, I'm incapacitated from the pain for four days a week on average, and everyone thinks I'm just being lazy when I physically can't get myself out of bed or even open my eyes, let alone feed myself without throwing up.

I go to work with ringing in my ears. I have to use a shower chair because the dizzy spells hit out of nowhere. I get blurry vision and sudden vision flashes. Even after the migraine episodes pass, I'm left with post-migraine where I'm physically drained and got massive brain fog.

And because of my GI issues (that's a whole separate medical issue that has landed me in the ER five times this year), I can't take oral medication because my body refuses to absorb most of it or it just decides my meds aren't on the guest list and activates the puke button.

The only medicine that seems to work is this autoinjector I take once a month... and it's the equivalent of about 600 USD per syringe. I have to jump through so many hoops to get it. It doesn't get rid of the migraines, just lessens their frequency and severity. (My current doctor has suggested I start Botox treatment but I don't feel financially ready for that.)

Even with my official diagnosis, hardly anybody believes me. "It's just a headache," "Ninety percent of people in the world get headaches!" "You need to eat vegetables more," "Try visiting my doctor. She's a gynecologist but she specializes in everything," "Have you tried meditation?" "Have you tried-"

I can assure you, whatever you're going to think of on the spot, I've already tried within the past 10+ years of my life dealing with this issue. This, and my GI issue and other chronic health issues.

I've also noticed people get uncomfortable when I explain to them what 'chronic' means. They squirm about it. They deny it's a thing, that there has to be a cure, I just haven't found it yet. They make up solutions on the spot. I kid you not, someone suggested I put a snail on my forehead for it to 'absorb' the migraine.

I have office workers telling me they know more than my medical professionals. I missed a few work days due to being in the ER from an intestinal issue, and had a coworker ask me what was I possibly doing to make myself sick, that- "You must have an unhealthy lifestyle, or you wouldn't be like this." Another coworker pitched in, stating that I must be doing something wrong. Family members insist on that assumption, too.

In other words: the chronic illnesses I was born with (the chronic migraine, gastroparesis, PCOS, chronic skin issues, other health concerns) are somehow my fault. I truly do believe this idea stems from how uncomfortable the thought of chronic illness makes them, and the belief that they can avoid becoming chronically ill themselves if they try hard enough, that you only get chronically ill if you did something to deserve it somehow.

I'm exhausted explaining myself to healthy people who believe I owe them my medical history. I outright say I don't want to discuss it. It just makes everyone prod harder. When I run out of energy and just want to rest and not speak anymore (because everything I say goes in one ear and out the other, anyway,) it's as if I've insulted them personally, scoffing that they're just trying to help.

This is not how you help. You're making me more tired than I already am. Literally, the things I do require help with (needing a ride home on occasion because I'm having aura symptoms and can't drive and there's no public transit, needing silence so the pain doesn't escalate, needing things to me repeated because the fatigue and brain fog made me miss what was said, needing time alone because I'm drained and can't go do the thing you want me to do, needing a ride to the ER) everyone refuses to do, which tells me this isn't about helping, it's about your curiosity regarding my health. It's about you needing to be right.

If you really want to help, just ask what can you do. That's it.

[all-seeing-ifer]

Wait I really like ats s5 it has some banger episodes, why don’t you like it?

oh man. season 5.

so, in theory, there's a lot about season 5 that I should like. I think it reinvents the show in an interesting way and I love the themes of never stopping fighting even in the face of the knowledge that the good guys are never going to truly win and that the deck is always going to be stacked against them. the fucking dialogue between gunn and anne in the finale? "I'd get this truck packed before the new stuff gets here"? holy SHIT it is so good!!!

I totally get why people like season 5 I do think it genuinely has a lot going for it BUT you DID ask so I will now be presenting Isabel's List of Varyingly Serious/Petty Beefs With Angel Season Five. In No Particular Order:

Spike's a good addition to the show and god knows angel season 5 does more interesting stuff with him than buffy season 7 ever did but it is fucking insane to me how much focus and development he gets while gunn fred and lorne, who have been mainstays of the show since like season 2, continue to get absolute jack shit to do

just generally let's be honest. anyone who isn't a white guy this season is fucked. harmony gets no development despite being granted main cast status illyria gets nothing to do despite being set up as a super duper important addition to the cast I don't even know what they were fucking thinking with eve. etc.

THEY FRIDGED CORDY AND FRED WITHIN THREE EPISODES OF EACH OTHER. AND AT NO POINT DID ANYONE IN THE WRITERS' ROOM THINK THAT MAYBE THE FACT THAT THEY WERE WERE STARTING TO RUN OUT OF WOMEN WAS PERHAPS A PROBLEM

speaking of cordy my best girl of all time, I know people love you're welcome but i'm sorry i remain deeply ambivalent about that fucking thing. like yes it's nice that the cordy we know and love gets to come back for one last hurrah but also the episode basically never treats her like a person with feelings of her own and instead she's just there to motivate angel and then die so he can be sad about it. i can't believe it only took 40 minutes to set feminism back 4000 years

also sorry but did they really think you're welcome was going to be enough to make up for what they did to her in season 4? have you seen season 4? one episode where cordy looks hot and has her tits out and swordfights will NOT undo the damage that has been done

and then they proceed to set feminism back even further by just refusing to acknowledge the existence of their show's secondary protagonist for the basically the rest of the season and also fridging fred in an arguably even more horrific way three episodes later so wesley can be sad and so they can introduce a new character who does nothing

like seriously nothing makes me more rabid in season 5 than the scene in power play where the characters all vote on if they're gonna go through with their suicide mission against the circle of the black thorn and it's just all the men voting on it bc illyria's been incapictated bc I guess in angel season 5 women don't get to have agency even when they're literal godlike demon lords

on the subject of the illyria plotline i fucking hate how gunn gets treated. like sorry all the men on this show (sans lorne. unproblematic king) have done awful shit why does gunn get singled out as having done something uniquely horrible just for a shady business deal he couldn't possibly have known the consequences of. like we know why but still

and on the subject of gunn.... the fact that they wrote a storyline implying that the only way for the only black main character in the show to become smart and capable is for him to have his brain magically altered and NO ONE in the writers room was like HM MAYBE THIS IS A BAD LOOK ACTUALLY. christ i would feel way better about the whole "gunn feels like he's just the muscle" conflict if the show more consistently came down on the side that players does where gunn does actually have way more to offer than being the muscle but has just come to see himself as just The Guy Who Fights. but unfortunately they spend at least as much time writing gunn as Actually Just The Muscle. usually to make wesley look better (i promise i'm not bitter about it)

and perhaps i'd be less annoyed about all this if gunn also got literally anything else to do this season but this is truly all he gets until not fade away

which i guess is still better than fred? like fred just dies. that's it

guys i don't think we shit on the girl in question enough. like it's bad. it's really bad. i'm so glad we're currently in the shit talking lies my parents told me renaissance but can we also start bringing that same energy for this piece of shit

nina's an art student so i hate her by default (<- guy who went to art school <- i am allowed to say this)

despite spike being intended to serve as a replacement for cordy they just straight up don't give him relationships with any of the characters other than angel (and fred for like. one episode) and it results in him just feeling incredibly out of place

just in general actually it feels like the writers kind of stopped caring about any of the character relationships aside from angel and spike and fred/wesley (which they only care about bc it's a reason for wesley to be sad anyway)

the pacing is a nightmare and i do not give a shit about the circle of the black thorn. sorry

and just as a disclaimer i would like to acknowledge that like. ats was always fairly shitty about race and gender this isn't unique to s5 but MAN does it feel like season 5 in particular is just. saying the quiet part out loud constantly every episode

anyway thank you for giving me free rein to just bitch about angel season 5 for an extended period of time this was fun. still i'm honestly glad that you enjoy it like really truly I wish that were me

[sage-nebula]

arcane au you say? :eyes:

Well, not a full AU, but more like "ideas for what an AU could look like while keeping the characters true to who they are, rather than forcing them to fit the characters from the show."

