#never felt so seen. which isn't great tbh

[natequarter]

thinking about the way bbc ghosts handles repression once again... the captain is your classic case of "six feet in denial, cannot Show Emotions, etcetera etcetera," but basically all the other ghosts bar robin pull the exact same move, just in slightly less blatant ways (except for fanny, who is just as bad as the captain). thomas makes me feel painfully seen: he is six feet in denial (about his death and what people think of him), and he cannot Show Emotions, but because he specifically does not Show Emotions by very blatantly shoving what can't actually allow people to get close to him in other people's faces (whiny, annoying, loud, pathetic, constantly sad but in the shallowest way possible, and sometimes sarcastic), and uses this as both a cover and a desperate cry for help, nobody ever notices that he actually is hurting, to the point that the julian cries more freely than him! julian! seriously!

[oneofthosebells]

SCREAMING.

Okay, initial thoughts: absolutely loved it.

Was it perfect? No. I've got a couple of niggles and nitpicks, and some things I wished they'd gone deeper on, but I was never expecting perfection so that doesn't bother me.

Did it give me all the feelings and address pretty much all the things I wanted addressed and give me several moments of full on squeaking at the TV? Yep. I'm happy.

Some more spoilery initial thoughts under the cut:

Felice as a chef?? YES. I've been trying and rejecting various future career headcanons for Felice for ages now and this one suits her perfectly.

(Could have done with more Felice in general, I do feel like she was done a bit dirty again, but I really loved the bits of her we did get.)

Absolutely LOVED the portrayal of Wilmon's relationship this season. They were just so teenager, it was glorious - swinging from big emotion to big emotion, from all-consuming love to hate and anger and shame. It's all so intense at that age and I do think the show does a great job of showing that.

Navigating that change from 'we want to be together' to 'okay, now we are together, how does that actually work in reality' was the main thing I wanted to see this season so I'm really happy we got that.

Simon's jacket on top of his checked trousers is the greatest thing I've ever seen btw. Still giggling about it.

Wanted more of an arc for Sara if I'm honest, but like Felice I really enjoyed some of the stuff we did get - the conversation where Sara was worried she'd end up like Micke was brilliant.

August...eh. I don't hate a redemption arc for August tbh as I personally believe no one is beyond forgiveness and redemption. I get why some people might hate it though.

Overall, this season felt much more low-key than the previous two? Which isn't a criticism - it took me a couple of episodes to get into it, but I started to really enjoy it once I did. Less of the soapy angst and plot twists of previous seasons and more focused on the characters.

Oh and as certain as I've ever been of Wilmon endgame. I'm absolutely sure Hillerska will close in the final episode, so it might be a bit of a bittersweet, trying long-distance kind of thing, but not a break up.

My personal theory/hope right now: Wille tells the Royal Court to fuck their prince school and he and Simon go with the girls to New York for the summer.

[limpfisted]

For me, personally

I do think ulder loved wyll. And i think he ess a damn good dad. And I think that ulder is a fascinating character because he is a poet himself. Wylls father really did say all those things. Wylls father is described in descent to avernus as "noble" "valiant" but true neutral, whereas everyone else was lawful evil, including the flaming fist. He says terrible things to wyll. But when wyll first shows up with mizora. He just says "go." If wyll had sold out the city to a devil for power, that would have been practically a kindness. He only says this shit to eyll when he's a full grown adult. And while that doesn't make it right. It doesn't mean that when he switches to lovebimbing wyll and telling him how great and special and good he is. That he doesn't mean it. Or that he hasn't said it before.

And he says truly beautiful things about his son. He really and truly believes he's thr heart of the gate now. even tho ur the one who did most of the work LOL.

Even in murder in baldurs gate, which, tbh, is not entirely canon to the video game tho pick and choose ur own canon, that's what dnd is about, he is a man with DREAMS, who is so passionate and valiant he gets swept up in things. He loves pomp and circumstance. While he's not a fool---he believes in heroism, and goodness, and rewarding goodness and not suffering fools

And yet even tho when ulder held wylls In his arms and claimed he felt a distance from him. He still took wyll fishing. He still taught wyll to fight. He encouraged him to get into fights and flirt. He trusted him with important tasks.

Ulder believes in legends and heroism. He believes in balduran, he believes in the good in baldurs gate. And even moreso than wyll, ulder has seen the absolute worst of baldurs gate, and yet still knows what it can be

He knows the upper city sucks. He knows ite full of crime. He probably even knows the flaming fist is useless without him--and he takes pride in himself and his work and the city. In descent into acernus, there's a passage about how he's never happier than when he's giving a long, rousing speech to his men.

Ulder thought he was going to be the hero that saved baldurs gate with the legend of ansur. Other people said it was a myth. But he believed

There's also the wishing tree. How does wyll know the wishing tree was his mother's? Or what she said about it? Ulder told him that. He doesn't mention a single other relative or flaming fist. Ulder, ulder, ulder. With his repetition, and his speeches, and his beliefs and all his sayings that wyll took completely to heart---despire knowing as an adult now all the concessions his Father would have had to make to "cavort with monsters and devils," the kind of people his Father trusted him enough to complain to

The tragedy of wyll and ulder isn't that ulder is some irredeemable monster. It's that every parent is flawed, and ulder has made so many concessions in his life to protect baldurs gate, do what is good for baldurs gate, that while wyll was doing everything in his life for his father, and his father alone---ulder was still doing everything for this city hes devoted his life to. Because he believes in this broken system and his broken ass corrupt flaming fist more than he believes in his own sons innocence

Wyll believes in fairy tales bc his father believes in fairy tales and he loved his father, his father was his world, and even at 24, he's not ready to admit his father was wrong or made mistakes. Even when he says people like his father---politicians---are always making mistakes, lol.

They were close. And his father loves him. And that makes what mizora did all the more evil and despicable. Ulder may have given up his son---but he also lost him.

Could you forgive urself if u lost a child that was so good, and sweet, and loved you as much as wyll loved ulder?

Mizora tricked them both. She knew what she was doing. She was isolating him. On purpose. That's what abusers do!!! They make you rely on them. They take away all the good people and good things in ur life until ur left with nothing.

Ulder was flawed. But he gave wyll fairy tales, and he let him have fairy tales

And everything, everything, everything, that wyll loves about himself came from his father!!!

Idk man I really love ulder as a character hes a dreamer and a weirdo and I wish we got to talk to him more. Bc he IS so different in bg3 than he is in murder in baldurs gate but I wanna know why. Bc it seems like the reason is just... wyll

[sadaveniren]

Louis isn't a perfectionist though. He doesn't learn the lyrics to his own songs, didn't know the date his tour started, was consistently late on stage during ltwt. He's a sweet messy scamp and should just own it. The first thing you learn in boxing is the correct stance and he didn't have it, he was kicking up his legs and doing street fight moves.

See I definitely believe he’s a perfectionist about the things he cares about (much the way Harry is). We’ve seen him try to do top bins (the football move) time and time again just to get it right. He works very hard on getting his lyrics and music sounding exactly how he wants. We know he has a hand in his merch design. His priorities when it comes to his music are different from Harry so it looks like they are differing ideas of perfectionism but that doesn’t mean he’s NOT.

On top of that… we literally just saw in AOTV that he’s spent the majority of his time as a solo artist hating everything he did/performed because it wasn’t good enough or it wasn’t right. That was like… a huge story arc in the documentary; him trying to feel comfortable on stage and get to a point where he felt like what he was doing was good enough for his own standards. Which… if you’ve been following Louis for a long time is also something he talked about having to change (his standards/definition of success). In 2019 he made a whole IG post about how he had to sit and think about doing things FOR HIMSELF and not what everyone else wanted.

So yes. I do think Louis is a perfectionist about stuff he truly cares about. I think he works INSANELY hard at his music and also putting on the best show he can. But his definition of a best show is what HE enjoys doing. He wants it to be a fun show. He wants to feel good during the show about his performance. And I think it’s very obvious he strives to enjoy himself while putting on a great show every single time.

And tbh a lot of artists have no clue the dates or places they are playing. You really don't understand how much an entire tour can just blur together. It even happens to people who follow along with tours, not being able to remember which show they're at. And being late to his own show? That’s also very common. A non-fandom friend went with me to one of Harry’s show at MSG and she was SHOCKED it started on time. Honestly fucking shocked. Because she’d never been to a show where the main act showed up on time.

[golbrocklovely]

finally, after so long, here is my review of the conjuring series/hell week.

this is EXTREMELY LONG so strap in, grab a drink, and a snack. or, feel free to skip to the end to read my overall thoughts lol

like previous hell weeks, i'm gonna rate each episode and then answer whether or not i would rewatch the episode.

lmk what you guys thought !

episode one:

the obvious meat and potatoes of this whole video was satori and cody's method, which i'm just gonna refer to as The Method just bc it's easier to say then writing out their names over and over again lol

i'll be honest with you, i'm super glad that snc did their best to debunk the tapping and whatnot. i honestly think that if they hadn't tried, a lot of ppl wouldn't believe them at all or would think that either they're lying, or satori and cody are.

as for the answers that satori and cody gave… it's hard. bc on one hand i truly do believe in psychics and mediums. i myself have experienced readings or things i have done on my own. i have had a lot of things happen to me that just logically don't make sense. i do believe there are ppl that have the ability to talk to the dead. but part of me is weary of satori and cody. idk know them from a hole in the wall. they could have easily researched snc, and their past relatives, and just bullshitted the rest. same thing with their producer. it's not hard to look up someone's ancestry. i would like to believe that isn't the case, but you can't be too sure.

the debunking that snc tried did make a strong case for The Method, especially doing it in random locations that they didn't know about. but again… idk. part of me just felt like i was side-eying the whole time. and look, i want to believe that they have good intentions and they are genuinely contacting something. but again, ppl lie for far less.

