#this is my ideal episode honestly guys

[cookinguptales]

my family is watching antiques roadshow again, and we were talking about the wwdits vampires trying to sell their old belongings at one of these things... which quickly devolved into how much we want to see them doing appraisals on the show.

laszlo is presented with an authentic norman rockwell painting and he's like "not enough tits, not enough bush" and he just like. throws it. finds some vintage victorian pornography and is like THIS IS MORE LIKE IT.

nadja is just wandering around judging jewelry by how haunted it is, giving insultingly lowball estimates, and stealing the pieces she likes best as soon as the cameras are off her. she mostly just hypnotizes a bunch of old ladies, but yes, there is a body count.

nandor is thrilled by how much antique weaponry there always is at these shows, but he is mostly enamored of All The Horsies. because for some reason, there is always so much horse art on this show. every horse painting is worth one million dollars.

colin is giving actual legit appraisals, his are the only ones that are at all accurate, but his appraisals are so long-winded (he draws them out just to keep folks anxious) that people usually pass out before they find out what their treasures are actually worth. he does not bother mugging them. (nadja often does, though.)

guillermo is like GUYS, WE REALLY SHOULDN'T BE ON TV... until the exact moment that he finds out how much a lot of their old shit is actually worth. once he loosens up, he finds that he actually really enjoys wandering around and looking at all of the antiques, even if they do kind of uncomfortably remind him of a very unpleasant ex.

nadja will, before this is over, shove a bunch of stolen jewelry at guillermo and tell him to hide it in his pockets. he will bitch while doing exactly that. colin will help the two of them resell their illicit gains on ebay the next day.

(meanwhile, laszlo has managed to pull both keno brothers.)

bonus for my fellow nandermo fans:

despite coming out of the whole endeavor much richer, guillermo is feeling unsettled because his ex-boyfriend always used to ramble at him about antiquities and he realizes that he was never once asked what he thought about any of them. it feels odd to realize how much he does actually enjoy the subject in the absence of a much larger personality that always made him feel smaller.

(story of his life, huh?)

after all this is done, he goes back out to some local shows and auctions, much smaller ones, and nandor accompanies him. they gossip at each other the whole time about which pieces they like, which they think are ugly, and which are drastically overpriced.

guillermo uses his new misbegotten wealth to buy nandor a statue of a horse, which he promptly names john.

#this is my ideal episode honestly guys #posts that appeal to literally only me #I would write an entire fic about this if literally anyone would read it lmao #but it is a crossover that literally only I would enjoy #I grew up on this show and I'll probably die watching it lmao #wwdits #antiques roadshow

[ducknewtonscoolhat]

On this day I present

Every single time Duck Newton is horrible at lying !

Episode 7

Duck: Yeah, it’s a nickname. Listen, y’all got a van handy, why don’t you hop in and get on trucking. Don’t forget to— don’t worry ‘bout your clothes. We’ll drive them up seperate.

Swimmer: Why can’t we take our clothes?

Duck: [freezing up] You need to— you need— uh. Here, I’ll get them. Y’all start loading in the van and I’ll bring your clothes out to ya’s. Just another one of the many services we offer from the Forestry Service.

Episode 10

Pigeon: Well, I know how to do it, I just wanna know why.

Duck: Perfect. Perfect. Why? It's for firefighter training? Yeah, it's for firefighter training. It's been a little while since I last told someone that, so I had some time to forget it. But it's for firefighting training, cuz we can't get enough water pressure to fight the fires, forest fires.

Pigeon: Out in Monongahela?

Duck: Yeeeeeeep.

Pigeon: Duck, that's on the opposite side of town. I can find other places that I can get you some more water pressure instead of pumping it out of the water park almost a mile away.

Duck: Yeah, but the water park is definitely gonna be closed. If you can tell me somewhere where you can guarantee that they're not gonna need that amount of water that's using that amount, I'd love to hear about it. Cus, off the top of my head, I can't improvise anything.

Pigeon: There's a reservoir right next to Monongahela.

Duck: The reservoir is a source of water but it's not gonna give other— fuck, listen Pigeon, here's the thing. I... love... to… practice fishing. But... the running water... frightens me, it's called hydrophobia. And I would love to practice my cast in a real water environment where I can get in a large body where I can guarantee that running water won't be a factor. And I would just love to practice my cast in a guaranteed still body. But here's the other thing, sometimes if you do it in a lake, that's what you're thinking, a fish will bite it and normally that's ideal, but I'm just trying to practice casting. It's like, when you don't want to catch, that's when they're biting, y’know what I mean? So I need a still body of water that I can guarantee won't move to practice my fishing casting.

Episode 13

Duck: I should’ve put some time into it, honestly, but I uh… I was real busy with family over the holidays, so I didn’t make much—

Mama: You literally just said you didn’t have any family in town over the holidays.

Duck: God dammit. Dammit!

Mama: I mean, it’s fine if you couldn’t dig anything up, but you don’t gotta lie to old Mama, you know?

Duck: Dammit! Dammit, Duck!

Mama: You don’t have to beat yourself up about it, Duck, I mean po—

Duck: Fuck!

Episode 14

EMT: Do you know what happened to him?

Duck: Oh boy…um…do you want the truth or a more convincing lie? Um, nah so, okay, right… so the Pizza Hut sign started to fall, ‘cause of the weather, and he ran up there on… a fire escape… and tried to push it? …With a bat? Damn it. Nah, he just pushed it, and it fell, but then he fell ‘cause he got shocked. I bet… mmm…I didn’t see. I was in-Ah, shit! Alright, hey fol-hey guys, rewind. I-hey guys, rewind a second. Ah fuck! I was inside, I didn’t see. Anything! I don’t know… this man. I do know this man. His name-Fuck!  Alright, I Ned, hi, here's-hmmm. Alright, so this man’s name is Ned, and he’s a friend of mine, and I don’t know what the hell happened to him, but you know this guy. He’s always getting into something. I don’t know, I was in the building, I almost got killed by a Pizza Hut sign. I might be in shock!

Episode 18

Duck: Honestly… uh if I gotta tell you the truth, Juno, I’m— I was trying to get into character. I’ve been—

Juno: You’re going undercover with these teens?

Duck: —I’m going undercover. I got a undercover teenage identity. It’s— it’s Frick Richums and when I assume the identity of Frick Richums, I’m trying to get undercover, with the Hornets [hisses] so I can find their illegal grow thing. [grunts]

Juno: You are a truly miserable liar, Duck Newton.

Duck: Goddamnit! I put on such a good— damnit!

Juno: Hey, when you’re finished with the… with those, those nails. Would you mind taking them back to the station? I need to sort of keep going around the perimeter see if I can find something to, you know, maybe help with your investigation to take down those— those drug kingpins, the Hornets.

Duck: Yeah, Juno, about that. I— I was kidding about that, of course. I was just having some fun. But I did… I did hear some of them talking on...... Facebook about you and how they were gonna target you. Like they need to get you out of the way. And it kinda freaked me out a little bit. Can you think of any reason anybody would wanna get you… outta the way? Or— or be targeting you? Like… for this?

Episode 21

(Deputy Dewey is asking for alibis)

Duck: Me— Me— Me too.

Deputy Dewey: You too what? You were

Duck: Yup.

Deputy Dewey: Alright…

Duck: Me too. I was— Yup, I— Yup, me too, for both. Yup, me too. Mmm…

Aubrey: Duck, are you okay? You look like you need to use the bathroom.

Duck: Nope. Yeah, I do. Yup. Uh, Burritos, alright… Bye.

Episode 22 Featuring Ned and Aubrey also being bad at lying

Morgue Technician: Can I help y'all with something?

Duck: Well, we would like to see the bodies of--

Aubrey: My brother!

Duck: My dad.

Ned: My son.

Duck: His brother. Her-- His-- His son, her brother, my dad.

Aubrey: Not related. There's two of 'em.

