#he is going to enjoy s2 immensely

[casmick-consequences]

i rewatched the finale just now, and I have some thoughts.

mainly, i want to thank taika and david for this wonderful show that's brought me immense joy this last month, and i'll always take it with me no matter if we manage to get a third season or not.

did i like the finale? yes, i really did. did i think it was very rushed, had weird scene placements and could've gone with another episode to even things out? also yes.

as far as izzy goes (and this is where it gets extremely controversial knowing how much this fandom loves him); i am actually glad his storyline ended here.

this entire season, we got to enjoy him and we got to see his redemption arc. from someone who is obsessed with this monster of a being, to someone who learns to come into his own, away from all the toxicity and poison. he gets to find out more about himself, and with that grow closer to the people around him and allow himself to have friends. a family, even. would i have loved to see him live a full life like this? definitely. but story-wise, this is a perfect ending for him. "you born alone, you die alone" he said, and then he passed peacefully surrounded by his family and in the arms of not blackbeard, but edward.

i need the people of this fandom to understand that just because your favorite character died, doesn't mean that it instantly turns into a bad show/season/whatever. you have to look outside of your bias, and instead of going "no fuck this show because i did not want him to die" you could go "i am incredibly sad that he died but i'm so happy to have known him and to have him in my life". it's a show, the character isn't going away simply because he died.

but then again, izzy didn't mean as much as he did to the majority of you and i don't wanna go around telling people how to feel, because feelings and emotions are real and if he meant a lot to you then yes, of course you're hurt. and that's 100% completely valid. just don't take it out on the rest of the show and the show writers (saw some ppl say that nasty things were being tweeted at djenkins and that's not ok. at all.)

idk, even after watching it twice i feel kinda... weird.... like too much happened in little time. but i am OVERJOYED that lucius and pete got to have their little wedding <3333 they're mateys!!!! i just wish it wasn't over in 30 seconds, as well as completely overshadowed by izzy's death 2 minutes before.

but i do think the finale had some GREAT bits in it. even if most of it felt rushed, there was comedy, emotion, romance, GREAT kisses (the way gentlebeard was handled in this episode made me very giddy!!)..... it just always delivers.... and watching this with everything else that happened in s2 I can safely say that this might be my favorite season of any show out there.

once again; THANK you taika and david <3 love youuu

[nierly-amazing]

Nier Automata anime Episode 21 disjointed thoughts:

Spoilers, obviously

It had a few good moments but overall I was disappointed in this episode, more so than the last 2. I've been enjoying the anime, especially early s2 immensely but it's gone downhill so fast. It's extra annoying because most of the issues I have could have been fixed/avoided really easily.

The good bits:

THEY THANKED DEVOLA AND POPOLA! After all that time they finally thanked them! (Though I wish they had more small moments of them being dicks to them in past episodes).

FUCK YEAH JACKASS running the truck right into the room!

YEAH THE TWINS KICKED ASS TOO!

OH NO THEY KILLED JACKASS BUT that's probably how she wanted to go tbh

I do think the anime handled the whole fear thing being the machine children's downfall better than the game since they actually did some lead-up instead of Pascal dropping the info after they all died. So that's another good thing. Buuuut...

The not-so-good bits:

I knew immediately A2's idea to send the kids to the resistance camp was a stupidly terrible idea. Idk why they didn't try finding somewhere else to hide them but I expected them to simply lead hostile machines there rather than infect the camp with a ZOMBIE virus. Really? Zombies? Shambling groaning zombies? The whole reason logic viruses are so scary was how strong they make androids and how they'll just attack everything until they fall apart.

I get the narrative reasoning that Lily offering to shelter them ended up being everyone's downfall, but I ended up being more annoyed because of how dumb it was that A2 sent them there. Seems like an easy fix too, Lily could have called in end of last episode after the camp heard the explosions and offered to shelter them herself, then Pascal could have worried about leading enemies to them and Lily assured him they could handle it.

(me) ^

9S has basically no screen time anymore; we can't really feel his descent as well as we did in game. For the most part things are just happening to him rather than him actively doing things. Like, instead of dumping the 2E reveal in the first S2 episode they could have slowly fed it to us over the course of these episodes. They could have made it more fucked up by having the machine network torment 9S with bits of 2E hints or had the damage to his body scramble his mind in a way that he remembers flashes of his past lives/deaths. I think the game's definitely handled showing his mental decline in isolation while still being a sympathetic character better than the anime is doing.

(cymbal ism)

I sort of like how they put the flight unit in the god box and forced 9S to see it but I feel it would have been more impactful if they had a moment where he almost found it in the flooded city but passed it up because he was distracted and didn't realize it was 2B's unit. And oh look he passed out again.

No lunar tears no 2B memorial? Give him a chance to breathe and have some sort of positive or bittersweet interaction. In the game he still interacted with other androids and helped them but the only interaction we got in the anime was him slapping a flower from that one memorial quest guy's hand.

Pascal's 180 is still ehhh for me. The whole thing that made the Goliath fight in game so impactful was he was holding onto his pacifism till the very end until he had no other option. But in the anime he went berserk the moment there was even the possibility of danger. They didn't even know the hostile machines were a threat to the village when the pods told them. They had time to evacuate and it would have been a lot more fucked up (in a good way) if they were followed and picked off and then pascal went berserk when it was only the children left.

One child killed all the others in fear instead of it being a whole group fear effort. And then he bit pascal with a zombie virus? Pascal blew up when A2 wasn't even there??? And she barely even reacted when his arm shrapnel almost hit her. I get that they have to deal with the lack of player input choosing what to do but that could have easily been fixed with a scene cut right before A2 makes a choice.

They could have written it so it showed signs of them all trying to escape but were unable to. Maybe had one of them still alive because they failed to hit their core and explained what happened or had some sort of other visual hints as to what happened. maybe frantic carving on the walls or something idk.

But then again, patient 0 being the one 9S was extra suspicious about and almost hacked back in episode 5 is pretty interesting. Shows he was technically right all along about them being a threat, but for the wrong reasons. Still they probably could have merged the two ideas together to work better. I'd like to know if the machine network infected them on purpose or if it was their own fear that caused them to snap. If the latter then they could have also had the infected resistance react differently than being stereotypical zombies. They could have picked up on the fear and all went hysterical fighting and shooting each other because the virus overwhelmed them with fear and they were trying to put themselves and each other 'out of their misery'.

But then again again I don't really like how they made the disabled one the one that went crazy and ate everyone. Idk, they could have handled it better.

The whole resistance dying is definitely sadder than in game. They both work in their own ways so I can't really say one is better than the other. It hurt but I didn't hate it. I want to see what they have planned for killing everyone in this version before I make my final judgment.

I do hope they have a scene where 9S finds the village and feels bad because that was a nice bit in game to show he still cared about them despite going on his rampage with the other machines.

