#yes ive seen episode 5 now

[transvicquemare]

making the mistake of (re)watching house md for the women

[thoughts-and-gayers]

here's how the freaky mortys theory can still win. (aka, what i'm calling the friendly mortys theory.)

(carrying over a lot of connections made by @trucknoisettes and @glitteringcrab)

so, its no secret that evil morty tends to play up his 'mortyness' when he needs to appear innocent. most recently seen in unmortricken, where he pretends to be morty prime and the first words out of his mouth are "aw jeez".

its also no secret that morty's been ping-ponging a bit between s1/2 personality and s5/6 personality.

i posit that the moments where he's seen acting more like the cliche morty is the moments where its actually evil morty overcompensating, and the moments where he actually acts like morty prime are, yknow, morty prime.

this would, of course, require that they be swapping places off-screen throughout season 7.

or, and this is where i get full tinfoil-hat, theyve been doing it even longer than that.

while rick was off having his anime crow arc in season 5, morty was doing... something. the show doesnt really dwell on it, except mention that morty was on the citadel at some point. its entirely possible that morty got to talking with people on the citadel, maybe even making some friends. maybe one of those friends just so happened to be the president.

evil morty didnt have a clear reason to invite our rick and morty to dinner before he destroyed the citadel. i doubt that he had a soft spot for rick c-137, but maybe, just maybe, he had a soft spot for morty prime. the morty who stood up to his rick and had been complaining about being left by him only a few days ago.

obviously morty hadn't known EM's actual plan. he probably didnt know too much about EM at all. but there's no way that EM, the character who just wants to be alone, would invite a total stranger along with him out of the cfc.

but no. morty declined.

what if the second seat wasnt a toilet. what if he had built a second seat in order to take morty with him, but lied to protect his reputation.

so imagine, our morty, morty prime is reeling from everything that happened. and as horrified as he is, maybe he also understands. just a little bit.

and evil morty, he built his base, he's finally left alone, but maybe he's also a bit lonely. after all, the robot butler also clearly was programmed for conversation.

so, maybe partway through season 6, evil morty talks to morty prime. they make up. they agree to switch places on occasion. after all, morty needs a break from all the bullshit sometimes, and EM is probably curious what morty's family, and indeed rick c-137, is actually like.

and so when evil morty comes to that base where rick and morty are, morty obviously isnt going to act like they know each other. so he overcompensates just like EM can, but in the other direction.

like, come on, can you really believe that morty prime would act like that with no provocation? he may have a violent side, but it doesnt just come out of nowhere. and yes, the blood vortex was horrifying, but clearly EM isnt here to attack either of them right now.

now, if he was, say, exaggerating his dislike of EM so rick wouldnt get suspicious, then this makes a lot more sense. morty's not really a good liar! in fact, they could even be swapped right then! this seems more like what EM would say in this situation, doesnt it?

now, while i was reading @trucknoisettes unmortricken analysis, i was wondering why morty would jump from being openly hostile to EM to agreeing to temporary mind control, but if the hostility was all an act? if he already had some precedent for trusting EM? well, a whole lotta things start making sense.

so, to summarize this wild speculation:

- evil morty and morty prime have been friends since after season 5 episode 9

- at some point in season 6, evil morty made up with morty off-screen.

- after making up, the two of them started switching places on occasion throughout season 6 and 7

- morty prime's hostility to evil morty in 7.5 was an act

and perhaps ive taken a few too many liberties, but yknow. i'm here to have fun and ship evil morty x morty not make perfect sense.

[junoswrlld]

✧˖°📖nerd antics ୨୧˚

choi soobin x gn!reader 1.9k words warning swearing & lowercase intended & kms jokes genre fluff, established relationship, crack(this was very unserious) featuring sim jake-enhypen and eunchae- le serrafim junos’s note this is supossed to be a birthday present for nai @run2seob happy birthday pookster *runs away*

mini synopsis -- u do nerd anime stuff with Soobin (he shows u anime figure collection & jake jumpscare)

Friday 3am

your phone screen illuminated your face in the otherwise dimly lit room as tonight was just like any night for you, the usual scrolling through tiktok at 3am, more specifically scrolling through the soobin hashtag.

it was definitely endearing seeing all the heartwarming things moas would post about soobin. The genuine affection they harbored for your boyfriend, was palpable. Their posts ranged from heartwarming anecdotes to hilariously relatable observations, all testament to the magnetic charm of Soobin.

but one video caught your eye, an episode of Eunchae's Star Diary, a close friend of yours interviewing Soobin and Kai. It was a compilation a fan made of all their favorite clips from the show. about halfway through the clip show Eunchae asks Soobin about his fixation with anime.

Eunchae leaned in and asked, "oh, Soobin you like anime?"

soobin laughed, feigning surprise. "ah yes, how'd you know?" he said.

eunchae couldn't help but chuckle in response, "Aren't you famous for it....?"

seeing this clip made you go down a rabbit hole of trying to find times when Soobin talked about the interest of his of anime. and in one video he seems to mention having a shelf of sorts the he uses to display anime figures. This intrigues you because it's not like you didn't know of this fascination, having been dating him for a little over two months of course he's told you all about it, but a shelf dedicated to figures? you've heard no talk of the sort.

and you've also had to chance to see such thing since you haven't yet been to soobins dorm, thus you've also never got the chance to see this shelf, so you decided to text him about it

you: u collect anime figures??? soobie:WHO TOLD U?!?!?!? you: u did? you:i watched a clip of u mentioning it soobie: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO you: its not that embarrassing soobinnnn soobie: SO U ADMIT ITS AT LEAST A LITTLE WEIRD?!?!? you: WHAT NO you:id collect them too if i had the money soobie: really?? soobie:oh my gosh im in love you: omg wtf kms ur killing me you: anyways can i come over tomorrow(x together)? you:or i guess later today since its 3am soobin: like after practice? ofc u can you: im #scared after what ive seen of the dorms from tiktok you:a bike right by the stove? really? soobie:OMG LOL ill definitely clean it up for u you: u better

5 hours later (8am)

soobie:y/n. you: what???? soobie: i just heard my 8am alarm go off you: not my fault u couldnt stop talking to me soobie: real u just have too much rizz you:real!!! soobie: but i gotta get ready to go to practice now you: wanna reschedule when i come over then? you:yknow so u (and me) can get some sleep? soobie:ur just reading my mind you: we should have planed it for tmr any since its saturady soobie: omg were so not smart you:im very smart idk about u tho you: since u spend all ur money on anime figures n stuff soobie: honestly fair

Saturday 2pm

you've arrived at the dorm building, its a modern structure with a sleek and contemporary design. It stands tall, several stories high, with large windows that allow plenty of natural light to filter through. The exterior is adorned with a combination of glass and steel, giving it a polished and sophisticated look.

The entrance is well-lit, and as you step inside, you're greeted by a spacious and stylish lobby. The walls are decorated with subtle, tasteful artwork, featuring images of past achievements or group photos of the residents. The floor is immaculately tiled, and there's a reception desk where visitors can check-in.

after the rigorous check-in process of the front desk ladies just making sure you're not some crazy fan trying to break into the dorms, they point you in the direction of the elevators you would be taking to Soobin's room.

As you step into the elevator, your anticipation for seeing Soobin intensifies. The doors start to close, and just before they shut completely, a hand slips through, causing the doors to retract. You look up, and to your surprise, you find yourself face to face with a group of idols entering the elevator.

you think that maybe it's one of the front desk ladies that might have forgotten something? or maybe it's Soobin getting to his dorm at the same time you did. so without giving it a second thought you spam the "open door" button, hoping to help whoever is on the other side of the door.

just when you think that it's surely soobin based on the height the person entering the elevator has, he turn to meet eyes with you.

JAKE?!!!?!??!?! FROM ENHYPEN???????

of course, you have idol friends since you're dating the Choi Soobin, but he hasn't introduced you to Enhypen yet! you don't even think he's told them about your relationship, so what if Jake thinks you're some crazy fan like the front desk ladies did??

jake side-eyes you as he exits the elevator, reaching his floor, clearly thinking you're not supposed to be there. silently relieved that the awkward encounter has come to an end, at least for the moment since you can't stop replaying the moment in your head and cringing.

exiting the elevator onto the floor where Soobin's apartment is located, the hallway greets you with a quiet atmosphere. as you walk, the recent awkward encounter with Jake replays in your mind, leaving behind a sense of unease and self-consciousness. however, amidst these feelings, there's a spark of excitement, especially considering this is your first time visiting Soobin's dorm. the anticipation adds an extra layer to the mix as you make your way down the hallway.

as you reach Soobin's apartment door, marked '127' as he had told you. taking a deep breath, you knock, eager to see him but after 10 seconds of awkwardly waiting outside his door you hear a loud thud coming from the other side. you knock again, thinking his clumsy ass might've fallen over and hurt himself.

just as you were about to knock again the door wings open, and soobins stumbles to lean against the door frame.

"hey, uh, you come here often? i said that with Rizz by the way." Soobin says with a sheepish grin, trying to mask the fact that he stumbled with his charisma. His disheveled appearance and the loud thud suddenly make sense.

as you observe Soobins slightly disarrayed state, a realization dawns on you. the charm in his smile doesn't quite hide the signs of a hurried cleanup. the misplaced items and the askew chair suggest that he must have been rushing to tidy up the place right before your arrival. and the thud? Probably something clattering to the floor in the midst of his cleanup efforts.

"hold on, why do you look so shaken up??? i swear the dorm isnt that bad, i cleaned it up and none of the boys are here. you good?"

"NO DUDE I LITERALLY JUST SAW JAKE FROM EHYPEN. I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO LISTEN TO EHYPEN THE SAME AGAIN!!!!!!!!!"

soobin gestures at you to come in and you do. "it couldn't have been that bad y/nnn. what did he say anyway?"

"he didn't say anything BUT he did give me the nastiest side-eye on the planet. and i swear if i was near a cliff i would've jumped cause that interaction made me wanna kill myself."

"i hope you're joking about the last part cause i dunno what id do without you pookie." he says while winking and putting up double peace signs.

you couldn't help but cringe, your eyebrows involuntarily scrunching together.

"some light aegyo didn't make you feel better?" soobins shoulders slumped, and he cast his gaze downward in defeat. "how about i put on a studio ghibli film so you don't die of embarrassment?" he says while guiding you to sit on the living room couch.

"spirited away."

"what?"

"put on spirited away."

"of course"

after a Mini Studio Ghibli movie marathon, you remember the main reason you wanted to come over in the first place.

Soobin's cheeks flush slightly as you enthusiastically exclaim, "OH RIGHT!!! where's your little figure collection hiding? that's like the main reason I'm here."

"WHAT ANIME FIGURES?!?!? I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!!!!"

"YOU ALREADY TOLD ME YOU HAVE THEM?????? WHY ARE YOU SO EMBARRASSED??"

"i thought you might've already forgotten, and why do you wanna see it so bad anyway?"

"soobin, i literally think it's cool. plus i wanna see the things you're passionate about or whatever." you say with a teasing smile, trying to ease the tension of his embarrassment.

soobin sighs, giving in to your insistence. "i guess if you wanna see it so bad." He murmurs softly, fingers intertwined with yours, guiding you towards his room with a gentle tug.

as you enter soobins room you can clearly tell that the living room was the only one he bothered tidying up, as all of his room was left in chaos.

"welcome to my humble abode" Soobin says, gesturing playfully around the room.

"I'm surprised the figures aren't scattered across the floor with how messy this place is."

"to be fair i didn't exactly have time to clean considering you never told me when you'd be here till you were 10 minutes away"

"i guess you're right but wheres this shelf full of figures ive heard so much about?"

soobin pulls you out of the doorway and closes the door behind you, revealing the infamous collection that was hiding behind the opened door.

"WOAH. this is way more than i thought it would be."

"so it is weird???"

"WHAT?!? NO, if anything its really impressive cause how do you have all the money for this??"

"i'm an idol."

"oh right. well anyway, who's this girl?" you say as you go to pick up a chibi-looking figure. when you're only inches away from picking it up soobin slaps your hand away.

"what was that for!?!?!?!" You ask, fingers instinctively reaching for the tender spot where the impact landed.

