#When The Bad Guys Win

[ilk-insolence]

Raph Is A Great Strategist

Numerous times in the show Raph has shown to have a preference for straightforwardly punching his problems away rather than think up a more complex solution. Like how his immediate fix to getting Mayhem out of the mirror in Mystic Library was to punch everything in the bathroom but the mirror. However, when Raph understands the situation requires more in depth strategy, he’s shown to be an incredibly capable tactician.

(long post ahead!)

In nearly all the plot heavy episodes like Shadow of Evil, Many Unhappy Returns, and the season finales, Raph gets moments where he’s highlighted for his strategic thinking. In Insane in the Mama Train, he’s the one who figures out which eyeball-button goes to the front car with the dark armor, because “‘it was the only button [the Foot Clan] didn’t want me to press!’” [21:05]. He’s also the one who came up with the scheme to defeat all the (known) combatants in the train, with Leo specifically attributing Raph as the deviser during their mind meld [19:46]. In Many Unhappy Returns, after spending a single night waylaying the Shredder, Raph formulated a plan using all the tricks the team learned, seamlessly transitioning the mystic collar Leo acquired into it [19:53], to defeating the Shredder. Additionally, he’s repeatedly called for a retreat during fights, like in Shadow of Evil, Shreddy or Not (Finale pt 2), and the movie, when he can tactically recognize that a battle couldn’t be won. Each time, the show/movie implied that that was the right call, for the family to lose the fight but win the war.

And it’s not just that Raph is good at strategy when he’s pushed to be more serious; the show characterizes him as passionate about creating plans, he enjoys doing it. Literally in the first episode, Mystic Mayhem, after the turtles’ initial plan failed of getting Splinter out of the living room to touch his Do-Not-Touch Cabinet, Raph immediately started devising a new plan that involved “ten chickens [and] a gallon of rubber cement” [9:35]. It was convoluted, sure, and they didn’t end up using it, but it was inventive and the opposite of reluctant. This is also shown in Bug Busters, where Raph planned out dousing Mikey in honey to attract the oozequitoes [2:52]; Snow Day, with the idea to freeze Ghost Bear like in Jupiter Jim Pluto Vacation 4; and Raph’s Ride-Along (and also Bad Hair Day), where Mind Raph created multiple schemes to get the criminals arrested. The show wouldn’t have made Raph be so creative with his plans if they were trying to characterize him as someone who didn’t like strategizing.

So does why Raph do stupid shit sometimes where he doesn’t think things through at all? Well, even though Raph is good at strategy and enjoys doing it, it’s clear his immediate impulse is still “punch the problem in the face”. In fact, all the turtle boys contain the fascinating dichotomy of being incredibly smart in some areas, and the dumbest teenagers alive in others. Just look at Donnie. It’s also how Raph is a loving protective older brother, and the guy who shoved Leo into a wall so hard he disappeared in one frame for shits and giggles (The Mutant Menace x). None of this means that Raph is bad at strategy though.

tldr: Yeah, Raph has a lot of dumb and, frankly, insane moments in the show, but he’s still an incredible tactician who’s plans consistently saved his family and sometimes the world. He's a great strategist.

#I will die on Strategist Raph hill #i'd even go so far to say that Raph is the tactician of the team instead of Leo #because compared to how many times Raph /actually/ plans his actions to how many times Leo does it #Raph would win by a long shot #Leo to me is honestly more an improviser #he's also repeatedly looked to Raph for the plans when they're in trouble than come up with strategies himself #Mikey and donnie do this too. they look up to him as their big brother leader and IDEAS GUY #I always read that as the show saying Raph is the team's planner #AND HE'S GREAT AT IT #I'm fine with strategist!Leo #I can see how it happened #BUT RAPH BEING BAD AT STRATEGIES? RAPH? #WHAT #rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #analysis #raphael hamato #rise raph #rise of the tmnt #HE'S AMAZING I LOVE HIM #rottmnt movie

[wodimewoahtime]

hey till...... don't you have just a little too much tsundere "i'm not gay" yaoi protag power???? why are you attracting these guys like a hamster to the shredder

