#also the arc is probably going to be within two episodes
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i just caught up to wind breaker manga (the satoru nii one) and i desperately need to rant abt it
let's start from the fact that i'm not a fan of this genre of manga. the only other delinquent series i've actually read was t*kyo r*vengers but we shall not speak about this one and it certainly didn't leave a good impression of this type of manga on me. so imagine my surprise when i tuned in to the first episode of wind breaker and i found myself tearing up by the end of it, let's just say that it was quite unexpected.
the thing that surprised me the most about this series is the heart that it has. yes it's cheesy, yes it's cringe at times, yes the premise of the town and the school is so silly it might just fall apart if you start looking at it too closely. but the series manages to build the sense of community within this place so fast and so well that i never actually found myself questioning any of that.
another thing that was a really nice surprise was how kind the series is, both with its characters and with the themes it builds itself on. the main one of course being opening yourself up and learning how to trust others. every time we see a character struggle with that it tugs at my heartstrings so much i end up barely able to read the chapter cause my eyes water immediately, especially when it's about sakura himself.
sakura, oh my dear sakura. i could sing him praises for hours i fear so i'll try to keep it short. he's just incredible. he's truly the heart of the story in every sense of the word. he's so kind! he's such a good person, even if he doesn't believe it or doesn't know how to properly express his care for others! he's so lovable from the start, even before you see him grow into the person he is at the current stage of the manga. and he keeps growing and changing and becoming the person he probably never thought he could ever become before he came to furin. and it's all because of the people around him that accept him and let him grow at his pace, even if he makes mistakes or doesn't do things exactly right immediately.
i love the slightly more recent imagery of comparing him to a plant that started to grow since he joined furin. it started in the stretch between the keel arc and the red lights district arc when he decided that furin is the place that he belongs in and we saw a little sprout, but i feel like it's gonna come to full fruition in this arc. it's pretty clear to me considering that endo literally compares him to a flower and his whole thing is to try and set sakura on fire (metaphorically of course... i hope). it's probably gonna be contrasted to umemiya who's literally a gardener and under whose care and leadership, directly or not, sakura was finally able to grow because he was nurtured by those around him. in this case the main person who allowed that to happen would be umemiya as he's the one who made furin into what it is now. also, i've seen quite a lot of people be worried (?) about sakura potentially going with endo to protect furin but idk man i don't think that would happen. the angst potential is incredible but he was literally calling out that girl in the red lights arc (i'm sorry i forgot her name, it slipped my mind cause i've read like 90% of this manga in two days) for... basically doing just that. giving herself up so that others could be safe without thinking about their feelings. i feel like he's probably gonna take that lesson and apply it here.
speaking of which, i love this whole theme of passing down knowledge and advice on how to handle things that are new to you. first it's kotoha telling sakura that he needs allies to be at the top of furin, that he should start facing people that want to be there for him and even the small things like telling him to just say "leave it to me" when someone asks for help. and then, in the keel arc, he uses the same advice he was given before and gives it to someone else who's also struggling with quite similiar things to him. then there's him learning how to rely on other boys in his class and going to kaji for advice, who's very clearly meant to be kind of a parallel to sakura. kaji's went to somewhat similiar things, he's just further down the path of figuring out who he is, what he can and can't do that sakura is (or at least that was the case when they talked). so he gives sakura advice, one that was given to him before by hiragi when he was struggling as a newly made grade captain who felt like he was wholly undeserving of the trust that people placed in him and felt like he's gonna dissapoint them. he knows exactly what sakura is struggling with so he can help him the way he was helped before, the same way that sakura helped nagato before.
i have a lot more thoughts about this series but they are not sorted out in my brain in any way yet so i'm not gonna say anything more cause this on its own is messy as hell
#wind breaker#sakura haruka#satoru nii#hajime umemiya#kaji ren#i have so many thought abt this series#but i cant express them properly yet#so im just yapping#and thats not even all#like i havent even mentioned tsubaki#or nirei#or togame
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OH, I AM SO READY FOR THIS; THE HYPE IS REAL!!
#INABA CAMEO I FUCKING CALLED IT#also the arc is probably going to be within two episodes#anyways im so excited#i couldnt sleep last night lol#and on a related note: did you know that inaba is hiroshi kamiyas (atarus seiyuu) favourite character?#urusei yatsura#うる星やつら#urusei yatsura 2022#inaba#god i love him sm
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I finished over 100 visual novels, here’s a long post with some recommendations
Last month I hit 100 Finished VN’s over on the VNDB and I thought I’d shoot out some recommendations while the Steam Summer Sale is going on (even though some of these aren’t going to be on Steam)
I already have finished up some stragglers and caught some shorter titles so it’s up to 104 Finished, but all the better. I have been reading some VN’s since 2015, but it really became a hobby and a genre I was invested in during Covid lockdown in 2020. I had trouble getting into some of the popular titles, but a couple of games that were lesser known at that time really blew me away that year and I started digging more into the medium. I still have a lot to try out and other classics I’m still interested in trying, but here’s a top 10 I’m confident in recommending to most people, at least the kinda people that would follow this blog. A few of these recommendations are actually multi-part series, but hopefully accessible all around.
Planetarian ($10 on Steam and Switch, ~$5 on sale)
This is a very late entry onto this list but I think it’s an easy recommendation. This is a very short 2-4 hour visual novel that got a well received 2 hour movie adaptation in 2016, but it was strong enough that even while knowing the plot everything still hit hard. It is a story set 30 years after an apocalyptic event destroys most of the world, as a human junk-trader comes across a planetarium with a somehow-still-functional robot named Hoshino still performing her daily duties after 30 years without customers or coworkers. It can come across as a bit saccharine, but it is a quick, well made, and effective tearjerker.
Narcissu 1st & 2nd (Free on Steam)
Narcissu’s first two parts are pretty compelling stories to do with suicidal ideation within the scope of the terminally ill. Which is to say they’re also real tear jerkers, and pretty open about some harsh self-reflective emotions. They both have stellar endings, and can be quite immersive despite the very limited artwork (if the screencap looks weird, the game’s art exists within a narrow strip on the screen, with a sentence or two reading out the story underneath it). Maybe the least accessible on this list, but a $0 price tag makes it easier in some sense to get into.
Umineko no Naku Koro ni / When The Seagulls Cry (~$50 on Steam, $30 on sale)
Umineko you’ve probably already heard of, and here’s me recommending it. Umineko comes in two parts, on Steam referred to as the Questions Arc and the Answers Arc. Despite the split, the overall story follows the events of a certain day on Rokkenjima Island in 1986 as a family meets to discuss their inheritance and their family’s mysteries. Unbeknownst to them they are soon haunted, over and over again, by the revenant of the Golden Witch said to live in the woods of their family’s island.
I’m in the minority of preferring the Questions Arc, where well written and deeply human characters find themselves in deeply inhumane and nonsensical scenarios. The Answers Arc back seats some of that to start delving into an esoteric explosion of clues and backstories, and was still very entertaining even if I was more invested in the episodic stories than the overarching mystery. This may also be seen as inaccessible, $30-50 for a slightly older title and over 140 hours long on average playthroughs, but it is deeply absorbing.
Witch on the Holy Night a.k.a. Mahoyo ($40 on PS4 and Switch)
Mahoyo is me and Nasu’s marriage counselor, it really made me see the good in him. It follows a young witch co-habitating with her magic colleague and the puppy-like boy that unwittingly steps into their world at risk to his own life, just as unexplained apparent murders are witnessed in their town.
This could possibly be a higher level recommendation, though it was apparently intended to have sequels and you can somewhat feel that in the isolated feeling of its main conflict. Despite this, the game is definitely worth experiencing for its classy charm and extremely well made action sequences that at times make you forget you’re not watching a full anime film. It’s also a showcase of Nasu’s strengths in writing character interactions and comedy, and he finally lets Show take over and stops Telling you piles of mage society worldbuilding quite so often. It is also has some of the highest quality production value I’ve ever seen, second maybe to...
Marco and the Galaxy Dragon ($20 on Steam/Switch, less than $10 on sale)
Marco and the Galaxy Dragon is an explosive opera of art, energy, color, and of course music. It follows the orphaned Marco and her dragon compatriot Arco as they hunt for treasure across the cosmos, finding their way to Earth on the hunt for Marco’s mother.
If Umineko’s 140 hours seems steep, Marco has you covered with a quick 6 hour rundown of a rebellious orphan fighting back against her space alien menace to find her own sense of place and identity in the universe, along with ALL the friends she made along the way. If Mahoyo feels like an anime film sometimes, Marco actually just has fully animated FMV cutscenes that are fun as hell and have their own unique artstyle to the VN itself. Thousands of pieces of artwork and a 52-track OST fill the game’s short runtime with no cut corners and and overflow of passion from the devs. Honestly even if you don’t want to read it go buy it, it’s cheap and they earned it.
White Album 2 (You’ll have to be creative to find this one)
This is the only recommendation that’s currently only available in an adults only 18+ Rating for the English translation. That being said, it’s one of the few erotic VN’s that felt justified in its pornographic scenes. The story is split into two releases: Opening Chapter and Closing Chapter.
Opening is a short and powerfully delivered love triangle narrative following Haruki, Setsuna, and Touma as their hastily formed 3-man light music band falls into itself with feelings. It’s charming but gut wrenching and sweeps you into its drama very effectively before kicking you on your ass in the end.
Closing Chapter is a long and drawn out disassembling of their lives as they fail to heal from the wounds of the relationships seen in Opening. It, to great effect, takes the readers own experience with how fun and passionate the Opening Chapter was, and shows how trying to cling to halcyon days can make us so dispassionate about our present lives. Painful stuff! Good music, too.
The Princess, The Stray Cat, and Matters of the Heart 1 & 2
a.k.a. Noratoto ($40 on Steam for both, ~$15 for both on sale)
This is a very personal recommendation, and maybe one more easy to make on this blog where many of my followers might be receptive to sincere but slapstick ecchi comedy as art. Every route is highly different however and to me, some are pretty average for galge, while others stand out as amazing. The comedy writing as well feels like it was written by someone with actual comic writing experience, and not just regurgitating the usual ecchi manga jokes.
