#i'll probably have more thoughts on this later into my episode 5 rewatch

[lilacthebooklover]

hey so do you think the reason why lucifer couldn't come to heaven with charlie is because he knows lilith is there?

lilith being in heaven was foreshadowed from here. charlie mentions it and lucifer looks over to the portrait of lilith. he knows she's there- and looks so guilty in this shot because charlie isn't aware, and he won't tell her. lucifer knows where lilith has been for those seven years, knows that lilith (from what we can infer) left both him and charlie to ascend to it, knows that he can't face her again as he is. by gosh does this man have a lot going on

[khytal]

ok gamers I rewatched tristamp one more time in order to write a post about the soundtrack, and some of the stuff I found blew my socks off (even though I've seen every episode like 6 times) so buckle up because oh my god. oh my god

this will cover most of both volumes of the OST (which you can find on spotify), with a focus on wolfwood, and a little bit of vash, meryl, and the eye of michael

...and a very thorough breakdown of "drain arm" :)

notes before I get into it: -I won't be analyzing the plant song because I. already wrote an entire separate thing about that haha (a link to that doc will be in the replies section of the notes if you're interested)

-you won't need to know anything about music theory, because I'm just pointing out where certain themes come up (with the exception of "duet", but I'll explain terminology there). timestamps will be included so you can listen for them as you read

-if you're obsessed with the OST like I am, most of this probably won't be anything new x) but I hope it's enjoyable regardless

-my credentials: I was a pianist for 10 years and an oboist for 7.5 years and I only had 1 semester of intermediate music theory but I got to analyze the 1st mvt of tchaik 5 and I think that permanently altered my brain chemistry

-the tracks I recommend being familiar with to have a better grasp on this post are: -> "whistling/blues harp in the wasteland" (vash's leitmotif) -> "reality" -> "childhood memories" -> "duet" -> "human subject" (eye of michael, or EoM, leitmotif) -> "drain arm" (technically optional)

-please don't take any of my interpretations/speculation as fact! you are absolutely free to come to your own conclusions I just have a lot of thoughts about the soundtrack lol 👍

here we go :]

EP1: -you can hear a variation of the plant song in "immigrant space explorer" (0:36-1:00)

-vash's leitmotif is first heard in "no man's land" (0:41-0:48)

-only about half of "mystery man" plays, and his leitmotif (0:38-0:51) is actually cut from the scene so it's not heard at all

EP2: -"escape" has vash's leitmotif from 0:18-0:31. they also took out the lyrics in the episode's version of the track x)

-it's possible that we'll hear "might is right" or a new arrangement of it if we get to see the rest of the nebraska family in future episodes, since there were posters of marilyn. I think people largely associate the song with EG the Mine but due to the track title and the fact that it first played in this episode, I feel like it's more about the nebraskas

-I'll talk about "childhood memories" in ep12 because it's related to rem's themes

EP3: -the plant song can be heard in "compatriots" (1:01-1:11)

-"reality" is first heard here, right before the episode in which wolfwood is introduced. keep this in mind for later :')

EP4: -"undertaker" has a dissonant sax part (0:48-0:54) that's similar to the one found in "irritation" (1:05-1:11), but it's an ascending passage rather than descending. it doesn't show up anywhere else so it might become a motif we'll hear in the future, but there's no way to know until the next part is released

-"planet zaji", from 0:55-1:04, has that one part from "time left" (1:02-1:09). it's heard while wolfwood's spinning the punisher around but I think it's just something that sounds cool, and you can't really hear it anyway because of the sound effects/dialogue. if zazie gets any additional themes in the future I might have more to say on this

-vash's leitmotif kicks in in "hungry !" (0:21-0:43) when wolfwood introduces himself at the end of the episode. I really like this track I hope we'll get to hear it again x)

EP5: -I don't think there's any meaning behind "shadow" borrowing from "worms network". I'm pretty sure it was just for mood (and to be fair it is a cool track)

-you can hear vash's leitmotif at the beginning of "boy and vash". this is the part where vash is escorting rollo back to the village

-"cyborg" introduces a new 4-note pattern (0:07-0:14) that I'm calling the eye of michael leitmotif. if hearing this reminds you of episode 6 then you already understand what I mean

-"dud" has vash's leitmotif as well (2:20-2:59), which starts playing when vash is begging rollo to wake up after wolfwood kills him

-only a small part of "human subject" (0:25-0:35) is used for the final scene, right when the windmills start turning. using the EoM leitmotif as a sendoff to the empty village is. really haunting

EP6 (this is a long one I'm sorry): -the EoM leitmotif can be heard in "reborn" (0:09-0:14, but it's easier to hear in 0:26-0:30). this is the opening scene where wolfwood guns down the deserter

-they do reuse "worms network" when livio first opens fire on vash but that's more for mood in my opinion. you could say it hints at zazie monitoring the sand steamer though

-we're probably going to hear "the desert rogue" again when the bad lads gang shows up in a future episode, possibly with a new arrangement for brilliant dynamites neon (this is one of my personal favorite tracks actually. it's a shame they didn't get to use the whole thing because 0:45 to the end is really cool)

-"boyhood" contains the EoM leitmotif and it's very in-your-face in this song (1:15-2:19). in the episode itself the track gets cut at around 2:10, but in the OST the piano motif from "orphanage" can be heard one more time right at the end of the song at 2:18-2:20. which is an evil thing to do. anyway

-"nicholas the punisher" is an arrangement of "reality". let that sit for a second, maybe go listen to those two tracks or something.

okay so we can look at this in a few different ways:

-> the end of episode 3 is of course a reality check, supported by the corresponding track being titled "reality" (even though it's fabricated by nai: to suggest and then prove to the people of no man's land that vash is indeed deserving of the $$6mil bounty; and to tell vash that his presence will pose a threat to humans). you know who else is supposed to be* grounded in reality? the pragmatic nicholas d wolfwood, who's introduced at the start of episode 4 *tristamp wolfwood hasn't quite found his resolve yet, as shown by his hesitation when livio appears

-> in the scene where "nicholas the punisher" is heard, vash is insistent on rescuing livio while wolfwood pushes back and says it's too late for him. he's clearly wishing he wouldn't have to eliminate livio though, and with "reality" as the foundation of this song, it presents wolfwood's inner turmoil in a new way for the audience: vash, who is physically right there trying to persuade him that there's still hope for his brother, vs his role as "nicholas the punisher" in sound, in his mind, and the "reality" that developed along with it (death is/can be a mercy, and sometimes it's necessary to sacrifice one life to save many)

(I also want to add that while legato's dialogue shows he intended for the orphanage to be eliminated through livio's death, it seems wolfwood didn't even realize that killing livio would mean more kids would be taken by the EoM for experimentation. he thought he had to choose between livio or the children, but it was a "test" of loyalty; and legato was attempting to obtain said loyalty by force)

-> outside of the episode, if you were to just listen to this track within the OST it's very representative of his character. contrary to "undertaker", which is fairly laid-back and....honestly kind of playful (and equally reflective of wolfwood's personality, when he's relaxed), "nicholas the punisher" is a more somber and contemplative piece. the fact that it's built on "reality" already suggests that he's someone whose beliefs conflict with vash's; and even without knowing that, both of wolfwood's themes contrast with the energy of "vash the stampede" quite clearly (even if I personally don't consider that track to be vash's official theme, it's still associated with him). I think it's really interesting that vash, the quieter one, has more raucous songs while wolfwood, the one with a sharp tongue, has calmer tracks :)

you might be wondering if "orphanage" is in "nicholas the punisher" and the answer is......yes, but actually, no. but kinda if you're delusional like me. this little pattern from 0:29-0:42 in "orphanage" is found in the low brass from 0:57-1:11 in "nicholas the punisher" (although it's in a different key and has a slight variation in the 2nd half). it's not quite the same, but both phrases start by going down a half step, then down a P5 interval (D->C#->F# for "orphanage", F->E->A for "nicholas the punisher"). lastly the sand steamer's leitmotif (I guess) is also present but that's. obviously because this is happening on the sand steamer lol

-"whom to kill, whom to let live" is just a faster/more tense arrangement of "orphanage" with saxophone over it. starting at 1:07 you can hear the worms leitmotif (1:31-1:34 in "worms network")

I can't say whether or not legato is already represented in the OST because he's currently not associated with any unique tracks, but they might tie the dissonant saxophone passage from "irritation" to him. it's first heard when legato stops wolfwood from escaping the facility, and as far as I can remember it's not played anywhere else. if he plays a bigger role in the next season, which I'm sure he will, I'll be keeping an ear out for this x) (I only mention the sax thing because I don't think he's represented by the sax solo that plays in "whom to kill, whom to let live")

EP7: -a little more of "the desert rogue" is heard when the bad lads make their way onto the sand steamer but it's very hard to make out over the gang yelling in the background lmao

-we're treated to the entirety of "human subject", for the scene where livio briefly returns to himself. if you somehow weren't convinced that those repeated 4 notes had anything to do with the eye of michael, this is the last instance where it's heard: the moment livio's overcome by whatever brainwashing was used on him by the EoM

-I think most people associate "time left" with ep12 but it's first played in this episode and I believe that it was primarily composed with the ion cannon sequence in mind (though a majority of the tracks in the OST only play once for specific scenes, with some songs being cut short and getting different parts played across 2+ episodes. "irritation" and "human subject" are examples of this)

EP8: -this one's a little hard to hear because the 1st note is implied in the C drone but vash's leitmotif starts at around 0:09 in "complicity" and runs all the way to 1:06

-it's also in "home" (1:38-1:57), playing at the moment luida hands vash the red coat :)

EP9: -I've talked about this before but I really like that there's 4(?) measures of polyrhythm (2 or more differing rhythmic lines that are played within the same time signature) when vash joins in, before the brothers come together on the same even rhythm. you can see how vash's quarter-note pattern doesn't line up with nai's quarter-note triplets, and in fact, neither of them ever land or start together:

(for the sake of comprehension I wrote it out with a faster tempo to stretch the polyrhythm part over 8 bars instead of the slow tempo/4 bars. I'm not sure what the official tempo is. I think a sane person would write it at a faster tempo so that the part doesn't look stupidly cluttered but a good musician would be able to play it regardless. anyway-)

it sounds even more stilted because vash is playing on the offbeat. polyrhythm's such a great way to represent the brothers' relationship because it seems so chaotic but both lines are still in time together, following the same beats. they're so different but in the end they're still brothers who (are trying to) understand each other. and I love that vash is playing secondo, a more harmonic/supportive part, while knives has primo, where the melody/ornaments are. it says a lot about their personalities :')

since I don't know what the original sheet music looks like I can't say if this is true but you can hear that the plant song at 1:03 is played in octaves (2 notes that're the same pitch with one higher than the other). because of the nature of a duet, and the fact that this was played by the twins when they were little, the octaves were probably split between the parts. so vash was playing the lower octave of the plant song with his right hand, and nai played the upper octave with his left hand (we don't get to see this because it cuts to nai playing the song alone at that point). also: vash favors his right hand while nai favors his left

-now for something far less interesting: "last run" is a medley combining "ethics and morality", "compatriots", and "millions knives"

EP10: -"a cruel sight" seems to be unused. it was probably intended to lead into "bio-power reactor" in the scene where meryl and roberto meet elendira in the tank (given that it ends the same way "bio-power reactor" starts), but they cut it and just played a version of "bio-power reactor" without the melody

-elendira's themes ("elendira the crimsonnail" and "which is the monster?") seem to have some lyrics that're most audible in the beginning of the tracks but they're almost impossible to make out without some kind of editing software, which I don't have lol. they're already very quiet in the background and they echo, on top of sounding like they were put through autotune

also this is entering speculation territory but it makes me wonder if elendira's theme is going to evolve with her. we've seen some concept art with her having a more teenage appearance, so I think it'd be really cool if the vocals also changed accordingly

additionally she doesn't have the EoM leitmotif anywhere but she DOES have a proper 4-note chromatic pattern that descends from D in "which is the monster?" (1:32-1:35), which is the same note that the EoM leitmotif starts on. if we consider EoM's broken chromatic passage to represent the failed experiments, then elendira, with an actual chromatic passage in her theme, is a success

