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opalsiren · 3 years

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top 5 bella outfits

a kindly anon asked me to rank the costumes that each of the girls wear in season three, so without further ado i present the top 5 bella outfits of all time! as per this is based on my opinion alone and dissenting arguments are sometimes always welcome

you can find my ranking of every dress rikki wears here, as well as my roast of the season three wedding outfits here!

we’re starting with bella’s...

1. aqua blue dress

this dress is just everything. it’s giving california surfer girl, effortless american apparel vibes. the vibrant aquamarine is bella’s soul color; it matches both her eyes and her crystal necklace perfectly, evoking her connection with the sea. i don’t know that we ever see a clear view of bella’s shoes or the indeed the rest of the outfit, but the dress and her pendant alone solidifies this as one of the best outfits in the entire series even if season three in general is a massive letdown

2. white top and skirt

the blue dress is iconic, but this next ensemble is a close second. there’s just something about an all-white outfit that is so sophisticated, and bella’s beach party outfit is no exception. it’s pretty and playful but timeless and romantic too. the crisp, clean white is incredible with her complexion, and the pop of colour in the flower garland adds visual interest. it also has a conveniently exposed midriff for when you get splashed with a drink and have to run away to the water before anyone sees your tail. mermaid things amirite?

3. white and pink paisley print dress

how pretty is this dress? bella is truly the queen of effortless chic, and with her wavy hair and relaxed sandals she exudes cool which is ironic considering the state of her relationship with will during this episode. the paisley print is sweet and whimsical, the execution of the garment is perfect, and i would personally wear this dress in a second. next!

4. pink, green, and white striped dress

maybe it’s the pockets, the detailing at the bodice, or the fact that i had a similar dress when i was younger, but i just think this entire look is to die for. bella’s half low-bun moment is adorable and elevates the beachy ensemble. her usual sandals and minimal accessories really let the dress shine without too much visual distraction. overall, everything about this embodies bella’s sweet and romantic vibe!

5. yellow babydoll top and denim skirt

whoever said blondes shouldn’t wear yellow definitely never met bella! yellow is evocative of sunshine and optimism, so it’s no surprise that the costume team chose to outfit her in a lot of the colour given her sunny disposition. there’s something quite striking about the simplicity of bella’s style; she rarely wears garish colours, ostentatious accessories, or loud prints, but always manages to look totally effortless

what did you think of my picks? what are your favourite bella looks? should the writers have put more effort into developing her character than styling her in admittedly very cute dresses? sound off in the replies!

#top 5 cleo and top 5 rikki looks in season three coming... soon!#i really tried to include as little season three salt as possible here sdfdsdfd #i just know tumblr is about to fucking up this formatting i swear #h2o just add water #h2o: just add water #h2o #.txt #bella hartley #i feel like the reason bella's beach party outfit is so striking is because rikki and cleo's are just... not. that said i'm glad we got to #see rikki in a hawaiian shirt. and the red dress from the precious episode or whatever is iconic. as is the adorable ruffle fuschia dress #that cleo wears to graduation. but more on that later

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watchmakermori · 4 years

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analysing The Beach (and why it’s one of the best Avatar fillers)

this essay is going to be full of bad punctuation and rambling because I’m not at uni anymore and Fuck Academic Style

Avatar does filler episodes better than most (see: all) shows, but there are two that really stand out. one is The Tales of Ba Sing Se, one is The Beach. what do they have in common? they balance humour with solemn, hard-hitting revelations, and they are completely devoted to character development. the internet isn’t short of people talking about how great The Tales of Ba Sing Se is (i’ll stop crying over The Tale of Iroh NEVER) but i just wanna scream about what makes The Beach so good

to call it a bottle episode for the villains isn’t completely accurate, because Azula is about the only character that fully qualifies as a villain when you take in the whole series. however, it is the first episode where we really see Mai and Ty Lee operating as independent characters rather than just accessories to Azula. my first point of praise: without The Beach, Ty Lee (and Mai to an extent) would be much, much flatter characters. they have fairly little to do in season 2 outside of fighting and delivering in-character quips. Ty Lee is the ditzy one, Mai is the emo gloomy one. that’s not to say they make bad sidekicks, but The Beach gives them a depth that was definitely missing

the way Ty Lee is used is particularly effective, because it isn’t just the characters that see her as a dumb airhead - up until that episode, that’s all she is to the audience as well. but then we learn about her internal struggle with her own individuality. we learn that her cutesy attention-grabbing is a cry for validation, which is absolutely Buckwild but also really fucking good, okay

it’s also the first episode where Mai’s apathy isn’t positioned as something dry and funny and relatable (it’s 2008, we gotta appeal to the emos amirite), but rather as an unhealthy mindset that stems from years of repression. this episode picks apart preconceptions and asks the question: why are these characters like this? Is there more beneath the surface? and the answer it gives is a resounding yes.

beyond that, this episode is absolutely crucial to Azula’s arc. in terms of her development and decline, I actually think this episode does more legwork than any other, because it’s the first time that our perception of Azula as the golden child is challenged.

throughout season 2, Azula is positioned to align absolutely with Zuko’s understanding of her. she’s PEAK villain - ruthless and cunning and precise, never meeting an obstacle she can’t overcome. she takes over ba sing se, secures her brother’s wavering loyalty, and literally kills the avatar (kind of). even when we see her in flashbacks, she’s taunting and devious and far ahead of Zuko in ability. she’s the child who was born lucky.

The Beach, however, does something that I wish more shows did. It shows how the villain behaves when they aren’t being a villain

seeing Azula in such a mundane context - a relaxing beach holiday - lays all of her oddities completely bare. she doesn’t know how to relax. she turns a beach game into an absurdly ruthless tactical operation. she shows up too early to a house party and insists that they’re the ideal guests. she has no idea how to flirt. when she’s taken outside of her antagonistic context and placed into a typically teenage situation, she’s ridiculous and bizarre and unsettling.

of course, most of these revelations are used for humour, so they aren’t necessarily as stark as they seem here. but they are undeniably deliberate, as is made clear in the final scene around the campfire. after Ty Lee and Mai and Zuko pour out their various emotional baggage, Azula applauds. she doesn’t have any of her own, at least not as far as she and the other characters are concerned. there are only these lines, which are some of the best-written in the whole series:

I don’t have sob stories like all of you. I could sit here and complain that our mom liked Zuko more than me. But I don’t really care. My own mother thought I was a monster. She was right, of course, but it still hurt.

the episode shows us all of the ways that Azula is strange and dysfunctional and completely out of touch with the real world, but these lines make it clear that she hasn’t processed any of it. unlike Ty Lee and Mai and especially Zuko, who have enough introspection to recognise their imperfections, Azula hasn’t even realised that there’s anything wrong with her. she doesn’t realise how much her mother and father have damaged her, because she’s never stepped outside of the tiny bubble in which she is worshipped and powerful and lucky.

this is a far cry from the azula of season 2, even if her actual downfall is a long way off. this is the first time we start to see that zuko has something she doesn’t: self-awareness. he knows he has flaws, knows he needs to better himself, knows that he was mistreated, even if he hasn’t fully come to terms with it yet. Azula never does. she’s a twisted, stunted child, groomed into violence by her father, punished for that violence by her mother, and she never really understands that. it takes until the end of the season for the curtain to fall, but The Beach is the first glimpse behind it

tl;dr The Beach is a fucking masterpiece

#the beach #avatar #the last airbender #azula #zuko #ty lee #mai #alta #tla #that scene around the fire is just ONE OF THE BEST SCENES EVER #if they had even put a QUARTER of the effort into humanising ozai the way they humanise azula #he would have been 1000000% better as a villain #god this episode is so good #shoutout to Katie Mattila you absolute LEGEND #that bit where mai says 'you want me to express myself?? LEAVE ME ALONE' gives me chills man #A* writing and also A* HANDLING OF FEMALE CHARACTERS #IT'S ALL VERY VERY GOOD GOD THIS SHOW IS SO GOOD

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kinetic-elaboration · 3 years

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August 15: 2x03 The Paradise Syndrome

I have seen this episode once before and I remember it being pretty awful... but tbh, I didn’t think it was so bad this time around. Maybe that’s just because my expectations were, like, Spock’s-Brain low. It definitely had issues but there was stuff I liked too!

Hmmm, that’s not the bridge. It appears to be... California?

Wondering what people might be so “blessed by this environment”--what a manly he-man action/adventure guy thing to say, amirite?

How does Spock know the significant markers of all the Native American tribes at a distance, off the top of his head?

(Answer: he doesn’t; all of this information is wrong and also one of those tribes is completely made up lmao.)

Honestly, who’s to say these people aren’t advanced? How do YOU know?

“Just so peaceful... no command decisions.” Oh no, Jim’s feeling Romantic again.

Honestly, imagine this characterization in AOS: overworked starship captain think he wants a break (but is wrong). Beyond made a vague attempt but missed what it is that Kirk finds stressful about command--it’s not that it’s boring, it’s the weight of the responsibility and the inability to find love.

