#save me cc episode 3 season 5

[user-name-h3re]

i'm posting these mediocre sketches before school kicks my ass again

[haemosexuality]

insanely long analysis of the ep promise of she-ra <3

(first a bit of S1e10- the beacon)

[Adora is talking to the woods as she-ra.] Just let me fix this, please!  I-I can’t let anyone else get hurt. [she transforms back into adora and sits down] Fine. You win. You want me to be weak? Well. I am.  And I’m afraid. Because, I-I’m no good at any of this.

God doesn’t that hurt immediately off the bat. “just let me fix this, please” is a perfect summary of adoras entire character. She is so, so desperate to be useful- she needs to help other people, she needs to fix everything and save everyone. She cant let herself be a person, shes a vessel (HRUAHHRAGHHH season 5) to help others, shes a tool and a means to an end. Shes the hero. But shes bad at that, because no matter how much she represses herself, she feels and wants things so strongly all the time. She hopes and begs for direction and destiny but shes terrified of not having control. She will desperately try again and again to be the perfect hero-sacrifice that will heal the world and keep her friends safe but she doesn’t want that, not really, what she wants is to go to parties and hang out with her friends and catra, but she feels she doesn’t deserve that. She cant let herself have anything she wants. But she still does. Shes afraid and shes weak and shes too young for this. Her wanting things so strongly is what ruins everyones plans, shadow weaver’s and light hope’s and horde prime’s. its what saves everyone. This doesn’t have anything to do w the scene I was talking about anymore oops. “I’m no good at any of this” just confirms that, shes bad at being your standard self sacrificing selfless hero in the same way catra was bad at being an unfeeling purely evil villain. She just cant stop being a person

Ok now onto Promise: the ep starts immediately after that scene, with adora going inside the crystal castle looking for answers on how to heal glimmer, and catra following after her looking for tech that she can use (and also to spy on adora bc that might not have been her primary objective but shes not gonna pass up on that chance lol)

“You are not ready yet. You must let go.” “let go of what?” [camera pans to catra] will always be so. Ugh poetic cinema

How did anyone ever trust light hope lmao immediately from the first time she shows up shes all like “free yourself of all of your earthly attachments and join my hero training course”. Also, again, adora’s attachment to catra (and glimmer and bow) has always been the main thing saving her from falling head first into self sacrificial bullshit. She cant let go of her. She will never fully let go of her.

Catra: What's going on? Why are those things trying to kill us?

She-Ra: They're trying to kill you. This place sees you as an invader.

Catra: Well, can't you tell them to stop?

She-Ra: [incredulously, frustrated] No, I can't tell them to stop! Clearly nothing in here is listening to me!

Oh I just realized something. The crystal castle is a place that was made for adora and caters to her, and it sees catra as an invader. Much like how in the Horde, adora was favoritized and shadow weaver’s center of attention while catra was mistreated and discarded. Seen as an invasion, a corrupting force in Adora’s life. The one thing adora cant control in the crystal castle is how it reacts to catra, it activates security protocol no matter what she does, like how adora could never fully protect catra from shadow weaver and the others. Even throughout the episode and at the end, we see catra fighting tooth and nail to survive everything the castle throws at her while adora undermines her (“I had it.” “Sure you did.”), and by the end all her fighting pays off and she comes out victorious, like how she goes up in the horde until shes effectively its lord. The crystal castle (im just gonna call it CC) literally becomes the fright zone throught the simulation too I cant believe I didn’t get this before

Catra: Anyway, what are you doing here? [angrily, sarcastically] Where are your new best friends? I thought you guys did eVeRyThInG together.

The similarity between this and the flashback scene where we see a child catra say “go eat with your new best friend lonnie! I know you like her better than me. Youre supposed to me my friend” really shows how immature they still are I think. Not as a like, inherent character flaw or smth, they just weren’t raised in a place where emotional maturity is a thing you learn. They were never taught how to deal with their emotions in any way, other than “repress it really hard, hit someone and blow up a civilian”. Of course theyre emotionally stunted. This probably also contributes to both of them’s very black and white way of thinking. Also theyre still in the 17-18 range so like literally theyre teens. Just goes to show that them being separated for a while was necessary, bc they needed to break off their codependency to be able to grow as people and mature emotionally, that would never happen if they stayed together and just enabling each others toxic traits, instead of being able to have a healthy relationship like they do after the end.

Something I also never considered before is why the CC showed them the memories it did? Like. Was it light hope that chose those? I assume so since she not only has shown she can do that but also watched adora her entire life so she knows all her memories. Did she specifically pick out painful memories that she thought would tear them further apart? It seems obvious now but I just never thought ab this before. The first memory shown does go against that tho, its just baby adora and catra being cute. Maybe she wanted to show them how much their relationship had deteriorated?

↑ gay

↑ gay

↑ gay

Ooooouough this is when it starts to hurt pray for my emotional stability

Adora: ...Can I ask you something?

Catra: Can I stop you?

Adora: ...Why did you help me escape after Shadow Weaver captured us?

Catra: Not this again.

Adora: It's the one thing I can't figure out. You didn't have to do that. You could've gotten caught...why risk it? [Rock on the edge crumbles beneath her; yelps] Whoa, whoa, whoa--!

Catra: Did you really think I'd just let Shadow Weaver erase your memory like that?

Adora: I dunno. Probably.

[Adora grunts as Catra pulls her up]

Catra: Yeah, well, you never did have too much faith in me.

Adora: Can you blame me?

Catra: Not really.

This is so. Ugh. I love adora but especially in the first season shes so.. girl what are you doing!!!! How can she be so ignorant. Obviously I know how but. Augh so much of catra’s hurt stems from this… when I say that adora was fully, totally brainwashed by the horde, I don’t mean just that she believed their propaganda about the war, or whatever bullshit shadow weaver ingrained in her about her purpose. She also believed what they all said about catra. To a lesser extend, obviously, and she loved catra with all of herself- but she did still believe catra was a bit lazy, kinda disrespectful, uncaring, etc. and I cant even totally blame her, because catra actively tried to make herself seem all those things. Catra didn’t want to let anyone know how hard she tried, how much she hurt, so she played up the “aloof, lazy student/soldier who doesn’t care about anything” role as much as she could. But still, god, the way adora treated her must have hurt so much. “you never did have too much faith in me” absolutely breaks my heart. Catra cared about adora so much. She cared about adora more than anything in her life. Obviously she would do anything to prove herself once she can, look at how even the person who loved her the most thought about her. Im gonna talk more ab this later there are better scenes for that. But also I CANNOT BELIEVE ADORA IN THIS!!! GIRL WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!!! WDYM CAN U BLAME ME YES I CAN (ignore the part where I said I couldn’t) DON’T JUST SAY THAT SHE SAVED YOUR LIFE. OH MY GOD ok. Being a catra, an adora, and a catradora stan means sometimes u really want to slap s1 adora in the face. For multiple reasons. and the fact catra agrees too…. Catra hates herself so much. She truly honestly believes shes a bad person and it breaks my heart. And unfortunately for everyone, catra has shown that she'll always play a role that shes assigned to the max. everyone believed that shes a villain, she believed that shes a villain, so by fucking god shes gonna be a villain.

putting the rest of this under a readmore bc its longggg

her tail touching adoras hand i am on the floor

Catra: It wasn't all bad growing up in the Fright Zone, was it? I mean, you still have some good memories, right? (dont trust the subtitles in the pics theyre wrong)

THIS scene destroys me. Catra’s so- she always knew the horde was evil, ok, she always knew their childhood was bad. But she endured it for adora. To catra, all the happy memories they made growing up were worth it- all for adora. It didn’t matter what they did. Only to see adora throw all these moments away the moment she realized the rest of it was bad? God, catra mustve felt like she was garbage to adora. Something that wasn’t even worth thinking about once she had the opportunity of something better. Shes very aloof here, as always, but she probably feels a bit desperate- was it worth it for you too? Did any of it matter to you? Where you just miserable the entire time?

Adora: Of course I do. But it doesn't change the fact that the Horde is evil. I had no choice. I couldn't go back.

This is adora’s biggest problem tho. She had no choice, she couldn’t go back. She never feels like she can choose anything based on what she actually wants. Shes always, always driven by this need to do good, the right thing. And this is where theyre most incompatible at first, because while catra only cares about adora and that’s her priority, adora has Morals and puts the greater good over her personal relationships, which to catra makes it seem like she doesn’t care about her. Her happy memories were absolutely worth it to adora, but theyre not more important than the good of the entire world. (I don’t think adora having a sense of morality and not wanting to side with a military empire is a bad thing, catra was the villain of the show for a reason and the reason is that obviously working for something that wants to take over the world is bad. Im just explaining how this is what drove them apart, how catras mind works, and to an extend why you can understand her side and emphatize with her even if she was in the wrong. That trait of adora’s does get bad when she starts acting like she needs to kill herself for that greater good tho.)

them taking a moment to play-fight in the middle of all of that makes me want to sobbbbb 😭😭😭

TINY LITTLE BABIESSSSSSSSSSS Young Catra: What was that? Way to gang up on me!

Young Lonnie: You were fighting dirty. I was just leveling the field.

[Catra shakes and growls in anger as Adora walks up and places a hand on Catra's shoulder]

Young Adora: Hey, you were awesome! Did I hurt you?

Young Catra: No, I'm fine. You're just lucky I let you win.

Young Adora: Riiiiiiiight.

Young Catra: I'm serious! [scoffs] If I came in first, people might expect me to actually start doing stuff around here. Trust me, second place suits me just fine.

Young Adora: Yeah, okay.

EVERYTHING I SAID BEFORE. you can see catra was obviously extremely upset that she didn’t win, but admitting that would be admitting defeat. She shrinks herself to fit into this “no im fine, im chill, im not even trying in fact. I don’t care” attitude, because that hurts less than admitting that shes trying so, so hard but no one believes in her and she keeps losing to adora (mostly bc the other cadets and staff favoritize adora over her, and discriminate against her, making it harder for her to succeed in anything). And adora believes her. “second place suits me just fine” was the mantra catra kept telling herself through her entire life to try and feel less hurt about living in adoras shadow.

though it wasn’t working, and her resentment towards adora kept growing more and more.

oh this scene could be ab so many things. Catra literally slipping through her fingers. A parallel to earlier, when catra held onto adora and helped her up, while here theyre torn apart by a force stronger than them. How adora tried but couldn’t save catra. Aughh

:(

and here, we see how capable catra is. Shes both extremely strong (able to rip herself out of… whatever that is) and extremely smart, even under pressure (in seconds she figures out where she has damage this thing shes never seen before so it stops working)

only for adora to come in, “save the day” after she had already saved herself, and act all. “sure you did” about it. Again, making absolutely clear catra knows she doesn’t believe in her.

Adora: What is your problem? I was just trying to save you.

Catra: For the last time, I don't need you to save me. I've been doing just fine on my own. No thanks to you.

That says everything on its own. Adora doesn’t understand why catra is hurt/angry, she doesn’t even understand how what she said undermines catra. And catra is extremely bitter that adora keeps acting like That. Also, something I haven’t touched on is that adora leaving the horde put catra in so much danger. She was the only thing providing catra with even the slightest bit of protection, which catra -hated- but absolutely depended on, since shadow weaver had made clear that catra was -only ever kept alive because of adora-. Adora defecting put catra in danger not only of the other cadets targeting her, but of death. Catra was left all alone to survive in those conditions, and she did, and now adora keeps acting like catra needs her to save her.

Adora: Catra, wait. ...I'm sorry for leaving. I couldn't go back to the Fright Zone, not after I saw what the Horde was really doing. something that must have stung too is the idea that adora saw innocent people suffering, and that led her to realize that the horde was bad. But she had seen catra being abused by the horde their whole life, and yet still thought the horde was good. What does that say about how adora saw catra? Did she think catra deserve it, wasn’t innocent enough for that violence to be unwarranted? Was her suffering not enough for adora to realize how fucked up that was? (again, we’re able to know that it wasn’t that, adora was just as abused as catra, watching someone be physically abused is also extremely traumatized and kids will learn to justify the abuse theyre experiencing to themselves or others and might not realize its wrong u cant expect a kid to know how to act in a situation like that she was in as much survival mode as catra was and her trying to keep herself in shadow weaver’s good side was just her desperately trying to keep herself safe etc etc this is from catras perspective) I never wanted to leave you. ...You could come with me! You-you-you could join the rebellion! I know you're not a bad person, Catra. You don't belong with the Horde.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA this hurts so much. Adora might have internalized some of what the horde said ab catra and catra might have felt that 10 times as strong than it actually was but adora never actually believed catra was a bad person. Shes probably the only one (before scorpia and entrapta) that Didn’t think catra was destined to be a disgrace, to be bad. And its so sad bc even with all their flaws she loves catra so so much and she wants catra to come with her so much. Adora now has access to a life where she has the opportunity to be happy and she so desperately wants to give catra that same life. She knows catra deserves better and she can see that now more clearly than ever. But its too late, catra is too hurt and too angry to follow her and even if at this point adoras words might have some effect on her, its about to get so much worse. :(

Fuck this next part is going to hurt. Ok

Shadow Weaver: [screams angrily] Get out!