-"meryl's regrets" is ALSO an arrangement of "reality" :') this is the track that plays during roberto's final moment, which was. you know. the consequence of meryl running off in pursuit of the truth. the "reality" roberto had warned her about several times prior to episode 10. interestingly, while "nicholas the punisher" expands on the original track, "meryl's regrets" is a reduction--it's mostly just the baseline with some notes here and there. she doesn't have a theme yet, but 1:23-1:33 might be something we hear again if/when she gets a track associated with her

EP11: -"nicholas and meryl" is an arrangement of "boy and vash", with erhu echoing vash's leitmotif. I think it's a neat way to show through music that both of them are here because of vash :]

-the tracklist goes slightly out of order at this point for some reason. after "memory retrieval", "memory of geranium" is what plays in the final memory, when nai decapitates rem

EP12: -"memory of rem" is a combination of "childhood memories" and "memory of geranium". "childhood memories" is also found in "knives's piano", which is based on "duet". one fun way of interpreting this is that the "childhood memories" part of the duet is actually from rem, if she was the one who taught the twins how to play piano, which would make "duet" a musical representation of vash and nai's roots (pun intended. sorry). this also suggests nai misses rem, with how often he plays the piano, even if he thinks he hates her.

but "childhood memories" can also simply be seen as a theme that's associated with rem, nai, and vash's brief time together x)

-okay this is the part where I get to rant about "drain arm" because THIS SONG was literally the reason I decided I needed to rewatch stampede. I was listening to "drain arm" a couple weeks after the finale aired and I heard vash's leitmotif near the end and I was like "NO WAY!!!! HOW DID I MISS THAT"

as it turns out, it was cut from episode 12.

:)

not to worry though, I still have plenty to say about it. even if I'm a little disappointed. just. a little.

-> from 1:13-1:25, you can hear vash's leitmotif in the cello. this DID make it into the scene, and it plays when vash rises through the clouds

-> 2:44-3:10 is where some of the lyrics from vocal version of "millions knives" play: "remember how / we used to be / no turning back / sky's (skies??) falling down". although you can't actually hear the "remember how" in "drain arm" (at least not without blasting the song into your ears, which I don't recommend), it starts right when the image of vash and nai sitting in the geodome appears

-> we finally get the plant song at 3:36, when the condensed energy starts to leak out/charge. and then after it fires, but before nai dives into the beam, we hear "I still care for you" (3:44-3:52). and while it's originally from the vocal version of "millions knives", in the context of the scene I think it's a sentiment from both brothers: vash, who pleads for nai to let go and releases the energy away from him; and then knives, desperately reaching for the cube because he believes the success of his plan will ensure his family's (and especially his brother's) safety, the only ones he's ever cared about

in other words: plant song in cello = vash -> "I still care for you" -> continuation of plant song in low brass = knives. they're connected by this single sentence

-> knives's leitmotif (I didn't talk about it because it's only found in songs that signal his appearance, so it's really obvious, but yes he's got one of those) plays at 4:03 for the "nai is dead. you killed him" exchange

-> it goes back to a variation of the plant song at 4:29 (I LOVE the piano at 4:40-4:49 btw. it's so good. I could cry about it. probably)

if you've read my plant song analysis you might be wondering how to tell when it's being associated with the name millions knives instead of the plant race. since we know that a good chunk of the songs in the OST were written like a film score, the visual context (and/or the song titles themselves) can clue you in. "drain arm"'s use of the plant song is meant to highlight that vash and nai aren't human, so it's the latter

-> now here's the part that was removed, probably due to the runtime: vash's leitmotif in the cello again, from 5:03-5:09. if you revisit the part right before nai lets go of the cube, you'll hear that it skips these 6 seconds and goes straight to knives's theme ("but that's the plant song!" yes. we'll get to that in a sec). this missing bit right here?? fucks me up EVERY time. it's the most mournful his leitmotif has ever sounded, appropriately so, and it's absolutely criminal that it wasn't included. especially because knives's theme, the plant song melody, follows it up on violin as the cello continues to play a line in harmony.

and it's knives's theme because in this moment it's about him dying, not the plants. they spent a whole season tricking us into thinking that the plant song was knives's theme, and then they used it to send him off.

-> and then july city explodes o7

as much as I'd love to hear "drain arm" again for another chance to let the weight of vash's motif come through, I think it's too intertwined with this scene to be recycled. like. maaaaaaaybe they could use it for fifth moon if that's supposed to be the climax of the next part but they kinda?? already did the "fire a really big laser at the sky" thing? anyway yeah I'm totally normal about "drain arm". so normal

Extras: -the punisher and the double fangs have these cool sound effects when they transform and it kinda makes me think that their guns are built from lost tech, if the punisher's laser cannon wasn't evidence enough of this

-there's no equivalent of "sound life" in stampede, and I don't think there's going to be one. however, I do think that it would make a lot of sense if rem taught the boys how to play piano, because we could get something like:

-> rem asks vash about the plant song (the memory in ep12) -> she gives the boys piano lessons -> she helps them compose "duet"

-they didn't use "stampede out" for this season but I really hope we'll hear it in the next part. I know it's just a longer version of "escape" but it's a fun song :]

-this is. obvious but you can hear "gate" in "millions knives". no idea if they'll put "gate" into more songs, especially for vash now that he seems to have some control over it

-there's also something kinda fun with key signatures too: -> "millions knives" is in b minor -> vash's leitmotif is in d dorian (of course this changes depending on the key signature of whatever track it's used in) -> "undertaker" is also in d dorian -> I think songs associated with no man's land/humanity are usually in some dorian scale or specifically the key of a minor but this is solely based on jeneora rock since july city had its own unique theme so I'm not totally sure yet. "duet" is in a minor by the way -> "nicholas the punisher" is in d minor. if "undertaker" is tied to humanity (which is tied to vash) then "nicholas the punisher" is linked to the other side: knives, through the EoM. it adds another interesting layer to the contrast between wolfwood's two themes, but I don't consider this to hold any meaning lol -> I WILL say that b minor is the relative minor of D Major, so having knives and vash's songs be written in those keys was likely deliberate. and what makes it really interesting is that to get d dorian, you take a D Major scale and lower the 3rd and 7th notes by a half step

-I'm not 100% sure but I think plucked piano strings were used to create the low, scratchy string sound effect in some of the songs (one example is literally at the beginning of "irritation"). I think it's really cool that piano is everywhere in the soundtrack, but not necessarily by hitting the keys

-I am unbelievably excited for livio's/razlo's themes because they have the opportunity to do some REALLY COOL things with the music for them. we might not get them in part 2 (though I think we will) but whenever it happens I'll be so ready for it >:)

and that's all!! o(-< thank you for reading! if you actually took the time to go through all of this with the soundtrack pulled up, I'm. impressed. i think. anyway I'm a big fan of OSTs with strong storytelling and tristamp's OST is no exception :]

if you've got questions, feel free to ask ^^ I definitely didn't cover everything I just picked out whatever I thought was worth mentioning. which was uhhhh quite a bit x)

(also again if you're interested in reading the plant song analysis I did it's in the replies section of the notes 👍 I recommend reading it on a computer though)

[heyclickadee]

It’s only been a month-and-a-half, but I finally got a chance to watch another episode of The Bad Batch for my rewatch. So! Long, rambling, mildly nonsensical thoughts on TBB, Season 1, Episode 2: “Cut and Run:”

1. This is one of the episodes my brother has seen—he’s seen up through episode 8—and he doesn’t like it. He told me that this is one of the “bad” episodes, but rewatching it I just…I can’t agree with that. It’s not a big action packed set piece, sure, but it doesn't have to be. It's a good little episode that succeeds at what it’s trying to do, and sets the stage for the story moving forward.

2. The FONDNESS on Echo’s face as he’s looking at Omega all tired out after going through the ship I CAN’T. Also, I love how the discussion Echo and Hunter have about Omega, and Echo asking what in the world they’re going to do with her, is the first bit we see of the way Hunter and Echo are going to bounce off of each other. Hunter makes decisions, Echo asks questions and prods at whether they’re the right decisions, Hunter bounces more ideas off of Echo, and so on. It’s a dynamic I adore and I’m excited to revisit more of it.

3. This is a random background thing, but clouds in the background as the Marauder lands near the Lawquane farm are stylistically different than the clouds are going to be later on in the series. They’re very painterly here, but later on they’re going to be a little more realistic. I think it’s just one of those things that developed over time. Maybe. I kind of want to keep my eye on it.

4. Speaking of clouds, it is kind of interesting that there is that thunderstorm that’s building a few minutes after they land, which Hunter notices, and then Cut mentions the storm that’s coming (referring to the Empire) later on, and then the storm thing doesn’t come up again later in the episode. It might just be one of those things where there was a scene that got cut after the boarding process, but they didn’t revise the earlier parts of the episode script, but I also want to keep my eye on the storm motif through the rest of the series to see if and when it comes up again, and if there’s any kind of pattern. There probably isn’t, buuuut this hiatus is going to go on for a while, so. Ya know.

5. JUST FEEL THE GRASS, THE DIRT, JUST LIKE SHE DREAMED THEY’D BEEEEEEEEEE

6. Okay, but, I genuinely love Omega’s reaction to stepping out of the ship onto Saleucami, and how it contrasts with the rest of the batch. They’re all on alert, business as usual, and Omega’s so, so excited to be there. She’s wowed by dirt. She’s never seen anything like it. I love the little detail of her taking a deep breath of the air on this new planet. She’s probably never smelled air that didn’t smell like salt and antiseptic (this is just me, but I sort of imagine Kamino smelling a little like a hospital). She’s never stood on ground that wasn’t plastoid or durasteel or whatever Kaminoan floors are made of. She’s probably never seen so much color in one place or had a chance to run after a space butterfly or do much of anything. She’s so small and everything is new and she’s so excited for this big new adventure and nothing bad had better ever happen to her (and now I'm crying in Star Wars).

7. Another background thing, but what are these?

What are these crops? Is this space corn? Corn that’s just one giant kernel? Orb corn? Corb? Wookieepedia doesn’t say (as far as I can tell) and I know this is silly, but I want to knooooooow.

8. Tech’s little smirk as he says, “Why not? We’re all deserters now,” to Echo gets me every single time. Man just does not care about breaking the rules.

9. Regarding the Lawquane’s booby trap: One, the way that Wrecker immediately starts blasting is just…I don’t know. There’s something sad about how jumpy he is. Second, is the booby trap to keep local wildlife away, like the nexu, or unwanted visitors who might be looking for Cut?

10. Suu looks AMAZING in her new outfit (I'll admit I didn't love the monokini and chaps look for her), and Cut. Cut. Why? Is your facial hair like this?

11. I love Cut and Suu. I love Cut and Suu so much. Healthiest couple in the entire galaxy far far away, I swear. And I love their silly matching pun names.

12. Wrecker is SO DANG HAPPY to see Jek and Shaeeah and they are so happy to see him I can't. Wrecker is so soft with kids. It kills me.

13. Jumping off of that, though, there's a wonderful little untold story here with the CF99 and the Lawquanes. Because they don't just know Cut, who they could have theoretically met before Cut deserted or before the war even started, they know the entire family. And they know the entire family well enough that Wrecker's "Uncle Wrecker" and that Cut immediately asks about Crosshair and why he's not there, knowing that the most logical answer is that he died; Hunter's one-on-one conversation with Suu is just as casual and familiar as his one-on-one conversations with Cut. I don't think it was Rex who introduced them, because Echo didn't know about Cut until this episode, and Echo's got a much longer and closer history with Rex than the rest of the batch have; if Rex didn't tell Echo about Cut, he probably didn't tell CF99 either, meaning that Hunter and the rest probably met the Lawquanes independently.