The general premise of Noratoto is the protagonist Nora, being transformed into a cat by Patricia the princess of the Netherworld, and he must reverse this curse via a kiss before it becomes permanent. A benign fairy tale premise, but one that somehow gives way to underlying stories about existence and finding purpose in families and where that leaves those without families or with abusive or divided families (it is from the same developers as Marco and the Galaxy Dragon, and the themes of finding identity without family match up very closely). Uniquely it is a visual novel written somewhat in 3rd person, narrated by a motherly voice as if the VN was being read to you as a bedtime story.
Like I said, it is dependent on route and some come across as your usual ecchi gal-game schtick, but some stick out, and if every route was as high quality as Nobuchina’s in the 2nd game, it would probably be my favorite visual novel.
The Original Ace Attorney Trilogy ($30 on most platforms, $10 on sale)
You’ve almost certainly heard of Ace Attorney already and have most likely played it. This is me telling any Ace Attorney fans reading that the original trilogy still reigns supreme (regardless of Turnabout Big Top). This is also me telling anyone who has held out on trying Ace Attorney to try it, and to start with the original trilogy.
Obviously this trilogy follows the Meme Man Himself, Phoenix Wright, as he defends the innocent and brings the guilty to justice acting as both lawyer and his own main investigator. While each case presents a unique mystery, the original trilogy has an underlying arc that reaches from beginning to end with a massive conspiracy that Phoenix has to breach to bring justice to the perpetrators and resolve the memory and regrets of his beloved mentor.
These games have some speedbumps as you may be banging your head against the wall trying to find the right evidence, but the experience that breaks through does so with gusto, succeeding on what it sets out to be: games that make you feel like you’ve brought justice to the world.
Utawarerumono Trilogy ($40/60 each on Steam, trilogy bundle $62 on sale)
Utawarerumono was my first proper visual novel, and it set the standards pretty high. I’ve posted about it several times in the last few years, and it remains one of my favorites. It is a labor of love on the part of the developers (the same developers as White Album 2), who developed the latter two games over the course of several years and have made this the spearhead of their company for the time being. Which makes sense, since it is about war.
The first game follows a masked man who is given the name Hakuoro waking up in a rural village with amnesia, confused about the strange population of beast-men living there. Despite not understanding his situation, his ingenuity brings the village prosperity. When the local lords try to put the village under their thumb, Hakuoro and the villagers are able to turn the tides against them. Their village grows into a kingdom as Hakuoro seeks the mysteries of himself and the world around him.
The latter two games pick up some twenty years after the conclusion of the first, and follow a man who is given the name Haku, waking up in the woods with amnesia confused about the... you get it. He is met by Kuon, a young girl on her way traveling to the capital of their nation of Yamato. Haku graciously accepts her help getting out of the cold woods, and decides to join her to the capital. As events play out, Haku finds himself under the direct command of the nation’s leader the Mikado, and carries out missions on his behalf as the nation continues to drag itself into war and conflict and Haku also seeks the truth of his identity.
These games are expansive in scope while still putting a large focus on the day-to-day lives of its characters. Around 100 hours across all three games it is impressive how much story it manages to fit in, but the pacing does bounce around between sweeping conflict and sleepy conversations. It is also in part, a strategy RPG game with the battles in the war being controlled by the player. These are decently made, especially well in the third game, but don’t ask too much of the player and the story remains the main focus and biggest portion of the runtime.
The House In Fata Morgana a.k.a. Fatamoru
($40 complete version on PS4/Switch, ~$40 main game + expansion on Steam)
I’ve gushed about this enough on this tumblr, I’ll keep it brief.
You are a formless soul who is led by the hand of a mysterious maid through the doors of a mansion on an unknown plane of existence. Through each door lies a story of the house in a different era, all following people bound together in ways that leave them cruelly and violently undone by the end of their stories. The connection between these stories, the mystery of the house and the supposed witch that resides within, and the mystery of You the wandering soul all slowly unravel in a bloody show of catharsis and soul. The game is dripping with traumatic poetic text, grating beautiful music, and all of its atmosphere geared toward being oppressive yet enticing. One of the best things I’ve read.
Honorable mentions:
Va-11 Hall-A and Endless Mondays get shout outs as some of the best Original English Language VN’s I’ve read, with cool artstyles and a mature cast they manage to be fun and relatable. Va-11 Hall-A delivers a great arc for its protagonist and Endless Mondays has great dialogue on the threat of automation of creative industries.
Grisaia Trilogy and Hatsumira are both absolutely raucous trilogies that are a lot of fun. Not wholly recommendable to all, Grisaia has some strong moments and a hilarious unique cast but is a mess overall (but we love Michiru). Hatsumira is a bit more consistent, a more stable and fantasy-oriented Grisaia.
A.I. The Somnium Files duology are detective games with highly divisive endings, but great comedy and characters that make them very easy to get through and enjoy the whole way to the end. It’s just a toss-up whether you’ll like that ending.
Sakura Wars games are finally being translated, and they are a great showing for anyone who wants to try some classic dating sim stuff but with some pizazz thrown in with the setting and mecha combat.
The Tears to Tiara duology by the same developers of Utawarerumono and White Album is also one to keep an eye out for. The first game's definitive version isn't available in English and the second game is stuck on the PS3 and no longer available digitally, but if they ever come out on Steam they are worth your time.
Nanairo Reincarnation and Kinkoi: Golden Loveriche are also two solid ecchi comedy galge. Both have surprisingly deep and genuinely heartbreaking underlying mysteries and conclusions.
I still have a lot I wanna read, Planetarian is the only Key novel I’ve read. On the docket are Labyrinth of Galleria, Little Busters, the 9 -nine- series, and Kara no Shoujo and White Album 1 releasing on Steam this year. Some classics I didn’t mention are Fate/Stay Night, Muv Luv, Steins Gate. Muv Luv I read Extra and enjoyed it, but never pulled the trigger on reading the rest, I may at some point on a whim. Steins;Gate I played through half of on PS3 and now my PS3 is in the closet, the VN is really good and has a unique atmosphere to the anime, buuuuuuut knowing the plot has made it hard to want to restart on PC or another console. Steins;Gate is good, if anyone is reading this far and hasn’t seen the anime or read the VN, do it.
#long post#i'll only tag the main ones#planetarian#narcissu#umineko#witch on the holy night#marco and the galaxy dragon#white album 2#the princess the stray cat and matters of the heart#noratoto#ace attorney#utawarerumono#the house in fata morgana
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What if Mobius was a villain/anti-hero in his past life?
Here’s why I think there’s a good possibility for this:
While it’s probably easier for Marvel to go the boring route (Mobius was simply a normal dude with a normal job and a normal family, etc), I think there’s more to Mobius than we think. Owen Wilson himself teased Mobius has a deeper story arc this season:
In the latest episode, X-5 (or Brad) strikes a nerve when asking Mobius why he’s not interested in his past. Mobius tells Loki that he likes his life at the TVA- that’s his purpose and he’s good at it (My Lokius heart also tells me that it’s because he likes being with Loki and doesn’t want to lose him if he goes back to his past life- yeah yeah, I’m delusional, I know…)
I may be looking to hard into this (I’m a writer and reader, over-analyzing is what I do) but what if there’s a reason Mobius prefers his life at the TVA? Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that his memories have been wiped, but what if there’s something deep within him (part of his subconscious perhaps) that’s telling him to avoid his past?
I looked into Mobius’ comic counterpart to see what I could learn about the character. There’s not much. He’s had interactions with the Fantastic Four and She-Hulk, but there aren’t any details on his past. However, there are a few things I found interesting:
We all know that Kang created the TVA, but could this imply that Mobius may have known Kang personally and chose to work with him? Let’s dive deeper:
Mobius is also known as Mr. Tesseract. Why? I have no idea. He doesn’t seem to have any relation with the Tesseract. (There are some VERY cool fanarts though, so check them out if you have time). However, there’s more:
There’s a Mr. Orobourous and a Mr. Paradox as well. We just met Orobourous (spelt as Ouroboros) in the first episode of season two. Also, connect the dots: Mr Paradox = General Dox? I may be looking too deep into this, but I feel like these three may be connected in some way.
While this still isn’t a lot of information, there’s still a chance that this alias has something to do with Mobius’ backstory in the show. So, here’s my theory:
What if Mobius, once known as Mr. Tesseract, worked closely with Kang? What if he helped build the TVA? There’s a possibility that he has powers he doesn’t know about (as well as O.B. and Dox) that helped structure the TVA. Mr. Tesseract may have powers similar to his namesake. Mobius balances the TVA’s power over space, Ouroboros (which, in definition, is a snake that represents infinity) balances the power over time, and Dox balances the power over reality.
So, why don’t they have their memories? I theorize that Mobius (and maybe the others) eventually realized that Kang was wrong. Maybe he attempted to overthrow him. In the end, Kang defeated him and took away his memories as punishment, making him forget about his powers. We also know that Mobius’ memories have been wiped more than once, so there’s a chance that Mobius’ powers (in theory) eventually resurface, causing Kang to repeat the process.
This may be just some wacko theory that I overanalyzed and spent too much time on (probably) but the idea excites me. If this is in anyway true, how will Mobius react? How will Loki react? How will this impact the course of the show?
I can’t wait to find out more. Again, Mobius may have just been some random jet ski enthusiast on the time line. But that’s the boring option. Marvel, please don’t be boring. (Marvel’s probably going to make it boring).
So, what are your theories?
#this ended up being longer than I expected#yes im delusional next question#please share any theories you have!#loki#mobius#mobius m mobius#lokius#loki series#loki theory#marvel#ouroboros#general dox#o.b.#spider-man#Mr Tesseract
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whump of all time
SEMIFINALS!
Find links and propaganda under the cut. Quarterfinalist and later match-ups are untagged, so your votes and reblogs matter!
Once Upon A Time:
(gifset 1, gifset 2)
"There's blood, wounds, captivity, bondage, a slow-dipping-mechanism, a big rescue, and excellent acting by Colin O'Donoghue - who delivers the tiniest whimper and the most delectable of trembles for our whump-loving eyes to devour!" ~ @killian-whump
"[...] Killian was BROKEN. Absolutely and heart-wrenchingly devastated. He was tortured within an inch of his life (… or death, I guess) and practically left to slowly drop into a pit of eternal despair.
Killian was not easy to break. He would get injured and get back up with a sneer and an "I'm alright love you should see the other guy".
But to reach that point? The point of telling Emma she should have kept herself safe instead of saving him from this torment, to hold on to her like she was his lifeline, to SMILE that small smile from the first bit of hope he'd gotten since he ended up there?
