#he didn't have a ton of screentime in this episode

[lucascsinclairs]

Lucas Sinclair in Stranger Things 4 | Chapter Five: The Nina Project

“You’re a Kate Bush fan?” “Uh, yeah? Now I am.” “Really?” “Yeah, mega fan. She saved your life! Besides, we’re hot on this creep’s trail. We’re gonna find Vecna, and kill him before he even thinks about messing with you again. Alright?”

[low-budget-korra]

Comments on Netflix's Avatar The Last Airbender

*spoiler alert*

First of all I'm gonna start by saying it is one of the best adaptations I've seen so far. And that's the key word, adaptation. I've seen a lot of fans and others complain about some things that honestly, doesn't make sense because some things only work in a cartoon(just as much as some things only work in a book or a video game)

And before I start to talk about some topics that I judge important, I also wanna say that the production is fantastic, from the costumes to the CGI. It all looks amazing. (A part from Yue's wig)

1. The Script

It's not easy to pick 20+ episodes and make it fit in only 8 but damn they did a hell of a good job, especially when judging what was important to show and what they could let it go. Some fans commented that since there's no fillers, the Gaang and others miss some development but I think that for the universe of the live action what we got here it worked.

I can express how much I like to see Ozai and Azula's relationship and how it is now clear that he uses the siblings against each other, manipulating them to get what he wants. But I will admit I miss the fear Azula had, since it's implied in the show and some extras that she does fear Ozai, and fears becoming like Zuko.

I hope the 41. Is just fine after the battle in the north. See all of them bowing to Zuko after discovering that Zuko was the one that saved their asses and was heavily punished by that...it was beautiful. I loved the writers did that, give names and faces to Zuko's crew and a beautiful yet sad arc when Ozai banished his son and the men who he saved.

I also loved that they put weight into things that was treated as a joke, like Katara talking about her mother. She was a little kid who saw her mom get murdered in front of her and the live action made sure to let us know that it is not okay to make jokes about something so traumatic. All of the deaths here have tons of weight in it, it's not some random person, is someone we met, someone we liked, someone who helped. The costs of the war, something the cartoon manages to show us but know in live action, with real people, the massage gets stronger.

And they didn't forget Iroh's past like the fandom does, which is great. That actor, the earthbending soldier really let it all out, that's how you use the few screentime you have.

Sokka's isn't sexist and y'all were making a storm outta a cup of water, is not like Sokka sexist didn't go away after like the 4 or 5 episode in the original show. I think the live action was able to bring more depth to him in comparison to the first season of the cartoon. We see how he feels about his father's, the absence of him and his duty as warrior who kinda doesn't want to be a warrior.

I need a Gyatso in my life, I didn't know I needed to see more of him until the live action gave us more of him. Kyoshi was the Thor coming to Wakanda from this season, WHY THE FUCK BRYKE DONT WANNA GIVE US A KYOSHI SERIES? She is absolutely a jewel of a character. Roku and Kuruk, damn poor Kuruk man, so much pain in his words but again that's what it means to be the Avatar, it's not fun and games. Zhao saying to Aang what Korra villains said to Korra😭 that the world doesn't need the Avatar anymore, it hurt.

Guys I'm gonna say it, there's no way in hell for anyone to ship Kataang here. I'm saying this because some shippers complain that the secret tunnel part was different but c'mon, look at Kiawentiio and look at Gordon, it would be so s awkward and weird and just wrong. I know they don't have a big age difference, is only like 3 years but when they filmed Gordon looked so much younger than her, maybe in the next seasons the difference won't be that big.

The pace is good, once you start you don't wanna stop.

2. The Acting

Everyone is really good at capturing the essence of it's characters and somewhat making them their own. The highlights for me were Dallas and Ian, Its like they came straight from the show. Ken Leung's Zhao was also amazing as he was way more threatening here than he was in the show.

Kiawentiio was the Katara we were looking for, she is kind yet strong, brave and caring. And Gordon was Aang, sure, he has to learn a few things since he slipped a few times in his acting but nothing that could ruin the experience, that kid is good and just needs some experience.

Elizabeth Yu was Azula. It was different but yet the same character, is like learning something new of her and I like how cleared she show emotions with her eyes. Maria Zhang had great chemistry with Ian and I can't wait to see more of Suki. Arden Cho and Yvonne Chapman as June and Avatar Kyoshi look like they came out straight from the cartoon. Daniel Dae Kim...man is Ozai, so cold, so sharp, so scary, already way better than the cartoon version. I wanna see more of Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Iroh since the character he really starts to shine in book 2.

3. The live action doesn't have the spirit of the OG?

Yes, it does have. The thing is now that we are seeing real people, things get dark one way or another but I don't think it ruined the spirit of the show. Aang is still a kid, Sokka still making sarcastic jokes, Zuko still annoying as hell, Katara still hopeful and strong... There's everything there really.

The thing is stuff like genocide, murder, war, death and suffering are, for some people, better to watch as pixels in a cartoon than real people.

I think it's a great adaptation and I would recommend it to every fan.

[the-eeveekins]

Time to get some things off my chest I've been holding onto for a while, especially with regards to the Gundam community and G-Witch.

A solid chunk of the complaints I see about the show boil down to: person/place/thing wasn't as developed or given as much screentime as it would have if the show was 50 episodes, and it's potential was wasted as a result. And it just feels like a chunk of Gundam fans cannot get over a show NOT being 50 episodes, and that things can only reach their full potential if they are 50 episodes.

There's almost no adjustment of expectations for what the level of development, detail and screentime would be for a 24-25 episode length series. Just the belief that because it's less than the amount you'd find in a 50 episode series, it's automatically inferior.

And the way some people describe what they expected out of certain things, you can absolutely tell that they've been spoiled by the UC and don't have even remotely realistic expectations for a fresh AU without any sequels or supplemental content. The UC has been around for 40+ years with so much content to the point that nearly every minute detail has been explained and even over-explained. And certain fans have gotten so used to having every little detail spoonfed to them about a series that anything less is lacking or a plot hole.

Like, I seriously recall someone complaining that G-Witch didn't explain the treaty or agreement that banned the use of physical ammunition in space and that it was a plot hole! Or that the show didn't explain where Peil was getting it's doubles from? Or what characters like Guel and Shaddiq were like growing up?

Yes, G-Witch undercooked some of it's elements, probably because they expected to get more episodes than they did and added enough side and background content to give them 50 episodes worth of stuff if it got extended. But wanting the show to explore the detailed background of every side character, faction and location isn't something you're going to get in most AUs. Especially one that was only 25 episodes and more focused on telling a Shakespearean tale of two families than a large political war drama like most series.

And lastly, most of the complaints about the character development can be boiled down to one thing: most anime fans are used to having a character's thoughts and emotions spoonfed to them. G-Witch never once gets into the heads of it's characters and lets your hear their thoughts or feelings, leaving up to the viewer to interpret them based on their actions, reactions and knowledge of the character. And in a medium dominated by battle shounen, where characters constantly explain their every action and you constantly see every thought, I think a lot of people have gotten terrible at understanding character development that doesn't rely on it.

It's why there's so many complaints about Suletta not developing at all until late S2 despite developing a TON over the course of the show, because the show doesn't slap you in the face explaining it to you. Her personality doesn't go through a major change in the show because it doesn't need to, and S1 clearly shows her gaining more confidence and stuttering less around others as the season progresses. It's honestly not that subtle at all, the show just doesn't spend time explaining to you that it's happening, it just shows it happening. And that goes for a LOT of elements in the show people claim were too subtle or not explained well enough.

It's also why so many people claim Guel has the most development in the show, because his personality has to change drastically due to how awful he was (and tbf, he still ends the series as a pretty awful guy), and since it's such a major change, people claim he has the most developed character arc in the show because it's not subtle in any way.