"don't touch them?? they're only for display. and that's a Nendoroid of Lillie from the pokemon anime, kai bought her for me. also how did you not recognize her? do you not watch pokemon??"

"okay, nerd. also i hate to break it to you soobin but the last time i watched an episode of pokemon i was 12"

"im heartbroken," he says dramatically stumbling away from you, grasping onto his chest (CUZ THATS WHERE HIS HEART IS). "you've broken my heart, this is to much to bear."

"don't worry soob, I'll buy you a new figure to mend your "broken" heart"

"REALLY????? are you serious cause there's this one figure i really want to preorder," he says grabbing his phone out of his pocket at the speed of light to show you what he's talking about

"soobin do you really think i have the money for that? also, what the fuck is a Nendoroid???? what kind of alien name is that?"

"Nendoroid is the chibi figures, they're my personal have to collect."

"this wasn't as mind-blowing as i thought it would be."

"what did you expect?"

"i dunno maybe some secret underground vault of ultra-rare figures guarded by miniature anime warriors or something"

"Well, sorry to disappoint. But hey, can we go back to watching Studio Ghibli movies now?"

"absolutely"

note pt2... please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop please dont flop

[pinyeti]

Episode 2: Attack of the Clones

Loving how i can see the budget increase GOOD GOD THE CGI IS CRAAZY

Ohno padme's clone is gone

HELLO??? ANAKIN??? HES PRETTY NOW ofc he has the rat tail 

Obi wan flop era uggo

Why does he give me young president snow vibes

OHMYGOD IVE SEEN THIS SCENE BEFORE ON THE INTERNET WHERE PADMES LIKE FIND WHOS TRYING TO KILL ME AND OBIWANS LIKE NO AND ANIKINS LIKE YES OFC ANYTHING FOR YOU SENATOR

Ok beginning of rebel anakin

Please tell me he doesnt go to the dark side for love

THE WORLD BUILDING IS CRAAAZZYYY THE SCReENS AARE SO CRISP IM SO IN AWE OHMYGOD

SNAKES IN HER BED SNAKES IN HER BED

OBIWAN JUST ZIPLINED WITH NO ZIPLINE ATTABOIY

How does the past look so much better than the future

I cant believe this is 2002 IT LOOKS SO MODERN

tHE HUMOUR THE CLARITY THE ACTION EVERYTHING IS SO FRESH 

Ok anakin is crazy

DID HE JUST DRIVE INTO ELECTRICITY?? ANAKIN OBIWAN IS OLD FUCK YOU DISRESPECTFUL RAT TAIL HAVER

do you think you’re shelock holmes anakiN??? STOP JUMPING OUT OF MOVING VEHICLES ONTO ONCOMING SKY TRAFFIC ANAKIN

Idiot lost his lightsaber

“You’re the closest thing i have to a father” FUCKIN BITCH

Okay sorry about gay allegationing obiwan and vader when I DIDNT KNOW HE BASICALLY RAISED HIM 

Bro anakins hair is something else

IS THE CHANCELLOR OLD GUY EVIL IS HE??? IS HE THE EMPEROR TO BE

Padme IS THEIR MOMMM

Bro yoda hates all the jedis hes so sassy for what “too sure of themselves they are, even the older ones” *pointedly stares at obiwan*

NOWAY PADME LEFT IT TO JARJAR IS SHE CRAZY

Ok anakin your job is to protect her not use her as a vent journal

ANAKIN CAT NOIR

I just know hes kicking his feet at the assignment

IS R2 THE CHAPERONE CDJBDEK

Bro anakin is cheeeeesssiiiinnggg HES SUCHHHA SIMPP IM GETTING SECOND HAND EMBARASSMENT ;))) one might even say ‘)))) we jedis are encouroegd to love eheh ;)))

IS obiwan walking into a huge ARMY trade deal KNOWING NOTHING and IMPROVING HIS WAS THROUGH

Oh STORM TROOPERS ARE CLONESSS

OH MY GOD THIS MEME

“SOUNDS AWFUL LOT LIKE A DICTATORSHIP TO ME”

“WELL IF IT WORKS” THIS IS WHERE ITS FROM

anakin : ugh i am so angry i serial killed ugh

padme: dw to serial kill is to human

(????ok enabler)

Ohmygodddd NOOO WHY WOULD SHE DO THIS IM SO SICK OF JARJAR

WAIT YODA USED STORM TROOPERS FIRST???? WHA HOW DID THEY END UP WITH THE EMPEROR THEN was it anakin

Ok not the biggest yoda fan

Wowww how convenient obiwan discovers an army ready for use right when theyre being threatened

Everytime they say dooku i laugh

Anakin is a stupid man child - RUNNING INTO PROBLEMS WITH GLOWSTICKS AND HOPING IT DIES PT39382992 - guess it runs in the family

OHMYGOD ANAKIN DOUBLE HAND LIGHTSABERING LIGHTBASAVERING

HAHA HE GOT HIS HAND CUT OFF LIKE HE CUT OFF LUKES he just wanted him and luke to share something :( he just wanted to teach luke :( its okay i forgive you for cutting lukes hand darthy

YODA IS SOSOSO COOOL

WHO IS THE EMPEROR HELLO?

(5/9)

(ALSO DW GUYS IM NOT FOLLOWING ANY STARWARS MUTUALS TILL IM DONE WITH PREQUELS SO ILL DO A SERIES OF HELOOOOS SOON)

[suffarustuffaru]

If you don't mind me asking but when did you first get into re:zero

yeah i dont mind at all :o ig yallre gonna hear my full origin story now haah. its my—my… ok id say tragic backstory but i dont think this is really that tragic LMAO. my humorous backstory? silly backstory?

anyway i got into rezero in summer of 2020!! this was months before s2 started airing and by around this time there was just s1, s1 directors cut may or may not have been out?? i forgor :<, but then s2’s first teaser came out right about now.

it was quarantine…. i was bored one day and wanted smth new to watch… and by then id only really briefly seen rezero—like you know that s1 promo poster with subaru standing there while surrounded by some of the main girls in s1 (beatrice felt emilia rem ram)?? yeah id seen that. in the back of my mind i kinda assumed the show was just another one of those abt a dude surrounded by his harem of girls or smth?? :< but then i learned the Real Premise is the time travel. via death!!!! and ive always loveddd angst and whump so i was like “NO FUCKING WAY I HIT THE JACKPOT” and eagerly looked into rezero some more to see if it was worth watching. and then i saw all the shit reviews on rz that never seemed to agree on if it was good or not…… and then gigguk’s video…… and then i saw mother’s basement on youtube make a defense of rezero s1 and i was like!!! ok fuck it im watching this show. i want the angst i want the complex time travel shit. i think id spoiled myself on a couple of subarus deaths by this point trying to decide if i should commit to rezero and then i started binge watching s1!! esp when i was like ok this is a good time to get into it s2 was announced right??

anyway i got hooked on rezero fr 👍👍 the first s1 emisuba lap pillow had me quaking in my boots ;-;;; and i was already invested from ep1 bc i liked the characters a lot already!!! i am simply BUILT DIFFERENT i loved subaru from day one!!! by the royal selection episodes ofc i was dying of secondhand embarrassment but tbh i grew even more invested in rezero after that!! i was and still am super impressed that the narrative had the balls to have subaru fuck up sooo so so bad there. like seeing that emisuba argument and the julisuba duel for the first time was crazyyy. the conflict was really good and the latter s1 development…. woagh.

and then you know i finish s1 and i immediately get to researching how to read, i read arc 4’s wn and bawl my eyes out from the sheer amount of rollercoaster both the emotions and Long Ass Novel gave me (yes i was bawling my eyes out at parent and child) (yes i was bawling my eyes out at choose me) (yes i was bawling my eyes out for all the suffering loops) (yes i was bawling) (i have no clue how i read all those pages fr like that arc is massive), i speedrun arc 5, i accidentally spoil certain bits for myself (arc 6 stuff), i read most of arc 6 in spurts, tune in every week for s2 (and bawled my eyes out seeing the s2 part 1 op for the first time) etc etc!! one thing lead to another and now i am here…….. three yrs in this fandom… nearly (?) a yr being active on rezero tumblr… HAH

also i made a reddit account back inn…. 2020 or 2021 bc i wanted to be a tinyyy bit active in rezero reddit (this was half a mistake btw. i think i have more balls of steel now but my younger self was sooooo naive. shaking them by the shoulders. this is an anime fandom!!!!!! and this is reddit!!! whatre u expecting???? i am less shy now on the internet thats for sure!!). anyway im still a tiny bit active on rz reddit now after not touching it for like a year. now i use my reddit account for spreading otto propaganda and slander /lh …../hj

but anyway ive never been active in fandoms until rezero and thats bc id usually lurk and a lot of my past hyperfixation medias were :< big fandoms :<<< but then. ok im a fanfic enjoyer and i didnt write much fanfic or publish fic at all before this fandom but then in 2020 after watching s1 i checked rezero’s ao3 page and *sniffles* *sobs* thERE WAS ONLY LIKE 2 PAGES ON THERE MAN….. A WHOLE DESERT…. yes and then one thing lead to another and now there is more fic and also ig id be considered an english fic writer elder maybe…… i started posting in like fall/winter 2020? and maaaan im one of the only ppl from that era whos still posting i think!!! ive seen the entire english fanfic scene pop up!! ive participated in a bunch of community events… sooo wild to think about. i feel old guys!!!

but now i have gotten more and more active in the rz fandom yes :3 its been fun!! rezero is very important media to me and ive met lots of cool people in my time here :) when october 2024 rolls around itll be s3 time (AAAAA HYPE HYPE HYPE) and like four yrs of me being in this fandom?? its wild but my lifes genuinely changed a lot bc of me getting into rezero!! met lots of cool people… made pals… gotten my writing and art out there and improved on it via. large amounts of rezero fanart HAH.. became more unhinged.. etc etc :D even got to meet one of my buddies i met via rezero irl 👍👍 more irl crossover events will happen i swear.

also gigguk in my eyes redeemed himself for his old rezero skit vid by making a glowing review for rezero s2 with his pals. i can forgive him i suppose :<<<

in conclusion: idk if i count as a fandom elder but i sure have a lot of my own fandom lore pfft :<<<

[catwyk]

silt versing now heres my immediate thoughts

"rejoice! the authorities are on their way" love the blending of the mundane and divine i eat it up every single time

faulkner so silly messing up his scary evil sermon thank god for this sibling rane realness

"I, high prophet faulkner, chosen by the trawlerman- I-I was responsible for the return of the withermark? and the revelations at bellweathers you might have heard. that it was the linger straits but thats untrue thats all been debunked" hes so cringefail i love him

him talking about being unbound from his duty....... someone introduce him to atheism QUICK

i need to make alpha male podcaster faulkner fanart

THE OPENING CREDITS 😭😭 THEIR LAUGHS😭😭 IM GOING TO THROW UP I LOVE THEM SO MUCH THIS IS THE HAPPIEST WE'VE EVER SEEN FAULKNER

"he does not, in truth, care about the people who took him in and gave him a home" sending greve a mail bomb rq hold on

"he will die as he lived. alone" SENDING 5 MILLION MAIL BOMBS

b narr ripping out my heart. again

my god faulkner really will not let up on building his own mythology. he is so desperate to be somebody

🔥RANE LORE🔥

FAULKNER DAD AND BROTHER APPEARANCES EX FUCKING SCUSE ME?????????????

did they ever find out about charlie. who is we eddie. do they know about faulkner's insane life right now. how long has faulkner even been away at this point

stopppppp eddie calling faulkner richie is so cute 💔💔 jon naming faulkner richard just to avoid the three brothers having -ie names and it happening organically anyway

his dad calling faulkner charlie. oh.

the fucking serials faulkner and his dad are watching?? hello??? silly as hell

i was right when i said sibling rane's family came from the faith hell yes vindication

"its not blasphemy if the high prophet does it" eyebrow raise

faulkners desperation with these prayer marks is breaking my heart. theyre so not gonna work

not missing the parallels between faulkner and paige begging and threatening their gods for protection. very interesting

faulkner standing off against uncle just is the most intense scene ive experienced in so long

this heart to heart is KILLINGGGG ME. faulkner is just a little boy oh my god and his dad is only acting in his interest NOW when its too late..... someone hold me

