#she's like me she will absolutely love S2 ep 1-3

[izzysillyhandsy]

Rewatching OFMD (again) with a friend who's never even heard of the show is an eye-opening experience.

At S1 episode 4 she said something like: "I think Edward offloads all the heavy stuff onto Izzy - he wants to be liked and admired and Izzy has to keep everyone and everything in line. And everyone including Ed hates him for it? No wonder he seems exhausted."

She was really upset by how little respect Izzy got from everyone around him and "how badly the crew treated Izzy" in Ep 5.

We're at episode 6 now and she's horrified - "The uszh meant that Izzy would've had to kill all the people on this ship, didn't it? Probably even including Stede?"

Sometimes, with all the discourse about who's to blame and why is it Izzy, I forgot how tough Izzy's deal was as Blackbeard's first mate.

Of course he gladly put up with it for Ed and their special bond (and she also saw that immediately), but as soon as Stede waltzed in and it all fell apart poor Iz was in hell...

And yeah, of course it's more complex than that (I can't wait for us to get to the last 2 episodes and S2), and this is obviously not a remotely new or original take.

It's just so nice to see my friend discovering my favourite character (and character dynamics, namely Ed and Izzy) and immediately latching onto him/them ❤

[three--rings]

So it turns out there were a lot of things from S2 I was waiting to pass judgement on until I saw how they played out and...I ended up not thrilled about. And it's all these little things that keep bothering me.

Things I'm not happy with in OFMD S2:

-Jim and Olu feel retconned into not being in love. Like I know we want to talk about happy polycule but it feels like they aren't even very close this season? They were even more of a secondary ship than Lucius and Pete in S1 but we got essentially no good Jim/Olu stuff in S2. Instead we got the Olu/Zheng Yi Sao romance which on paper sounds good, but lacked chemistry. Especially from Olu's side. I feel like they kept repeating that "break in your day" thing cause they didn't have anything else. IDK weird weird decisions were made. I don't mind the Jim/Archie stuff at all but that was also not given any real romance time. They kissed and then I guess that was that?

-While on the subject of Zhang Yi Sao...why was she there? Like, don't get me wrong, I love her character and her inclusion in the show, but while the build-up in the first few episodes was great, then...they did basically nothing with her. Her entire plan was foiled by a moron in a split second and then..IDK she's now just riding on the Revenge and not even in charge? She's come way down in the world and I don't like it.

-Izzy dying. I don't mind the death scene itself, (though i wanted Izzy's friends on the crew more involved) but I think having him die shifts the genre and is disappointing in a way that feels unlike this show. more to be said obviously but not in this post.

-Speaking of that scene I grow more and more annoyed with Izzy saying "they love you, Ed." Not because it's not a great sentiment that would be narratively meaningful, but because it's NOT DEMONSTRABLY TRUE. Who loves Ed on that crew? Maybe Fang? There was absolutely no moments between Ed and crew after ep 3. They tolerate him for Stede's sake is all I can say. They love Stede. They love Izzy. And then Ed just leaves them and they are probably relieved.

-the way the central problem the whole season with Ed and Stede was communication but they never actually do anything about that, just declare victory.

-the way there was no climax or resolution with any antagonist in the last episode, they just barely escape, swear revenge like they're gonna head into battle, and then retire. Which makes ZERO sense and it bothers me SO MUCH.

-The lack of Stede and Ed costuming. IDK if it's because I've been writing a fic for a year centered around the clothing but like the show feels incomplete if they're not getting to dress up. I was looking forward to Ed wearing more than his leathers and we got a rice sack. This is entirely a personal gripe and not important but, yeah.

-Zero focus on the crew and no new info about any of them. I was really, really looking forward to getting more backstory, more personal info on characters like Roach, Frenchie, Wee John, but no.

And yanno, the thing is that I'm not unhappy with what S2 GAVE us. I like most of it. I love eps 1-6. Though 6 is showing the pacing issues badly. But what I miss is what we DIDN'T get. None of the stuff on screen was bad per se or couldn't have fit into a very excellent, cohesive season of TV. But I feel like all the connective tissue, all the thematic resolution, all the stuff that would have made it shine was missing.

Like they had a bunch of notecards of great scenes and filmed them but forgot to write the parts to connect them in a meaningful way? IDK this season feels a little like a first draft?

Not eps 1-3 though. I feel like they were perfect, and then they ran out of time/energy to polish the rest. (4-5 were also great, but they could have fit in with the rest better ultimately.)

I feel like people who are happy with this season are like 'we got this moment and this scene!' and that's great and cool and I also love that moment but I'm still left unsatisfied by the whole, yanno. Sigh.

[sixstepsaway]

i've had some thoughts bouncing around for a while about ofmd s2, and in light of the news, i'm going to brain dump some of them. if you don't feel like listening to me complain about HBO and would rather just go cry about OFMD not getting season 3, that's chill, go ahead, no hard feelings

so.

season 1 was absolutely the definition of lightning in a bottle. it had great acting, great writing, gorgeous set and costume design, it was great, and not only that but it was unabashedly queer

jim had a whole episode dedicated to "actually i'm not a woman i'm just jim" and then everyone - even the bad guys, even the antagonists, even their nun nana, everyone - referred to them as they/them after that, no questions asked

the main character went through an arc that was basically figuring out his sexuality and going "oh shit, i love a man" on a show that was not directly advertised as "OUR QUEER MEANS DEATH" like a, y'know, Queer Show would be

and stede and ed's romance felt like it was important. It felt like the pirates of it all was mostly incidental, background, filler, just fun to pad out the situation and give them things to be challenged by (the badmintons!) while also being fun on its own. it's the kind of show where if you pulled all the characters out and slapped them into a whole other situation like space agents or time travellers or everyone lives together in a loft runs a bakery... it'd still work. sure, the badmintons would be less murderous and run a competing bakery or something, but it'd still work, because the focus was on the characters, and on the romance between stede and ed

the first three episodes of season 3 felt that way too. the love between stede and ed was paramount and if you swapped to a mafia au or a bakery au it'd still work (with some gentle adjustments for ed's Behavior™ to be fair)

but.

season 1, they kept saying it was a rom com, and it felt like one. it was just a rom com that was set at sea! how fun!

now, rom coms have tropes. they have genre-specific things that you kind of expect from, well, a rom com. you expect mess. you expect things like ed fucking off with jack because he doesn't feel good enough

(i've recently been rewatching new girl and although some of the humor makes me cringe, it's still a great show, and one of the main things about it is that everyone is messy. no matter how much schmitt loves cece, he's going to make mistakes. no matter how obviously nick and jess are going to end up together and belong together, they're going to sleep with the wrong people, make mistakes, break up etc. it's as much a rom com as ofmd.

one of the things that makes new girl so good and makes me love the main couples so much is how hard they work to be together, how they fight adversity and the mess of their own flaws and toxicity and still get together because they love each other most, in the end)

i remember in s1 thinking how if stede had been a woman, jack would have been too, and ed would've had at least one romantic/sexual scene with jack when he ran away with him

but i also remember thinking, "yeah, but the show hadn't explicitly done the his name is ed reveal and the kiss on the beach yet, and the reveal hits so hard, it makes sense not to do that earlier", and tbh i stand by that

which brings me to s2, after the first three eps, where they tried to go back to rom com and it just felt... forced.