#what is this..... both the male leads are troublesome guys......... #till why are you attracting guys with bad personality's!!!!! #QMENG GIVING LUKA A NOSEBLEED AT CATBOY TILL IS INSANE THO #on that one you can't even deny it cmon #it's cute when it's actor au 2 younger idols pursuing their actor sumbae #but doesn't it also have a taste when the 30 year old famous perfect guy celebrity yandere ceo ends up gaining an interest #in the 21year old young college student till???? #and he's roommates with his 22yo childhood friend ivan (super popular) who's been in love with him since they first met #hey wait..... doesn't this make ivan the second male lead........ #will this guy ever win....... #hey!!! cheer up ivan!!!!!! #personally at least!!!! i've always liked the second male leads the most!!!!!!! (pain) #ivantill #tilluka #lukatill #ivanlukatill #ivantilluka #is that its ship name? #kdrama ass shit #till alnst #ivan alnst #luka alnst #alnst #alien stage #alnst official art #i'm normal

[regina-del-cielo]

Maybe it's a 'study finds water is wet' type of thought, but

considering it's an action movie whose overall plot is "immortal warriors Fuck Shit Up™️", I think it's significant that in The Old Guard the thing that makes Copley pull red strings through his Murder Conspiracy Board and say "[Merrick] doesn't care what [Andy]'s done with [her immortality]" is the people they save, not the ones they kill

Most of the Conspiracy Board is him circling random newspaper headlines and faces on old photographs to (more or less realistically) follow the immortals' treck through the world and big historical events. Which is, in-canon, not much different than putting portraits from different centuries next to a picture of Keanu Reeves and saying "they look the same, clearly Reeves is an immortal!"

But then there are the connections. A little girl holding Joe's hand in WW1 becoming the youngest (and first) woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize for Medicine (suck it, Kozak). Or the grandchild of a family that Andy saved from [something] helping people escape from the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia.

They are warriors. They have fought and been in the midst of countless wars, major or minor, throughout history. They must have killed as many people as they saved... and yet.

It's not them taking out a random warlord or dictator or rabidly hateful politician that has tangible repercussions in history. It's the children and families they get out of war zones, save from accidents, protect from natural disasters. People to whom they give a second chance at life, and grow to change the world (or even just their own world), like a mysterious stranger once changed theirs just by holding out a hand or patching a wound.

I don't know I just think it's particularly neat

#my ponderings #the old guard #I know we all love to play the 'if you could go back in time and kill One Person who would it be' game #but I think a movie that makes it EXTREMELY SATISFYING to see the Bad Guys die - #- having 'actually the best and greatest changes happen when people help each other' as its underlying message... #it means something #I also think it connects to Andy feeling like nothing she does changes anything at the start of the movie #for 80% of her life you could Solve A Problem by Taking Out The Guy Causing The Problem #especially in battle! you kill the general and you win. if you win the Problem Is Solved #but then everything becomes More Complex. the Problems™️ are globalized and/or systemic. #and Winning a Battle means just killing people. it doesn't Stop The Problem (nor really end a war) #so it feels useless #and even when they save people... they can’t stay in people's lives for long because immortality #which means they can never know what happens to the people they save #they don't (and can't) have the full picture

[yardsards]

the thing about labru vs kabumisu is that both of them have the same core appeal to me, specifically from kabru's side of things: kabru being someone who is constantly agonizing about social rules and putting on the right mask, and meeting this Weird Fucking Guy who does not (cannot) care about all those things, and so kabru slowly allows himself to be more genuine. they're both such good relationships (whether you view them romantically or platonically), why must there be so much hostility between enjoyers of these ships?