"every god's a god of death. it's the only thing we need them for" COME BACK COME BACK COME BACK C

NO FAULKNER TRYING TO FOLLOW CHARLIE??????? this is NOT ok im gonna cry poor blorbo

dear lord this episode hurt me so badly. why are the voice actors so damn good. why are the characters so well written. i love them so much and i rlly like the direction faulkner is going in, i feel less like hes doomed to die by the trawlerman

[eddiegettingshot]

different newer anon that mentioned theyre on season 5 here!! im a writer (author aspirations, but still) and i took tv analysis classes in college. im on s6 now but ive watched season 7 in its entirety already so i feel compelled to say that i think buddie will be endgame. season 7 especially has been insane in regards to that especially in terms of the deliberate choices they’re making. scene blocking, framing, wardrobe choices,

the scenes with maddie and eddie in 705 sealed it for me. you dont write “if you have something you need to tell eddie you will when you’re ready” or “this doesnt change anything between us” unless you’re planning for that. otherwise that’s actually just really terrible writing and considering some of the absolutely wonderful work we’ve seen here (im side eyeing the current eddie arc dw) i find that hard to believe to be the case. everything is so deliberate and goes into telling the overall story. it also just feels like the natural place the narrative is going anyway

its a possibility though dont get me wrong! but from my short time here is clear that tim minear knows that the audience would pitch a FIT if they got baited based on the karaoke stuff and has said before he doesn’t want to bait the audience.

its also clear to me that they were trying to go there in s4-5 at some point and knowing fox didn’t let them makes so much sense. considering abc allowed it within 4 episodes on their new network im thinking we might see something come season 8 (i do think we may see a moment or two in the final episodes of the season but considering its shorter who knows)

honestly the part i can’t stop thinking about is the terrible writing… because like i truly genuinely will not be able to actually believe buddie is happening until i see it confirmed in the text, so when i watch the show i’m not necessarily like this supposed to be a Hint, i’m fully willing to believe i’m just being baited. and my thing is that, IF it’s not leading anywhere, then it seems like excessively bad storytelling to write a relationship where there’s so much ambiguity that literally EVERYTHING about the couple is up for debate - because narratively, it is! the bcktommy relationship is being written like they’re laying down buddie threads that can be picked up later, which is objectively doing THEIR STORY a disservice! it literally boggles my mind that people spend so much time getting angry at other people for being Delusional and talking around eddie’s existence when instead they should be like why tf is so much of this being written so that it can be interpreted that way? it’s a relationship! it’s very easy actually to write two people as being unequivocally interested in one another! i literally dislike these two characters together (BECAUSE of some of the narrative choices obviously) and i’m sitting here like, if it’s not to make buddie happen, then what the hell is this storytelling? like even just thinking about 7x04, maybe WE know that tim said oh buck was into tommy all along because we read interviews, but if you JUST watch the show and only consider the text, it’s unclear all the way to the kiss - BUCK LITERALLY SAYS “YEAH I GUESS”??? not even a solid yes? it’s just so crazy to me like if i were actually into this ship i’d be throwing a fit and complaining incessantly about one half of it getting the love interest treatment lol

[mysteriousboo]

Why I prefer cdramas over kdramas(as an international fan)

kdramas ive watched - business proposal, sweet home, rookie historian goo hae-ryung, mr queen, link: eat, love, kill , the glory , crash landing on you, what's wrong with secretary kim, true beauty, romance is a bonus book, goblin, meow-the secret boy, hometown cha cha cha, see you in my 19th life

cdramas ive watched - the untamed, word of honor, blood of youth, ten miles of peach blossom(i regret watching this one), love between fairy and devil, the starry love, till the end of the moon, put your head on my shoulder, mr honesty, the romance of tiger and rose, love o2o, go go squid!, love and destiny, currently watching back from the brink

1) Cdramas tend to have more developed side characters

ive seen a good variety of kdramas, and i always find the side characters to be lacking! they are often treated as props or only used for comical purposes. meanwhile, in cdramas, they tend to have more personality and are important to the plot as well rather than just being a plot device! (i agree that not all cdramas do it well, but the ones that do leave behind a good impression)

2) Cdramas make the characters interact well

one thing that i have noticed in cdramas is that they make character interactions to be deep and meaningful! personally, i prefer consuming media where both the main characters and side characters stand out, and while it's hard to create something like that, cdramas do it better than kdramas! side characters often don't get enough screen time or are too one-dimensional to make an impact on the viewers! im not saying that kdramas don't do it at all, im saying that a lot of times, it just doesn't hit as hard as in cdramas.

3)The angst hits harder in cdramas!!

now, don't get me wrong, im not saying that kdramas can't be angsty! it's just that a lot of angst in kdramas tends to be more romance related, and as an aroace person, i don't care much for romance and that's why the angst in cdramas(not just romance related) feels and hits way harder! yes, i absolutely adored the angst in the glory freaking loved it! i live for it, but angst in cdramas tends to focus a lot more on familial and platonic relationships, and my lil heart just loves it too much!!

4) kdramas have a lot more filler than cdramas

yes, ik that cdramas are longer, but just hear me out! i have noticed that a lot of times, if you remove a couple of episodes from a kdrama, it makes no impact on the plot whatsoever! or a lot of arcs just feel like they don't deserve as much screen time, and some arcs don't make much sense either after being dragged on for so long!! meanwhile, cdramas are definitely longer, but most of them, if not all of them, are adapted from a webnovel, and that, in general, leads to them being super long! yes, it feels like they are dragging some parts out, but it all seems significant to the plot and is not just filler!

5) relationships between females are better portrayed in cdramas!!

i absolutely adore female friendships or just respectful relationships between females. and cdramas definitely do it better than kdramas! look at li susu and pian ran from TTEOTM or jiele and xiao lan hua from LBFAD or WOH or back from the brink! female connections are better portrayed in cdramas!

6) cdramas tend to be more fantasy focused than kdramas

i enjoy fantasy as a genre a lot, and cdramas tend to be more fantasy based! chinese fantasy is so interesting, and i absolutely adore wuxia/xianxia as a genre! kdramas don't have something similar, and while i adore a lot of historical kdramas, fantasy just hits differently! especially cause there is just so much to explore in chinese fantasy! look at the blood of youth, i had so much fun watching that show. and the fight scenes were so well done!

7) cdramas have beautiful platonic relationships, and i adore the found family arc a lot more in cdaramas

there is definitely a found family arc going on in most of the cdramas ive watched, and i live for it! a lot of time, the characters might not have as much screen time, but they all seem to have depth, and that makes the drama so much fun! yes, kdramas also have found family arcs, but a lot of times, the characters are purely used for comical purposes and have no back stories! they are mostly just used to fill screetime! whether it's the untamed or the starry love, the found family arc would make my heart go so soft cause all those characters have back stories and depth and i am so in love with all of them and even losing one of them can make me go feral and that's exactly why i adore cdramas!!!!!!

shortcomings of cdramas:-

a) the re-dubbing in cdarams- as you all know that China re-dubs their drama, and that can be annoying cause it's always the same va!!

b) the chinese censorship is so strict, and a lot of times, some scenes don't make it into the final cut which can be frustrating or a lot of time even getting past the censorship can be impossible!!

c) i feel that fans seem to be more critical towards cdramas! people behind the scenes put way too much effort so that we can watch their work, but how the drama changes after the censorship is not in their control! they try their best, and adapting novels is not easy!! yet the fans are less understanding towards them! i just wish the audience was a little more understanding!!

d) another problem that's persistent with most cdramas are the poorly translated subtitles! sometimes, the subtitles can be very unclear, or the translation is not accurate at and that can create a disconnect with the international fans in general!!

this is just my opinion! im not saying that cdramas are better than kdramas. i adore them both a lot! im just saying that i PREFER cdramas more! please be understanding and try to be polite when interacting with this post!! that being said, feel free to leave recommendations cause i WILL check em out ;))

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

HIII I KNOW. A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ANNIHILATION. PERIPHERALLY. ive seen like part of it but i do NOT remember much. except that its one of the prettiest movies ive ever seen. that being said im so eyes emoji abt ur au..... r there any specific scenes frm the movie ur thinking about?? how would the character dynamics differ from either canon?? etc etc etc!!!

GOD I FUCKING LOOOOOVE ANNIHILATION. ONE OF MY TOP 5 FAVORITE MOVIES OF ALL TIME EVER. yes yes yes yes yes OK. so this is. all encompassing crossover jrwi au which means I'm pulling characters from different campaigns. which. usually im not a huge fan of but i think i pulled it off rlly well in a limited sense here bc i have very specific reasoning behind why i put each character where. u will know at least two of them and they WILL cause you psychic damage so trust me when i say the other ones will too. putting this under a cut bc im gonna ramble

BASICALLYYYYY it's gonna follow the plot of the movie pretty closely just with slightly altered character dynamics + each of their reasons for going into the shimmer. so each person on the Current Team has lost someone on a previous expedition, and basically all of them are trying to find answers for what happened to their loved ones.

im gonna talk mainly about the ones you know because youll understand where I'm coming from the best with them but just know I am OBSESSED w the roles I have put gillion and chip in here. god I miss riptide every day .

DAKOTA COLE AS ANYA. Anya is the retired paramedic !! she's the one that. hold everything. gets killed by the fucked up bear. smile. that was just a fun little coincidence for me . ORIGINALLY I was dead set on having the pd representative be william bc im biased and I love him but after rewatching the movie I just think dakota fits in anyas place so perfectly. she's the most outgoing of the group, she's the one that initially invites Lena to join their team (also side note there is a pre-existing dynamic between dakota and chip because they've had MULTIPLE interactions in various what if crossover episodes and their dynamic is one of my favorite things ever). she's also the most aggressive. she's the first one to snap into action mode after finding the body in the pool, she's the one to take josie away from it and has a very protective stance over josie for the rest of the time after that (this is going to be relevant i am gonna talk about josie next) . once the group starts arguing about whether they want to continue further into the shimmer, anya shifts into a VERY black and white mentality, pinning ventress as The Bad Guy immediately for wanting to continue. and then when Lena shows some hesitancy over what she wants to do, anya snaps into a "youre either with me or against me" mindset. she also has this growing sense of paranoia ever since they find the tape of what appears to be the previous crew killing each other, and after she learns Lena is lying to them about her connection with Kane she goes way overboard with tying them to chairs and threatening to kill them. while i don't think dakota would necessarily go that far I DID say this to jonesy when we were rewatching the movie together so. bfu connecting two dots meme

anyway i think dakota is in the shimmer looking for william AND vyncent. parallels to the "dakota leaves for 10 months without telling them" which is why the three of them would be separated in the first place. william somehow finds out about the southern reach and his draw toward a mystery is what causes him to join the first expedition. vyncent goes with him because he can sense it's dangerous (and basically a suicide mission) and doesn't want william to go alone. I have. ideas. for what happens to them in the shimmer but they are vague at best right now and even then. dakota never finds out what happens to them before he's killed by the bear. the bear uses their voices to draw him out btw. smile. he dies protecting thr rest of the group even immediately after his paranoid breakdown.

