fizzy: in my defense it was a bit i was doing your honor

william: jester for the court

fizzy: now look what you've done! because your joke was better than mine they're gonna execute me. i hope it was worth it

i also love all of them, just know that i am as tortured as you trying to choose

OUR DINING TABLE | EPISODE SEVEN

lancelot + ways i would describe him

for my sweet, @bellamyblakru. i am so incredibly proud of u my love, graduating from college in such a short amount of time is no small feat. you’re an absolute legend in my eyes. congratulations my beloved, ily <3

just started the last of us (fake fan fake fan whatthefuckever) and it starts much differently than I thought it would???

it's kind of funny seeing spn constantly being brought up in the context of the benefits of a longer season cause i remember that a lot of time during my rewatch i was thinking the show would really really benefit from being shorter. obviously we'd lose a lot of great character moments and with the writing being what it is those are irreplaceable But if we're talking about like. making a satisfying season of television

How They Feel Being Loved by You | CSM Edition

 tags: gn!reader, headcanons, tarot, spoilers for makima’s

a/n: a spin on my usual tarot hcs of how it feels being loved by a certain character but rather how they feel being loved by someone else. something light-hearted to cheer up after a recent, unfortunate event. let’s enjoy csm tuesday tomorrow woo!! i don’t apologize for the person i will become when angel is officially in an episode, i am saying that right here and now. (also for the anime onlys, i’m a manga reader so lwk just assume anything with makima unless specified otherwise isn’t anime only-friendly)

denji

knight of cups, the emperor, ten of cups, the hierophant

ever the romantic who doesn’t ask for much, denji is wholly satisfied with your relationship and the love you give him. as far he’s concerned, he’s living on cloud nine. you’re the bonnie to his clyde, the thelma to his louise, you’re partners. he’s spoiled by what you do for him, big and small. you make denji feel safe and secure, he doesn’t need to worry when you’re around and if you’re apart, he knows your relationship is just as strong. what more does he have to ask for? although, if denji was asked, he supposes he does have a small list of things he’d like to ask you for. boobs and ass please going on lots of dates together, steak every morning for breakfast and an unlimited amount of jam and butter.

aki

the lovers, five of swords, the hierophant, king of wands

love was freedom for aki. all these years being pulled by his hate and desire for revenge led him into conflict after conflict with the devil hunters and it wasn’t until experiencing love did he consider following a different path. love for his new family, a new family that includes you. rather than his strength being fueled by hate, aki’s strength is fueled by love and his fear he will lose those that he cares about. he wants you to have a long life even if he knows that you won’t be able to enjoy a long one with each other. he wants to spend as much time as he can with you regardless. he feels your warmth and passion and love for life envelope him completely, that’s the foundation for his actions.

power

the lovers, king of swords, eight of cups, the world

power feels like she is on top of the world when she is with you. she isn’t the brightest tool in the shed, nor is she as brave as she claims to be but you make her feel that way 100%. there are tendencies power will never be able to let go of as the blood fiend. she will always thirst for blood and she will always be fond of the idea of violence and chaos and her general dislike of humans will remain. but if it’s you, humans aren’t all bad. meowy likes you after all and if you have her beloved cat’s approval, power knows in her heart that you’re the one for her. you know what she is and isn’t capable of and you accept power, flaws and all and she accepts you human and all. she’s the ultimate, great and feared power and you are her ultimate lover

angel devil

queen of chalices, the devil, queen of swords, two of pentacles

being loved by you is a sign to angel that it’s finally okay for him to be selfish. he no longer has to put on airs or be fearful of the terrifying beast that keeps him chained to the devil hunters. angel chooses you. you make him feel balanced and like it is okay to release the emotions he keeps quelled inside him; love, happiness, fear and anger. he lets them flow as freely as the newfound selfishness you awakened in him. he can make this work, he can get through any trial his relationship with you may come across. it matters not if he is angel or devil first, angel is first and foremost yours. he will always be cautious of touching too freely, but he welcomes the affection he can receive like its the finest wine

makima

the world, the fool, five of swords, four of wands

your love is a new experience for makima. until you, every relationship she has had was one that was based upon her powers as the control devil and that fact has haunted her for many years. but you came and freed her from those chains, the one person the control devil can have a relationship with where her powers didn’t play a part. for makima, this is as freeing as it as luxurious. everything about your relationship is something new for her and it makes makima feel as if she has everything and is everything. for makima, close isn’t close enough she wishes she could live in your skin. your love the is the blood that flows through her veins, the air she breathes and if she could she’d live in your chest as your heart. for makima, your relationship is a harmonious one. she hopes that through you, she can form more relationships like your own. relationships that are equal. but you will always be her favorite.

Goth-Pod Ep 5: Gotham Troubles

Welcome Back! Listening to you send ins, Juda Boone talks about things by Gothamites, for Gothamites!

[goth-pod is a fictional in-universe podcast based on the DC comics universe. Juda Boone is an original fictional character, not based on any real person or known comic book character.]

Transcript under the cut

Hello everyone and welcome to Goth-Pods special trials and troubles episode! I’m an indie theater’s take on the ghost of Christmas Present- and your host, Juda Boone. 

We're looking at your submitted trademark Gotham problems. So without my usual ramblings, lets get to business

—

For our first submission username Trekkle brought up a good debate: Subway vs Bus: The Subway is safer, since buses can get hit during rogue attacks, but if you're stuck underground there's a chance of a killer croc attack and also the birds ride the roof. 

Fantastic points, Trekkle! Thank you for writing in. I don't know exactly what you mean by the birds riding the roof, though. Do you mean Robin? Because I have been on the tram while a fight was happening between Robin and The Penguin on top. Of course, I missed most of it because I had my headphones in. Noise cancellation has its pros and cons in Gotham.  

