#rewatching next in fashion season 1

[kashmirichaiwithmehr]

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[popculturebuffet]

Next up for Warner Bros Animation, favorite character from the 2002-08 half of the Kids WB shows with: Mucha Lucha, Ozzy & Drix, What's New Scooby Doo, Xiaolin Showdown, The Batman, Johnny Test (this oughta be interesting since it aired on three different networks with varying seasons of quality with seasons 1-3 premiering on Kids WB, seasons 4-6 being produced for Cartoon Network, and the revival seasons being produced for Netflix), Loonatics Unleashed, Tom & Jerry Tales, Shaggy & Scooby Doo Get a Clue, and Legion of Superheroes? I skipped Coconut Fred since everyone and their mother despises that show (one of the worst of all time).

Jesus Christ that's a lot. Also look given some past entires here, Coconut Fred is being kept on the grounds that it shoudn't be forgotten just for being horrible. like da boom crew which I thankfully haven't seen. So anyways..

Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island: I saw it at the time and it.. sure does exist. It's a half hearted spongebob ripoff. I'm talking about it because it did exist but don't have much else. Maybe I shoudl've left it out but i've let worse shows have an entry. This is just.. ntohing.

Mucha Lucha: IT'S A WAY OF LIFE! Senior Hasbena who just had a fun voice and a great early spotlight episode. The show itself is one I need to revisit but is awesome as hell, having a nice respect for luchadore culture while also being pretty nonsesically fun. While I would love a full on wrestling action series, this one was still good fun and needs ot be avaliable to stream in some fashion.

Ozzy and Drix: Drix if only because he was my faviorite in the movie. This series feels.. unecessary. It's not a bad idea but both frank's state at the start and Ozzie and Drix ending up elsewehere make it feel like the first film didn't matter and it feels weird to just.. not keep the setting. If they wanted kid plots, Frank has a daughter. That gripe aside the series was ... eh. Not terrible, but nothing really super special either.

Xiaolin Showdown: Jack Spicer. The boy, the myth the legend and Danny Cooksy's best role by a wide margin. A fun villian who was laughable enough to never get boring and stick around long after he'd been outclassed by newer big bads. Xiaolin Showdown is one of the best cartoons of this era, one of the best of this action show block and one of the best. I rewatched it in college and was amazed it held up so well. The show is genuine about our four heroes working, said four heroes while having familiar archetypes for the most part, are great characters who are a load of fun to watch and the format of the showdowns is engagin: while it does usually lead to some form of fight the contest format adds a nice wild card to it: our heroes can end up in a game where telling the truth is the only way out, a soccer match for OMi's soul, or a battle royale with all present. IT's a wonderful show I wish would get a proper revivial. And no Chronciles dosen't count, chronciles can go fuck itself.

The Batman: Another one to revisit and i'd say clayface as the twist of him being someone batman knew and trusted is utterly guttnig. I gave up on this one early for petty reasons depsite having most of the toys: I hated what they did with mr freeze and felt it couldn't compare to btas. Time has passed and with the later seasons adding some nice swerves i've accepted the show is it's own thing, trying to be a more action oriented shonen to forge it's own identity from the more moody btas. And it did apparently get better and better as it went and having seen a later episode or two casually , I can agree. Plus I admit to loving the touch of having batgirl join up before batman. Also the movie where he fights dracula is fucking dope and wel lworth your time.

Johnny Test: I'd say the twins for being usually hilaroius. As for the show.. it's eh. I used to hate it

But I now see it as an okay show that had some fun bits, and what I saw of the revival, as sadly short lived as it was, was better. It's still not AMAZING, but it wasn't the mindless garbage it got labeled as either. Nor a dexter's lab ripoff.. I do think they took some inspriation from it clearly, I mean look at the twins... but when you look at the cast none of them really match up to dexter's aside from the twins, whose crush on gil and age diffrenate them just enough. It's not an amazing show but it's hate was overblown.

Loonatics Unleahsed: Look the base concept of "The looney tunes as superhero: could be fun. I have a batman daffy and superman bugs on my desk as I type this. They did skits of the kind. The problem is lonatics wanted to be batman beyond with looney tunes and it never worked as a kid and dosen't work now.

Tom and Jerry Tales; I love tom and jerry but i've barely seen this.

Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue: The timing on this one as good as i've been watching through this on and off with @jess-the-vampire recently. I don't really have a faviorite. As for the show itself it's overhated like the last two entries and honestly.. it's okay. It's nothing amazing thus far, trying to be venture bros by having henchman 2 be an obvious ripoff of 21. Which wouldn't bother me if they did it right but instead he's just annoying. That being said it's still not a terrible series: the theme song is terrible but the show itself is solid, having intresting sometimes bonkers plot and shoudlnt' be vilified for breaking formula. It may not entirely work.. but I can respect TRYING something new an dhope go go mystery machine is a better version of this.

Legion of Super Heroes: Bouncing Boy: this series kept his goofy powers but also what works: someone who badly wanted to join the legion, never gave up and then threw in his reboot self's pilot skills and flsehd out his perosnality.

As for the show i'm a big legion of superheroes fan and this show is part of what brought me to the clubhouse. It's a slick show that nicely merges the two continuties it had to work with: the pre zero our one from the silver age and beyond and the reboot that helped ground things (The third reboot, yes three and there was a fourth long after, was just happening around this time so only star boy being black made the cut from there), while keeping the silver age namesan dastetic from before.

The result is a fun show that loves the legion dearly, has a great cast of characters and despite being made to have a teen superman show dosen't let clark overshadow everyone else: he's the lead.. but most of the main cast get a focus episode over the course of season 1. I"ll admit season 2 isn't quite as good as due to executive mandates the female cast is sidelined in places and imperix is a boring villian, while superman x, superman but EDGGGYYYYY just isn't that intresting. But season 2 isn't all bad with some standout episodes, the addition of chameleon boy and a truly chilling arc with brainy and an old friend I won't spoil for those who haven't seen the show. This series is a little seen gem that needs more love.

I realized as we worked on this I almost forgot something important, a series that begs for the spotlight so..

What's New Scooby Doo: We're comin after you, we're gonna solve that mystery. This is a hard one as the gang is reinvented well but i'd have to go with Fred, whose goofiness begins. After the great prequel that was pup named scooby doo and the success of the live action movie, What's New was a reinvention of the franchise in an odd way: it goes back to the gangs old actors , minus grey delise making her debut as daphne, and old style of writing thigns but updates it in a way that dosen't feel too dated now: sure the gang does extreme sports, but it's not to rocket power levels and fits for Daphne.

This series also cements fred and daphne's new roles going forward, roles that helped keep the character fresh despite the dozens of films and handful of series to come. Fred was dialed back from teh conpsiarcy theroist of pup, but instead became the bumbling tourist, a tad awkawrd in places and a tad over excited in others. It added nice layers to him besides solving mysteries and bullying his best friend and it left the door open for him to get reinvented a lot. Daph meanwhile, got a welcome reinvention that let her fit into the classic gang better: like her pup counterpart she often uses fashion, her wealth is more displayed (if not used as a fucntion) but her friendly nature and willingness to get into things (or easliy getting into activties she hated at first), all debuted here.

What's New is a fun series: shorter than you'd think, but having watched it about twice with jess , it holds up really well, combinging the usual formula with some fun hyjinks and creative setups. Sometimes it was bonkers, but it was a solid return to form that let the series experiment more with the next few, and deserves more credit for helping codify a lot of the modern franchise.

[pensbridge]

an old, OLD list fr. me rewatching Bridgerton & writing notes that I didn't finish cuz I'm lazy

Big Polin Watch b4 Season 3 Comes Out

(Things I noticed, liked.. or a general list of key things ahead the new season)

1x01

1813

Oh my god! They literally told you Penelope was Whistledown if you hadn't read the books! "3 misses foisted upon the marriage mart..by their tasteless, tactless mama."-LW; "Is she to breathe, mama?"-Pen

Penelope Featherington (*LW hint confirmed by Nicola)

They introduce the Featheringtons on screen before they do the Bridgertons.

(This might be random, but there appears to be a dog in the Bridgerton painting with ABC).

We talk abt Pen's childish fashion chosen by her mom but in the first ever scene w/Eloise, she wears a dress very similar to Hyacinth next to her (also a giant flower in her hair).

Colin inserts himself to hurry Daphne along (showing up again in trying to help Pen??)

Mr. "everyone likes me" 'approval-seeking behavior' Colin Bridgerton (s3! s3!)

Based on the LW readings, we can already see that Pen views Eloise in admiration. She calls the Bridgerton sisters beautiful, but then also notes her as "perfect," (though bleeding with sarcasm) a reading that is placed directly after Eloise screams for Daphne to hurry, which is definitely placed to signal how Eloise is outspoken in numerous ways & later speaks her mind.

Does Colin glance at Pen when she & Eloise wave to each other across the way??

"But as we may know the brighter a lady shines, the faster she may burn."~LW (abt Daphne)

Penelope says Lady Bridgerton has allowed Eloise to delay for 1 yr, not that Pen was pushed up with her sisters 🤔?

?Possible RMB Easter Egg: At Danbury's ball, a young woman who appears to have redish (yes, I'm colorblind it's blonde) hair talks abt showing her watercolors to a gentleman. Is this a Felicity look alike to reference the proposal scene in the book? No. I'm reaching, ok.

Empty Penelope Dance Card Spotting!Brought up by Nicola/fans/WhatABarb pod(?) b4 -> Colin has never signed her dc 👀

Portia- (tmstmp: 39:48) [talking about a young lady going off unchaperoned [most likely to foreshadow Marina]; though will she suspect Polin "compromising" before marriage??

Colin glances at Penelope playing with the dog. (This has been pointed out numerous times.)

Lady D. & Lady B. conspiring to get Daphne & Simon together. Could conspiring come up again between them in season 3 w/Polin?

Bloomsbury mention @Bridgerton dinner (-20:32) [could be used as a reference to what will come later for Colin, despite the line coming out of Benedict's mouth]

^Also, Colin mentions of who knows if LW is a she; Eloise counters to his claim that LW must be a man, being so clever; and Colin replies w/a cheeky smirk/smile. Oh the surprise to occur when he finds out will be rich!

The Moment Colin Dances with Pen after Cressida spills her drink-This moment becomes even more meaningful when you remember Colin is in pursuit of courting Marina already t/o the ep. (& how it could be perceived; then again maybe he is clueless how it could be perceived)

NOTE: The juxtaposition of 1x01 how Colin denies a dance w/Cressida in front of a crowd in favor of Pen to 2x08 when Colin loudly proclaims never courting Penelope to a crowd (and it is also abt a dance) to hopefully a loud proclamation of pride in s3

[vulpesarctica]

Not me about to turn off season 2 of Next in Fashion and just rewatch season 1 because they just gave these poor schmucks 4 HOURS to make an outfit (out of old clothes no less, so they have to deconstruct those first before they can even start making)

Season 1 was so wholesome and I really loved it and this just seems like everything that was wrong with Project Runway and Making the Cut all over again 😩

[typingtess]

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NCIS: Los Angeles Season 14 Rewatch:    “Maybe Today”

The basics:  While Kilbride visits his son, the team works a cold case from 2003.

Written by: Samantha Chasse & Matt Klafter

Samantha Chasse co-wrote “Kill Beale Vol. 1”, wrote “Impostor Syndrome” (one of season 12’s best episodes) and “Murmuration”. 

Matt Klafter co-wrote “Smokescreen Part II”, “A Fait Accompli” and “Hard for the Money”.  Was the sole writer for “Where Loyalties Lie”.

Directed by: Eric A. Pot directed “Resurrection”, “Windfall”, “Traitor”, “Internal Affairs”, “Home is Where the Heart Is”, “Forasteira”, “Reentry”, “Hit List”, “The One Who Got Away”, “Kill Beale Vol 1” (co-written by Chasse), “Fortune Favors the Bold”, “A Fait Accopli” (co-written by Klafter), “Imposter Syndrome” (written by Chasse), “Indentured”, “Sorry for Your Loss” and “Survival of the Fittest”.

Guest stars of note:  Christopher Gorham as Alex Kilbride, Rose Abdoo as Special Agent Daisy Van Zandt, Eva Tamargo as Mrs. Perez, Kevin McCorkle as Jack Baker, Cuyle Carvin as Aaron Baker, Courtney Cunningham as Jen Anderson, Jhey Castles as Melissa Baker, Keenan Henson as Kevin Phillips and Joe Keyes as Taxi Driver.

Our heroes:  Deal with parents and children.

What important things did we learn about: Callen:  Not afraid of strong women. Sam:   Senior Chief, Special Warfare Kensi:  Couldn’t imagine what a mother would feel about a missing child. Deeks:  Working well with LAPD. Fatima:  Listening to old interview cassette tapes in Kilbride’s truck. Rountree:  Not a fan of old case files in moldy, charred boxes. Kilbride:  Finally listening to his son.

What not so important things did we learn about: Callen:  Looking for a Sam’s plus one for the wedding. Sam:    No interest in Callen’s plus one-ing. Kensi:  Wants Rosa to participate in extra circular activities. Deeks:   Wants Rosa to be protected from all types of danger. Fatima:   Office bound. Rountree:   See Fatima. Kilbride:  Spending the night on his son’s couch.

Where in the world is Henrietta Lange?  Not a mention.

Who's down with OTP:   Kensi and Deeks have debates over keeping Rosa safe.  Callen is comfortable marrying a confident woman.

