#i only noticed it during this third rewatch

[hayscodings]

speaking of lyn paolo’s genius did anyone else notice when fiona and svetlana wore the same tank top

[cbrownjc]

Some spoiler thoughts for episode 2x05

I haven't done a rewatch yet, so these are just some initial thoughts on the episode (spoilers):

Daniel was so not let go after those 3 days. Bank on it.

Daniel already said it -- the drug den thing was a fabrication of his memories being rewritten. But, more to it, Louis' memories of that time were also rewritten. Between that as well as his extensive burn? Who knows what Louis even remembers of the 1970s either.

Neither Louis nor Daniel remember a damn thing of what happened during what would be the Devil's Minion period! (Particually because who knows how long it took Louis to even heal. With those types of burns, I'm going to say a few years at least.)

The show left things extremely open-ended for both Daniel and Louis' characters at the end of the flashbacks which can be filled with whatever the show writers might have ideas about that time period over how many whatever seasons. They haven't locked themselves into one single thing going forward leaving it open-ended that way.

Yeah, even if they want Louis and Daniel to have had sex sometime later. Because again, they both don't remember anything. 😏

But Armand -- Armand does. He remembers all of it. And oh you dear, f-ed up gremlin, I really did think you might not have been responsible for Daniel's memories, but now I'm starting to wonder . . . .

Louis, in 1973, doing what he does in Merrick. Because it was remembering Claudia -- how she manipulated him -- that sent him running into the sun. And even though he tried -- and failed -- to do it in 1973, he's going to fully remember it in the present day too IMO and, this time, he'll succeed at doing it.

Because yes, in Merrick, Louis actually succeeds in killing himself. It's only because of how vampire blood works, and a lot of it being poured over Louis' body, that he is revived. And I really think we are headed toward a "rule of three" wrt this. I think Armand clocked Louis was close to killing himself sometime directly after Paris because of maybe almost really trying so, and that is why Armand put a veil up over Louis' mind.

Because even back in 1973 it's clear that Louis actually didn't remember the bit about Claudia until he drank Daniel's drugged-up blood! Between that and Arman directly saying "She didn't love you!" (which yes, was a line taken directly from toward the end of the IWTV book that Armand says to Louis about Claudia), whatever cloud Louis was actually under in 1973 lifted for a bit . . . enough for him to run out into that sun and almost succeeded -- which I feel we'll learn/see was actually his second attempt.

His third (and final) attempt will be in the finale. And that time will be the one that succeeds. (And then he'll be resurrected/reborn).

"Am I going to be on suicide watch for the next 1000 years?" Yeah, Armand, it looks very well that you are -- will be.

I loved Luke as young Daniel! And I feel very sure we're going to see more of him. He and Jacob had such a bouncy chemistry.

And oh, the scenes between him and Assad as Armand -- so creepy and sinister! Just what it should be at this point in time between Daniel and Armand, at the beginning of things. They even had Daniel held prisoner in the house for three days, the same length of time he was held in the cage in the books. But everything Armand did to Daniel here was so much more unnerving, particularly the chair thing.

So . . . Armand really didn't know the Talamasca was watching then? Hmm, okay show but I'm side-eyeing that one. Because really, he should have IMO.

Though I did notice that Daniel strategically didn't show Louis the pictures of him and Armand taking Daniel out of the house. Which I still don't think makes any freakin' sense, them doing it the way they did, even with Louis being hurt like that. I supposed Louis wanted to make sure Armand didn't hurt Daniel still, but . . . .

And oh, Armand. I can see any and all attempts to defend you wrt what is coming have really slipped away much after this. I know why you are doing all of this, I get it I do, but . . . *sigh*

You should have told Louis that Lestat was saying, "I love you." But you are still so scared of being alone . . . this is all going to bite you back next season Armand. So, so much.

Would I say it's my most favorite episode of the show ever so far? Not yet. But I known it's the one of Season 2 that I'm going to rewatch over and over the most so far. Yes, I love it for the beginning of Devil's Minion that it gave us, of course. But I love that it also really started to show the friendship and trust that Rolin Jones kept saying last season was between Louis and Daniel. Louis and Daniel just being friends is something I never expected going into the show and has become such a favorite dynamic of mine too.

So yeah, it was a wonderful episode. I do think it was hyped up a bit too much in the "most disturbing thing I've ever seen" department because I actually did not find it to be all that disturbing in the horror department. But as far as character development and dynamic building goes it was stellar and revealed some great things, so I can ignore my little nitpicks.

[wordsinhaled]

hope y'all are ready for another unhinged merlin post, friends

okay, because we always talk about how much merlin does to help and save arthur, and how drawn he is to him. but can we talk about how from the very beginning arthur has been indignant and ready to put himself in harm's way at the thought of harm coming to merlin??? i am at the beginning of my rewatch so i'm focusing mostly on the early eps, so -

in the THIRD episode, when merlin tries to turn himself in as a sorcerer - arthur (visibly distressed) covers for him immediately - not just because he thinks merlin couldn't possibly have magic, but because he knows merlin will be killed in gwen's stead

in the FOURTH episode - he'd rather drink from the poisoned chalice himself than have merlin drink it - an unheard of level of risk for someone to take for their manservant in camelot's society

like??? can we talk about how arthur's first thought the moment merlin is poisoned is, "sounds like fun, i'll brave a journey that'll put me in mortal peril for someone i've only known for a few months, at the longest"? can we talk about how he disobeys uther directly and sets out on his own, knowing that it could end to his own death? can we talk about how he and merlin are fucking psychically connected?

can we talk about how their interwoven destiny is known and used against both of them from the very beginning???

i want to talk too about uther's complete lack of understanding of how important merlin is to arthur. he just doesn't understand why arthur is so distressed, why he's willing to risk his life, why he's willing to sacrifice himself to save merlin. and arthur says it's because that's not the kind of king he would want to be. he says it's because he wants to be the kind of ruler who wouldn't discount a "mere" servant's life. he says that merlin saved his life, so of course he'd want to do the same for him. and of course, this is true - arthur is noble, and good-hearted, and he does the right thing even when it contravenes what his father would do or wants him to do

but like... there's the part where he genuinely cares for merlin, specifically - not just for a life debt owed, not just on the principle that a servant's life is equal to a lord's or a king's. merlin, specifically. it can be seen in the way he immediately rushes to protect merlin or to deflect attention away from him whenever merlin makes a scene in public at court that puts him at risk. in his visible worry when merlin drinks from the poisoned chalice. in the way he rushes to merlin's side after he collapses, and frets over him while gaius checks him over

and most of all (in this particular episode), it can be seen during the scene at the end - the scene shot over merlin's shoulder, where you see arthur entering gaius' chambers from behind merlin - and the relief that fills his face when he sees that merlin is up and eating, that's not prince arthur, or obnoxious lordling arthur; that's just arthur at his most genuine, with no posturing, when no one is paying attention to him. the way he takes a second before he schools himself to start up his usual banter with merlin, playing the taskmaster prince again, minimizing the risk he took for merlin's sake. but the way that persona falls again, and he tells merlin that he came to see if he was alright. tells merlin to get some rest

it's about merlin, specifically, and what he has come to mean to arthur. not just the life of any manservant, but merlin's life, merlin's importance to him

i also have a broader tangent about the relationship between uther and arthur & uther + homophobia, and how arthur's dynamic with merlin plays into it. "he's just a boy," uther tells morgana in this episode, and she counters, "have you seen your son lately?" and i think the trouble is uther has seen arthur lately, and he's not comfortable with what he sees. he doesn't understand arthur's closeness and attachment to merlin, and i'd argue that he's noticing his son's queerness and trying to stamp it out of him/trying to denial his way out of dealing with it directly. uther fits the mold of the toxically masculine/authoritarian father who sees the queerness in his child and responds by becoming even more cruelly authoritarian

as for arthur - arthur's been told since birth that he's crown prince, that he'll need to rule camelot, and produce his own heir to continue the line of camelot, and i would argue that arthur's need to prove himself, his bravado, his deep-seated need for his father's approval comes from the pressure also of knowing in his core that he doesn't measure up to what his father wants for him - he's kinder, yes, and more just - but also softer at heart, and queer in ways that aren't permitted for his time or station or for what he knows are his responsibilities as a future monarch. it comes to the fore whenever his connection to merlin hangs in the balance, when we're able to see arthur in unguarded moments when he can be his unadulterated self

i think we talk often about how merlin is drawn to arthur, and also i think it's very clear to see how merlin's magic is allegorical for queerness/closetedness, but my favorite to explore is how arthur gravitates towards merlin, and arthur's queerness, and it's especially apparent in these early episodes

and tl;dr basically merthur is WILD and i will never be normal about them even in the year of our lord 2023

[gwnwrites]

Losing | Oliver Wood x GN!Reader

Summary: Gryffindor loses the match against Hufflepuff.

