#dang foreshadowing already?

[sunset-peril]

The Sound of Our Silence - Prologue - Memento Mori

~~~~

December 19th, 2027

6:35pm 

Ruins of Courtroom Number Four 

~~~~

No one will stay me now. 

A ginger blur stormed up the stairs to the courthouse, blazing through the halls towards the marked double doors.

You may have had your way until now, but the beast is free.

“Legali!” The doors blew open. 

Monarchs fluttered from older ears as eyes gleamed upwards towards the cold sapphires in the doorway. “Ah, if it isn’t Wright’s newest pity project.” 

The monarchs and their wearer were brunted over the defense bench. 

"Mrs. Legali! Are you alright?" A fresh-faced man, around Mr. Justice’s age, began to jog over with clipboard in hand. 

"Outside!" Newfound Chords of Steel roared while eyes flooded white, and he scattered. 

Meanwhile, Legali had just pulled herself from the ground, clutching to her left shoulder and the bench. "What… the hell was that?" 

"Oh… you know very well why I'm here." She sneered. "And if you like what you have, you'll keep your mouth shut and this courtroom empty of guards." 

A singular scoff echoed through the ruins. "What am I, your hostage?" 

She laughed once. "Oh, I don't have to do a thing, do I? All I do is exist… and everything you love is in danger." Even closer she drew, until the ginger's breath was upon the elder attorney's throat. "Oh, it would be so easy… so so easy… but it would leave such a mark." She cackled then, forsaking the professionalism of a single laugh. 

"I warned Wright about you. But that foolish man trusted sentimentality over reason."

"Of course you would." The small LED display on her necklace glitched. 

Bribery! Briber in the house! Its glitchy little face sputtered without remorse.

Its victim sputtered too. “My pardon?! Who are you to throw out an accusation like that?!”  

Legali’s assailant chuckled softly, mellow after the psychotic outburst. She turned her back to the elder, but not her head; no, never her head, as she meandered to the prosecution’s bench and slid an arm over its polished wood. “I will keep quiet, you won't even know I'm here.” She smirked. “You won't suspect a thing, you won't see me in the mirror.” A hand gestured out to the attorney. “But I’ve crept into your heart and you can't make me disappear… 'Til I make you.” 

“I’m sorry, are you singing?”

No chuckle was heard. “I made myself at home in the cobwebs and the lies, I'm learning all your tricks and I can hurt you from inside.” A grimace on her face? “I made myself a promise. You would never. See. Me. Cry. 'Til I make you.” The ginger’s desk slam rattled the ruins. “You'll never know what hit you. Won't see me closing in. Oh, I'm gonna make you suffer, this hell you put me in, and I'm underneath your skin.” A cackle rose once more and she leaned over the bench with her back turned. “The devil within…”

Now the victim seemed angry. “Who even are you?”

Her eyes were empty and no shred of emotion was found on her face. “I will be here when you think you're all alone; seeping through the cracks, I'm the poison in your bones. My love is your disease, I won't let it set you free, 'Til I break you.”

Realization tore through Zegali’s face. “No… It can’t be…”

Victory glowed on the other and a scarred neck was displayed in a show of victory. “Finally! You really think I would just forget everything?! Everything you did to me. Look what you made of me!”

“None of that was me! I know you’re just a scared little child looking for a scapegoat, but I am not the cause of your life.” 

“Oh, really, now? You’re sure that you’ll get out of this unscathed, without ever having to even fight? You’re certain no blood runs down your hands? Really?” 

“Murdering me will not undo these past seven years! I understand you’re a traumatized little girl looking for control, but please, attorney to attorney, revenge gets you nowhere-” 

“Nowhere but prison, I know. I did nothing wrong, but still ended up in the worst of them, because of you. And I don’t have to raise a finger. Never again.” 

“You… are not that little girl…”

“I may never have been. But that matters. All I have in this world is my memories, and I’ll follow them until this body fails. How many will fall before me… only time will tell.”

Legali turned to flee, and the other allowed her. Instead, she turned to the gleaming emblem of justice, dangling haphazardly to the only object remaining intact: the judge’s bench. But she couldn’t face the symbol of justice. Her head bowed for the first time that evening, and her voice soft and weak. “And now we're here at a standstill, I wonder if you feel the kind of pain that rips your insides out… That's something I know all about. Shocking, ain't it? Is it because I can't be her? Made your mistakes and make me hurt.” Her voice cracked and broke as she desperately fought the thoughts and tears. 