Like for instance . . . Sonic does have some things in common with Vi, and Tails does have some things in common with Powder. But while I can see some exchanges between Vi and Power working between Sonic and Tails (e.g. I could see Tails' borrowing Powder's line: "Just that you were 'twice the person at half my age'. You heard them, I'm not a fighter"; as well as Sonic borrowing Vi's, "What makes you different makes you strong. Remember that"), I can't see their relationship breaking apart in the same way that Vi's and Powder's did at the end of episode three. It's probably my unbreakable bond bias speaking, but—actually, no, you know what? It's not, because I didn't come up with "unbreakable bond" for them. Sega came up with that. It's their team-up name in Sonic Advance 3. Sonic and Tails literally have an unbreakable bond, so I just can't see their relationship fracturing or falling apart like Vi's and Powder's did in Arcane. It just doesn't work, on numerous levels:

1.) Tails' inventions work. RIP to Powder, but he's different. So already, there's a critical difference in how the story would play out.

2.) Unless he was mind controlled or otherwise out of control of his own body, I really cannot see Sonic hitting Tails. I definitely can't see him continuing to manhandle Tails as Tails sobs and cowers and pleads with him to stop. Not only is Sonic a pretty private person with his more painful emotions (this is why Sega says he can't cry), but even in a situation where some of Tails' tech malfunctioned or was used against them, and their other friends died . . . seeing Tails breaking down into hysterics over what happened would quell Sonic's own rage. Yeah, of course he'd feel some kind of way about it. He might bench Tails for a while. But he wouldn't smack him, wouldn't manhandle him, wouldn't scream at him, wouldn't storm off and leave Tails screaming and crying after him. That's just not who Sonic is.

So already, the thing that separates the two before the timeskip would have to be different. To keep it in-character, I think it would make much more sense for there to be an intense situation, perhaps a face-off against Eggman or something. The situation is really bad, they're being overwhelmed, maybe a few of their friends have already been killed. And Sonic, because he always makes Tails' safety a priority, shoves Tails out of a window or something to get him out of the proximity of the danger. And then, before Tails can get back in there to help Sonic escape, the building explodes and Tails is made to believe that Sonic perished in the explosion.

(Sonic didn't. Instead, he was captured by Eggman and imprisoned for the next five or six years. But Tails doesn't know that.)

And then that brings us to the next change. Because while Eggman would still be the big bad in this, I can't see any scenario where he takes in and genuinely comes to love Tails. And that's a pretty big thing for Silco and Powder/Jinx; Silco saw himself in the little girl sobbing over her feelings of betrayal by a sibling, which is why he took her in. And he truly came to love her as his daughter. It wasn't a ploy, or an act. He really loved her. But Eggman only loves himself and I can't see that changing / don't want to drastically change the characters for an AU to work. So although he's still the primary villain in the story, he can't be the Silco equivalent when it comes to the brothers.

But you know who could? Shadow.

Because in this scenario, Tails wasn't abandoned; instead, his big brother sent him away from the danger, and then was killed basically right in front of him (or so Tails thinks). And what do you know, but the same thing basically happened to Shadow. His older sister-figure, Maria, sent him away from the danger, and then was gunned down herself as a result. It's something that, in canon, fucks him up to this day, to the point where in the Twitter Takeovers not even Eggman will taunt Shadow with it. So in this case, when Tails is sobbing his heart out in the street because he thinks that Sonic just got blown to pieces while he, Tails, could do nothing but watch, well . . .

Shadow: "You're a heartbroken younger sibling whose older sibling died in front of you in an effort to protect you?"

So in this scenario, perhaps Shadow knew Sonic and Tails a little before this, and so he still asks Tails where his brother is. And Tails, like Powder, launches himself at Shadow, still sobbing, and says that his brother died, he's dead and Tails could do nothing, because Sonic sent him away before he could help. And Shadow remembers the this-AU-version of how Maria died, and so he slowly hugs Tails back, and Silco's line changes just enough so that it's:

"It's okay. We'll avenge them. We'll avenge them both."

And that's how he adopts Tails as his new little brother and teaches him such things as "revenge feels awesome" and "murder is okay."

Sonic's in for a big surprise when he gets busted out of jail, let me tell you.

[crobones]

seriously, if you're going to have a character arc come full circle in terms of fulfilling goals that they'd had in the beginning, do it like Loki, not like Our Flag Means Death.

Loki fought the whole season to prevent the inevitable, but then acknowledged that his wants were ultimately selfish even though the motivation was altruistic. He tried absolutely everything he could literally time and time again, trying to save the timelines and the TVA and his friends, and preventing the time war.

He even spent centuries with his friends off screen and there was a significant reason for the time skip! (looking at you, infinity war and endgame! fuck that five year time skip! we knew everything would ultimately stay the same except for the fact that Loki learned theoretical physics and what he needed in order to move the plot along. Fuck, they even just acknowledged there were several times he lived through certain circumstances because of how he acted and what he said in that final attempt at the Mulitplier. They managed to both show and tell in a way that fucking worked for the pacing.

essentially, loki tried so hard to achieve what everyone thought would save them, and when they finally succeeded, it still wasn't enough. and as opposed to choosing between time no longer existing or killing sylvie, he asked people for advice. Everyone essentially said "kill the one to save the many" and we know for damn sure that old Loki would have done just that. He would have killed Sylvie and been done with it.

But he had character growth! he wanted people to have free will! he wanted his friends to be able to choose between life on a timeline or life with the TVA! he didn't want to kill a person he cared about, even if that was the only answer! so he took their opinions and ultimately said "fuck that" and sacrificed himself.

he wanted a throne and a purpose in the very beginning, then he learned he didn't want any of those things - he wanted to be loved! and THEN he realized that he would have to sacrifice that love in order to save existence and the people he cared about. sacrificing those things was the last resort. so he ended up alone. on a throne. burdened with a terrible purpose. but it was for selfless reasons.

now! how am I making this about izzy, you ask? well! season one, izzy was incredibly selfish! but even then, we have the first divergence of character arcs.