And, on the one hand, I neeeeeeeeeeeed to know how they all met. Did they meet Cut when they were cadets and then Suu later on and then both of them and their kids all together later on? Did they just wander across the Lawquane farm while stationed on Saleucami? Did Suu help train clones on Kamino (she's a really good shot, after all), and is that how she met Cut? Did she meet CF99 that way? Did they all collectively help Cut desert? But, on the other hand, I don't actually want to know the story. I like that these people have history to which we're not privy. It helps them exist outside the bounds of the story and feel a little more real.

14. It's nice that Echo practically jumps to ask about Rex after Cut brings him up. It sets up the way Echo's going to go off with Rex's group later on, sure, but I think the reason Echo gets so excited here is because this is the first indication he has that ANY of the other clones he knows escaped the programming they talked about last episode and left the Empire. And the fact that it's Rex specifically…. It's a little bit of hope and normalcy he can cling to in a pretty awful situation.

15. "Where's Crosshair?" "It's…complicated." Yeah, I'll say. (Exhibit A of Hunter having to be dragged kicking and screaming before he will talk about a n y t h i n g I am putting him in a salad spinner)

16. The way this first conversation in the Lawquane home goes from Crosshair, to Rex and the "behavioral implant" he brought up to Cut, and then directly to the inhibitor chips is interesting, because it kind reinforces what we already know about Crosshair's situation from episode one--that he has a chip, that it activated, that his chip was turned up to eleven--while also emphasizing the fact that the rest of the batch doesn't really know or understand what that means. Even Tech, who just kinda sussed out that the chips exist because obviously the Kaminoans modified clone behavior and obviously that's how they did it, and who absolutely suspected that Crosshair's behaviour in "Aftermath" had something to do with the programming (the way he looks up at Crosshair when he says he "can't be certain" that they're immune), doesn't seem to one-hundred percent get what it means and how little choice a clone with an active chip has.

17. Omega knows about the chips because she grew up in Nala Se's lab. I want to know what else she knows (because she knows a lot she doesn't talk about).

18. The writers/animators/board artists/showrunners absolutely nailed the way a kid who hasn't been around other kids much hesitates around them with Omega here.

19. Hunter smiling after Omega as she goes out to join the other kids and then being surprised to see Cut and Suu watching him be all fatherly gets me every time. I love how pretty much half the conversations they have with him are basically just, "You're a dad now! Congratulations!" "What? No, I'm not." "Sure. Keep telling yourself that."

20. Jumping off of that, this episode is absolutely crucial for Hunter's development. Half of the reason Hunter is the way he is through the rest of the series is because he spends this episode watching Cut and Suu (especially Cut) and everything Cut does, and then, when Omega stays with the bad batch at the end of the episode, spends the rest of the series desperately trying to be like Cut. And, in some ways, that's good. He's gentler with Omega, more understanding of the fact that she's a kid, trying to keep her out of danger and allow her to have a childhood, putting the family he still has first, trying to leave their old lives as soldiers behind as much as possible, etc. But when he inevitably fails to be Cut, or to be a parent the exact same way Cut is, because he's a different person and his situation is completely different than Cut's is, he starts shutting down, because he can't cope with the failure. And that runs headlong into the way he feels he's failed as a brother AND as a leader, and so by the time we get a few episodes into season two Hunter is deeply depressed and visibly unwell. (Hey, another parallel between Crosshair and Omega--Hunter probably feels like he's failed both of them.)

21. Another reason I'm going to take the word filler and put it on a shelf where people can't reach it as far as this episode is concerned is because this episode is the first time we get a hint of how the rise of the Empire is affecting regular people. Not clones, not jedi, not former republic officers, not Kaminoan politicians, not freedom fighters--just regular people trying to live their lives. The way that the Empire is setting up the chain code system, regulating travel, clamping down hard on remote planets and former separatist worlds (Saleucami changed hands several times over the course of the war), all told through the story of CF99 helping this one family escape and get to safety, is an important story to have early on.

22. Aaaaand jumping off of that, I love how Hunter's focus over the course of this episode shifts from laying low and learning how to hide to, "Okay fellas, we are getting Cut and Suu and the kids out of here even if we have to blast our way out." And I know Hunter's going to hesitate to help people out more and more as the series goes on, but this is a pattern we're going to continue to see. The bad batchers aren't really heroes in a traditional Star Wars sense; with the exception of Echo, who has to leave the group to do it, they're not fighting the empire head on or trying to overthrow tyranny, not directly. But they do help out in small ways, usually a person or a family at a time, usually helping them escape a bad situation, and that's not nothing in a galaxy where the empire exists. I sort of wonder if this isn't pointing to where the batch is ultimately going to end up. They might not be freedom fighters or rebels in the end the way Rex and Saw are. Maybe they'll just be focused on getting people--clones, families, maybe even surviving jedi--to safety. Maybe they help organize something like The Path. Maybe. I guess we'll see, eventually.

23. Oh gosh this is getting long. Are you surprised, though? (Still sorry, though. Not sorry enough to pare it down, but still sorry.)

24. The kids immediately go to Suu for help when the nexu attacks, and it's great. Also ECHO'S AND TECH'S FACES when Omega almost gets hurt and Wrecker asking if she's okay I love how much they already care about her 😭

25. The way Echo goes from being completely flabbergasted by Tech's plan to get the ship impounded on purpose, to being completely for it, to being real snarky about it once things start going wrong sends me every time. I mean. I know, I know we all joked about how Echo would disapprove of the riot race in "Faster" if he'd been there, but you know what? No. Hunter would have shut it down if he'd been there, but Echo? It would have gone like:

Tech: I will be the racer.

Echo: GOOD. FUCK 'EM UP, TECH.

Later on, during the race

Echo: This is suicide! I can't believe you thought this was a good idea, Tech!

Tech, calmly going 200 mph: You also thought it was a good idea, as I recall.

Echo: I think it would be a good idea for you to shut up!

Anyway, I love their banter.

26. So…Tech made enough counterfeit chain codes that there was one for Omega, meaning he knew Hunter planned for Omega to leave Saleucami with Cut and Suu, and that Echo may have known as well (even though Hunter clearly didn't include Wrecker in the conversation), and that he planned on taking the chain codes to Cut and Suu himself. Meaning that he was probably also planning on taking Omega with him when he took the chain codes over so that she could leave with them. And Omega ran off and took the chain codes to Cut and Suu before Tech could, of course, meaning that that didn't happen, but I really want to know how the conversation would have gone if Tech had had to tell Omega to come with him on the code run. I mean.

Tech: I will need Omega to accompany me to the departure site.

Omega: Me? Why? Do you need me to get into a crawl space on a super secret mission.

Tech: No. You need to be at the transport because you are leaving Saleucami with Cut and Suu.

Omega: Aaaaaand all of you, right?

Tech, who mentally signed the sibling adoption papers the second Omega said she wanted to sit with them in the cafeteria scene in "Aftermath" (I will die on this hill, he does not stop smiling at her after that): Nnooo….

Omega: ….

Tech: I assume Hunter told you.

Omega: starting to cry

Tech, on the comms: Hunter. Omega is crying, Hunter. She is upset about leaving. Hunter. What do I do? Hunter?

(This is probably, in retrospect, why Tech apparently didn't tell her, either.)

27. The poncho and the floppy hat was such a good look for Wrecker. (Also, the audacity of having Wrecker bonk his head on that pipe in the background. I know it's a funny reference to Jango doing it in AotC which is a funny reference to that one stormtrooper in A New Hope, but it still fills me with dread.)

28. Shout out to Cut and Suu. Cut's technically a wanted man, they're escaping Saleucami by the skin of their teeth, they're about to be refugees, they've got two kids to look out for already, they have an uncertain future, and when Hunter asks them to take Omega they're instantly okay with it. They're ready to take in another kid simply because that kid needs to be taken care of. And THEN they talk to that kid and ask what she wants (we don't see this happen, but it's heavily implied), take what that kid actually wants into account, and let her go back to where she wants to be. They are the best and I love them.

29. The character animation on Hunter during the scene where he tells Omega that she's going with the Lawquanes is so, so good. Just. The way he can hardly look at her, the surprise when Omega says she wants to stay with the batch, the way his face hardens when Omega looks back because he's trying to hold everything in and the way Omega interprets that as Hunter wanting her gone even though he absolutely wants her to stay and just thinks he's doing the best thing for her--I want to bake the character animators cinnamon rolls and give them all a million dollars each. (Also an aside--this fits into a pattern of Hunter often doing what he thinks is best for his family rather than doing what he wants, and what he thinks is best often being different than what might actually be best.)

30. Another silly aside, and I didn't notice this until this watch through as I was looking at Cut stand next to Mr. Dorito, but Cut kinda has a little bit of a tummy. He's not fat, but he's definitely a little thicker around the middle than, say, Rex or Howzer. He's got a bit of a dad bod and it's honestly really nice to see a person gain a little weight while living a life they chose and clearly love.

31. I'm. I'm feeling a certain kind of way about Omega immediately assuming that she did something wrong and that the rest of the batchers don't want her around because of it (it's not just Hunter--when Tech and Echo react a little tersely to her being on the Marauder when it gets impounded she seems to assume that they're angry with her even though they're not), and Hunter getting rid of her (from her perspective) is some kind of reaction to that or a punishment for it, and it's not a good sort of feeling. Especially in light of the theories that Nala Se sent Emerie to Hemlock for some reason. I'm also feeling a certain kind of way about Omega losing her brothers once already as a very small child and losing them again at the end of season two and almost losing them in this episode because Hunter tries to send her away and. Just. Let this kid have her family, please. (This is another narrative reason why Tech has to be alive, btw.) (Also, I love the way that Hunter apologizes back and says he's got a lot to learn when Omega tries to apologize for "messing up.") (Also also the way Omega looks at her headpiece after she takes it off, complicated emotions are happening and I am really interested in her relationship with Kamino.)

32. "If this is where you want to be, then this is where you'll stay." 😭😭😭 I'm screaming because. I mean. What Hunter tries to do in this episode is exactly what Crosshair tells him to do with Omega in "Return to Kamino." And, on paper, Crosshair's right; living with fugitives in constant danger isn't a good life for a child. But being with her brothers no matter what is what Omega wants, and, after "Cut and Run," Hunter never stops taking Omega's choice here into account.

[spaceorphan18]

Have you read the latest script of K&J's podcast about the Michael episode? I'm very interested in hearing your thoughts. They were talking about Jenna acting out and being forced to take time off. And they mentioned being upset because other people were acting out and getting storylines or being given time off to do other things. The later one is def about D since he went to do the musical but I can't believe he would act out for that, it's like totally OOC.

Same anon as before as I was just finishing to read the script. They did indeed talk about Darren being written off and I'm debating if I should listen this time because the way it's written they seem very jealous of him. I'm getting upset by just reading this. So I'm still very curious about your thoughts about it if and when you have the chance to read/listen to it.

I actually figured you guys were all tired of my opinions, lol.

Yes, I did kind of skim the transcript this morning because I saw people talking about it and was curious. And, I have a lot of complicated feelings about the whole thing.

First of all, though, I say this with love to all the Blaine and Darren fans out there -- Kevin and Jenna are never going to be able to be objective when doing this podcast. I keep thinking about all the other rewatch podcasts I listen to, and how all of them - even when discussing things that were hard to go through and/or things that weren't that great with the show - have a level of decorum that Kevin and Jenna just do not have. I do not know why they began this podcast, but digging into the show on a media analysis level just is not where their talents lie.

(Also, I don't think they love Glee the way those other podcasters genuinely love their show and that just colors how they see things. I'll get more into this in a moment...)