“I can't fix you.” 

~~~~

Use of song lyrics encouraged by one @athena-appreciation-page

Songs present -

"The Devil Within" - Digital Daggers

"I Can't Fix You" - The Living Tombstone (ft. Crusher-P)

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Ep3 Musings - Daniel & the Talamasca (SPOILERS)

I can see what the reviewers meant when they complained about the Talamasca & Daniel.

We start off with Daniel nervous AF, tryna keep tabs on all the mindscrewy shenanigans (at the sushi restaurant on his lunchbreak or whatever).

Today's... etcetc Cell phones, google -- Daniel, your handwriting effing sucks. San Francisco. Polynesian Mary's Playboy magazines as a doorstop? doorstep? |CLAUDIA| Mary's cab. Coke...etcetc. Alice. They'll come for me and Kate next--you bet your arse they will! XD THIS TIME I WON'T SAVE YOUR LIFE

He draws an arrow from Save Your Life up to Playboy--I assume cuz those are two incidents with Armand that took place in SanFran?

I really like the Omakase bit--

About how many risks Daniel's subjecting himself to under the whims of these vampires--but also about Daniel's hubris/arrogance breaking the rules of engagement by thinking he has any say over what they do and what he gets out of it, by stepping onto their turf. If you can't take the heat, GTFO their kitchen.

I'm only just now noticing the foreshadowed titles of Dan's books. 🤦 Burning & Blood--AMC swears they're hilarious.

OK, Raglan's been stalking Daniel's career just like Louis did. So my early suspicion about Daniel breaking the NDA was right.

Which is SO EFFING STUPID OF HIM. They're gonna find out! Loumand's literally drawing out this giant tragedy about what happens when vampires--Armand, specifically--are LIED to, and you're gonna pull this mess on them!? You're not even being SUBTLE!

AGREEMENT.pdf--Daniel, you in danger girl.

Raglan, stop tryna gas Dan up b4 they put him off commission permanently. He's no body-snatching psychic CROOK like you.

Get this nosey bish offa my dang screen.

Oof, right in the Devil's Minion feels. U_U

O__O WOAH!? OK, so aside from Dan (played by EB, a white Jew, along with JK) throwing shade at Caucasian European Israelis (which we been knew), he's implying that Armand & Louis might be persons of interest in the UAE by the Israeli gov't & assassins, esp. cuz of their ties to powerful people. But it's funny cuz that's the exact same thing Lou asked about him.

So Dan's telling the sushi patrons there's Israeli spies/assassins crawling around Dubai--STOP, b4 you get that place John Wick'd! XD

Not MI6. 😭 I said JOHN WICK, not JAMES BOND. XD

Raglan's gone full rogue then--if he was still working for the Talamasca he'd have darn near unlimited funds--they got that dirty TEMPLAR money. 💰💰💰

Yeah, and they don't actually call the Talamasca by name in the ep itself--only in the Insider interviews the producers give.

Daniel, why TF are you talking SO EFFING LOUD, when Raglan's whispering, tryna act like he's on the phone NOT talking to you in case y'all ARE being bugged. 🤦 SUBTLETY, my guy. What kinda investigative journalist are you?

I'm starting to suspect they're not gonna do the rockstar!Lestat, and instead this stupid Great Conversion's gonna be what wakes up Akasha/Amel, when their blood/consciousness gets stretched way too thin with all these new vamps being made.

To attempt an interview...? I believe that. We already know Marius & Lestat stalked Talamasca members for decades upon decades. Ain't no way NO vampire ever tried getting close to humans & talk about their lives to someone out of loneliness or something. Esp. the ones not attached to the European covens & all their stupid Great Laws.

Rest in Preternaturalism, Raymond Gallant.

BLENDERS! XD But this is THE most Anne Ricean answer imaginable, cuz everyone lost their ish when she had her vamps flying around with GPS-trackable cellphones in their pockets as they KILLED people. Rookie mistake. 😂

Armand was on a cellphone in S01E07, and he is LITERALLY married to his iPad, so PLEASE, sir. 🙄

There's Santiago's COMPLICIT speech coming back. Ain't no moral high-ground here!

And I figured Armand/AMC was gonna pin it on AMC!Lestat, and his jaded version the Savage Garden.

Armand says technology distracts humans from vampire crimes, but what's distracting vampires from psychic/Talamasca crimes, huh?

ISTG these are the laziest vamps I've ever seen; they care so much about their privacy & security, but aren't reading Dan's mind at all? I hope one of them just casually name-drops Raglan or catches Daniel in the act or something.

Raglan said Daniel's laptop was "comically vulnerable," and uploads a bunch of data files on it from the Bibliotheca Talamasca bestiary/archives--WHY? To help show Daniel he's helpful & trustworthy?

RJ: Omakase? Louis: The conversation was easy and flirtatious.... Armand: And combative. Louis: And combative, yes. Daniel: Arguing as foreplay. RJ: Peruse at your leisure.

I hate this effing show. 🙇🙇🙇

[tewet]

Ok now that we’re one episode away, I gotta ask… does anybody ever think about how the only confirmation of Tech’s death was literally a handful of lines from Hemlock?? I’m sure this has already been discussed, but like… Hemlock had the glasses. He gave them to the Bad Batch. He “empathized” with their loss. What if Hemlock giving the Batch the broken glasses was foreshadowing the return of a “broken” Tech?

Star Wars has an immaculate track record of “if you didn’t see them die, they’re not dead”. We didn’t SEE Tech die. He fell a distance similar to Maul and Palpatine and they both survived and I know they’re Force users but gosh dang it, I’m paranoid af. Is it just me?

[sidecharactersdomatter]

Thoughts I had during TGCF S2 Ep 5

Gonna go conquer Ep 6 after this

Previously on TGCF…

-Back in Paradise Manor’s armory

-Boo Chinese censorship!!!

-Lang Ying is me when I’m experiencing a sensory overload or meltdown

-He spun him right round like a record baby

-Hua Cheng is in a modeling pose (As my sis would say, “Now he’s draping himself.”)

-It’s going down!

-He just did an effortless backflip

-Lang Ying is clutching at XL sleeves!

-Hey!  Qingxuan!  No interrupting him!  Bad Windmaster!  Bad!

-I think he does have issues with Ming Yi, you just don’t know what they are

-Dude just roasted the Earth Master

-Yep that’s foreshadowing

-He’s in a battle stance!

-That was an awesome sword twirl

-He called him, ‘Your Highnesss’!  This ain’t no drill!!!

-Oh no he’s airbending in an inside area!

-No not the polearms!

-“We could’ve solved this peacefully”  Literally a quote that suits Aang and Ezran from the Dragon Prince

-He caught a fan!

-In other words, Hua Cheng just said, “Mine’s bigger than yours”

-Oh no!  Stilettos!

-It really is a martial arts series

-He’s bringing the whole place down!

-They’re redirected!

-There’s Taihua

-It’s a hugeass goddang sword!

-Another sword twirl!

-That he is a beautiful idiot, that he is

-Magnets

-Dang that was beautifully animated

-Hua Cheng has a really great laugh

-A sword duel!

E Ming: We will defeat him!

-An explosion!

-Oh no loose flames!

-There’s a fire at Paradise Manor!  

-Oh you are so DEAD Qingxuan

-Really fanning the flames isn’t he?

-Get the Ancient Mystical Chinese Fire Department, preferably those that can bend Fire and Water!!!

-No not the weapons!!!

-Man Hua Cheng is really going, “This is fine” after that scuffle

-Because of that misunderstanding, Xie Lian and mainly Qingxuan ended up barbecuing the armory.

-You better pay Qingxuan

-His line on debt’s gonna age like curdled milk

-Oh no his right shoulder!

-He deflected both attacks

-You can even hear E Ming’s chirps in the flashback

-Qianqiu’s been silent since the whole escape

-Back in Heaven already

-He changed his robes like a magical girl!

-It’s not a race

-Feng Xin again and he’s concerned

-Now Mu Qing came

-Now there’s a commotion

-A levitating spell

-The female turquoise robed NPC

-Ooh neat healing spell

-The blood’s all down his sleeve

-*Gasps* He hit the nail!

-Another imperial perceptor

-Also, Fang Xin sounds a lot like ‘Feng Xin’, and that’s when you start to not tell the two apart (Xie Lian ILYSM but you couldn’t have picked a more distinct and unique name???)

-Ling Wen, with answers