I really hope the tower episodes are good, I can forgive this fumbling if the next few episodes are bangers.

[markantonys]

i'd watched the first 2 episodes of ROP s1 when they first came out, but i found them boring and so didn't continue. however, i've been hearing that charlie vickers is eating and leaving no crumbs in the new season, and that is my sweet boy guglielmo pazzi from i medici (2019) and i've Got to see him killing it in a huge role, i'm so proud of him!!! always a delight when a previously-unknown actor from an obscure show you love ends up making it big

so i decided to give it another shot and dove straight into 1x03 after reading a summary of the first 2 eps to refresh my memory, and idk if 1x03 really is that much more interesting than 1&2 or if it's just that i happen to be in a different frame of mind now that's more predisposed to getting interested in this show, but WOW i am loving it!! i'm an extremely casual LOTR fan (in fact i wouldn't even rightfully call myself a fan, more just "i've watched the movies a few times and like them" haha) and so whatever complaints the fans have about ROP obviously are not things that bother me. i'm just here for a good time, and i'm having one!

the galadriel & halbrand plotline is definitely my favorite (heck, if the numenor stuff had arrived in ep2 instead of 3 i might've been on board with the show the first time around). i already know he's sauron, of course, so i was like "i won't get attached to halbrand since he's not a real person, just sauron's disguise" but fuck, i'm attached, and it hurts!!!!! loving a character who starts out good and turns to the dark is one type of pain, but loving a character who was never real at all because they were evil the whole time and this "character" was never anything more than a facade - it's an entirely different and perhaps even worse type of pain! i can't even soothe myself imagining an AU where halbrand never turned evil, because halbrand was never real! genuinely in immense anguish over this. but once i reach s2 and get to the Unabashedly Evil Sauron Era, it'll be so sexy that i might immediately go "oh no! anyway" and forget all about my anguish jdkjfg

............wait a moment. do i now know how show!rand must be feeling post-s2? attached to someone who was never real because they were always just an evil person's fake persona? oh rand honey i'm even sorrier for you now!

speaking of WOT, it really has broken my brain because i try to polyship everything all the time nowadays. why did i go "wake up babe new polycule just dropped" during that scene when galadriel, halbrand, and miriel had a meeting lmao girl you KNOW this bitch is sauron! but i already knew people were shipping him and galadriel, so i went in to my new watch expecting to see the vibes, and indeed seeing them, and i ALSO unexpectedly saw vibes for galadriel and miriel (two leaders overburdened by duty, oh it's my kryptonite), so how can i help creating a polycule? oh well, i'll enjoy it while it lasts and then once galadriel finds out he's sauron i will instead get some angst to enjoy! and she will still have her girlfriend to comfort her (as long as nothing happens to miriel.........i haven't heard any spoilers about her, so we shall see!)

back to halbrand, the "he's the lost king of the southlands" idea is such a clever misdirect because it allows halbrand to demonstrate unusual skills in combat/diplomacy/manipulation that we wouldn't expect a seeming peasant to have, but provides a cover for it and so we think this one "identity reveal" is all there is to it, and aren't suspecting a second, bigger identity reveal! and actually, as far as i can remember, he never actually confirms that he's the lost king, he just plants a clue to lead galadriel to believe it and then responds to her assumptions in ways that seem to confirm them but don't actually. very aes sedai of him! and hey, if the southlands used to serve sauron, wouldn't it technically be accurate for him to be considered their lost king? very aes sedai of him x2. liars who lie without technically lying are the best kind (gen from the queen's thief also). anyway, because of this misdirect, i don't think i'd be suspecting him of being sauron at all at this point if i didn't already know. on the other hand, there aren't really any other sauron candidates except adar who clearly isn't him. but back to the first hand, the show never set up a "one of our major characters is sauron, who is it?" mystery so i might just be assuming he was hanging out offscreen yet to show up, if i didn't already know.

i'm enjoying the other plotlines too! i remember feeling that the hobbits & the stranger plotline was the weakest link in the first 2 eps, but totally changed my tune now, nori and the stranger (who i'm guessing is gandalf, but i'm not sure, so don't tell me if you know) have the most wholesome friendship, i could die!!

or rather, the second most wholesome friendship after elrond and durin, which i remember was my favorite storyline the first time around. they are so pure!! and disa is a delight! she and elrond have impeccable sibling-spouse energy (yes we've got another polyship in the house, of course we do)

i'm trying not to get too attached to bronwyn because i know they kill her off between seasons due to the actress leaving the show, but i really like her :(( her son's kinda annoying, but he's an angsty teen, so i can't hold it against him. and arondir!! what a man, i'm swooning constantly over everything he says and does. i really like how in the most recent episode i watched they had a Good Guy (bronwyn) genuinely consider giving up her principles of honor and going to swear fealty to the bad guys in order to survive, it feels more realistic and it really sells us on just how desperate and hopeless the situation is (and on how sauron is able to get supporters by creating such situations).

it's also a visually gorgeous show, very decadent (i was practically drooling the first time they showed numenor haha i love white stone seaside cities, and the ancient greek aesthetic vibes are the cherry on top!), and the MUSIC!!!!! you guys know i'm a tv soundtrack fanatic, and my god, this is the best tv soundtrack i've heard in a LONG time. i'd put it as second to WOT because it's traditional fantasy orchestra whereas WOT's soundscape is so different and unique. but "traditional fantasy orchestra" isn't a knock here, because it's done INCREDIBLY well, so it does feel unique instead of generic like other, lesser Traditional Fantasy Orchestra soundtracks do. it's sumptuous, it's lush, it's rich, it's got very distinctive Themes for each character/location that always play in the appropriate contexts (which is one of my favorite aspects of WOT's soundtrack too). i'd been listening to the s1 soundtrack for quite a while before now, so i'm well-primed to recognize all the different themes!

my favorite has gotta be the halbrand theme, i have a character in my WIP who's a sad mountain prince (and a gawyn knockoff <3) and this theme just reminds me sooooo much of him, i cry. but if we dispense with the halbrand pretense after s1, we might not get to hear this theme anymore!!!! it's also the southlands theme, though, so hopefully we'll keep it, and i did hear it crop up briefly in a track from the s2 album. also, shoutout to the fact that the halbrand melody is an inverse of the sauron melody, bear mccreary you son of a gun (the sauron theme is another one of my favorites, the first time i heard it i assumed it was his theme from the original movies because it just had the feel of an Iconic Villain Theme, but no, it's new to ROP!)

anyway! i've watched up through 1x05 now. pacing's definitely still a bit slow, but i'm enjoying it nonetheless, and it's picking up now that galadriel & co are headed for the southlands. and i've heard that s2 is a big step up in many respects (a la WOT s2), so i'm excited to get there!