Who's down with BrOTP:  Callen is looking for a Sam love connection which is a complete change in roles from the first five seasons.

Fashion review:  Callen wore a midnight blue sweater.  Another long-sleeve black tee for Sam.  Kensi wears a long-sleeve top that has a graduated color scheme that starts white around her shoulders, pink and grey across her chest and black the rest of the way down.  Deeks has a light blue henley on.  Fatima has a thick brown sweater.  Rountree is wearing a black hoodie.  Kilbride is casual with a thick dark blue sweater over a lighter blue plaid button down shirt.

Music:   “Killer” by Phoebe Bridgers plays in a montage near the end of the episode.

Any notable cut scene:  Yes, one, after weeks of nothing.  Driving to Jen Anderson’s, Kensi and Deeks discuss the case moving from a missing persons case to a death.  Kensi is down on local law enforcement for not doing more.  Deeks is a bit more sympathetic.   Missing persons aren’t always missing persons, sometimes people just walk away from their lives.  After a while, the police have other cases to solve.

Kensi hears from Rountree – the local news stations have picked up the story.  Deeks checks his phone – national news, NPR, the BBC are all cover the story.  Kensi and Deeks realize that the killer, who lived 20-years without anyone knowing there was a killing, now knows they are the focus of a national news story.

Quote:  Callen:  “How can we help?” Daisy:  “Stay close by.  Try not to get in the way.  First cold case?” Callen:  “Yeah.” Daisy:  “Couple of virgins. This'll be fun.  I've been working cases since '04.  Solved more of them than the next two agents combined.” Callen:  “I like your modesty.” Daisy:  “Confidence in a woman make you uncomfortable, Agent Callen?” Callen:  “Well, if it did, then I'm about to marry the wrong woman.”

Anything else:  A car is driving down a rural road.  2003 shows up on the screen.  The radio in the car is playing an address by then President George W. Bush about major combat operations ending in Iraq.  A man steps out of the vehicle and puts on some gloves.  Inside the vehicle is a woman wearing a Navy sweatshirt who looks like she’s out cold.   There’s duct tape on her mouth and her hands are bound. 

As the man walks away from the vehicle to use a payphone, the woman is awake and alert.  She takes off the seat belt holding her to the car seat.  She tries to open the car door but the man finished his call and is returning to the vehicle.  Again, playing unconscious, she waits until the man nears the car door.  She opens the door with great force, knocking the man to the ground.  She flees on foot.  She gets the bindings off her hands and removes the tape on her mouth as she runs.  The man starts the car to chase her.  She calls for help as she runs into a wooded area.

In 2024, a car is pulled from a lake.  The license plate and the vehicle are from the 2003 scenes.  A female NCIS agent confirms “it’s hers” and calls for the best NCIS team in the area.

Walking into the office, Kensi and Deeks are talking about Rosa, extracurricular activities and college applications.  Kensi thinks Rosa needs them, Deeks thinks Yale won’t care since you can get into law school there by twirling a baton.  Baton is color guard, Kensi correct Deeks, Rosa is interested in doing gymnastics, Deeks is worried she’ll get hurt.  Kensi lists a number of activities Rosa could join – track, water polo, AV Club – where Deeks has a reason she could get hurt - shin splints, chlorine poisoning (obviously), electrocution.  Kensi tells him to stop.  He is half-joking but he wants her safe,  Kensi says they can’t cover Rosa in bubble wrap.  Deeks is looking more for small packing peanuts.

In Ops, Kensi asks if they have a new case.  Fatima and Rountree explains it is more a like an old one.  Navy Petty Officer Britney Perez, Fatima starts to explain but Kensi thinks the name sounds familiar.  It was – there was a documentary series about Perez recently.  A hiker at Castaic Lake saw a car in the lake – water levels are so low it was easy to see on a trail.  Deeks thinks this may be the one time where climate change is good.  He knows it sounds wrong.  The four talk about bringing Kilbride into the case but Deeks wants Kilbride to spend time with his son.  Callen and Sam on their way to the crime scene.  Kensi asks about next of kin.  Perez had a mother who has not been informed about the car.  Kensi can’t fathom being a mother to a missing child.  She and Deeks are going to see Mrs. Perez, maybe offer some answers.

Walking up to an apartment door, Admiral Kilbride sighs before knocking.  A man in his mid-to-late 40’s answers the door and says hello Dad.  Dad Kilbride replies with just “Alex.”  Inviting his father into the apartment, Alex explains the set-up is temporary, he’s still trying to work things out with his wife Deb.  It is a rather generic one-bedroom apartment with rather generic furniture. 

Kilbride asks where he can hang his coat and hat as Alex pours the two some coffee.  Opening a closet, Kilbride sees it is full of fancy diplomas, an expensive desk name plate.  There is a hook so the hat and jacket go there.  Kilbride asks Alex about work and Alex replies “great.”  He has a new client working on a cryptocurrency exchange.  The silence after that is uncomfortable.

Callen and Sam pull up at the crime scene.  They’re talking about Stacy, Anna’s maid of honor.  Sam is adding drama according to Callen.  The two address Special Agent Daisy Van Zandt, the female agent who supervised the car being removed from the lake.  Callen and Sam are investigating their first cold case  - “a couple of virgins” according to Daisy – so she asks them to stay close but also stay out of the way.

Daisy has been working cold cases in 2004 and has solved twice as many cold cases in her time than the next two agents combined.  Callen admires her modesty.  Daisy asks if confidence in woman worries Callen.  If it does, Callen tells her, he’s going to have a problem with the woman he’s about to marry.  Daisy tells Callen and Sam that the case of Brittney Perez “had my number”.  There’s never been any evidence until now.  An agent calls for Daisy.  The car truck is opened and the skeletal remains of someone are inside.

Calling Kensi and Deeks, Callen says the coroner ID’d the body as Brittney Perez.  Hanging up, he returns to Sam and Daisy.  Kensi and Deeks will be telling Perez’s mother.  Daisy doesn’t envy that task.  Callen asks about the original case agents.  Two local field office agents, Walker and Haskins, had the case originally.  Walker retired to Florida a few years back, Haskins is dead.  Sam asks Daisy what she thought of all this.  “There’s good work, there’s sloppy work and there there’s whatever the hell this was.  It’s no wonder why this case wound up with us.” 

Callen asks about suspects.  There was one suspect – Petty Office Aaron Baker.  A witness said Baker and Perez were arguing outside a bar.  Perez slapped Baker.  Sam wondered about the argument but Daisy doesn’t know what it was about.  Neither does Baker, according to Daisy, who was too drunk to remember according to Walker and Haskins.  They didn’t bother to push him on what he could and couldn’t remember.  He’s third generation Navy.  Callen is stunned. 

When Perez went missing, Baker was home according to his bunkmate.  The two were watching video games all night.  Looking at the truck, Sam asks for a vial.  He found a tooth in the trunk.  Perez’s body is still in the trunk and it is obvious she has all her teeth.  Sam believes Perez fought until the end.  There will be a DNA test and while teeth and bone are really strong for finding DNA, 20-years in the water isn’t a good environment.  Callen and Sam are off to talk to Baker. 

In the boat shed, Kensi and Deeks are comforting and kind to Mrs. Perez.  Mrs. Perez shares photos of Britney stored on her phone.  Britney was strong and smart and funny.  Mrs. Perez explains that she was a single mom.  She and Britney only had each other.  That’s why she never believed the investigators who thought Britney went AWOL, fearing she would be deployed.  Asked if Britney was worried about being deployed, Mrs. Perez said her daughter loved the Navy.  Besides, she would never leave without saying goodbye. 

Before she went missing, Britney was upset and a frazzled.  There was something about her roommate Jen, there was a bad situation.  Britney wouldn’t tell her mother the whole story.  She wanted to protect her mother.  Mrs. Perez tells Kensi and Deeks that she was waiting for this day for the last 20-years.  Now she’d like to have one more day of not knowing that someone killed her daughter.  Grabbing Kensi’s arm, Mrs. Perez asks that they not give up on Britney this time.  Kensi promises.

In Ops, Rountree has been looking into Aaron Baker.  At 18, Baker was arrested for assault and battery, a charge that was pled down to a misdemeanor.  While he got away with that, his DNA is now in the system so it should be easy to match anything that can be retrieved from the tooth.  Fatima is still waiting for the files for the case to be sent – it is taking hours. 

Fatima is also investigating Petty Officer Jen Anderson, Perez’s roommate.  Anderson went AWOL days before Perez disappeared.  Rountree gets a text – the files are downstairs.  Fatima is surprised, her tablet didn’t beep when the files were sent.  The files were sent – physical files.  They are in charred yet damp banker boxes.  Daisy sent a note – the burn marks are from wildfires in 2009, the dampness from flooding in 2015.  Rountree leaves, saying “you’ve got this, right.”  Fatima is not pleased.

Callen and Sam approach a man asking if he’s Aaron Baker.  It’s Jack Baker, Aaron’s dad.  He’s working on a boat in the garage.  Jack Baker explains he’s been living with Aaron and Aaron’s wife Melissa since his house burned down in the Bell Canyon fires.  Aaron’s out and Jack is happy to tell him that NCIS stopped by – why were they stopping by.  When Callen says a cold case from 2003, Jack reacts poorly.  Since the documentary series, the family has gotten late night phone calls, people just showing up at the house, death threats.  Callen is sorry they had to go through that.  Before they leave, Sam fixes a knot on a boat.  Jack is impressed and asks if Sam is Navy.  When Sam says Senior Chief, Special Warfare, Jack is a bit more open.  Since Aaron and Melissa went shopping and will be back soon, Jack’s fine with Callen and Sam waiting inside the house.

Inside the house, Jack is showing some photos he has of his time during Desert Storm.  He was a Chief Petty Officer running the Beachmasters unit.  Aaron and Melissa arrive.  When Callen explains they are from NCIS and it is about Britney Perez, Melissa wants no part of the interview – the family has been through enough.  Callen tells them about Britney’s body being found.  “The sooner we have answers, the sooner this will be over for everyone,” Sam says.  Jack seems supportive of Callen and Sam so Aaron is open to answering questions.

Asked about what he was arguing about with Britney, Aaron doesn’t remember.  Jack is cheerleading for his son during the interview.  Things happened 20-years ago, hard to remember.  Sam asks if Aaron remember his roommate for 20-years ago.  He does – Kevin Phillips and they were friends at the time.  The two haven’t spoken in over a decade.  Before they plan on leaving, Callen asks if Aaron was willing to turn over his dental records.  Melissa puts her foot down – she considers this harassment.  She’s calling a lawyer and if they want his dental records, Callen and Sam need a warrant. 

Leaving the home, both Callen and Sam are sure Aaron remembers more than saying and Melissa knows that too.  They want Rountree to find Kevin Phillips to see what he remembers.  Callen gets a text from Daisy – they found DNA in the tooth.  They don’t need a warrant for Aaron’s dental records, they already have his DNA on file.

Coming down the stairs, Rountree asks how Fatima is doing with the physical files.  About half of the files belong to different cases.  What belongs to this case is either burned or moldy.  She also thinks there is something live in one of the boxes.  Rountree found Jen Anderson, who is living in Sun Valley.  She was arrested for drugs about five years ago and is currently on parole.  Kensi and Deeks are on their way to see her. 

Fatima finds a box of cassette tapes of interviews, amazed at the lack of technical prowess of the original investigators.  Rountree isn’t sure where they would find a cassette player.  Fatima is – Kilbride’s truck is in the carport.  He’s on vacation, probably having the time of his life, according to Rountree.  They can listen to the tapes in Kilbride’s truck.

Not having the time of his life – Kilbride.  Alex is explaining how the coffee he’s serving is from a farmer’s market downtown that has a direct connection with a coffeehouse in Guatemala.  The Admiral doesn’t much care about the coffee.  The Admiral knows what’s going on.  Alex admits he’s back in rehab, sticking with the program and going to meetings.  The Admiral is happy to hear it.  Alex thinks everything is so weird.  Kilbride is willing to go back to the last conversation the two had.  Things are going downhill fast.

When Kilbride complains that things aren’t that easy for him either, Alex asks why Kilbride is even there. Alex realizes “Mom asked you to come.”  Alex is annoyed that his mother couldn’t leave well enough along.  “If you were ‘well enough’ she never would have asked,” Kilbride replies.  He’s angry that Alex was given every opportunity, given anything a person could ask for.  Alex tells his father he didn’t ask for what he’s got now.  Kilbride replies he didn’t turn it down either. 

Exasperated, Alex says he wasn’t born ready to take on the world like Kilbride was.  Kilbride disagrees – the only difference between the two of them was “I didn’t fold up like a cheap suit every time life got hard.”  Imitating his father offering advice like “suck it up” and “take it like a man”, Alex asked if he missed any not helpful pieces of advice.  Pausing a beat, Kilbride tells Alex he’s there to help.  Alex thinks that help is 40-years too late.  “I don’t want your help.  Just go.”  Alex is sure Kilbride has more important work to do.  Grabbing his coat and hat, Kilbride leaves.