Although funnily enough, even on his Native American Vacation, he still finds himself in a command position. He just can’t be stopped. Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Oh no, the obelisk ate him.

Maybe these people specifically built the obelisk so that they could return to this idyllic ““primitive”“ state, hmm? Maybe they like their lives this way. Maybe they experienced "progress" and then decided that whatever era of their development looked like indigenous American peoples had it right. (This is not correct but it roughly is the plot of Errand of Mercy so I’m not without precedent.)

Spock’s using simple tools to explain his point to Bones lol. “Here, let me dumb it down for you, lesser man of science.”

“Who am I? What are these?” Cpine morning voice: “This must be a dream!”

Kirk looks so confused. The god from the obelisk.

“The engines are showing signs of stress.” Seems to me like SCOTTY’S showing signs of stress.

And yet the music is so whimsical.

Honestly Kirk’s expression here = Denny Crane’s when in a meeting

White man brings CPR, is hailed as god. (I wish I were making this up.)

Damn, Salish has been demoted. How embarrassing for him.

This is a VERY interesting Spock. He does all his calculations, but the he takes all the risks. He’s very certain and single-minded, almost obsessed, not afraid of anything. I think it’s IC but I also think you can see some Kirk influence, perhaps... You can see how Spock has grown in his command abilities since The Galileo Seven.

The wise ones = the aliens.

“He died before he could tell Salish the secret” to opening the Obelisk and stopping the asteroid. That IS unfortunate.

“How does this shirt open?” Lol.

“Your name is Kirok?” “Yeah, sure, whatever.”

“I’ve never been this happy and peaceful.” Funny how he looks neither happy nor peaceful. Maybe it’s something like “I’ve never been this happy and peaceful...and I don’t like it.” Or “I’ve never been this happy and peaceful... there must be something wrong.”

“Here there is much time. For everything.” No there isn’t, there’s an asteroid coming.

Kirk’s cottage core fantasy.

Poor Scotty, so stressed out. Maybe he needs some time with the indigenous aliens.

The Joining Day? Lol okay.

Kirk has no chill, at all. “Oh, you want to get married? Tomorrow? Okay!!” Is this how Gary was able to successfully distract with him the blonde lab technician?

The “stardrive.”

“Estimated repair time?” “FOREVER.”

“And you lost Jim.” Cool it Bones, there’s no need to be cruel. Spock’s already in his thinking pose so you know he’s taking this seriously.

Love Spock’s chair. That’s not Starfleet regulation.

“I have found paradise.” Is he high??

Requisite highly choreographed fight scene.

“You’ve barely eaten or slept for weeks.” That’s because he’s worried about Jim. And the giant asteroid. This is a great Spock and McCoy scene though.

I can’t believe this. Spock lies down (barely!) and McCoy just leaves like he actually thinks he’s won, and then Spock immediately gets up again to go back to work.This guy is even easier to fool than Sarek.

You know Spock spent his whole adolescence going "Sure, I'll do the thing" and then just not doing it.

“A strange lodge that moves through the sky...” Well okay.

Okay I’m sorry, is he sensing the enterprise or is he sensing SPOCK? Because most of this dialogue might just imply he’s generically remembering his old life... but he also specifically says that the “flying lodge” was farther away and now it’s closer again, and how he could he know that otherwise?

She’s pregnant? That’s not good lol. AWKWARD.

Also the closest that TOS will ever come to acknowledging people have sex.

Omg he made a lamp. He made a lamp on his first day there. Does this imply that Captain Kirk had an arts and crafts phase?? Like CPR I understand him knowing--I’m sure everyone in Starfleet does. But hand-carving a lamp? That’s a whole other skill.

Various cultures including “certain Vulcan offshoots” use music notes as words omgggggg I love this information PLEASE tell me more.

“The Preservers” is a good concept imo. Nifty sci fi innovation: taking aliens from endangered places and giving them a new place, then setting it up nicely for them.

Stop throwing things guys! It’s not helping!

“I need Nurse Chapel.” Damn right you do.

Spock really doesn’t like that “wife.” He sounds like “Wife?? How dare??”

Then he suggests it’s a hallucination even though there’s a woman right there.

"Naturally, since he did not come from there. He's my man, get your paws off him."

Vulcan mind fusion? What the heck is that? How is it season 3 and they still don’t know what to call it?

“He is an extremely dynamic individual.” Spock was really taken for a ride in that brain.

“The landing party is expendable.” There’s the Captain.

“I have an excellent eye for musical notes.” Brag.

“Just press the right button.”

Looks like Spock was the god they wanted all along.

Okay, that was an uncool ending though. I know they basically had to kill Miramanee as soon as she was pregnant but like, there was also no reason for her to be pregnant??? I would have preferred if (1) Miramanee hadn't been pregnant, (2) Jim got over her as soon as he regained his memory and (3) she lived and they just parted awkwardly.

Also I think it would have been nice if they had ended with the Enterprise explaining to Salish how the obelisk works, and then maybe even a hint that he and Miramanee will get back together. Like, maybe not that, since I’m not a fan of women just being used to, like, make men feel better--though I’m also not a fan of them being fridged because of Inconvenient Baby--but he should have at least gotten his position back and, more importantly, the knowledge he was always entitled to. Also, the very existence of an asteroid deflector, along with the people’s extensive knowledge of what weather signifies Oncoming Asteroid, implies this happens to them with some frequency. So in other words, the threat will return.

Plus Salish never got enough credit for being right, which he was! The whole time!

Oh and also I would have liked some acknowledgement that Jim does like being Captain. If you watch the whole show, you know that he occasionally bemoans the stress and his inability to maintain a romantic relationship, despite his love of long walks on the beach, but that he’s also ambitious, he loves exploration and adventure, he gets bored if left in one place too long, and he believes in the necessity of progress and discovery to keep not just individuals but societies from stagnation. But if you just watched this episode, you’d think he’d never been happy in his entire life, and that returning to command makes him miserable.

Aside from the Native American stuff--which was awkward and rather unnecessary and has aged, as you might imagine, very very poorly--I actually didn’t hate the episode. It had some VERY interesting Spock stuff, which I think is within a reasonable Spock characterization, and some great Spock and Bones moments. Kirk’s story line was surprisingly engaging for him being completely separate from the crew, and the general theme that he sometimes needs, or thinks he desires, a break from command, is definitely in keeping with other episodes. I liked the asteroid as the Big Danger, which was surprisingly dynamic--by which I mean, it did a good job of connecting the very disparate story lines on the Enterprise and on the planet. I also liked the Sci Fi Concept of the week in the Protectors. And it was interesting to see an ep take place over a longer period of time.

None of this is to downplay how awkward the Native American elements are--incredibly fetishistic, and also lazy--like, “I want to show something Simple and Idyllic...I know! Indians!” There was no reason they should look like American Indians. In fact, it makes no sense that they do: the Protectors take peoples from planets that are about to be destroyed and (somehow) discreetly move them somewhere else, but Native American peoples still.... very much exist? And so does Earth as a whole. So obviously these aliens weren’t transplanted from Earth. So why should their culture resemble some awkward mishmash of Native American cultures?

So overall I’d say, the ideas of the episode, the structure, the characterizations (mostly), and the overall ideas were good, but it was just very awkward and unfortunate that it chose the... aesthetic that it did--especially because it was very much an aesthetic choice and not a well-thought-out, culturally sensitive one. Gonna be honest and just chalk that up to it being 1968 though.

Next is And the Children Shall Lead, which I actually think was one of the first TOS eps I ever saw... But I don’t remember it at all. So we’ll see!

#the year 2021 #2021: star trek #star trek tos #2021: fandom thoughts

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fanfoolishness · 4 years

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Steven Universe: Future thoughts

Spoilers for the first four episodes below the jump! All sorts of rambling ahead! Please message me or reblog to share your thoughts, I wanna talk about it all!

I’ll try to organize things by episode. I won’t be able to rewatch them until they go up on Apple TV so this is all off the cuff. AHOY!

1x01 Little Homeschool

Steven has White, Blue and Yellow essences in his bathroom cupboard. Maybe keep a bottle of your own spit just to be safe? You never know?

Aww Cherry Quartz is cute. Did she actually get named? I assume that’s who that is.

I had thought that shot in the trailer was going to be Pink Smoky Quartz. I was wrong, but then we DO get Pink Smoky Quartz next episode ahhhh!

We all know Steven drew that picture of himself and the Diamonds on the brochure.

I like to think that Steven keeps up with his drawing during quiet times, and while he isn’t technically great, most 16-year-old artists aren’t great per se. What’s important is that he keeps doing it and he’ll keep getting better!

Little Homeschool looks awesome and I want to go make some morps with Vidalia. Wait, were Lapis and Peridot there? I don’t remember. They should be!