Ned: But you have to figure out which two.

Duck: We need to see a body for a dare. I'm sorry about all the lies from before but we need to see a body for a dare.

Aubrey: I was dared to look at the body of my brother.

Ned: And my son.

Aubrey: I was dared to look at the body of his son. Who is also my brother. Because he is my father.

Episode 32

Duck: Um… yup. It‘s… Harpo. Uh, all… [imitating crackling noise] Y‘all hearing this? [imitating crackling] The… radio break up. Radio break up. Mrrr.

#taz amnesty #duck newton #the adventure zone #duck newton fan account #taz

[midwesternvibes]

Alright people, it's time for more Villain Leo lore!!!

Today we are diving into Leo and Splinter's relationship!!!

Read under the cut because this got so LONG, these two have so many issues and there was so much to work with.

Alright, so it's no secret that Leo and Splinter have a....less than ideal relationship. You can see throughout all of TMNT history that Leo looks up to Splinter an insane amount, and Rise Leo is no different.

This boy looked up to Lou Jitsu his whole life, and we can often see him doing the same movements and catchphrases that Lou did. Granted, all the boys do, but Leo seems particularly attached to Lou

And we've all seen the smile comparisons, it's insane how similar his grandiose smile is to Lou Jistu's.

The point is, Leo really looks up to his dad, and we can see this in his actions and attitudes towards not only Lou Jitsu, but also Splinter in canon.

"Trust me pops!"

I mean, just look at how happy he is to be there with his dad, in his element. This episode is Leo at his peak, outsmarting everyone and predicting his family's moments to the letter.

Also, idk about you, but that smile seems incredibly genuine. That's not even a Lou Jitsu smile, that's a 100% Hamato Leonardo smile at his dad whom he looks up to so much.

And what does Splinter say to his son's ask for trust?

"I knew I should have brought Purple!"

....what.

That is his SON. His 14, maybe 15 year old son, who is asking for his father to trust him.

....and he responds by saying that he wishes he had brought his more intelligent twin brother instead, who he has already shown an implied favoritism towards in the past

"And I thought Purple was the funny one!"

"Told you guys I was the funniest."

This is a pretty harmless comment tbh, but Leo takes so much pride in his quips, one-liners and puns that this had to sting a little bit.

There's such a huge amount of content to sift through when it comes to these two, and that fact actually saddens me because I had SO MUCH to pick from when making this post, but here's some highlights.

One thing that I noticed while watching a Splinter and Leo compilation is that during the memory episode, Leo is the only one Splinter directly hits

NONE of the other three were directly hit like this is any point in the episode and yeah, this could totally be played off as a bit or just a case of wrong place, wrong time, but we'll get to my theory later, right now I'm just laying out the facts.

An important detail I'd like to point out here too is Leo's face after the first hit.

Guys, he looks HURT. Donnie and Raph are looking at him, checking that he's okay, but he is looking right past them at the shadow Splinter, who is dressed and looks just like his childhood idol, who just hit him specifically right in the face.

Not only his idol even. No, the most pure and unfiltered representation of his father, the man who's raised him his whole life.

And he just got hit in the face.

Ouch. For a kid as emotive as Leo (who I honestly think feels his emotions even more intensely than Mikey when he lets them out), this is a devastating blow. Literally.

Then, let's talk about this scene, you all knew it was coming.

"Can someone tell my son I am NOT TALKING TO HIM!!"

"You got this pops! I love you!"

Guys this scene hurts my heart. Like, once again, he can't be older than 15 at this point. Yeah he's being a badass stratigiser this whole episode, but you cannot convince me that he wasn't at least a little excited to see his dad, his HERO in action, and wearing a matching outfit as well, and show his dad, his idol and hero, exactly what he's capable of. Leo absolutely worships the ground Splinter walks on and what does his father have to say to his son"s encouragement??

"NO!"

GAHHHH like yes, Leo was kinda being a little shit this whole episode and could have clued his dad in on the plan a little bit, but honestly that could have ruined everything if Splinter had any holdbacks.

Not to mention, this is the only Leo and Splinter episode we get. Donnie gets the derby, Mikey gets the Hidden City bonding, even Raph gets the ending of the memory episode, and in each, they have a genuine moment of bonding with Splinter.

Splinter never ONCE apologized for his actions in this episode. Not once. RAPH is the one who tells Leo in this episode later on that he trusts Leo, something he's been begging Splinter for the entire time.

All of a sudden, this moment doesn't seem so out of place.....

"I love you soooo much!" "No, no you don't, I'm your least favorite!!"

This line could totally just be a throwaway line, but as it was pointed out to me by the wonderful @nardos-primetime, the alarms that the boys did for Google home have a REALLY upsetting one for Leo

Go to about 1:57 and listen to that one and just......cry.

NOW that line in "Rat Flu" makes a LOT more sense. Splinter LAUGHED at Leo when he asked if he was his favorite. LAUGHED at him.

But wait, you may ask. What about the ending? Splinter made Leo the leader, obviously he trusts him!

....yeah, just take a look at their faces here.

Donnie and Mikey are basically horrified beyond belief and in complete shock

Raph is.....blue screening, honestly

And Leo looks completely taken aback and shocked and scared and honestly, I don't blame him. There is absolutely NO precedence for Splinter to do this. He has proved time and time again that he does NOT trust Leo, he never ONCE tells Leo that he trusts him even though he asks for that trust during the entirety of "Unhappy Returns". NONE of them look happy about this new change.

You could see this as Splinter finally giving Leo a chance, but I see this a lot more as one of the more popular Fandom interpretations of Splinter wanting to give Raph a break. Raph had a huge breakdown during the finale and I don't think it's unreasonable for Splinter to have heard of that and decide that his beloved eldest needed a chance to recover.

Who better to pass this burden on to than his least favorite son!

We also see in the movie that this shift in power dynamics really doesn't do much other than create a lot of interpersonal conflict between Leo and Raph, something Splinter does absolutely nothing to help out with, other than telling them to quiet down.

Now that we have all of our evidence (and I put more work into getting evidence for this than for the English project I'm supposed to be doing right now can I just cite this as a source for me being capable of gathering evidence???) we can actually get into the analysis of how this all would affect him.

First of all, I mentioned that I would discuss the repercussions of the memory episode. This analysis is more for Splinter, but I feel like it's still important. We've seen time and time again that Leo is very similar to how Splinter was as a young teen in both looks and attitude. If Splinter truly resents his younger self and how he acted, it would make a lot of sense for him to also subconsciously resent his son who acts a lot like himself at that age. This would cause him to lash out at Leo in his subconscious, the one place where his true thoughts and feelings are on full display.

I just wanna point out his face again here, Leo looks so hurt. He definitely already knows that he's not anywhere near Splinter's favorites at this point, but it still hurts him to see that get confirmed.

This brings me to my next point of Leo's psyche. He is a very confident, witty, smart teenager, but he's still just that. A teenager. He's anxious, insecure, and very self-reliant. He looks to others for praise often and rarely receives it, usually having to hype himself up. His relationship with Splinter only emphasizes these qualities about him and makes Leo look so much worse in Splinter's eyes because his son is just a modern-day representation of his past self.

Now let's put this into perspective of Leo's decent into villainy.

If Leo is hurting and under the impression that his brothers are maybe starting to dislike him, even hate him, adding Splinter on to this can only make it worse.

Maybe he goes to his dad for tips on how to lead when he feels like he can't talk to Raph anymore and needs his father's advice.

Maybe he sets up a dinner for him and Splinter to just chat and bond instead of sitting at the dinner table with another one of Mikey's meals that he feels too sick with anxiety from his little brother's disappointed looks to eat.

Maybe he goes to his father crying from another nightmare after not feeling welcomed in Donnie's lab anymore after they fought for an hour the day before.

And maybe, just maybe, Splinter waves him off every time.

Forgets.