but no matter if they were lying or not, i 100% believe snc's reaction to it. it was real for them, and that's all that really matters to me tbh.

i felt really bad for sam, or i guess happy for him but sad that he was crying so much. my theory with him has always been that even tho he has experienced attachments and heard things, seen things, all that jazz - i truly think for the longest time he never fully believed. i think he would rather chalk up a paranormal experience as a group psychosis before saying a place was haunted. but since that probably wouldn't bode well for either of them, he just agreed that what they experienced was "crazy" and moved on like nothing happened. also, i have this general feeling that he doesn't believe his own experiences, which is why he questions ppl like colby when he goes thru something, but i haven't really fleshed out why that could be the case. but i think this was his "come to jesus" moment, so to speak. i mean, he explained it himself that he honestly didn't think there was anything after this life. that once you died, you're gone. so this was both great and terrifying news to hear. not to mention, to hear it from your dead grandmother was definitely surprising for sure. i honestly hope this brought him some closure or comfort. bc i know i always felt really sad growing up that my grandparents, literally all of them, never got to see me graduate high school or college or perform on stage. but i always had a feeling that they watched me do all of that so it's nice to hear that for someone else, that was the case.

granted, The Method could just be bullshit to conjure up an emotional response for views and notoriety… but for now, i'm gonna just take it at face value. sure, it's real. i think what also makes me lean towards that is that cody and satori don't charge ppl for this. it only happens at the conjuring for the most part, so…. unless they start becoming a side-show circus act with a big ticket price, i'm just gonna take them at their word. plus, the random locations snc took them to, unless the boys are in on it (which opens up too many cans of worms), The Method wouldn't have been able to work in these spots or actually have satori and cody come up with real ppl that died there.

i will say tho, it was kinda funny that sam's having this emotional breakdown over hearing his grandmom telling him she's watching over him and his siblings, and then colby's getting his great grandfather coming thru to tell him to tell his parents that he's there lol like…. thanks dude i never met. appreciate the love and support.

overall this episode was fine. it wasn't my favorite of the series, but it wasn't a bad way to start the series. this episode did draw me in enough to want to see the rest, but i was also a little weary of what was to come.

(oh yeah i forgot to add that the new owner… something feels deeply off about her. like i can't put my finger on it, but if it comes out years down the line that she was bringing demons into the house or something, i will not be surprised lol)

rating: 3/5

would i rewatch: yeah i guess, but not fully

~~~~~~~~

episode two:

so going into this episode, i was a bit… not excited, since i knew amanda was going to be in the video. i've always had my reservations with her. mostly, i think she has abilities, i just think she talks them up to be something that they aren't. plus she has made some comments in past videos that just make me look at her sideways bc they don't make a lick of fucking sense (ie queen mary, she talked to a ghost that said he had lived other lives before this one, he was just stuck in this one for some reason, and she literally told snc she didn't believe that bc "reincarnation isn't in the bible" …..BRO, you talk to the dead. maybe not everything in a 2000+ year old book that's been translated 150+ times is gonna be accurate. also again, need i remind you, YOU TALK TO DEAD PPL). as for how i felt about her during this episode, she was fine, i guess. the only time she annoyed me was during the estes method where her and sam were just bouncing off one another in the worse way lol but i'll get more into that later.

i think it was really interesting that they interviewed andrea perron. they need to do that more often: find ppl that used to live in these places that they visit and get their story, instead of just listening to tour guides who amp up the scares just bc they need to. i thought her interview was really intriguing and i can only imagine how horrible it must have been to live in that house all the way back then. and to see your mother get thrown across the room?? idk what i would even do as a kid in that moment.

so the first part of the investigation was with amanda, snc, and cody and satori. (side note, i love that the touch toy for the ghost kids is a basset hound). i think this whole first part was kinda funny only bc in my most cynical mind, it's three fake mediums trying to one up each other the whole time lol

i don't fully believe that, but that's what my mind kept going back to.

i do find it odd that amanda couldn't see her past relatives but The Method was able to allow them to talk. idk, if i could see dead ppl, i think i would be a bit pissed if my loved ones were like "nah, i know you got the vision but i ain't showing myself in front of you". it also doesn't really help her case of what her abilities are or how strong they are if she can't even see ppl she actually once knew.

i also find it odd that all loved ones are apparently able to get across is "watching over __" bc both snc and now amanda got that message. again, to me, this just reads as like someone in this scenario is faking something. idk what, but i just remember laughing at this whole part bc it just felt funny to watch each one try to one up the other and then snc are just like :O the whole time.

and what made this top tier comedy to me was sam asking who wrote amanda's name, and them saying it was a spirit. i'm so sorry…. but you gotta be on fucking CRACK to think that happened. i believe in ghost, the paranormal, the whole enchilada………. but a ghost soldier wrote amanda's name in the sand???? no. sorry. that didn't happened. and you cannot tell me it did lmao

honestly in situations like this, i'm more incline to believe equipment than these, respectfully, quack jobs.

i thought it was sweet that colby kept being really nice to abigail and calling her the matriarch of the house. isn't he just a sweet boy lol

the second half of the day 2 was where i got more interested and into the video. the rempod going off constantly, the camera immediately dying, that little cabinet door opening, all of that in like five minutes is crazy. and then the estes method, while interesting, was also deeply annoying since sam and amanda decided to tag team and do the one thing i hate that they try to do during the estes method - connect everything while the words are still coming out. like CALM DOWN. connect later. it was freaky to see the rempod going off in time with their estes method tho.

the woods session was kinda cool. idk how i feel about the alice box yet. why does it only say some words but the others are just on the little text box? whatever i guess. gonna be honest, woods don't really scare me for paranormal reasons. i'm more inclined to believe i'm gonna get my ass eaten by a bear or stabbed by a human so it wasn't really all that creepy, but it was cool to see this half. and then to have snc sleep in the woods… props. but to be in the woods in august in hoodies was a choice i wouldn't make, personally.

day three josh and seth came and thank GOD there were ppl in this series/episode i actually liked that joined them. their half made the video a lot better. so they start off by doing the ritual, which honestly just felt more like (literally) dancing on someone's grave so…. idk about that one. a bit disrespectful if you ask me. colby literally did the ice spice on her grave… boy i would haunt your ass for eternity for that one lmao

hearing andrea perron speak of that fateful night of her mother being possessed, again, my heart breaks for her. whether you believe in the paranormal or not, something traumatic happened to her and her family. and i just feel for her.

so when they moved on into the investigation, i just gotta say, if they plan to use the spirit box, they NEED to invest in a microphone or a better speaker for that thing bc good god i couldn't hear a single thing that was coming thru. but moving past the spirit box, the door to the library just opening on it's own?? and the camera moving slightly?? that's nuts. bc it's one thing for a draft to open a door. you're talking about the middle of august tho. there's not gonna be strong winds (for the most part) during that time of the year unless it's storming. so if a draft blew the door open, it had to have been a HUGE one to literally push a rock out of the way. and it can't be ac bc then that door would be constantly opening.

when they separated, i get why they did, but like… why do you have to do it in the dark? i would be turning on flashlights or some form of light immediately. you're not about to catching me busting my ass on the stairs of a 300+ year old house lol

josh's sleeve moving was actually kinda freaky, ngl. i know it was very subtle, and technically could have just him moving his arm and then feeling the sleeve pull or relax or whatever, but to me… it looked like something pulled it.

then when snc went in alone, i find it funny to think of a spirit just running up and down the stairs, fucking with the rempod or the motion sensor, just to see them freak out. when sam invited whatever it was up to them, and then it got near the motion thing, and colby noped out of there and literally yelled at sam like "why did you invite it up here with us?!" ngl - favorite part of the whole video. also it was kinda cute that snc tried to do The Method on their own. kinda wish it would have worked for them.

colby doing the whole "imagine being andrea perron" speech he gave…. colby, can you not? also, are you good? lol

okay, so my overall thoughts on this episode - dragged in the beginning, but got good half way thru. they also got some really good evidence outside of The Method, which i would rather they not use every episode (but end up doing regardless).

rating: 3.5/5

would i rewatch: sure, but only the second half

~~~~~~~~

episode three

so the previous episode left off with sam going into the basement late at night, almost looking possessed or something. and while i obviously didn't think that, i did want to know why he would go down there alone for some reason.

but that's for a later point in this review. let's get to the collab they did.

larray and bella…….. omg, i'll just be completely honest: i hated this collab. like genuinely, it takes a lot for me to find ppl insufferable, but larray took the cake this time. bella was fine, she seemed nice and did her best. and i love that me and @xplrvibes literally said "oh i bet they're gonna try to say bella is an empath bc she's a girl bc they do that all the time" and WOULDN'T YOU BELIEVE IT 11 minutes in they asked if she was one. i'm just glad she said no lol but back to larray……. first off, that shirt was a choice. and i'll leave it at that. but secondly, i'm okay with ppl joking is scary situations. i'm okay with them having guests that hear them say something insane and then immediately go "yeah fuck no to that, i'm leaving" or some iteration of that joke. but, larray took it too far. i don't think he said anything else other than "i don't want to be here" ect. and i get he was scared, but GOD, SHUT UP. like i got it the first five times you said it, i don't need to hear it the next 24. it literally took for him to get a message from the beyond to get him to be quiet.

i'll be honest, i don't even want to review this half of the video bc it was SUCH a drag. i remember i wasn't even half way thru and i was like… oh you're joking, we're not done yet? bc that's how annoying that whole section was. it wasn't solely larray, but he definitely exacerbated the problem.

the ring of lights that ppl can cross over, idk about that. it feels like it's fake but whatever. bella having a separate phone just for content… i love that for her lol them going into the basement is cut short only for the fact that we KNOW sam went down there first and colby was none the wiser until like two days later. The Method being done for bella and larray was cool i guess. but then sam getting an extremely private message that he couldn't share, i get that. and i hope that whatever message he got was something he needed to hear (but the way he mouthed "oh no" makes me think otherwise). my only issue is why even use any of the footage from that then? i know it's a bit nitpicky, so i'm not gonna press on it too much.