It's not like G-Witch is a perfect show or free from criticism, but holy shit so many of the complaints I see boil down to unrealistic expectations of a two cour series or poor media comprehension/literacy. And that's not even getting into the people just hating on the show because they're sexist or homophobic.

[markantonys]

episode 5 thoughts!

heartbroken by no mat, but i was expecting it since min wasn't credited for this episode on imdb, and there was so much other amazing stuff going on, so i can cope. i do think they must be gearing up for a mat-heavy episode soon because his content has been so sparse thus far! we also didn't have lan this episode, which i'm good with since he got so much last week.

(minor imdb casting spoiler: ayoola isn't listed for ep6, so i'm guessing we may have no perrin next week. they definitely do have a lot of different groups to juggle! but IF mat & lan soon join the cairhien crew, we could condense things)

also sad at not much elayne, but again, the remaining episodes will probably be pretty big for her! same with egwene, that storyline didn't progress as fast as i'd thought it would in this episode, but OOF the preview for next week looks like A Lot!!

back to the beginning! falme looks SO COOL!!! and the opening scene with the seanchan was fantastic, it showed off so many different aspects of their culture in just a few minutes (namely their various Ceremonial Things and ideas of who's allowed to speak to whom)

lanfear just whispering "bitch" the second she revives killed me djkfjg what an icon. and we get confirmation that it is indeed the True Power that she used to revive herself.

Lanfear Unleashed is SO much fun oh my god, i love seeing her in full forsaken mode

moiraine telling rand that he can't sleep because lanfear will get him, girl don't tell him that he's going to internalize it and not sleep for the next 6 seasons. this season is really Wheel Of Time Origins: Rand's Various Emotional, Mental, and Physical Health Problems

elyas saying the ef5 aren't perrin's pack HOW DARE!!! i feel like they're making elyas even more standoffish/human-averse than he was in the books, which makes for an interesting dynamic and contributes to perrin's sense that his human & wolf sides can't coexist.

but hopper follows perrin!!!! the goodest boy!!!!!

AVIENDHA IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHE'S EVERYTHING!!!!! although ngl her fake accent does sound a bit Fake to me lmao but i'm sure i'll get used to it after a few more scenes

hot dain bornhald is also here! he kinda compels me and i'm furious about it. if whitecloak why hot? in all seriousness, i can see already from his intro episode + the basics of his book story that he has the potential to be quite an interesting character if fleshed out more and given more screentime compared to what he had in the books, sort of a liandrin-and-alanna-like Main Secondary Whitecloak for us to follow

also he totally wants to fuck perrin you can't change my mind. buying him drinks and giving him a Cute Nickname, boy you ain't subtle! and then aviendha briefly hits on perrin later and also perrin stops her from killing dain. wake up babe, insane new WOT polycule just dropped djkfjfg

OB!!!! FREAKING!!!! SESSED!!!!!!!! with verin's detective subplot!!!! it is SO much fun, it delivers a ton of great exposition (namely about the black ajah), and it gives us a bigger peek into the brown ajah than the books ever did. i love this squad!! also katie leung was probably my first Girl Crush (not that i was aware of it) when i was like 8 so i was thrilled to see her show up here, god bless

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT GAVE US CONFIRMATION THAT GAWYN EXISTS IN SHOWVERSE!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH when i tell you i came extremely close both to screaming and to falling off my bed!!!! i'd been hoping for a gawyn namedrop all season but having it here was SO unexpected! my current theory is that he'll be introduced in caemlyn next season along with elaida and galad, and all 3 of them will head to tar valon to look for elayne because they're worried after not hearing from her for a long time.

also now i want a fic where the wondergirls actually do get special permission from mommy morgase to leave the tower just so that they can attend gawyn's birthday party

anyway, someday gawyn and egwene are going to kiss with tongue onscreen and haters can die mad about it <3 oooh now i have a brand-new meetcute for them to look forward to since they didn't meet at the tower!

liandrin & nynaeve's convo in the ways was so good! they continue to do amazing work with that relationship and liandrin's character. AND WHEN SHE SUBTLY FREED THE GIRLS RIGHT BEFORE LEAVING HOLY SHIT i gasped!!!!! the LAYERS they have given this character!!! because yes she serves the dark BUT she still feels loyalty to her sisters (as seen in s1 too when she appeared genuinely upset over kerene's death) and can't stomach the thought of any of them, even the light-serving ones, being collared!

suroth saying with her whole chest "oh sure you're a forsaken but you're not even of the blood soooooo" god grant me her confidence. also another great illustration of the insane heights to which seanchan high blood take their superiority complexes. good god, what's tuon gonna be like?!

avi's fight scene was just as amazing as i'd been hoping and expecting!! 10/10 no notes. can't wait to see what she can do when she has weapons at her disposal!

and later avi tells us that she is out in the wetlands Looking For Her Man (that she doesn't yet know is Her Man) <33

moiraine saying "get rand some nice new clothes" and barthanes immediately offering to dress him, Sugar Baby Rand lives on! also, anvaere and barthanes definitely thought rand was moiraine's sugar baby after they cleared the warder possibility, you can't change my mind

also also, barthanes is so surprisingly sweet! i wonder if he'll still be a darkfriend, or if anvaere will be instead

lanfear making ishy dream about caressing rand's face in bed is something i will go insane thinking about every day until i die. like oh my god i don't even know where to START with unpacking that, so i won't even try djfkjg

like for real, they ALL BUT made it explicitly canon that ishy had/has a crush on LTT/rand LMAO it's what we deserve

and we get forsaken namedrops! moghedien, graendal, and "the boys." it could be that semirhage did still make it and lanfear just chose not to go on and on listing every single one (slash the writers wanted to give themselves some leeway in specifically naming forsaken in case they don't get enough seasons to deal with all of them), or it could be that one of the statues from last season was actually a man and/or stepin's statues aren't accurate, and we've got 5 men instead of 4 (in which case i'd imagine ishy, asmodean, sammael, demandred, and rahvin)

i'm gonna have to watch this ishy & lanfear scene again to pick up more because i was FAR too distracted by the initial homoeroticism to keep focusing lmao

aww i'm kinda sad not to get elayne & nynaeve hiding out in falme completely on their own, but for their sakes it's nice they've found (been found by) some Real Adults to help!

LANFEAR'S OUTFIT IN THE END SCENE LMAO this season really just went off the WALLS with horniness and kinkiness, and i am here for it. it's what rj would've wanted

now that moiraine and rand are indeed staying in cairhien after all, i really think we might get a cauthor reunion next episode!!!! fingers crossed!!!!