rom coms usually have adversity. they have other characters that directly and truly threaten the main pairing by being interesting to those characters! no matter how you feel about izzy, he was framed as a love interest or as an ex that was still complicated, but the show very much tiptoed around that

does "i have love for you" and "i loved you best i could" make sense for the characters? yeah.

do i feel like if ed was a woman, she and izzy would've had a messy rebound relationship for stede to have to contend with, for the two of them to come out the other side of wanting each other from? yeah.

ofmd s1 felt unabashedly queer. s2 felt like they didn't want to be too gay.

they put olu with a Woman™, they put jim with a woman almost like it was less queer and more acceptable this way than queering olu, they completely waved off olu and jim's relationship and dropped any concept of polyamory because that would've made it even queerer, not less queer

(i'm using queer here as a definition more of breaking boundaries and being outside of the norm to the extent it makes cishets deeply uncomfortable and the queer in question aren't conforming to society's standards. and this reading of s2 (and s1) is entirely subjective, it's just what's been bubbling here for me)

pete and lucius went from "we don't own each other" to marriage, with no footnotes of what marriage meant to them specifically, whether they were, in fact, conforming with the 'norm' of marriage (exclusivity, labels, definitions etc) or whether they were still chill about these things or whether this now meant no more penis drawings

the queerest episode was probably the party episode (which was so good), but even that was especially queer because some cast members fought to make it so (con wanting izzy's drag to be beautiful not funny has HAUNTED ME, because that means it was originally supposed to be played for laughs!!) not because it was that way naturally

the fact i read somewhere that the party and the drag was originally lupete's wedding makes so much more sense to me because yeah, they WOULD have a wedding like that, but instead they got a lame final episode wedding because it would have been way too queer to do it at calypso's birthday with drag and queer joy everywhere

it also would have been more realistic to the lucius and pete we got in season 1.

there were a lot of things in season 2 that felt... weird. we've talked about it. we have all talked about it.

the final episode, even outside of the thing i hated most, was just horribly written imo. there's big sweeping gestures and no kind of real emotional pay off for the main relationships (lupete included), and everything got tied with a neat little bow at the end

i remember when we were told s2 was 8 episodes and how much the budget had been chopped thinking, "ha, we're so not getting a season 3"

i remember when i realized how weirdly rewritten most of season 2 had been thinking, "yeah, there's not going to be a season 3"

i remember when bitching about ed's arc being totally truncated and handwaved thinking, "mm, we're not getting a season 3"

and i remember when the Revenge sailed off into the sunset with everyone but ed and stede on board thinking, "oh yeah, we're done."

just enough was left open that a season 3 could happen.

just enough was left open that if a miracle happened, there'd be something to do with season 3.

but i genuinely, 100%, hand on my heart, think djenks knew he wasn't getting a season 3

and don't get me wrong, i'm not absolving him of the poor writing choices he made in season 2, but i am saying it makes a lot more sense if you think of it from the perspective of corporate meddling and having everything taken away while he was actively trying to make season 2

we already know HBO cut the budget a ridiculous amount so they just had to make everything work with what they had. we already know HBO cut the episode number.

season 2 plays out like they prepped a good chunk of it, ready for 10 episodes, and then HBO cut the budget and cut the episodes

and so things had to be changed and chopped about. ed's arc got lots of screen time and focus for three episodes (before the cuts) and then things got quicker, and fast

characters were cut for time and for budget reasons.

and then i think towards the end of production and the end of writing, djenks learned the odds of season 3 were minimal at best, and he panicked

i think the original plan was probably for ed's arc to go for the majority of season 2. maybe a middle piece where he and stede tried but it still wasn't Right (last night was a mistake) because ed had so much to work on and so much to heal

i genuinely wonder if the finale was completely rewritten at the last minute because to me it makes way, way more sense from a narrative standpoint for things to have been more staggered out. let's consider ten episodes instead of 8:

episodes 1-5: same as they were when aired, including the gravy basket giving us set-up for what ed's dealing with internally, giving us something to latch onto and prepare for his redemption. NO KISS AT THE END OF EPISODE 5. episode 6: ed is still wearing the bell. he's sort of done his amends with lucius, but now he needs to do amends with the rest of the ship. stede is still learning his piratey ways, so there's hijinks in the background. jim and archie and olu try to decide what their relationship is after the garlic and all, and debate room arrangements. lucius and pete announce their engagement. stede and ed nearly kiss. episode 7: more ed redemption arc. he's still working at things, he's shying away from violence because violence is what took him down this dark path to begin with. maybe we get some discussion of his father. stede, blind to ed's flaws, insists he's nothing like his father! ed tries to make amends with izzy but somehow this is the hardest of all because he hurt him the most of all. izzy gets chance to apologize for what he now sees as his part in pushing ed down into the darkness (trying to drag blackbeard back) and izzy's apology makes ed feel worse somehow and gives him some absolution when he finally figures out how to return his own. ed kisses stede but says he wants to take it slow. episode 8: wedding episode!! calypso's birthday!! ed uses his loot to bankroll lupete's wedding. stede reacts with violence to ned and we know from everything before that ed is actively trying to distance himself from the violence of piracy because, yeah, of course he is. is it a good idea? nope. does it make sense to his character for him to still be putting a good chunk of the blame on piracy for his actions, rather than accepting the parts of his whole and learning how to regulate those parts healthily? yes. anyway, stede reacts to his own violence by clutching for ed, ed feels after like his boundaries were pushed. same as show. episode 9: ed is having a meltdown. he and izzy have started to heal, so izzy watching him stare at fishing boats and just chatting to him like nothing happened actually makes a lick of sense. lupete are on their honeymoon at jackie's. olu gets to hook back up with zheng and archie and jim want to go along because they're not super happy on the ship still because although ed is doing better, the past of what he does still hangs over everyone. olu, zheng, jim and archie do not discuss the poly of it all properly, and it's hilarious and a mess, and gives us something to look forward to handling in season 3. ed freaks out about stede being violent when he's the one thing he felt like wasn't violent (and thus safe for him to be with), and about taking it not at all slow, breaks things off and runs away. izzy gets stede to come back to the ship. stede gets into a fight with zheng, the bombs go off, whatever (not a fan of this for her sake but if it has to happen, it can happen) episode 10: ed is off fishing but it's not going well and he's pissing pop-pop off all the time because he's not good at fishing. stede and co are handling the ricky of it all. the episode is mostly the same at the start, but instead of ed immediately going "omg, i gotta save bae" he doesn't find out about the attack until right at the end of the episode. stede and co make it back to the revenge and escape safely, and when ed retrieves his leathers and returns he thinks they're dead! he threatens/tortures/whatever some english and they say no, stede escaped! they all escaped! the season ends with ed, all decked out in his leathers, with his sword, now in the position stede was last season: staring out over the water, planning to find the man he loves.