Laughs at him.

I mean, this is a kid who relys on others to build him up, to praise him and love him because after all....

Who is he without his family?

Maybe it's time to find out.

First // Previous // Next

Link to an AMAZING ficlet by the FANTASTIC @beetleviolet

#rottmnt #rottmnt leo #rise of the tmnt #leonardo #tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #villain leo au #master splinter #Splinter #leonardo hamato #hamato yoshi #lou jitsu #Rise analysis #rise of tmnt #rise tmnt #rise leo #teenage mutant ninja turtles

[taliskermortem]

so the top/mew sex scene? fascinating. they made so many choices regarding it and i'm honestly intrigued.

((this got way too long so i'm putting it under the cut))

the first thing i noticed was how their scene had almost no noise. it was dead quiet. and the lighting felt almost clinical.

now in comparison to some of the other sex scenes we've seen so far it was... pretty tame. which is fine. but we basically didn't see any of the 'sex'. we got the kissing. and we got the afterglow cuddles. and on top of that... there was no passion.

but let's start from the beginning.

'does this mean i passed your test?' a relationship shouldn't a test. and i think it says a lot about top that that is how he views it. its a challenge. a competition. maybe even a distraction. this has been his goal: get mew to have sex with him. and he's succeeded. but what happens now?

now in comparison to the first time, in episode 1 when they make out in mew's kitchen there are some noticable differences. firstly, their kiss is much more intense. now you can write this off as this kiss being sweet and romantic but... there is so much space between their bodies when they kiss. the only points of contact are their lips and top's hand on the back of mew's head.

then they undress themselves. not each other. top just strips and mew follows suit. the first time, top at least takes mew's shirt off for him. this time he barely touches mew. there's no romantically revealing each other. which is interesting because the first thing top says is: can you see me? can you see what top has revealed to mew. not what mew revealed himself. and mew is all of course i can because he really seems to think he does. but anyway. they're still not even touching.

and then

and THEN

i love you mew

like my dude where did that come from what a line you really just went in for the final kill didn't you. he's serving himself up to you already and you just had to make sure there was nothing left.

and then they are in their boxers kissing. and there is still so much SPACE.

and then top puts mew down on the sofa. now i'm not being funny but there is literally a perfectly functioning massive bed RIGHT THERE. but whatever. who wants comfort? who wants space? who doesnt want to accidentally fall onto the floor? i digress.

they're touching now. finally. but mew is just kind of lying there whilst top does the touching. which, sure, shy virgin. i'll let it slide. hands still above the waist. boxers still on-

afterglow cuddles.

...

that's literally it.

bearing in mind we have seen boston bouncing on this guy's dick.

bearing in mind this is pratically the premise of the show. this is the set up from the very first episode. this is what mew and top have been building up to ever since they met.

and that's it.

anticlimatic.

which... huh, maybe that's the whole point.

this was supposed to be anticlimatic for us because it was for them. because they had both been building up and building up to this and maybe it didn't quite live up to the ideals they both had in their heads.

or maybe its anticlimatic because there's no real feeling. all the other pairings have given us emotions. even if it's one sided pining. even if there's no romantic feels yet, you can feel the potential. you can feel the desire. mew and top's scene was the least passionate of any of the sex scenes. and you could write it off as being sweet and romantic rather than horny. but i don't buy that. i don't feel that.

maybe this is how it always is for top. maybe this was exactly what mew was expecting because he seemed pretty content afterwards, with his i love you and that saccharine smile of his. maybe he doesn't know any better. maybe neither of them do.

but when juxtaposed with the sand and ray scene that follows straight afterwards... those two just have to look at each other and you know they want each other. they kiss and they're both grabbing for each other. sand moves his whole body to be closer. and they're both still fully dressed but i'll be damned if there isn't more feeling packed into that one kiss than into the whole of top and mew's scene.

i just find it interesting that something that was so pivotal to the story. to the characters. was so utterly bland.

and i think it's a very important message to be honest - you can't force romance. you can play by the whole book, follow all the right steps, say all the right lines... but you can't put feelings in where there are none. you can't make passion and love from a prewritten recipe. life is messy. and love is messy. and sex is messy. and trying to keep it neat and ordered and clean, like mew does, just doesn't work.

#ofts #only friends #only friends the series #top x mew #topmew #anyway maybe my reading of this is totally wrong #but i just found it really interesting #almost all of topmew scenes feels somehow disconnected from the rest of the show #they're all quieter #with different lighting #this squeaky clean image #that just isn't reflective of real life #but how mew wants his life to be #mew is often framed as the main character of the series #but honestly he's the person we know the LEAST #everyone else has flaws #and that makes them human #makes them relatable #helps us understand where they're coming from #mew has nothing #he's shiny and perfect and nothing beyond that #so he's impossible for us (or me at least) to trust #because the others aren't hiding anything from us #mew IS #only friends thoughts

[intermundia]

idk how many of you guys are watching the bad batch, but i just wanted to write an open letter of recommendation begging people to give it a try. i admit the first time i tried to watch it, i quit after a few episodes as uninterested. i'm not a big found family adventure kid show person, i had trouble getting into the first season of rebels as well for similar reasons. however, i tried again and fuck am i glad that i did. you have to have the first season to fall in love with the characters and build the depth of the relationships, so when the breaks bad later, it really fucking matters and hurts. the scope of the show unfolds like a flower into the whole of the empire. it has just transcended itself and built up to a third season that actually rivals andor in richness and commentary to me except it's children in prison and hunted down. the animation is sublime, the huge environments and the light and smoke and grit of everything, the aliens and cities and planets, to me it is a strong argument in favor of animation being the ideal storytelling medium for star wars. the action grabs you and holds you, the combat is captivating and tense. the plot delves into the empire and the force in such a fascinating way, like we are actually getting the linking material between phantom menace's mention of midichlorians and the survival of the emperor into the future of the sequels. there are cameos from old beloved characters, but they do not distract and do not feel gratuitous, just richly embedded in the tapestry of the galaxy. the bonds of love and betrayal between the clones, brothers fighting brothers, the fate of the clones after the end of the clone wars, it's fascinating and heartbreaking. idk it's just so heartening to me as a fan to know that there is still good star wars being made, like it's everything i wanted it to be and more, and it's not done, so i'm just at the edge of my seat honestly to find out how it will end and i want everyone to know that it's good, so fucking good, im dying, come join me in hell pls

#im losing my mind about it tbh #please i hope everyone else is watching it #tbb #sw

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Okay I just need to say that I knew I'd like this Tailstube as soon as I saw the thumbnail (after all, I am a Sonadails enjoyer, and Tails is literally in the middle of them in the thumbnail)

But I think probably something that stood out the most to me when I watched it was just

The hints that Shadow and Tails have a relationship outside of Sonic??

The first thing that tipped me off to this was that not only did Tails convince Shadow to join in on his show, he also convinced him to stick around to its natural end?? You know, Shadow. The guy you can't force to do anything and frequently will just dip if he's bored or doesn't want to be there. But even while Sonic was annoying him and he made it clear he wanted the "interview" over with, he still never made a move to chaos control out of there because of any of this.

And the second thing that tipped me off was this:

When Shadow is both confused and annoyed at Sonic, he chooses to complain to Tails about Sonic. And so Tails steps in to try to "explain" what Sonic meant by what he said (i.e he told Shadow something much nicer in the interest of getting them to be on better terms). The fact that he looks to Tails to complain to about Tails' own best friend and possibly even to explain that which he does not understand in a social context tells me just how highly he regards Tails. And since both Shadow and Sonic are being childish here, it's amusing to see Tails regarded as something closer to a trusted figure with more power here.

From an objective analysis standpoint, of course this means they have their own friendship. And this is a prospect I enjoy (The idea that Tails and Shadow are good friends)! It actually means a lot to me that Tails could form a frienship or bond with Shadow outside of the context of Sonic (in terms of who initiates it and for what reason it's initiated).

