#BUT YEAH. THIS SCENE DESTROYS ME. this scene is the one that changes their dynamic for the rest of the film

[knickynoo]

Well, I was sufficiently enabled for the idea, so here it is: ✨Alex P. Keaton's Top Neurodivergent Moments✨

The funny thing is that the amount of time I put into scrolling through my encyclopedic mental inventory of Family Ties scenes, compiling these moments in a list, making gifs, and finding past gifsets/analysis to link back to makes creating this post one of my most neurodivergent moments. Good for me.

These will be organized by season (easier for me than trying to rank on a scale) and are in no way ALL of the moments. I'd need like...15 posts for that. Also, tumblr only allows 30 images/gifs per post, so I'm going to include links to past posts when possible.

ENJOY!

• Alex gets his first-ever failing grade and immediately decides to quit school

Exactly what it says. Alex strolls into college all bright-eyed and confident and ends up a broken shell of a guy just a week or so later. The prototypical Gifted Kid from the moment he learned to speak, Alex cannot handle anything less than perfection. Getting the first F of his life shatters his entire self-image, and he wants to drop out of college entirely.

• Alex's friend Doug announces he's getting married, and Alex spirals into despair. As one does.

The entirety of the "Best Man" episode is one big Alex displaying neurodivergent behaviors moment, honestly. There are a whole lot of Alex-centered plots that are set into motion because A Change happens, and he just cannot deal with it, and this is one of the best examples. Alex is so distraught at the suddenly altered dynamic that he wanders the house like a lost soul—sad and confused and needy. He walks in on Steven's shower just to give him a hug, offers to go shopping with Mal and play dolls with Jen, and also draws up a seven-year contract for his other friends to sign to ensure they stick to their regularly scheduled card games, lest they also run off to get married and destroy his life.

• Alex P. Keaton: child development expert

When faced with the news of another sibling on the way, Alex has some very nurturing advice at the ready for when the baby is crying.

• The Keatons all laugh at a funny story. Alex is not amused.

This is one of my favorite Alex scenes of the series. Uncle Rob shares a memory of the time Steven was young and got in trouble because he started rebelling against the system and refused to write his name in the designated spot on his school test papers. The family shares a hearty laugh. Alex, king of black-and-white thinking and lover of rules, is deeply upset.

I love him so much. He genuinely cannot see how they're enjoying such a story. The Name Spot is for names. And his father dared to write in the Not For Names Spot?? Jail for Steven.

He's so ridiculously autistic.

• Alex's favorite childhood toy

It was a cardboard box. I can't quite put into words why this sets off my ND radar, but it does. Maybe it's the being attached to unusual items thing that's common with autism? The intense fixations that make other people go ????

The Alex and Ba-ba plotline provides some wonderful Alex Lore.

• Mr. Mustache

Yeah, those intense fixations? In the "Fool for Love" episode, Alex grows a mustache and legitimately cannot speak about anything else for the several days that follow. He's asked to present a speech at Mallory's homecoming dance and centers his entire speech around his mustache. He's unable to have a conversation that doesn't involve mustaches. It's incredible.

• Everything in "Matchmaker"

Alex is so sweet in this one. After Mallory comes home crying after a bad date, Alex promises to help her find a great guy. Unfortunately, putting someone who struggles socially and with processing emotions in charge of your love life isn't exactly a great fit. Alex uses the power of science to craft a formula to find Mallory's perfect match (he isn't), then tags along on their date and helps foster a very natural environment (it isn't) for the relationship to flourish (it doesn't).

The episode ends with a great scene between Alex and Mallory that shows just how well Mal understands the inner-workings of her big brother's head.

• Divorce is tough. Alex has some advice.

The Keaton kids are shocked to learn that their Uncle Rob is divorcing their Aunt Maureen. As Jen and Mallory reel from the information, Alex helps to reframe things.

He then pulls out the Special Interest Card and compares the divorce of their aunt and uncle to a "failed merger, not unlike the breakup of the phone company—although obviously less emotional. Nothing more than a natural fluctuation in the marketplace of love and marriage."

And the thing is, he IS impacted by the news. He just hasn't the slightest clue how to actually process it. So, a simple failed merger it is!

• You had one job

Mallory needs some croissants for a fancy get-together she's having with her poetry class. Alex helpfully offers to go pick them up.

Now, I debated about this one because there's part of me that's like, "Hmm, did Alex purposely do this to annoy Mallory?" Is this just a jerk move? But you know what? It stays on the list because the whole "I personally don't like this thing and struggle to see how anyone else could. Therefore, I will get the thing I like" is (for me) a relatable aspect of being ND.

• Every single second of "A, My Name is Alex"

For real, though. This episode is a deep dive into how Alex became the person he is, and it is FILLED with "flashbacks" of an intensely neurodivergent child whose issues were made worse by the people around him. (Mostly teachers and peers. Steven and Elyse did their best with him, but I do also have some critiques of the way they parented him). Anyway, he represses his emotions to the point of a meltdown

And then there's this

Full coin gifset here. Also, I made posts on the full episode, which can be found here and here.

• "Alex has a weird body"

That's Mallory's explanation to Andy as to why Alex can't help her when she needs someone to model one of her latest clothing creations. She says Alex's head is too big for his body, and those words, unfortunately, find their way back to him. In a mini plot reminiscent of the mustache one, Alex proceeds to obsess over the comment.

And I mean, I think being told your head is too big for your body would make anyone insecure, but it's the way Alex handles it. He's unable to have regular conversations for a while because he can't stop fixating on the size of his noggin'.

Both of the "Read it and Weep" episodes fit in this list, to be honest

• An accurate statement by Lauren

I've got to include this because it really does neatly condense a lot of who Alex is

So true, bestie.

And then, to wrap this whole thing up, there's all of this

And this is just what I can fit in this here post without going over the limit lol. Obsessed with the way MJF played Alex.

Thanks for reading ✌️

This is me with Alex, btw

[xoxo-ren-xoxo]

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE GRUMBO MONSTER AU AGAIN??? OH BOY I SURE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT IT!

Is there anything you want to share about the AU that people haven't asked yet? Like certain events or details mayhaps?

If not what got you thinking about it again? Was it a certain scene? The Dynamic? Or did the brain chemicals just decide it was time to refocus on it?

hello hello :3 hehe ok good question! my answer ended up being long so more under the cut

I don't think I've talked very much about Xisuma and "Evil" Xisuma yet, though they are somewhat important characters. I've mentioned that Xisuma runs a human safe zone, which Mumbo eventually finds and lives in for a while.

Grian doesn't join the little survivor's camp for the first few weeks, but eventually he puts together a convincing human form and joins. Mumbo is happier living with humans, and Grian can live with the pain of staying in a human form unnaturally if it makes Mumbo happy. There are signs everywhere explaining how to spot an 'outsider', how to kill one, how to avoid being killed by one, etc.

The humans at the camp are mostly mutated themselves. Mumbo seemingly avoided the strange refraction of genetic material that hit every other human. Some have small differences - strange eyes, clawed hands, basic and complex disabilities - while others are more deeply changed, their genetics scrambled. Xisuma himself can no longer breathe in an earthly atmosphere, requiring a mask to help him. Despite any and all changes, the survivors still call themselves human. Pure. Different from the monsters.

Mumbo talks to Xisuma about outsiders - suggesting that maybe they aren't so bad - but Xisuma is very adamant that the monsters are murderous, evil beings. He says he was almost killed by one, and it took his form in order to hurt the people he cared about. The unnatural thing escaped into the wild before Xisuma could kill it, and it's probably still out there roaming. He won't let a monster get the best of him again.

Things are alright, for a while. Grian lets his form change very rarely, when he is sure there are no cameras or people watching. Mumbo seems calmer in a familiar environment, like he can almost pretend everything is normal and okay again. Grian sometimes gets frustrated with this. Nothing is normal. They've both been forced into the apocalypse. How come Mumbo gets to act like this is okay?

Of course, eventually, Grian is found out. It's very dramatic. An angry mob of humans surround him as his form shifts and changes. They go after him with weapons and fire and back him into a corner. Mumbo tries to reason with the crowd, but isn't listened to. Grian gets hurt.

Mumbo pushes through the crowded bodies, pushing them aside with as much force as he can muster. He can't let Grian die. Not for his sake. Not because of him. Heart pounding in his chest, he gets between Grian and the mob.

The deal takes a lot of shouting and pleading to work out. A lot of force. The crowd is disgusted at Mumbo's affection for Grian, holding him and shielding him with his smaller, human body. But, by some miracle, or perhaps an appeal to Xisuma's need to find out more about the monsters, he manages to calm the people enough to agree to keeping Grian alive.