to the fans on tiktok that were saying "omg what if the message was from corey la barrie"….. please seek professional help. this isn't a fanfic. stop thinking like it is. bc i saw MULTIPLE tiktoks saying that.

but continuing on with The Method, i'll be honest with you: i'm not sure what the afterlife is like or what it entails. but it is hard for me to just blindly accept that it's all good and light and love and whatever random other words satori and cody wanted to throw in there that abigail said. i know it's my cynical mind, but hearing shit like that just makes me roll my eyes. like i know that sounds dark and sad, but that whole thing just made me go like "okay… sure."

maybe it's bc it's too generic. like that's what every form of media has said about the other side for forever. if i was able to get my point across and reach a ton of ppl, i would be sending messages like "god is woman and she sucks at beer pong" or "ice cream is free up here but only on tuesdays" or "guess what? i'm hanging out with EVERYONE'S dogs" not just love and light. boooorrrrriiiinnngggg lol

but i will note something that i thought was interesting only bc i've always had a similar thought process: cody says he doesn't know why they're able to do what they do. he believes it might have had something to do with his cancer complications and dying once. and the reason why i can believe that is i've always had this belief - so, as someone who has attempted to end my own life twice, i've come very close to death. and i think ppl that knock on death's door, you can't just unknock. you can't ding dong ditch death. so i kinda feel like those that get very close to the other side cross a line that can't be uncrossed, so to speak. which i think is also why i had the most paranormal experiences when i was going through some dark times (or had just gone thru them).

what i find peculiar is how the narrative of the basement has changed. before it was dark and demented, something evil lurking around each corner, colby having a full blown panic attack down there. all that, right? but now it's "oh it's just a trickster spirit that likes to cause havoc and is for the most part harmless. and also really would rather you be in the woods." and yet even with that knowledge in mind, everyone was still too freaked out. like if they kept getting cryptic and weird messages i would just be like "find a different trick. you don't scare me" or eventually just leave the basement altogether if nothing was going to be happening besides "come to the woods" over and over again.

but bc snc never listen, they went to woods. and again… woods to me aren't scary for paranormal reasons. more so for bears or humans. but they did get some cool evidence at the graveyard.

i'm just gonna skip that whole thing and get to the part that i want, no - NEED, to talk about which is…. colby standing up for himself when sam told him about the basement.

i was genuinely confused as to why snc weren't mentioning sam going into the basement. like i figured, sam went down there, something happened, and then he told colby. or something to that effect. but to find out that a) he had no real plans of posting this into the vid and b) he waited like two days to finally tell colby it happened…. that's really fucked, ngl. the absolute hurt that was on colby's face is so evident, no wonder sam started backpedaling (but just made it all the more worse). like colby has made it abundantly clear time and time again that he doesn't like being left in the dark about where someone is going/doesn't like being left behind and sam did exactly that. not only that, but he then did something that both him and colby swore they would do together - go to the basement. everyone was waiting to see them go together and experience whatever's down there, but sam took that for himself - like colby said. and then sam tried to justify it with "oh nothing really happened, plus we don't have to show fans, plus i really needed to do it bc everything has been so crazy" and it's like………. WHO DO YOU THINK HAS BEEN ON THIS JOURNEY WITH YOU???? it's colby. while colby might have had some form of belief system before all of this, this whole situation has been insane to him as well. so you don't get to use that as an excuse. and then to say that fans don't need to see this footage, that just feels wrong. bc at the end of the day, the person sam hurt was colby. and regardless of whether or not we would have known about it, colby still would have known. and that's the part that sucks. sam was extremely self-centered for making this decision and then thinking colby would just let it slide.

and i know some of you are gonna probably be up my ass about this opinion since god forbid i give criticism towards sam. but i would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed, especially if sam was upset about it. and god knows there wouldn't have been an argument about including those clips in a video, but i digress. i just think it was messed up of sam to do to that to colby. and i hope bts he apologized profusely.

but to be a bit more light hearted about it… colby looks really hot when he's angry or annoyed. so that's nice, i guess lol it's the clenched jaw and the narrowed eyes, in case you didn't know why you found it hot either. also, he was too calm, and that's hot AND scary lol

i think it's funny to think that if they didn't include sam going there by himself and then this confrontation, we would never know why in the next part colby seemed annoyed/angry and ppl probably would have just blamed the spirits or some shit.

which also did happen…

but to bring it back for a second, you know what the scariest part of this video was for me? the tick on colby's leg. GROSS. disgusting. i would have screamed so loud i'd wake the dead lmao

but anyway the estes methods they did in the basement were very revealing and honestly the best part of the episode imo. them realizing, or believing, that dave is actually the trickster spirit and not some soldier following them around was actually really cool to see unravel. and surprisingly this time around sam jumping to conclusion over and over again paid off well. and then when colby was asking the questions, it was interesting to see his reaction to what was being said. him being annoyed at sam before hand really elevated the estes method, funny enough.

maybe it's bc i don't know about trickster spirits and what they are meant to do or whatever, but if i know the spirit i'm talking to is fucking with me, i'm just not gonna talk to it anymore. i'm not gonna give it what it wants, which is to see me scared. and i think snc, without knowing it, were feeding into what dave wanted.

their equipment malfunctioning over and over again was crazy, ngl. but the actual scariest part of the whole vid was who the FUCK was that behind them in the basement coming up the steps??? fuck The Method, now THAT is proof of the other side existing, especially if snc were alone in that house at that point (which assumingly they were).

so this episode was a bit of rollercoaster for me. some parts were just plan bad to me. like i wouldn't even consider rewatching the first half again tbh. it was tedious to do it just to make this review, so that alone deducts this episode a bunch. but the second half, basically everything after The Method where larray and bella's loved ones talked to them, was pretty decent/better. and of course, once snc were alone, the video was at its best. i truly wish snc would just realize that they do so much better and get such better results without other ppl. just the two of them is enough. i truly wanted to like this episode, and i did to some extent, but no offense to larray, his over reactions just soured most of the video for me. he seems like a nice guy, and i didn't mind him the first time around when snc collabed with him, but god… just shut up next time lol

rating: 2.9/5

would i rewatch: only the tail end, tbh…. so no i guess lol

~~~~~~~~

episode four

i'll be honest with yall, i was mixed about how this final episode was gonna play out. part of me was excited to see it, another part of me was like… eh, don't care. but i will say, i was pleasantly surprised with this one. i guess in a weird way it was my favorite of all the episodes, but that's not saying much since none were really my favorite anyway.

niki and george were fantastic. honestly no notes. they didn't talk the entire fucking time, they weren't overly negative, they kept in line with snc's humor and or seriousness. i loved it truly. 10/10.

i completely forgot that kris called them to tell them about a dream she had. her and niki, and celina too… all having dreams about snc. what are they, fans??

i'm joking btw.

i think the dream element can be a bit questionable, but i do also think it's kinda creepy too. even if for argument's sake it's not real and/or is propped up to be something more serious than it is.

the foil house/tent thing they built was…. confusing. but i'm down for them to start using different methods, especially if they end up working or are interesting. they split up and neither really got anything that compelling, but when they played the picture game it was creepy that only colby's pics got fucked with a bit. it's always colby lol

but i gotta ask, didn't they break the first rule of the game which is nothing is supposed to cross over the circle in the middle? bc sam did that by putting the water cup down in it. also, i highly doubt that snc trashed that camera. highkey it's probably in their office rn.

the duel estes method, in theory, is a cool idea. but the execution wasn't really good enough. like sure, they got some answers, i guess. but half of the words were just random. and tying niki and colby together was kinda pointless. snc just love exploring their kinks on camera huh skskks jk

so, i think what was a bit confusing about sam freaking out (before) going into the basement is that did you really think colby wasn't gonna send you down there at some point? he has made a big stink about it since it happened to him. of course sam had to have known this was gonna happen. not to mention, sam's fucking challenge for colby would have literally caused him to get lost in the woods…. so i would say sam got the nicer of the two options.

as for what transpired in the basement, clearly sam was absolutely losing it. whether it was paranormal or not, he was scared out of his fucking mind. and i get it must have been creepy as hell down there. and god knows he lasted longer than i would have. but there is no reason he has to push himself that far to believe there is something more. like is it really worth being permanently scarred just to know if something is down there? not to mention, but whatever is down there, feeds off of havoc and scared energy. and you basically fell into its trap. like, i'm not blaming sam for freaking out. god knows i would be way worse in that situation. but i also wouldn't have been the dumbass who leaves my phone upstairs and has no extra back up light.

also colby is too forgiving bc i would been like "since you love the basement so much, here you go :)" lmaooo

(sidenote, why is colby walking around in only his socks???? ewwwww. do that in your own home, not the conjuring my guy. and another sidenote, does sam's face look swollen in the basement, or is that just the camera being hella zoomed in? idk why he just looks different)

colby giving a whole disclaimer or explanation about why he could leave sam in the basement…. i blame the fandom bc there is no reason for him to being doing all that. sam was literally gonna have him walk alone to the fucking graveyard. sam is fine in the basement. he can leave whenever he wants to. colby ain't a bad guy for giving him a challenge like that.

the walkie dying is so eerily spooky to the og alone conjuring video it's kinda crazy. but, maybe there is just bad reception lol

moving onto the final stretch of the video, the tarot reading. i know snc kinda showed more of the original reading on xplrclub, but if they truly think her first reading was super accurate, i really hope this reading is also just as accurate. snc deserve a lot more positive than negative these next couple months. so i hope that happens for them.

(might have to do a tarot reading on them myself just for funsies)

The Method's last messages… again, idk. imma just say this, to quote beetlejuice the musical "positivity is luxury that few can afford" and i'll just leave me beliefs at that.

i'll be completely honest with yall, idk what the priestess did with snc. the whole thing, the ouija board and exorcism/cleansing was intriguing, don't get me wrong, but idk what the fuck was happening. i kinda just watched it and accepted it at face value bc again, idk anything. it probably would have been for the best if snc explained it a bit better or did something to let us know what was up. i don't really believe everything that the priestess believes, but i do find her interesting enough that i hope she comes back eventually. god knows snc are gonna need another cleansing at some point.

colby going into the woods blindfolded…. is he trying to literally fall off of a bridge? what is with yall using blindfolds and ties? enough of the kinky shit, already.

but as for what happened out there, i think it was an interesting end to the final investigation. i could sort of hear something running up on colby, and i can only imagine how that would have felt in the moment. and who knows what it could have been? my bet is it was an animal, but i also feel like if it was one, it would have kept chasing him. but who knows. i'm just glad he didn't get hurt.

overall, i would say this was my favorite episode. i think it had a lot more high moments than lows, and that alone makes it the best. the collabs were good in this one, they got really cool evidence, and it was just a great way to wrap up this series.

rating: 4/5

would i rewatch: yeah :)