OK THAT GOT LONG. OOPS. ONTO THE SECOND ONE

SHILO AS JOSIE. ohhhhh josie radek one of my favorite characters in media of all time. God I love her so much. anyway she's the only one of the current expedition with no previous combat training, so she's often seen by the rest of them as someone who needs to be protected. if I'm remembering correctly she's also the youngest. (in this. au. dakota would be older than shilo. feels better in my mind. none of them would be Kids they'd all be adults at this point but I'd put shilo in early 20s and dakota maybe in mid 20s. so . still young.) shilo is in the shimmer looking for his twin brother who went missing. somehow he was able to track down the southern reach and find out emizel was part of a previous expedition, and desperately wants to get him back. he's the one with the LEAST amount of knowledge going into the shimmer. he doesn't realize it's a suicide mission. he just wants his brother back. anyway when they get to the first outpost they find the remnants of the first team's base of operations, with names on a guard patrol rotation and leftover weapons and. a video camera. with a tape in a plastic bag labeled "for those who follow". josie is the one holding the camera when they watch it. the tape shows members of the previous party in the abandoned pool, one guy tied to a chair while the others cut open his abdomen to show his intestines moving around like snakes or worms. in the movie, the guy who cuts him open is Kane, Lena's husband. the rest of the party doesn't know her connection to kane, and she knows now if she tells them they won't trust her (and is proven correct by this when anya eventually finds out her connection) ANYWAY I'm going off track. sorry this is my favorite scene in the whole movie I get distracted. ANYWAY so when they see this, josie is the most immediately horrified by it because she's the only one who hasn't seen anything as gruesome as that before. for shilo. well. he gets to see the one being cut open is emizel. and then later when they get to the pool and find the body still there (again. josie is the one to find this. she's also the one who reaches down into the old dirty water and accidentally picks up the knife. which was still left in the same place they saw it be dropped in the tape) corpse plastered to the wall by all kinds of multicolored fungus and lichen, I think shilo doesn't immediately break down, he doesn't really. process it right away. I mean it's completely unrecognizable. it's not until he accidentally picks up the knife that it all clicks into place in his mind and he realizes "that thing right there used to be my fucking brother" and completely shuts down. runs out of the complex, dakota has to chase him down because they all know its dangerous to go anywhere alone, etc. after this he loses any sense of purpose, the only reason he came into the shimmer in the first place was to get emizel back and now seeing what happened I think he just gets. hopeless. which is the beginning of the end for him . i haven't decided if his exact death is the same as josies but i want it to be peaceful in the same sort of way. "imagine dying frightened and in pain and having that be the only part of you which survives... i wouldnt like that at all" "ventress wants to face it.. you want to fight it... im not sure i want either of those things...." josie radek i am in love with you. anyway. annihilation pool scene for you because I love this image more than anything

[mutsky]

century of love ep 5&6

-oh now he realizes thats his lover he just had to ALMOST DIE FIRST

-uncle is working with yis sexy dad

-comically large gps letters on the box

-this is so soapy

-into the water

-theres no way the big bad dies half way through this must be the small bad

-what a caring husband didnt know grandpa had it in him

-feeding him? who is this guy?

-i love when the family just peeks from behind a pole or something

-this is NOT the san of the past 4 episodes

-whats with the slow walk in for the doctor

-ah yes him!

-the goddess is playing with my guy

-bc the goddess wanted YAOI

-ohhh in all his dreams huh

-the possessiveness is crazy

-hes looked like this for the past 100 years so

-chu we love you

-lets get chu a girlfriend

-get him again for me

-yeah but fortunately for you san we tend to like bad boys who are mean to us

-loving the arguments

-between chu and the goddess our yaoi plots will prosper AMEN

-poor lead in a 100 dollar designer tshirt

-the looks the doctor is giving san are perfect

-ohhh mr doctor

-thats a shitty piece of art

-the grumpy dinosaur reminding him of his husbandndkdmfdkfmgmf

-do we think chu thought in a million years shed be her great great great grandfathers fag hag going to spy on his husband with him?

-i love how theyre such bad spies theyre in the background of all the photos

-its upside down

-crying theyre all so goofy

-i just realized its a grumpy RAINBOW dinosaur

-since high school?

-nongchai?

-now you wanna be his husband yeah ok

-oh how the tables turn

-whos forcing who into marriage now

-the goddess is working overtime

-look at their little smiles awww

-thats the fakest looking moon ive ever seen

onwards and upwards lads

-mother and daughter bonding activity: fujoing lut

-come on product placement

-grumbling old man... yeah that's true

-ahh youre so cute

-two tickets to an amusement park

-does he know what that is?

-grandpa please! were trying to set you up

-amusement park date classic

-the dinosaur motif is killing me

-what kind of amusement park has perfume making stations

-ok grandpa i didn't know you had game

-two dates with two different men in one day... vee living up to the promiscuous bisexual stereotype

-how did he find him?

-awww poor vee

-well you see

-poor third in every life time he will lose vee

-imagine if hes not actually in there

-ahh hes not

-say it again PLEASEEEEE

-nooooo

-FUCK

-ok grandpa chic outfit

-here he comes with his fag hag great great granddaughter in tow

-i wish dinner and dancing was still a thing

-i wish there was live music in restaurants

-oh so he did hear it all

-that shitty marriage proposal came back to bite huh

-ok redemption

-why would you say that

-100 year old and 25 year old average gay relationship age gap

-scent kink? pitbabe the damage youve done

-very nothing sex scene tbh

-oh

-on the left ring finger too

-mom grandpa please

-to be fair these people know everything every wet dream

-fujoing out yas

-but first a message from our sponsor

-jdent is the gayest toothpaste of all time

-aww so cute and theyre all so happy for him

-oh honey its ok for him

-oh no what does grandma know

-to be fair this guys looked the same for 100 years and hasnt hidden it

-hes had the same haircut for 100 years too

-brooooo look at this fucking shirt and he didnt think he was gay

-the girl looks like grandma woah

-i love how everyone in this show is accepting this bullshit

-grandma and grandson have a crush on the same guy

-is this still the dream?

-she looks so creepy

-cant we have a little longer in the honeymoon damn

this SUCKS

cant have a single good day around here

[suosgirl]

Wind Breaker Ep. 13 Live Reaction (typed)

✧₊⁺ the way i immediately started giggling :16 secs into the episode bc of nirei (i fear that you are making ur way up the ladder in my heart but i must humbly ask you to stop climbing) (the manga is doing this to me y’all — he’s got me sat pretty with my legs crossed and hearts in my eyes)

✧₊⁺ TSUBAKINO I AM ON THE FLOOR, PRAISING, ADMIRING — i would write poems upon poems for you my love

✧₊⁺ umemiya the man that you are … 

✧₊⁺ SUO IS SO PRETTY I WANT TO GRAB HIM THROUGH THE SCREEN AND BITE HIS HEAD OFF

✧₊⁺ … he’s so tall too i love seeing him standing next to other ppl bc it just emphasizes it and i drool every time 

✧₊⁺ every time i see sakura on screen i feel my resolve crumbling

✧₊⁺ please i have too many husbands rn i can’t add another

✧₊⁺ every time suo speaks my body jolts — we’re meant to be together i just know it

✧₊⁺ ugh the big brother line that ume says has my heart fluttering i love them so much

✧₊⁺ …. im scared (not actually) to say this but …. kaji ….  is so pretty …. 

✧₊⁺ the close up on the lollipop leaving his mouth made my body jolt (kaji what are we?)

✧₊⁺ KIRYU IS THE PRETTIEST PERSON IVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE SITTING LIKE THAT IN THE BACK UGH I LOVE HIM I LOVE HIM I LOVE HIM

✧₊⁺ every time they do the wind chime animation ugh my heart it yearns to be there

✧₊⁺ the 5 of them … look … so fucking good … i … think im manually breathing now

✧₊⁺ ugh love how dark it turned yes give me angst

✧₊⁺ i fell in love with anzai while reading the manga and seeing him animated made me like him even more 

✧₊⁺ ugh suo sits so PRETTY i am going feral

✧₊⁺ I LOVE WHEN KIRYU TALKS OMFG MY SWEET SWEEET BABY (i will combust when his fight scene gets animated)

✧₊⁺ anzai’s smiling face im CRYING

✧₊⁺ SAKURA THE MAN THAT YOU ARE

✧₊⁺ his rambling is so fucking cute

✧₊⁺ AND SO PRETTY WHEN HE BLUSHES

✧₊⁺ i love when the main 5 sit together i fucking love it, it’s so cute

✧₊⁺ I LOVE THE WAY THEY ANIMATE RUNNING SCENES WTF ITS SO SMOOTH AND TENSE UGH

✧₊⁺ sorry but anzai’s fucking 3 spin kick had me gigglin a lil bit 

✧₊⁺ he’s so polite with it

✧₊⁺ jk his fighting shut me tf up real quick

✧₊⁺ ahhh i read the manga but seeing nagato’s crying animated is still so sad

✧₊⁺ okay side thoughts but damn their school looks so fucking rough

✧₊⁺ like i know why but ig i would’ve thought that by now with Furin’s reform that it would, idk, be a lil cleaned up?

✧₊⁺ a fic idea is brewing in my head as we speak

✧₊⁺ UGH THE WAY THAT EPISODE ENDS

✧₊⁺ IM CRYING

✧₊⁺ CHILLS UP AND DOWN MY ARMS

✧₊⁺ GOOSE FUCKING BUMPS AND TEARS IN MY EYES AHHHHHH

✧₊⁺ KIRYU THE LOML

✧₊⁺ AND SUO??? BITING MY KNUCKLES

✧₊⁺ I LOVE THEIR VOICES OH MY GOD

✧₊⁺ the close up on kaji was … phenomenal … 

✧₊⁺ ugh the tops of their heads as they walk — so cute

✧₊⁺ yeah that’s right nirei whip out your damn notebook

✧₊⁺ oh no another fic idea is brewing im scared of my brain

✧₊⁺ i actually want them to trample over me

✧₊⁺ NAH THAT ENDING STILL IS FUCKING INSANE

✧₊⁺ MAJOR AURA POINTS LIKE SO MANY

✧₊⁺ this was so wonderful — lots of admiration and respect and appreciation for the work and the team that made season 1 so amazing wow 

[joysmileyay]

beloved followers i need youre help. with anime.

im trying to make a list of anime i havent watched or havent finished watching some of which i only know by name and i need u to tell me if im missing anything or if anything on here isnt worth it. some of these i only know by name ive seen partially and will finish: Jujutsu Kaisen, Soul Eater, Dungeon Meshi havent seen: One Piece, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Full Metal Alchemist, Hunter x Hunter, Sailor Moon, FLCL, Kill la Kill, Black Butler, Tokyo Ghoul, Frieren, Lain, Nana, some notes here: i saw a little bit of dbz when i was younger and it was enough for me. cool part of my childhood but i think im good there. i havent seen ANY naruto or bleach and i guess im curious about bleach at least? but oh my god so many episodes. and i know thats also true for one piece but my friends got me into the live action and i like the characters so why not. i know there are a bunch of classics im missing which is why i need YOUR help (yes you!) also u might think jujutsu kaisen is shit. and thats fair. cause it is. for a long time. and then it got good. bonus anime i have seen under the cut

Ouran (when i was 11 lol it was my first anime), Death Note, AoT, NGE, Mob Psycho, Chainsaw Man (actually i only read it but its chill the manga is better anyway) JoJo parts 1-4 (4 is my absolute fav) and then i read 5 6 and 7 (my favorites in order are 4/7>6>3/2>1/5 at least i think. i might have to give part 5 another chance but i kinda hated it since i only liked giorno and didnt really like the supporting cast except mista), some of Tokyo Revengers which was pretty okay. i was just interested in the time travel but it randomly got me hooked for a bit, and probably like 20 other things that im just forgetting right now

[sasukecouchiewa]

I also watched around 7 episodes of tng and idk....like its interesting and all but im not so sure about the characters...like yes data is funny geordi too picard is commanding and smart riker is competent troi is beautiful bla blablablabla

I find these characters rather interesting but i dont feel any immediate connection to them as ive felt with tos or ds9  where i could feel just from looking at a character for a bit that it was gonna be interesting and promising.

obviously i dont doubt that it has many interesting and fun aspects and will develop into something better and better as seasons go by but it doesnt feel like something i really want to binge nor have to patience to watch. Now i Am watching it but because im interested in the universe per se, in the new worlds, and new interactions with other entities and spacey stuff. 

The thing that annoys me the most are the, well, annoying characters, such as the romantic interest that was made obvious from the first episode (or was it the second) because oooh the captain is losing controlllll hes giving in into his romantic and sexual impulseeeesss noo so funny!!! we now know theyre gonna be annoying af impling stuff and longing for each other for the next??? how many seasons. and her prodigy son! why must there be such a character literally no one gives a fuck and from what ive seen no one in the fandom likes him much either so literally what was the point lmao

another thing i didn't like by far is the constant slapping in our faces that the “humans” are the superior species in confront, for example, of the ferengi because now women have rights! and they have clothes! crazy shit man like i get it because in that period women did actually start getting rights so whatever it was historically important but damn like 5 episodes out of the first 7 were only about that .

also why are the jokes constructed so weirdly like theyd make one single unfunny ass joke and thered be a pause where everyone laughs except that one character and someone will be like OH! IT WAS A JOKE LMAOO hahhahahah like no….please stop its cringing me out please just make funny jokes. Like riker would look around…waiting for everyone to laugh… to giggle… or someone would make joke and linger for a moment like hey think about the fact that i made a joke. also what is that acting and what is that thing where everyone seems to have a frog in their mouth when theyre talking OMG ITS SO ANNOYING i just cant with this series im sorry i dont get it.