And I get that it's frustrating. Believe me, I do. There are plenty of Kurt things they do not talk about that drive me nuts. But at the same time, I feel like the 'recaps' have boiled down to praising Naya, Amber, and themselves; commentating on whatever BTS stuff comes up, and discussing shit on TikTok. I'm not sure why they're even bothering with the 'recaps', tbh.

But guys - if this podcast is upsetting you, if you're finding yourself this anxious or mad or whatever -- it's time to stop. They're not going to change how they do things, and at this point, I'm not entirely sure what you're waiting for from them? Maybe it's time to stop hate listening <3 <3

***

As for the acting out -- I think a lot of the cast probably did. I'm sure Lea was a terror to work with at times. I'm sure Mark probably wasn't easy either. I know Naya spoke up on a lot of things -- though the producers didn't take as much issue with her until the Season 5 drama. Chris was pretty vocal about choices with his character. I can imagine Amber being just as frustrated with Mercedes' lack of anything to do. Didn't Heather say she kept it all inward? And what about Diana who really seems to not ever want to talk about Glee again?

So - who knows what acting out means, tbh.

Keeping all of this in context -- this cast was very tired by the time Season 3 came around. There were too many characters to service, they keep adding ones in, and they were all very young. (And for those of you who are experiencing your early 20s right now? I hate to say this to you -- but you are all still very young.) Added on the fact that the producers clearly did not understand their mental health needs (as evident about how apologetic Ryan Murphy seems to be about all of it) you get a lot of young people expressing their frustration in a lot of different ways over a lot of different things.

I think that Jenna has some very, very complicated feelings about the show -- and in particular about this era because this is where she had a rather big break down. You know what, I do feel for her, because I can see where she's coming from. I can't imagine - feeling like you're tied to a job where everyone around you seems to be getting a better deal than you, and you're trying to be the nice one, and eventually, holding all of that inwardly will make you crack. I'm glad she went to therapy. I kinda hope she's still going to therapy because it seems as though a lot of this is still bothering her.

And I don't really think that Darren, specifically, is ultimately what led to Jenna's breakdown. I think it was a lot of things compounding on each other and Darren on Broadway might have been the last straw that caused her to crack.

I will say (again with all the love to Darren, I adore the guy) there was underground talk that when Darren first got there - he didn't exactly handle his newfound fame in the most eloquent of ways -- in that he was a little on the pompous side. But again, that was age, and by the time Season 4 came around, by all accounts that I came across, he was friends with everyone.

That said - none of this is Darren's fault. It's not Darren's fault that Ryan Murphy handled his young cast and their mental health very badly. It's not Darren's fault that he jumped on opportunities when they arose. It's not Darren's fault that through his natural talents Blaine became a way more popular character than half the original cast. And it's not Darren's fault that Jenna has her own shit to deal with.

***

So, yeah...

I guess those are my thoughts.

And I'm still here enjoying Kurt, Blaine, Chris, and Darren -- and believe it or not, a lot of the show in general. And I don't really listen to Kevin and Jenna's podcast anymore because they just don't care about the things I do -- and that's fine.

[crayolacolor]

simon infinitytrain?

send me a character and i'll list the below things about them | accepting!

HELLO ANON. i do not know if you'll ever see this because it took me ten years, but here i am, answering you.

FAVORITE THING ABOUT THEM:

fun fact: simon infinity train is the reason i have a disclaimer about me getting attached to tragic antagonists in my pinned post. so you can probably make an educated guess what i like about him.

he's just. such a well written character. i love how his negative character development was contrasted against grace's positive character development. i love how the writers did a really good job of making him infuriating and sympathetic at the same time.

i'll go more into my thoughts on him in a later section, but yeah, the tl:dr is he really just is my character type hahaha.

he's just a really complex character and imo the writers nailed that.

LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THEM:

okay well, this answer changes depending on if you mean from a writing perspective or a 'him as a person' perspective. from a writing perspective, 100/10, no notes. i can't think of anything i disliked.

from a PERSON perspective. episode 6 makes me want to murder this man <3 i want to put tape over his mouth every time he speaks in that episode. it's somehow WAY worse than when he's just straightup being an over-dramatic anime villain at the end of the season.

FAVORITE LINE:

oh there are many. i need to rewatch again. but the ones that live in my brain rent free are ALL after his downward spiral begins:

"teamwork begins with two people trusting eachother. but you? you're no person." dramatic effect. extremely traumatizing for everybody who's ever watched this show. 10/10

"i liked what we had, but you made me do it! you betrayed the apex. and you betrayed me." again, dramatic effect. really gives you a feel for what's going on in his head, i think. 10/10

"why would i ever want to change if i'm always right!?" iconic. i think this is the one people remember the most from him, along with the one from ep 5.

BROTP & OTP (combining because my answer is the same for both):

grace. lol. full stop. hopefully i don't have to explain that i am VERY AWARE that their relationship was unhealthy in many, MANY ways. that is what i like about it. i'm a huge fan of messy relationships in fiction. i am a self proclaimed angst fiend.

the tragedy of it all is 100% the appeal of it for me, from either a platonic OR romantic standpoint. i love that. and yes, i do ship them to an extent- but NOT in the "i think they should have gotten together in canon" way. again, the angst is the appeal!!

i admit i do also enjoy aus where they fix their relationship, but not INSTEAD of the canon, more so in ADDITION to the canon. i think it's a fun alternate route to explore, but i deeply adore what the infinity train writers did with them in the show and that will not be changing.

NOTP:

literally any of the protags from the previous seasons. y'all, simon and grace are 18. you can't be shipping them with the 13-14 year olds. please stop. (nobody here! i mostly see this on ao3, honestly.)

RANDOM HEADCANON:

i think simon has been back to the cat multiple times in secret.

i really like the theory that he got some of the apex's tech from her. the main thing i have to support this is this line from the episode where he returns to her cabin in book 3:

"i knew you'd have something. you always do."

particularly i think there's a good chance he got the unmodified gravity boots from her (and likely modified them himself) and possibly also the number tracker.

UNPOPULAR OPINION:

oh i'm sure a lot of what i've already said has been an unpopular opinion, haha. i'm one of those people that's so in the middle in a debate that both sides of it have reasons to disagree with me.

i really like simon. he and grace are my favorite characters in the show. there are parts where i feel really bad for him, and parts where i want to yell at him and hit him over the head with a very large stick.

i see his death as a tragedy in universe, but also a really good writing choice on the part of the infinity train crew.

i don't think they secretly had a scheme to make us dislike him. i think it was written in such a way that it makes sense that some people would have a viscerally negative reaction to him, and others wouldn't. he's a very complex character and that's good writing!!!

i think the tragedy was the point, which is something both people who like him and people who hate him seem to completely overlook in a lot of cases. it's either "woohoo! simon died!" or "killing simon was bad writing he should have been redeemed >:/" not "oh this is really sad but i love it from a story perspective."

i don't think he was "irredeemable", per-say. the fact is, he was faced with a pivotal choice in episode five, and he picked the wrong one. he chose to double-down. i love that. i really do. i love the downward spiral. it's painful in the best way. i would not change the canon show for the world. again, 100/10, no notes.

but i can also see a universe where he made the right choice. i was writing a fic about that, once. (which admittedly has some characterization issues which i would fix if i tried it again.) i think it was possible. and i think that's a fun route to explore too. not a better route from a writing standpoint, but a good one.

i have so many more thoughts but this has already gotten really long, and i have two more questions to go, lol. but if you want to hear anymore you're free to send me another ask about it!

but, for now, moving on.

SONG I ASSOCIATE WITH THEM:

someone else on tumblr pointed out that "the moon will sing" by the crane wives is a good fit for simon @ grace and now i can't unhear it.

and, finally, FAVORITE PICTURE OF THEM:

anime villain simon my beloved.

[chrismcleaneatspants]

Thoughts on Shawn and Jasmine? Seeing how fans have often seen them as the few good things about Pahkitew Island, I wonder what you think of them.

Shawn and Jasmine are definitely on the higher end of Gen 3 contestants, though my opinion on their relationship has soured a bit thanks to Pahkitew's lovely writing quirks

Shawn is basically the wacky character a good chunk of Gen 3 is done right, as he's allowed to actually be a person instead of a one-note joke. He has goals and desires, and his bit isn't completely irritating, though it's not my favorite.

Jasmine is really cool, too, though upon later rewatches of Pahkitew, I found her to not have held up as well as I liked, though this is probably because she's more grounded than the other people around her and feels blander as a result, I don't really consider it a fault of the character conceptually

She's kind of a bad friend to Sammy tho. Why didn't she try to fight for her in episode 5? or say goodbye to her? or bring her up ever again after episode 5? I'll just blame that on Pahkitew writing, like I do most things I don't like with that season

[purrincess-chat]

Hi Cat! May I ask you to rank S5 episodes aired so far? and what did you like the most about each of them?

Finally getting around to answering this now that s5 is officially over. Overall, I'd say s5 was definitely not as bad as people have made it out to be, and I'll share my full thoughts on it later and go over some of the notes I took upon rewatching, but I'd say this season on average was pretty mid? Adrinette hard carried a lot of episodes that otherwise were just okay. Again, I've said it a bunch, and I'll say it a bunch more times, ML's biggest problem is pacing. S5 is probably the most ambitious season of this show by far, and they crammed a shit ton into this one season that would have been more digestible if it were spread out I think.

But anywho, I'll discuss more later. For now, here is my episode rankings for season 5! The ratings are rough, and I will likely adjust them to be a bit more specific when I eventually do my complete episode ranking with all the other seasons, but for now these ratings correspond to how I relate just the s5 episodes to each other. None of them got a 10, and tbh most of these eps sit around 6-7/10, so ranking them was actually kind of hard because as I said, Adrinette hard carried some of these eps, and I just did not care for the other things going on in them. Okay, here we go:

Protection: 9.5/10

Anyone who knows me or is in any way familiar with me probably knows why this episode is here. The picnic will go down as one of Adrinette's iconic moments. The whole set-up was incredibly sweet, and I could stare at that scene for hours.

2. Emotion: 9/10

Outside of thinking that Felix should have come back sooner and that perhaps this should have been the mid-season conflict rather than the Kwami's Choice eps (I'll talk more about why in another post eventually), I really liked this episode. I love how much Marinette has grown. I enjoyed Felix being a lil gremlin man. Idk, I liked it.

3. Elation: 8.5/10

"Cat, but you always shit talk MC-"

Incorrect. I shit talk toxic stans. I'd be lying if I said seeing those two losers kiss didn't make me feel things. I also appreciated the realness of this ep on why they couldn't be together, and that Chat Noir/Adrien had enough respect for Marinette to realize that there was a power imbalance between them. It was very sexy of him.

4. Revolution: 8.5/10

This one honestly surprised me being this high, but so much shit happened in this episode. Like I needed to sit for a sec after watching it because it was a lot to process. While I was rewatching it, I had moments where I was like wait, is this a new episode? But then I'd remember, nope. It's still the same one where all this other shit happened. And weirdly, it didn't feel too rushed? A lot of episodes this season felt like they were moving a million miles a minute and rushing to get to the point, but I felt like for as much shit as went down in this episode, it flowed pretty well.

Also, I'm Adrinette trash so of course I'm gonna rank their first kiss high fucking sue me

Also, hardly anyone talked about the LadyNoir power up! Like hello???

5. Deflagration: 8/10

I know I just dunked on the Kwami's Choice arc, and I will probably do it again because these two episodes were HARD carried by Adrinette. I didn't care about Kitty Noire or Scarabella at all. Their fight was lame, why the fuck did they start talking like that, just, ugh-anyway. I felt like part 2 was the stronger of the two episodes, and not just because of the Ladrien crumb! (though the ladrien crumb was v nice) I enjoyed the Resistance swooping in to help. I enjoyed Marinette outsmarting Gabriel. I enjoyed Adrien ripping the earrings off his dad like how dare you touch her things, you crusty eggplant. I liked the Adrinette scene in the cafeteria. I dunno. I don't think giving up their Miraculous was really necessary, but I appreciated several of the moments in this episode.

