#(filler episodes come back the kids miss you)

[lisbonsteresa]

dumb little married idiots

[jinxthequeergirl]

The Ol switcharoo (pt3)

Stan pines x reader/ ford pines x reader

Summary: 30 years pass and you meet stanfords family.

Warning: NONE

Sorry for another short chapter. Consider this a filler episode. Chapter four should be better.

~~~~~~~~☆~~~~~~

30 years is a long time.

You can do a lot in that time.

You can live a lot of different lives in 30 years.

You started cutting your hair in that time, Stanford taught you to box, You'd gone on many different adventures. Most of which you often questioned the legality of, but they still made you laugh.

Now you mainly tended to the Mystery shack no more adventures, you wondered as you sat on the couch next to Stanford when you'd gotten so old. And when your life had changed so much.

You had almost forgotten all about anything before your family vacation. you and Stanford had grown into a pretty comfortable life together. You wouldn't lie you'd come to love the life you've grown into with him.

But you've also missed the adventures you used to go on, finding monsters , exploring the unknown.

But you were only met with gluing eyeballs to pieces of plastic halloween decorations and making up stories to make out of towns folk get a good laugh in.

You had tried to find Stanfords journals just to "relive the glory days" but with no luck.

You were never sure what happened to them, if he had accidentally tossed them out, if he had lost them himself or if that was part of what happened while you where away. Either way you stopped looking. You never asked about them either.

Stanford seemed to really enjoy his life with you too, you never got the idea he wanted to turn back or like he was waiting for some big adventure.

"This may sound corny but you and the mystery shack are my big adventure...I wouldn't trade you or the old shack for anything y/n. Not. For. ANYTHING."

So you stopped worrying yourself with the journals or the old research, let alone the real monsters that lurked in the woods.

You hunkered down, sold stories and bumper stickers in your matching suits and watched night time television before falling asleep on top of eachother every night.

This was the routine you'd fallen into. You found it odd if you had to sleep without Stanfords shoulder as your pillow or his jolt of laughter before he realized you fell asleep. It was odd for both of you to not debate who got giftshop duity over tour duties. (You always got gift shop.)

It was odd when a pair of twins arrived on your front lawn.

"You never talk about your family." You said following Stanford down the stairs to meet them. "Sure I do." He said clearly a little nervous.

"Mmm no...I didn't know you had a sister! Let alone great neices and nephews!..excuse us, Soos." You say almost chasing him through the gift shop almost knocking soos over.

He paused as both of you looked out the little door window at them. "Listen...I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my family... to be fair... we aren't really close..but somethings came up and-" You could see his stress building up as he tried to piece together something that made you understand how important it was to make a good impression on those kids.

You placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm here with you... you can explain it all later, but right now, I'm right by your side, like always." He smiled and placed a hand on top of yours.

Before heading outside to me, you are in tow.

"I DIDN'T KNOW I HAD A GREAT AUNT! A GRANT!? A GRRR...GRAUNT!?" The girl in the pair shouted excitedly after stan had introduced you to them.

"That's cause you don't. We aren't married y/ns a friend."

You laughed at the girl who energetically and enthusiastically introduced herself as Mable. The introduction was followed by several need to know now questions, all of which would later be scribbled onto a paper for you to fill out and return to her.

☆what's your favorite color

☆ do you like my grunkle stan?

☆if you were a magical creature, what would you be? Why? WHAT WOULD I BE? why?

☆do you LOOOOVEEE grunkle stan?

☆opinion on stickers?

"Alright, you two leys get you up to your room for the summer." Stan said, pulling Mable away from you and grabbing her bags.

You grabbed the second set of bags and followed stan and the two kids.

"Dipper, right?" You asked the boy who fell in line with you "oh yea! Yep that's me!" He laughed nervously.

"Very cool name,I like your hat by the way." You prayed you didn't seem like you were trying too hard to get them to like you.

"So you and grunkle stan run this place?" Dipper asked, looking at all your hot glue collages as Stanford decided to give them the grand tour before their room.

"Yup." You nodded.

"What's the point? Isn't this all fake? I mean... I can see the string on the invisible man's glasses." He said pointing out the attraction as you passed.

"Oh c'mon Dipper, how could you not love the jackalope!? Is he a deer? Is he a rabbit? I can't tell!" Mable said, carrying the creature in her arms like a teddy bear.

"I just don't get it? Why lie to people when I'm sure there has to be something real out there!"

You smiled at him. He sounded like you when you were a kid...he sounded more like Stanford before the shack. "You like the supernatural?" You asked.

"Oh yea, dippers a huge nerd he loves all that junk!" Mable said punching her brother in the shoulder.

"Oh, here we go! Don't get this one started on mystery and supernatural boogie men!" Stanford said, stopping to join your conversation.

"Y/n used to be big on hunting and looking for stuff like this." He said, wrapping his arm around you. "Used too...I haven't in over 30 years...it got too complicated." You opted to give them a simple answer as to why you stopped.

"Really!? That's so cool!" Dipper exclaimed. "If you ever need someone to go on adventures with, you can trust me."

Over the upcoming weeks, it was slightly rocky with the kids getting settled in, but eventually, they started warming up to the shack as well as yourself and Stanford.

You were quite pleased to have their company, actually. You felt something change in your everyday lives when they entered the shack.

"Depending on who you ask." You said continuing your story as you placed plates in front of the kids. "Your grunkle and I are married." The kids gasped. "Only through some silly machine in Vegas it wasn't real there was this one time -"

Stan chuckled to himself as you told the story of your fake marriage in Vegas as he watched the three of you laugh in the kitchen.

He smiled. Watching you frantically move your arms to further dramatice the story, a certain shine he'd noticed had been missing from your eyes for a few years now. You had it when he'd met you.

The same day, he knew things would be different for him. They HAD been different. You accepted him for everything he was. You went along with his crazy shenanigans. You gave up a whole life for him.

He remembered the birthday parties you had thrown for him. Even if you were the only person to be there for him.

He knew after a few years of you doing so that you would always be the only one there. He had the strangest feeling the night of his 35 birthday when he realized this.

He lied awake in bed, staring at the ceiling when it occurred to him what the feeling was.

"Oh no."

He quietly snuck away from you and the kids, still hearing your laughter erupt through the house behind him. He made his way into the darkened gift shop and punched a code into the vending machine, and went down to the basement he swore to you he'd destroyed.

30 years, and all he had offered you was lies. After all you'd done for him after all the care you'd shown him after all you had sacrificed. He just wanted you to have a normal life. A good life.

Not something he had fabricated.

He spent most of his time thinking about the large machine that still sat in his basement, the other half worrying about you. If he was giving a good life if he was soing as good a job being in your life as you had done for him.

He worried about what might happen when, IF he was able to pull of bringing his brother back.

How would you react to being lied to for 30 years. Maybe you did really feel the same way he had felt about you for years and you would forgive him.

In order for that to work, he'd have to actually admit his feelings to you.

He wanted to, he also wanted do a lot more for you in the 30 years you'd been together but always failed before he could make a move or do anything really. He pushed aside a notepad filled with ideas of kind gestures he could do for you (most of which were crossed out) and replaced the space with the journal Ford had left him.

He would get it right.

All of it.

Eventually.

Then again.

He could always ask Mable.

While you laughed with two kids at a dinner table and Stanley beat himself up about lying and tried to rebuild his life.

The real Stanford pines sat out there amongst the stars with nothing but a creased photo of the two of you and wondered why it was taking you so long to find him.

~~~~~~~☆~~~~~

Taglist:

@muffin1304

@katharine3000

@leo4242564

@space1crow

@steveharringtongf

@mckennaishere07

@nothingbutcloud

@anicega

@i-am-tiredd

@babydoll-143

@fanficcrow

@slay-thou-pookie

@bandaids-n-porceline

[bobbie-robron]

Robron Fanfiction Recommendations (Nov-2024)

The below were recommended in November 2024 on Twitter.