[Young Adora cries out in alarm as dark magic encloses the exit]

Shadow Weaver: Catra... [young Adora turns to see young Catra's form enveloped in a paralyzing, zapping magic] ...you stay.

[Young Catra grunts as she is forced to stand]

Shadow Weaver: What do you think you're doing in here?

[Shadow Weaver makes young Catra turn, feet squeaking on the floor as she does so without picking up her feet; Shadow Weaver clicks her mask back in place]

Catra: [fearfully] We were just playing.

Shadow Weaver: [hatefully] Insolent child. I've come to expect such disgraceful behavior from you. But I will not allow you to drag Adora down as well.

Adora: [pleading] Shadow Weaver, it wasn't her fault, it was my idea, too!

Shadow Weaver: [hatefully, still talking to Catra] You have never been anything more than a nuisance to me! I've kept you around this long because Adora was fond of you, but if you ever do anything to jeopardize her future, I will dispose of you myself. [slowly, enunciating] Do you understand?

Adora: [runs between them, throwing her arms out to protect young Catra; pleading] Please stop!

[The dark magic dissipates back into Shadow Weaver's cloak as she groans and moves back toward the Garnet; Young Adora and young Catra share a look before young Adora runs over to Shadow Weaver]

Adora: She didn't mean to!

Shadow Weaver: [placidly, attempting to soothe] Adora, you must do a better job of keeping her under control. [Shadow Weaver finally lets young Catra out of the paralyzing magic and she grunts as she falls to the ground] Do not let something like this happen again. [she pats young Adora's head as young Catra looks on]

Transcripts and screenshots cannot properly convey the dread of this scene. In a flashback, catra and adora are caught by shadow weaver playing in a place they weren’t supposed to be in, and shadow weaver paralyzes catra with electric magic we know is extremely painful to be caught in, and threatens her life. Catra and adora look to be like, between 6-7 years old in this scene. Theres so much happening here. This lays the foundation to basically everything that happens in the show.

First off, shadow weaver singles out, physically hurts catra, and blames her for something that adora initiated. then, she makes it clear that she sees catra and someone that is bad, and she doesn’t expect anything else from her. And, she says catra is a bad influence in adora’s life, tainting whats perfect, and that tells her that every time after this that adora “acts out”, will be catra’s fault.

she tells catra that, if she ever feels like catra is “ruining” adora, she will get killed. From now on, adora’s friendship is literally what is keeping catra alive. This will, understandably, fuck their relationship up a little bit and also make catra incredibly dependent on adora. She will do anything to keep being adora’s friend and she will have to make sure that shadow weaver doesn’t feel like she is making adora behave out of line or that she isn’t becoming better than adora, isn’t taking her number 1 spot away from her.

she goes on to tell adora, who has been watching all of this, that its her job to make sure catra is kept in line. She’s seen what happens when she doesn’t. this will make adora feel incredibly responsible for catras well being, and like she has to constantly save catra and beg for catra to act right, otherwise catra will get hurt and itll be her fault. On the other hand, adora is a child who just saw someone get tortured, and subconsciously shes gonna make sure to always stay in shadow weavers good side, not only bc if she doesn’t then catra gets punished but because she does not want that to happen to her too.

catra, who was frozen and electrocuted and berated, saw adora get gently talked to, “reassured”, and receive physical affection.

that results in catra growing up both extremely attached and extremely bitter of adora, for “having it easy” and always acting like shes her savior, while she has to constantly walk on eggshells (on a minefield, honestly) so she doesn’t get physically abused. She starts resenting adora as anything she does gets blamed on her, and shes forced to live as her shadow, her bad influence, the devil to adora’s angel. And in adora having a major savior/messiah complex, she feels like shes responsible for saving everyone, and every time someone gets hurt its her fault. She will live the rest of her life trying fix and save everything, because if she can’t then what good is she?

understanding that this is where all of their motivations, flaws, traumas and personalities come from will help u understand the entire show better tbh. It all comes down to shadow weaver. [Young Adora and Catra are walking down a hall in the Fright Zone, just after this incident; they walk past a pillar and become Present Adora and Catra again]

Catra: You always need to play the hero, don't you?

Adora: I was only trying to protect you.

Catra: You never protected me! Not in any way that would put you on Shadow Weaver's bad side.

[Scene transitions to Young Adora and Catra in the same place]

Young Catra: Admit it. You love being her favorite!

Young Adora:  That's not true!

Young Catra: Oh, yeah? [glitches back to Present Catra (and Adora)] When you left, who do you think took the fall for you? Who was protecting me then?

Adora: You don't have to let Shadow Weaver treat you like that anymore. You can leave--[glitches back to Young Adora and Catra]--just like I did!

Young Catra: Oh, because I need to follow you everywhere you go?!

Young Adora: I didn't mean it that way.

[glitches back to Present Adora and Catra]

Catra: I don't. Want. To leave. What don't you understand about that? I'm not afraid of Shadow Weaver anymore, and I'm a better Force Captain than you would've ever been.

[glitches back to Young Adora and Catra]

Young Adora: You always said you didn't care about things like that...

Young Catra: [crying] Well, I was lying, obviously!

[glitches back to Present Adora and Catra; Catra begins to walk away]

Adora: Catra, just wait!

Catra: Why do you think I gave the sword back to you in the Fright Zone? I didn't want you to come back, Adora!

That scene lays out everything I said so perfectly I don’t even have anything to add.

This scene where catra is running through a simulation of all her most painful memories and desperately screams LET! ME! OUT OF HERE!! perfectly represents what spiraling like that feels like

[a younger Catra, maybe 5 or younger, is crying and hiding her face in a blanket on their bunk in the Fright Zone]

Young Adora: [peers from around a doorway] ...Catra?

[Young Catra continues to sob as Young Adora walks to her; Young Adora peels back the cover from Young Catra's face, and Young Catra hisses]

Young Adora: Catra, it's okay, it's just me. It doesn't matter what they do to us, you know? You look out for me, and I look out for you. Nothing really bad can happen as long as we have each other.

Young Catra and Present Catra: You promise?

Young Adora: I promise.

And then the promise. Everything catra went through, all the abuse and bullying, she put up with all of it because of this. She held onto their promise until the end. But the moment adora decided to leave the horde, she broke their promise.

as the memory-simulation ends, young catra gives a look to present catra. One that probably said, remember this. Remember how much you mean for each other. Don’t break your part of the promise. But this isn’t how catra takes it at all. all this tells catra, all that this entire day has told catra, is how terrible adora is. Adora ruined her life. Adora lied to her, said they’d be together forever only to abandon her. Adora forced her to be in her shadow. Adora is the reason shadow weaver never treated her right. She looks at her younger self and thinks, I'll avenge you. Im never gonna let anyone hurt you ever again. Im going to show all of them how strong I can be, ill rise to the top and ill be unstoppable. Im never letting anybody put me down ever again.

(and then is season 5, seeing a younger version of herself is also what makes her realize how wrong she was, how this isn’t the path she wants to take. Its what motivates her to get better, be better. Thinking about herself as a child kickstarted both her descent into being a villain and her redemption arc/recovery.) [Adora is holding onto dear life to some ropes or smth that are keeping her from falling off a cliff. Catra shows up]

Adora: [hopeful] Catra?

Catra: [holding the sword, rubs a finger along its side] Hey, Adora.

Adora: [pleading] Catra, help me, please...

Catra: [contemplatively unhurried] This thing wouldn't work for me if I tried, would it? It only works for you. Then again, you're special. That's what Shadow Weaver always said.

Adora: Catra...what are you doing?

Catra: Ah, you know? It all makes sense now. You've always been the one holding me back. You wanted me to think I needed you. You wanted me to feel weak. Every hero needs a sidekick, right?

Adora: [desperately] Catra, no, that's not how it was...

Catra: [laughs humorlessly] The sad thing is, I've spent all this time hoping you'd come back to the Horde, when really you leaving was the best thing that ever happened to me. I am so much stronger than anyone ever thought.  

I wonder what I could've been if I'd gotten rid of you sooner...

[Catra cuts the last of the rope holding Adora up; Adora shrieks as she falls, catching a rock handhold on the way down]

Adora: I-I'm sorry! I never meant to make you feel like you were second best! Please don't do this!

[Catra looks at the sword, then tosses it into the chasm; it clangs on the way down, Adora gasps lightly]

Catra: Bye, Adora. I really am going to miss you.

 And then she fucking lion kings adora. The fucking episode ever number 1 villain origin story of the century catra you will always be everything to me. Writing this took 6 hours im so tired. And then the episode ends with light hope once more telling adora she needs to let go AUGH so good. I need to go to sleep. if you read all of this i love u i hope u liked it <3 also u might like this post also

[welovethecloudboytoomuch]

If MHA Vigilantes had an anime

During my latest reread of vigilantes, I wanted to do something a little different, so I decided to group the chapters into episodes as if they were an anime and produced this list.

This covers all of the vigilantes chapters and attempts to group them into cohesive episodes that 1)cover about 15+ minutes of content and 2)makes sense with the overall flow/ grouping of chapters.

I took a lot of care to try to make this make sense but please tell me your thoughts about it! Let’s get into it!

(I can’t believe I nearly wrote 3000 words about this.)

Overall:

Season 1: 16 episodes

Arcs: Beginnings, Stendhal, Queen Bee

Season 2: 16 episodes

Arcs: Osaka/Villain Factory Investigation, Sky Egg, Aizawa Student Days

Season 3: 25 episodes

Arcs: BeePop, Underground Masquerade, Nightmare Night

Season 1

1: 1: The first episode of Vigilantes, we are introduced to Koichi, Pop, and Knuckleduster. They fight Soga, Rapt, and Moyuru in the alley before Knuckleduster says that he can make Koichi a true-blue hero. Koichi refuses.

2: 2: Knuckleduster breaks into Koichi’s house, then picks a fight with Eraserhead, while toy-man Mario plays with his toys. Koichi launches up and away, only to fall into trash.

3: 3-4: More slice of life-style. The X-Men are introduced, and the Crawler makes his debut! Pop and Knuckleduster take over Koichi’s house and they defeat the eel boy with some flour power.

4: 5-6: Introduction of Kuin Hachisuka. Covers her first attack where the pro heroes save the day and the other trigger attack where Knuckleduster is frustrated that he hasn’t had a good fight in a while.

5: 7-7.5,8: Introduction of the Turbo Hero Ingenium! He fights with the bat guy and offers Koichi a spot at his agency only for him to rescind the offer. Then the trio beats up on Enigma, and Pop remembers when Koichi saved her from the river.

(The above may be too much to fit in one episode but chapter 8 doesn’t flow well with the next “episode” and the chapter just comes out of the blue anyway. This also may benefit from having chapter 8 come before 7.5.)

6: 9-9.5: Introduction of Stendhal: The villain slayer! He saves Koichi from a hulked-out villain and then goes on to kill the Avengers, and is revealed to have a blood curdling quirk.

7: 10-11: The Stendhal fight. Soga gets in over his head and Koichi goes to save him. When that doesn’t work Knuckle swoops in to save the day. Ends with the emergence of the hero killer: Stain.

8: 12-13: Introduction of Makoto (in the 8th episode??!!! wow). She lectures Koichi about how the hero profession came to be and then goes to collect some research in the neighbourhood about it. Her laptop gets stolen, but is retuned by the Crawler (he’s a such cool guy 😉🤫).

9: 14-15: The introduction of Captain Celebrity! He swoops in to save the day and is kinda an asshole about it. While this is happening Koichi saves a dog. CC seems to be making moves on Makoto, but then she has his wife on speed dial.

10: 16-18: Koichi’s mom descends on the apartment and everyone in Koichi’s life gets together to pretend that they’re all normal. Makoto, Koichi, and Mom go out on a day trip, but are kidnapped by the Catbus. Ingenium and Koichi save the day while Koichi unlocks a new move.

(This episode would probably benefit from being a two-parter, but the content doesn’t flow well into the episode after, and there’s no good clear stopping point. So, it’s either pack all 3 chapters into 1 episode or stretch it over 2.)

11: SP1-SP2: This episode contains the two special chapters from volume 3. The first has the pro heroes meeting Tanuma to talk about the trigger attack, and the second has All Might and Tsukauchi’s first meeting. (This episode can kinda be placed anywhere in the first season.)

12: 19-20: Starts with Soga investigating Kuin. Knuckleduster visits his wife in the hospital, Pop begins to plan for Narufest, and ends with Knuckleduster setting his sights on Kuin.