[quillthrillswriting]

with all of the criticism NATLA is receiving, i'd like to bring up another point that i feel like i haven't seen many people talking about, and i think this really contributes to the lack of overarching atmosphere NATLA has.

music.

i think a lot of people have already expressed the sentiment that this live-action adaptation really misses on a lot of characterization. katara seems bland and one-dimensional, aang is constantly stressed and anxious about the future every time he's on screen, sokka just doesn't quite have that quintessential sokka-ness we as a fandom know and love.

i'd argue that part of the reason that the show is lacking that characterization is first because of screentime. as a show with ~20 episode seasons, the original atla has TONS of filler episodes, but these filler episodes let us see different facets of the characters and ulitmately aid in seeing how characters behave when the overarching plot is not driving them at that very moment.

however, i believe that even with a shorter season that can't fit any filler, you can still capture those kinds of moments. instead, what i'd argue worsened this lack of characterization is a lack of those silly, twangy themes we all know and love from the original.

you know what i'm talking about? aang would make a joke and we'd have goofy melodic lines playing, or momo would appear and we'd hear this:

the original ATLA was so creative in using music to paint a picture- in serious moments, it matched the mood entirely, in quiet, peaceful ones it made you feel like you were right there, on appa's back with the rest of the gaang, and in silly ones, it gave a sense of heart and lightness to the show.

watching the live action, we just didn't get that same range of emotion, and i do believe this is in part because the music just missed so much.

despite my criticism above, i'm excited to see the show renewed. i truly hope that the writers take the critiques they've seen from the fan's responses and use those to write the show better. the actors really are being limited by the directing & writing, and once that limiting factor is resolved, i really hope to see the show recapture that heart and soul that is so present in the original:)<3

[lnkedmyheart]

Currently there are rumored to be 11 episodes in season 5. We saw Chuuya enter Meursault in the trailer so clearly they will atleast go that far, maybe even get to ch 101 for the cliffhanger. However he has no speaking lines in his manga appearance unless they brought Kishou in for hissing and growling. He didn't get a trailer credit for all of his screentime in season 4 which is very clearly spoken lines and decidedly not hissing, a lot more than he'd logically have this season. He is clearly not credited in the casting for Granrodeo because that is not how these things work. He has no actual parts in any of the other light novels that would get him that credit. He has not yet snapped out of the vampirism in the manga so clearly it's not for future events. And even if they animated beast for some reason in that 11 episode season they wouldn't have enough to credit him as high as season 3 where he was the mc for an entire arc.

So like...are they just making up a fuck ton of lines for him in the anime? Or are they doing the thing I don't want them to do?

[ginger-snap-talkin-nonsense]

As someone who first watched the show at the uncritical age of 12, I'm curious, what else would you criticise about Gravity Falls?

The lack of woman writers leads to Dipper and Mabel's development being very unbalanced in Dippers favor which leads to Mabel feeling like she's not allowed to go through any meaningful arcs which leaves it feeling like shes selfish and doesn't have to give up or learn anything by Weirdmaggedeon. This isn't speculation either, Alex admitted while talking about why Wendy was so underdeveloped that they just didn't have a ton of women in the room and it was harder for them to write women in general.

In addition, Ford is a real anchor on the show. It's so obsessed with keeping his identity secret that we can't have the characters (namely Stan) talk about him and his relationships with the family. Then he comes into the show far too late, and to make up for that he takes up an inordinate amount of screentime-near cutting Stan out of the show for the latter half of season 2-yet only spends that time with Dipper. He never has any meaningful interactions with Mabel, barely any interactions with Stan that have meat, says literally one line to Soos over the whole series, and legit never speaks to Wendy once. And this further the imbalance of Dipper and Mabel because Dipper being stapled to Ford from his introduction means Dipper gets a lot more screentime while Mabel is relegated to B plots and runners (along with the rest of the characters).

The show has other issues like the buying into Bill's hype too much leading to Sock Opera being the worst episode of the show and ruining his credibility as an interesting force of nature, or it's focus on side characters in the eleventh hour that it doesn't have time for like Robbie or Pacifica, but those are honestly pretty common and miniscule for cartoons like GF so I don't hold it against the show too hard.

So those are the big two and they both feed into Alex just having a problem with balancing characters and needing a more diverse crew. Something that (if he ever works in the industry again) is easy to fix.

[yellowlaboratory]

Hi!! What are your season 3 thoughts?? And most importantly, what are your Jiara related season 3 thoughts? :D

alksjdfhlaskdfj i have. so many thoughts. i've never ever written something short so uhhhhh.....stick with me, lmao.

first, non-jiara thoughts:

cleope was SO cute!!! i wanted to wait for the writing to convince me on them as a ship because I really wanted something more than "these two aren't with any one so lets put them together" for cleo and pope and I've been completely convinced. They both bring out a different side to each other and the way Pope opens his family and his home to her is just alkdjfhlksajdfhlkajsdhf it's unbearably sweet. i love her interactions with the heywards and i love how instantly she fits in. the scene when he leaves her in his room and she does a tiny dance and then falls back on his bed and says "thanks, pope"..... yeah i think i was cosigning on that ship as soon as I saw that asdklfjhaskdfl. and the scene in 3x06 where she stops him from shooting rafe and he cries in her arms.... oh my god. it single handedly saved that episode for me. AND THEIR KISS???? oh my god.

i also LOVED Cleo's friendship with JJ. When they are on a mission together, they are right there with each other. and, speaking of friendships, I loved that we got more JJ & John B, best friends since third grade content. the fact that they physically started fighting... idk, I think it just made them feel even more like brothers to me.

i also just really loved some of the (for lack of a better term) girlboss moments this season. there are SO many moments that i was loudly cheering for my girls. Cleo having the only brain cell like 180% of the time when Kiara is kidnapped. Kiara betraying rafe and stealing that boat (i was fully cheering ala kiara during the cliff jump scene like that is my GIRL) (also madison bailey the woman that you ARE the way she never even a little bit played into the r*ara of it all. any time Rafe looked or spoke to or was in the general vicinity of Kiara, she looked SO uncomfortable and I love that for me). and I really REALLY loved Sarah manipulating Topper lmao "you're such a giver" "it's just how i was raised" KLAJDHLAKSJDH

and, actually, I think the inculsion of topper in the heist was super funny and exactly the type of shit i want to see from him (if wheezie had been there to give him shit, it would have basically been any fic i've ever written with topper in it). when topper is being used purely for comedy, he's kind of a genius character - Austin North can deliver those bat shit Topper lines really well, and the rest of the characters (particularly Kiara) react SO well to him. he's so easy to make fun of!!! but then.... having Sarah go back to topper again was uhhhh not it. I think they should have kept the s2 or the s3 stopper storyline in, but not both. sarah going back to something that reminds her of a time when her life was easier while shit is absolutely hitting the fan and she has nothing else is like, very much in character, and that's what happened both times. the fact that they didn't show her growing through that in this season, but instead regressing..... idk, i'm excited to see a Sarah with more growth. also, canon comedic topper is dead to me forever after burning down the chateau so, i guess that's a loss on both fronts (i can't talk anymore about the chateau burning down but i have a lot of feelings about it).

i really hated big john. i'm so sorry, but looking back, John B should have left that man in the fucking bell tower. I think the amount of screentime he took is my biggest gripe of the season (i did a scrub of the show for just jiara scenes after my first watch and the amount of times i had to scroll by that man.... my god). and not only did he take up a shit ton of screentime, he kept John B away from the pogues - both physically and emotionally - for most of the season (the lack of goofy happy pogues moments is my second biggest gripe with the season). If you've read pltc, you know that I had a lot of thoughts about Big John and his relationship with the pogues but...... when he died (actually, this time), it was only dry eyes here lmao. I feel bad for John B, obviously, but everything (and i mean EVERYTHING) Big John did this season was so shitty for John B, I can only say that i think John B is better off without him.

i think the thing that has me the most conflicted is the 18 month time jump. narratively, it makes so much sense - and logistically, aging up the characters as the cast ages makes a lot of sense. i don't love that we'll miss alot of jiara and cleope but I'm coming around to the thought of it all by opening ao3 and waiting for those time jump fics to pour in. @ josh pate if season 4 opens with JJ slamming Kie against a wall as they're making out i'll forgive literally everything, i'm so easy to please.

i guess this is the perfect transition to the jiara of it all. the first few episodes literally bodied me. every interaction on Poguelandia bodied me - the way they were living their poguelandia/surf trip dream, the "just like we talked about", the angsty silent conversations they were having when they saw the plane. kiara getting kidnapped hit - I think the way JJ was so focused on getting her back was so perfect, the dock hug was actual literal perfection. I am a Hug Girl first and foremost and oh my GOD?

the first almost kiss floored me. i did not expect it. the transition from their dumbass little jokes to almost kissing.......... i'm gonna die. i literally fell off my couch. I think Pope being the one to break it up was inevitable, as was their conversation. idk how i feel about it, i know pope was always going to have opinions on jiara and i'm glad it wasn't super salty but.... i'm gonna need to rewatch it a few times i think.

episode 4 absolutely ended me. those conversations and the way Kiara knows JJ and the way JJ was imploding.... absolutely insane. the framing of that episode (like the actual cinematography not the writing lmao) was not my favorite, but the content was SO good. it was everything i wanted I was losing my mind. JJ telling Kiara she's a kook HURT. Kiara knowing that he's lashing out cause he's scared made me yodel. the talk in the chateau's yard about truces immediately followed by another almost almost kiss made me want to scream into a pillow. 10s all around.