Away from Everyone (2019) 16.1K words, Elbow_Patches

Reunion 3.0. We begin the story with Aaron getting the rings he chucked back after his one and only prison visit with Robert. From there, we have two stories running in parallel. In the one, we see what makes Aaron leave the village of the damned (WITH SEBASTIAN) to live his life as Robert wanted him to while in parallel, it’s three years later and Andy shows up to help Robert appeal and get out of prison with the help of his solicitor wife Lucy. Then all that’s left is for the stars to align and the three can finally be reunited. NO SEAT FILLERS INVOLVED!

What Happens in Vegas (2017), 5.4K words, SugdenLovesDingle

“I just don’t know how to make you happy anymore, Aaron. I don’t know what to do anymore.” And so begins a redo of the big blowup the lads had on 19-Jan-2017 which led Aaron down the road to prison and IM screwing Robert and us over not long afterwards. Here, after the blowup, it leads both of the lads to the unfinished Mill (after cooling off) and it’s there they reconcile and decide to fly over to Vegas as planned for a holiday… as well as getting married. What will everyone’s reactions be to their marriage?

If only in my dreams (2018) 34.5K words, their_dark_materials

Robert has a new co-worker at Pollard’s advertising agency and that is Aaron. He right off has an interest in Aaron but learning from Gerry that Aaron already has a boyfriend… ADAM… he tries to keep a distance. Well, said distance doesn’t last as, within a week, Pollard pairs the two to snag a deal with Sharma. Working so closely together and having to share single in a B&B only grows Robert’s feelings for him especially coming out bisexual to him. But there’s that pesky boyfriend and Robert’s not wanting to come between them. All works out in the end. NO WHITES IN SIGHT!!!!

Robron, Seb, Olivia & Noah series (2020), dvgiguere

Reunion 3.0. Two stories. Starting in May-2020, it’s a whirlwind as Aaron gets a call from Robert that the 💩 he supposedly killed was alive and confessed due to another assault. There’s also the fact they are still married (Aaron tore up the divorce papers) and Chas kept letters from Robert to him. Now that Robert has been released, the lads have to deal with Aaron’s obsessed and unhinged coffee shop partner Marcus. They are also getting full custody of Sebastian and dealing with Robert’s trauma and renewing vows. A full plate for the first story! The second story focuses on Sebastian’s mum dying suddenly and the Sugden-Dingles family growing.

The Secrets of the Past (2016) 6.0K words, robron_til_the_end

Missing years speculation. When Robert takes Aaron to a fancy restaurant (where Aaron clearly enjoyed himself), Robert is approached by a bloke from years past. This triggers a talk that Robert didn’t want to have with Aaron, fearing that he’d lose him over it. Robert goes on to explain exactly who the bloke was… a client… in the oldest profession. From here, it’s all about how Aaron reacts to the news and if he sees Robert differently now because of it.

I’ll be home for christmas (if only in my dreams) series (2020-2021), 64K words, softlass27

Reunion 3.0. Three stories. We start in Nov-2020 with Aaron living in a packed Mill (Cain & the kids, Liv and boyfriend Vinny). Things are tense between Aaron and toxic shrew Liv (understatement) and it only gets worse when Sebastian’s mum is hit by a lorry and killed leaving Aaron to raise his son with Robert’s approval. This also leads Aaron to sell the scrapyard and buy Mulberry Cottage for himself and Sebastian. Now in Dec-2024, Aaron’s life takes a positive turn with Robert’s return and all it entails (toxic shrew Chas being her usual)… an eventual reunion. The remaining two fics are fix it’s for May/June 2021 including the badly done Pride episode, both including Sebastian.

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

Avatar: The Last Airbender Live Action Thoughts!

-First of all, ya'll need to leave those child actors alone, they are babies and they didn't write the show, nor was it their idea to do it. I have seen way too many people body shaming children; leave them alone they all did well!

-I think Gordon makes Aang just as cute and small and powerful as I always saw him as!! He manages to joke around and be fun even when the storyline is a lot darker and more serious.

-I really wish Sokka was able to be more of his goofy and silly self. I understand why he isn't, and his humor is more sarcasm and dark jokes, but I saw glimpses of him in there! His excitement when he was with the Mechanist, engineering and getting to do something other than be in charge. Also when he has any older brother convo with Katara or Aang. I'm hopeful with time he'll be able to loosen up!

-(Speaking of the Mechanist, my boy Danny Pudi was SO GOOD, I love him, him and his little son).

-I wish Aang would practice waterbending with Katara :( those scenes of them practicing together were always some of my favorites in the series. Just beautiful kataang moments. I'm glad they addressed it but I missed those moments.

-I don't understand how you guys can't be having fun watching this, I get so excited waiting for little moments of lore, or when Jet and Katara were fighting in the forest I was sitting in front of the TV like "WHERE'S SMELLERBEE AND LONGSHOT. OH MY GOD NO IT'S PIPSQUEAK!" It's just so much fun! The colors are beautiful, the effects are gorgeous, and the plot and characters are entertaining. Think about the piece as it's own thing and enjoy it!

-Adaptations are just that; adaptations, and things will be changed! I think so far I haven't minded their changes, I understand why they've been made. There are things to criticize, but I think this is pretty well done.

-Zuko is fantastic; I think all the child actors are fairly good but Dallas' pissy attitude and the faces he makes are so so fun! I feel for Zuko and I'm scared of him when he shows up, and he's just as annoying and bratty as ponytail Zuko should be. His physical motions are fantastic!

-TEO WAS SO LITTLE?? Oh my god, like as a kid I thought the cartoon version of him was kinda hot so when they wheeled that tiny baby in I was HORRIFIED.

-Idk why YOU ALL weren't scared of Lizzy Yu's Azula, but her little smile in her intro scene gave me a lil chill. Maybe it's because I was away when the show first came out so I saw post after post about how bad she was, but I just.... Thought she'd be worse?? She did really well! Ya'll better be careful though or Gaten Matarazzo will come for you, that's his girl.

-So far the mushing of plots has made sense to me. Yes, I miss the silly filler episodes and the traveling the Gaang did, but it allows us to sit in a scene longer, and to colorize the world better, when we're in one place and one plot for longer. I think that's important for this type of medium and this amount of episodes. They might be able to justify more next season if this show does well enough.

-I am OBSESSED with Zuko and the 41st division oh my god, what a fantastic and well thought out addition. The reveal, and they're bowing for him when he comes back was DEVASTATING.

-They we're GIVING us Sokka and Katara best sibling moments, I loved all of them. They are so cute, they just mean so much to me.

-I don't feel Appa or Momo as characters like I did in the cartoon. I'm hoping this can change, because rn they surprise me every time they get on screen. I'm like "WHAT- oh it's Momo, he's here." How are we going to feel Appa's loss as much as we did in the cartoon if they continue to like barely be in it.

-Ken Leung SLAYED as Admiral Zhao, I watched him go literally insane as the episodes went on.

-Aang's imposter syndrome and feeling of failure being focused on I will always enjoy, even if I hope he can be silly next season too. His entire character arc this season just made me want to cry.

-Bro the coloring during the the Siege of the North was A M A Z I N G. The way the color faded in and out with fireballs and the monster koi passing nearby, just so pretty. It looked awesome.

-Making Yue a waterbender? The best. Her freezing Sokka in place so he can't stop her? Heartbreaking.

-Iroh and Zuko paddling off looking for bestie Lt. Jee?? Okay.

-They really grew this show up for us adults that watched it in 2005 and focused in on the really painful moments, themes, and details.

