#also time is such a weird thing because i look at the entire cell scene in louis' route and like... i'm not even mad about violet anymore

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

if dorian didn't show up, do you think louis would have shot minnie?

I do. I know some people think either he wouldn't have or he would've missed so that's why the writers had him shoot Dorian instead, but mmmmmm no, I don't personally think so. I like to think that if he had taken the shot, his shaky hands would've caused him to shoot her fatally.

Mostly because I'm already so normal about the fact that of the Ericson crew, Marlon and Louis are the only ones with a body count. Well, that we know of, but shown to us in the game, at least. Plus, we know it's Louis' first kill.

Like yeah, Clementine and AJ become part of the crew and they have bigger body counts, and if we're counting indirect kills caused by actions, then Tenn has a count... and I guess everyone has blood on their hands for blowing up the boat... but I'm talking about killed directly with a weapon like....... I lied, I'm not normal about that at all, Louis and Marlon are the ones who have killed someone in Louis' route. I'm also not normal about the fact that Louis kills Dorian and then even as he's clearly in shock, he tries to go with Clementine to get AJ, and then later on when they talk about it, he says it feels like bile but not quite and he's glad he has it in him to do it.... listen, listen, listen... I'm obsessed with that.

Anyway, so if Louis shot Minerva, I think he would've accidentally killed her and can you imagine? He's already enough of a mess after killing the woman who pinned him down and tried to cut his finger off [or succeeded] but he knew Minerva, they were friends before the twins were taken. Even Violet couldn't kill her even though that would've been the smarter thing to do, and we know thanks to meta knowledge that killing her would've saved lives, but Violet couldn't, and I don't think Louis would intentionally either.

Speaking of Violet, if Louis killed Minerva, I hate to think about what that would've done to Vi. I think she might've actually left at that point, like what was planned before it got changed to her being burned. I don't think she would've attacked Louis over it, though, like yeah she attacked Clementine in the cell but Louis? I don't know, but I don't think so just because it's Louis and he'd be a mess about it anyway.

Though if he did kill her, it would be a neat parallel to draw... y'know, because Louis forgave AJ for killing Marlon even though he was pissed and heartbroken, and Violet was annoyed with him the entire time... but could she ever forgive Louis for killing Minerva? Y'know? We already have a similar parallel with AJ shooting Tenn, but still.

If Clementine killed Minerva in that moment, though, then I could see Violet attacking her since in her eyes, Clem proved her right.

So yeah, I get why they added the Dorian kill to his route. It adds another compelling element to Louis as a character, but we also need Minerva alive for episode 4; Louis can't kill her, he can't miss, and he's not going to stay with her because we need Violet to stay on the boat and him to be on shore for all routes.

#asks #twdg louis #twdg minerva #twdg clementine #twdg violet #twdg marlon #twdg tenn #honestly whenever i see someone say louis is the boring option i'm just like '.......that's your opinion but also how can you say that??' #then again i'm sure other people look at me saying violentine just isn't for me and they say the same thing so y'know... i can't talk haha #also time is such a weird thing because i look at the entire cell scene in louis' route and like... i'm not even mad about violet anymore #like yeah i still don't believe she was brainwashed like i'm sorry y'all only believe that because kent said something about it #not because there's all this evidence toward it in game like vi being pissed at clementine makes sense she doesn't need to be brainwashed #for it to work like her being vulnerable and easily manipulated into submission makes perfect sense especially with minerva there #it's like everyone was pissed that she attacked clementine and people needed a way to excuse it so it's not violet's fault when like... #that's literally what makes it interesting like calm down it's okay if violet is pissed and scared and behaves accordingly #also my controversial opinion of the day that i'll hide here in the tags so maybe people won't find it sksksk but #I personally find the concept of vinerva and the doomed tragedy of it more compelling than anything violentine did #like i'll defend violentine and i do believe it's an important and good ship it's just not my personal favorite #anyway but then the whole thing with lilly and minerva is so good and louis screaming FUCK YOU at minerva?? amazing love it so good #i love when the soft character who never chooses violence is so pissed off that all that anger they have boils to the surface and it's raw #like... he's SO mad he's SO furious he's SOOO UPSET like he wasn't even like this when marlon died or anything like he hit his limit #and then shooting dorian through the mouth while an accident is just well done i love it and i love his reaction of mortification #and apologizing and YET he still tries to go with clementine he's trembling and can barely string together a sentence but he wants to go #he wants to help her he wants to save aj THAT is the gut reaction he has after everything that just went down #'louis isn't loyal or good for clem because of the vote' babe tell me you don't understand any nuance of louis' character without telling m #it's fine IT'S FINE you don't have to agree and i just have to remind myself that it's fine not everyone likes louis we're okay #this drives me crazy in the best way like y'know what? i love the cells scene in louis' route all of it even the stuff i used to rant about #even the stuff that used to piss me off now i'm just like 'no wait past cj was dumb she wasn't looking at it this way aaaaaaaa' sksksks #that was my tag ted talk about the cell scene thank you

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hi, I have a technical question, I guess.

Lately I’ve repeatedly run into an issue when my characters are talking about basically the events of the previous scene — like, A and B do/witness something meaningful to the plot, then A talks to C, who wasn’t present at a time but needs to have that info. For example, a doctor sends the nurse to check in on their patient, then said nurse reports back and so on.

I’m not sure how I’m supposed to go about such cases — including both the scene and corresponding dialogue portion feels repetitive and redundant, cutting out the scene in favor of intact dialogue turns my narration into “tell, not show”, keeping the scene and skipping the corresponding lines leaves a huge gap in the dialogue that feels awkward and unnatural.

How would you solve this?

Keeping Absent Characters in the Loop

There's only so much you can do to keep an absent character in the loop when they miss out on important events. That said, your best bet is to alternate between the different methods to minimize repetition as much as possible. Here are the methods...

1 - Try to Work Them In - This won't work most of the time, because if the character's not in the scene, that's probably for a good reason. Still, it's worth going through these scenes and making sure there's not a way for the character to be in them. In other words, make sure their absence from the event is necessary. Because if you can eliminate even a few of these scenes where a character is missing and will need to be caught up later, that only helps things in the long run.

2 - Dialogue Catch-Up - This is definitely the method you'll use the least, because it really only works for scenes where there are just a few quick salient points the other characters need to know, and then other things for them to discuss/do in the scene.

So, for example, let's say you have the doctor sending the nurse to check on the patient. Then the nurse has to fill the doctor in on the patient's status, but also they need to discuss a couple other patients, and then a new patient arrives. This could be a good option for the dialogue catch-up, because after the scene where the nurse checks on and interacts with the patient, she can come back to the doctor and just say, "Sally is tired but ready to go home, and her vitals look great," and that's that... they can move onto the other stuff, and there's no repetition or rehashing of the actual scene.

3 - Reference of Future Catch-Up - Another option would be to have one character mention that they're going to catch the absent characters up later. Then, you can just skip that dialogue catch-up scene entirely, because the reader knows that catch up will happen. When the absent characters show up again and already know what they need to know, it's understood that they were caught up off-screen.

For example, the nurse can pat Sally's arm and say, "I'm going to let you get some sleep while I go catch Dr. Howard up on how you're doing." When the nurse and doctor are interacting in the next scene, maybe that evening, if the doctor says, "I'm sure glad Sally is doing so well," it won't be weird that he knows that. The reader understands the nurse caught him up later off-screen.

4 - Reference of Previous Catch-Up - Alternatively, you can start the subsequent scene with the absent characters saying they were already caught up. For example, you might start a scene with the doctor where he's interacting with another nurse who asks about the patient, Sally. Maybe the nurse can say, "I heard Sally is doing well?" And the doctor can say, "She is. Karina checked on her earlier and her vitals looked great." Or, maybe the nurse approaches the doctor and says, "Did Karina catch you up on how Sally's doing?" and the doctor can say, "Yes, she reported back to me about ten minutes ago. She's doing great!" Or, maybe the doctor walks into the next scene looking at his cell phone, and someone asks, "Good news?" and he says, "Yes, Karina checked on Sally and says she's doing great."

5 - Exposition Catch Up - You can also use exposition to let the reader know the characters were caught up. For example...

Doctor Howard was still beaming from Karina's update about Sally. Things had been touch and go for so long, he wasn't sure there would be a day when her vitals were steady. For the first time in a long time, he felt hopeful that she would be going home soon.

This method is great because it lets you also examine what the character thinks and feels about whatever information they learned about the event they missed. It's a good opportunity to work in other relevant details

By alternating between these methods and using the method that works best for each situation, you can greatly reduce the sense of rehashing previous scenes in character catch-up dialogue.

Happy writing!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[frog-man-blog]

Spoiler for AvA Season 2

I got a theory I have to share rn

Also this post is long- just be prepared

If you don’t understand or if I’ve accidentally leaned off topic please let me know! (Also remember you don’t have to agree, this is just a theory)

So we know how in the end of the episode, where Orange and Chosen were captured, they have been imprisoned.

Orange was locked inside of a cell wall Chosen was locked inside of this giant white box.

But take a good look at the giant white box Chosen was put inside of



I’m pretty sure by now, everyone knows that this isn’t just a normal cell specifically made for Chosen so he can’t escape. And if you don’t know, well, those wires and weird contraption in the middle should give that away.

This is a machine meant to do some thing, but nobody knows what it’s meant to do. Some people have brought up the idea that Chosen could be tortured, however, I do not think that’s the case.

If they were to torture Chosen, that would mean they would want information out of him. The only information that Chosen could possibly have is anything about Dark or Alan. I do not believe they would torture him for the sake of their own entertainment or enjoyment.

Dark is a reasonable assumption as anything about his whereabouts are unknown, and nobody knows if he’s alive or if he’s dead. However, there were no wanted posters of Dark anywhere, and no indication that they were looking/going after him. 

Alan is the next reasonable assumption as to why Victim wanted to captured him, as people have been speculating that Victim wants revenge on Alan. However, if Victim had done his research considering all of their origin stories are on YouTube in canon (I could be wrong) wouldn’t he have known Alan had enslaved Chosen for five years? Thus knowing Chosen should have some sort of grudge against him?

Yes, there is a chance that showdown could have been on YouTube in canon, considering Chosen and Dark fought on YouTube’s website during showdown. However, with that logic, this episode would have been uploaded on YouTube in the canon universe. (Unless this really is just a reality tv show and they’re all actors but that’s for another time)

 Of course, Chosen could be questioned about something else entirely however, we have no way of knowing what. I do like the idea of Victim going after Alan for revenge, but that also might not be the case because if I’m right that they’re not looking for information out of Chosen, it wouldn’t make sense why they captured him specifically. Especially if they have access to the YouTube videos that are in canon and know that Orange and his friends are much closer to Alan. 

Yes, they could’ve very well captured Chosen to lure Orange and his friend out however, unless they planned to use Chosen for something else, capturing him in a machine meant to do something to him seems like they would be plotting something bigger.

Also the fact that they would’ve easily been able to capture the 5, or at least Orange makes it even more confusing why they targeted Chosen first and not raid Alan’s computer. (Unless you know… their computer is hard to find or not wanna make contact with Alan yet)

We do get this scene of one of the mercenary’s getting feedback from someone else as the other mercenary’s were about to attack Orange. Could it be that they had planned to capture him, but were going after Chosen first, and Orange so happen to be there? Or was that feedback meant for something else… we don’t know yet.

However that doesn’t mean Victim seeking revenge isn’t impossible. Just because he might not question/tortured Chosen about it, doesn’t mean Chosen won’t play a big part in it.

So let’s continue back on the path before. The reason why Chosen was captured and why specifically a machine that’s definitely more than just a special prison box.

With the torture being out of the way, we still have tons of options as to what it could be that they want from Chosen. And there is no way we could go through all of the endless possibilities. However, I would like to bring up 1 theory I found that could be plausible.