I also love Heist Jiara. I loved seeing JJ at the carrera's house for the conversation about the cross, and the way he's a little bit like a caged animal around Mike is perfect!!! Him self destructing by stealing the money clip is just literally JJ 101. Jiara bike ride to Kilby Girl is now my entire personality!!!!!!!! also the fight about the money clip - that's not really about the money clip at all - followed immediately by JJ almost dying and Kiara being like "don't you ever do that again" is just aksldjfhkasjdfhlkjasdhlfkjasd i could YODEL.

the gate fight absolutely took me by suprise. the "i love you dude" was not what i was expecting AT ALL. JJ's buffering reaction and the way he's trying to downplay it was 10298/10. the hurt in kiara's face made me want to cry, and then John B fucking everything up feels... well, a little inevitable. I also love that even in their angstiest, jiara is still together, and in episode 8, they are sitting on the couch and kiara's playing the ukuele LIKE. they are best friends. they are so important to each other. nothing is ever going to change that. I also love love love the part where he's like "i'll tell you on the plane." idk it makes me feel buzzy.

episode 9 is a literal fucking feast. the feral jj, the way he KNOWS something is up when she doesn't show up, the way he drops everything and then ends up in kahoots with Barricuda Mike to get her back. "I kind of got a date" ????!?!?!?!??!!!!! then the whole thing about Marley the cat (josh I KNOW you are on the ao3 tag just drop me the username please) and Kiara immediately knowing it was him as soon as she heard "blond". the "me?". the KISS. the giggly happy in love couple that they are!!!!! i do wish the kiss had better lighting for my giffer friends but i know we're gonna get the brightest kiss in the world in s4 to make up for it (pates make it happen!!!). and i think my favorite scene of the entire season is them being so happy and giggly on the plane and the high five into a handhold alkdjsfhlkasjdfhlksadf.

episode 10 is obviously a drop off lmao. it sucks to leave the season on that note but we did get the "it's an adventure baby" and little background moments. I'm happy the pates didn't write themselves into a corner too much this season, and in a lot of ways I'm really glad that jiara is open ended because that means there's a lower chance of unnessecary bullshit being thrown our way really early on into s4. i would have liked a more definitive ep 10 moment but ultimately, espeically since we know we have s4, i'm not concerned in the slightest about it.

so, overall, i think there were parts of the season that felt slightly choppy (personally, I'm of the belief that they filmed a lot more than we saw), i think the first half was generally stronger than the second half, and I think i'm really, really fucking glad we have s4 confirmed so I don't have to stress about it even a little & we'll get to filming sooner. my sanity is hanging on by it's fingernails but it is in fact hanging on.

at the end of the day, i had the time of my life watching it and i had some really great people to share it with and I'll always be so unendingly grateful for that!!!!

[lilisouless]

Okay, i saw Hazbin Hotel´s first 4 episodes and first impresions so i could compare with my finals when s1 finishes

As you know i am very character driven, so for the plot itself i´ll say is not bad, but for some season the hotel itself feels like a subplot, like the whole extermination day issue seem more important (to the point that the characters themselves mention that) a hotel to redeem sinners is not a bad concept but i feel like the creators themselves are not actually that interested on it. Anyway, despite the lack of focus on the suppusedly main plot, i am curious on what would happen next, so regardless of the problems i can follow and want to. My theory is that the hotel was the idea from the begining but the creator ended up more interested on a show about the lore and had to use "hazbin hotel" by legal reasons

SO character wise:

Charlie: related to above, she doesn't feel like a protagonist, the whole show actually resembles more an ensemble and thats why she is trapped on the hotel plot that, like i already said, is starting to be pushed aside. Now personality wise i am comflicted, , she is cute sometimes, she is also very sympathetic and while i am not completely sold on her due to lack of explaining why she is the way she is; that can easily be brushed off that there will be soon an episode that explains it. My issue is that sometimes i think they are trying too hard with the all loving hero archetype, to the point she may come as one note. I´ll give the benefit of the doubt because there´s still time to flesh her out and she has flaws so its a character than can easily be worked. I think she worked a little better on the pilot, its hard to put my finger why.

Vaggie: I am WAY less optimistic with Vaggie. Actually, the complete opposite. Let me explain:

The sister series: Helluva Boss has a problem with Mille (and this are things i thought before watching the sarcastic chorus episode) cause while she is not completely there, she walks dangerously close to satellite love interest territory, all she did was directly related to Moxxie and she didn't have an episode of her own even if they were visiting her family. There was a very late episode in Helluva Boss that was a direct response to this critism and tried to focus on Millie (tried because Moxxie also took tons of screentime) they are aware of the problem.

The thing is that , i have a theory that they wanted to go one step ahead of the audience with Vaggie. Is like they saw Vaggie would face the same critism as Millie and made an episode to get ahead. The problem is that, first: the third episode! you are trying to solve a problem that hasn't started. Like: instead of planning on giving Vaggie something future seasons or expanding her character between episodes they just said "there, she feels insecure because she feels she is nothing without Charlie" which is paradox, because to me it tells me the writer don't intent to make her anything without Charlie and this episode is a scapegoat. Don't know if i am explaining myself. The point is that to me the episode is a sign that there is no point in trying to invest emotionally in Vaggie because the writers will never do it.

Like Charlie, she was better on the pilot but with her i can tell it´s because on the pilot she was funnier, not by a lot but still something. I have the feeling the writers toned down her agressiveness on the show because of the "spicy latina" stereotype and while i believe the critism is valid, i don't think the solution was to just water her down.

Angel Dust: I am not sure if i like him. I liked him on the pilot but his whole sex jokes all the freaking time became irritating,specially how much he harrased Husk, i hope that after episode 4 that ends finally. The thing is that those irritating traits they do make sense for him, and he is not a one dimensional character so, lets say that while i don't find him charming or funny, i think he is a good character writting wise and of course i am not unsympathetic to his BS, i am interested in how he will scape Valentino.

Alastor: Its a basic as heck opinion say that Alastor is carrying the show but...Alastor is carrying the show. Of course this was deliberate, he is clearly crafted to be the most entertaining and fan favorite character and its doing his work, specially cause he is so ambiguous that his true motivations are one of the things that hook people incluiding me.

The other ones are simple , Husk is good and i totlly adore Nifty (specially the show version when they decided to level up her psycho self)

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "The Future of the Force"

Adventures in babysitting, Rebels edition!

You already know what I'm going to say, I never get tired of the pretty planets in this show.

This baby is named Alora, a bit of a Shout Out to Lucasfilm's underground cult classic Willow. No I have not watched the new show I have... not heard good things.

That it's Alora's grandmother that's the one traveling with her brings up some ah... disturbing Fridge Horror regarding her parents.

My theory: They 100% dead, Inquisitors already shanked them.

Ohhhhh you can tell from the horror in grandma's eyes she knows exactly why they want the baby.

Well nice to know Seventh Sister is equal opportunity Bad Touch.

Aaaaaaand there goes Fifth, murdering all the witnesses.

Zero fanfare, just to punctuate the horror of that moment.