[berrypass-de-murdler]

2 - 58 The Detective Clubhouse Killing

Not to be confused with The Detective Club Killer

They took down MurdleJr again bc it was so buggy lmao

I may be reusing pictures now I can't even tell there are too many episodes

Anyway baby marshmallow

DON'T READ THE EPISODES WITHOUT READING THE BOOKS!!

Irratino has a great idea! Certainly that means he’s going to Drakonia and rescuing Logico. Wait, no… he’s heading to the Detective Club. Looks like we got more filler, folks!

IRRATINO: Everyone!

Everyone doesn’t listen. They’re all busy staring at… can you guess?

AUBERGINE: Oh. Hey Irratino. IRRATINO: I have… news. BLUES: LOGICO’S BACK!! IRRATINO: What? No! I came to tell you that he’s missing! AUBERGINE: STILL? I figured you’d have him back as soon as you figured out where he was! IRRATINO: I still don’t know, I’m looking for clues… CHAMPAGNE: Well- He’s not here.

The sillies have gotten into some murder shenanigans, but there’s not too much going on. The more irrelevant places Irratino checks, the more murders he has to solve, and the longer it’s taking to actually get to Logico! 

Champagne is reading the first page of many books without ever sitting down. Irratino gets distracted when he picks up one on astrology.

IRRATINO: Look! You’re a Capricorn, right? CHAMPAGNE: There’s no way you should be able to know th- IRRATINO: The creature that represents the Capricorn has horns just like yours! It’s like the sign was meant to be! CHAMPAGNE: Yeah, my cousin used to have horns and they’re not a-

Babyface Blue falls over and screams! That’s because they were hiding a golden flamingo in their coat which wounded Blue Pink.

BLUE: (I can’t… move…) It’s fine! I’ll deal with it! (Deal with what??) Your whining! ([whacks Blue A with the flamingo])

Forgot to mention, the fourth suspect is Judge Pine.

PINE: I came here for a murder party. And now everyone’s just doin’ their own thing! What am I supposed to do?! AUBERGINE: Well, duh. There’s no FOOD. What kind of party has no food? You know what I love? DINNER THEATER. A meal and a murder, what’s not to love?! PINE: NUH-UH! I eat my food nice and quiet. I don’t need no blood gettin’ in my lunch!

Irratino wishes Logico were here. These everyday murders lack their charm when he’s not there. Especially since Irratino isn’t very good at it. But he knows A way to get Logico’s input! An occult method called - oh, never mind, it’s private.

Using this method, he is able to see inside Logico’s head, and what he’s thinking.

LOGICO: I’m so tired. I hate this bed so much! Why hasn’t Irratino come yet? Oh shit, he’s probably trying to figure out who captured me and why first. Why are all the ads for beer? I’m so hungry. 

Even now, Irratino doesn’t take the hint. But after seeing Aubergine prepare a full buffet, he knows the answer to the murder!

After the accusation, the dead person leaps to her feet. Irratino hadn’t even bothered to check if she was a human - it’s Azure! She and Aubz take a bow.

AUBERGINE: I just wanted to host my own dinner theater. And it worked! You totally fell for it!

Irratino smiles. It’s nice to have good friends. But it’d be even nicer if Logico was also there.

IRRATINO: Do any of you know who kidnapped Logico?

Champ, Pine, and the kids are devouring everything on the table, and pretend like they can’t hear him.

The end!

Irratino sweetie ily but you gotta stop trying to extend the season and just get your bbg already :'3

The power of Goat Lord compels you!

See you next time murdlers!

[autumn-foxfire]

I'm already missing the fillers T-T I mean the canon is Kogoro saying he was glad he didn't have to look after a sick kid. This man is a father and has been resposible for raising this child for a while now, show some goddamn concern.

AND WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT. SHINICHI'S DUMB DECISION HAS COME BACK TO BITE HIM ON THE ASS.

Gosho: If I have the school trip have consequences, the audience won't find it a stupid decision right? And be happy that it's moving the plot forward?

The audience: No. We still think you're stupid.

Shinichi, you shouldn't be so happy that you're so good at tricking your "girlfriend". The one you're supposed to love and trust. I can't believe you're actually dating her while you're lying to her face. You have absolutely no respect for her and I find it gross how everyone supports your relationship when they shouldn't.

Ai, I'm sorry, but you have no right to panic. You let this happen.

Shinichi deserves to panic for being stupid.

Hell, the whole school knows your "alive" and that your "dating" Ran too, so you're just putting her in more and more danger. All it takes is for someone to ask and the beans to be spilled and she's going to be taken captive so they can find the truth and then killed. How weird, when you said lying to her is just to protect her when this is doing the opposite. If you really wanted to protect her, you'd actually fake your death.

Are we also dealing with an insane stalker for the Kudo family. Why is he surprised. They're all celebrities, of course they have insane fans.

I would say it's ooc for Ai to not be as focused on the fact that their secret is in danger but Shinichi deserves to be the one suffering for his mistakes too.

...Shinichi, you literally listened to the conversation Kazuha had with Heiji where she said she could see you on TV.

Heiji, you can't call him a moron when YOU HELPED HIM WITH THE PLAN.

This plot is so stupid T-T Someone help me. How is Gosho so dumb? Does he not have editors? Are his editors stupid too? I assume they are.

And now the school is being surrounded. Just because Ran won't say anything if Shinichi asks because she's a pushover, that doesn't mean the others won't. They don't know the danger Shinichi is in so why would they? Just because he asks? Since when do teenagers do as they ask.

I can't even find Ai's annoyance at Shinichi funny, because this is a serious situation that isn't being treated as such by them. Ai should, frankly, be terrified.

...Shinichi could be onto something here. I mean, have you seen all the lookalikes he has. And now his father does have a brother (though they actually don't look alike funnily enough).

So Shinichi makes jokes to not panic. This is the only interesting part of these episodes.

Shinichi, you should be terrified a man without an eye who could be Rum is investigating you.

How suprising. Yuusaku and Yukiko are actually doing something for their son. At least they're doing something instead of panicking, but not appropriately for their situation.

...You know she could have just said she lied? Or had bad sources who lied to her if she wanted to keep her credibility? Using her saying it was an hallucination is just insulting.

And of course a girl who has been gaslit by Shinichi so much would actually DOUBT he was there herself. That isn't cute. That is actually horrifying that Shinichi has made her doubt herself so much that she questioned it herself.

Fuck. Ran deserves so much better.

The fact that Shinichi didn't even think to contact his parents for help also speaks volumes how little he actually relies on them or thinks he can.

It's too late to parent him, Yukiko.

I'm putting them solving the code to Akai. Yuusaku didn't need to be in the discussion at all about them figuring out the boss' name.

What writing does Gosho think this is? Oh now Yuusaku and Yukiko care enough about their son to help and he's brought him the name of the boss out of nowhere when Shinichi and Akai could have just discussed it instead.

His writing is so bad T-T Someone save his plot for me.

[otakween]

Digimon Frontier - Episode 42

This episode was really cute. I'm glad we have at least some consistency/iconic landmarks in the Digimon lore. This season's interpretation of the Village of Beginnings was really pretty. It was a little weird how the digi-eggs were just chilling in bushes like Easter decorations, but oh well.

Notes:

A missed opportunity for the caretaker to be a stork instead of a swan. Maybe that's not a thing in Japan though...I guess she's closer to Mother Goose.

Wait a minute, if I look closer at my screenshots it looks like the digieggs are actually growing like plants? Since when is that a thing...

(They looks like neggs lol)

I want to know what a baby Trailmon looks like lol. No new baby designs here, which is fine. I like that there are only a couple of babies and they branch from there.

They censored the digimon poop lol. Why is it bad to show a baby animal pooping on someone exactly? Or are they just avoiding potty humor?