The relief upon watching this episode for the first time was visceral. For two episodes we knew Hook was being tortured, we saw him try and fail to limp to safety, we saw his resolve and defiance desperately hold on, we saw him accept his fate, we saw him preferring to be tortured further than hurt his friends… And then he got saved! And he had no witty comeback, no effort to hide his pain. He just fucking collapsed in the arms of his beloved, of his saviour, and held on for a moment to realize that it was real, she was there, he was finally safe.
Add to that some amazing, jaw-dropping, emotional acting by Colin O'Donoghue, how can you get any better than that?
Anyway vote for ouat. Because this whole torture mini arc existing is probably what caused a chain reaction of me understanding and accepting I love whump, so. I wouldn't be here torturing blorbos if it weren't for it 🤣" @piracytheorist
"god tier acting" ~ @caliburn-the-sword
The Young Blood Chronicles (Save Rock and Roll's music videos, Fall Out Boy):
(link)
"Everyone gets bloodied, bruised, beaten up, tortured, rescued, limbs are amputated - it's brutal. Alone Together is particularly strong."
sorry for being late, but you want YBC propaganda? then you're getting YBC propaganda. I know you're a FOB fan, but I will be writing this for the benefit of those who don't know what YBC is, for better propaganda purposes! and yeah this is gonna be LONG. sorry.
So! The Youngblood Chronicles (shortened to YBC) is a series of 11 music videos made by the band Fall Out Boy, for their album Save Rock And Roll (you know this album, it's the one with My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark on it). The whole thing is quite short, less than fifty minutes long (even shorter if you don't count the uncut version's credits!!), and every single music video has some element of whump in it. This propaganda is gonna break down each individual music vid, and at i'll also talk a little bit about the irl context the album was written in, and why even THAT can be a little bit whumpy if you're insane like me!
(note: i'm going in the original release order over the uncut order, hence why i'm starting with MSKWYDITD instead of The Phoenix)
My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark: Arguably the least whump-y out of all of them, but man, seeing all of Fall Out Boy's discography and memorabilia be burnt while people are dancing around the destruction? Man, when you know the real life stuff (the reception the band had in 2009, leading to them to take a three year hiatus)... and at the end, you see four guys bound in the back of a van!! And that van is getting burnt!! Burn everything you love and burn the... ashes.
The Phoenix: NOW here's the first of MANY whump tastes you'll get. Patrick Stump, the singer/cutie of the band, gets kidnapped, tied to a chair, has his hand CHOPPED OFF and mailed to his bandmate/best friend Pete Wentz, then gets tied down and utterly tortured by women who are laughing at his misery the entire time, getting prodded and stabbed by tools for... well, you'll see. By the end of the video, Pete and the other two members of FOB (Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley) have been kidnapped by these mysterious women too, with Pete specifically getting kidnapped by the blonde woman he was in bed with when Patrick's hand got delivered to him. If you enjoy cute boys getting tied down, covered in blood, and writhing around like worms while getting tortured... well you'll enjoy all of YBC but specifically you'll enjoy this!! I did :D! The war is won, before it's begun, release the doves, surrender love...
Young Volcanoes: Good news, FOB has been reunited! Bad news, by the women who dismembered Patrick! And now all the band members are tied to chairs, hooked up to IVs full of god knows what types of drugs, and blindfolded (all except Patrick). They are then forced to drink, snort hard drugs, and are force fed Patrick's organs! Yep, all four of them are forced to eat their lead singer's guts, and are so fucking drugged up they don't even realize what's happening (and now you know what the women were doing to him in the last mv, and you even get a nice little shot of the hack job of stitching him back up)!! Patrick hallucinates everyone having fun, but of course, at the end, all of them are knocked out because of the drugs. Americana, exotica, do you wanna feel a little beautiful baby?
Alone Together: This is the song the OG propaganda mentioned, and for good reason. All four of them are shipped off into little personalized torture rooms, and, well, tortured! Pete is able to break out and even steals the hook from the girl who was torturing him, but little does he know that'll be his own undoing... also, in general, this song has some whumpy elements, specifically the line "my heart is like a stallion/they love it more when it's broke-in"... but notice how easy it is to hear "broke-in" as "broken"! At the end of the video, Pete is at least able to find Patrick (Joe and Andy have NOT been having a good time, either!! But sadly, they aren't found by Pete, but Pete DOES find Big Sean), and is even able to attach the hook to the stump (ha!) where his hand used to be. But something is clearly wrong with Patrick now. His eyes are yellow, and as the song ends, we hold on him, sneering and twitching. This is the road to ruin - and we're started at the end...
The Mighty Fall: First off if you say this is the worst song off of SRAR I will hunt you for sport. OKAY ANYWAYS, chronologically this comes after MSKWYDITD, and yeah, the four guys are the members of FOB. Pete is able to free himself with Patrick's new hook hand, and is able to get the other three out while Pete is hacking up a lung from the fire they just barely escaped. But they're not done getting their shit rocked yet. A gang of children show up (the leader being the kid Patrick waved at right before he was kidnapped back in the Phoenix MV), and proceed to separate them and beat the living shit out of them. The leader kid who's chasing Patrick plays something on a boombox... which triggers Patrick to go yellow-eyed again (from here on out i'll call it "going Youngblood" or "Youngblood self"). It was confirmed in the commentary track that ANY music would cause him to go Youngblood. And knowing Patrick IRL fucking loves to create/compose music... yeah! Take something he loves and turn it into something that drives him insane!! I'm normal!! And also the irl parallel you could draw to his solo career doing the same thing to him (on a less uh Dramatic level but you know)!!! Ouch!!!! Big Sean is able to save Patrick, but at the cost of his own life (and a killer rap verse... HELL YEAH I'M A DICK GIRL, ADDICTED TO YOU). Oh, how the mighty fall in love...
Just One Yesterday: The last vestiges of comfort you're gonna get for a WHILE. The four are separated, getting even more beaten up, Pete vomits up a snake, Andy gets his shit rocked by a homeless guy, Joe has to use white sheets as a makeshift tourniquet bc his leg got fucked up in The Mighty Fall MV, and Patrick is picked up by a kind stranger (hi Foxes! you have a very pretty voice! PLEASE KEEP YOUR HANDS ON THE STEERING WHEEL!). And finally, finally we get a hope spot. Fall Out Boy is reunited (the part where Andy just grabs onto Patrick's arm, in disbelief they're both alive... augh!!! AUGH!!!!), and for a moment, it seems they've been delivered to a hospital... before Foxes' eyes go completely black, looking at Patrick... and turns on the radio. She's able to trigger the Youngblood. And now Patrick is gone. The other three scramble into the hospital, Patrick not far behind, determined to kill them to stop the noise in his head. If Heaven's grief brings Hell's reign, then I'd trade all my tomorrows for just one yesterday...
Where Did The Party Go: Patrick, now fully consumed by the Youngblood brainwashing, is now stalking his bandmates in a hospital. Patrick is seeing visions of the hospital as an abandoned party, Andy has to painfully disinfect the wounds he's gotten, Pete is able to call for the police, and Joe... oh, poor Joe. He barricades himself into a room, but not well enough. Patrick finds him, and kills him, slitting his throat with the hook hand, showing no remorse at all... until Andy and Pete find them. The Youngblood wears off, and Patrick looks to what he's done, and is horrified at what he's done to his friend. And, bad news for him, the police are here, ready to arrest the murderer. All Andy and Pete can do is watch as tears roll down Patrick's eyes. And for the extra IRL context, this was the first song written for the album that made Pete and Patrick realize they had to get FOB back together... so lets match that with a music video where the member who helped get the band together in the first place dies. By the hands of the kid he found. Let's fade away together, one dream at a time...
Death Valley: Joe gets... uh, a little comfort? I mean, he thinks he's getting sent to heaven but goes to hell, buuuuut I think doing drugs in rock and roll hell with Tommy Lee is actually a pretty sweet deal, better than the deal the other three got! Pete and Andy are being interrogated while Patrick is in a jail cell. We find out that the cult that kidnapped them, Silence the Noise, is lead by Pete's girlfriend from WAAAAY back in the Phoenix MV, Courtney Love. And at the end of the MV... Patrick is bailed out of jail by Silence the Noise. They have him again. And this time, they're not gonna let him walk out until he's fully under their control. 'Cause tonight it's just fire alarms and losing you...
Rat a Tat: Silence the Noise has Patrick, and they utterly brainwash him, A Clockwork Orange style, with electroshock stimulation to keep him from looking away or closing his eyes, until there is nothing left. Patrick Stump does not exist anymore. Only the Youngblood, pliant under the control of Silence the Noise, tasked to destroy what he once loved; music. Andy dies at the hands of the cult, and now Pete has to protect a briefcase, the thing that got them into this mess, and keep it away from Silence the Noise, all while his best friend hunts him down. Are you ready for another bad poem?
Miss Missing You: THE WHUMPIEST OF THE WHUMP. What if we were best friends but you've been driven insane and I know the only way to stop you is to kill you and it was my fault you got into this mess and I was the one who gave you the weapon that will be my own undoing. What if we both died at the same time. What if we died, both of us failing the mission we had before us. What if that was a reference to one of their first music videos. What if this song was originally written for Patrick's solo album but he realized it was more of a Fall Out Boy song so it was scrapped until now. What if there's a legit argument to be made that half the lyrics for this song was written by Patrick. What if we were both boys. Grips walls, yeha i'm normal. If you don't watch ANY other music vid, watch Miss Missing You. Sometimes before it gets better, the darkness gets bigger. The person that you'd take a bullet for is behind the trigger.
Save Rock And Roll: And our final track gives us a final bit of comfort. Patrick is able to overcome the Youngblood, and gets into heaven, where all of FOB is finally, finally reunited. God (aka Elton John) gives them new instruments and brings them back to earth, so they can do what they love; play music together. Which just so happens to release people from the control of Silence the Noise! But, because we can't have nice things, a cult within Silence the Noise got a hold of the briefcase, and summoned a spirit that starts to kill everyone. FOB stands together, and blasts the evil spirit, the blood coming up to the gates of heaven and covering Elton John in it. And... that's how it ends. No true resolution. Just Elton John covered in blood, as the song fades out. Oh, no! Wherever I go, go! Trouble seems to follow! I only plugged in to save rock and roll!