After five episodes of doing other stuff offscreen, Ahsoka finally decides to pay the main narrative a visit. I did and do still appreciate that the writers kept Ahsoka to a minimum, like Vader, knowing full well her presence would overshadow and overpower the others. Despite how easy it would have been to fanservice TCW carryover watchers by giving her tons of screentime, she stays mostly as a tertiary character throughout.

Which is why cramming what is essentially the Rebels sequel material into a show where she's the headliner annoys me.

Ahsoka and Kanan quipping about how neither of them are technically real Jedi is both cute and sad.

Ahsoka still deeply in denial about what she sensed when scanning Vader.

Lol this whole moment. Love Ahsoka's fond little headshake.

Love this city design, got a very St. Basil's Cathedral in Russia aesthetic to it.

Some of that influence in the music here too.

Oh wow, Zeb jumps out of the Phantom before it's even finished landing, lolol what a drama queen.

Bit sloppy to leave the transport hanging in that planet's airspace, unless the Empire plans to blow it up later.

Even without showing any of the bodies you know everyone on that transport is pretty much dead. It's really only the limits of the rating that prevent us from actually seeing them.

Grandma looks a lot paler here, I don't think she survives much longer past this point.

I talked about it before in "Always Two There Are" but I love subtle little bits of continuity like this, Zeb learning binary in order to understand Chopper, since he had such a hard time before.

THIS HITS A BIT DIFFERENT WHEN YOU'RE A PARENT.

All I'm thinking is, "How long have they left that poor baby there?! Oh gosh she must be so hungry. Is there AC in there? Did they change her? I bet they didn't even change her, the bastards."

This whole episode reminds me SO strongly of the arc in TCW when Sidious contracted Cad Bane to steal Force Sensitive children for him. Would not be surprised if they were being used for the exact same purpose.

Is it me or do a LOT of Force Sensitive children seem to be born to impoverished single mothers? I wonder if it's a deliberate narrative choice sometimes, to lean into the adoption metaphor that being given up to and raised by the Jedi Order often is.

He's so empathetic Imma cry.

Chopper's actually doing a decent job of keeping Alora happy lol.

Lol, Zeb being grossed out by the Ithorian baby.

I think he's adorable, personally.

Maybe it's the mom in me but Zeb holding Pypey is just... super cute.

He's actually holding him mostly right, giving him plenty of support.

Pypey is just sensitive enough to recognize the danger the Inquisitors pose to him. :(((((((((

A very fragmented "Shenanigans" cue here, barely more than a few notes. Almost as if the danger is stifling the fun and whimsy that leitmotif usually signifies.

It's Ezra that recognizes the ID9 Seeker and makes Kanan stop, and they move in a very nice synchronized way to hide from it here.

Underrated Papa Wolf Kanan moment: Kanan yanking Ezra back from the hallway junction just before the Inquisitors get within eyeline.

I shouldn't laugh but this whole scene with Zeb and Kanan and Ezra having no clue how to calm Pypey is so relatable.

(Babies be temperamental and sometimes you just gotta hold 'em.)

There are so many little cute background moments of Ezra snuggling Pypey or making faces at Pypey aaaah they're so cute.

The detonator Zeb dropped gets flung back at them, Fifth's doing no doubt.

Kanan keeps putting his hand on Ezra's back on the stairs, it's sweet.

Fifth and Seventh sniping at each other lol.

Here's one of the moments of background Ezra being adorable with the baby.

<333333

Ezra gets agitated when Kanan suggests he's going to be luring the Inquisitors away, ouch, poor boy's still not over the thing in "Call To Action".

Friiiiiick Ezra sensing Pypey's fear and Pypey sensing Ezra's and them stuck in a cyclical loop. :((((((

I too ramble at my infants like this. Lol.

Ezra unlocks the secret to calming babies: Being calm yourself. <3

Obligatory "Seventh's voice actress is married to Kanan's voice actor" mention.

The smoke effects on this show continue to be excellent.

Someone, I think it was @pep-no, theorized that Pypey's special ability in the Force might be compelling honesty. That or connecting with Pypey made Ezra more emotionally open, because he normally would be smarter than to blurt out where the Rebellion is hiding in a spot where he suspects Seventh's seekers might be listening.

(Then again, Ezra tends not to have any kind of filter around people he trusts.)

I definitely think there's room for that interpretation, given Ezra's floating, distracted gaze.

Kanan does really well in his brief clash with Seventh.

Zeb hauling him like a piece of luggage is still funny tho.

I love this environment. Feels very downtown LA.

A very heroic muted trumpet version of Ezra's theme as he steps forward bravely here.

<333333

Protective little badass.

Also love Pypey being entranced with the lightsaber and trying to touch it. Baby no.

I love this cue. I haven't watched enough Clone Wars to discern if it's a carryover theme but it's awesome.

Ezra's confidence in Aunt Ahsoka. <333

*grumbles* Stupid auto anti-epilepsy features, it makes it so hard to see properly here.

I do like how effortlessly Ahsoka deals with the Inquisitors here.

<33333

Chopper spinning the babies, awww.

Love how the ID9 comes to perch on Seventh's palm, it's so weird and animal-like. Like she's holding a jellyfish.

Ciffhanger reveal DUN DUN DUN.

This episode is so cute. It doesn't really effect much, besides emphasizing how dangerous a world it is that new Force Senstives are being born into (even moreseo than when there was a Jedi Order to take them in and shelter and protect them) and leading into the next episode's plot but it's a fun little romp with our characters and I just find it sweet and heartwarming.

Which we needed before the next episode's plot-heavy-ness.

[scrapyardboyfriends]

Heath has been a character since 2007, and I still have to search his name up to remind myself of who he is lol. If they wanted other characters (and the audience) to genuinely react emotionally to his death, they could've given him more interactions with other characters and more screentime/storylines of his own lol. It's not like he wasn't old enough. Jacob, Liv, and Gabby were all given big storylines of their own (and interactions with other characters) when they were younger than Heath was.

It's been a problem for a while. The teen groups get worse every generation.

The Robert, Andy, Ollie, Marc, Donna, Katie etc crew? I feel like they were always on and had real stories and got to appear to react to their parents stories too. You knew who they were, what they wanted out of life. You understood their relationships with each other. They were actual characters. Sure they appeared less than their adult counterparts but if they had killed one of them off, the show would have felt it. And it would have been believable for people to react to. And I mean they did have a joyriding story that resulted in a fatality, it just wasn't one of them. I still haven't watched it but I'm sure it was better than this was/will be.

Then you had the Victoria, Daz, Aaron, Scarlett, Adam, Holly, Hannah, Amy etc group. Again, actual stories. Aaron obviously had big stories from 17 on so he was a bit older but teen Vic and Daz had stories. Scarlett had all of the King drama and Daz drama and then Adam. Obviously the Barton's had a ton of screen time so we got to see the kids often and they all had their own stories. And they were real stories. And then you had teen Amy with the pregnancy.

Next there was Belle's group which had Sean and Gemma and Tom for a bit. Not as much going on. Belle was obviously a character that had plenty of screen time over the years, especially because she was a kid during better eras of the show when kids were seen. But they had their relationship drama and Belle accidentally killing Gemma. I mean I don't know how many people cared about Gemma but I assume people cared about Belle when that happened. And then you can add Lachlan into the mix later, who obviously got plenty of screen time. And Gerry was lovable until Lachlan murdered him.