~~~~~~~~

now, onto my thoughts on this whole thing:

so going into this series, i wasn't too excited, as i had mentioned before. i felt as if snc should have taken this year off and came back during hell week if that was something they direly wanted to do. bc a lot of the content that came out this year was just… not good. it wasn't on par with what their calibar is. but i think this series was probably the best thing that came out this year by them. a lot of cool and interesting things happened in this series, and clearly snc's hearts were fully invested in this. there was passion in this series, and that's what a lot of their other videos this year have lacked, imo.

as for The Method and it changing the world….. i love snc, clearly. i deeply care for them. but they truly need to have someone in their camp that's gonna tell them reality. i mean, just as i'm writing this, there are tons of ppl on tiktok and youtube trying to disprove and nitpick apart the series and in particular The Method. but here's how i feel about that: satori and cody could be lying, that's true. they could be faking it somehow. but i don't think that's the takeaway from this series. i've seen how many ppl this brought closure to, how many ppl feel better now knowing there is something else after this life. and that in itself is worth it, even if it's not real. this series wasn't gonna change my mind bc i myself already believed in the paranormal and already believed that there is something more out there. i don't need two random ppl to prove to me i'm right. i already believe that on my own. and in that regard, i know that this series isn't for me. it's for those that needed to hear those words, that needed the confirmation. and for those ppl, i'm happy this gave you that. honest to god. just bc i didn't get that out of this doesn't mean i look down on those that did. if this helped you in any way, that's fantastic and i'm glad. i'm not here to argue whether or not The Method is a lie. idc tbh. snc believe it, and i believe them.

and if it comes out that satori and cody lied, fuck them. but until otherwise proven, i'll believe what they're selling. i'm just… not gonna buy any myself.

but even taking them out of the conjuring equation, snc caught some crazy shit there. of course, a lot of it was amplified by The Method, but i think what they did outside of that was more interesting and compelling than The Method. what i think will be more important is what they now do with the information they know. how are they gonna move forward now knowing what they know? what are they gonna impliment now that they didn't think to use before the conjuring? that's what matters to me.

idk if i got an ask that said this or not (i would have to double check but if i did - hi anon, here's your answer), but i know ppl are asking how snc are gonna top themselves this next year for hell week. personally, i don't think they have to. i think they should go back to what hell week looks like usually: a bunch of different places with different guests, but now more amplified. maybe, crazy concept, do more solo investigations. how about during next year's hell week you just… go alone to all seven places? maybe stop by the conjuring another time? you already proved (for the most part) that there is an afterlife and more beyond this life, why not go back thru your greatest hits with fresh eyes? that's what will make a difference in the content and take it to the next level without you literally contacting a demon or something.

i was pleasantly surprised by this series, and i'm more excited now to see what they do next than i was before, so… mission accomplish lol

[shoukiko]

NEVER EVER HEARD OF OR SEEN YOU BEFORE BUT PLEASE DO. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YA GOTTA SAY.

OH BOY AM I GLAD YOU ASKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love all the Godzilla movies, I've seen all of the modern ones made in America, when Minus one was released on streaming services, I raced to find a place to watch it on 😭 "

Godzilla: Minus One Review (SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!)

I'm gonna do Pros and Cons, First the Pros

Godzilla's Design

Holy moly this design, I love all the Godzilla's with a few exceptions (Son of Godzilla), but this one is just WOW.

The way his dorsal plates can retract and also pop out of his skin was such a unique touch that I really appreciated. Also the way they animated him, very different from the other movies, He seems terrifying and just like an apex predator.

Plot line

Dude this movie had me on the edge of my seat. 5 minutes into the movie and we see Godzilla already??? Thank you so much??? I love you???? And we can even tell that it's a very small Godzilla, not fully evolved but still terrifying, I loved the idea of him being able to grow stronger and evolve.

It follows Shiki's story and his battle with PTSD and the guilt of those mens deaths and the guilt of being the only Kamikaze pilot that is alive.

The ending made me cry, but then that one scene where we find out Noriko is alive, which I thought was like INSANE!!!!!!!

10/10 Story, So fucking good, I will be rewatching this movie ( already have at the time of writing this)

Characters

Shiki himself is a great main character, but the side characters really bring me in tbh

Yuki Yamada being one of my favorite actors really sold the deal on Shiro's character for me, he is such a goofball and I can feel his passionate soul throught the screen lol.

Akiko and Noriko are genuinely lovely to watch, Noriko is a perfect mother despite the circumstances.

ALSO YOJI????? HELLO SAILOR!!!!!!

Sound Design

Holy shit it felt like I was THERE

The loud bangs followed by ear piercing silence that starts to come up to the surface but still somehow sound so far away, only for it to hit you like a punch in the face

Hearing one of the characters absolutely SCREAM his lungs out in pain while other noises begin to drown him out

I want to marry who directed the sound in this movie

Other things I'm too lazy to seperate into other categories

Very Anti-War which slayssss

End scene where Godzilla isn't actually dead, great twist

The atomic breath reveal (Chefs kiss man holy shit)

The CGI is one of the best I've seen, they were able to capture so many scenes perfectly. Also Godzilla's expressions, that shit made me so giddy.

OH YEA

ALSO

EVEN WITHOUT GODZILLA

THIS SHIT FUCKING EATS

IT WOULD BE SO GOOD

HE JUST ADDED SO MUCH MORE TO IT

Becuase in the others Godzilla has a purpose

He is driven by something and helps humanity

but in this one he's just an apex predator

Something that felt thratened and felt like he was losing his alpha status

like an actual animal

so he just destroys everything

mm mm mm yummers

CONS

It ended

I wanted to see more Dino like Godzilla

Okay rant over thank you!

[pomefioredove]

Hi, congrats on the 500 followers!

Thank you for the event - this is my first time joining such a thing so I apologize in advance for how long this is (if you wish to ignore this - that's fine, I understand, thank you for the chance to participate)

I.. don't really know how to describe my personality anymore but I will try to from both my perspective of myself as well as what I've learned from others' impressions of me (tbh to try and sum it up - I'm an ISFJ personality type, if that helps any)

I'm pretty quiet and reserved. I prefer to be by myself/avoid people mostly due to not being very sociable or not having the energy to engage with others (heavily introverted here lmao). Others have said I seem hard to approach and/or intimidating (which is super funny considering I'm not even 5 ft tall - I am super short so idk how I could be intimidating. Maybe it's the rbf 😂).

Because of this, I'm pretty awkward in social situations though I don't mean to be. I'd like to be a part of things too and have fun but because I never really learned how to/wasn't really socialized enough, I just don't seem to vibe with most. I understand I'm generally pretty different both in terms of looks and personality/mindset too (apparently I stick out like a sore thumb) but it's still discouraging and lonely.

I think people don't really know what to make of me and while they may be polite, it's only because I try to be approachable and friendly to show I'm not someone who should be avoided. Ofc that doesn't always work and if people don't vibe with me there's nothing I can do about it. I'm unfortunately really used to being misunderstood and being projected onto despite the lack of proof of the assumptions people make of me because of this.

I won't go into details (tho I feel like it might be important to mention to give some context) but I experienced a lot of neglect, emotional abuse, and interpersonal relationship trauma while growing up so it has really affected my ability to trust others. I am very wary and guarded so my walls don't come down easily. It'll take a lot of time to get to know me, especially the things that bring me joy. Most people have never seen me be my true authentic self or learned what my favorite things are because it was just too much work to get thru to finally get there (which I understand and don't deny and for the longest time have been trying to work on these issues of mine).

Anyway, for what it's worth - I'm known for being hard working, reliable, and honest. I'm unfortunately a perfectionist and have imposter syndrome too which also means I'm ridiculously humble. It's been brought to my attention that it's much to my detriment lmao (I've also been trying to work on that too)

Though I'm very distant and reserved to most, the very few people I've ever had in my life who were close to me have seen my more playful and affectionate side and that's only because I trusted them and felt safe with showing them this side of me. But again, that's only possible if I've developed a really close bond with someone

My interests include anime/manga, video games, reading/writing, art, nature, and food, to name some. I'm also (embarassingly enough) a hopeless romantic at heart and prefer to collaborate with others instead of compete unless it's friendly and no hard feelings are involved.

Please let me know if I've left anything out accidentally and I also apologize again for the length!

Thank you again for the event, I can't wait to read the matchups you've done for everyone who participated! Please have a great day/night!

I match you with 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐮𝐬 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚

I was really close to giving you trey but malmal won again

The First Impression:

Malleus isn't exactly a social butterfly, but he's heard your name once or twice. The other students speak of you as if you're some intimidating, unapproachable thing... which may or may not intrigue him, just a little.