[frankendykes-monster]

Countdown to Halloween 2023, Ranked

43. Swamp Thing (1982)

42. Curse of Bigfoot (1975)

41. The Haunting (1999)

40. Orca (1977)

39. Teenagers Battle The Thing (1958)

38. The Beast (1975)

37. Don't Go in The House (1979)

36. Countess Dracula (1971)

35. Hillbillys in a Haunted House (1967)

34. Beware! The Blob (1972)

33. Alien Space Avenger (1989)

32. Baby Blood (1990)

31. Shriek of The Mutilated (1974)

30. The Mutations (1974)

29. Phase IV (1974)

28. Curse of The Faceless Man (1958)

27. The Sadist (1963)

26. Jennifer (1978)

25. The Wasp Woman (1959)

24. Noroi: The Curse (2005)

23. Girls Nite Out (1982)

22. The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959)

21. The Cat and The Canary (1927)

20. Tell Your Children (Reefer Madness, 1936)

19. The Company of Wolves (1984)

18. It's Alive (1974)

17. The Wolf House (2018)

16. Michael Jackson's Halloween (2017)

15. The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963)

14. The Omega Man (1971)

13. Gamera: Rebirth (2023)

12. Student Bodies (1981)

11. Night Caller From Outer Space (1965)

10. Inhumanoids (episodes 1 - 5, 1986)

9. Blind Woman's Curse (1970)

8. Maniac (1980)

7. The Child (1977)

6. Zombie 3 (1988)

5. Return of The Living Dead (1985)

4. Spider Baby (1967)

3. Basket Case (1982)

2. Messiah of Evil (1973)

Godzilla (1954)

Woof. Okay. This has been a mostly disappointing viewing experience.

Critical difference between this year's countdown and the past two is that now that I have stable employment, there is far less time to be watching horror films. I normally begin the countdown in September but we started in July of this year and still barely managed to crack 40, with my original goal being a full 100 this year. Timing. As such a lot of my plans and possible viewings were cut short and compared to last year specifically we fell back on a lot of "seen it already" at least for the top of the list.

This year's batch of viewings were largely blah, but a step up from the shitshow I put myself through last year (watching nearly every Texas Chainsaw sequel does things to a person). As such it'll be difficult to conjure up words for a decent chunk of these mostly because yes, these movies exist, I watched them, I would not recommend that you yourself watch them. That is all. If I write briefly on a given film that's not necessarily an indictment of its quality as there a decent number of these that I saw and enjoyed it's just their impact might be a bit fleeting. You will know which ones I actively disliked. I mostly just want to write about the top five or so but I will play fair.

Our grand loser this year is Swamp Thing, the DC Comics adaptation by Wes Craven. I watched this pretty much entirely because I finally got the Alan Moore Swamp Thing run in paperback this year after quite some time of having it on my to-buy list. Longtime Rachael/Ray/Ratchet fans may recall me reading it in early 2019 alongside [REDACTED]. Still one of the best Moore comics, and a second volume of Swamp Thing wouldn't have been possible without the success of this film. For context I did read the early Swampies by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson and my general reaction to those was a'ight but there was definitely material for a serviceable film adaptation there. This is not that serviceable film adaptation. I'm not hung up on details like how Abigail has no connection to Arcane now despite being his niece in the comics, but this film is just kind of painful in how relatively unambitious it is which is saying something for Swamp Thing sword fighting another human mutation at the end of this. It's just silly and stupid and not scary or awe inspiring or anything, the Swamp Thing suit sucks, the action sucks, any sense of pathos is not there or gone, it stretches for 30 minutes too long like it's a padded TV pilot, the only highlight is being able to see Adrienne Barbeau's breasts. Fuck this it's a miserable experience to sit through. My mistake for watching a Wes Craven film that doesn't have "Scream" in the title.

Our next shitter is the two-for-one abomination that is Teenagers Battle The Thing (1958) and Curse of Bigfoot (1975); these are the same movie except Curse of Bigfoot has a 25 minute opening scene framing device that is bizarre given that "The Thing" of the original film is a Native American mummy of some sort unearthed by a group of white high school students. It's the rare personal pet project movie made for fun by some locals but the only highlights are the occasional kill scene, Curse of Bigfoot ranks lower just for making me sit through it longer. Blah.

Speedrunning through a bunch of these because theyre all varying degrees of bad and I don't want to spend any longer writing about these than you probably do reading about them: The Haunting is awful and I don't even super care for the original film so adding shitty CGI monsters and a moral lesson of "it's about family!" doesn't help. Orca is a shitty Jaws cash-in that's like a reverse Moby Dick where the sea animal hunts down the human, nice finale where the orca and shitty poacher guy are fighting it out in the Arctic but otherwise avoid. Don't Go in The House is a mysoginistic torture porn movie that really doesn't sell the "seemingly normal guy is a closet nutcase" thing even though movies made before and after have done it well (see Maniac several paragraphs below). The Beast is advertised as this really scandalous porno film but most of it is French aristocrats sitting around in stuffy rooms arguing about real estate. I think I only watched Countess Dracula for its inclusion in the "if this is her vibe I would fucking cum" meme and it's barely worth bringing up at all. Hillbillys in a Haunted House has an absolutely lovely Tennessee country soundtrack that I wish I could listen to without having to watch the actual movie which is devoid of both scares and laughs. Beware! The Blob gives off the feeling of sitting at a funeral for a family member that was just distant enough for you to be aware of them but not actually be upset but it's still a funeral so it's not like you're smiling, stick with the 1988 Blob film. Alien Space Avenger has some decent gore effects but that's all I can recall from it. Shriek of The Mutilated has one of the best titles for an otherwise uninspired yeti movie that has a needless third act twist about it being a cover for a cult and blah blah blah fuck you. Baby Blood has an alien mutant whatever crawl up a woman's vagina into her womb and she has to eat people to feed it and yeah I'm actually struggling to remember what happens here. The Mutations has a scene where a guy cuts into a tree and it bleeds, I think he's played by Donald Pleasance. Yeah, it's like Freaks except it plays to the freak show straight so you get to laugh at all the outcasts of society, no thank you.

Some odds and ends that I'd say are decent-to-pretty-good: Phase IV has some footage of ants and synth music. All you need is some footage of ants and synth music. Curse of The Faceless Man employs a rarely seen archetype of the living statue monster, it's cute. The Sadist is another starring vehicle for Arch Hall Jr., who was also the star of last Halloween's Eegah! (1962), though this film is a bold trendsetter for the 1960's with Hall being a unhinged killer holding people for ransom until they can fix his car and he can make a getaway. The film lives and dies by Hall's performance and it's mostly the latter until we get to an absolutely superb final act with him hunting down his remaining victims, it makes the whole film worth seeing. Jennifer is an oddball that plays out mostly like a character drama ("It wasn't my fault Daddy it was that stupid hillbilly bitch Jennifer") that suddenly remembers that it's supposed to be a cash-in of Carrie (1976) in the last 20 minutes and cue our titular character being able to summon and control snakes to send after her tormentors. Girls Nite Out is a plodding meandering slasher that's oddly hypnotizing considering so much of it takes place in pitch-black night and the killer is wearing a bear mascot costume with serrated knives hidden under the glove, not sure what fully to make of it. The Monster of Piedras Blancas is made up of leftover parts from the Gillman, Mole People, and Metaluna Mutant, but still manages to star in a decent enough film that gives a sense of what a series of monster attacks would do to a small seaside community. The Cat and The Canary is "cute" for lack of a better term being a horror comedy before the former genre had fully crystalized. Reefer Madness is horror adjacent more than anything but a hilariously good time about how the use of "marihuana" will drive today's youth into becoming crazed fiends and get involved in organized crime.

We can do this.

The Company of Wolves has an excellent story book like setting an atmosphere that you can't get in films nowadays and it's a shame that it's mostly remembered for its transformation sequences. it's Alive is the best Larry Cohen film by default of not sucking but it's still not "great", genius however for playing the concept of mutant newborn killer baby completely seriously without any sense of humor to the proceedings. The Girl Who Knew Too Much is almost a parody of giallo films which is interesting given those hadn't fully sprang up in 1963; absolute highlight is the main character being interviewed in bed by doctors and reporters and the like that yes she did see a murder and no she doesn't drink. I've always been fascinated and haunted by I Am Legend and while The Omega Man doesn't really capture the novel to a superb degree it's so beautifully shot that it lands high in the rankings for that alone. Night Caller From Outer Space is hilarious to me because of how it shifts halfway through from a Hammer-esque mystery about a meteorite with radioactive properties to a film about an alien that lures women in through a modeling advertisement. Blind Woman's Curse I've mentally confused with Irezumi for a while now (haha all 1960's Japanese genre films where woman have large animal tattoos on their backs are the saaame), and it's one I mostly watched for being directed by Teruo Ishii, but there's enough bloody yakuza fights and cats licking up blood for me to stick around; not the strongest Meiko Kaiji vehicle compared to Female Prisoner Scorpion or Lady Snowblood. Maniac I find mostly interesting as a precursor to American Psycho (2000) but also it's probably the only serious film to successfully pull off it's ending trope (which I will not spoil here). The Child is an absolutely lovely 1970's only-a-dozen-people-made-this-and-not-much-more-watched-it horror that oozes atmosphere, I could watch stuff like this all day. Aaand Zombie 3 is far and away the best film that Lucio Fulci has been involved with that I've ever seen. I love random scenes and set pieces of ghouls just massacring people that are shit out out of luck.

Okay, now for the ones I actually want to write about.

The Wasp Woman is one that sticks in my head way more than any other random monster movie that Roger Corman directed in the latw 1950's. I've said on here and Letterboxd that it could have served as a standard pop-feminist piece about how the cosmetology industry is built on misogyny and invariably a monster is accidentally created because of that, but this most recent viewing has made me sort of "get it" because that might be what the film is going for considering Susan Cabot's performance leads me to believe that she is aware that she is becoming a homicidal wasp monster but views it as a tragic means to an end where she still has the ability to have a new advertising campaign with her as the star. Tragic. This is why you don't wear make up.

Both Noroi: The Curse and The Wolf House are ones I didn't care for whatsoever but I put them in places on the ranking that I thought were fair given that people should probably watch them regardless of my personal thoughts. Noroi's format didn't really lend itself to the escalation of tension and reveal of information that the plot demanded and I found myself thinking it meanders quite a bit. The Wolf House was an odd one where everything that was happening onscreen bounced off of me mostly because I felt intimately aware that I was watching a movie, that someone had made something and that I was now being shown it. Blah. People like these so don't let me stop you.

Our animated offerings this year...

Michael Jackson's Halloween more than anything feels like an unlicensed creation that later had an English fan dub commissioned, not something that actually aired on CBS twice. Any laughs that I found in this thing were the unintentional type as we open up with Bubbles talking and being Jackson's chauffeur; you know exactly what you're getting into. Very little of the plot is explained but I'm assuming Jackson (who has no lines given this was made posthumously) orchestrates a dark fantasy adventure to hook two...teenagers? People in their late 20's? And convince them to follow their dreams of performing instead of working a deadend dayjob. I'm not sure who the actual audience for this was given it feels like so much of it was made for children but I will say anything that has this much of Michael Jackson's music in it can't be all bad, though I'm not sure why they didn't largely stick with tracks from the album Thriller (in the contention for best album ever, I don't care).

Gamera: Rebirth is one I feel like I'm on the outside on compared to most other tokusatsu fans because I didn't really *love* to a serious degree even though, yes, Gamera is finally back. The first three episodes are mostly just kind of a slog for me with the backhalf not doing enough to retroactively make me think highly of it, though giving off End of Evangelion vibes may make me consider that a second viewing must be in order down the line. Rebirth's strongest attribute is that it feels like it takes into consideration and influence from every prior era of Gamera, no stone is left unturned, and it's a marked contrast from how every recent Godzilla property only captures a single facet of their respective character. But that also creates unique issues like how a lot of criticism of ongoing US military presence in Japan is undercut so there can be a white kid in the main cast (because white children were always present in half of the Showa series) or having the ancient civilization that genetically engineered the kaiju now being malicious and actively sacrificing children as a means of reshaping the world gives me vaguely anti-semitic tones, I don't know, Gamera is still here, I guess.