Words: 1,8k

Warnings: None, just fluff. + Angst if you squint.

A/n: I rewatched Prisoner of Azkaban a few days ago, and suddenly became inspired to write. No use of y/n. Reader doesn’t have a specific gender. No specific Hogwarts House. Although, reader is supporting Gryffindor during the Quidditch match. Oliver and the reader are close friends. I might write a part two where they confess their feelings.

PS: I believe ‘Mo ghràdh’ means my love in Scottish Gaelic. Please correct me if I’m wrong!

This is based off the following conversation in the book:

“Where is Wood?” said Harry, suddenly realising he wasn’t there.

“Still in the showers,” said Fred. “We think he’s trying to drown himself.”

—

Oliver was nervous before the Quidditch match. He usually was. So after years of being friends with him, you knew all of his tells.

The first one was pacing.

The second one was running his hands through his hair.

The third one was rambling, which resulted in your extensive knowledge of Quidditch.

Oliver was usually consistent with his tells. However, today was different.

Oliver was oddly silent as the two of you sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. He rarely looked up at you, and when he did, it was because you weren’t looking directly at him.

You weren’t the only one who noticed Oliver’s strange behaviour. Throughout breakfast, a few students sent worried looks toward Gryffindor’s Quidditch captain.

“Oliver,” you said. He looked up from his untouched porridge. He noticed that your bowl was empty.

“Are you okay? You seem awfully quiet today.” You paused, “Is it because I asked you last week to stop talking about Quidditch? I didn’t mean it. I was only trying to finish my Herbology essay.”

“It’s not that,” he sighed. His gaze traveled up to the ceiling, which mimicked the stormy weather outside. After a moment, he looked back at you.

“It’s Gryffindor’s last chance to win the Quidditch cup while I’m still at Hogwarts. I’ll never have another chance.”

Oliver had always wanted to win the Quidditch cup. And ever since he became the captain in fourth year, he had been working harder than ever. Practices took place regularly during the school year, and during the summer, while everyone rested, Oliver spent his time devising Quidditch plays.

“Oliver,” you began, “you’re an amazing Quidditch player, and the best captain that Gryffindor has ever had. You’ve got an amazing team, and that’s because of your leadership.”

He smiled slightly. “Thanks.”

—

The rain. Of course, rain was not usually a problem during Quidditch matches. But with the fact that there were hundreds of Dementors roaming the school grounds, you knew ‘calm’ wouldn’t be the word to describe Oliver.

As you sat among other students in the Quidditch Stands, you hoped Oliver was ok. You wanted to stay in the Gryffindor team’s tent before the match began, but Madam Hooch said it was best not to distract the captain. Your eyebrows furrowed as you thought back. Why would you ‘distract’ him? You never-

“I’m sure he’s fine,” a voice beside you said. You jumped slightly, before realising it was Percy.

“You think?” You clung tightly to your jacket’s hood to prevent it from flapping around in the wind. You turned to the side to get a better look at Percy.

“He puts too much pressure on himself. And still, Gryffindor wins the matches. Harry’s great, he’ll get the snitch in no time.” His gaze remained on the field. He held onto the hood of his own jacket.

“I hope so. This weather is awful,” you said. You looked up at the sky. The dark clouds gave no indication of sunny weather any time soon. You looked at Percy. Despite the rain his glasses were dry. He must have used the Impervius charm, you thought.

“I thought you said you didn’t watch Quidditch matches,” you said.

“I don’t.”

—

The stands filled up with students as the minutes passed. You were beginning to wonder if the match was actually going to begin, but then you heard the commentator’s voice.

“Starting off the first Quidditch match of the season is Gryffindor against Hufflepuff,” Lee Jordan said into the microphone.

“I’m sure all of us are excited to see what happens today, especially after last year’s match was cancelled due to the Basilisk attacks. Although, I think- Oh, sorry, Professor. I’ll just stick to commenting on the current match.”

Specks of red walked onto the field. Six of them mounted their brooms and flew up. A few did tricks as they passed the stands. The crowd supporting Gryffindor began to cheer.

“Here they are!” Lee exclaimed. “Gryffindor flies onto the field. Gryffindor’s captain, Wood, must be feeling intense pressure, after all, this his last year at Hogwarts.”

“Someone really needs to take that microphone away from him,” Percy said.

The only remaining Gryffindor -who was Oliver- stood on the ground near the tent.

The other team emerged from the neighbouring tent. Like the Gryffindors, six of the Hufflepuff got onto their brooms. They flew toward their positions, while their captain walked toward Oliver.

“The opposing team, Hufflepuff, makes their way onto the field.” Lee said as the crowd supporting Hufflepuff burst into applause. “Their newest captain is Cedric Diggory.”

You watched closely as the cloaked Madam Hooch walked toward the captains. The box, containing the Quidditch balls, was already on the field. The captains quickly shook hands, and got onto their brooms. Oliver, being Gryffindor’s keeper, flew toward his goal post, and Cedric darted to the middle of the field. As the Hufflepuff seeker, his job was to look for the snitch.

Madam Hooch’s whistle was blown.

“The match begins!” Lee said. The crowd cheered louder.

—

As the match went on, the storm became worse, and eventually Lee’s commentary couldn’t be heard over the wind. You and Percy watched as the specks of red and yellow flew back and forth across the field, again and again.

The weather made it hard to tell who was who. When either of you thought you saw Oliver, the speck of red flew in the direction of the bludgers, meaning it was either Fred or George.

About 10 minutes into that game, you heard the whistle blow. The Gryffindor team huddled under an umbrella in one of the far corners of the field.

“Harry’s a good seeker, but I don’t think he’ll be able to see the snitch in this weather,” you said loudly so Percy would be able to hear.

Percy sighed, “I just hope he catches it soon, otherwise the match will continue all night.”

Soon after, Madam Hooch blew her whistle again, and the match resumed.

The crowd stood in the rain as they watched the match. A few lightning strikes were seen in the sky, causing some of the younger students to scream.

“I think Diggory’s spotted the snitch!” A Slytherin boy called out. He had been sitting a few seats to the right of you and Percy.

You looked for the Hufflepuff seeker, and eventually saw a yellow speck darting up into the sky. A red speck, who you suspected was Harry, followed him closely. They flew so high up that the crowd was unable to see them.

Chatter erupted among the crowd.

One of them became visible. Falling. Gryffindor’s seeker, Harry, had fallen off his broom and was plummeting toward the ground. You pushed past the people in the stands, and hurried to the stairs leading to the field. Percy followed close behind you. By the time you reached the bottom, Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor team were gone.

“They must have already gone to the Hospital Wing,” he stated. You nodded, and rushed off in the direction of Hogwarts.

—

The corridor outside the Hospital Wing was crowded. Everyone was worried about Harry. A Ravenclaw prefect stood in the doorway.

“Madam Pomfrey says no one is to enter the Hospital Wing until she says so,” he grumbled. He didnt seem in a good mood. A few surrounding students mumbled, and left.

“The Gryffindor team is in there, aren’t they?” You asked, standing in front of him, and trying to peak inside.

“They are, but you’re-” he was interrupted. George appeared next to the prefect in the doorway.

“There you are.” He said, “Thought you’d arrive soon.”

You ignored his comment. Whatever it meant. “Is Harry ok? That fall was pretty high.”

George’s face was pale, he nodded. You let out a sigh of relief.

“Hufflepuff-” He hesitated, “They won the match.”

“How? Harry fell off his broom. There should be a rematch.” You frowned slightly.

He sighed, “Diggory caught the snitch before Harry fell. Hufflepuff won fair and square. Even Oliver says so.”

Oliver. You tried to look over George’s shoulder. “Can I talk to him? Is he in there with the team?”

“Oliver isn’t here. You don’t know where he is?”

You shook your head, “No. Where is he?”

—

You knocked on the boy’s changeroom door. George had told you that it was only occupied by Oliver, but you didn’t want to barge in.

“Oliver, can I come in?”

There was no answer, the only noise was the running water in a shower.

“Oliver.” You stood outside for a moment before sighing. You pushed the door open.

The boy’s shower room appeared to be empty. Then you saw Oliver’s bag and Quidditch broom on one of the benches against the right wall.