There’s no set answer on this one, I don’t think. You kind of have to pay attention to what Rouges are active the way you pay attention to the weather. Cloudy with a 70% chance of a Riddler scheme? Maybe take the Buses, since they’re not connected to a maze-like system like  the subways are. But maybe it's sweater weather with a possible freeze-over because Victor Fries broke out two nights ago and is due for a showy return. Then an underground bunker with cushy seats doesn’t sound too bad.

—

From Clexx we have: I'm new to Gotham (full ride scholarship, thank you Mr. Wayne): Why does everyone hate Superman? I tried to get answers from a friend and they called Superman a Homewrecker. Is there an infidelity scandal around Superman I don’t know about??

Oh wow. First of all, congratulations on the scholarship! I'm assuming you're attending Gotham U? Just be sure you get a proper Rogue-proof gas mask. Yes there is a difference. It’ll probably be covered in your Orientation though, so onto the main question. 

To the Homewrecker comment.. oh I didn’t think it’d come to this. Okay, there's this thing in Gotham. Clexx, have you ever heard of Bruceman? Ask your friend about it, they’ll probably love to explain more. Basically it is a Real-Person based Ship on Gotham’s two protectors, Bruce Wayne and Batman. One watching over the day, the other the night. 

This is another Topic that might take all episodes to explain, so to keep it short: People see Superman and Batman’s relationship- professional, platonic, romantic, or however they define it- as a threat to Bruceman, the number one Gotham Ship. Godspeed if you get between our beloved prettyboy himbo and our odd night-stalking cryptid. 

—

From Allison: My cousin is visiting and I want to show them why I stay in Gotham. Where can we go for 1) a low level rogue attack (for Bat sighting), and 2) where can we go for a Wayne sighting. (They think Dick Grayson is hotter then Brucie [eye-rolling emoji])

For the first one, I think any part of our public transport system will do, as we discussed before. The tricky part is knowing when it’s going to be low-level or if your cousin will be joining you in a shelter-in-place lockdown.

For a Wayne sighting, unfortunately it’s harder to say these days. Bruce Wayne has made several statements on how he’s spending less time at the company in order to focus on bonding with his new son, Jason. I hate to disappoint, but right now might not be the time for celebrity sight-seeing. Maybe take a day trip to Bludhaven! Your cousin might enjoy the chance to convince you instead. 

Thank you all for writing in and for joining us on this special episode! If we didn’t get to your submission, head over to our socials to see if we replied there. I’m Juda, you’re listening to Goth-Pod

Until then, Newcomers, visiting cousins, locals on the bus, Stay safe, Gotham.

The Owl House Series Finale Thoughts, part 1

So, now that I’ve had time to vent and gather my thoughts I can say that The Owl House series finale, was a letdown. 

There were strong elements: the animation, the voice acting, the music, all incredible. I do deeply appreciate the hard work and talent the crew brought in making this show and how many people have felt represented and seen by the show’s inclusivity and themes. I feel that this show will be beloved and remembered for a long time.

However, I feel like the show made critical errors that actually undermined what it set out to do. Before I get into my thoughts, let me explain how I got into this show:

I happened to stumble upon the show because it looked neat and heard that the show creator also worked on Gravity Falls, another show I enjoyed. The first season was fun; bright, clever, and you could tell it wanted to tell a larger story with deep and meaningful themes. Season 2A was also fun and it had begun to depict a darker, more mature world. I didn’t think too much of the show, it was just fun, a typical kids’ cartoon show with good storytelling and memorable characters. Nothing really grabbed me about the show.

Until Hollow Mind.

Long-term fans will remember people being disappointed by the episode because they became attached to Fanon Philip that had appeared during the hiatus and we got something completely different in canon. How did this seemingly sweet young man turn into Emperor Belos? Turns out, he’s just a dick. A huge, murderous dick with a hero complex. 

I wasn’t there for Fanon Philip but what drew me to Belos was that in HM, his apparent backstory was in the literal background of the episode and it sparked my imagination. I joined the fandom because, like many, I wanted to know what Belos’ deal was. Many talented and creative people came up with long and compelling theories about the Wittebane brothers, speculation that was further fueled by the grimwalker reveal and Caleb appearing in Belos’ memories in King’s Tide. That speculation grew and people wrote whole fan fics and drew art depicting the trials and troubles of the Wittebanes. 

I became invested in the Wittebanes because their story was so tragic: two orphan boys who grew up in a cult, essentially forced to participate in witch hunts in an adapt-or-be-hanged situation, only for the elder to actually see the error of his ways and leave his younger brother behind, making him think he had been bewitched and that it was his duty to save him. 

We got more scraps of information in Thanks to Them, the most important being how the brothers only had each other and became witch-hunters to fit in. In For the Future, Caleb’s apparition appears--whether a ghost or hallucination is unknown---above his specter is a bloody knife, Caleb stares accusingly at the wretched, shambling remains of his younger brother. Philip lashes out angrily accusing him that it was his fault and that he “tried to save his soul.” This is a highly interpretive scene, and many thought it implied Belos’ deeply buried guilt and how he always lies to himself to justify his actions. All the while, deep down knowing the truth.

With all that in mind, what did we learn in Watching and Dreaming? What made this young man who ventured out to what he thought was literal hell to rescue his brother? His only family? Only to kill him in a fit of madness and spend literal centuries trying to recreate the brother of his childhood, to erase his original sin, all the while descending into madness and depravity?

Turns out he’s a dick. A huge, murderous dick with a hero complex.

“You assume Belos’ goal comes from a genuine place,” the Titan tells Luz. And seemingly the audience because fans wanted to see this story, this foundation to all of the horror and trauma. To understand how a man becomes evil. 

Well, according to the show, he’s just like that. Luz attempts to reconcile Belos’ goal of saving humanity with her own and wonders if their morality is really so different. Silly human, the Titan says. Your goals and motives are genuine, he’s just delusional and evil. So you can take comfort in the fact that your enemies’ goals are just self-serving, but yours are the real deal. 

Sorry but this is lazy.