And that transitions into Liv, Gabby and Jacob. Liv got a fair amount of screen time due to her proximity to Robron. Her stories were a bit hit or miss but at least she got them even if they didn't always do them justice. And they definitely fell off with her and her friendship with Gabby in later years. But Jacob obviously had the Maya story and Gabby had plenty going on with Ashley dying and the Emma stuff and all of Bernice's drama etc. I feel like the biggest problem with these three was the transition to adulthood. They were decent characters as younger teens but they transition was rough because they didn't get as much screen time and Liv especially had zero ambitions. At least Gabby they put at Home Farm and Jacob decided he wanted to be a doctor. This was also the first group where I feel like they really started leaning into the bratty teen trope where they would pop up just to be annoying and then go away again, especially when Leanna got brought into the mix.

Then you've got Noah and Amelia, and Samson and Chloe and Sarah. Despite all of Sarah's earlier stories, this current version of her is just non existent. She never really gets to be a part of the teen drama. She's sort of like Liv, she shows up once in a while to maybe be the voice of reason or be a brat for a second and then disappears again. Then you had Noah and Samson's personality swap. And they've also been episode count challenged, particularly Samson who had several years where he only had 10. So they had no real foundation and then several inconsistent bratty years and then a weird transition into sort of adulthood but also they continue to disappear for long periods of time and I don't really feel like I have a handle on them.

And now you've got this group with Arthur, April, Angelica, Cathy, Heath (RIP), Elliot etc...and half of them just don't exist. Pretty sure Cathy and Heath had an entire year where they were MIA. Elliot was in 11 episodes last year. I literally have no idea who this kid is. Arthur obviously had a story but only just because he got kicked out halfway through in favor of his mother in his own relationship story, which was...a choice. April is probably the most consistent of the bunch but only just. It's just she has slightly more foundation because she's actually gotten family screen time because Donna died and Marlon had a stroke and Carly was always babysitting her. And then Cathy just yells at people and is the ultimate bratty teen, except they gave her an excuse but they haven't really tried to make her endearing in any way to the audience. I don't know, this group is a mess. And you'd think with the stories that Jimmy and Nicola have gotten over the years that they could have involved the kids more but they just really haven't bothered. And like, fine if they're going to develop them now with a story like this but I doubt they will.

Bottom line is, they need to do better with the kids and the teens and let them exist more. Let them react to the adults in their lives. Let them hang out in smaller stories. Give them ambitions. Give them...personalities. Otherwise it's going to be another super rough transition to adulthood...provided any of them survive that long.

[sssn-neptune-vasilias]

RWBY RWDE/Discourse Bingo

What's up, I know I've been basically dead for months besides RTX but I'm back to cause general chaos in the FNDM again. My first act? RWDE Bingo.

I had the idea for this last night after looking through Reddit (I know) and seeing that a lot of the FNDM still for some reason think that RWDE is a hivemind intelligence that all think the same exact things and agree with each other on everything. So I made this bingo board for everyone to have fun with! These are some of the RWDE topics and discourse I can remember from my long, long, tenure in the FNDM, and I have more, but this is round 1. If you think of any discourse or RWDE topics outside of this one, shoot me an ask or post it in the tags so I can do some more!

See which ones you agree with and talk about it if you want! Show your friends. Show your followers. Get out there and be the RWDEst bastards you can be! If- somehow- everyone in RWDE all pick the exact some discourse and don't pick the exact same ones, then I'll take back everything I ever said about RWDE not being a hivemind and give my capacity for free thinking up to the collective.

Gonna explain what each topic is under the read more considering a lot of these are old as dirt and some are a little confusing and probably could've been worded better had I not had limited space on the board. Some of them I don't agree with, but I'm still gonna do my best to explain them as unbiasedly as I can because I'm not a poopoo baby.

"Blake's slap was abusive." This one was about her slapping Sun during v4. People really didn't like that, especially considering that one of the scenes from the same episode was Jacques using physical violence against Weiss in an abusive manner. There are other conversation topics of Blake being abusive as well, but let's keep this one about the slap specifically, alright?

"Taiyang's arm joke." Remember that? Yeah a LOT of people thought Taiyang was horrible, no good, very bad father because he'd basically just made fun of Yang's brand new disability and trauma.

"Adam's change in characterization." Some people believe that Adam's characterization changed somewhere during season 3. That he went from being a ruthless freedom fighter to a genocidal maniac and jilted incel mad that his girlfriend left him.

"Qrow's Innkeeper story." People thought that story about the Innkeeper's skirt was super sexist and inappropriate for an uncle to tell his nieces.

"Jaune in a dress was a transphobic joke." This one's kinda self-explanatory. People thought that everyone laughing at Jaune wearing a dress was transphobic.

"Racism subplot is poorly handled." Again, kinda self-explanatory. Anything from Adam using his faction of TWF to join Cinder and Salem to Ghira being a bad leader to the story suddenly becoming about classism instead of racism to Robyn not being a fox Faunus, etc.

"Fair Game was queerbaiting/fridging gays." Some people thought Fair Game was the beginning of a budding romance and were sent back into The 100 CW hell when Clover got a sword through his torso.

"Snowbird is bad because Qrow is old." If you weren't around for season 3 you missed all the Snowbird shippers going feral about two attractive and of age characters finally sharing some screentime. You also missed some people being really weirded out by said Snowbird shippers because Qrow's in his mid to late 40's and Winter's in her late 20's.

"Jaune harassing Weiss s1&2." Did you think that Jaune flirting with Weiss back then was triggering? There was a ton of discourse about it and how Miles was basically using his character insert to harass one of the main characters and twist the framing of his harassment in a positive light.

"Sun is a stalker." Remember when Blake saw that robed dude following her and it was Sun? Who'd been following her for a few months? Yeah people were super squicked out about that and called him a stalker.

"Salem was right..." Basically the Gods were garbage entities anyway and deserved to get shit on. Salem was right to try, even if it got humanity 1.0 nuked.

"Rhodes deserved it." Y'all are probably like "who the hell is Rhodes?" That guy that trained Cinder! Yeah, remember that flashback scene? People think that Rhodes deserved to get skewered because he didn't actually do anything to try to save Cinder. He knew she was a slave working at the hotel and did nothing to save her and instead just told her to wait until she was 17 to join a Huntsman Academy.

"Jaune's screentime." Kinda self-explanatory. People thought Jaune took up too much screentime in the early volumes, to the point he rivaled most of team RWBY and had more lines than some of them combined. His plots also derailed the show because the bullying arc and the prom arc really had nothing to do with Salem or Ozpin or the relics or maidens, and that time could've been better spent doing more worldbuilding.

"Being forced to pick a side..." This one's almost entirely exclusive to the Tumblrsphere, but is this something you've felt pressured to do by any part of the FNDM? Have you been told you were biphobic for shipping Bumbleby/lesbophobic for shipping Black Sun? If not, count yourself lucky because you've avoided a LOT of bullshit.

"Waiting too long for LGBT rep." Do you feel that RT kept us waiting way too long for any meaningful representation? Especially considering what was promised to the FNDM early on in interviews with the CRWBY?

"Ren was an aroace bait&switch." People felt that Ren was aroace during the early volumes- especially after that "Please do nothing to the cook" apron scene- and were very frustrated when Ren did start showing romantic feelings for Nora.

"Amber's death was June's fault." Remember when Ozpin told Jaune to guard the door? And then he got distracted because his girlfriend got put in a box next to a comatose woman in another box? And then that comatose woman got an arrow through the chest because his back was turned? Do you think that was his fault?

"Rosegarden is bad because of Ozpin." Some people feel that Rosegarden is squicky because Ozpin's consciousness is in there and he's like seventy-million years old and Ruby's barely 17.

"Eddy's Freezerburn Tweet..." This one was over on Twitter. Eddy QRT'd a Tweet about "couples that would absolutely get a divorce" with "Freezerburn" and people were very angry about that and thought he was super unprofessional. Here's the link.