This is a machine meant to harness Chosen’s power, and use it to power up something or make them stronger. In no way do I think this is just a prison for Chosen, as there is even a control panel and tons of wires hooked up to this white box.

Obviously, this machine could do anything. But it would make sense that Victim would want Chosen’s power for his own, considering we don’t even know if Victim has powers. Perhaps he’s stealing them, or just using them for his own benefit. Again we don’t know. 

We currently do not know anything of Victim’s character and his motives. For all we know we could have everything wrong. All we know was that he was deleted, and technically died, but is now back. (although I think it should be obvious that when you delete something off the internet, it’s not gone, it’s still there)

Yet, I can’t help but feel excited about where the story is going. Really takes me back to when the first episode of season 1 aired. It was such a small community back then and we all freaked out about Chosen’s return. This was even back when Dark was mostly (Aka a part of the fandom on insta) characterized as a nice, and goofy bestie to Chosen (which isn’t entirely wrong per say) and it caught us off guard when it was revealed he was gonna be the main villain.

No joke- I was actually heart broken when he was revealed the big bad

But that’s about it

I don’t wanna make this post any longer

And my phone is lagging bad-

So if you read this far thank you for listening to this giant post 😭 and again you don’t have to agree, I just like sharing silly goofy theories.

#animator vs animation #alan becker #ava #ava s2 spoilers #ava the chosen one #ava the second coming #ava victim #I spent to much time typing this all out- #My thoughts and opinions might change over time so- #I just wanted to share so feel free to ignore if you want; I’m just sharing for fun #Also I know a lot of people dislike Villain Vic; but I couldn’t be anymore happier #out of all the characters that deserved a villain arc it was Victim; bro was literally MURDERED. never got a chance to live #now look at my boy…. sniff sniff… he’s all grown up and FINALLY GETTING THE SPOTLIGHT HE DESERVES #But if they make him too dark of a character I will sob because I don’t want him to be THAT evil

[romeoisalesbian]

look man i just wanna ramble about romeo & juliet because it's a play that's near and dear to my heart

ok ok SO.

I feel like I keep seeing the take that Romeo & Juliet is REALLY about how dumb teens are and how their love was too impulsive and it's supposed to be a cautionary tale because their love gets them both dead.

And that's a fine takeaway I think! That's something you CAN get from the story. BUt I must confess it makes little sense to me.

I may be foolish, but I feel like everyone forgets about the whole familial conflict aspect of the play. like bro the first lines of the entire thign are like "hey guys there are these two families that ahte each other SO MUCH and they have FOREVER and now they're murdering each other." the first scene is about how the Montagues and the Capulets super duper hate each other so much so they're gonna square up in the middle of town with swords and shit after flipping each other off a few times

The turning point of the play, when it shifts from a silly romcom to a Balls Wrenching Tragedy, occurs firmly when Tybalt kills Mercutio.

THe actual romance aspect of the play is going FINE until this point! Romeo and Juliet the couple are pretty on the same page about everything happening in their relationship (even if that page is guided by impulse). Romeo is pretty jazzed at the start of the murder scene, and is in fact entirely unwilling to do the murder thing at all.

BUT! Tybalt is kinda a dick! And IS NOT willing to overlook the whole family-conflict-clown thing. And Tybalt's whole "i need to challenge romeo right this instant oh my god" impulse has very little to do with Romeo and Juliet's actual relationship. While a lot of adaptations have Tybalt see Romeo and Juliet being all Romantical at the party, textually Tybalt entirely is ready to brawl because Romeo showed up to the Capulet party at all and Tybalt is all Death Before My Rival Commits a Minor Social Faux Pas.

And Romeo murdering Tybalt and getting banished ALSO has little to do with Juliet or their relationship. His bro just died man. Yes it was stupid and impulsive, but man sometimes it's hard to keep your head on straight when your bestie just died (worth noting that Mercutio curses the family conflict itself when he dies!)

Like Romeo's issues all stem from that key interaction with Tybalt, who upholds the family conflicts above all else in every single scene he appears in.

Juliet on the other hand, is in the SHITTIEST situation. Her father is physically abusive towards her, and her parents are pressuring her to be married off to this random dude that is at best mostly well-meaning and adhering to general romance standards and at worst a massive creep (that's something that depends on acting and directing choices, I think. Paul Rudd Paris has never done anything wrong in his life). Juliet is trapped in this situation in which she is surrounded by pressure and abuse and familial conflict and death. It is reasonable to want to escape that at all measures, even if she acts impulsively and doesn't think through every single thing about the Friar's Genius Plan because god how could she in her circumstances?

If you're Juliet, your one escape from a shitty situation and environment is a boy who you firmly believe loves you, even if he has done some weird shit. If you're Romeo, your entire life has fallen apart because an ancient conflict resulted in your best friend dying and you getting banished for murder. What do you have to care for but someone who you think loves you and who you love amidst all the conflict?

To me, so much of the story hangs upon the familial conflict that the ending of the story is representative of a societal failure as opposed to a personal failure of our two leads.

No matter whether you see the relationship between local weenie romeo and local brain cell juliet as true love or as some passing fancy (i personally think it can be considered love but that's a different post for a different time, send me an ask if youre curious), it SHOUDLN'T end in several deaths and two suicides. The reason it does is because of a pointless family conflict our leads are brought up in.

#this is far too long #i just have this ramble in me #apologies for messiness #also it's not a COMPLETE analysis #i think romeo and juliet are lesbians or gay or SOMETHING. #which may influence my interepretation #this is just a play i love man please #theater #theatre #romeo and juliet #romeo + juliet #romeo & juliet #shakespeare #william shakespeare #classic lit #classic literature #please talk to me about romeo and juliet it is in my brain so hard.

[koinotame]

speaking of that horror protag hero au fic... it will forever remain in my brain. if i was better at writing and at not leaving everything i do a wip i’d absolutely make a p2 of that. and also of everything else you've ever made with her but anyways

ps could i be 🌌 anon ? maybe ?

the hero au fic with her my beloved.... definitely one of the fics i want to go back and edit and post. idk about a part two but i wouldn't mind writing more for the au in general 👁️

i like the way i ended it but in terms of what happened afterwards she probably took you to her house to patch you up. she probably lives uncomfortable close to your home (this is not a coincidence). from there she could've pretended some actual villain came in and killed the heroes instead of her and tried to frame it as you being innocent or wrongly accused, or just owned up to the murders and gone on the run with you. she's not one of the top heroes of the country for nothing though so you wind up keeping her because she is useful despite *gestures* everything about her

and just for you. here's a scrapped & unfinished draft scene i have saved for the original fic (unedited), starting roughly where you get [attacked] by the two heroes looking to arrest you:

"any last words?"

and even though you can’t hear anything properly over the sound in your ears, you gather just enough strength to prop yourself up on your arms shakily and spit onto the guy’s shoes.

you think you hear a scoff before someone (the other guy, maybe) kicks your stomach.

it’s not just your senses that’re starting to slip at this point; your consciousness is close to joining.

there’s some commotion coming from the entry to the alley, you think, but it’s impossible to see anything, let alone focus on it. you slip into sleep quickly.

it’s bright when you open your eyes.

well, bright for someone who was just asleep. it’s not actually too bright, just a decently lit room during the early evening just before sunset.

the second thing you notice is that your whole body fucking hurts. the back of your head pulsates painfully, especially when you move your head, and your stomach feels incredibly sore. other than that, though, you’re feeling much too comfortable to be in a prison cell.

a quick look around the room confirms your thoughts. yeah, whatever this place is, it’s not a prison cell. you don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.

the decor reminds you of something you’ve might’ve chosen when you were younger. it makes you strangely nostalgic, and it makes you want to go back to sleep and pretend this is just some weird, bad dream and that everything will be okay again when you wake up.

unfortunately, your splitting headache prevents you from doing that.

the door opening gives you a sense of deja vu.

her gasps are always so dainty, as if they’re practiced to perfect to seem cute and ladylike. this one, though, feels more genuine, as if seeing you awake is genuinely good news to her.

she doesn’t close the door this time, instead closing the distance to you and helping you sit up.

"how many fingers am I holding up?" she wastes no time in shoving a hand in your face, only retracting it when you cringe and try to push your head away.

"four," you answer anyway, voice croaky. she seems visibly relieved, offering you a glass of water and a pill.

"ibuprofen," she says quickly when you look at it skeptically. "but I can get you a new, unopened one if that would make you feel better…?"

you take it anyway. to her credit, it tastes exactly like the type you usually buy. you have no clue if this is coincidence or not, given that you seem to be in her private bedroom, and you frankly don’t want to know.

she watches you intensely as you drink the entire glass, then sits down on the floor and leans against the bed, leaving only her folded arms and head on it.

you’re pretty sure she takes a big sniff after practically burying her head into your lap.

her hand reaches up to yours and intertwines them soon enough. she lets out a content sigh, eyes still staring intently at you.

"[name]," your name leaves her lips like a content sigh. you immediately stiffen. "who did this to you?"

"how do you know my name."

she giggles, the noise sounding much more sinister this time around. "you’re so cute… I’d always wanted to be your hero, to be the one you’d depend on. but…." a lovesick smile spreads on her face as alarm bells ring in your head. "then you became a vigilante."

her thumb rubs circles into your hand.

"seeing you kick around creeps made me realise I wanted you to kick me around. it almost made me jealous, seeing you hurt everyone else but me."

#asks #🌌 anon

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super Manga Ch.100

Yes, Cheelai, we have finally reached the end of the 2023 Dragon Ball Apocrypha Liveblog, but in particular, we've also finally reached the end of the seemingly endless manga adaptation of the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie.

And yeah, this seems like an anticlimactic place to close out the year, but that's kind of how this entire liveblog has been, when you get down to it. I've had fun going through all this stuff, but there's a reason I'm referring to it all as "apocryphal". The Tournament of Power is a lot of fun, and the two DBS feature films are instant classics, but none of it really feels essential to Dragon Ball. From the OAVs to GT to Super, the main theme here is "Hey, remember Dragon Ball? Let's make more of that!" Everything ends up being a sequel or a callback or an easter-eggy kind of deal. And that's not the worst thing that can happen to a franchise, but it's probably fitting that we're closing out on the final chapter of a comic book adaptation of a movie that serves as a sequel to the Android arc that was a continuation of the Red Ribbon Army arc.

Chapter 100 just retells the last several minutes of the Super Hero movie, and I already went over the film, so let's just concentrate on how the manga depicts it differently. We'll start with Gohan's right arm, which got some heat a few days ago when the previews came out.

I refuse to dogpile on Toyotaro, since he's a far better artist than I'll ever be, and I've genuinely enjoyed his art through this entire read-through, even when the writing has been bad. That said... yeah, Gohan's arm looks kind of weird. Maybe while Gohan was teaching himself the Special Beam Cannon, he learned how to do Piccolo's stretchy arm thing too.

I do think it's pretty dumb how chuds on Twitter will nitpick Toyotaro's art as though the original Dragon Ball manga was some kind of showcase of photorealistic anatomy. I've been a fan of this thing for a quarter-century now, and the key to loving Dragon Ball is to make peace with the fact that it's fundamentally goofy and stupid. Sometimes a guy's arm gets drawn longer than his other arm. Sometimes characters scream so loud that their jaws unhinge like when a snake swallows an egg whole. Bulma wasted a wish on the Dragon Balls to make her ass look hotter, because if she didn't, then Frieza would come back and use the wish to make himself taller. Goku grew his tail back by having a guy tug on his ass with a pair of pliers. This show was always a hot mess, so don't blame Toyotaro. It was like this when he got here.

Anyway, Cell Max tries to block the Special Beam Cannon like he did in the movie, but Gohan has a harder time punching through, so in this version Goten and Trunks jump in to distract Cell and give Gohan a boost. In the movie, they were still Gotenks until after the fight ended, but in this version the battle must have taken a little longer, since they de-fused a little earlier.