You can’t say people are complicated and then turn around and say actually, no some people are just delusional and power-hungry and we’ll leave it at that. It seems that, in the universe of The Owl House, only good people are complicated; Lilith cursed Eda because she was desperate to get into the Emperor’s Coven but then she spends the rest of the time trying to cure her sister. Amity bullied Willow, but only because her parents forced them to no longer be friends, Hunter was the emperor’s right hand man, but only because he’s an abused teenager. Meanwhile, the villains of the show don’t have their motives given such depth, they just act in selfish and petty ways because they just are. 

I wouldn’t be bothered by Philip’s flat characterization if the show did not waste so much time giving us hints and clues that there’s actually more to him. What a twist! The villain you thought had greater complexity is just a Standard Villain, how genius! Such clever writing!

If he’s going to be simply a metaphor and not a real character then don’t tease us with a story that suggests otherwise. Keep your story clean and concise. Don’t dangle a potentially amazing storyline that aligns perfectly with the protagonist’s only to yank it away.

This is a waste of the audience’s time and squashes what could have been a wonderfully twisted and dynamic villain. But the show wasn’t interested. It's much easier and more comforting to just say bad people are just bad and never explore why. You could never become the villain because you’re good; don’t bother worrying that you and the villain have the same goals because his aren’t genuine!

 Remember kids, people are complicated. Unless you’re a villain. 

How to be a more interesting character than the Main Hero (Pt.2)

Shangjue and his didi (pt.1/2)

Shangjue has a strong bond with his cousin (whom he counts as his brother), but their personalities are very different and it makes their relationship really interesting.

"Of course, you can interrogate Yuanzhi-didi." For Shangjue the rules mean more than his personal attitudes, so, as his beloved didi happens to be a suspect, Shangjue voluntarily hands him over to be locked up in prison and later denies the possibility that he could plant an evidence in order to deflect suspicion from him. He says, that he would avenge didi if he would be unjustified tortured to death by the Main Hero (it means, he thinks it`s possible as a result of imprisonment), but does nothing against rules to protect his didi. And it hurts didi a lot and makes him think that he isn't good enough to be protected by Shangjue, because it is natural for many people to go against the rules in order to help loved ones. But so is the core of Shangjue`s personality: between his personal feelings (for his didi) and the rules of the clan he will definitely choose the second (because he isn`t a person yet, he allows himself to be only a clan function).

His didi Yuanzhi is a full opposite to him. He values Shangjue the most and would definitely do any wicked thing to help him. He is cunning and ruthless, but Shangjue deals with his fierce spirit and teaches him a lot of things, including how to respect elders.

"Elder Yue is someone who you should respect."

Didi is very perceptive to every act of love from Shangjue, as we can see in the scene with the conversation about a spy`s token, and later, in the conversation about Secret Trial of Adulthood, and he is very jealous to everyone who can get attention from Shangjue, too, because of his absolute insecurity in that he can be loved by him and can be his didi instead of deceased one. This little story about them, a paper lantern and a poisoned porridge broke my heart (I thought Yuanzhi died and was very upset during my awaiting for the next episode):

Yuanzhi thinks that Shangjue cherishes the most only those who are not around him anymore, and maybe it`s because of his trauma. He believes he was the reason Shangjue’s mom and brother had died, because he was the last one who came to the shelter’s gate, and Shangjue’s brother got an opportunity to sneak outside and met his doom.

But he is wrong thinking that deceased ones are more important for Shangjue than alive ones. Yuanzhi thinks in an egoistic way, he can`t imagine love can be shared among many people in someone`s heart. Shangjue didn`t stop loving his mom and brother but he also loves his didi as much as he loves them.

"Brother!!!"

"Stand off!!!"

"Blood..."

And we can see it in a flashback, when young Shangjue says that the best thing he could receive is a didi (which is Yuanzhi).

Unfortunately I can add only 30 GIFs per post, so there will be part 2/2.

lets rank suits 2011-2019 seasons like theyre taylor swift albums. i think my ranking is season 5, 6, 1, 8, 4, 3, 2, 7. i havent seen s9 yet but im guessing id put it over s7 lol

season 5 is the best it just is i think my favorite episode ever is tick tock (harvey breaking down in donnas apartment saying "its my goddamn fault...... might jsut be my favorite moment in the whole show) plus it has 5x10 faith and the tension of will mike go to prison? and the trial

season 6 mike in prison arc my beloved. plus 6x12 the painting harvey mommy issues episode!!

season 1 so fun so cute theyre all young and the show is still that fun monster of the week format they had in the early seasons

season 8 im not done with yet BUT i love it!!!!! i really really like the addition of alex and samantha

season 4 loved the fucked up love square between mike and rachel and logan and harvey. and 4x15 intent CRAZYASS episode! "you know i love you donna" OHHHH

season 3 bookended by my one of my favorite opener + finale pair ... it starts with harvey yelling about mike betraying him and ends with mike screaming in an interrogation room hed never give harvey up .... chefs kiss

season 2 tbh i dont remember much if anything that happened in s2 but i remember thinking the show hit a bit of a sophomore slump. but 2x10 high noon obviously iconic episode!

season 7 was boring . did anything happen in s7. OHHHHHH but donna kissed harvey cus he was with paula that made me shake and cry and go what the fuccccccckkkkk that was dope

Metatron's manipulation step by step

Part 3: The Entrance

Part 1 - where I discuss the significance of the coffee.

Part 2 - where I take a look back at season 1

Ok, time to actually get to the promised "step by step" part and look very closely at what Metatron is doing, from the moment he appears on Earth to the very (heartbreaking) end of the episode (and the season, and the story so far). Well, in this part I'll stop when he sends the Angels away but we'll get to the very end eventually.

We first see Metatron on Earth when Crowley is escorting Nina and Maggie out of the bookshop. He's standing in line in front of Give me coffee or give me death, waiting for the shop to open and I think we should really stress the significance of that. Not his purchase of coffee and conversation with Nina - though they are important too - but the sole fact that he's there, in the street, in the queue, and NOT IN THE BOOKSHOP.