Loki spends his first season learning that people deserve free will and sometimes he needs to relinquish control. he learns he needs to trust people.

season one izzy basically doesn't have a character arc! he begins and ends the season wanting blackbeard. then season two comes along and they speedrun his character development in what, two episodes? and half of it happens off-screen between the seasons!

but both loki and izzy learn that what's important to them is community, love, and the freedom for everyone to be who they want to be. where loki fights tooth and nail to hold onto these things before he must sacrifice himself, izzy's choices of self-sacrifice throughout the beginning of the season are motivated by selfharm and suicidal ideation - he believes he deserves punishment for what he has done in the past.

then, Izzy's last choice of making himself the target is less for wanting to die and moreso trying to give the others the chance to live. arguably, this is a step forward in his narrative? idk, putting yourself in the line of fire is still putting yourself in the line of fire, regardless of motivation. but, oop! he doesn't die here, no. he survives the talk with Ricky. huzzah!

however! he dies moments later due to being shot as a result of 1) no one checking to make sure Ricky was disarmed, 2) stede's suicide mission, which was literally the only plan they tried, and 3) even though people in this show can survive falling from the crow's nest onto the deck or being stabbed multiple times through the torso where there actually are important organs, the show wanted to tell us that "people die for real sometimes."

but it doesn't stop there! izzy then refuses any attempts to save him, and then apologizes to his codependent for... being codependent... yet this act of his dying is thus reinforcing that very codependency... and he "wants to die"...

like. if loki could have it any other way (and trust him! he's tried!) he would. he would choose life with his friends and loved ones. but he chose self-sacrifice as a literal last resort because it was the only way.

if given the chance, would the izzy that existed at the end of season two have chosen to live? not only was his death the result of someone else's plan, but it wasn't even a matter of the plan going to shit and THEN izzy sacrifices himself. no, his death was simply a byproduct of the plan going to shit. and then it was turned into a metaphor for the very character he was codependent on.

loki's motivations changed, he fought for any and every other possibility, but his end result was ironically what he had sought in the very beginning. it is tragic and beautiful.

izzy's motivations changed, but he never tried to keep what he had. he never forgave himself. he forgave literally everyone except for himself. he reverted right back to being willing to die for blackbeard. it isn't even tragic, it's just poorly written.

[intheticklecloset]

AHHHH you finished seraph of the end!!! the same anon here👋🏻 Honestly I was so excited for you when you made the poll and it started winning, had my fingers crossed it would win because this anime is so so underrated🥹It starts with a BANG and ends with one too! Did you have favorite moments or episodes besides what you already said? And now that you’ve finished it, do you have top 5 favorite characters👀 if you’d like to share☺️

This reply got a little long so I put it under the cut. No spoilers, though! 😅

AHHH such good questions! Well, aside from what I've mentioned previously:

I really like Yu's character development. He starts out as kind of a jerk (understandably) but ends up being really kind and overprotective, and I love that for him.

I loved Yoichi's character development, too! The absolute sweetest of sweethearts having to fight his demons (quite literally) and grow into a solider but still keeping his optimistic spirit despite it all was just *chef's kiss*

Also I was pleasantly surprised by Shinoa. I wasn't sure about her for the first several episodes but she REALLY grew on me.

Was pumping my fist for Kimuzuki at city hall (if you know you know)!!

Overall though my favorite part(s) of the show was those very rare moments when Yu and Mika were able to be together. MY HEART!!! (I don't ship them AT ALL btw - I just see them as best friends/family.)

As for top five fave characters, I'd have to say:

Yu - he's just SO great; I loved him and was rooting for him the whole time

Mika - we don't get a lot of him but his struggle and his connection to Yu had my heart SOARING

Kimizuki - I just loved this dork so much LOL

Yoichi - sweetheart vibes!! I love that he's an archer too like adfaflhh

Aside from those four I don't know if I can settle on a fifth place? I liked Guren (for a while) and Shinya (wasn't sure at first but I decided I like him), and Shinoa was another one who really grew on me, like I said.

I added Seraph of the End to my watchlist YEARS ago, but there's just so many anime out there and my watching stamina is...not great? So when Hulu started being dumb about some stuff and I decided to cancel it, I cross-referenced the shows I had on my list there with Crunchyroll and learned that Seraph and Durarara were the only two that weren't available on CR. Hence the poll, because they both looked good and I couldn't decide but I knew I wanted to watch one while I had the chance.

I went in to Seraph totally blind, knowing nothing but that there were vampires in it, and OH MY GOD IT WAS AMAZING. I can't believe it took me so long to get to! I'm so glad it won the poll!

Thank you for giving me a chance to fangirl about it - I JUST LOVED IT SO DANG MUCH! 😍😍😍😍

[eshtaresht]

GUYS GUYS I CAN'T KSODKLSOSL!!!1!!1LKDKJ;;S !!!l1JK!::kKD;P SOSKSLSPSODS A;SDOKDLAD I CAN'T EVEN FORM WORDS

spoilers for ep 12 (and a bit for trigun in general) and my overexited ramblings under the cut

you know an episode will be good when where's no opening

so, the twins are meant to be characterized straightforward in every anime adaptation, ig. it's not bad, but the manga twists their personalities 180° and it adds SO MUCH nuance (I'll talk about this at length some day)

tbh I had to pause for laughter when knives was YEETED outta the gate (I have sense of humor of a five year old)

everybody already said everything, but still. OG HAIR COMEBACK OMG AHRAHAAKFJDlahjddjha!!!!!!!! ;!!! ;! and not only hair, but the whole characterization this episode was much closer to trimax vash, and not just sadboy depressive bbg

MERYL/REM PARALLELS LETS GOOOO!!! like, I guessed this would happen, but the visuals, the tension and pure GRATITUDE in vash's voice when he was able to break free from his mental prison... we're eating good

speaking of eating, I CAN'T get over that moment when vash deadass BIT KNIVES. that's peak sibling behavior, he's literally fighting tooth and nail over there

also mashwood is so real tonight!! love love love meryl&nico interactions in stampede, they barely spoke to each other in other versions! and the look of relief on vash's face when he sees nico skedaddling away with meryl!!! he's so glad that they're gonna be okay and that nico made the right choice and came back to help, if briefly. interstingly, he was able to remember everyone, but after the explosion at the end he still lost his memory.

and THE WINGS, DUDE!!!! it gives the finale of trimax, when they both had only one wing left..... still missing feathers, but I love the diversity with knives's, eh... knives, and vash's energy/void or whatever that is, I support it

he's so pathetic even when he looks cool, homeboy had NO control when he used his wing for the first time... cudos for learning new powers on the spot tho

ow ow ow that scene with the military hurt... and he couldn't even save them!

"why are you like that, vash?" "I'm vash the stampede" "IT'S BEEN OVER A CENTURY AND THIS IS THE BEST YOU COULD CAME UP WITH" same here, knives, he's hopeless. I anticipated that moment, but it probably hits even hard for stampede onlys

angel arm!!! tho it's not that angelic now... how are we gonna call it? I take suggestions. rip arm and coat, I feel like we'll actually get a more trimax leaning design next season!

to all the ppl (myself included) who wanted to see vash cry properly... are you happy? ARE YOU FUCKING HAPPY??? after the last episode, after all the mental torture knives put him through, vash still doesn't want to hurt him and, just like knives, can't handle the distance between them.......... I am inconsolable. and as much as knives wanted to break vash, it hurts him so much to see those tears irl....... but he just can't stop, because they're both SO FUCKING STUBBORN and it already took to much to get there and he just can't. stop. now.