But, my friends, from a biased standpoint, I'm shipping trash. And to me this Tailstube was a fun show for Sonadails fans. Honestly, Tails staging this episode to get Sonic and Shadow to talk and "bury the hatchet", as well as how he acts during the show, read a lot to me personally like a guy trying to get his two boyfriends (who happen to be rivals) to get on better terms, if not just tolerate each other. I quite like the idea of Tails dating both of these idiots and just trying to get them to play nice when they're all together (although frankly I think the ideal scenario for Tails in my biased reading is that Sonic and Shadow get together as well).

This is also not to mention the dynamics showcased here! Sonic and Tails as best friends, with Sonic assuming that he and Tails were gonna talk shit about Shadow behind his back, and Tails trying to get him to play nicer. Shadow and Tails as friends, with Tails trying to convince him why he and Sonic are in the perfect position to become friends and helping him out socially, and with Shadow choosing to do something he doesn't want to because of Tails, as well as looking to Tails to complain to when Sonic is annoying him or when he doesn't understand something. And then there's Sonic and Shadow. In short, their relationship in this episode reminded me a lot of the dynamic I plotted out for that Sonadow post I wrote up where the two just beat the crap out of each other. In slightly longer terms, I find interesting how Mr. Flynn maintained Sonic and Shadow's dynamic during SA2 (with Sonic bothering Shadow and trying to fight him, while Shadow is just annoyed that Sonic won't leave him alone) while also showing the audience that they are rivals. And in longer terms...Sonic was clearly seeking a fight during this episode. And the facial expression, the mocking, his tone of voice, it doesn’t really matter whether or not he actually dislikes Shadow and believes they could never be friends. He's trying to annoy Shadow and goad him into a fight because he wants to fight Shadow so badly it makes him look stupid. And we can tell by how he expresses his confusion to Tails that Shadow is just not getting this. To him Sonic is just being annoying and confusing. Sonic is targeting him specifically, and Shadow shoots back with his own words. And so it's also pointed that Shadow reciprocates/actually decides to fight Sonic when Sonic specifically challenges him. He doesn't respond to Sonic trying to goad him on, but when Sonic challenges him specifically he's much more interested in opposing him.

Anyways guys I love Shadow and Tails having a soft on the side relationship while Sonic flirts by convincing Shadow to fight him somehow😂💖

#sonic the hedgehog #tailstube #sonadails #sonshadails #sonadow #sontails #shadails #shadow the hedgehog #tails the fox #miles tails prower #i just be ramblin #man there are so many things about this episode #Another personal favorite interaction was when #Tails: Come on could you try to just say one nice thing about each other? One compliment? Please? #Sonic‚ mockingly: Anything you can do I can do better #Shadow: Yeah? Do it then. Prove it. #Sonic: Ah crap he called my bluff #Sonic: I uh...I love the way you...chaos control? #Tails: Okay. You do one now Shadow #Shadow: I uh... I also love the way you chaos control. ...It's impressive that you could do it with a fake emerald #Tails: See? You can compliment each other! Sorta #Sonic is on the aro/ace spectrum to me but to me his most compelling relationships are always little buddy effect related and knuckles #effect related #Which just means that he tends to hold relationships like his and Tails highly (and has taken more than one little buddy)‚ but is also #attracted to people who have tried to kill him. What can I say? He loves the softness and domesticity of having a smaller loyal partner as #he loves the danger and exhilaration of fighting/racing a strong opponent #Sonic and Shadow fighting (and especially Sonic trying to get Shadow to fight him on purpose) is just baseline what the two need #for 'toxic yaoi' so if someone can't even handle how hostile they were during the tailstube then... #Anyways‚ how we feelin Sonshadails fans?

[flameohotwife]

So I always thought the canon pairings in AtLA had good writing/development but all the Aang and Mai bashing has made me decide to rewatch the series because shippers of a certain other ship called them "abusive" and Aang sexist. But honestly, I love how Mai calls Zuko out on his jealousy and possessive behavior in "The Beach" and Aang is always supportive of Katara's dreams, even refusing to be trained by Pakku because he's sexist to Katara. I like that Sukka teaches kids watching the show to treat women with respect but also Kataang and Maiko in the examples I mentioned above are also good examples of feminist moments in the show too.

YES! Anon, say it louder for the people in the back! There are so so SO many amazing feminist moments in this show and honestly I loved watching it with my kids (multiple times, haha) for that reason. I don't remember growing up with media that showed SO may instances of how girls/women could stand up for themselves in those types of situations. I love how Katara stood up to Pakku (with Aang's support! His little "Go, Katara!" makes me smile every time) and also how she CONSTANTLY takes boys on in fights, from pirates and Rough Rhinos to the taunting kids that subsequently get frozen where they stand ("oh, a girl has her ways") and anyone who insults Aang. How SHE is the one to defeat Azula in the end. How the WHOLE SHOW starts with her rant against Sokka's sexism. How Suki finally put's Sokka in his place. How Toph had to be played by "a really BUFF guy" in EIP because the Fire Nation couldn't admit to being bested by a tiny, 12-year-old girl. How Mai won't let Zuko treat her like a possession with no agency of her own. How she is the one to save HIM in the end at Boiling Rock (how's that for a damsel in distress?). How Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee are trusted by the Fire Lord to perform tasks even the highest generals can't achieve. How the show is relentlessly turning sexist stereotypes on their heads and making viewers question what they think they know.

Beyond the feminism (which you all probably already know I adore so much), I love that each of the leading boys has learning experiences wrt less-than-ideal behaviors towards girls/women, because in real life boys (and girls, too!) are GOING to make mistakes as they're learning and it's important to show how they can move beyond those mistakes and not forever be defined by them. Zuko learns not to be a possessive asshat like he is in The Beach (at least, we don't see him act that way towards Mai again--he might as well have broken up with her via text and not given her the option to follow him to the "good side," but he never acts possessive again. Baby steps). Aang learns he can't just solve their relationship problems by kissing Katara when she's confused. He gives her space and she clearly thinks he's learned from it by the end (really, by the next episode). Sokka learns not to be sexist and that sometimes girls are going to be stronger/better fighters than he is AND THAT'S OKAY. Good, even! It doesn't make him "less of a man" or anything like that, and we don't hear those sexist ideas come out of his mouth again. ALL of these make great talking points for parents watching the show with their kids, too.

Kids make mistakes. They lean on stereotypes or prior experiences and sometimes that bites them in the butt. AtLA shows that we can teach kids hard lessons. Not only can we fight back against injustice but we can improve ourselves when we've been the ones to mess up. And I really think that's something special.

Thanks for sending in your thoughts, anon! You're so right.

#kataang #maiko #sukka #kataangtag #atla gaang #atla feminism #anon #asks #i know everyone hates EIP but honestly it's my kids' favorite episode and i LOVE the conversations it generates

[quite-an-odd-fellow]

Normal Oak-Swallows-Garcia-Marlowe-Lee-Wilson-Swift-The Unworthy, a not so Perky Peppy guy (spoilers through season 2, episode 44 of Dungeons and Daddies)

Will Campos is a brilliant role player, which was already evident from watching him play Henry, but to me Normal shines as the one that actually suppresses his emotions effectively, leaving him emotionally isolated.

Taylor never really tries to hide what he’s feeling, but even Scary and Link who do try to hide their feelings are usually pretty obvious about it anyway. Her tummy never hurt, she just wanted the attention. “Boss Kicks” is pretty clearly not a mature person who’s moved on from learning the truth about his father.

But Normal? He always backs down. Always lets it go. Puts on a grin, because he’s a mascot at heart and he at least needs a mask if he can’t be wearing the Teenie head. Everything gets pushed down so he can carry on with enthusiasm. He loves these people, because they’re his only friends and he can’t rely on his family. None of them really notice him, though.