Gabriel has just gotten his memory back. His affair with Beelzebub has just been brought to light. Michael, Uriel, Saraqael, Dagon, Shax, and Furfur are shouting over each other about what should be done with them, while Beelzebub and Gabriel hold hands. They're still there! Nothing is decided yet.

But apparently, Metatron was more interested in buying coffee than confronting the Archangel who escaped his judgment.

I mean, I don't think anybody ever doubted that Meteron traveled to Earth specifically to talk to Aziraphale, and that was his top priority. It's not exactly a revelation. But it still baffled me just how little he cared about Gabriel's fate. Even at the point when he still might have influenced it. After the second rewatch I started drawing my conclusions from that about Metatron's personality and taking notes, but after the third time, I realized I was missing the point. Metatron's decision to stay out of Gabriel's business wasn't informed by how much he did or didn't care about it. It was all about how it would make him look if he was seen involved.

Aziraphale already had a rather unfavorable impression of him from their previous encounter (season 1) and now our beloved dorky Principality got himself involved in Gabriel's case, risking his safety to protect the Archangel from Heaven. And it was Metatron who was presiding over Gabriel's trial and decided Gabriel's punishment would be to have his memories erased.

Entering the bookshop while Gabriel was still there, while his fate was still being discussed, posed a serious risk of exposing Metatron's role in the whole mess. Entering after it all blew over meant that Aziraphale didn't have a chance to make a connection.

Now let's look at the exact circumstances under which Metatron did enter the bookshop.

He came in at the exact moment Michael was threatening Aziraphale to erase his existence just so he could put a stop to it and chastise the Archangels. He immediately steps into a role of a savior and a voice of reason.

Let's dissect it a little.

Michael's exact words are "I am authorized to remove the name of anyone who helped Gabriel from the Book of Life".

But Metatron insists she "doesn't have the authority to do anything like that".

That begs the question: if Michael really was wrong and never could use the Book, where did she get the idea that she could? True, Michael is portrayed as particularly dim and vain this season. She does attribute herself to more power than she actually has. But her phrasing strongly implies that it was a one-time thing. Michael doesn't think she can use the Book at will, at any time, against whomever she pleases. She believes she has the authorization to use it in this specific instance. That's a strange thing to be confused about, don't you think?

Another glaringly strange thing is how Archangels don't seem to know who Metatron is.

The only person to recognize him immediately is Crowley, which makes sense, considering he had just watched Gabriel's trial. He says the last time he saw the guy, he was a giant floating head, and that triggers Aziraphale's memory, which again, makes sense. In season 1 it was clear Aziraphale had never seen Metatron before - he asked if he was talking to God, and Metatron needed to introduce himself - and it's been a couple of years since then. He hasn't forgotten him but he needed a little tip to recognize him in a different getup.

It's the Archangels' reaction that doesn't make sense. They had all been present at the trial. Saraqael had seen it again at the same time Crowley did. There's no logical reason why they should be so oblivious.

There are quite a few theories about this, the most common being that Crowley recognizes Metatron because he used to be such a high-ranking angel before the Fall, and from all the supernatural entities in the room he knew Metatron the best. And while I am inclined to believe Crowley indeed used to be a big shot in Heaven, I don't think it's a satisfactory explanation for this situation. If that was all there was, there would be no reason for all three of the Archangels to not connect the dots at the same time Aziraphale did. But they didn't. It's only when the Metatron is explicitly called the Metatron that they finally see it.

Personally, I think Metatron is responsible for both things - Michael's misguided belief she had the power to use the Book of Life & and all Archangels suddenly not recognizing Metatron's face, voice, and presence.

Why?

Because it made the Archangels look really bad.

How would it benefit him?

Well, answer honestly, when Metatron first appeared and started scolding the Archangels like they were misbehaving kids, wasn't that satisfying? Didn't you like him just for that short moment?

I sure did, and I believe that was the point. Except that the performance wasn't for our, the audience's sake, but for Aziraphale's. He makes a whole performance of exposing how incompetent the Archangels are and how outraged he is with that.

And what's even more interesting, right from the moment he enters Metatron speaks like Aziraphale! I didn't notice it at first because he is played by Sir Derek Jacobi and old-fashioned language certainly becomes him. But he doesn't speak this way in Heaven! He doesn't say things like "balderdash" or "piffle" or "spit spot". That's Aziraphale's gimmick.

In other words, Metatron says things Aziraphale very likely always wanted to say, and to boot, he says them in the exact manner Aziraphale would actually say them if he had the power. He plays out a fantasy for our poor Principality, who most likely was never backed by anybody in Heaven, and his issues with Archangels were never validated by anybody.

Metatron draws a very clear line between himself and the Archangels. He shows that they are the problem, they are incompetent, they are unreasonable. Not him.

Which is the first step in convincing Aziraphale that maybe he's worth listening to at least.

Continued in Part 4: Putting on a human face

My ranking of SPN seasons (based only on their PLOT) pt. 4 [final]

OKAAAAAY, LEEEEET'S GO!

Here, here and here I've covered from ranking #15 to #4 so let's see which seasons will be on the podium!