...Of course, when he actually sees you, he's thoroughly unimpressed. This is the person everyone avoids? Why? You're like one of the cute woodland creatures that follows Silver around.

You're not even a powerful mage or feared warrior! You're just standing there awkwardly!

Why He Fell:

It's almost a "last two kids without a partner being forced to work together on the group project" situation. Being constantly left out and avoided has very few positives, but getting to spend time with Malleus is one of them.

There's no real pressure to be social or overly-friendly around him, he's truly just happy to have someone to sulk in the shadows with, though as time goes on and you become more comfortable around one another, conversation will start to blossom.

Hearing him go on and on about his special interests like a little nerd, you might share a similar sentiment: "this is the guy everyone's terrified of?"

There's something quite tender and gentle about two loners finding company within each other, and as your walls come down, you find yourself sharing your vulnerable self with him. Your fun, affectionate side, which Malleus cherishes and protects like a gift given especially to him.

The Relationship:

It's safe. Not boring, mind you, safe. You treat each other gently, which so starkly contrasts how others have treated you in the past, and there's something quite special about that.

Malleus is able to share sides of himself with you he hasn't with anyone else. He treasures your reliability and honesty, and sees you as a safe space in his life, as much as he hopes you see him. It's a very cozy relationship, full of comfortable silences and an unspoken trust shared just between the two of you. Despite his status, the relationship feels very private, if only because you only share these sides of yourself with each other.

[marciabrady]

I liked your thoughts on diversity issues in the LA TLM. Would be happy to read your analysis of the whole movie.

Thank you for enjoying my thoughts! I think people are really blinded by the casting of Halle to realize that a film set in the Caribbean (TLM 2023) should not look like this:

It's also worthy of noting that the only two people of color in this picture aside from Halle are only featured via their voice- Halle's father, uncle, and love interest are all white- even Ariel's "alter ego" (ie the one who stole her voice and is using it, so should conceivably look enough like her to believably be the original owner of the stolen voice) is also a white British woman...such a missed opportunity. Especially since Disney doesn't have a black Prince (Naveen is South Asian).

Honestly, that specific fandom is probably the worst to interact with if you aren't blindly praising the movie. I think it was a mistake just like every other live-action Disney movie, which are always inferior versions of their original counterparts. I could get more granular but, again, I really don't feel like being countered on why this movie is the best ever and every choice was genius when I have a difference of opinion. I think the added lore was confusing and convoluted and never paid off, the design of the costumes and the worldbuilding was ugly tbh, I think they put WAY too many expectations on Halle and the character of Ariel to the point where it obliterated the very human and vulnerable components of her, they went against all of Howard's original notes of effect vs going broad, and Rob Marshall showed who he was multiple times by saying how he felt the original had a shallow love story that he never connected with, Eric was two dimensional character in the original, and just all the other negative things he said about Ron and John's great work while simultaneously ripping them off (Jodi's said multiple times that Ron kept mentioning to her during the screening that they used a ton of his lines from his original story treatment).

I think the performances were wooden, to put it mildly. And, honestly while a lot of this boils down to bad acting and lack of chemistry (Javier might give the worst performance I've ever seen in a film), it also isn't fair to have actors navigate a heavily CGI'd world compared to the medium of animation that has like four performances for a single character (between the many supervising and sequence animators a single character might have, their voice, the dialogue director, etc). In the original, you can see how Triton and Ariel keep interrupting one another in a masterclass of expressive animation and dimensional voice acting, they're almost one top of each other, and the heave Ariel musters as all the emotions build in her chest. We can feel how frustrated she feels at her inability to be heard and how she's fighting to keep her emotions from getting the best of her. Halle and Javier have a different dynamic, where they never really get that heated or emotionally charged and they're barely interrupting one another; they're super still, and the calm way with which she stares at him before swimming off...I'm sorry, this just isn't it for me lol the film isn't as bad as Lily's Cinderella but nothing ever will be lol

[gaffney]

Hey Daf! I love your takes on Adam so I was wondering. Which Adam/Duck friendship do you think was overlooked and would you have liked to see more of? Hope you have a good day!

thank you so much!! i’m answering this super late but i hope you have a great day too 🥹 this is a tough question though omg. there wasn’t really any focus on adam’s friendships within the ducks aside from jesse and charlie, so i could answer anyone lmao. adam & fulton, definitely. i would’ve liked to see/know their thoughts more about them being the “outsiders” that kinda stuck together in d1 (prior to jesse accepting adam). they weren’t a part of district 5 and (in d2) weren’t a part of the USA ducks, so i feel like they were occasionally caught in the middle of not knowing exactly where they stand… i also would’ve loved to see more of adam and guy!! guy always seemed to view adam in a positive light (after adam changed his ways). asking if he’s ok, “banksie said it’s cool”, that cute threeway hug with fulton in d3, and not to mention the playful “you’re the original cake-eater” in game changers. (speaking of, i wish we could’ve seen this deleted gc scene where they apparently throw snow cones…)

that said!!! i actually think adam/jesse is still the most “overlooked” even despite being one of the most popular adam (friend)ships. i say popular very loosely because the tmd fandom isn't that big 😂 but i feel like jesse’s (positive) influence on adam (or their friendship in general) often gets erased because jesse wasn’t in d3… but i think d3 is actually a great example as to why jesse was so important to adam’s character development in the first place.

adam’s entire storyline is about him unlearning how to be an asshole/bully by being a part of a team and not ONLY look after himself. jesse is a vital part in this because he holds adam accountable for his previous behavior and makes him work for it, which is emphasized towards the end where adam trusts jesse specifically to take care of ‘kicking some hawk ass’ (despite averman, guy, and charlie also being there at his side). jesse’s opinion of him holds the most weight to adam. d2 continues this: jesse is the one who invites adam along, letting us know that the cake-eater is now officially a duck. adam defends jesse from dwayne. adam defends julie from portman. he’s very much a part of the team and isn't afraid to speak his mind.

but in d3, adam is, yet again, all about self-preservation. which… is understandable because the ducks drop him like a hot potato the minute he’s off their team. but he doesn’t speak (or even look up) to defend kenny from varsity. he doesn’t speak up at the dinner even though it’s obvious he knew something was wrong. like… he hooks charlie with his stick during the first jv/varsity game which is such a hawk tactic 😭 it honestly felt like jesse was the glue between the ducks and adam because i truly don't understand how both the ducks and adam regressed within hours of him leaving the team tbh. and then nothing is ever really resolved because d3 set up a bunch of storylines only to never finish them (or, in this case, resolve it with a “well keep him” like ok thanks…where are the apologies???). anyway! all this to say i think adam with jesse and adam without jesse are two very different people and i truly would've loved to see a d3 with jesse because imo adam's storyline would've hit harder and actually made sense if it involved the person who coined the cake-eater term

[jyndor]

gotta say that midnights seemed slightly off to me from the get go. like I remember thinking the themes felt like a step backwards in terms of emotional growth after folklore and evermore, and bejeweled immediately had my mind going ???? because it was giving me sorry off of lemonade vibes, like not necessarily the same context or sound but something about it kept reminding me of sorry. that like, fuck being taken for granted, I'm gonna go be cute in the club like of thing.

and midnights does have this melancholy thing throughout which resonated with me deeply but it was also hard to swallow question and bejeweled and even tbh maroon and lavender haze (specifically the 1950s shit line from a woman who has never been shy in her music about wanting that traditional fairytale ending, but i just assumed she had grown into understanding that love doesn't have a fairytale ending, its ever evolving and takes on different forms over time).

but knowing what we likely know now, midnights can reflect the deeply complicated and often contradictory way that relationships work and don't work. you don't just go from love to resentment overnight, and sometimes it's both.

and I'm definitely not speculating, have no interest in learning what happened (it's not our business) but I wanted to share my moment of clarity on the album because I finally had it last night. I always liked it, but I couldn't get over how disjointed it felt. now it makes more sense to me.

maybe I have some young followers and I just want to say I've seen some really heartbreaking and concerning behavior from swifties since the news. I'm not gonna shame someone for getting too caught up in a parasocial relationship with a songwriter who has always put a lot of her personal life and emotions into her works, even if they are fictionalized and reworked into something she can sell. it's understandable that people would feel so connected to her, that's her business model. it isn't healthy which is why she's pulled back so much, but its still part of how her brand works. that carefully curated authenticity.

many of her fans are young, literal children. I don't want them to think that this idealized kind of golden love is possible to begin with - it is IDEALIZED. even with how realistic she has made their relationship sound in contrast to the fairytale loves she wrote about when she was younger, we don't know what they were actually like. you don't know. it's like thinking of their relationship as something from fiction, because in many ways what she wrote IS fiction - it's inspired by reality but fictionalized all the same.

there's a study that looked into when relationships tend to end on average. it's five years. it makes sense, after five years people really do know each other for the most part and likely have grown into more mature people. five years is a long time. five years ago I was just getting my esthetics license and now I'm a business owner. I know more about who I am and what my goals are. my goals have changed. sometimes people's goals become incompatible. it's normal and it doesn't make the love any less real.

this was probably her first serious and mature relationship. by all accounts she was at her lowest point when they met, and she's clearly grown a lot in the time since. that is not even taking into account his own journey and growth. again, this is normal and sometimes people can work through those changes, and sometimes people can't. it's not black and white though, it doesn't have to mean that what they had wasn't real love.

we weren't there, we don't know her or him and we shouldn't. taylor lets us see what she wants us to see. she's a mastermind, right? you don't know her and this is a great example of that. so hopefully younger fans especially can take some time to reflect on how to set better boundaries in the future to avoid feeling so hopeless and full of grief over someone else's relationship.