Somehow perfectly reminiscent of Henry’s anxieties in a realistic generational way without playing into things too heavily, Normal is standing on the edge of a tightrope that’s always threatening to snap. He takes about a dozen punches to the trauma center of his brain throughout these adventures, from his father not being proud of him, to Taylor and Link bonding and becoming closer to each other while he’s left to the side, to Scary trying to sabotage everything he’s working towards, to Hermie rejecting him then immediately offering a date he doesn’t care about if he’ll kill Scam, you get the picture.

In the end, he tries so hard to get everyone to be close, happy, good, and better than their fathers that he sometimes crosses the line without realizing it.

In episode 44, he tries in his own way to bring Scary to a better place. He figures it’s a good idea for her to apologize to Tony Pepperoni, he felt guilty about their involvement, so surely Scary must want to get some of that weight off her chest too, she was the reason he died! Even if misguided, his heart was in the right place. Inevitably, he's met with anger and disdain from Link and Taylor, who never give him an inch.

What can he say, though? Lark and Sparrow don’t like the way he is. His ‘friends’ often don’t like the way he is, and they all partner up with each other without him. Hermie rejects him pretty harshly and then tries to use him to get with his 'better' friend/wife.

Nobody likes him, from his perspective. Honestly, from my perspective too. Link likes (crushes on? It feels that way to me) Scary the most, from how I see it. Taylor feels like his best friend, and Normal’s… his childhood friend that’s a part of the group? They aren’t the same kind of close.

Taylor is mostly just chaotically Taylor, but often butts heads with Normal’s ideals. He doesn’t really show any signs of caring. Even he focused in on Scary, although it was with negative feelings. He’s besties with Link and loves to get into shenanigans with him. But he never really pays attention to Normal, or has fun with him.

Scary I think actually does somewhat like Normal, but has been too in her own head to give thought to him. Clearly she opposed and was angry with him at her worst, but in lighter moments she actually sort of looked out for him in her own way. In the most recent episode, she clearly puts a bit more thought towards him than before now that he’s so obviously upset. Link is too, but it comes off more as guilt for now than concern. Unfortunately that’s kind of the only time she actually shows real thought towards him, and he’s already been pushed off the edge.

I’ve been waiting a long time for Normal to have his full breakdown. His sister is literally named Hero, she was made for this, not him. Nobody liked Teenie until Link danced in the costume. His friends aren’t actually his friends. His parents don’t even like who he is. He thinks he’s good for nothing.

So he throws on that crumbling mask, putting back on the shell he’d tried to break out of, and stews in silence. Hides because there’s nothing left holding him together but the tiniest thread of the mascot surrounding him keeping him from shattering.

It’s beautiful, and this season has absolutely knocked me on my ass.

Normal is such a well crafted lonely teenager who can’t seem to fit in. It’s why I think he was so connected to the Doodler. The Doodler is in his family’s blood, they all either desire it’s demise or were literally born to bring it about, but he empathized with it. Wanted to show it unconditional love, because that’s all he’s ever wanted. And even that connection is overshadowed by Scary’s connection with it.

This poor, poor boy. All of the cast has had great moments that made me feel like this too, but damn is he a well roleplayed teenager. I feel that gut punch every time he’s pushed to the side or laughs off his traumas like I was in high school all over again.

I absolutely cannot wait for the next episode, and am cautiously hoping that by the end of his arc we can see the kid be happy and know that he’s loved.

#dungeons and daddies #normal oak #scary marlowe #taylor swift #lincoln lee wilson #sparrow oak #lark oak #unhinged rant #seriously just me talking way too long about normal oak #will campos #beth may #matthew arnold #freddie wong #anthony burch #give the poor lad a break maybe

[eerna]

:0 thoughts on blue eye samurai finale?

I mostly liked it! The gun army felt insanely scary, the shogun's family were pretty cool, the action was well executed, the secret lineage and plot twists were totally cool and it all felt properly like a s1 finale. I liked Taigen giving up and going home with his tail between his legs, I liked Ringo hanging out with Eiji, I absolutely loved Akemi deciding to stay in Edo.

Honestly the only thing bothering me was how anticlimactic Mizu's ending was. The plot is that there are 3 men for her to kill, which lends itself to PERFECT pacing and seasonal arcs. I noticed this show utilized something that I haven't seen much lately (and the lack of it was making shows actively worse) - EPISODIC FRAMING. Every episode deals with one mini story to its conclusion, all the mini stories add into one larger story, and it makes for an immensely satisfying watching experience. This trend gets interrupted at the finish line because FOWLER IS ALIVE and FOR SOME REASON WE ARE MOVING THE MAIN PLOT TO LONDON. Fowler not dying was super annoying - he was a fun villain, but he needed to die at the end to make the revenge feel real. Why in god's name would Mizu choose to work with one of her targets AT THE END OF SEASON 1????? Yeah, Mizu kills innocents and ignores people who need her help, but to me working with any of the men is the ABSOLUTE LAST THING she would do morality-wise. It would have worked so much better if she killed Fowler, and then in s2 as she is chasing down one of the remaining guys, London keeps popping up more and more until she realizes that there truly is no way to complete her mission while staying in Japan. The Dad Number 3 can be her companion, which also makes it a stronger decision bc she is halfway through her revenge and realizing she needs to sell her ideals down the river if she really wants to complete it. THEN we can go to London in s3, where she fails to kill one of the dudes but manages to kill the other (if we really have to, I really really don't wanna go to London) and in s4 return to Japan bc the dude escapes there and she chases him down.

But again. This show made me enjoy like a million things I have never liked before. Maybe they will pull off this weirdass decision and I will be here talking about how Mizu in London was the best writing ever!! My mind is open to the possibilities and I wanna love it so so so badly

#eernask #chamomileteas #eernask talk bes #this is so long i am so sorry

[assiraphales]

HELLO HI let me start this off by saying i love your posts so so much they are so silly

Anyways since opla season 2 has been confirmed, what are some things you REALLY want to see? Im genuinely curious

so i'm assuming they will start off with loguetown and end with alabasta. i'm hoping that since the first season was so successful netflix will order a FEW more episodes (ideally ten or more) but I have to stay realistic so I know every detail won't translate to screen

a lot of the anime loguetown arc was filler (zoro mopping the marine's floors, luffy running around lost and drinking milk at a bar, sanji entering a random cooking competition) and I know there's a few things they're unlikely to skip (zoro aquiring kitetsu & hopefully throwing the sword in the air to see if it'll chop his arm off, luffy on the executioner's platform, smoker) but i really they have time for

-nami n usopp bonding. especially the moment where usopp faced off against daddy the parent bc not only was nami there supporting him/willing to fight for him, but it also was a glimpse into his complicated relationship with his father. daddy the parent quit his job so he could spend more time with his daughter, while yasopp completely abandoned usopp. it was also so cute when they were fangirling over sanji together -i'm so excited to see inaki laughing with his head in the stocks seconds away from death I just know he's going to devour that scene -there probably won't be time but it would be funny if we see luffy n zoro on their lunch date with a combined zero dollars in their pocket and buggy ends up covering their bill without knowing who they were -i'm can't wait to see who they cast as smoker!!!! their casting has been honestly great so far so i'm looking forward to the reveal

laboon the giant whale. LABOON THE GIANT WHALE !!! I know in the grand scheme (at least from a standalone season perspective) he's not that important to the plot. but by god !!!! give us the depressed whale that luffy gives the will to live back to!!!! practical effects are very important to the one piece team I think they can figure it out

whiskey peak is going to be controversial but I hope luffy n zoro's fight goes EXACTLY like it does in the anime & manga (aka they're so in sync that they're punches are meeting in the middle and they're yelling in unison & five minutes later they're laughing about the prospect of meeting a warlord). this arc also requires the writers to let zoro have his funny guy routine because him hecking the agents is so good

while I don't know if we'll see zoro fighting a triceratops and saying "oh so u do three sword style too" we NEED to see him do his stupid pose in the wax. season ruined if not. (jk but its very high on my list)

chopper my wittle cutie. I know we'll see him no matter what but I'm banking on a puppet. i'm pretty sure its already confirmed that they're using practical effects for him, but I heard maybe prosthetics which could be a hit or a miss

nami and vivi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! karu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm truly on the edge of my seat to see how they'll handle zoro n sanji's rivalry considering they've made the decision to base it around their relationship with luffy. the girls WILL be fighting

similarly excited to see live action sanji fawning over not only nami but also his little meow meow luffy (fantastic change from the anime imo)

crocodile better be the greasiest motherfucker I hope he's absolutely vile. i can't wait to see him wearing a FUR lined coat in a desert