6. Passion: 8/10

So, in prior seasons I came to really not care for Nathalie when she was simping for Gabriel, but I gained a lot more respect for her this season. I just kind of wish she'd been like that from the beginning. There to make sure Gabriel doesn't go too far, someone to love Adrien and carry out his and Emilie's wishes. I wouldn't have minded even if GabeNath happened as a result if they were able to talk Gabriel down from his madness and truly let Emilie go in the end. But alas, we didn't. I loved the Adrinette moment in this episode where Adrien just immediately tells her what's wrong. It was such a huge step for him as someone who usually just buries his feelings. And the kwami swap was much better this go round.

7. Jubilation: 7.5/10

My cat is sleeping on my notes, but I remember enjoying this episode. A thought that I had in regards to the fantasy that they saw is that the gift sees beyond the masks, even if they don't. Like, yes, of course they want a life together because they're soulmates. They just can't quite see the whole picture yet. Idk how to explain it, but anyway, it was a cute episode. The nightmare children need to be burned at the stake, but overall, it was nice.

8. Transmission: 7.5/10

Listen. I did not give a single fuck about the new heroes, and their battle was very anticlimactic and lame, but god dammit, the Adrinette in this episode! Adrien audibly recognizing he shouldn't have played with her feelings as Chat Noir. Him seeing his photos in her trash can and telling her he loves her! The motherfucking hand game! Nothing else happened in that ep. It was just them.

9. Determination: 7.5/10

I absolutely loved seeing Adrinette go all pink sparkles when he looked at Marinette, and how Kagami was like stop being a fucking wuss and ask her on a date. As much as I cannot with the statue scene, I loved that Adrien was just like lol yeahhh you kissed me, it was kind of awesome. Like baby boy XD I liked him being lowkey jealous and wanting to be more with Marinette and trying his damnedest to get closer to her when she was freaking out. His patience with her this season has been so sweet.

LN stans can roast me all they want, idc, but I have a lot of thoughts about her switching her affection to CN. Not to say that she doesn't genuinely have feelings for him because I think she definitely does deep down, but I have always seen her pursuit of him this season as a means to run away from her problems. (i.e. her feelings for Adrien) Because she never got over Adrien, and that much was obvious. And Alya even called her on her bullshit. Marinette was trying to force herself to stop loving Adrien by throwing herself at Chat Noir, and while her feelings for him might stem from a genuine place of love for him, she was trying to love him for the wrong reasons. Rather than it being a natural thing, it felt very much like she was only doing it because she thought it would be easier, and she was refusing to face and process what had happened as a result of her loving Adrien. I just wish that the reversal were handled differently. She can and absolutely does love Chat Noir, but in this context, it just felt a little cheap to me. Not as genuine because she was still clearly hung up on Adrien and avoiding that.

10. Multiplication: 7/10

We have reached 6-7/10 territory. A loooot of eps are in this range, so it was actually pretty difficult to rank. I went solely on vibes for this section. Any single scene that sticks out in my memory for each episode were the breaking points on these.

Idk why, but I liked this episode. I loved the scenes of Adrien trying to greet Marinette. I loved everyone getting progressively more bored with waiting for Monarch to show up again. It was cute.

11. Derision: 7/10

Do I think this backstory should have come way, way, way, WAY sooner? Yes. Like s1-s2 sooner. Did I still slurp up all of the Adrinette anyway? ...Well, I'm only human.

12. Evolution: 7/10

I actually skipped this episode in my rewatch to save time because I know it's solid. Bunny Cat was cute. Seeing Gabriel fucking wreck himself because he's an idiot was funny. Alix being the GOAT was fun. Yeah. It was a nice start to the season.

13. Pretension: 7/10

I'm not a Feligami hater like some people. I think it was a bit rushed, but I think that's more of an issue with ML's general struggle with pacing rather than a reflection on the viability of their relationship. I liked seeing how Felix has a softer side because he was always meant to be morally grey. Emotion talked about that a little bit. He had no dog in the fight between Gabriel and LB/CN. He has his own motives for doing what he does, and he's not a bad person, just has done some questionable things to get what he wants. And I think Kagami would be good for him. I loved her roasting him and kicking his ass (and he loved it too).

14. Confrontation: 6.5/10

As the pilot of the Lila downfall plane, you'd think this episode would rank higher, but like, listen. Was Marinette's plan very sneaky and big brained? Yes. Did I enjoy seeing them get caught? Yes. Did this shit need to happen way sooner? Yes! The fact that Alya said with her whole chest in the episode before, "You know we're always ready to believe you." When she fucking wasn't? Like, bitch, your bestie is LADYBUG. Perhaps if she doesn't like someone, recognize that it's for a good ass reason? And I hated how dismissive they were of Adrien when he tried to speak up in that scene too. My honest reaction to Lila being outed was just fucking finally. I rank this one lower as well because they cut a small moment that I wish they fucking hadn't where everyone apologizes to and hugs Marinette after they're exposed. Because they fucking gaslit her for months about this bitch, and she absolutely deserved that apology!

15. Collusion: 6/10

Ya know, I'm not much one to care about Andre. They really tried to paint him as a victim this season, and I just was not there for it. It's okay for him to just suck too. They're all rich, sucky people. It's okay to just say that.

A note I did make that I might talk about later is on the topic of Chloe and her alleged redemption that everyone is mad about and how Astruc just hates Chloe, and I'm not going to say he doesn't. I just think that overall what happened there is when they started planning out future seasons, it was more plot convenient for her to be mean than it was for them to put in the effort to redeem her fully. And looking at some of the other redemptions they've done in this show, we know they would have botched it anyway. They kept her mean because it served their purposes for making things happen. That's it.

16. Revelation: 6/10

For reasons mentioned above in Confrontation, I ranked this episode lower because I wanted to fucking strangle everyone. Everyone in that god damn class knows Chloe is a bitch and always will be. The fact that they all turned on Marinette, including fucking Alya who knows she's FUCKING LADYBUG just ugh. Honestly, when their future plans got fucked in the next episode, I was lowkey like GOOD. Suffer, dumbass bitches! It's what you get! But I'm also just really petty, and I wanted to see Lila finally get shut the fuck up.

17. Adoration: 6/10

This one was fine? Let's go lesbians, I guess. Idk, in comparison to the myriad of other shit going on in s5, this one just felt like filler. Gabriel is an asshole, what else is new? I kind of wish Marinette got a better confession, since, ya know, we've been waiting for it since s1. I wish it were a bigger moment and more heartfelt, but like, eh, I guess.

18. Intuition: 6/10

Seeing Gabriel fuck himself over was nice. Other than that, it was just okay. Get dunked on, you moldy cheeto dust of a human being.

19. Perfection: 6/10

"Cat, did you rank this episode this low because of Adrien's cringy-ass song?"

AND I'D DO IT AGAIN! And the fight was kinda boring. I love Kagami, and she deserved the love in the end, but like c'mon.

20. Illusion: 6/10

A big thing I noted from this episode that became kind of a recurring thing throughout s5 is the illusion of choice. I'll talk more about it in my s5 analysis, but I think that illusion of choice extends to Gabriel's wish too in the end. I did love Nathalie fucking bodying him the second Adrien walked away. It's what he deserves.

21. Destruction: 6/10

This one was fine, I guess. I wasn't super into the format of it being a flashback that Marinette was explaining to Alya at their sleepover after the fact? And that it kind of just glossed over them Cataclysming Monarch, since that was kind of an important thing for this season. ML made some weird choices for big moments throughout this season that kind of cheapened the impact, imo. Idk. Baby girl is smart and all that, we been knew.

22. Representation: 5.5/10

Adrien fighting his dad was the highlight of this episode. You go off, king. The play was incredibly info-dumpy, and I feel like this information should have been spread out more organically. Rather than hinting at all of this shit in s3-4, they should have just sprinkled in these details as actual confirmation back then rather than dumping it all in our laps now.

23. Reunion: 5/10

Listen, this episode wasn't bad, and Adrien being a horse girl is funny, but in the context of this season and compared to the other episodes, this one is honestly just filler. Like, it's cool lore, but feels a bit out of place in this season, especially because she didn't call on her past holders for advice on how to like, idk fight her villain, she called on her for love advice. Just felt very unserious in the context of this season.

24. Conformation: 5/10

This one was fine-ish? The whole finale is definitely the weakest finale we've had. And I've ranked Miracle Queen in my bottom 10, yall. This is saying something. I'll go ahead and continue in my next point because

25. Re-Creation: 4.5/10

Both of the finale eps were just... They happened? I feel like they were pulling at too many threads bringing in everyone the way they did. I feel like the perfect alliance thing was an okay choice? I kind of dislike that Adrien was just no where to be fucking seen for most of these episodes. I know a lot of people are upset that he doesn't know about his dad, and there was no reveal between him and Marinette. Which, no identity reveal, I can live with, but I feel like letting Gabriel make his wish was such a weird choice. I'll talk more about it later, but we've been following this show since s1 and rooting for Ladybug and Chat Noir, and they just let the villain get what he wanted? And you can argue that he didn't really get what he wanted because he died or whatever, but like he got the Miraculouses and made a wish. Stop being obtuse about it. Like what is the ultimate lesson here? What's the message? I'm willing to give s6 a chance, but my future with this show is going to depend on how they unpack some of the fallout of this finale.

And for those arguing over Emilie v Amelie in the ending scene, it was Emilie in the original script and storyboard, and her memorial statue is gone, meaning they no longer have to memorialize her because she's not dead, so unless they randomly decided to not bring her back last minute, that bitch is his mom. Also, they removed a scene where she and Adrien smile at each other, but I digress

26. Migration: 4/10

I'm not going to explain this one, but anyone that knows me, knows why this one is here, and why I didn't care about this episode.

Anywho, my biggest takeaways from this season were that it was a bit too ambitious at times, and I think in general it lacked a lot of the heart of ML. Big moments we've been waiting for fell flat because they got lost in the mess of them trying to cram storylines we should have been getting this whole time into one season. It's not a bad season, and I think it is definitely a step in the right direction. ML just needs to get better about pacing its story arcs so that it maximizes its time and doesn't have to rush through shit to get their point across.

[mytragedyperson]

OK tumblr apparently hates me because twice now I've wrote out a relatively long slightly ramble post and it's let me click post and then just not posted, and as far as I can see there not in my drafts so, instead of that post, I will be watching all the episodes of bsd 5 tomorrow and just noting down any thoughts I have, probably mostly appreciating Ranpo and making fun of Fukuchi, because that's fun to me. However there are 2 thoughts that won't leave my head and so tumblr gets to have them.

So first of all I've seen manga panels of Dazai getting shot and presumably dying, which I guess is a spoiler but has also been all over tumblr and it looked like it was on twitter too. Quite frankly, I'm not buying it, and not just because I love Dazai and am living in denial. I've already been burned by BSD in this department of being convinced a character is dead and then bringing them back. I am, of course, talking about Margaret. I thought Akutagawa had killed her and then, a season later, she was brought back, albeit in a coma, to further a plot. Also this is Dazai, if anyone could come back from being shot in to head it's him. For all that he's suicidal and has no will to live, hes really bad at dying, which is good for those of us who like Dazai and I won't complain about that. The only people that have died and stayed so far are Oda and his orphans and Rando (I only watch anime). There may be others but I can't remember them. There were a couple characters who appeared in one episode and were killed off in the episode but everyone else has simply said no to death, which I can respect. Honestly they could get his body out of the prison and have a whole like funeral/memorial scene with all of the characters mourning him and I still wouldn't be fully convinced he's dead. So maybe it is slight denial but I stand by what I said.