In the cold case lab, Callen brings up Emily instead of Stacy, another possible plus one for the wedding.  Callen thinks Emily is a much better fit for the wedding.  Daisy arrives.  The tooth is inconclusive when it comes to a match for Aaron Baker.  The pool of suspects is basically anyone living in Los Angeles in 2003.  Callen asks about forensic genealogy – that’s how they found the Golden State Killer.  Daisy says TV makes that all look too easy.  They would have to build out a family tree, that takes time, and other family members who put in their DNA for genealogy.  But she’ll get her staff working on that.  When Daisy leaves, Sam mentions he really likes Daisy.  Callen wants to know if that’s in a plus-one sort of way.  Rountree calls – he found Kevin Phillips.  Phillips has been working in Long Beach for a masonry firm.  Before that, several years in prison for wire fraud and falsifying records.  Baker’s alibi was from a convicted liar.  And it is a non-violent crime so Phillips’s DNA wouldn’t be in the system.  Callen and Sam want to talk to Phillips.

While Fatima listens to some really bad detective work in Kilbride’s truck, Rountree pretends the Admiral has returned.  Fatima isn’t all that amused.  She updates Rountree on what she’s learned.  Perez spoke to her CO before she disappeared.  The CO on the tape said Perez wanted to report a crime for her roommate but he thought it was just a he said/she said situation.  If they reported every he said/she said situation to NCIS, NCIS would stop taking the base’s calls.  Perez was forced to take matters in her own hands by confronting Baker.  But since she already reported the crime, Baker would have no reason to silence Perez.  Unless she was willing to take her claims to a larger audience.

Continuing his litany of dangerous things for Rosa to stay away from, Deeks has vetoed the Girl Scouts, academic decathlon, choir and ceramics.  “What sort of a manic lets minors around a kiln?” Deeks asks.  At Jen Anderson’s door, Deeks knocks and someone starts shooting through the door.  Kensi goes out back to find Anderson washed all her sheets and they’re all hanging on clothes lines.  A man shoots at Kensi.  She returns fire, hitting him on the leg.  When Deeks joins Kensi in the backyard, they hear something at the back door.  It is Jen Anderson.

The man shooting at Kensi is Anderson’s friend Marcus, “a narcissistic idiot”, who thought Kensi and Deeks were there to arrest him.  Seems he had a lot of drugs with him.  Marcus is going to jail for a long time for drugs and shooting at Federal Agents.  Deeks asks Anderson about Aaron Baker and Britney Perez 20-years ago.   When Anderson asks if Kensi spoke to Baker about “it”, Kensi said they did.  Anderson walks away while Deeks deals with LAPD.

Gently, Kensi pushes Anderson to talk about what happened with Aaron Baker.  They can’t solve Perez’s case without her.  Anderson tells Kensi that Baker “assaulted” her.  Took her life away while his went on without a worry in the world.  Anderson left the Navy.  Perez was the only person who knew what happened.  She was a good friend to Anderson who wouldn’t let Baker walk around free as Anderson was losing her career.  Perez reported the crime against Anderson’s wishes.  Anderson left the day Perez reported the crime.  A few days later, Perez’s disappearance was all over the news.  Anderson didn’t speak to investigators – if they didn’t believe Perez, they weren’t going to believe her.

Kevin Phillips is on the wrong side of the desk in Interrogation.  Aaron Baker may have been Phillips’s best friend but he wouldn’t lie for him.  Sam asks if Phillips is lying for himself.  He swears he had no reason to kill Perez.  Sam sees a way that Philips, knowing that Baker had a Navy family, would protect Baker from the harm caused Perez’s accusations.  Phillips is firm – Baker didn’t kill Perez and he didn’t kill Perez.  Callen asks Phillips to prove it – provide a DNA sample.  Phillips agrees. 

As Callen goes to speak with Daisy, Sam questions Phillip about his reaction to Sam’s Navy-oriented question.  Sam wonders how serious Aaron Baker was about the Navy.  Phillips admits that Baker liked the Navy because it helped his dating life.  When Baker would get blackout drunk – which was all the time – he’d speak about his father.  Jack Baker would bully his son, calling him a failure and a disgrace to the family.  Sam asks if Jack Baker knew about Perez’s accusations.  He did.

Daisy puts the kibosh on a DNA test for Kevin Phillips.  A deeper look into the DNA again a genealogy search matched Aaron Baker – a partial match.  Sam arrives, asking if it a 50% match.  It is.  Daisy would need to see a DNA sample for Jack Baker.  Callen has just the man for the case.

Wearing Artie, Deeks is trash pail diving around the Baker home.  He’s not happy about the assignment.  Kensi is taking photos of Deeks to support the chain of custody.  Under the Abandoned DNA Act, any genetic material left in a public place can be used by law enforcement.   Chanting he has a law degree and loves his job, Deeks is picking through the regular trash.

Jack Baker leaves the home, dropping paint cans and rubber gloves into the recycling pail.  The gloves would have DNA so Deeks goes to retrieve them, muttering all the way.  As Deeks gets into the recycling pail, Jack Baker tries to run Deeks off.  Deeks knocks down the pail, yells “I am Spartacus” and shows Kensi he has the gloves.  Fatima and Rountree listen in to all this.

As Kilbride is Ubering back to the airport, the driver mentions that a tough day can be forgotten by showering and a good night sleep.  Kilbride instead, returns to Alex’s apartment.  Alex asks why Kilbride is there.  Kilbride replies he’s there to do something he should have done years ago.

In the cold cases lab, Daisy confirms to Kensi and Deeks that the DNA on the gloves is a 100% match.  Kensi calls that into Ops – they’ll meet Callen and Sam at the Baker home but Jack Baker is gone.  He left to go to the hardware store – LAPD had him under surveillance – but lost him in the store.  Fatima is trying to track his truck with GPS.  He was at a storage facility in Van Nuys.  Rountree has security cam photos of Jack Baker removing a rifle from his storage unit and putting it in his truck.  Kensi sighs – Jack Baker knows NCIS is coming for him, “and that’s not good,” according to Deeks.

On the freeway, Callen and Sam are trying to find Jack Baker.  He’s going north – to Castaic Lake.  Kensi and Deeks are about 15-minutes behind Callen and Sam.  There was a hit and run by Aaron Baker’s house – with Baker’s BMW.  Kensi and Deeks are going to Aaron Baker’s home to see if Aaron was making a run for it.  Callen and Sam will deal with Jack Baker. 

At Castaic Lake, Sam looks around Jack Baker’s truck – the rifle is gone. 

Kensi and Deeks cut off Aaron Baker, ordering him out of his car.  Saying he doesn’t have time for this, he’s afraid his father is going to hurt himself.  Or something worse. 

On comms, Kensi warns Callen and Sam that Jack Baker may be on a suicide mission.  Callen and Sam realize Jack Baker wants to kill himself but wants Callen and Sam to do the actual killing.  Sam sees Baker and starts approaching him.  When Baker stops, he complains “that bitch” was going to ruin his son’s life.  Sam disagrees – Aaron ruined his own life by his actions.  Baker claims he was doing what any father would do – protect his son.  Again Sam disagrees – Baker killed a woman who was doing the right thing.  Baker promises he won’t die in prison.  He turns his gun on Sam and tries to fire.  Sam shoots Baker.  Looking at the body, Sam realizes Baker had the safety on.

“Great, I miss all the fun,” Daisy says as she pulls up to the crime scene.  She wanted to know how the story ends.  Callen asks if they can send back the file boxes.  The OSP would like the file boxes to be returned.  Asked what she’s going to do now, Daisy has lots of cold cases – she’ll work on them until there are none left.  Callen wonders how many cold cases are there.  She doesn’t keep count.  She’d like Callen and Sam to join her – she could always use another body or two.  Probably phrased wrong. 

As Daisy goes to see what’s going on, Callen gets a text.  Stacey has a date for the wedding but Emily is still looking for a plus one.  Sam is sure Emily can find a date for the wedding.  Callen pushes until Sam relents.  He’d like to get to know Emily – really know her as his plus one.  Maybe Callen, Sam, Anna and Emily can go for a fancy dinner Friday – Callen’s treat.  Then next Friday, pricey sushi – Callen’s treat.  Then there’s a private chef that will cook for couples.  Callen walks way, even threatens to walk home.  Sam is sure his days of fending off plus one offers are done.

Jen Anderson texts Kensi.  She’s going public with her accusations against Aaron Blake.  Maybe her telling the truth will give strength to other victims.  Deeks puts his arms around Kensi.

Mrs. Perez lights a floating candle at Castaic Lake.

Daisy puts the tooth and DNA into an evidence bag.  Putting it all in a freezer where there are thousands of vials of DNA, she says, “one down, hundreds to go.”

In his apartment, Alex explains to his father that his marriage is over.  Kilbride wants to know what can he do for Alex.  “Talking help,” he explains.   Admitting the truth, Alex says he doesn’t have a new client, his firm let him go.  Kilbride already knew.  Alex found talking to his father “nice.”  Alex notes that Kilbride was going to miss his flight – until he realizes that Kilbride already missed the flight.  Kilbride will be sacking out on the couch, enjoying another cup of coffee with his son. 

What head canon can be formed from here:    There are probably two really good episodes here but because the Drona drama has to eat up lots of episodes, the two great storylines were crammed into one good but not great episode. 

There were two really good episodes in this episode but by cutting and pasting them together, there was one good episode instead. 

Cramming the two episodes together, you had a theme of parents and their children.  Fathers – Deeks, Kilbride and Jack Baker – and mothers – Kensi, Mrs. Perez.  Deeks had the easy part – he was playing it for laughs but with his history in the public defenders office, the LAPD and now with NCIS, he knows how badly things can go for young people in the world.  Also knowing how badly things can go for young people in the world is Kilbride.  Kilbride wound up with the career and code in life to live by.  That wasn’t want Alex needed and Kilbride did not have the ability to deal with his issues.  Jack Baker seemingly forced his career on his son who had no interest in the code a man should live by.  So Jack Baker murdered an innocent woman to keep his son’s future bright. 

With Kensi and Mrs. Perez, you have two women who want/wanted their daughters to go out into the world to be the best versions of themselves.  Deeks’s over-the-top worries about Rosa’s safety is undercut by how Britney Perez did all the right things – protected and friend, fought for justice – and spent 20-years drowned in the trunk of her car.

There should have been a solo episode about Britney Perez’s disappearance and one solo episode about Kilbride with his son/Kensi and Deeks dealing with Rosa’s future. 

Loved, loved, loved Daisy.  Memo to the surviving NCIS and the possible new NCIS.  Find something for Daisy to do in either 2024 or in the past with the young Gibbs/young Mike Frank.  This was a program that spent years with limited recurring characters – how great would it have been to have Hetty and Daisy mixing things up in season four.

One good episode that could have been two great hours.

Episode number:   This is episode number 319, the 17th episode of season 14.

[weather-mood]

hiiiii hi my dear uhmmm... 1, 16, 22, 28, and/or 32? and 40!

Hi!! 💕💕💕

1. When did you fall in love with the show?

First episode in the church scene, my heart was in my throat, breathless, aching, unable to look away. Never recovered.

16. Do you have a favorite piece of art (book, movie, painting) that’s referenced or featured in the show?

(Surprising no one) Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion! It’s in Easement, it’s in Tower, it’s in Dubai Bubblegum. It lives rent-free in my head.

22. Who's your favorite character? Why?

Louis de Pointe du Lac. He’s just so endlessly fascinating and every time I rewatch I’m just hypnotised by JA’s performance all over again. To see Louis in all the different time periods and at so many different stages in his relationships, it’s enough to think about 24/7. Louis and his family, Louis and Claudia, Louis and race, Louis and gender, Louis and food, Louis and hunger, Louis and religion/faith, Louis and Lestat, Louis and Armand, Louis and aesthetics, Louis and fashion and presentation, Louis and Daniel, Louis and storytelling… you get the gist. There’s so much to think about and so much intelligent meta and analysis on Louis and all these things and I love reading about it, thinking about it, and watching the show and listening or watching Jacob Anderson talk about Louis, listening to JA’s Louis podcast, reading Louis focused fic. Louis! 💕

28. What’s your favorite (platonic) dynamic? 

Louis and Claudia. ‘You had a daughter’ ‘I had a daughter’ weeps, sobs, never gets up again

32. Is there a specific moment or plot point you’re hoping to see next season?

I don’t think we’re going to get it but one can dream: Danlou kiss!

40. If you made any fanworks of your own, what are your personal favorites? Throw yourself some flowers! 

I’ve already said poyw and rumpelstiltskin so mental topology experiments to the tune of bubblegum bitch series! 💐💕

[respectthepetty]

Get To Know Your BL Mutuals

tagged by @kwonzoshi

Simple, answer the questions. @ some people. Include the tag 'g2ky BL mutuals 2022' on your post so we can find everyone's answers!

What has been the BL that took you by surprise this year?

Old Fashion Cupcake. It came out of nowhere! One random day Viki uploaded the first episode, and was like “You wanna watch an oddly named show from Japan?” and my my my (sing it like Troye Sivan) it hit every sweet spot. The scene that was done all in one sequence?! I’m still there. I’m living in that scene. I only come out because I have to pay bills. I’m going to rewatch it for the 80th time now.

What has been the BL that you felt a bit disappointed with this year?

It would have been Oh! My Sunshine Night, but it seemed to embrace its messiness (adding more episodes on the day of the finale!) in a way that I love (amnesia?! a murder plot?! a bubble bath?!!!!) so…

Between Us. It’s the same issue I had with Until We Meet Again. I don’t know how Win and Team’s plot is going to carry over for twelve episodes. We keep getting snippets of In and Korn (TW, please), and shots of Dean and Pharm, but we already know their story, so it’s like recycled plot with a new scent. It’s nice to see Dean not so robotic (“fuck off”) and Pharm not being infantilized, but on top of Alphabet Soup’s issues with Prince Charming, a drowning, Manow doing her (keep it up, we love it!), Tul and Wan’s Gameboys moment, baby Santa looking adorable as Wiew, the product placement of what is clearly NOT water, and the daddy issues (actual issues with their father and not Love in the Air daddy issues), I don’t know how this souffle is going to rise. However, it’s not even close to being finished, so I’m excited to watch how it bakes.