Their conversation reflecting on becoming half-digimon was interesting. I guess they do have a deeper connection to the digital world than previous kids. I kinda thought of their digimon transformations as separate from them though, so I didn't think of them as part-digimon. I'm assuming they'll lose access to their digimon sides eventually.

The Royal Knights say that they're fine with destroying the Village of Beginnings because they can just clone the digimon...what digimon? If you destroy all of them, what exactly do you plan to clone?

The other warriors coming back kinda made no sense (they actually point out that it made no sense lol). They just kinda digivolve from digiegg to champion through ~the power of miracles~ (if they can do that, then Patamon should be able to digivolve to Seraphimon). I didn't really like that scene because they just awkwardly stood around silently. It felt like they didn't have the budget to pay the voice actors come back. It would have been more interesting to hear them talk with their purified personalities. Oh well, it was just a cameo.

"Anyone can be reborn!" Ehhh...IDK, some people just suck actually. I guess I can interpret the message as "anyone has the potential to be redeemed" doesn't mean everyone will be.

Next episode looks like filler booooo

[class1akids]

I skipped every single Star chapter, if the leaks said she was in it, I didn't read it. At the time I couldn't be paid to care about her, and Horikoshi's westaboo tendencied. But now that things are hopefully ending soon, and her arc is being animated, is it worth watching? Twitter meta said that she was supposed to be some sort of symbol of justice and goodness in the world, who didn't wait to be told to "do the right thing", and knowing that she is a personification of the US of A, (the same USA that is currently actively supporting a genocide . And has vetoed action against other genocides *cough*Rwanda*cough*) that's just going to piss me off. To be honest I dropped the manga after 390. Save for a chapter here and there if there were leaks of a character I liked returning, I only picked it up again a few weeks ago when the kids reappeared. I've missed chunks of the story as is, I just come here to your page every few weeks to catch up (Something I didn't even do during Star's arc). But as someone who's largely felt the same way about the manga as it ebbed and flowed, (but has stuck with it, unlike me) do you think I'd be doing an injustice to the story if I just...pretended she didn't exist?

You can easily skip it and nothing really gets lost. She has so little influence on the plot that it feels completely like a filler-fight.

I think you do learn a little bit about the Tomura - AFO merger (it being this "other me") and how the Tomura identity didn't completely disappear.

But the fight itself is basically an "exhibition match" that pits ShigAFO against the World's current strongest, to defeat her, so clearing the path to Deku becoming the Greatest Hero (if he wins where he lost). It also tries to gas up ShigAFO's strength, but considering how little he achieves fight-wise in the final arc, it really doesn't go anywhere.

IMHO it's perfectly skippable. But should finish next episode anyways and the kids will be back for a little while.

[feministsouthpark]

South Park Filler Guide - Season 8

Link for Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

PLS my analysis will have spoilers, if you’re a first time viewer, just scroll to the bottom and read the list and only read full text if you are familiar with the content of the show already! S8E1 Good Times with Weapons is FILLER

Yes! Everyone's favorite season premiere is a filler, baby! It was fun, we sang, we cried, in the end Butters never has a scar on his eye again. S8E2 Up the Down Steroid is LORE

We have a new tradition, which is that after last season's Krazy Kripples, we'll have a new Jimmy episode every year! And this is the first time we meet Nathan and the rest of the special education kids. S8E3 The Passion of the Jew is FILLER

I wanted to tell you this one was canon, because the season has constant mentions of Passion of the Christ so far, but in the end, it doesn't even matter. S8E4 AWESOM-O is FILLER

Sooo if every anime filler was as good as these ones, the filler guides most likely wouldn't exist (or they would, because humans), but again, what we have is a self-contained story. S8E5 You Got F'd in the A is FILLER

At one point I might have convinced myself that what I'm doing with this recap makes some kind of sense, but alas, it doesn't. This became an episodic show and we miss out on all the best episodes. Why am I lamenting at You Got F'd instead of Good Times with Weapons? Because I'm a loose cannon with no regard for the law. That may be true, but I get the job done, God damn it. S8E6 The Jeffersons is CANON

No other Mr. Jefferson episode came out while Michael was still alive. As a hologram he later references his name being Jefferson again, but this one only ads a little more context to that. This one also pretty much introduced the new cops of South Park. S8E7 Goobacks is FILLER

Yes, Darryl and the Took our jobs meme are here, but it will return in enough episodes to still be understood. S8E8 Douche and Turd is CANON

What a great election episode! We get town lore (Stephen with the ram's horn again) and an allegory that will return in a big way later. S8E9 Something Walmart This Way Comes is FILLER

I regularly forget this one exists and doesn't make a difference at all. Sorry, got too subjective. Objectively this is an episode with a simple message and without a larger scope for the show. S8E10 Pre-School is FILLER

Trent Boyett never returned. But if you think about it, he is one of the boys' greatest foes. I wish one of the specials was a follow-up of the 15 year old versions of the characters meeting Trent again. If everything else fails, THAT would bring me back and change my classifications! S8E11 Quest for Ratings is FILLER

One time the boys played cops. They even played musicians. Now they play newsreaders. Only Jimmy is in for the long-run and he will get episodes that focus on that individually. S8E12 Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset is CANON

Not just because it's a follow-up to Death Camp of Tolerance, that in itself wouldn't be enough. But Paris also has an extended role in a specific later episode I mentioned a lot, but never dropped. It's 200 by the way. And 201. Now I am a bit picky of which ones to include if we got no other clue for an episode. The show never got to 200 celebrities at that point. Also, some of them were in that episode first. So only the most prominent ones get their debuts counted as canon ones by default. S8E13 Cartman's Incredible Gift is CANON

A character dies. Harrison Yates gets more role here as a detective, slowly drifting away from Barbrady. S8E14 Woodland Critter Christmas is FILLER

It's just in Eric's mind. Some of you are already mad at me for this. Some of you will only get it later and be mad at me in the season 11 post.

SPOILER-FREE RUNDOWN

Again, CANON means you should watch it, FILLER means you can skip it, LORE is somewhere in-between, any episode with the LORE label will have an explanation that helps you decide if you should include it or not. S8E1 Good Times with Weapons is FILLER S8E2 Up the Down Steroid is LORE* S8E3 The Passion of the Jew is FILLER S8E4 AWESOM-O is FILLER S8E5 You Got F'd in the A is FILLER S8E6 The Jeffersons is CANON S8E7 Goobacks is FILLER S8E8 Douche and Turd is CANON S8E9 Something Walmart This Way Comes is FILLER S8E10 Pre-School is FILLER S8E11 Quest for Ratings is FILLER S8E12 Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset is CANON S8E13 Cartman's Incredible Gift is CANON S8E14 Woodland Critter Christmas is FILLER

*Casually introduces the special ED kids

CANON counter:

S1: 9 out of 13  S2: 3 out of 18  S3: 6 out of 18  S4: 10 out of 17  S5: 8 out of 14  S6: 11 out of 17 S7: 6 out of 15 S8: 4 out of 14

Overall: 57 out of 126

[inkstainedhandswithrings]

TBB S2 Ep10 Thoughts!

"Yes, but with a few repairs it will be a slightly operational heap of junk." TECH BESTIE WHY U GOTTA BE SO SASSY I LOVE IT

"Oh. Ingenious Idea." bajdhabxjhanwnxjs CUTE

Also just the fact that Tech taught her how to trace a binary reference code

Or just in general, how he taught her how to use his data pad and let's her use it all the time. I imagine that's not a piece of equipment he gives to just anyone

I like Benni's tattoo but,,,,, he's so tiny why tattoo???

ALSO "WHAT ABT WATER RATIONS?"???? OMG TINY R U OK???

"Mako always takes care of his crew." hmmmmmm yea RIGHT I TOTALLY BELIEVE U

I'm sorry, but the ENTIRE batch on that one speeder???? meme material wth that was so FCKING FUNNY CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT CONVERSATION???