[cowboycannibalism]

i watched When Evil Lurks (2023) yesterday and I have thoughts! also this is literally just my letterboxd review copy and pasted with a bit more detail lol

spoilers!! ⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️

first of all, I am not the biggest possession horror fan. It's not my thing. But wow I was actually so into this movie I completely forgot about it being a possession movie! It was sort of a mix between zombie/disease and possession which was interesting. The very first Rotten we see is hard to look at, not normally a sight you think of when someone is possessed. Usually these movies tend to be more bone-cracking, spine breaking, unnatural bending and scary voices. Seeing the "demon"/evil manifest physically with bodily fluids and boils and rotting flesh made my stomach turn a bit which was awesome!

Secondly, I admit I'm very partial to sibling dynamics in movies, I love my siblings and I would die for them. The only people I would want to be in this apocalyptic-end-of-days situation with would be my siblings and my mom. I think the film did a great job bringing to life that tie between family, that you would do anything to protect them even if it means leaving your entire life behind including people who may be close but not willing to believe you (the ex wife and new husband). Also I couldn't help but compare them a bit to mario and luigi in my head but I blame that on me watching the Mario movie right before this 😅.

Jaime (Jimi) and Pedro are fun contrasting personalities in the scenario they get put into. Their priorities are different and even the belief they have is split, while pedro is more sure about the Rotten, Jaime is so doubtful he can't even admit if what they saw was real and that leads to problems with everyone else believing them. He's seen as the "good" brother so of course if he's saying he isn't sure of what they see, then all the other characters would believe him over Pedro, the "bad" brother with a troubled past. One of the things I loved about it was that Jaime never waivers in his faith in Pedro, he may not be sure of the Rotten/evil but he always trusts fully in his brother.

Pedro does get on my nerves with some of his choices but cmon would it be a horror movie if you weren't mad at some character for making stupid decisions? The desperation that seeps from the actor (Ezequiel Rodriguez) is so palpable that it brings out sympathy for him, he may be dumb but he's trying his best okay?

The whole story with the autistic son was a little weird and I know everyone's reviews of this say it's ableist but I saw it in a different light. The Cleaner says the demon can't figure out the minds of autistic people, get stuck in their bodies and that helps them from fully becoming possessed. To Me it feels like the opposite of what movies would usually do in where the son would be autistic BECAUSE of the demon, whereas in this movie he is "normal" when the demon takes over. It isn't a cure, it isn't saying autistic people have evil in them that needs to be fixed, but that is something that people have said for a long time and tbh its probably still a thing idiots believe in. it's interesting to see that his autism actually kept him safe for as long as it did.

Let's talk about the kills! When the wife of the landowner whacks into him with the axe, I was caught so off guard, same with the dog attack on the little girl. oh god, the throwing up of the hair and necklace by the son got to me, I probably shouldn't have been eating while watching this. This may sound weird but I LOVED the scene of the mom eating her son's brains as she's walking alongside the car Jimi is in.

The movie was so bleak and nihilistic that I felt the need to repent so this doesn't happen in real life. I wish it could have expanded a bit more on the universe, some of the characters and the disease/possession but for pacing reasons I think they did a solid job of dropping enough hints to fill in information. I love foreign horror movies and Argentina you are on my watchlist now, i enjoyed this and I think its definitely worth a watch!

Be warned there are animal and child deaths in this movie so know your triggers. It has English subtitles that aren't 100% accurate so it can get a little confusing sometimes, just pay close attention and if you want more insight the reddit threads on this movie are so great.

[humanmorph]

pal30 AND pal31. a package deal. i actually just forgot this post in my drafts last week & there's a lot of related stuff here anyways

30

A lot of people have talked about it and Number of the Beast is very scary to me. I've already seen people do math about the probability but even without that just listening I was like.... isn't that way too likely??! The wording of it too is so. Like it's cool flavor but it's also really awful... "If you ever roll 3 sixes you are killed in a spectacular fashion and are claimed by whatever terrible power most interested in your soul [...]" Hm. I'm frankly not sure how I feel about it. I guess, like always, it would depend on the framing it's given but just on paper it feels bad to think about Clem getting them after they finally managed to break free. I'm not even a Figure-head like some of my mutuals but I really really want to see them continue on this path (pal31 note: I love the new "Using this new lease on life on violence would be a waste" hook. It reminds me of Valence.) ... Also. Well. Still thinking about Austin being like wow finally I have someone onscreen for Perennial to communicate to (that isn't Clem). I want that too...

I'm not 100% on Armour Astir rules still but does the Investigator as a support playbook not have a mech? They don't, right? (I do HAVE the book, but I haven't closely read it, mostly skimmed over moves.) Of course a class like this has different advantages and I'm loving the Investigator so far but I WILL just miss Keith mech combat. He's so good at making really effective characters, but I guess Phrygian was kind of a high point for that (one-shot kills, baby!!!!! god. Phrygian ruled).

Speaking of Keith characters. The bit to get in the bathroom felt so much like being stuck in a point & click adventure game and you look around and talk to the person there & try like 3 things that don't work & then you go oh RIGHT I have this tool I forgot about because I never used it before! So that was fun to me. God I just enjoy Eclectic so so much.

And I really loved Keith losing it at the fact that the first thing he did was stalk a guy & follow him into a bath room. On a whim. It's sooooooooo funny I love you Eclectic it makes perfect sense to me Leap would be like yeah I trust this guy to handle this & send him. It just paints a picture that I like looking at. A lot (pal31 note: And he IS competent he does his job he's just also a weirdo. Just like Leap...)

I'm a bit. Hm. Connadine? I guess I should wait to see how that develops but it's kind of like... I guess don't want Jack's cool guy to be no-sold (?). I don't even think that's something I need to worry about, because Austin just wouldn't do that, but it was a thought/feeling I had and I want to catalogue it at the very least.

Other than that. Oh what great scene. I was cackling. "Bro's out here cruising" "Look, a clue's a clue"

EDIT: I don't think I took any notes on this but godddd the intro!!!! Who does it like Friends at the Table!!! Incredible work. I imagine it might've worked even better for ppl who hear that voice reguarly (I don't have tiktok & only watch ones on my dash basically). I also am... just kinda interested in the production/making of that tbh. I don't know how the tiktok thing works, but I know that with other voices like that it matters a lot how you type text because it can change intonation. And if it was put in as one text vs singular sentences, and if that changes anything? I mean it was edited for timing obviously, but I just wonder how much vs the initial input. Interesting to me.

31

Let's start with the Connadine business since that's what I ended on. It was good. I looooved the conversation on the rooftop. Eclectic's cracked face. Connadine's risk of "curious", Austin saying something like "it would be easier for him to not be curious about this person interrogating him". Likeeeee. OK. There was an energy. To me. There was. Which is just funny because it's never ever coming from Keith but his weirdguys are just so compelling to people around them aren't they... A SHORT ASIDE: read this good fanfic recently. grey to black by tenworms. And I already thought about ways synthetic beings can show intimacy or perform pleasure(...strange way to phrase it but it's what I've got rn) recently because I had Leap/Figure A on the brain for 4 days straight, just stuck up there (and it's a bit different there again because Leap is Equiaxed, right. And also I've developed specific opinions on their relationship or how they express it but anyways). All that to say idk what's up in that regard with Delegates, it may similar, it may even be a little weirder again because they're part Divine and maybe sometimes a little magic, but you know. At the very least. He COULD have fingered that old man ASIDE FINISHED Nevermind all that I read @/swallowtaileds post saying Eclectic should start a Gravity Clock with him and I would really love that! Great idea. He's got free spots anyways. Hopefully ensuring Connadine to show up again? Then again, he did sound like he thought it'd be best to get off-planet... Which doesn't necessarily mean /he/ plans to, but I would guess that was the case. I wouldn't want to see my replacement come in, but yknow. Hm!!!! Jack!!!!! (This is the second time in the past week a FatT episode has made me go "Jack!!!" in an incredulous tone. The first time was the introduction of the hole in Grandpa's Farm. Which is so concerning to me.)

It does feel kind of weird that the Paint Shop is just felled this uncerimonsoul unceremoniously (edit: I cant believe I forgot to fix that. This word has entirely too many vowels). Eclectic just did that... On his first mission out... and it wasn't even the mission he was on (!). And like, it makes sense for it to be that easy because it was literally planned and aided By the head of the Paint Shop. And I think this is something that will have the most interesting repercussions for the next faction game, and I have no doubt something really sick will come about with it. So while I don't really care for it now (funny factor aside. Love this for u Eclectic.) I'm taking it as a "wait and see" thing. Also like. What is Eclectic doing now. Like in this sortie? I guess he could keep investigating but he did already get some info.? And I don't know, but it doesn't extremely seem like the other side is gonna wrap up super quickly. I did just remember he still has like, all of his B-Plot points or whatever, so he should probably use those to help the rest of the crew, but also. I don't know it's like whatever happens he Already Basically Felled A Pillar (and Jade Kill most likely will do the actual felling, but come on).

Quick Gur mention: I cheered YES! out loud when Dre failed that roll (sorryyy) and then went Noooo..!!! a few minutes later when they rerolled and succeeded. Very funny for Gur to just pop in going "You can't simply leap into holes!!!" I love him soooo much. I'm back to hoping for Figure to fail rolls, and honestly it's bad for them to roll too well anyways, so really. Who's to say if that's bad or good.

And just bc of my recent Integrity post I have got to mention this: a scepter huh!!! A scepter! Just after losing(?) Dahlia, a ruler twice-over. Something to be held, or wielded. Something no longer in connection with its pilot! This Integrity does not demand intimacy. Or it won't have it, not from these people (reading @/madetolooklikeus' posts earlier)... I still have my thoughts on what I think is interesting to happen to/with Integrity but they have shifted substantially. I am sitting and stapling my fingers like that one guy and having thoughts...! HM!