[artymcartist]

ALRIGHT because someone did want em My post s2 drabbles for the group au we're doin

I'll paste most of em here, but here's an AO3 link to the rest of the stuff!!

LUKAS SCRIVENS

- Takes up mentoring Radar in F!Jesse's absence

- He writes to her and Petra often about how things are going in town

- The new Ocelots don't disband, but with so many members, Lukas starts running it like a guild.

- He builds a little guild hall in town for people to submit requests to and for members to take them. Probably helps take a load off of Radar's shoulders as the current Hero in Resident

- Either stays with Radar or Jack and Nurm during long stays, his house out of town still stands. He's home less often. Eventually he'll possibly make a little apartment either on top of or behind the guild hall. Maybe.

- Helps in managing Beacon Town

- Surprisingly takes leading the Ocelots and helping with Beacon Town pretty well, despite his independent nature.

- The Ocelots guild gains some notoriety outside of town, and they begin getting long distance requests via traders dropping them off at the Guild Hall. Possible adventure?

---

- He's not sure how to feel about Jesse's brother at first. It's kind of weird having a near carbon copy of one of your best friends with the exact same name.

- Observes the little man for quite a while. He slowly becomes more comfortable with him. Its like Jesse and Lukas got reversed from S1

- Allows him to live in his house on one of his couches. Dewey doesn't like him for QUITE a while.

- Enjoys having another parental force for Radar. Single parenting the hyperactive young adult could be a nightmare on his own some days.

- Having Jesse around allows him to write a bit more often.

- Totally diaries about the man and his eventual acceptance of him into his life.... and eventual feelings. Because you know it's gonna happen eventually. LMAO

-----------------------------------------------

JESSE DOS MINECRAFT

- Was living out in a little village far from Beacon Town on the world's edge before his sister called him to town.

- He's never been in Beacon Town before, and is slightly overwhelmed by it at first. He quickly learns to settle in however.

- Bro is covered in scars, some you'd wonder how he even got.

- A little more blunt and reckless than his sister, but to be fair, he hasn't really seen anything she has other than the Wither Storm.

- Speaking of, he's spooked by dreams of the Wither Storm. He only ever saw the beast when it was split in three.

- After the Wither Storm was defeated a second time, he attempted to return home. It was entirely destroyed. Not a single thing was left. So he set off to find somewhere else.

- A small town, practically just the size of a village, to the far east is where he finally settles down. He helps out with basically everything in an attempt to earn his keep.

- He's initially skeptical about returning to the resting grounds of the beast, but immediately forgets upon arriving (mostly due to being entirely overwhelmed by the two towns now residing there LMAO)

- He IS amazing by how they were able to bring life back to the entirely barren wasteland the monster left in it's path. Proud of his sister's great job assisting in building the place back up.

---

- A little put off by Radar's immense energy at first, but comes to enjoy the lil fella.

- Lukas... man. He's got no words. Insanely curious about the blonde.

- Enjoys the stroll from Lukas' house to Beacon Town. He'd probably go insane living in the town itself. He occasionally stays with him and Radar when needed.

- Starts stealing Lukas' bed at night after they've gotten comfortable with each other. Though, admittedly, he got comfortable quicker knowing this man was a friend of his sister.

---

- Occasionally also writes to his sister

"DUDE you didn't tell me you knew a sick ass blonde, he's pretty cool. Not getting over the leather jacket anytime soon."

"Sad I didn't get to see Reuben again before he died. Lukas and Radar tell me he died a hero. The memorial you built for him is nice. P.S. gonna beat up whoever this 'Romeo' guy is for destroying it"

"They're telling me about this portal network you guys explored. Sounds pretty cool. Lukas doesn't like to talk about the robot thingy though. Does this 'Ivor' fella still have that atlas? I'd love to go exploring sometime."

"YOU DIDN'T TELL ME JACK LIVED HERE TOO. I'm so going to beat you up next time you visit."

- He's not nearly as big of a fan as Petra is, but word goes around. Even to his itty bitty village on the world's edge

[eerna]

:0 thoughts on blue eye samurai finale?

I mostly liked it! The gun army felt insanely scary, the shogun's family were pretty cool, the action was well executed, the secret lineage and plot twists were totally cool and it all felt properly like a s1 finale. I liked Taigen giving up and going home with his tail between his legs, I liked Ringo hanging out with Eiji, I absolutely loved Akemi deciding to stay in Edo.

Honestly the only thing bothering me was how anticlimactic Mizu's ending was. The plot is that there are 3 men for her to kill, which lends itself to PERFECT pacing and seasonal arcs. I noticed this show utilized something that I haven't seen much lately (and the lack of it was making shows actively worse) - EPISODIC FRAMING. Every episode deals with one mini story to its conclusion, all the mini stories add into one larger story, and it makes for an immensely satisfying watching experience. This trend gets interrupted at the finish line because FOWLER IS ALIVE and FOR SOME REASON WE ARE MOVING THE MAIN PLOT TO LONDON. Fowler not dying was super annoying - he was a fun villain, but he needed to die at the end to make the revenge feel real. Why in god's name would Mizu choose to work with one of her targets AT THE END OF SEASON 1????? Yeah, Mizu kills innocents and ignores people who need her help, but to me working with any of the men is the ABSOLUTE LAST THING she would do morality-wise. It would have worked so much better if she killed Fowler, and then in s2 as she is chasing down one of the remaining guys, London keeps popping up more and more until she realizes that there truly is no way to complete her mission while staying in Japan. The Dad Number 3 can be her companion, which also makes it a stronger decision bc she is halfway through her revenge and realizing she needs to sell her ideals down the river if she really wants to complete it. THEN we can go to London in s3, where she fails to kill one of the dudes but manages to kill the other (if we really have to, I really really don't wanna go to London) and in s4 return to Japan bc the dude escapes there and she chases him down.

But again. This show made me enjoy like a million things I have never liked before. Maybe they will pull off this weirdass decision and I will be here talking about how Mizu in London was the best writing ever!! My mind is open to the possibilities and I wanna love it so so so badly

[aangarchy]

I binged heartstopper s2 through work yesterday and i have Things To Say but i'll just start with this: i hc that Nick has dyscalculia

Listen when he opened his maths exam and instead of equations or diagrams he saw a bunch of squiggles which messed with his head is such an accurate portrayal of what it's like to do math with dyscalculia. Not as in they actually become squiggles but more as in it feels like you're looking at a foreign language and no matter how hard you try you cannot make sense of it.

Personally i can do simple sums but anything more than that and it just stops making sense. At a certain point you don't even know what you're calculating anymore and you get extremely frustrated with yourself. And when you talk to others about it usually they'll be like "oh yeah i get it i hate math too" but the thing is, i actually enjoy math and it's really satisfying when it works. But for me the issue is that more often than not i end up confused before i can even solve it. I don't hate math i just genuinely can't do it.