I’m so glad Jasper isn’t the big bad!!! And I love that she’s just antisocial but not actively harming anyone (beetles and grass aside).

Still no explanation for the blanket, I love it

STEVEN GO OFF, YOU TELL HER NOT TO HURT THAT BEETLE

Whoa Steven, that rage is juuuuust below the surface these days, isn’t it? I get being annoyed at Jasper and I’m sure this isn’t the first time they’ve had this discussion but he really does just go off on her pretty damn quickly, and several times.

I am concerned that he referenced her corrupting herself. I DON’T WANT CORRUPTED STEVEN Y’ALL, this better not be foreshadowing!!!!!

Honestly Jasper just needs to get into wrestling, I’m shocked Amethyst and Steven haven’t pointed this out to her

I’m dying at her attacking all the Earthlings in her little radius

Awww Steven, at first he’s really intrigued by Diamond Mode and wants to learn how to use it better. So optimistic!

Except you totally killed about 10 conifers and only healed one, so way to hurt the forest dude

Am I the only one wondering how conflicted Dr. Maheswaren must feel, knowing Steven can heal all this crazy shit and that a) she’s toiling at doing it the old-fashioned way, b) he could really help her patients, and c) he isn’t?

Looking forward to seeing Steven and Jasper talk again, but I really hope it’s not because Steven’s been corrupted and is trying to get over it. Urrrgh no ;_;

I do want to see if she has tips for how to control anger. Or how to use it and learn from it. But I’m not sure she knows either.

Steven is a shark. Because if he’s not swimming, he’s sinking. And swimming to him is helping people. If he can’t do that, if he can’t do what he’s supposed to do in his mind, what is he doing? He’s gonna sink this season and it’s gonna be FUCKING SPECTACULAR.

1x02 Guidance

Amethyst is so proud of herself! It’s awesome!

Steven is clearly a little uncomfortable that he didn’t come up with the idea, isn’t he? He also has a hard time figuring out that there are ways to use what you’re made for instead of having to run from it. Of course, that isn’t true for everyone. Little Larimar did love screams and children more than ice. The best lesson is that people are different, some are comfortable working in a certain zone whereas others need to struggle past it to feel complete.

Amethyst was sitting in front of the Teens of Rage video game. I FEEL THIS WILL BE SIGNIFICANT Y’ALL.

I’m just so glad Mr. Smiley finally isn’t understaffed. He could take a day off and go visit Mr. Frowny!

Uncle Andy is back! Yay! And he’s getting involved with Beach City in general, I’m really happy to see him putting down some roots.

Smoky Quartz is back!

PINK SMOKY HOLY SHIT LOOK AT THEM GO

Love love love the pink/purple asides for the Steven and Amethyst debate while being Smoky Quartz

TIME SLOWING/SUPER SPEED POWERS??? I WAS NOT PREPARED

The roller coaster exploded IN THE OCEAN I can’t EVEN

So far both Steven and Amethyst are intrigued and impressed by Diamond Mode, and sure, it seems harmless now...

Steven is worried he’s losing his touch helping people. That makes me worried that that’s part of a bigger feeling, not just this particular snafu.

Amethyst being so direct is often the one who gets closest to Steven talking about his feelings. He started to go there, but then Little Larimar showed up again with their terrifying talk about screams....

1x03 Rose Buds

I’m really glad Greg and the Gems aren’t giving Steven shit about not wanting Rose to be looming over him in portrait form. Now if y’all will also TALK to Steven about how he feels about it... but at least they’re okay with him removing the portrait.

HOOOOOOLY SHIT Y’ALL

I’m so happy J-10 and Y-6 are back!

OMFG they are NOT over Greg and it’s amazing

GAH-REG HOW COULD YOU

I’m glad the Zoomans are in control of their own destiny and able to go where they wish!

no no no no no no no no no no we all know what’s coming here

Coming face to face with Rose Quartzes = instant KO for one Steven Universe

I almost had a panic attack with him as the Roses clustered around him and the music got tenser and tenser and the camera zoomed in on his face and that was fucking INTENSE PEOPLE

Greg seeing the Roses and just noping the fuck outta there, amazing, everyone in this family is so repressed

Poor Garnet and Pearl hiding in the bathroom

“Yeah, it’s weird”

Poor Rose Quartz-who-most-looks-like-our-Rose-Quartz, it’s clear she is much more emotionally in tune than the other two (due to her belly gem placement?)

STEVEN GOT NEW PAJAMAS

but let him sleep shirtless you cowards!

Also he just looked... so GROWNUP in that scene by the warp pad? His proportions were just no longer little kidlike? And he is still cutely beefy but not really little-kid chubby anymore and teen me would have had it BAD for him at this point, I’m just sayin’

Steven is S O O O O S T R E S S E D R I G H T N O W

he’s eating his fucking blanket in an attempt to not talk about his problems I CAN’T

also HAVE WE NOTICED that Steven will eventually end up telling strangers at least some of what’s bothering him, but never the people who actually love and care about him

this episode was so damn tense it is masterful

I’m glad they managed to talk things out a little

but clearly Steven is still, as always, just scratching the surface, this poor kid just needs to GO OFF.

did he go pink in this one from stress for a second? Or was that the next one?

1x04 Volleyball

You cannot tell me that that white coat is not a hand-me-down from Dr. Maheswaren, it is CANON IN MY MIND

also damn how many Gems are cracking themselves right and left that this needs to happen regularly?

seriously though Steven, you might just want to get a spittoon and start sending one to every hospital ever, you would undo A LOT of human suffering....

Steven honey I’m so sorry your mom did you so wrong and I’m so sorry you’re so scared of everything to do with her and NONE OF IT IS YOUR FAULT OKAY

but maybe also you need to learn how to face some of this stuff so it doesn’t scare you so badly

Poor Pink Pearl!

Volleyball? Seriously Steven? so insensitive how do you know Pink didn’t throw a volleyball at her head

Poor Pearl and Volleyball feeling so jealous about each other

Volleyball is 8000 years old?? damn how old was Pink?

oooooooh the Reef! so cool and mysterious! Look at all those Pearl possibilities!

So Pink damaged her Pearl, and she sent her to the Reef for repair. They fixed her gem, but when she reformed, the trauma was still so severe that she reformed with the crack. Oh man :(

Now again I don’t want Corrupted Steven but you could probably wrangle that into support for the theory.

I prefer to think that Steven will do something different than straight-up Corruption to himself, but we could see something like the crack form instead of Corruption.

Willing himself into a monster form only works if he thinks of himself completely as a monster. Right now he thinks Pink is the monster, and he thinks, finally, that he isn’t Pink. So either he’d have to really hurt somebody and then view himself as a monster, or, my preference, he would develop something like a scar or pink eyes or stay pink all the time or something until he’s figured out his issues.

I JUST DON’T WANT HIM TO HAVE HORNS, YOU GUYS.

Pearl WAS protecting Volleyball from Steven oh NOOOOO

STEVEN SONIC SCREAM

So we’ve got Diamond Mode Strength, Super Speed, and Sonic Scream, man oh man oh man

this finally makes sense because all the other Diamonds have such well-developed offensive powers

Pink must have been like “no those are dangerous I don’t want them, what else can I do” and developed her healing powers secretly

I always wondered why the Diamonds never recognized Rose Quartz’s healing tears or shield as belonging to Pink

And it must be that she never showed it to them

They maybe only knew about her offensive powers

MEGA PEARL IS SO BEAUTIFUL AND WISE AND HER RIBBON DANCING IS SO MAGNIFICENT AND I LOVE THEM JUST TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER YOU TWO

I can’t believe we got a new fusion so quickly!!!!

Fuck that bitch Shell amirite

look, someone help Steven.

Please help Steven.

HELP. STEVEN.

No new trailer for next week???? COWARDS

omg someone please please scream about all this with me

#steven universe spoilers #steven universe future #steven universe future spoilers #suf spoilers #suf #steven universe: future #steven universe: future spoilers #spoilers #steven universe #su:f spoilers #su:f #haha i have tagged this to high heaven #it's a long-ass post!#please feel free to message me or reblog to share your own thoughts!!!!#fanfoolishness su meta

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joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh · 5 years

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Houkago Saikoro Club’s first episode was eh. First 10 minutes are like, a below-average introduction to a cute girl show, and after those 10 minutes they finally introduce the analog games that the show revolves around, and then that entire sequence is fine I guess. Honestly I don’t care about analog games nor expect this show to make me care so I hope it does the usual cute girls do X gimmick thing and drop the gimmick and just go about its business with like festival episodes and Christmas episodes and beach episodes and stuff. I intend to finish it regardless though since I’m barely watching anything this season and hey slice of life amirite? Also, curiously the cute blonde girl in the promo image wasn’t in this episode at all, or even the OP. Guess they’re saving her for later? Main girl Miki doesn’t look that cute, moreover I’m very particular with my moe, right, and her aesthetic moe and personality moe don’t match up for me, so I don’t really like her at all. Second character and token genki girl Aya is actually cute though, I like her so far. Class rep character Midori is less cute than Aya but still quite cute, don’t really care for her character type but eh.