13: 21-22: Prep for Narufest starts and we are introduced to the FeatherHats, queue montage. Teruo returns looking extra jacked. The event starts and Teruo knocks out the power. Ends with Knuckleduster’s “You’re coming home, Tamao. Mom’s waiting.”

14: 22-23: Start of the flight between KD and Kuin, she runs off and we cut back to Narufest where Pop takes the stage and calms down the guests. Cuts back to KD/Kuin fight and ends when she stops his heart.

15: 24-25: Knuckleduster is a proud papa that his little girl is such an effective villain. Their fight continues while we see the Narufest kids start to perform. We see knuckleduster buy the taserknuckles from Giran, and he kills the bees. Ends with a certain man in a jumpsuit singing idly to himself while he collects a bee as a sample.

16: 27-28: The final episode of the season, we’re back to normal weirdos in Naruhata. Knuckle leaves his things with Koichi and talks to Tamao in the hospital. Ends with Koichi’s narration, “At any rate, my battle hadn’t even really begun, back then. Not that anyone realized that…”

Season 2

1: 29-30: First episode of season 2, introduces us back to the gang and the settling and reintroduces CC and Aizawa to be bigger characters. Ends with Koichi being saved from the bat guy by CC.

2: 31-32: Start of Osaka arc. Intro to Fatgum and Kaniko. Koichi gets wall cling, and ends with the reveal that Kaniko is an undercover cop.

3: 33-34: Osaka cont: Introduction to Number 6 (as the scarred man), chaos ensues with the crab mechs and ends with Koichi and Pop back on the train.

4: 36-37: Investigation of the villain factory starts Starts with the Naruhata merch debate, Tsuakuchi talks to All Might, then Makoto, then to Aizawa and then to the Hottas. Also, he smells like roses.

5: 38-39: Koichi discovers shooty-go-blam! Number 6 boxes in his apartment before a poster of his mysterious master, and ends with Aizawa nearly getting KO’d by Octiod before Koichi jumps in to save him.

6: 40-41: End of the fight in the warehouse where Kamayan gets mad his teatime is disrupted. Octoid nearly gets jackhammered by Number 6, and 6 and Koichi just miss each other.

7: 42-43: The mixer with Koichi, Pop, Midnight, Rin, and she who will not be named. (The most hated episode of the entire series.)

8: 44-45: Knuckleduster finally shows back up after not being present the entire season and is revealed to have been O’clock (and the squeals of many fanboys ring out across the galaxy). This episode also includes Thomas the tank engine.

(I hate that I couldn’t make the KD is O’clock reveal a cliff-hanger, but If I did it would be attached to the mixer episode, so I think we all dodged a bullet there.)

9: 46-48: The Christmas episode where CC saves the girls and gets ready to head home to America. Setup for the Sky egg arc. Kaniko and Eraser play dress-up in this one.

10: 49-51: Sky egg celebration starts, Aizawa, Kaniko and Fatgum break into the villain factory, and CC begins to defend the sky egg. Ends with Koichi stepping out in front of CC.

11: 52-53: Sky egg battle, with Koichi defending CC and the flashback with CC’s wife (Luv u Pamela). Ends with Number 6 detonating the big bomber and the Sky egg starting to crash down.

12: 54-56: Tsukauchi begs All Might to save the day! And then he does. The clean-up begins, and Knuckleduster confronts Number 6 on the roof, ends when KD blows up the building.

13: 57-58: Continues the fight between Number 6 and Knuckleduster (and they blow up). Clean up continues at the sky egg and Pamela shows up to thank Koichi. Ends with CC, Pamela and Makoto going to America. Also includes Koichi narration of: “The danger would come at me all on its own.”

14: 59-60: Start of Aizawa school arc. Koichi and Aizawa apprehend a villain and it starts raining. Then we get into the flashback, Shirakumo strips naked, and the episode ends with young Midnight offering a job at her boss’s agency.

15: 61-62: Loud Cloud and Eraserhead intern at His Purple Highness’s agency and then fight Sensoji for the right to their googles. Ends with “We need back up immediately!”, “We need back up now!”

16: 63-65: Aizawa’s fight with Garvey, Shirakumo’s death, and the wrap-up including graduation and the talk with the Hottas. Ends with Aizawa leaving to become a teacher. End of season.

Season 3:

1: 66-68: First episode after the ~2 year time skip in Vigilantes and picks up with Koichi threatening to retire. Nomura is introduced. Makoto comes back and asks for Koichi’s hand. Ends with Pop’s “I’d better not loose!”

2: 69-71: Pop works on her solo career with Nomura. Ends with Nomura’s turn and Pop in the bee basement.

3: 72-74: The kids start looking for Pop and then Bee⭐️Pop makes her debut! Koichi gets dumped and thrown into trash, ends with Soga giving Koichi the letter: “‘I’ll make you a true blue hero,’ but that was a lie.”

4: 75-76: Koichi opens with the letter (best chapter of the entire manga FIGHT ME) and then Koichi and the gang go to the warehouse to start training. Ends with Koichi getting serious about using shooty-go-blam.

5: 77-78: Continue training (with a sick montage) and then Pop swears that Koichi will “never forget about her”. O’clock ll teams up the Compass Kid and Bee⭐️Pop’s second attack starts. Number 2 hero Endeavor is deployed to stop the villain.

6: 79-81: Koichi gets in the way of Endeavor’s attack, Compass Kid is killed in the line of duty (GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN), and Bee⭐️Pop sings her final song. Ends with Pop being shot by 6.

7: 82-84: Koichi grabs Pop as she falls and then has to dodge Endeavor and 6 at the same time. The Crawler takes his first flight and gets Pop medical attention. Ends with a burned Number 6’s declaration against Koichi.

8: 85-86: Continues the investigation of the Beepop incident and then transitions into the start of the underground raid arc. Ends with the start of Rappa and O’clock’s fight.

(The above two are the chapters I am the least happy with. It would make sense to fit all the BeePop fight into 1 episode, but then you would be hard pressed to fit 4 chapters in, and the first 2 chapters are just the fight and don’t have enough substance. So, I went with the 3/1 carry-over in conjugation with the start of the first underground fighting ring chapter. Messy but could work.)

9: 87-89: The start of the underground flight. KD let’s himself get hit by Rappa and heads to the sickbay to collect evidence. Along the way teenage Mirko crashes the party. People’s quirks start going wild and ends with a tease of the unnamed “ultimate resource”.

10: 90-91: Continuation of the fight of Rappa, Mirko, and O’clock vs Hood. Ends with Mirko’s “Call number one! We need All Might!”

11: 92-94: All Might shows up to save the day! (but he’s very sleepy) All for One talks about the nature of heroes and villains and we end the flashback and cut back to the present. Number 6 infiltrates the police station and blows up detective Tanuma.

(Season 4 would start here as it’s a nice cut off point, but then season 3 would be very short so let’s keep going.)

12: 95-96: Start of the set-up to the nightmare night arc. Koichi thinks about Pop and the moon, Tsukauchi acquires a warrant for the arrest of the Crawler and ends with Ingenium being deployed.

13: 97-98: The heroes are on the chase of the Crawler! Tsukauchi bickers with Soga, and the nightmare night officially kicks off with Number 6 locking down the city.

14: 99-101: The nightmare night begins in full. Number 6 starts executing the phases of his plan. The heroes are there to help the citizens and Koichi’s quirk powers up while he’s thinking about Pop. Ends with Number 6’s assault on the hospital.

15: 102-103: Number 6 attacks the inside of the hospital. Soga shoots, Koichi shoots-go-blams, and Number 6 quotes Thanos. The episode ends with Koichi landing back down on the ground to face 6 properly.

16: 104-107: The start of Number 6 vs Koichi! They race around Naruhata and Number 6 realizes he’s out matched, he kicks into higher gear ending the episode by switching to “Operation Anonymous, phase 6.”

(That’s right lads were trying to fit 4 chapters into one episode. These ones get really short because most of the page is taken up by visuals.

Also, the first time I did this I grouped all of the BeePop stuff and Underground fighting ring into one season, and the Nightmare night into the rest, but I think having a longer season here works better. Also maybe 3 seasons and 1 ending movie could work for vigilantes? but i’m gonna keep going with the episodes for now.)

17: 108-110: Number 6 attacks Koichi! But he doesn’t expect Koichi to counter by blocking with his quirk and shutting off his brain. 6 throws everything he has including the Anons at Koichi to force him down the street that he lives on. Ends with Knuckleduster’s return “We’ll too bad sucker. Cuz I’m here!” (absolutely manic smile)

18: 111-112: Knuckle explains his plan of attack, but then we switch POV’s and see Number 6 pick out his quirk. Knuckle goes to blow up the building but is thwarted by Soga. Koichi drags 6 off the building and the others look on at the shooting star.

(My one regret with this episode is that I couldn’t end it on 111 with Tamao looking up at the shooting star. Only for it to be revealed that she actually saw Koichi in the next episode. That functions as the midway stopping point in this one though.)

19: 113-115: Number 6 goes lightning mode and the mid-air battle beings! All for One sheds his disguise as he watches on at the spectacle. The citizens of Naruhata watch on in shock and awe. Number 6 fizzles out and summons the Anons to support him to create destruction style. Koichi is hurt and forced underground.

20: 116-117: Koichi finds himself stuck under rubble and has a chat with his master as he believes he’s dying, but he instead receives the gift of the fist and bursts out from underground. He then freaks out about said power while a hallucinogenic episode caused by blood loss. Dream Pop allows him to use the lethal power just this once. “Get it done hero!”

21: 118-119: Koichi continues to fight Number 6 while reflecting on his past, and how it was every kids dream to be a hero, but that “today his dream is coming to an end.” Koichi gets hit hard and we switch to 6’s POV. 6 and Koichi duke it out as kids and in real life. “Somehow, I’m still here.” Ends on that one sick ass panel you know the one.

22: 120-121: Koichi is battered and bruised but the townsfolk still cheer him on! The other heroes arrive just in time to aid the day. The people continue to cheer on the Crawler despite the other heroes. Number 6 explodes with rage and number 2 hero Endeavor shows up on the scene.

23: 122-123: All Might finally arrives on the scene! He and Endeavor execute a combo attack against the 6 bombers and save the city. Number 6 isn’t quite yet done though; he leaves Koichi with some parting words and a sick scar before he burns away. As he goes, Pop sings to him and Knuckleduster and Pop are pulled back from the brink of death. The nightmare is over and Eraserhead finds Koichi bleeding on the pavement. (Listen I’m getting sappy at this point.)

24: 123-124: Koichi wakes up in the hospital, and Makoto and CC storm the place to stop the unjust treatment of CC’s sidekick. Pop gives Koichi back his hoodie, and Koichi can’t help but put it on. All for One can’t fathom what makes Koichi tick, and the episode ends with the debut of CCC-02, The Skycrawler!

(Do I hate it that 123-124 work together so well and that 125 is just kinda off dangling by the edge? Yes. Am I going to change it? No.)

25: 126: A plane begins to crash over New York city, and Koichi comes in with the “Yep, that’s me. Koichi Haimawari” and saves the day. Public perception of him is still dubious so he swears to destroy Wall Street in an interview. We see all our favourite characters again, now closer to the places they will take in the main series, but crime still exits in Naruhata and while Koichi is protecting the skies over New York, Knuckleduster is here.

(This episode may benefit from leaning into the “okay now MHA starts now angle” by adding in more to smoothly transition it over. Maybe adding in something like All Might starting to chase the slime monster and then the episode ends when the villain finally sees Deku walking through the tunnel?)  

And that’s all folks! Thank you for coming along with me on this and tell me what you think or where you would make changes.