Imprisoned and studied, but alive.

(yeah, that doesn't last long. soon grian and mumbo escape the place and head into the destroyed city - this is where they finally run into cub and scar, and then, later... a certain 'evil' xisuma)

---

To answer your other question - I was listening to some music and some songs really reminded me of the AU. I thought I should return to it :3

[nalyra-dreaming]

aah, I wish Jacob had been allowed to talk more about 'truth and falsehood' on the show. I know he was never gonna give specific spoilers, but it seems some fans are still in denial about Louis being an unreliable narrator at all. The fact that these kinds of discussions were happening behind the scenes suggests the cast knew from day 1 that something about season 1's narrative was false or misleading, they just didn't know exactly what.

Yeah.... I saw some posts around^^. (And the podcast host also pointed out that Louis was an unreliable narrator...)

I mean, it kinda feels like some kind of "gag order" has dropped away, because Jacob (and Sam) have been very blunt about that (and the Loustat relationship) in the last few interviews, but actually the fact that they all were discussing (and therefore knowing) what was true, and not is, actually, nothing new:

"Whenever I talked about something that Louis had said or that was in the script, because this show is Louis’ recollection of events, Sam would just be like, “Lie. Lie. That’s a lie. Did that happen? Is it real? Didn’t happen that way.” Very unhelpful for my preparation. [Laughs] I got really icy about it a few times. “I don’t want hear this. I have to believe something is true.” It’s nice be able to believe what you’re saying."

That's from October '22.

So the fact that he is, in fact, an unreliable narrator (or misremembers) and the reason why he changes some things stands in the room with him...

Like, if you watched the first season, and heard Daniel calling bullshit again and again, and saw him literally destroy the narrative of the last part and did not get any of the hints that are strewn throughout the show... then you simply haven't been paying attention.

And I know, there's so many layers. So many other - important! - stuff to focus on. Racial conflicts, patriarchy, power dynamics, cheating. The list goes on. But ultimately... this will be their - Lestat's and Louis' - love story, and this has been re-iterated in these last interviews, as well as that they're following the books, and... well.

POV changes, revisits and changes of perspective (and being called out for lying, too) are part of the books.

It's just that some fans don't want to apply this to Louis, for representative reasons I believe.

But... as Jacob put it so nicely in one of the last interviews:

"Something that can get misunderstood about representation is that all representation has to be good representation. It's important actually that we don't show a queer couple as a monolith or a Black character as a monolithic thing. I love that the show is willing to explore the multitudes of that relationship."

A lot of fans don't want to see the "bad" in Louis, or Claudia for that matter (and I use "bad" here very loosely, because there are no "bad", or, for that matter, "good" vampires in the chronicles). The hate I've gotten for pointing out weaknesses or simply flaws in the narrative, or when their behavior didn't make sense to me - or when I interpreted it differently in the light of later books... was off the charts at times. And I fear a lot of people will have a very hard time with the shifts that will come in soon.

But... they've been hinting at that since the beginning. And yes, they've obviously known, too. (And I would argue they would have needed to know which scenes would be revisited - and, honestly, Jacob's comment above does hint at that, imho.)

[yakuzabrainrotlive]

Did start Yakuza 5 yesterday! I played for 6 hours, had a BLAST. Finished chapter 1 and got a good amount of time put into chapter 2. I enjoyed going around town, grinding and doing side content. Had to gather my thoughts so posts had to come later. Yes, this is a two-parter.

My stats at the end of my little session:

Some thoughts below! I made NOTES for myself on characters and such this time around. This post is gonna be more plot and character speculation-focused; the next post will be more about gameplay mechanics, side content, general thoughts etc.!

Small-ish rant/monologue about protagonist numbers in the last section, though. Could have gone into part 2, but wanted it off my chest asap lmao

This title screen is sooooo not ominous!! I did not shiver in fear of what's to come when I saw it!! I'm sure Kiryu will be having a BLAST this game!

....🥲😭

SO! We're in 2012. Two years, huh. Seems like everything has kinda gone the opposite way from my wishes after the end of Y4, especially in regards to Kiryu.. or should I say, Suzuki's character. I really wanna know what happened in these past years to make him run away like this. He seems MISERABLE!! I feel bad for him😭

Daigo infodumping to Kiryu about Tojo business while Kiryu was just trying to get his paycheck was kind of funny to me, not gonna lie. But also kind of sad. Kiryu seems to be trying even harder to cut off anything Tojo from his life, even as Daigo was trying to reach out. I'm so curious about this time skip era!! Give me the tea!!

Okay. I was kinda assuming Morning Glory was gonna be left behind or kind of in the background (based on Kiryu's outfit), but... Haruka as well, huh. That's. Yeah. And he (debatably) hasn't straight up just abandoned them 100%, he's putting SIGNIFICANT and harsh distance between himself and the people he cares for. Ouch. Feels eerily similar to what he did in Y0 with Nishiki, Kazama, Reina and Kashiwagi.

This is all very... drastic. Changing his name, moving away and leaving EVERYONE behind? Including Haruka? This is exactly the opposite of what Kiryu was vowing to himself, to Daigo and even to Saejima in a way back in Y4. Either the writers changed their minds about his arc or something is off. I'm dreading finding out which one it is. Currently I feel like he's either actively in major danger right now, and hence decided to resort to such measures, OR something happened that he blames himself for.

I love Nakajima. He's so good! In general as a person (at least it seems that way) AND to Kiryu. Which probably means he's gonna die. RIP in advance, King🫡🫡

This dynamic is either gonna be absolutely insufferable, or maybe kind of okay. I have no predictions on how this will turn out, I was completely wrong about Kiryu's possible character arc in this game so... idk. Kiryu has blindsided me. But for now I don't think this will become a romance.

What I find interesting is the tidbit Nakajima gave about the situation where Kiryu saved her, where Nakajima also met him for the first time - Kiryu was getting DESTROYED in a fight. Kiryu, destroyer of whole clans, the one-man army, getting his shit kicked in by random local yakuza? Was he trying to refrain from using any sort of violence (even in self-defence??), or... was he recovering from significant injuries he got before the fight?

Now, I'm just assuming, based on Mayumi's character profile section and Nakajima's description of the woman Kiryu saved (she was very pretty) that Mayumi IS the woman Kiryu was defending when Nakajima first met him. I'm quite sure it was her.

What I wouldn't give to hear his thoughts in this scene... I was very conflicted the whole time; on one hand I wanted to SHAKE Kiryu and side with the Tojo guys. Why abandon Daigo? I understand it's probably just so he doesn't get stuck in another Tojo mess, but... it's Daigo!! Come on!! But I can also see that Kiryu feels... guilty?? Conflicted?? There was a storm of EMOTIONS brewing in his eyes. What a mess. He clearly doesn't like the situation but he also really wants NOTHING to do with it.

Kinda off topic, but massive props to those two for taking Kiryu on so boldly despite knowing who he is (was? I have no idea). They are Tojo men, they've heard the stories. Yet, they still tried. The balls on these guys!!

As for the man of the hour... Daigo. MIA - conveniently right before this alliance (opposed by some important people) gets to fully come to fruition, as the current leader of the Kansai group is dying soon🤔

I feel as though Daigo knew something would happen. He sought Kiryu out and was quite insistent to talk to him. At the beginning of the game I found the lore dump he dropped on Kiryu's unwilling mind weird and almost amusing, but looking back on it now... it almost feels like he was giving Kiryu information he'd need to solve the case if he happened to go missing. He even named possible suspects.

Why not go to a trusted clan member? They'd probably throw a hissy fit and wanna call everything off, maybe even start a new, very bloody conflict. All just because Daigo suspected something might happen to himself. This whole situation stinks.

Current theory: one, or all three, of the Kansai leader hopefuls are in cahoots with the uhhh *checks notes* Yahata(?) dude. The Yamagasa family captain. Why? To stop the alliance because they all hate the Tojo clan. They probably have Daigo locked up. Or maybe Daigo is dead already.

One final thing: was NOT thrilled to see "Part 1: Kiryu Kazuma" 😬 I was kinda hoping for a single-protag game, tbh 👉🏻👈🏻

Okay, hear me out! IF the other protag(s) is/are the Yakuza 4 lads, I'll be okay! But if there's a new guy (or, god forbid, 2 of them), I don't know if I'm gonna like that. I liked Y4 a lot, but it was also a lot to keep track of, and it felt like everyone got very little time in the spotlight - especially Kiryu and Saejima.