#Houkago Saikoro Club #3.10.19

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shirtlesssammy · 6 years

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13x23: Let the Good Times Roll

Then:

Team Free Will 3.0!

Now:

Sam gives the new recruits a rundown on the sorry state of our world. (Extra meta credit to the show for letting Jim Beaver talk about The Shape of Water. I’m pretty sure he was going to be in it but couldn’t due to other commitments. I can’t find that news now, but here’s his tweet about it.)

Dean calls. Apparently, Cas, Jack, and him were on a hunt for a case, and found some Kardashian loving werewolves to take out.

Jack’s still learning (and Dean’s willingly training him. Awww.) While Cas takes out a werewolf outside, Sam, Dean, and Jack take out the rest inside. I love that the lesson about silver bullets doesn’t really apply for Jack, but he still wants to learn. (And, in hindsight, it matters so much that he does learn how to fight like a human.)

Meanwhile, Bobby and Mary take a nice stroll through the countryside, summing up the new world order.

Yay for Rowena and Charlie Thelma and Louise-ing it through the Southwest. I’m a bit more concerned about Ketch “out doing Ketch things.” Uh, that man is a cold blooded killer. Is he redeemed? He. Killed. Magda. (Natasha: And Eileen. Horribly.) And then Bobby and Mary share a look. (Or, as the script says: They eyefuck.) The lovely interlude is interrupted when they see blood and find Maggie, another refugee, dead, head bashed against a rock.

Sam and Dean are back at the bunker, and that whole werewolf hunt was a lesson for Jack. Dean wants to retire -on the beach with Cas. If Jack can hone his powers, Sam and Dean are going to get their well deserved retirement. SOB.

Jack, bby, is having a nightmare though. Dean rushes to his room and they have a father-son moment.

They share a moment of mutual nightmares (and we relive au!Kevin’s death again!), and then Dean gives a wonderful, heartfelt, motivating talk to Jack. It’s such a beautiful moment to highlight that Dean will never stop being a parent, and he’ll never stop caring and fighting for his family. It’s also, I think, a moment that will sustain Jack next season. He’s family, and Dean’s his family, and as Dean says, “we look after our own.”

Sam rushes to tell Dean about Maggie, and cut to them all standing around her body.

Jack takes it personally, but Sam tries to reassure him that it’s not his fault.

Back at the bunker, they start interrogating another refugee. She is shocked to learn that Maggie is dead, and admits that there was a boy that she had a crush on. She probably went to see him the previous night. Jack flaps out before the others.

The boy is named Nate, and he works at the Gas and Go, and Jack is full on rage nephilim. He blasts him, and starts to choke him, demanding an answer to Maggie’s death. TFW bust in and Cas tries to intercede, but is tossed across the room (No Jack!), and then Dean shoots Jack (to get his attention.) Jack, realizing his error, runs out in self-loathing defeat.

Jack starts beating himself up literally and figuratively, and I was tearing up a bit during this scene. He fits so well with TFW --self-loathing and the inability to accept himself and his limitations/uniqueness.

At the Gas and Go, quick thinking Cas gives Nate the FBI cover (with aliases Rowland, Knowles, and Williams, heh. And Dean’s so proud of his quick-thinking husband, he flashes the peace sign. Goober.)

The place starts to shake and lights begin to flicker --and it’s clear an angel is forthcoming. AGH.

Jack is still hurting himself in the forest when Lucifer pops in. BLARG.

Sam, Dean, and Cas make a run for it, but before they can escape in Baby, Michael appears. BLARG.

Dean lights and throws their entire container of holy oil at Michael (aw, I remember when Cas originally obtained it to keep Rafael in a ring of fire) and they hightail it out of there.

Meanwhile, Lucifer lets Jack know that it was Sam that trapped him in the AU world. He tries giving Jack the “we’re not human” speech and tries to convince Jack to leave with him. And then Jack, who couldn’t possibly get ANY CUTER, starts talking about Star Wars and light sabers, and OMG. Season 14: Supernatural in Space!

He also worries about Sam, Dean, and Cas, but Lucifer tells him that this is their opportunity to escape their past, their sins, and start over. Hmmm, I mean, Jack’s made mistakes, but dude, he doesn’t really have a past, or sins. Don’t drag him into your pity party. However, Lucifer sells his plan well enough that Jack agrees.

At the bunker, Bobby and Mary discuss Maggie’s death. Jack and Lucifer come strolling in like it’s nbd. Mary springs into action, telling Bobby to call Sam. Lucifer is here to bring Maggie back to life, per Jack’s wishes. I’m getting a Pet Semetary vibe with this, but it’s all good in the end. (Sidenote: Bobby called Sam - and presumably Dean and Cas - “boys”. Gah.) And before TFW can make it back to the bunker, Jack and Lucifer are gone.

*Mid Episode Aesthetic Break*

TFW slightly panics when they get back to find that Lucifer’s come and gone with Jack. (Like, that old problem again, amirite?) They split up to investigate leads. Sam gets to gently interrogate Maggie and ask who killed her. Eek. She didn't catch an ID on his face...but she saw his eyes.

Cue Jack and Lucifer… They stargaze together in familial bliss out in the woods while Michael starts his assault on the bunker.

Lights begin to flicker and the front door rattles. Sam orders Mary and Bobby to take Maggie out through the garage. Sam, Dean, and Cas await Michael. He busts in, they all pull out their weapons and proceed to...fire fruitlessly at Michael while he floats down from the upper balcony like he’s Peter Pan.

Michael tells them all that they can fly if they’ll only believe quickly gets the upper hand on all three of our heroes. He reveals that he made a deal with Lucifer to get to their world. Luci helped him open a rift. (See? I told you not to let Lucifer stay, Sam.) In return, Lucifer gets Jack and Michael gets everything else. (Lucifer. Dude. I love Jack and hate you... but that's a hell of a lopsided deal.)

Michael gives Dean a little preview of his idea of “saving the world” promising Dean that he will be the first to die – the first person he “saves.” Um. Thanks but no thanks, dickhole. Dean slowly suffocates in Michael's grip and Sam prays to Jack for help.

Jack, that sweet little cupcake, hears Sam's prayer. He realizes that Sam's begging for help and flaps away to the bunker to join the fight.

Dean continues to choke when...WAPOW WAPOW! Jack uses his super nephilim force to knock Michael down. Jack goes full glowy eyes on Michael, twisting his hand into a fist until Michael writhes in agony. “Lucifer, we had a deal,” Michael gasps and Jack turns to Lucifer and asks what that means. (Aw, Jack.) Welp. Lucifer was gonna get the fuck off the planet with Jack while Michael laid waste to Earth. Thus, all the stargazing and romanticizing Star Wars.

Cas is pissed that Lucifer would just abandon ship (why are you surprised, Castiel?) and Sam ratchets Jack’s shock up another level. Sam reveals that Lucifer killed Maggie. Though Lucifer initially denies it, Jack's eyes glow and he compels Lucifer to tell the truth. (Me: Stop thinking about Tom Riddle in Harry Potter compelling people to “tell the truth.” Jack’s a precious smol nougat. He’s no Voldemort! Also me…)

“She saw me and she screamed so I crushed her skull with my bare hands and it was warm and wet and I liked it.” It's somewhat refreshing to hear Lucifer say this because he’s the ultimate spin machine, constantly covering up his misdeeds. However, it’s also so disturbing to hear Lucifer's true thoughts that hide under his smirking exterior.

Jack's face falls. “You're not my father,” he says. “You're a monster.” Lucifer screams in rage. He tells Jack that humans are worthless, and that he doesn't need Jack. In a flash, he slits Jack's throat and sucks out a big wallop of grace. NOOOOOOOO!

Lucifer grabs a weakened Jack and Sam lunges for Jack...and then Lucifer flaps out of there with both of them. Dean and Cas are left alone in the bunker with Michael.

Cut to Sam getting tossed across a church floor. Lucifer kicks Sam, his very favorite punching bag. And he's got Jack just where he wants him. Mustache twirl, mustache twirl.

Back with Michael, Cas demands to know a way to stop Lucifer. Michael tells them that Lucifer is supercharged with Jack's grace...and now he can destroy the universe. Um. Oops. (Does stolen grace slowly kill archangels too?) Michael protests that he can't do anything to stop Lucifer in his “banged up meatsuit.” He coughs pathetically. “This is the end of everything,” Michael says. And damn it all, if Dean doesn't get a really dumb idea lodged in his head.

“What if you had your sword?” Dean asks.