UH. AGAIN I APOLOGIZE FOR THE LENGTH. but i really wanted to express just how much WHUMP they manage to fit into less than fifty minutes, all backed by an amazing album colored by the three years they were apart. colored by how they grew, colored by how bad the hiatus was for Patrick specifically, colored by how Confessions of a Pariah got Pete to reach out to help him, and this album came out of it, Fall Out Boy came back out of it, and now here we are, ten years later, with the title track being performed every night for their concert, with all the band singing the final lines together, and the line you are what you love, not who loves you hitting every single night.
SORRY. LISTEN TO FALL OUT BOY. thanks for letting me rant.
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Echoes and Hunters are really interesting to me because of their place relative to the rest of the series, as basically the closest thing to being self-contained Filler Episodes in Samus's life. It can be argued the Prime games as a whole are a filler arc, what with how you really don't need to play the Trilogy to understand the 2D games' ongoing narrative. Even so, it is still a whole arc within itself; despite being decent standalone titles, the phazon connection spanning all three enriches them in conjunction with one-another, and Corruption in particular leans a lot on the setup the first two provide.
Yet at the same time, while definitely connected to the other two, Echoes is distinctly the odd one out in a lot of ways, and the overarching phazon storyline seems almost incidental at times despite Dark Samus and the background setup of the conflict. It's not confirmed either way, but the dark world could be read as a pocket universe created by the leviathan seed malfunctioning, or a whole parallel dimension that it simply broke through into and created the copy of Aether within. Even if it is the latter, the Ing were probably a byproduct of the interaction of Phazon and the dark dimension, but there is also the possibility the were a distinct entity existing beforehand. Regardless of all of that, the Luminoth and Aether as a location certainly stand out as unique, and are only loosely connected to the bigger picture through a shared history with the Chozo.
Hunters, meanwhile, may wind up tying into Prime 4 through Sylux, but that too is extremely incidental to the main story focus, which is even more outright disconnected from the usual Metroid factions and concepts than even Echoes is. As people have joked about before, it really says something that killing Gorea, a terrible eldritch abomination that singlehandedly wiped out an entire galactic-region-spanning civilization, is probably one of the least important things Samus has done in her career. Even that aside, apart from Sylux and Weavel, most of the other hunters are similarly unique and disconnected from the established story, with Trace and the Kriken Empire in particular standing out as an elephant in the room that are weirdly less relevant than the info on them would imply.
And I love the overarching storyline, both of the Prime games and the series as a whole, and how the different mainline titles are for the most part thematically enriched by their interconnectivity and parallels. (Even Proteus Ridley, for all the problems I have with him, I do appreciate as a clear bridge between Corruption and Super.) But there is also something really fascinating to these two more avant-garde titles, that really expand the universe and try new things, instead of remaining confined to the core concepts the series usually keeps a tight focus on.
There is a risk of going too far and possibly losing sight of the aesthetic/thematic shore, so to speak, but I feel like we're not quite there yet, and I appreciate the effort to branch out. On the flipside, there is again some weirdness to some of this stuff being so confined instead of having a bigger impact, (looking at you Trace) but the level of tightness of the mainline games does kinda work in our favor here. Sure it's weird, but it's not out of the realm of plausibility that the Kriken really are a big deal, but just... elsewhere, and mostly haven't directly relevant to Samus's life outside of this one-off run-in with Trace.
Idk, I'm not really going anywhere in particular with this, I just think it's neat.
#not a reblog#metroid#metroid prime#metroid prime 2 echoes#metroid prime hunters#rambling#samus aran
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Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 38 part one
(Masterpost) (Pinboard) (whole thing on AO3)
Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!
OK But Why?
This tale-within-a-tale is excruciating, yeah? So let's start off by considering why it even exists. Yi City feels like, if not a fully separate story, a pretty complete arc that can play as its own little movie. And it's incredibly sad, in every direction. While it may have begun life, in its originally-written form, as a different story exploring some of the same themes, MXTX placed it in the novel deliberately, and the producers of CQL included it deliberately. Why? Other than the, you know, catharsis of a well-wrought tragedy?
I think the answer is that it tells a set of parallel stories, alternate versions of the stories our main characters inhabit, with different outcomes driven by the character's choices. There's an obvious parallel between Lan Wangji's grief and Song Lan's, and another clear one between Wei Wuxian's core donation and Xiao Xingchen's eyeball donation.
And there's an important comparison to be made between Xue Yang and Wei Wuxian, two demonic cultivators. They share some formative experiences, but have followed radically different paths, shaped, at a key moment, by another person's choice.
Overall, the Yi City story illustrates how choices made in a moment affect not just an individual life, but ripple outward into other lives. So be prepared for me to point out parallels even more than usual, as we go through these episodes.
Empathy
We start off learning about Empathy and how it’s sooper dangerous, which means of course Wei Wuxian is totally down for it and probably invented it. He gathers the kids around and assigns Jin Ling to be the person in charge of supervising and deciding when to pull him out of the matrix link.
Jin Ling is surprised and reluctant so teacher’s pet Sizhui jumps forward and volunteers.
Wei Wuxian asks Jin Ling for his Jiang clarity bell, which is on a tassel that used to be Jiang Yanli’s.
(more behind the cut!)
Once the bell/tassel is out of Jin Ling’s hand, however, he changes his mind and snatches it, and the responsibility, back.
It seems like Sizhui might recognize this tassel?
It’s like the one Jiang Yanli gave Wei Wuxian when they met up before her wedding, which means Wei Wuxian would have had it with him during their year in the burial mounds.
Jingyi disapproves of Jin Ling’s mind-changing, which is a little unfair since JL didn’t actually say “no” prior to Sizhui putting in his oar. (Sizhui is entirely loveable, but he is also a pushy brown-noser just like Lan Wangji was at his age. He just does it so sweetly that nobody minds.)
Sizhui, also like his Lan dad, has made it his life’s mission to manage a loudmouth hothead’s temper for him.
Heading into empathy with A-Qing, we get flashes of bits of the story that we're about to see in depth. Then we jump to "ten years ago" which, given the way this series does math, probably means seven years ago.
Side note: A-Qing has managed to keep her hair looking pretty cute despite being 90% dead.
Splish Splash
This particular section of the Wuxia River of Sadness is reserved for people who are contemplating the total mess they have made of their lives (gifset here), but A-Qing didn't get that memo, so she's having a nice time splashing joyfully without a care in the world.
A-Qing isn't about drama or being depressed, even when things are pretty difficult. She has found a big rock to sit on and is having a nice day hanging out on it.
Then she goes skipping along singing "la la la la" (which is the same sound in Chinese as we make in English when we're singing and don't know the words, incidentally). Ok, show, we get it, she's happy and carefree. I sure hope she doesn't get involved in any weird relationships.
Grifting
She sees a couple of women walking on the path and she starts pretending to be blind. In the book, this pretense was facilitated by her having completely white eyes, but in the show she has normal brown eyes, until she actually is blinded by Xue Yang. So her entire pretense of being blind is to unfocus her eyes a bit and wave her hands around...
...with frequent intervals where she thinks no-one is watching her, and she acts 100% like she can see. Somehow she is almost never busted for this.
The ladies give her a steamed bun and whisper loudly to each other about how pitiful she is.
Then she heads into town for a little grifting, picking a wealthy douchebag as a mark. She bumps into him and steals his money bag, which he doesn't notice because he's too busy creeping on her.
She's annoyed and disappointed that he doesn't have a lot of money.
Hey Pretty, Don’t You Want To Take a Ride With Me
Next she bumps into (and robs) Xiao Xingchen, who is actually blind, so he doesn’t notice her noticing how extremely pretty he is.
He does notice that she has robbed him, however.
Did you know if you have your eyes removed or even just damaged so you can't see any more, your eye sockets and/or tear ducts will bleed pretty much forever? Yeah, me neither.
Xiao Xingchen immediately takes charge of A-Qing, telling her to walk more slowly and then telling her - kindly - to return his money purse. Before she can answer him, the rich douchebag comes back to yell at her and try to hit her. Xiao Xingchen stops him and smooths over the situation, and then lectures Ah Qing about stealing and how it's bad. But he tells her to keep his money, so - mixed messages, bro.
She calls him gege and says that since he's blind and she's blind, she's going to follow him forever. He’s like, okey dokey, and they walk off together. Is she really the first person (since Song Lan) who’s had this idea about him? He is *very* pretty, after all.
It's unclear to me if she's calling him gege in the sense of “orphan girl who wants a family,” or in the sense of “mostly-grown-up woman who would like to Hit That.” Xiao Xingchen appears to take it as the former; he is too gay virtuous for the other option.
Two seconds after they decide to stay together, they encounter Xue Yang lying injured by the side of the road. A-Qing pretends she didn’t see him, and almost successfully wangles a piggyback ride out of Xiao Xingchen.
But then he hears Xue Yang and immediately decides to rescue him, like the do-gooder Xue Yang despises him for being.
Xue Yang gets the romance-tropey piggyback ride that A-Qing was hoping for. Girl, the time to stop trying to seduce your gay male friend is 5 minutes before you started, ok?
So...why was Xue Yang lying by the side of the road with a stab wound? Who gave it to him? If Jin Guangyao was sick of him, he would have stabbed him 100% fatally, and he wouldn't have let him hang on to Tiger Seal 2.0. And presumably Xue Yang wouldn’t think of him as a friend any more. It’s a mystery.
The new throuple decide to go to the creepiest abandoned walled city that has ever existed, and head past all the regular houses to set up camp in the morgue, for some reason. Not even inside one of the buildings; just out in the courtyard with a bunch of possibly-occupied coffins. Xiao Xingchen is so fucking weird.
Each Unhappy Family is Unhappy in its Own Way
Xiao Xingchen gets to work patching Xue Yang up, and Xue Yang wakes up and recognizes him. A-Qing explains that they are blind and tells him not to be rude about it.
Xue Yang takes a second to process the situation, and then decided he’s going to hide his identity and make nice with Xiao Xingchen. Proving that found family can also have hideous toxic dynamics.
Xue Yang is very careful to keep XXC from touching his hand, since that would give away his identity. He has a...prosthetic finger? He wears a black glove and keeps his pinky finger straight so we know it's a replacement, or injured, or something.
I think this is a concession to Wang Haoxuan having ten functional fingers and the show having a limited CGI budget. In a real sword-based society, missing a finger is probably not particularly uncommon, and he would probably just rock the nine-fingered look without having a special glove.