this sets season 3 up for ed to be on his own for a little while, for him to handle and figure out how to channel his violence into something 'good' (wanting to find his love, wanting to protect his crew etc).

maybe season 3 flashes back to baby!ed again and the fact his first act of violence against his father wasn't motivated by anger or spite, it was motivated by wanting to protect someone he loved: his mum.

then season 3 they find each other again, and maybe they meet in the moonlight for the parallel to hit even better, they finally get back together properly, for good, with maybe some comedic issues along the way, and ed finds his place in the world to be less "blackbeard, the terror of the seas" and more "ed protects those he loves."

i honestly think this is probably how the show was originally meant to go, or at least something close.

i think midway through season 2, djenks heard it was over and he (rightfully) panicked and threw together a finale that tied up as many loose ends as he could because he knew.

and i dont think there's anything that could've been done about it. i think it was dead in the water (no pun intended) the moment all the MAX/HBO/whatever reshuffles happened, I think it was too queer and I genuinely think executive meddling made a lot of the more queer elements go away, possibly right down to trying to wipe away the exes/love interests of it all with that whole father figure thing

and, again, i'm not absolving djenks of some of his more baffling writing decisions. he's a grown man and he makes his own choices. but i am saying i think it explains a LOT about why the finale we got is what we got, and i'm not sorry stede and ed ended the show together rather than apart or with their lives hanging in the balance or something

anyway these are just a bunch of thoughts i've been having, tied together by the cancellation.

[thetarttfuldickhead]

As big an OT3 shipper as I am, I have to admit that both Roy and especially Keeley both would have a bit of a way to go based on how they end the series in order to be fully happy in the OT3. Jamie on the other hand I'm fairly sure has been up for it since s1 ep 1, and up for it without thinking it would be mostly hate sex from Roy since about S2 ep 6.

Hiya, nonny!

Keeley, I think, absolutely need some time alone. Some time voluntarily alone, I should say,

because she was single there for a bit in season 3, but she sure as hell wasn’t happy about it. While there are issues she need to adress in order to function well long-term in a relationship  (I am still rather upset that Roy is the one to apologise in 2x07, for instance), I also believe she just needs to be on her own for a bit; focus on herself, find out who she is outside of her romantic and/or sexual relationships, decide what she wants the balance between her career and her love life to look like… all that. Interestingly, and for all that she’s emotionally competent, I think that Keeley’s the one of them furthest from actually facing her issues face on. She needs to sit with herself for a bit, come to terms with the fact that there’s things she need to work on, and things she need to figure out… (Also, for her own sake, she needs to give Jamie and Roy time to figure out how the two of them can resolve their conflicts without turning her into a mediator; but the risk of that was arguably bigger earlier on.)

Roy now… Once he understands and accepts wanting to be in a relationship with Jamie, I think he would be very happy to be in the OT3 – but that’s when it gets dicey, isn’t it; when he starts to think he’s too happy? Because then he starts to question whether it can last, whether he deserves it, whether his partners will put up with him, and why should they, when he’s suck a fucking useless twat whom they’d be much better off without? Our Roy boy certainly has some way to go yet – but he’s brave and stubborn and has already taken the first step into Dr. Sharon’s office, so I’m confident he’ll get there. (There might be some macho jealousy bullshit for him and Jamie to sort out, too… and they might get so caught up in that they initially completely miss the fact that Keeley gets jealous, too, and feels left out sometimes, just because Jamie and Roy’s thing have grown so intense over the past year when Keeley was busy with other stuff. Then there’s the whole coach/player deal which I think Jamie is very happy to disregard and Roy… might not be so much, especially not when he’s new to the manager gig. And as much as Jamie might get off on Roy being rough with him, and as much as he understands Roy in general, I think Jamie needs Roy to be a bit more expressive with his affection down the road, or Jamie will start to feel insecure and… Well. Jamie doesn’t deal well with feeling insecure.)

And as for Jamie, I agree that Jamie would have been down for a threesome right from the get-go, but I think it’s fair to say that he would not, at that time, have been able to handle a proper triad relationship. The sex? Absolutely. The rest of it… Eh. Our darling prick had a lot of growing up to do, and while you certainly can do the growing while in a relationship, I think that as hot as the hate sex would have been (to Jamie and to me!), it would have been too volatile to last -- even given the fact that Jamie would probably soften a bit with Roy when given the attention (and reluctant admiration) he wants, which would in turn have Roy soften on Jamie a bit. (That said, I adore fic that explore them getting together early, when things are still very tense between Roy and Jamie, because them trying to navigate that is just messy and delightful.)

But Jamie’s spent the last year and a half reflecting and working on his issues, and he’s also been single for that whole time (as far as we know). He is, I should argue, very ready for a relationship; but he’s not gasping for one, desperate to be with someone just to not be alone. That’s a very good place to start from, so yeah, I certainly agree that out of the three Jamie is the one best emotionally equipped for the OT3 to commence at the end of S3. Which isn’t to say that Jamie doesn’t still have issues and work to do. Roy may have been first to escalate the argument in 3x12, but Jamie went right there with him, and Jamie also has shown a tendency to overcorrect when trying to adjust his behaviour, which may well cause some hiccups down the road. Additionally, while Jamie is often very open and forthright and expressive, he also has a habit of lying when he’d rather not delve into his real feelings or reasoning. That’s going to take some dealing with.

All in all, it’s likely to be a bumpier ride than we sometimes allow for – but to me that’s a feature, and not a bug! I like my ships messy – and at the end of the day, Ted Lasso was never about achieving perfection, but about trying, and trying again. And because – I think – of how much these characters love each other and how well they complement each other, they will keep on trying, stubbornly climbing back to their feet each time they fall down, doing better for themselves and for each other, offering support and encouragment and forgiveness – again and again, as they keep moving toward better; together, and so much happier for it.

[polygonal-trees]

EarthSpark Season 2 Part 1 Episode 3 reactions!

yesss Hashtag episode

nice to see what the Autobots are doing! reclaiming the GHOST base makes sense to me

altmodes in ES are interesting, they don't seem to mean the same thing to every bot so there's a lot to explore but they're clearly tied closely to identity

omg Twitch calm down

OH SHIT ARACHNAMECHS?

and the animation continues to decline :')

is it just me or does Twitch sound different?

aw Jawbreaker honey

I've missed the arachnamechs ngl they are so silly

I get the criticism that Hashtag is far too accepting of a presence in her systems after everything that happened, but Val is different enough that I can let it slide for now - like she's very much working for Hashtag, not against her. also Val is not that smart lol

Shockwave 🥺

be nice to Jawbreaker >:C

they ABSOLUTELY should have wiped those hard drives first but eh I'm not too bothered, I'll believe Shockwave can restore deleted data