Of course, this is just a way for Toyotaro to show off the Great Saiyaman X-1 and X-2 costumes one more time. It's kind of pointless, because all of the added Goten and Trunks scenes in this arc have been pointless. Also, Trunks' pose looks really awkward here. He looks like he got sawed in half, and both halves are still kind of flying forward in the same direction, but he's no longer connected.

I will say that I'm grateful for this final appearance of X-1 and X-2, because it gives me a chance to critique their outfits one last time. I hate the superhero undies they wear over their tights. They look baggy and puffy for some reason, which make it look like Goten and Trunks are wearing diapers. I'm pretty sure that's the exact opposite of what the boys were going for.

I mean, the outfits aren't that bad, but what irritates me is how Toyotaro keeps showing them off like this is the coolest thing going on in this story. The designs are presented like they somehow connect all these different things. Goten and Trunks were inspired by Cleangod, and they named their personas after Great Siayaman, and then Dr. Hedo saw them and supposedly based the Gammas' costumes off their look. Except X-1 and X-2 don't actually look anything like Great Saiyaman, or Cleangod, or the Gammas. It's just frustrating.

Anyway, we get the same bit about cosmetic skin alteration from the movie, except Gotenks has already separated in this version, so Bulma can address Goten and Trunks separately.

I also like this part after Pan shows off her flying ability. This segued into the credits of the movie, but here we see Gohan calling out for her to stay closer to the ground. It's pretty cute, since it kind of calls back to when Gohan was a timid child way back in the early days of DBZ. Now he's older and braver, but I bet when he sees Pan up so high in the air he thinks about how scared he was whenever he was up really high.

Meanwhile, some Red Ribbon goons have survived the battle and appear to be slowly getting away. This is nice because I noticed these guys escorting Carmine to safety in one of the previous chapters, and I've always wondered if any of the Red Ribbon guys made it out of the base alive. Pan knocked Carmine out, so it seemed reasonable to assume that he was vaporized during the Cell Max battle. Actually, in the movie, it looked like the entire crater was flattened, but here it looks like the destruction stayed confined to that area.

Anyway, the implication is that Carmine will return to Red Pharmaceutical and try to figure out his next move, but it seems unlikely that he could be much of a threat. Magenta's dead, the base is destroyed, and a bunch of their soldiers either died or deserted in this battle. Remember, even with the base and all those soldiers, Magenta still wasn't ready to make a big move. Dr. Hedo's androids were supposed to be his game-changing weapon, and now Hedo's turned against the Red Ribbon, so what can Carmine possibly do from here?

We get some additional material of the Goku/Vegeta fight in the movie. In the post-credits scene, they were practically moving in slow-motion and we only got to see the final blow. Here, we see Goku and Vegeta each land one last punch before the one that ends it all. These boys look all rowdy and badass and it's great.

When Whis finally responds to Bulma's messages, we get this cute shot of everyone sleeping in the back of her aircraft. Gohan talks about taking her to the amusement park, which seems kind of random, but it occurred to me that this might be setting up some filler story for Chapter 101. Like Gohan and Pan go to the amusement park for the day, and Carmine tries to kill them or something to avenge the Red Ribbon Army. That probably wouldn't be a bad idea, although I really don't want that to happen, because it sounds similar to the "Hedo vs. Goten and Trunks" stuff we had in Chapters 88-90. Everyone thinks Toyotaro has been champing at the bit to get done with this arc so he can return to his Black Frieza business, but for all we know he's been enjoying this whole bit, and he'll blow the next six months on filler stories with Goten and Trunks goofing around with Sgt. Nutz.

Anyway, this is the last page and this was the last little bit of the movie too, so Toyotaro has definitely run out of movie to adapt. Also, Bulma looks really cute on this page, so I wanted to add that to the record.

So that pretty much wraps things up, except for one minor detail. Where's the big twist?

I ran across this last month when I was checking to see if Chapter 99 would wrap up the arc or not. CBR.com did an article entitled "Dragon Ball Super Chapter 100's 'Unbelievable' Twist to Lead to "'Crazy Developments'" The story stems from comments made by V-Jump editor Victory Uchida, who was hyping DBS chapters 99 and 100 while appearing in an unboxing video for some reason.

The video is in Japanese, so I can't just pull out direct quotes from the man, so maybe this was all some big misunderstanding. Maybe it was a mistranslation, maybe Uchida got confused and was referring to material that wouldn't see print until Chapter 101. Or maybe he was just doing a standard hype job for his publication without thinking about what was actually in the magazine. After all, how can Chapter 100 have an "unbelievable twist" when it's doing a shot-for-shot repeat of a year-old movie?

So I assumed this meant there would be some sort of epilogue scene in the final pages, designed to set up the next arc. Sort of like how the last chapter of the Tournament of Power arc had the scene where the Galactic Patrol kidnaps Majin Buu. But Chapter 100 had no such thing. No Black Frieza, no Cell Max suddenly turning the tables on Gohan to win the movie, no mysterious appearance from Purple Turles or Red Bojack. Not even a lousy cameo from Platinum Cooler.

Does this make Victory Uchida an unreliable source of information? Or has he simply been misunderstood? I feel like his ridiculous yellow wig/hat thing kind of holds the answer to that question.

Anyway, the ultimate fate of Dragon Ball Super lies in Chapter 101 and beyond, but those stories will be printed in 2024, which means they fall outside the scope of this liveblog. So unless Toei or Shueisha has a new movie or anime coming out in the next eleven days, I'm done. This has been the 2023 Dragon Ball Apocrypha Liveblog. Good night, everybody!

#dragon ball #dragon ball super manga #2023dbapocryphaliveblog #cell max #gohan #piccolo #bulma #krillin #goten #trunks #whis #android 18 #victory uchida #pan #son pan #goku #vegeta #dr hedo #gamma 1 #cheelai

[aerodaltonimperial]

Bonus scene for 5+1 times people hit on Hook please 😊

(Also tagging @rugletthewren who wanted this, too)

"Hey."

Now that's something of a surprise. Ricky hasn't seen MJF show up at a company event since...actually, he's never seen that. MJF avoids the peons like the plague. Yet here he is, standing with one elbow up on the bar and leaning in, as though he doesn't have a care in the world. Or a brain cell. Jury's out on that one. Ricky wants to punch him, but the greeting wasn't aimed at him.

It was aimed at Hook, who is now staring at MJF dubiously. Is MJF here to create more problems?

Before Ricky can follow that thought through, MJF does a jerky sort of head nod. Cocky. Sure of himself. It's a weird sort of head nod, like...oh.

Oh.

Oh fuck, Ricky is so glad he came to this mixer.

"Want a drink?" MJF asks Hook. He's ignoring Ricky completely, but whatever. Free entertainment. Ricky’s been hard up recently.

Hook frowns at the glasses the bartender just set down in front of him. The two glasses.

"Maybe I could buy you something more expensive," MJF continues. He huffs out a laugh. "Do you like Cristal?"

"No," Hook replies, deadpan.

"Cool, I'll order you some." Holy shit, he isn't even listening. What a delight. Ricky takes another swig of his wine. MJF snaps at the bartender like that's something you do. And then, with what Ricky can only assume is a ridiculous amount if confidence, MJF slings his arm across Hook’s shoulders.

Hook’s face goes slack, because he's finally figured out what is going on.

MJF leans in, very close to Hook’s ear, and Ricky can't pick up what he says but oh, it must be filthy, because Hook’s expression turns to stone as his entire body clenches up. Ricky thinks MJF might be in for a round of redrum, only Hook never gets the chance.

"Hey!" comes the annoyed voice behind Ricky’s shoulder. Ricky turns. Danhausen, minus the face paint, the face so few people in the company recognize that he's been slipping through the crowd virtually undetected all evening. Now, though, he is staring at MJF with a look of pure rage. "What is Maxwellhausen doing?"

"Excuse me?" MJF says, eyebrows hiked.

"Why are you touching Hook?" Danhausen continues. His eyes narrow. Man, he is really unknown with people without that paint. He ought to monetize that, get the good gossip. Ricky should talk with him about the possibilities here. "Danhausen was nice to you on Twitter!"

"What...?" MJF is thoroughly confused. He looks to Hook, and then back, and somewhere in there, comprehension dawns.

But Danhausen is quicker. Also, he's pissed. He's got jealous boyfriend written all over him. He throws his hands up in a curse.

MJF lunges forward. Maybe he’s trying to grab at Danhausen; doesn't matter, since he never gets there. One of his shoelaces has come untied, and he stumbles. Pitches to the side into one of the sticky bar tables. The entire thing jerks down under his weight, launching all five drinks atop it at MJF's head. Ricky isn't sure which one probably stings more when it hits his eyes: the vodka soda or the Jameson.

MJF clutches his face, howling and stumbling, running groin-first into a chair.

Hook looks unbearably smug.

"Nice work," Ricky tells Danhausen. He finishes his wine.

Danhausen is still glaring at the line of people MJF is staggering through. No one has bothered to try and assist. "Danhausen is never going to be nice to him on Twitter again. He can forget about all those human monies!"

"You tell him," Ricky says, and flags down the bartender for another drink.

#WHAT A DELIGHT TO WRITE

[thespecialhell]

So literally my last post was about how weird it was that there were no cell phones in The Umbrella Academy. I binge watched all 3 seasons in a Covid-driven stupor and after taking absolutely no time to come down off that high I looked into why exactly that was. It caused so many fucking problems and it was maddening to watch all the chaos unfold when a simple phone call would have solved EVERYTHING.

Turns out that was precisely the point.

Now, I did notice that things were a bit off. The lack of cell phones tipped me off first, I mean, who the hell calls a boxing club landline to leave a message for someone you want as your backup?! After that I tuned into the fact that the TVs were all old, the store front advertisements were often in dated fonts, and my personal favourite, Allison's search for info on Leonard involved not only the public library (as opposed to just whipping out a phone) but she used a microfiche. A microfiche! That was a blast from the past and definitely felt bizarre.

The Commission's vaguely 50s style was also not lost on me but that was way more overt, it clearly showed that the Commission was in a very different place, possibly a different time or dimension entirely which I gathered was done on purpose. The Commission is supposed to feel different and 'other', since they operate outside of time, so to speak. The scenes in the 'real world' were much more subtle.

We're used to seeing 'present day' settings that have more advanced technology than is current, probably because we recognize that technology is always advancing so a 2019 with a talking chimp and a domestic robot makes sense, that could just be a billionaire flexing on the rest of us, but a 2019 without certain modern technology seems...odd.

BINGO! It was supposed to!

When I found out that was a deliberate choice it all made sense. Not having a means of instant communication meant the siblings had to wait to share information face to face, couldn't reach each other quickly during critical moments or received messages too late. In other words, it was the mechanism by which the entire story was driven. Without it there wouldn't have been any action, conflict or suspense. We also would have been robbed of that devastatingly beautiful scene in season 1 where Viktor heard Allison's voice on the answering machine after the harrowing events at the cabin. That was an incredible piece of storytelling that wouldn't have happened otherwise.

The lack of cell phones results in the Umbrella world seeming both familiar and very strange. As frustrating as it was to watch, when I learned that that was exactly what the show was going for, I appreciated it a lot more. It definitely made it feel like the present, but not necessarily OUR present, something just a little to the left of what we know. A great bit of visual storytelling if you think about it.