At this point, the complex interactions of the trio get rolling. Xiao Xingchen is honestly kind, Xue Yang is fake-kind, A-Qing is fake-unaware with Xue Yang and is unable to make Xiao Xingchen understand the problem, and Xiao Xingchen is genuinely unaware of everything.
We spend a fairly large amount of time with Xue Yang and Xiao Xingchen playing happy families. As part of his false persona, Xue Yang adopts a coy and whiny tone when talking to his pet white-clad cultivator, remarkably like another demonic cultivator we know.
I’m pretty sure Wei Wuxian has never managed to cop a feel while his sweetie climbs up a ladder, however.
Then again, neither Lan Wangji nor Wei Wuxian has ever needed a ladder to get onto a roof, so maybe it’s just a lack of opportunity.
This relationship, on the surface, is cute and sweet, which just makes the reality of it more disturbing. It’s super uncomfortable to watch, but there’s more than manipulation happening in these interactions. As Xue Yang flits around doing domestic tasks like patching the roof of the crappy outdoor shelter that they absolutely do not need to be using, he tells Xiao Xingchen various true things about his early life, and we begin to see what shaped him.
Xue Yang (like OP) is obsessed with candy. In Xue Yang’s case, he was a hungry street kid who loved candy but couldn’t usually have it because of poverty. We learn that he has skills in patching up inadequate housing because he did it growing up.
And we learn that he was beaten a lot.
So he and Wei Wuxian have these things in common - except now Wei Wuxian gets his sugar from alcohol, not from candy. And Wei Wuxian’s handyman skills are used to make a home for his former enemies in the burial grounds, while Xue Yang’s are used - also in a cemetery, of sorts - to manipulate and trap his enemy.
I Want Candy
In classic predator form, Xue Yang uses candy to lure A-Qing into coming within stabbing range, because he thinks she’s faking her blindness and wants to test her.
I find him super attractive right here in spite of his evilness. I’m pretty sure it’s because he’s offering candy. (OP goes and gets a jolly rancher out of her purse).
After calling her over, he draws his sword with a super-loud "sshshk" noise that she inexplicably doesn't notice, and she bravely walks up to, and nearly on to, the point of the sword.
This shocks him and convinces him that she's really blind. He sits her down with apparently sincere gentleness, and gives her candy, while quizzing her about her hot gege.
A-Qing tries to warn Xiao Xingchen about Xue Yang being a bad guy, pointing out that he's a cultivator and won't tell them his name. (She can’t say “also he tried to stab me” because she’d have to come clean about being able to see.) Xiao Xingchen, because he is a condescending prick--albeit a very sweet one--pats her on the fucking head and laughs off her extremely useful warning.
Xiao Xingchen came out into the wider world with a set of ideals that he lives by, apparently without examining them. He’s humble, kind, frugal, and wants to eradicate evil. He also believes that the majority of people are good like him, and that detecting evil is simple--as simple as following his sword toward it. He doesn’t allow A-Qing, who is experienced in the wider world, to teach him anything, preferring to keep his ideals untarnished.
Contrast this with Lan Wangji, who also starts his journey into the wider world with a set of ideals (codified as rules), but does not make the mistake of assuming that other people shares his beliefs. Once he’s away from the Cloud Recesses, he follows Wei Wuxian’s lead when dealing with new people, rather than insisting on doing things the way he did back home. In general, he is open to having his beliefs challenged, even when it makes him upset or uncomfortable. As a result, he grows into a righteous man, not a naïve one, and he’s fully capable of identifying enemies even when they appear to be friends.
Bonus:
In this brief long-distance shot we learn that A-Qing sleeps in a coffin, which is some next level goth girl shit.
Soundtrack: 1. Hey Pretty by Poe 2. I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow 3. Cheap Thrills by Sia
#the untamed#the untamed gifs#restless rewatch the untamed#yi city#yi city trio#canary3d-original#ep 38
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Listen. I know, I KNOW we all have mixed feelings about the finale. Just in the last hour, I’ve read at least five posts on each side, some saying it was the best thing filoni’s ever created, and some literally cursing his guts. As I watched it, I was leaning much more to the how dare you, I waited two years for this and this sucks side, but I had a good night of sleep and some thought, and. I think everyone is overreacting.
Some thoughts.
First, I do think it should have been an animated Rebels season 5. I am partial to live action in general and I’m so glad we got such fantastic casting. But Filoni really shines in the animated world. Live action has limits that animation laughs at, and with all of Dave’s creativity and parallels and callbacks and history in animation, it would have suited this show better. Granted, the viewership might have been worse than it already was, but who’s to say?
Secondly, of course the whole thing was a setup for future movies/shows. It would have been near impossible for this to be a standalone series, with only 8 episodes and so much at stake. I still have absolutely zero idea how this fits in with the s*quels, but I hope it’s all part of the plan to safely extract our (Filoni’s) favorite characters before all hell breaks loose on the narrative.
BUT. Just because it was a setup doesn’t make the story any less meaningful. Dave is the master of arcs within arcs within arcs within arcs. There was the mini arc of Ahsoka and Anakin, reconciling very (very very) complicated feelings and Ahsoka coming to grips with her past as a child soldier and forgiving Anakin for the choices and mistakes he made. There was the mini arc of Hera in the New Republic and how she has to balance her loyalty to the government that she helped to establish with her loyalty to her family (something I don’t think we’ve seen the last of). There was the mini arc of (obviously) finding Ezra!!!! HE’S HOME, YOU GUYS. Sabine did the selfless thing and sent him home after a decade to have a fighting chance to reunite with his family. And to meet Kanan’s son and to see the beauty that Lothal has turned into and to hug his adoptive mom. And she has full faith in him that he will be back to get her, or that she’ll find a way to go back. Because she now has knowledge that he didn’t before, and with Ahsoka’s help and probably Shin and Baylan too, there’s no way they won’t Jedi their way out of this. (*cough* world between worlds *cough*) Also seeing Morai was a HUGE plot twist. I, for one, can’t WAIT to see what’s up with that.
FINALLY. and I think this is something that Star Wars fans (dare I call them fans anymore?) seem to always forget is that Star Wars……. Kinda sucks. It always has. No one in their right mind would say that Star Wars is a literary masterpiece or anything close to that. Star Wars is great because you are literally required to take it all with a grain of salt. Nothing goes at face value. You have to overlook things for the rest to make sense. You cherry pick your favorite parts and ignore the rest. Do I know absolutely anything about mandalore and their political history?? Not one single thing. But could I explain to you the nuances of the aptly-named Disaster Lineage and how generation trauma comes in more ways than by blood?? I could write PAGES. There’s so much history and lore and side characters and branches of story and nuance that no one can ever fit it all together perfectly, no matter how good of a storyteller they are. You have to pick a niche and run with it, and that’s exactly what Dave Filoni is doing. AND that’s what we as fans need to do. If you’re mad that he didn’t address the chiss as a whole or delve into the mysteries of the nightsisters or expand on what happened between Ahsoka and Sabine in depth, then I’m sorry, but you’ve come to the wrong place. Put on a pair of rose colored glasses and cry at Ezra’s reunions with the rest of us.
I’ve stopped expecting perfection from any major franchise (haven’t watched a marvel show or movie since TF&TWS) because the bigger they get, the less they’re going to appeal to the general fan base. And Ahsoka was no different. But it did accomplish one thing: bringing Ezra Bridger home after 10 years, and I think that is all we actually need to worry about for now.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
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I think the reason I'm not vibing with a lot of speculative Good Omens meta now is that I'm focused on what I think the scenes actually mean, what actually is and will be, rather than what could be.
Crowley's memories, for example. I fully agree that other things COULD explain his seeming memory gaps, and there's a lot of ways you could interpret them. But I'm focused on what the scenes are intended to convey, what the probable thought was behind them, and therefore, work out whether it's likely to come up later in the story. In this case, I'm at least 80% sure we're meant to pick up on those moments as significant. It's not that there aren't alternative explanations, or that some of them aren't completely logical. I'm not speculating within the story, I'm picking up on story cues from outside of it.
And that goes for most of my speculations, to be honest. I think we probably won't see the same human characters again, because that would fit the pattern of the series so far - human players are introduced for each chapter of the story. And it feels like Nina and Maggie have concluded their arc, and don't need any more celestial intervention (if they really needed any in the first place). It seems unlikely, too, that Crowley will hang around his and Aziraphale's space when he's not in it. He's already living in his car, so it's easy for the plot to move him wherever he needs to be. That seems deliberate to me. Like, if I was about to move the story to another location - say, America - this is the way I'd set it up.
I also think that's why the unreliable narrator / 'we're not seeing what actually happened' theories especially annoy me. Partly because they feel like coping and I think some people are setting themselves up for disappointment. Partly because when it's an unreliable narrator, it's always Aziraphale, and that carries an assumption that this is just Aziraphale's story. Which it is not. But the biggest thing is how unrealistic that idea is. We are two-thirds of the way through the story. There are six more episodes in which to tell the rest. Spending a good chunk of that going over S2 again and showing us 'what really happened!' would be a massive waste of time. I don't see why there would be a secret narrative, because there's literally no time for one. Everything we see onscreen has to count. If you want to make serious predictions, not just headcanons, then you have to take things like that into account.
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Hi, do you have any fic recs for Clone War fics where Ahsoka (and possibly Rex?) recognize that Anakin is a bad general/Jedi? I recently started rewatching TCW after my last time watching it, back when I was still a preteen, and I'm just shook at how much of an asshole and horrible general Anakin is?? I am quite literally on episode 6 of season!
Most of these are taken straight from my previous fic rec list specifically for anti-Anakin fics (there's others in there where other characters like Obi-Wan, Padme, and Fives figure out Anakin's a piece of shit too if that's up your alley).
and the tide rises, the tide falls series by blackkat: This one probably is going to fit your request the most since there is a LARGE focus on Rex and Ahsoka coming to terms with the Tusken massacre and what this means about who Anakin truly is and their relationships with him.
Wasted Training by TheSecondBatgirl: This one has Ahsoka getting some revelations about that training Anakin gave her in TOTJ being perhaps not so great.
The Burden of Secrets by Peppermint_Shamrock: This might be more Anakin-positive than you were looking for, but it deals with Ahsoka finding out about the Tusken massacre and how she deals with that. It also is set just after the Rako Hardeen arc, so there's some mentions of how Anakin isn't managing his feelings about that in a healthy way, too.