My second thought was that I still feel sorry for Bram stoker. I dont care what terrible things he's done, he doesn't deserve the fate he's been given. I can just imagine Fukuchi going on and on about his plan, sounding so confident since he always has turn back time as a backup plan, and he just can't escape it. He's stuck forced to listen. That's the true evil right there.

Also I have a lot of thoughts about how Fukuchi is actually not a good villain, as in I'm not intimidated by him and don't truly see him as a threat. Like his sword is a threat, moreso when he weilds it, since he makes it more effective, but the guy himself? He should be more of a threat than he is. I'll address that tomorrow as I rewatch the episodes because its a big part of my mental commentary and making fun of Fukuchi hours. He might actually be one of the worst villains in the show. I'll address that on a later date. Another thought I'll be addressing tomorrow is my theory that Fyodor is the true leader of the Decay of Angels. Like if they had to listen to one of them regarding a plan they'd listen to Fyodor over Fukuchi. They just can't be bothered with Fukuchis attempts to murder or control them with the sword. Also, bing is my search engine and when I looked up who is the leader of the decay of angels? You know to double check it was Fukuchi, it had his name but the picture next to his name was Fyodor so do with that what you will. Anyway no more thoughts head empty.

Also if anyone has asks regarding anything to do with the BSD anime, I'd be happy to answer them because thinking about/discussing BSD is fun and I do have opinions on a lot of things

edit: change of plans. while i do still plan to do this it's gonna take a little longer. I have a blog, not a tumblr one, though, that I basically never use, so I'm gonna use that to note down any thoughts, opinions and just things in general that I feel like noting down. After I've done that, I'll share it here. Again, asks will be open and this will probably take me a while so, if anyone wants to discuss the BSD anime, feel free to send asks or messages or comment or whatever

[lunatic-fandom-space]

alright so, I have thoughts about the season 5 finale and theyre pretty much all negative. Also, even though Im done with the series I still have a lot of thoughts specifically about whether its a good kids show or not, but I'd have rewatch some kids shows I think are good to refresh my memory a little before I write a detailed analysis on it, so for now this will probably be my last mlb post in a while

A lot of people are really upset because Gabriel got redeemed through death and is presumably going to be remembered as a good person or atleast A Dad Who Tried and a lot of people who liked the finale are responding to that by being like "no, hes not been redeemed, the series constantly showed us how objectively awful of a father he was and how impossible it was to sympathize with him despite his seemingly noble intentions and now hes dead, he hasnt been redeemed and the show is not trying to get us to sympathize with him in any way" and no. I think thats wrong

Lets talk about Chloe for a second. Chloe started out as the obligatory standard mean girl that every show for girls feels the need to have, but then in season 2 the writers were like "what if she had she had some character development, some setup for a full-on redemotion arc later down the line even?" so they put her sob-story about how the was neglected in there and did some other stuff to make her more sympathetic. They werent all that consistant about it tbh, but this is Miraculous Ladybug and thats how we roll babeyy. And then they were like "nevermind actually, we dont want this anymore" and just like that, they stopped bringing up her sob story and stopped trying to make her sympathetic. I get the impression that they were still trying to atleast make her interesting in season 3 with her resisting that akuma but by season 4 she was just more awful and more pathetic than ever before.

Gabriel and his dead-wife-sob-story is functionally the same as Chloe and her neglectful-parents-sob-story except the writers never changed their mind on Gabriel being a sympathetic, if still villainous, character. Like with Chloe, theyre not particularly consistant about it, with there being multiple episodes where hes perfectly fine abusing his son and putting him in danger for the sake of getting the Miraculous. I think that mostly stems from the fact that the writers ultimately want him to be a sympathetic and even tragic character but there are some episodes, like Cat Blanc and Ephemeral, where they just want him to be The Most Evil even towards his own son for the sake of furthering Marinette and Adriens drama, all of that on top of this shows general tendancy towards inconsistancy

So, tldr: no, I think we are meant to sympathize with Gabriel Agreste and also, I doubt we're going to really address him now because I think as far as this show is concerned, we're done with that guy now. the agreste arc is over and we're just not gonna get into it

The other thing that I wanted to talk about was Adriens absence during the fight against Monarch. Ive seen some people defend this by being like "Cat Blanc and Ephemeral prove that Monarch cant ever find out that his son is Cat Noir because he would take advantage of him and his distress and it would result in the end of the world", some people also say that those episodes are proof that Adrien "wouldnt be able to handle the truth" which is really infantilizing and stupid and I dont feel like talking about that particular take rn, so I'll just talk about the former. Obviously my first response to that would be, its a story written by people, they couldve simply not written that in order to have a more dramatically satisfying conclusion. But, if I were to stop being Doylist for a second, I would say, when Ladybug told him that Gabriel Agreste might be Hawk Moth, Adrien was distressed and in denial but nowhere close to becoming akumatized. And I recognize that there is a difference between your friend telling you they suspect your dad of being a supervillain and actually finding out about it for yourself, but still, it couldve and shouldve been different

The thing that kills me about this finale is that I genuinely dont know why it had to be this way because I dont think its like, thematically satisfying which is the first explanation my mind jumps to for these kinds of weird endings.

Like, MLB has this theme of identity and while I dont think its executed that well, its definitely the most complex out of the line up of pretty simplistic themes this show has, so we're gonna talk about it

Ladybug and Adrien are the Ideal to Marinette and Cat Noirs Authentic Self. Theyre not wholly seperate though, because Marinette and Ladybug and Adrien and Cat Noir respectively are still the same people, mask or no mask, its kinda like code-switching actually. You probably act differently around your friends than you act around your family, that doesnt necessarily make one way you act inauthentic. However, Marinette and Chat Noirs situations are not the same; there are two major differences between them and they are connected. Ladybug is essentially Marinettes creation, shes like that OC you have thats like you in every way except theyre cooler and better than you and stuff like that, while Adrien is Gabriels creation, not his own

Marinette starts to become more like Ladybug even when in civillian mode because shes becoming the person she wants to be all the time, shes becoming the Ideal that she set for herself, shes not losing any part of her Authentic Self, shes just changing for the better and finding balance and security. Its different for Adrien because in order to find that same balance between the Ideal and Authentic Self, he needs to shed the Ideal that his father is imposing on him and create on based on what he actually wants, which he cant do because of how controlling he is. As a result, Adrien keeps those two personas almost entirely seperate and they dont meld together into one fully realized identity in the same way they did for Marinette. And I find it interesting because obviously his father is the one forcing Adrien to be the way he is in civillian mode, but hes also inadvertantly giving him an excuse, and even forcing him, to be himself and to "act out" when fighting Hawk Moth/Shadow Moth/Monarch

And idk, I feel like the natural conclusion to all that would be to have him fight Monarch directly in order to truly reclaim himself and start on the path to create his own identity. I guess they kinda tried to do that with the rings but like, he had no agency in that, he doesnt know the true significance of those rings, so it just has no impact

Anyway, thats pretty much it, Im suprised that I had nothing to say about the Senti stuff but honestly, for how much I was worrying about all that, it ended up being a pretty minor part of the actual season and while I hate the concept, they didnt really give me anything to complain about, so yeah

Thanks for reading ^^

[lackadaisicalnereid]

top 5 tv episodes? top 5 songs (currently or Of All Time)??

top 5 tv episodes currently, in no particular order, things I've watched or rewatched recently:

1 sharp objects series finale 2 star trek strange new worlds s02e03 3 community s01e23 4 succession series finale 5 black sails s02e01

top 5 tv episodes ever, in no particular order 1 doctor who s01e09 father's day 2 btvs, s02e22, becoming part 2 3 twin peaks s02e22 beyond life and death 4 hannibal s02e13 mizumono 5 the west wing s02e22 two cathedrals

(also, @sunbelieving I loved both your asks (all four of your asks?) but writing the tv stuff took a lot out of me and I just do not have it in me to do the same for songs, which I think might be even more challenging. I might return to it later, however)

thinky-thoughts hidden below

sharp objects series finale

This is one of those cases where it's taken me years to get around to finally watching something I'm convinced I'll like. My life is like that, it makes no sense. It feels weird to single out one episode of a whole that is so strongly one thing, but the finale is where everything culminates & the first two thirds had my stomach in knots. The ending reveal montage was brilliant and gutting. Amy Adams and Eliza Scanlen are forever good in my books on the strength of the finale.

star trek strange new worlds s02e03

Love La'an and what she gets to do in this episode. It's both classic TOS shenanigans in a way that I thoroughly enjoy & it's also character developing in a way TOS arguably could not have been, as that was not really the tv landscape back in the day. I found her attachment to Kirk both sweet and heartbreaking, and there were some moments along the way I thought were just excellent fun, like Kirk getting them money by playing chess, because Kirk plays chess with his first officer in every universe, and La'an and Kirk choosing the same outfit when they go to the shop and need regular Earth clothing. Adelaide Kane put in a good performance as the guest star, and not only was the plot fun, but it also managed to advance some character arcs, primarily La'an's, but also Pelia's. All good in my book.

community s01e23 modern warfare

I accidentally rewatched a few episodes of Community yesterday and just had such incredible amounts of fun with this and some other episodes. The ability of the cast and crew to work across genres and plotlines and tropes and still have convincing characters and even character arcs, as well as relationship arcs, is still a brilliant accomplishment in my books. Also, early Jeff/Britta, what a wonderful sitcom disaster.

succession series finale

Look, I am not immune to siblings and tragedy. I would really love to say I have something to add to the immeasurable amounts of Succession discourse, but I am not sure I do. The final sibling argument scene wherein Kendall, for a shot at the throne, takes back his confession of murder (manslaughter probably?) which was what jump started his patching-things-up-with-the-siblings and was arguably the moment they were all most there for each other in the whole series? Horrifying, beautiful, stupid, inevitable. Tragic.

black sails s02e01

I have decided to cheer for all thing queer and fun and my friends that I am watching this with are both highly into this as well, so it's not necessarily the episode itself that I enjoyed so much, as it was my experience of watching it, but I treasure it. Also, I cannot believe I am getting attached to John Silver of all fictional characters in all the pirate gin joints, but what can you do, I am weak, someone save me.

top tv episodes of all time, in no particular order

Honestly, there's like an extremely slim chance that this is actually my top 5 episodes of tv ever, but I'm really trying here & will try to explain my thinky thoughts. Having written the list and given it a bit of a thing, there's definitely a theme here of themes being developed & brought to escalation, plotlines being finished, tragic and horrible choices being made, high stakes, and (the least in the case of the doctor who episode) the landscape of the show and of what the show is/means being changed forever by the episode.

doctor who s01e09 father's day

Listen, I know. I hear you. I want to say ANYTHING basically with Amy. Amy is forever my favorite Doctor Who companion. But on my recent Doctor Who re-watch I discovered depths of appreciation I did not know I had for Father's Day. I love Rose's self-centeredness, and Nine's anger and then angered resignation to it, which inevitably ends in honest forgiveness. I always cry over Nine's speech to the young couple.