I'm almost suffering from... new protagonist fatigue after 4. I'm okay seeing many new side characters, but new playable characters with their own fighting styles that I have to learn, human relationships, backstories and motivations... Getting to know and to "bond with" another batch of new playable people seems like a very tiring task to get through at this point.

If we have 2+ protagonists, I want them to be from Y4 or earlier, because I already know them in a way and I'm not opposed to seeing more of them because it doesn't seem as overwhelming. I wanna see more of Saejima at least, if we HAVE to have alternating protagonists.

[thesilverlady]

Judging by how Ryan love to show his feminist ideals by making female characters go through unspeakable amount of non-canon abuse and violence. And the only way for Rhaenyra's story to be a progressive/feminist tale is by making her get abused by the men around her. I am going to assume it's wouldn't be that far for Ryan to change Rhae's death and makes her gets raped in 4k scene by aegon (who should be disabled but we know Ryan loves to ignore source material) like show Rhaenyra's got zero respect from the writers. Like even her relationship with Daemon which wasn't healthy in the book to begin with , is now not really about her but because Daemon got the hots for Viserys (some leaks implies it for Aemma) he started projecting into her and entered a relationship with her bc it's the closest he can get to Visussy 🤓 f&b was already bad for me personally but Ryan is such a talented mf he managed to come up with much worse

*sorry for the rant I don't really ship daemrya but I really hate watching a female character get non-canon abuse just for the writers to prove a point about a male character *

Edit: My answer became very negative so for the pookies who want to avoid discourse and negativity pls scroll past ♥

it's alright! no need to apologize! 🫶

tbh with you I do enjoy daemyra very much in the book but I fully acknowledge their dynamic has its toxicity (tbf it's super rare to find a wholesome, sweet, "healthy" asoiaf couple and I probably wouldn't even get that hooked compared to how I get with the dark ones)

That being said, the couple lost me already by s1 ep4, so it terms of shipping I've given up waiting anything from them

Now about the writing, hotd has been misogynistic from the start so I'm not exactly waiting for a transformation to happen in s2.

in s1 Alicent’s character was rewritten - in such a way that the new version of her doesn't even experience a moment of happiness or a second of having autonomy or power. She's always someone's punching bag while also her being hypocritical and nasty to Rhaenyra

Laena's way of death was completely unnecessary and brutal, similiar to Aemma's. And the fact they made getting burnt alive being "a dragon rider's death" already gave a hint about how Rhaenyra's death will be seen if it follows canon.

asoiaf established how brutal dragon fire is when Rhaegal bathed Quentyn after he tried to tame Viserion. It's not "honorable" as hotd tries to make it be, it's torturous. And my concern with Rhaenyra's death is that it won't be seen for its brutality.

To continue Baela & Rhaena were barely given any lines, their role as kids was getting dismissed but their dad and as adults they were just standing silently - you'd think they were background characters.

Mysaria's character was brushed off by erasing the child loss she went through due to Viserys - which debatably worked as a trigger for the events she also did in the plot.

Rhaenys was downright written as an idiot who was envious of Rhaenyra and instead of supporting her, she was trying to "humble" her by being an asshole. When she got the opportunity to destroy the greens during the coronation she walked away because.... *check notes" she made eye contact with alicent and the power of motherhood won? her granddaughters being engaged wasn't enough for her to act I guess.

Then there's Helaena, who while she did have an extremely tiny role in the book, it doesn't justify making her extra passive. I've talked about this before but making her having "dragon dreams" is useless and a waste of time and it's also a great excuse to have her be dismissed and ignored.

Helaena in the book was said to be pleasant, motherly, patient and calm. I won't mention the leaks I've read about b&c but if they're true they paint her in a very weird light.

Rhaenyra deserves an entire post of her own. If alicent was the punching bad Rhaenyra is the bing bong boll being tosses from one person to another each second.

So yeah, the issue isn't about shipping or even which teams anyone sides with. The writing is atrocious to all the female characters, and what's the cherry on top is the showrunners constantly patting themselves in the back for being "feminist" and GA falls for it!

I'm so burnt out 😩 This is why I've decided to attempt turn off the media analysis for the show 'cause it's like kicking a dead horse. My goal for this season is to try to vent less and enjoy whatever I can put of context without thinking too hard about it.

[toon-tales]

What’s your opinion on Clay x Viva?

It’s a cute ship but I’m quite not sure about that one, they’re more of best friends, I don’t mind if it becomes cameos but their little siblings are dating.

I don’t know if Clay actually has feelings for Viva or not, I mean he had that look during looking at Viva at the golf course, I would be wrong.

What’s your opinion on John Dory x Delta Dawn?

I don’t know why, I’m just curious. It’s fine ship but I’m not sure if they actually met each other during between 20 years because John Dory has been by himself with Rhonda. Poor my baby. :(

Do you think John Dory went grey? I would like to think he might have because he thought everyone died including his brothers. I’m pretty sure he didn’t know his brothers left because he was first one to leave so yeah.

Clay x Viva

Ok, so, I REALLY love Cliva, because, I love their dynamic, you know? We haven't seen much of them, too, so they could be best friends. Either way, I really love them as a ship

We don't know if they have feelings for each other or not, that's for sure, due to the lack of interaction (or the lack of required interaction). When you look at them, they do seem like best friends, but when you look at it from a different view, Broppy could also be seen as best friends if we hadn't gotten enough scenes; like the one time when Branch destroyed Poppy's invitation in the first movie. Some people would've seen it as a friendship, others as a ship. But we got to see more of their dynamic and interactions, making us ship them from the beginning, before it evolved into a canon ship

So maybe if we saw more of Clay and Viva, we would be able to determine their status

John Dory x Delta Dawn

One of my otp's as well-

Just like Cliva, we didn't see them interact much, or, at all. Heck, we don't even know if they know each other! But the reason I ship them is because I think they would be perfect for each other. Delta is a country troll, used to sad songs and sympathy, and John literally lived alone for years, and would need someone to understand. They're perfect (in my opinion, of course). Further more, if anyone can scare John, then I headcanon it's Delta (off-topic but I think it's cute). So if they had had met, like some like to imagine (including me), I think John left because he was scared of the responsibility of a relationship, like I imagined in my 'Perfect' fanfic, because, it makes sense! He left his brothers because they were a lot of responsibility, maybe he needed more time

But still, we don't even know whether they met or not

Now, we also don't know if John went gray or not. On one hand, he spent his life thinking his brothers are dead, and he had to live with the fact that he was the one who left in the first place. And on the other hand, his ears aren't droopy like Branch's. Floyd's are, so that made us believe he was gray at some point, but that's Floyd we're talking about, so he could also be forcing them down for his emo look (I know it sounds unrealistic, but pop trolls can change their hair color, why not their ears position? Ears sound more difficult, I know, but Floyd's colors aren't dimmed like Branch's, sooo). Same for John, maybe he's forcing his ears to stay perked up? Their ears can perk up sometimes, Branch's do when he's startled or listening to something. Like in this scene

So it's hard to tell. But let's not forget that John barely talked about his past

Okay, uh, hope you like it, Anon! Thanks for the ask, and, as usual, feel free to add or comment on anything!

[theerurishipper]

Felix and Kagami dating is way too out of the blue that Adrinette dating can't even compare. Kagami went from "You kidnapper!!" To "He's the same as me just socially inept kid!" In less than ten minutes top and I always wonder what the heck is happening. But the last scene where Felix give back Kagami's ring make me wonder if he slipped a command to make her change her mind about him. He's an oportunist thorough and thorough and also despite his claim that creating and destroying a sentimonster is cruel act, he didn't seems to have big moral flop after the red moon incident. So what's the chance he didn't do it, especially if he think it will works in some way?

Yeah like, they speed-ran enemies to lovers so quickly and both their characters suffer for it. It makes Kagami look pretty awful for siding with the guy who betrayed her friend and hurt her so badly, who is the reason their city is in danger, and Kagami goes ahead and lets Felix know her identity? What the fuck Kagami?

And I don't like how Felix is considered to be redeemed just because he's dating Kagami. He hasn't changed, he still justifies himself and doesn't apologize for the hurt he's caused Adrien and Marinette.