"nai is dead, you killed him" first of all, *sounds of screaming crying throwing up*. second of all, his name is million knives, vash, stop deadnaming your brother/j

the death scene itself.... oh it's soo good and yummy. I know this mf isn't fully dead and conrad will fix him, but still. he can have a second death of self as a treat

btw, gotta adress my earlier theory about "happy birthday" being metaphorical. no, it is in fact July 21st, and tristamp lasted about two months in universe. still pretty hard for me to believe, it felt five times shorter due to the pacing. but it is what it is: I'm esht and I was wrong, I'm singing the esht wrong song

and just as I thought this would be the end of it, WE GOT A FLASH FORWARD THAT HAD BASICALLY EVERYTHING WE WERE HOPING FOR AND MORE

RAISED BOUNTY! MERYL GIRLBOSSIFICATION!! a hint at insurance society (tho that was more of a threat and she's still a journalist). MILLY CONFIRMATION!!! ERIKS' LACK OF ARM AND AMNESIA!!!! EARTH FLEET AND CHRONICA!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

IT'S GONNA BE GOOD SEASON 2 IS GONNA BE EVEN BETTER I CAN FEEL IT IN MY BONE MARROW

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball GT 24

✨GT Stands for Giru-eating Trout✨

This is the one where Pan tries to pet a baby space-deer, and it sticks its nose up her shirt for no good reason.  The deer kind of pokes her in the butt a little later, but that’s easier to write off.  What the hell was this for?  Like, how did this happen?  They’re storyboarding this episode at Toei headquarters or whatever, and one guy is like “Say, I have an idea... Now hear me out...”

Let’s back up.  Last time, the GT crew found a fourth Dragon Ball on a derelict ship.  They also found a single survivor, and took him to a hospital on Planet Pital.  Oh, they named the planet after the last five letters in hospital.   I just got that.  Everybody just sort of chills out after they hear the boy will recover, but then there’s an explosion in his room, and Goku charges in to rescue the kid and a nurse who was in the room when it happened.

What caused the explosion?  Well, the boy is possessed by Baby, and this was all a scheme to get close to the GT gang.  But he used a little too much of his power at the end of the last episode, and he accidentally blew up some equipment in the room.  But since no one suspects anything, he figures he can still proceed with his plan. 

So what’s Baby’s plan this time? I mean, he’s had so many of them already, so it’s hard to keep them all straight.  Well, it seems like he’s abandoned all of his old plans, and now he just wants “Saiyan power”.  We’ve seen him enter people’s bodies and control them.  This boy is just the latest example.  Apparently this makes Baby stronger, and he seems to think parisitizing the bodies of Goku, Trunks, and Pan is the next step.

So what are the GT gang up to while all this is going on?  Jack shit, that’s what.  Goku’s hungry, but he refuses to eat in the hospital cafeteria because he’s afraid someone will poke him with a needle when he’s not looking.  According to Trunks, the hospital is the only place on the entire planet that even has a cafeteria.  Wait, did I misread that?  That can’t be right.

No, that’s exactly how Trunks puts it.  This is followed by a gag where Goku, Giru, and Trunks all go wading in a nearby stream to catch fish. Seriously?  Those are your choices?  If you’re hungry on Planet Pital, you either go to the hospital or you go fishing.  There’s no grocery stores?  No vending machines?  No agriculture?

Oh, also the fish are easy to catch, but they taste terrible.  So it’s literally the hospital or starvation on this planet. 

Anyway, that’s why Pan is out here getting sexually harassed by a deer.  I guess she didn’t want to go fishing.  While she’s away from the others, Baby approaches her, hoping to make her his next victim.  When her back is turned, he reaches out and...

Wh-what?  What is wrong with this kid’s hand?  I took a screenshot of this because I could not believe what I was seeing.   He’s supposed to be reaching out to grab Pan, but the fingers are pointed in the wrong direction, like he’s bringing his hand in towards us.  But the thumb is pointed like... argh this is driving me nuts. 

Before Baby can make his move, the doctor finds him and tells him he should be resting, and he escorts him back to the hospital.  So Baby waits until they’re alone and possesses the doctor instead. 

Goku’s still worried about eating in the cafeteria, and I just noticed that his anxiety about needles kind of rhymes with the threat of this episode.  Baby is literally lurking around this place, sneaking up on unsuspecting victims and “snoick!” injecting them with nasty goop, i.e. himself.  So as dumb as Goku sounds right now, he’s like the guy nobody listens to in a horror movie. 

This is really weird, because normally GT episodes are so thin on plot and weak on continuity that I never would have expected scenes like this to actually tie into anything else. 

Luckily for Goku’s tummy, the doctor (actually Baby) assures Goku that no one will stick him with a needle, and this convinces Goku to try the cafeteria, and it turns out he loves it.  They’ve got shrimp curry in there and everything.  Also, the doctor (actually Baby) invites Trunks on a tour of the hospital, because he mentioned being so interested in the advanced technology here.  He never actually said that, as far as I’m aware, but whatever. 

So he takes Trunks to look at... some machine, and lets Trunks play with the buttons and dials.  Trunks is like “Oh, cool!  This is amazing!  And if I switch this then... yes, wow!  This is incredible!”  What is going on?

Then the doctor makes his move, and... strangles Trunks? What?  Every other time Baby’s done this bit, he just forces himself down the victim’s throat.  This time, he tells Trunks exactly how he survived their last encounter and infiltrated Pital using that sick boy they found. 

But Trunks has outsmarted Baby because Goku and Pan arrive to back him up.  Turns out they’ve been onto Baby since the start of this episode.  Remember when Baby blew up that hospital room?  Well he used his ki to do it, and Goku sensed it and recognized Baby’s unique energy immediately.  They couldn’t sense him while he was inside someone’s body, but all they had to do was play dumb and wait for Baby to make a move, like how Trunks did when he agreed to go on this “tour”.  As soon as Baby revealed himself, Pan and Goku could come a’runnin’. 

So it looks like now they finally have Baby dead to rights, and this time they know he can survive getting blown up with ki blasts, so they’ll do a more thorough job of it.  But first, Pan asks Baby about how he found the One-Star Dragon Ball that he used as bait in the previous episode.  Baby is... surprisingly accommodating about this.  He explains that Dr. Mu just happened to discover it one day, and he “digitized it” and stored it inside his own head, which is why the GT Crew never detected it before.  So basically I was right when I speculated that Dr. Mu just happened across a Dragon Ball the same way Bulma way back in the beginning.  We still don’t know how Mu learned what it was or that there were six more, or how to make them grant wishes, or how to track them down.  But honestly, I’m surprised Baby was willing to explain as much as he did.

Pan asks if Baby has any other Dragon Balls, and he says they only had the one.  He wants the whole set, but he knew he could just wait for the GT crew to gather the others.  Wait...

Okay, so he either wants the GT crew for their Saiyan power, or he wants them to locate all the Dragon Balls.  Right now they only have four, but he’s trying to ambush them in this hospital anyway. 

I mean, this will work out for him eventually, but you see what I’m saying, right?  This whole scheme in Episodes 23 and 24 is pretty clever, but shouldn’t he have held off until they found the other three Dragon Balls?  Or is he content to eliminate the GT crew today and finish tracking the Dragon Balls himself?  I mean, that sounds sensible, but it’s not what he’s saying he wanted to do.

On the other hand, maybe I should give this episode a little more credit.  The good guys looked clueless for most of this story, but now we see that they were just waiting for Baby to overplay his hand.  And Baby has a bigger agenda than he’s letting on, so maybe he’s just playing the part of a mustache twirling rival in the hunt for the Dragon Balls. 