#they are ALSO both ''just when you think you've hit rock bottom you want to fuck a blonde guy'' #(yes ik mithrun's hair is technically silver but it's blonde enough) #eliot posts #dunme #ships #dungeon meshi #dm spoilers #dungeon meshi spoilers #labru #kabumisu #i love both so i feel like i'm winning either way. multi track drifting! #i think i like kabumisu slightly more bc i am an acts of service enjoyer at heart #but both are good #the only ship that i'm that gung ho about is farcllle (but also i'd never get into a shipping war over it bc im not fucking 12 years old) #why is there so much shipping war in this fandom??? it's so fucking bonkers. is it fucking 2014??? #what makes it more annoying is that this series is so light on romance and focuses on platonic relationships #how did this series attract so many rabid shippers??? #this post has been up for 2 hours and someone was already posting bad take reductive ship hate in the replies #get blocked <3 you are a deeply obnoxious human being god bless your heart

[five-star-stay]

Yeah we're all totally normal about minsung.

#guys i SCREAMED #I've been playing non stop while freaking out on youtube #honestly god bless youtube music #best tool for a stay when a skz record drops #minsung #!!!!!!!!!!! #gays keep winning #idc what u have to say #the cheesiest sweetest cutest love song written by han sung by minsung #it's EVERYTHING #lee know #han jisung #han #skz record #want so bad #skz #stray kids

[hellishfig]

i’ve barely started listening to naddpod, but even the few episodes i’ve listened to make me appreciate one specific murph line in a starstruck odyssey so much more

brennan asked him something along the lines of “murph would you let *some bullshit* happen?”

and murph replied “yeah, i let my players do whatever they want”

and i already knew that was a joke, but now that i’ve heard him as a dm? he absolutely does NOT!

however, i love how he immediately abandons his principles as a dm to back up his fellow players (and very specifically his wife)

#brian ‘wife guy’ murphy #when he’s the dm (aka ‘the bad guy’) he’s a rules stickler #but when he’s not? anything goes! (as long as it means he and his wife are winning) #and i love that for him #not another dnd podcast #naddpod #dimension 20 #d20 #a starstruck odyssey #d20 aso #brian murphy #brennan lee mulligan #emily axford

[ihaventsleptinweekz]

Hey folks crazy thought here but someone using sign language does not count as consent to be recorded and posted on tiktok . Let's all stop recording ppl without their permission okay? okay.

#Can't even imagine how it'd feel for Deaf/hoh ppl #Nearly started crying when this group of guys started recording me I've had such a bad day and did NOT want to see myself on my fyp later #Anyway I didn't cry so I'm calling it a win #personal post tag

[girlsnightgirlsnight]

2024 is gonna be THE oakworthy year, i can feel it

#dndads #dungeons and daddies #dndaddies #oakworthy #2024 save me #save me 2024 #2024 #they are gonna win so bad when hermie wakes up from his hibernation guys

[whetstonefires]

hey, random question! what platform/method do you use to keep your robust digital media when ripping CDs? i havent done it since i was a kid with itunes (when itunes let you upload your own stuff....) and wanted to start again

Platform...they are files?

Like, mp3s; I keep them in my hard drive and thumb drives and so forth. My 'music' folder has subfolders, mostly by artist, which have subfolders per album. I just. Have the files. In my computer. Very basic method.

I organize and play them through VLC mostly. Or, on devices that still have it, I have kept using Windows Media Player, because I'm comfortable with the UI and why not, but they're actively phasing it out so I can't recommend adopting it lmao. And ofc if you're in the apple ecosystem it's not remotely an option.

I don't know that much about macintosh tbh but afaik they do let you have a file directory where you put your files that you own, which is definitely what I consider to be the most sensible baseline, if you have a device with enough memory. And memory has gotten pretty cheap.

I don't know of any cloud client service that's actively catered to letting you upload stuff you own and then stream those files on any device you please without having to jump through extra hoops, and suspect it might not be a thing at this point because there is no profit in that and it's not free to provide. They really want you to have to pay money to access content that you don't own. Sorry.

I bet you could figure out a way to keep a reasonably large music library in the amount of free storage google gives you with an account, and then play from there, but I don't think it would be very seamless. Maybe even less so on iphone.