RAVAGE

ok Val is pretty cute

Hashtag how about learning to drive before you get a new altmode lol

nooo not Ravage hiding behind Shockwave 😭

Cybertronian pedicure

aww wholesome life advice

I just noticed Dot's raccoon phone case

I fucking love Dot Malto man

I'M GONNA CRY

I keep getting distracted by the background humans

nooo Hashtag don't be a douchy pickup truck

I wish my transition could be this easy goddamn

EYY SHOCKWAVE SAID THE THING

this show is so unserious /positive

I know it's just a budget thing but it does make me feel better that Shockwave's blasts don't even scratch the tarmac lol

HELL YEAH WELL DONE HASHTAG

I've seen criticisms that Hashtag won too easily but I can accept that Shockwave isn't as skilled a fighter as other Decepticons, I mean he is supposed to be a scientist. It doesn't exactly track with his fight against Megatron I guess but eh he was especially mad that time and even then he tried to ensure it was a one-on-one fight iirc. Also children winning despite the odds is just a thing in children's shows

I think this was my favourite S2 episode so far! I loved the message about choice and identity

I'm going to take a break now but hopefully I'll be able to watch a few more eps this evening

[yukipri]

The Bad Batch Ep S2 Ep 11 - Thoughts & Spoilers

Spoilers,

Spoilers,

Spoilers,

So everything's beneath the cut!

I know with the Mando S3 premiere, this episode may have gotten even less attention than the rest of the show. BUT this episode had some incredible things, so here are *some* of my thoughts.

FIRST:

HIM!!!!! and he was NAMED and had LINES!!!!

This is super exciting, because while we glimpsed Scorch in Season 1 while they were rescuing Gregor, I don't think he was mentioned anywhere by name, meaning it could have just been a random other RC with similar paint.

Delta Squad (from Legends) was technically canonized when they cameo'd in the Clone Wars, but it's so nice to see them again! It makes me pray that the other 3 members have escaped and are with Rex, because Scorch is *definitely* still super chipped....

Next, the MAIN thing I was super excited about:

So many things in this episode made me absolutely SCREAM, but the main one was probably FINALLY some movement on the connection between Nala Se and Omega. That's something I've been dying for more elaboration on since S1.

Omega is clearly a kid created for a specific reason, raised under specific circumstances, who has a unique bond with Nala Se, the primary creator of all clones. I was sure this would be part of the central storyline of TBB so I'm SO GLAD we're finally getting to it.

The thing is, Omega clearly has very complex feelings towards Nala Se, and Nala Se also considers Omega "special." SUPER curious to see where they go with this, especially since Nala Se seems to be reluctant to help the Empire. Understandable, given the destruction of Tipoca City, but she also never struck me as the sentimental type. I'm personally very wary of the "care" Nala Se seems to be showing Omega, and based on what we currently know, doubt that she means it sincerely—Omega (or her DNA) is likely valuable in some way.

Not sure how I'll react if they paint Nala Se as a sympathetic character, because I doubt I'll ever forgive her for what she did to Fives. Her treatment of Fives, which is also indicative of her treatment of all other clones. Her being kind(?) to Omega doesn't erase that.

I am absolutely confident that this lab and Nala Se/Omega is part of a plot that will connect to the experiments done to Grogu, which in turn will connect to Snoke + the return of Sidious in the ST. That's the running thread, to provide explanation/justification for that "twist."

While I think TBB is fun, THIS is what I personally was waiting for—Omega's true identity and why she's of value to Nala Se, how she therefore fits into the greater plan Nala Se had, and how that in turn affects not just Fett clones, but all the cloning that runs throughout SW.

I also LOVED that Omega showed her skills here—yes, she DOES know her way around Kaminoan tech!! The only time we've really seen it before is when Cad Bane kidnapped her + the S1 finale. She was Nala Se's personal MEDICAL ASSISTANT. She is older than the Batch! She KNOWS things!!

I was genuinely expecting (hoping) to learn more about Omega throughout the entire show, and we do see her being skilled + confident around various tools, but that's around it. I hope her past that she doesn't want to talk about is dragged out into the open in these last few eps.

I have a LOT of theories about Omega's past and her connection to the Batch and their origins (pst it's all in my fic), some of which will likely no longer be canon compliant, but ah well!

Other things that really made me happy:

-The Batch showing some growth due to the last episode, and growing a spine to stand up against Cid. Both pointing out that she didn't help them like they've helped her, and demanding a higher cut, though she did get the final say in the end. It was still a massive improvement!

-The ZILLO BEAST. First of all, it was definitely one of the coolest creatures in TCW, so it was super exciting to see it brought back! Its physiology is fascinating, and I loved how we got to see it visibly grow due to it feeding on electricity. This is actually the second creature we've encountered in TBB that seems to like electricity as an energy source, the first being in S1. It's neat to see this pattern, perhaps they're distantly related species?

I also LOVED that it tied into more experiments. I need to rewatch the eps, but i think it was implied in TCW that Palps was interested in the Zillo beast's armor, so I loved seeing that actually followed up on!

In general, I'm just a huge fan when world building plot points connect or are followed up on to build continuity and a greater view of the SW universe, and this episode definitely connected a bunch of points, so that was awesome!

Anyway, only 5 eps left of S2, excited to see where it goes!

[do-angels-dream-of-starry-seas]

@naranjapetrificada tagged me in a very fun game: write 8 predictions you have for the 8 eps of ofmd s2, then tag 8 people (sorry if you were already tagged by someone else if I do)

Spoilers under cut??? Maybe?????

1. I agree with Naran, as I think the crashed wedding is gonna be the first thing from s2. It will be such an introduction too, my god!

2. As a parallel with ep 1 and 2, I think Lucius will be revealed to be alive at the end of ep 1. And then ep 2 starts with his perspective, going through everything up until whatever present moment were on (maybe he knocks out and kidnaps Izzy or something lol)

3. Of course, ep 3 parallels, Stede and Ed will reunite at the end of the ep. And STEDE IS GONNA RESCUE ED

4. But now, I think by what we've seen so far, Anne Bonny and Spanish Jackie will show up during Stede's journey back to Ed. It would be funny if the reason Swede is there with Jackie is to throw her off, taking one for the team XD

5. That purple party though... must be related to Susan I think (and I think she's gonna be Ching Shih). But I am absolutely down for a Ed and Stede slow dance

6. As much as I want my "Stede and Ed deserted on an island bottle episode", I think what's gonna happen is Ed is "accidentally" swept overboard during a storm (we find out though he wasn't planning to fight out of his circumstances), and he has a little journey by himself. Hornigold ghost, maybe a pearl necklace swept up to shore? And hey, it could be a one-man play with Taika as a bottle episode still

7. But here now, I'm gonna upset people - I think one of the main supporting cast members is gonna die. Gonna be a real dramatic moment, an All Is Lost story beat. And I said it before, but I think it's gonna be Buttons - he's loyal to Stede and the crew, and would not hesitate to sacrifice himself if it came to it. I'm just suspecting, and I hope it isn't true, but the show has proven there's no plot armor

8. Omg Naran, I am taking your idea now of that cliffhanger. Because if Stede and Ed have a "our last night together" sex scene?????? I will combust, I swear. Even though I am still certain that a blackbonnet sex scene will not come until s3, I am hoping now for your theory to come true, because that would be the most emotional shit (and I mean, I am hoping for a slightly funny but more emotional love scene). I AM though, also certain there's gonna be a cliffhanger for the season. Hopefully not causing Stede and Ed to separate, it could just be like, them looking at the new danger (Lieutenant Maynard), then cut to black

Tagging @xoxoemynn @chocolatepot @jellybeanium124 @sherlockig @chuplayswithfire @artgirlfunkel @alabastermask @glamaphonic

[volumehypeplay]

A Nun, a bunch of zombies, a viking farmer, a psychological sleuth and a trio of ghost hunters walked into a bar...

