#And can sing praises when I do

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I feel like I owe Kim Possible a minor apology. In a recent post, I used Kim and Ron's romance as an example of how the love square should have been written. I've also talked about how Ron's the perfect example of a male comedy sidekick who is more than just a comedy sidekick because he's treated as Kim's perfect partner. I've probably mentioned Kim Possible other times, too, because it's such a good match for what Miraculous is trying to do.

Because I keep singing Kim Possible's praises I decided that I should rewatch the show to make sure that my nostalgia goggles weren't blinding me to some major flaw. So far, they weren't. If anything, I've been underselling the show. This is where we get to that apology I mentioned at the start.

Prior to this rewatch, I would have told you that Ron's importance wasn't really discussed until the later seasons because the first season of a formulaic kids show is almost always a testing grounds to see what works, so things can be a little rough. Plus Ron's importance isn't exactly something that you need to dive into early on when you've got a two person team. No one is questioning Ron's importance right out of the gate. He's there to be the comedy sidekick. No explanation needed.

Imagine my surprise when the plot of episode six is all about Kim and Ron getting into a fight about Ron excelling at their part time job while Kim kinda sucks, leading to Kim going to fight alone while Ron keeps working. Kim fails, Ron gets a call that she's in trouble, and:

Wade: Not important. Kim's in trouble. She found Drakken at inside giant Cheese Wheel but I lost contact. She needs help. Your help. Ned: Well, well, well. Looks like you've got a choice to make, Stoppable! What's more important? Your sacred duty as assistant manager or your role as goofy sidekick? Ron: Well, that's no choice at all. I guess it's time to say buenos noches, Bueno Nacho.

Dude doesn't even hesitate. Doesn't matter if they're fighting or if he's feeling underappreciated, Kim needs his help? He's there. Their fight can wait until after Kim is safe. This is why I love Ron. Total dork, but you can't ask for a better partner.

Ron's rescue attempt initially goes south, but instead of getting mad, we get this genuinely sweet moment:

Ron: Guess that wasn't much of a plan. Kim: Not as great as your Bueno Nacho bathroom-break chart. Ron: I gooned on assistant-manager power. You were right. Kim: I did resent your superior burrito technique. You're entitled to excel. Forgive me? Ron: Duh! Forgive me? Kim: Totally.

Boy do I love these two! Their friendship was so genuine right from the start. This whole episode is just oozing how much they care for each other, it's great!

After this moment, they save the day with Ron playing a big part in Kim's plan because right from season one, season one, the writers understood that Kim could never be shown to win when Ron wasn't around.

As you may have guessed from the cheese wheel line, the plot of this episode is pretty absurd even for Kim Possible. That's been the case for all of the early episodes, but I think that the plots are going to improve as the seasons go on because I remember the later seasons having much stronger plots. We'll see if that proves true. Even if the plots stay kinda weak, I've still gotta give full credit to the writers for their early character work. They really understood Kim and Ron's relationship right from the start, didn't they? And in a show like this, that's the most important element to get right.

Don't worry, I'm not going to flood your dash with Kim Possible love, I just had to take a moment to appreciate how good the character work was here. They really did want Ron to feel like more than Kim's goofy sidekick and they pulled it off while sticking to the show's absurd writing and formulaic structure. As Miraculous has shown, that isn't something that just naturally happens. It takes effort, so I had to take a moment to gush because I don't get to gush about good character work often while running this blog. I hope this also makes it clear that, when it comes to writing, I'm not looking for perfection. I'm just looking for a good time. So far, that's what this rewatch is giving me.

[lil-vibes]

im a firm believer that Narinder has rizz but its the kind where he casually says stuff that he perceives as something glaringly obvious and then if you look to the side Lambert is close to exploding

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

YES! JOIN ME IN THE DELCIOUS DUNGEONS!

[vv-ispy]

Jean and her preformer wife who she can easily pick up with just 1 arm. Furina is a blushing mess and Jean has a slight pink tint to her face while both of them are giggling

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah !! Jean may say she's never performed in her life, doesn't have the natural talent that Furina does, but she complements Furina so effortlessly, an easy lift and Furina is Carried blushing and gushing about how strong her girlfriend is

[markantonys]

you know what we need around here? less praising of donal's mat *at the expense of* barney's mat (and vice versa, though i haven't seen too much of that) and more acknowledgement that they BOTH did/are doing a great job and we're lucky to have/to have had BOTH of them!