But if your phone of whatever type has or can be modified to have sufficient storage space, you really can just. Keep your music in it. And then play it. VLC is open source and very good, and they have it for apple; I definitely recommend it.

But you don't like, keep files in it, it's just a player and sorter. So it doesn't feel like it answers the question you asked exactly, sorry.

#ask #hoc est meum #axiolotl #music #tech #i still have an mp3 player #that i hook up by aux cable to a speaker #when i want to play music out loud #had very smug this holiday season when two people on two occasions spent an hour each trying to get their paid Spotify accounts #to work with the right combination of devices #to actually provide ambient music #while i could do so in thirty seconds flat after the second guy gave up #the first 'guy' was my sister at christmas who borrowed my laptop because she couldn't get her bluetooth speaker working #so she wanted to aux without tying her phone to the speakers #accidentally hard-booted it #and got hella DARVO and made christmas very bad for me #i'm still sore about this and this made me extra smug about 'winning' against spotify at new years lol #but also spotify demonetized most of their tracks so i get to make my penury and inflexibility into a moral stance now lmaooooo

[cryptvokeeper]

i havent even watched the new episode of dungeon meshi yet but just seeing all the posts abt it is bringing back memories of the manga and like.

Oh, right, it was actually really vital to have this episode go here.

Because we've just spent the last several episodes being told over and over by everyone around him that Laios is bad with people, that Laios is socially inept, that Laios cannot handle interpersonal party dynamics.

And all of that is 100% true! But it is absolutely vital to remember that even with zero social awareness whatsoever, Laios is still a good friend. He may not pick up on the typical, expected social cues but he does pick up on other things. He knows his friends' habits, their beliefs, their personalities, and uses those things to find differentiate his friends from the fakes. It ends up kind of overshadowed because he still has to go dogboy mode to actually defeat the monster, but Laios was right on all three counts. He still does it through the lens of his knowledge of monsters, and not the way a "normal" person might, but its the way that works for him and gives him at least some understanding of his team.

TLDR; Laios may be stupid but he's not an idiot and he knows his friends.

#dungeon meshi #someone once said that dungeon meshi is serious even when its funny and funny even when its serious and its exactly that here #the premise starts out being as a joke like 'oh haha the guy whos bad with people has to play amogus' #because its still being framed as “you have to understand people to win” #and this is something laios has gotten told over and over the entire journey that people skills are more in a party than monster skills #but laios wins (twice over in fact!) using his monster knowledge #he doesnt go through some growth where he pays attention to some subtle clues or plays 4d chess and manipulates anyone #he flips the game #he doesnt have to find his friends he just has to find the monster #and he does

[wombrion]

that girlsgogames anon is so right your artstyle especially reminds me of devilish hairdresser ^^

yeas!! i remember watching a friend play that one when i was little.. it was very charming

#one of my favourites was the one were u had to zap the guys to fall in love with you #and fight other girls with laser eyes #i went over and played it a while ago to win cus i was pretty bad at it when i was a kid #*where #wateva

[dapperrokyuu]

Needing a Sua perspective from the ALNST auditions to Round 1. I never put much thought into what happens to the cast post-Anakt Garden graduation (do they immediately go to the auditions? Is there a period of time where they dont see each other until they recognize each other at the audition? Theres a considerable amount of time between the auditions and their Alien Stage season, did they see each other often between then or...? etc.), but regardless, imagine being her and having to choose between sabotaging your own audition so you dont have to go the the Sing, Win, or Die Show or putting your in your all in hopes of winning and spending just a bit more time with this girl you love because you know itll likely be the last time you see her. Imagine...