“Oliver?” You said, looking toward the showers.

“Mo ghràdh?”

You looked toward where his voice came from. He sat with his legs to his chest in one of the shower cubes. He was still wearing his Quidditch robes. The shower tap was turned on, and the water caused his clothes to cling to him.

You approached him, and turned off the shower tap as you stepped inside the shower. You sat beside him.

“I’m sorry,” you said. You knew how much this match meant to him.

He lifted his head, “How’d you know where I was?”

“I went to the Hospital Wing first. I thought you were there since the team was. George told me you were here.”

He nodded. He still hadn’t looked at you.

“Oliver, I know this is about the Cup,” you said, looking at him. Your eyebrows furrowed slightly.

He sighed, “It’s just- I’ve always wanted to win the Quidditch Cup. It’s been *years* since we have, and not while I’ve been apart of the team.”

“But this wasn’t the Quidditch Cup final, Oliver. This was the first match. Gryffindor still has a shot to win the Cup,” you said.

You paused, “You put too much pressure on yourself. Even Percy says so, and he rarely leaves the library.”

Oliver looked at you, raising his eyebrows. “Percy said that? When?”

“Right before the match started. We were already seated.”

“Is Harry alright?”

“He’ll be alright. The team’s with him.”

Oliver was silent for a moment. “George told you I’m trying to drown myself, didn’t he?”

“He did.”

He shook his head, a small smile on his face. “Of course he did.”

“You’re not?” You said, “Trying to drown yourself, I mean.”

He laughed softly. “No, I’m not. If I wanted to, I think I would’ve gone to the Black Lake.”

“You had the shower on.”

“I was cold. The shower was warm,” he said. “Thank you.”

“For?”

“Being a good friend. I don’t know where I’d be without you.”

-

Thank you for reading! Let me know if you want a part 2.

[lavelans]

so i got to rewatch the fall of the house of usher today since some friends wanted to watch it and picked up on some things i didn’t notice before (some of these might be obvious but i just like pointing things out!)

1. we already know that the lighting shifts to that particular usher’s representative color during their death scene, but what i didn’t notice on my first watch was that not only do their wardrobes correspond with their colors, their furniture and home/work environments are in the same color too! (and when they’re not wearing that color they’re wearing a color that’s one step adjacent on the color wheel)

the most obvious is camille’s white, but i noticed this time prospero’s red car and jacket when he gives his first business proposal, the red suit he wears to the meeting with frederick.

i also noticed leo wearing a lot of yellow, the lights outside his apartment, the box he keeps his drugs in and the sofa he finds the dead cat behind are all yellow (he also mentions taking yellow pills).

victorine also wears a lot of orange, and so are the scrubs she and al wear in the operating room, the shelves in her office and the fruits on her dinner table at home.

tamerlane is another obvious one, with all the green she wears, but i also noticed there’s a green neon sign outside her apartment, and bill’s BILLT gym also had green accents.

and frederick wears a LOT of blue, i would say maybe he’s the third most obvious? his house has a lot of blue aquariums, and the room he keeps his wife in is blue as well. morrie also wore a blue dress when she went to perry’s party. and not 100% sure if this was intentional but the folder perry drops off at his house was blue too.

1a. bonus detail i noticed, what verna wears when she appears to each of the siblings just before they die also matches up with their respective colors. the red cape with perry, the white security guard uniform with camille, her uniform when she comes to leo’s apartment to pick up the cat, the green dress when she appears as tammy’s double and the blue vest she wears during freddie’s death. vic’s is a stretch but she wears a light orange cardigan when she meets with her and asks to talk to dr. ruiz.

1b. another bonus detail! perry’s party was lit mostly in blue before the lighting turned red just before he died, which visually ties it back to freddie’s death later on. freddie’s and perry’s deaths were already narratively intertwined, with morrie’s choice to go to the party triggering the events that caused freddie to slowly grow more and more paranoid and cruel throughout the series, ultimately leading up to his death in the same place. i just think it’s cool that this narrative connection is also reinforced visually.

2. when verna first arrives at tammy’s place as candy, she speaks with a uk accent, but as soon as the roleplay starts she shifts to an american accent and does an uncanny as fuck impression of samantha sloyan’s performance as tamerlane (which, CARLA GUGINO??? you LEGEND) (also as a non american who generally does not hear american accents outside of tv and movies, the accent switch did not register to me on my first watch lmao)

3. in the last episode, verna places the items on each usher’s gravestone carefully, you could even say with respect, EXCEPT for frederick’s cocaine packet (which she just unceremoniously drops onto the gravestone LMAO as he deserves). it does match the speech she gives him during his death. for the usher siblings she was sometimes kind but generally neutral when she spoke, always offering them chances to say no, but with little remorse when they fail to prevent their own gruesome deaths. EXCEPT for frederick, for whom her spiel is absolutely dripping with contempt for him.

4. minor detail, but in 1980 when verna was talking to the twins about putting their drinks on their tab, she says ‘buy now, pay later’ which basically foreshadows the deal the two of them later make with her. ‘buy now’ meaning saying yes to getting away with all the illegal stuff they did throughout the years, and ‘pay later’ with the lives of his entire lineage.

[seventeenlovesthree]

So, as I had pointed out in numerous posts before, the way Daikenyako is framed - or rather Miyakensuke, to keep the correct yearning order -, is pretty damn insane to me.

I still haven't decided whether I find it "too simple" or "just right", because while the framing was incredibly obvious in my opinion, it was still done in a way that didn't feel overbearing. Not only did a big chunk of animation budget go into their scenes specifically, but the dynamics were also played rather consistently.

I had once made a "joke post", implying how the order of yearning basically goes like this: Miyako > Ken > Daisuke > Ramen. And while it was meant to be a joke... Upon rewatching it, it is rather accurate to be honest.

The main theme of these three is usually the following: Daisuke does something brash - like interrupting Miyako, screaming, complaining - OR something inspiring - like giving friendship speeches - and Ken and Miyako react to that in some way. Mostly verbally - but also through physical touch. Miyako and Daisuke have quite a bickering theme going on; Ken is usually softer, but he ALSO has more opportunities to touch Daisuke...

They are literally acting as his "voices of reason", who add to the discussion. In general, Miyako is very responsive to basically everything that Ken says and does, so she is almost always framed next to him - or at least close to him in some capacity. I will outline how Miyaken in particular is framed in another post, just know that she is very obviously and actively trying to reach out to Ken, calming him down, reassuring him, getting his attention.

That becomes even more blatant by the fact that she is getting in between Kensuke moments TWICE - usually to tell them to get their grip together or focus. Technically, this could be seen as her being well aware of how focused Ken is on Daisuke - and that a tiny bit of jealousy may have been involved here. On the other hand, she may just enjoy teasing him/them gently, because, "ya know how the boys are".

Either way, most of the time, whenever the group is together - and Daiken aren't off on their own with Rui -, Daisuke, Ken and Miyako will be together in the same frame 90% of the time.

It's interesting too, because Miyako - while obviously being more thought-driven in comparison to Daisuke's heart-driven actions- uses very similar terms to reach through to Ken. As mentioned, she is actively flirting with Ken through the course of the movie. And Ken, while being mostly oblivious to that - while still being thankful for the reassurance - is trying to reach through to Daisuke on his own behalf. (This is also very nicely framed visually by how much "hand on shoulder" moments there are, with Miyako being very inclined to touch Ken, whereas Ken - as mentioned - is very often seen touching Daisuke.)

Miyako herself notices how Ken had been flirting with Daisuke and acknowledges that by calling them out.

Who does not acknowledge it though? Right, Daisuke doesn't. Either because he simply isn't aware of the blatant flirting - or because he may or may not want to get in between.

I had already lost my mind in the cinema during one of the Miyaken focus moments in which Miyako told Ken that they shall not stop thinking and will find a solution - just to see Daisuke walking out of the frame.

One may argue that this means that Daisuke's true love simply is Ramen - as he keeps bringing it up time and time again -, or that he just wants to give the other two some space, as he may have felt like a third wheel before... Who knows.

To sum it up: I feel like the creators did a very interesting job here. Not only did they acknowledge and portray Kensuke's very ambiguously romantic-platonic relationship, but also committed to making Miyaken more obvious - a ship we know will end up together eventually, but hadn't gotten that much focus previously. Not to mention the blatant use of bisexual lighting here...

On a more light-hearted note: Ken is either caught in a bisexual triangle or we can just assume that this is a very fun depiction of a poly relationship in which all parties allow each other some space - or actively tease each other about it.