There hasn't been much going on at our local cinemas lately, so I have been jumping between shows like it's a game of the floor is lava. My lack of focus, often allowed me to find some shows I've been looking forward too, some so-so movies and a great suprise.

↓

Prey for the Devil

This one is a film me and @the-loose-braies have been wanting to watch for a while; fully expecting shlock. And the shlock delivered (a bit more than we expected).

The film follows Sister Ann as she prepares to perform her first exorcism on a demonic entity. The jump scares were fun, the little twist at the end was a nice and it's always good to see Colin Salmon in a movie .

If your looking for a movie to put on while doing some work, this one pairs as well as crispy onions do to a hotdog, and a well chilled can of pepsi/coke.

↓

The Last of Us (ep 1-2)

GIF by diver5ion

The hype for this show has been a bit crazy in my opinion, especially with the early reviews crowning this as the greatest achievement in achievements. Realistically, The Last of Us, so far, has been decent?

I won't waste any time retelling the story of this extremely popular game, but what I'll say is, what's worked, has worked brilliantly, while the rest to me shows, the narrative of the game isn't as brilliant as it let's on.

I've absolutely loved both cold opens to both episodes (especially the one set in Indonesia), really elevating the existing material and adding extra depth and world building where it previously didnt exist. Craig Mazin (the man behind Chernobyl) clearly has a knack for making the extraordinary feel relatable, with his small changes and touches throughout the first two episodes really helping me get engrossed.

I also loved the city-escape scene from episode 1 (almost shot for shot from the game) and the introduction to the clickers. To me though the episodes standout was Olivia Anna Torv. In only two episodes she fully sold me on her character, why she was important and went out with a bang (with one of the weirdest kiss scenes I can remember... urgh).

I'll be keeping an eye out on this one and fully expect it to keep on improving week, on week.

↓

Vindland Saga - S2 (ep 1-3)

I've been waiting patiently for the second season of Vinland Saga for years. The first season, has become one of my favorite seasons of any show (or anime) and Askeladd is probably my favorite villain (??) period. With that in mind season 2 has had a lot to live up to, but thankfully, the first 3 episodes have been fantastic.

I was made aware of the drastic tone shift from the prologue (to what now actually is the start of the manga) for a very long time, but honestly the story just flows. There has been no wild disconnect for me from season 1 to 2, whatsoever; yet the shift in character makeup (especially for Thorfinn) has been engrossing. Seeing the rage filled, revenge driven boy be turned into a shell of his formerself, completely devoid of want for life has been really powerful.

---SPOILERS---

The scene where Throfinn steps in for Einnar (to spare his life) and receive cut after cut without moving a muscle. Only because he wanted Einnar to get back to work, told us everything we needed to know where Thorfinn is mentally at this time.

---END SPOILERS---

I really hope the show continues as well as it has started, because this really could end up becoming one of the best stories I've ever had the pleasure of watching. ↓

Poker Face (ep 1-2)

We all love a good mystery right? Poker Face (created by Rian Johnson of Knives Out fame) recently released as somewhat a modern homage to Columbo (a show my wife loves). If Poker Face could be half as good as Columbo we'd already be onto a winner and thankfully, two episodes in, it's already been a wild ride.

Led by the awesome Natasha Lyonne, we've already had: shootouts, murder, attempted murder, theories on theories, chases and the sexy Benjamin Bratt. What I've loved so far is how the show has chosen to essentially do a case per episode but also tie the episodes together by an overarching story (something I really hope continues).

Really looking forward to sitting down and taking in the next 2 episodes before the end of this week.

↓

Lockwood & Co (ep 1-3)

I'm so happy doomscrolling on Netflix at 11pm led us to this. Lockwood & Co is a throwback to my yesteryears when I used to watch a lot more of these 'teenage' british shows. It has a bit of Misfits, Being Human and even Ghostbusters thrown in for good measure.

Created by Joe Cornish (Attack the Block) and based on a book-series, we follow 3 ghost hunters in London, trying to figure out The Problem. It's the perfect blend of serious and whimsical, with a really easy to follow story that has enough mystery for you always wanting to know more. It's the characters though, from the reckless Lucy Carlisle, to the oddity that is George Karim and the mysterious Anthony Lockwood that really get you invested.

You know I'll probably be done with this by the end of the day and I cannot wait.

[enigmatist17]

I am losing my gorram mind with Judd and the 126th crew :')

I am currently S2 Ep 10:

Mateo I just want to hug him so much, and babe I love the Cap America pj's :)

I am super super proud of how far he's come, and I'm so happy that Cap gave him a place to stay <:)

Judd, baby doll, darlin', sweet thing I love you so much. The more they show of him and his life, the more he's been hardwired as my absolute favorite, southern charm and all <3

Marjan I love you you badass, like seriously she's amazing and I like how she's been as much of a rock for the team as they have been for her when she's needed their support <3

Paul is hilarious, and I always live for all the scenes he's in that always get me giggling :)

I also really liked when his family came, I think they handled the sister really well <3

TK is second favorite, I really connected with him in the first season and I love how much stronger he's been growing as the seasons have progressed. I feel so sad for him with the whole mother coming back arc (which btw she's a piece of shit), getting and dashing his hopes with the whole baby thing, but he kept strong and I am so proud of him. Also he and Reyes are so fucking cute I cannot every time I see them <3 <3 <3

Speaking of Carlos, he's sweetened up so quick <3 <3 <3

He kind of had a weak start, but once he started getting his foothold in, I think he's quite adorable! He's not Athena, which in a small way is kind of a nice change, but when Reyes comes in he comes in swinging :)

Also he and TK are so fucking cute I legit cannot AAAAAA

Cap Strand, my darling <3

I love him, not as much as Capt Nash because Nash is literally my child in 9-1-1, but I really like how honest he is. The way he smiles and tries his hardest to make sure his family goes home (at expense to himself too many times to count like jfc my guy p l e a s e stop doing that), and the way he's always so humble really is just too sweet <3

While I wish the writing wasn't as cringe with him (because it is really cringe at times mostly in S1), I think Strand is one of my favorite captains in just about any of the shows I watch :)

[theheightofdishonor]

i can't pick which hyperfixation to focus on so imma pivot in the opposite direction and just comment on all the dramas i've watched in the last couple months, both queer and not

2gether- Tropewise this should've been a home run but sarawat and tine just didn't vibe with me as a couple. If i was ranking it, it'd be like a 4/10. Basic, boring, those peep marshmallows with no depth of flavour.