#the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #luther hargreeves #allison hargreeves #diego hargreeves #five hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #viktor hargreeves

[agentravensong]

post-hamlet thoughts

tl;dr my college did hamlet and i was in it and it was cool

first of all, in case i hadn't made this clear already, this was entirely student-produced. i mean, we got some money from the theater department, but people-wise, it was all students.

i've told the rest of the cast this time and time again, but they're so good. insanely dedicated and humbling in their talent.

our hamlet, horatio, ophelia, and laertes were all freshman, and they were all stellar. ophelia and laertes broke my heart every night in the second half with their anger and their sadness. horatio always brings top energy to scenes and had lots of funny moments (espec counting his doubling as the second gravedigger) but also made me feel things (we staged act 4 scene 6 as him alone on stage reading hamlet's letter to the audience and he killed it every time). and our hamlet was just incredible; a pleasure to act against as guildenstern and a pleasure to watch / listen to in their more emotional scenes.

and everyone else was great too! our polonius was always funny but also had genuine moments of connection with his kids; our cladius brought some great depth to the role (his take on the monologue in act 3 scene 3 was great) while still being despicable, especially in his manipulation of laertes; our gertrude brought our director's take on her to life impeccably; and, of course, i had a wonderful and hilarious partner in our rosencrantz :)

not to mention our quartet of players (who also filled out the other miscellaneous roles) who had a ton of great moments. shout-outs in particular to the guy who doubled as the first gravedigger and sang his sung lines as a sea shanty (honestly, i think he could have been a great guildenstern or rosencrantz in another universe).

the crew, of course, was also amazing. there were like 150 cues? my friend (the writer i mentioned in this post) did a fantastic job with the lights. the people behind the staging and makeup did just as well. and the costumes were so fun! everyone looked great; we had a consistent black-white-red-brown color palette that tied it all together. special shout-out to the player king wearing a white shirt with a black cape while cladius wore a zipped-up leather jacket and a white cape.

oh, and me and ros? we got fedoras :) i may share a photo later. maybe.

we did our show in the college black box theater (inside the fine arts building), which i do not currently have the brain cells to try and explain the layout of. it's a kind of weird space, but i think we made the most of it. for the majority of the show i was off stage left, meaning i was hanging out at the top of the stairs which serve as the main entrance and exit to the theater (sitting/standing where i couldn't be seen by the audience obv). you can't really see the stage at all from there but you sure can hear the actors, and by the time of the show that was (mostly) enough for me.

as far as how the actual shows went?

friday was our most engaged audience. their laughter was greatly appreciated in the early scenes ...slightly less so when everyone was dying in the final scene. i mean, i get it, people start dropping like flies and actually foaming at the mouth and spitting out (fake) blood; it's a lot. i applaud hamlet and horatio for staying in character through it. everyone did a great job that night; it was probably better than all our dress rehearsals as a whole.

saturday, at least from my pov, had kind of weird vibes at the start? i don't know how much of it was people getting to bed late the previous night, how much of it was overconfidence, and how much of it was people getting in their own heads, but it was our lowest energy show. the audience wasn't as audibly engaged either, but they did give us a big applause. i felt more good than bad about it by the end, for sure.

especially in retrospect, because, despite us having a smaller crowd at today's matinee, everyone was back on the ball. the ending in particular i think was the best we've ever done it. it was probably my best performance as well.

to be clear, i wouldn't rate any of our three shows below an 8 out of 10, for what that's worth. everyone gave so much to their performances; the funny bits were funny even when the audience didn't seem to think so, and i was always getting caught up in my feelings in the second act. you can't ask for much more than that.

now, here's a compilation of things from the production in no real order:

i already posted about this, but having the blood stains on stage where people die from the beginning of every show? *chef's kiss*

i'll also restate the thing i mentioned in the tags of that post: characters who were murderers had symbolic blood makeup after they killed someone. cladius had a bloody ear from the start of the show, the meaning of which becomes clear once you see the player king get poison poured in his ears; hamlet got blood on their face during intermission that's meant to be polonius's blood; and, arguably most significantly, gertrude had bloody handprints around her neck when she entered at the end of act 4, which, in addition to her hair and arms being dripping wet, is meant to suggest that the story she tells about ophelia's death is, in fact, a cover for something less accidental.

as mentioned above, our director's take on gertrude in general was, from my understanding, pretty different from the standard. to quote from his character spines, "you fundamentally want to prepare your son hamlet to be king; you are playing essentially a game of chess to do so." it was really compelling to see in action. the way she performed act 4 scene 7? chilling.

speaking of those character spines, the first line of horatio's is literally just, "You are in love with Hamlet." and boy howdy did that come through

prime example of that (other than just, all of his and hamlet's interactions, which were wonderful): when horatio finished reading the letter from hamlet, he sniffed it, in a very sweet and very not-platonic way

it was an unintentional running gag throughout the whole process that other cast members would forget between ros and me which character we were playing - to the point that every performance, when hamlet first greeted us, even though i would get to them first, they addressed me first, and it's written that they say my name first, they would call me rosencrantz and our ros guildenstern. ...someone should write a play about that.

i might have posted about this already, but in ros and i's first scene with hamlet, when the two of them start talking about child actors, hamlet made us sit in the thrones, and we would make moves to leave of varying boldness that they, of course, never let us follow through on. this then got basically repeated in act 3 scene 2 except that horatio got to join in on the fun of relentlessly mocking us

(the thing where hamlet handed me their copy of william shakespeare's complete works while they dud the "what is a man" mimi monologue got dropped at some point in the dress rehearsals, unfortunately. they did flip through it with the players though)

during the play within a play, polonius would keep falling asleep and ros and i would keep waking him up

(we also got to do some fun silent banter back in act 2 scene 2 while hamlet and the players were doing their thing)

then the bit after that with the recorders, aka guildenstern's defining moment, was just so fun. hamlet and horatio basically sandwiched ros and me between the two of them, and hamlet and i played off each other very well (at least imo), and though i couldn't see what horatio and ros were doing behind me i know that it got some good laughs. and i could tell every night that the scene landed despite the shakespearean language barrier, so i can't help but be satisfied.

my other best moment was when the king told me to go get polonius's body from the stairs and i got to slump and make a "do i have to?" face before my (final) exit. i managed to actually get some chuckles from that tonight, from the crowd that, again, laughed the least in general, and i can't put into words how euphoric i was to have that be my last moment playing guildenstern.

from the rest of the second half of the show, which i am not in, i will highlight a) the gravedigger eventually realizing after shoveling for minutes on end that he's been shoveling literally nothing (love me a good little fourth wall break) and b) when hamlet and laertes come to physical blows over ophelia, horatio, on his line, steps between them, draws laertes's sword, and takes a stance pointing it at laertes to hold him off, all in basically one glorious motion.

oh, and the ending, of course.

as i alluded to way earlier, we had fake blood and alka-seltzer tablets that the people who died in act 5 scene 2 used to great effect (particularly the people who died via poison)

speaking of that scene, the sword fight was very neat! well-choreographed and well-enacted. real foils btw

and the way hamlet and horatio performed the ending? more than anything, the way hamlet said "give me the cup; let go!" - that shit hurt, in the best way, every night. (and though hamlet died in the king's throne (with the king's crown on), horatio held / clung to them the whole damn time)

for a lighter final note: our polonius doubled as fortinbras and came on at the ending in this huge, heavy, vampire-ass cloak, accompanied by our director as the messenger from england who announces my and ros's death :)

thankfully, we did record our last dress rehearsal, so we do have a version of it that we'll get to watch back in the future. i won't be able to share it with any of y'all (we will apparently be in BIG trouble if we post it anywhere online) but it'll be nice to have for me.

funny thing that happened while i was typing this long-ass post out: i kept using present tense and then realizing i had to change it to past tense. and by "funny" here, i mean, uh... oof.

we never got a perfect run-through where no lines were skipped over, but, i mean, it's fucking hamlet. we did this shit in like a month and a half (with a week lost to spring break); it's more than impressive that the show turned out how it did. it was a group labor of love, and one of the best things i've ever gotten to be a part of.

and i miss it already.

...at least there's movie night on tuesday :)

#hamlet #so excited to introduce these guys to rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead. they'll never see hamlet the same way again #man. i've really missed acting. or rather... being part of a production like this #shout-out to whoever was originally cast as guildenstern but dropped out because they didn't realize a shakespeare play #would be a big commitment #and thereby gave me the opportunity to be in the show despite having been too busy and insecure to audition #i might come back and add more to this tomorrow if i remember more things that i want to have a record of #i could talk more about how rehearsals went #or about the few places in which i may have perhaps done things differently than our director if it wasn't his show #but i think for now this is enough #thank you all for following along on my hamlet journey #i will say that there is a greater than 0 chance that i'll post some shitty hamlet fancomics here in the future #so. if that's something you really want. let me know. i guess. #and again i don't think any of the cast have tumblr #but if you do and you see this: pls never stop acting #i've got your back <3 #yes i am posting this at 1 am when i have class tomorrow (today technically). what of it

[aprillikesthings]

Man, I meant to get more of these done this weekend. I will attempt to get two done tonight, yeah? Yeah.

I mean...maybe three? Depends? But the fact is, the end of s3 has some of my fave shit in the whole show.

It would HELP if I stopped trying to describe EVERY SCENE

okay. trying to cut back. again.

s3 ep4 Moment of Truth

Glimmer and Bow and Huntara show up at Bright Moon and are like WE GOTTA GO TO THE FRIGHT ZONE AAAAUGH and Angella is like "explain yourself young lady," roll theme music

pfft

okay plot shit: they only need to open the portal long enough to tell Horde Prime YOOO HEYYYY WE'RE HERE and then Horde Prime can open it the rest of the way from his side of things

and she realizes that means her boyfriend will leave

and that'll take ages, right??? HA HA

also the swelling harp music when they're making eye contact is great

okay the degree to which my personal tastes in fictional lesbians engaging in various forms of villainy (including but not limited to bondage of possibly dubious consent) is becoming incredibly obvious to me to a degree that is a tad embarrassing, because I remembered what shot was going to happen next as it was about to happen and my heart rate jumped (emphasis on fictional don't get weird on me)

Wait no now I'm thinking about some of my K/DA fics

....and some of my Steven Universe fics for that matter....

OKAY LISTEN

Just LOOK at them okay

fucking christ

(on a related note, a friend of mine wrote a smutty fic where Catra takes advantage of how Adora is tied up in the Crimson Waste, I meant to link to that and forgot)

Catra basically shoves her to the floor with the hand holding the sword.

And all the fancy computers/machinery in the room goes NUTS now that the sword is there

hrrgh

I have always LOVED the way Entrapta says this line ahahaha

they're having an entire conversation and meanwhile Adora is bound and gagged on the floor and yelling through her gag.

she's so reluctant ;_;

😬

(Hordak is saying this.) but also, like, why IS she in there and not in one of the prison cells

oh, right

YOU'RE THE REASON MY CHILDHOOD SUCKED, DUDE

he's all smug about it

girl why do you keep struggling

anyway she taunts him and he's like "whatever, I will crush you like a bug," but then his little exoskeleton zaps him and Entrapta goes to comfort him and he shoves her away and yells at her

how dare u mistreat her!!!

and then sword frees itself and flies into the little setup for opening the portal, uh oh

Glimmer and Bow pop into Shadow Weaver's room/jail cell and

did she like, pose that way ahead of time

Glimmer: Horde's gonna open a portal Shadow Weaver: shit, that's bad Shadow Weaver: but oh if you let me out I can help you teleport right into the Fright Zone :) I'll just use your connection to the moonstone :) Bow: me too Shadow Weaver: ugh I guess

Bow: you just want out of jail Shadow Weaver: I want Hordak dead

poor Bow

She literally looks away AND pulls her welding mask down poor bb

Adora: "Catra will say anything to get what she wants" Entrapta: "Catra is my friend....I think" Adora: "She was my friend, too...but she makes bad decisions" [understatement] "The Horde's armies will come through and then it's all over for Etheria. You can't open the portal!"

and then Entrapta takes her words super literally

Poor Entrapta just wants to explore space and can't without the portal, but as Adora points out, the last She-Ra basically fucked with things so a portal would end up destroying the planet

Angella fliying towards all the princesses and Shadow Weaver as they teleport away is animated really beautifully

I'm sure it's fine that the last conversation Glimmer had with her mom was an argument :) I'm sure that won't be an issue later :)

They get to the Fright Zone, various princesses fight off members of the Horde, Lonnie pulls the alarm, and--

Hah I got Catra's reaction without having to rewind

but yeah Catra's face before she gets it under control is uhhhh expressive

ugh Shadow Weaver's tone here. It's the kind of thing that's meant to sound kind to anyone listening but is obviously condescending and awful to Catra

oof

Fucking hell her angry rant to Shadow Weaver (who basically has her tied up via magic) is so raw. "Do you know what happened to me after you escaped? Do you even care? You couldn't wait for to get away from here, from me."

but of course she actually came back to stop Hordak, or at least that's what she's saying, and Catra's like NOPE IMMA OPEN THAT FUCKIN PORTAL

But yeah Shadow Weaver didn't have a good reason to just torture Catra at this point but she does it anyway until Bow stops her

Entrapta: yo so it turns out if we turn on this portal it'll fuck up all of reality

oh god Entrapta makes the mistake of telling Catra "Adora is right"

yeah this is the moment she...genuinely starts to fucking lose it

noooo

yeah you just intentionally hurt her out of anger and frustration that's not great and YOU KNOW IT (and so does Scorpia)

AND I'M OUT OF IMAGES time to reblog bc I'm not deleting anything lol

#april rewatches spop #moment of truth

[dragon-ball-meta]

I find it interesting how some people complain about Krillin and 18 as a couple yet they think that Bulma and Vegeta were very romantic with each other at the start when in reality Bulma kicked Vegeta out because of how unbearable he was. Do you think this is because people don't read the manga or just another fandom misconception?