Dyscalculia is such an unknown learning disorder. A friend of mine did her thesis on learning and behavioral disorders for youth in prisons, and she made the remark that no matter how hard she looked she could barely find any research papers to use in her thesis on dyscalculia. All of it was dyslexia, adhd and the like. Each time people ask i have to explain what dyscalculia is, and each time they go "oh you don't know your multiplication tables? That's kind of silly" and it truly grinds my gears. This impacts my daily life immensely. A cashier will hand me my change and i just have to trust they're correct because i cannot count that fast. When i ask someone for the time and they just show me their analog watch in response i want to bite their hand off, bonus points if that watch has roman numbers. There's several tasks that take me way longer than it should at work because i get lost in calculating the price for something simple,

Anyway, Nick has dyscalculia 2023 and i will not take no for an answer.

[ca-suffit]

I have the same feelings like you regarding season 3. If post s2 had given us interviews with the leads, the writers/showrunner talking about race and the trial, like, anything about the actual story of the season, I might, might, be able to look at s3 promo with a more positive attitude, but we got none of that. All we got was a "romantic" reunion, set-up for a future "less to blame, more a victim" Lestat and Louis who has already forgiven him. We also got a showrunner who talks about how much he wanted to do this show to adapt tvl. What does that tell me, someone who enjoyed the first 2 seasons immensely, when the showrunner says, that was all basically just pre-story, the thing he is actually passionate about will be this. It feels like they just wanted to get it over with to get to this, the white man's return. I knew about the books, but wasn't aware of the tone change, but before the s2 finale I would have said, they could still pull it off, but with every single thing I heard about season 3 up until now, I simply do not think so. They will promote the shit out of rockstar Lestat (more promo than any of the other seasons probably got, wonder why....) and they still could turn this into a much more serious story later in the season, but given that the show runner once again, stated that the show the fans knew is over, that does not appear to be the plan. I loved the gothic horror of s1 and 2, I had issues with some of the choices, no show is perfect, but I loved it. I hate that I still feel attached to the show or at least what it was.

The one thing I disagree with you is the vierwership, I can see more people turning in for s3, because Lestat is so "cunty, funny, evil" whatever, none of what has happened in the prior season will matter anymore.

"The one thing I disagree with you is the vierwership, I can see more people turning in for s3, because Lestat is so "cunty, funny, evil" whatever, none of what has happened in the prior season will matter anymore."

I do think it'll get more viewership in general, but I was thinking about specifically losing a large part of their black viewers to this and historically how that has gone for anything.

It also depends how they're going to address 1x5 anymore. If the trial version is all the commentary we get then there goes everything. Lestat still does a lot of heinous shit but, if Sam's commentary is anything go by, there's gonna be a big excuse for that at the end anyway. I'm still hanging on to see exactly what's shown in the series itself but S2 made me less enthusiastic. They've been softer on Lestat thru even more of his physically brutal scenes in the books but have no problem burning Louis multiple times fsr (none of which are book canon for these show events). Even when Sam pushed for it they didn't do it (the reunion). It all feels gross.

But, ya, I agree with u. I try to not doom spiral but it's harder to keep that mindset with all the fuckery between show and production for S2. I just don't think they give a shit.

[just-emerald-star]

I've been hooked on My Adventures With Superman for 3 weeks now and you know what, I now know why.

This is the first superhero/action media I've been obsessed with in a long while.

To be clear, I've been obsessed with The Spider-Verse films thus far and the MCU's last hold on me was WandaVision. But outside of those, not much else has caught my attention. And I finally understand why.

I'm fed up with cinematic universes.

There's a reason my relationship with the MCU broke off post WandaVision. After that show, I pretty much lost interest in having to watch what's next cuz shared universe lol and how they'll try really hard to convince you to see all the films & TV shows just so you can keep up with the universe.

Between the fact that I'm a broke bitch, movies being expensive and having spent 10+ years keeping up with ALMOST every fucking film the MCU has offered...I may be a bit burnt out ngl.

Combine that with my immense disappointment in how Young Justice S3 turned out or whatever the fuck the DCEU ended up being as of it's recent offerings and you just have me facepalming repeatedly for the past couple of years.

The studios wanna keep making these interconnected films but keep forgetting the most important part when creating their 10+ films & TV shows: They're all reliant on what's coming rather than what's in front of them.

There are exceptions but not by much. Regardless, I'm genuinely tired of hearing about plans for a rebooted universe or how the MCU plans on giving us more shows & movies but can't be bothered to pay their workers fairly and rush their CGI artists to near death.

Which brings me back to My Adventures With Superman (or MAWS as I'll be calling it going forward cuz long title lol.) This show was the first time an action/superhero show has me hooked. Action shows used to be my shit and I'd obsess over them. Young Justice was the last show to hype me up. And sadly that show fell into mediocrity as well due to it's inability to know when plots should end and having too many characters on screen.

MAWS however is solely focused on Superman characters and has a much smaller cast as a result. It's not focused on expanding any bigger universe but instead focus on Supes' beginnings and how he becomes the great man of steel who protects Metropolis. For once I don't worry about anything beyond what's being established in said show's plots.

I can't wait to see what's coming next at the moment cuz I know the season finale will tie up most of the plots established while leaving us hanging with what's coming for S2. And honestly, that's all I really want. More self-contained media that isn't reliant on having a shared universe.

"But what about the DCAU back in the day???"

All those shows worked and ended up coming together for Justice League quite nicely cuz EACH SHOW WAS MOSTLY SELF-CONTAINED AND FOCUSED ON ITS CORE CHARACTERS FIRST. They weren't entirely worried about Justice League. Even then, the crossovers were solid cuz they were often one-offs and damn good ones as well.

If they choose to have MAWS be the start of some DCAU reset, I'd be down for that but I'm also ok with just having self-contained superhero projects from here on out. I am completely burnt out from shared universes and the severe case of FOMO I get when I choose to save money.

TL;DR Go watch MAWS and support this lovely cartoon. Superman is back y'all and he's amazing (so are Lois & Jimmy too.)

If you made it this far, I shall leave you with this meme-worthy pic of my son Jimmy from MAWS. Enjoy <3

[beevean]

Is it just me or does the way NFCV treat Nosaac being Muslim, not really different than how irl Islamophobic Christians see Muslims as just devil-worshipping satanists? I don't think it really matters that his use of dark magic is framed as cool with God somehow actually, when it's also effectively just "yes, the islamic god Baphomet is out to get you for being Christian" as a trope anyways. Maybe I'm mis-remembering/misreading something, but it's really been bothering me.

It's very suspicious, yes. And I can tell you it was unintentional, because they chose the literally worst character to make Black and Muslim but they didn't care because they only wanted to "fix the stupid character".