-It’s like the party for Bosco in Book 2 Earth, The Earth King

-There’s the survivor’s guilt

-Pei Ming is at Ling Wen’s side, no surprises

-Xie Lian’s already guilty

-Hey don’t drag XL down like that

-Now Jun Wu has entered

-That’s it?! “He’ll survive”

-The way Jun Wu erased the blood from XL’s sleeve didn’t feel like an actual healing spell to me at all.

Jun Wu’s whole dynamic with Heaven is summarized as:

Jun Wu: I love all my Officials equally! Xianle, Ling Wen, and *looks at smudged writing on hand* Pringly

Ming Yi: My name is Ming Yi your majesty!

Jun Wu:  Yes, whatever, Ming Ming

Incorrect quote source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw6lLBkXVBw

-Just like Agni Kai

-Dang, I like the way he said ‘Taihua’

-Lang Qianqiu backstory

-His mask

-He really did look like a beggar

-Qianqiu was so happy and innocent!

-Ties in with the flower and sword symbolism

-Ok who threw him that sword?

-Aw man, the way the sword reflects Xie Lian’s eyes filled with regret

-Dude don’t injure your arm, the right one’s important to people like me!

-He did another foolish action

-No not the left arm

-It’s a vow a lot of protagonists would struggle to keep in the future

-You can actually see the anguish

-He blocked it with his cultivator whisk

-Taihua is right!

-It’s official!  Xie Lian is a little fucked up!

[narwhalandchill]

also mistake not my silence on the summer event story now that its all out for not paying attention bc. well firstly not going to be the subject of this post but seriously just the . Overall implications of the whole thing when it comes to teyvat and genshin as a whole? wild stuff like are they rly out there revealing the entire cosmology now 😭 (tho i kinda have. Mixed thoughts as well)

anyway secondly and most importantly because of course i have priorities (its ajax we all know) . soooo simulanka and names eh?

HUH!

well not that i was any doubter to begin with in that it like. meant something when hit game jenshin impact featuring guy already foreshadowed and being set up for some real curious world-overturning and celestia torching business etc etc etc coincidentally named. ajax. among other things. that the same game happening to Also begin introducing this whole other ajax/aias as an actual historical figure featured within the games lore and legends. would very much be just a massive fucking thing we Should be taking very seriously in terms of his future development but like thanks very much for confirming it too uwu

anyway let us look at my favorite french cultist scribbled note for no particular reason once more just to celebrate the occasion

i mean what can i say man . truly the endgame relevance long term allegations continue undodged 😤😤

anyway whats kinda funny to me is the way a lot of ppls reaction to this name confirmation seems to be like. omg ajax is in trouble now bc irl mythology ajax died and ajax/aias of genshin also seems to have possibly had a shit fate by the end im so worried omg . when like. literally the second part to this whole "name = inheriting destiny" thing we see in simulanka is that . with the right circumstances . the one that inherits the name and destiny is not necessarily doomed to that exact same outcome as the original . like we all did see how we saved simulanka durin right?? and how the existence of mini durin may now open up the possibility of teyvats durin to receive a different outcome to his tale???? right??

like why do ppl have so little faith in childe im 😭 like if you ask me hes Already giving indication of defying his fate in a multitude of ways (vision malfunction being a big one) so personally i simply think we need to let him do his thing and see where he goes with it . i have faith in him like if Anyones abt to subvert the fate hes been set up with be it due to his name or any other reason . its gonna be him lmao

like. its not even new stuff kwdwdjkdwjk

either way tho . even if this fucker straight up "dies" or goes MIA im not even that worried bc. ppl worrying about this "tragic fate" his namesake seems to be conferring to him by default with simulankas explicit confirmation of a names meaning . and its just are we straight up missing the fact that this historical ajax/aias is Literally connected to that rent free narzissenkreuz note that EXPLICITLY aligns this "tragedy" with the theme of REBIRTH. and becoming a descender straight up .

like maybe its just me but this Really isnt giving "omg childe is going to die due to mirroring the fate of ajax" its giving "childe is Literally being set up to become sth descender equivalent one way or another AND theyre doubling down on it now" im sorry 😭

like. even the implications of phrases like. "forsaking the self" to be reborn in the abyss just reminds me of this. weird panic people have around childes vision malfunction as if its like. vision is GOOD ambition and his GOOD ending and his GOOD characteristics and it malfunctioning means BAD EVIL SIN ambition and WRONG characteristics is taking over!!!!!!!11! hes being torn into two different directions and the abyss is bad and vision (=celestia) is good!!!!!1

and its like. say we even buy that (but like dang what a sustainer sponsored take to have in a. gnostic inspired lore environment JWSJKJKSF) . that his. "correct" and "healthy" destiny as vision wielder (that Every single recipient of a "gods EYE" gets like forcibly and irrevocably bound to by design and surely this isnt problematic at all) . is a part of that "self" that is being forsaken and twisted as his destiny pushes against celestias control and his connection to said vision falters . lets say we assume that is a "bad" thing for his "intended" path and destiny somehow .

(which YES it prolly is. but only within the bounds of a world order set up by the heavenly principles!!! of COURSE the HP would force people into destinies and paths that Only serve the continuity of its rule!!! and doesnt shake up the system!! like yes a vision likely represents and assigns to people a "Good" ambition but thats not from the recipients POV thats from celestias POV and at this point its just. fellas. we are not supposed to buy into that at face value lmao)

which like. again. i v much dont buy anyway i think every single time genshin calls something sin or forbidden it should be assessed v critically.

but even with that assumption we can still see how this very note is already implicating that "forsaking the self" is Literally a prerequisite . in this grand destiny featuring ajax/aias . for reaching True rebirth as a holy infant and a descender and all that . for defying the shackles of the heavens . for gaining a will that rivals the world . right???

+ also if like. forsaking the self being mayhaps and perchance more of a GOOD thing in a world with preordained and unyielding destiny set up by false divinity wasnt already established enough

welp thank you rene narzissenkreuz.

oh "excising the self" you say?? that sure sounds a bit like "forsaking the self" doesnt it ??? how curious that it would be considered less of a "death" and more of a "rebirth" indeed . and that a vision to a cultist very invested in the methods available to Defy a prophecy and fate is very much a bad thing to receive . like what a coincidence that we would have a note like this as an established character already tied to a note you wrote about acquiring a descenders will is experiencing vision compatibility issues its very funny indeed.

so like ig what im trying to say is just idk for me personally if ajax is out there forsaking his self by any metric im just gonna be cheering him on <3

but yeah jkqjkwdjkwdjkwd dont mind me im just kinda rent free with how its now just even more confirmed by hoyo that this insane ajax/aias note stuff is Not meant to be coincidental At All (even tho its very funny ppl doubted the signifance to begin with at all). but also i just dont get the panicking abt it being some bad thing lmao like this is just genuinely hype as fuck for him 😭😭😭

[cool-person-yey]

My notes on tmagp episode 8— running on empty or hostile workplace??? Idk but damn. This was That Type of episode

As always, spoilers for the new episode yadda yadda let's go!

• as always, *ominous music*

• wait what