[purecamp]

AQ Author Interview

Grinder reminded me of this and I never did it so hello I am doing it now hi @artificialqueens

Pen Name: Purecamp

Pronouns: She/her

How long have you been involved in the RPDR fandom?: I made this blog in October 2016, so... almost five years wow

And what got you started?: A good friend of mine showed me season six of drag race in August of 2016 and we watched a few episodes at her house, which I absolutely loved. I went home and started watching the rest (backwards for some reason, 6 to 5, 4 and 3 lol)

Favorite queens and/or ships to write: These days I'm all about DRUK2, I mostly write Taywhora and Diamond Chaney but it wouldn't take a genius to work out what used to be my favourite to write. Also loved writing Willam whenever I could

Favorite genres to to write: Always lesbian au/not canon compliant now, I used to do CC but it feels a bit weird to me now (not knocking anyone who does it though bc it's still fun), I like to rip off British films and create adaptations of media that I like

Where you post: AQ and AO3, both under the same name

Most popular fic: My most popular ever since I wrote it is A-B-C-D-E-F-G, I won't link it because I doubt people want to read it anymore lol but it's so weird to me bc I got this dumb idea, wrote it all in one sitting and it just blew up?? It's sitting at 166 notes I think, closely followed by the first chapter of Mean Queens at 128

Favorite story you’ve written so far: My Diamond Chaney Never The Same, Always Together (AQ / AO3) is one that makes me real proud rn, but honourable mentions to Mean Queens and Here I Go Again

Longest fic you’ve written (and word count if you want): Mean Queens (no big surprise there) clocking in at 114,486 words, although it was of course a collab so I didn't do all of that singlehandedly

Favorite comment you’ve ever gotten on your fic: Anything by @artificialortega she is the best and I save all her comments to read when I'm sad because she's just the best

Do you accept prompts?: I do! They take me forever to get through but if I like it it'll happen eventually

How you choose your titles: To be honest most of the time I either pluck it out of thin air, twist the name of whatever media I've ripped off, or use a song lyric haha

Do you outline?: Sometimes, but not often. I outline when I'm collaborating or specifically planning things out (like in HIGA) but generally I have the idea in my head and just wing it from there because I know what I want and just need to do it

Number of completed fics: Okay this one is hard so... I'm gonna count MQ as one fic and each MQ spin off as a separate fic... I wanna say 41? I think it's 41, which... holy shit

Number of fics in progress: I think 6? Some of which unfortunately can't/won't be continued as of yet, some like St Trinians are just in progress

Number of fics coming soon/not yet started posting: Too many to count, my google docs are BURSTING at the seams

Upcoming work that you’re most excited about: Besides St Trins 4, I have a Taywhora from the same universe as the big Diamond Chaney linked above that's started and been stuck for a few weeks, that'll be good if I ever get round to continuing it

Anything else you want readers to know!!: Please love me

[murfeelee]

End of Year Collage - Best of 2020

Rules: Find your fave pics of your story or your blog in general and post them up in a collage! :D it can be 1 picture or 100 whatever you want. But just reflect on your fave moments in your story or on your blog. It can be cute moments or pictures you’re just really proud of.

I did this last year and decided to make one for 2020, to celebrate simming, the one source of joy I got out of this crapfest of a year.

I used the TumblrTop10 generator for my top CC uploads, which naturally get more traffic than my gameplay pics & photosets.

But I like giving a top 10 for my gameplay pics too, looking back at all my fave fandoms I incorporated into The Sims 3 throughout the year.

MY THOUGHTS (for each month) under the cut:

January: Skryim Werewolves

AAAAWWWOOOO~!

February: Voodoo & Necromancy

My theme for February was Voodoo and Necromancy. The irony doesn’t escape me that I had my best creative boost (focused on morbid/macabre themes), right before the pandemic hit.

March-April: Roaring 3020s Gameplay!

These 2 months were all about my futuristic-Asian-scifi-artdeco/nouveau save in Oasis Landing, where I give the backstory of how Sakura and Ryuu first met. I always describe Sakura as a faery from the future, and this is what I mean by that; she’s a jet-setting time-traveler. Y’all seemed to really like my posts of Sakura this month, particularly her arrival in Oasis Landing in March, and her One Four All challenge in April. But by far the post that got the most attention were my WIPs of Hotel Luck at the end of April, the headquarters of Ryuu’s best friend Lucky’s club.

May: Green Isle, and Malec’s Wedding!

May was totally dominated by my run-through of @crowkeeperthesimmer ‘s Green Isle (Beta) world. But the most emotionally driven gameplay pics I posted this month were actually from my Shadowhunters saves, where I finally got around to recreating Malec’s wedding, which I posted on their 1st year anniversary. ^_^ *blasts Ruelle*

June: Rainbows! 🌈

I started the month still gushing about how pretty Green Isle is, which was great, cuz it was Pride Month! 🏳️‍🌈 Because the events of Summer 2020 were downright disgusting, I had Bartros & Nagron, and Gwynburn & Malec do community work in honor of LGBT+ and Black Lives Matter solidarity.

July: Bleach Gameplay starts!

I have been dying to start sharing my Bleach inspired gameplay for months. Bleach is one of my Top 5 fave anime, quite possibly even Top 3 (it’s tied with Attack on Titan). So I tried my best to do the anime justice in TS3, giving me recreation of Episode 1, when Ichigo Kurosaki becomes a shinigami. I plan on doing A LOT more; it’s just gonna take awhile.  

August: Sakura & Ryuu in What? Magazine

Technically, my Sim Bin Collage Pt2 got the most notes this month, but that’s not really gameplay. Even though I posted a bunch of Dragon Age gameplay, people were far more interested in Sakura’s post, particularly my fake What Magazine post, where I trolled y’all with a tabloid spread of Sakura and Ryuu caught by the paps getting frisky in the park.

September: Dragon Retexture WIPs Pt2

According to the Chinese, 2020 is the Year of the Rat, but I was all the way in the Year of the Dragon, baby! #SquadGoals #BoyBandRealness (And I was back in Green Isle AGAIN, lol!)

October: Dragon Master

I love Simblreen, and the Halloween season; it always puts me in a creative mood. But the best inspiration I got this year was after my anime marathon binge of the Bleach spinoff, Burn the Witch, which gave me the idea to make dragons as functional magic broomsticks. I had the occult household from my Deathless gameplay test out all the CC I made for Simblreen. Everyone seemed to really like that, and I was so happy!

November: Shinto Shrine vs DA:I - Tevinter

Another classic example of the photosets I did the bare minimum on that get like twice the amount of notes as posts I’m insanely proud of. XD

I try to upload CC at least once a month, but I’ve had such low motivation this year that come November I was scrambling trying to think of something to make. Then TS4′s Snowy Escape EP came out and I was like BINGO. So I did all of that in a few days, really quickly, and cracked open my Moon Medicine save to test the CC & take pics. No big.

But I’ve been working hard on my Dragon Age INSP gameplay & pics for well over a YEAR, and I had been so excited to start posting my Tevinter gameplay with Dorian Pavus. That Blood Magic post got far less traction, but that’s like the best photoset I think I made all year. Crazy how Tumblr works. :\

December: A Bunch of Stuff Happened, Holy Cow!

First there was the Pinterest Challenge, which y’all really seemed to like. Then I did another installment of BrennaIvy’s Modern Male Project (which got the most notes for December). Then I did Magnus Bane’s birthday post for the Shadowhunters fandom, which is usually one of my more popular posts. But then I posted my WIPs of my Maximalism set, and y’all really REALLY liked that one, so basically I was so so happy this December! :D

__________________________________________________

Thank you everybody, followers, mutuals, lurkers, and all simmers who continue to support me and The Sims 3, and like my content!

Happy Simming, and Happy New Year!

[fatoujallovv]

so here’s my disclaimer: I hardly know what I'm doing. This is my glued together homemade giffing method that I’ve created over months of just random experimentation and bits and pieces from all kinds of tutorials. there are probably better or more correct ways to do a lot of these things! this also isn’t a completely universal tutorial, some of the specifics are geared towards giffing skam, specifically skam france. 

I gif in photoshop cc 2020 on a macbook. Some things like keyboard shortcuts and little things about the photoshop interface will probably vary if you are on a pc/ other version of photoshop! 

this is very long and very unprofessional, but I hope there is something in here that someone will find helpful!

we’ll be going from this:

to this:

up to date as of October 25, 2020

downloading clips

selecting what part you’re going to gif

cropping

my action for resizing, converting to a smart object, and sharpening

coloring

exporting and setting the delay

tldr tips

1. downloading clips

4k video downloader (which you can get for mac or pc here) is great for things posted to youtube, especially from skam france because all the clips are on their youtube with no weird geoblocks or anything! it’s really easy, you just have to open the clip in youtube, copy the link, and go into the program and hit paste link. I like to put on smart mode first and set the destination folder so all my clips go into the place I want. 

There is a 30 video per day download limit, so if you’re thinking you really want to gif lots of stuff from the show, and want a big chunk or a full season it’s definitely worth hunting for a mega or google drive with full episodes to download because it’s just less hassle! I might come back to this post later and compile a list of all of those, but for now if you type “[remake] no subs google drive” or “[remake] no subs mega” into a google search, you’ll probably find something! the all of skam website has no subs for several remakes, but not all!

If you don’t have enough space on your computer to be keeping full seasons, I know there are methods to get screencaps without having to download (generally for giffing movies and regular tv I think this is a common method), but I’ve never done it so I’ll redirect you to this tutorial that explains it! you should probably just go there for the whole thing tbh it’s much more coherent than this, but I digress. 

2. selecting the piece of the video you want to gif

now that you’ve got your episode or clip you’ll want to just open it in photoshop! if you go the screen capping route the way to do that is a bit wonky, so you can keep following the tutorial I linked above and join back in here at coloring if you like!

if the timeline at the bottom doesn’t pop up automatically you can go to window > timeline and turn it on! now you can use the scrubber bar thing to find the moment you want to gif! 

The advantage of this over screen capping is you can scrub with more precision. the arrows circled in blue below let you jump only one frame, where in screen capping I'm pretty sure you can only go by ten second or one minute intervals. 

I usually drag the scrubber as close as I can to the start of the shot/moment I want to use, fiddle with the arrows circled in blue below to jump forward or back one frame at a time until I'm at the first frame I want. I move the left grey handle to the scrubber and then I hit the play button and let the whole shot/moment play. Pause and repeat the shuffling with the arrows until you’ve landed on the last frame you want to use and move the other grey handle. 

the moment you want to use should be between your handles (it’ll look like what I have circled in red), and if you hit play, you should see the thing you want to gif playing on loop above the timeline. the speed will probably be weird, but we’ll deal with that at the end. 

now I recommend doing command or control + s to save your gif as a psd (photoshop document). this is a working, editable file which means if photoshop crashes you can open your file right back up and keep working as long as you’re hitting command or control + s at regular intervals as you work. later we’ll go through exporting in gif format that can actually be uploaded to tumblr.

3. cropping

next I crop out any logos or black space at the top and bottom. Just click on the crop tool on the lefthand side of the screen, drag the edges and hit enter when you’re done. you can of course crop out more than just that, but regardless of what you crop out, now is the time to do it. 

you can set an aspect ratio for your crop at the top of the screen if you’d like to be positive that all the gifs in your set will be the same:

4. my trusty action: resizing, converting to a smart object, and sharpening with one click

Now is when I use an action I made that does all the resizing, converts to a smart object, and sharpens. I’ll take you through the steps so you can conceptually get what’s going on, but I highly recommend using the actions window to record your process as you follow along so you have this action as well. It easily shaves at least 5-10 minutes off of the whole process, and these steps will be the same every time. 

here’s how you make an action: go to window > action and open the action panel. click the plus symbol to start recording a new action:

in the window that pops up, give it a name and hit record:

now just continue with the steps below, and it will save them!

first you flatten frames to clips (I think it says flatten to layers on older versions of photoshop). this is in the menu at the top right corner of your timeline:

next you convert to frame animation by clicking on the symbol in the bottom left, circled in red:

if there is more than one thing in the frame animation, delete the extra one. you don’t need to keep the last one but it won’t let you remove it until there are other frames in there. also go into your layers and delete video group 1 and its contents. don’t ask me why these steps are necessary, I don’t really know, but I’ve noticed it sometimes gets wonky if you don’t do this:

now you want to make frames from layers and delete that first frame that was there before:

then we return to the timeline: 

use command + option + a (control + alt + a for pc I'm pretty sure) to select all layers and then right click within your layers window and select convert to smart object. It’s important to convert to smart object after you go back to the timeline, or the gif won’t move:

next I resize. gifs for tumblr should be 540 pixels wide. for recording your action you should just go into image > image size and only change the width to 540 in case you ever have gifs cropped to different aspect ratios. don’t touch the height, let constrain proportions figure it out!

now, here’s what our base gif looks like, no sharpening, no coloring:

now to sharpen. go to filter > sharpen > smart sharpen. this is up to personal preference, but my go to settings are:

this is what we have after sharpening:

now is when you can stop recording your action. 

just press the stop button in the action window:

this action is pretty much universal and after I select the moment the gif will be and crop however I want, I use it on every gif I make!  so although this initial setup is tedious, now you’ll never have to do these steps again, and the process is magically much quicker.

5. it’s time to jump into coloring!

I typically start with exposure and sometimes some brightness/contrast. with really dark gifs like this, you kind of have to make it worse before you make it better. I did this:

now the gif looks like this:

we have some static and some ugly bits, and this is where selective color comes in to fix it! boost blacks like this:

and now your gif looks like this:

the skin tone is looking a little sickly and weird, so I go into the yellows and reds in my selective color layer to fix it! I also messed with the greens here because I didn't want color in the background (that part is totally optional and just up to your preference):

now we have this:

to really take the color 100% out of the background, I did one more separate selective color layer for cyan (again, I just felt like it but this is optional!):

and now the finished gif:

there’s lots of fun extra things you can add like text and tints and overlays and all that I won’t get into, but feel free to reach out for help on those types of things! 

this gif was certainly not the most complicated to color. some ridonkulously dark clips (*cough cough* vendredi 20h27 *cough cough*) take tons and tons more effort than this and a lot of the time you’ll want to use color balance layers and vibrance layers and all of that to mess with your coloring. 

with all of this coloring business, I really just learned by doing. I don’t know all the technical purposes of each type of adjustment layer, and I tend to stay away from curves just because I find them confusing and annoying. The bottom line is that you should always experiment and find out whatever coloring works for you and run with it! I’m sure every gif maker you talk to does things at least a little differently! 