Isaac reveres a vampire who wants to exterminate mankind. Isaac agrees with the notion that humans are inherently cruel and poisonous and the world would be better without them. Isaac has expressed a lack of concern for his own life: he assumed that he would eventually be killed by Dracula, and wanted to lay down his life for his sake. Isaac has studied dark magic that allows him to extract souls from Hell and put them into dead bodies to turn them into man-eating monsters. Isaac says, quite literally, that he wants a "pure" world. Isaac uses Mohammed's words (allegedly - Muslim people have told me that the quote about the doors of Hell rattling in the wind is fake) to justify his mission of turning every human possible into an abomination.

How did anybody not put two and two together and realize that he looks like the parody of a jihadist? my man wants to purify the world from "evil" people in the name of Mohammed and is ready to die for his cause, give me a fucking break!

Isaac, of all characters, should have not been made Black or Muslim! His whole deal is that he worships the equivalent of Satan! He's servile to the point of self-nullification! Bruh! Hector and Isaac are both heathens and do not follow any God, because by creating cursed life they go against any kind of religion known to man! It's not just the Christian God who would have issues with this! (and making him a Black man serving a white master and declaring he wants to die for him, well it's kind of ehhhhh. I don't like raceswapping, but if you really wanted to do that, Hector was literally right there. Maybe that would have convinced Ellis to give him some dignity :V)

In theory, in a vacuum, an hypocritical Muslim anti-villain who believes himself to be a good devoted Muslim while in reality he's sinning left and right could work just as well as your classic hypocritical Christian priest. But we're not to the point where we could do that, not after 20 years of intense Islamophobia that equated Islam with terrorism, not without an immense amount of care. And Isaac did not get this kind of care. He's Muslim only in S3, at his worst point: in S2 he flagellates because of his past as a slave, which then became "I do it because I'm a Sufi", and by S4, the season where he wakes up Enlightened™, his scenes are all about how he enjoys having agency and how he wants to live. I think he only says "God is good" once. Also he doesn't really regret his past sins, he just decides to do things for his own sake.

It doesn't help that Isaac is framed not as an hypocrite, but as the cool, tragic villain. He's smart, he's wise, he's justified in being a misanthrope, he's justified in killing people who don't want his demon army to pass through. We are meant to ohh and ahh at his Enlightment™ while quietly ignoring how he, unlike Hector, chose time and time and time again the path of death and cruelty being fully aware of what it would entail.

[transgriffin]

Good Omens S2 Spoilers below the break AND IN THE TAGS BECAUSE I'M AN IDIOT

Okay I'm ready to share a few thoughts.

Season 3 is going to be immensely exciting in terms of character growth, maybe especially for Aziraphale but I'm certain that Crowley will also have some surprises in store.

S2 begins with a scene that really changed the way that I saw the back-and-forth between the two. In S1 it was established that they both love Earth and the universe and would prefer them to continue existing. Because they enjoy life here. Now we know that it was not god, but Crowley, who started the existence of the universe.

It seems to me that god was like "alright, you can do that - after all it will give me a massive ego boost. But I demand that you tear it all down and put your toys away before dinnertime." Crowley was heartbroken when Azi told him the news that everything would have to end after 6000 years. Which is nothing for celestial, eternal beings. This is an important reason for why Crowley started critically questioning god, which led to his fall.

He, however, made the best out of it. He wasn't about to just follow a new set of rules as arbitrated by hell. He loves the universe that he created, and he identifies as a part of it. And we know the way in which he likes to spend his existence in the universe.

There are two things that Crowley holds very dear to his heart: The universe, and the one soul he can share it with - Aziraphale.

I believr that this makes for two core wishes that Crowley pursues: The continued existence of life, earth and the cosmos, and the ability to share this all, in love, with Aziraphale.

Aziraphale loves the universe. Just look at his facial expression when Crowley speaks light into existence. It was a love at first sight moment. Aziraphale deeply adores Crowley's power to create beautiful things, and thus he has always enjoyed spending his existence amidst Crowley's creation, at Crowley's side.

But we must not forget that Aziraphale has never mustered the strength to truly question heaven. He's had more than a handful of experiences where he had to admit that heaven was orchestrating cruel, destructive things. But he is, at least to me, somewhat symbolic of an indoctrinated, blind follower. When heaven commits atrocities, he is bound to believe that there has to be a higher meaning to them, ultimately leading to a higher good. Admitting that heaven can be truly evil at all would shatter his whole understanding of existence. And he keeps on evading it. But it NEEDS to happen.

S1 and S2 both make it very clear that god is holding fast to her plans of Armageddon and the destruction of Earth. But Aziraphale, at the end of S2E6, has the bliss of ignorance. Crowley knows what heaven tried to do to Gabriel when he opposed Armageddon 2.0. Aziraphale is clueless. Therefore he holds fast to his idealism, believing that by taking Gabriel's place in heaven, he would truly be able to change things.

In my understanding, Aziraphale believes that he can change heaven in a way that would allow Earth and the cosmos to continue existing. But he wants to have his cake and also eat it - He wants Crowley by his side in this scenario, back as an angel.

Only Crowley is truly aware about the magnitude in which heaven still wants to bring forth Armageddon and the destruction of his beloved creation. He knows that heaven is toxic and manipulating of Azi, and that there is nothing Aziraphale can do to stop them. On top of that, Crowley will be rendered entirely unable of protecting Aziraphale when he returns to heaven.

I think that Crowley is bitter about Azi's ignorance. That after all the time and the wonders they have not only witnessed but also brought forth, Azi is still unable to leave heaven and its toxicity behind. And I think that that's the reason why he doesn't just break the news to Azi about the recordings that he saw in heaven. Aziraphale just witnessed the whole shebang with Gabriel and Beelzebub, yet he doesn't ask any questions. It's frustrating. It is right in front of his nose, and always has been, that heaven is NOT "the ineffable side of good, truth and light", that Azi so desperately believes it to be, even needs it to be.

Azi and Crowley are so powerful together that they form a bastion against the powers of heaven and hell. They give Earth a leverage against the celestial powers, that otherwise wouldn't be there. Azi defecting back to heaven breaks the bastion.

That significantly sets Crowley back. After all, even if he managed to build a life for himself (for the both of them) on earth, he had always been scraping by, only narrowly evading the wrath of hell and his destruction/finite death. Azi was in the same place before, but as long as they were together, they always managed to come out alive and on top.

That edge that they had is lost now. The power that they had through their bond when working together (consider the 27 Lazari when working "half a miracle"), is now broken. Azi is leaving Crowley to fend for himself when he accepts the Metatron's offer, but it's because he had a false sense of security in his new position of power.