3. Season 8: This season really gave me life, it's absolutely one of the best. Plot-wise, I ADORED the introduction of the tablets and the Trials, whoever came up with this idea was pure genius. So Basically our heroes have to deal with the aftermath of the events in season 7: Dean has spent 1 year fighting monsters in Purgatory while Sam run away from his responsibilities and has found shelter in the arms of a woman. Cas seems nowhere to be found. The character who moves the plot forward is my beloved Crowley: while Dean was feeling pure in Purgatory with this vampire boyfriend (ihih), and Sam was guitl-trapped into adopting a dog (seriuosly? biggest red flag ever), our King of Hell was busy carrying the show on his shoulders. He kidnaps Kevin and orders him to translate the demon tablet. Since he's not stupid, he quickly understands that 1 leviathan table + 1 demon tablet = 1 angel tablet. Consequently, his quest for the latter begins. After 1 year of hedonism, our heroes realize that they had left poor Kevin behind while an astonished Castiel comes out of nowhere. The plot gets interesting. We find out that the demon tablet contains information on how to close the Gates of Hell. Comedy of error ensues since literally everybody thinks that the angle tablet would contain the same info as the demon tablet (really, guys? The ONLY smart person in the room about this was DEAN, as per usual). So what's written on the angel tablet? Surprise! We don't really know 'cause poor Kevin spent 6 effing months trying to translate half of the demon tablet so there's now way to know now! Cas makes the usual stupid choice and gets played by Metatron: he will undergo the Three Trials to close the Gates of Heaven. Meanwhile poor Sam undergoes the Trials to close the Gates of Hell. Eventually, Dean convinces him to stop the last trial otherwise he will die and poor Dean cannot live without his baby brother (same goes for little jealous Sam who, while literally dying, finds time to tell Dean that he feels left behind because Dean seems to love his Purgatory vampire and his trenchoated angel more than him (codependecy level: atomic)). Metatron fools everyone and cast a spell to make all angels fall. BOOM, season finale is EPIC. I really really enjoyed this season, it was so rich and full of turns of events but everything was coherent and engaging. What I didn't like is brainwashing Cas via Naomi. Plot-wise, it was unnecessary since Naomi literally reveals her original plan to Dean after episode 17 so, what was the point? Sure it gave us the memorable crypt scene and for it I am forever grateful. But in terms of plot, meh. It was weak. Also, it looks a lot like what happened with Godstiel in season 6 AND weird Cas in season 7 (poor Cas knows no peace of mind, literally).Once again Cas as a character is not fully in control and makes shitty decisions for reasons unknown? Mmmmh, me not likey.

2. Season 4: This season was explosive, I fucking loved it! First of all, as I've already said, I like when there's sort of a deadline in the plot and here we have a big one: Lilith is on her course to open the 66 seals that will free Lucifer from his cage. Problem is: nobody knows which ones she will choose since there are like 600 of them. Sam and Dean try to prevent the opening of the seals but things get complicated when the Angels enter the arena: they certainly look more like enemies rather than allies and for sure cause a lot of problems more than provide solutions. Previosly on Supernatural, Dean was rescued by Castiel from Hell (what an epic entrance, Cas!!!) after having spent 30 human years torturing and being tortured by demons, yay! Sam is now addicted to demon blood and nobody is pleased about it so our heroes have plenty on their plate. Plot-wise, this season was everything, it was a rollercoaster of turns of events, allies that become enemies, enemies become allies but wait no! they've been enemies all along! Castiel inadvertently changes the course of the story and creates real free will, Supernatural goes fully meta with the introduction of the Supernatural books by Chuck Shurley, angels are showed as scary, powerful creatures rather than comforting, merciful, ethereal beings ("Read the bible" LOL)... Man, what a fucking epic season! It felt serious but also carefree? It seems weird to say that but later on SPN gets increasingly tragic in tone so I'm very pleased with season 4 because it managed to balance everything out but with a lighter twist.

Season 11: while I was writing this, I was not sure which season would be number 1 but here I am, once again, in love with the plot of season 11. What can I say? "I'm a lover, not a fighter". So, the plot: the Winchester Bros Codependency Inc. has reached catastrophic levels: they are the ones to be thanked for the release of The Darkness into the world. The first interesting thing is that, for the first time ever, nobody really seems to know what to do. Thank God, there's the King of Hell (LOL) who promptly seizes the opportunity to take Amara and raise her hoping this would turn the events in his favours. However, he's unable to control her and soon Amara escapes wreacking havoc in the world. Not knowing what to do, Castiel decides to find Metatron, while Sam decides to go back into the Cage because he believes that Lucifer might be key to fighting Amara. Chaos ensues. Metatron doesn't really know shit, Lucifer same but he manages to escape via Castiel!vessel and we get Casifer (it was insane, I loved every minute of it!), the world is in shambles. A deus ex machina is needed: God/Chuck enters the chat. From here on, it all gets very philosophical and maybe that's why I frigging love this season. So, remember the Winchester Bros Codependency Inc.? Well, turns out Amara and God suffers from the same syndrome. They manage to (momentarily) find their balance while Dean (who had a bond with Amara because they both shared the Mark of Cain or whatever) decides to go to battle alone to convince Amara to stop or, if not possible, to die trying to save the world. And Sam Winchester is finally okay with this! Wow, progress, yes, right??? All ends so well that Amara gifts Dean with his friggin' mother who was dead 30+ years ago! Happy ending, much? LOL. I liked the simplicity of the plot, it's all very progressive, the pacing is slow but never boring, all characters still continue to make stupid choices but ultimately these don't bite them in the ass and they use them to grow... I don't know, I really enjoyed season 11. The only "negative" thing is that I wish the writers made Dean tell Cas something more meaningful than "you're our brother". Tons of metas have been written about it and yeah, I know, I know. Still, this season was all about "following the heart" so I'd have appreciated more honesty about this topic but hey, we all know how it ended so #nosurprise.

Okay, I'm done here! What do YOU think? Do you agree with my ranking? I'm curious, let me know!

Avatar: The Last Airbender showrunner breaks down biggest remixes and Koi-zilla

Albert Kim, showrunner of the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender, knew his new series would be subject to scrutiny, given the diehard fans who would no doubt pick apart every creative choice in what he calls more of a remix than a strict adaptation of Nickelodeon's beloved animated classic. Now that the show is finally out in the world after years of development, he welcomes it.

"It's also very nice to have so many people so invested and passionate about the story. I'd much rather have that than be ignored," Kim tells EW. "So being able to be in the forefront of something like that is pretty exciting. It can't please everyone, and as long as you understand that it's all fair game, I'm happy that fans are having debates and discussing these topics. I just want to wait for them to do it after seeing the show. And then I'm really excited to see what they talk about and what they like and don't like."