EDIT: OH RIGHT actual plot stuff on the other side: Nideo huh. Well I'm suspecting STEREOMA I guess? Bad to hear about what Nideo has been up to on the moon though. Horrible in fact. Oh I really don't want that second clock to take something that isn't theirs to finish... Chimeric Cadent.... : (

New hooks and gravity clocks are over both these episodes so I'll just put it here. I already mentioned Figure's new hook above, and I really like it. And not to just repeat myself, but it DOES remind me of Valence. This would be an outlook they had. They could've said something like that. It is also just a direction many Dre characters go to, I think, but of course Valence stands out with the direct connection to this season via the last, and also of course to Brnine. (I know people always go on about character haunting a narrative and sometimes it's like nah that guy just died but Valence Truly For Real IS.) Speaking of Brnine. "I'm living on borrowed time, keep up their fight." is crazyyyyyy Brnineeeeee with the survivors guilt!!! Oh it's yummy. To me. It was a bit funny to me when they were like oh is that a plural they? and had a little hehe about it because I straight-up had not thought that it wasn't. ...It's of course very fun and tragic and sexy for it to be about just Valence but I WOULD like it to be about Phrygian and S.I. and other people they've had to leave behind too. I think that can both be true though too with the way Brnine avoids to even think of them(Valence). God. Living on borrowed time... I forget who said it, Dre or Ali, but it really does play nicely with Figures new hook. OH and then with the new Thisbe clock for Brnine!!!! Augh!!! "Brnine is capable but brittle. Their success and survival is the only way forward." Oh... and I wonder how Ali will word Brnines new clock for Thisbe on the other side. It's so interesting in the way she talked about it, how that relationship might differ now. I need it I want it to turn around in my head. God these two are truly just so. I will never ever forget about "Operant Broun lies to me because they believe I am a person." Janine is just so good at this.

[g-xix]

wellll my mom might be a bit ‘woah’ about it, but my dad is out of the conversation. why? well, i haven’t got one ☺️ that’s one of the reasons i think why i’m considering this whole thing, like why i’m attracted to someone with more power and age gap. not to trauma dump here, but let’s just say that my dad isn’t my dad in my eyes 😁

in my opinion every girl’s first love should be their father, as they’re supposed to show their daughters love, affection, attention and care (obviously nothing romantic, then ur dads a douche) but the girls who don’t get to have that experience will then search for it in guys that could resemble somewhat of a father figure. that’s kinda what i like about him honestly, i like knowing i’m doing good in his classes to get praise and make him proud. that way he kinda shows me that love i didn’t really grow up with

i don’t really know if he’s interested in me tbh, i get the vibe he is, but i could also just be completely delusional. he started working here last year (when the school year started) so we’ve never met while i was under the age of 18 !!

Oh hey again student anon!

Yeah, i see wym in terms of not having a proper father figure - there's a lot of Freudian theology about how fathers influences daughters + mothers and sons, but i think that overall, for most ppl, parents will be the people that they've known longest so obvi they'll have the most effect on a lot of ppls' growth and development - especially the subconscious kind, as we pick up pretty much everythin we know ages 1-5, from out parents.

That feeling of sorta glowiness when you get teacher praise asw - ngl - i get the feeling too. But i think for me it's moreso that i've been conditioned to put studies + academics on a pedestal, and so now, getting that academic validation fulfils me as a lot of my self-worth is placed within that.

I suppose your fulfilment is moreso based in the fact it feels as though you're fulfilling a relationship which you lack/lacked in growing (correct me if u think this is total bullshit). You know, being able to talk and build a relationship that mirrors that which you'd want with a paternal figure. Which tbh, i've felt too w prev teachers, and ik another girlie that calls some1 her "at school Mum" which i always thought was sweet. Genuine romantic feelings for a guy, particularly a skl teacher bc of they have more power + are older, it certainly sounds like d-ddy issues which ik is a greatly discussed thing w/in modern society today... But icl i'm yet to find ppl online talking ab ways of healing that relationship and feeling, i feel like currently there's a sorta 'community' being built w ppl finding solace in sharing their Xperience w fathers + hearing the validation... But i haven't seen any construction or help for it. That being said, I don't think i have major or any notable daddy issues, so it isn't exactly my place to comment on it

It probs hard to tell whether he's interested or not ofc - considering he's a teacher so obviously there'll be an ethical line/boundary within his head, however ofc there's still the prospect that he's a human - and thus maybe he is attracted to your charisma and person

Would you be all fine if he agreed and said he was attracted to you? Ik some girlies that have like older crushes/teacher crushes are moreso fangirls than genuinely interested, in the fact that they wouldn't date or pursue a relationship w some1 older bc it's societally deemed weird + immoral for relationships w great age gaps. But considering you want to go for your teacher, is there anything in your mind that is sorta dubious or skeptical ab it?

Stay safe n rational + best wishes as per, student anon <33

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

EVERY WEEK I WILL POST VARIOUS REVIEWS I’VE WRITTEN SO FAR IN 2024. YOU CAN CHECK OUT MY GOODREADS FOR MORE UP-TO-DATE REVIEWS HERE.

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87. Sidekicked by John David Anderson--⭐️⭐️⭐️

SIDEKICKED was a fun adventure following a kid who has extra strength in his senses (sight, smell, etc). He was paired up with a less than interested mentor who is never really there to save him when he needs it the most. While there is definitely an emphasis on the idea of good vs. evil and what that entails (and the black and white levels of moralities that come with these two terms), we also get a pretty good insight into a middle school young teen boy and his varying emotions about his crush and the new kid in his secret sidekick program.

I honestly thought the concept of this book was fun, especially because we got to see the world of superheroes from the perspective of a younger kid. And because I've always been a fan of superheroes and stuff, so that's always a fun thing for me to read. But the tone of this book felt...older? The main character was sassy (which I loved), but his thought processes also felt like this book would have been better set in high school.

But that being said, this was fun for what it was. I felt really bad for him and the hand he was dealt in the mentor department. But I did enjoy seeing how everything came together. I can see 11+ year-olds really enjoying this. I think it would make a good movie too, tbh, made me think of Sky High a bit, too!

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88. Cherry Magic! Vol. 2 by Yuu Toyota , Taylor Engel (Translator)--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Okay, I'm officially obsessed with this series. I know this is only volume 2, but sometimes I just know when I'm going to devour a series and this volume is it for me.

Still not the biggest fan of the artwork, but I love these two characters and the hilarious thoughts and commentary. I also love this idea of a character who isn't popular being romanced by another character that everyone else wants. I love this and need more!!

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89. Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It took me a while to pick up STAY GOLD even though I knew I was going to love it (I was right). From the very beginning, I was pulled in by the personalities of these characters and how well they worked off each other. I also felt their emotions and frustrations as they navigated the difficult and sometimes dangerous halls of high school. I also appreciated how McSmith navigated the complex emotions teens have of how they are perceived by the people around them.

This was such an emotional punch and I think that some trigger warnings will need to be read by those who are sensitive to suicidal thoughts, misgendering, dead-naming, and homophobic violence. The way McSmith wrote on these topics also showed me how having people who love you surround you is so incredibly important. It was also a great insight into how one's experience can't be seen as everyone's experiences. There was one character who was pushing the MMC to do something that though could be helpful to a group of people, it could be incredibly dangerous for the MMC.

I'm cis, so I am privileged enough to never have to deal with this level of danger, but it broke my heart to see the MMC torn between what others believed to be right and what was right for him.

The FMC had such great character growth and is proof that sometimes patience is a virtue--but also hope.

I just really loved this book and I'm so glad I finally picked it up! Now I have to read McSmith's other book!

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90. Cherry Magic! Vol. 3 by Yuu Toyota , Taylor Engel (Translator)--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ugh the cuteness. I can't. Watching the MMC slowly fall and realize his feelings? Please.

I remember finishing this book and immediately cursing myself for not having Volume 4 readily available to read right after. I'm excited to see how those around them react to their slowly forming love. I also love seeing the jealousy and how intense the love interest is with the MMC.

Also, something I noticed is that the volumes have a content advisory but these are pretty clean (so far). Gay manga must equal parental advisory, I guess LOL. Please.

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91. The Haunted Forest Tour by James A. Moore & Jeff Strand--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Holy crap, THE HAUNTED FOREST TOUR was such a fun and bloody horror. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that. The brutality and blasé way that the authors killed off characters was actually amusing. I don't think there was a heck of a lot of depth into this book, but I honestly just had such a good time reading this.

The one thing I wasn't a fan off and why the one star was taken off was the unnecessary mentions of these creepy men wanting to bend over certain women to have sex with them. It just felt predatory. Like the dude who had to constantly remind himself he was married. Or the ones who were always thinking about having sex with women who had no idea they were thinking these thoughts. It was creepy and unnecessary. God forbid we have a horror book where women aren't sexualized for the sake of making the reader either uncomfortable or just...because male authors can't help but comment on women who are "do-able".

Anyway, other than that, this story was pretty original and so, so bloody. It's a perfect October read tbh. Surprised the hell out of me. Would also make a great movie.

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92. The Escape by Katherine Applegate--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm starting to find that I really like the story told from this perspective. I think this character is one of the more underestimated ones because when we see him from other characters' POVs, we see someone who is one way, but from his perspective, we see his true depths. Which is something he touches on here: he's the funny friend; the one who never seems to take anything too seriously, but this kid wears the humour mask as a survival thing.

This was a great addition to the series because of the emotional aspect. And THE ESCAPE also makes me want to read more of the series just so I can see this character get his greatest wish granted.

Also, loved how great they all worked together!

Will hopefully read the next one soon!

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93. Cherry Magic! Vol. 4 by Yuu Toyota , Taylor Engel (Translator)--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Stop, I can't with this adorableness.

The fact that these two characters are so different but not at the same time kills me. One is very good at hiding their nerves and if it wasn't for these powers, the MMC wouldn't even know it. Sigh, both a gift and a curse.