"I was just a little twerp who liked Scooby-Doo and Smurfs, now I was viewing Cthulhu mutants ruin the Earth."

Everyday that we have Inhumanoids is a gift. Inhumanoids is another Hasbro/Sunbow production like G. I. Joe, Transformers, or Jem and The Holograms, and it is truly tragic that it never got anywhere near that level of attention compared to its siblings. The fact that a 1980's action figure tie-in cartoon is named for its antagonists is only the start; the series follows a small paramilitary outfit of scientists named Earth Core that are tasked with more or less saving the world alongside the Mutores, elemental beings, when the Inhumanoids, eldritch abominations, are unleashed. The degree of world-building beyond your typical "good guys vs. bad guys" affair is astounding with villainous humans and virtuous monsters abounding, but Inhumanoids is mostly magical and remembered for saying fuck all to any type of broadcast standards. Seeing giant monsters destroy cities, undead armies, and spelunking deep into the Earth (where nightmares begin...) are just standard fair here, as are witnessing the actual Inhumanoids such as Metlar (basically the devil) or D'Compose (giant undead entity that can zombify people by touching them and uses his ribcage like a jail cell) in action. The first five episodes here are the pilot movie of sorts for the series which only lasted thirteen overall, and they get more grissly from here on out, but maybe it's best that Inhumanoids is the short lived cartoon and no the cartoon that went soft as early as its second season. I will never not love this show, to this day it's one of my favorite animated series from any decade, much less the 1980's.

Back to our regularly scheduled live-action programming...

Student Bodies is a fascinating film for a myriad of reasons the first of which is that there were somehow enough slasher films by 1981 for there to be a comedy poking fun at all the already established genre-cliches. It's essentially Scary Movie (2000) a full 20 years ahead of the curve only actually funny in spite of the subject matter frequently being as juvenile and prejudiced; but it also reminds me quite a bit of Scream (1996) with stuff like two killers working together. All I know is I was in for a decent time when the film opens with three identical shots of a house just with different framing text: "HALLOWEEN," "FRIDAY THE 13TH," "JAMIE LEE CURTIS' BIRTHDAY" and then the killer, The Breather, calls the opening kill girl doing nothing but breathing heavily, she hangs up, he calls back with "I SAID [heavy breathing]."

Return of The Living Dead is one of those films that should have destroyed the any artifically-imposed boundaries between "high" and "low" art. Every aspect of this film is brilliantly made, it just so happens to be made for stuff like Scooby-Doo music overlaid on top of thunderstorms over graveyards where one female character is stripping to the concept of dying. Media involving ghouls is incredibly oversaturated, and this was still the case in the 1980's where a film like this had to redefine the rules to make it so killing ghouls was basically a non-option. It only recently struck me on this viewing that that's the whole purpose of removing virtually all weaknesses they have, to keep the characters as the nail instead of the hammer. Compared to the Romero films, there's never a point where anyone is in control of the situation, it just escalates further and further until there is literally no way out. Taking that into consideration, there's no way this film couldn't have been a comedy that frames people getting swarmed and eaten by ghouls as hilarious.

The soundtrack and the faux-punk sensibilities lend this a daft feeling of "you shouldn't be watching this" in spite of it not being one of the MOST gory horror films of the 1980's. I still don't get how this never broke into the mainstream. I mean somehow people know that ghouls (in this film) speak and only eat brains but I can't go down to Target and get a Tarman action figure like I can one of Michael Myers. As such Return of The Living Dead remains a criminally overlooked film regardless of its subject matter. It's made me laugh and cringe and feel disgusted and revolt at the concept at dying but mostly it's made me feel a delicious sense of joy at seeing corpses rise out of the ground to the tune of "Do you wanna party? IT'S PARTY TIIIME!" Some of you need to sit in the corner and think about your life choices for making stupid shit like Re-Animator (1985) or fucking Shaun of The Dead (2004) more popular than this, fuck you.

The act of watching Spider Baby is like discovering the missing link. For as much as 1960 gave us an explosion of horror (Eyes Without a Face, The Ship of Monsters, Psycho, Jigoku, Black Sunday, etc.) and Night of The Living Dead (1968) reins as the perennial transition point of the genre, Spider Baby is the road by which we go from The Cat and The Canary and The Old Dark House to the likes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Eraserhead, it's magical finding an essential piece of a genre you love so much. Both the former and latter points of comparison are apt as a family of now only children [and their butler] suffering from Poe-esque hereditary illness have their condemned house set upon by distant relatives and everything slowly unravels.

Lon Chaney Jr. is an actor who for the longest time I felt never got a proper chance to shine wherein the last 25 years or so of his career was spent playing as side character actor in independent films. Spider Baby is his crowning achievement. Seeing him smile through almost tears on several occasions as he has to play bridge between worlds of sanity and madness and lie to everyone that he has some sense of control over the situation is brilliant in ways I always knew he was capable of but had never seen before this point. Bravo.

I will never not love Basket Case with everything I've got. This is the epitome of 1980's horror and my clear pick for best of the decade. It has everything from being a grungy putrid grindhouse spectacle to being an intimate character drama to everything presented through a wry ironic lense where you can't tell if any "bad" performances are all done on purpose. Between this, Brain Damage (1988), and Frankenhooker (1990), there is literally absolutely no reason why Frank Henenlotter shouldn't be more popular than Stuart Gordon, Brian Yuzna, and Lloyd Kaufman *combined*. It's tragic that the world of cinema being enclosed and captured by studios again in the late 1980's prevented us from getting more from him, but realistically could we ask anymore than what we already got from Basket Case? I could watch this every day and never grow tired of it. I will never stop making more and more people watch this.

If Basket Case is the apex of 1980's horror, then Messiah of Evil is the same for 1970's horror. This is one of the most efficient horror films ever made in how not a single frame is wasted, the opening scene is literally a guy running from unseen force, seeking refuge, getting his throat slit, cue title card with synth music that then leads us to a sunburnt hallway as our narrator descends into acceptance of complete lack of control of the situation. Every night shot in this film must be 50 - 75% completely black with whatever headlight or store front there is just making the scenery look like a dollhouse that our characters are trapped inside. There's so many shots of people running away or walking down streets that make them look tiny as the camera is so far.

Every scene is an exercise in building up dread. There's no point where the film relents, something awful is not only coming, it's already here and there's nothing anyone can do. What I love particularly is that the mystery being laid out doesn't offer any answers because there's another mystery on top of what our characters find out only too late. Layers upon layers of dread that even the titular Messiah of Evil isn't the center of. The world is a cruel fucking place where this film languishes in obscurity whilst shit like The Exorcist enjoys mainstream attention. A lot of my taste amounts to "why isn't this thing I like more popular" and cases like Messiah of Evil vindicate me.

"Godzilla is the son of the atomic bomb. He is a nightmare created out of the darkness of the human soul. He is the sacred beast of the apocalypse." - Tomoyuki Tanaka

Generally a yearly trend is that a #1 pick for Halloween is self-evident to me and this year it was Basket Case for all of 30 seconds until I picked Godzilla back up.

There's something to be said how Godzilla isn't quite a horror monster? Terrifying but not necessarily creepy, but what power do things that go bump in the night have against the destruction of everything you know? Everytime I watch Godzilla is like the very first time, when flashing lights out at sea destroy fishing ships I have no idea what happened, or at least any much of a clue as anyone in film does when we're told that the entire ocean exploded.

Godzilla is a reptile, but lacks scales and its entire body is coated in keloid scars. In 1954 Godzilla must have been the largest monster every committed to film, trains are derailed from running against its ankle and bell and radio towers are throttled for being a sensory inconvenience. Godzilla's first on-screen appearance on Odo Island is obscured by a hurricane but the impression is clear; you can't fight Godzilla in the same way you can't fight a natural disaster. When Tokyo is reduced to complete ruin amidst a sea of flames, it's an onslaught of destruction never before seen in a film of this genre. Survivors being afflicted with radiation poisoning shows that Godzilla will claim victims long after being driven back to sea.

There's a sheer apocalyptic dread to all of this sensed by all the characters. Love tries to exist on the edge of annihilation. There's nothing that can be done but persevere and maybe hope tomorrow will be better. A scene that always strikes me is when Serizawa is adamant about not using the Oxygen Destroyer until forcibly confronted with the results of one night of Godzilla making landfall in Japan. The absolute pain felt by everyone in the finale starts here, things couldn't play out any differently as the "scientist of the century" can't join in and celebrate his victory.

Godzilla is a rare perfect film. I will never tire of it.

[theeio]

What got you into livio? Was it fic, art, another friend, or did you just see him and go: “wowza.”

HI IM BLOWING A KISS TO U CHRIS

there are…. SEVERAL factors to why i fixated on livio so here it is. ive written this elsewhere before but HERE IT IS AND HERE IT GOES:

Livio was a pivotal character in my absolute favourite episodes in Tristamp. Episodes 5-7 is one of the most breathtaking things I’ve seen in anime in a while. It’s not often you see such *strong* visual storytelling and show not tell in an anime, the BEAUTIFUL score and sound design, and seeing the tragedy of the blessing children, with the wonderfully done 2d animation, having one of the best action sequences in the season (Vash vs Livio), and how meaningful every moment was and how it aids in seeing the character’s motivations (especially Wolfwood). I could go on.

The found family between Livio and Wolfwood got to me. YES I KNOW. IM PREDICTABLE. Their moments, both in their backstory and when Wolfwood wakes him up...was so warm and tender it was unbelievable. How gentle they were as children, vs how the Eye of Michael made them to be now. Man that hurt. Also the bit in their childhood friendship montage including bonding by trying to smoke worm legs was INCREDIBLY FUNNY

And on that note. I think part of why love Livio is also because episode 7 was one of the FUNNIEST viewing experiences of anything in my LIFE. So story time I was watching this show for the first time with my older sister and mom, and when Vash was telling Wolfwood that in order to save Livio he needed to Make him remember (“There has to be something he cant forget") I joked offhandedly "lol wolfwood revives livio with weed" and then??? half a minute later THEY ACTUALLY WENT THERE?2?1?1?1?11?1?11?? WOLFWOOD ACTUALLY LEGITIMATELY REVIVED LIVIO WITH THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP AND WEED AND WE WERE LOSING OUR SHITS AND SCREAMINGGGG and then right after that Livio [REDACTED]s and then we were like

4. DVDJDBDJDJDKDJDKDFHKDDK but anyway yeah like, conceptually the episodes Livio in was RIDICULOUS but bro. I am UTTERLYYY OBSESSED with how they Made made it work???? So well??? Somehow those were the moments hit hardest emotionally for me. It was so, SO good.

5. Also Tristamp Livio relatable to me on an insanely specific level….like can’t move on from the best friend you made before you were 12 who had to leave from life circumstances, whose name also starts with “Nico” specific? Yeah me too Livio

6. And finally just. Knowing that Livio has SO MUCH MORE going for him in the source material? I haven’t read the manga yet but I’m so unbelievably excited to see more of this character, be it in Trimax or the next season of Tristamp. I love him and Razlo’s design and he intrigues me greatly from what I’ve seen and heard from manga readers. I’m vibrating at the idea of seeing him rigged up and animated in his full buff cowboy glory

OKAY IM DONE HDDJJDDJDJDK THIS GOT TOO LONG AND SILLY DHSKSHSKS have a livio scribble as a thanks🥰BYE

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

Live Blog/My thoughts scene for scene ish for OFMD S2 Episodes 1-3

FULL SPOILERS FOR S2 EPS 1-3. Including a post credit scene for Episode 3 that includes a teaser for the episodes 4-5 and discussing scenes we haven't seen from the trailer.

My long form stuff usually gets seen by people outside of my circle so before this long post I want to preface with this-

Hi! Izzy is my favorite character. As of right now I have written just under 240k words about this guy and spent most of my time in this fandom in Izzy spaces. If that is a problem for you, this might not be the read.

But I got fed a 5 star meal and already see this season is a love letter to the fans and I am here to appreciate it. 