And literally, Kagami apparently falls in love with him a few days after he kills her mother in front of her. Sure, he brought everyone back, but he had to be talked into it, and yet she's so chill about trusting and defending him. This all also after he's just kidnapped her violently and admitted to having spent the past few days stalking her. It's played off as endearing because Marinette also does the same thing, and she just goes "you're so bad at social interactions" instead of calling Felix deranged and trying to get away from him. And apparently it just takes Felix giving one hint at a sob story and one speech about Senti-rights to convince her that everyone was wrong about him and that he never did anything wrong and that he was just misunderstood and couldn't express himself. That's some BS if I ever heard any. Kagami with the strong sense of justice who held a grudge against Adrien for not being a good boyfriend (she had the right to hold a grudge, I'm not blaming her for that, just pointing it out) just... instantly forgives Felix and defends him, and agrees with his justifications for betraying Ladybug and the people of Paris for selfish reasons? Kagami, who hates liars and manipulators, goes behind Marinette's back to reveal her identity without her consent to the last person she'd ever want knowing that information. Feligami as a ship thoroughly assassinated Kagami's character in every single aspect, and I hate what they did to my girl so much. The moment she started a relationship with Felix, her character just became so insufferable.

And Felix goes from being a wild card villain to just "sad boy uwu" the moment he meets her, and the writing just starts pretending his negative qualities, like his manipulative ways and his tendency to lie and take advantage of other people don't exist anymore. Because if they acknowledged those, then they'd have to acknowledge that Kagami "I hate liars" Tsurugi would despise him. Their personalities do not click at all, and for them to have any kind of dynamic and to speedrun their relationship, the writers wrote out their qualities that oppose and clash with the other person and just made them so OOC that it would enable them to get together in a few days. Kagami is saying shit about how Gabe and Tomoe won't allow them to "love each other freely" with her whole chest after she's known this guy for less than a week. And like, the way Kagami now just cares about her love with Felix instead of about anyone else around her, especially in the season dedicated to her friendships with others is so... bleh.

And I don't think Felix can be considered redeemed just because he's now just focusing on his obsession with this girl instead of trying to ruin his cousin's life again. All that talk about how he's doing this for Adrien and how he wants to fight for Senti-rights, and it all goes down the drain the moment he meets Kagami. Apparently, those things don't matter to him anymore, because he never mentions or speaks to Adrien ever again, outside of bringing him up as "the boy who Marinette loves." And he's perfectly okay with killing the Senti-projector, so I guess the drive to find freedom and justice for his fellow Sentimonsters was just a silly phase that he gave up on once he found a girlfriend? Okay.

And the implications! Felix just loves her because she's a Sentimonster like him, Kagami just confessed to still being in love with Adrien and he has Adrien's exact face and is similar to Adrien and Marinette (because they are both stalkers apparently). It just seems like their projecting their feelings onto the first person who seems like they meet their expectations instead of liking them for who they really are. Felix doesn't know jack shit about Kagami, and Kagami doesn't know anything about Felix other than that he's a massive jackass, and they are apparently in love less than week later? Sure Jan.

I don't think Felix used her Amok, honestly, but I also can't help but think it makes so much sense as to why Kagami does a complete 180 about him, like, she went from hating his guts to defending him against Ladybug and Chat Noir in less than a few hours. That ain't the Kagami I know, and it would make sense if she had been commanded to do so with her Amok. I used to think that Felix wouldn't do that, at least, but given how willing he was to give Adrien's free will back to Gabriel and how willing he was to kill his Senti-projector, I don't put it past him honestly. He's a massive hypocrite.

I have plenty more thoughts on these two and not enough time to write it all down, but I have written a long critique of Felix and Feligami here, if you're interested. But yeah, they suck lmao.

Thank you for your ask!

[broodwolf221]

People keep insisting that Solas ‘killed Flemeth/Mythal’ in that last scene but I don’t know if that’s actually true? I feel like what happened in that scene was more ambiguous than that.

We don’t actually know how involved Flemeth/Mythal is with his plans, only that she’s deffinetely in on it. We know the because Flemeth herself insists that she intends to avenge Mythal in ‘a reckoning that will shake the very heavens.’ Idk about you but to me that implies very violent intentions.

It contrasts directly with what Solas intends. He wants to restore the world to its natural state for the sake of his people. Whereas Flemeth simply wants to punish. She wants to punish The Evanuris. And there’s some dialogue between her and Morrigan which implies that she wants to punish Solas as well, she just needs him to complete his task first.

Flemeth is basically unkillable. She knows that, and there’s every possibility that Solas knows that, too. The way I read that scene, I think this may have always been the plan. At the very least it was a contingency, one the two of them were both aware of, and which Solas clearly wanted to avoid. I think the reason he was so upset when The Orb was destroyed may have been because he knew he’d have resort to that contingency.

Flemeth isn’t stupid. And she’s not particularly selfless either. In fact she is explicitly very selfish, as well as being a manipulator. Whatever went on in that scene—I have my theories—Flemeth was well aware it was coming. She was counting on it. It somehow benefits her that this took place, otherwise she’d have never allowed it.

Before it happens, she says, “I’m sorry, too.”

What is she sorry for? We don’t really know, but my interpretation is that she’s apologizing for what’s about to happen. This was her plan. Solas didn’t want to do things this way, but the events of DAI have forced his hand.

One of Solas’ greatest flaws is his assumption that he has more control over any given situation than he actually does, and I think that applies to his relationship with Flemeth/Mythal as well. Again, Flemeth is a manipulator. She’s been manipulating the people and events of Thedas for centuries, maybe longer. I think Solas is no different. When I look at that end credit scene I don’t see two equals. I see one person who clearly has the upper hand, and another with a deeply mistaken idea of what their relationship actually is.

I agree, although for a long time I definitely thought he 100% killed her, but she has a way of surviving and is just... too big to have just been quickly killed in a brief epilogue?

oooh I didn't know about/catch that dialogue! that's so interesting... changes the dynamic a lot if she actually wants him to fail on some level. running with that, one might even go so far as to assume she aided corypheus' surviving opening the orb. letting him wreak brutal havoc across thedas and tear open the veil (vs. solas' pulling it down) is a good way to 'shake the very heavens'.

yeah, her apologizing doesn't really fit as a response to letting solas kill her, but apologizing for what she's about to put him through? the chain of events she may well have incited somehow? that seems more apt. and I do believe she cares for solas to some degree, but not enough to not use him for her own ends. as you said, she's a master manipulator, that's a core part of her character. she's not going to drop all that just because a sad wolf comes to her door.

and I love your point about solas' assumptions of knowledge and control, because that's so accurate. he always assumes he has the power in a relationship because of his knowledge, his age, his experience... he thinks he knows more, understands more, and sees more, and he trusts his interpretations of events, but even within dai we see him have to face that those interpretations are flawed a number of times. he didn't expect the inquisitor to care about spirits - understandable, considering the general opinion of them, but still an assumption. the whole balcony scene, whether or not you romance him, is about confronting his assumptions not only about the inquisitor, but their entire species - and by extension, all people. the banter between him and the companions, particularly the man on the island banter with varric... there's so many times he's forced to confront his assumptions, but he continues to subconsciously hold that he still knows more, that his initial interpretations are right unless/until they're plainly proven wrong

he's so interesting i love him so much... and ty for this! such a thought-provoking ask, i love talking about him <3

[galacticdrift]

My BigBadCon2024 games/PCs

The Expanse RPG (Phoenix Wu, pilot): This was a good intro to the Expanse RPG system! We played a fun module where our transport ship encountered an automated SOS and checked it out, only for things to go horribly, horribly wrong… I think the system is, hm, not really for me all in all, but I still enjoyed getting hands-on exposure to it!

Dread (Jeanette Harris, stagehand): There was no way I was letting BigBadCon go by without playing some Dread, and happily I got into TWO very different but great scenarios. The first one, The Phantom of Off-Broadway, was mostly a black comedy, and had fictional scenes and songs for the fictional stage show that started going off the rails when the leading lady was found dead -- by yours truly, the stagehand. I had a funny, weirdly mutually-respectful dynamic with the overbearing scenery-chewing elder statesman actor playing the role of the ghost in the play -- not to be confused with the actual ghost(s) haunting the production.

Abyssal (Charlie, bartender/The Haunted): Honestly I don't generally tend to vibe so well with the Blades in the Dark style dice pool systems (as compared to the 2d6+X PBTA ones), but Abyssal does feel like Lara & Ash sanded off some of the ways that those grate on me, and having Lara herself run the game was of course wonderful.

At one point while we were on break I made the comment that any time any game focuses on my character (our goal was a casino heist in 70s Vegas, to fund Charlie opening her very own bar), I'm like 'wait, hang on, there seems to have been a mistake, shouldn't we be paying attention to someone else right now?'

Anyway I do love Charlie and her ghost raccoon buddy Lo Mein though, and I genuinely wish that oneshot would turn into a whole campaign.