"Alright, I'll drive. Wrecker, you shall sit in the middle, which is technically not a seat. Hunter you'll have to sit all the way in the back, facing the other way and almost fall off, but at least you will be able to be a lookout. Omega, as a treat, you'll get to sit behind me. The only comfortable seat on this entire speeder."

5 mins down the road:"TECH, HUNTER JUST FELL OFF!" "Oh."

The way they took Benni down? dang that was impressive. Specially looking at Omega here. I forgot our girlie gained a lot of skill and guts since last season

Also loving how much Wrecker is enjoying scaring Benni. The way he grabs him and then chuckles when Benni tries to run off I'm---

quick question for the group; is Mako supposed to be Zygerrian? I didn't think about it until the end of the ep when I noticed his eyes looked Zygerrian and he had Zygerrian-esque ears

that little moment between Omega and Benni before Mako showed up???? her telling him he doesn't have to live this way, giving him food, showing him the report, talking abt how her family values her???

talking about their respective homes, BENNI APOLOGIZING???

i ship it :')

Also the boys just talking via their communicators while tinkering with the ship has the same vibes as me and my bestie face-timing while we're doing our make-up before going out. i love it

"So you think you can come here and steal from me?" "Technically-" yes baby tell him >:]]

"One stray shot and we're all done for." "We don't miss." EXCUSE ME SIR HOW DARE U SAY HOT SHIT LIKE THAT

okay okay okay okay

THAT MOMENT WHEN OMEGA'S SUPPOSED TO GET TOSSED, BUT SHE SEES HUNTER FIRING THE GRAPPLING HOOK SO SHE GRABS THE DROID, PULLS IT DOWN AND THAT CATCHES HUNTERS HAND TOTALLY FOCUSED AND CALM??? THE WAY SHE CASUALLY USES HIS PACK TO CLIMB BACK UP AND THIS SEEMS SO NORMAL TO THEM THAT IT DOESN'T EVEN REQUIRE A "good job kid" OR SOMETHING????

OMEGA HAS BEEN TRAINING AND SHE'S GETTING MORE AND MORE BADASS AND I'M HERE FOR IT

ngl, I thought Mako's death was a little sloppyly and lazyly done, but then again these are 20 min episodes so you can't really blame them

that last little convo between Omega and Benni???? SO CUTE

Tech's reluctant "what is it?" was so sweet to me especially considering the previous episode. I feel like he's trying harder to acknowledge her feelings and I AM SOFT

and then he tries (and succeeds) to encourage her and pats her shoulder and WAH YES GROWTH :)))

This ep was kinda filler-esque but I really enjoyed it anyway. Sad we didn't get Rex and Echo picking them up, but yanno, I'm not complaining. This was so sweet and fun and nice to watch :))

[orcelito]

UAUAHAHJFJGJG

Watched episode 375 of shippuden. I am losing my MIND!!!!!!!!

The kakashi vs obito fight was so fucking good. SO fucking good. So beautifully animated, wonderful fight choreography (I've been fed up with the endless OP ninja magic battles, so some good old taijutsu was SO good), AND interspersed with clips of them sparring as kids just to really drive home how sad this all is. SO cool, bur SO sad. I watched the scene like 3 times in full and kept rewatching key bits of fight choreo (my favorite is when the kunai is knocked into the air, then kakashi flips to kick it with his heel into another attack. SO!!!!! fucking COOL!!!!!!) I probably will end up rewatching it even more later too bc wow. Wowowowowow I'm losing my MIND it's so good

AND!!!! BACK TO THE BIG BATTLE!!!!! Minato teleporting in bc he had Obito marked from all the way back when Naruto was born!!! Minato attacking him, dealing (what should've been) a killing blow. But as he does it, he realizes this is *Obito*, which Holy Shit. Madara is unfairly attractive in a lot of this hfkshfks his faces during all this were. Well. He is an Uchiha. 😂

Then Plot Twist, obito is becoming the ten tails jinchuuriki (which is a little weird. I figured the process would require a lot more Uhhh fine tuned sealing and such, but nope he's just doing it. Okay) lots going on, also Where's Kakashi?!?!? In the alternate dimension still I guess but also COME ON OUT KAKASHI!!! YOURE MISSING A LOT!!!!! I want Minato to see Kakashi too before he has to go back into the ether 🥺 pspspsp come on out kakashi you've got a stab wound anyways. Why don't you let sakura look at that.

Anyways yet again, just one episode but it was a fucking BIG ONE. And then the next episode preview being for a filler episode hfkshfmsjx I'll probably still watch it tho bc it looks funny. Might as well check it out!!!!

[shittyelfwriter]

ALRIGHTY here we are at weeks three and four for the santa clauses series! I did not rewatch a second time because genuinely, these melted my brain. anyway, lets get into it below the cut!

So apparently according to the tsc tag, episode 3 that I missed last week is a sort of filler episode? OH BROTHER REALLY

Normally I would not complain bc I miss old format, 20-23 episode series but because I know this Isn't That? DREAD. how are you going to plot well and good in 7-8eps if some are filler? that is just SO condensed, my guy

Counterpoint to people who were sad about it but: I thought the teen romance was annoying and I'm GLAD they ended it even JUST for a bit (it will come back to haunt again, trust. It’s a disney series ffs.) Whoever is writing this needs to ask a teen about how they talk nowadays. This is not it.

I also think we're driving the whole "Buddy is terrible at everything" punchline WAY past its breaking point. Which I would argue was last season entirely, but. At the very latest, last episode with how heavy on cringe it was. Yes, EVEN for kids/teens.

Again, they are not antagonizing Magnus Antas enough for me to hate him. waaaaay too funny to be a villain. I can't take him seriously and DON'T want to

The way that Noel keeps sideyeing the Betty cutout as if to say "do you see this shit?" during his brunch with the Clauses SENT me tbh. That's bernelle coded and I love it

I do not know why Disney gets OFF on the Clauses being absolutely inept parents but I wish they would stop

SHOUTOUT JUDY OMG JUDY'S ACTRESS THAT’S JUDY JUDY IS HERE YOU GUYS (SCREAMINGGGG)

LOVING the exterior shots of the workshop and Elfsburg. As someone who has POURED over all available screenshots from the movies of those I am LIVING for new angles (even though I do NOT think bernelle would live that close to the Workshop, but it doesn't seem like Betty and Noel can POOF like Bman and Elle can (and do))

I don't know why there are TWO instances of a "misspoken turn of phrase" in this episode but neither were funny and TWO OF THEM was REALLY bad

CHUBBY BUNNY DID NOT EXIST THAT LONG AGO. NOT IN MAGNUS ANTAS' TIME. THAT WAS AN INTERNET FAD LESS THAN TEN YEARS AGO. WHAT ARE WE DOING DUDE. WHAT ARE THESE WRITERS ON (it's not good, I don't want some)

Crossing guard callback? For what? (okay, shrug I GUESS dot meme)

Why does this specific franchise always have to make EB SO WEIRD. WHY. Nothing about this is funny it's just off-putting. Just like the previous EB flirting with Carol's MARRIED MOM in tsc3

This Carol and La Befana scene was actually very good. LOVE it when they actually just let the characters be HONEST with each other. Women supporting women core. Even if Carol's reason for being mad at her was really shallow and obviously stems form Carol's lack of identity as Mrs. Claus because they just cannot wrap that plot point from last season up.