[bozoswozo]

Just finished rewatching Death Note, and though it’s completely for my personal pleasure and I would doubt if anyone would read it from start to finish, it’s rant time! *spoilers alert*

First of all, woah. The second watch was truly an experience. Everyone is always talking about ‘I wish I could rewatch … for the first time again.’ and though I’d usually agree, I don’t for Death Note specifically. I don’t really understand why, but in my second watch had a way bigger impact on me than my first. Maybe because I watched it for the first time 4 years ago and I’ve grown now, with different opinions.

ONE THING THAT DIDN’T CHANGE IS MY DISLIKE TOWARDS LIGHT‼️

This being said, the ending where he tried to run away from the police, wounded, made me feel kind of sad for him. He wanted to do good, sure. But after all, anyone who uses bad to solve bad is as bad as the bad they’re trying to solve. Evil cannot be used to fight evil :P

I understand his point of view (somewhat) but I still dislike him. How are you going to watch this man commit genocide, lead his father to his death and feel no remorse, consider killing his sister to save himself (again, no remorse), lead on the angel that is Misa in a cruel way, kill L and Mello (their deaths are enough for me to dislike him but I needed to give more reasons :3) etc etc and still root for him?

Again, no shade to Light lovers. To each their own :P.

Moving on. When I first watched Dn, I was only attached to L. And so, seeing him get killed off and be replaced by Near sparked in me a deep hatred towards that boy. But maturing is realising that Near is the third best character in the show (Right after L and Mello) and that he’s a cutie pie.

And he’s also extremely smart. Correct me if I’m wrong but before L died, he mentionned that if something were to happen to Watari, that he’d erase all the data. That means that Near had none of the informations that L had collected during his investigation.

That also means that he was able to conduct those researches by

1. Not having Light around to examine his attitude or lock him up illegaly

2. No knowledge of what had happened before L’s death

3. He was nowhere near as experienced as L when it came to solving cases (I think…)

He still was able to arrive to the same conclusion as L though, as he mentioned, it wouldn’t have been possible without Mello :)

I also happened to think about Ryuk a lot more and I think he’s the funniest character. My guy dropped his notebook into the human world because he was bored and he landed on a boy who wanted to become God of the new world. And he just went along with it, giggling every now and then. We never truly got a glimpse of his internal monologue, so we don’t know if he agreed with Light or not.

One thing we know, though, is that he sure was amused…

Light is almost as funny. Think about it. If you got a notebook that could kill people, you’d probably get rid of it (I hope so) or AT LEAST ponder on what you would do with it, or if you’d even use it. If you’re a sane human being, your first instinct would be to ‘No way! I could never kill anyone!’.

But Light wasted no time. In only one episode he went from a privileged, smart man to an absolute deranged killer, and that’s hilarious. He didn’t even think about it twice. It’s like he just had a psychotic side to him that just had to wait for the perfect moment to be released.

Also, I knew Matt didn’t have much screen time. But when I rewatched it I noticed that he really DID NOT HAVE ANY! Like they barely add up to thrirty seconds and that sucks cuz he was so cool.

Speaking of cool, MELLO!

He’s so cool like everything about him, his hair his scar HIS STYLE, his aura EVERYTHING. AND I feel like we tend to forget that he is SMART! Like he is smart enough to have been considered a good successor to L and thats crazy to me. It’s sad we didn’t get to fully experience his smartness though.

Same goes for Near. Though it is stated somewhere (I don’t remember where) that he is a little bit smarter than L (but L has a lot more experience, something that cannot be overlooked), I feel like most of the conclusions he’s made appeared from thin air. Did I just not pay attention?

Because at least with L we could see his train of thoughts, his way of thinking and we understood why he came to all those conclusions and decisions.

But with Near it just feels…rushed. (or maybe I js didn’t pay attention…) Like wdym you found that out…It feels like he was more guessing than discovering. Kinda sucks bc he is allegedly smarter than L and I would’ve loved to see it more.

Anyway,

I finished ranting. If you’ve read all this then woah pls get a life (in a nice way <3) .

Death Note amazing anime, amazing openings, amazing aesthetic, amazing characters, AMAZING EVERYTHING‼️

[teenagemutantninjatrauma]

So recently I was rewatching a few random Fast Forward episodes again (as one does when one is writing a massive AU about something) and BOY DO I NEED TO SHARE A THEORY

So like... Torbin Zixx, right.

This guy:

He gets introduced to us in the FF Bishop episode, of all times, as a mysterious vigilante who has avoided not only being captured but also getting caught clearly on any security footage anywhere! How strange! Anyways, Bishop introduces themselves to the turtles, Raph tries to attack his hologram, and the gang agrees to help Bishop catch this guy. Banger!

And then! We get to this shot.

Now, I don't know if this is a noticeable detail to anybody who like, has a life and isn't obsessed with this cartoon, BUT - boy does this face look familiar. The nose specifically is preeetty prominent.

YEAH I bet none of you were thinking THIS when watching that season (probably a good sign that you have better things to do), BUT I THINK.

ZIXX IS A BISHOP CLONE.

Consider the evidence - because there IS evidence, actually!

First of all, they get to stand back to back in the opening even though they both show up like twice? Three times? For mostly unrelated adventures? Why do they get to stand back to back instead of like, Zyxx getting a spot in the villain lineup that is also in the opening? He is ostensibly occasionally doing good but he’s mostly a trickster able to outsmart the turtles and get away - a trait Bishop has exhibited even when he almost fuckin died in Bishop's Gambit, by the way - so it feels meaningful to set him up here, back to back with Bishop of all people.

Second, they get introduced in the same episode, Bishop to Knight. I know we all rag on this season and the following season for not reaching the previous five seasons' standard, but I believe while Back To The Sewer was genuinely badly written, Fast Forward's issue was only that it wasn't given enough time to elaborate on all the things it set up - it is still written well. Things happen with intentions behind them, we are given as much closure as the show could manage, and so it feels like introducing two characters in the same episode has meaning. Combined with the shot from the opening, it really does feel to me like a point is being made here to compare the two.

Third, there is the parallel of both of them tricking Raph with their holograms - unintentionally and intentionally. It makes sense for Bishop, or someone made to think just like Bishop, to use new modern technology like this, because he's a resourceful bastard!

Look at him flinging himself at people he doesn't like. Me too, man.

"He and Bishop don't look alike!" - Well, not anymore they don't. But look at how Bishop used to look during the first five seasons, during his EPF era, and compare that to Zixx, and then compare Zixx to PGA era Bishop:

The nose, the face shape, the dual communicators? PGA era Bishop does look different and this could be attributed to either change of artstyle or the implication that his clone bodies have evolved and changed over the last century, but Zixx is a piece of who he used to be and has had to evolve differently, and thus looks the part.

(Additionally, we have already seen Bishop make clones of himself that didn't look exactly like his then-current body, when he made the Slayer army in Bishop's Gambit.)

This, by the way, would explain why there is no digital track of Zixx's face anywhere. Because hey, let's be real here - the opening of the episode is dedicated to how much information Bishop personally looks through.

If Zixx was indeed running around wearing Bishop's face, he'd want him gone, but Zixx, being a Bishop clone, would be smart enough not to get caught! Thus, the next best thing would be to get rid of any proof of similarity between them, hence these being the only picture Donnie, a de facto civillian, could find.

(Ironically, this could very well have lead to Zixx becoming the infamous enigma he is said to be in this world.)

They also fight alike, relying on acrobatics and on being able to push and pull their opponents around as needed. I am unfortunately too tired to get good screenshots/clips of this.

"But Zixx doesn't look human!"/"But Zixx has a different voice than Bishop!"/"But Zixx has green eyes!" - He's a vigilante in a scifi space show and has the face and voice of the most well known guy in all of space, is it truly a stretch to assume he might've gotten body modifications? We've already got one guy grafting alien DNA onto himself to survive and it's none other than Dr Baxter Stockman, notably another piece of Bishop's past that's come back to haunt him. Why not two?

You know this would also be in line with what I am now calling the Seeing Double Theme - Dark Turtles and a new Turtle Titan are in this story, confrontations of the future and the past self in some way, shape or form are a running theme of Fast Forward, so why wouldn’t there be a Bishop clone running around

No clue how or why Zixx would ditch the whole "protect all of Earth" mentality, but when Bishop reforms himself and swings into the extreme of establishing intergalactic peace to a point where he can't even be partial towards Earth anymore, does it not make sense narratively for his foil to swing the other way, become a typical "only looking out for myself" type of guy?