I also know they're going to go off with pell's character design

ACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#ok this is so long i'm so sorry lmaoooooooooo #one piece #opla #one piece live action

[transmutationisms]

Would love if you have any thoughts on Kendall and Roman’s sibling relationship because they’re also my favorite together with Kendall and Shiv but in contrast to Ken and Shiv I have no real thoughts on what makes them interesting as a team. They’re just little guys to me and I like when they don’t fight! So would love to know if you have more intelligent thoughts on their dynamic because it really is interesting to me

ok i was curious whether episode 9 would pick up the threads of their dynamic that this season has played with more and im sooo glad it did. what works about kendall and roman as a pair is that they're the two logan picked out for male successor, and they both fail at that role but in different ways. kendall really wants to be logan; his eulogy was at least honest about that. he sees logan's entitlement to the world and the power and access that wealth granted him, and kendall wants that for himself. he speaks about logan as someone who "acted", ie contrasting the active masculine with the passive feminine. this is a dichotomy he learned from logan.

roman on the other hand wants others to perceive him as being as good as logan, but he doesn't actually want the things that defined logan. when he had the opportunity to pitch himself as ceo in season 2, he suggested co-running the company with logan. he likes being wealthy and he finds power intoxicating, but when he actually has it he's overwhelmed and doesn't like the responsibility. he's much happier trying to make himself the power no. 2 to some daddy figure or another (logan, gerri, mencken). roman can't fuck with his dick whereas kendall can; roman presents his dick to gerri as an object for consumption, whereas kendall is baffled when naomi asks for a dick pic because he doesn't relate to his body as an object of desire. in logan language, this all points to how roman assumes the more passive, submissive, feminine role naturally, whereas kendall gravitates toward logan's idea of masculinity and domination, but is consistently a flop in actualising those ideals.

'living+' was maybe the first episode where like, a majority of the tension comes from the roman-kendall compare/contrast, honestly. roman is trying to imitate logan, but also hates doing it and wants kendall to stop him and put him in his place. meanwhile, kendall is trying to imitate logan in a different way, where he's trying to put on a great show and literally solve the problem of death. he doesn't stop roman because he sees roman's firing spree as a demonstration of strength rather than as roman foundering. ultimately kendall succeeds in making his insane presentation, but ends the episode still struggling because nothing he does will ever actually earn him logan's approval (the #1 washing away in the sand), whereas roman chickens out of kendall's disneyland messiah thing, and ends up in the car alone listening to his deepfaked father denigrate him again.

'church and state' also plays with their dynamic, where roman starts as the triumphant son but then embarrasses himself by displaying affection for his father, and ends up getting ditched by mencken and referred to as a crying (female) pig; kendall, on the other hand, loses his family and his assistant in the first five minutes, then delivers the eulogy, tells roman off for being too submissive in his relationship with mencken, and ends up in a position that's strategically advantageous if emotionally dangerous. i like how these two episodes play with roman and kendall's different relationships to logan and the language of strength. they're each baffled by the other's desired position in the hierarchy; also, whereas kendall is ultimately willing to sacrifice roman for his own pursuit of power, roman wants power more as a way of being close to his siblings and getting their approval. so the ways that kendall and roman misunderstand each other can really open up a broader exploration of logan's worldview and the show's commentary on the family as a part of capitalist productive logics.

[cuntyqueerleondraisaitl]

Honestly, my ideal 7 x 05 episode would involve Eddie being so fucking oblivious, I want to want to throw this man in the ocean.

He has no clue about their date when he accidentally crashes it. He walks in on them doing Muay Thai and is just like "😃😃😃 I love that you guys are besties now!!". Then Buck moves in with him and Tommy is almost constantly there picking him up for things. He's just like, "Yeah this is normal" And it takes him literally walking in on them making out near the end of the end of the episode to figure it out.

#I love idiot Eddie #911 abc

[fadelikeclouds]

Diving into Tai’s mind: actions do not speak louder than words

First of all, I will say that I was upset with Tai at the end of episode 10. I am fine that Tai didn’t want to talk to Patts outside on the street. He was probably shocked and frightened by Patts angry outburst, and he wanted to put some time and distance between them so that they could cool off and talk more rationally later. What I’m less fine with is that Tai still refuses to say anything after Patts shows up at his door. And yeah, Patts probably shouldn’t have shown up drunk outside Tai’s door, but he is in pain and needs some comfort, and he tells Tai this. So why doesn’t Tai say anything to reassure Patts?

And now we come to the reason I am writing this. I don’t like staying upset at people, so I try to understand them. After thinking about things I am still frustrated with Tai, but a little less so. Here are the results of my musings.

Tai has been struggling with his parent’s divorce for over 2 years now. It’s easy to say that, but what does it mean? He is a romantic, and seeing his ideal of love crumble before him was frightening because it made him doubt the existence of love and happiness. Soulmates guarantee nothing. Love doesn’t last. Families can break apart. That’s a pretty dismal view of the world. Despair is never easy to cope with. He had his faith in love broken, so of course he wouldn’t talk to his soulmate, because why create a relationship that will only break your heart?

Then he sees Patts, and he starts to hope again. But he’s still hesitant. He’s still scared. He knows that there is no guarantees in relationships, soulmates or not. This is how he goes into his relationship with Patts, fighting against his doubts and fears the whole way. Throughout the beginning Patts is patient, kind, charming, and Tai begins to be more open to the idea of a relationship with this soulmate of his. Then the whole situation with Nara happens, and his fears and doubts about love come up again.

He talked with Nara; he knows how much she loved Patts, and he even cheered her on when he didn’t know Patts was her ex. They honestly loved each other, and seeing them kiss makes him question, again, what makes a relationship last. Confused and panicked, he decides to talk a walk to the Doi Mae Pliang in an effort to figure everything out... which doesn’t work. But he talks with Patts after he finds him in the ditch, and after being reassured that Patts does love him and would choose to love him even without being soulmates his mind clears. He knows he loves Patts, and all of Patts words and actions make him believe that Patts reciprocates that love. So he (nonverbally) agrees to officially date him when Patts asks him the next morning. At a glance, what’s the big deal? That’s only natural. This is a romance, of course they’re going to start dating. But as a character, this choice means that he is willing to face all his fears about being in a relationship, a big shift for the guy who ran away from his issues by remaining silent for 2 years. To be clear, I don’t think his fears go away, but Tai has the resolve that this relationship is worth it, that Patts is worth the risk of heartbreak.

And even then, he’s not ready to go the final step and have sex with Patts just yet. That is another level of vulnerability that Tai eases himself into, something that he doesn’t take lightly. In this episode, when he says he’s ready, to him it’s another way of showing how serious and committed he is to this relationship. He loves Patts, and is willing to face all the fears that comes with being in a relationship with his soulmate.

All of this is a big deal to Tai. These are very large steps that he has taken forward as someone who chose to very litterally suffer in silence every time it rained. Now, does he talk about this with Patts? Not in any great detail. That’s part of the problem.