So they fight, and Baby gets kicked around a lot until he pulls a Kid Buu and powers up.  I know I keep harping on this, but it is impossible to tell how strong anyone is in this show. If Baby could actually take on three Saiyans and win, then why is he bothering with all this sneaking around?  And if he’s not strong enough to take on three Saiyans, then what the hell is this?  And if he’s capable of big ki stunts like this, then why aren’t Goku and Trunks turning Super Saiyan to finish him off quickly?

Here’s a cool shot of Trunks getting blown away in the blast Baby is throwing off.

Trunks sustains a nasty cut on his arm...

And Baby liquefies and dives right into the wound.  Okay, so up to now, Baby’s had to enter people’s bodies more forcefully than this, because none of his victims had open cuts on their bodies.  Apparently it’s simpler for him when he can just go straight into their bloodstream.  Also, this shot implies that Goku and Pan are just standing around watching this happen.  Way to be, guys.  Way to be.

So now Baby has control of Trunks’ body, and while Pan and Goku argue over how to defeat Baby without hurting Trunks, Baby gets the drop on Goku and aims a ki blast at his face at pointblank range.  Baby thinks Goku can’t dodge, but consider: Even though GT Goku can’t teleport properly with his dumb kid body, he can teleport about six feet above his current position, as seen in Episode 4.  So he could use that in a fight, if only to buy a little breathing room.  He probably couldn’t get away with using it more than once before the opponent figures out his limitations, but it’s a thought.

But it doesn’t matter, because Trunks suddenly begins to resist Baby’s control, and he turns Super Saiyan, which overwhelms Baby in some way.  Apparently he didn’t know about this?  Even though Goku and Trunks used Super Saiyan to fight Luud and Rildo?  Did Baby not know about those battles?  What was the point of him controlling all those idiots if he didn’t stay up to date on their activities?

So this is a total shut out for the good guys, right?  Baby’s only chance was to control their bodies, but now he can’t even do that anymore, so this is it, right?  Wrong, Baby uses a bootleg Solar Flare trick and runs away while the gang are blinded.  Seriously, this is just Imperfect Cell all over again.  The difference is that Giru has a filter for his optical sensor, so he can follow Baby’s movements.  Except it doesn’t matter because no one actually follows Baby or tries to stop him.  Giru just watches him go and reports that he’s getting away. 

And Baby makes it all the way to a spaceport, where he possesses a woman and feeds on all the other passengers.  Things didn’t go as he hoped today, but he’s confident that he’ll win the next time, once he’s gotten stronger. 

And the good guys... don’t seem to care?  They can’t find Baby after he’s out of sight, because there’s no ki to sense and the trail has gone cold, but they also don’t bother to warn anyone on Pital about this alien parasite that controls people’s bodies.  Goku says some boilerplate crap about how they’ll defeat him by working together, and then they just get back on their ship and leave. 

This is really weak.  I don’t know what I expect them to do in this situation.  I mean, they kind of have to move on because they’re still in a hurry to find the rest of the Dragon Balls before the Earth explodes.   But they don’t even bring that up when they leave Pital.  You could do some interesting character work with that premise.  Goku and Pan don’t like leaving the Baby problem unresolved, but Trunks has to keep them focused on their mission. 

And that’s what bugs me about GT.  So much of this show is just stuff sort of happening.  Fights just sort of end, not because one side was stronger or more skillful, but because the writers wanted the fight to be over.  Baby doesn’t mind losing this skirmish, because he knows he can just try again whenever he’s ready, but that just underscores the fact that he never needed to pull this stunt in the first place.  He just did it because the writers wanted him to.  And then when it didn’t work, he just ran away and no one stopped him because the writers weren’t ready to kill him off yet.

✨ “Good” “Ideas”, Poorly Executed✨

So yeah, Baby is just a remix of Buu and Cell at this point.  He drains energy from his victims, leaving spaceships full of corpses.  Well, that ship from the last episode didn’t have any corpses, so I don’t know what the rule is with Baby.  Maybe he plans to eat these passengers later and the episode ended before he could finish. 

Cell, of course, always left the clothes behind, because it’s creepier and more awesome.  It’s the little details that the copycats never pick up on, which is why they’ll never surpass the original.

As for Buu, Baby basically stole his absorption technique, except that Baby enters his victims’ bodies instead of enveloping them the way Buu would do.  Also, Baby’s method of entering his victims is a lot like that trick Super Buu would do to blow people up from the inside. 

There’s some other tricks Baby has up his sleeve, but those are just stolen from other villains, so I’ll address those when the time comes.  Basically, this little shit is the crown jewel of Dragon Ball GT, perhaps the most memorable character introduced in the show, and he’s just a shallow retread of ideas we’ve seen before.

To be clear: I don’t object to the Dragon Ball franchise recycling old ideas, or borrowing ideas from old stories to make new ones.  The recent Dragon Ball Super movies have shamelessly brought back Broly, Gogeta, and the Red Ribbon Army, and they’re still excellent films.  GT is allowed to do the same.  My favorite Dragon Ball character is Cell, who is literally just a mashup of several other characters combined with a cicada.  When it comes to originality, the bar is actually pretty low for me. 

The point I’m trying to make here is that GT is a terrible show, and people will try to defend it by saying is had “some good ideas”.  But it doesn’t.  Baby is perhaps the best thing to come out of GT, and it’s not a “good idea”.  It’s a mish-mash of a bunch of other ideas we’ve seen before.  And that would still be serviceable, except the show is poorly written, glacially paced, and oftentimes just unappealing to look at.  Also, it gets really saccharine in places. 

Maybe a truly “good idea” could have overcome those flaws, but GT doesn’t have one of those.  What is has are a bunch of obsolete storytelling formulas and elements borrowed from more successful shows.   The only reason it lasted as long as it did was because it’s chock full of characters from the hit manga Dragon Ball.  If GT were a wholly original story without any connection to Dragon Ball, it would have died on the vine a lot sooner.

✨Positivity Page✨

Having said all that, it’s refreshing to see how much more focused the show has become now that it’s ditched all the other villains in favor of Baby.  It’s just one bad guy, operating alone, and he’s actually a genuine threat, instead of a dance trio or that stupid catfish man-child thing that could predict earthquakes. 

My guess is that Toei had to struggle to change the series when they decided to ditch the “Grand Tour” concept in favor of a more “Dragon Ball Z”-style plot structure.  Before, there was a clear sense of GT having these mini-arcs with a different villain in each one.  They didn’t have to be good villains because they weren’t going to be around long enough to matter.  Goku would beat them up in a few minutes and then they’d head out to the next planet. 

Maybe Baby was always going to be the secret mastermind at the end of the Dragon Ball hunt, but I get the sense that they already had plots for the Luud Cult and Giru’s homeworld, and quickly adapted them to set up Baby as the secret boss of both of those things.  Then, once Baby was introduced, they jettisoned all that other stuff and focused squarely on him.  Episodes 8 through 22 really felt like they were making it up as they went, and now that Baby is here, we’re not seeing that haphazard storytelling anymore.  Which tells me that they only used it in Episodes 8-22 because they had to, not because they wanted to. 

I’d like to say that GT has finally found its footing, and can now tell the story its creators set out to tell, except that isn’t actually true.  The story they wanted to tell was the Grand Tour, but then they realized it wouldn’t work, and everything after Episode 3 has been a hasty course correction.  With Baby, things have settled into a comfortable path forward, but this is just Toei doing the practical thing to keep the show on the air.  