"It could also be said that maybe Zixx shows off traits that Bishop usually obfiscates, with the self-serving nature being a good example. We know all of Bishop's grand goals are really just covering for the fact that he's scared and wants to protect himself, right? If you look at the core of everything he does, it's to benefit himself. Zixx forgoes making up any justifications and says it like it is: he only cares about himself and what others can do for him." - additional comment, courtesy of THE Bishop Guy™, @violetvulpini, who's the reason I'm going this insane rn in the first place.

In conclusion, I strongly believe that Torbin Zixx is a Bishop clone gone rogue, similar in origin to the Slayer aka Rat King. He is Bishop shaped, he gets to stand next to Bishop in the opening like they're anime foils to each other, and it is SO interesting to explore.

This has been Trauma, and you've been Zixxed ✌️💜

BONUS: Headcanon territory!

Zixx's purpose was to be a "back-up" clone. Bishop has been recording his findings and work since at least the EPF era when we meet him, so maybe these recordings are then uploaded somewhere so that in case he dies and can't make the body transfer, a new clone is awoken and informed of his purpose. For some reason this system has at some point malfunctioned and awoken Zixx despite Bishop surviving - possibly during the collapse of the lab he and Stockman used to work in, or during the space war that gets vaguely mentioned at one point.

"clone six" or "version six" somehow becomes "Torbin Zixx"?

How did Zixx become a vigilante? Well, we know Bishop doesn't have human blood. Presumably the blue goop that we see him bleed at the end of Bishop's Gambit is something synthesized specifically for his body, so I imagine it would be VERY hard to come by. This, I think, would very easily lead to a life of crime he has more than the ideal set of skills for.

Bishop probably wants him obliterated but can't reasonably dedicate resources to catching or killing who he KNOWS is gonna be the ultimate most hard-to-kill guy in the known universe.

He steals Bishop's fancy car specifically just to piss him off <3

[merlinfromberlin]

Question: Where does Bumblebee go in "New Recruit"? (S02 E18)

I've just rewatched this episode for the first time in years and I couldn't help but notice that Bumblebee just vanishes from the episode for a few minutes after they decide to bring Smokescreen to the Autobot base.

So, naturally, I was wondering what happened there? Warning, spoilers ahead!

This is the last time we see Bee in quite a while. It's at around 6 minutes 18 seconds (depending on where you watch) and at the end of the sequence introducing Smokescreen. He is standing with Ratchet and Arcee who are questioning Optimus' decision to trust Smokescreen, but doesn't say anything himself.

He actually hasn't said anything in quite a while at that point, too. I didn't look up the specific time he talks for the last time during this scene, but it's at least been 30 seconds.

The next time we actually see Bumblebee is at 13 minutes and 41 seconds (again, depending on where you're watching). You get two screenshots because the mid-transformation screenshots are just too goofy. At this point it's been almost 7 minutes and 30 seconds since we've seen him for the last time. That's more than 1/3 of the episode.

And usually that wouldn't be too weird. Sometimes bots just aren't in episodes. It happens and normally I would just roll with it. Except...

Except, this time it just doesn't make sense for Bee to not appear. If we look at the stuff that happens in between his two appearances, it's mainly three things: 1. Starscream learning of the existence of the Red Energon 2. Smokescreen and Jack bonding 3. Smokescreen and Team Prime talking in the Autobot base

It makes sense that we cannot see him during the first two scenes. But, he definitely should be there for the third one. I mean, everyone else is there: Smokescreen, Ratchet, Arcee, Optimus, Raf, Jack, Miko. Even Bulkhead shows up after a minute or two to give Smokescreen a much needed reality check.

Just Bee is missing and even though I am willing to admit that, as an ardent Bumblebee fan from day one, I might be biased here. But, at the same time, it would just make more sense for Bee to be there with the others than not.

This is at 6 minutes 25 seconds (again, might vary based on where you're watching) and even though the groundbridge has already been shut of, it is implied that they just came back. Not only does this scene come immediately after the scenes in the forest, but Arcee, Ratchet & Optimus are also just walking off of the bridge together.

So, why isn't Bee with them? From what we saw in the last scene, he was standing behind Ratchet. If anything, he should probably be behind him.

At first I thought that Bumblebee had maybe just gone first and was standing somewhere in the background. So, I kept looking out for him in the background of the scene. But, no. We get several angles of the main room (which I am not going to show with screenshots right now because it would take forever). He just never shows up.

After that, my next idea was that he might be off to pick up Raf or something. Even if it would have been odd for him to vanish just like that, it would have at least been an explanation. But, no, neither:

As we can see in this screenshot from 6 minutes 36 seconds, all of the kids are there.

I mean, he has two short cameos in the scenes he's missing from. When Starscream browses the internet, a picture of his vehicular mode can be seen for a few seconds, and Ratchet mentions him off-handedly when Raf pulls up the picture of the Red Energon. But, I wouldn't count that as really appearing.

And that was the point where I just ran out off plausible explanations for his absence in the context of this episode. So I turned to theorising:

The other bots just left him behind at the crash site to guard it or something.

Alternatively, they just forgot him at the crash site. I don't think that that is very likely, but just imagine the angst you could write about that.

Bee actually entered the groundbridge and went off to sulk. Either because of Ratchet's comment implying that he is anything like Smokescreen, or because Bee, as well as Bulkhead, is afraid of getting replaced.

And that's just what I came up with on the spot. But, like, I was really just sitting there, asking myself why they had left my precious boy behind. xD ^^"

Gosh, I would love to write some fanfiction right now. But sadly, I've been neglecting my university work all day and need to get onto that before I get to bed.

I will again admit to being biased here. Bumblebee has been my favourite character ever since I saw this show for the first time when I was 8 or 9 years old. And I remember quite vividly hating Smokescreen for stealing Bee's thunder and screen time. So, I was going into this episode spending additional attention to Bumblebee to see how much of my perception was actually true. Like, I don't want to hold a grudge against Smokescreen for misperceiving him 10+ years ago. If I end up not liking him, I want it to be because I don't like him now. (/joking)

However, I was not prepared to be proven right this fast. (/joking)

Addendum: I also mentioned at the beginning of this text that Bee stopped talking even before he disappeared visually from this episode. Even though he is present for the harbour fight scene with Starscream and the end at the base, he does not make a single beep. Not, when he is hit, not to communicate with Arcee/Optimus during the fight, not when they are back at base. Instead he just gestures, fights and exists. Tbh. I'm kind of just glad he didn't get lost on the way home again. (/s)

At the same time it makes me think that Bee's silence and disappearance were probably due to some weird time or budget issue. However, where would be the fun in that? I can't write fanfiction about that. Or, at least I don't want to.

Bonus:

I love this screenshot from the end of the fight with Starscream and the way Optimus has caught Bumblebee and proceeds to propel him up onto the platform. It's so freaking cute.

Also, like, I live for everything that can be interpreted as Optimus and Bee being parent and child. And that shot just played into that hard. :3

Confession:

I had to go back and edit this post because I wrote Mike instead of Miko. I don't know why, but I have a habit to just subconsciously exchange random vowels for e when typing and tired.

[morgan-lowell]

All four seasons of Haikyu!! are on Netflix so you know what that means…

TIME TO REWATCH KARASUNO VS. INARIZAKI HEHEHEHE

I’ll eventually get to rewatching all of it but for now, I’ve started rewatching on season 4 episode 13. I noticed Ukai mention that during the final qualifier match for Inarizaki, Osamu sat out because he “wasn’t at a hundred percent.”

Now lemme overthink.

Since Ukai said he “sat out” and not that he collapsed or was benched, I’m gonna assume that it was a mild injury or some kind of sickness that prevented him from playing. With the qualifiers near the end of October, All-Japan in December, and the Spring Tournament in January, that left a good three months for Osamu to get back on his feet. Not to mention the flashback to the twins talking before All-Japan showed Osamu already fully recovered.

He doesn’t wear any elbow or knee braces during games so any pain he may feel is likely manageable. None of his teammates mention a shoulder, back, or any other kind of injury.

It’s possible he could’ve had a mild sprain but, considering the kind of person Osamu is, I’m gonna say he got sick. And not just any sickness.

I’m like 99.9 percent sure that Osamu got sick while eating.

Picture this: Inarizaki just completed their semifinal match and will move on to the finals. They go out to eat to celebrate.