To me there's something INCREDIBLY compelling about The Haunted being mostly just a regular alive person who happens to be in close contact with death/ghosts, in contrast to the other playbooks who have been fundamentally changed by some force and are on a slow slide toward alignment with that force. Like, yeah, The Haunted kind of is, too, but mainly just by being on an accelerated path toward the same inevitable end that every mortal faces.

Dread (Cal Hashimoto, exogeologist): This was the other Dread scenario I played, The Fermi Paradox, and WOW it was absolutely stellar (BA DUM TSSH). We played a mining crew landing on a moon of Uranus and discovering some cosmic horror, & what made it great for me personally was a) all the hard scifi nerdery I got to really lean into, & b) the way our character questionnaire answers at the start got tied in to the action of the plot and turned out to connect the different characters together.

Defy the Gods (Dumuz, The Revenant): In addition to Charlie, Dumuz really lives in my head now and I would LOVE to play a whole campaign as them with the table we had. In just the 1 session, we developed a burgeoning PC romance between the Revenant & the Sword, and I got to swing big by using the eponymous 'Defy the Gods' move to defile a temple and humiliate the god who wanted me destroyed (just because I lied to him to persuade him to help me escape the Underworld, I can't imagine why he was mad).

I find the playbooks for Defy the Gods really interesting and creative -- like The Revenant for example being someone who, having returned from the dead, is embracing a whole new life & identity, and who could quite readily serve as a face or expert kind of role given the skills they have access to.

The system reminds me a little of AGON, with the invocation of epithets, and certainly also of games like Apocalypse Keys, Abyssal, and Demigods, where you have a "nova" kind of state you are at risk of reaching whether you want to or not, and there's only so many times you can draw from that well before your character transitions into a whole new state of being.

One of the juicy things about Defy the Gods in particular compared to those others is that almost every single roll is risky in that "flying too close to the sun" way, because for almost EVERY possible move, doing TOO well is actually a worse (but more interesting) outcome in most cases than just barely scraping by.

And, of course, like with Abyssal, it was a delight having this game run by the creator herself as well. :) I'm so interested to see how the system continues to develop.

[mimiscappinisideblog]

"Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken" REVIEW

So Ruby Guillman is up on HBO max now and wanted to give it a watch.

And since I never make goals for myself, I just decided that I'll make reviews about animated cartoons and movies. Since I'm an animator, I think I can bring something to the table, or idk.

(Gonna put the too long before the reading part cuz idk)

TL;DR DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILER IF YOU WANT TO WATCH THIS MOVIE. It's a... nice watch. A harmless movie, so to speak. Not THE greatest movie ever, but it's not bad either.

Firs of the pacing is a little bit rushed the whole movie.

We get expositioned by a narrator on what krakens are and that they are good sea creatures.

We see the family dynamic and are instanlty trhown into town, where they tell us that, the Gillman family, don't even wear disguises and opting instead to just say to people that they're canadian as to explain why they look like they do.

Then, the high school is even more exposition because prom is in a couple of days. Ruby wants to ask the boy she likes to go, but her mom doesn't allow her to go to prom because it will be in a boat, and she can NOT go into the water on any circumstance.

We get told more than shown throughout the whole ordeal.

Ruby falls into the water at some point, like 15 minutes in. She turns giant and starts to freak out and accidentally destroys the library. Meanwhile, the new girl in the school makes herself known, and everyone loves her. And she does the Metroman thing of "And I love you random citizen!".

Ruby's mom sees her and goes to her to calm her down, and in the way, her brother, Ruby's uncle, shows up saying that their mom, Ruby's grandma, sent him because she wants to see Ruby.

Then Ruby gets in a fight with her mom because she never told her anything about them becoming giant krakens. She gets mad and follows her uncle into sea and they both go to meet Ruby's grandma.

Again, we are told that krakens aren't as bad as humans made them to be and that mermaids are the real villians. That could've been better shown as a flashback. The war between krakens and mermaids. And shown us why Ruby's mom left the kingdom, in my opinion.

Oh, yeah. Ruby's grandma is the queen of the kraken kingdom, making Ruby a princess and heir of the throne.

In the kingdom, Ruby gets overstimulated with everything hitting her at once, which she can't process, and with her grandma saying that she will take her place and responsibilities, as queen.

It all gets too much for her. She starts hiperventilating and says, "I think... I'm gonna have a panic attack!". That made me pause the movie for a bit.

I don't like comparing, I don't think it's fair sometimes, to compare every new movie/cartoon with other ones but since they're from the same studio that already showed us they can do better, I will compare them: Puss in boots the last wish did an amazing job in showing a panic attack, I've never had one but a dear friend of mine had so I have some frame of reference of that.

I don't think the scene with Puss can be easily topped, but come on, they could've done better for Ruby. They showed us they can.

Back with the movie, grandma tells Ruby that her mom defeated the mermaids and hid the trident of Oceanus (the only weapon that can hurt krakens) somewhere and never told anyone excactly where it was before leaving the kingdom and making her family on land.

After Ruby tells grandma she doesn't want her "normal human life" to change, she goes back on land but gets trapped by a captain obsessed with krakens on the way. That's when the new girl shows up, and it gets revealed that she's a mermaid (omg shocker).

The mermaid, Chelsea, tells Ruby they should be friends because they both are sea creatures trying to blend in with humans.

At one point, Chelsea get sad that they can't be seeing together because of the fight between krakens and mermaids. She tells Ruby that the only way to make peace between their families is to find the trident and use it as a "symbol of peace."

But only a kraken can get the trident, so Ruby goes back to grandma and asks her to show her how to use all her powers.

We get a little training montage.

After tons of tries, Ruby can't see to be able to get to the trident, so she goes to ask her mom how she hid it. Tells her about her mermaid friend, who is the daughter of the mermaid queen, which sets her mom off. They get into another fight, and Ruby leaves and goes back to try and get the trident.

She finally succeeds, and Chelsea rips the trident off her hands and reveals that she is, in fact, the mermaid queen, Nerissa (which, kinda odvious but whatever) Tells Ruby that she was just using her to get revenge on her mom and yadda yadda.

She burries Ruby under a bunch of rocks and goes to land to look for Ruby's mom.

Meanwhile, everyone in Ruby's school is on the prom boat when Nerissa emerges from the sea and calls out Ruby's mom.

Ruby and grandma show up to help out, and I gotta say the final fight was wack. Gonna compare movies again, I mean, it's the same studio that made Kung Fu Panda and that beautiful fight scene in Puss in Boots the last wish. They could've made the fight underwater, giant sea creatures, out of water, with gravity on them don't mash well because they move so slow.

Anyway, they defeat the mermaid, the captain captures her in a cage, and Ruby goes to prom where the guy she likes was waiting for her.

In the end, she doesn't need to hide what she is anymore because everyone in town accepts her for who she is.

🪸🪸🪸🪸🪸🪸🪸🪸🪸🪸🪸🪸🪸

Woo-boy! So that was something!

I think, overall, it is a very nice movie. It's not a cinematic master piece but I don't think it needs to be.

It's nice to have a kinda chill movie between all these. "I wanna be the most groundbreaking-action packed movie ever."

Does it have things that could have been improved? Yes.

Does it need to be this epic coming-of-age fantastical movie that plays with your heartstrings? Not really.

Though I feel like we could've spent more time with Ruby's friends. They were trhown in not really wanting to have dates for prom, and then saying they changed their minds and actually wanna go to prom with dates then they disappeared until is prom night.

Ruby's bff says she asked the girl she likes to go as her date, which is great! But we don't see them together until the last few minutes of the prom, though. Anyway, I feel like the friends could've been more present in the movie. idk.

Character-design-whise I like the look of the krakens, specifically Ruby's family (and because we don't really see the other krakens in the kingdom)

The mermaid's monster design also looked cool. Love the water hair they gave her.

There were some background characters that were kind of... hard to look at, that may be just me, though.

There were some line deliveries from Ruby and "Chelsea" tha could've been better, maybe should've done retakes (or maybe, just maybe, hire professional voice actors to voice in your animated movies, it's not like do that for a living or anything)

Sorry for being all over the place. This is my first time doing and typing a review for people outside of my friends.

If anyone wants me to expand on something else or wants me to word my paragraphs betterlet me know!

I'm gonna need feedback on this.

I should start a list of the things I have to make reviews of.

I am open for requests!*

If anyone is still reading this, THANK YOU for your time!

[no-face-no-shame]

Finished watching Game of Thrones. Yeah, the final season sucks ass, we all know that. But there is one thing that I think the show did well, which is the dynamic between Sandor and Arya. Sandor's ending truly moved me, so here are some thoughts.