DAMN IT, DEAN

How did we not see Lucifer stealing Jack’s grace? Extracting Jack’s grace to depower him was a plot point last year, and Lucifer using other angels’ grace to power up was used all this season. I think (like always) maybe the pacing could have been better to make it more weighty at the end? Had Lucifer met Jack sooner, and felt betrayed by Jack, and stole his grace sooner so we could feel that power, maybe that would make Dean’s decision more necessary? We know where Dean was coming from with his absolute need to protect his family --at the cost of his own life. They were in a bad spot, but I’m not sure the show made the stakes feel as high as they really were.

Meanwhile Lucifer is playing with his food (aka Sam) when Jack demands that he leave Sam alone. Lucifer's unimpressed and switches his attention to nougat. He punches Jack repeatedly. Father of the year award, here. :(

Lucifer tells Sam that family sucks and Jack being “family” is meaningless. To prove his point, he tells Jack to kill Sam. Lucifer drops his archangel blade at their feet and settles back to wait for the show.

Dean continues breaking our hearts at the bunker. While Cas asks Dean to back down, Dean sells himself as Michael's “sword.” UGH. Michael tells Dean that, were Dean possessed by him they MIGHT have a chance to defeat Lucifer. (Holy shades of Lucifer-possessing-Cas, Batman!) That's all Dean needs to hear. “Lucifer has Sam. He has Jack. Cas, I don't have a choice!” Dean brokers a deal with Michael: Michael can possess him, but he's in charge. Michael looks...very pleased.

Sam and Jack face each other down while Lucifer natters at them. Sam bends down and picks up the blade. Jack looks hurt. Confused. And then Sam tries to hand him the blade so Jack can kill him instead. NOOOOOOO! (Please imagine this in Luke Skywalker’s voice.) Sam’s willingness to sacrifice himself for his adopted son inspires Jack to...sacrifice himself. Jack knows how to end Lucifer’s game. He’ll kill himself! Jack starts driving the blade into his skin when light streams from behind him. It's Dean! Er, Michael! Er, Michael!Dean!

“Heya, Sammy,” Dean’s familiar greeting is assurance that he’s still behind the wheel. He looks to Lucifer. It's time to rumble. Lucifer and Michael!Dean start to fight. Um...in the air? (This is no Crouching Tiger.) Supernatural could have at least given them both swirling capes.

Lucifer begins to get the upper hand and it’s looking bad for our team. Sam runs forward and picks up the forgotten archangel blade from the floor, tossing it up into Dean’s hand. Dean stabs Lucifer with it and Lucifer glows with red fire (still floating) before he finally poofs out. DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD!

Lucifer lies dead on the floor, the embers from his burned wings glowing like stars around his head. (Kudos vfx department)

(Boris: I was really shocked about Lucifer’s death at first (I’ve also held that Lucifer would be the ultimate Big Bad in the end), but they’ve been reversing The End this season and that’s exactly how they ended it.)

Sam experiences intense relief. Lucifer, his torturer, is dead! They're happy...they're celebrating… This is Return of the Jedi and they’re all about to eat a little storm trooper with some fuzzy Ewoks when--

Dean buckles over, gasping. Oh no, we know the signs of an angel/human internal battle. “We had a deal!” Dean shouts and when he lifts his head, Michael's behind the wheel. He looks around casually and then flaps out, leaving Sam and Jack in shock behind him.

Back at the bunker, Mary and Bobby rush back into the library only to find Cas sitting alone on the step. He says nothing. Just shakes his head...

On a quiet street, Michael goes for a stroll. He's purloined some classy new duds so he can walk the world. His eyes glow…

Stay tuned, kids.

You Can Quote, You Can Quote, You Can QUOTE!!!

You shot me.

Wanna lightsaber?

Ginger trouble!

You, me, Cas. Toes in the sand. Couple of little umbrella drinks. Matching Hawaiian shirts, obviously. Some hula girls.

It's not about being strong. … Even when we're strong. Man, things are gonna happen. We're gonna make mistakes. Nobody's perfect. But we can get better. Every day, we can better.

I think he thought I'd be trapped over there in “giant litter box world” forever.

Before you died, do you remember anything about the person who killed you?

Daddy Sammy coming to the rescue.

Thanks for the suit.

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!

#spn recap #spn 13x23 #let the good times roll #dean winchester #sam winchester #castiel #cas #mary winchester #bobby singer #jack kline #michael #lucifer #supernatural season 13

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terrible-tulip · 6 years

Text

My thoughts on the latest SU episodes. MASSIVE spoilers, obviously.

Ahem.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

Now for some more specific thoughts:

Dewey Wins

Bill Dewey done fucked up. And Martha was awesome. She is truly Lars’ mother. Also Nanefua’s speech was amazing <3

Raising the Barn

SHE TOOK THE BARN.

Goodbye, Lapis. :( For now. And neither Peridot nor Lapis are happy about this. No one is happy about this. I love how understanding of Lapis Peridot is. She is such a wonderful friend.

Oh, and Peridot now lives in Steven’s bathroom again. Hooray?

Also apparently Lapis doesn’t sing Escapism. In fact, that song isn’t sung at all in these episodes. The Escapism singer continues to be a mystery.

Back to the Kindergarten

Hm... I wonder if their attempt to restore the Kindergarten is a hint that it could be restored to life. But probably not.

Adorable gem monster is adorable. BUNNY TEETH.

Peridot’s rant near the end was so heartbreaking. She’s so devastated by losing Lapis and the barn. And her face after she stomped on the “flower”... ugh. :(

Gemcation

*Sigh* Hello, new least favorite episode in the entire show.

This is the weakest episode of the bunch by far. Awkwardly written and structured. The dialogue is pretty much painful, stilted, and unnatural sounding all throughout. There’s a couple of cute moments, but it’s... it’s not a good episode.

The high-lights were Pearl’s weird hand troubles (?!), Ronaldo’s texts, and the brief Pink Diamond flashback (even if it was really anti-climatic, short, and much more comedic than expected).

No, but really, why did Pearl seem to be fighting her hands while trying to talk to Steven? Is that something Homeworld does to Pearls? Make them literally incapable of sharing Homeworld’s secrets?

One of the gems from this episode: “My relationship with Connie is even more messed up [than what happened on Homeworld]!” Um, Steven? Lars died right in front of you and turned into a magical boy. I don’t think having a friend be mad at you is more messed up than something like that.

Sadie Killer

Sadie: *singing* “I should be in mourning....” Oh...

Also, Sadie quit her job. Holy shit! The donut kids are... no longer donut kids. They’re just.... no, actually they’re not really kids anymore either. They’re Lars of the Stars, space pirate, and Sadie Killer, singer. They’ve both blossomed into fine young adults.

Also Cool Kids, more like HUGE DORK Kids, amirite?

Kevin Party

Okay, I really enjoyed Kevin in that last episode. Like, I don’t hate Kevin, but this has to be his best appearance ever so far. His advice and motives are wrong and he’s a huge jerk to his guests, but I did like how he was angry about Steven and Connie “breaking up” and tried to get them back together. Also we got hints of some kind of backstory for him. Color me surprised and fascinated.

CONNIE LOOKED SO ADORABLE. And oh my god her explanation for why she didn’t text him back was cute (this sweet child. I can’t.)

Final Thoughts

“NOTHING IS THE SAME ANYMORE” might as well be this season’s tagline.

These episodes were good (well... most of them), but they don’t make me want to watch them over and over again like with Wanted. I’d rate most of them... a 7/10. Except Gemcation. That gets a 3/10 or 4/10.

I also liked the “untimely teen death” subtext in the mentions of Lars and his being trapped in space strewn throughout this stretch of episodes. While he’s alive and well, mostly, he’s still lost to Beach City for what the cast currently have every reason to believe will be forever.

#kfdja;fkdja;fdkaj #i don't have much thoughts on the first three episodes because #i wrote this after watching all six episodes in one go #so the early episodes aren't as fresh in my mind

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courage-a-word-of-justice · 5 years

Text

Astra 4

How does anyone wash their hands with a spacesuit on?

Those exaggerated faces (reaction to candy plants) weren’t in the manga. Good thing too – they improve on the source.

Hey, man (Ulgar)! “Big girl” is offensive. (I’m probably saying that because I’m not too big myself.)

The *ding ding ding!* was pretty hilarious…LOL.

I remember this was pretty harsh to read for me the first time…because y’know what they say about representation mattering in feminist studies/articles? Yeah, that. (Exactly how I’m represented? That I’ll leave to your imagination…)

Aw, the Gruppie sounds adorable!

I think I’ve said this already, but Kanata uses the word “zetsubou” – despair, not necessarily “hopeless” – to say what he says.

Demon Slayer 17

I was a bit confused as to why Inosuke was majorly angry all the time, but then I realised that he’s not necessarily angry, per se - he is just majorly competitive.

*head on spider legs appears* ARGHHHHHHHHHHH! That reminds me of that head on spider legs from Toy Story…I seem to remember that freaked me out to some degree. I’m actually not afraid of spiders, but show me an image for “trypophobia” (fear of tiny holes) or stick me somewhere high up without secure footing…and I’m gone.