You can see the sheer horror in his eyes when the Metatron tells him about the new Armageddon plans. But Azi still follows him. Because he cannot imagine his existence without heaven and he firmly, naïvely believes that he will be able to make it up to Crowley somehow, through his archangel position. Azi is forgetting that the only thing which stopped the first Armageddon to begin with, was that he and Crowley worked together. Now he is trying to do it all alone. And he will fail. Crowley knows that.

But Crowley also knows that Azi is not ready for the truth yet, and that he cannot be reasoned with. Azi needs to reach his conclusions on his own. And this might be the hardest thing Crowley has ever had to do, as he is rendered unable to protect and guide his beloved angel for the first time in history.

As much as he wishes to, Crowley is unable to protect Azi from himself. And in my POV, Crowley is wise enough to know that. But perhaps he also feels that this is the worst betrayal he has ever suffered, his beloved angel teaming up with the force that wants him dead the most.

In my opinion, Azi needs to learn (the hard way now) that heaven is not "broken", but inherently uncaring, selfish, and therefore just as evil as hell. Heaven doesn't care about love, about life, about beauty. Heaven only cares about the will of god. And god is not as ineffable as Aziraphale wants to believe. Heaven cannot be "fixed", but he believes it can. But heaven will never allow an angel and a demon to live happily together because the very definition of "angel" and "demon" is arbitrarily decided by whom god approves of and whom she doesn't. Also, heaven is so horribly bleak and lifeless! Clearly, god is completely unimaginative, and I suspect that she's even jealous of Crowley's creation. Because that one's got brains. That one's got class. That one's got creativity. That one's got love. All things that god lacks. And she must hate that.

Thanks for the heartbreak. This is phenomenal writing and I love it. S2 ended amazingly to me. This is such a good story and so chock full of drama, suspense, surprises and a true cornucopia of feels

[itsjustlux]

50% Crowley theory 50% Crowley Angst

Let's talk Crowley and religious trauma because I just got done rewatching s2, this time with the company of my mother (the absolute icon that she is).

Side note, this is 50% theory and 50% character speculation, so enjoy this behemoth of a post.

After we finished e6, my mom and I had a lovely little discussion about the roles of both the Metronome (yes, she actually called him this) and God. Much of the discussion revolved around wether or not God was a malicious/cruel force in the Good Omens universe. While my mom had made the argument that yes, God in this universe is not a sympathetic character, I ended up arguing the opposite.

And I can easily see how she would come to that conclusion. Heaven, after all, has been shown to be pretty morally dubious. But that's just the thing. Heaven and God are two completely separate entities. And that's a really, really, really important distinction (especially for Crowley's character). Crowley hates Heaven, yeah, but does he hate God? I would make the case that he doesn't. In fact, I think he might actually still love Her.

In s1 he literally talks to God about his fall. Obviously, he doesn't get any sort of reply, but he doesn't seem angry here in the slightest. He's just sad. Sad and literally begging God not to destroy humanity. That does not seem like hate to me. And if he resented God for his Fall, why would he still be talking with Her? Why would he be trying to reason with Her? But let's keep going. In season 2 when he sees God talking to Job, I don't get any anger here either. Unlike the scene in s1, I don't get sadness either. I get wonder, and just a hint of envy. He wants to be able to ask these big questions, to speak with God even if he doesn't get a proper answer. That means something to him.

But why would he still love God if She cast him out? Well, I actually don't think She was the one to do it. I think it was the Metronome (yes, I'm calling him that until the end of time). I mean, Crowley recognizes him immediately and Metronome over here recognizes him right back. And even more that that, the Metronome was the one at Gabriel's trial, not God herself. If the trial of the Supreme Archangel Gabriel doesn't warrant the appearance of God, why would Crowley's Fall? Crowley got in trouble for asking God too many questions. And what happened when Aziraphale tried asking questions in s1? He spoke with the Metronome. It's pretty reasonable to assume the same thing happened to Crowley.

So what does this do for his character? Well, it gives some additional context to his conversation with Aziraphale, especially that second "tell me you didn't". Because I get some genuine fear from David Tennant's performance in that moment, and this would definitely explain why. It also gives him some delicious internal conflict and adds to his whole wanting-to-be-a-good-person-but-that-puts-him-in-immortal-danger thing. Because loving God would be like, the ultimate demon no-no. Loving in general is pretty unacceptable, but loving God???? And that would just make his isolation among the demons that much more significant. Of course he became so set on helping Aziraphale. Aziraphale was (is?) all he had (has?) in so many ways, this is just another one of them. And adding onto all of that, knowing that a God, his God, would sit there and allow him to feel all these immensely painful feelings and then not even finding it in himself to be hateful or angry at Her...Just hateful of the systems build around Her 'ineffable plan'...There's something deeply compelling and deeply human about that, which I find very relatable.

[crehador]

brother crab's winter 2024 parting thoughts: ishura s1

tl;dr was originally meh on this for reasons that really aren't fair, ultimately wound up enjoying it well enough to pick up s2, but wouldn't necessarily recommend (especially if you'll be bothered by the fact that it's Very slow)

full review:

you know what i think for the first half of the season i really didn't give this show a fair shake. based on a skim of its summary and the fact that it had the battle royale tag, i went in thinking it would be structurally similar to shuumatsu no valkyrie (which i'd recently binged and enjoyed immensely)

and that sort of battle royale, a tournament between a roster of op heroes, does seem to be coming up. but unlike snv, ishura doesn't dump us straight into the tournament. there's a whole lot of buildup to it, in fact...

the whole first season is buildup for the tournament to choose a hero, which isn't necessarily a bad thing! just isn't what i expected, so i was a bit on the fence for a while

ultimately though i think i did enjoy this series. it's heavy on the action (and gore) but most of the fight scenes are pretty banging, and the cast is full of fairly interesting characters (many of whom are not long-lived lmao)

some of the characters are so cool, in fact, that it feels like a shame to not get more time with them. the pacing didn't feel bad or anything, but it's a very, for lack of a better word, scattered series. not in a negative way, though, because the relatively huge cast provides a wider look at the world. it's just a lot of build-up and so far not much payoff (but clearly it's the start of a longer thing, so i guess to me that's fine)

the worldbuilding to me is by far the strongest point of the series, even stronger than the action sequences. there are some elements of it that i really love, like the naming conventions ("taren the guarded" "dakai the magpie" "alus the star runner" and so on, instead of family surnames) and the word arts magic

the (fairly early) reveal that not only humans and wyverns but even these... constructs? that seemed like mechanical golems? could use this word arts magic was fantastic to me, and i hope we get to see more interesting things of that nature as we continue

ishura has had a second season announced and even though i was a bit lukewarm on it for half this season, i do think i'll continue. if only because the cast is absurdly stacked and i go where my favorite voice actors go lol

i would still say it isn't exactly exceptional as a fantasy action series, but does do some interesting things with worldbuilding that i don't think i've seen much of before (but i also haven't watched fantasy extensively yet, so don't have too much to compare)

dakai my beloved freak i miss u already umu it was such a trip hearing hoshi souichirou voice a character like dakai though lol i mean i'm sure he's done many before but i more associate him with darling momo revale (and more recently saiyuki swk) so this was. new. and a treat

[floatybug]

SPOILERS FOR GO S2 and typos bc I'm sleepy

Okay let me talk about The Evil Genius of Neil Gaiman (tbh i don't actually think he's that evil, but he's Definitely a genius in my eyes)

This is all written after just finishing s2, I'm basing it off my initial emotions and stuff.