"... if you remain his student" by peppermint_shamrock: This one fits within the "Clone Wars" timeline by a hair since it is set DURING Order 66 in an AU where the Wrong Jedi arc doesn't happen (or Ahsoka just didn't leave, I can't remember) and so she's at the Temple when Anakin marches on it with the 501st. Ahsoka has to come to some VERY quick realizations about her master and doesn't get long to really dwell on it.
The next two are not TECHNICALLY set "during the Clone Wars" because one is set post-Order 66 and one is a happy fix-it AU set post-war. I am including them because they do definitely have storylines about Rex and/or Ahsoka having to come to some realizations about Anakin, but they don't technically fit your request.
Slices of Happiness series by kj_feybarn: This one is focused more on Obi-Wan, but there's some stuff in here about Rex coming to some realizations about Anakin, too.
The Greater Crime by kj_feybarn: This is set post-Order 66 in an AU where Rex and Ahsoka meet up with Obi-Wan and Padme and they all go on the run together, so obviously Rex and Ahsoka find out the truth about what Anakin's done pretty quickly and struggle with that revelation. It also has a follow-up fic Cruel by TheStageManager that's more Ahsoka focused.
#star wars#ahsoka tano#captain rex#anakin critical#anakin skywalker critical#anti anakin#anti anakin skywalker#fic#fic rec
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I just want to get this out but I am getting tired of people complaining about Live action Katara's lack of rage in the show. Especially because now, because it is missing from the LA show, there is a general trend of people that were annoyed with her behavior before now are defending it being part of her character. And before people think I am hating on them, no. I am not against people defending her rage, as I liked it a lot growing up and watching the show causally just as the next person. Katara was one of my favorite character of being a kind person while also taking names and kicking butt, she was that awesome. So more defense for her the better. Hell, I would say from just the interviews I have seen of Kiawentiio, she has - to me - the Katara sass and I am living for it.
What I am hating on is that the Live action Katara is getting ragged on for a lot of reasons - some valid, but other are (in my opinion) surface level stupid and not knowing of what actually might have been going on during the filming of season and probably the mindset that caused her character to be deflated. Because there is a lot to consider as to why it had to be condensed either for conveniences sake or - in my personal opinion - was done on purpose by two individuals that have a track records of curving that behavior in Katara to their desire.
Also: DON'T use this as an excuse to attack the actress! She is doing her best and giving her all! She is doing her job and any slander on her will be instantly blocked! I will not take any slander on her or any of the actors!
Also, mid spoilers so read at your own risk near the bottom
First thing we should consider: the amount of episodes. Yes, I am aware of the telling and not showing arguments that are being flown around. I get it. Normally, I am one of the biggest supporters that this show needed time to breath and let be to show than telling. If it had more time to breath, Katara's rage might have been more visible and we could have had more time for her arc to improve. And this is not to say that they could not have been able to do it, but I will say that this show NEEDED more than 8 episodes to be able to get as much in (To be clear, there are some shows that this works for - Amazon's Reacher and Legend of Zorro have short seasons and formatted for hour long content. But it makes sense for those shows because they are working within parameters of their medium and are newer (both are adaptions of older stuff but still) shows that can play around with the format better). For as ambitious as this project is, it has a lot to condense. At least that it is a show and not a movie, but still. Let's not forget that it could have been so much worst if it was a movie.
Now some people will say, "Well if they were good enough writers then they could have done more to show than tell," which fair. I will admit that there are infinite number of ways that they could handled some of the topics: such as Sokka's sexism and Katara's rage that everyone is missing. But with the landscape of media as is where you would be damned if you do damned if you don't if you so much as talk about some sensitive topic and you could be canceled for it instantly! Which leads me to the next point!
Second thing to consider: Multiple season renewal was never confirmed prior. Yes, we can all complain that the shows pacing was out of place. Yes, they cut some filler. And yes, it feels like we are getting too much of the world building through talking and now showing. But can you really blame them? To most people, if you saw the reaction of the cast before the news came out, you can see they were saddened by the fact they thought would not get a season 2. They changed their tune when season 2 and 3 was confirmed, and honestly happy for them. But again, that confirms to me that the writing had failed mostly because if they were never going to get their chance, might as well go all out. And with how easy shows can get picked up and canceled, I can see they needed to try and cram it in.
Which also plays into Katara's rage - they did not know if there was going to be a chance for her to grow and get bending abilities or go through her arc as steady as the animated. Again, I am not saying losing it was good, but that we need consider that if they were not going to get another season, they had to progress faster than usual. (Side note, while I like this show, Amazon's Hazbin Hotel has the same problem. We are steam rolling through what could be slow progression and change but can't slow because of episode constriction and no time to sit and allow the show to progress because it is so easy to drop the show for the studios, might as well end it on a note that at least can feel like it was it's own story.)
Speaking of studios, that would be my next point as well: studio and producer control. While I know directors can have a say in it, we should not forget about the studio that is allowing them to make this show in the first place and what they are asking for. As I keep saying, we don't know about what their restrictions are or if they can have more than a certain amount of episodes, and maybe that is a mandate of Netflix or something else, we as the audience don't know. We don't know what happens on set or behind the filming outside of glimpses and interviews, so for all we know, there was some changes to the script or teleplay to make it seem like they needed to cut Katara's rage to make her more meek. Which if this was the whole show, fine, that is a choice but not one I will have to like. But when watching the 3rd and 4th episodes, seeing Katara being a teenage girl and angry for once and even more open about her emotions was possible. Hell, it was the only times she was allowed to snap. And guess what people: it was because of the writing this time. That feminine rage you all wanted - while faint - was there. So clearly Netflix is not solely at fault - they have many mistakes but writing is not one of them.
But it is when you look who wrote what and where and what they were going for that - to me - puts EVERYTHING into place!
Final point: the original creators being brought on.
This might seem weird because one would think having the creators on the original show should be not as bad. The creators of the show is watching to make sure that the show is just right and that the characters feel the same or at least some of the story beats feel similar enough to enjoy. Why would them being on the set cause issues with the pacing and writing?
To a casual fan, yeah that makes sense. But to those that have been in the fandom, have see what they do post cannon to ALL of the characters - especially how they treat Katara in Legend of Korra - then anyone watching might have realized that that should have been a warning sign. Especially with how they would have wanted to depict the characters. And this is also the reason I think Katara's rage is gone: I think they wanted to make her like the comics version of her being a meek and demure girl that while caring was not getting as angry or as passionate about things because that would go against what Bryke wanted Katara to be in the show.
As I mentioned before, Katara's rage or at least genuine anger was only in for about two episodes out of the 8. And if you take out the 5th and 6th where she has been basically damseled with Sokka in the spirit world, that leaves on 4 more episodes to allow her to have her anger. Typically, one can thing, "Okay we can sprinkle it here or there in the other two and it should world". But all it takes is to see who was writing the episodes that truly not only hinder the world building of the show and breaks the rules of show don't tell or crammed it in so blatantly it feels like cringe and got rid of Katara being the one to free Aang because of her anger - was Bryke! They were the ones that were the head writers of the first episode and the 8th episode. The ones that had the most cramming down your throats dialogue, the clunky explaining of Aang's character out of now where and even curving Katara's rage or ability to be angry or snarky like she was in the show. Because Bryke wrote them, and also teleplayed a few - this being like adding notes and what the camera needs to do and how to frame scenes along side the dialogue. Meaning that they had some hand in making Live Action Katara this way.
If you notice in the episodes they didn't write: Omashu and the Cave of Two lovers - they were the only ones where Katara could be a bit more snappy and a bit more annoyed and vocal toward at least Sokka and Jet - not a lot but it was there. And oh would you look at that, the episode that they did not write had HEAVY hints for a certain firebender and waterbender being hinted at and color coded the lovers more vividly. And also, Katara getting to be empathetic while also not over explaining - which many always ragged on her for - where she could be human for once. Those episodes were the ones that they did not write and the story was somewhat better (Not better but I will take it over what we got prior)
And again, casual viewers might not know why this is a bad thing or probably wondering why I am against Bryke. But all it takes is looking at what they did to animated Katara that you all try to say "Was perfect as she was before" without considering what they did to her after the curtain fell. For any fan that has been following the show, you will find that most fans of Katara - the animated one -did not like what they did to her in the comics that continued their story and Legend of Korra, where she was a husk of a shell of her former self. And how she was all about "What Aang would have done, and what Aang did and oh how I missed Aang, he would know what to do". And yet, if she even showed any anger or negative emotions, she was painted as the bad person - easily look up Katara in the comics with a google search and you can see her being pushed around and flattened almost all the time when she is showing negative emotions that are genuine and not the funny mad in the show. Especially in the show as seen through this post, it did not always paint her anger in a natural thing for her or reinforced her angry as more comedic than actually something to consider as important until someone else stepped in to help her see it *cough* Zuko *cough*.
So to all the people that are trying to come after the live action Katara as being "Not the same energy girl power character who was expressive about her anger" you all "loved from the start'', please consider who and what was behind the scenes to make her this way. Especially since the animated show had other writers besides Bryke that understood Katara better if not more. Bryke wanted her to be more demure even in the pilot, and damsel. And yet the other writers gave her an actual story. Byrke have shown time and time again they do not want and angry passionate water bender that wants to be more active in changing the wrongs in the world, they want her to be more meek and docile and not fight back to let others save her in the comics and after. The OG had other writers that gave her her arc and Mae Whitmen give her the sass that we all love.
Live action Katara is no different. She has been trying to come into her own - with limited time to tell a story, limited time to get her arcs in fearful of cancellation, and with different writers, she can work, but not with Bryke. Same goes for the other characters too, not just Katara, but it seems that everyone pokes at Katara more and it is getting frustrating because some of these people just can never be happy with Katara.
Hopefully with season 2 and 3, we can have more time to flesh out the characters and maybe even have more show don't tell moments and being able to explore their feelings more. But only time will tell.
Rant over, sorry for the rambling mess.
#katara#live action avatar the last air bender#katara defense squad#live action atla#not the best but not the worst#anti bryke#actors are trying#the comics sucked#Katara deserves better
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My thoughts on the latest episode of BUCCHIGIRI?! Episode 9 aka the one episode that had me mentally broken
WARNING: *May contain spoilers esp in regards to Senya and Ichiya and the starting of the corruption arc of Matakara*
- Continuing the ending scene of Episode 8, it seems like everything was Akutaro’s and Ichiya’s plan was to go smoothly but SIKE! It was ICHIYA’S plan all along! Akutaro was just a pawn!