This episode is…great! I’m cursing as I watch, but it’s great! The CGI is adding to the creepiness! Also, I so didn’t expect Zenitsu to have black hair.

I agree with Zenitsu’s master, he is a moron…

…but truth be told, I think I see myself in him. That’s probably why I find him so annoying. Lately, I’ve found there are periods where I resent myself more than anyone else…and that’s the scariest part about living life. But I can’t complain, because I put my name down to help others in the same situation.

Z-Zenitsu! I-I’m sorry I ever doubted you! I’m so sorry…! I promise I’ll stop thinking you’re annoying, because you remind me of meeeeeeeeeee…! *sob, snivel, sob…*

Ukogiiiiiiiiii! Wahhhhhhhhh!

Hmm…you can smell rain. I’ve smelt it before. But thunderclouds…? Not so much.

Demon Slayer 18

“Rookie Mizunoto join the battle!” – The Smash Bros intro is a fun way to introduce people, no?

I thought Shinobu Kocho was Naruto running, but instead she has her jacket on her shoulders…so it only looks like Naruto running.

CG models are back to being awkward again…

“If you can’t slash something with one sword, you just gotta pound it with another sword!” – Basically, the philosophy of the entire shonen genre when dealing with swords.

“I’m gonna die.” – Well, there’s some words I thought I’d never hear from Inosuke…

Oh yeah…I forgot Inosuke’s never met Giyu.

Hmm…I’ve been suspecting Rui is the member of the 12 Kizuki as a demon with lower possibility of being so (but being raised by Ply’s hint during our collab and Tanjiro’s fight), but I’m more certain of the father being the 12 Kizuki based on what the series has shown us already. Hmm…so who is it???

*starts watching Taisho Secret* Wait, where did Giyu come from??? *watches again* Oh, he appears from above…! Interesting…

Hmm…I like salmon onigiri myself. I also like tuna…most flavours, really.

Cop Craft 4

The man (?) with the purplish hair who called Kei over is meant to be a gay stereotype or at least close to one. Aside from his (?) appearance, you can tell by him (?) nding his sentences with “wa”.

Marth’s post for ep. 4 said “And Suddenly, Vampires”, so…I’m thinking about how Cop Craft actually does the horror vibe really well as I watch.

Aw, these cliffhangers suck! I’m starting to thank myself that I ran behind on every show but Demon Slayer.

Cop Craft 5

O-Oh, the CG is getting worse…

Who was the 2nd person dead? The 1st was Chapman…

Astra 5

As I’m laughing at the reactions from the makeover (because I knew this was coming), I’m simultaneously wondering…holding those scissors in the way you’re doing is dangerous, Luca!!!

Oh great…midseason animation slump. This is only the 2nd show to suffer from that this season…and I’ve only caught up on 3 shows so far.

“Mine is bigger!” “No, mine is!” – Ah, anime boys and their ability to make things vaguely Freudian when out of context…*slight sweatdrop*

*slow pan, with a final shot on Aries’s boobs* - Oh, really…? *grumpy*

*…then proceeds to do boob shots of all the girls* Oh, really?!? You wanna go, show?! You were doing so well, up until this episode!!! I didn’t read past volume 2 of the manga, so this beach stuff is all new to me!!! Plus, it sucks because boob shots are everywhere!!!

“…approach him like that…”

People have been pointing this out, but McPa = Camp, Shummoor = Mushroom, Vilavurs = Survival…so Arispade = Paradise.

Ulgar really reminds me of Tooi, even though he came first…

Dr Stone 3

Taiju’s ugly tears make me go “d’aww” now that this scene is animated…it was nice in manga format, but even better when it was moving and with colour.

Now that I think about it, Tsukasa’s “benefit of the new world” talk reminds me of Death Note.

Senku trying to steal Kamakura Buddha bronze looks like Bart Simpson…

Boueibu should’ve taught you that Hakone is home to hot springs.

Dr Stone 4

You don’t fire a smoke signal…

Oh wow, Mecha Senku! Wouldya lookit that! *points at him* He answers questions in the manga, so I didn’t think he’d get adapted!

Are those…CGI trees? Oh great, why does all shonen these days need CGI trees???

Fighting over established interests means a Thucydides trap (a mini version of which seems to be playing out here with Tsukasa)…that’s basically the only thing I remember from my old politics classes.

I just noticed Yuzuriha refers to all the boys with –kun. She wants to stay friends with all of them…I guess even Tsukasa’s on that list, huh?

Hmm…Senku’s eyes are a reddish colour, but otherwise he’s normally representd with blue to Taiju’s red…

I just realised Senku has a red pen and a black pen in one of his breast pockets.

Aww…it’s nice to have rivals who aren’t 100% evil for once. Sure, pure evil rivals are easy to write but hard to justify. Good guys with one morally wrong aspect to them are harder to write, but easier to get behind. (Plus, at least they’re not Sasuke-style angsty.)

Dr Stone 5

So…I went searching…and I was wondering why I wanted to claim Tsukasa as husbando (but man, he’s a bit more stereotypical for a gal to fall in love with – all girls like bad guys, amirite???), but as it turns out, Senku and his buds from our era (Tsukasa included) are 18 and so are ripe for the husbando/waifu picking (not to mention they’re technically over 3700 years old, which more than makes them legal for things like drinking alcohol, as Senku himself pointed out a few eps back).

D’aww…this was in the manga, but now I find Tsukasa inserting himself into Senku’s flashback cute.

Notably, Gen Asagiri appears on the front of the book this student is asking the question from. Who’s Gen Asagiri, you ask, my dear anime-only random nonexistent entity I type these notes for? You’ll find out…soon.

Hmm…Yuzuriha is more observant than we give her credit for. Also, Senku pulled a Gen Asagiri right there…LOL.

LOL…those ‘shrooms seem massively symbolic. They were also in the manga, IIRC.

Why does Yuzuriha wear a neck scarf, anyway?

Hey, they even managed to get the game-like text box right! Awesome! (It reminds me of Little Alchemy, to be honest.)

“Himo” translates to rope…or a cord. Just FYI.

Astra 6

Eyyy…this show is calling me out.

Eyyyyy…Toi vibes from Ulgar!!!

Eyyyyy…wut? I can’t believe Anime Feminist was on the money here??? (Context: The reviewer for Astra said Luca was “one ambiguously-gendered character”.)

Hey…I once read a book with a 50% similarity to this plot. (There was a gay character – not intersex - and all the characters are adopted.)

I think Xenodude said this, but…in space, nobody can hear you scream.

I’m laughing so hard…why are Kanata’s abs the thing that hurt the most? (It’s because he’s got the harness in that region…forget I asked. It’s still funny though.)

“MILD THING” – Yep, Ulgar’s gonna be mild after what happened this episode…

Ohhhhh, I didn’t understand the “hairpiece” thing until it was revealed it was a toupee through context.

Ooh, 50% chance of lying here. Who to trust, who to trust? Charce or Aries? (I trust Aries, by the way.)

Dr Stone 6

The alien explanation etc. was in the manga, but…why do all the attackers look like Senku???

Senku does his best Thinker impression.

Eyyy! Fighter vs. fighter. I love this scene, even if only because Tsukasa (and his muscles) have the upper hand in both the visual angle and the power balance, although [BLEEP <- no spoilers!] has the surprise factor.

I remember learning once blonde hair is recessive…so does that mean most of the community is blonde? (I know the answer to that, but you, my non-existent anime-discussing entity, don’t.)

I’m tempted to hear Senku scream, “This. Is. SCIENCE!!!”

Fruits Basket 15

For some reason, videos run much faster on my phone than my laptop…

Hmm…this is the first time I’m properly listening to the 2nd ED…It’s kinda like how you’d expect an ED to be: quieter than an ED, but still serving up cuteness.

Fruits Basket 16

This episode’s visually very dark…

Middle School!Tohru reminds me of Hitori Bocchi.

Smol Uo looks like Kyo.

Fruits Basket 17

(nothing this time, sorry!)

Fruits Basket 18

Oh! I remember the matching scene in the manga (where Kisa bites Tohru for the first time).

I also remember the manga Hatsuharu is reading is called “Mogeta and the Ant” (Ari).

Now you see why Tohru is Kyoko’s daughter…

“…what her hair and eye colour were.”

Fruits Basket 19

The ep is called “I’m So Sorry!”…I think I know who’s going to star in this episode, alright…

For some reason, when I see Ritsu and Mitchan apologising to each other, I think of me and Astral…(LOL…?)

…Or maybe it reminds me of Zenitsu…?

Eyyyyyyyy, A-ya is A-ya…

This overly-apologetic character of Ritsu…this is why Martin was my favourite character back in the original Ro.Te.O days…*sighs while basking in nostalgia*

Demon Slayer 19

This episode’s been hyped since last week. Let’s get on with it!