What has been your favorite BL this year?

Love Mechanics. I’m trash for VeeMark’s throat grabs. Trash! Vee being a topsy-turvy bisexual who couldn’t get his shit together is the bisexual representation I want. How many bisexuals do we know who have their shit together? Not a damn one. This show is basically a documentary. Then, Mark being the ultimate Sour Patch Kid who is willing to fist fight his father only made the dynamic between a gay and his huge red flag that much better.

Favorite BL couples (not just of 2022)?

MaxTul are my anything and everything. Korn and Knock. Tan and Bun. Sequels. Prequels. Unconfirmed projects – WHERE IS TRANSPLANT?! It always blows my mind that they are the same age, if not younger than another long-established pair, and came out the gate slutting up our screens. Not even making it a competition, it’s just wild to me that they did the devil’s tango day one, which we see more often now, and held a gun to each other’s head two years ago so DanYok, ToddBlack, KinnPorsche, and VegasPete could fly (I see you HIStory 3: Trapped. Taiwan, you're still my #1). They remind me of a Taiwanese couple with the domestic bliss, the high heat, and the batshit craziness, and I hope they live long and happy lives.

If you had to suggest a BL for someone what would it be?

To My Star 1 AND 2. Yeah, I wrote that. Not just To My Star, but To My Star 2 as well. The reasons speak for themselves, but just in case, never forget his lip was bleeding.

What's your non-BL favorite for this year?

Our Flag Means Death. I only support the girls, the gays, and the goths, so I was happily surprised that I was, in fact, supporting an entire ship of gays and their support goth with this show about pirates. If you think I’m crazy about colors and symbolism in BLs, imagine me watching this show when Ed started wearing color compared to his usual black and wore Stede’s RED robe after Stede gave him a RED cloth, that Ed placed in his pocket where his heart is because Stede gave him love only to throw it in the wind when…

Let me calm down. This show was glorious, and I’m delighted it got a second season. De. Light. Ed.

So who wants to go next? Tag as many or as few people as you want.

Have to tag the color and location mutuals: @gillianthecat @dribs-and-drabbles @waitmyturtles @sliceduplife @callipigio

[themortuatorium]

The Nice and Presumptive Observations of Me (Fan)

Hi there, we’ve never met. I’m definitely not new to me, but I’m new to you. I first read Good Omens ~2007. When the first season of the show came out, I wasn’t really floating around in its fandom space; now, on the approaching dawn of season two prompting a fourth rewatch (and third reread) out of me, I’ve decided to show up fashionably late and turn in an essay nobody asked for discussing probably nothing new to you, but new to me.

All of what I have to say deals with the first half of episode 3, sorry. It just does so much, laying the groundwork for Aziraphale and Crowley’s relationship. I’m dying to talk about it.

If you’re interested, or are just looking for anything to procrastinate with, then I hope I’ve at least made a discourse[1] that’s compelling to look at. It certainly is long.

[1] The philosophical essay kind.

ST JAMES PARK (1862) -

What gets to me most about this scene, in particular, is the layers of implication surrounding the word “insurance” coming from Crowley. I think it’s an incredible use of subtly (if intentional). Because insurance against demons, sure, we as the audience are informed of this knowledge based on context clues elsewhere or from having read the book. They both understand what they’re doing is incredibly frowned upon. It is more than that. He’s looking for proof that Aziraphale would stick his neck out for him.

Up to that point, it’s always been Crowley going through the trouble for Aziraphale. Even when making suggestions to benefit the both of them, it’s considerate of Aziraphale. Including cut scenes from the script book, Crowley goes blatantly out of his way to protect Aziraphale twice (Paris, and the 1800’s bookshop scene). Intentionally, I would hope, we don’t see any instances outright of Aziraphale doing the same thing for Crowley because it’s meant to make a point about what sort of dance the two are fighting with. While it would be ridiculous to assume Aziraphale has never done anything to help Crowley in all that time; during a waltz, someone has to lead.

So, it’s centuries already of Crowley treating it like a mutual relationship, certainly in some way aware of the imbalance, and it culminates with the request for holy water. He wants insurance from Aziraphale that he views their relationship the same way. Something mutual, unique to them, “their side”.

If you even wanted to view it as something poetic, gentle, even romantic, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume Crowley might be looking for proof their time together meant something human. They both clearly believe that to be human carries a greater value to being ethereal. The idea that time is so precious to humans, because a human lifespan is so limited, turns the concept of time into a metaphorical effigy of one’s love and dedication for having given it.

It’s what makes the boiling of their relationship down to the word “fraternizing” so genuinely painful; not because it’s a rude and blatant disregard for the dance they’ve been engaged in all these years, because it says to Crowley even after all this time (to 1862) Aziraphale doesn’t understand him as well as he understands Aziraphale.

As well as he believes he understands Aziraphale.

[MOSTLY] PARIS (1793) -

Science has proven at least one angel can dance, because he’s been taught.

“They said I’d performed too many frivolous miracles” addresses what the audience would also be wondering in that moment. On its own, it can even serve as a funny joke about the bureaucratic structure of a capitalistic Heaven, where the motto is “miracles are what we do”[2]. It also prompts one to ask “why”, what does a frivolous amount of miracles mean to represent?

Interpreting it as an expression of guilt has larger implications about Aziraphale as a whole. One establishing his character as being surreptitious, especially when contextualizing the guilt next to his and Crowley’s Arrangement.

Because it doesn’t take 1250 years[3] to convince an angel the signature on the paperwork is all that separates a miracle from a temptation. That’s a ridiculous amount of time to spend on what would basically be asking to carpool, and would be strange to feel guilty about on its own.

They both know – the show knows – it’s more intimate than that. In an unspoken language they began creating in 33AD, Aziraphale understands the Arrangement is Crowley’s offer of insight into a perspective he himself cannot have without falling. Aziraphale is, continuously, one of the most compelling angels Crowley has met – on Earth, of yet – and he doesn’t want that aspect of him to change. He actively seeks out Aziraphale’s company for it. Being given the opportunity of the Arrangement, and yet still occupying a seat among the spheres, must be something Aziraphale recognizes as unfair. To humanity; to Crowley.

When Aziraphale used his wing to shield Crowley from the oncoming rain, there was enough room to cover Adam and Eve in the distance. All four of them aligned equally against the horizon.

[2] Perhaps not in any official capacity, but in a Mean Girl’s “fetch” kind of way.

[3] I presume, inferring the gap of 537AD to anytime nearly before 1601 was primarily spent chipping away at Aziraphale’s resolve. The extra 200 years is from 1601 to 1793.

THE BLITZ (1941) -

Reading in the stage directions how Aziraphale and Crowley haven’t spoken since St. James is enough to make a guy[4] write a three page analytic, placing it at the climax. Aziraphale “realizing they’re still friends”, at the same time, has the same guy appreciating the work done setting this moment up. If it wasn’t meant to be symbolic of a marriage between their ideologies after all this time, then I’m fresh out of other rationale for putting it in the church to begin with.

Especially when done how it was: Crowley arriving late to essentially his own wedding, with the opposite of cold feet. Making it the one time, albeit unwittingly, Aziraphale is the first to show up for their relationship. In character, it’s all unintentionally. Artistically, they are two people eager to move their relationship along in this moment. When the bomb drops on the church, it’s a metaphorical leveling of the playing field between them[5]. A separation of themselves from their former identities, a closure of the ceremony. By dressing them nearly identical, in the aftermath of the church, they are equal.

Crowley first reinvented his identity in 33AD, as both he and Aziraphale stand in reverence of the crucifixion’s magnitude. Though the use of the crucifix props as church rubble was a practical decision made for budget reasons, it’s a beautiful coincidence that a significant moment of Crowley’s growth, so inextricably tied to Aziraphale, made itself relevant to Aziraphale during the Blitz.

It reinforces – by coincidence – the interpretation of their conversation in 33AD being what alters their dichotomy in 41AD, where Aziraphale is first to pursue Crowley’s companionship. It rationalizes his ongoing commitment in learning how to dance.

He doesn’t fall in love[6] with Crowley over saving the books; he falls in love with the idea of them.

Or just falling in love with how metal it is to kill nazi’s as part of your metaphorical wedding symbology, why complicate it.

[4] Me, I’m the guy.

[5] In addition to being historically accurate.

[6] According to Michael Sheen; hard for me to disagree, either. I kept trying, and by the time I got to this point in the essay it was fucking impossible.

SOHO (1967) – THE LAST POINT TO THE REST OF THIS POST

“After everything you said” is only an odd comment to make at someone, who never said much to begin with, until you give “fraternizing” the weight of a 6000 year old mountain.

“You go too fast for me” is only a double entendre when taking the time to consider that Crowley approached their conversation in 1862 as someone who’s been in both their shoes before, unaware of how inconsiderate to Aziraphale’s unique position he’d been with his proposal.

A 70 year long silent treatment shows how little someone still understands you, how little you understand yourself, when neither can’t tell you’re obsessed at the idea of losing them, despite saying it so clearly in your unspoken language. A worry that won’t change for as long as Crowley remains a demon.

Holy water is still a threat on the most important thing in the world to Aziraphale when he finally decides to hand it over. The difference now, to then, is he gets it after everything during the Blitz. That is kind of the whole point episode three built up to. The holy water is their relationship: a potential threat, against everything they’re trying to maintain. If neither of them is perfectly careful, their relationship could eternally wipe away the chance to share each other’s time, and bring themselves closer to being human.

It’s an agreement that their relationship can’t, and won’t, destroy what’s important to them by nature of just existing.

They literally just need to learn how to dance.

AFTERWORD -

Did you know this was needlessly long? Three whole pages. It’s a soliloquy on how my love for what the series adds to Aziraphale and Crowley by deviating from the book, I had no other reason for writing it. Nothing prompted this deluge of personal sentiment. I just wanted to see the conversation get had in 2023 and I’m better at analytical essays than I am at fanfic.

Isn’t that remarkable? We live in a world where anyone can go on a three page, unprompted college dissertation about whatever kind of love it is two eternal beings express in the dumbest ways possible towards each other, and it’s time well spent. Season 2 could happen any day now and invalidate half my points made, who cares, nobody wants that to happen more than me, actually.

Thanks for reading! No clue who would, but I like to think sometimes words get read on the internet. The place is full of them, after all.

[xoxo-honeyy]

movie night

authors note: i know this isn’t my normal content but i just rewatched Legally Blonde for the millionth time and was wrote this little thing, i hope you all love this!!

wc: 417

warnings: just an insane amount of fluff, brief mention of Sarah and her death but nothing graphic. set post tlou 1/season 1

Ellie and Joel find a computer with a DVD slot in it so they can watch movies together. Friday is their designated movie night and Joel makes popcorn while they eat spaghetti and meatballs while trying not to make a mess on the already-stained couch.

One time while on patrol, Ellie found an old worn-out shoe box labeled “chick flicks” and inside was an exorbitant amount of DVD cases piled up in a neat stack, seemingly untouched. But one, in particular, stood out to her, Legally Blonde. Grabbing the box, Ellie stuffed it in her backpack and brought it home. Luckily she found it on a Thursday so she and Joel could watch it together the next day. When Ellie brought out the DVD Joel groaned in a playful manner.

“What?” Ellie was confused, he’s never had a problem with any movies before (even the ones with all of the dinosaurs) what was so wrong about this one?

There was a slight pang in Joel’s heart as he tried explaining himself to her, “No 's nothing, it’s just that when this movie first came out Sarah made me an' Tommy watch it on repeat.”

Immediately feeling guilty, Ellie moved to put the DVD away but Joel gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her down next to him.

After watching the movie Ellie felt better connected to Sarah. There were so many great things about the film and Ellie would often rant about it to her friend Dina.

"You don't understand Dina, this girl had a degree in fashion and then just decided to apply to Harvard for some guy, but then she realized her worth and became this badass lawyer! It's just so good." Her ranting continued but Dina suddenly cut her off.

"Well, maybe I could come over and watch it?" Voice oozing with confidence.

Ellie was completely taken aback, "S-sure, I mean only if you want to."

The brunette only chuckled at the response, "Of course, I want to, I wouldn't have brought it up if I didn't."

A few days later an anxious Ellie and a relaxed Dina were watching the movie on the couch. After it was over Dina mentioned that she had a surprise for her. Wondering what it could be, Ellie scooted over while Dina was opening the box. And inside was Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde.

Ellie lost her fucking mind

And somewhere up in the clouds, there was a lost daughter smiling down at the happy couple.

yay! no more writer's block

[littlemisssquiggles]

…So…about The Dragon Prince Season 4: Mysteries of Aaravos…

So I just wrapped up the season and just wanted to give my overall thoughts on it.

The General Gist:

As I told a fellow TDP fan friend of mine, as a whole, I thought this season was a good start to this new chapter of the series.

Despite being a direct continuation from the last season of the Dragon Prince, I feel like it would be more fitting of me to just view Mysteries of Aaravos as its own separate story; within the Dragon Prince universe and following up from where the previous story left off but still being unique and different enough to be perceived as its own think.