i keep seeing stuff like "donal's mat feels so much more like book!mat, he's so much more lighthearted and likable, he feels like an inherently good person who just makes stupid decisions whereas barney's mat felt like an inherently selfish person" which is so unfair to say because 85% of barney's screentime was dagger-influenced mat. he never had the chance to play a more lighthearted version of mat! and judging by the snippets of Lighthearted, Selfless, Hero-Who-Doesn't-Think-He's-A-Hero Mat we got in the first two episodes (think of him charging weaponless into battle to save his sisters!!!!), i'm sure he would've done a great job, just as i'm sure donal would've done a great job with a darker dagger-influenced mat.

i totally get it's a natural instinct to compare and contrast the two portrayals, but personally i find them both equally great and feel an emotional cohesion between the two! at their core, barney's mat and donal's mat absolutely feel like the same person to me. in my opinion the difference in s1 vs. s2 mat is less because of the actor and more because of the fact that the character spent most of one season influenced by magical evil and most of the other being himself.

[simptasia]

sometimes a media will be like "this character is annoying" and i'll be like "they're very likable actually" because of the autism

[revserrayyu]

One HSR Character a Day Day 41: Serval (aka: revs' favorite)

[koka-mi]

vent under the cut you don't need to read if you don't want to!!!!!!!

I honestly hateee opening up or oversharing with ppl. it's kind of like eating for me where it feels okay in the moment but then afterwards I just feel awful. it feels like I'm attention seeking or saying someone else's experience isn't valid for some reason and it sucks. I don't do it at all with ppl I just met but with friends I tend to get carried away with it sometimes,,,

It hurts even more because I've been distancing myself from ppl bcz I'm scared of this exact thing happening. People have messaged me before, saying I seem cool and they want to be friends. And I get happy in the moment, but then I get really anxious about accidentally getting too comfortable and blurting out personal things, because then their opinion of me will wane and they'll think I'm annoying or ungrateful. So I subconsciously begin to distance myself and take a while when responding to messages, because I'm scared of getting too comfortable with them. But now I'm anxious that they think I'm cold or distant and that I secretly don't like them. It's just a lose lose situation mannn </3

I have so many DMs I've put off responding to, and I've stopped talking in servers as much bcz I'm scared of getting close with ppl in them. I really feel bad for it, though. I've drifted from friends bcz of that and it sucks because I genuinely love them a lot. I love everyone I talk to a lot and they always make my day better--I just wish I could be the same for them. I feel like it's a chore to talk to me. I honestly don't know what to do. It's even worse when I get close to someone bcz they like what I make/post because again, now that they've seen how I really am and I've opened up, they more than likely see me as annoying or a bad person. Like it hurts enough whenever we become friends naturally talking, but if it's with someone who's seen me at my "best" and has seen things I work on or stories I've created, they ofc associate me with those things, and their expectations of me are through the roof. So when I disappoint them it hurts a lot more. I hate getting attached to people it hurts so much

[transgendercastiel]

it’s so hard out here as an abedison disliker

[shaykai]

12, 18, 19, & 22 for the durge questions!!

12. How does your Dark Urge feel about being a bhaalspawn?

Depends on the day and how honest he’s being. He’s come to really enjoy indulging in the endless cycle of murderous thoughts, and he likes the inherent power that comes with being a bhaalspawn.

That being said, there are definitely days with quiet moments where he likes to imagine himself as a normal person leading an average life, simple but thriving with the little joys that he as a bhaalspawn can’t have (tldr, he’s fine with it/even enjoys it unless he’s thinking about families and how normal people can just have those)

Edit: he also absolutely hates the whole Urge taking over if he ignores it for too long thing- that part he could do without

18. How does your Dark Urge feel about love?

He’s actually kind of a romantic! He loves seeing couples, young and old, existing and doing stupid, sweet things that he’s sure he’s read in books before.

He also has a tendency to kill couples together- the love wasn’t enough to save them, but there’s no reason to separate them

Worth mentioning that as much as he’d like it, he does believe on the most part that he isn’t really allowed to love anyone, be it romantically or platonically.

19. Has your Dark Urge become particularly close to anyone romantically and/or platonically in their journey? If so, who, and what is the relationship like? If no, why not?