✨Is this episode worse than “The Roaming Lake”?✨ 

Yes, it’s worse.  To give this episode credit, it spends a lot of its run time looking like every episode before it.  Characters just sort of tool around waiting for the next plot point to happen, and it gets pretty dull in places.  This is something GT 22 and “The Roaming Lake” have in common.  We spend a lot of time in this episode fretting about Goku’s dinner plans.

But it turns out it’s all a shocking SWERVE~!, and the GT crew was only pretending to while away an afternoon.  In fact, they were just waiting for Baby to ambush them so that they could spring their clever trap.  The problem is that when you do an episode about the characters pretending to do nothing, it’s still just as boring as when they’re sincerely doing nothing. 

Like, I’m just spitballing here, but they’re on an alien planet, where they could literally do anything the writers could imagine.  Why not have them go to an arcade, where they could play-duel with lightsabers?  Maybe they go scuba diving.  I don’t know. 

Instead they stay at the hospital, because there is literally nowhere else for them to go.  They can’t even eat anywhere else.  Okay, fine, but instead of having Goku fishing in their backyard, why not have him hunt for wild game in the Pital wilderness?  I know they want to keep close to Baby, but they also know Baby will come after them. 

Hell, let’s say they don’t want to leave the hospital grounds.  Fine.  Then have them check out some cool shit in the hospital.  They could go look at the new babies.  Just think of all the adorable baby aliens they could have put in this episode.  Maybe there’s a sick bird in the hospital, and Goku uses his Movie 5 Super Saiyan bird-healing powers to fix it.  That’d be fucking awesome. 

I think the thing that I keep circling around with these “Roaming Lake” comparisons is this: With GT, these dull episodes are the A-plot.  “The Roaming Lake” was just trying to fill time until the show could resume adapting the manga.  GT doesn’t have that logistical issue, and yet it still churns out dull filler anyway.  It’s like GT is waiting for a secret chapter of the Dragon Ball manga, and then they can do a kickass 65th episode, but until then we’re just sort of limping along with this side-story.

✨The Blade Braxton Memorial Haiku*✨

Come visit Pital!

See our nipple-biting deer

And poop-flavored fish.

[kiss-my-freckle]

Ethereal, 1x19 is my #3

Several reasons why I favor this dance. 

Elena took part in honor of her mother.

This was made clear with repetition, having been mentioned five times in the episode. The answer to Jenna's question "What is she doing with Damon?" is that simple. According to Elena, it's the "legacy" her mother left for her. I'm 90% sure Damon knows this dance isn't for Elena in knowing she's not this person anymore. I'm talking about the same brother that accepts the fact that Caroline is a cheerleader, but doesn't view Elena as one. Damon was the better choice to escort her to this particular dance. 

Reeducation vs punishment.

Reeducation is the only way to get Damon to act human because he's been living as a vampire for 145 years. Best by treating him like he's human in order to make him feel like one. Thus, "And you made him feel human." Locking him away in a cellar while claiming to protect Mystic Falls from what Damon referred to as the animal, the mountain lion they captured is no way to make him feel human. What Stefan did to Damon was punishment. It didn't work in 1994 and it wouldn't work now. In this case, making Damon feel human is one of the biggest reasons he fell in love with Elena. What Stefan literally expected to feel with her, and so much as entered her life for the sake of feeling... Damon felt without intending to. That's why he didn't understand Stefan's relationship with Elena until he fell in love with her himself. He’s a vampire that eats humans, so we’re talking about an unexpected surprise here. Elena presents the council with a human Damon just in dancing with him, but that’s not why he falls. 

imo, this dance is Damon's signature moment.

While Elena was there to honor her mother, it's clear to me that Damon got more from it than she did, and I've come to this conclusion according to his response. I’ll have a separate gif post that’s signature-specific. If my followers want to know where I place his fall... I'd say he fell for Elena right after their left hand around. I fully believe he fell before they embraced, and fell because of the way she looked at him. It’s one thing to present the council with a human Damon, quite another to look at him as she does. To put it bluntly, no woman would find an animal sexy, and Damon can sense her attraction just by the way she looks at him. I believe that’s why he states as much in 6x7. “I stepped in, sexy as hell...” He knows Elena felt it, “How sexy he was.” It wasn’t just that he got her mind off Stefan, he got her eyes off him as well. I believe he had her the moment he did that thing with his eyes, which she so mentions in 1x22. “I'd never let myself notice until then. I mean, obviously I knew he was attractive, but I didn't want to see him that way.” Damon would’ve felt her seeing him that way in that moment because she allowed herself to see him that way. I believe he stops flirting with his eyes because he’s under. By this, I’m saying she has the power to get him to do whatever she wants because he’s in love with her. I also believe it’s the reason he approaches her the way he does when it’s time for them to embrace. Appealing to her attraction so she’ll continue looking at him the way she does. It feels good when someone notices.  

Damon is all-in. 

By this, I mean that he’s fully honoring Elena. The simple intimacy of his near touch. Flirting with his eyes. I'm all but guessing he remembered this from 1864 when he hoped Katherine would choose him to escort her. He’s all-in, not to seduce her, but to give her every bit what the experience was meant to be. The last thing he’d do, is make a mockery of or go in halfway on something she clearly cares a great deal for. He does this because he cares about her.

It drops more than once. 

I see this dance in 2x8. Elena stands at the top of the staircase, then runs into Stefan’s arms. Damon disappointed because Stefan gets the very embrace he got on the dance floor. If not for Stefan’s conversation with him in the episode, I believe his scene with the vervain necklace would’ve played out differently, as I believe Damon would’ve kept his feelings to himself. Again in 4x7, 6x2, 6x7, and 8x9. Enough references to matter, and all the more reason to believe it’s Damon’s signature moment. 

Personal opinions while I’m at it...

It wasn’t just Elena worrying about Stefan, but Damon worrying about Katherine. For both, the world fell away and it was just the two of them. 

Damon cared that Stefan wasn’t there to dance with Elena. He was looking around for Stefan when Elena’s name got called because he thought they worked things out after he left them to talk.  

Damon very much meant WE when he said, “Right now, we just have to get through this.” 

Damon saw Elena’s path to humiliation. As she’s descending, there’s a moment when she gets a look at the bottom of the staircase. Stefan isn’t there to escort her, and she throws off this look that Damon would’ve been able to see. Damon referred to it as humiliation, Elena referred to it as embarrassment.  

The scene and its soundtrack has a spiritual vibe. The way Damon looks up to the top, as if hoping to see an angel. Elena in blue, an angel descending a stairway to heaven. They’ve got it wrapped in pink fabric and white Christmas lights. In this moment, Damon wouldn’t tell Elena she looks like an angel. But as he dances with her, he’ll ask that she make his heart a better place. 

I view 8x9 as full-circle writing for Damon’s character. What was made possible because he fell in love with Elena in 1x19. Not just that he fell in love, but who he fell in love with. She’s human. 

[kitkatt0430]

The time has come!!!! To watch the final four episodes of the Flash. Starting here with episode 10. I've currently got some tasty pizza but I may make some popcorn later. Will definitely have to resist the urge to throw the popcorn at the screen because my house is soooo dusty right now. (mid home-reno, at the point where all the big stuff is done and everything is now covered in a thick layer of drywall dust and i will literally be dusting the house over this for weeks to come)

The opening with Eddie is cute. Looks like 'Malcolm' is a research scientist? Since, from what spoilers I've seen, the N!SF is what resurrected Eddie, I have to wonder if the Malcolm persona was crafted to fit what Eobard wished Eddie was like. The N!SF has been retconned so much since it was first mentioned, but it started as an artificial speed force the Eobard created and it took Eobard as its first avatar. So it'd make sense if it was trying to remake Eddie in an image more pleasing to Eobard...