Still 2gether- No plot but they had better chemistry this time. 6/10

3 will be free- 9/10, delightfully queer, I liked the side plots, i liked the main plot, point off only because Shin getting insecure and running off got repetitive.

A man who defies the world of bl 1+2- It was funny, i loved the parody aspect of it, probably would've liked it more if i had more than a cursory familiarity with yaoi as a genre. Liked s1 better than s2. 7/10

About Youth- It was fine? I liked it well enough while watching but it didn't stick out. Nothing you haven't seen before, rich/poor, popular/outcast etc. It had more of a queer vibe to it but i wish it lingered more, like old fashioned cupcake or itsay does. The love interest's best friend though, I loved. 5/10 because it's more interesting than 2gether and the chemistry was pretty good.

Bad Buddy: someone said that starting with this show was a bad idea because it would set the standards too high and they were absolutely correct. This show might as well be perfectly catered to me, it's got great chemistry, is fun to analyze, it's queer, it introduced me to Nanon, what's not to love. 12354678/10. Incomparable.

Be loved in house: I do - Office enemies-to-lovers. Very cute. Basic's only a crime if i didn't enjoy it and I did so 6/10.

Blacklist- The expectations I had for this show. Prim, Love, Ohm, Nanon, Khaotung, basically all my favourite gmmtv actors were in it and it sucked ass. I could've dealt with the growing ridiculousness of the school plot if the romances weren't the flattest, most cliche shit known to mankind. As it is, I didn't finish the show nor will I ever. Also watching this after Gifted is a special kind of hell because Nanon's playing the same character except written worse. -3/10.

Blueming -nothing special, I liked how the lead's family dynamics were portrayed. Like most kbls, too short for my liking. 5/10.

F4 Boys over Flowers. Believe it or not, this is the first version of boys over flowers i've watched. It meandered at times but was overall entertaining. I like useless bickering in my romances and Tu is charming as Gorya. Bright was pretty good too, I liked him better here than I did in 2gether. Milk's characters should've been in love with Gorya instead of Thyme though and the fact that she wasn't when they had so much chemistry is a crime. 8/10.

Business Proposal - As seems to be the trend with het kdramas, the beginning and end are both boring af, but the middle portions were pretty good. Both the romances were cute and I liked the chemistry between all the leads well enough. Also, i love a good running gag and it was funny watching everyone misunderstand the ceo and bodyguard's relationship. 7/10 because it's the first kdrama i actually watched til the end which just made the last ep that much more dissatisfying.

[tiodolma]

I've always thought the prophecy was about both striking a balance. Merlin was meant to keep Morgana in check and Morgana was meant to keep Merlin in check.

Me too. Even Alice Troughton in the dvd commentary with Colin Morgan for s4 admitted that love/hate were always coexisted with each other.

Morgana certainly had the power and the invincibility for it, to keep Merlin in check, to draw him out, to make him face his dark and human side, to make him face his wrongs his sins and his victories.

Unfortunately Morgana didn't have the information he had. Merlin had all the information and he used that against everyone. Moreover her magic matured too late (with respect to Merlin's).

I think the real tragedy of Merlin's life was that he was already conditioned to kill from the very start (ep 1x06 Remedy To Cure All Ills ironic title ngl). That episode alone started it all. He was so so new and naive to everything and in that episode he showed absolutely no remorse at "accidentally" killing someone who offered him guidance and knowledge (at the expense of gaius).

And look I get it, he panicked. But after that he never wondered why Edwin was so so righteously angry at Gaius. Remember, Gaius sold Edwin's parents out to Uther and let young Edwin escape. Edwin's gravitas was so justified, you know? Merlin never tried to learn about the things Gaius did to protect "others" and most importantly to protect himself and his position. Even if Gaius thought black magic was evil, he still threw others under the bus for fighting for their lives. He still left Edwin (and Merlin) an orphan.

How does this relate with Morgana? You see from that point on, from episode 1x06 up to "2x03 The Nightmare Begins" Merlin has already killed at least seven people, most of them magic users.

Edwin,

Mary Collins (indirectly but him thwarting her plan zapped her of all energy),

Aulfric,

Sophia,

The Black Knight (who had a reason for it's anger),

Tauren's goons,

Nimueh

Sigan

Hengrist's goon's

plus he almost choose to get Mordred killed... 2 times.

He knew the reasons most of these had, but they didn't matter to him, he was never allowed to properly emphathise with them (Gaius taught him very very very well). Because his orders were always to "eliminate the threat" "kill them" for the sake of his destiny.

As Morgana's magic truly manifested in S2, Merlin was already too far gone and too far deep in the liar and vigilante game. Merlin was continuously performing treasonous and unlawful tasks UNCHECKED for two years! TWO YEARS!

TWO YEARS OF "JUSTIFIED IN HIS OWN HEAD" HOMICIDE AND MURDER WITH NO REAL REPERCUSSIONS.

And also I get why they had resorted to that kind of actions. One of the definitions of extremism from wikipedia said:

In addition, extreme acts are more likely to be employed by marginalized people and groups who view more normative forms of conflict engagement as blocked for them or biased.

That kind of radicalization and extremist training by both Gaius and Kilgharrah was effective as hell.

Morgana only started the proper coups at around mid-s2. She hasn't truly killed anyone for magic yet (aside from Tauren in S1). Even in Fires of Idirsholas she felt guilty of accidentally collaborating with Morgause.

It took 1 year of isolated training away from everyone for Morgana to be fully radicalized, forged in the fires of extremism herself. Even then, even in 3x01 and 3.02 when she killed one guard and she actively helped set in motion Morgause's terrorist attack, she still was willing to hear Merlin out in the crypts. She even laid out all her cards, showed her strengths and vulnerabilities for him to see and judge. Morgana still choose to be diplomatic despite it all.

What Morgana didn't know was that she wasn't dealing with a proper negotiator, she was dealing with a vigilante and secret agent who has three years worth of (1)all the vital information, (2)unchallenged power, (3)unchecked morals, (4)numerous kills, (5)experience in deception and (6)extremist conditioning. And the worse part was that the person who she thought was her friend, Merlin, even with everything he had, genuinely believed he had nothing to offer in exchange for her peace.

I think that's the tragedy of it.

With her truly coming into her full power only at s4, Morgana was too late to have a chance to inspire change in Merlin as a proper equal to him. Merlin has been in that overpowered and unchallenged state for 5 years at most. And by the time Morgana had become truly confident in s4, both of them had gone in the farthest ends of the extremes of their idealogies.

Merlin knew everything about her. But Morgana lacked the most important piece of information, the identity of Emrys.

No one could keep Merlin in check in the proper diplomatic manner anymore.

They have to come to arms.

[ayesakara]

I found more Shizuo fanvids, y'all.

Every now and then, youtube throws out Durarara suggestions that actually appeal to me, i.e. they're of the Shizuo-only inclination - which is so rare to find these days, especially for a relative newbie like me.

Once again, both vids are over a decade old but oh, they're so well done.