THE LETTERS DEPARTMENT. It looks dope but HATE the explanation for it. Half assed as hell. WARNING! Rant incoming: like from what I know a LOT of postal services have little lore stories about how they get the letters to Santa. WHY COULDNT WE JUST SAY THERE ARE AGREEMENTS BETWEEN SANTA AND OTHER ADULT PEOPLE WHO KEEP THE SPIRIT ALIVE FOR OTHERS AS WELL? Why is this series so obsessed with making everything only powered by magic and never by others (yes, humans) who want to keep the spirit alive as well? It feels like magic is being used as an "explain it all away" crutch narratively. Even in season 1, the "solution" to mass consumerism wasn't for people to be kind to each other and do little things to keep the magical parts of Christmas alive, it was to show the world that magic was real. Season 2 so far, the answer to everything is also just magic. I'm hoping that maybe the B plot with Kris will touch on this. Because as it stands right now, it feels like the writers are talking out of both sides of their mouth. Commercial Christmas is bad, but Kris is a loser for having a Santa theme park. Like?? Homogenization of Christmas is the Big Bad at large, but also up at the Pole they are trying to find ways to do the same thing to be "current". CHRISTMAS IS MULTIFACTED. It is both secular and religious! That is OKAY, I don't even think "woke" people are arguing about that. Sheesh.

Can't believe I'm micro rambling IN my ramble post. New achievement unlocked omg

The way Magnus Antas picks up on modern slang so quickly practically puts Scott to shame. Good for him

AGAIN, the misturn of phrase jokes. DEAD. Not funny. STOP

If they are going to make Sandra so op that she can just Wanda Maximoff chaos magic "I just say something when I'm mad and it happens, anything I want with no negative impact on me" I will not find that swag. That is in fact Mary Sue territory, lads

Sandra's little outburst @ La Befana was giving magical nepo baby for a moment there. Oof. "Too bad I'm just naturally more skilled than you even though I'm new and you've been a witch forever" girl SHUT. UP. You are like a little baby. Also that is so mad disrespectful like no WONDER La Befana is wanting you to slow tf down. You fly off the handle WAY to easily and we ALL know you lose control when you do! Okay loose cannon! Werk!

Riley. Girl. "we never see each other" you were just up at the Pole?? Like. OFTEN?? This is so stupid of a breakup but they are teenagers so go off kids, be dysfunctional or what have you. Rah rah, as Jack would say

Episode four now, lord help us. God has cursed me for my (loving this one Christmas movie series) hubris and my work (watching it's hellish series spin off) is never finished

"Reversing a transformation is never a guarantee" what is this La Befana? the Sims? Sounds like transformation ray odds. Magic is not THAT unpredictable, even by in-universe logic

CURTIS-ITIS!??? CURTIS FUCKING EXPLODED??

ARE YOU SO FUCKING FR RN. SO BERNARD IS MARRIED TO A SENIOR CITIZEN AND CURTIS. FUCKIN VAPORIZED?? FROM STRESS? WHAT'S NEXT? Lemme guess, Judy joined the circus. Quintin is a crypto investor or works for Tesla. WHAT ARE WE D O I N G

Not Scott moving the scissors like he's afraid Buddy will shank him or others?? SIR

SANDMAN AHHHHHHHHHH HELLO SIR /POS :D

So they just con him? As though that's a long term solutio-- OH MY GOD NOT SCOTT USING SANDMAN'S SAND ON SANDMAN HIMSELF?? that's ILLEGALE?? According to tsc3 lore: "We legendaries can't use magic on each other?" I am so bewildered by the level of retcon occurring before my very eyes at BREAKNECK speed

Sandra doesn't need magic she needs THERAPY for her ANGER ISSUES bruh. Damn. She doesn't need a rage room (in someone's house too I might add? okayyyy) she needs to learn to process like a normal human being wtf

Scott being able to look like his normal self whenever he wants and they just didn't tell him? For like. 25 years? Like its clear that by the series standards, the elves think he's a total moron. But it pendulums hard and fast between "haha funny joke" and "damn they really think he ain't shit, huh"

Edie being a fashion diva is such a serve she's grown on me this season ngl

"I had to teach him how to do all the Legendaries jobs" Scott I know you're waffling, absolutely FUMBLING but what the FUCKKKKK is that excuse??? What's Cal going to do? Be EVERY Legendary? TERRIBLE AWFUL HATE IT UNINSPIRED. Not to mention, SOME OF THE OTHER LEGENDARIES MIGHT NOT TAKE THAT NEWS WELL. Some might even feel THREATENED

"The man I die for in my sleep every night" UM? Noel? You okay there bud? Holy heck

THE PURPLE JACKET IS SWAG AND SCOTT IS A HATER. HE CANNOT SEE THE VISION

Do you guys think according to this new lore Edie made Jack's suit? because me thinks PERHAPS

Magnus Antas is kind of popping off, damn. Like I think if the gnomes hadn’t given him MAJOR delusions of grandeur and an ego trip, he could have stayed totally a vibe. But stop giving the Santas snow powers and reconning Jack holy SHIT dude. First Scott now him? HATE IT

The way they made Scott and Cal look when "invisible" is Not a Good Look heck. Its like a bad picsart filter

These Scott visions. I get why, its through the Santa magic, right? But dang its corny

So Scott knows Magnus Antas is back now. Okay. They got away from him. Lost visual on Olga, have a bad feeling she somehow sneaked into the sleigh. Weird cliffhanger but EVERY episode has been like that so far

Final thoughts: I feel like they're definitely trying to make this season take itself less seriously, but I feel like the trade off is that the writers are taking too many liberties for diversions from source material and are therefore, losing the plot entirely and retconning movie lore at will and convenience. Tl;dr, it's messy. Concepts are fun until things just become so irreverent they fall apart or lean into entirely unfunny territory. Which is just a hallmark of T*m All*n brand humor, tee em, but you know.

It feels like this series is doing everything and nothing. It wants woke points, but immediately doubles back and makes fun of those same things. It wants us to feel empathy for these characters, and immediately makes them insufferable. I am so confused as to what the takeaway is supposed to be. It all feels so poorly executed--the series retcons itself constantly, not to mention the movies. I want it to be fun, and to take it at surface value, but if you know literally anything about the movies, that becomes a challenge to do. I'm just so confused dude.

I will be shocked if this gets a third season. Truly.

Also, I miss Betty too, Noel. Wish this whole season was about HER shenanigans, instead.

So. See you all next week then?

[brawlsbigbadonkers]

So uh... how you feeling about the newest earthspark episodes? I guess we sorta got what we wanted... (my poor blorbos)

Warning , earthspark spoilers

I have some mixed feelings about the newest earthspark episodes. But honestly I quite enjoyed them !! I loved seeing skullcruncher , he’s a personal favorite of mine. I also loved the breakdown episode , it was so good to see him. He’s a bloody handsome man ! I loved his little friendship with bee, it was cute yet sad to see. You can tell they still, in a way, care about each other. The episode where it’s focused on jawbreaker finding a alt mode is so heartwarming and I loved it a lot. Hashtag is such a tablet kid and I kinda found it endearing , reminded me of my younger siblings.

BUT HOLY FUCK I ENJOYED TARANTULAS A FUCK TON. I’m not the biggest fan of tara in other continents. BUT FUCKIN THIS TARA??!! MY GOD. I like how he never wanted to fight but he did what he needed to survive. THAT FUCKS. “But I will always be Tarantulas” FUCKS. I loved Tara , easily one of my new earthspark faves.

A lot of the other episodes seemed like filler but they where nice slice of life.

(Warning I’m mostly just bitchin over nothin for the next paragraph so feel free to skip it)

Now…about the last episodes. I felt like there was a lot of good in em!! For starters I LOVED frenzy and lazerbeak in the first part of the last episode. They where entertaining and lazerbeak voice ?! LOVED IT!! And grimlock ?! Always and I mean ALWAYS a joy to see !! I love him!! BUT- I’m gonna be honest, I couldn’t even enjoy the last episode to the fullest because you know who was in those episodes? Brawl. And you know what happen? He lost to bumblebee, lost a arm and lost his energon. He’s taking LOSES. If you know this blog., You know it’s BRAWL NATION!! We salute the brawl flag here !! You can’t even believe how excited I was heard he might be in earthspark. I thought he might have a small reunion between him and swindle where they break out hardtop or the two just get into some trouble and have the new terans have some fun/trouble. (Jawbreaker and brawl bonding moment in my dreams.) I know I sound like I’m nitpicking (I am I’m so sorry) but I just really love brawl and I was excited to see him again.