Ooh, no pattern on this title card…

Wow (sarcastic), talk about infighting…but amazingly, I found Inosuke’s art shift to be funny for once in my life! (Amazing!...and yes, the exclamation of “Amazing!” is sincere)

Using terror is…well, Machiavellian. Hard power. You get my drift, right?

So basically, Rui breaks down the nuclear family for us.

Wait a flippin’ second…Hinokami (god of fire)? Charcoal selling? Water Breathing??? One of these is not like the others, for sure.

I get the feeling the father’s dance was recorded as video then converted to animation by ufotable staff…that’s what they did for YoI, no?

“The cold won’t bother you, either.” - Well, due to his fire theming, the cold never bothered Tanjiro anyway…*echoes of “Let It Go” suddenly play in the background*

Go for it, Nezuko! Be the Bakugo of the Demon Slayer world!

According to the credits, Tanjiro’s dad’s name is Tanjuro…that’s confusing, to say the least…

(Sorry Astral, the background noise while I was watching meant I did’t watch it with sound on…Also, is it wrong that I think the dad is hot??? Another thing: why do Tanjuro and Tanjiro have matching scars on their temples…?)

One of Tanjiro’s bros looks like Zenitsu??? Wuh???

Ooh, insert song “Kamado Tanjiro’s Song” by Go Shiina ft Nami Nakagawa. I’ll have to listen to it when I can. (Ever since SGRS, I’ve loved Go Shiina’s work…guess I didn’t expect it here, though.) Update: Misattributed the work. Go Shiina does videogame work, Sheens Ringo did SGRS stuf.

Given 3

I never knew that asking someone into a band was like asking someone out…(probably because I’ve never been in a band).

Given’s a frickin’ riot – that’s one reason I stuck with it.

I forgot Mafuyu was underage…!

Cop Craft 6

That car chase was basically Need for Speed…with worse graphics…

“Prayboy”…hmm…

I followed Kei’s advice to Google Jeffrey Dahmer…and I regret it.

The text says “Someone from the Semanian gang of thieves made contact.”

I didn’t make sense of “I hate being McCloud” until I rewound a bit and found that’s a disguise or alter ego of Tony’s.

“Shift the transmission into ‘Reverse’. The car will begin to roll backward sharply…” - The driving instructions are real, at least.

Given 4

Ehhhhh…still shots…

Kaji sure looks tough for a violinist…but a music major? Never thought he’d be one…(I saw some spoilers saying Kaji was a violinist before I watched the episode, hence my lack of surprise in that department.)

Not everyone’s in a band, y’know…

$120…? Nasty…

$70…

Ah, a layby? I don’t actually know what other countries call it, but where I am they’re called laybys, not layaways. (At the charity store I volunteer at, they call ‘em “holds”, though…which makes things even more confusing.)

Watching th first ep at the anime club made me realise that one had a piano version of Marutsuke, while this one is standard Marutsuke.

Given 5

Ooh, I see English-translated lyrics! Nice one, subbers! By the way, the title of the OP “Kizuato” sounds like it should translate to “Traces of Scars/Wounds” in English, but it’s in katakana, so I can’t confirm that…

It seems joining a band is a metaphor for love in this show…(see ep. 3 notes for more on that)

Holy moly! I’m still fairly new to BL/yaoi in general, so two-timing the boyfriend is not a trope ‘ve seen before, let alone dealt with in my head…

Ooh, more translated lyrics! That (ED singer) does sound like Mafuyu, come to think of it…

#simulcast commentary #Given #Dr Stone #Astra: Lost in Space #Kanata no Astra #Demon Slayer #Kimetsu no Yaiba #Fruits Basket #Fruits Basket (2019)#Cop Craft #Chesarka watches Given #Chesarka watches KnY #Chesarka watches Kanata no Astra #Chesarka watches Furuba #Chesarka watches Cop Craft #Chesarka watches Dr Stone