• " episode 8— running on empty"??? It's " hostile workplace" on spotify???

• not even one minute in and I'm already getting confused

• is this foreshadowing

• we don't even get to breath already got the voice

• oh a failed art student

• that's extremely interesting actually

• wasn't there a lonely domain in s5 that was like. Just liminal spaces?

• oh I love this

• brutal minimalism

• that is so true though

• this dude is just spitting facts

• they really said " the true horror is the minimalism"

• my maximalist heart loves this

• his voice is more human now...

• something else huh

• hunger??? And the little noise?? I'm worried

• your ex-wife s photography???

• beautiful + unsettling= best combo

• a woman ???

• You are here???

• you really just went in there.

•why would you go in there

• " stay a while"

• there shouldn't have been

• all blacked out

• oh so they were people

• so they weren't people

• were they people ???

• they were NPCs then

• " you are here" that is terrifying

• " stay a while" again huh

• no windows???

• oh that is terrifying

• table...

• that seems like an absolute nightmare

• HE BIT YOU???

• DUDE WTF

• only bite people if they ask or say they are fine with it ok guys

•HE DEFENESTRATED???

• dang they didn't even notice your absence

• what did Alice do again

• oh tea stuff alright

• little music in the background

• " assuming any of us are here"

• Colin's on mental health leave? thank god dude needed it

• " lot going on" what's going on Alice

• they headed out together today huh

• GERARD

• GERARD??

• OH FUCK

• GEGE???

• MAGNUS INSTITUTE

• IF THEY KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THE MAGNUS INSTITUTE???? OH SAM

• FILLING FORMS??

• BOOKS??? BOOKS GERARD??? BOOKS????

• DROP THE MAGNUS THING FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

• TIME AND DIMENSION TRAVELLING ???

• GEORGIE ????

• GEORGIE BARKER THE PODCASTER???

• what painting ?

• FUCKING HELL THE EPISODE OVER

I am going to scream while we wait for the next episode thank you very much

[cryptic-science]

liveblogging s&co:

- already off to a wonderful start i love them

- what a clever way to do the trigger warnings

- sherlock infodump <3

- THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTING <3333

- "gift. client. sh."

- not a liveblog: do you guys think its acceptable to make food at 6:48 AM even though people are still sleeping ? im really fucking hungry. wait its wednesday nvm i can wait a bit. people will be going to work and school soon. okay back to pod

- THEY. THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT MASKING.

- john making it clear that he just means he wants sherlock to mask a bit when they are talking to victims and not around him...

- WATERFOLK LMAOO

- "its a middle-aged bloke on his ipad"

- OH MY GOD.

- HAHAHAAAAA THEY AREEEE LMAOOOOO

- wait OH MY GOD HE DEF THOUGHT SHERLOCK AND JOHN WERE SWINGERS HAHAHAHAAHAAA

- it makes me so happy that they are so blatant about sherlocks neurodiversity

- "if i can crack the ludicrous code of society, then i can crack the codes of the swingers"

- "its a slipery soap"

- i love sherlocks boat knowledge so bad

- john i love you so bad

- FAKE DATING ???? PWEASE ????

- GOOD ENOUGH ILL TAKE IT HI MARIANAAAA

- MARIANA IM SO SORRY YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH THEM

- please let mariana kill john <33

- god they are so silly i love them

- "if you love his boat so much then ill leave you here >:("

- oh dang

- oh i love silly foreshadowing

- "go ! do it ! its my birthdayyy" "what ? are you twelve"

- love that johns very bad pretneding worked right away

- john you are so very cringefail

- "mr. browner, i have a hypothesis, that id like to throw at you. now, no pressure but, it is my birthday, and i would really, really like to be correct."

- god sherlock is so mecore. i too use the fact that its my birthday in every possible situation

- get his ass sherlock

- ough

- "for ME AND sherlock. thank you."

- i love the bit of them wanting to change the name from the cardboard box. but it still, very much being the cardboard box

- ESCAPE ROOM !!!!!,@

- HAHAHAHDHAHAHSHS

-SHERLOCK FUCKING SOLVED IT IMMEDIATELY

- i love them i love them i love them

- HAHAHAAHAAAAA i love johns technical difficulties

[coffeelovesdramasalatte]

LITA Ep 3 Rewatch Thoughts

Hi friends! Here we are at ep 3, and these posts are getting longer by the episode so grab a lil snack and some water if you want <3 I had to make a part 2 because the number of images got to be too many (linked here and below)

The opening continues to slap (plus I think I've listened to it enough times I think I can sing along with the chorus despite not knowing more than 8 Thai words)

Recap spanks hehe

Opening the episode up strong with this beauty (am I talking about the bike or Phayu in the folded coverall? clearly it's both)

SCHEMING CUTIE ALERT!!! That's the Sky-is-my-new-favorite-person smile <3

I'm dyingggg - Phayu says "I'm still waiting Rain" but bro, it's only been like 10 hours since the declaration of love-war, please calm down

Oops I realized I haven't been mentioning the episode titles - this one is so cute! 'I like Rain, and I'm not talking about the weather" but tbf this should have been episode 1's title

Live footage of me crying over my schedule as a grad student:

Dang, Sky has got a good poker face

Also Rain and I are equally dumb (I'm including myself here bc if I didn't already know Prapai and Sky were going to have a storyline I probably wouldn't have assumed he liked guys right off the bat) - Sky didn't even flinch when Rain writes down his mission to court Phayu (a guy) and immediately writes down the first tactic. WHICH incidentally is "show up in front of him every day". It's pretty full-circle that Prapai uses this same tactic to woo Sky later on, isn't it? (I also didn't notice that until right now so wow these rewatch posts are helping my analysis skills lmao)

Look at my determined son!! He's gonna get his mans!! (Sky's looking a little skeptical tho)

Ah Sig my beloved other son who has a single braincell bouncing around in his head like a DVD player screensaver

The Rain-at-the-garage montage contains so many cute shots but this would get too long if I put every single one in, so let's focus on the first meeting with the brothers-in-law (P'Saifah and Rain). How much must Phayu have described Rain for P'Saifah to instantly know who he is on sight? Also P'Saifah probably reported back to Phayu immediately and I'm kinda sad we don't get to see that convo.

I didn't catch this until now but they also foreshadowed Rain missing a deadline in the next scene. Sky tells Rain to finish his work but as soon as Phayu texts him, Rain runs out of the room without having done anything.

Listen, I love P'Aon and his matchmaking skills ok??

Look at Rain, he's trying so hard to be polite with the P'Phayu and the khrap - what a good boy! It's taking everything in him tho lmaooo

The conversation that comes right after this between P'Saifah and Rain is pretty interesting. I love how the narrative keeps trying to tell us that Phayu is some sort of dangerous fellow when all he's done is be a model student and mechanic and teach college freshmen good manners. Could he maybe learn a little something about physical boundaries? Perhaps, but maybe it's just how kind-looking Boss is, but I never got any sense of danger from Phayu, and esp not towards Rain. Rain's reaction to hearing presumably about Phayu's past relationships is quite on-point, and really cements the stubborn and determined attitude he takes towards getting Phayu to like him. It's how we as the audience know he's gonna be successful.

Next up, Phayu arrives in all his fashionably-late glory. This part has me smirking every time because he walks in all suave and stuff but approximately 7 seconds into Rain's pouting he immediately drops all pretenses and becomes so squishy and soft

I LOVE this exchange between them - again, we are getting a full picture of their early relationship dynamics. Phayu has expectations that Rain's gonna be different, and Rain's telling him he's gonna meet those expectations, and Phayu's satisfied "ah just as I thought" face makes an appearance.