But from here on I think we can say that the combaticons are probably split up…BUT BRAWL MY BELOVED MY DARLING MY ANGLE IM SO SO SORRY EARTHSPARK DID THAT TO YOU.

Imma be real I don’t really care/like mandroid. Like at this point I’m not even interested in him. I thought he was pretty good in the first half but then they threw him in again and I’m lost and uninterested. I’m not really into the whole plot twist at the end either. To be honest I want swindle to just come and step on mandroid for stealing his brothers arm AND his gestalt (ex-gestalt mate?!) arm. I want brawl to get his Fuckin arm and back cannon back and blow the joint.

Earthspark had a lot of potential but I feel like it also misses in a lot of ways. I hope it learns to grow as a show and learn from other continuities trials and errors. I do like it ! And I can’t wait to see more!

[milkywaydrinker]

(Again, don't hesitate to tell me to stop if it's annoying you; I can always make my own sideblog to rant if I really need to.)

Your point on OK KO compared to Amphibia reminds me... I've never liked the claim that if TOH season 3 had more episodes, people would complain about the earth segment as much as they did Amphibia's. Because there's a very clear difference between the two.

For starters, despite its shortening TOH actually made room to acknowledge the emotional fallout of season 2. We got to see Luz struggle and cope, we saw how the other kids missed their families, there was still moments of legitimate seriousness and acknowledgement for what happened. Luz's repression was treated as an actual problem, and not a convenient excuse for the writers.

I think people would be way less critical of Amphibia 3A's slice of life aspects if it managed to at least acknowledge the darker parts. Before 3A, I absolutely expected the show to go back to some goofy antics because that's just how Amphibia works, and the season 3 intro made that clear; But I expected for the writers to at least transition us into that tonal shift, by giving us an episode for the characters to cope and reflect before they have fun fillers as a much-needed break.

The problem with Amphibia is that there is no transition; 3A picks up mere seconds after True Colors, and the tone has notably been shifted to something jarringly casual without any explanation for that change. There's a joke where Anne shows more emotion towards wi-fi than her closest childhood friend getting stabbed. And in spite of everyone insisting 3B would deliver on the much-needed angst and acknowledgement, Anne magically forgives Sasha for no reason, and continues to show no lack of concern for Marcy (in addition to 3B continuing the goofy antics until the last minute... We did NOT need Sprivy, nor for the lore episode about the prophecy to be taken up by a gross-out sequence).

If TOH's earth segment wasn't compressed, it's clear that we still would've gotten acknowledgement for the characters' trauma and some slice of life. Amphibia has a full third season and can only do the latter. Plus, your point on Ronaldo from SU brings up another difference;

People actually like Luz's friends. People are actually interested in seeing them interact, seeing them adjust to and explore the human world. The human world was a formative experience for Luz and essentially her backstory, whereas with Anne, it's mostly Sasha and Marcy, who are back in Amphibia. Luz's friends are side characters and yet are treated with so much more emotional depth, consistency, and weight than the Plantars; They're much more dynamic.

After the successive trauma of 2B, seeing these kids decompress actually feels earned; People wanted to explore their interactions with each other, various storylines! Luz and Vee being sisters, Hunter getting to be an actual kid after having been a child soldier all his life... Gus' reaction to the human world, given it's such a big deal to his character, or Amity and Willow rebuilding their friendship! The writers would've given us Vee and Hunter acknowledging their tense connection over the Emperor's Coven, that much was confirmed!

We actually wanted and needed to see these kids explore this new situation. But with the Plantars, we've already had two whole seasons of them doing the same old goofy antics, nobody really cared or was hyped up to see their reaction to the human world. At best there was their interactions with Anne's parents, but that part is brief compared to the rest of 3A. We didn't need to see the Plantars go back to being silly, we needed to see them be treated seriously too! And Anne, for that matter. Coming from someone who actually put in the effort to try and analyze and engage with the Plantars and appreciate them, it feels like the writers neglect fleshing them out as well.

TOH's slice-of-life feels earned and with characters people actually want to explore in different situations and interactions. With Amphibia, we finally began to delve into something more serious, only to immediately back out without any narrative nor in-universe transition to this casual tone. The fallacy that "People would also complain about filler if TOH's season 3 wasn't shortened" is always from Amphibia fans who are trying to defend 3A, and are disgruntled seeing their show compared to TOH, acting like it's a mystery TOH is preferred.

I do have some thoughts on this.

I pretty much agree with what you said. Allow me to go on a little tangent:

With how plot-focused most stories need to be right now due to the shifting format of distribution (the binge model and the generally shortened attention span of an average fandom) many people began treating SoL episodes as filler.

Now, what is filler really? I'm an old-school weeb, so that word always had only one meaning. A non-canon arc, something straying from the source material because the adaptation caught up.

In the context of something like Amphibia, Steven Universe, or TOH, it would mean an episode that has no bearing on the plot, something you can skip with no consequences to your understanding of the main storyline. By that logic not all SoL episodes are filler, in fact, if they lead to persistent character development, they can be more important to the story than anything else in the show.

The difference between TOH and Amphibia is mostly the quality of character writing. I joked with my friends that if TOH had a full s3 I would gladly watch a Hooty lore episode. I hard agree with the sentiment that TOH SoL episodes would land. They would allow for better pacing, we would get a proper set up for hard hitting emotional moments, a whole episode of lead up to Hunter getting a haircut, loaded with symbolism and his identity crisis. There's a lot to dig into with those characters because they have enough dimension to them to allow every single one to carry an episode if so desired.

With Anne and the Plantars, there's a very limited amount of things you can reasonably do before it gets old. To prevent it, they would actually have to make character development stick. They would have to build upon the lessons learned from previous episodes, they would have to write characters that Think and Grow. There are moments that show some of that, a genuine flash of something really good. There aren't many of them in s3 though. Static characters can work, many sitcoms have a cast of completely static characters that never really substantially grow or change. At some point you need to bite the bullet though, either you have a plot that hinges on substantial character development of your main cast, or you have a silly goofy "put the guys in a situation" show.

I've heard that Disney in fact meddled with the writing of s3. They had to lighten the tone, which is ridiculous when stuff like The Core still happened with a literal electric chair scene. The tonal whiplash is so severe many people expressed feeling as if they were watching two completely different shows. It's a fatal flaw that left neither side of the fandom satisfied.

Some shows feel like you could watch 10 more seasons of the same thing. I would watch endless spinoffs of TOH. I would watch more Adventure Time and I will watch Fiona and Cake spinoff.

I've had quite enough of Amphibia.

[docexe-mx]

Some belated thoughts on Boruto manga’s chapter 80

We have officially reached the time skip, a critical juncture for the story. Just at the same time, the manga decided to go on hiatus, almost a month after the anime did the same.

The manga’s absence will be short lived as it returns in August, so the hiatus is clearly for purposes of giving the creative team more time to prepare for the next arc. The anime, meanwhile, might take longer to return as I presume they’ll wait until the manga gets a good amount of material so it doesn’t catch up too quickly.

On the one hand, it makes sense the anime is taking a break given they had reached a point where they had little material left to adapt from the manga and it wasn’t easy to insert any more filler or original arcs. 

On the other hand, I think it would have been better if they had adapted the rest of the Eida arc and finished “part I” on the current manga chapter before going on hiatus. I guess the Studio didn’t know the time skip was about to come or preferred to prioritize the celebration of the OG anime anniversary, given there’s going to be commemorative episodes from it later this year.