In all honesty, I found this fourth season to be more comparable to the very first season of the Dragon Prince. Like I said, it’s a solid good start; providing the audience with just enough storytelling and worldbuilding to get us invested in the characters who will be become the key players in this new chapter of the story as well as the new overarching plot.

So on that front, I liked S4. However, if I were to compare S4 to the last book---Book 3, this is where my opinion will change. As I’ll reiterate, S4 was good BUT, was it better for me than S3? In my opinion, no.  

Not by a long shot. S3 left me fat and fed in terms of being completely satisfied with the way things were left off in terms of story and character development. S4 felt more like a refresher. Getting this squiggle meister right back into the world of Xadia and what made the series so great for me before while getting me prepared and hyped for what’s to come next. There is no doubt in my mind that I am more than excited to see what comes next for the next few chapter of MoA and in true TDP fashion, I can only expect the story to get better from here since that was my experience with the first installment.

Book 1 of the TDP hooked me in and each book after that from 2 to 3 just kept further improving upon the story and of course, the characters.

Thus I’m expecting MoA to be no different. I don’t know when the next book of MoA is expected to be released, but based on how MoA left things off for its first book, I am only expecting things to get wilder and on that note, I cannot wait for what’s in store to come.

---

The  Rayllum Elephant in the Room:

If you were a Rayllum shipper this season like me then…how you doing, fam? You good? Because I don’t know about ya’ll but being a Rayllum shipper in Book 4 was painful. Watching these two kids clunkily try to salvage their broken off-screen, in-book relationship without the full context (since I sadly didn’t get to read the actual book that explains Rayla’s departure) was painful.

I mean, we did get some ok-ish moments---some semblance of crumbs. But coming off the cusp of Book 3, watching Rayllum this season was damn disappointing!

How? How did we go from being FAT and FED in Book 3 of the Dragon Prince to being STARVED in Book 4? Seriously how!!!???

Why did the showrunners think this was a good move? Why did they break them up? Why couldn’t they have just kept them together and let the next chapter of their relationship be watching them be a couple---one of the first human and elf couples outside of Janai and Amaya and seeing how they make it work despite it all?

Why couldn’t we just watch that instead of the typical “let’s make them get together only to have them randomly break up only to watch them get back together in the end”?

Seriously, if I wanted to watch a season where Rayla and Callum begin to build their relationship, I would rewatch Season 1 of the Dragon Prince and even then, I wouldn’t be this annoyed.

I swear if they insert a love triangle or love square between Rayllum in the next book, I’ll be beyond pissed.

I’m sorry guys, I just…I just didn’t enjoy the story for my favourite ship for this season. Why not all of it was as terrible as I’m making it sound, it just wasn’t enjoyable for me because overall, I was just mad the entire time that they were broken up at all, y’know what I mean?

At least one thing’s for certain though; it’s still very clear that Rayla and Callum both still love each other very much. The feelings are still very much there. Where the story takes them on the path to repairing what they once had and maybe falling in love with each other again---I don’t know.

I just hope it’s good and better than S3 because that season is still the reigning king in terms of getting that good-good Rayllum bread. Just so long as it’s not another bait and switch. I know couples getting together and breaking up is a fact of life, however it’s not the only path relationships can take that’s considered realistic. Believe it or not, there are relationships where people remain together for a very long time with the love and trust between them still maintained; perhaps even stronger than it was at the beginning thanks to the experience and challenges of time.

Perhaps I’m getting way over my head about this and maybe, this is what the showrunners have planned for Rayllum. Who knows? Doesn’t excuse the fact that I’m just really tired of the whole “will they, won’t they” trope being done to death, particularly when it comes to animated couples.

I used to get a kick out of it before back in my days of indulging in lots of shoujo manga and the occassional anime or two. And in many ways, I don’t completely dislike the trope. It’s just that, for once I’d like to see a pairing in an animation get together and despite the story throwing many curve balls at them, rather than the writers have them break up, they just write the couple to talk things through and work things out and keep trying to make things work for the sake of their relationship since ultimately, they do love each other and genuinely do want their relationship to last.

This was one of the things I actually found very refreshing about the Lumity pairing from The Owl House series. Despite getting together early on in the show’s second season, I really liked how this never stopped the couple from growing both together and as individuals. And inspite of some showcomings and mistakes made between them, I liked how rather than have the young couple have a big argument  leading them to breaking up prematurely only to get back together later---y’know the usual rinse and repeat we’d come to expect---the TOH showrunners just have the two girls work things out and make it work.

It’s so nice to see a couple in an animated series with challenges but not any “relationship drama”, y’know what I mean?

That being said, I still love my favourite Rayllum pair and I am looking forward for what’s next to come for them. I’m just gonna need a while to get over my initial annoyance at their break-up. At least we got a hug in the final episode. Sure it led to a very adorable group hug between the Dra--gang (I really love Soren---the little easter eggs from Avatar: The Last Airbender said by him this season were golden). But hey…it’s a crumb---one of the many we had to painstakingly scrape the literal Umber Tor-sized bottom of the barrel to get this season---but yeah, still a crumb so I’ll take what I can get until Book 5 gives me something better…hopefully.

---

Terry, Terry, Quite Contrary:

I’m just gonna be blunt---I love Terry. Easily became my favourite character for this season next to Soren.

He’s just so precious. I’ve joked so much about hot elven dads over the past few seasons that for the first time in Dragon Prince history, we finally have an adorable cinnamon bun of an elven son for me to adopt.

Seriously, Terry is too pure. Too good---mostly. Best 4/5 for me because the parts of him that’s perfectly find with Claudia draining the life from magical creatures to be used in dark magic as an Earthblood elf is still very questionable to me.

Then again, after meeting some of the Earthblood elves from the Drakewood where Terry claimed he was from and seeing their barbaric treatment of the local dragon life, I guess it makes a bit more sense now.

But bottomline, Terry is pure of heart and I quite like him as a character. He certainly won my adoration this book. All the more reason why I’m very, very, VERY concerned for his fate moving forward.

I feel like it's going to be like the shoulder angel and devil scenario with Claudia regarding her relationship/loyalty to both her father and Terry as her boyfriend. And the reason for my concern with this dynamic is because I feel like it could potentially lead to another moment of Claudia being forced to chose between two people she loves.

We know from S2 of TDP that Claudia hates being put in this type of predicament. She was forced to do this with her parents as a child, with her father and her older brother in Book 3 and it wouldn't surprise me if it'll happen again down the line, this time with Terry wrapped up in it.

Both times when Claudia was forced to choose, she chose her father each time. Keeping that thought in mind, I'm curious to see whether or not Terry will finally be the one to break the cycle for Claudia.

You can clearly see that Terry is very important to Claudia. Outside of the general wholesome and playfulness of their romance,  there is also some genuine trust and respect between Claudia and Terry. It is clear that Claudia values Terry’s opinions, especially the ones of her. Just look at how she immediately changed her stance on tricking Rayla with the coins containing the captured remnants of their family (which by the way, thank you for finally addressing show).  Look how quickly Claudia reconsidered her actions and changed after Terry commented on the cruelty of it towards Rayla.

I really liked that moment from the final episode because it said so much about both Terry and Claudia as characters.

And while a part of me likes Terry enough as a character to want him to get as far away from the toxic father-daughter circle as Soren did because I'm worried for his fate, on the flipside, I do wish for Terry to also stick around because, as cheesy as this sounds, I do think Terry is Claudia's soul mate. Her better half because not only does he understand her in ways that not even her close family does but overall, Terry is good for Claudia.

He seems to be a genuinely good person with a good heart and head on his shoulders (most of the time). And for the most part, he’s  the one member in the toxic circle who still has some shred of humanity and empathy

Viren is practically long gone at this point. The only person he seems to actually care about now is Claudia. Man doesn’t even acknowledge Soren anymore. Even when he was expressing the probability of abandoning the search for Aaravos and living out his final days before Claudia prompty smacked some “sense” back into him, he still only mentioned her.

Real father of the year material, aren’t you Viren? Soren was right for cutting ties with your toxic ass!

Claudia, on the other hand, is literally half and half. She’s just tethering the edge between returning fully to the side of good or falling into full damnation alongside her father.

I wish to believe that through Terry's love and overall influence, Claudia can potentially switch sides---basically have her own little Prince Zuko type of character journey. But much like with Zuko, I think it's going to take some kind of extreme moment such as Claudia saving her father but at the expense of losing Terry to possibly make her see the error of her ways.

One hunch that I’m juggling right now is...what if…in order to fully restore Viren’s life, it’ll require some kind of sacrifice? Y’know like with FMA lore, there’s the whole equivalent exchange thing, right? Well imagine if…the only way for Viren to achieve his second chance at life completely is to have him steal the remaining life span of another being?

While I can definitely picture Aaravos being enough of a malicious asshole to make Viren consider sacrificing his precious daughter---y;know being the valuable asset that she was from his perspective--- I can also foresee a scenario in which Claudia is the one forced to perform the spell to save her father and thus chose between her boyfriend and her father.

Or perhaps…it’s a case where Aaravos makes the spell proposition to both Claudia and Viren behind each other’s back as a way of testing loyalities and intentionally turning them against one another.

 Let’s say---Through Aaravos’ influence, Viren considered using Claudia as his sacrifice and Terry overhears his intentions.

In an effort to save Claudia, Terry attempts to warn her of her father’s intentions and even dares to try and get them to excape together however Claudia, being in extreme denial, refuses to believe Terry.

Ultimately, Terry ends up being the one sacrificed in Claudia’s place when Viren reveals his true colours and tries to forcibly steal Claudia’s life force only to have Terry interrupt the spell and sacrifice himself instead out of his devotion to her.

And then and only then after seeing the lengths that her father was willing to go, even at the expense of her own life despite all that she’s endured for him is what finally causes Claudia to realize what Soren was trying to warn her about and thus she finally leaves her father’s side, leaving alone with Aaravos.

Since Aaravos has been shown to be able to possess mages in his current state of power (like with the case of Callum)---perhaps his intention all along is to make Viren either his ultimate vessel or perhaps his most powerful loyal servant at the expense of his mind and humanity.

After this, Claudia finds our heroes and returns to Soren and the two have their own little heart-wrenching reunion and redemption moment, reminiscent of the iconic one between Zuko and Iroh from Avatar.

That’s my theory on that, for now.

---

In conclusion…

Those are my thoughts following my watch through of S4. As I’ll say again, as a whole, I thought the new season was a solid good start to get us TDP fans prepped and ready for what’s to come for this new Aaravos Arc.

Not sure how soon we’ll be able to hear news about S5 but, I’ll be on the look out. In the meantime, that’s all I have to say for now.

What about you fellow Dragon stans? Overall, how do ya’ll feel about this season?

Share your thoughts in the comments or reblogs if you wish.

Cheers.

~LMS (2022)

[boysplanetrecaps]

The Great Produce 48 Rewatch: Ep 2, Signal Song [Part 1]

In my previous post in this silly yet necessary project, we finished off the auditions, including the ones that weren't aired on MNET. It's time for the girls to move into their dorms and start practicing for their upcoming large-group performance to your favorite song and mine, Nekkoya! Let's do it.

In this second phase of the Produce 48 series, the 96 trainees (well, 94 -- 2 of them dropped out already) are asked to learn the lyrics, tune, and choreography of a song then get one chance to perform it in front of a video camera for their final grade. Did I mention that they have to learn the lyrics in both Korean and Japanese? Also, per AleXa in her interview with Grazy Grace, they had about a day and a half to learn the choreography and lyrics in both Korean and Japanese, and this was the very next day after they filmed the auditions for about 24 straight hours. Seems… like a bad idea. But what do I know?

So, the signal song is called Pick Me aka Nekkoya. The only signal song from any of the Produce series that I actually like is Nayana from Broduce101 -- I remember hearing it playing at Cafe Bene in K-town and just liking it without knowing what it was. But I’m not wild about Nekkoya, even if it is marginally better than Pick Me from Season 1. (I mean, “oh won’t you pick me up?” is the worst, ugh). I do enjoy the fact that Nekkoya sounds extra funny to the Japanese girls, because “neko” is the Japanese word for cat. You’d think that someone would have noticed that already…? 

The girls are told that they’ll get to perform on MNET countdown. They’re so happy, despite the obvious fact that most of them aren’t going to get any camera time. They’re probably just giddy from lack of sleep. As in previous years, those in higher ranked groups will get more screen time -- but it’s even worse this year than in previous years, because rather than having the Bs and Cs flanking the As, they’ll all be stacked behind each other, so that it will probably be impossible to see even the members of the B group, much less the Ds.

The diagram at the top of the post shows the F ranked girls at the very back, but actually they won’t even be allowed on stage. The F-ranked girls, the majority of whom are Japanese, are heartbroken, notably the fashion challenged Mogi Shinobu in her blue furry sleeves. This girl is like a living meme.

We stan a relatable queen. 

The judges remind them that all the grades will be reassigned, and that only someone from group A can be in the overall center, a very desirable position. I genuinely don’t remember who gets chosen, but it also seems obvious that it’s going to be 🌸Sakura🌸….? 

Dorm Move In

The girls move in to their dorm room and find color-coded t-shirts waiting for them. I feel like I can feel the texture of these t-shirts through the screen. You know, those t-shirts that feel like steel wool and hang off you like a burlap sack? But despite being a full centimeter thick they somehow are also see-through and show the outlines of your bra? No thank you.

Miru is happy, but I think she is always happy. Honestly, I’m jealous.