I love that the character growth in this one--especially as someone with social anxiety--happened so organically. The MMC is going at his own pace but is still keeping the love interest's feelings in mind. I seriously can't wait to see how this all develops over the next few volumes!

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94. Dick Fight Island by Reibun Ike--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My adventures in Boy Love Manga has led me to this interesting work of art.

While yes, the majority of this is definitely porn, the storyline was actually really interesting and unique. And the artwork is freaking stunning. My friend told me that he didn't finish volume 2, so I'll probably just stay with this one and remember the story (cough) fondly.

I'm happy I read this because it was truly something else, but if you're thinking of reading this, be prepared. I don't think I'd recommend reading this on the bus.

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95. Dread Detention by Jennifer Killick--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read this book under a different name and I was so surprised to see it was the same book (I just bought a physical copy of this book and the other books in this series, so that was a nice surprised.)

I genuinely really enjoyed DREAD WOOD (or DREAD DETENTION). It definitely gave me EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS vibes, especially with some of the scarier scenes. I love middle grade horror books like this one because it's just pure story--sometimes, older books have too much focus on the characters themselves rather than the scary side of a horror book. I thought there was a good moral story behind this and I think it's great kids will (hopefully) get this message.

I also was reminded of the Katherine Arden middle grade horror books where kids work together to solve monster and scary mysteries.

DREAD WOOD did have moments where it felt older than its intended audience, so I'd probably recommend this to the older side of middle grade.

If you're scared of spiders, you'll either have to miss out on this one or you'll have to find your bravery!

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Have you read any of these titles? What were your thoughts?

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Happy reading!

[alex-and-coffee]

So. I need to get my thoughts out on the last Doctor Who special. I've seen posts with takes that I very much disagree with and didn't want to derail them with my thoughts, so here we are.

(Also. These are my personal thoughts and so they are going to be very self centered. That said, I am open to discussion if you wanna add your two cents.)

(Also also. This became an ESSAY lmao I had more to say than I thought so I'm putting in a read more so it doesn't completely take up your dash haha)

I will first say that I do agree that not mentioning Martha and Yaz weird. They were important to the Doctor and I can't think of a reason why they weren't mentioned among the others. Also, the ending to The Giggle wasn't great. It was anticlimactic, rushed, and made the Toymaster seem like he wasn't an actual threat? It felt more like someone was pulling his strings tbh. There are probably more things I could say about it but this post isn't about my criticisms of the episodes.

Another quick note, I like the bi-regeneration. My interpretation is 15 is the regeneration of 14 after he's lived his life, but instead of regenerating at the end of 14's life, he's regenerating early because of the Toymaker.

To start with the first thing that has me ruffled is that, to me, Ncuti shone in the role as the Doctor. He was charismatic, joyful and fun - we're getting something different and exciting. We got time with him before his first official episode and that made me very excited for his run as the Doctor (I will add that after seeing the trailer that I am worried about the Christmas special because goblins eating babies? Antisemitism anyone?).

This episode was the happy ending for 14 and the exciting beginning for 15. I don't understand where the complaints of 15 being undercut or being overshadowed by 14. To me it functioned as a soft reset - we got 14 settling down with the Mott-Noble-Temple family to rest and heal from his trauma while 15 goes and starts his adventures without all the baggage of 9-14's runs. Healing isn't linear either, and he still has that history so it can be referenced to and can come up later, but 15 is truly happy ("fixed" - though I hate that they phrased it that way) in a way that he hasn't been in NuWho (I haven't seen classic Who so I can't say anything about it). People don't change until the pain of not changing outweighs the pain of staying the same. If we didn't see that change happen in the Doctor, then I wouldn't have bought a transition from Jodi's Doctor (who represses absolutely everything) to Ncuti's Doctor, who's been magically "fixed".

I've seen several posts about how 14 regressed on 13's happiness and made the Doctor sad again, which. I would say misinterprets 13 in a pretty fundamental way. Her smile and happiness is a mask 13 hides behind. She's hurting and bottles all of it up to shove out of sight in the hopes that if she ignores it it will go away. She's running away just as much as her previous regenerations, which is shown in the way that she doesn't share anything personal about herself. She doesn't talk about her history with anyone she travels with, she even brushes her hurt off when Jack, who has been with her through some of her shit, asks if she's ok. (This. might not be the best point bc it feels like Jack excepts her to be ok, and 13 does have people pleasing tendencies, but still. They're friends and he does care about her. I think getting thrown into prison to break her out demonstrates this point.) Even when the fam corner her and ask if she's ok, it never continues into a productive conversation - either she deflects or it gets awkward fast because they don't know how to reply to what she's said and it never goes anywhere. She's such a repressed mess I don't know how anyone interprets her as genuinely happy. (Just to note before anyone thinks I'm hating, I do love 13. She's pretty high up on my list of favourite Doctors.)

Now (the main reason why I wanted to make this post), to explain why I think Donna is kind of the perfect person for the Doctor to go to to stop and rest and heal. (Disclaimer - 10 and Donna are my favourites. While I love them a whole lot, I am trying to be fair when I think about this. Please keep that in mind.)

Of the NuWho companions, after crossing off the people that are dead, not on this Earth/universe, and left of their own volition; you are left with Donna and Yaz.

(I'm struggling to keep things kind of concise, so I'm going to make a list that is hopefully comprehensive.)

I'm going to start with Yaz, and I do like her, but I'm gonna outline why I don't think she would be a good option.

Yaz is young. She's in her early 20's, and as someone who is also in their early 20s, I'm gonna straight up say that helping someone rest and recover through lifetimes (multiple!) of trauma is not something Yaz is going to be equipped to handle.

Yaz has only just started her life. She's driven and loves the adventures she's had with the Doctor, so much so that she stayed with the Doctor after everyone else left. Yaz would get as restless as the Doctor, resulting in either more adventures or resentment.

Yaz is in love with her. We get the scenes where the Doctor says she would but can't, and in them Yaz looks heartbroken. If the circumstances were different then maybe they could have, but they're not so they can't. Yaz needs time to heal her heartbreak, which she can't really do if the Doctor is still around (and whether or not the Doctor is 13, they're still the Doctor and would still be difficult for Yaz. Also difficult for the Doctor bc she did love Yaz but her fear and trauma was unfortunately too much for her to risk it).

Just to repeat, I think Yaz should have been mentioned in the episode. It doesn't make sense for someone who the Doctor has explicitly stated they loved not to be mentioned.

And here are the reasons why I think Donna was the good choice.

Donna and the Doctor make each other better during their run together. Donna reminds him that he can do good, even if the impact is small. The Doctor shows her that she matters, and is brilliant.

Although he doesn't know it at the time, the Doctor is given an opportunity to save Donna and return her memories, undoing one of the things he has massive guilt over.

Donna is someone who has settled down. She has a house, a husband, a kid. She knows what it's like to go a bit crazy being stuck in one place (even if not for the same reasons). She has the ability and experience to help the Doctor through it. She is also someone who will enforce his rest and healing while knowing what it's like to want to be doing something.

Donna also comes with an added support system because her family is pretty close knit, with a particular spotlight on Wilf ('I'd be proud to have you as a father', anyone?).

This so pretty long and if you're still here then thanks for reading! Mainly I wrote it to put my thoughts out there so I don't explode. If you have any thoughts about this and are gonna be nice about it, then feel free to add to this post :)

[h4lcyonism]

Tbh I don't feel like the Ren/Nora/Victor thing felt like a repeat of the Blake/Yang/Diana thing, but in a bad way?

Like... with BYD, Yang seemed to realize instantly that she'd said something that made Blake upset which wasn't even actual flirting and just quietly course corrected the rest of the movie and made sure Blake felt supported by her + Diana wasn't at all interested in either of them, which left room for the three of them to actually talk and become friends (I actually really loved their friendship stuff).

RNV on the other hand was just very... weird? On Victor's end, it's weird that he's super into this random teenager he just met (which is impossible to handwave as him feeling like a teen too since he's also the one who takes a dig at Ruby, who's only two years younger than Nora, for being a teen and too young to lead) and even if that hadn't happened he still knows he's actually an adult. Plus, given their relationship, it seems weird that Nora would be upset to see Ren acting a little lot jealous, considering how badly she wanted him to admit he reciprocated her feelings... especially during the early Atlas arc.

And again, unlike with Blake, Yang, and Diana who talked and formed a bond... Victor and Ren's resolution was just "oh look, we can fight together to save the girl we both like" which again... makes no sense as a plot point and doesn't resolve anything between them... while also kinda reducing Nora to a damsel in distress and not having her be a part of resolving the issue, which isn't great since she was upset (regardless of how I feel about it).

this is actually a great way to put it!! the byd thing felt very natural: imo it makes total sense for yang to have a small thing for diana, she’s definitely her type (dark-haired women who could kick her ass), and it makes sense for blake to be jealous because we’ve never seen her have to compete for yang’s attention before, yang’s only ever had eyes for blake. and diana not having any personal involvement with either of them makes the whole thing seem distant, so it’s much more a blake and yang thing rather than something involving diana.

i think in terms of the victor and nora thing, they should’ve just leaned in on victor being more fascinated with nora’s tech rather than anything else, kind of like entrapta from she-ra. it felt weird to turn it into a romantic thing, especially since, like you said, it ended up being a “we can team up to save the girl we both like” sort of deal rather than finding an actual resolution. which is sad, because i liked victor outside of that.

i feel like byd is the only dc/rwby combination that made any sense in a romantic lens, again since the only romantic part of it was between blake and yang. i personally didn’t see weiss and bruce’s relationship as romantic at all, but i do think it was intended that way despite it, and of course there’s the victor and renora deal. that’s why jaune and jessica’s duo was my favorite, because they were friends who could help each other by their similarities and understanding of the other’s problems, and i feel like the other character combinations should’ve been written more like that.