I think lack of reading the manga and lack of paying attention to things even in the anime is part of it. But also additions to the anime via filler. Case in point, the manga makes it rather clear that Trunks is more-or-less the result of a hookup. No relationship there. But the anime changes that. Not sure if they did it because they felt that concept was too "mature" for the anime's target audience, but an entire filler section in which Yamcha is kinda harshly downplayed and Bulma seems to inexplicably deeply care for Vegeta even up to two years before Trunks was born was inserted. The whole thing with the Gravity Chamber exploding and Bulma nursing Vegeta back to health at his bedside? Complete invention, but I think a lot of the romanticizing of their early relationship stems from that and people not paying attention to the revelation that Future Bulma's story to Trunks about how Vegeta totally cared in his own way was a lie to give the boy someone to look up to. She was legitimately shocked to learn Vegeta actually cared after Trunks died, certainly enough to actually attack Cell for it. But between that and Bulma later on being all sweet to him, even if in some cases it's meant to pick on him as much as anything else, and people have a very heavily romanticized view of their relationship despite Bulma sharing a lot of the same complaints as Chi-Chi about Vegeta at times. (There's also that party ep in the Buu saga where they actually have Chi-Chi get so frustrated with Goku she suggests swapping husbands to Bulma after she defends him, but Bulma thinks she'd get the worse end of that deal, so that doesn't help, but I'm not sure how much of that was the dub vs the filler itself. Never saw that ep in Japanese). But as I’ve said in the past, I feel that the romanticizing of them is just... painfully generic, and really hurts part of what made them interesting as a couple, to say nothing of what spurred Vegeta’s change. Doing it does them a disservice, I feel. On the flipside, in the K18 realm, I think it also doesn't help that the anime inserted a few things for them that were... less flattering. Sure, there were a couple of cute additions too, but there were also more than a couple of insertions in the anime (and even other media) that weren't so flattering. 18 can actually be seen being frustrated or almost annoyed by Krillin more often than not, and frankly Meredith McCoy's dub delivery didn't really help soften that impression, given how she almost always sounded monotone or annoyed then even in instances where Miki Ito's delivery would be softer or more nuanced. Toss in a scene of 18 being molested by Roshi right in front of her daughter yet Krillin and her still living at Kame House after (which almost single-handedly started the whole weird Roshi/18 thing in the fandom) and 18 snapping at Krillin and calling him a coward for not entering the Budokai at the End of Z (again, never present in the manga) leading into the way she would then treat him in GT (the fact it took his death for her OR Marron to be much more than cold or mean to him in that series and even having to try to handwave that behavior at the end of the arc) and even in some storylines in some games (the "World Tournament: Couples Edition" in Raging Blast 1 comes to mind) and... well, honestly? It's not too hard to see why some people downplay them, especially here in the West. K18 getting love from Official Sources is a fairly recent thing, and I just really hope it keeps up. Might help course-correct the fandom to a degree.

#Krillin #Android18 #Android Eighteen #Android 18 #DBZ #Vegeta #Bulma #fandom #Dragon Ball #Dragon Ball Z #Dragon Ball Super #DB #DBS #Dragonball #Dragonball Z

[lizziethat]

Outer Banks Episode 1 Thoughts (Part 1)

My notes are never-ending, I think I’m going to break this up into two separate posts, forgive me for my ramblings.

*We don’t talk enough about how effective the opening scene is at establishing the dynamics between the Pogues. Plus the chemistry! A+ setup scene, grabs you right away.

*JJ’s whole “I’m not much of a hugger” banter would be funnier if it weren’t TRUE.

*The intro to JJ is kinda perplexing, because we get shirtless JJ before we get anything else, and yet the description John B. gives isn’t exactly positive. It’s like they’re trying really hard to establish him as the bad boy of the group, but that really only lasts a few episodes, at most. So why try so hard? They release the entire season together, this is something that could have been changed on editing!!

*Kiara’s intro is also a treasure trove of moments to dissect, because despite the insistence that there was always a plan to go there with Pope, the little montage we see only has John B. and Kiara and then JJ and Kiara, almost exclusively. And fine, the John B. moments I get considering the setup for them early on, but JJ? How did they expect people not to read into it?! It was there all along!

*My favorite part of the Pope section of the opening montage is the moment where you sorta understand that John B. doesn’t really *get* Pope, but loves him nonetheless.

*Do these kids ever eat? I’m not sure how they could afford to, regularly, and I know we’re not supposed to worry about these things, but I DO.

*Literal hurricane and 2/4 of these kids have literally no parental figure who even cares, but all is well. 

*Kiara has an internal Pogue compass or something, she knew just where to be.

*There’s not one lick of self preservation between the four of them. And just one collective brain cell. It’s usually held by Kie. Or Pope. 

*It feels like the Pilot takes forever to introduce Sarah, and her intro isn’t all that interesting, in comparison. I remember thinking “and they want me to care about the rich girl because...?”

*Kiara very pointedly tells John B -- and only him -- to be careful, and JJ very pointedly notices. It’s ALL VERY WEIRD, because why is this episode so pointed about things we know are not happening (Kiara and John B) and also so pointed about things that will end up happening but they apparently never meant to set up.

*To establish “you are the one that’s always hitting on her,” from day one and then tell me that was meant to be nothing …yeah, right.

*I know we’ve talked a lot about the “I know that door is locked because I’ve tried it” comment, but had he really? I mean, he might have, but did he really mean it when he tried it? I don’t think he did, and I don’t think Kie thought he did. And it might not have been the right time anyway, but if she knew it wasn’t serious and he didn’t really mean it seriously, it’s not really trying.

*No, but seriously, what does it say about JJ that he grabs the gun before he grabs the money? Cause I could probably write an essay about this. He values safety for himself and the people he loves over money, despite the fact that he has nothing. And he would surely put the people he loves over himself.

*JJ gets all the grief for the bad ideas, but John B. as about 3/4 as bad as he is. He just looks more innocent next to JJ.

*When JJ talks about unlimited data plans like rich people shit, that’s when I go back to thinking about when these kids last ate a good meal. Everything is a luxury for them, maybe food is too.

*”Stupid things have good outcomes all the time”? Says who, JJ? SAYS WHO?

#outer banks #obx #obx season 1 #obx season 1 episode 1

[twistedtummies2]

Top 15 Disney Love Songs

Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody! I sadly don’t have a story ready for the occasion, but I still wanted to do something in the holiday’s honor. At first, I considered making a countdown or list of some kind of my favorite fandom ships, but I think I need more time to figure out such a concept. Thankfully, I then remembered this is the Centennial of Disney itself! So...how about we look at something romantic related to Disney for the occasion? And when I think “Disney” and “Romance,” the first thing I think of are Disney Love Songs. Yes, for as often as we like to make fun of them and call them cheesy, sappy, and so on and so forth, some of the most famous love ballads in our universal musical roster have come from the Happiest Place on Earth. Whether they tell the tales of princes and princesses, talking animals, or something else entirely, you’d be hard-pressed to find a popular Disney movie that DOESN’T involve some romantic subplot, and a heartfelt, crooning piece of music to accompany it. So, since I’m not COMPLETELY opposed to l’amour, I have prepared this lovely list of lovely songs to put your iPods (or cell phones, or…whatever you prefer to listen to music with) into a romantic, starry-eyed mood. Now, keep in mind that I’m only counting ROMANTIC songs here, so tunes like “When She Loved Me” or “You’ll Be in My Heart,” while truly spectacular songs in their own right, will not be counted here. Also, keep in mind that there are TONS of these songs, and I can’t include all of them; one EXTREMELY popular song that you WON’T find on this list is “Love is an Open Door.” If your opinions differ from mine, I will neither be surprised nor upset, and I ask that you all extend the same courtesy with your own feelings; please don’t hate me for liking some songs more than others. Also, I will provide links to each song featured, so you can check them out yourselves. ;) With that said, I hope you’ve practiced your best waltz, because it’s time to take a peek at My Top 15 Favorite Disney Love Songs.

15. I’m Wishing/One Song, from Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs.

This was the original Disney Love Ballad...or, if you prefer, THESE WERE the original love BALLADS, since it’s technically two songs. But they basically come back to back and are connected to each other, so I really do count them as one sequence. The song begins with the fair Snow White singing into a wishing well, daydreaming about how nice it would be to fall in love with someone. Right on cue, the Prince - who hears her singing - interrupts the scene, and while Snow White is spooked and shy, the two - in typical fairy-tale fashion - fall in love at first sight. Yeah, the logic of the scene makes no sense, and “love at first sight” is a concept we often love to mock, but the moment is still a classic, in my mind.

14. Candle on the Water, from Pete’s Dragon.

One of the lesser-known Disney songs, and the only live-action film to make it on the list. “Candle on the Water” is performed by the film’s female lead, Nora (played by Helen Reddy), who has long been awaiting the return of her fiance, Paul. For some time now, Paul has been away overseas, and many believe he’s never coming back - lost to the ocean blue - but Nora believes it’s only a matter of time till he returns. Reminiscing about her beloved, she sings this song - a sort of cross between a prayer and a promise - as she stands on the balcony of the lighthouse where she and her father work. The song was actually quite popular in its day, and in fact, the song is entirely to blame for why Pete’s Dragon is the way it is: initially, the song was going to be the ONLY song in the movie, but it was received so well, they decided to make the film a musical. This was probably for the best, since just the one random song would have been particularly weird in an already VERY weird movie...but I digress.

13. Katrina, from The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad.

Okay, so, in a way, this song is not really a love song, but an ANTI-love song. This makes since, since the titular character of the tune, Katrina Van Tassel, is essentially an anti-Disney Princess, so to speak. For those unfamiliar with the tale of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” Katrina Van Tassel is the daughter of the richest farmer in the county, Baltus Van Tassel, and is considered to be the most beautiful young lady in Sleepy Hollow. The problem is that she KNOWS that. Katrina, as the song points out, is a coquette; she loves to toy with men and play with their emotions, gaining suitors and then dropping them again every chance she gets. Why does she do this? Just for laughs. She, very frankly, is not a nice person. Extra frankly, NOBODY in the story of Sleepy Hollow is really a nice person, when you think about it, which is perhaps why Disney’s version is so admirable. It sticks VERY closely to the story, and doesn’t shy away from how freaking TERRIBLE these people are – from the money-grubbing Ichabod to the bullying Brom Bones – but I digress. The song here is short and sweet – a simple little character theme for Katrina – and it is instrumentally reprised several times throughout the Sleepy Hollow segment of this movie. I still find myself humming it from time to time, without even realizing it…but what really makes the song work is that it is performed by BING. FREAKING. CROSBY. Yeah; when The Crooner himself is at the helm, you really can’t go wrong!