Many of the girls like the colors, but the A girls are especially excited by their shirts, which feature a glittery A on a light pink background. Gyrui, the member of Fromis-9 who rocked a side-pony in her audition, is a bit salty that some of her roommates have pink shirts while she has to make due with orange. 

Meanwhile, the F-ranked girls get gray, just to make sure they feel as bad as possible about their situation. SUFFER, the producers seem to be saying. SUFFER FOR YOUR DEFICIENCIES. 

Suffer more, Ichikawa Manami! Your performance in What’s Your Name means you don’t deserve such a thing as “color”!

The F-ranked girls are joking that at least the F is on the back so they don’t have to see it themselves (unless they turn around really really fast). Goto Moe, who mysteriously seems to have completely recovered her voice, finds a white shirt she plans to wear instead. Doesn’t seem like a good idea, Moe. 

Some of the girls find rules posted in their rooms. The rules, as translated by Google translate via my phone camera: 

Adhere to the class schedule

Maintain cleanliness of accommodation and practice rooms. 

Do not make noise while going to bed.

No unnecessary physical contact.

Compliance with writing a practice journal.

Prohibition of use of mobile phones and communication devices 

Thorough management of the training center facilities 

That fourth rule causes a lot of giggling and “touching” among the girls, and the editors play Knock from Broduce 101 in the background. Uh-oh, no skinship allowed! (Gossip online seems to imply that this is because of certain trainees, but I’m not sure that this is true and I don’t want to put anything out there like that without more confirmation.) This was a new rule for this season, but to the best of my knowledge had been kept in place for later seasons. For example, I remember that it was a rule in Boys Planet as well. 

The girls have trouble communicating with each other, but some translation heroes step forward. Miyazaki Miho, who was in What’s Your Name and who I noticed writing in Korean at the beginning, can speak  Korean reasonably well too, and serves as interpreter in one of the D-class dorms for Kim Minju. 

Multi-lingual queen Miho!

Lee Chaejeong, future member of Alice who auditioned with Roller Coaster, has a little stuffie (that she calls her “chingu”) with her. Cho Ahyeong, who auditioned alongside future Cherry Bullet’s Haeyoon, has a stuffie that is sitting in for her mom. Kim Da Hye from Banana Culture (who auditioned with I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend) has a pink stuffie that is a gift from her mom. Wang Yiren (future Everglow) has a piggie. Strong approval on all that. My Christmas wish list is at least 50% Squishmallow. On the other hand, Sato Minami (who I continue to think of as Sailor Mars) has a terrifying doll named Lemon-Chan. No thank you. 

NO THANK YOU

I SAID NO THANK YOU

1:05:35 Training Begins

Ok, we’re an hour into the episode, so it makes sense that it’s time to do something or another! The girls gather in the big studio wearing their Caste T-shirts (see what I did there? I spelled it caste not cast) and get ready to learn. 

Kindly Soyou says, “You will be practicing the title track starting today. Since it’s the first time that the Japanese trainees are being trained in the Korean way, this may be quite difficult.  But please trust in us, your trainers, and listen to us.”  The girls are excited to learn new things -- we hear from Bibian, with her distinctive baby-doll face, and Nakanishi Chiyori, who had the fluffy pink skirt in What’s Your Name.

So the dance class, led by Psychopath, begins.

You can tell that he’s trying to break down the steps and give specific advice. I don’t know how it worked with the translations -- none of the Japanese girls seem to be wearing in-ear devices, so there must have been someone on a microphone, translating the information into Japanese or this would have been chaos. But it I had to learn a dance with someone speaking a language I don’t know, with a translation following a few moments later, it would be so hard to learn. It’s going really fast even for some of the Korean girls, and the Japanese girls look completely lost. Even Miru looks sad. Oh no! Protect Miru! Then after they suffer for a while, Dance Bae tells them the part they just learned is the “easiest part of the choreo.” Oh no!

It’s time for them to study in their groups. This is their class schedule, with the benefit of my google translate on my phone:

I think “consonant practice” should say “self-practice”. 

The A group and B group both have Soyou for vocals and Psychopath for dance. The C group has Dance Bae for dance and Soyou for vocals.  The D group has Mary J Lee for dance and Jeremy for vocals.  The F group has Dance Bae for dance and Jeremy for vocals. 

So, let’s start off with group C, in their yellow shirts, who apparently did the best at the big group dance instruction. Park Seo Young, the blonde individual trainee, has been elected leader and has the L sticker on her shoulder to prove it. 

They are scared when Dance Bae comes in. 

They go up to do the choreo in smaller groups, 5 or 6 at a time, and Dance Bae’s eagle eye picks out even the smallest mistakes. When they make mistakes, she tells them they have to try harder, which, like, lady, they ARE trying. 

Then she picks out Son Eun Chae and Honda Hitomi to dance on their own -- one Korean girl and one Japanese girl to represent their respective groups. 

They both look great, and Dance Bae compliments them. The other girls think they’ll both move up a rank. 

Meanwhile, in class B…

B group has elected Park Minji -- future Secret Number -- as their leader, perhaps because she has experience from being on the first season of Produce 101.

AleXa is serving with a deep red lip. She understands the assignment. 

When Psychopath comes in, they introduce themselves in unison, and he greets them impatiently. He watches them perform, then tells them they have to be more “bashful” in their dancing, mocking their more “powerful” attempts at the girlish choreography. 

They all love him, saying that he’s a good dancer. Cho Ka Hyeon -- the Starship girl who isn’t Wonyoung or Yujin -- voice overs, “I stared at him shamelessly because he’s so good at dancing.”  

Yoon Eunbin likes him a lot. 

They might also think he’s handsome or cute, for all I know -- he was only 34 at the time of taping, so not necessarily too old for them to have crushes on (though obviously way too old for them to date, to be clear!). I know he’s being relatively nice to the girls and it must seem weird that I’m calling him Psychopath, but I DO NOT FORGIVE HIM FOR WHAT HE DID TO THE BOYS ON BOYS PLANET. It was full on psychological abuse. 

Anyway, the dance practice continues. Miru-chan is trying to keep smiling, but she looks more like she’s crying. Psychopath scolds her, because that’s so helpful, and Jurina comes over to try to cheer her up. 

This choreography is much harder than what any of them are used to.  

Her training diary consists of this drawing and the words, “Today I had my first singing and dancing lesson in B class. I couldn’t follow the choreography during class B. I made the teacher worry. Is there no hope for me?” Aww, Miru-chan!! 

We check in with Team A, who are having a vocal lesson with Soyou. Lee Gaeun from Pledis has been chosen as leader, probably on the strength of her already having debuted, and being the oldest in the group. 

Soyou asks for a brave volunteer, and at first, no one steps forward.

Left to right: Lee Ga Eun, Jo Yu Ri, Park Hae Yoon, Kim Do Ah, Yu Min Young, Miyawaki Sakura, Takeuchi Miyu, Kim Cho Yeon, Lee Ha Eun, Lee Chae Yeon, Kim Da Hye, Hwang So Yeon, Choi Ye Na, Na Go Eun, Kwon Eun Bi

Finally, Na Go Eun (future Purple Kiss) volunteers. We’re reminded that at her audition, Soyou had said of her, “She’s the most promising trainee among the ones we’ve seen so far.” But Goeun, singing acapella, goes slightly off pitch, which is what happens to people who don’t have perfect pitch. I mean, most people don’t have perfect pitch! Soyou tells her that she’s going sharp, and that she sounds like she’s just reading a textbook. I would also find it difficult to put emotion into lyrics like: 

From now on, you’re mine, mine, mine, only mine / Mine, mine, mine (Superstar) / From now on, you’re mine, mine, mine, only mine / Will you tell me? Pick me up

… but I guess that’s why I’m not cut out to be a K-idol. That’s literally the only reason, though. 

Jo Yuri goes next, and has a bit of trouble with the high notes. Soyou tells her that she, Soyou, had fought for her, Yuri, to be in A group (no pressure!) and then tells her she’s disappointed. Kwon Eunbi is next to be insulted for her pronunciation and lack of, I don’t know, spirit (?). 

🌸Sakura🌸 is next, and inspirational happy music plays as she talks about how she has studied the Korean lyrics -- amazing!  She sings completely incorrectly, like the tune is only slightly an approximation of correct. Instead of insulting Sakura and/or expressing intense, soul-destroying disappointment, like she did with every other girl, Soyou kindly asks the talented Miyu to come forward to sing it correctly to help 🌸Sakura🌸 understand the melody. Finally, 🌸Sakura🌸 manages to sing a few notes correctly, and everyone applauds. I get it that the other girls like her, because she’s a nice girl, but even so. What. Is. This. 

Next we check in with D group, who has chosen the multi-lingual Miyazaki Miho as their leader. Good call! 

They are working with Mary J Lee, who many of them know from her Youtube dance videos. They seem a little star struck by her. 

Sweet faced Motomura Aoi, who we met during the Never Ending Ferris Wheel performance, is in the back row and seems to have trouble seeing what’s going on. She knows the other girls are more skilled and is determined to do better.

Kim Minju, one of the Very Pretty Girls, is having a lot of trouble with the dancing. She’s self-conscious, looking at everyone instead of focusing on herself. She’s acutely aware that the others are better than her, and she’s taking it to heart, crying in the interview chair. We see her showing up in the dance practice room when no one else is there to practice some more. 

In what may or may not be the next day, we check in again with the B girls at 1:21:48. Kim Sihyeon, future Everglow, and Lee Seunghyeon, who I’m going to just call Riina from H1-Key, interview that their group has Americans (AleXa), Chinese people (Wang Yiren from Everglow, Wang Ke of the red polka dots), Japanese people (Iwatate Saho, Miru from Dancing Hero, Juri, and Jurina), and of course, Koreans. So it can make communication tricky.  

We see Jang Gyuri (future ex-Fromis9) and Lee Chaewon (future Le Sserafim) trying to get Jurina to understand that they want to practice the Japanese version of the lyrics together, using mostly English, but Jurina doesn’t seem to understand.

Husky-voiced Kim Hyuna (who did that excellent audition with My House by 2pm -- did you watch it yet?) encourages everyone to come watch the dance on the tablet, and the Japanese members, who don’t understand at first, come over later, when there’s already a big crowd. 

Jurina interviews that the Koreans crowd around so much that the Japanese trainees can’t see at all. She is obviously frustrated. 

What we see in the video, though, is that the Japanese trainees’ method of trying to see the video is to just stand there looking sad and wishing that the video will magically come closer. We don’t, for example, see them tapping anyone on the shoulder and pointing at the tablet with a hopeful facial expression. They just STAND THERE. I know it’s a cultural thing, but toxic passivity drives me nuts. 

Quick story time. A few months back, I was flying somewhere for work, worried I’d miss my connecting flight which would cause serious issues with my job. I was seated in an aisle seat, and I noticed that boarding was taking a really long time. There was a woman standing in the aisle wearing a big backpack that kept smacking me in the face as she spun around trying to let people pass her. She apologized when I pointed that out, and I was like, it’s ok, but why don’t you just sit down? And she said, well, there’s someone sitting in my seat. I asked her which one was supposed to be her seat, and she pointed to the aisle seat in front of me. I was like, just say something, and the woman was like, oh no, I can’t, I don’t want to be rude. Meanwhile, people were still trying to board. The woman with the backpack was trying to duck into chairs that are open to let people pass, but there were hardly any open seats left and so she was really slowing down boarding, making everything really difficult for everyone. And all because she doesn’t have the chutzpah to either (a) tap the person on the shoulder and say “I think you’re in my seat” or (b) at least ask a flight attendant for help. So then I had to be the one to tap that person on the shoulder. Turned out she had sat in that seat KNOWING IT WAS THE WRONG SEAT because there was someone in HER seat, which was the window seat. So then I had to tell the person in the window seat that SHE was in the wrong seat. Like here I am just trying to get the plane to take off on time so I don’t miss my connection and no one has the ability to speak up about the simplest of things. The woman in the wrong window seat realized she had just made a mistake, and she apologized and moved up one row to the correct seat, and everyone got seated. But like, my GOD. What was your endgame, backpack woman? To just stay in the aisle the whole flight? URGH. I get it, some people are shy, but sometimes if you don’t speak up, it’s actually irresponsible and rude. And it’s even worse if you then make the other people out to be the bad guys. 

Sorry, this is a pet peeve of mine. Deep breaths. 

The four Japanese members sulk about how no one is “letting” them see the video, without ever, I don’t know, pointing to it? Walking over and gently taking it out of someone’s hands? ANY FUCKING THING? If I had to deal with people that passive I would evaporate. Just boil away into space. 

Finally, husky-voiced Hyunah grabs Jurina by the arm, drags her over to the side of the room, and begins teaching her the choreo. Jurina realizes that the Korean girls who know how to dance learned the choreography first, so that they could teach it to the other girls, and regrets the misunderstanding. 

H1-Key Riina helps Saho learn the choreo.

Saho interviews that in Japan, the girls typically work by themselves, but in Korea, the girls work together as a group, which makes her really happy. What I’m learning from this show is that Korean culture is superior to Japanese culture. Thanks, MNET editors! Thmeditors. 

We see some of the Korean girls using English to talk to AleXa. Cute!

Choi So Eun interviews, “It feels like we’re communicating telepathically.” 

We end the segment on this shot of the girls all crowded around Juri and Jurina -- looks like maybe Juri had been crying and then everyone in the whole class came over to cheer her up? Maybe? Anyway, it’s cute. They’re working together. This is my favorite thing about shows like this. 