I highly recommend taking the time to go through all the types of adjustment layers and just move the sliders around to see what they do! That’s honestly one of the best ways to learn and decide what you like!

6. now to export and adjust the delay!

the keyboard shortcut for exporting on mac is command + option + shift + s, control + alt + shift + s for pc, otherwise you can go to file > export > save for web

my settings are here:

the settings only need to be configured once! otherwise just hit save and follow the pop ups to choose where to save and what name you want to give your gif. Since you saved as a psd way back, that will be the name it’s automatically given, but call it whatever you want!

then I adjust my delay by opening the gif I just exported (not the psd, the .gif file) and using one of my delay actions. I’ve made an action for each delay between 0.05 (real time) and 0.08 (really slow mo for certain super short shots, typically for more ~artsy~ sets). 

all my action does is select all frames:

adjust the delay (which will differ based on whether you want them slowed down and by how much): 

for reference, this is a 0.05 delay:

and this is a 0.08 delay

now you just export the same way you did before! 

remember if you’re recording this as an action, you don’t want to touch the file name, just say yes when it asks if you want to replace the file. if you always save your gifs to the same place, your action will now enable you to override any gif with the incorrect delay with the correct one with one click!

7. tldr: the main tips

for downloading 4k video downloader works well for non geoblocked youtube videos, the all of skam website is another place you can look to download with no subs, here’s the screen capping method if you don’t want to download

The main way I combat dark lighting is to bump exposure to the right, gamma correction to the left, and then enhance black in a selective color layer. The amount of these three adjustments will vary gif to gif. I know lots of people use curves, but I find them really confusing for some reason, so this is my method! As my graphics teacher likes to say: there are always at least 3 different ways to reach the same result!

there’s a little bit of additional coloring on this one, but here’s another before and after example so you can get an idea of how those steps get you a better lit result without making the lighter parts super over exposed:

besides those three steps, you have free rein to use the other selective color channels, as well as color balance, vibrance, hue/saturation, etc. to restore color that was lost or to change the colors altogether! mess around with it and have fun experimenting!

7a. bonus coloring tip: 

sometimes you can make use of selective color to completely alter an isolated color in your gif. You can get very adventurous with this, but here's a simple example of changing blue tones to teal (I got away with these gifs being longer because they were in rows of two in the set I posted them in. I'm too lazy to trim frames so I can put them here at 540 px without going over the 10mb limit so just ignore the quality ok):

7b. actions, actions, actions! 

if you find yourself doing a certain thing over and over, always record it as an action. the amount of time they will save you is honestly really impressive. 

You can duplicate actions, so, for example, if you have different sharpening preferences for different shows or scenes, you can duplicate your gif process action and go into the steps, double click smart sharpen, and alter it however you want! 

This could also be good to do for the different widths for tumblr if you ever do sets with rows of two or three! Duplicate actions is also how I made my actions that set delay at 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, and 0.08!

when in doubt, always make an action! it’s worth minimizing the tedious bits of the process as much as possible so you can focus on the fun part of seeing your awesome gifs come to life! any little task you find yourself doing often, make an action!

and for now that’s all I have. if any of this made no sense, if you want to suggest a correction or addition I could make, if you’re ever curious how I did something on any gifs I post, or if you have any other sort of questions, feel free to send me an ask or a dm! if I can’t answer your questions I’ll be happy to try to direct you to someone who can or a tutorial to help! again, I'm no expert, not even close, but I hope at least one person will find one thing in this mess that helps. 

[thlaugraphics]

TEMPLATE #27 : Charac PSD #5 (animated charac psd inspired by "Nosedive" from Black Mirror) I finally made a new character psd ! On this new one, I recreated the "rate thing" from the "Nosedive" episode of Black Mirror (Season 3). There are two psds for this character psd, one with only the circle, the thumbnail, the name and the rate number, and the second with the list of five infos. If you just want a static version, keep only the 50th timeline layer (on the first version) or the 62th timeline layer(on the second version). To move the "face focus" circle and/or the "charac infos" select all the timeline layers from the first one to the last then move the layers from the "layers window". You can easilly change the texts, the thumbnail picture and the main background picture. Important : I made this PSD file with Photoshop CC 2019, it is possible that they will be some little issues with the file. To save as GIF : CMD+ALT+SHIFT+S then choose your parameters. (CTRL instead of CMD if you are on Windows PC).

Informations about these psd files : » Dimensions : 1280 x 800 pixels (reduce the size if the gif file weight is more than 3mo) ; » Add your own pictures by changing the different psb files (info to use/change them) ; » Included : the background and thumbnail shapes and the texts (in Helvetica Neue) ; » You used and posted it ? Tag me, I'd like to see what you do :3 » { DOWNLOAD }

Don’t forget : • Don’t redistribute or claim as yours ; • Don’t recreate a template from this file in order to distribute as an other one ; • For personnal use only (not for commercial purpose or anything else), obviously, you can post on your blog your own picture ;) • A like or a reblog if you like or use, please :3 • A credit link if you use it and post it on your blog would be appreciate, necessary if you use it on an other website than tumblr ^^

made by thlaugraphics with love and pleasure, always ❤ Do you want a specific resource ? Ask me or request it here 😉 ︎

[underthewingsofthblackeagle]

The Man in the High Castle - Re-watch S01 EP02

Map of North America as seen in “The Man in the High Castle” by Rama [CC BY-SA 2.0 fr (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/fr/deed.en)]

With Season 4 >>The Final Season<< of “The Man in the High Castle” coming soon (November 15th, 2019), many of us are re-watching Season 1 - 3. I noted some of my impressions of S01 EP02 under the line, so that those, who haven’t seen the whole show yet, are not confronted with spoilers.

         Episode 2 starts with Frank being brought to prison. And then we see Juliana waking up in the middle of the night. She looks out of her window and sees Joe, who also can't sleep. Another thing that connects those two. They make a drive to a nearby dam an visit the sun-rise over the Rocky Mountains. And there we have the first flirting light physical contact. Coming back to Canon City, Joe loses no time and asks her (only knowing her as Trudy) if there is a "Mr. Trudy" :blush:  Besides the fact that this is a cute way to ask her, it makes clear he is falling more and more for her. Then we have a short, but a really deep conversation between them, in which Joe admits that he would do everything to avoid doing what he is doing right now. This is followed by the scene at the Smith's breakfast table, where John makes it clear to Thomas, that individuality/nonconformity has no value/ no place in the GNR. However, there are exceptions to the rules for those who obey (= John's permission for Thomas, who is exceptionally allowed to learn at the breakfast table). These two scenes reveal, that Joe, even if only inwardly, is on a "dangerous path". And he was even ready to admit it to Juliana, whom he has only known for a few hours. True love always leads to the truthfulness of the lovers to each other. And that's why, as will later become clearer, Joe's love for Juliana is so dangerous in the eyes of John Smith and the GNR. The following phone call with John Smith takes Joe right back there: It's all about obeying orders, not about individual/independent thinking. (But Joe does it nevertheless. I'm sure that, when John tells him, that the carrier is a woman from SF, he knows it is Juliana ("Trudy"). But he says nothing.          The line of "Total obedience vs. Individuality" is continued. We see Frank in the Japanese prison and he (& his sister and her kids) is threatened with extinction because of their Jewish  Ancestry. Thus, it becomes clear that no dictatorship, no matter which nation it exercises, allows deviations from what it has declared the "norm".          Juliana starts to work in the diner and meets an interesting guest who shows her a Bible. At the same time, Joe (in his room) starts to think about the meaning of the film he is carrying (interestingly, he does so after seeing only the usual propaganda on TV). I'm not sure, but I have the impression that this short scene is accompanied by a Wagnerian melody. Does anyone know if this music comes from one of Wagner's operas and if so from which? I would like to know if the music has any meaning in the context of this scene.  - This is followed by another scene in the diner where the reading guest (as we learn later) sets his trap for Juliana. At the same time, we see John Smith and one of his co-workers. They drive through NYC in Smith's limousine, discussing the danger the films pose to the GNR. And just then, there is an attack in which Smith's employee nearly dies. As much as dictatorships try to suppress their citizens, there will always be people who resist them. Never will all men bow to mindless obedience. No matter what it costs. (In some days, on October 31, Germany celebrates the Reformation Day. On this day we remember the words of Luther at the Diet of Worms, where he did not bow to brainless obedience of the Emperor and the ecclesiastical authorities but confessed: "Here I stand, I can do no other". Words that changed the history of Europe forever.  With his translation of the Bible into German, Luther opened the way for independent study/independent thinking in religious matters. What followed was, as we call it, the revolution of education. In the Third Reich, many Germans had forgotten those words. But not all. One of them was Sophie Scholl. Like Luther, she stood her ground and paid with her life for it!) It is this spirit of resistance that speaks of the man who is incarcerated on the opposite wall to Frank Frink.          After the scene with Frank and Randall in prison, we see Juliana going to the bookstore to buy a Bible. This scene is short, but so telling. Joe is watching her going to that store and in the background, we hear the lyrics of a country song: "... but in my heart I know, I will never get over you ..." That sets the tone for everything coming (in my view).          While the GNR is in turmoil about the attach on John Smith and Ed is searching for Frank in SF, Joe makes an inquiry into the bookshop too. It's so funny hearing Joe tell the bookseller that he never heard of Huckleberry Finn. But for everyone who knows the book, it is clear why Joe has never heard of it. In his autobiography, Mark Twain says about the character, that "his childhood friend Tom Blankenship was the inspiration for creating Huckleberry Finn”. He stated: "In Huckleberry Finn, I have drawn Tom Blankenship exactly as he was. He was ignorant, unwashed, insufficiently fed; but he had as good a heart as ever any boy had. His liberties were totally unrestricted. He was the only really independent person—boy or man—in the community, and by consequence, he was tranquility and continuously happy and envied by the rest of us. And as his society was forbidden us by our parents the prohibition trebled and quadrupled its value, and therefore we sought and got more of his society than any other boy's." No doubt, such a character was not the kind of role model the Japanese or the GNR wished for their children to read about.          Juliana reads Ecclesiastes 12:5 and now knows from where the title of the films is taken. (I will note something on that later). Juliana tries to call Frank, but an unknown voice answers the call and she knows that something must have happened. Then we see Tagomi in his office, meditating on the oracle, while his friend from the GRN visits him. The song, which is played by introducing the scene, is very interesting. It is Sukiyaki (Ue o Muite Arukou) by Kyu Sakamoto. I remember hearing this song often in my youth. For a long time, it was a real hit in European charts. People loved to dance to it and felt it was such a happy song. But the irony is, that it is a sad song! If you are interested in the lyrics, you'll find them here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C35DrtPlUbc In connection with Ecclesiastes 12:5 ("under the sun") and the Japanese believe that the Crown Prince is the son of the Sun, the line "Happiness lies beyond the clouds" becomes a special meaning.  It maybe have a meaning for Frank's sister and their children too, whose fate we now have to witness. The Billie Holiday song "Strange Fruits" (Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh, Then the sudden smell of burning flesh), that Joe plays in the next scene adds to that.          Joe watches Juliana speaking to the "reading guest" and becomes suspicious. But Juliana doesn't open up to him and that's understandable. The next thing we hear is Joe talking to Smith on the phone, making an inquiry about the "reading man".  But then it seems that Juliana has more trust in Joe as it may have looked like. She tells him about the man she has to meet and entrusts a letter to him, "in case she won't make it back".          In all that now follows there were several things of special interest to me: When Joe tries to get into the old cinema of Canon City, a sign says, that it is closed forever. So in the metaphors of the story, the film (which is the symbol of hope) can't be seen in this city = There is no hope found in Canon City/The Neutral Zone. Maybe we come back to that later.  But Joe is not discouraged by this sign. He then gets the news that the "reading guest" is a dangerous character and that leads him to save Juliana. It is interesting, that Smith tells Joe that this person is from the "SD" ("Security Service" of the Nazis, "Sicherheitsdienst", which was led by Heidrich under the authority of Himmler). But John emphasizes that this man is "none of us", showing that there are already fractions in the Nazi apparatus. Staying in the biblical metaphors of the story, remember the biblical saying that "a house divided can not stand" (Mark 3:25). Perhaps here we have a hint, that in the end, all this will tumble down. - Watching Ep. 2 again, I was surprised how full of depth even this second part of the story was.                  