I absolutely adore this expression on Rain/Noeul - it's so subtle but powerful

Yay dinner date!! Phayu is taking so many mental notes right here (also pls note this is the same face Rain is making right above)

Phayu is way too good at pressing Rain's buttons omg - he really got Rain to do this with like a single sentence of teasing (tbf Rain is pretty impulsive tho so I'm not surprised)

The poor serviceperson was like pls let me go

Phayu goes through this episode looking wayyy too satisfied imo

But Rain actually does have nice manners - he gave Phayu the utensils and bowl first and does say thank you

This smile should be illegal actually bc it is stealing my heart and soul

And we get another instance of Phayu being very not immune to Rain's pout (this time he doesn't even get to pout for 3 whole seconds before concerned Phayu is feeding him and patting his mouth with a napkin)

We get some more foreshadowing that Rain is going to miss a deadline

ok THIS. These small gestures that Phayu does for Rain have me swooning just as much as their intimate scenes. Something about that sentence is grammatically incorrect but you get my point, right? They could have easily not included them (and idk if these were even scripted) but they make the relationship that much sweeter and believable.

Slightly off-screen headpat alert!!

AND WE GET IT IN POV SHOT TOO

Live footage of us whenever PhayuRain do anything:

Get you someone who looks at you the way Sig looks at his writing utensil (Have I mentioned I adore him yet?)

Also wait he's not wrong!!!

We get Rain's voice jumping like 10 octaves this time lmao (the increase is proportional to how much he loves Phayu obvs)

Look at our smart boy!! He's won design awards, y'know

Phayu you are not allowed to bully P'Aon like this - he's literally on your side??

Rain: I don't want to see Phayu

Also Rain: ignores Ple, the teachers, his friends, his homework to run to the garage to give Phayu snacks

Part 2 here (y'all we're literally only halfway through the episode omg)

[cross-my-heartt]

thoughts about the finale from what I can remember right now:

[SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT]

They finally did it. They finally put their foot down about rescuing Crosshair and if there's anything that's gonna tide me over until season 3 it's THAT SINGLE CONVERSATION

We got a quality moment with Tech and Phee, so quality that I think I actually ship them now. (HAHA BUT FRICK ME BECAUSE THAT WAS ACTUALLY FORESHADOWING) I was worried when they didn't show her last episode because I thought they were just going to tease a fun comic relief kind of ship instead of, you know, having the characters be there for each other during important moments. As it should be You can't just put Phee in a side pocket and expect her to disappear when stuff gets serious.

That moment where they all look at Wrecker in sync is something I'll tuck under my pillow and look at when I feel like crying. This show has no right to be this funny before taking a sledgehammer to our hearts.

I was begging any god that would listen that the other infiltrators were clones, like I wanted it to be Cody so badly in that moment. I even think I heard DBB's voice when one of the commandos spoke and my pulse skyrocketed But no it was Gerrera. Which, okay plot reasons, and good plot reasons but still 🥲 Man but they really outdid themselves with the plot, it's actually crazy good. Such a roller coaster.

Kudos for actually letting one of the officers defend the clones. That's good writing. Realistically it makes sense and you don't get the feeling that they're all one dimensional psychos. As a side note I was impressed that one of the baddies (the one responsible for surveillance) had an accent other than posh British. And then I realized it was German 😂 like... c'mon guys

TECH. TECH MY MAN. YOU ABSOLUTE AMAZING INCREDIBLE BREATHTAKING LITTLE DUDE. I'm sorry guys but he stole it. Gave Crosshair a run for his money. I salute our little nerd for being the biggest bamf tcw has ever seen in that moment. The sass, the style, the one linery of it all. Of course he's not dead. You can't kill a character like that, you just physically (and metaphorically) can't.

I literally don't know how they'll recover from a trauma like that. They think he's dead. They watched him plunge to the ground. I am unwell (on their behalf).

So glad that AZI was incorporated back into the plot. The little dude deserves it and we love to see him.

'I liked goggles' 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪 girl you better know how to perform miracles because that's the only thing that's redeeming you now

Wrecker was wiping tears when they talked about Tech. They were trying so hard to be strong for her. They were in agony on the inside and they still tried so hard for her. Wrecker was shaking his head when Hemlock offered Hunter the exchange, they are ready and willing to die on the spot for her I-

'who knew clones could be so... paternal' *cue shot of Hunter's face* *cue me being deceased on the floor*

AHFSEGFHJRDGHARDGRHGR that's it, everything that happens next is just AHRJHEASGFHJEGFHFRDGG. don't expect me to be more coherent than this

I didn't know they could animate Kaminoans to emote but dang they did a good job with Nala Se.

I'd given up hope of seeing Crosshair's face these episodes but we got him and Omega in one scene together and I guess that goes to the 'help me survive until season 3' pile.

I know we'd already clocked Emerie as a clone and fishy but there's nothing more satisfying than good foreshadowing paying off. This show doesn't give us cheap subversion but actually good plot twists where it's appropriate and they don't make the audience feel like fools by feeding us false clues. Mad respect for that. I don't think we realize how rare that it these days.

Finally, I'll need all of you to hold my hand after this, please-

[sepublic]

I mentioned a while back about having Gandrayda being a spy within the Space Pirates during the Zero Mission arc; She's the one who deduces that Mother Brain is responsible for controlling the Metroids, and is such a load-bearing component for taming them that without her, the Metroids will turn on the Space Pirates and do a lot of the Federation's work in defeating them.

Likewise, she's the one who finds out that Tourian has been sealed off by Mother Brain out of justified paranoia; The only way in is through two access keys implanted in Ridley and Kraid's wrists, for the select occasions that would call for it. Otherwise, since Mother Brain controls all of the technology across Zebes, she sees little reason why she would need people in the same room as her vulnerable true form; Not when she has machines to act remotely through, outside of Tourian.

I originally intended for Gandrayda to appear during the Zero Mission, albeit without revealing her name or shapeshifting nature; As far as the show has conveyed, she's just a Zebesian gone rogue. And she would've appeared during the Zero Suit segment to bail Samus out of a pinch right before the Chozodia part, before leaving...

But I've changed my mind; Having no allies adds to the dread and lonely isolation of the Zero Suit segment. Having anyone help Samus ruins the tone.

So instead, I'm moving Gandrayda's appearance a bit earlier; Right after Samus defeats Ridley. The idea for the scene is that Samus jabs a Super Missile or Power Bomb in Ridley's chest, and when it goes off it splatters pieces of Ridley all over the place. Samus goes unconscious for a bit, because the explosion happens right next to her; But when she comes to, she only gets the opportunity to scan Ridley's access key to Tourian before some Space Pirates arrive. They see what happened and are stunned; Samus limps away, and they give chase while a few stay behind.

This foreshadows Ridley being salvaged even in this mangled state. The way his torso is obliterated, but his limbs and head are somewhat intact, pay homage to which parts of Meta Ridley are cybernetic and which ones aren't.

As for Samus, she’s been cornered, she's been damaged already, it looks like Ridley might have the last laugh anyway by reducing her to this vulnerable state for his minions to pick off and avenge him... But then one of them turns against the others, giving Samus the opportunity to fight back as well. This is when we meet Gandrayda.