At 1:24:20, we switch over to watch the A girls at their dance practice. Gaeun shows off her dancing, and she looks great, of course. She’s so cute! 

Behind her, you can see, left to right, little Lee Ha Eun, the “little Chungha” girl; Kwon Eunbi, looking a little different with her hair pulled back; Lee Da Hye from Banana Culture; behind Gaeun, you can see a tiny bit of the short, talented Miyu; Jo Yuri, of the yellow Chewing Gum; and Yu Minyeong of the mint green polka dots in the Celeb Five performance. (We’ll see Minyeoung dance in a little bit….) 

As Gaeun finishes her performance, we get to see Hwang Soyeon, the “little Sunmi,” show off her teleportation skills! At 1:24:45 she’s standing by the wall next to 🌸Sakura🌸, calmly applauding for Gaeun. 

Psychopath praises Gaeun, saying that all the details of her dancing are very neat and precise. 

At 1:24:57, Soyeon has teleported to be sort of behind Gaeun. Dahye from Banana Culture is still near the wall -- but she’s out of breath and is pumping her t-shirt back and forth to cool herself down. Jo Yuri and Miyu seem to have disappeared. Soyeon has charged the part in her hair, and also seems out of breath. Gaeun’s hair is much messier, too. 

And at 1:25:00, Soyeon has teleported back to her original position next to 🌸Sakura🌸, with her hair put back to its original part. 

These are some talented girls, my friends. 

Look, obviously this is just some bad editing, but it wasn’t an accident. For whatever reason, they wanted it to look like Psychopath was praising Gauen alone. Maybe he was, but maybe he wasn’t. This is all just to go back to one of my key points about this show: It is edited with such a purposefully heavy hand that it might as well be fiction. 

In the next group, though the editing wants us to focus on Choi Yena, my eye kept getting drawn to Kim Doah, future Fanatics/GP999 contestant. She’s just so expressive there! 

Left to right: Eunbi (권은비), Doah (김도아), Dahye, Yena (최예나), and Minyoung (유민영). 

Psychopath reminds Yena not to let her fingers go in her mouth in the “tap near your mouth” part of the choreo. It’s interesting to think about those little details. 

Many of the girls have their turn, and then he asks Yu Minyoung to come out to the center. He calls her “Celeb Five,” not by her name, even though she’s wearing a huge name tag.  He called Gauen and Yena by their names, but not Minyoung! She makes quite a few mistakes. We see a flashback to the very first dance rehearsal, something we’ve never seen before -- Dance Bae pulling Psychopath aside and asking why on earth did Minyoung get an A. Honestly, I wondered that too at the time -- I said I would have given her a C.  Psychopath reminds her that Minyoung was part of that Celeb Five performance. Back at the A-team’s dance rehearsal, Psychopath, showing his true nasty colors, says, “I think it was a really good idea to do Celeb Five back then. But you have no charisma now. You’ll end up in lower classes.” She just sort of says “Yes, I understand.” She wants to stay in A class, but I think she knows her skills are just not up to the task given her short training period. 

This next segment, which begins at 1:27:35, is probably my favorite part of the whole episode. Jeremy just actually teaches the D-grade girls to sing. Instead of insulting them, or scolding them, or telling them that they have to “try harder,” or rolling his eyes and asking if they even want to be here, he just teaches them how singing works, physically. It’s a delight to watch. He has them do something that my vocal teacher taught me, an exercise to open up your palette. You start by being super super nasal, making a sound fully through your nose, then sort of make a “nnnngg-gga” noise that clears the sound out. It’s hard to explain in words, but it’s something I do before I sing a note, even alone in the shower. He even explains it to them in Japanese, since there are so many Japanese members of the class and the Japanese girls are especially nasal. Is he or is he not the most lovable of people? 

He has Minami (owner of the Lemon-chan doll) lie flat on her back to learn how to engage her abs while she sings, and afterward, she can hold a note without wavering unpleasantly. You guys, this is what learning to sing is all about. The segment is only about 2 minutes long, which is a shame -- I could watch this for a long time. I like watching kindness in action! If you want to watch, here’s a Youtube clip. 

And that's as much as I can fit in one post, so I'll have to cut it off here! I hope you're at a temperature you like to be at, and that you have the right number of Squishmallows nearby. Take care and see you in the next one, when we finish off their preparations for the signal song evaluation!

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Wednesday, November 8

XANDER: You were looking at my neck. ANGEL: What? XANDER: You were checking out my neck! I saw that. ANGEL: No, I wasn't! XANDER: Just keep your distance, pal. ANGEL: I wasn't looking at your neck. XANDER: I told you to eat before we left.

~~BtVS 1x12 “Prophecy Girl”~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Overdue Honesty (Buffy, Joyce, others, PG) by badly_knitted

Diary: Prologue (Xander, T, Devil May Cry xover) by madimpossibledreamer

Head Games (Angel/Darla, T) by NAOA

I may never get to Heaven (but I once came mighty close) (Buffy/Angel, T) by angelus2hot

Amaranthine (Buffy/Angel, T) by Lalaith Quetzalli

Tabula Inscripta (Buffy/Spike, R) by all_choseny

My Babysitter's A Vampire (Buffy/Spike, PG) by violettathepiratequeen

[Chaptered Fiction]

Breathe Again, Chapters 1-2/17 (Angel/Cordelia, M) by Califi62

Exodus Take Two, Chapter 3/3 Complete! (Harry Potter xover, Xander, Harry Potter, not rated) by danu40k

Days of Future Past, Chapter 29/34 (Buffy/OC, Angel/OC, Buffy/Angel, M) by a2zmom

Heart Don't Lie, Chapter 19/25 (Buffy/Spike, E) by NautiBitz

Blood and Chaos, Chapter 37/? (Ensemble, M) by quote_Amy_unquote (Sannah_banana)

Lindsey's Pride, Chapter 4 (Angel, Lindsey, T) by TinyDancer96

Her Old Fashioned Boy, Chapter 13 (Giles/Jenny, T) by Bobbie23

1632 Revello Drive, Chapter 6 (Buffy, Giles, T) by A Most Sovereign Lady

[French language] Do as Romans do, Chapter 4 (Dawn/Spike, T) by OldGirl-NoraArlani

Against All Odds, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by CheekyKitten

Destiny or Choices Made?, Chapter 26 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by charmed4lifekaren

Out of this World, love..., Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by Miss Kitty

the Eyes, Chapter 14 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Dusty

Dusk Rising, Chapter 25 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by HappyWhenItRains

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: A fragment from a bigger Spuffy project I’ve been working on for a while. (worksafe) by lamaraloon

Artwork: [Drawing of Buffy] (worksafe) by nicknamekittyname

Cosplay: For anyone who can guess the character I’m attempting to cosplay here. Really digging his outfits (Lorne, worksafe) by geekstuffkittykat

Artwork: They know exactly what we’re here for. (Oz, slightly NSFW) by snakeliciousbaby

Fanvid: Wesley Wyndam-Pryce | Anti Hero by 1SnoWhiteQueen1

Fanvid: Marvel | Buffyverse by Jess Wilson

[Reviews & Recaps]

ReWatch: Angel (the series) S1, E19 - 22 by kimannebb

Turning The Vampire Genre on its Head (Buffy The Vampire Slayer analysis) by mediaconsumernightwriter

[Recs & In Search Of]

Our next fic for IWRY 2023 is by thenewbuzwuzz recced by original-iwry-marathon

[Community Announcements]

Upcoming December Event: 'Tis The Season by Sunnydale After Dark

[Fandom Discussions]

It is f*cking insane how much better of a character angel becomes when he’s not centered around buffy by junotter

God, rewatching Angel is always so brutally bittersweet by andrasta14

Why didn’t sunnydale coffins have stakes built into them by twosomeofcuteness

November 6, 2001: Once More, With Feeling aired for BTVS season 6, episode 7. by on-this-day-btvs

[About Buffy/Cordy] by jennycalendar

Watching S2 of Buffy after watching S7 is serious whiplash. by muse-write

This is why Willow Rosenberg is such an important character in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and why she’s so relatable and resonatable by girl4music

Honestly I just try to ignore everything mentioning Giles and his abandoning of Buffy and the Scoobies by girl4music

I just woke up thinking about how unfair the watcher’s council was for never paying the slayer by mariepv

Rather than “how spuffy,” reasons “why spuffy.” Why do spuffies spuffy? by deadthingu

So I was watching ‘Once More, With Feeling’ earlier and [shortened] I noticed Willow and Tara’s physical distance a lot in the background of the Magic Box by girl4music

weird that in Spike: After the Fall, I find that the characters’ voices aren’t as show-accurate as Asylum or Shadow Puppets by absolutely-wretched

what if I said Cordelia’s flat tone is bc she’s autistic what then by svngriche

Ok hot take maybe but the whole like cheating thing between willow and xander personally made no sense to me by treeshman

I have one big thought. When Buffy shows up in the office to ask Giles for help with Angel by twosomeofcuteness

[Amends: episode rewatch and notes] by twosomeofcuteness

hey. um. this just occurred to me [Giles and Jenny using the same crossbow] by jennycalendar

THIS IS SUCH A LINE. especially considering where she [Willow] goes next! by jennycalendar

Seth Green leaving, was it dodging a bullet storywise by Btvs fan, multiple posters

Should Buffy have used force? by NoShip, multiple posters

First genetically born Slayer? by Firm_Zookeepergame16

What is everyone opinion on Harmony? by RachelisRach

What part did Xander really play in the enjoining spell? by JeSuisLaCockamouse

Why Spike? by Hairy-Membership-461

A defence of Spike by inconspicuous2012

What if Spike got the Gypsy curse instead by The810kid

Angel vs Spike in AtS 5.08 “Destiny” (spoilers for AtS) by AccordingReference3

Was Angel more allowed to graphic violence than Buffy? by SafiraAshai

What the show was saying with Spike's development by Nostromo87

Maybe an unpopular opinion on Riley and Buffy in season 5 by Eagles56

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[clara-maybe-ontheroad]

Current watching list

Updating because I've watched so many new things recently ?? I'm on an escapism roll and no one can stop me

Currently watching : Who Rules The World (ep 11, started four days ago and I love it), GAP The Series (ep 7), The Office season 5 (I've progressed 3 seasons in 2 weeks, it's on the fast track to become one of my comfort shows), Dark season 3 (ep 5, getting closer to the end aaaah, so not a comfort show), Tomorrow (ep 3, I like it but I'm not fully convinced yet), ATLA season 1 (ep 16, started for my gf and I fully get her obsession haha)

Rewatching : The Untamed (ep 21, watching with my roommate but we're prioritizing Dark for now), Not Me (ep 7, watching with my gf and but we've started WRtW and Avatar so I think it's going to move slow for a while lol)

Movies recently watched : Nope (4****, that was fun and weird and I need to read an analysis because so many metaphores), Little Women (5*****, fucking beautiful I cried so much), The Truman Show (4****, I understand why it's a classic), The Whale (3***, interesting movie but depressing and triggering for me)

On pause : RuPaul's Drag Race season 15 (ep 7)

To watch : Bed Friends (Tumblr is wearing me down) , The Knock out (狂飙, the critics have me really intrigued), Derry Girls season 3 (loved the first two, don't want it to end), Next in Fashion (I want to see pretty clothes), Toute la beauté et le sang versé (French documentary about activism against the Sackler family and their blood money supporting museums around the world), De grandes espérances (political thriller), Women Talking, The Fabelmans

[mothman-rewatches]

Rewatch: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "The Puppet Show" (S1Ep9)

Summary: The school talent show proves to be more than the gang bargained for when dead bodies start turning up. Buffy finds herself racing against the clock to stop the killer before someone else winds up dead.

Written by: Joss Whedon, Dean Batali, Rob DesHotel

Directed by: Ellen S. Pressman 

Aired: May 5th, 1997

WARNING: This post contains spoilers.

This episode has it all. Living dummies, demons, and shitty talent shows with Giles as the producer. Let’s jump in.

Recap: Giles is overseeing auditions for the talent show. Buffy, Xander, and Willow come and poke fun at it, but Principal Snyder overhears and forces them to join as punishment. One of the acts is a student named Morgan and his dummy Sid. Morgan is seemingly terrible at ventriloquism, until Sid starts cracking jokes on his own. The next day, one of the students is found dead in the locker room with her heart cut out. The gang discusses whether the culprit is human or demonic. Upon investigation, everyone concludes that there is something weird about Morgan, and when Buffy confronts him, she notices he’s really weird about the dummy. Xander takes the dummy, and while Giles and Willow do research and Buffy goes to investigate, it goes missing. Buffy finds Morgan dead, missing his brain, and is confronted by Sid. They put together that they are working on finding the same person. As it turns out, Sid was a demon slayer who was cursed to live in a dummy’s body until he defeats a brotherhood of demons that need a heart and brain every seven years to appear human. They try to figure out if there is any missing talent show participants, and Buffy finds Morgan’s brain, leading her to suspect Sid again. It is revealed that Morgan had brain cancer, and the demon needs a healthy brain. The demon turns out to be Marc, a magician in the show, who tries to kill Giles and take his brain. The gang and Sid stop him, killing the demon and freeing Sid. 

Overall Thoughts: I was actually disappointed by this episode. It’s one of the episodes I remember watching when I was a kid, but watching it now, it doesn’t live up to its reputation. 