1. From youtube.com/wishingicouldfly - made to Bloody November by Oh My Stars. The editing is FIRE and it almost seems as if the song was specifically written for Shizuo. So beautifully done. The lyrics match the clips so nicely.

It's as if Shizuo is talking about all the trials and tribulations of his life, and overcoming all the hurdles in the end. I absolutely love it.

2. From youtube.com/commandwolf713 - made to Ain't No Other Man by Christina Aguilera. This is so much fun and once again, the lyrics speak to Shizuo so bloody well. There really ain't no other man on this show, quite like Mr Heiwajima.

In fact, as the first few lines of the song played out to clips where Shizuo was introduced on ep 3 on the show, I was like... "Yep, that was how I felt, that was me, it was right at that moment." LOL

I only wish some of these vids were made after s2, so that we had some Vorona clips to play with as well. She had some really meaningful encounters with Shizuo is the last arc alone.

But I am happy to keep finding these amazing fanvids. There are some very talented people in this fandom.

[bustyasianbeautiespod]

Hello! I finally finished the podcast episode and I really agreed with Grey's point about how the character writing for season 2 is so much worse than bad writing on something like supernatural. Because as someone who is also into bad episodic tv shows the expectations are completely different. Even if a character does something ooc or terrible it could add to the complexity of their character or it can even be completely disregarded or retconned but in a serialized show where you only have six episodes and the whole show functions as a single narrative it just doesn't work. 

Do you guys think that this season would have worked better if it was more episodic? Like having a different mystery/flashback every episode slowly building to the big reveal at the end?

Also I don't know if you guys have discussed this on the podcast but was the writing process for this really rushed? Because so much of this season felt like a first draft where they wrote the conclusion first and tried to work backwards from there but even that doesn't make sense because the only real buildup to what Aziraphale does is in the first two minisodes?? It almost makes me want to look at his tumblr but thankfully I have enough self preservation skills to avoid that.

yeah agreed it is six 50-minute long episodes you cannot be inconsistent in there!!!

grey is a big fan of sitcom omens so i think he agrees that it'd be better if it was episodic!

for me, i'm not too sure because i think the mystery itself doesn't have legs. the final ep's Big Reveal to ME is that heaven is planning to redo the apocalypse Right Fucking Now, but crowley doesn't even react to that; she's just curious about why gabriel is anti-apocalypse. the Big Reveal based on what the narrative spends time on and has all the characters gasp about becomes the gabriel/beelzebub reveal, which 1. i don't think is the reason gabriel doesn't want the apocalypse?? he said "instead of armageddon, no armageddon" before they got close??? so what was that shit even 2. is barely even related to why gabriel got mindwiped 3. doesn't answer the "why did you come to my shop?" part of the mystery. and sure, maybe if i cared about b/g At All (sorry to everyone who does like how they were implemented in the show you're all still valid etc etc) and they actually Had 3D Personalities, the way the show clumsily tries to do "you thought it was about Something Terrible coming for everyone, but it was actually about love and being on your own side, and isn't that what a/c are all about?" (at least i THINK that's what they were trying to do?) would hit, but i don't and it doesn't

i've been thinking about what the strengths of s1 are, and i think they're 1. the dynamic between a/c and how very likable they both are 2. aziraphale's pre-ex-christian arc 3. keeping the plot and stakes present throughout 4. having multiple pov characters - even if some of them got tedious, i think the whole "i wish aziraphale and crowley cared about humans more so they seemed more invested in the saving the world angle" doesn't bring s1 down too much because we see the Them and anathema and remember that these are brave and kind ppl who have lives and those lives rlly are at stake

#1 remains in s2, except for some overly corny or self-referential moments. #2 tries to be here but, as you said, it's rlly only the two minisodes that play to it, and maybe the unexpectedness of it in s2e6 is purposeful, but i would have liked to see more! #3 is floppy, limp, flaccid, even. i'm prob just repeating things i've said in recordings already but muriel and heaven pose absolutely no threat! the "fight scenes" when hell finally storms the bookshop are filmed so badly that i never even considered being stressed! the book of life threat, which i thought was the whole motivation behind all of crowley's actions in s2, comes to fruition, and crowley doesn't give a single shit and it's just luck regarding the metatron's timing that saves aziraphale's existence. #4 doesn't happen, which is why we get maggie as thee worst-written character in gomens history. it's a mess!

when you said episodic + revealing pieces of the mystery, though, if i combine that with #4, something i think COULD be fun is a the afterparty s1-esque season. basically, each ep is from a different char's POV and they're all retelling how they experienced the last week using a genre that reflects how they think. the last ep would be gabriel's pov, and we could have a longer b/g flashback series that actually feels believable there and a better explanation of why he and beelzebub are against the apocalypse, OR gabriel is the second-to-last ep so that aziraphale can get ep1 and crowley can get ep6, wherein the final fifteen happens. i'm imagining aziraphale would omit the divorce but the background of his interview would weirdly look a lot like heaven, and then finally in ep6 we cut to sloppy-drunk carly rae jepsen-blasting divorcee anthony j. crowley who fills in that last piece (though you could also swap them around). the other POV-ers would be muriel, shax, and nina (or maggie if you insist). we'd lose "a companion to owls" and some time with our ethereal girlies, but i think it would be worth it.

i actually did not know much about the s2 writing process, but i just searched around and found this post (link) summarizing an interview/con in 2022, and tl;dr, it was rushed, and it sorta WAS written ending-first! neilman pitched the general plot without the ending in august 2019, then partnered with john finnemore and came up with the ending in december 2019, then started writing in summer 2020. filming happened in late 2021-early 2022, so the two of them had ~a year? meanwhile, there's a third draft of gomens s1e1 from 2015 floating around (link), AND a lot of it is straight from a book that 1. terry pratchett was involved in 2. the authors had been trying to adapt basically since 1990. i'm assuming s3 is going to be written on a timeline similar to s2, which is part of why i have low hopes for it, though, if neilman is to be believed, at least the idea for it has been developing for longer than the idea for s2?