[yoyo-inspace]

13, 27, 33

EDIT: tried to post these before but apparently I drafted it instead. Whoops. Sorry @bounding-heart​! 

Saving 13 for last because then I can put it behind a Read More for spoiler reasons! 

27. Top 5 brotps

These were the first ones that came to mind and I’m kinda sad there aren’t any female friendship BrOTPs on the list, but I’m tired and I can’t be bothered to wrack my head for any more.

1. Donna & Ten (Doctor Who) They have to this day remained one of my favourite TARDIS teams. They’re an absolute joy to watch together, even in episodes I don’t like that much. I’ll forever be sad about how it all ended - somewhere out there I’m sure there’s a timeline where they really did end up traveling together forever. Also, Catherine Tate and David Tennant together anywhere are an absolute powerhouse. 

2. Teal’c & Jack O’Neill (Stargate SG-1) I think one of Stargate’s strongest suits have always been how they truly managed to build believable relationships and specifically friendships (and found family) over the course of the show. And the relationship between Jack and Teal’c is definitely evidence of that. They’re just so good together, and they care so much about each other. The moment Teal’c proves where his loyalties are and O’Neill is immediately going to stand by him through everything, because that’s the kind of person Jack is. And likewise for Teal’c, he’d do anything for O’Neill. They have such a unique understanding of each other, and I honestly think it’s one of the strongest relationships in the show. 

3. Greed & Ling (Fullmetal Alchemist)This is one of those relationships where I kind of read it multiple ways depending on what mood I’m in, but for now, let’s come at it from the BrOTP angle. A lot of the best relationships that I love are about people who improve each other in different ways, and compliment each other, especially in BrOTPs. These two certainly do. They’re also surprisingly similar in many ways, and they push each other to be the best versions of themselves (which takes a bit longer for Greed than it does for Ling, but he gets there in the end). 

4. Sam & Daniel (Stargate SG-1) I did say Stargate has some strong friendships, didn’t I? So they get TWO entries on this list. I know, a little unfair, but it’s my list, so my rules. Sam and Daniel are like, almost literally siblings in my eyes. They bicker like siblings, take care of each other like siblings and they support each other like it as well. I wish the show had shown their friendship even more honestly, but it’s one of my favourites to explore in fanfics and such. Also, I will forever be bitter about the fact that Sam is the only one who didn’t get a visit from Ascended Daniel. #Rude

5. Lee and Iorek (His Dark Materials)Sometimes, a family is a man, a hare and a bear in a balloon, alright? Look, we don’t get much of these in the original book, though even the little we get always point out how much they care about each other. And then we got an entire book ONLY DEDICATED TO THEIR AWESOME FRIENDSHIP. Considering how difficult it is to win a bear’s trust, imagine how hard it is to gain a bear’s friendship and loyalty. Lee’s special like that. Even if Iorek has his own special way of honouring it. 

33. Top 5 episodes

Of everything ever?! Well, that’s not difficult or anything. Here I actually gave myself the rule of one episode per show. Because otherwise it’s IMPOSSIBLE. 

1. Black Sails 4x09Yes, the Black Sails finale is amazing, and nearly took this spot. But in many ways its the epilogue to what actually culminates in this penultimate episode. Everything happens in, constantly. It does not let you rest, because even when things are still, you’re worried about the character. It’s a masterfully written, directed and acted episode, across the board, and one of the strongest episodes the show has - though it of course has the benefit of building on everything that came before it.

2. Heaven Sent - Doctor WhoI knew this was going to be on the list. My absolute favourite episode from one of my absolute favourite shows. Like the episode above, it’s brilliantly written, directed and acted - except the acting is done by a single person. And yes, this is one of those episodes I can watch over and over again and still enjoy it just as much if not more than the first time. As Rachel Talalay said - it’s poetry in the form of an episode, and I think that goes for all three of those aspects (acting, writing, directing). The music is also incredible. It has it all - as well as for me one of the most compelling emotional hooks in Doctor Who. 

3. Hard Times - Good OmensThis might only be on here for recency reasons, but bear with me. I thought I knew just what to expect from the Good Omens TV show. This episode certainly threw me for a loop in the best possible way. While I can’t really speak quality wise, it’s definitely my favourite episode of the show, and no, not only because I’m a massive shipper, though that’s certainly a part of it. I just also love creative story telling and television making, and this episode does both. Having the intro halfway into the episode? Brilliant, love it. Juxtaposing their growing friendship with the break-up at the end? Great. Also period costumes. Period costumes everywhere. 

4. Meridian - Stargate SG-1It’s certainly not the best episodes of Stargate, and I don’t even know if I can say it’s my absolute favourite at any given time, but it’s definitely an episode that had and has a huge emotional impact on me, and one I keep returning to even when it breaks my heart. I do think the acting in it is superb, and it’s a wonderful closure for a character (which also opens up to new possibilities). But how it makes me cry.

5. Sakura and the Final Judgment - Cardcaptor SakuraI knew I wanted some kind of anime in here, but it’s difficult. Anime have shorter episodes, their storyline endings or build-ups usually play out over multiple episode. I couldn’t pick just one FMAB episode, I’d have to pick ten if I wanted to represent a full part of the story. But I wanted to have one, and so I took another one that had a huge impact on me. That is the season finale of s2 of Cardcaptor Sakura, and really, the ‘end’ of that part of the story. Sakura cheering herself on in the face of failure, herself coming to support her, her using her ‘spell’ of simply saying that everything will be alright, because of how much she believes that. Let’s just say this one hits home a lot, and it encapsulates so many of the reasons why CCS has meant so much to me.  

Honorable mention: Probably something from the upcoming HBO show, I can already say that with confidence. 

ALRIGHT, TOP 5 DEAD CHARACTERS COMING UP. Will contain spoilers for: Harry Potter, xxxHolic, Fullmetal Alchemist, The Book Thief. 

13. Top 5 dead characters

1. Albus Dumbledore - Harry PotterNo matter what people might think of Dumbledore, fact remains that I have never cried as much or as long for the death of a fictional character. I do love him, flaws and all, and when he died, I was literally inconsolable for the entire evening. My dad read that chapter to me and had to sit and like hug me for an hour or something. I was bawling. I know we’re not ranking top death scenes or anything, but I think not even I was prepared for how strongly I was going to react to it, but it does indicate how much that character meant, and still means to me. 

2. Van Hohenheim - Fullmetal Alchemist While on the subject of Problematic Father Figures, here’s one more. God, Hohenheim makes me cry. Just. Everything about him. He tries so hard where it really matters and still he can’t quite seem to get there. He was, in so many ways, a tragic victim of circumstance, who never thought he’d learn to love again. I have so many headcanons about him and Trisha, but honestly, what we get from them is absolutely phenomenal on its own. And in the end, he could be there for his boys, even if he couldn’t keep his promise to Trisha. I have a soft spot for immortal characters who end up finding the will to live again through fleeting human lives, alright? (Also, Hohenheim suffers from glasses flare syndrome, where even if he’s crying or happy, no one will know because of his impenetrable anime glare). 

3. Severus Snape - Harry PotterYes, yes, I know, problematic character, yadda yadda. Don’t want to hear it right now, alright? Tired of having to dedicate an entire paragraph defending my reasonings for putting Snape in just about anything. To sum it down, it’s a character that means a lot to me, he’s dead, and that’s why he’s on this list. 

4. Yuuko Ichihara - xxxHolicThe Space-Time Witch herself. Isn’t it awkward when you die and then your boyfriend just happens to be so powerful that even when he just, humanly enough, wishes for a moment that you’d still be alive, he accidentally brings you back to life, and then you both have to spend the rest of your lives trying to pay for that mistake and all the lives it affected because it kind of fucked up the space time continuum? And at the same time you manage to be an absolute powerhouse of a character? Because she is. Yuuko might not be alive, but she lives life to its fullest even when she’s not. 

5. Rudy Steiner - The Book ThiefI mean, I did say earlier that Dumbledore is the character who’s death I’ve cried the most for, and that’s true. But this book is definitely the BOOK where I’ve cried the most. I can just open a random page and start bawling. Every character who dies in that book could technically make it on to this list. I did almost put Hans on, but honestly? Rudy is part of the heart and soul of that book, and his death feels so much more of a robbery of life. I love him, that little boy with the lemon-coloured hair. “How about a kiss, Saumensch?” 

[medea10]

My Review of Zombieland Saga

[flowersintheattic254]

Lo/st Boys, Darl/ings and Pe/ter P/an in CC.

I’m finding the lo/st boys and Pe/ter P/an references over Halloween so interesting, especially in light of today’s dedication to W, because it feels like something both D&C enjoy alluding to so I thought I’d have a go.

This is my opinion and really obnoxious in places, so if that’s something you dislike please ignore. I won’t be responding to hate about it. I wrote this for me to put my thoughts down somewhere.

I’m going to place it under the cut because it’s a long post.

******************

Both D & C love Dis/ney. That’s beyond argument. We know C particularly loves the character of PP. He wrote an episode that allowed him to play PP along with the sweetest of Kla/ine scenes. We all know D’s nickname on set was Tinker/bell (Naya said that) and D himself plays along with PP (LBL song) and Tink/erbell references. Both seem to have fun with this theme.

On a side note I found an interesting interview with C on writing that PP episode in S.5. The interviewer jokes about D&C having recently met old ladies who were stars. C says he’s met more than D and is ‘WINNING’ (grinning at the interviewer) after he says it. 3 seasons after Du/blin and it appears both are still clearly competitive!

Back to my main points though.So C/hris is Michael Darling this year (nice tin/kerbell addition) C 🙂. Especially if D couldn’t be there.

For those who don’t know the character, Michael is youngest of the Darling Family. A character we know D knows very well, based on his watch (below) which has the Darling family on it and D wore for years.  Clearly D can’t plead ignorance of the character.

C also seemed to be signalling Michael as a theme for Halloween earlier) if you recall his Michael M/yers post).

Now C didn’t have to chose Michael Darling, he could have chosen an actual lost boy. Instead he chose the Michael. The interesting thing about Michael’s character is his status as a LB is temporary and he eventually returns to to the Darlings, his ‘real’ family.

Then we have today’s dedication or ‘squirrel friend part 2’ as @ajw720 referred to it.

W has been cleary ‘tagged’ by C as a lost boy in today’s unromantic b’day message. No love, just hugs, cake and presents.

Even if C was PP to W’s lost boy here, it’s still not romatic. The lost boys don’t stay with PP forever, they grow up and have to leave Neverland (usually banished by PP himself).

Add that to C being Michael Darling this year and that characters temporary ‘lost boy’ status I think C is signalling that he and W won’t be part of the same narrative forever and he’ll be returning to his real family and W will disappear form the scene.

If I was feeling really obnoxious I’d add the words to D’s song ‘darling I don’t mind’ which @cassie1022 pointed out. This Halloween C is clearly signalling his status as a darling possibly D’s darling in this. Add to this that C’s costume aligns itself with Ash again (she’s a darling therefore family) and not W, there isno couple costume for the 2nd year running.  It really doesn’t bode well for C/hill right now. I think C’s dedication and choice of costume says a lot this year.

Side note- C also refers to the Lost boys in t/los. They are described as badly behaved, and at one point are looked after by Red and they remind Red that she should go save her prince herself. This gives her courage to look for charlie/froggy.

Now for D and the song LBL.

We know D said he wrote LBL with Ch/uck and it supposedly references the 90s vampire film of the same name. Quote from D ‘Yeah, people forget – they’re like, "Oh, Peter Pan." And we’re like, "No, vampires."

Now D has lied before and I suspect D may have wanted to deflect people from linking LBL to CC, because that song has CC over it, but in a weird way the film works for this Halloween too and in a fun way.

One of the main characters in the film is called Michael (the older brother who gets bitten) and he never becomes a full lost boy. The vampire hunters are the ‘Frog’ Brothers’ (which my t/los knowledge made me smile at). 

 At the end of this film the Head Vampire gets killed by the grandpa and it leads to my favorite bit of the film. When the grandpa says. ‘One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach: all the damn vampires", revealing he knew about the vampire situation for the entirety of the film. Something wrong that was in plain sight if anyone took the time to look. I can see both D&C liking that analogy too.

I think there are more connections not mentioned, but I do think C excelled himself this year. This was well played and I guess he had a ton of fun with it.

My only complaint is all that all the Michael references reminded me of AB. That bit wasn’t much fun 😕.

[thorne93]

Curious Conundrum (Part 30)

Prompt: You’re John Watson’s sister. One day you decide to visit your brother for lunch, only to meet the infamous Mr. Holmes…

Word Count: 1392

Warnings: language, flirtation, sexual innuendos (maybe? idfk), murder/crime/case related stuff, angst, jealousy…

Notes: Beta’d by @carryonmyswansong Not only did she beta, but I literally couldn’t have written half these scenes without her help. She contributed majorly, even wrote some parts of scenes. I am forever in her debt.