I think Gandrayda showing up here works better; Being cornered by Space Pirates in Norfair didn't happen in the game, so I'm not really ruining a pre-established moment. Likewise, it sets up Gandrayda to basically congratulate Samus and cheer her on for the final lap; Samus defeated her childhood trauma, and now she has everything she needs to confront Mother Brain. She's in the home stretch now, so having someone offer a bit of support and reiterate the goal before leaving feels more appropriate to the hopeful tone. This realization of: Oh dang, I might actually succeed and pull this off! I might defeat my childhood traumas here and now, and basically single-handedly defeat the Space Pirates!

[lurkingshan]

The Eighth Sense 1&2

I am obsessed with this show. I can’t believe I now have to watch it one episode at a time, I’m gonna die.

Okay yeah opening with an apparent surfing accident in moody black and white with sirens wailing in the background, I see why everyone is scared this has a sad ending

Dang this show is stylish, @echos-of-ivy you’re right, this is total sad indie vibes

I didn’t know sexy smoking was still allowed in kdramas, I thought it was only for villains and bedraggled office workers now

Uh oh what happened to Jae Won’s little brother

I love a country kid in the city plot, maybe because it’s my life

Ji Hyun’s boss seems like the mother figure he needs and I’m happy to see he actually does have a friend

I am already noticing some interesting things happening with color in these shots and I am planning to head to @respectthepetty next to see what that’s all about

I’m excited about the surfing parts of this, I don’t think I’ve seen a surfing drama yet despite all the water surrounding these Asian countries

Jae Won keeps telling this kid to contact him while giving him no means to do so, maddening

Ji Hyun can’t swim! Oh I do not like that foreshadowing one bit

Jae Won’s friends… I do not like them

Jae Won’s ex… I do not like her

I did not expect the share my earbuds trope in this moody drama, but I appreciated the brief moment of cuteness (and I loved that song, if anyone knows where to find it please tell me!)

I love that Jae Won is going to be his instructor (including a hands on demonstration of how to put on the wetsuit, apparently)

Jae Won sure is touching Ji Hyun a lot, somehow I don’t think he’d be as tactile if he was teaching the girls

I don’t know why Ji Hyun is so shy about showering when he was already stripped down to his underwear in a small room with Jae Won

I would like to join this campfire, actually, the vibe is nice and the club leader is very cool

The way Jae Won saw Ji Hyun and just walked away from Eun Ji without a second thought… priceless

What was that ending!!

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Ep3 Musings - Loumand

Last post, I promise; I needed another nap; this ep's a freaking rollercoaster. And these two queens nearly gave me a stress ulcer!

DEBATABLE, Louis. I can think of FAR worse vamps than you, love.

Why're y'all having this whole conversation where anyone can hear?

They got Sartre's wall-eyes down; good makeup this season, team! 👌

DreamStat's a Loumand bed-death truther, jfc. 😭

I wanna know EXACTLY what Armand sees--or "feels"--whenever DreamStat pops up in Lou's head. Cuz he clearly knows precisely where Les is; he looks right in his direction. But does he HEAR Les too? (God I hope not, this song would've had me SEETHING--Back to Hell with you! 😅)

"Oh dear" indeed; I was HOLLERING.

SAM WAS DEVOURING THIS SCENE HOLY GOD GO AWAY DEMON

Armand looked PISSED, I was scared for Louis' life! And he DOES know, actually, yes Lou. I can almost GUARANTEE that he knows PRECISELY where Lestat is AT THIS VERY MOMENT, yes Lou.

If only you knew.... 😬

Claudia's suffered more than Christ. And nice cut to Daniel sneaking around with Raglan James as Armand talks about Furies punishing "human wrongdoing." It's really interesting that Armand told the lawyer that LOUIS is the owner of the paintings. Is he the owner of the penthouse too? HOW MANY DEEDS DOES HE HAVE, ROLIN?

I wonder what AMC might be saying about Loumand's art collection, not just wrt what we know about art heist!Armand (which we'll likely see a nod to in Ep4 at the Louvre); but also wrt what we know about Dubai's godawful neocapitalist hellscape economy, and Loumand's "moralizing" about Parisian black markets in S01E02.

I wonder if that's the excuse Armand'll give the coven when Louis shows up for dinner in Ep4--very much NOT dead; and rips out Santiago's tongue.

WILD voice-over, cuz you KNOW that's what Santiago was thinking, too, LOL. (You wish, Francis.) But yes: Louis' finna end your whole career. XD

Another TERRIFYING jumpscare from the coven, like in Ep2 with Annika. Louis, I am shocked & appalled--can you not HEAR all these vamps planning your bloody murder around you? CLAUDIA! WTF!?

But this is how you know Armand's true personality--he hates getting his hands dirty. He kills all the time, but he makes his victims' deaths pretty. He'd rather sit back & let Lestat/Louis come in and wreck his whole coven, even though he has the power to just light those mofos up all on his own! I wish AMC emphasized a bit more that Armand not only writes/directs the plays--he's an ACTOR, too. And istg he's an expert at PRETENDING to be helpless, meanwhile he's the strongest vamp that's NOT one of the Children of the Millennia (thanks to how well Marius made him).

Armand, that is LOW; waiting until Claudia's stuck under the oaths b4 you tell her she's guilty of breaking Great Laws she doesn't even know about yet. WTF?

How TF you gon' hold Louis accountable for following the Laws when he wasn't even allowed to be in the effing room when they were read!? He's not even a member! WTF! (I get it--any rogue vampires are subject to death, yadayada; we know it's a stupid policy.)

I love how he plans to leave by himself here--it had nothing to do with picking "another one" over Claudia. He just didn't want to hold her back anymore. And his presence was causing problems. 😭 It's so cute that Louis' stipulation about London was that if it's "too large" he'd leave and go to Ireland (?!?)--he's become agoraphobic or something? He just wants to be alone in his hermit hole--MOOD. 😭

Good to get confirmation that the Fire Gift here is Armand and blessedly NOT Santiago--so why's he zooming around in the sewers?

Look, sometimes folks make terrible first impressions--Lestat was being hella racist, Louis' always playing defense, Armand was finna kill Louis in a gay public park. It happens.

Foreshadowing like crazy, as usual.

WILD thing to say. I'm gonna cry, please stop.

(What kinda hypocrisy is that, when you were made young your dang self!?) She's already 30+ years old--maybe she'll last a little longer if y'all (read: sexist, racist, ageist, ableist, etc society) don't eff around tryna make her life even harder! But AMC's deliberately cutting Claudia's life in half, compared to the books, cuz misogynoir's real and Claudia gets NOTHING out of vampirism, not even a fair chance. And y'all let her into the coven KNOWING how much she loves y'all, and KNOWING y'all were gonna kill her. EFF THIS WHOLE COVEN, ARMAND INCLUDED. (Lemme calm down--this kind of betrayal is exactly how Lestat must've felt in S01E07; I get it; they're getting a taste of their own medicine. But LESTAT EFFING HAD IT COMING. The coven should've just told them: y'all got til sunrise to GTFO our territory, you're not welcome here. This whole bit's unnecessary.)

THE PARALLELS ARE PARALLELING

SKILL ISSUE. Cuz Louis' got the least power, and he's finna clear that whole bish out in just a couple episodes. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Louis, love, ARMAND DON'T GIVE A EFF ABOUT RAISING SOME OTHER MAN'S OFFSPRING. This is the call of the wild, as Alphas KILL the children their stolen Omega brides had for other Alphas/Betas, so he can restart the gene pool with HIS DNA instead. I know y'all had National Geographic back then already--READ A BOOK, Louis, it's what you're best at.

Incredible. After all of that Louis said Lestat never broke him. BENT BUT NEVER BROKEN, that's right! 💪😤