To Tai it’s not even a question of whether to choose Patts or Lomfon. He loves Patts. All of his actions show just how much Patts means to him. And I think it hurts Tai that Patts doesn’t understand him. Because in Tai’s mind, he’s crossed oceans of fears, fought uphill battles against his skepticism, just to get here. Having Patts doubt Tai’s love makes him feel that Patts belittles all the pain and fear Tai’s endured to get to this point in the relationship. And that hurts because in a relationship, you want to be understood by your partner so that you can share in the joys and pains with them.

But what Tai doesn’t see is that Patts is in pain right now. Patts is scared and needs some words of reassurancs because he is human. He has his own fears and insecurities. He watched as his last relationship fell apart because he has a “soulmate”, something entirely out of his control. And with the appearance of a second soulmate, having Tai lie about seeing Lomfon, catching them at the perfectly wrong moment to see them kiss, Patts loses it. He’s angry and afraid because again, he could lose someone he loves because of this soulmate thing that he has no control over. That fear grips him, and when we’re like that, we can’t think calmly. Sometimes we need the support of others to help us through the dark avenues of the mind.

But instead of helping him, Tai feels like he’s said everything Patts is asking him to say, and he’s upset that Patts can’t hear him. And I get that. It’s frustrating when you feel like you’ve been saying something over and over again, and the other person just doesn’t seem to get it. What’s the point in trying to communicate when nothing you say will be understood? It feels as if all your efforts are just futile. But communication is a two way street. Being understood is an important part of a relationship, but it is equally important to try to understand the other person, which is what Tai is missing here. Tai has spoken through his actions, but what Patts needs are words. He needs to hear that Tai does love him, that he does choose him. We say that actions speak louder than words, but at times words are absolutely necessary.

#la pluie #la pluie ep 10 #many other people have written great things about these characters these are just my 2 cents #which ended up being a little bit long for just 2 cents... #As frustrating as this whole thing is #I like seeing flawed characters #because people are flawed and it’s nice to see that acknowledged in stories and media #It’s important to remember that imperfect people deserve to be happy too #and that it’s possible to make any sort of relationship work even if we say the wrong thing sometimes #People make mistakes #that doesn’t mean they are a mistake #Now we just have to wait two weeks to see how they decide to resolve this whole thing 😭 #precipitating thts

[honourablejester]

I haven’t watched Critical Role in a while, but since ExU: Calamity is going to be a shorter campaign, I thought I’d try get back in the swing. So. Um. Impressions.

I like Brennan’s style. Very fast moving, very intense. Let’s open straight on the apocalypse, yessir!

I also really, really like Zerxus. Like. This poor paladin gets immediately shoved in the deep end, visions of the end days, his dead husband, his child-as-was fishing in the void, and then a skyscraper tall devil god falls at his feet and he tries to help it. Just. Instinctively? And, I know, Asmodeus is likely playing with him, luring him in with visions of lost loves and playing the victim, but I still love that, even for a devil, Zerxus instinctively tries to protect him. From a god. Like, if this paladin falls out of kindness, that’s … going to be something. And if he proves kindness worth the risk, even more so.

Also, though, we’re all of ten minutes in and this poor guy already needs to be bundled in blankets and taken care of, holy shit.

And then … everybody else. Oh my god. They’re all assholes. Absolutely amazing assholes. I love it.

Laerryn is … my platonic ideal wizard. Favourite. Immediately. The whole … I am the chief engineer of this goddamn starship, and none of you even know what I do, but without me you would all be pancakes, so shut up and get to the point already. Move this along, I don’t have time. I love her. And she is going to do something incredibly foolish with this apogee solstice thing, tuning to the celestial plane, this is going to go … oh yeah, but I’m here for it. And how petty … She uses haste just to get down a stairs fast, the kids will get off the landing gear or they won’t, what kind of hairstyle check do you need from me … I just love her. Favourite cosmic wrench-wench, absolutely idiot mad scientist, Girl Genius sort of vibes. Perfect.

I honestly love how they’re all assholes. And they play it. To the hilt. They’re all so casually hoity-toity, better-than-you, listen, listen, we all know who’s the important one here. They’re going to fall so hard. They’re going to fall so hard. It’s gonna be amazing.

Laerryn and Loquatious are just amazing. Their whole dynamic. Both the incredible pettiness, the bitterness, the jealousy, but also the fact that they still work together, they still function perfectly well among their team, that whole tiny moment with the inspiration … Poor Travis not being safe on this side of the table, it’s amazing.

Speaking of Travis … He is a noir bird detective in an apocalypse movie, and it’s actually perfect, because this is Cthulhu style apocalypse, eldritch entities and the end of the world, and of course the detective is the one who finds the weird cultist corpses and the obliterated summoning circle and the one who gets jump-scared by the baddie in the closing minutes of the episode.

(I also absolutely adored his little ‘I think I’m in the wrong class’ after our apocalypse opening, both for the hilarity but also … you’re playing the rogue detective in an apocalypse campaign. You came into a horror campaign playing the pointman class. ‘I think I’m in the wrong class’, honey, you did this on purpose)

(His and Aabria’s reactions to everything are incredible, and I love that they’re sitting next to each other)

I just … I keep coming back to this, I love everyone’s arrogance. Cerrit and Zerxus are the mildest of them that way, they’re keeping it broadly professional, but every magic user in this party is topping the arrogance charts professionally. Between Loquatious throwing himself into everything like the world’s most obnoxious studio host/marketing director, to Patia’s casual ‘divinity seems such a hollow title’, to Nydas being all ‘how dare such a lowly peon approach me in person’, to Laerryn just not having time for literally anyone. They are such dicks. But, and this is the key thing, such competent dicks. Amazingly competent assholes. Who are likely just competent enough, at exactly the wrong moment in time, to bollocks the universe up entirely.

There’s also an interesting intra-party vibe going too. That whole last half, at the party, you can see how they all come together, but also how they all separate apart as well. There’s levels of involvement on different fields going on, and when the shit hits the fan you can see the layers start to separate slightly. Laerryn is completely locked on to her own thing, her apogee solstice, she’s the epitome of the mad scientist wizard I’m gonna do the thing. Nydas and Patia are playing a much more political game, him working up and Patia working down. Loquatious weirdly seems a little pathetic towards the end, just because of the shape of the investigation and the way it didn’t directly involve him and how he skated lightly around it. Weirdly for the bard of the group, the social animal, he seems oddly out of the loop. Him and Zerxus immediately chase down the outsider for information, because they’re also slightly outside. There feels a little bit like circles in circles: Patia, Nydas and Laerryn on the inner circle, Patia holding the court, Nydas holding the field, Laerryn holding the raw magical power, and then an outer circle, Cerrit, Zerxus and Loquatious, being relied on for information but not quite the direct power movers the other three are. Politically, anyway. I don’t know, it could just be the way the events themselves directly went down, but there felt like there was a slight separation there.

But they’re all also interestingly connected to each other. Nydas and Zerxus having that almost brotherly connection, Nydas’ family taking care of Zerxus’ kid, the way Zerxus clearly does trust the group enough to reveal … apocalyptic visions to them. Obviously Laerryn and Loquatious, divorced and petty and bitter, but still working together and almost instinctively giving each other little moments. Patia and Nydas’ political sympatico, despite the fact that she’s the highest of the high and he’s an ex-pirate who happens to be stupidly wealthy. Everyone just leaning on the fact that Cerrit is rock solid and will give them the heads up they need, and will scope out their potential enemies for them. It’s such an interesting story, this group of movers and shakers who gravitated together because they work together, they function so well together, to the point that people are starting to take note and infiltrate them, because they are good at what they do and this is a cut-throat mage city where you need to be. That guy from the Circle of Silver noting their little unofficial name for themselves, the Circle of Brass, the way they’ve been noticed, because they are so well positioned to hold the actual physical, political, informational that they do.

And then, because of idiot mages poking betrayer gods in ill-advised rituals, perfectly positioned to be stuck right in the middle of an apocalypse.