Also, this starts AFTER Season 2, episode 1. I don’t follow all the episodes, but it does follow the timeline and hit some major events : )

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 |  Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 |

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“That’s not possible,” Mycroft said in disbelief as he got out of the car. Your eyes shot to him as you had stood up, your body still shaking from the trauma of losing him yet again.

“What? What is it?” you asked as Mycroft eyed you. He spoke some more into the phone and then ended the call.

“Well?” John pressed.

“I don’t believe it. But right now on every television in the nation Moriarty’s face is playing. It keeps saying ‘Did you miss me’?”

Ice ran through your veins.

“Mor-Mor-Moriarty?” you gasped in barely a whisper. John knew this would probably send you over the edge so he glanced your way and quickly secured himself by your side, making sure you stayed up right. “He’s...he’s back? How? He shot himself.”

“Yes… He did,” John concurred.

“It doesn’t matter how, what matters is England needs Sherlock Holmes,” Mycroft said to you. His tone was cool, always that air of superiority, but his eyes… in his eyes was sort of… gift. He was saying that at least now Sherlock could come back.

Even with Moriarty possibly returning, Sherlock’s return outweighed that by an insurmountable bit. You jogged over to Mycroft and hugged him.

“Oh thank you!” you cried happily.

“Watson, do get off me,” he ordered and you let go, the grin larger than life on your face.

“Pretend all you want, but you’re just as happy as I am.”

The plane landed and you nearly sprinted into it, with your family in tow.

“Sherlo--”

“I have to go back!” he said in a rush as he looked up at you and his brother.

“What?” you asked, as if you‘d been stabbed. What the hell was he talking about. Surely he wasn’t referring to returning to his flight plan for Eastern Europe.

“I was nearly there. I nearly had it.”

“Had what, darling?” you asked as you sat in front of him, worried.

He went on to tell all of you that he had reconstructed a famous case from 100 years ago. The abominable bride. She had shot herself in the head and come back from the dead, just like Moriarity. He was trying to see how he would’ve solved it back then.

Mycroft seemed incredulous to Sherlock visiting his mind palace and performing this. John and you tried to defend him and say he’d done it before but Mycroft was insistent what Sherlock was doing wasn’t real.

“Did you make a list?” Mycroft demanded.

“A list? Sherlock isn’t high,” you retorted.

“Yeah, no I’ve seen him do it,” John stated.

Sherlock started deducing his brother but he wasn’t having it. He demanded the list once more.

“This is preposterous. Sherlock was sober when the plane took off he couldn’t possibly--”

But he reached into his coat pocket and tossed out a list. Your jaw clenched as you eyed him furiously. John picked it up and read it as Mycroft explained why there was always a list of everything he’d taken and how much. The three of them started to debate the fact that he wasn’t high before he got on the plane.

“Nobody deceives like an addict,” Mycroft commented with a smirk.

“I’m not an addict, I’m a user,” he corrected. “I alleviate boredom and occasionally heighten my thought process.”

You were speechless. The last time you would see him and he couldn’t even be sober. What a complete and utter ass!

Without another word, you stood from the plane and left it. John was behind you momentarily.

“Woah, woah, where are you going?”

“Anywhere that selfish prick isn't!” you shouted as you turned around and pointed at the jet.

“Wow, alright. What’s wrong? This isn’t the first time he’s been high.”

“No! But it’s not the first time we’ve said goodbye, either! The first time, what did he do? He went out of his way to make it unusually cruel to me. The second time, your wife shot him and he nearly died again trying to prove a point. Now? Now he can’t even tell me goodbye sober!”

Growing angrier, you turned and started marching away again.

“Did you ever think he did all of that for you?” your brother called. It made you stop. “The cruelty of his suicide. The danger of trying to save you and me from Mary. The fact that he can’t cope with the idea of leaving you yet again.”

“Don’t. Don’t make him out to be some saint.”

“I’m not. Sherlock is the most selfish and arrogant ass there is,” John said, his voice getting closer from behind you. “But don’t think for one second he doesn’t love you.”

Angry tears streaked down your face as you stood with your fists clenched so tight you thought your gloves would rip.

“He tried to ease the blow of his death by making you hate him. He tried to save our family by going after Magnussen. He is high right now because the thought of leaving you again probably hurts him just as much as it hurts you.”

You shook your head. “It’s not the same. He swore to me he would stop doing the drugs. I told him I couldn’t take any more scares from him so now that we’re engaged the drugs had to stop.”

He pursed his lips as he thought. “Sherlock says he’s not an addict, and technically he isn’t, seeing as he can put down the drugs when he really wants to. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t a crutch. The minute he’s faced with something emotional, he turns to that.”

“But why? When he has me!” you begged, pointing at yourself wildly with both hands.

“He was about to not have you. He isn’t wired like you or me. He isn’t used to dealing with loss or heartbreak, not really. So when he’s faced with these heavy emotional weights and strains, he turns to the one constant he’s always known.”

You shook your head as his words took hold in your head. The logical, and even compassionate part of you knew he was right.

“Since when did you become well versed in therapy?” you teased.

“Just living with Sherlock made me an honorary shrink,” he boasted as he threw his arm around you, ready to lead you back to the jet.

But the sight of Mary poking her head out made you stop.

“John! Get in here! He’s overdosing!” she called.

John’s worried eyes flashed to yours before he let go of you and ran inside the jet, going full doctor mode. The sight of John working on him, checking his pulse, measuring his heartbeat sent your own heart speeding. How many times must you endure nearly losing this man?

When he finally came to, he stated he needed to get back to work. One quick angry comment to his brother and he was dashing off, Mary and John on his heels. Mycroft stood there with a hidden hurt expression on his face.

“He means thank you,” you quietly said, offering some form of sympathy to him. “And so do I. I know it’s not easy to care for him, and you do it unwaveringly. I’m not sure where he, or even I, would be without you. So thank you.”

“You’re very sentimental,” Mycroft observed.

A gentle smile touched your face. “Hmm, I was told the opposite before I met your brother.”

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” he remarked with a ghost of a smirk. “You really care for him, don’t you?”

“With all my heart and soul.”

A small moment of silence passed between you two. For a split moment, Mycroft’s face seemed to soften, the gentleness reaching his eyes before he voided his face of any expression again.

You gave a slight nod, about to walk by him when he said, “Watson… Y/N, take care of him, please?”

“As if my life depended on it,” you vowed with a sincere nod.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[haro-hawayu]

CCS Clear Card Anime - 21

I knew I could count on the anime to supplement the stuff we got from the manga!

Anime Reviews:  Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Episode 6 | Episode 7 | Episode 8 | Episode 9 | Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 12 | Episode 13 | Episode 14 | Episode 15 | Episode 16 | Episode 17 | Episode 18 | Episode 19 | Episode 20 | Episode 21

Manga Reviews:  Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 |  Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22 | Chapter 23

This episode corresponds with chapters 22 and 23 of the manga~

Episode 21 - Sakura, the Mirror, and the Key of Memories

Episode Review: I’m glad that through the anime, we’re able to get all these extra details that weren’t covered in the manga, and once again, we’re getting answers to our burning questions lol. Now, the mystery behind Clow’s mansion has been addressed. So the events of the Sealed Card movie regarding the amusement park replacing Clow’s mansion did happen, but that has then been replaced with the current Shinomoto residence. I also liked that they added the little tidbits of including Yelan’s involvement too (was sad we didn’t get to see-see her, but there is hope). The SyaoSaku Flight scene at the end was just so lovely, and we had that really heart-felt moment with Syaoran’s inner thoughts too. 

With anime, sometimes certain things are sacrificed--be it art, story, and whatnot, but animation really brings life to those scenes. With CCS, watching and hearing words being said helps to give me a better understanding since spoken words have their own nuances to them. I don’t always read from the Japanese RAWs because my reading skills have deteriorated considerably (it’d take be forever to read and process it), so I appreciate hearing what’s being said because it just helps. It’s also nice to hear Kumai’s voicing of Syaoran, she’s so amazing~~~she makes Syaoran so amazing~~

The downside to this episode was that they didn’t give much else about Nadeshiko aside from what’s already mentioned in the manga. One change is that in the manga, it was a watch, but in the anime, they made it into a key. They call it “key of memories” in the title and I was hoping they would give more information about it, but I guess that will be saved for another time (or another season?). I’m wondering what kind of direction this will take since they changed the item---or perhaps it doesn’t make a difference?

Theories (major manga spoilers): Kaito & everything around him (BMS, Clear Cards, Alice in Clockland), Nadeshiko---a little messy on organization cuz everything is bleeding into each other.

1. Kaito & etc.: Nothing new, but I do want to summarize all the information that we’ve been presented with so far so I don’t have to go back and forth looking for things. So: Kaito was once part of the BMS, and a very high ranking magician who has the title of “D” which is a super big deal. A year prior, he was excommunicated because he “lost” an important relic. That in itself is the story that’s being told to outsiders, and from the Li Clan/Yelan’s sources, it’s not that Kaito has lost the relic, he took it with him. However, the BMS hasn’t taken any action to get it back from him for two reasons--one being that he’s too powerful, and two being that they feared Kaito would use the relic (and it’s considered taboo, be it the nature of the magic or the relic itself). The other thing is that Kaito needs these Clear Cards that Sakura has been making with her own powers in order to activate the magic of the relic. Also, we know from his conversations with Momo is that he wants to “stop time” for the Alice in Clockland book (but he doesn’t have enough power to do so), but I need to either check back on my previous theories to rewatch/reread because I thought he wanted things to progress (maybe he was referring to Sakura’s/Akiho’s dreams, I forgot ><). 

I once theorized (and it’s still in the back of my mind) that the dragon that Sakura sees in her dream is Kaito. In this episode, there was a symbol at the back of Kaito’s BMS robe that they kinda focused on (or I just REALLY noticed it this time) and I thought it looked like the pattern around the dragon’s head, but when I checked, it wasn’t THAT similar. I still think of the dragon from time to time though, so there’s still no confirmation of who/what it is, yet, so we’ll see~~ EDIT: OMGSH I just realized why it looked familiar... the symbol is the same shape as Nadeshiko’s key in the manga!!!!! The key in the anime doesn’t look as obviously similar, but there are SOME similarities (this will get it’s own theory section).

2. Nadeshiko: Alright, so Nadeshiko too had the ability to see things that couldn’t be seen, similar to Touya’s abilities. When this information was revealed to us, I had a theory that perhaps there’s something more to the Amamiya family, that they also have some kind of magical lineage. I’m wondering if the Amamiya family’s cursed or perhaps there’s something more to their lineage that affects those who have magical abilities because Nadeshiko died young, and I’m assuming this was probably the same for Nadeshiko’s mother, and grandmother (Masaki’s wife) too. I also just realized that her watch (in the anime it’s a key) has the same shape as the symbol on Kaito’s BMS robe, and it’s so funny that I just noticed it because I did also theorize that perhaps Masaki’s wife was a Shinomoto (and it’s not the Amamiya side of the family with magic). It would make sense as to why Masaki and his wife would bring back something for Nadeshiko that just happens to resemble the symbols on the BMS robe. I mean, it’s definitely not a coincidence that this key/watch (anime vs manga) was from England---even Syaoran’s getting red flag signals from it being mentioned---so it is very very very likely that there’s SOME connectiong between Nadeshiko or her grandmother to the BMS. 

Soo.... just one more episode left and I’m very curious as to how they will wrap this season up with that crazy ending we got in the recent manga chapter... lol.

[sophiainspace]

Legends Liveblogging: 3x10 ‘Daddy Darhkest’

(Darhk: the name we all Google enough that it’s permanently in our histories.)

Comedy MVP this episode: Leo Snart.

tl;dr: 1. This is basically just me squeeing about queer stuff over and over, interspersed with mostly managing not to rant about ableism. (This dilemma is my life now, thanks CW I love you too.) 2. CONSTANTINE. 3. SARA. 4. LEO SNART who was everything I wanted from him all season. 5. MICK. 6. RAY & ZARI. 7. GIDEON. (Oh just list all the characters in caps - you get the idea.)