The team is confident which means they’re rowdy. The third years have their own table. They’re the perfect picture of mature upperclassmen and seem to be having a pleasant conversation. The underclassmen on the other hand…

They’re at another table and it is wild. Suna’s phone has not left his hand since they entered. It’s prime Miya Twins’ Shenanigans Hour and today’s event is an eating contest. The stakes? Absolutely nothing but bragging rights over the other twin. That’s all they really need.

Akagi: Should we stop them?

Aran: Nah. We don’t know them.

Omimi: I agree. Although I feel bad for the first years.

Kita: *silently agrees but still keeps an eye out*

It’s close (not) but Osamu takes the win, once again proving himself as the better twin. Another fight breaks out and that’s when the coaches intervene. After apologizing for the disruption, the team exits. Osamu is noticeably lagging behind while holding his stomach. He’s quiet but it’s different from his usual quiet.

Atsumu: Hey Samu. You doing okay?

The only warning they get is a blank stare before Osamu bends over to the side of the road and promptly hurls all the food he just inhaled. There’s a lot of screeching and oohing and a distinct “WHAT THE HELL SAMU?!”

They get the twins home with a care package to help settle Osamu’s stomach and strict orders to rest. The next day, Osamu decides to sit out the finals match because he still feels pretty queasy.

Atsumu gets one joke in.

Atsumu: You have to sit out? That’s rough, Samu. I don’t know how you’ll be able to stomach it.

Osamu: …

Ginjima pretends to cough. Aran closes his eyes and counts backwards from ten. Thankfully, they’re saved by the whistle. There’s always after the game though.

I can take this theory a step further. Remember the analogy Osamu used about Hinata playing like he’s eating good food? He mentioned something about eating too much yakiniku, getting sick, and swearing never to eat it again only to want more the next day. It’s oddly specific, right?

Well, that’s because he’s speaking from experience.

[coraniaid]

Willow: You know, I have a choice.  I can spend my life waiting for Xander to go out with every other girl in the world before he notices me, or I can just get on with my life. Buffy: Good for you. Willow: … well, I didn’t choose yet.

I don’t really have much to say about Inca Mummy Girl or Reptile Boy (except that they’re … not very good episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a couple of nice Willow moments like the quote above aside).  But I did want to talk a little bit about the way the show handles the death of Rodney Munson.

If you don’t remember Rodney – and who could blame you? – he’s the kid who breaks the seal on ‘Ampata’s’ tomb during the field trip at the start of Inca Mummy Girl and who is then immediately killed, thereby unwittingly setting the plot of the episode in motion.

So far in this rewatch (that is: up to the end of Reptile Boy), at least twelve of Buffy��s classmates have been killed by the supernatural (Jesse in The Harvest; Dave and Fritz in I Robot, You Jane; Emily and Morgan in The Puppet Show; Cordelia’s boyfriend Kevin and four other unnamed students in Prophecy Girl, Sheila in School Hard and now Rodney in this episode).  

Of course, not one of these people is ever mentioned again after the episode that they died in, but even within the individual episodes there’s a lot of variation in how seriously the show treats their deaths.  Kevin’s death, for example, is clearly supposed to be a serious moment, for all that Kevin didn’t exist before this episode. To start with, we get a little speech from Cordelia about how great he is just before we find out he died. And “this was different”, Willow tells Buffy after Kevin’s murder by vampires makes the news(!), “I’m not okay.  I knew those guys.”  In a sense, it’s Kevin’s death (or at least Willow’s reaction to it) that prompts Buffy to go and fight the Master.

On the other hand, Emily’s death just a few episodes earlier is only ever played for laughs.  She’s the object of both Snyder’s great speech: “There are things I will not tolerate: students loitering on campus after school, horrible murders with hearts removed.  And also smoking” and Cordelia’s “It’s just such a tragedy for me.  Emma was like, my best friend” but for some reason her death doesn’t illicit the same response from Willow as Kevin’s did.  (And that Jesse’s didn’t, for that matter. Did Willow not know Jesse?)

In the early episodes of the show, at least, it seems to vary from writer to writer how seriously we should take any of the deaths depicted.

Rodney’s murder feels particularly jarring in this respect.  The first third of the episode makes a point of establishing this character we’ve never met before as a person with a definite presence in Sunnydale.  He’s somebody Willow and Xander have known for years; somebody Willow regularly tutors; somebody whose parents apparently reach out to her when their child doesn’t come home the night after the field trip.

But after Rodney’s disappearance is used to motivate the Scoobies to go back to the museum – and after his braces are used to identify his mummified remains – he pretty much disappears from the plot.  No more mention of his parents.  Nothing about how this death is different because Willow knew him.

“It seems Rodney’s killer might be the mummy,” Giles say, about halfway through the episode..  And … that’s the last we ever hear about Rodney Munson.  The fact that ‘Ampata’ killed him is never brought up again.  The fact he died is never brought up again.  And yes, I know, it would be a weirdly depressing turn for this routine monster-of-the-week episode to take, but that just raises the question: why does Rodney get the build up he does?  What is the point of establishing that Rodney is a person with links to other people in the world and not just a plot device if the show’s not going to do anything with that fact?

(Worth noting, too, that the episode is also weirdly blase about the fact that the real Ampata Gutierrez – another actual human being with presumably family and friends who cared about him – died in a bus station in a strange town in a foreign country, and that his corpse somehow ended up in the home of the woman who invited him to stay in town.  Surely even the Mayor’s going to find it hard to cover that up?) 

Of course, the high number of student deaths in Sunnydale High becomes something of a running joke later in the show.  In Earshot Oz talks about going “straight to the obits” whenever he reads the school newspaper; in The Prom Jonathan notes with pride that “the Class of ‘99 has the lowest morality rate of any graduating class in Sunnydale history”.  At a certain point the idea takes hold that Sunnydale has always been this impossibly violent and dangerous place, and that for some reason none of the adults who live there ever seem to acknowledge it

(Actually I think it’s interesting, in the context of this rewatch, to remember that that’s not how the show originally set things up.  As originally conceived, the problems that plague the town in Season 1 were all tied up to the Master’s attempt to escape the Hellmouth.  The town had always had problems, we were told, but there were getting increasingly bad as Buffy arrived.

Yes, in Welcome to the Hellmouth, Giles does talk about Sunnydale being a … well, a hellmouth:  “a center of mystical energy” with “a steady stream of fairly odd occurrences” in its history.   (I’m not sure the idea of multiple Hellmouths really takes hold until Season 3’s The Wish.)  But he also tells her that “It’s getting worse … the influx of the undead, the supernatural occurrences.  It’s been building for years” and that the dead boy Buffy found on campus early was “only the beginnilng”.

I'll keep an eye out as i rewatch, but if memory serves this only really changes in the third season of the show.)

But I think that, after this episode, the show generally strikes a better balance in terms of taking individual deaths seriously, even if it’s against a backdrop of almost comic casual violence.  Yes, minor one-off characters will continue to die, but when they’re a named character that the writers have bothered to come up with some backstory for – like Ford in the upcoming Lie To Me or Theresa later still in Phases – their deaths seem to be treated a little more like Kevin’s in Prophecy Girl and a little less like Emily or Rodney’s. 

(Or Ampata’s.)

[purpleshadow-star]

So, in preparation of the movie coming out next month, I reread Red, White & Royal Blue. I just finished it, and then I rewatched the trailer for the movie, and tbh, I have some concerns.

The thing I love so much about the book is the emotion. Alex and Henry are complex people with deep emotions. Confident on the outside, but struggling and nervous and anxious on the inside. Sure, the trailer looks fun, but I'm really hoping the more vulnerable sides of Alex and especially Henry are going to be shown in the movie.

The trailer also makes it seem like Henry doesn't like Alex either, at the beginning? Like, at the beginning of the book, the fact that Henry never really started out their interactions with antagonism like Alex did stuck out to me so much. Henry himself even says it! We know that Henry liked Alex the whole time, and it's shown through the fact that he always tried to be civil while Alex was the one who started their conversations with snark and sarcasm. That's why Alex enjoyed the moments when Henry would let a bit of fight come out. That's why it was such a noticeable thing to Alex when Henry snarked back at him during his first visit to England post-wedding.

In the trailer, it makes it seem like in the beginning, Henry doesn't like Alex just as much as Alex doesn't like Henry, if not more so. Movie Henry seems so openly antagonistic towards Alex, especially in the cake scene, and tbh it just feels wrong to me. The failure to portray Henry's feelings for Alex and his reluctance to participate in Alex's antagonism like the book does (especially considering we were seeing Henry through Alex's pov) makes me worry about whether or not Henry's more complex emotions will be shown in the movie at all, and Alex's too for that matter.