First off, I think that Sandor is a great example of a background character who is necessary for the story. He's linked to many characters, but especially in case of Arya, you can't talk about her character arc without him. Arya goes from hating Sandor due to seeing him as an embodiment of Lannisters' violence to feeling bad for him. I think that's because she understood that he was yet another person who didn't have a choice in his life. He was horribly harmed and traumatised as a child, leading to changes in personality and what he (and others) believed him to be. I could write a whole huge post about Sandor's story and how tragic it is. The point is that Arya learnt to identify with him - she grew up believing that she had no saying in her own fate too. For a different reason (being a girl in a misogynistic world), still she saw what happened to someone who failed to find their own way. Sandor has no meaning in life. Nothing makes him happy. He's unable to love, to believe in good things. He did many horrible things because he was told to and gave up on trying to be something else than what people expected from him. Sandor accepted the role of a monster because he hoped that the pain would go away then. Well, it didn't. Arya didn't want to be like that. Over and over again, she chose her own, unique way. And at the same time learnt empathy towards Sandor - she stopped despising him, even though she wanted to. She lied to the faceless man during their game of truth and lies. She said that she hated the Hound, that she wanted him to die. But the truth was that she didn't. I believe that Arya didn't kill Sandor when he broke his leg not out of cruelty. She just couldn't do it. Not after all they've been through together.

Now, the scene where they see each other for the last time. Arya wanted to go with him, but Sandor stopped her. The way he put his hand at the back of her head was so gentle, so fatherly. He felt that connection too. And he didn't want Arya to die, because he himself arrived at King's Landing to do just that. To finally die. I thought a lot about this ending and I believe it was fair. I don't see any other fate for Sandor - he wasn't able to live normally. As I've mentioned, he had no solid purpose in life. He hated himself, he was suffering, he was rejected no matter where he went. But even in such a tragic situation, he still was thinking about Arya's safety. He wanted her to be well, to not end up like him. To find a new meaning other than revenge, because life based on revenge is no life. And then Arya thanked him. Thanked him for everything - for watching over her, for saving her during the battle of Winterfell, for showing her what she shouldn't be. I think it was the only time anyone has ever thanked Sandor simply for the fact that he was there. For everything.

When it comes to his death scene, I think it was beautiful that he ended up in fire. Breaking the cycle of fear, getting his revenge by throwing his abuser into flames. And he jumped into those flames too, willingly. All his life he'd hysterically avoided fire, but now it was over. The fear was over because Gregor's tyranny was over too. There was no more avoiding. The fact that the producers gave him this death, instead of getting stabbed or something like that, means a lot to me. Fire destroyed him, fire freed him.

There are a few more things I'd touch upon but the post is already long. Anyway, Sandor remains my favourite character and his relationship with Arya was one of the best elements of Game of Thrones. Something about a bond between a broken man and a girl who needs to learn to be strong just gets me

[lightlycareless]

Chapter 37 - thoughts.

Heya everyone!

Here are chapter 37's notes!! The long awaited continuation of the Naoya's sick saga hehe.

As required of me, I highly recommend reading the chapter first, unless you want out of context spoilers 😂 which you can read right over here!

Without further ado, spoilers underneath the cut, and happy reading!

Now chapter 37… let’s start with the things that were not supposed to happen.

Y/N and Naoya getting along hahahah

I intended his whole sickness to be nothing more than her just pushing through it, not talking to him, not even looking at him—nothing. Tend him and then NEXT.

But when I got down to writing the chapter, it happened. I couldn’t keep Y/N and Naoya apart. And I don’t think I wanted to honestly.

My main worry when writing their dynamics was making it appear as if Y/N moved on so quickly from all that occurred with him. Like, just one situation that she’s forced to be in and now she’s forgiven him and back to being buddies—but I’d like to think I managed, and if anything, we got to see her perspective of this marriage.

I plan to expand more on it in the future, but for now I think I can say is: Y/N wanted the marriage to work. She wanted to see Naoya treat her nicely for a change, desperately so, that you can briefly read in the chapter how she’s trying to excuse his behavior just because she doesn’t want to be proven wrong again.

The way she goes on saying things like “well, if he didn’t have it in him, then he wouldn’t, right?” just to hold onto the hope that she’s truly going to see her family soon (and a brighter future for their union), and not his words being just a side effect of his sickness 😭 that ending scene was really, really sad. But very satisfying from a writer’s pov lol I think I managed to convey what I wanted to write in the end.

The other thing I wanted to show is the contrast between the two, and how ironic it seems to be. Like, Naoya is the heir, right, he’s essentially the next leader of the clan and is bound to get all them goods in due time, but the moment he makes a mistake he’s quickly dethroned, stripped of all those commodities as a way of punishment.

While Y/N, who has destroyed her reputation with most, is treated way better than him. We’ve seen them, how they act and whatnot. They don’t have alliances, not even with themselves. All of this must be so crazy for Y/N lol considering how close her family were, but oh well, different upbringings.

In the end I suppose Y/N never thought she’d actually find some similarities with Naoya—or anything outside of him being an absolute monster. Seeing him act like an actual human was baffling to her, MORE SO WHEN HE SEEMED TO TAKE THEIR MARRIAGE SERIOUSLY? I mean, only on the ring part, which took her by storm because Y/N didn’t believe him to be actually loyal to her.

And let’s not even get into the loneliness factor. (more on that later) Y/N can’t wrap her head around the fact that Naoya, as revered as he is, is completely alone. Like, throughout the days she’s been there with him no one has bothered to visit him outside of the staff doing their job. Not even Ranta! (Although he’s working—I was planning on writing a scene with him but I decided it was too much and doesn’t really add to the story; but yeah, he’s still a good friend, probably visited when she’s not around)

Anyways, someone of my readers commented that they were shocked Naoya was loyal, and I’m going to be real with y’all: Naoya might cheat, it’s like, super likely, HOWEVER, I like to think that with his one and only that is out of the question.

Also, he grew up seeing his father actively cheating on his mother, and we all know he does NOT like Naobito. So, he might engage into multiple relationships, but never formalize them, or keep them like one-night stands…. Soooo technically he’s not cheating?

This part of him is really intricate. In the way that even when he already set his eyes on Y/N he was going out with other women? But they weren’t together so there’s that. It’s just his need for affection motivating him to do that, once he was married, everyone else ceased to exist.

Either way, these things really opened her heart to be sensitive to him.  She’s taking these changes as an omen for the best; the light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s pray he doesn’t break that trust again.

Also, I took this opportunity to briefly mention what happened in the honeymoon hahaha I felt like I skipped over that part so quickly, it’s like it almost didn’t happen. But yeah, Y/N remembers that alright, although I don’t think she wants to 😅 I’m still considering whether to write more of it or not… I shall decide on it later hehe.

From there, their scenes together omg the fluffy ones I mean, my favorite one has to be the hand holding one. It was so cute!!! Or feeding him, or dressing him up in general; I really, really want to see more domestic stuff between the two, and fortunately, there’s a bit more in the next chapter :> heheheh (also I wanted to give y’all something sweet after chapters of angst. I was over the moon when yall told me you liked it 🥺❤️)

P.S. I wanted to reveal this later, but when writing this chapter my playlist just kept on putting this song, coincidentally, the one that reminds me the most of Naoya and Y/N.

There’s one more chapter left for the Naoya’s sickness saga and then… that chapter I think idk I gotta see how the plot line goes lol but yeah, we’re very close to something I’ve been wanting to show for the longest 2.0 I swear all was pointing to that!!! Kfgvakjsgajkgsajkgasjgaj oof. I just hope I played all my moves correctly.

And that’s it for this chapter’s notes! I don’t really have much else to add, since I think most of it was in the chapter anyways, but if you want me to go deeper into something I’ll be more than happy to do so! ❤️

Thank you so much for coming back for another update!! This story is my absolute joy and I can’t wait to go through the rest!!! Majkgkagjka I hope everything is satisfactory ❤️

Once again, thank you for your support ❤️❤️❤️ Take care, and hope to see you next update!!