On that note, now that Avatar: The Last Airbender has premiered on Netflix, Kim breaks down some of the biggest live-action remixes.

The cost of Koi-zilla

Kim knew going into season 1 that they were going to pull off Koi-zilla — the moment when Aang (Gordon Cormier) channels the Ocean Spirit at the Northern Water Tribe and transforms into a giant koi creature made entirely of water. "It's funny to me that some fans out there thought we weren't going to do Koi-zilla," Kim says. "How can you tell the story without the Ocean Spirit creature?" But he notes it was both a practical and financial challenge.

"I knew we were going to do that ending, so we planned for that from the start of the season," he explains. "We planned on the sets that we were going to build, the VFX money that needed to be invested in that, the design of the creature, and making sure all the storylines organically led to that moment."

It did mean that he had to pick and choose what else he could pull off on the show with the remaining resources. "The Air Temple episode has an amazing battle in it, and I'm sure fans are going to go like, 'Why didn't you do that?' I wish I could, but it was going to be that or the Koi-zilla finale. So I had to make my choice there," he says.

Roku's Shrine was another example. "I love the sequence in original where they figured out how to crack the door," Kim recalls. "But when we got to that episode, we just didn't have the resources, frankly, both logistically and financially to be able to afford that on top of everything else we were doing in that episode."

Sorry, Flopsie

Among the Easter eggs in Avatar: The Last Airbender are two statues that appear in the background of King Bumi's (Utkarsh Ambudkar) castle in Omashu. They appear in the likeness of Flopsie, who was Bumi's pet goat gorilla in the animated show. "We never tried to make Flopsie," Kim says. "Flopsie is not really a character. He's a pet, so it wasn't a huge sacrifice to not have Flopsie."

Bumi's arc marks one of the bigger story remixes in the live-action version. The original saw the Earth Kingdom ruler put Aang through a series of tests, while keeping his true identity as his childhood friend under wraps as part of these trials. That information is revealed up front.

"We talked about it a lot in the writers' room, but at the same time, it didn't work for a number of reasons," Kim explains. "Bumi's point in the animated series is to show that the Avatar has to essentially face the unexpected, which we also get across in our episode, too. But what was more interesting to me were what was going on with the characters. Bumi is a character who was deeply wounded. He's hurt by the fact that his friend Aang wasn't there in his time of need. Aang, on the other hand, is burdened by the guilt that he wasn't there for his friend who needed him. That, to me, was much more interesting than the specific set of challenges that he had to go through. Bringing those characters to an emotional head was where we started from and then we built using the elements of the original story."

Spirits

The writers' room mapped out the season in blocks of two episodes: 1 and 2, the Omashu arc of 3 and 4, and the Northern Water Tribe setting of 7 and 8. That left 5 and 6 to kick off the Spirit World arc, except there were multiple re-weavings that ended up happening as a result.

Though initially more standalone in the animated original, the live-action series combines the storylines for Hei Bai, Koh, Roku's Shrine, and the Blue Spirit all into one overarching plot. Investigating the disappearing Earth Kingdom villagers leads the Aang gang to the Spirit World, where Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Ousley) become trapped by the face stealer known as Koh (George Takei)... which then sends him to speak with Avatar Roku (C.S. Lee) at his temple in the Fire Nation for guidance...which then gets him captured by June (Arden Cho) and taken into Commander Zhao's (Ken Leung) custody...which then prompts Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu) to free the Avatar under the guise of the Blue Spirit.

"It was challenging, but it wasn't any more so than the rest of the season," Kim says. "Because we knew we were going to get to the point where we saw the Agni Kai, there was a lot going on to set that up." The original series didn't fully show the proceeding events following the Agni Kai, the Fire Nation duel that saw Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim) scar and exile Zuko from the kingdom, but the writers used those moments to further beef up Zuko's backstory.

"Also, that's the one episode in the season where essentially Sokka and Katara are not in it. So it became a big Aang and Zuko story," Kim continues. "When you looked at it that way, that meant including the Blue Spirit and then also including the Agni Kai and some new scenes like the one post Agni Kai when Ozai goes to Zuko and banishes him. So it's a little bit of maybe putting the puzzle pieces together and seeing where they all fall. Once you do that, certain things just logically fall into place."

Past lives

Netflix's live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender plays more with the mythology than the original's freshman season did. Visiting each of the past Avatar's temples allows Aang to commune with them, and even allow them to take over his body, as in the case of Avatar Kyoshi. As a result, we get to meet both Kyoshi and Avatar Kuruk in addition to Avatar Roku much earlier in the timeline.

Kim says he spoke with original Avatar creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko before they departed the live-action project over unresolvable creative differences. But the writers' room also benefited from all the supplemental Avatar materials that were released in the past years, including the companion novels and comic books.

"A lot of that stuff about those Avatars came from the Kyoshi novels," he says. "One of the Kyoshi novels talks a lot about Avatar Kuruk, same with the character of Kyoshi. The Avatars were useful characters throughout the season because they were able to confront Aang and voice his various conflicts, both as incarnations of himself and as characters on their own. One of the things you see is in episode 2 when he first talks to Kyoshi. We drew upon elements of what happens when he meets Roku in the original series and gave it to Koshi because we needed that element early in our series, to see the power of the Avatar."

A topic he explored with DiMartino and Konietzko was why the Avatar is the only one who can bring balance to the world. "'He can master all four elements, but isn't that the same as having four different benders?' 'No, he's also got the Avatar State.' 'Well, what does that mean?' So in episode 2, we see the power of the Avatar," he says.

Cracking Sokka

Of all the characters translated to live action, Kim says Sokka was "a little less fleshed out" than the others.