Please be warned. I personally think this season should have a warning on it for how it handles suicide, suicidal ideation, substance use and relationship abuse. I will be going in depth on this but handle it with respect as someone whose lived shit like this.

My first watch was without subtitles and on a big old tv screen. I I decided to miss a few things my first watch, choosing to turn off subtitles, and get surprised by dialogue and delivery(as I tend to read ahead). This watch is to confirm lines, appreciate delivery, and more. 

I have not read any meta, and this is blind before I see how all my mutuals freak out!!!!

Lines that fucked me up will be bolded. Just know I want to write an essay about them, and would given the chance. (sorry for spelling errors I watched this twice + stayed up for an extra 10 hours😅)

EPISODE 1:

I liked the recap, but I don’t think it’s enough for casual viewers who watched it maybe once ALSO. That Edit of Izzy’s ‘namby-pamby crying for his boyfriend’ IMMEDIATELY into the Toe Scene got a laugh out of me, because OWW. How had we not thought of that? 

I LOVE THE DREAM SCENE. Izzy beating him fair and square, but still losing. The stab in the killing side? THE MELODRAMA. The way this confirms Stede sees Izzy as a ‘big bad’ he needs to defeat to ‘win’ Ed. Him having the most 1 dimensional view of both him, Ed, and Izzy. A view how Stede is still an idiot unable to see nuance in people. Izzy smiling? The way he mutters his last words> God I love Con O’Neill. Let’s watch him maybe die 8 separate times and call it a season. 

It also got a good laugh out of me. Did I predict that that it was a dream when the teaser came out? Yeah. Still funny as shit.

‘Can’t be worse than you moaning Ed, Oh Ed’ FUNNY AS SHIT. 

I liked the ‘customer service’ montage. Swede, you deserve all the love you get. You are in good hands.  I think Stede’s part of this episode was just to lighten the rest of it. Hello to an antagonist of this season, and narrative foil to Stede, Prince Ricky.

I know it doesn’t matter who did Ed’s back tattoo, but the irony of Ed trusting someone enough to get it done is just funny. 

(Wedding Scene) I SQUEALED WHEN WE GOT THE RETURN OF ED’S EVIL THEME. Also, calling his crew the devils ‘kids’ is so fucking funny. HELLO CLASSIC ROCK IVE NEVER HEARD OF??? Welcome to the OFMD playlist. I love the montage of ‘Ed is working everyone to death’. Izzy got to threaten an English sailor. I know he’s happy with that. 

Yes. The wedding thing was absolutely over the line. RIP Ivan, you will be missed. I can’t wait for Frenchie to break down, and congrats to all the people who wrote Frenchie as emotionally distant, you’ve won! 

THE WAY IZZY SOUNDS SO TIRED ‘Yeah. They got cake.’ ALSO. Did I miss the knife throwing scene?? Was that just for the trailer? I think it was in a past edit and they removed it.

‘Can’t do the job? Someone else will’ (Ed to Izzy)- Izzy felt that he mattered to Ed. This one line reframes their entire relationship. This fucks Izzy up. I theorize as the main reason Izzy never did anything was because Ed was his captain. But they were still friends. Close. Trusted partners.  But Izzy is still expendable. Even after all this time. He is nothing. Maybe he knows Ed is doing this so he rebels, and kills him, but maybe he doesn't. Izzy cares about loyalty... we'll see.

Yes. The Izzy scene hurts. But after watching Ep 2, this is nothing. 

‘It is your job to-to follow my fucking orders’ (Izzy to crew) THIS IS NOT HOW I THOUGHT THIS LINE WOULD BE USED. Because he knows. He knows he’s fucked, and he’s struggling to accept the fact that he’s looking down the loaded barrel. He knows that he can’t make these people listen to him, not any more. He’s alone, and now the one thing he can do(be Ed’s first mate) is about to be stripped from him. Hell, it already is.

Spanish Jackie. I love you. I love you so much. Extort those fuckers. Semi clean water and education is a big deal! Also, this season overall is a HUGE win for my fellow Pete fans. Funny bastard. 

I have thoughts about Prince boy, but they can wait until he does something.

Stede’s flaw has always been his naivety, habit of judging once and never really questioning it, and his ego. Prince is able to take advantage of it. I don’t trust him. I think he’s a spy. I also like thinking Spanish Jackie is collecting husbands to certain tasks like it’s Pokémon. Need a bartender? Customer service husband. The books? Math husband. New Swedish husband? Masseuse.

HI IZZY ED SCENE ----

‘Because it’s fuckin’ treasure.’ Izzy. Izzy I fucking love you. God. The way he stiffens up. Knowing them not following orders means he will lose a toe. Fucking god. 

This to me confirms that Ed really wants to get Izzy to kill him in in ep 1. He will tear down every good memory they have just to get Izzy to give in. He doesn’t care about their past, he just wants to die. Izzy is a convenient violent punching bag because he can’t leave. He knows fully well that this crew doesn’t listen, and blames Izzy for a fact he can’t change. It’s fucked that he's shoving Izzy into this corner but he doesn't think there will be consequences. 

Honestly. I think Izzy knows his partner is at this edge, but he can’t do anything. This is why he gets the guts to talk back. Both here and later in front of the crew(more in a second).

The ‘you know me better than anyone has ever known me’ (Izzy to Ed) line kills me. Because it’s honest. For the rest of these episodes Izzy is so fucking honest It hurts. He can’t lie. Not to himself, not anymore. Not to Edward or the crews. He can't take advantage of any situation, or turn the tables. All he has is his words. He knows this, and yet here he is. Facing this abuse, and trying, because he wants to fix it. But he knows he’s not enough to snap Ed out. 

‘I have love for you’ (Izzy to Ed in cabin)Present tense…fucking hell. Izzy tries to pull Ed out by showing his soft center, and we can tell from Ed’s dismissive reaction that he already knows all this. But Ed isn’t talking. Izzy can’t read minds, he wants to help. I know he felt adrenaline spring through him after the confession, and with loose lips, he says just the wrong thing. HI MICROEXPRESSIONS ON CON. FUCKING AHH

‘Hang on Ed- Captain.’ (Izzy to Ed as Ed is marching out to the crew)OW. OUCH. OOF??? IZZY PANICING???? Trying to stop this???

The look on Izzy’s face when Ed holds the gun to himself is not shocked. Hurt, and he immediately closes himself off, like he genuinely thinks Ed would do it.  That’s what hurts. Also, I don’t know if hes doing a high pitch voice to imitate Izzy, but that’s my view of it. 

‘PACK IT IN' (Screamed by Izzy to Ed) THATS MY MAN!!! Stand up to Ed being shitty! GOD. Frenchie’s little head shake. Trying to warn Izzy, to tell him no :((((. But Izzy doesn’t care. He knows he’s not got too long left, so he might as well chew Ed out, to say the things everyone is thinking but are too scared to say. God, the way Ed teases the answer in front of everyone. -Say his name and I will shoot- sitting right there in his eyes, and Izzy GRINS and he says ‘Stede fuckin’ Bonnet’ and that is finally enough of an excuse for Ed to shoot. 

Look at the way Ed nods his head as Izzy says it, not even letting Izzy finish before saying it. He's done. All the other performative versions of violence, of being Blackbeard he does, I see a reason to say 'he's doing this as self hurt' but Idk. It feels like he wanted to, and now he can. So he does. The way everyone reacts hurts me. The way Ed steps over him, the way Ed pushes Frenchie into Izzy’s job. 

I know many fans, and myself before the show aired, thought the leg shooting would be too much. In all honesty. This is how I’d want it written. This entire episode has showcased Edward’s grown resentment to his friend mixed with self destructive impulses. Some might view this as being too much, but given episode 2, this is such a big fucking moment I can’t even comprehend it right now. 

Do I think Izzy’s love confession pushed Ed to this panic- ESPECIALLY after his last confession ended in Stede running away? Maybe. But I think Ed was mentally in a place where he couldn’t react with anything BUT dread. Thus making the Stede call back even worse. But I don’t know. 

That’s one end of the spectrum of how this scene can be interpreted (Ed shooting Izzy’s leg felt unjustified/uncalled for at this point in the story) now lets turn it around (The ‘Izzy deserved it’ fuck heads)

Lets be 100% clear here. 

I view Izzy turning the crew to the English was a catylist, BUT not a cause for them getting captured. Stede was wanted for murder, and would have gotten caught eventually. Hell, the fact Blackbeard was on the ship in S1 was a lucky guess that Chauncy was happy to take advantage of, that IZZY HAD TO SIGN THE ACT OF GRACE to get Ed out of.  

Can Ed hold Izzy responsible instead of taking accountability for his own actions? Yes. This episode shows that’s basically how he sees it. But we as fans are basically shown 5 different ways to view Izzy as sympathetic here. 

Now: Moving back into the episode (after 500 words of that…damn)--------------

Ricky is so dumb…. I don’t know if I love it or not.

I love ‘Susan’ (Zheng Yi Sao) but have some thoughts. I enjoy her, the way she holds herself like Ed did in episode 3, drawing that parallel. That and her Izzy narrative mirror of a first mate. Also, I hope the Swede and Spanish Jackie have a lovely season. I love them so much. 

(Yes! I got to inform the family of the history of the Queen of Pirates. I love what I do. )

One of my favorite crew scenes: Jim and Fang failing to correctly remember the story. I LOVE IT. I agree Archie, Jim trying to help Fang feel better is so fucking GOOD. Mixing the legend of the Monkey’s paw and Pinochio while cleaning up Izzy’s blood is so fucking…much. 

Hi another song I have never heard of??? (The whistle one, you will be going to the Ed Izzy divorce playlist)

Ed is pulling a Stede. Running away from every problem forgetting they dont exist. The second something tries to change he snaps. It hurts looking at Frenchie clearly trying to balance his family and Edward’s lack of empathy. I fucking love this episode, and think it’s up there for my favorites. This is a trend that will continue. 

EPISODE TWO:

Maybe my favorite piece of writing in ages. Can I just say they are Fucking WILD to call the Izzy/Ed episode ‘Red Flags’????? BECAUSE DEAR GOD

I watched the recap. It’s like, 3 scenes of stede, with Izzy geting shot and the final scene of Zheng Yi Sao. 

Classical song in opening: Etude No. 1, Op, 25. Going into the writing playlist. 

Buttons sleeping with his feet up, maybe to be close to the sea?

Now. I am going to use this moment to discuss a large criticism I have. The cutaways to scenes from S1. Now, do they feel fast, and awkward, yes. Should the writers trust their audience to tie the call back together? Yes. But for a casual audience I think these scenes are VERY necessary if you haven’t watched the show. I think they should be taken out, but I get why they’re there. 

‘Run From Me’ by Timber timbre THIS IS A FUCKING ED/IZZY SONG IN THE SHOW?!?!??!. WE DID IT. WE GOT 1! I don’t see any way how you could tie this is Ed/Stede. A song about the fear of hurting others and needing to always push people away. After last episode??? I fucking… I teared up on rewatch, because FUCK. It’s a scene with Ed playing with the dolls, but Izzy’s presence is right THERE. 

OMG OMG OMG- A PIRATE SHIP IS USING THE BELLS SYSTEM TO KEEP TRACK OF SHIFTS????? (Kind of? Not really? She just rang a bell. But just give me this).

Wee john & Buttons, I love you. ‘YES QUEEN!’ I CACKLED! I love the mispronouncing ‘China’ gag. 

‘I decided to take a chance on you…because’ Because they’re allies. Stede taking ‘soft’ as a compliment gives me life. 

LUCIUS!!!!! I FUCKING LOVE THEM!!! THE ‘OH MY GOD’ CALLBACK!!! THE HAPPY CREW SONG RETURNING?? 

I love that Stede is immediately like-*the vibes are off. What happened to my boy.* as soon as he sees him

Can I also say, I love that when we transition over to the Revenge, we see it from the front, sailing into frame. It’s such a good shot. 

I love that Ed is obviously in a manic period, FUCK. WHAT IF HE WAS CRYING OVER KILLING IZZY??? He wouldn't…but other than that, I can’t see specifically what he was crying about. 