[dangerous-advantage]

why the kraang in rottmnt: the movie work so well (for me)

(obvious spoilers fir the movie; if you haven’t watched it, go do so)

i’ve been ruminating on the idea of this post for a while, so instead of doing any actual writing, i have decided to spitball my thoughts on this subject

if you would like to read, go ahead. if not, okay? then don’t (/lighthearted)

i’ve seen/heard the argument a couple times from people who i’ve watched the movie with or have watched the movie that they didn’t like the kraang as villains, and/or how they were implemented

to this i say everybody is entitled to their own opinion, and if you don’t like them as villains just off of vibes, that’s fine

it gets dicey when people further elaborate. while i’m sure there are many reasons why you could dislike the kraang, but the idea that they are “bad villains” feels a bit... untrue?

so i want to explore why

to be clear, this isn’t a call-out or anything of the sort. i’m talking about a bunch of pink brain aliens from a franchise called ‘the teenage mutant ninja turtles.’ it’s not that deep (/lighthearted)

from the people i’ve talked to, the usual justification for their feelings is that they feel the kraang are one dimension. evil for the sake of being evil.

and that’s not untrue.

the kraang have one big motivation: to overtake the world. maybe they foster anger for being locked in the prison dimension, but that’s more of a ‘as well as’ type thing

but i don’t necessarily think that this is bad in the context of the story.

quite a few people who say this to me haven’t watched the series, so i can almost understand why they think this. (i’ll maybe explore that more later though.)

but to the rest, i can only assume their thought process revolves around evaluating the kraang (1) by themselves, instead of as part of a larger narrative, and (2) based off of the prevailing idea in modern media that villains must also be entirely dynamic characters with their own set of nuance.

so i’m going to explain why i disagree with both of these.

number one: evaluating the kraang as an individual part of the story instead of within the context they inhabit.

if you were to isolate the kraang as villains, i understand why you would come to the conclusion that they’re lacking. warmongering aliens hellbent on destroying the world, for no reason other than honor. where have we seen that before?

oh yeah— everywhere!

but i take issue with this. one, in defense of this, the kraang aren’t just your general baddie archetype. they do have underlying nuance.

we see in the scenes with raph (and it’s later parallel with leo) that the kraang operate off of a different moral framework than that of our heroes.

it’s not just their perspective. it’s their societal background. the strongest are those on top, the weakest do not last. a very hierarchy-based viewpoint

beyond that, though, is the fact that making the kraang more nuanced wouldn’t work within the context of the movie.

there just isn’t enough time to set something like that up, and it would only complicate and overinflate the narrative, distracting from the main themes and underlying message

the movie isn’t about them, not really. they play an important part. but they’re more of a catalyst, to force our main characters (notably leo) out of their comfort zone.

they are proving that something has to change, by taking away the sense of security (which raph is representative of) that both we and the characters had come to rely on, and in doing so, stripping back the layers to reveal the cracks more glaringly than ever

even if the writers were able to pull of a sympathetic/maybes take on the villains, i think it would be... extraneous?

the reason the kraang work so well (in my opinion) is that they are nothing like we’ve seen before. all the previous villains, including shredder, have been “fun”

you have your typical “villain-of-the-week” types (like warren and hypnotic), your bigger yet still “fun” anti-hero types (big mama abs baron draxum, who are both more nuanced) and shredder, who despite being very scary, is stilll nuanced

he’s the father of karai. his reasons for taking on the suit of armor (given to him by what we can assume are the kraang) were motivated by good. at the end, after he’s defeated, he joins karai in what constitutes their afterlife.

so we’ve had our fair share of nuanced villains. what we haven’t had?

the kraang. villains with no chance of reasoning with or goodness. villains that do not care about fun and entertainment. they are here to take over the world, and if you get in the way, they will kill you.

it’s why the movie hit so hard. why the beginning scene was even allowed to exist. if there were and peaceful option out f this, the boys would have taken it.

that’s why there can’t be.

now, this next part is much more meta, so if you don’t care, feel free to skip.

i don’t want to get too deep into this since i’m just writing my thoughts as they come to me, but it would feel amiss not to mention the bigger picture behind this criticism. why do people think this?

within the writing community, there has been this shift. actually, within the artist communities at large. it comes with post-modernism, which is a whole topic on its own.

basically, post-modernism is a response to modernism. it shows the darker side to the modern world, and the negative side of the ideas presented in the previous movement.

it’s the start of this nihilistic idea that nothing really matters, and things don’t work out like they do “in the movies.”

with it comes a level of nuance. basically, consider perspectives that you wouldn’t have before. like the villains’.

but like all movements, eventually, it has to come to an end.

if you want to know more, there is this really fascinating video essay by thomas flight titled something along the lines of “why do movies feel so different now?”

it’s very good, but basically, it explores the shift between post-modernism and this new “thing” we’re going into: meta-modernism

a name which, given the fact we had to use “modernism” for what is now the past, feels very fitting.

(it does worry me about future naming conventions a little— what’s next? neo-modernism?? lmao)

now, that’s kind of in its own vein, but the point is this: villains don’t have to be over-complicated.

if you have the time and narrative to spare, go for it. explore the villains and anti-hero’s to your hearts intent.

but it’s important to know when something is too much (like the length of this text post analyzing the villains in a movie titled ‘the rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles.’)

don’t shy away from having a sterotypical big bad. if you’re a good enough writer, you can pull anything off. you just have to handle it in a certain way.

not every bad guy has to have seventy-thousand layers of nuance, and the rise movie is a great example of a narrative that benefits from keeping it simple.

it had a story to tell, and it did it wonderfully, enough to send fandom-altering ripples through (in my opinion) the tmnt franchise as a whole

when a movie can pull people n and make them fall in live, despite their original feelings about the show, while also wowing the fans of said show? you know it’s good.

and you have to admit: the rise kraang are scary as fuck /pos

i could get more into why the kraang work exactly as well as they do, with the surrounding context and how they changed rise, and what i do and don’t like about the movie, but this is long enough, and i’m already not going back to fix my typos, so. i’ll end it here

if you did somehow slog through all of that and would be interested in my thoughts, let me know,m. who knows, maybe i’ll actually end up doing it maybe! (/lh /j)

[elcorhamletlive]

no one asked but here are some of my thoughts on the one piece live action show

the things I didn't like:

Nojiko not knowing about Nami's scheme and plan. I get that it was probably a way to raise the odds and emphasize Nami's loneliness, but to me it cheapened their relationship and took away one of the most touching moments in the manga, when the reason for Nojiko's tattoos is revealed.

humorless, stoic, sexy man Zoro. of all the characters it was the one adaptation that didn't work for me, and Zoro is one of my favorites so it was a bit frustrating. the actor gives a good performance, but whereas the rest of the crew is a perfect translation of their manga selves to the screen, Zoro feels like a fundamentally different character. which is unfortunately because the mix of goofiness and badassery is what makes Zoro so engaging. here's hoping that he's allowed to emote more in season two.

in a similar vein as the previous point, I wasn't a fan of all the "Zoro and Nami exhasperated over Luffy" scenes. imo making Zoro so mature changed the dynamic of the crew and made his relationship with Luffy ring a bit hollow, even when the show wanted me to be emotionally invested in their bond.

Mihawk's introduction makes him come across as way less of threat than in the manga. I get cutting Krieg because they had less time and ultimately I don't think it was a massive loss, but having Gin show up destroyed and hyping Mihawk up is sooo much more effective than just showing him in the middle of a battle.

Nami was also a bit too serious for my taste, but I'll chalk that up to East Blue being when she's still not fully comfortable with the crew yet.

this is the most nitpicky annoying thing but. Arlong was too small. like obviously realistically speaking the actor is jacked but he does not give off the same threatening air that he does in the manga when he's towering over everyone.

the things I liked (most of it!):

from a plot perspective I think they were very smart and strategic about what to cut, they managed to trim everything to make it fit in eight hours and it worked. having Koby and Helmeppo throughout the season was a great way to keep the story from feeling too episodic, and they're both really well cast and I loved watching them. They are in love

removing the jokes on Alvida's appearance: yes. Overall I think they did a good job translating the humor, keeping the absurdness and silliness while also removing what wouldn't fly very well in live action.

Luffy should have been Brazilian but Iñaki Godoy is truly a finding, his performance is top notch and I can't imagine anyone else playing the role. Also in the "might have been created in a lab specifically to play their role" category are: Jacob Romero (there was not a second Usopp was on screen that didn't fill my heart with joy), Craig Fairbrass, Peter Gadiot, Aidan Scott.

special bullet point for Buggy because yeah. you have already heard that but my god he is THAT GOOD. SO much fun to watch.

another special bullet point for Taz Skylar. I didn't mention him in the list above because I guess you can say that technically Sanji is significantly different in the LA than in the mange, but tbh the change was for the better. amping up his charm and giving him a wannabe womanizer vibe was the perfect choice. his chemistry with Zeff was amazing (that one second in which they're fighting and you can see Sanji mouthing along to what he's saying because they've had this fight so many times before? CINEMA). their goodbye broke my heart.

Baratie might have been my favorite arc. and it's a really good arc in the manga so I'm amazed by how much they got it right.