"Katara had the trauma of her mother's death, which is also Sokka's mother, but you didn't see too much evidence of that with Sokka," Kim explains of the adaptation process. "Zuko obviously has the story with his father and the Agni Kai, and Aang has the burden of being the Avatar. Sokka is a little bit more of a blank canvas in that regard, so we built in more into his backstory, which is in the original, it's just a little subtler."

The writers decided to lean more into the absence of Sokka's father and the pressures of having to lead the Southern Water Tribe at such a young age, as well as his struggles being the only non-bender of Team Avatar. "What does that mean for a human being when everyone around you has these superpowers and you don't?" Kim says. "It's all there in the original, we just drew it to the fore a little more."

It also blended easily into the Princess Yue (Amber Midthunder) arc later on. "She's able to see through all of his bluster and all of his attempts at comedy, and sees this insecurity," Kim adds. "So that was great to play with."

The 41st Division

A change to the original story Kim is most proud of is the 41st Division of the Fire Nation's military. In the Netflix series, the troupe was meant to be sacrificial lambs to distract enemy forces, but Zuko urges his father to appoint them as his crew in exile. The reveal cements the soldiers' respect for the Fire Nation prince and becomes a mirror to the found family element of Team Avatar.

"It's a small change, but it is so impactful in its way because it really drives home the story of Zuko's arc," Kim says. "He cannot find the compassion and love that he wants from his father because what he sees as a weakness in himself is his compassion. Then he finds it in this family that he's built with his crew. The message of the whole series really is about the family we make for ourselves."

The hardest VFX shot

Oddly enough, Koi-zilla wasn't the most difficult visual effects sequence to pull off in Avatar: The Last Airbender; neither was the attack on the Southern Air Temple. That distinction falls to a rather small sequence involving water and an arrow.

In episode 3, Katara thwarts Jet's (Sebastian Amoruso) plot to assassinate the Mechanist (Danny Pudi) and King Bumi by hurling water at a flaming arrow. "That's one of the hardest waterbending shots in the show because it's just doing something that water really doesn't do," says Jabbar Raisani, an executive producer, director, and VFX supervisor on the show. "It's traveling a really long distance, it's going against gravity upwards, and we really struggled with it."

The VFX team experimented with the movement of liquid by throwing buckets of water in the air over and over until they had enough references they could pull from. "That was not literally put in, but that's the inspiration for how the water moves through space," Raisani adds.

I GET TO INTRODUCE SOMEONE TO THE WONDERS OF ETHO CONTENT SO HERE'S A POST.

i'm going to preface this by saying i adore Etho. i love him with my whole heart and soul actually. but i have also been watching his content for Literally A Decade so i have probably forgotten some of his classics. if i did, PLEASE CHIME IN!

with that disclaimer out of the way, onward! to the New Ethowatcher Primer Post™!

i think Etho is arguably best known for his Minecraft singleplayer let's play, but at the time i'm writing this post, he's uploaded 571 episodes. that's intimidating! so in my opinion, a good primer for this series is his episode 550 world tour. it's 2 years old at this point, but catching up on 21 episodes afterwards is nothing compared to almost 600, and gives you a great reference point for everything that's been accomplished in the world so far - and if you like the world tour enough, you can go back and watch from the beginning!

he was also a member of the Mindcrack SMP. Mindcrack was to people then as Hermitcraft is today; everybody wanted to be a member. a good place to start with his Mindcrack series is season 4. that being said, if you only want to watch a single episode, try episode 10 king of the ladder (the origin of "Ladders" as a nickname for Etho) or season 3 the trial ("why's he got chocolate on his knees?") for wacky hijinks, season 3 final tour for the builds he did that season, or season 4 end of season 4 for the same reason.

he is currently a member of Hermitcraft; due to personal reasons he had to stop uploading in the middle of season 8 and has uploaded only sporadically during season 9. therefore most people usually recommend his hermitcraft season 7 as the best place to start, and for good reason. he builds extremely weird shit (The Monstrosity my beloved), experiments with doing noteblock covers of popular songs, plays ridiculous amounts of Decked Out (trust me. his runs are so fun to watch), participates in a resistance even though he has no idea what's going on (him being a Lorephobe™ means i had no idea Hermitcraft did Lore™ until season 9), makes a business purely to scam people...it's a classic for a reason. oooooo you watch to watch Etho's Hermitcraft S7 so badddddd

he also does modded series occasionally! his project ozone 2 series is a CLASSIC and i highly recommend watching, specifically for Taxes (you'll find out), but also because it is SO enjoyable watching a man be incredibly technical about a modpack even though you have no idea what he's saying most of the time. (i fully zone out during full episodes of this series sometimes. but still rewatch it every couple of years or so. it's chill.)

his original terrafirmacraft series is also one i remember fondly. this modpack is essentially Minecraft, But Hard Mode; more realistic physics and crafting make things much more difficult for the player and it's super interesting, in my opinion. he was also doing a series in an updated/forked version of the pack, called terrafirmapunk, but iirc his world for that series was corrupted and he was unable to restore it, so he had to discontinue it. RIP Chester ):

his current modded series is a modpack he collated himself. unfortunately due to the personal issues mentioned above he's only uploaded a few episodes here and there, but he seems to be really enjoying it and hopefully once things stabilize a little more we'll get more episodes!

he's also building a PVP map in Minecraft! just...slowly. introducing battle bane! we get an episode approximately every year or two or four. he recently built a simplified version on the Hermitcraft server for their recent charity stream and they played a round at the end!

of course, you're always welcome to just...watch his stuff from the beginning if you're a weirdo completionist like me (/derog /j). however, be warned that he is (affectionately) known as Your Favourite Minecraft YouTuber's Favourite Minecraft YouTuber for a reason, and has been on the platform for almost a decade and a half at this point. his early content is therefore much different than his current content and sometimes hard for new watchers to enjoy. i really feel like he's hit his stride in terms of talking to viewers in the last five years and it's much easier to jump in on his newer content, BUT that's just my opinion. ymmv!