12. Ma Belle Evangeline, from Princess & the Frog.

This is essentially a double love song, so to speak. The piece is performed by Ray the Firefly, as he sings of his love for “Evangeline”: the brightest star in the sky, whom he believes to be the most beautiful and elusive firefly in the world. But though he cannot touch her, the love he feels for his Evangeline is pure and neverending. The song is already touching and, as you’d imagine, a little funny…but what I think makes it work all the more is the presentation. You see, while Ray is singing this song, the two leading characters – Tiana and Naveen – are starting to fall in love as well. And, during the instrumental interlude in this tune, the pair dance together for the first time. This is why I call it a “double love song,” since we’re not only getting Ray’s heartfelt ballad of impossible love that remains steadfast, but also getting a peek into the blossoming relationship of our primary protagonists, and their own romantic explorations. It’s pretty clever, in my opinion, and definitely deserves a spot on this list.

11. Kiss the Girl, from The Little Mermaid.

Oh, how could I not include this song? It would be criminal of me not to! Having lost her voice in a deal with the Sea Witch, Ursula, Ariel – our titular character – has to get her beloved Prince Eric to give her the Kiss of True Love before three days end. One night, the two are out boating, and Eric tries to learn more about the mute Ariel. Since Ariel can’t speak, her friend Sebastian decides to take up the vocal reins, and sings a quiet, crooning calypso tune to apparently try and get Eric to subliminally prepare himself, in the hopes of secretly manipulating him into admitting his love for Ariel…and sealing it with a kiss. It is desperate, hypnotic, and beyond beautiful in every way. Many people have covered this song over the years, but no one – and I DO mean NO ONE – has been able to top the original. The sumptuous visuals may be part of it, of course…but in my opinion, it’s the singer in question, Samuel Wright, who gives it so much of its power and presence. Once you hear the original Sebastian sing it, you can never hear it the same way again.

10. Heaven’s Light, from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Though very short, Quasimodo's soulful, prayer-like musings on his feelings for Esmeralda are still incredibly powerful, and the gently rising orchestrals leading up to the ringing of the bells for the midnight mass just make it all the more so. I actually really like the stage version, as sung by Michael Arden, too...almost more so, in fact, since the notes he sings rise with the music, going from a quiet, thoughtful piece to a strong, powerful belt. Whichever way your prefer it, though, it's still a very nice, simple, but sweet and touching song...it's only sin is that it is IMMEDIATELY followed by the contrasting number "Hellfire," infamously sung by Judge Claude Frollo. In a way, though, that's ALSO a strength; what better way to follow up a song of loving devotion than one of damnation and madness? Ultimately, the only reason this doesn’t get higher in the ranks simply IS that it’s quite short, and ultimately serves as a contrast and prelude to a much bigger song.

9. Dos Oruguitas, from Encanto.

The reason this song doesn’t get any higher is simply because it’s one that I think works best when you see it accompanied by the film’s visuals. Which is not to say this song is bad at all: FAR from it. It’s absolutely beautiful, and the sentiment describe in its Spanish lyrics are equally so. But without the accompanying visuals, I think the song loses some of its punch. On that note: this song plays in the background to a flashback sequence in a pivotal moment of the film. It’s the scene where we learn the backstory of how the Madrigal Family got their magic, and explains the motivations of the up-till-now slightly villainous matriarch of the family, Abuelita Alma. It’s also the moment where Alma and her granddaughter - the main protagonist, Mirabel - finally make amends, and thus are able to start working to help their family and community in a new way. The song itself - which lyrically tells a fairy-tale about two butterflies - is an analogy for both the love shared between Mirabel and her grandmother, and also the love shared between Alma and her long-gone husband. The tragic yet beautiful tale of their romance is the crux of this song’s storytelling. The song is lovely on its own, but once you see what goes along with it, it becomes truly breathtaking.

8. I See the Light, from Tangled.

I may not have “Frozen’s” big hit on here (…well…actually, aside from two songs no one even remembers, I think ALL of that film’s songs are big hits, in terms of popularity, but that’s beside the point), but that doesn’t mean THIS song won’t get a spot. At this point in the story, Rapunzel and her companion, Flynn Rider, have made it all the way from the depths of the forest back to the capital of the kingdom, in time for the Ceremony of the Floating Lights. During this time, hundreds of floating paper lanterns are released from the docks of the kingdom into the sky, in the hopes of the king and queen’s long-lost daughter seeing them and returning home. (Spoiler Alert: the long-lost daughter is Rapunzel…but she doesn’t know that yet.) All her life, Rapunzel has seen the lights from miles and miles away, from her lonely tower…but now, with Flynn’s help, she gets to see the ceremony up-close. Over the course of their journey, the two have also developed a love for each other, and as they marvel at the light show around them, they reflect on how each has changed the other’s life, and admit how much they care for one another. The result is arguably the best song in the movie. (pauses) Yes, even more than “Mother Knows Best;” coming from a villain-loving nutcase and mild cynic like yours truly, THAT is quite a compliment.

7. Can You Feel the Love Tonight? from The Lion King.

I actually don’t want to go too into detail about this one, for personal reasons. Suffice to say, I actually have some very personal memories related to this particular song, and as a result, it holds a very special place in my heart. That’s really all it takes for it to get as high as it does. Whether you listen to the Elton John version, the one from the film, or even some rendition from the stage show, it’s hard to go wrong with this classic. ‘Nuff said.

6. Bella Notte, from Lady and the Tramp.

“Lady and the Tramp” is sort of an odd Disney film, in that it’s somehow both a classic and a VERY underrated picture at the same time. Which is to say, I don’t know anybody who dislikes this film, and it’s one I see referenced and spoken of quite a bit...but I don’t know ANYBODY who would call it one of their absolute favorite Disney films, myself included. However, I think we can all agree that this scene and this song are iconic and beloved for a reason. A classic, operetta-esque accordion tune sung by a pair of stereotypical Italian chefs while a pair of awkward pooches eat and accidentally kiss via overly long spaghetti noodle…doesn’t seem like the most romantic of songs at first glance, does it? I suppose it’s adorable and classical enough to worm its way through our heartstrings, though, since you’d be hard pressed to find a single person who doesn’t at least know about this song and this scene; it’s one of the most famous moments from any Disney film, and even people who have never seen the movie know about it. Much like “Heaven’s Light,” it’s not very long, but it’s solid gold. “Bella Notte’s” old-timey style and sheer iconography gain it more points than anything else, but that still means it gets a lot of points…just not QUITE enough to make it into the top five.

5. I Won’t Say I’m In Love, from Hercules.

If there’s one thing I like more than a love song, it’s a “resistance to love” song. You know the sort: songs by people who don’t want to fall in love with someone, for one reason or another, perhaps even several, but who just can’t bloody help themselves. This song – arguably the best from “Hercules” – is such a song. It’s sung by Megara (Meg for short), a snarky, smarmy lady who has had some bad fortune with men in the past; when the man she thought was her true love was dying, she sold her soul to Hades himself to save his life…only for said man to cheat on her and leave her for another woman. (It’s implied, though not openly stated, that Hades MIGHT have had a hand in this happening…the unspeakable cad. How I love him. But I digress!) As a result, she now serves Hades as a spy, using her good lucks and her wit to gain recruits for his evil army, and information on his enemies…particularly Hercules. In this song, as Meg falls harder and harder for the big lug who’s everyone’s hero – the man she’s supposed to be helping Hades destroy, no less – she tries to scold herself and stop herself, reminding herself of what happened the last time she felt for a man to help reinforce the point…but no matter what she tries, she can’t deny it. The Muses singing backup and taunting her, urging her Sebastian-style, probably don’t help, either. Bua ha ha.

4. A Whole New World, from Aladdin.

When people talk about the greatest Disney songs of all time, you can be darn sure that this song is going to be somewhere near the top of the list. I think that, in some ways, this is the song that helps define what makes Aladdin and Jasmine’s relationship so good; the song is great on its own, but, once again, the context makes it all the more stunning. Before the song, Aladdin has been trying to play the “stereotypical prince,” as he imagines them…and this does nothing but INFURIATE Jasmine, who is tired of people seeing her as a prize to be won, and has had quite enough of the pompous attitude her other suitors have presented. So, Aladdin finally gives in and decides to be himself…and, with this, realizes what Jasmine really wants: forget riches or fancy words, she just wants to see things she’s never seen before! So, he takes the princess on a ride upon his Magic Carpet, flying miles and miles above the Earth, roller-coasting through the clouds, past Egyptian pyramids, and through Chinese New Year festivals. (Perhaps they’ll get a chance to say hello to Mulan while there.) But all the while, as Aladdin tries to charm Jasmine, Jasmine – though taken in, undeniably – studies the young man she knows as “Prince Ali” closely, noting how certain gestures, words, and so forth seem to remind her of another young man she met in a marketplace. With stunning visuals, contextual subtext, and the power to just stand on its own as a truly beautiful, appropriately soaring and swelling song, I once again declare that no one – and I mean NO ONE – has been able to top the original version, for all these reasons AND for its singers, Lea Salonga as Jasmine and Brad Kane as Aladdin. But, to be fair, no matter who sings it, it’s hard to ruin a song like this.

3. Sally’s Song, from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Not all love songs are happy songs, even in the land of Disney. “Sally’s Song” is not your traditional love ballad in any way; most love songs are affirmative, so to speak. Whether you are convincing yourself you don’t need to love somebody, trying to persuade someone to do something with words of love, or just declaring to your partner and/or the world just how much in love you really are, there’s almost always a sense of going-forward with them, a sense of grandeur, and a sense of certainty or urgency. This song is completely the opposite; it is quiet, plaintive, decidedly uncertain, and downright heartbreaking. As Sally, the shy Frankenstein-Monster-esque ragdoll being who serves as the secondary protagonist of the film, watches her love – Jack Skellington – fly away, she goes somewhere private to sing and to worry. Throughout the film, Sally is a determined character, it must be noted; she’s a go-getter who isn’t afraid to risk life and limb to help people she cares about and take care of what she wants…except when it comes to directly confronting Jack. She can deal with her creator, Dr. Finklestein, and she has no problem with trying to save Santa Claus from the gruesome Oogie Boogie, but she just can’t bring up the courage to talk to Jack…and when she DOES find the courage, he’s far too enthused with Christmas to listen! The two manage to find a way to work things out by the end of the movie (singing a more upbeat reprise of this same song, no less, when they do)…but at this point, Sally – concerned for Jack’s well-being and wondering what she really means to him – can’t help but pine and sigh. It’s a touching and subtle song that truly goes into the mind of a character who will do anything to help the one she loves…but isn’t sure she’s getting the love she so craves and deserves in return. Eponine, eat your heart out.

2. Once Upon a Dream, from Sleeping Beauty.

Not only is this song popular, but it is also the song that changed Sleeping Beauty…or, at least, changed its soundtrack. You see, the sequence in which this song appears was one of the first scenes made for the film, and, at the time, the intention was to create wholly original tunes and songs in a style not unlike that of Snow White. HOWEVER, when Disney saw how this sequence was going, and heard the Tchaikovsky underscoring for this song, he decided to change things totally: from that point on, it was decided that the film would use the Tchaikovsky score as its soundtrack, with most of its songs based around pieces from the ballet composition. This was the only one of those early, original songs to remain, as a result, and it is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best and most well-known song from Sleeping Beauty. (Also, if there is ONE good thing that “Maleficent” gave us, it was the “creepy-style” cover of this that accompanied the movie and its trailers…but that’s another story. And a very bad one.) The lyrics are admittedly rather simple, some may even argue TOO simple, but in my opinion, that’s a big part of its charm. As far as old fashioned love duets go, this one is definitely among the greats.