"Ironwood's s8 characterization..." Did you think that Ironwood's descent into a mustache twirling villain came out of nowhere? Did you think that it made no real sense to villainize Ironwood in the first place when Salem and Monstra and an army of Grimm were already outside Mantle and Cinder and her team were already inside Atlas? Did you think that that tidbit about his Semblance Mettle potentially clouding his judgement just to never be shown it was really badly handled? This one's kinda broad on purpose.

"RWBY/JNPR's stubbornness..." Some people think that Atlas being destroyed could've been prevented had our main characters just went along with Ironwood's plan.

"Weiss pointing Myrtenaster at Whitley." Did you think that Weiss doing that was totally out of line? That a soldier pointing a weapon at a civilian is totally unjustified? That siblings shouldn't ever threaten one another with violence at all?

"Blake running away was cowardly." Blake got a sword through her stomach, then was told by Adam that he'd destroy everything she ever loved. Then he dismembered Yang. Then, instead of even warning RW_Y about the threat, she just... left? Ran away? Even if you think her fear was justified, do you think it was cowardly to run without so much as a goodbye?

"Qrow is Ruby's father." Maybe you've seen this HC before, maybe you haven't. But people think that Qrow might be Ruby's real father. If you missed the discourse that his HC first brought about during v3 then I truly envy you, but if you remember the essay length dissertations people were writing about how mean and wrong and abusive that HC is, then suffer together with me.

"Bumbleby is abusive." You know all those weird parallels they keep emphasizing between Blake and Raven (how quick they are to abandon their friends, etc.), and Yang and Adam (how quick they are to lash out in anger, etc.)? You know how they're like, consistently highlighted in the show but not really addressed? But the ship is still portrayed as a positive one? Do you think Bumbleby's actually abusive?

[straightfacedstrangeness]

Bulma rambling

Not sure if any of this is coherent cus it's totally stream-of-consciousness, but let's go.

Disclaimer again that it's been a long time since I've watched anything but the earliest DB/DBZ episodes and movies, so my memory of the anime-only "filler" scenes is vague at best, but...

Thinkin' 'bout Bulma's relationships with the other cast members and why things didn't work out with Yamcha, and how their relationship pretty immediately went from hormonal teens obsessed with how cute the other is -> Bulma constantly being cranky and frustrated with Yamcha and accusing him of having a roving eye while he meekly sits there and takes it.

(Sidebar: Again I don't remember "filler" very well but I'm pretty sure the most Yamcha ever actually does before Cell Saga is blush at the sight of a cute girl, while Bulma has a TON of screentime drooling over or openly flirting with cute guys. And then there are scenes where it's clearly wild speculation on Bulma's part, like in Tree of Might she hears Yamcha say he bought a fancy new car and IMMEDIATELY accuses him of doing it to impress other girls, while I think his dialogue with Puar earlier actually indicated that he was trying to impress HER. So while Future Trunks says Yamcha was unfaithful and that's why they stopped dating, he would have heard that from Bulma, so I don't consider that necessarily "the truth." :'D Yamcha seems to be an honorable and honest guy, so I find it just as likely that he was completely faithful but Bulma was obsessively jealous and/or always looking for a fight, or that Yamcha dated other women during periods where he and Bulma were broken up and she considered THAT to be "cheating.")

ANYHOW. Watching Namek Saga has me enjoying her dynamic with Krillin and going "well why didn't THAT ever happen?" (The real answer being, Toriyama or his editor wanted a new Saiyan baby and Bulma/Vegeta was the only possible pairing that involved existing and young/unmarried characters...) And it made me realize that basically every person Bulma spends time with is a complete pushover who lets her do whatever she wants. Yamcha tries to apologize or explain himself, but he generally tends to stay quiet and not fight back. He, Krillin, and Gohan are generally too polite or scared to speak up or push back when she gets bossy or rude, and Goku tends to either obey or outright ignore her rather than get into a fight. Her parents are completely easygoing and let her do whatever she wants. The only one who ever gives her a hard time is Oolong, and even then she can easily bully him into doing whatever she wants, just with a lot more yelling and insults.

On top of that, thinking about how she put up with all the hardship of going on the initial Dragon Ball quest despite her constant griping about how she hates camping and being in danger, and how she's always willing to join in on an adventure and run towards the big battle to try and help. And how she's constantly drooling over or trying to flirt with guys who are trying to kill her XD AND how she cuts school during the Red Ribbon Saga because it's "boring," and how the Jaco manga retconned/clarified that she had already graduated college before that point, so either she was going to grad school or was in high school as a social activity (or to hang out with, or keep an eye on, Yamcha).

...Anyhow, putting all those things together, it feels like what Bulma wanted all along was someone who'd push back, maybe to push her life in different unexpected directions, or some kind of challenge to keep her from getting bored. Someone who wouldn't just roll over if she started bossing him around, even though she also clearly gets frustrated when other people don't do what she wants. (And that's totally realistic! People are made up of contradictions, and what you want doesn't always match how you feel when you actually get it!)

It's been forever since I've seen past Namek but I feel like she really mellowed out after she had Trunks? So maybe raising a child was enough of a challenge for her that she was satisfied focusing on that, instead of obsessively trying to make a relationship work with Vegeta like she obsessively kept trying with Yamcha. So maybe their romance evolved more naturally, as a sidebar to both of them focusing separately on raising their son (Bulma as a caretaker, Vegeta as a combat instructor).

So Vegeta ultimately ended up being kinda perfect for her as someone stubborn and cranky who'd fight back but still be tsundere enough to let her have her way or dom him some of the time, both of them slowly learning to compromise together instead of one person running the show all the time.

Though, I'd always considered Goku/Bulma a NOTP for me, but thinking about it in these terms, that might have wound up working too: Goku obeying her some of the time because his Grandpa taught him to be polite to girls, but also going off and doing his own thing sometimes because he's ultimately as self-centered as she is. I'm feeling like it would have made things VERY weird within their friend group, though :'D Particularly Yamcha feeling he was thrown over for a younger man and that Goku "betrayed" him by "taking his girl." But at least being with Bulma would've forced Goku to spend more time with his friends during the series XD instead of repeatedly abandoning them for years at a time

[erithel]

Hi,.....if you don't mind me asking, can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from VLD? And why do you love them? And your top 5 (or top 3) favorite moments from the series? Sorry if you've answered this question before....Thanks....

Hm, okay so it's always tricky to narrow things down, but let's see…

Before I put my lists, here, I'm going to state that I am choosing these based on canon only. Characters like Hunk and Shiro have been tweaked in fanon to a versions I love, but that is not how they actually are in the show. And characters like Allura and Lotor had a ton of untapped potential, but it would be a whole different thing to list my favorite characters based on what could have been.

So here we go:

Favorite characters:

Keith

Lance

Coran

Krolia

Shay

Keith and Lance are, appropriately, pretty much neck and neck. Keith is just a little more of a favorite because he's the one I personally relate to the most.

Both Keith and Lance had enough character stuff in the beginning seasons to make them interesting to me. I wanted to know more about them, and I wanted to watch them grow. That, to me, is a solid foundation for favorite characters.

Coran, I realize, may be a surprise. He was just the stupid comic relief, right? Except no, in the beginning he wasn't just the zany character who said wacky things for laughs – he also genuinely cared about the Paladins. And I love that duality in characters.

Krolia is a very specific one – because I love her as her own person, but I don't like her as "Keith's mom." I have a whole post about that subject, so here I'll just say that…hey, sometimes it's as simple as the fact that I just have a thing for badass warrior women, okay?

Shay may also sound like a random choice. But she was just…sweet. Like, from what I can remember, just genuinely good – and that was refreshing. I wish they had actually done more with her.

Note: Animals are excluded from this list, because they are automatic favorites.