Still, it's too bad Malcolm isn't a separate character from Eddie.

Lol, Allegra as Rainbow Brite. I do find that hilarious. And the suit is awful.

Chester is no Cisco when it comes to super suits, that's for sure. How about calling up Ryan. He's not as good at is as Cisco, but he's not rainbow bathrobe bad at it.

I still think Cecile should have moved with Joe and Jenna. She's a great lawyer when the show remembers that she's a lawyer, but there's a lot of tell-not-show going on with her being a super hero and she seems happiest when she's with Joe and Jenna. This season's biggest problem, I think, is that it hasn't handled juggling the main cast well and, much as I like Cecile... I think that having her go into semi-retirement with Joe would have been a good choice. She still could have been commuting for her defense lawyer practice, giving us that one episode with Becky, but otherwise it would have been one less character to juggle and opened up the opportunity for Barry and Iris to raise Nora in the same house they were raised in.

Khione's place is very plant-filled. And I love that she's named them all. She's definitely leveled up on her powers since last we saw her and I like that she writes her diary entries as letters to her sisters, Caitlin and Frost. I still don't know what her purpose is because she hasn't done anything that couldn't have been easily handed off to someone else, so... *shrug* I've given up on the idea that she has an actual purpose that only she can do - you know, right hero at the right time - at this point. Still, very sweet.

Also did she have to look at the camera directly while talking about Blaine?

Iris - Since when do you do things last minute. Me - Where have you been? This man is your husband, sweetie. If he isn't doing something last minute, then he's doing it five minutes late.

Pulitzer nomination!!!! YAY!!! Go Iris!!!!

It's 'cobalt' blue energy that takes Barry to the past. I like the person who walks by cupping a cd player in their hands. That's so funny, but very 2000.

Oh!!! the laundry van!!! reference to the pilot episode!!! love it :D

Barry being an awkward duck with not-yet-Captain Singh. David is going to remember this one day and wonder. Anywho, love that Barry's first instinct is to go to Joe for help when he can't get back home. Not surprising it doesn't work out - you're a stranger to him now, Barry - but still.

Next try, Professor Stein. Who, given the time travel shenanigans he's already played with his own timeline at this point, would probably believe Barry a little more easily. But still not surprising he didn't believe him over the phone. Bet if Barry had shown up in person and started talking about the Legends, that would have gone better.

Of course, Barry then sees his parents. And just. Gets so focused that the Reverse Flash blindsides him. Love that Henry saves Barry from being killed. Nora's first thought at seeing Barry is 'he looks just like my father'. Their shared concern about Barry even though he's just some stranger... it's good to finally see the people who raised Barry before Joe. And that Barry's kindness towards strangers and sense of duty to help is something that is as much from them as from Joe.

Henry - I'm Dr. Allen and this is my wife Nora and we were first on the scene after your accident. Barry - *internally freaking out because he loves his parents but he knows his mom is gonna die soon and his dad will go to prison and he wants to save them, knows he can't, and doesn't want to fuck up the timeline again because he actually didn't intentionally time travel for a change* O_O Umm.... hi... I'm... Bart.

Barry calling himself Bart will never not be funny to me.

Nora - Can we call family or friends for you? Barry - *No mom, you can't call yourself, sorry* Nope.

Gosh, I do love Henry and Nora so much. They save this guy on the street, take him to the hospital, and insist on taking him out for pizza. Knowing they're such kind and helpful people really highlights what a tragedy what happens to them are because... how many people would they have tried to help if Nora had lived and Henry hadn't spent fifteen years in jail? Not with super powers but with just kindness and an insistence on helping the people around them.

Joe and David wanting to help Barry now too. :D Mysterious voice growls Joe's name and there's a blue crystal that... possess Joe? Well. Would you call that shade of blue... cobalt? *snicker*

Nora - Well, what about your family? Where are they? Barry - *AWKWARD* They died.

Again. Nora and Henry being so very, very kind to Barry. Giving him something he's missed for so long. And he can't accept their offer to stay with them, much as he wants to.

Matt!Eobard shows up, with the ominous helicoptor noises! Of course Barry assumes this whole setup is his fault. But it isn't.

Barry could be having a nice evening with his parents, instead he's at a bar with the guy who is an evening away from causing Barry's childhood PTSD. And Eobard laying out the situation is interesting because there are more options than Eobard mentions and he genuinely doesn't realize that. It's just... kind of fascinating for Barry to see what's happening from the point of view of knowing how this will turn out in the end.

For Barry to have the life that Eobard is threatening to take away... he does kind of have to let Eobard win. Just not in the way that Eobard intends to at that moment.

Barry going back to Henry's office right as Henry and Nora at talking about how they wish they could have helped him... do love that timing. :D

Barry getting to tell his parents that their love made him who he is even now, so many years after their deaths... even if they don't realize his words really are for them. Very sweet.

Uh-oh, growling voice is back. I suspect it's trying to stop Barry from getting to Eobard in time to save mini-Barry from Eobard's evil plans. Though that begs the question of why it brought Barry back in time in the first place.

Joe - Hey, so I know everything. Barry - Oh? Not even gonna question this. Help me Joe.

Waiting since the dawn of time, huh? So if the N!SF's main color is red, then why is it using blue now instead?

I like the doctor who takes charge when the hospital is damaged - she's my hero now. Oh gosh, she's Ramsey Rosso's mother. Now his disdain towards his mother for dying of HLH pisses me off even more. Dr. Rachel Rosso was an amazing woman.

Seriously, why is the N!SF's main color suddenly blue????

Barry - I'm not here to save myself. I'm here to save you. Eobard - Bullshit. *it's in his eyes, okay???*

Oh yeah, he's not here to save himself. He just... carries himself... out... of the building.

Though I do appreciate Barry risks his own timeline to offer Eobard the chance to do the right thing. But Eobard can't see beyond his own ego to realize that Barry already knows what will happen if Eobard goes through with his plan.

And I do love that we finally get to have Eobard call himself the hero and Barry the villain. Eobard cannot see beyond his own selfishness to realize that not only is he the bad guy, but that he's the bad guy because of his own actions. Even in his personal future when he 'embraces' being the bad guy, Eobard still thinks that it's all Barry's fault and the real villain is Barry even if no one sees it.

And there's the big fight. S1 Barry!!!! aww, back when his suit looked like actual protective gear and not a Halloween costume made of moisture wicking fabric.

Eobard - OH NO NOT THE CONSEQUENCES OF MY ACTIONS CATCHING UP TO ME!!!! Barry - Told you so. Also thanks for the catharsis, asshole.

lol

Back to Malcolm!Eddie. Who gets the classic struck by lighting of destiny, but it's red. Like the N!SF usually is but hasn't been all episode - see this is why changing the color coding for the N!SF to blue suddenly was bad. Consistency is important!!

And apparently the N!SF can transport objects because it also brought Malcolm!Eddie a police dossier. On Eddie Thawne.