Also, I noticed that in the scene where Alex and Henry talk in the kitchen at the palace during Alex's fisrt visit to England post-wedding, it seems like they took out what was important about that scene and replaced it with surface level antagonism and snark to really sell the whole 'rivals to lovers' thing or something. It's like they're trying to convince us that Henry sees Alex just as much of a rival as Alex sees Henry, when that's just not the case. In the book, that's the scene where Alex really starts to see Henry for the first time, even if just for a moment. Not the put together Prince of England, but the sleep rumpled, pajama-clad insomniac who just wants some ice cream.

In the move trailer, it shows Henry wearing a dress shirt and tie, and his tone is snarky when talking to Alex, when in the book, Henry is genuine and unsure of himself. This is another time when we see that Henry has never really tried to be antagonistic towards Alex out of nowhere. In the trailer, it seems like Henry is going to be acting in the opposite way.

I'm not saying the movie has to be a word for word exact portrayal of the book because I don't believe that. A good adaptation will inevitably have to change things, but it only works if the changes make the story better, or at least if they make sense. Right now, I can't see the benefit of changing Henry's character so much. The Henry that I saw in the trailer, at least at the beginning of it, honestly doesn't feel like Henry at all to me.

The last third or so of the trailer, especially the clip of (who I'm assuming is) Bea asking Henry if he loves Alex, gives me hope that they'll get into the more emotional sides of these characters, but tbh I'm still kind of worried.

(Also, side-note, I hate the fact that June's character was cut entirely. She was there for Alex when he needed her, and her character gave us more insight into the complexities of the first family. She showed us that kids of divorce can see things differently when it comes to their parents, and as a child of divorce myself who has had differences of opinion with my sibling, I loved seeing that in the book with June and Alex. And, of course, there was her whole dynamic with Nora. I hate that she won't be in the movie at all. I hope they don't also cut the fact that Nora is queer.)

I don't know, I was skeptical of the movie at first after just seeing the teasers (though, tbh, I'm always skeptical of book to movie adaptations at first. Maybe it's the Percy Jackson fan in me), but after the trailer came out, I had more hope. Now, after rereading the book and having all the details fresh in my mind, I'm worried again. I know that trailers are made of clips that often times make more sense in context, so I hope the movie itself gives us more than the trailer implies. It makes sense that they'd want to mostly show the happier, more fun sides of things in the trailer so people will want to watch the movie.

I get that they might just be trying to go for a fun, not super deep, silly, comedic movie kind of vibe, but tbh, as fun and silly as rwrb is, it's also so much more than that. Some of my favorite parts of the book are the more serious parts. The parts where we see Alex and Henry's anxiety and insecurities. I really hope the movie shows at least some of these moments.

I'm definitely still going to watch the movie once it comes out, but I'm kind of concerned about how the story, and especially the characterization of the characters, is going to be portrayed. Hopefully, I'll end up being concerned about nothing. The last third of the trailer suggests that this will be the case, and I really hope it is!

I think the movie can still be enjoyable even if it doesn't show us the deeper and more nuanced sides of these characters, but can you blame me for hoping to see the reason why I fell in love with the book in the first place, the deep emotions of these characters, portrayed on screen?

(Tbh, I kinda lost track of my thoughts here. I think I'm concerned about Henry's drastic change in character more than anything else. It's easy to believe that there are more emotional scenes in the movie that we haven't seen hints of yet because obviously they can't show everything in the trailer. Henry's characterization, on the other hand... we've been shown two different clips of him that explicitly imply that he will be much different than the Henry we see in the book, at least in the beginning. Again, context is everything, so maybe it'll make more sense in the movie, but I can't imagine what context could be given to make those clips of Henry character accurate. And tbh, imo, there's no excuse for replacing soft, pajama-clad Henry in the kitchen scene with a dressed, snarky version of him)

(Also, the election isn't mentioned at all in the trailer? Tbh I think the book could have integrated the political parts a bit better than it did, but I still enjoyed it, especially at the end with election night. I guess if they set the movie in current day, an election won't make much sense, but the election and the stress and responsibilities that come with it add so much to Alex's character, and I honestly hope it's still included in the movie)

[depressedbyseason2]

What the Ineffable Husbands call each other - Season 1 edition

Or, how Sadie wasted her bank holiday

OK. I spent the day rewatching season 1 and I have the following statistics on how many times our ineffable husbands called each other by name or by angel/demon. Do with this info what you will.

Notes: Az never called Crowley "Demon" but often reminded him that he was a demon, so I counted those times as well.

I may have missed one or two.

I added a few bonus things cause they're so adorable.

Episode 1.

Crowley calls Aziraphale:

Aziraphale: 2 (1 indirectly)

Angel: 1

The two Aziraphale calls are when Crowley is calling him on the phone. The Angel call, discussing whether anyone would notice the Hellhound.

Times (Az): 26:03, 26:28 (Angel): 41:19

Aziraphale calls Crowley:

Crowley: 2

Demon: 3

The first Demon reminder was in the garden of Eden. The second was outside the bookshop. The third was when they realise the Hellhound has found Adam

He calls him Crowley once outside the bookshop, and once on the bus.

Times (Crowley): 29:43, 39:14. (Demon): 04:10, 29:51, 48:50

Episode 2

Crowley calls Aziraphale:

Aziraphale: 0

Angel: 1

Crowley calls Az "Angel" after dropping off Anathema back in the village

Times (Angel): 44:27

Aziraphale calls Crowley:

Crowley: 1

Demon: 0

He calls him Crowley at the paintballing

Times (Crowley): 38:24

Bonus, at 38:32 Crowley calls himself a demon.

Episode 3

Note: the first half was them through the ages so things are a bit skew-wiff here, but, stick with it. Maybe look at this as evidence of their evolving relationship :3

Crowley calls Aziraphale:

Aziraphale: 1

Angel: 2

He calls him Aziraphale in Mesapotamia. And Angel when he appears in Paris, and when they're arguing in St. James Park and Crowley says "I've got lots of other people to fraternise with". This one seems out of anger rather than a pet name.

Times (Aziraphale): 01:02 (Angel): 17:15 (St James Park only, didn't catch the Paris time, will edit later)

Aziraphale calls Crowley:

Crowley: 14 or 15, see Golgotha note in italics

Demon: 3

Oh boy. Called Crawly/Crowley twice in Mesapotamia, twice in Golgotha (one letting Az know his real name so that might have been Crowley not Az. Bad notes, sorry), once in Rome, once in Wessex, once in Paris, 3 times in St James park, twice in 1970 wassit, and 3 times at the bandstand.

He reminds him that he's a demon or fallen once in Rome, once at St James Park, and once at the bandstand.

Times (Crowley): 01:04, 02:20, 03:08, 03:24, 04:48, 06:33, 13:37, 16:14, 16:49, 16:56, 27:16, 28:27, 51:09, 52:10, 52:47 (Demon): 04:55, 16:04, 51:42

Episode 4

Crowley calls Aziraphale:

Aziraphale: 0

Angel: 2

He calls him Angel when he comes back, and again when he leaves. Both out of desperation I believe. First was out of apology and the second desperate frustration.

Times (Angel): 33:37, 34:22

Aziraphale calls Crowley:

Crowley: 0

Demon: 0

Episode 5

Crowley calls Aziraphale:

Aziraphale: 5

Angel: 0

Best friend (indirectish): 2

3 of the Aziraphale calls were when he was calling for him in the fire in the bookshop, one was when Aziraphale apparited in front of him, and the other was when he stepped out of the burning Bentley. He called Az his best friend during the fire in the bookshop, and one when he was talking to the Az apparition.

Times (Aziraphale): 00:45, 00:48, 00:52, 11:41, 48:57 (best friend): 01:11, 12:01/02

Aziraphale calls Crowley:

Crowley: 1

Demon: 0

Az calls him Crowley when C steps out of the burning Bentley at the airfield.

Times (Crowley): ~48:56

Episode 6

Crowley calls Aziraphale:

Aziraphale: 2

Angel: 1

Both the aziraphale calls were at the airfield. One when he was telling him that its "kick butt, not lick butt" and the other when he was telling him to shoot Adam. The Angel call was when he questioned if this is what the Almoghty planned.

Times (Aziraphale): 04:34, 09:06. (Angel): 25:04

Aziraphale called Crowley:

Crowley: 3

Demon: 0

The first two Crowley calls were to get his attention away from the Bentley and get him to do something. The third was after failed Armageddon (still at the airfield).