#dee p thoughts #alien stage #alnst #vivinos #like. not as if life wouldve been sunshine and rainbows if sua failed the audition and never went on alien stage hashtag Im a Pet to Aliens #but like. sua was definitely more in the know. Im not the type to believe mizi was completely naive but I think mizi may have bought into #the idea that dying Wasnt That Bad due to what she was taught and her trust in her owners...until round 1- maybe mizi was confident she'd #truly win and/or her owners praised and made her feel so. sua: ''My dream is Mizi's dream. (paraphrased)'' etc etc #maybe it was the dream of mizi's owners that mizi wanted to fulfill or mizi just wanted to impress her owners in return for their care... #but sua knew. she knew it would either be she never sees mizi again whether she dies or achieve such fame that sua could never reach her... #or sua can spend a little time with her. whatever they have left. whether it was her or mizi the likelihood of them ever seeing each other #again... because mizi is intent on this. she is going to join alien stage. she is going to pass the auditions because she is so dazzling. #...I need to be with her. #I think considering the ivan and sua comic anakt garden may be a pipeline to alien stage? its functionally a music school iirc so I think i #at least gives them a leg up and humans are put into anakt garden with at least some intention of having them try out for alien stage- #but nonetheless I imagine there was a liminal space where none of the cast really knew where their lives were going post-anakt garden. #not that they have much choice in the matter but still dalkjdalkbn- that liminal space mustve been a dark time for majority of them #because well. their owners. and they couldnt meet each other and may never meet again... #regarding the time between the auditions and their alien stage season I imagine its funnily a lot of. training. pr vocals visuals... #they have autographs despite them all potentially dying quickly they had them draft and practice and perfect autographs guys adjlkbnadlfkjf #the look mizi and sua shared in sweet dream when they both passed the auditions together...AUGH.....

[harpuiaa]

i've been dead and gone bc of school and jobsearching and everything happening all at once but ive been playing the boktai series games lately and i'm enjoying it a lot. I just got past the third boss in boktai 2. I don't know why but i'm enthralled with these games, i highly recommend them

#WOE TEN THOUSAND TAG MUSINGS BE UPON YE (this is a warning) #boktai #(pointing) the battle network fan has fallen for the crossover marketing 20 years late #the first gif is bc i imagine the bosses waiting all polite like for django to finish eating healing items when heal scumming in fights. #twenty apples a day keeps the damage away #django is like a son to me hes just a little guy #if the text is hard to read in the third image it says “The tick damage in sunlight brothers” #i find it funny that vampire django still gains his energy from sunlight after turning. his voiceline changes too #it's hard to tell if it's bc hes supposed to sound gruff or like hes in pain. but it makes me feel bad for recharging energy like that #i figure he'd be wound up abt this since it seems he views any connection to his father with a lot of weight #(e.x: zazie pointing out he's crying just after the gun del sol got stolen at the start of 2) #hence why he's depressed in that image #also all the official art of him looks very cool but im incapable of seeing him like that his sprite makes him look like a scruffy dog #im torn between thinking it's cute nd wanting to make fun of him with doodles. least typical vampire appearance with the most typical power #the way you kill immortals (vampires) in this game is so metal i need to rant abt it Somewhere #so like boktai is a game series abt vampire hunting but it's rather sci-fi abt it. instead of more typical weapons you use solar energy #the immortals resurrect after being killed #but this can be prevented via purification. the way this goes is #after winning a bossfight the enemy will get sealed in a coffin. that you then to drag allll the way back outside the dungeon #(often with new puzzles thanks to the coffin being an extra weight) #all the while the immortal inside tries to escape #the objective is to get the immortal to a. summoning circle i guess? #housing devices called pile drivers. they're more like lenses or mirrors though. #they focus sunrays on the coffin purifying the immortal after a brief fight that's like #preventing the boss from attacking the pile drivers until it dies #like. this doesn't sound all that special but most bosses you fight are sentient and i just think it's a bit of a brutal method #for a main protagonist to use #i keep thinking of how it must feel to do it for a living. something like a funeral driver but you're the murderer and the corpse isn't dea #and instead of a funeral you're taking them to a mega death laser array that'll slowly chip away at their health #and then boktai 2 inflicts that on django and im like. is he ok (he's ok but he died)

[ilivelikeimtrying]

Nimona AU where Ballister is a villain but like, he's not even really that evil, like, at all. He's just, really bad at being a Villain.

And him and his "Nemesis" have the worst relationship, meaning that they have a great relationship because they don't even actually hate each other like Nemesis' are supposed to.