Pre-tadpole Vat’il was really close to Gortash. He was the one exception for him since he needed to at least live long enough to see their plan through. Gortash took him by surprise, to put it simply. He didn’t expect him to be much more than an ally to use and inevitably murder once said use ran its course. Instead, Enver was charming and intelligent and something about the compliments he gave him would linger in his thoughts far longer than they’ve any right to. (Vat’il craves affection pretty much constantly and has a tendency to latch onto any that’s offered) Turns out they’re both surprisingly understanding of each other- their personalities just kind of click together. The only reason it took anywhere near as long as it did for them to become legitimate friends/lovers is because Vat’il is weary about creating relationships with other people

(I’m focusing on the more romantic presences in his life, but it’s worth mentioning that he basically views Orin, Sarevok, and Sceleritas as his family. Also kind of Bhaal but the hatred runs a little too deep with him for Vat to count him as a legit member)

Post tadpole Vat’il has an on again off again kind of a relationship with Lae’zel- he was fine with sleeping together, and he does genuinely like her, he’s just a little weird about having a legitimate relationship (even through the amnesia. Something about it just feels weird, like he knows better than to let himself care about someone).

In which case, it depends on if it’s normal Vat’il or the good timeline Vat’il- normal Vat ends up ruining their relationship by act 3 because he’s a god awful person at every turn. It gets to the point that Lae’zel is just there to get rid of her tadpole and that’s it. (Shout out to Gortash for picking their relationship back up. It’s not what it was before, but he’s fine with trying to remind Vat about them.)

Good timeline Vat is still a bit weird about relationships, and I don’t think he’s actually with anyone by the end of the game. Him and Lae’zel are still really close though, and, maybe given some more time and self improvement, they could be a couple.

(Also as far as companions he’s closest to go, it’s Astarion, Minthara, and Lae’zel. Also Karlach if he’s trying to be a good person)

22. What first impression does your Dark Urge give off to strangers?

He’s super standoffish and weird and creepy :>

He’s always been more of an introvert/on the quiet side, which would be fine except he has spooky vibes and a tendency to smile with just a little too much teeth. He also has that fun thing going on where it feels like almost every move his body makes is deliberate, which is unsettling at the best of times (doesn’t help that he also has like. The straightest posture you’ve ever seen)

Good timeline Vat is still unsettling more often than not, but he’s trying to work on being more approachable/not being creepy and murdery when he talks to other people

[dukeofthomas]

I'm enjoying btas so much bc the villains usually only have 2-3 henchmen employed- and that's enough. Bc no matter how talented or skilled Batman is, a huge guy coming at you with a weapon is always gonna be dangerous. Batman is a human which means he can lose.

[medicinemane]

It's amazing how quickly you can make someone turn on your company by making a stupid and insulting move

Force me to go through the front door and scan my card when I have backdoor business that never needed a card before (what? ...I was going to somehow... sneak in and... purchase things with a borrowed card? ...which I totally can't do from the front door after scanning it?)

Or like... twitterify your layout right after your users give you a bunch of money just cause they like you, and then refuse to walk it back

...or all the other things companies do that just kinda piss people off and then they refuse to acknowledge maybe it sucks and is stupid cause "hey, the customers didn't leave"... yeah... yet

[thesapphiredragon13]

Just a reminder to new artists or anyone feeling down about their art not looking as good as other artists: This is barely two years apart, you’re really not as far away from progress as you think!

[curseofpower]

"It'd be super interesting to hear these counterarguments 👀."

@goopi-e Well let's see… where should I start? The mass assumption that Ganondorf just sort of left his kingdom for dead and stayed holed up in Hyrule Castle for seven entire years, (lolwut???) no longer caring about his fellow gerudos or even letting them know what the hell was going on?

Or something else? Maybe something a little dicier? Like the existence of gibdos? Or the fact he didn't save Nabooru after his moms decided her punishment? ... That last one might be a little self explanatory, though, if you understand his mindset.

Ganondorf is a man with a very strong sense of justice and a very skewed sense of morality. I think it's actually because he cared that he'd ever punish or let his people be punished like she was. Twinrova were his mothers too, so, it's likely he trusted their judgement more than anyone else's. A lower ranking pair of gerudo might not have gotten away with dealing justice in his name like that.

But I digress. I know I have to be missing something. I'm just very tired today and have a lot on my mind. Do feel free to let me know, though, if any of that interests you or if there's another thing I forgot to address that you want me to go into.

[dbphantom]

To absolutely no one's surprise, Reddit didn't like the Silly Time episode

You'd think after following this show for 1071 episodes they'd finally learn to have a little fun LOL

[zenathezee]

Me responding to an email at work: "Blah blah blah, yes, no, here's a line for filler that probably doesn't need to be mentioned at all but it's weird if the email is too short."

Response I get back: "Thank you for saying [line I threw in as filler], I didn't know that and it was very helpful!!"