Favorite moments:

Episode 2: Allura and Coran testing the Paladin's response time. Allura asks how long it took them to response, and Coran replies: "Seventy-five degrees. [pause] Oh, sorry. No this is a meat thermometer!" Klance fanart made me start watching. That moment made me keep watching. Because it genuinely made me laugh.

Sunset scene. You know the one, and you know why. (Look just have characters get along and support each other, okay? And let them talk! Is that too much to ask?)

I don't remember which episode, but the moment where Lance confesses his feelings to the mice and they tell Allura. Allura's reaction was one of the best things (and the reason why it makes me upset with how that all turned out). It was pure expectation subversion, because you could see it all in her body language and hear it in her voice: She didn't know what to do, because she didn't want to hurt him. This moment meant so much to me because so often female characters are forced into situations where it feels like they don't really have a choice. It makes them feel like objects. But this moment took me by surprise because I thought "wait, for the first time in a show like this, are we going to get to witness a male and female character choosing friendship over romance because it was better for both of them??" Alas –

Lance staring at Keith open mouthed when he was returning after the space whale. Like…bro…you're telling me this shit was platonic?? You're telling me Lance's brain literally stopped functioning for a solid 6 seconds of screentime because his rival was back???

5. The Keith/Shiro fight in season 6. Say what you will about the writing and choices made for VLD. The animation and choreography for that fight was fucking spectacular. And basically the only thing I need to say to prove that is that if you watch the fight, and really pay attention, you'll notice that Keith was fighting defensively in all but one moment (when he went Galra for a split second). I love stuff like that because it means it's not just a mindless action scene – there's a purpose to it, and the actual characters and their motivations are built into the fight.

OOOOF okay that took a lot of thought and I know the minute I hit post on this I'll think of other moments I loved (it's been a while since I actually watched, and it's sometimes hard to distinguish canon from fanon lol). But yeah, that was fun!

[gunsatthaphan]

EM and FK fans are fighting on Twitter because of Moonlight Chicken... and I kinda get both sides, it is true that EM series had a lot less promotion compared not only to Eclipse but a lot other GMMTV series, and there were some toxic FK fans demandig way too much in regard of Alan and Kaipa for MLC, and things escalated today cuz the screenwriter of MLC, wich is tha SAME as Only Friends thing I discovered today myself and I think a lot don't know, made a post for MLC regarding FK and EM fans got mad asking why he is "promoting" them and not EM, demanding also why he is not promoting EM more in a very disrespectfull way...

to be fair this fight could be a way to talk about the show to make people tune in for the drama of the fandom idk... but it is sad that this fights have to start, like the one for VV with ON stans and JS stans; considering that all this actors are all very close friends especially First Khaotung and Mix and it frustrate me that this fights always have to start making a crack in the fandoms and bringing a shadow over a show cuz a lot of people will remember only that of the show...

sorry for the rant I didn't know where to express this cuz even tho I have basically no follower on twitter I am always scared people will turn on me and tweeting about a fught triggers my anxiety but I still wanted to express my frustration, cuz I am SO EXITED for both MLC wich I have been waiting for for months and Only Friends wich with only a trailer literally stole my heart

thank you if you read this and also for being a really nice person, and one of the biggest FirstKhao stans here the boys deserve all the love, and EarthMix too

sigh.... fandom fights are nothing new so I'm not surprised but the FK-EM thing sounds ridiculous to me.

I don't really want to get involved but to say FK are getting more promotion than EM is not quite true. Atots is still one of the biggest gmm shows and got tons of promotion back then. And it's about to get a revival once our skyy 2 airs. cupids last wish was a bit of a fail but only because Disney was involved so there wasn't much buzz around it at gmm. The Eclipse is FK's first show and I wouldn't say it's getting more promotion than atots back then. EM got fixed after atots and so did FK after the eclipse so isn't that equal? I think so. (this isn’t directed against you btw but against the twitter population lol)

The thing about FK stealing EM's thunder in MLC does seem a bit more reasonable to me, but also--- what bullshit lmao. MLC is EM's show so do these people seriously think FK are gonna steal the show or something? I guarantee you, they're gonna be in like 2 episodes and that's it lmao. People need to chill. And to attack the screenwriter? Nah sis. go touch some grass.

But yeah this rings a bell regarding ON during VV. The fact that the episodes where ON had an appearance got 5x more views than the rest and then people commenting things like "there wasn't enough ON in VV" drove me up the walls lmao. That being said, I hope this won't be the case for FK in MLC. I have not received the FK fandom as toxic so far and I hope it doesn't get worse than what you mentioned.

But anyway I can't be bothered to genuinely be upset about all this so let's just.... ignore it lmao. I'm gonna watch MLC in peace, get excited to see EM in the spotlight again, enjoy the FK screentime and call it a day lmao. Both EM and FK are wonderful pairings and they deserve the same amount of love so let's leave it at that ✌🏻

xxx

[zevranunderstander]

i know its been a few weeks since the marwa wwdits episode but can i just say. i hate all the people who took that VALID criticism of the episode and turned it a million ways to make it seem like it's ridiculous.

no one said guillermo should have felt angry for marwa and killed nandor. no one said it was out of character how nandor acted. no one said that they were disappointed by nandor's in-universe actions.

people were angry because how the writers treated marwa! marwa, like the djinn this season, got introduced as a reoccuring side-character that was involved in plots to about the same extent as him. i saw people saying they thought the outrage was *ridiculous* because she "wasn't even a side-character". dude. a role like hers IS big compared to how often side-characters usually appear. simon the devious, the baron, etc. appear once a season or so, but marwa and the djinn both were (somewhat like nadja's doll) actual additons to the main household. and all of them don't get a ton of screentime or character development, but they all make far more frequent appearances than the rest of the cast.

but marwas "joke" the entire time had been how absolutely bad nandor treated her. like, making her want whatever he wants her to want, even before the "i want her to like whatever i like" wish, and changing her so much that she barely even was an own person anymore and then turning her into a completely other person as a final blow. like, the joke was that nandor treated her like shit, and that could have worked, if there was any sort of consequence to it.

and i don't mean "oh they don't explicitly say that nandor is a bad person :(", i mean, even tv shows where every person is an asshole all of the time (like, idk, breaking bad) still give you consequences for your character's flaws and actions. nandor was met with guillermo being angry at him, but that would have also happened of nandor had wished for a freddy to just materialize out of thin air. there never is any actual point to nandor treating marwa like shit - she doesn't get to have some revenge on him, no one else even makes some offhand remark about marwa, the plot of the whole season would have had very little difference if she hadnt been there, no one EVER remarks that he treats her like shit. And then i just don't get why she existed in the first place? like, were we actually supposed to laugh at how he treated her? was that supposed to be her purpose?

there also just. wasn't a reason why nandor didn't wish for a freddy to just materialize. there wasn't even a clause to the djinns wish, like "oh i cannot create a living human with a wish" that would give nandor an actual reason to turn marwa into freddy.

and marwa, of course was the first woman of color that had some importance in the show and while turning her into a white man and letting her wander off is ONE thing, i think its even weirder that it seemed like the previous episode was setting up that she actually WOULD get some level of revenge on nandor (she enthusiastically built a man-cave for herself, locked nandor out, and for all we care she could have been offhandedly mentioned every few episodes from then on, like, someone knocks on marwas door every once in a while and she stays a minor reoccuring character, this plot showed her having actual independence and standing up to nandor for once and could have turned into a deeper story from there on, if the writers had wanted) and then they. just. dropped the whole thing and let her ride off on a train like they didn't really know what to do with her and were glad she was put of the way.

if there was some emotional exploration of marwa being twisted into a whole other person. if there just had been ONE person, who actually cared about what happened to marwa. then it maybe would have felt like the plot had had a point. but it wasn't just that nandor dropped marwa like a toy he was tired of playing with, it felt like the plot plot did the exact same with her