V!Ballister, doing an 'evil' monologue: Well well well, sir Goldenloin, it has been quite some time since we've last- What's wrong?

Ambrosius, whose face was scrunched a bit: Huh? Oh, it's nothing, these ropes on my wrists are just- they're burning and itching is all- you can keep-

V!Ballister, panicking and running over: Really?! Oh Ambrosius you've been here for hours! Why didn't you say anything sooner?! Are they too tight? Is it this new brand? I told Nimona not to get these ones but no-

*cue to Ambrosius staring fondly at Ballister as he continues to ramble about never buying this specific set of ropes again*

Half the time Ambrosius doesn't even know why he's fighting the guy, like, The Director is all "He's the personification of an Evil Villain" at Ballister and Ambrosius is staring at the same guy seeing him help a little girl get her kitten out of a tree and give a good bit of the money he stole to people in need and points at him like "Really????? "

#nimona #nimona 2023 #nimona movie #Ambrosius questions the Director so much when it comes to Ballister #Nimona he's a little more inclined to believe because she's basically chaos- but even then he hasn't seen her ACTUALLY do something BAD #but Ballister himself is like- trying to be a villain with Nimona- #(and has the means for it I mean- c'mon he's a genius who can fight and has a kickass sidekick) #- But he's just- so bad at actually being bad. #he's very much capable of commiting crimes and doing villainous acts but other then that the guy is so wet cat and actually super nice #the people still 'fear' him as a villain because of the Institute and their propaganda and the other Hero's hate him #(because he's beaten them all before in battle- and wins every time) #but Ambrosius is the only one who's genuinely kind to him because he doesn't actually see him as a villain #kinda wanted to Uno Reverse Card things- so they both like each other but Am is so oblivious to Bal's advances- #even when he's being painfully obvious #like- it's not a 'we can't date cuz we're on opposite sides' thing- it's a: #'I really like him but he probs doesn't feel the same cuz we're on opposite sides' thing #okay so like- looking at it better now- yeah this is defs comic × movie now so #¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ #nimona comic #cuz like- they do give off those vibes #but in my head this Amb is still his movie personality and nice #with a mix of 'wake up don't believe everything this bitch is saying' juice #and as dumb/af comic Amb #like at some point Bal requires his help to get rid of admirers and is like 'I could use something cute on my arm to turn them away'- #and Am is like '... you could always use a nice handbag. You can borrow one of mine if you don't have one- or! I saw this really nice one'- #and Bal is just staring at him like 'Gloreth he's so dumb i can't not have him' #and he mentions that he meant a cute PERSON on his arm but Am is still like 'Oooh... uhm- I have this one friend- they might help if i ask' #and Bal just goes 'YOU! I MEANT YOU YOU ADORABLY DUMB TWINK OF A HIMBO! I COULD USE YOU NEXT TO ME TO FEND THEM OFF!'

[sghr10423]

the funniest thing I did in pokemon scarlet was pick off Drayton's entire team one by one via 2HKO with skill link/silk scarf/tail slap Cinccino and choice scarf/super fang Furret.

the cruelest thing I did was immediately after that, do the exact same thing to Kieran

#notepad #pokemon scarlet violet #pokemon scarlet violet dlc #pokemon indigo disk #who would win #two hand-picked competitive boss battle teams #or two silly little gimmicky guys #I laughed so hard when I managed to pull it off against drayton #but man I couldn't help but feel bad doing it to kieran #poor guy worked so hard to make a powerful team and then i just #womp womp

[where-did-the-groove-go]

Who wore it better?

Thai actor and teen idol Gulf Kanawut vs milfy senior citizen extraordinaire Russell Mael

#russell legitimately deserves the win for the commes de garcon chuck taylors #(but you know it's bad when i'm only swooning over one of them and it's *not* the one who's approximately my age) #anyway. had to make this bc this guy kept popping up when i was looking at tour photos on pinterest #the fashion element of the duo #russell mael #sparks memes #my posts/additions