Boy, we're not talking about some little (unrequited) CRUSH over a man you only knew for a few months (which you've CLEARLY not gotten over yet). Louis was MARRIED to the man for 30 YEARS. This is his MAKER. Lestat knew his whole family; went to the Black cookouts and everything! They literally built a home AND business together! They raised a child together! WHATCHU KNOW ABOUT THAT!?

And that's LESTAT'S DAUGHTER TOO--how much can you possibly love EITHER of them while planning to knock her off!? I can't listen to too much more of this. *hands Louis the torch and scythe*

Beautiful end of this STACKED episode. Incredible work, AMC! Jacob acted his PANTS off; he excels at the trembling voice, agonized facial expressions, and utter mental breakdowns. He's pulling DEEP within him, holy god; it's so raw, it's almost hard to watch. EMMY WHEN?!

[aero-sense]

Honestly not much to talk about in this for this level, though it does have its moments. However, now we are getting into the heart of the story and some of it's mysteries answered.

This is a detailed playthrough, not a critical review. I'm doing this for fun, not for accuracy.

The Hidden Island:

Completely new location this time! The level takes place far, far east on an unmapped island, in an area the show never explored. The waters around the island are very dangerous so people rarely leave or come.

Despite how isolated the village is, they still know about the war and the avatar. While they may have heard about the war and the avatar from travelers, I like to think the island had their own mythology of the avatar, or even had an avatar of their own.

A plotline of the level is how the island village has no record of their history and culture. Seems odd, as the island had little contact and thus almost no interference from other nations to disrupt them, but there could be other factors. For instance, the island could have suffered a natural disaster leading to the majority of the islanders being wiped out, evidenced by all the ruins on the island. With very few people, it could have been harder to keep track of their history.

Later we find in the ruins the spirit of the island, a talking Badger mole? It was foreshadowed in the story well enough. The island is named Four Paws Island, and a lady commented the island's landscape changes frequently, like how the Badger moles manipulate the maze in the Cave of Two Lovers.

Haru has to pass a trial given by the spirit. There's a bunch of statues doing different forms in a circle, an with an egg-like object in the center... sound familiar? Oh, but Haru doesn't dance, he just earth bends the statues closer to the egg to solve the puzzle.

Cool detail, Haru does the underground burrowing move, that the Consul did before. Shows how Haru is constantly learning from his surroundings and experiences on this journey, that he learns a move after seeing it once.

Back to the main plot, the gaang catch up to Lian, presumably making the war machines on the island under FN order. However, Lian reveals to us that she got caught by the FN on purpose to use their resources and has been creating the machines to eliminate benders, who she blames the war for.

Seems the writers already had ideas of a nonbender/bender conflict all the way back in 2006, though presented quite differently than the show Korra did. I like how it's pulled off here though, as a clear effect from the war.

A big question is that Lian doesn't trust the Avatar to end the war, because he won't make it in time for the comet, but how does she know about it? Was it more common knowledge than presented in the show or did she find out while being a prisoner?

[DS]

Dang Grandma making me bet 100 g for checkers :/

One of the villagers named Gun-Ji went missing, following the trend of missing people. Nice detail, though I don't think the character is mentioned again. However, an odd aspect of the game is how many npcs have names, but almost no importance in the story and rarely ever come up in conversations.

We get a short mini quest of Sokka getting mugged by a kid. Sokka starts beefing with a kid over his boomerang, and after Sokka gives it to him, the kid just walks away while Sokka is distracted. Sokka runs after him, and save him from some machines that appeared. Later, the boy apologizes and Sokka forgives him, explaining why the boomerang is so important to him.

I consider this partially a Sokka level. Sokka's disconnect with his culture ties in nicely with the villagers mourning the loss of their history, as they struggle to remember to their roots.

A giant goat gorilla rushes towards the gaang, and Aang immediately goes into diplomat mode, love it. I guess this is where Bumi found Flopsie? Nice detail as only the King seems to know about the place.

[PSP]

Some odd plot point is there's FN soldiers around the island? As we know now, it was a misunderstanding that the FN were in control of the machines, Lian was, and so they shouldn't even know the island's existence. It was likely just a continuity mistake.

It's nice seeing Katara's adventurous side when exploring caves. She always wanted to explore the world at the start of the show and it's nice to see her get excited solving the secrets of the ruins.

The spirit is different in this version. Instead of a Badger mole, it's a large 6-legged sea turtle. I like it's design and find it more fitting for the island than just another badger mole. If badger moles can shift the land constantly, maybe the sea turtle spirit changes the tides around the island, protecting the island from malicious visitors. Going further, perhaps the reason the spirit was too weak to ward Lian off is because the villagers have started to forget it (Do spirits have to be believed in to affect the physical world?)

The way they drew Lian in the PSP version like ma'aaam

[zoropookie]

“There’s always a reason people operate-“ I forgot the rest of the line dang it, but XIAO is only something.. I sense foreshadowing (also I love him so much rn?!?! XIAO I MEAN)

this is me when i have to backtrack what i already wrote bc i don’t want to forget 😭😭 i feel u anon

[moviemunchies]

This movie’s pretty great, but it reminds me of how disappointing the third movie is.

Berk has adapted well to having dragons, and are now a part of everyday life. Hiccup has been using his time to map out the world around Berk, while his father Stoick wants to train him to take up his role of Chief one day. Everyone’s plans go to heck, though, when Hiccup hears of a new threat: Drago Bludvist, a warlord capturing dragons for his own personal army. And it turns out that there’s another dragon rider out there: Hiccup’s long-assumed-dead-mother, Valka.

[Quick disclaimer: I don’t know how well this fits into continuity with the television serieses; I’ve never seen them, and given how movie serieses tend to have television or comic tie-ins, and then ignore those, I don’t see much reason to.]

This, like the first film, is something that I think a lot of people expected me to go nuts for by virtue of the dragons. Dragons are Awesome. This is well-established. And to be clear, that alone makes this movie very memorable and interesting. I love that there are a butt-ton of different kinds of dragons all over the movie. Apparently to get a lot of the varieties of background creatures, they mixed and matched designs they already rendered. It looks pretty good overall.

I really thought that Astrid did more in this movie? She’s a character who does things, but it isn’t as if she has a distinct arc. Part of why I didn’t mind her role in the first film when rewatching was that I thought that she did more here that developed her character. She’s still cool, and all, don’t get me wrong, I just thought she deserved a subplot that really developed her as a distinct personality.

Valka has good development as a character when she arrives; there’s a large chunk of the movie that’s just good stuff between her and Hiccup, and then with Stoick. She’s a fantastic character. It’s a bit of a shame, then, that she doesn’t really do much in the climax of the film. It feels a bit like she was going to do more, but then the last third of the movie was rewritten for another purpose entirely.