- Crystal :)

[liketheletter-l]

Do you have a favourite episode of community or any thoughts on the series? I saw you reblog a post earlier about it and there aren’t a lot of opportunities to talk about one of my favourite autism shows

OH MY GOD. OKAY

i can't even pretend i'm normal about community even a little bit, it's literally seared into my brain and is a permanent part of my personality. my sister @inalienable-wright and i are working on ranking all 110 episodes (she literally coded a program so that instead of having to work with every episode, it presents us with two at a time and we just pick which one's better, it's really fucking cool)

the question of a Favorite Episode is really complicated to me, because i could think of at least fifteen off the top of my head that make me about the same amount of Deliriously Happy so here are some, in no particular order:

2x21 Paradigms of Human Memory

3x19 Curriculum Unavailable

3x04 Remedial Chaos Theory (duh)

3x05 Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps

2x14 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

2x08 Cooperative Calligraphy

1x10 Comparative Religion

1x19 Beginner Pottery

2x06 Epidemiology

2x15 Early 21st Century Romanticism

3x01 Biology 101

2x01 Anthropology 101

3x07 Studies in Modern Movement

1x17 Physical Education

1x07 Introduction to Statistics

6x01 Ladders

rambling thoughts about the series as a whole under the cut:

As you can see i obviously like seasons 1-3 more, and honestly if i kept listing favorite episodes from those seasons it would go on and on, because s2 and s3 esp are just ALL-STAR seasons (with a few exceptions, obvs. 2x18 and 2x20 come to mind for instant skips)

that being said, i liked seasons 4-6 fine. s4 isn't necessarily the level of absolute dogshit everyone says, but it was indeed bland compared to the vivid colorful witty hijinks of s1-3. it's hard to pinpoint because you're mostly noticing the ABSENCE of something; most of the actual episodes aren't Bad, but they just don't compare to the seasons before.

season 5 has a lot of good material that i can't rewatch Or i will literally fucking die. G.I. Jeff is a fucking masterpiece imo, geothermal goes without saying, Advanced Advanced DnD & the meowmeowbeenz episode were both funny as fuck, the ass crack bandit ep was gold, and most of the other episodes are solid. it's just Sad. there's just an incredibly melancholy and depressing tinge to the entire season and it makes me fucking SAD

season 6 i found very fun because i love frankie and elroy, but most of the episodes are too goddamn tragic to even rewatch just because it just feels hollow. there are some very funny parts of the season! but overall, it felt like they were trying to cram in the usual amount of hijinks, when really they only had 13 episodes to give these characters a satisfying send-off, and it ends up just leaving jeff and britta in particular at a STARTLINGLY low point to close out the entire series. i watched 6x13 at about 4am the morning before an exam and i cried so hard i started dry heaving to be honest

the only way i can watch the first three seasons is by pretending everything after the s3 finale straight-up Doesn't exist. i believe that the showrunners did (mostly) the best they could with the string of production disaster after production disaster post-season 3, but the ending is simply So fucking tragic.

our beautiful codependent insane found family that we've spent 3 seasons watching become closer and care for each other and get into trouble together just slowly, painfully gets picked off one by one. it's not even a clean break it's an Agonizing decay. i have to try very hard not to let it sour the rest of the series for me.

This is why we write fanfiction though! (i do wish there was more content focused on the study group as a whole rather than just trobed, but such is life) you should definitely DEFINITELY check out my sister's writing here because her community fic is fantastic

overall i think this show is one of the best ever made & i literally cannot express in words Just how close it is to my soul. it is inside my heart. it is literally part of me (im normal)

PLEASE HIT ME UP TO TALK ABOUT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[homielander]

Top 5 HotD characters 👀

thank you so much for the ask <33 i am actually incapable of thinking about anything other this show

1. alicent hightower - i can't articulate anything because she makes me feel incomprehensible things but i am sooo obsessed with her she really IS the show for me. such a tragic character i cry about it every hour

2. aemond targaryen - i absolutely LOVE what the hotd writers have done with him. he was just a two-dimensional villain in f&b and yeah they're setting up for him to do equally awful things in the show. but we get so many more layers to him. he's a traumatized boy he's a devoted son he's a reluctantly loyal brother he's a dutiful prince of the realm he's going to spiral after lucerys's death and become a more and more vile person i can't evennn😭😭

3. aegon ii targaryen - as he exists in my head (and tom glynn-carney's head lol)!! i really think how they wrote him on the show (when he's offscreen) was so cheap and lazy but i'm not going to rant here. the point is i'm electing to ignore that and focus on the super compelling performance we're getting and the character they have otherwise designed specifically For Me.

4. criston cole - again the show portrayal makes me cringe and also rage (specifically after ep 5) and i hope they do better with him in s2 but i love him. man from a lowborn house who worked his way up to the kingsguard, who abides by his own definition of honour, who values love above all else? and he is very deliberately meant to invoke jaime (kingmaker, the best and the worst and a little bit of both) which just makes the show version more insulting. there's an intriguing character under the dumbass incel packaging they're giving him and i'm determined to find it

5. otto hightower - he is an awful person but he is the only character intentionally moving the plot forward and i have to respect that. also he has a son and grandsons but he seems to like alicent and helaena the best so. secret girldad/girlgrandpa?

honorary mention for my best friend helaena. when she gets more development in season 2 then you all will see......

also this list is so embarrassingly green because i am obsessed with them but i do also like rhaenyra and jacaerys a lot😔

[devitalise]

heyy it's been a while <3 so glad to see you thriving in this succession season (winter -> early spring -> succession season)

ty for telling me about the shygirl and rebecca black albums, for about two weeks i only listened to rebecca black it was amazing. i also loved the new gecs album and rosalia ep. other than that i've been into some acoustic indie which ik isn't as much of your thing, but i can't wait to discover more songs from your recs <3

also the bear s2 coming are you ready?? i'm not. bob odenkirk is joining the cast and ppl are saying he's playing carmy's dad in flashback... god this season's gonna wreck me and i can't wait

as usual i wanna hear everything you've been loving, spam me with recs and i hope you've been/and will be doing great <33

do NOT be alarmed charli anon has checked in! it's been 3 months babe... so much to get into

succession season -> the bear season -> into the spiderverse 2 it's all bangers all the time. i'm not ready for season 2 of the bear but i also can't wait to get my teeth into it!

i'm so glad i've been keeping up with my monthly playlists it makes it so much easier to see when i discovered new music/figure out what i was listening to. what are your fav tracks from let her burn? i love performer. also, you'll be surprised to know i have been giving indie more of a chance but very slowly. counting caroline polachek's desire, i want to turn into you as indie. a guy i work with put me onto lvl1 so i had FVN! on repeat for a couple days

new music wise kali uchis' new album came out! LOVED that project, kali always does it for me and she really didn't disappoint. kelela's album is something i'm still struggling with even though i was anticipating it for so long. as a body of work it's very boring to me but take the songs individually and i love them: contact and closure and sorbet... i see you.

tei shi came out with an EP in march and i think FAMILIAR will absolutely be in my top songs of the year. how to describe tei shi... she's a little pop, a little indie, a bit of r&b, a perfect amalgamation of so many sounds and god the things i would do to see her live. DIE 4 UR LOVE stays one of my fav projects from 2020.

i did listen to miley's endless summer vacation, too. spotify gave me an award for being in the first 10% of listeners of flowers. scary! other than that most of the music i've been listening to hasn't been new at all, but i have been making use of the niche mixes to broaden my horizons. i finished a book that had me listening to country it was neat

i think when we'd last caught up i was about to go paintballing. that was... february. i went on holiday to tunisia! i've been to bottomless brunches, day raves, birthday parties and nights out in other cities and i haven't even figured out what my summer is looking like. work wise has been good, too, i've had a string of great 1-2-1s with my manager and scored really well in my end of year review

life feels very hectic for me right now there's a lot of stuff i want to sort out personally but i'm feeling pretty optimistic about this being a good year for me! hope you and yours are doing well babe! <3

oh ALSO. i will be seeing beyonce in june!! can't wait