(I’m assuming, and I have not kept up on lore for Exandria at all, but I’m assuming Vespin Chloras was trying to get a betrayer god out of its prison before killing it and taking over its domain. Because a) you have to get them out to reach them to kill them, and b) you have to get them out so that when you kill-and-replace them you don’t get promptly stuck in their prison in their place)

Also, this whole episode, the pacing was amazing. Brennan as DM, it’s really just hit, hit, hit, hit, hit. Open, wham bam, apocalyptic visions, but then he just guides us on this whistle stop tour of the party and the city, hits the lore in every stop possible (helped by things like Cerrit’s ridiculous rolls), and it’s all moving. Technically, nothing much happened. We met everyone and we went to a party, and then some stuff sort of went down, but it was all seeded in from the get go, and there was so much … intensity and interaction along the way. Also, he does portentous very well. “If you look down and see the stars, what will you see when you look up?”

Um. In summary? I am enjoying this. I’m looking forward to see where (and how badly) this goes. Definitely.

And even if she wrecks the entire universe in one move … Laerryn is still the wizard I would want to be. Platonic wizard ideal. Absolutely.

#exandria calamity #exu calamity #exandria unlimited #reaction #spoilers #well that was a trip and a half #in just the first ten minutes even

[ryuki23]

Don Kaito Is The Zenkaiger Arrow: A 100% Serious Theory (No Really I'm Not Lying)

Now that the Donbrothers finale has come and gone without giving us any answers about what the FUCK is up with Don Kaito (and I'd expect nothing less 10/10 no notes), I'm finally free to explain all about my most beloved theory/headcanon without fear that it will be disproved in the next week!

Basically, I think Don Kaito is something like what AkaRed is for Red Rangers, but for ALL rangers, and/or the idea/ideals/will of Super Sentai as a whole.

In his own words,

Background Info

AkaRed is the embodiment of the spirit of all Red Rangers, although the specifics of what that means and how it works isn't super elaborated on anywhere, he mostly just shows up occasionally to be a weird slightly cryptic guide to other Sentai. Much like another character I could name... 🤔

The possibility of an AoBlue/AkaBlue is jokingly brought up once in a Zyuohger special, but other than that nothing and no one else like AkaRed is ever shown or mentioned. EXCEPT...

*DRAMATIC GASP* Goran no Sponsor???? (no joke this is exactly how I reacted when I got to this part jkbjsdfgf)

So, in the penultimate episode of Zenkaiger, they're fighting the Big Bad, who has absorbed all the other Super Sentai's worlds and can use their powers. The Zenkaigers seem completely outmatched, and the Big Bad's final attack knocks them out of henshin and breaks their Sentai Gears so they can't transform again. But they get up anyway, declaring their resolve to fight even untransformed to save the worlds the other Sentai fought to protect. And then, this happens:

All the previous Sentai's powers respond to this and leave the Big Bad, lending their power to the Zenkaigers to make them new Gears. While this is happening, the Zenkaigers are transported to this place, where all the symbols of past Sentai float around the Zenkaiger Arrow, which they seem to be forming.

Basically, these powers have their own will, and all of them together are symbolized by the Zenkaiger Arrow. Which, I might add, is frequently shown in the rest of the series reacting to comedic moments and interacting with other characters.

So why do I think this arrow and Don Kaito are one and the same?

Well, because it's a fun idea to think about mostly! Honestly, it just came to me out of nowhere in the middle of the night and that's it. But the more I thought about it, the more things that happen in canon I found that could support it.

1: Hitotsuki and Sentai Gears

Hitotsuki that are based on past Sentai seasons drop Gears when defeated, no matter who defeats them or how they do it. And most of the time, regardless of who defeats them, the Gear ends up in Don Kaito's possession. That kind of makes it feel like this phenomenon is unrelated to his position as Admin of the Donbrothers.

2: "True Hero"

Jin Momoi shows A LOT of deference to Don Kaito. He's like. The ONLY person Jin is ever unfailingly polite to. Jin is surprised and shocked that Don Kaito would be working in a cafe. Jin KNEELS to this guy. I am rattling the bars of my cage. What do you KNOW, Old Man????

Anyway, "True Hero" and "Forever Hero" sure sound like the kind of titles one might give to the physical embodiment of the spirit and ideals of all Super Sentai.

3: Don Kaito Knows Santa Claus

Yeah him and Santa go way back.

So like, it seems like Don Kaito is NOT a Normal Human Age. And although Himitsu Sentai Goranger is only from the 70s, there are a lot of Sentai shows where the backstory has a Sentai, a similar team of warriors, or the source of the Sentai's power existing hundreds, thousands, or millions of years in the past.

In Conclusion:

I fucking love this concept, and as a bonus, it fits with some of the weirdest stuff about Don Kaito.

In my mind, Don Kaito got involved in the story of Donbrothers because of whatever is up with the Sentai Gears that is causing them to turn people into Hitotsuki and in order to get them all back, and he set up Cafe Donbura so the absolute disaster group that is the Donbrothers would have an actual Home Base, because god knows they would never have come together by themselves. And also to support Tarou when he was fighting alone while Jin fucked around throwing darts at the city to choose Donbrothers.

And he looks like Zenkaito because uhhhh he thinks Kaito is pretty cool 😊

The End

#donbros #avataro sentai donbrothers #avatarou sentai donbrothers #don kaito #don kaito goshikida #what tag do people use for him???? #anyway i'm actually so certain that they're never gonna explain anything about this man but i'm also so attached to this idea

[lynne-monstr]

okay so I finished the doctor slump show over a week ago. I really enjoyed it as a silly romantic drama, but the more I think about the fantastic early episodes, the more I wish I could rewrite the back third of the story.

(spoilers ahead, obviously)

I really enjoyed the show's initial take on life and mental health. how the promise of being a talented young person doesn't always come to fruition. I was sad when it dropped those themes for a more generic happy silly romance at the end. i would have loved to see the mental health plot get properly wrapped up. but in the end ha-neul's struggles and disappointment were all pinned on one bad man and everything bad magically disappeared once he was gone.

in my ideal doctor slump rewrite, first i would extend the min kyung-min bad guy reveal. it was confirmed, and then over so quickly that it had no real impact. and just as quickly replaced by the car crash and a parade of secondhand embarrassment inducing romantic shenanigans.

actually no, the real first thing I would do is not solve jeong-woo's ptsd by having his gf nearby. or rather, would keep that in (i really loved the look on his face when she showed up in the or. and I loved them working as a team!) but then i'd have it have it blow up in his face later.

okay where was i. as much as I enjoyed some of the romantic silliness, I'd swap most of it for an arc about ha-neul going back to work at the hospital and struggling with the fact that it doesn't magically cure her depression. she doesn't just get to shrug and not take her pills and tell her doctor that everything's perfect now. she has to work for it. with the tools and support that she now has, she can make her way forward.

and oops, maybe this makes it seem like i didn't like the show that much, but I honestly enjoyed it. It's just that those first episodes really resonated with me in a way that makes me more critical than I usually am. i suppose that's the price of doing things really well.

anyway, let's end on a random selection of some things i loved, because there were many!

I wouldn't change a thing about my beloved side couple, i love them to pieces.

jeong-woo breaking down in front of ha-neul's mother was top tier. I really enjoyed that his shitty parents didn't get forgiven, and that he found space and love in a family that loves him.

ngl I cried when ha-neul's mom sent the text about wanting a healthy daughter over a successful one

oh yeah and her mom showing up to brunch at the end like a fucking queen. was it kind of silly? yes. did I love it? also yes

dr bin's daughter giving him romance advice was a++

the scene where drunk hong ran talked about dating like drinking. I thought it was a very nice and real moment to make all the silliness over the mistaken kiss actually make sense from her perspective

#random text post silliness #doctor slump ramblings #doctor slump spoilers #doctor slump