As to the content of the actual chapter itself, a few impressions with spoilers after the cut:

Honestly, as critical as this chapter is for the rest of the story, I feel that it was a bit rushed towards the end, but I have to admit I find the set-up intriguing. It’s essentially a twisted mirror of what happened at the end of Naruto’s part I: In the original series, Sasuke willingly abandons Konoha to become a missing nin in pursue of his revenge, while Naruto vows to bring him back and leaves on a training trip in order to become stronger. Here, with everyone’s memories of him altered, Boruto is framed for a crime he didn’t commit and forced to become a missing nin and abandon Konoha, while Kawaki vows to hunt him down and kill him in order to put an end to the Ootsutsuki clan.

Ironically, Sasuke also became a missing nin again but for completely different reasons: This time he helped Boruto escape and will be traveling with him in order to train him and protect him at the behest of Sarada. In a way, that also makes him parallel Jiraiya’s mentorship role in the original series even further. As an aside, him saying that even if he can’t trust his own memories he will always trust his daughter was a nice touch.

As I suspected, all this mess was engineered by Momoshiki himself in an attempt to break down Boruto spirit and take definitive control over his body. But just to show that the apple never falls far from the tree, in spite of how dire is his current situation, Boruto doesn’t let it brought him down and vows to become stronger and eventually return to fix things with Kawaki. I have to say that while the kid didn’t exactly start as one of my favorite Shonen protagonists, he definitely has become one after this chapter.

Eida got a few more points in my book as well, given how she apologized to Boruto for the mess caused by her Omnipotence Shinjutsu and decided to help him a little by refusing to share his location with Kawaki or Shikamaru. We also learn that even if she dies, the effects of her Shinjutsu won’t dispel. I wonder if there’s any possibility of she eventually learning how to control her powers (at least to a certain extent) in order to reverse the damage.

Sarada awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan in response to Boruto’s plight is a massive piece of BoruSara ship teasing, especially if you remember that, in the manga, Sarada didn’t awaken her Sharingan out of trauma or stress like the rest of her clan bur rather out of love: She awakened it specifically due to the excitement of finally meeting her father. I’m not necessarily complaining given I do like the pairing. I’m just extremely wary and already tired of the inevitable shipping wars that will come because this fandom never changes.

Naruto and Hinata are safe and sound, both in a state of unconsciousness akin to suspended animation. Time is stopped in the dimension that Kawaki sent them, so neither one will age or suffer from inanition while trapped there. It’s very likely they weren’t affected by Eida’s spell, so that will make things… interesting when/if they’re freed from there.

It seems Code is still building his army from the Juubi’s body. With his memories altered by Eida, all of his hatred towards Kawaki has now transferred to Boruto, so it seems like he plans to hunt him down as well. I guess that means he won’t attack Konoha for a while.

The chapter ended leaving a LOT of pressing questions unanswered, hence why I felt like it was rushed towards the end. Some of the more pressing ones:

Why are Sarada and Sumire immune to Eida’s power? Are they the only ones immune to the Shinjutsu or are there more people unaffected as well? If there are more people that were unaffected, does that mean Boruto and Sasuke might find allies during their travel?

What happened to Himawari? Was she also affected by the Omnipotence Shinjutsu and had the memories of her beloved brother rewritten? And if she wasn’t affected (which might be a possibility related to the strong “intensity” that Daemon felt from her) how is she going to react to Kawaki’s actions and the rest of the village turning against her brother?

For that matter, while we know the Shinjutsu overwrote the memories of people regarding Boruto and Kawaki, what about all the physical evidence that exists contradicting the new history? All the video, photos, documents and records that exists showing that Boruto is the Hokage son: Did all of those disappear? Were they altered by the Shinjutsu? Or is people’s perception of them altered so, to put an example, if someone looks at a photo of Boruto with his family they will see Kawaki there instead?

Now that most people think that Naruto is dead, what will happen to Konoha’s leadership? Will Kakashi return to the position as 6th Hokage? Will they name a successor?

I hope all of these questions get answered when the manga returns for the time skip.

[regarding-stories]

Teasing Master Takagi-san / Karakai Jouzo no Takagi-san

Wow, finally a Japanese title I can almost read? (Forget about reading names in Japanese, it's utter madness. Separate dictionaries exist only to let you know which sounds go with what kanji when it comes to names.) So the Japanese title basically says "Takagi-san of good at teasing". Try getting a good-sounding title out of that!

This series starts out with a simple premise. Two kids are sitting next to each other in middle school, a boy named Nishikata and a girl named Takagi. Takagi likes to tease Nishikata mercilessly, and Nishikata keeps on embarrassing himself in trying to get back at her.

Frankly, this alone would get stale soon, so even episode 1 teases at the fact that Takagi does all of this because Nishikata is her crush.

Frankly, the initial episodes didn't really get me. It just seems so odd a match. Takagi is orders of magnitude smarter than Nishikata, often plotting a whole series of steps ahead. She's a chess master of teasing, up to an absurd degree. She has such a good read on Nishikata that she can predict what he says next out loud or in his thoughts. And this initially soured me on the series. The pairing didn't make sense.

Well, except if you see it as comedic setup. Takagi possesses perfect delivery, complete poker face if needed, whereas Nishikata is a mix of embarrassed reactions, attempts at grandstanding, followed by his downfall.

And after a few episodes, they have you...

The simple life

It's not immediately apparent, but over time you will notice that this series is set in a rural Japanese setting. Glimpses of the town these two walk through hint at traditional back streets, the sweets store everybody in school visits is a mere shack. Eventually you learn it is set on an island off the coast of one of Japan's major islands, Shikoku.

Separated from a larger world by at least a ferry ride, Teasing Master Takagi-san knows how to charm you. Gradually it introduces the antics of other classmates, growing a small cast of recurring characters. It's a boxed-in place, small but endearing, with a good reason why these two end up walking home together so often. The setting convincingly mirrors the ensemble premise.

This comes to the fore in small ways, like how the local fireworks festival is laid out on a hill below the shrine. How Takagi-san can't return from a visit to the mainland due to a typhoon. A traditional torchlight procession. This show is not set in Tokyo, and it makes the most of it without getting obnoxious. I enjoyed this aspect very much. Some of these scenes are just visually stunning and taking you to a Japan bordering on fantasy.

A rewarding wild goose chase

In order to watch the three seasons and concluding movie, I had to spread my watching over Crunchyroll (season 1), Netflix (season 2), and HiDive (season 3 and movie). I just wanted to know how it ends, it would be a terrible shame to miss the last part! Good thing some streaming services still offer trials... (I think I missed the OVA after season 1, but knowing your typical filler OVA I doubt I missed much...) Netflix has the guts to call it an "original series" for airing only one season of the whole lot...

A lot of the dynamic of the series follows a typical Japanese anime trope. The boy resorts to a "It can't be true" logic after he gets clear hints that Takagi-san is in love with him, whereas Takagi-san gets cold feet and prefers to tease by voicing her true feelings and then leaving it unclear whether it was a tease. The series builds tension quite well here, given these are just middle schoolers. All the blushes and sweet moments...

And thankfully, it being set in middle school, we are spared all the other anime tropes of the rom-com genre. No panty shots, no boob jokes, no people defying gravity by falling onto each other. This is the time when holding hands is a big deal, making this show a rather unadulterated joy (pun intended).

And Nishikata's passion for a silly shoujo rom-com named "100% Unrequited Love" (kyun kyun!!) is the final bonus sealing the deal, both the content of that show-in-show and all of Nishikata's reactions to it. Peering inside his mind is always fun and a bit cringe, anyway.

Do prepare for some tears in the movie, but it's all good.