1. Beauty and the Beast, from...well...Beauty and the Beast.

Oh, dear Lord. What can I say about this song that hasn’t been said before? This song is a love letter (no pun intended) to unlikely romance. It works in context, of course, essentially recapping what has happened leading up to Belle and the Beast’s magnificent, iconic ballroom dance. But even out of context, it’s the anthem so many lovers can sympathize with. Because, in a way, it tells the tale of love itself; a tale as old as time. Most cases of true love do start off rocky, in some way, shape, or form, and not all matches are made in heaven. Opposites can attract. As a result, this becomes perhaps not just A love song, but THE love song; it not only fits the story and characters of the film, but just about anybody who has been or is in love can relate to it. It is lush and grandiose, yet has a simple sort of element as well...and, once again, the original version SELLS it. Many fine actresses and singers have covered it, and between stage productions and the recent live-action remake, the imagery has been imitated...but the end result in both cases has never been duplicated. Angela Lansbury’s grandmotherly yet soaring voice and the glorious animation create a scene that, like the song itself, and the themes that it adheres to, is truly timeless. It is for all these reasons and more that I can shamelessly call “Beauty & the Beast” My Favorite Disney Love Song.

#countdown #list #top 15 #favorites #best #music #musicals #movies #film #animation #disney #love songs #valentine's day special

[wndaswife]

Hi, i wasnt sure if my ask got lost or if you haven't answered it yet (if do you have it please ignore this) but i was wondering if the heart necklace elizabeth wore as candy was an actual item candy wore (possibly pat giving it to her) or whether it was just the costume department giving this to her to wear? Since she pretty much wore it the entire show.

When I saw the final ep i was so surprised by the full murder scene, especially when the axe went into betty's head i was just 0_0. Next time I do watch it tho I'm def gonna have to count the times she swung it, to see whether they did 41 hits, i dont think they did and just skipped ahead. I think they should have made her keep going to get the full feel of just how many she did.

I have two other questions to ask since I didn't get them.

1:who the heck was that random woman who was with allan?? i mean she came out of now where and suddenly they were making out and i'm just???? i guess it sorta showed how little he really cared about his wife being murdered??

2: i dont really get what happened with don and the judge, when he had to give the court money, and then he went to jail for 24h? then later on he had to give them more money and he said in jail for 3 days? i dont know if you know more about what was going on and why he was in a cell for days?

What were your final thoughts on the final? I also found the ending..not weird but like..oh?? like them riding off into the sunset, and of course going past the motel.

no it didn’t have any significance in the book, that was all costume design n stuff!!! i think it sorta fits her, idk she seems like the type to really like heart shaped jewelry and think it’s super cute to get it as a gift or something… maybe she did get it from pat

well in the book she reaaaally liked those cheesy romance cards, she used to exchange them with pat all the time so i guess that was maybe related to it??

honestly i thought it would be more graphic because the book went into a lot more detail (but ofc tho like.. you’d have to be kind of ill looking for scenes in film that perfectly portray how the murder went in books because they tend to be a lot more descriptive, like the way the skull was broken into by the axe for example)

1. the random woman was a neighbor i believe or someone he worked with! in the book it was only implied they had a relationship or assumed by witnesses, but maybe i didn’t read into it right and it was for certain that they did have a thing. tho yes there is some passiveness from allan with the whole thing, he’s not really a likable person in my opinion

2. not sure if this law still applies and if it’s the same in every court, but even lawyers have to follows rules n stuff, so because don kept speaking out of line and kept breaking all these rules like don’t talk to the media, he was charged a fine and had to stay in jail for an amount of time

i talked more ab how i thought of the finale in another ask and i don’t wanna bore u if you already read it xddd but in case u didn’t, i liked the ending! in the book they only ended with the montomerys leaving wylie but i really loved how love & death added that sort of reflective part to all of it, and i really liked how they added the where r they now kinda thing at the end

how about you?? did u like it?

#rae responds #xxxtwilightaxelxxx #love & death

[debunkingtherightwing]

Michael Knowles Can't Handle Five Seconds Of A Show For Toddlers:

Michael Knowles is among the dumbest of these guys, like for crying out loud!

I figured we could use a break from AmFest (which is code for I could use a break from AmFest) so I figured that we should engage in one of our favorite past times here at Talking Points, dunking on Daily Wire third banana Michael Knowles.

The other reason why I wanted to do this episode is because Michael is once again on his deranged "They're turning you gay" soapbox and this time is targeting CocoMelon. It's just as stupid and hilarious as one might expect.

Warning: Transphobia, homophobia, and stupidity. These aren't my opinions, obviously.

00:00, Michael Knowles: "A popular kids show, quite possibly the most popular kids show in the world, is apparently trying to turn your child into a tutu wearing, mama denying, gender-bending dancer, as evidenced by this recently viral clip."

Let the stupidity begin.

So, depicting a child being raised by gay parents isn't "denying mothers", it's just a child in a different situation. Studies have shown that children raised by same-sex parents fare just as well as ones being raised by heterosexual ones. But these are the guys who are against gay parents even existing so this take is unsurprising.

As for the "child-crossdressing", a child wearing a tutu is a total "who cares" for me. It's a brief scene, really only lasting about five seconds, and the kid tries on multiple other costumes throughout the scene. This isn't weird at all, the only people making it weird are right-wing ghouls like Michael who are using it to justify their own homophobia.

01:00, Michael Knowles: "Why shouldn't kids shows depict little boys wearing tutus and dancing for the pleasure of homosexual men who have somehow gained custody of them, huh?"

Michael's mind is clearly in an extremely perverted gutter if that's the first thing he thinks of when seeing a five second clip from a CocoMelon video.

"Dancing for the pleasure of homosexual men", what?! Or it's a scene of him playing a game of dress-up with his dads. Even by Michael Knowles standards this is such a stupid take.

01:13, Michael Knowles: "Until the mid to late 20th century anyone who ever considered creating a scene like that for adults would have been ostracized from polite society and likely prosecuted."

Yeah, black people would also have been ostracized and likely prosecuted if they sat in the non-colored seat on the bus, what's your point?

Society actually does this thing called "change".

01:30, Michael Knowles: "This is just what kids are watching these days."

Yeah, a five second clip of a kid in a dress which is all of a sudden being turned into a dirty thing because the kid in this show happened to have gay parents.

Also now would be a good reminder of that time in college where Michael starred in a gay sex scene.

02:28, Michael Knowles: "I just assume that anything modern and popular and praised by the libs is poison, now we have proof."

This sums up Michael's entire mindset in one sentence. Michael, if he had his way, would drag us back into a backwards and Handmaid's Tale-esque world to "own the libs".

Racial equality is modern and popular and praised by the left, guess Michael doesn't like that. How about cell phones? Affordable healthcare? Women having the right to vote? I could go on and on.

My point is that this is an insanely stupid thing to say unless you want to go back to a Medieval feudal society.

Also your proof is just five seconds from a kids show that look innocent to anyone that doesn't have an extremely dirty mind.

02:35, Michael Knowles: "That's why we launched our own kids platform BentKey."

So, a lot of this fearmongering is mainly just to advertise the Daily Wires kids platform. This really shows how much of a grifter Michael is. Build up the fear about your kids being indoctrinated into...turning gay I guess and then BANG, ad pivot.

Most of the right uses these kinds of tactics to drive sales.

05:11, Michael Knowles: "I can already hear the objection to my criticism of CocoMelon. They're going to say, the libs of course, they're going to say 'Michael, what's wrong with a kid being himself? What's wrong with a nice supportive loving family encouraging a kid to be himself? Just be yourself!'"

As a person Michael would consider a "lib", that's the least of my objections to this. My 3 main objections are as follows:

This is a dumb thing to spend time on. There are so many important things going on in the world that spending this much time talking about five seconds of a kids show is a complete waste of energy.

2. As stated prior, it was only five seconds. The kid even tries on some more traditionally "masculine" costumes such as a firefighter one. There is no way that a child would be paying attention enough to even register it! Keep in mind that Cocomelon is targeted at ages 2-4.

3. Really all this is is a massive dogwhistle. Michael is talking about this because it gives him a way to paint gay parents as perverts and trans identifying kids as "groomed victims" to his audience.

Anyway, Michael argues against this strawman.

05:31, Michael Knowles: "I guess what's wrong with this is the assumption that that makes about human nature which is that there's this true self at the core of an onion, we just need to peel away the layers of society and norms and standards and practice and morality and tradition and ritual. We need to peel away all those layers and we will get to the true core of the self and the true core for that little boy is wearing tutus and dancing for a couple of homosexuals."

Again, mind in the absolute gutter. Michael absolutely would not give a shit if this was a straight imaginary couple. It's just a kid playing dress up, nothing perverted about it!

The episode doesn't even end with the child wearing the tutu or deciding to be trans or whatever Michael is saying it does!

This is also a stupid argument because it ignores the fact that those standards have CHANGED for everyone but Michael and other conservative reactionaries like him. While a child wearing a dress is appalling for reactionary trolls like Michael, the rest of society truly could care less.

06:24, Michael Knowles: "A lot of human behavior, and especially human desire, comes from imitation."

Yeah, a five second clip of a kid in a tutu is gonna make your two to four year old trans. Here I thought that the PornHub thing was a stretch, Michael is seriously grasping at straws to justify this being a big deal.

07:17, Michael Knowles: "We are mimetic when it comes to our desires as well. I mentioned this on the show yesterday in a different context, the reason people want the Rolex watch is not because they know anything about how the watch works, it's not because they no anything about the history of the company or the mechanics of watch gears, it's because other people want the Rolex watch."

Your sexuality isn't the same thing as a wristwatch, if that were true we'd all be running around banging inanimate objects.

Man this is one of the dumbest things I have ever watched for this blog, I'm almost beginning to miss AmFest....almost.

08:15, Michael Knowles: "So if a kid is raised by a lumberjack and his traditional wife in the mountains of who knows where, somewhere in the western United States, and they've got really traditional values and the dad goes out and chops wood and the mom churns butter and I don't know, I'm probably getting into some kind of fairy tale fable of a traditional life, but that kid is going to be more likely to go chop wood or if it's a girl go out and churn butter."

This removes all individual agency. What if that child doesn't want to chop wood or churn butter? It completely removes individual personality and hitches how a person is entirely on their parents.

08:45, Michael Knowles: "And if a child is raised by a couple of homosexual men who purchased the child from scientists and impoverished women in the third world through IVF and surrogacy then that kid is more likely to mimic their behavior."

Yes, there are some ethical concerns about cross-border surrogacy depending on the nation but a majority of surrogates are in the United States and a lot of cross-border surrogates are in other first world countries. The regions with the most surrogacies are India, Ukraine, California, and Central America. The most concerning on that list to someone would probably be India, but they've banned commercial surrogacy.

Also, what behavior is that? This statement is running on the homophobic myth that gay couples are inherently hypersexual which is false and rooted in harmful stereotypes.

9:02, Michael Knowles: "And if a kid is told that it is oppressive for a boy to play with G.I Joe and it's wonderful and liberating a boy to wear a tutu and dance for the pleasure of his 'fathers', quote on quote, he's gonna do that too."

When did the show even say that?! It never said it was oppressive for a kid to have traditionally masculine interests because nobody is saying that. Like I said earlier, the episode actually has the kid dressing up in more masculine costumes like a fireman before these five seconds that triggered Michael occurred.

I'm also getting really sick of Michael implying to his audience that all gay fathers are pedophiles. Like I've been saying from the very beginning all the way back when this blog was still called "Wired", this rhetoric can and will inspire violent attacks against the people these goons are targeting.

Since Michael is so obsessed with the concept of mimicry, here's something to chew on. What happens if someone sees this episode, decides to "do something about it", and shoots and kills a gay couple to "save the kid". Obviously Michael would have to take responsibility because that person was spurred on by Michael’s bigoted rhetoric, but Michael won't because he cares about his paycheck and not about who gets hurt.