So, let's talk about The Kiss.

Obviously my or anyone else's fan Wants regarding the seasons aren't supposed to be made canon, but that doesn't mean we aren't going to have those Wants. I for one wanted them to Touch, in some way that would signify how much they care for each other, like a hug or holding hands visibly. But I wasn't really a part of the crowd that wanted them to consummate their relationship with a kiss or anything else that is considered typical romantic gestures (other than a kiss on the cheek, i think it'd be cute). Not because I hate queers having fun (queers who don't kiss for whichever reason are still queers), but bc I really enjoyed how their whole dynamic is that they so obviously care for each other in a very queer way but I felt as if a Typical romantic affection thing would mess with it. And boy oh boy am I NOT disappointed in what happened. I liked it in a sense that I didn't enjoy it at all. Because that's not how it's supposed to happen. Here's my read on it:

So. The face and noise Aziraphale makes when they part. He DIDN'T LIKE IT. I can't say he didn't maybe want to kiss Crowley, but he Clearly didn't like what happened there. He says "I forgive you" and it can obviously refer to a whole lot of things Crowley said before, I think it does, but it also very clear to me that he's talking about what Crowley did then and there. Because he didn't like the kiss at all. I rewatched that moment and I just can't find it in me to believe the face and noise he makes are happy ones or it's because the kiss has ended. I just don't believe that.

Now here's what makes it Really good: they never fucking talk. Kissing your partner, crush or old friend without asking for consent In Some Way is not very good and is in fact a violation of their private space (one that may not Have to result in a fine and a restraining order, but rather a personal conversation, but it's a violation regardless). What they Had to do was Talk. They both show in that very conversation that they care about each other Immensely, and want to be together. But here's the thing: they never say what actually matters in all of it. They say what they want to happen but they never say why. They never say "I want to be with you because I love you and care about you and want us to be together and safe" or anything similar. I'm also low-key wondering if they might be feeling different kinds of love (romantic vs platonic or queerplatonic) but it doesn't matter really. All of those can include kisses. What matters is that Crowley never said what's on his mind. Aziraphale never Actually did either. They said they want to be "us" or "together" but never say Why. And that lack of clear and proper communication is what causes things like unfortunate kisses to happen. AND they spend the entire season trying to solve romance with tropes , they clearly don't understand yet how it Actually works and what Crowley does there hit me so hard because it's something I've done when writing my own characters, both unintentionally and on purpose: he uses a trope in the hopes it'll solve the problem at hand. That if they kiss it'll all be okay. AND IT WILL NOT, and now it's kinda less okayer than it was before too

Anyway I needed to get this out of my system, if you disagree you don't have to tell me, also I am firm in my "Aziraphale didn't like the kiss" stance so don't fight me on it please be nice

[gleefullypolin]

Oh my, the fighting in the OUAT fandom was wild. I stepped in the tags once and saw the most ridiculous fights. Captain Swan was canon at the time and I saw them consistently attacked by other Emma ships and I was like, welp, I'm always down for a non-canon ship but I also have the critical thinking skills to understand what canon means, haha.

That pirate might have been the time I realized I have a very specific type. 😤

I always love a good underdog so I immediately loved Pen, she had my whole heart because she was trying so hard and just kept struggling. I don't think enough people pay attention to just how much some of the things she's done to protect people, even if the methods are maybe not the best, affects her. She's carrying such an immense burden but in a time where women aren't allowed to have the accomplishments she does, she's also got this thing that's hers and hers alone, she's successful because she made it that way, no one else.

They could make me very invested in Eloise's season but I agree, it will probably depend on how this season and next (if Benedict's) goes. It feels like they gave Eloise Colin's jealousy about LW from the books which I think makes more sense for the show, Penelope was doing all of the things Eloise had talked about doing. If Eloise had paid Penelope any real attention in s2 she would have figured it out much more quickly.

Which makes me hope Colin's reaction is more of the protective anger we saw in the books, that man was incensed and scared to death. With how protective Colin already is of her in general, I feel like it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility.

Oh yes, I am not usually one for period stuff but the Polin of it all took me down. I enjoyed s1 as it was. I think s2 was more interesting overall for me but I wasn't really watching for more than Polin and Eloise.

Book Colin was absolutely insane over Penelope physically and I think that would be something that would be a good addition, and having him say what he does about being with others vs her in the books is something that should be included, whether he says it or it's woven throughout the brothel/polin scenes. There needs to be a marked difference in the way he is in them and I think we'll see that. It was obvious with Anthony (I don't remember the s1 scenes tbh ha) so I think that's part of their narrative for the male leads. The way Colin is with her is definitely why we love them, if they could kiss already that would be great.

I get fanon vs canon. I mean I ship Black Widow with Captain America so I totally feel the sting of shipping something you will never see on screen. I live in fan fiction for that. But I would never go after the Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers fans over it. Like it wouldn’t even occur to me to start a fight over it.

The OUAT stuff, well there were so many ships that were canon and fanon that were going after Captain Swan, and I was like…nope I’ll just enjoy the show because damn they were already angsty enough as it was on the show without the outside influence. They didn’t need anyone else saying “What if they don’t end up together” because damn I had no idea if they were going to leave him dead or not towards the end of that and it was painful enough having that last season without Emma around…

But YES, I love the underdog. And back to our beloved ship at hand, Pen that poor girl. I must say that I could give her an award for her brilliant eye rolls and looks of disgust she gives that no one pays attention to. Gotta love her true disgust with society. People truly do discount her, so one can’t blame her for wanting to go after that. I think many people forget how young she is and do not allow the mistakes she has made for her age. To think of the mistakes I had made by age 19. Damn! If no one had forgiven me for those, where would I be.

I feel like Eloise hasn’t paid nearly enough attention to her friend to have not figured out LW sooner OR to have figured out that she’s head over goo goo gaga for her brother. To think that she was writing Colin just to hear about his travels…sure girl.

I will give my right arm to see protective angry Colin. That whole taking her hand into the room and smashing the necklace thing last season leading right into a dance….yeah give me puffed out chest, this is my Pen, Colin, and no one is going to hurt her, terrified that the Queen is going to cut off her head, Colin.