‘No more booze, no more drugs, and more importantly, no more Izzy’ WHEN I TELL YOU I GASPED WHEN IT WAS REVEALED IZZY WAS KILLED THE FIRST TIME. God. Not by Ed, because Ed would never, but by FRENCHIE. No wonder they had to edit ‘Stede’ over that in the trailer… 

‘The new first mate always kills the old first mate’ - Okay, this bugs me. It’s not that the first mate is killed because ‘it’s law’. First mates were usually picked by their captain, but the Captain was democratically chosen. The first mate is loyal to the captain, as that is their job. The reason the first mate was killed when replaced was because the new Captain feared the old first mate could start a mutiny, and use the friendships built against a new person in power-

OH SHIT. DOES THIS MEANS ED KNEW IZZY WOULD MUTINY???? SO HE ORDERED FRENCHIE TO KILL HIM??

HOLY FUCK! :0

EDWARD YOU CONNIVING LITTLE BASTARD!!!!!

Hi secret passage :) To all the authors who also wrote them as tiny little hallways in the walls, rip. How did no one notice an extra room.

IZZY!!!! MY BOI

God, Izzy just knowing he’s fucked, and wanting to die now before Ed finds out is so fucking GOOD. ‘We just had him asleep’ JIM he’s a 50 year old man fading in and out of sleep due to an infection, not a toddler. I love that Izzy is just…so done. He didn’t expect the crew to help him out 🙁

HELLO OTHER SCENE IN THIS EPISODE I DIDN’T EXPECT TO LOVE-

God. I think my problem with Lucius in fanon was that he was always treated like he was above it all. The therapist. The loving partner. The jokester. But he has actual depth and Nathan is a brillian actor.

Hi Buttons being a sea god. I love that I wrote him as being creature adjacent ages ago. Bro can read Chinese AND got a fun magical ability. I can’t wait for that to pay off. 

THE OTHER SCENE I HAVE FEELINGS ABOUT. Pissed off Ed being so fucking cheery when confronting Frenchy is so unnerving. Ed isn’t dumb. He knows. He knows the moment he caught Frenchie with that box that he was helping keep Izzy alive but he needed it confirmed. Which Frenchie did. 

(This is the point where my bro woke up so I rewatched everything with him)

Dear god. CAN WE CLEAN IZZY? Bandage that leg? ANYTHING?

‘But he’s out dick’ (Jim to Archie about Izzy and why they want to keep him alive) FUCK YEAHHHH!!! I love it, but can we not do this in front of a passed out Izzy?

Oh, the way my gut dropped the first time I saw Ed on the stairway of the secret room. Keep that man away from him.

GOD THE WAY I FUCKING GROANED WHEN OLU MOVED THE SHIPS ON THAT MAP. I am so happy the show is portraying how a flagship of a fleet works!!!

Lucius smocking to relieve stress and sooth his anxiety. All that to not think about what's happened. THAT and Pete being the ‘softer’ partner, gives me life. 

Izzy/Ed scene in the hidden room.

HI IZZY! ‘Up in leg heaven’(Ed to Izzy) Does this line read like bad fic? Yes. Good think I write fic and think it's fucking hilarious.

I fucking CHERISH this scene- 

‘I dreamt you killed me.’ ‘good for you’ (Ed to Izzy, Izzy to Ed)I FUCKING LOVE YOU IZZY- you are so tired of Ed's shit. I would put the entirety of this scene and every micro expression from Izzy if I could. ALSO ‘Eddie????’’ WHY- FUCKING- THAT WAS A FANFIC LINE AND IT'S MAKING ME SAD :0.

We are so getting a flashback next episode, aren't we? Even if we don't I'm so satisfied seeing the past closeness hinted at in these 3 episodes.

‘Clean up your own mess I’ve been doing it my whole life.’ I fucking LOVE HIM!! Even when he's suffering through an infection he won't let Ed walk all over him. Then Ed gives him his gun. LITERALLY TELLING IZZY TO STILL CLEAN UP THE MESS. 

‘I loved you…best I could.’ OH FUCK> OH FUCK!!!!! How did I MISS THAT ON MY FIRST RUN? IZZY/ED CONFIRMED???? THE FUCK???? ED ADMITS THAT HE FUCKING LOVED HIM!!! FUCKING KILL ME. ALSO PAST TENSE! That better be because he thinks Izzy is dead and not that he doesn't love him anymore :((( 

I loved Stede mentoring Lucius in talking btw. 

‘Save the rest for Pete’ (Stede to Lucius) Aw. Stede can’t be the therapist. I also love that Pete got freaked out. It makes me happy. 

I love this whole pre-storm scene. The way we can see Ed adjusting the canon into the mast to blow it down. The general storm vibes. The tension. The way it reads like the fuckery scene in ep 4 with the storm. Ed being steps ahead. But instead of Ed doing something clever he's doing something self destructive.

‘Run From Me’ start playing in the background up again when Lucius' line about being broken and learning to cope. LEADING RIGHT INTO THE STORM SCENE- AHHHH.

The way JIM STOPS ARCHIE FROM FIGHTING. Literally replicating their arc from S1.

THE WAY IZZY SHOOTS ED TO PROTECT THE CREW FROM ED LITGHTING THE CANON WICK. THE FUCKING PAN UP REVEALING IZZY IS ALIVE AND *EMPTY*

‘YOU INDESTRUCTIBLE LITTLE FUCKER’ (Ed to Izzy) THESE TWO I SWEAR TO CHRIST!

GET ‘EM FANG! PROTECT IZZY

God I fucking love this episode. So fucking much. The fact Ed/Izzy divorce has multiple suicide attempts built in makes me feel things. I wouldn’t expect anything else. 

==============================================

EPISODE 3

‘I know, it’s been a day!’ (Zheng Yi Sao to Shadow guy)

I love the scene of her bargaining with the guy and think Zheng Yi Sao is going to build a pirate army to take over the Republic. She’s already taken over China. This is just for pride.

GOD I love the scene of Stede going through the ship. Mainly because it lets us see the hallway, and tells me more of the Ship's anatomy but that's not the point. 

I don't know how the Crew survived the storm, but DAMN. I'm so proud of all of them working together. We were all right to write fic like that.

Izzy just casually being devalued by Stede and how he just IMMEDIATELY looks to Frenchie. OW. FUCKING OW. Also the way Izzy said 'Bonnet' at the start of this scene makes me so happy. 

I ZONED OUT A BIT- FORGOT TO WRITE

Now we’re at the scene of Stede cleaning up the knives. Leading into Izzy and Stede bitching. I love this scene mirroring the one where Izzy tells Stede to ‘plumb the depths’. Because it’s a moment where Izzy tries to be honest to Stede, but it doesn’t work. I FUCKING LOVE THIS SCENE SO MUCH. Izzy holding his tongue just a bit trying to warn Stede. A person he is actively jealous of. Hell, he even takes accountability for his actions. He even tells Izzy a half truth that they didn’t kill Ed. 

IZZY IS FUCKING TRYING. BUT STEDE IS TOO STUBORN!!!! Why does Izzy always need to be the voice of reason, it’s bad for him :( He needs someone to treat him seriously. 

I love that Hornigold has all of Ed’s mannerisms from the start. That and all of Hornigolds memories are what Ed remembers about the things he hated about the man (the crab thing)

Is it sad that Ed is excited to live a normal life, but his gut(Hornigold) tells him not to be so naïve? Yeah. But I’m mad at him, so give me a day. 

I love Izzy in the jail scene. ALSO WHY IS FRENCHY LEANING THAT CLOSE TO IZZY-HELLO?? Izzy crying, closing his eyes. Not able to keep Ed safe because he still tried SO HARD to keep his body semi stable. They think he’s probably dead, and Izzy still keeps his corpse safe. EVEN AFTER ANYTHING. HE STILL LOVES HIM! :D D:

This is where the Pirate Queen isn’t fun anymore for me. I liked her, but then she threatened Olu if he said no?? I don’t like it! Especially as it seems Olu didn't get the hint.

The escape overall is very fucking sweet. Especially Izzy shushing people. I makes me happy :)- Also Buttons being a good first mate and giving orders as soon as they touch deck.  

I’M SORRY- IZZY THNAKING STEDE I saw it the first time, and freaked out, but the second?? DEAR GOD! I fucking love him. Give this man a hug. 

Also! I think the Mermaid scene is my 'Ohh Daddy' from S1. It’s a bit.. .much, I like the metaphor a lot. Eh. I don't know. I think they should have blured out Stede's face a bit with water. Reveal it's REALLY Stede when he gets closer. Hide the budget a but more or do a far away shot vs up close. Pretty but just a bit off.

ALSO: IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED THE Ep 3 POST CREDIT SCENE DO-AS I’M SPOILING IT. As a person who is writing a ‘cured object’ thing for this fandom… watch this undo like, 40k of my own words. Please let Izzy be a bit of a skeptic but he generally follows the vibes cause ‘legends’ ALSO murder lesbians!! ALSO IZZY/STEDE woops, sorry, IZZY & STEDE FRIENDSHIP ARC!!!

SO FINAL THOUGHTS: 

Things I didn’t like:

Dislike how we glosses over the discussion of a poly/open relationship for Oluwande and Jim. They both thought eachother were dead, so it doesn’t give me the ick as I bet some will. But the way Jim joked about it still felt wrong.

Glossing over Lucius’ trauma a bit with the puppet joke. I found it a bit in poor taste. 

The fact Izzy is on the episode ‘cover’ for episode 3 on Max, revealing he didn’t kill himself in ep2. I forgot about it midway in, but remembered it on rewatch. Like? IDK

The lack of content warnings, I get it, but damn the suicidal ideation stuff +mania episode+ abuse hit hard. 

It went by a bit quick, but they wrote themselves in a corner. The slow building dread of Ed being a dick, vs Stede just working at Jackie's to get money. So they started when everything was falling apart. AND they need to get The Queen and the Prince established. Judging by the next few episodes, hopefully it will slow down. I prefer this to skipping those things, obviously. But I was much more interested in Ed’s side of the story than Stede's.

Things I do like/Standouts:

Hi Con O’Neill. Can you start paying rent the way you live in my head? Seriously, every scene Izzy is in he steals it. I assume people are a bit peeved that Izzy is getting more attention than Olu&Frenchie&Jim & whatever other character a person likes. But I really think they sewed it in well. Seriously, it’s heartbreaking, and everything I could have asked for. I Love Every Delivery. I see these episodes as enough to turn people slightly sympathetic if they were haters of Izzy before.

ALSO: IZZY SAVING THE CREW. Putting himself in danger FIRST so he doesn't hurt anyone? Jim immediately seeing this and trusting him in the future. I can’t wait to see friendship bloom between him and the crew. That and Izzy's own self destructive habits get broken down as he learns to respect himself outside of hierarchy and Ed. Yes, even like this I want to fuck that man.

Stede- I enjoy that he seems more comfortable with the crew. Especially Pete and Buttons. I don’t have much to say, but I hope this new Izzy training episode means he’ll learn to trust Izzy. Not too much to say, but that's a good thing! Here soon instead of Ed being the focus of the 'deal with this' stick it will go to Stede 'I'm the captain :(' Bonnet

BUTTONS OH MY GOD- My favorite head canon became canon babes!!! I love it. I’m here for it. He's having a lovely time.

ALSO FRENCHIE!!! Hi babes! I missed you being a clever badass! I'm happy Ed didn't stab you.

Them taking Ed’s issues seriously. We got hints of addiction/abusive behavior last season, but they took that and ran with it. Add that to self destrictive behavior that scales up with every scene. Plus the one line from Lucius about how some people can’t be fixed…good stuff, I like how we're handling mental health. I’m not happy with him, but we have time. Taika clearly had fun. I also see myself in his mania and self-sabotaging behavior (non violent, but still wish washy moods for my part)

That and Izzy/Ed being what it is… I believe that Ed genuinely loves Izzy the only way he can, but it’s not enough. He can’t love Izzy the way he needs. Ed needs to apologize, obviously. I won’t be able to forgive him ‘till then. I don’t think Izzy should until he’s able to pull away from him a bit. 

Let's just say I can't wait till next week when we get lesbians and one of my favorite tropes.

(@ing mutuals I know have seen it that I would love to yell with @gydima @born-on-a-beach-teach @treesofgreen BUT do feel free to shout down below!!!)