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ao3feedrnm · 4 years

Link

by AnAceOfHearts

The voice on the phone sounded exactly like the one of the person behind her, except for one crucial difference - this Max’s voice was practically bleeding emotion, while the one behind her sounded robotic in comparison. It wasn’t that noticeable with just Not-Max around, but when she compared the two, the difference was striking.

~~~~~

When Liz is at the beach from the end of the season two finale, Max comes to try to talk to her.

Only, a different Max calls from his car, claiming she's in danger.

Words: 1342, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Max Evans, Liz Ortecho, Mr. Jones (Roswell New Mexico), or as I like to call him - Character, Not Max - Character, or Fake Max

Relationships: Max Evans/Liz Ortecho

Additional Tags: Post-Season/Series 02, Post-Episode: s02e13 Mr. Jones, Season 3 Speculation, Kinda, Fix-It, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, kinda? idrk what this ending is, I wrote the first part when I had a bad fever, and the second part at 2 am, so uh it might not be my best but eh I wanted to post this, listen theyre the ones who made this a possibility ok, its not my fault I got a fever and the inspiration to write this, also the echo fics are few so you gotta contribute what you can amirite, no beta we die like lesbians, shit I forgot I have to title this ughhh, i apologize for the title, I /know/ its awful but I dont have any other ideas, I might edit the ending later idrk

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #Roswell New Mexico

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joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh · 6 years

Text

Extended thoughts on Riko Sakurauchi’s portrayal in each season of Love Live Sunshine, I guess.

I’ve been mentioning that I’ll be doing this on my blog for a while now, and this is the final result. It’s sort of a character analysis and character criticism, functioning both as my “Why I love Riko” essay and a “Why season 2 was weird for Riko” essay, and even a “YohaRiko amirite?” essay. I don’t know how well I wrote this, maybe it’s full of typos or maybe I did a horrible job expressing my points. I don’t really know. If there are indeed any mistakes, I’m sorry.

Season 1 Riko is an absolutely phenomenal character, and is easily the best written and developed character in Love Live, in my opinion.

Riko’s arc is one of rediscovering your passion. At a piano competition in her first year of high school, Riko was unable to play the song she had prepared, and left the stage, bowing in apology to the audience for her rather disappointing performance. This event, unsurprisingly, had a pretty severe impact on Riko. She’s gone her entire life adoring the piano, but got super stressed out when expectations became too high. And piano is all she really had, she hadn’t even heard of school idols because of how focused on piano she was.

And so Riko’s family moves from Tokyo to Uchiura. There are a few explanations for this action. The most significant explanation, and the one that the anime uses, is that Riko wants a change of scenery so that she can better capture an oceanic feel for her song that she failed to play in her first year. It’s also possible that she moved to get away from a sense of shame after her failure, she’d inevitably get dirty looks in class for something like that. Moving to a new place means you don’t know anybody, so nobody knows of your failure or really has any major expectations of you. Riko can take comfort in that fact. However, the change of scenery is the most important thing. Riko couldn’t play her song because she didn’t think it was good enough. It was supposed to feel oceanic, but she didn’t know how to capture that feel, so she didn’t play the song. This completely encapsulates just how all of the pressure on Riko affects her. She felt her song didn’t meet expectations, so she didn’t play it. If she just perfects the song, she can win the competition and validate herself, effectively. But that last step about winning the competition, Riko doesn’t realise that yet.

Enter Chika “orange you glad we live next to each other” Takami. A really good character but this is about Riko so we won’t go into that in great depth. Chika’s story of school idols and normal people shining in episode 1 is a simple one, but it cheers up Riko and encourages her to do better. This is the start of the absolutely fantastic relationship they’ll develop. Chika wants Riko to be a school idol, but Riko’s entirely uninterested. After spending presumably a few days repeating the cycle of “Do you wanna be a school idol?”, Chika sees Riko on the beach and takes a quick peek up her skirt before telling her that they can go listen to the sound of the ocean together. This process goes smoothly and Riko hears the sound of the ocean she so desperately craves. Content, she decides to help Chika and You with composing, and in that moment comes to understand just how passionately Chika loves school idols. Later that day, Riko plays Yume no Tobira on her piano, and Chika, who happens to live beside her, takes note. It’s in this scene where Riko opens up about her problems and history with the piano. Chika’s response is to recruit her anyway, but Riko says she can’t quit piano. It’s here where we get an absolutely beautiful exchange between the two:

Chika: “Try it, and if you can smile and change, you can go back to piano. You won’t be quitting”

Riko: “It’d be rude to try being a school idol with that kind of motivation when you’re trying so hard.”

Chika: “If it helps you, that makes me happy. Putting smiles on peoples’ faces is what a school idol is about.”

And with that, Riko joins up as a school idol. Her motivation – enjoy being a school idol and therefore enjoy life, allowing her to return to piano and enjoy that. Across the rest of the season, Riko and Chika gradually become closer and closer, with Riko being an incredibly supportive friend to Chika’s issues as well as her being the one who notices why this town is so great – something that makes sense for her to realise as she’s the most inexperienced with the town.

Episode 10 and 11 are where Riko’s arc is brought into the spotlight again, as she receives an email informing her about that piano competition. And she deletes the email, because she’s content being a school idol. Chika overhears her sister and Riko’s mum talking about the competition though, and Riko’s mum is concerned since Riko hasn’t done anything about it to her knowledge. Chika takes matters into her own hands and, when the rest of Aqours are asleep, Chika wakes Riko up and they cycle to the school, where she asks Riko to play her ocean themed song from much earlier. Riko does, Chika likes it, and then they talk at the beach. Chika tells Riko that she wants her to enter the piano competition, and in this moment, Riko’s shocked, too shocked too even respond for several seconds. Several seconds after Chika suggests this and even managing to ignore Chika’s explanation, Riko jumps to the conclusion that Chika doesn’t want her to come along. Across this season, they’ve developed such a wonderful, beautiful friendship even, and Riko’s become incredibly comfortable as Chika’s friend and as a school idol. The moment that piano competition is brought up again, Riko jumps to a false conclusion, that Chika doesn’t want her at the Love Live event. She’s still insecure. She’s suddenly way less certain about what Chika thinks of her. Riko’s showing her weaknesses. Let’s be real for a second, Riko’s conclusion is irrational, but that’s how her insecurity manifested. Thankfully, Chika explains everything. As we already stated earlier, Riko’s arc is one of rediscovering passion, and this is what happens here. Chika basically tells Riko that the piano was important to her, and that she shouldn’t just forget it. Riko’s allowed to balance out these things, she doesn’t need to choose just one. And in episode 11, Riko does indeed go to that piano competition and play her finished song, taking 1st place in the process. By taking 1st place and doing what she couldn’t do before, Riko’s essentially validated herself – she’s proven to herself that her decisions were right. I’ll get into it later, but season 2 does do something to give this arc a more definitive conclusion.

And there’s Riko’s arc. It’s one of a very insecure character losing passion for something she loves, but, thanks to the help of others, she learns to enjoy life again and can go back to her old passion with a smile. The thing that makes this especially great though is how good the execution is. Love Live has a tendency to introduce a character’s problem and then give them all the development they need to overcome it in just an episode, and it often ends up feeling sort of superfluous. That development methodology isn’t terrible per se, and SIP actually does it quite well with the likes of Rin and Nico, but taking the time to carefully develop Riko as an individual as well as developing her relationship with Chika worked wonders. It’s no surprise that an arc that great would result in Riko being my best girl and Sunshine season 1 is my favourite season of Love Live.

However, while all of this was really, truly fantastic, there was one major flaw in Riko’s treatment in season 1. She gets no significant interaction with anyone in Aqours sans Chika and You. I’ve briefly touched on why Chika’s great, but the interaction with You was poorly done, imo. Remember how I mentioned Love Live introduces character flaws and overcomes them in the same episode? The 2nd year drama was that for me. You’s jealous of ChikaRiko even though every interaction You has with the two of them prior indicates that she wouldn’t be even remotely jealous. Heck, You seemingly flirts with Riko at times. But that’s a thing for another day. For now, let’s take a look at how season 2 developed Riko and her relationship with the other members of Aqours.

Or I suppose I should say with Yohane and nobody else.

But before I open that can of worms, let’s touch upon the definitely great moments for Riko in season 2.

See, Riko definitely gets off to a strong start in season 2. Yes, Riko-chan Beam is actually an incredible scene for highlighting Riko’s development as a character and the security in her relationship with Chika. Remember Riko’s reaction to the suggestion of going to the piano competition by Chika? That was a pretty scary situation for her. In the 1st episode of season 2, after Riko tells Chika that it’s okay that they lost because they were disadvantaged but did their best. Chika’s response…

“If you really mean that, I despise you.”

Woah. Despise? That’s pretty intense, Mikan. But Riko’s response isn’t just perfectly calm, it’s playful. She does the Riko-chan Beam! It doesn’t take a genius to identify that, if Chika had said that to Riko as she were pre-S1EP10, she’d cry. That Riko was fragile and insecure. After that whole ordeal though and her piano competition, Riko’s finally feeling content again. She’s comfortable. She’s secure. She hears Chika suggest that she despises her, and she responds by being a cute little goofball. Just goes to show you how much more confident she’s become.

Riko also gets some closure to her arc in season 1, which I alluded to earlier in this essay. See, by winning that piano competition, Riko essentially validated her decision to participate in it. She got what she wanted from it, it was the correct decision. But Riko’s also an idol now. And in episode 12, when Chika asks everyone if they want to win Love Live, Riko’s response is as simple as saying that she wants to win Love Live to prove to herself that being a school idol was the correct choice. She wants to be a school idol. In season 1, she validated herself as a pianist, and in season 2, she validates herself as a school idol by winning Love Live. Her arc in season 1 felt complete, but this detail in season 2 makes that feel more complete. That she’s playing piano so confidently in many scenes in the last few episodes is the icing on the cake.

Anyway, now I can open the aforementioned can of worms that is YohaRiko.

First and foremost, I’d like to clarify something. I love YohaRiko. It’s not my favourite Riko ship, that honour goes to ChikaRiko by far, but YohaRiko takes second place. I think the two go incredibly well together aesthetically, and there’s a lot of potential for genuinely good character interaction be it platonic or romantic between the two. With how popular the ship is and the fact that even their seiyuus love it, it’s no surprise that the writers tried to capitalise off of its popularity in season 2 and just have more of it.

Emphasis on “Tried”.

See, Riko and Yohane’s relationship starts in episode 5, where Yohane discovers a seemingly stray dog and, unable to take care of it herself because of rules and such, as well as unable to give it to most of the other members, offers it to Riko, who begrudgingly ends up taking care of it. They bond in the process of caring for the dog, and eventually end up returning it to its owners. After a quick “is this loss” meme (I’m serious) the two wait near the owner’s house wanting to meet it again, and have a conversation about the natures of coincidences and fate and datenshis. The development for each character individually doesn’t really mean anything. We don’t really learn anything about Yohane we didn’t learn in season 1, and Riko’s development in this episode is completely meaningless outside of this episode. Honestly, it’s the most filler episode in Love Live. But at minimum, it’s still cute fun with two girls we love very much. And from know on forth, we can have Yohane and Riko having significant interaction! With the opportunity to put these characters in a lot of interesting scenarios and develop a genuine relationship between the two to match the likes of ChikaRiko, what do you think the writers did?

It’s pretty simple, really. Yohane does some Datenshi things. Riko gets mad. Yohane calls her “Riri”, and then Riko gives an angry Datenshi response. And that’s every interaction they have for the remainder of the season.

To say it’s unfortunate is an understatement. These 2 had potential. Riko’s biggest flaw in season 1 was the lack of interaction outside of Chika. Yohane’s biggest flaw was a pretty severe lack of development. Give Riko someone else to interact with and give Yohane someone more grounded than she is yet still understanding and have Yohane develop thanks to her. In the process, give us some funny and varied jokes and cute moments. Try not to forget about ChikaRiko in the process, preferably. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, and yet, we get none of it. Simply put, it’s wasted potential.

Plus, perhaps it’s just me, but I think it’s even more offensive in the case of Riko. Yohane didn’t really have much going on in season 1, so for her to be in a similar situation in season 2 was fairly whatever to me. I’d definitely have preferred she get development, but she wasn’t Hanamaru’d at least. She’s pretty even across both seasons, there’s a consistency in quality, even if that quality is somewhat disappointing. Riko meanwhile was the most interesting character in season 1 for me, so for Riko to otherwise be the butt of Datenshi jokes was infuriating to me, even in spite of the good moments I’ve mentioned. It’s not impossible that this upsets me more out of bias towards Riko, but really, how could I not be upset? I think even if you’re not a fan of Riko, you have to agree that this isn’t the best direction to take her character, right? Maybe you don’t. That’s whatever.

Season 2 Riko isn’t exactly flanderised or anything. Those good things I mentioned about her portrayal in season 2 still hold true in spite of what they do with YohaRiko. Her being a Datenshi joke is only really a thing in the middle of the season. It starts and ends with phenomenal development for her. And sure, the YohaRiko scenes can get annoying, and I’ll admit in hindsight that they weren’t really very good. But at minimum, they’re all still cute and basically all of them managed to make me laugh on my first watch.

All in all, Riko’s an odd one. Her season 1 portrayal is absolutely incredible. It’s extremely well written and her relationship with Chika is stellar. Her biggest problem is a lack of interaction with others, and season 2 flops when it tries to fix that. However, season 2 gives her season 1 arc the conclusion we didn’t know we needed. And in that aspect alone, I gotta give season 2 Riko some props. Is she the worst girl in Sunshine season 2? Absolutely not, no way. Hanamaru still exists, You was barely a character, and as I already mentioned, Yohane was underwhelming. Is she the best girl though? Probably not, I think I’d give that to Mari. I still liked Riko though.

God, I really don’t know how best to end this.

#essay tag #riko #love live #yohane #you #hanamaru #chika #did i mention anyone else?#god my tagging system sucks #i need to fix it #12.4.18

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