Has Michael ever met a child by the way? Children usually rebel against what their parents want from them! If strawman child is being denied his G.I Joe doll, odds are he'll want it more!

09:12, Michael Knowles: "And if a kid is raised watching that absolutely degenerate cartoon than that kid is more likely to mimic those behaviors."

That's like saying eating one piece of broccoli will turn you into a vegetarian. Michael is breaking new ground in the world of right-wing stupidity.

09:39, Michael Knowles: "The more bad stuff we take in the worse we're gonna feel, the more it's gonna twist our desires and our sense of identity."

Yeah, five seconds of a toddlers show is gonna twist our "sense of identity". God, did Ben Shapiro OK this? Michael is making the Daily Wire look like a bunch of idiots who can't handle a toddlers show.

09:54, Michael Knowles: "That's probably clearest when we talk about porn, it's even worse than Cocomelon."

I don't think I've laughed as hard at one of these right-wing ghouls as I just did. The comparison between porn and COCOMELON, oh my God that is funny but also sad when you remember that people believe this shit.

10:23, Michael Knowles: "The company was called MindGeek but of course the company is so disreputable and so despicable that they have to keep changing their name because like the euphemism treadmill bad connotations just glom on naturally to whatever this company is called."

That's not how companies work. Even if MindGeek changes their name, it's not like a hard reset button that wipes the companies slate clean. Everybody knows that Aylo is the same company as MindGeek.

Michael then plays a clip of another PornHub employee that runs counter to his narrative. Michael chalks it up to him "not being one of the writers". He then, after an ad-break of course, drops a "rule for life".

14:41, Michael Knowles: "Don't let your behavior stop you from acknowledging the truth. Don't become a captive to your own bad behavior."

You lie to people on the internet for a living, get off your high horse when it comes to "the truth". Michael is a captive of both his own bad behavior and his audiences.

Michael basically says the same thing in different ways for three minutes. Who the hell cares?! He talks about the Trump and Colorado thing for a bit, mainly by playing clips of people who disagreed with Trump who don't agree with the Colorado decision, Michael reacting to CNN isn't something we need to dwell on. Ad pivot. And then he drops this amazing line.

24:05, Michael Knowles: "Peppa Pig, Blues Clues, Muppet Babies, and more continue to aggressively push radical leftist propaganda"

BAHAHAHA. I was drinking some coffee while listening to this in the background and this legitimately made me snort coffee out of my nose. Yeah, Blues Clues and Muppet Babies, well known radical leftist TV shows. They're not even making Muppet Babies anymore, the show ended in 2022.

The Daily Wire is legitimately a parody of itself at this point.

He then advertises BentKey a bit, gotta prevent kids from being exposed to the radical leftist ideas contained in Muppet Babies right? He talks about Vivek's PR stunt where he declared that he'll pull his name off the ballot in Colorado and how DeSantis didn't do it. I really don't care, again it's Michael reacts to CNN. We probably will have to do a blog post addressing the Colorado thing, everyone except Ezra (which makes sense because he's too busy yelling about Trudeau) did something on it. Anyway, here's Michael yelling about a diversity initiative.

33:06, Michael Knowles: "Now we found out that the Harvard president once created a taskforce on visual culture and signage to make white males less visible at Harvard."

First of all, white males don't need the extra representation at Harvard. According to Harvard's demographics, the student population at Harvard is 34.6% white. This is the vast majority as the second largest demographic is Asians which make up 13.6%.

Out of those white people on campus, 18.9% (the majority again) are males. So if they are trying to erase white males from Harvard they are doing an insanely crappy job.

As for this "taskforce" thing that Michael is talking about, it was just about making the campuses symbols (such as portraits) more diverse. It's completely innocent and a total who cares news story.

33:39, Michael Knowles: "The recommendations included a mandate to change quote 'spaces whose visual culture is dominated by homogenous portraiture of white men'. Homogenous, you know all those white guys look the same. You know how all those black guys look the same, hold on you’re not allowed to say that!"

I can't tell if Michael is trying to be stupid or if it just comes naturally.

It wasn't saying that all white people look the same, it was saying that the portraits and visual materials on the campus were all of white males.

Anyway, we already talked about the Congress thing with Tim Pool but essentially it's just an example of grandstanding and highly loaded questions meant to provoke the exact response the congresswoman got.

Michael says super dumb crap about climate change but I can't be bothered. Apparently some study said that breathing contributes to climate change, he didn't link it and I couldn't find it on Google but Michael's conclusion that it means that climate change advocates want you to kill yourself is stupid as hell.

Conclusion:

So, that was one of the dumbest things I have ever watched for this blog. I love how the same people who are complaining about leftists being "triggered" are the same ones who can't handle five seconds of a show geared at toddlers. The fact that ANYONE could take Michael Knowles seriously after this is honestly baffling.

#right wing bullshit #journalism #conservative bullshit #fact checking #bad takes #conservatives #disinformation #daily wire #debunking #michael knowles #god this guy is a complete moron #fuck transphobes #fuck conservatives #conservative l's #conservative logic #the right is dumb #Michael Knowles is such a dumbass

[moemoemammon]

MC is Sick?!

(Feat. GN!MC and the Demon Bros)

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Lucifer

A little late to notice that you’re sick. He’s been so busy lately that he can’t watch you as carefully as he’d like to, so he apologizes for not catching on sooner.

But now that it’s been brought to his attention, Lucifer is all over it. You’re excused from your classes and sent to your room for bedrest while he tends to everything else. He’s rarely the one to bring you your medicine or meals, to his dismay, but his busy schedule just won’t allow it. 

If he were able he’d let you stay in his room until you felt better. But for the time being, he’ll have to squeeze in little visits to your room, where he’ll pop in and sit on the edge of your bed, pressing his hand against your forehead and letting it linger on your cheek.

He’ll often come to your room with a record for you to listen to, and he loves talking about the history of the music and the life of the composure. His boring talks put you right to sleep.

“This piece is one of my favorites. The composer went into an illness induced madness when he created the sheet music, and wouldn't eat or sleep for two weeks until it’d been completed. Why, I often listen to it when- Ah, have you fallen asleep?"

Mammon

The first to notice the change in your health. You don’t look so good.. Are you okay? MC?!

Good luck trying to get any rest, because your first man is gonna be popping in and out of your room every five minutes. He’s constantly checking in on you, making sure you’re not too hot or too cold, that you’ve got something to drink, that you ate the soup he left-

Actually, Mammon’s not that bad of a caretaker! He’s a little too attentive, but he clearly knows what he’s doing. Also insists on being the only one that takes care of you until you’re better.

Polices everything you do. You wanna get out of bed? Nope, wait for Mammon. You’re bored? He’ll bring you something to do. Know what, he’s just gonna move into your room for the time being-

“Who told ya to go and get sick? Makin' me worry like this... I'm gonna make sure ya get better in no time, so you'd better be grateful, ya hear? I don't do this for just anybody..."

Levi

No way... You’re sick?! But you guys had plans to watch Magical Ruri Hana together...

Yeah, he’s not the best at caretaking despite watching Cells at Work, but he does know the basics! It kills him to leave his room so frequently, so.. why don’t you just stay in his room? He’ll take care of you there, and the healing waves of Ruri-chan will wash over you and get rid of your illness!

He definitely can’t be your primary caregiver, unless you want to be sick forever. Anime doesn't really imitate real life. Who would've thought?

 But he’s as attentive as he can be, at least! He brings you new DVDs to watch, manga to read, and delicious stacks to try whenever he can! Even if this is all he can do, he wants to make sure you know he’s thinking about you. May or may not also be spam texting you and keeping you awake-

“I brought the audio drama for you to listen to! It's from the TSL live series, where they act out the scenes! You won't have to worry about reading or watching anything, so you can listen to it to sleep. Oh, but I want to hear your opinion on everything! And then you- huh? When will you be able to sleep? Uh..."

Satan

The most knowledgeable when it comes to taking care of human illnesses, but he still fumbles a little. Insists on making an accurate diagnosis of your symptoms, and that takes way longer than the actual treatement,

But once he’s deduced what’s going on, Satan goes all in. You might feel like a guinea pig because of all the weird methods he’s trying on you (may or may not have read a medieval medicine book first), so uhhhhh be patient with him. Now hold still while he puts this onion in your sock-

Not as attentive as the others, but very thorough when he tends to you. And despite all the unorthodox healing methods, you actually recover quickly, by some miracle.

In the quieter moments when all you need is rest, Satan will sit by and quietly read to you until you lull off to sleep, brushing the hair from your face before he leaves.

“Hm... I was sure St. John's Wart would do the trick, but your fever hasn't broken at all? Maybe I ought to try minced garlic and honey next? Or maybe..- Eh? Just normal medicine is fine?"

Asmo

SICK?! No no, this won’t do at all! Asmo doesn’t want to see his darling MC looking so pale and unsightly! It’s off to bed with you now. No, not his bed he loves you but you’ve gotta understand-

Gentle affection is one of Asmo’s selling points, but that doesn’t mean the king of aftercare knows how to treat illnesses. He does however make you extremely comfortable. I’m talking extra fluffy pillows, cold and hot packs where you need them most, careful sponge baths (if you’ll let him), and everything else he can offer to make sure you’re okay.

May or may not show up in a hazmat suit, but don’t worry. The mask is clear so you get a view of his beautiful face! And when he isn’t around to take care of you, he sends pictures of himself to speed up the healing process.

Most likely to ask for help in your care. He tends to forget that you need more than affection and selfies to help you recover-

“Make sure you get better quickly, okay? I'll keep gracing your with my gorgeous face, and that ought to heal you in no time! Oh, maybe an herbal bath will help, too? I'll join you~!"

Beel

Extremely worried the moment you sneeze twice in a row. And when that escalates into a full blown cold, he immediately takes you to your room and cocoons you in every spare blanket he can find.

His care is sloppy, but full of affection. Your bed is a fluffy mess of soft blankets and pillows, and he lingers in your room nearly all day. And naturally, Beel knows you need to eat in order to heal.

You’re never without any food. This man will bring you an entire rotisserie chicken and a quart of orange juice for breakfast do not underestimate him. And if you can’t stomach anything, he’s try for things that’re easier to eat. like soups and broths. Also insists on feeding you himself.

Might also need some help in caring for you. He has good intentions and he’s being as careful with you as can be, but it can’t help to have another set of hands on the job. He wants to make sure you get the best care he can offer.

“Mm... you're not eating a lot today. Hm? You're full? But you only had a shadow hog roast, three sandwiches, and a gallon of juice. Are you sure that's enough? ...Well, maybe you're right. I'll eat what you can't finish, then. Hm? You're worried I'll get sick? It's fine. A human cold wont affect me."

Belphie

He knew something was up when you didn’t get out of bed that morning. Sleeping until 2pm is HIS thing, got it? Just kidding-

Tries not to show it, but this man is so worried that he can’t even sleep. BELPHEGOR, the Avatar of Sloth, is suffering from insomnia. 

He isn’t really the best at taking care of other people, but he knows that plenty of rest can only do you good. Belphie climbs into your bed and resigns himself to staying there until you heal. Somehow, having him around makes your sleep even deeper, so you always wake up feeling a little more rested than before.

Not so great at remembering when to bring you medicine and stuff, so the help of the others is a given. But despite that, you find yourself comfortable in every position you shift into. Belphie knows a thing or two about resting peacefully, so he’s got an eye for helping you with that.

“Are you feeling a little better today? ...Good. You were tossing and turning in your sleep, so I got you that ice pack. It look like your fever finally broke, so that means I can rest easy now.. goodnight......"

#I wrote this because I am ill and I wanna indulge #obey me shall we date #obey me! #obey me #obey me! shall we date? #shall we date? obey me! #shall we date obey me #obey me writing #obey me headcanons #obey me scenarios #obey me imagines #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me levi #obey me satan #obey me asmo #obey me beel #obey me belphie