DOCTOR: How did all this get started? STUART: Outside the Beatbox Club, two in the morning. SARAH: Street corner. I'd lost my purse, didn't have money for a taxi. STUART: I took her home. DOCTOR: Then what? Asked her for a date? SARAH: Wrote his number on the back of my hand. STUART: Never got rid of her since. My dad said. SARAH: I don't know what this is all about, and I know we're not important. DOCTOR: Who said you're not important? I've traveled to all sorts of places, done things you couldn't even imagine, but you two. Street corner, two in the morning, getting a taxi home. I've never had a life like that. Yes. I'll try and save you.

tears

(But also, you know. AMY POND.)

btvs becoming part 2

Listen, I know. There's so much of BTVS that's dear to me, and it's hard to pick any one thing and be happy with your choice. But I recently rewatched the first two seasons and was surprised at how much I felt during Becoming. Even as someone who is not extremely attached to Angel/Buffy, the setup and the tragedy of it is beautiful, imo, & SMG's terrific beyond words. And I am a sucker for high stakes. Also, whatever one thinks of Xander's not-telling-Buffy thing, as someone who's just watched s2 of Warrior Nun, DEAR SISTERS IN CHRIST, do I wish someone working on that show was not afraid of having a character make such a radical move. And not just in a show like Succession, where it does not weigh the same, because everyone's choices are horrible exactly all of the time, but in a show about teenagers, super-powered and not, just honest-to-god trying to prevent apocalypses. Not to mention the whole Angelus arc leading us to Buffy killing him. And the fallout from this arguably follows everyone in the main cast until the end of the show. Also, the No weapons…no friends…no hope. Take all that away and what's left? Me. Gets me every time.

twin peaks s2 finale

Still contains the single most terrifying scene I have seen in my life. Honestly, I don't even want to talk about it. Imagine the worst thing that could possibly happen in a show that is ostensibly about the struggle between good and evil and then that exact thing happening. It is horrifying in a visceral, existential way. I don't wanna talk about it, alright.

hannibal season 2 finale

Not me getting attached to fictional men, noooooooo. Why. Also, it's starting to look, as I am writing this, that I am way more into tragedy than I would normally say about myself, and I am not sure what to do with that. There's something so beautifully harrowing and horrifying about the obviously inevitable fallout from Will going through with his planned betrayal and then not being able to actually do it. Hannibal making a family for them and then taking it away. Abigail murdered by a father, again. Alana betrayed, Jack betrayed, all of them relevant victims that in their own right that command BOTH Will and Hannibal's love and respect, but in other ways utterly meaningless because of how blind & careless Will, and Hannibal in particular, can be towards people that are not Will and Hannibal. "Falling in love with a god is not a death sentence. The story is only a tragedy if the god loves you back."

the west wing season 2 finale

The tragedy, the elation, the fucking putting of hands into pockets. YOU GET HOYNES. The Brothers In Arms needle drop to stand supreme to all other needle drops.

(also i apparently have a thing for s2 finales whatdoyoudo. I guess it makes sense to some degree, because shows need to take time to become themselves and then afterwards often they go into directions you don't like. season 2, obviously for me, statistically, is when the show has found itself - whatever the show is, it is that the most in season 2, seems to be my judgment.)

[hide-in-imagination]

Hey baee! I wanted to ask what your writing process is like, when writing Roads to cross. And also any updates? (Btw this is is by no means me trying to rush you!! I’m just curious lol)

W-writing "pro-cess"...?

Hahaha, hello, love! 🥰💕 Alright, I'll try to break down the process. This might get long. Spoiler alert: don't expect a lot of method here. I'm a panster writer, flying by the seat of my pants 😂

Okay, so, it all starts with daydreaming tbh. Or nightdreaming; usually when I'm falling asleep at 3am my brain gets especially creative for some reason 😂 I have a lot of dialogues written down in my phone's notes app that confirm that.

Usually, the first things that come to me are dialogues. I'll be daydreaming and a line of dialogue comes along and I go "Oh, that's good, I gotta write that down."

In the case of Roads, a lot of these loose dialogues/scenes piled up until I went "Okay, I gotta organize this sdkjfn". Which meant, okay, I have all these things I want to happen-- In which order should they happen? And since Roads it's a Canon Divergence fic, that meant I had to make these scenes fit between canonical plot points of season 3. To help myself with this (because I don't have a superbrain and my memory sucks) about 2 or 3 years ago, I don't remember, I rewatched some episodes of season 3 and wrote down in a Word document called "Timeline" everything that happened in each episode so I could remember later, separating them by day. So, if, for example, episode 35 started during the day, went through the night and ended in another morning, that would be Day 1 and the start of Day 2. I did this from episode 41 to episode 50. That document is 28 pages long😂

So, having all the pieces down, I had to organize them. It was kind of a game of Tetris hahah. Or probably more like this:

This should happen before this and this should happen after this, and some days should pass before this happens, BUT WAIT, THIS CAN'T HAPPEN BEFORE THIS HAPPENS BECAUSE IT WOULDN'T MAKE SENSE, AAAAAAAAAAH

It was at that moment that I decided to use my bedroom wall and post-its to organize my shit and make a somewhat functional timeline for the story😂 This is a step I like to call Decisions. You gotta make decisions about the story, when this scene you thought up will happen, in which chapter and in which moment it'll happen, or even if it'll happen at all! Like, what if it doesn't fit in any chapter? Should I force it? It is really necessary?

You gotta make decisions and you gotta commit. I hate this step. It takes so much time because I overthink everything.

But then, THEN, by some happenstance or meteor strike as Taylor my beloved would say, I manage to get the skeleton of a chapter. Which means, I've got about 5-7 loose dialogues or bits of scenes, in a specific order, and now I just gotta fill in the blanks... which usually means going from a 1k draft to a 7k finished chapter😂

For example, this is what "It is said that there's no such thing as coincidence" looked like before I actually started working on it.

If you compare it to the finished version, you can see what actually working on the chapter means: adding the narration, the dialogue tags, etc etc. And oftentimes, new ideas pop up in my brain while I'm writing it, so I add that too.

Since Roads it's a bunch of loose scenes that came to me randomly and in disorder, when I actually write the story down one event after another, this curious thing happens called natural progression of things ✨✨✨ Or, Event->Logical reaction to said event. Like, "Hey, this character broke his arm in the previous chapter, the others should... probably.. talk about that???"😂

So that's how new things get added to the chapter that I hadn't planned but just make sense, u know?

Now, this step of actually working on the chapter is... pretty slow skdnf. I especially HATE dialogue tags, I hate that I gotta add actions and thoughts and smells and sounds between what the characters say; sometimes I really don't know what to put there kjsd.

Oftentimes, ideas of what to write in a certain scene come to me while reading something else, like a fic or a book. Which doesn't mean I steal their narrations sdkjfn, it's just- the book will mention a certain word or feeling and I go "Oh, this is like in my fic! This is what X character is going through!" and I start daydreaming about it and the right words come and I run to my Word documents to write the magic down before it leaves me 😂💖

This doesn't only happen for the current chapter I'm working on, btw. Nonono, that would be too organized for my brain. Too normal. Too easy.

When I say my brain gets loose, random, disorganized ideas, I mean it. I'm currently working on chapter 27, and yet, I've written some bits for chapters 30, 31, or even 40. If I get an idea, I gotta write it down or I'll forget. Sometimes, I have a clearer view of what a future chapter will look like than what this current chapter is, but hey, that's life 😂

Now you get why I had to use my bedroom wall, right? I mean, when you have a timeline of about 20 future chapters and a hundred loose scenes to fit into those 20 chapters, things get overwhelming. I needed a visual way to fit the pieces into place or my brain was going to collapse.

Or I was going to cry.

Anyway, in summary.

Step 1: Daydreaming. This happens naturally; can be out of nowhere or from reading something else.

Step 2: Write the daydreaming.

Step 3: Decisions. Try to organize the loose ideas I've got in my phone or Word into a chapter structure that makes sense.

Step 4: Fill in the blanks. Once the chapter structure/skeleton is there, I gotta actually work on it.

Step 5: Proofreading. Once the chapter is done, I read it again to look for typos or just to overthink the whole thing again until I'm truly happy with how I narrated every single thing. I also use Grammarly to help me out caught errors.

And that's it! Another Roads chapter is done!

...I gotta translate it to Spanish to post on Wattpad though. (Kill me, I hate this, this is cringe, I'm such a terrible writer, English makes everything sound better, why did I think this was a good idea? Why do I always repeat this same word/sentence structure? Okay, whatever, I don't care anymore. No, wait, I do, this has to be good. Why though? Only 12-year-olds read me here. Okay, it's done, IT'S DONE, BYE, I DON'T WANNA WRITE THIS SHIT FOR ANOTHER MONTH, I HATE IT)

Rinse and repeat 😇

...Sorry for writing so much.

Now, updates! I have this page in my blog called "Progress status" in which I usually update how the chapters are going along: https://hide-in-imagination.tumblr.com/Progress-Status How I see it is: if a scene needs to be finished/ it's half-done-> That's 5% If there's a scene I need to write from zero-> That's 10% So, for chapter 27, I have 5 scenes half-done and one I gotta write from scratch, so that's 25% + 10%, 35% left to do. Meaning, chapter 27 it's currently 65% done.

This page can be found in my sidebar, btw. But if you use mobile I guess you can't see it.

Aaand, that's it! That was all your questions. I'm guessing I sated your curiosity with... way more information than you ever wanted to know🤣

Thank you for caring about my story❤️ See ya!

[chaoticriderlessb]

Carmen Sandiego Thoughts

Ok, mostly really random, and I know I don't really get on Tumblr, anymore....

But, I've recently rewatched "Carmen Sandiego" on Netflix, mostly for a fanfic of mine that's now being rewritten. I totally thought there had been a season 5, but then again, I am an idiot, lol!

I gotta say, though...(spoiler alert for those of you who have not seen the show, yet) the last half of season 4 really disappointed me. Personally, I hate it when creators or show writers decide to just make the main character evil, especially out of the blue. I never grew up or watched the original "Carmen Sandiego", but I know that in the original, I think Carmen was evil. For the most part, anyway. Even so, in this reboot of "Carmen Sandiego", I didn't like what they did with her in the last half of season 4. That was just...very strange, and like I said, I personally don't like when main characters just suddenly turn evil.

I also didn't like that V.I.L.E. was so easy to take down when they're supposed to be...what, the most powerful evil organization on the planet? They had like, over a hundred operatives or something, and even the faculty members were supposed to be pretty powerful! Not just physically (Coach Brunt), but also mentally (Maelstrom). I feel like Cleo and Bellum would've been a combo of both, especially with Bellum's tools. Out of the four of them, I would've thought Maelstrom and Brunt to be the hardest to take down. But instead, every faculty member (except Shadowsan, of course) were so easily caught? What?!

Carmen being evil was just...pointless. It didn't even last very long, and there was nothing shown for it, other than a random time-skip. I just don't think it was very necessary.

About the Gray/Carmen thing.... I'm not much of a shipper, and I never shipped those two, together, anyway (honestly, if anything, Carmen and Julia being a thing would make more sense, but...ship whoever, I guess...just don't war over it, please). So, I'm not sure how to really feel about that, other than to me, it was just weird.

And if I remember, correctly, from the last time I watched the show's finale, Carmen just up and split with everyone? Ivy, Zack, Player...did Shadowsan go with her? And what about Carmen's mom? They never found her! Did they?! I don't quite remember....

Overall, I do think the last half of season 4 was very rushed (no thanks to Netflix probably pounding on the show's door to hurry things up or whatever...because it's Netflix), and I also think that yeah, there should have been a season 5, and made that the last season. I don't think I'll be rewatching season 4, again, if I'm being completely honest. I mean, first half of it was fine, and I liked the episode with Ivy/Dash Haber (I do ship them, sue me). But other than that, I think I'll be rewriting things for my fanfic or something.

Some people say that season 3 was pretty useless, but I don't know, I liked it. To me, the different shift in tone was nice, and giving the V.I.L.E. faculty a lighter side made me laugh. I don't know, maybe I'm just easily amused by that kind of thing. I don't really see anything wrong with the 3rd season...but, that's probably just me.

Anyway, those are my thoughts for today. If you agree with me, cool. If you don't, cool but please don't get at me for my opinions and feelings. Please, respect them.

Later!

[sophsun1]

Hey! I’m the anon who asked you about s4!