Times (Crowley): 03:17, 03:27, 14:56

Observations:

Just some pretty mild observations. Aziraphale didn't call him or remind him that's he's a demon after episode 3. After the Bandstand argument he doesn't do that again in Season 1.

Crowley only calls Aziraphale "Angel" 7 times over the season. He mostly calls him Aziraphale. There's two bonus "best friend"'s as well. It's striking because we hold on to that so much, to the point I feel like it's very much switched in season 2 when he mostly calls him Angel. I think. Season 2 "What the husbands call each other" will take place this week so will be able to determine it then.

He also only calls Aziraphale "Aziraphale" 10 times. 1 indirectly, 3 when he's trying to call him in the fire, and 1 when he's calling him after passing over the Antichrist. So that leaves 5 neutral times he calls him Aziraphale. Which is almost equal with Angel. Except two angels were when he came back to apologise and when he left again. So it seems to be random when he'll call him Angel and when he'll call him Aziraphale, whether there's desperation or emotion behind it or its neutral.

Over to you. Again, use this info as you see fit and draw your own conclusions.

[alannacouture]

Okay, I just want to talk about this. There are only TWO times we see Rhaenys wearing a hairpiece (or a CROWN, if you will). The first is at her son’s wedding. The wedding where he is marrying the daughter of the man who one could accuse of usurping Rhaenys’ throne and said son’s birthright to eventually sit on his mother’s throne. And not only is he marrying Rhaenys’ replacement’s daughter, he’s marrying the young woman who is being given the throne Rhaenys was denied BECAUSE of her gender, while her son’s fiancée has already been named heir DESPITE her gender.

The next time Rhaenys wears a hairpiece (or CROWN) is to inform Rhaenyra the Iron Throne is being usurped by a younger, male relative. She is also wearing it when Rhaenyra is officially crowned Queen, a title The Queen That Never Was very obviously was denied. 

There is no way it is a coincidence that Rhaenys Targaryen, The Queen That Never Was, wears a crown to her son’s wedding to the female heir to the Iron Throne & wears a crown to the abrupt coronation of the first leading Queen of Westeros. I’m not going to make any conclusions, other than the fact that HOTD’s costume department is full of geniuses & Rhaenys Targaryen is a BAMF to walk into King’s Landing in a crown, then watch Rhaenyra’s coronation in a crown (while not bending the knee). The woman is truly a queen, whether she ever sat on the Iron Throne or not. 🙇‍♀️👑🙇‍♀️ New Addition: So I was rewatching the first episode and happened to notice that Rhaenys wore a hairpiece a third time on the show. When? Oh, just during the Great Council, when she’s basically usurped by Viserys, her younger, male relative. Seriously, the costume department are geniuses. Having Rhaenys only wear crowns when she’s making a direct statement about her superiority to sit on the Iron Throne and each time, she never made it there, is brilliant. The woman’s a Queen, no matter what her nickname says.

[little-cereal-draws]

ok I'm on my third rewatch of dhmis and I'm noticing Duck is often linked w athletics/strength. Which is weird bc he never does any of those things in the show; it's all in the background

Obviously, his obsession w the military for starters. In the montage they play at his funeral, it has a picture of him flying a plane in the air force. Then he brings the military up again in "Jobs," saying he "could be the one to tell the soldiers to stand up straight," and he's reading a magazine about it in the Memories song in "Death."

During his funeral, he also insists that he won a tournament. He seems convinced of this until the others have no idea what he's talking about. But he must have at one point because they have this picture of him on one of their bookshelves.

There's also a picture of him doing karate(?) in the funeral montage and he has pictures of him playing soccer and winning a race on his widow during "Transport."

(Honorable mentions: in the job song he was a soccer player but red was there too, the employ training video he watches in "Jobs" has a soccer ball get crushed by a tank and although he's the only one of the three watching I think it's to highlight his lack of teamwork skills, and I think there's another picture on one of their shelves of him playing soccer in a jersey and everything but I can't find it so maybe I made it up?)

[bringerofdeathandtheapocolypse]

Honestly, having been rewatching the early episodes now, I'm a little annoyed how little what we learned about Ivan and what was going on with him and how horrible his actual debut truly was.

Fantasia set up that Ivan was exiled for an unknown reason (something which is still unknown since Makarov didn't know Ivan knew about Lumen histoire until Laxus asked about it so it wasn't that), that he had some interest in Laxus although again never specified what for or why, that he was the one to give Laxus his lacrima and that Gajeel was working as a double, double agent for him.

Then we learn through a flashback during GMG (I think. I might be remembering when wrong) of Laxus asking Makarov about what he was doing with Ivan and learning that he didn't attack Fairy tail over the 7 years. Something which we do know the reason for, that being no one remaining would have known the information he wanted.

Now I'm not saying that Makarov or Laxus need to info dumb about their pasts or something. It would be quite OOC for either of them unless it was an episode/chapter focused on say Laxus and the thunder legion, you know, the group he is the closest with.

Better ways of dropping small hints would be, even just taking canon events, have Makarov think about things when he's beaten by Hades. Think about how not only did one of his potential father figures turn down the dark path but his son and almost his grandson did too and have him think about what he could have done for that to happen.

Stories can have unreliable narrators. Not everyone is going to see things through the same lens as you do. Makarov thinking he was a good father and grandfather could make sense if perhaps he wasn't entirely aware of what was going on behind the scenes.

If, like I have mentioned before, Ivan grew resentful of Makarov and Fairy tail because it took away his father's attention which started out as Ivan acting out for that attention but it didn't work and got worse then its possible Makarov may not have noticed his son was feeling neglected. And I will stand by my belief that Ivan was an abusive father to Laxus. Maybe not physically but definitely mentally. And its possible that he said something to Laxus for him to be too afraid to take to Makarov about what was going on.

Fairy tail has a mix of villains who you can understand why they might have fallen down the path they did(the seiz with bad guidance, Lyon with becoming obsessed with his goal, Gajeel being raised in a guild that practically praised him for his violenece) while others where they just are evil because (Brain/Zero, Mard Geer and the rest of Tartarous, Erigor) I personally believe Ivan could have been the former. Give more context to it. Sometimes, children who aren't treated correctly by their parents fall into the wrong crowd, that could have happened with Ivan.

And again, his debut and build up in GMG was not good. His whole reason for joining the games was to get at Fairy tail and possibly get to Laxus specifically. So why was it only targeted on the first day. Third I get since there was no way to attack each other although they could have tried to trip up Cana or sneakly hurt Erza or Cana while they stood around.

But there isn't an excuse for day 2. Natsu and Gajeel could barely move. Wouldn't it make sense for RT to go after them while they were down?

And why not attack Juvia as well as Gray? Both are from FT.

And the fact that Gajeel being a double agent is brought up once with Laxus just mentioning that was how they got the info and Ivan being angry about it. Why not bring it full circle to have Ivan order Gajeel to work at sabotaging FT and aiding RT. Maybe even make him attack his own guild members during the night. Gajeel would likely refuse to do this since he at this point cares about FT so Ivan proceeds to threaten one of the members he's close with. It could be Lily or Levy, maybe Juvia or any other member he has an attachment or relationship with (Like how I see him being close with Mira and Wendy) Which forces his hand and makes it a case where the members are sceptical and think Gajeel is falling back into his old ways and betraying the guild.

So then when its the fight with Laxus and Ivan reveals some info to Laxus since he thinks he'll be on his side, it gets Laxus angry that Ivan would be willing to harm any of his guild and breaks what little hope he had for his dad.

Plus, it could lead to a little more chaos if Ivan is questioned by the council because he could try to put the blame on Gajeel and cite his sudden behaviour change. The council bring Gajeel in for questioning and then you could have a moment where Laxus reveals Gajeel was never wanting to hurt the guild and that he was being threatened into doing what he was doing and Makarov reveals Gajeel was a double agent the entire time.

The consequences can vary. It could be Gajeel is arrested because its a 4 to 5 vs 1 and its canon Gajeel has been in legal trouble before or he could be let go with a slap on the wrist and a warning to the FT guild where it could come back up later. (Maybe in a Gajeel centric arc perhaps something similar to the Rhodinite manga)

Or have Ivan cause harm to Gajeel now that he knows he was a double agent, attacking Gajeel and causing him to have a permanent injury. A branding, missing limb, damaged eye. Something other than a basic scar that isn't that noticeable to put out permanent consequences.

What can I say, I just love putting Gajeel in angsty situations.