- Akutaro doesn’t seem too pleased about it and wants to merge back with Ichiya with the latter telling him straight up how he was nothing but a tool straight up made him mad.
- In class, Mahoro as always is looking at photos of her brother and holy moly! THE JIN’S HAVE A DOG?! I DIDN’T KNOW THEY WERE FRICKIN RICH!
- Anyways, Arajin being the simp that he is tries to give her the soapstone but she ignores him.
- However, Arajin just so happens to overhear Komao and Zabu being worried for Matakara and how he’s been gone for three days! WHAT?!
- This has got me super worried AF.
- Arajin doesn’t seem too concerned about it but something tells me that deep down he feels…worried for some reason.
- Back in the Tomoshibi family restaurant, Arajin is helping out as always and Senya can’t help but notice Arajin’s worry so much to the point that he slapped him on the back pretty hard to cheer him up which he doesn’t seem to accept.
- Back with Zabu and Komao, they asked the receptionist about Matakara’s whereabouts again only this time he’s back. Excited about the news, both Zabu and Komao bought him something to eat but they heard a crashing sound.
- They open up to see Matakara opening up his piggy bank and taking up whatever remaining money that he has all the while ignoring Zabu and Komao. Man. That hurts.
- Meanwhile, Arajin is heading to the bathhouse due to the showers in his home being broken down, but then he bumped into Matakara but unlike the usual, Mata’s whole cheerful demeanour is gone, most likely from what happened last episode and just left without saying a word.
- The customer and cat cafè waiter returned again. This time, when the customer asked for Pu’er again, the waiter begged him to take Jasmine again because of how she’s been waiting for the customer which causes the customer to change and asked for Jasmine. What this means is probably gonna be foreshadowing of the next episode or the current predicament that’s happening.
- At the bathhouse, Arajin was trying to enjoy a peaceful bath time when he ran into Komao and Zabu with the former being all cheerful, calling him Ara-pyon and offering to wash his back despite seeing him act like an uncaring asshole last episode (what a sweetheart).
- Arajin and Zabu asked each other about Matakara’s wellbeing before Komao jumped into the bathtub cannonball style.
- There’s something oddly cathartic seeing the NG Boys and Girls discussing about Akutaro’s downfall (I mean he did abuse them after all) and Akutaro can’t help but watch all of this happen and ran off embarrassed by his downfall.
- Tho that being said, Akutaro does have a plan in which he discovered a slip of paper that says Honki on the front but what it says is pretty unknown.
- Any scene with Matakara and Ichiya is just so heartwrenching because unlike Arajin and Senya’s relationship, Ichiya is trying to break Mata down mentally.
- Oh and it turns out that the dark shadow thing isn’t Ichiya’s but something hiding within Matakara all along.
- Also, we got some backstory regarding how Matakara joined Minato Kai, in which he just beat up a bunch of random thugs because of honoring his brother and Arajin, he and Ken went up against each other to pass the trial to become a member of Minato Kai.
- Also, just saying but the first year design of Zabu and Komao are just so adorable. Oh and I guess my headcanon of the first meeting between these three got debunked but it technically became true when it’s revealed that all three joined Minato Kai at the same time.
- To Mahoro, Marito and Outa (the latter two who are absent since last ep): Mahoro is playing some sort of imaginary tea party with a dolly of Marito lol but the moment real Marito and Outa came in she quickly hid under the covers.
- From there, both Marito and Outa began to discuss about Mitsukuni’s hospitalization and also revealed that not even Kenichiro can beat him. When Marito asked why is Outa is concerned about Mitsukuni and even brought up the topic about it, Outa then revealed that Matakara is going through a hard time right now and that he is the kid brother of Mitsukuni.
- Both Marito and Mahoro who overheard about it expressed shock at the relation. And my reaction to all this is: “Wait none of you siblings knew about it?” (Moreso from Mahoro because Matakara told her about it back in Episode 4)
- Marito heard something and began to search in his room for the noise which Outa began to question what is he doing before they continue their discussion.
- Mahoro oddly began to display worry and concern for Matakara, despite those two never interacting by a whole lot. But it is a nice gesture nonetheless.
- The next day, Arajin and Mahoro have a talk on the rooftop, to which the latter asked about the condition of Matakara’s wellbeing. Arajin was hesitant to ask and even begin to worry about how she is showing interest in Mata (which is not true at all) to which Mahoro is disgusted by and just left him.
- Also, it’s interesting to note how Mahoro said that it happened to her once (regarding the things Matakara is going through) but what this mean is quite peculiar.
- While walking back, Senya tried to cheer Arajin up with a massive slap to the back but Arajin dodged it this time. At least until they are approached by a disheveled Akutaro who slipped a paper right into Arajin’s jacket pocket before going off.
- Ichiya breaking down Matakara and manipulating him to fight Arajin. My poor sunshine puppy. 😭
- Arajin and Senya are walking to the bathhouse again but this time we are given expository on Senya and Ichiya.
- Both Senya and Ichiya are street kids (possibly back when they were mortals) who live in an unknown part of the desert long time ago. Senya (who wasn’t given a name back then) admired Ichiya’s fighting style and begged to fight him. Ichiya was disinterested in Senya at first but he doesn’t seem to say no either.
- Over the years, both Senya and Ichiya’s friendly rivalry grew and grew so much so that when they were hanging out, Ichiya was the one who named Senya as he is today.
- But all of a sudden, their relationship turned sour at some point with black shadows covering Ichiya. What happened is unknown but it’s seem odd for some reason.
- When Arajin asked why Senya relied the backstory to him, the genie said that both Arajin and Matakara’s goal of being Honki People is a lot similar to his and Ichiya’s goal.
- Matakara appears in front of Arajin, clearly looking distraught and not long before he starts attacking Arajin.
- Arajin had no idea what has happened and Senya told him to merge with him to which Arajin managed to thankfully stop Matakara’s kicks but Matakara overpowered Arajin and just as he was about to land a finishing blow, Arajin’s gut began to growl which hit him to run to the nearest bathroom
- Also in all seriousness, can’t they dropped the toilet humor?
- Ichiya appeared and is convinced that the reason Matakara held back was because of his kind heart.
- Back in the Tomoshibi residence, Ara patched himself up from what has happened and Senya looked down and muttered about how Ichiya now has a hold on Matakara now. Angered by all this, Arajin began to ask how did he know about it before Senya disappeared.
- Just as Arajin is lying down, he saw the slip of paper that Akutaro slipped in meet him in the dead of the night.
- Akutaro then revealed that the reason why Senya is being secretive is because apparently Senya is planning to take over Arajin!
- Back with Ichiya and Matakara, Ichiya talked about Mitsukuni and feed lies on why the latter is weak before Matakara began to go apeshit and destroyed the dark shadow. Oh and Matakara has a mark behind his back not unlike the one Arajin has behind his ass.
- And with that, the final scene now has Ichiya in full possession with Matakara all the while saying that he is lacking anger and hatred in his heart. Matakara’s eyes lacked shine and now resembles Ichiya’s.
#rubi’s post#bucchigiri?!#arajin tomoshibi#matakara asamine#senya#ichiya#zabu kakeru#komao sakigake#mahoro jin#marito jin#outa tahide#meta#review
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The downfall to kai was he was more popular than damon if he was a matt or Enzo type they would have kept him around redeemed him and let him date bonnie
you're right and you should say it louder 👏🏼
it sucks because i do like both damon and enzo, but so much of s7/8 became hypocritical around how we're made to feel about them compared to how they expected/wanted us to feel about kai and it's just silly.
damon backslides so horrifically that it's exhausting watching them jump through hoops to pretend he's redeemable and epic, instead of just ... actually allowing him to be redeemable and epic. he was 👉🏼👈🏼 so close !! to just !! being decent !! and that wasn't enough he had to go back to being terrible and selfish, cause where is the fun in watching a character grow and mature i guess ?? if he actually evolved and stayed even just slightly more consistent i don't think he'd lose so many of us. but i can only take so many scenes of watching him go through the exact same arc again and again only to never truly change.
enzo is my #3 TVD man (because i, like bonnie, have a type lmao) but i'll be the first to point out that he was !! eating people !! while being a part of the mfg. like did bonnie just ?? not know about that ?? is it fine because the people are strangers and he's a vampire ?? y'all remember when he just killed fake sarah to one up stefan ?? yes, he grows and starts acting like he's got some sense but it's only really after he falls for bonnie. she never addresses his behavioral changes enough, because if she did, they'd have to admit how hypocritical it sounds. it sucks, because objectively i like them together and i think especially the cabin arc is precious.
but like ... if we'd isolated bonnie and kai in say, a prison world, for more than a cross country trip to portland i think we all know what would have happened. which would mean no red wedding, no caroline incubator gate, enzo isn't dead, the heretics get a chance at being coven members, tyler doesn't have to turn by offing liv and they can be happy, stefan probably also isn't dead because if we had two witches someone could deal with the hellfire in the armory and someone could freeze katherine in place with magic, like !!!! so much could have been different if those two just figured it out lol
bonnie and the witches in general get snubbed a lot, and i know it's the vampire diaries, but don't give me these stupidly interesting people and then be upset when i love them.
i've never recovered from accepting enzo's death to suddenly having kai back within the span of an episode. i was like oooh alright, so you really are just laughing at us this is a game to you isnt it plec lmao
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Why is Padme Amidala such an underwritten character?
Because Lucas cut the final step of her arc.
In Revenge of the Sith, there’s a collection of deleted scenes, commonly referred to as “The Seeds of Rebellion.” These show Padmé meeting with Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and various other Senators who make up the Delegation of 2,000— Senators who are opposed to the powers the Chancellor continued to amass, and the eradication of democracy within the Republic.
The scenes were cut, primarily to keep the focus on Anakin’s descent, but that also meant that Padmé got stuck as little more than Future Protagonist Incubation Unit for the majority of the film.