Yeah I also love ted and brian’s friendship it feels so nice to watch. And we also have great storylines as you say, it’s just so painful sometimes.. I found myself struggling a lot more for the cancer arc than i did for the bashing, for example

4x01 is probably one of my favourite episodes EVER. Brian accepting his friends’ help, plus acknowledging them as partners.. in general in s4 their relationship feels a lot more stable and “mature”.. it really makes you believe that, after surviving that, they can survive anything (before s5 ruins it lol)

I do know they break up during this season! I had kinda removed the abrupt violence of the scene, that I’ve just rewatched, in which Brian throws Justin out, but I knew they split up.. but at least AT the beginning and AT the end of the season they’re together 😂 it feels so good to see them riconciliate a few episodes later and I’ve just realised that s4 Justin is probably my favorite Justin! it’s thanks to his determination and love that they got back together this time and I absolutely loved the “eat some fucking chicken soup” scene (s5 Justin feels so ooc to me, idk about you!)

I wanted to ask you, if I may, the reasons why you despise the pink posse arc (so do I btw)

anyway thanks so much for replying! hope you have a good day! x

Hey anon, welcome back!

I love hearing other fans perspectives because for me it's the opposite I was far more engaged with the bashing arc than the cancer one 😅

4x01 is a glorious episode Justin flipping the script back on Brian and getting him to accept the monetary help from them just like Brian helped Justin back in Season 2 with his loan for school, we love a parallel. Special honours for the end scene of Brian Kinney cuddling and nuzzling Justin's cheek outside declaring that his bed is for them and them only ALL THE FEELS. They are definitely more mature and stable in their relationship in that there's not the constant insecurity about how they feel about each other. Justin's not worrying that Brian doesn't love him and Brian has got over himself even advancing from his non defined, non conventional boyfriend to we're partners.

The chicken soup line is one of my all time favourite Justin lines and Randy's delivery of that whole speech is so satisfying to watch like yes call his ass out!

Lol even though it was a tiny split we must acknowledge it! I'm not a huge fan of Brian putting hands on Justin then (the scene I hate the most is during the pink posse arc when they actually hit each other like wtf glorified violence for dramas sake no thank you) I answered another ask about my pink posse thoughts which I'll attach below.

My favourite Justin is definitely Season 3 - Seeing him choose himself and his happiness over the fear of losing Brian. Don't get me wrong he and Ethan make me cringe but it was important for him to experience that. Plus I adore breakup era for britin. Standing up to his father and being proud of who he is and his be gay do crime stockwell era is 💯.

Yeah I've made many a post on the out of character writing for both Brian and Justin in Season 5 it was just a hot mess!

[omegangrins]

A Rant on the End of Tremors 7: Shrieker Island

As the main man said,

Throwing caution to the wind because this blew up elsewhere.

If you can do it with Justice League, fuck it, let's do it for every shitty movie we've got.

While we're at it, can we change the ending of the 7th Tremors movie so *MAJOR FUCKING SPOILERS* Burt Gummer doesn't die or at least bring Jamie Kennedy back, or Marvel style recast Jon Heder, so he dies saving his son instead of a random-ass person who could have easily saved themselves. Or cut the forced montage of Burt clips at the end so his death is at least ambiguous. Seriously beyond pissed about that one. THAT is no way for him to go.

I would also like to point out that the next Tremors *HAS* to be titled Tremors 8: Ouroboros and bring everyone back for Burt's funeral . Otherwise, what's the fucking point?

I have feelings about it, people. *FEELINGS!!!*

One of my favourite childhood memories is picking out Tremors 2 from the local gas station's movie rentals and forcing my parents to watch it. I was probably 5-6 at the time.

Let's say that it's been a lifelong love affair ever since. It took me another 10 years before I even watched the 1st. Probably why I hold good sequels in such high regard.

I didn't even know about the 1st until it played as a trailer in front of 2 and never thought to watch until years later. That's a testament to its filmmaking if I ever knew one.

So seriously, that's how they chose to kill off one of the most well known and prolific characters in a movie/TV series known around the globe? With an unnecessaryily needed death and a montage of clips from all the other movies that are obviously better than this one.

And I'm saying that as someone who defends Chibnall/13th Doctor...

...and I'm fucking fuming because THIS is how you *actually* destroy something people love and hold dear to their hearts. It's like the ending of Game of Thrones. His shitty ass death has made it a loooooot harder to rewatch. And they are one of my favourite series!!! Not flawless but fun. But I will defend every other movie and all the episodes except this. Honestly I'll still defend 7/8ths of this one as well.

Like I said, it's easily fixed too. Fucking vice versa swap out Jon Heder for Jamie Kennedy, who the movies have been building up for the last two, and have Burt save his son in front of his old flame. Boom, you won't even need the montage of clips cause you can just have Travis and his mom reminisce about Burt instead. Show not tell. I don't even care he died by Graboid (although in all honesty, I've allways wanted El Blanco to take him down or Burt kills himself from the PTSD. It would have AT LEAST MADE SENSE. Hell, the best would be a heart attack to callback Val's "Yeah, Burt, the way you worry, you're gonna have a heart attack before you get a chance to survive World War Three.". But none of us ever get the best death.). And it's not even about Burt sacrificing himself to save a nobody. Cause that could work too. BUT YOU NEED TO BUILD THAT SHIT UP. Not just fucking drop it like it's hot.

Like I said too, the first 7/8ths ain't bad but it's an entirely different story than a swansong for a hero.

It's all about some billionaire scientist/cowboy hunter dude who likes to get his jollies off hunting the biggest and the baddest who ends up inviting people to this island so they can hunt down Super-Graboids he designed for shits and giggles. But then some Shrieker-fy....

And the pretentious douches come and die one by beautiful one while Burt tries to save them anyway and it's all spectacularly dumb fun until it comes crashing down in the final 10 minutes. Fuck, they should just cut the last 10 minutes. Then it's a perfect little Tremors ditty.

#RELEASETHE7THTREMORSWITH10MINUTESFROMTHEENDCUT

This isn't even about Jon Heder either. He's just doing his job. Hell, do what /u/VoiceofRonHoward pointed out.

"It is clear that Jon's character was just pasted in over Jamie's, the artifacts of the father-son relationship are all over it. They should have gone full Marvel and just replaced Jamie with Jon and acted like nothing happened."

CAUSE FUCK YES!! The only time a story sucks is when they don't commit. Commitment makes all the difference. Now, I'm pissed double-pissed they didn't do that instead since Heder and Kennedy are similar in terms of white-boy-ness.

Even Michael Gross agrees:

"Yes, yes. Now I can't presume to speak for Jamie [Kennedy]. My understanding was they asked him and he said no. And so that's why they went with somebody else. So I had nothing to do with that decision. I just heard the stories. I missed him for that reason. You begin a relationship with the character, and you want to continue it....

...As you build a relationship with this son, we had two, it would've been nice to have three, but that was the hand I was dealt."

One of my favourite bits of Tremors lore comes from the 5th too so it's not like I hate sequel changes out of hand:

"This is a warrior dance. Our ancestors hunting the lnkanyamba and the Impundulu.

"What's that?

"Impundulu. It's what you call the Ass Blaster.

"Ass Blaster.

"Yes.

"Yes.

"Hey, you know, you make Ass Blaster sound good.

Primitive cultures fighting Graboids, Shriekers and Assblasters. I just love that thought.

Hilariously, my meta opening to the 8th movie would be a flashback to 10,000 years ago and a Neanderthal-like Burt Gummer teaching others how to drive Graboids off cliffs like they did with mammoths.

Thank you for giving me the space to rant. Cause fuuuuuuhhhhhhhhuuccck!!!

Here's Michael Gross' own words from his AMA that prove the people making Shrieker Island didn't know their shit.

"The Tremors series is one very close to my heart and I want you to know how appreciated your continued effort is for your core fan base.

My only question would be were there ever any studio decisions made for Burt that you refused to comply with? Or was everybody pretty much always on the same page on what to do with the character?

Thanks again for your dedication.

- Josh"

"Thanks for the kind words, Josh. As regards the first four films, with Wilson and Maddock as the writers, we were very much on the same page. 5,6, and 7 were a bit different, because there was a 13-year hiatus between 4 and 5, and we had to refresh our memories while "reinventing" the franchise for a new audience. I will give you one example: in an early draft of Shrieker Island, a new writer wrote a draft where Burt threatened to shoot one of the bad dudes, and I had to tell him—this is true—"Burt never intentionally points his gun at another human being."

And his own thoughts on Burt's "death" and how to bring it all back together again.

Universal and the director [came] to me with this idea, and they said, 'This could be emotionally very powerful, if we have to say goodbye to this man after 30 years. And I hemmed and hawed, and I thought about it a little bit. And I said, 'You're absolutely right about the emotional gut punch this can be.' And I said, 'You're going to hurt a lot of people's feelings.' And I said, 'But I thought this franchise was over after four. So I could certainly live with it being over after seven.'

"What we negotiated -- well, it wasn't really a negotiation, we all agreed on this -- is that we kind of left the door open. >!Because although Burt is gone, we never see a corpse. We never see his remains. Everybody assumes he's gone. Is he buried somewhere? Is he unconscious somewhere? We never see Burt dead. We see Burt gone. We see Burt not returning. What does that mean? Has he been knocked out? Does he have amnesia somewhere? Does he wander off? Is he in a kind of coma? So yes, the way it ends is pretty profound."

"As regards to the end of Tremors 7, let me just say that while people ASSUME Burt is gone, we never see his remains, do we? Just sayin.'

"The only reason he has become the main character is that everyone else in the original cast moved on to other things. I NEVER thought of him as the central figure, but it just worked out that Michael Gross, like Burt Gummer, was a "survivor." :0) "

"No one would like to see it more than I!!! One of my greatest regrets is that so many other cast members fell away over time. Reba was on to other things, Kevin said no to a second, Fred said no to a third. I would LOVE one last go with all of them, but it is not up to me. :0( "

"There are no guarantees, but for those who wonder aloud if this is the final film, I will say what I have said before: SALES drive sequels, Show biz is 5% show and 95% business, so if this latest addition to the Tremors franchise, sells well, [Universal] will follow the money, and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment may will be back for more."

/u/ActorMichaelGross, the bell has been rung and the song sung. Get the producers on this ASAP!!

I was also the first person to discover the symbolic foreshadowing of Stumpy's end with Earl's sleeping bag in the original movie.

Let's just say, I really *really* love these movies. So if anyone knows anyone, hook me up to the producers of this series and I'll Justin Lin in the Fast and Furious out of this shit.

Since I don't think it's good to critique without proposing either, I say we can make up for this fuck up with the next movie. We'll call it Tremors 8: Ouroboros. After the snake which eats its own tail.

We find out Burt faked his death to get the Proudfoot Corporation to let down their guard and when everyone from the previous series comes back for Burt's fake funeral they give him ever loving shit for being such a paranoid whack-job that he would fake his death to fool a government agency. Why would he do this? He found an old photo of Hiram Gummer with a Graboid warning on the back and asks himself why this valley, why these things, why allways me? And we find out, it's not Burt. It's that lifestyles of extremes will end up in places of extremes. Burt and the Graboids are survivors of different species. Sure the Proudfoot Corporation IS using Mixmaster to combine Graboids, Shriekers, and Ass-Blasters into one super creature for the military but it pales in comparison to Burt looking at his life and wondering in shame how many ancient giants like himself he has killed. And with that, he actually dies, and we keep the ball rolling with the rest of the characters trying to stop what they allways thought was just another one of Burt's crazy conspiracies.

That's why it's Ouroboros. Everything comes back around. We could end/start the movie with Grady, Earl, and Jodi opening a Monster World in Perfection Valley a la Desert Jack's Graboid Adventure. I don't know. I'm fucking trying harder than the people they paid to do this already.

It ain't perfect but I'm building on sand here so changes are gonna get made.

Like if the makers of Tremors notice this,

Then DM me because fucking A you guys need some help.