[Also, “The Dancing & the Dreaming” is better and more romantic than any pop love song on the radio. There! I said it!]

Stoick’s death is heavy and carries a lot of weight. It’s an important beat in this movie, and it works, although! Minor quibble! He gets blasted by dragon fire, and the body’s not even burned? I remember pointing out to my friend in college after I saw it, and she pointed out that they obviously can’t show realistic maiming, but there aren’t even burn marks on his body. Again, a minor issue, but something that stuck out to me.

I also hold that the conclusion, with Toothless gaining power to be the Alpha over all the dragons and glowing and all? Is a deus ex machina. I remember TV Tropes saying that it’s not because Valka says something like, “Well, we don’t know everything about Night Furies!” as if that explains him suddenly having the exact power to solve all the problems right now, becoming the ruler of all dragons. There’s no foreshadowing or buildup of that. We like it, because we like Toothless; that’s not the same thing as it being a well-developed Plot Point.

Hiccup’s development in this film goes pretty well, though. The movie knows that it cannot just stagnate; the next film in the series needs to do something with the protagonist. Hiccup’s father is trying to prepare him to be the next chief, but he doesn’t want to deal with that. But he HAS to accept that change will happen, and with it, new responsibilities. It’s realizing that he has what it takes, even if he has to be suddenly forced into the role, that 

“Drago Bludvist” is maybe an incredibly corny name for a villain, and yet he’s surprisingly well-executed in the film? Supposedly there were plans to bring him back after this movie, and those were canceled, which is a shame because the third movie’s a mess. Drago, though? He’s menacing, original, and actually kills a main character! Dang, he’s a good villain for a Dreamworks movie.

Shame about the name, though.

And I love the final message of the film: that we’re all stronger together. I like that; it still hurts a bit hearing it, though, because the third movie decides that actually the dragons need to go away for the story. That was Dumb and I hated it. This movie, though, while not a perfect masterpiece, is a very good dragon movie, and I really enjoyed watching it. Even if all the elements don’t get their chance to fully shine, it still holds together really well, with memorable characters, a good villain, and lots and lots and lots of dragons.

[pancake-breakfast]

I've been neglecting Tumblr as a whole this weekend as I burn through costume-making, but I think I can keep up with Trigun Book Club!

Archive

Trigun Volume 1: Covers + 1-3, 3 Detailed Thoughts, 4, 4 DT, 5-6, 5-6 + DT, 6 DT, 7-8, 9-10

Trigun Volume 2: Covers + Extras, 1, 1 Supplemental Research, 2-4

Stream-of-consciousness thoughts for Trigun Vol. 2, Chapters 5-6 below.

Chapter 5: Murder Café

CW: Sexual assault, human trafficking

This title sounds like a place I'd either really want to eat at or never want to eat at.

It's interesting to see what they did and didn't keep of the city design in Stampede.

Even yandere emo boys have to eat sometimes.

The heck? Is this woman barefoot?? Why would anyone be barefoot out there??? Oh. Oh, shit. Are we gonna get into that aspect of the story already???

Yyyyup. Well, dang. These men chose the wrong bar to stumble into. I know a few things about yandere emo boys and there's a thing or two they're a bit sensitive about....

If your SO ever, EVER slaps you to the floor while screaming at you for looking at someone else, even if it's not in public, get help and get out of there. I realize these guys aren't these women's significant anything, but that's not the point. Or maybe it is. They are the kind of people who would treat another human being this way. They are not people who love these women.

Dude. This shit is blaming Legato for being too pretty and making these women feel bad that they'll never have a handsome man like him while bragging about assaulting them in the same breath. WTH???

Everyone else in the bar wants to take these guys down, but they're big and powerful and intimidating, making it pretty impossible for the average person.

Ok, but this panel of chibi Legato just... chewing away. At this rate I'm gonna add him to my collection. And then shove him in a box and throw him in the bottom of the sea.

I wonder if this guy meant to hit Legato's fork or if it was just a lucky shot. Also, what kind of grip does this man have that he was able to keep ahold of his fork while it was shot in two?!?!

Huh, he was going to let them go about their business, confident they'd get theirs. But they done overstepped now.

He says it like a command, as if they have any control over the matter once he's in play.

Nice and traumatic for all involved. Good... good....

I'm impressed these guys are standing their ground after that display. We're gonna assume they're so scared that whatever sense they had has left their stupid heads.

Current favorite angry Legato face:

Just in case being kidnapped and raped by slavers wasn't already the most traumatic thing to happen to these women....

Honestly, it's good and important to see this bit of humanity from Legato, even if it makes for a much more muddy morality in the story overall. Maybe particularly because it makes for a much more muddy morality overall.

Dude, for his arm to be at this angle, he's gotta have CLAMP-in-their-Tsubasa-Chronicle-xxxHolic-era proportions.

I wonder how Vash would have handled this situation had he been there instead. Surely Vash isn't unaware that this sort of stuff happens in this world....

Chapter 6: A Gathering of Demons

CW: Human trafficking

So much sand....

I love how, in this story, our primary windows into the world are Milly and Meryl. Like, they're characters in their own right, but they're also the closest thing we have to an Everyman through which we interact with the story.

Yeah, Vash is probably on hyper-alert for now because of the Gung-Ho Guns. Constantly concerned about the safety of everyone around him.

That reminds me, I should retrieve my tea from the kitchen. (It's jasmine, if you're curious.)

GoshDARNIT, Legato! You're not supposed to be flattered and happy when people announce they're gonna hunt you!

He's just a silly, happy boy.

Heh. Foreshadowing.

YUS YUS YUS MY BOI WOLFWOOD IS HEEEEEEERE!!!

Soooo many things I could say here and I will say none of them. Instead, let's all just appreciate how much the bus driver here looks like a hippie straight from 1960's Berkeley.

I'm impressed they managed to get that thing on the roof of the van.

LOL, Wolfwood's response to people calling him out for being a frumpy, shady guy....

Awww, cute Vash face!

I love everything about their meeting here.

It's interesting that WW quickly notes how much Vash fits the description on his posters when Monev was quick to say Vash looked nothing like the description of him.

I do like the introduction '98 gave them, though, with Vash inventing a crazy name for himself and then Milly casually dropping the whole "Vash the Stampede" bit.

Vash looks very unsure of WW here. Resigned, but unsure.

The slavers are gonna try to do what to whom? Hahahahahahaha GL

Speak of the devil....

Who the hell is he talking to??

Yeah, this wasn't gonna end well for them....

THE PORTABLE CONFESSIONAL!!! Gods, I hope this thing shows up in Stampede. It's the dumbest thing, but it's also beautiful. Especially the way WW just SHOVES it on people's heads.

WW's introduction is great. Is he a genuine sweetheart or is he a conman? Both??

WW can't not melt at kids, can he?

Dude, they've been hanging out for... what, a few hours? And already WW is reading Vash like a book.

This pose looks... uncomfortable.

Hahahahahaha, he's stuck in it.

Gods, that's a freaking MOUNTAIN of bodies. He should compare it with the one Erwin Smith has.

Ok, I kind of love how Legato handles these guys. He's like, "Oh, so you want to make a profit selling people? How about I kill half of you so you can make a profit off the organs of people you might actually give a shit about? Get fucked, scumbag."

Oh. THAT'S where the chapter title comes from. Hi, everyone!