I saw Nic’s comments today about how they didn’t hear them yell cut in the carriage scene, and they kept filming and I’m thinking holy hell when we get to that scene in June I may melt down for how much that scene will kill everyone and no one is going to even remember there were ever other suitors or women that even existed. I think the moment they kiss in episode 2 the entire Polin fandom will be too numb to argue about anything! And if they aren’t I don’t think either of us could help them anyway!

[xnervouscircus]

i didn't know if i was gonna bother watching shadow & bone s2 since general reviews were basically: "it's CRAP" but watched it on a whim this week and am mostly happy with it actually

preface that i only read the og grisha trilogy and haven't read the crow books or whatever the heck came next that i think starred nikolai? so i only vaguely remember the story of alina and co and know little to nothing about the jurda parem storyline and where it's going and who will be involved or at least was involved in the books

but man. just from the perspective of someone who was immensely displeased with the ending of the grisha trilogy: I LOVE THIS ENDING. they fixed my biggest beefs with the og ending, and up until the very last scene i was like "ah still a shame alina never went darkside though" aND THEN THEY WENT AND SAID "BITCH SHE MIGHT" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I LOVE IT

in the books i haaaaated the implication that mal and alina were only together bc of ~destiny~ and they were only drawn to each other by the firebird power and even after knowing that, they didn't question it at all and were just like, "welp the universe tossed us together so guess this is it for us huh." so not only do i love show!mal more in general--they fixed up his personality so much and made me actually mostly like malina--but i wanted to kiss him on the mouth for being the one to bring up the whole destiny thing and give themselves a chance to figure out who they are without it. and i wanted to kiss alina on the mouth for accepting and understanding it. i would absolutely not hate malina being endgame in this universe the way i hated it in the books.

though i'm confused if alina is still engaged to nikolai now? she gave the ring back to him a while ago so i figured that was the end of it, but at the end the apparat made it sound like the betrothal was still on, and alina was wearing that very elaborate tiara/crown and stood beside nikolai at his coronation so. nikolina still possible?

though i will say that i really didn't feel any chemistry between them in the show and they were portrayed much more as friends than potential love interests. honestly i loved it. love triangles are exhausting enough, having to deal with 3 potential love interests in the trilogy was just. blaaaargh. as much as i loved nikolina in the books, i was kind of happy that i felt nothing for them in the show and it seemed like i wasn't supposed to. they really just came across as allies doing their best for the country, friends at most. there were a few moments that kiiiiind of came across as potential romance, but there was nothing to make me be like "fuck yeah nikolina." since they made mal 2.0 so much better, i genuinely enjoyed not seeing nikolai as legitimate love interest material lmao. but i could be into it in the future if there's a s3 and they decide to go that route.

i was worried the condensed storyline would be crap since i knew they were apparently putting all of books 2 & 3 into this season, alongside whatever the crows would be doing, but it worked so much better than what i vaguely remember of the books. book 3 was pretty much all meaningless page filler of the group being trapped underground and then going on a completely pointless hike to look for the firebird, so i'm glad they cut all that out. i liked the addition of the blade, if only to expand the world more and show us another living saint--go be besties with her alina. and really the best parts of both s1 and s2 were the crows. sorry i haven't read your books guys but y'all are the best. i fuckign love inej and nina and of course my gay little heart was so very happy with jesper and wylan and wesper.

(i do mostly like kaz, he's clever and witty and really cares about his crows, but sometimes he's just a bit too edgelord for me. i kinda like kanej but at the same time i think inej deserves a hell of a lot of happiness and kanej is just all angst all the time and after 2 full seasons of it i'm kinda over it lol. i was honestly super into that extremely brief hint of . . . inya? tolej? lmao. but yeah tolya/inej honestly sounds amazing to me. ofc i hope kaz can deal with his trauma and be more open--not even in regards to touch necessarily, but just be less consumed with grief and revenge in general. but his whole life is shaped around it and inej has dealt with enough shit and i just want her to be able to laugh and have some genuine fun, ya know??)

it wasn't perfect, and a lot of the dialogue made me cringe (i'm still facepalming but also laughing over that one scene where some grisha girl started saying, "i'd hoped--" and seemed like she was just gonna say some bland thing like i'd hoped this would be over or even just i'd hoped i'd get to sleep in an actual bed tonight but the darkling interrupted her with this completely angsty and overdramatic monologue about hope LMAO CALM DOWN EDGELORD IT WASN'T THAT DEEP). but overall i thought it was good! s1 was better but s2 made a lot of improvements to the books and i appreciate that they were willing to deviate and take risks to try to make a better story.

what i loved the absolute most wasn't just that they changed her love story, i loved that they changed the entire ending of alina's story. because the trilogy ending for her was TRASH. a woman becomes the most powerful person in the world, comes to embrace and revel in her power, but her endgame love interest won't stop sulking about it so guess she's gotta lose all her power and suddenly want nothing more than a quiet life on a farm. LMAO WHAT. it was absolutely infuriating and still is almost 20 years later lmao. having her stay in the capital and plan to actually help the country she worked so hard and sacrificed so much to save makes infinitely more sense; sure, at the beginning of the trilogy she wished she wasn't grisha or the sun summoner, but she comes to love the power and the realization that she can save ravka with it. as far as i remember, once she embraces it, she never wishes it away again. so it just felt grossly unfeminist and lame to take her power away in the trilogy and pretend that actually she secretly desired being no one in the middle of nowhere just raising a bunch of orphans. nope, that was just not alina.

so i am LIVING for her still having her power (though i'm not sure if she's got all that fully amplified power or she's basically reset to pre-amplifiers power after destroying the fold? i wish they'd cleared that up) and continuing to follow her dream to reunite ravka and make a more peaceful world for the grisha, rather than just run away with her endgame boy ugh.

BUT WHAT I'M LIVING FOR THE MOST WAS WATCHING HER FINALLY DO THE CUT AND REVEAL THAT SHE'S GOT SHADOW MAGIC NOW AND RATHER THAN BEING SCARED OR DISGUSTED BY WHAT SHE'D DONE SHE WAS FUCKING RELISHING IT

DARKLINA LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOO

(i just mean that in a dark alina sense, though i would not at all be opposed to the darkling coming back to life and making couple darklina a thing lmao)

do i believe they'll actually make her go anywhere near actually dark? no. do i believe her endgame boy will be anyone but mal? no. do i believe they won't ultimately have her story end the same as in the trilogy? not really tbh. but at least there's some possibility here and it could turn out really interesting, or at least more satisfying than the og trilogy.

so yeah i hope s3 gets the green light. at the very least, i'd definitely love to have more of the crows.

[fricklefracklefloof]

NOTHING reawakens my hyperfixation for something more than introducing it to someone else and rewitnessing the whole thing right beside them