- Oh look, it’s The Exorcist. (Summary of the episode, basically.) - Eeeeee the titles have Constantine’s symbol in there I’M EXCITED - tl;dr first post-credits scene: Constantine flirts with everything on the Waverider that moves. Watch out, Gideon, you’re next. - Ah, the eternally humble one. Who tf calls themselves an “accomplished warlock” I mean seriously. - "Skinny Brit in a trench coat. Same thing.” Mick getting John mixed up with Rip: good. John flirting with Leo: good. Leo ‘I’m so into my boyfriend I won’t even flirt’ Snart: good. Mick pissed that anyone is flirting with an L. Snart: good. - Ray and Zari: the brotp I would defend with my life. Please make entire episodes of them hanging out and coding and inventing together <3 - Ray: having a very autistic day. Oh god Ray stop with that expression of total devastation I just want to hug you :( “I miss them too”... Zari pls hug him. - I’m skipping over Constantine calling it the “looney bin” yes I am yes I am - He should not be smoking on that ship. They don’t let Mick burn anything.  - “It’s Agent Sharpe. Or should I call her Ava?” Gideon! I can’t decide if the ship ships it, or if she just likes messing with Sara. - Ava. Sara. You are now incapable of looking at each other without it being obvious that you want to tear each other’s clothes off JUST SCREW ALREADY.  - Ableist Arrowverse bingo: hitting all the squares. (I play to keep me honest) - “How do I use it?” “You pull the trigger.” PETITION TO KEEP LEO FOREVER - Things that are important to Constantine: sex. smoking. demons. He does like to keep telling us. - “She’s preparing an incantation.” “Maybe we should stop her!” Leo Snart, the only one with any sense on this boat. No wonder he couldn’t stay. - “That explains the peace and quiet.” Mick = angel. Please run the ship forever. Love how no one gets a real name except Amaya. “Fake Snart” heh.  - OK now I have atomwave feels. Is there not enough canon gay stuff going on round here that I have to headcanon more? - Actually, never mind, there’s never too much gay stuff on Legends.  - Zari: the only one who remembers what a computer is for. It’s in character. - Gideon sounds more gleeful every week about the latest trouble they’re in. (“How the fuck are you meatheads getting out of this? Good luck suckers!”)  - Wow, some continuity and Sara acknowledging her trauma. Took a white man, but the writers finally let her go there! “I don’t deserve forgiveness.” Oh Sara.  - “Are we really this damaged?” “I certainly hope so.” These two are too good for each other. The world wouldn’t survive if they did more than just hook up. - Hah - calling CC Jitters a “franchise”. Clearly we’re out of money for sets.  - Zari’s mildly annoyed at Ray’s casual ableism. I approve. Def starting to believe she might actually have been in a psych hospital. Disability subject positionality formed through experience --> snarky protest snacking. - “Oh please, I was seducing you.” Oh just have sex again you muppets.  - “You guys know this is a state, too, right?” marry me Zari  - Kuasa is badass and Amaya trying to save her = good, but - Amaya and Zari don’t have a destiny?!? And hints at... other endgames... Don’t take the totem girlfriends away from me, not during the queerest of queer Legends eps sob - WE FORGOT OUR COMMUNICATION DEVICES, BUT APPARENTLY WE REMEMBERED TO BRING THE ASH OF A SLAIN PHOENIX TO 1969 - “Are we leaving? Are we leaving now? Are we back?” Leo you’re weird - Nora: going back to Darhk despite the purest-hearted of the Legends trying to pull her to the light side. Me: aww no don’t hurt my babies Ray and Zari - “Well this has been weird. Even for me.” Welcome to Hotel Waverider, John. You can never leave. - I keep noticing how many women are just existing on the WR rn and loving it. - “If you ever need me to help you with Mallus again, just give us a call…” SHE CAN KILL YOU IN 1200 DIFFERENT WAYS JOHN WHAT ARE YOU DOING - ...Or she could just do that. “Shag”! Sara, I love you! - “Gideon, sweetheart.” I called it. (And the smoking on board.)  - OH NO THE COLDWAVE. “Snart - uh, Leo. See you around.” *ugly sobbing* I simultaneously adore the writers and hate them from the depths of my being. - He’s asking Ray to marry him asdflkjgf. (”My Ray, not your Ray” lol) Still, Earth X. I fear the Waverider has made Leo over-optimistic. Give it 50 years or so. - Gideon! Yep, the ship ships them. “Cheeky bot.” Heh.  - …So how does Sara go from having so much game with John, to THIS. (I know, it’s because she actually cares, but Sara.) And, oh dear, actual plot stopped them from getting it on. Again. This had better not go on all season. - OK that was a lot of queer even for me, and that’s a high bar. This bisexual disaster is going to have a little lie down now.

[findmyrupertfriend]

I Watch Homeland So You Don’t Have To - Season 7 Episode 2 Rebel Rebel

In case you didn’t catch last week’s post, here it is.

I didn’t watch live this week, because I went to see Black Panther with my family instead. (Totally the right move, cause HOLY SHIT IT WAS AWESOME...unlike Homeland. Maybe I should create a blog for Chadwick Boseman...I digress!)

Are you ready? Deep breaths...

Quinn Count

Name Mentioned: 9 times

While his name itself was not actually spoken, Quinn was mentioned...nine times, to be exact. 

First was in the title sequence:

Keane: He saved our lives?

Carrie: Yes.

Keane: What was his name?

Carrie meets with a psychiatrist during this episode, and this is when the psychiatrist says she spoke to Maggie about Carrie.

“[Maggie] said you lost someone, that a friend of yours - maybe your best friend - died violently in front of your eyes.”

“Yeah. You know what? He would have understood what I’m doing. He never let me down, ever. He would be right here with me now. He would have gotten it.”

“I mean, I swore an oath, just like my friend did, to do something to the best of my ability...”

Friend. Friend. Friend Friend Friend. Quinn was the very best friend you could have ever had, Carrie. But more importantly, he loved you as more than a friend. He gave his life for you. One thing you did get right: He never let you down, ever. 

Sighting: 2 times

The title sequence showed Quinn in two different, very short and quick scenes. The first was a close up of his face only. I couldn’t place the season or episode, so if you figure it out - let me know!

The second was from Season 3 Episode 2 Uh...Oh...Ah... when Quinn comes to Carrie’s hearing at the mental hospital.  

Voice: 2 times

Quinn’s actual voice is heard twice in the title sequence. 

“Is there no fucking line?” - Season 4 Episode 5 About a Boy

“Just think of me as a light on the headlands, a beacon, steering you clear of the rocks.” - Season 5 Episode 12 A False Glimmer

Fuck them for using the letter from A False Glimmer. Just fuck them for that. And here’s something else:  IT’S “HEADLANDS” NOT “HEAVENS” AND “ROCKS” NOT “WRONGS” CC PEOPLE. WHAT THE FUCK? Someone help me, cause it’s 3:02 am my time, and I’m losing my mind. 

A few more things:

Franny to Carrie:  “You always disagree.”

I love how Dante hangs up on Carrie when she calls him and demands his help, like he didn’t just throw her to the ground recently. 

O’Keefe is a fucking poser who can’t shoot a fucking gun to save his own fucking pathetic life.

It was strangely satisfying to see Carrie beat the shit out of that 4chan scumbag. 

One last thought:

Dante reminds me of the college frat boy who leans over at a party and whispers in your ear, “Wanna come upstairs with me?” Your stomach lurches because you just don’t trust him...

[starlightgakuen]

Hal’s Winter 2018 final ranking

Yuru Camp - Starting out as a fairly generic SoL, this ended up a high flying healing SoL with fantastic characters and enjoyable circumstances. Here’s to a potential season 2. 9/10 

Sora yori mo Tooi Basho - What a series this turned out to be. Picking it up on a whim, I would have never expected this to end up a contender for AOTS. If you are looking for a good anime about realistic expectations about friendships, along with some decent SoL drama goodness, along with that added sense of adventure, this is about as good as it gets. Even recommended for those that don’t usually watch SoLs. 9/10

3 Gatsu no Lion 2 - The series kinda lost steam after the amazing Hina bullying arc (and 3 week hiatus), but it maintains its status as a top draw watch this season. Unfortunately, I find myself looking forward to the Kawamoto sisters appearing than most of the other side characters (I also haven’t seen his stepsister appear in a long while). That said, there isn’t a single bad character in the series, and even the most minor of characters have some level of development (sometimes even a little too much development for one off characters). 8/10

Karakai Jouzu no Takagi san - Takahashi Rie’s amazing work as Takagi singlehandedly makes this better than average. Otherwise, it’s just a fairly decently cute series in which a girl teases a guy she likes. Not spectacular, but solid enough. 7/10

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card hen - Addressing the elephant in the room, I’m a massive fan of the original CCS. I loved the characters, the plot, the twists and all the cards. Now, news of the reboot made me happier than I had ever known. Problem is, it is a literal reboot. While the characters are still great, and the old VAs reprised their roles, the plot is a literal rehash of the original series. There’s a scene in the aquarium when Sakura/Kero/Tomoyo themselves mentioned that it was exactly like it was in the original Watery card capture, and that was exactly what it was. The week after, they had an alternate retelling of the Sleep/Maze cards with the Snooze/Labyrinth cards. Considering how the original series was good for its innovation, this reboot kinda tramples over those feelings of them. Oh well, at least the characters are still great. 7/10

Violet Evergarden - If ever there was such thing as an anime that had the worst possible first few episodes, before rising from the ashes, this would be it. It had an awful start, with some incredibly meh 4-5 episodes, with the watcher having no real connection with any of the recurring characters. In fact, the instance in which it got better was when they started having episodic events that got Violet more involved in the world and had interesting character development. It’s not the masterpiece it hopes to be, but it’s much better than it’s initial few episodes portray it as. Plus, the art is some of the most fantastic in an episodic series I have ever seen. Overall, a decent watch that killed itself over its own self-set overly ambitious bar. 6.5/10

Slow Start - It started out as a fairly typical moeblob SoL, only for the fan servicey yuri to slowly take over the series. Not that it’s bad, mind you, just a little forced at times. It’s better than recent season smiliar styled SoLs like Hinako Note, Anne Happy and perhaps on par with Stella no Mahou, but was never going to be memorable. 6.5/10

Ramen Daisuki Koizumi san - Pretty much Dagashi Kashi with ramen, it’s actually a decently interesting watch, if one is interested in ramen. It does help that Koizumi is a pretty cute deadpan character. Yea, the lead is an annoying stalker, but the rest of the characters (and the ramen) help save the series. 6/10

Hugtto Precure - Reverting back to its roots, the starting has been pretty decent, reminding me of Suite and Yes Precure 5. Let’s hope it keeps going and bringing the precure series back to the good ol’ days. 6/10

Aikatsu Stars - I love the characters, I really do. Not as much as I do the Starlight Gakuen team (hence my handle name), but the likes of Mahiru, Ako and Kirara are easily among my top 10 Aikatsu characters. That said, the plot of the entire series has been all over the place. They tried to add romance and drama to season 1, with it disappearing in it entirety by season 2. Then, they gave Yume an easy end season 1 ticket to the top, thereby removing any possible further development in season 2. Speaking of season 2, the Venus Ark arc started out as an improvement from DreAca in the original, but screwed itself badly with its nonsensical plot. Even the characters have been on autopilot, with next to no development, even by the final few episodes. I hope Aikatsu Friends saves the series, and brings it back to its glory days. 6/10

Takunomi - Dagashi Kashi with... alcohol? It’s a weird combo, considering it’s hardly an anime targeted at adults, but here we are. Decent, but hardly memorable. 6/10

Dagashi Kashi 2 - Kinda strange that the actual Dagashi Kashi is ranked lower than all its counterparts this season. Honestly, the series kinda stopped being as interesting after Hotaru took a back seat mid season. Yet another series that is so reliant on how good a VA is, Taketatsu Ayana’s work just brought so much life to the series as a whole, her disappearance kinda brought it down to mediocrity. Hajime just wasn’t an interesting character at all, and a poor replacement. 6/10

Mitsuboshi Colors - The SoL that tries too hard to be funny, with characters that are less than endearing, which is a key aspect for such a SoL. The Colors crew end up just being a group of annoying brats that you just avoid so you don’t end up as a pissy adult. Ultimately, it has it’s moments, but too many just focus on kids being a pain. 6/10

Emiya san Chi no Kyou no Gohan - Cute FSN timeline SoL. A pure fan service series to make hardcore fans happy. Others, like me, just watch t for the cute girls. 6/10

Mahoutsukai no Yome - In what is the biggest’s disappointment in forever, it does not fulfill its early promise, with it trying too hard to fall into multiple genres, including fantasy, romance, slice of life, seinen, drama, action etc, but essentially being a master of none, causing it to be the most boring watch of the past 2 seasons. In the end, Chise never really developed into the badass female protag that she was supposed to be, and the plot never resolves itself. 5/10

Fate/Extra Last Encore - Was there anything that could have been more boring and all over the place than Apocrypha in the Nasuverse? Well, there’s this abomination. Other than a obvious cash cow trying to milk UMU Saber (cow and milk were not referring to her boobs ether), this is the worst Fate/Anything that anime has to offer. Skip it, you’ll thank me for this. Let’s hope Shaft sticks to a series a season next time. 3.5/10

Girls of the season:

Shima Rin (Yuru Camp)

Miyake Hinata (Sora yori mo Tooi Basho)

Daidoji Tomoyo (CCS)

Takagi-san (Karakai Jouzu no Takagi san)

Tokura Eiko (Slow Start)