That was actually a really strong opening episode for the finale. I am glad that they're closing the loop before the end of the show. That said, I'm not sure how I feel about it being one of the focuses of the series finale. It's appropriate to revisit what started it all at the end of the show, but at the same time there's been an obsession with Nora's death throughout the whole show that, at this point, it does also feel like they're beating a dead horse. But I'm not sure when else in the show it might have gone... unless they'd done Savitar as the Flash from the timeline Eobard came from where Nora didn't die with Savitar causing Flashpoint towards the end of S3 instead of Barry causing it at the end of S2, but I've got a post about that fanfic idea somewhere. (I actually really want to write that at some point.)

The fact that this was such a well written and paced episode makes me worried the rest of the episodes aren't going to live up to it. Because I've been watching this whole season and, uh, this quality of episode really isn't what the season's average has looked like.

Getting a glimpse of the N!SF's personality here does make me wonder just how much it may have warped Eobard's mind already by the time Barry first met him. Or if its personality was modeled off it's creator and it merely encouraged Eobard's worst traits. This Barry knows Eobard is capable of choosing to be a good person and caring about other people beyond his own selfishness, which is why I think Barry gave him the warning even knowing Eobard wouldn't take it. He still wanted to give that part of Eobard that genuinely wants to be a hero a chance to be one. Given what spoilers tell me the N!SF is gonna do to Eddie, I can't discount the idea that Eobard might have turned out very different as a speedster without the N!SF's corruption - and I think maybe Barry wonders that now too, having spoken to the N!SF directly through its possession of Joe.

That said, I do enjoy Eobard being an entitled asshole who cannot see beyond his own ego and cannot conceive of being wrong. We got a glimpse here of Eobard back when the character was still well written and fascinating to watch because he is a genius but his blind spots are so obvious to everyone but him. So when his well thought out plan falls apart, he doesn't see why until it smacks him in the face.

Anyway, one episode down and three to go.

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 17

“Shadow”

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: Nope. Unless something like this is only for MAJOR cities. Because this girl walking alone at night (did that yesterday to go get my car) fumbles her keys when she sees she’s being chased (I do that just on a regular basis), and it’s literally a shadow…how do you even stop that??

And Meg’s back! (Though the preview kinda clued me in that she would be) Love Dean swooping in on Sam and Meg’s conversation right after Sam got annoyed that all Dean had found out was the bartender’s phone number. This is DIFFERENT, Dean! And that did NOT go as he planned lol

Sucks for Sam that she’s literally a demon (right?)

I feel like I shouldn’t love how sleazy Dean can be, but that won’t stop me

Far be it for me to sympathize with a villain(-ish), but it must be really inconvenient for Meg to have to walk all the way to that warehouse every time she wants to make a phone call to her demonic boss. Give the girl a break!

Ohhh. Ohhhhhh Dean. Don’t worry. Sam’s not gonna go back to schooool. I know it hurts now but you two have fourteen and…a third(??) more seasons

I’m really lucky I took off my makeup before getting to this part or it would be STREAMING down my face. Dean just wanting his family to be together is gonna kill me (I compare him to Touya a lot but…he’s got a real Fuyumi side to him too……..this. And I can’t believe I’m saying that the Winchesters have COMPARATIVELY healthy communication skills, but compared to the Todosibs?? This is the kind of conversation I Fuyumi and Natsuo should have, and maybe they have just off page. But Sam telling Dean in no uncertain terms that he does not want to have the rest of his life be hunting with Dean and their dad. Oof.)

There is no damn way they’re not making ANY noise sneaking around that warehouse. I’m sorry. Ok good. She did notice them

$20 says they don’t have those injuries tomorrow…

The lighting in this scene is so overly dramatic but in a fun way. There’s a lot of slats casting light and darkness over characters’ eyes at JUST the right times. It’s so cheesy it’s perfect.

I KNOW she’s not dead even though she looks very dead. Oh. She didn’t even remain dead for the whole episode

I don’t know how *more* light fights off shadow demons. Aren’t you just…creating more places for those demons to be?? They only seem to strike when they can be seen. Wouldn’t pitch darkness be better? (Though that might be hard to come by in Chicago)

Having Sam try to keep the family together and Dean recognizing that they need to split up from John is heartbreaking

“Been On My Mind…”: so, offscreen it sounds like Dean hooked up with a Chicago cop so I’m side-eyeing him now. You’re better than that. And then there’s whatever the fuck is was going on between Sam and Meg.

[lenteur]

random thoughts about run on, episode five

(please do note that this post contains spoilers so read at your own risk.)

first of all, i must say that this episode was full of twists and turns and i’m very happy about that

we’re starting with ki jeong do’s employee (idk how to call him) trying to make mi joo the villain for accepting the money given to her

still seon gyeom chose to forgive her because she owned up to it and explained why. but mostly, she gave the money back

which leads us to this sentence (said by mi joo) “people who give me money know about my weakness” that hit close to home because you can see the gap between them one more time. he never had to worry about money when she’s been struggling for a long time. she’s like a puppet to the people of power/rich and that’s something that a lot of viewers can relate to

seon gyeom once again chooses to forgive her because he now understands why she took the money. even though he hates her actions, he can’t seem to direct his hate towards her (example 1258745 of seon gyeom proving he is a good person)

which brings us to this dialogue “why are you being so kind?” “Because I want to” i mean you have to really irritate seon gyeom to elicit hate out of him. a lot of us wouldn’t have his patience and kindness

“you make me feel like i’m worthless” the gap between seon gyeom and mi joo is getting bigger and bigger. she takes the money because she’s poor, all she said to him was ‘fake’ and yet here he is being lenient and understanding. i feel you mi joo. he has it all: handsome looks, rich, talented at what he does and on top of that kind even though he didn’t grow up with the most loving family

when he came to see the children he wanted to train once he retired, i understand when the kids don’t believe the assault rumors. he’s such a kind man, always doing good deeds and you want the kids to believe the news articles? no!

yeong hwa being this show’s little meow meow 🐈 thank you to whoever was responsible for that 😘

this episode wanted to focus on mi joo being poor because the scene where she meets her so called friends is hurtful 😭😭😭 i mean the way that soon-to-be bride reminded mi joo where she comes from (foster care) was humiliating. the cherry on top was that it happened in this super fancy hotel 💔 the things mi joo has to go through 😔

the woo sik article is FINALLY out!!! yay we cheered 👏👏👏 and mi joo literally running to clear seon gyeom’s name 💗 yes we appreciate you for doing that. she does care about seon gyeom. and thankfully the truth has been revealed. i hope there will be consequences for gyu beok and gi beom

we end this episode with mi joo comforting seon gyeom 💓 that hug had my heart going a little crazy ngl 

“no one is born being able to endure pain from the start” it seems that mi joo is a lot of firsts for seon gyeom: the first to tell him to rest, the first to care about him so openly and the first to comfort him 💕 you can kind of see how seon gyeom is not used to being taken care of so all of this is new to him. mi joo has a big impact on that man it’s obvious

also, on a completely unrelated note, i’m beginning to fall for seon gyeom and it is NOT GOOD for my overall well-being. let’s hope i don’t fall in love 

i nearly forgot to talk about seo dan ah having to put up with the pressure of finding a husband because she’s beginning to get old... and the double standard is shown as well. the daughters are only good for forming an alliance with another company/get a better reputation according to the family 💔 but i like how dan ah doesn’t care about that and is doing her thing