i'll add episodes or clips to this post as i think of them or as they're mentioned, so again please don't be afraid to chime in with your opinions on things you think i should have added!

and above all else: ethogirls unite 😌

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EDIT: HOW COULD I FORGET TEAM CANADA AND BDUBS. thank you @butterflycrafting for the reminder & the recommendations! further edits are going under the cut so as not to completely overtake your dashes with this post :')

Team Canada is comprised of Etho, PauseUnpause, & VintageBeef. they're all, as you might be able to guess, Canadian! they all played together on Mindcrack as well as doing series together. some faves:

pranking OCD Zisteau is an oldie but a goodie. Zisteau logs in while they're pranking him.

their sky factory 2.5 series is great. it's been awhile since i've personally watched it but their banter is always fantastic so i'm recommending it anyway.

watch them escape the Nether, but watch pause's video because it's unedited and you get the full experience that way.

i personally LOVED their capture the monument series back in the day. it's been long enough since i've watched them that i don't remember which one was my personal favourite, but here's the first episode of diversity 3 to see if it's up your alley anyway.

edit: MORE TEAM CANADA GOODNESS courtesy of @catmaidetho - [Etho voice] labyrinth of puzzles! it has, again, been a Hot Minute since i've watched this series but also i Know it's a solid rec so it goes on the list.

edit: @catmaidetho & @fartherlands suggest team canada r.a.d.! either i never watched this one or i watched it long enough ago that it has been erased from my memory, but i trust my mutuals. do the thing.

Bdubs (BdoubleO100) and Etho ALSO met on Mindcrack and now play on Hermitcraft together. i don't have any specific videos to share (feel free to suggest some!) but in my opinion Etho is the black cat friend to Bdubs' golden retriever friend. (that made more sense in my head, probably.) Etho is responsible for Bdubs' big eyes skin.

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a nonnie wants me to tell y'all that Etho's hearthstone videos are worth a watch! there are five videos: just a random video, slow druid arena, consistent inconsistency, the arena dream, and beggku hunter. if you watch them, let me know - this is a series of videos i never did end up watching because hearthstone was a game that didn't interest me at the time.

funnily enough, anon suggesting non-minecraft videos reminded me that he'd done terraria is EZ with Zisteau, another Mindcracker. i remember them having a lot of fun in that series so definitely give it a try!

YAY, OPLA is still in the top 10 - top 4 most streamed last week - this week, in it's sixth week of airing! See ↓↓ from here: Twitter Link

In my personal opinion, that's looking good. It's also interesting to compare OPLA's streaming stats week by week compared to several other shows in the top 10 (but in saying that... I haven't had time to do a full comparison, just bits here and there, so I can't say anything for sure...still, it's very interesting to look at!! And considering, I usually don't have the time or effort to follow any other show in such detail... but One Piece has such a special place in my heart!)

I finally am back round with screenshots from Episode 6 - and my thoughts on the episode. I also really loved this episode, the cast has so many good moments, and I love how we see the crew bond and develop through one of the biggest trials of the Straw Hat pirates friendship.

Highlights of Ep 6:

Do you know how much I love these sets? Why sometimes I love live action? Because we get to see even more sides to the manga panels, to the anime scenes that probably weren’t important or thought about at the time. For example, I love that we get to see more of the inside of the Going Merry (we do see this in the manga, but there's something more intricate and detailed about the live action's adaptation)

The interactions between Koby and Garp. The more times I re-watch OPLA, the more I like these interactions. I like them because we get to see Koby develop and how Garp becomes his and Helmeppo's mentor (something we only see in cover stories in OP, before their big appearance at the end of a specific arc, where the Koby and Helmoppo have clearly grown up.)

The interaction between Garp and Mihawk. This is OP only, and we see a different kind of Warlord/Marine interaction past the East Blue Saga in the One Piece Manga. I liked that this was introduced in OPLA season 1, it does so many wonderful things like, give us more Mihawk time (those who know, know how rare he is in the manga, but beloved despite those rare appearances), show us more of how the Warlord system works/or does work, and of course hammers in other plot points for OPLA. (Also, Steven John Ward is such a magnificent Mihawk.)

The interaction between Sanji, Usopp, and Luffy. When Luffy speaks of Wado Ichimonji, and pronounces the name completely wrong in a very Luffy way, sometimes I ask myself, do I love this line in OPLA because I know it’s a very Luffy trait from the manga, or do I love it because Inaki delivers this line so well?

This episode gives us more wonderful expressions from the cast. Taz is such a fantastic Sanji and Jacob is pretty good as Usopp. They're both great in this episode. I've heard some people complain that Usopp and Sanji were done a bit dirty in season 1, but truthfully, I have high hopes that the showrunners will give them more space for development in season 2 now that they've been introduced. If you squash everything into season 1, that only leaves less space for character development on screen later on. So I'm looking forward to seeing OPLA develop some of our favourite OP characters in their way, but faithful to Oda's vision.

I love how they did Sanji's backstory. They did not skimp on the truth behind Zeff's leg, which the anime does, and the manga is a little more brutal on.

You know, sometimes I had my doubts, before OPLA was released, on whether Craig Fairbrass would make a good Zeff. There were so many white actors and I like hmmm. But, damn it all, he’s perfect. He brings Zeff alive with so much zest and flavour. Both in present and the past flashbacks. It was wonderful. (Also, it does make me laugh every time I see his braided mustache jumping when he speaks, love it.)

Christian Convery is also fantastic as young Sanji. He acts wonderfully. He's like a little angelic cherub, and thus for the extended starvation period, he was a little too fleshy, however, this is a child (and we can't ask him to starve just for acting at his age, and for something like this in a tv series, I'd much rather the vfx went to the bigger elements, like Buggy's devil fruit powers, Luffy's devil fruit powers, the Sea King, etc.), and his acting still managed to convince me that he had been starving for days.

And as usual, I can't fit all the screenshots here ... see Part 2: Here, and Part 3: Here.