Across Episodes I and II, of the prequels’ trio of leads, she’s probably the most consistent in her writing and development: a politician dedicated to upholding the ideals of democracy, one who generally tried to avoid war if it could be avoided. Her moral code was generally very strong, but her breaking point was always when things were at their most desperate. She called for a vote of no confidence against Valorum because she believed it was the only way to save her occupied homeworld. She practically had to be forced off Coruscant by Palpatine “for her safety” (aka, getting her out of the way) because she didn’t want the galaxy to go to war while there was something she could do to prevent it. She only confessed her love for Anakin when she thought they were about to die. Her primary character conflict is Padmé the person at war with Amidala the public servant, and the first two movies did a decent-enough job of showing that. Had the Seeds of Rebellion subplot been kept in, she would have retained that depth for Revenge of the Sith, but alas.
Read more>>>https://tinyurl.com/2am768mz
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One major implication I don't think that episode really took the time to settle on is the implication that the Toymaker has already massively messed up the universe?
Toymaker: I came to this universe with such delight. And I played them all, Doctor. I toyed with supernovas, turned galaxies into spin tops. I gambled with God and made him a jack-in-the-box.
Toymaker: I made a jigsaw out of your history... did you like it?
Toymaker: The Master was dying and begged for his life with one final game, and when he lost, I sealed him for all eternity within my gold tooth.
And later:
Toymaker: Do you think a grand total of two can cause me to shiver when I've played against the Guardians of Time and Space and shrank them into voodoo dolls?
So to summarise:
It's implied the universe is now even more destroyed by the Toymaker's reality warping. Granted we don't know what the scale of this is, unlike the Flux, but it's possibly proportionally quite big considering how little of the universe is left already? That being said, he could have done this in history before the Flux, since it was a linear event, in which case this is far less of an issue.
That being said, it's likely this was reversed by the Toymaker being banished - so we're probably not going to see galaxy-sized spin-tops in the future. How many people died, and if they come back however, is less clear.
The Master (presumably dying after POTD), and the Black and White Guardians (at least - possibly the other 3 guardians too, excluding the Toymaker - though they're the main ones, and it's "order and chaos" specifically which are mentioned in the episode) have all gamed with the Toymaker and lost. The tooth!Master is at least left in our universe, and may possibly be secure with UNIT. The fate of the Guardians is a bit less clear, as is the implications for the balance of the universe.
But perhaps the biggest thing, and the one the episode actually took the time to give us a confused 14 reaction shot to:
The Toymaker has a made a 'jigsaw' out of the Doctor's history (or maybe history in general, although he does say 'your').
So what does that mean?
The hint is that the Doctor has already experienced whatever it is... so what was it that he caused with his interference?
To me there's perhaps three possible options:
The Star Beast - this would be an oddly minor thing to refer to, but arguably makes the most sense in the 'arc' of the specials. Perhaps he's referring to the Doctor encountering Beep the Meep for the first time again? ie. taken one jigsaw piece and exchanged its position in his timeline. For now this might be my headcanon regarding it, but would be really odd to be the intention, especially since we're already disregarding most of the other appearances of the Toymaker in the EU? It's also of course not the first time we've had an adaptation of an EU story in the main show without referencing the original (the no. 1 example being Human Nature - there are others like The Lodger and Dalek, but they're different enough that they can co-exist in a continuity with their source material).
The Timeless Child / Fugitive Doctor - RTD has said he's not going retcon the arc, but this arguably makes the most sense as a 'puzzle' being made out of the Doctor's history? Especially with regards to the Fugitive Doctor anyway, given there's the additional complications of her a) being the "Doctor", b) having a Police Box TARDIS, yet c) seemingly being from around the time of the Anchoring of the Thread.
The Toymaker's being time-wimey, it hasn't happened yet / it's nothing in particular - While it would be a bit confusing to contradict the one detail we got in the episode, this is always a possibility too. After all, there was a lot of sequel hooking all across these specials, so it might be something RTD will come back to, especially if we are going to be seeing more of the past Doctors in future series? Hopefully not by the biregeneration theory he gave about them all being split retroactively, because that is literally insane and doesn't even make the little sense the 14-15 one does....wtf.
So overall, what do I think?
Well I think I can be somewhat forgiving with the damage to the rest of the universe, just because it's implied that it might be reset, and the scale/lethality was never established. Plus like I said, there is some justification to the proportional issue not being too bad when combined with the Flux.
The Black and White Guardians implication is... interesting. We are gradually building up more and more of those 'Great Old One' / pre-universe elements in (New)NewWho, so there's a good chance this could come back in the future. It probably won't have immediate effects on the universe, as the Guardians seemed to be more concerned with specific dangers like the Key to Time. It could perhaps lead to more Eternals popping up across the universe, given the Guardians were the only force they really answered to. RTD I think is also quite aware of some of the Eternal-type lore too, since he played around with it quite a bit in those Series 1 articles talking about the Time War.
The Master's obviously coming back and as silly as this was, it does at least justify him being alive after POTD. It actually opens up the possibility of seeing Dhawan himself again too, which would be great! The nail-polished hand picking it up felt like a bit of a trolling moment, after how underwelming all the theories of who did it were when the End of Time came along. Someone pointed out that Kate actually has the same nail-polish, which would be interesting. Perhaps when we next see the Master, they'll be in UNIT captivity, Delgado style?
Finally, the jigsaw line, which is possibly the most interesting. Originally I was going to lean towards this being nothing / a vague setup for future past-Doctor stuff, since that seems to be the default, but now that I've laid it out... I think this could be a setup for more Fugitive!Doctor appearances. It makes the most sense from a story perspective anyway, given what the Toymaker said and some of the questions surrounding her not being answered, whether or not it's the direction the franchise would actually want to go.
After all, as controversial as the Timeless Child lore was, as far as I'm aware Jo Martin was pretty well recieved, and I'm sure RTD would love to look for opportunities to do more with her somehow. Whether he'd want something so continuity dependent from a showrunning perspective, however, is a bit more questionable.
#Doctor Who#The Giggle#The Toymaker#The Timeless Child#Martin!Doctor#Fugitive Doctor#The Master#Dhawan!Master#DW Meta#DW Spoilers#Doctor Who Spoilers#again I think this does kinda reinforce my complaint that we didn't get enough of the Toymaker messing with the outside universe#cause this was largely told not shown#can you imagine if we got scenes of him warping space#destroying galaxies#galactus style etc.?#maybe even a Dhawan cameo of him losing to the Toymaker?
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***TBB SPOILERS***
But on last week's episode, "Flash Strike," because my mind is currently racing in circles and I'll explode if I don't do anything for the next hour. Less coherent than usual probably, because I feel like I'm about to vibrate into the stratosphere.
Immediate Crosshunt frame within the first five seconds. Perfection. And notice Hunter and Crosshair once again leave the scene together—because Crosshair is Hunter's copilot, Crosshair is Hunter's copilot!!! Also they're so obsessed with each other, during the piloting scenes they are constantly looking at each other. Crosshair popping out of his seat to tell Hunter things when he should be watching the screens, Hunter turning around when he should be looking out the viewport?? Are the two of you going to die if you don't make eye contact every ten seconds??? Focus!
"He'll find a way." And boy does he!!! Echo, the man you are. Like in the last episode, the infiltration scene is simple but cleverly choreographed but moves at a good pace.
Bro I'm so mad that it was so easy for Echo to nab a hand and he hasn't before this point wtf
I always like when the Imperials being full of themselves wastes each other's time and allows the protagonists to elude them, while also saying something about the enemy characters. A+ Star Wars plot device.
Please let Scorch make it out and not just die as an easter egg they didn't do anything with!!!
OH NO Scalder is hot
I really like Omega being able to distinguish the rumble of the laser cannons. Everyone who was all worked up about her imitating Crosshair, there you have it. Even without the enhancements, Omega has learned to sense things like Hunter does.
"My brothers" made my siblings > parents heart full. And the line is particularly kickass because she's no longer helpless. She's not waiting for the Batch to come for her. She already has an escape plan. But now she has the reassurance that they'll be working the same mission from opposite ends.
Noshir Dalal's work this episode is ACES. Every single scream he does is so different! And each of them have so much texture.
I love Hunter shooting the rappel line mechanism to save Rampart and it risking his life being a mirror for Tech shooting the mechanism to save the Batch and it risking his life. A much more graceful reminder than just someone awkwardly saying one line about Tech every episode.
Crosshair being 100% confident about which move Hunter will make and how he'll find his way back to them, WHAT IF I CRIED. Hunter, what did you track to find Crosshair, I have to know. Was it his scent? The sound of his footsteps? The flutter of his heartbeat? No matter what it was, it was gay.
Crosswrecker crumbs!!! I can't believe we got TWO emotional conversations in this episode, this is the content I've been starving for. I love the duo of Crosshair and Wrecker so much, and Crosshair being emotionally vulnerable with him specifically is so telling about the depth of their connection.
Love the mirror of Crosshair saying he's here because he owes Omega, mirroring the S1 finale. And you can just feel the ghost of Mayday lingering over this bit. Crosshair's arc in the finale will have to be about him taking an action that shows him growing out of this mentality.
"Cover you?" "What does that mean?" I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. My headcanon for the clones is that they use so much military slang and hand signs to communicate that it's often incomprehensible to outsiders.
This moment during Crosshair's conversation with Rampart!!! And I love the way the light casts them in darkness and light during this conversation, and the way Crosshair appears to be emerging from it. Crosshair carrying Hunter's words with him makes me so emotional.
"Depends on who's giving them." SUB CROSSHAIR SUPREMACY. God this line makes me insane. Crosshair stating both his disdain for the Empire and his allegiance to Hunter in so few words. This show has once again decided to pretend the inhibitor chips don't exist, but I'll trade it for what amounts to an emotional confession / oath of loyalty from Crosshair.
I've watched the scene where Hunter is facing down the beast and Crosshair is standing literally RIGHT behind him so many times oh my god. If he leaned down he could press their cheeks together. I can't believe my prediction that they would just move closer and closer on screen every episode was right. The next logical step for them is to kiss in the finale, obviously.
Also this moment where Crosshair and Hunter help Wrecker up!!!
And this one!!! Echo representing the heroic standard I've been desperate for!!!
Echo going undercover in blank armor to save all his brothers... Fives going undercover in blank armor to save the galaxy... I am unwell. If the Echo feature these past couple episodes has been to set up his death, I will go knock down LFL offices myself.
Every time they play the clone theme for Echo or Rex I start almost crying. The soft rendition in the scene with Emerie made me so emotional, and then the dark fanfare version at the end is so sick!!!
Okay, off I go to lose the rest of my sanity...
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