Before we cover why I didn’t like this episode, I have to mention that this is Principal Snyder’s first appearance. I hate him, he’s an amazing character, but I hate him and that’s the point. Literally, I think Snyder’s creation can be summed up into the idea of having a human antagonist, other than Cordelia.

But this episode…god, I wish I could like this episode. I mean, the reference to Goosebumps, another show I grew up watching, should be enough. My problem with this episode is it’s reliance on “fake outs.” I’ve brought up that the show has relied on that trope a lot this season, but it’s somehow worse in this episode. 

This episode has not one, but two separate fake outs. The first being the identity of the demon, which has three different twists. Initially, we are led to believe Morgan is the demon, and then we suspect it’s Sid not once but twice, before the identity is revealed. The second is minor, in which the writers try to make it seem like the demon will definitely go after Willow next, but it goes after Giles instead. It’s not interesting to watch all the different twists, and especially on past use of the trope, it’s old and boring. I wish they had gone about the storyline differently. 

Fashion Corner/Costuming: No major comments for this episode, but I liked Giles’s cardigan towards the beginning of the episode.

Facts: Sid the Dummy is a reference to a ventriloquist dummy named Slappy in the Goosebumps franchise, with the two even looking similar. 

This is the fourth episode of the season to not have vampires in it. 

Quotes: ”My predecessor Mr. Flutie may have gone in for all that touchy/feely relating nonsense…but he was eaten.” -Principal Snyder 

”Once again I’m banished to the demon section of the card catalog.” - Willow Rosenberg

Apocalypse Count: 1

Final Notes: Feel free to leave any comments, suggestions, or questions in the ask box!

[grunge-mermaid]

grunge rewatches midsomer murders pt 2

full disclosure: I'm mostly knitting and kind of watching bc I'm still rotted only season 1 of Little Mosque on the Prairie is available on prime & if I want to watch the rest I have to sign up for Disney+

but anyway, here's pt 2 of That Corpse Is Breathing Pretty Deeply Fellas You Sure She's Dead?

2x01 Death's Shadow

opening with a flashback. always a good omen. Gerald/Liam started with a flashback and that episode was fucking wild man

Judy Parfitt...Judy Parfitt...

I know I could look her up but I want to be surprised by how I know her

no Joyce don't fall victim to the wedding industrial complex

OH

SISTER MONICA JOAN

OF COURSE IT'S SISTER MONICA JOAN

I FUCKING LOVE SISTER MONICA JOAN

ahh good old Badger's Drift

all the good murders happen in Badger's Drift

"the head bounced into the hall" yikes

I knew there was a beheading in Badger's Drift I just got the episodes mixed up

why are there so many abusive husbands in these villages

well that hymn definitely isn't shared with the UCC

and we're back in the One And Only Lawyer's Office Set

oh that's a good murder

so dramatic and intense

love it

that corpse definitely isn't breathing

no lungs left

side effect of being burned to a crisp

please tell me someone's going to get an arrow through the neck

Chekhov's quiver

fine I'll settle for an arrow in the back

a character called Fletcher getting killed by a bow & arrow. beautiful

*gets caught in bed with a 19yo man* "I am not a homosexual, it disgusts me" baby boy... let me introduce you to the concept of internalized homophobia

"we never meant to hurt him" YOU LYNCHED A CHILD

WHY WOULD YOU PUT A NOOSE AROUND A CHILD'S NECK AND MAKE HIM STAND ON A RICKETY CHAIR ON UNEVEN GROUND IF YOU NEVER MEANT TO HURT HIM

gotta love it when the corpses don't breathe. such a rarity on this show

2x02 Strangler's Wood

only rated 13+? that doesn't bode well

this is the episode that was on PBS the other day that made me want to rewatch the series

they censored the word "shit"

idk why you can't say "shit" after 9pm on American television

anyway...let the commentary commence

if I didn't know that was Phyllis Logan I wouldn't believe it

11yo boys in the woods before school is never good

grown ass man can't take care of himself

stop infantalizing your husbands challenge 1998

ahh there's some good old fashioned victim blaming

I do appreciate a good Obvious Red Herring

I think one of the writers has a choking fetish

that comment's gonna get me some bots isn't it

"help my son is gay" "get a life"

I know I only watched this the other day but I already forget if they address why Kate Merrill recognizes Troy's name

like obviously he's written to her agony column, at least that's how they're setting it up, but I don't remember if they actually address it

"she's being dying for about 6 years now. we're getting used to it"

hey it's a Jenny Lind bed! *proceeds to sing Heave Away on loop in my head*

Come get your duds in order cause we're bound to cross the water

Heave away me jollies heave away

Come get your duds in order cause we're bound to leave tomorrow

Heave away me jolly b'ys we're all bound away

it's just not the same without Connor Bedard

what is with the kids in these villages? is there something in the water that makes them all psychopaths?

the continuity in this show is *chef's kiss*

gotta reference every previous case always

...is this what straight men find attractive?

is that cigarette ad supposed to be sexy?

I love the Terrible American Accent that is specific to shows like this

got distracted by making a knitting pattern more complicated than it needs to be because intentionally stressing myself out over a lace wedding veil is more interesting than rewatching an episode I just saw like 2 days ago

I'll try to be more focused for the next ep but for now it's eurovision performances and then bed

2x03 Dead Man's Eleven

ah fuck it's cricket themed I'm gonna be completely out of my depth

full disclosure: it's nearly 40c (104f) and I don't have air conditioning so if my computer (or my brain) overheats, the commentary will be brief

like this

nearly 20mins in and I have no clue what's going on because my brain is soup

haunted museum? 350-year-old family feud? that's all I've got

something about smoked mackerel

good god the sound on my parents tv is fucking awful

the music and screaming are painfully loud but the dialogue is barely audible

I get that Sandra is traumatized and all but jesus everything she says is a piercing shriek

wait a minute

the episode description mentioned cricket

why is there no cricket yet?

I want to steal my cat's cooling mat

can I make it through the last 30 minutes before taking a nap?

why am I not intrigued by this episode? is it boring? is it the difficult-to-hear dialogue making the episode hard to follow even with captions? is it the heat making it impossible to focus? we may never know

hard to tell if the corpse is breathing when it's buried

good lord that was the longest 7 minutes of my life how is there still 23 minutes to go?

*makes impatient "wrap it up" gesture*

OH MARTYR WARREN. it's a place!

I thought they've been saying Marta since 1x01

I assumed they were talking about a person who lived in Midsomer

someone everyone knows, runs a cute little shop or something, pillar of the community, everyone's nan kind of person

one of those characters who's always referenced but never seen. like Villix'pran or Captain Boday on DS9

apparently this is actually 3x04 Beyond The Grave. the real 2x03 has a really great cast (Imelda Staunton, Annabelle Apsion, Robert Hardy, Toby Jones). can't tell you who any of these folks are though

3 minutes left...

of course they read daily mail

but at least they're critical of it

ok nap time. summer is the worst.

2x04 Blood Will Out

the heat broke and my parents have gone out so I get the good tv tonight. let's wrap up season 2

Martyr Warren. of course it's set in Martyr Warren

this ep is about Travellers, it's gonna be culturally insensitive isn't it?

who is this guy

OH

he's Gibbs from Pirates of the Carribean

Hector Bridges reminds me of Dr Bombay

ok so far this isn't as bad as I expected

there's still an hour and a half to prove me wrong though

like yeah there are townspeople who are being dicks but so far the police have just said "please don't litter and please leave when you said you would"

"I'm not kinky"

no shit Troy

you're so repressed vanilla is too spicy for you

and that's coming from me

Barnaby gets points for the casual use of the singular they

please tell me those are not morris dancers in blackface

I do appreciate that the rich bigots are the baddies here and not the travellers like you would expect from a nearly 30 year old show

also appreciate the widow not grieving her abusive husband

"the killer did us a favour"

Wife Swap: version 2.0

ah there we go

Troy being the asshole we know and hate

love me some gossipy bitches gossiping about murder over a game of scrabble

this is some spec ops shit isn't it

nope not spec ops just a corrupt commander

Troy may be as kinky as a slice of wonder bread, but the writers of this show are definitely into some shit

or has AO3 just completely ruined me and I see kink where there is none?

"I made the classic mistake of not believing you had been abused" a cop making a good and sincere apology? I'm shocked

murdering someone with a shotgun while dressed in all white is a bold move girl

well that's season 2 over and done with I guess. see you back here for season 3.

[stargazinginautumn]

What are some of your unpopular opinions about Gossip Girl?! This is like the NJBC---we won't judge you ;) I'll confess a few of mine: 1. I totally get that the glamour, fashion and lavish lifestyles are a major part of the show's allure, but in the fics I'll probably never actually write I kind of love the idea of all our characters being (gasp!) middle class and having to redefine who they are and what they truly value :) 2. The Jenny/Nate ship seems fairly popular here, but I....kind of hate it?! I swear that I'm not just saying this because I'm weirdly obsessed with Serenate---even if Serenate didn't exist, I wouldn't ship Jenny and Nate. 3. Derena was only a good ship in S1 imo. Literally almost every single moment I like between them came that first season, and I wish the ship had permanently ended back in S2. 4. I think Blair is an incredibly layered, compelling, beautifully acted and written character who I greatly enjoy watching most of the time but (*ducks to avoid cyber-attacks*) in real life I would dislike her a lot and even onscreen I sometimes find it very, very hard to root for her. 5. On a related note, I actually feel like Serena is kind of underrated?! Like, yes, she's a freaking mess a lot of the time, but I (almost!) never doubt that she has a genuinely good heart, and I love her despite her flaws. I'm a pitiful Seerena/Serenate stan, but at least admitting my problem is the first step, right?! :) Can't wait to read your UOs!

@another-step-you-take Sorry this took so long! 🤗

I agree a 100% on Jenny/Nate! They had zero chemistry (as a couple) it was just odd, but I would have loved it if they had explored this more in a big brother/sister kind of dynamic (and maybe Dan getting jealous?!)

The take on all the characters being middle class is interesting, but I think the show does thrive a lot on this label ‚Manhattans elite‘.. however it would have been a really cool storyline imho after Nate’s dad got into jail and they suddenly had no money, what if Nate partnered up with Chuck and he made it (not entirely maybe) on his own! I feel like Nate was the one who had the biggest potential that was not really explored in the show along with Serena! If I remember correctly Serena once had this kind of summer job that she got by accident where she was helping with a movie (?) and it seemed this could be something that is her thing but then they dropped it just like that.. everything she had going that was somewhat good the writers did not explore further as far as I remember and I think they really did her dirty in this way and made her look like she didn’t care at all.. (which always annoyed me). But something they did with pretty much all of the characters which annoyed me greatly was one second they teased us with that complicated underlying of trauma and insecurities the characters had and the next one they were completely shallow and did things just purely for the drama.. I like a good drama (in a show) but it sometimes got the the point where it was just totally stupid and pointless.. if you know what I mean.

I agree with Dan and Serena as a couple, they only were nice in season 1 but after that it was just kind of stupid and if Serena wasn’t such a pushover she wouldn’t have gotten back with Dan over and over again..

I don’t know if that is an unpopular opinion but after rewatching a few seasons I really can’t stand Dan and Jenny anymore! Also Jenny deserved better from the writers! They completely destroyed her character after the first season, when she was actually one of the most interesting ones. But then they just used her to add useless drama..

Blair is a horrible role model in my opinion and I really can’t understand why so many fans worship her like everyone should aspire to be like her.. I mean let’s face it, none of them is actually a good role model.. But I will never understand how someone as toxic as Blair has so many fans.. and no, there is no excuse for her behavior, we all have issues we have to deal with and still don’t act like a brat all of the time! I mean she literally sabotaged her mothers fashion show (which could have ruined her), just because she was jealous of Serena! So yeah, I don’t want to hear any excuses for her, she is extremely egoistical and self centered and she literally doesn’t care that she is like that, she makes up excuses for herself all the time but never really changes. I am with you that she is great fun to watch however! She has some great scenes and without her the show would not be as interesting!! I just don’t get why so many fans make her something that she is not.. I mean, have any of them ever met a person like that?! I actually had a friend who was as toxic (and a huge narcissist) when I was younger and I often felt like Serena, taking myself back all the time so she could shine and didn’t get upset, always feeling like you walk on egg shells etc.. it was draining and it makes you doubt yourself all the time! 🫠 This is also behavior that Dan shows a lot and a big part of why I don’t like him! I think Blair and Dan are very similar in a lot of ways. But I don’t like them as a couple, even if they technically would have been a great fit. I guess it was partly the total lack of chemistry between them and also the lack of friction, which would have made this enemies to lovers scenario interesting, but I guess it is due to the lack of foresight from the writers. A lot of the time you really can tell they had no clue in which direction they wanted to go unfortunately..

Also yes, Serena is quite underrated and I don’t get why!? She is a total mess, that is true, but we all know why and where it comes from and she tries so hard to change for the better again and again.. I really think that if she had been together with Nate from the beginning, she wouldn’t have caused so much drama for herself and struggled less because he was kind of a save harbour to her, if you know hat I mean. He didn’t judge her constantly for who she is and kept her on her toes but in a very gentle way which is exactly what she needs!

Okay, lastly a silly little headcanon/unpopular opinion of mine about Serena - she would totally have her own blog or at least a tumblr! Actually I think she would be a real social media queen! Haha! I could also see Jenny making YouTube videos or TikToks showing herself sewing her designs and even making tutorials! Oh and while we are at this right now, Dorotha would definitely have a cocking YouTube channel!!

Sorry if this is a bit messy, I really need to go to bed!🤪