Usopp/Kaya kiss!!!

obsessed with the absolutely random flirting between Zeff and Garp. old men yaoi stays winning

Koby and Luffy's hug was everything I didn't know I needed. also Koby getting drunk. just... Koby.

usually I'd find "omg they did it exactly like the manga panels" kind of a meaningless compliment but the scene where Nami asks for Luffy's help hit me like a brick. it was perfect.

their vows at the ending of the season gave me chills. Watching this show was so much fun and made me relive the excitement this story gave me as a child; a lot is said about an adaption having to capture "the essence" of the original which is of course super vague, but however you interpret it, I think it happened here. This show has so much heart and passion and is just a joyful, fun thing to experience. I can't wait for next season

[captainsspnanon]

C3E49 reaction

A very VERY enjoyable episode.  It’s been a while since we’ve had one where there’s so much conversation and RP and it’s a breath of fresh air.

I’m a bit disappointed in Matt for not having the leylines as a projection in the background.  I would have LOVED seeing that get slowly stronger each long rest - or even just only being able to see it once it was ‘full’.   But speaking of leylines, props to Matt for acknowledging the fact that Chetney HAS seen this, two or three times.  I know he didn’t plan for it, his descriptions were very much the ‘this is the most magical thing you will ever see in your life’, but he kept true to the fact that Chet is old as balls.

Good choices all around for the Sendings.  Big fan of Ira being brought back into play, because I feel like he’s definitely going to fuck shit up for the party in one way or another.  He’s powerful, but he’s very much on his own side and I like the dynamic that’s bringing in.

Honestly I am LOVING the dynamic that Laura is playing here with Imogen and her mother.  Imogen knows realistically that her mother is on the wrong side, but there is the emotional desperation to have Mother Know Best and Be Loving and Be Right, so Imogen rationalizes based off of her emotions and craving for connection.  Consistently she has described her mother as needing help the past few episodes, where to the audience it seemed pretty clear that Lilianna was where she wanted to be.  I wouldn’t mind seeing Imogen turn during the battle, not the Dark Imogen like I keep seeing around, but just a daughter desperately wanting to believe in her mother.

I suppose I really should finish EXU Kymal - was this stuff with Opal foreshadowed in it?  I only saw the first half of the first episode and then never got around to actually finishing it.  EXU was not particularly to my tastes (much like how I struggle with some of the one-shots, it was just so CHAOTIC that I couldn’t.  Orym held the only braincell.)

Sam’s faced when FCG flipped the coin for the Changebringer’s alignment!  Laughed so hard I cried and had to go back to actually see the expressions.

I don’t know what I took away from the Ashton and Laudna conversation, except that I’m glad they had it, and I hope they have more.  I don’t think it changed the way I viewed either character, but it has the opening to.

Fearne & Orym!!!!!  Look, I don’t care how small the moments are.  Liam and Ashley have been my desperately wanting scenes of them together, whether Caleb and Yasha, Vax and Pike, or now C3.  I EAT ALL THESE CRUMBS.  BEST FRIENDS FOREVER.

Yeah, we all knew D was Devexian XD

Also a fan of the mini shopping session we got.  I enjoy the shopping sessions as long as they don’t take a whole episode, and they definitely got some good loot.  A 19 con necklace??  DAMN good.  Hope the gold gets shuffled ‘round in the party though.   It’s hard for me to compare how dnd-poor they are compared to the Mighty Nein.  I’m sure critrolestats has the actual gold amount.  I just feel like the Nein was more poor, accurate or not XD

As much as a short combat would have been fun, I’m actually quite pleased that we just got a few storms and a very short encounter ending with a goldfish.  I have a sneaking suspicion that Matt’s random encounter chart was kinder than usual, more designed for poor rolls to delay rather than destroy.

I’m....not a fan of the message bloom.  I actually went and rewatched the moment where Orym got the seed, and it was this quiet serious moment and he was told “you are an Ashari, are you not?  Make it grow.”  and then it’s just a longer one way one time sending?  Pretty big of a let down, tbh.  (though I, much like Orym/Liam, completely forgot about it.)

Keyleth coming in.  How do I feel about this.....  it’s really hard to say!  I think I’m more okay with it because they didn’t ask her for it.  They gave her a status update, but also very easily accepted when she said she was busy - and I don’t see the party changing their minds and trying to push harder, in or out of character.  Keyleth coming to join was very much a Matt decision here, which is why even though I’m a bit iffy about it, I’m more willing to accept.  I’m HOPING that it’s more that she’s fighting Just Off Stage Left the entire time, dealing with The Army That The Bells Hells Would Have Snuck Around Anyway, or something like that.  Have a show of power, have it work for the story, but not actually have it change how the narrative would have gone, if that makes sense.

EDIT: how could i have forgotten to mention the Imogen/Laudna scene???  Shockingly, I’m still not shipping it?  Even with the declarations of I love you, it still feels non-romantic to me.  I’ve seen people say ‘who says I love you to friends?’  um, me.  I have told friends that I am not interested in romantically in the slightest that I love them, and they have said it back to me.  ‘who cuddles with their friends?’ early 20s? me again.  also, fearne and orym cuddle every night.  BUT, I will say that if we get more conversations like this, I can see myself getting more comfortable with the ship.

Very happy that the solstice is going to be likely the next episode (maaaybe one or two more if we have heavy combat/sneaking/etc), because I am so ready for what Matt has in store.   ....though if they do stop it, that’s going to be a hell of a lack of payoff.  I have a strong suspicion (as I think basically everyone watching does) that the Keys are going to work no matter what the Hells do.  On to episode 50!!  (omg are we like halfway through the campaign?  it still feels like it might be a shorter one to me, I can see it only lasting 100 episodes)

[average-guy-reviews]

The Creator (2023)

"As a future war between the human race and artificial intelligence rages on, ex-special forces agent Joshua is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI. The Creator has developed a mysterious weapon that has the power to end the war and all of mankind. As Joshua and his team of elite operatives venture into enemy-occupied territory, they soon discover the world-ending weapon is actually an AI in the form of a young child."

Most of the time when I go and see a film that's exactly what it is, a film, or a movie. Sometimes it's a 'great film', and sometimes it's a 'decent movie'. Very, very rarely do I ever sit and watch a piece of work in the cinema and feel like I have watched art. This is one of those rare occasions. The Creator, by Gareth Edwards, is, for me, a flawless film.

Starting with the cinematography....it is a beautiful film. From start to finish, I believe in and am captivated by the world of this motion picture. The CGI is a huge part of that and, and may be some of the purest and most dynamic I have ever seen. It's not big and flashy, and in your face, like a lot of films.....and if it had been I think it would have ruined the aesthetic of what I was watching. Instead, the CGI works to enhance the realism of the images, and that is what it should do. We should be able to look at a film and say, "Yeah, obviously it's not real, but damn it looks like it bloody well is!!", and in most cases? We simply can't. In this you can genuinely believe that all of the robots are real. If I bumped into one on the street I wouldn't be put out by its apparent uniqueness. I'm no expert, but I can find no faults in the cinematography, from my perspective anyway.

The story is really well written. Like a lot of films it lifts bits and pieces from other aspects of cinema, and I saw reminders of films like Platoon, I Robot, A.I. and Blade Runner, to name just a few. Yet they didn't stand out as blaring additions. They were weaved into the narrative seamlessly, with just enough of a nod that they could be noticed but not overwhelm the scenes. I feel like the writers did an outstanding job and deserve any and all plaudits they are likely to get.

The performances throughout were simply brilliant, with quick shouts to Gemma Chan as Maya, Alison Janney as Colonel Howell, Ken Watanabe as Harun, and Amar Chadha-Patel as multiple simulants. This story was essentially the tale of a man and a child, played by John David Washington (as Joshua) and Madeleine Yuna Voyles (as Alphie). The relationship that was built between these two on set is obvious, and that clearly helped with the performances. They worked together so simply, and yet with such an elegance that it almost comes across as though Yuna has known David her whole life. The on-screen relationship builds from a rocky start. Joshua is, after, all out to destroy the 'weapon' that turns out to be Alphie. No spoilers, but any relationship on screen changes, as does that of Alphie and Joshua. Every performance was on point and should be recognised.

Overall, as the attached image says, I find this to be a flawless film. I can not find any faults, and so it can not get anything other than a perfect score. I know some people feel like there are issues with the timeline, but to them I say simply watch it again and count the days. There are no big jumps. The main body of the story takes place over a few days. It does all make sense. I promise. It's getting a maximum of 5/5, with a recommendation to everyone to go and see it. I'm certain everyone will get something from it.