#I only have 181 more chapters to go

[karnaxa]

The way I am about to absolutely lose it about one piece

[badgalsasuke]

Hi, do you think Sakura has unconditional love for Sasuke, I always thought her love was superficial, but many people think it's unconditional

hello anon!

No, Sakura does not have unconditional love for Sasuke. As you said, her love for him is very much superficial and there's several instances in the manga that prove this. I'm gonna also show you the difference in Sakura and Naruto's love for Sasuke so you can truly see how superficial Sakura's infatuation for Sasuke is when it's contrasted with someone else's love for that same person.

We see how Sakura doesn't take Sasuke's pain and trauma as a survivor of the mass murder of his clan seriously twice. The first time in ch. 3 where Sakura mocks Naruto for being an orphan in front of Sasuke, another orphan, who then calls her out for it. If Sakura who apparently had had a crush on Sasuke for years at this point, she'd have enough empathy to know this isn't the way to treat kids with no family, especially if your crush happens to be one of those kids.

Sakura seems affected by his harsh words but then, in chapter 181 we see that she really hasn't changed her behaviour nor does she really care about Sasuke's past. To begin with, for Sakura that moment of Sasuke calling her out for her nasty behavior and standing up for Naruto was romantic between the two her and Sasuke, whereas for Sasuke it was important because he defended Naruto.

We also see how as Sasuke prepares to leave the village Sakura starts to talk about how revenge isn't the way to go and he won't achieve happiness through it, but then she goes and makes it about herself which pisses off Sasuke hence him saying "I knew it", Sakura hadn't grow after all this time. This wouldn't be the only time Sakura makes everything about herself.

And for a second time she belittles Sasuke's trauma by stating that even though she has family and friends, not having her crush by her side will make her very lonely just like the way Sasuke had showed her what it meant to be lonely, not once thinking of how insensitive it is to say such thing to a genocide survivor. Sasuke thinks of Naruto and Sakura, because once again Sakura is disregarding Naruto's existence.

Even though Sakura is attempting to stop Sasuke from leaving by telling him it wouldn't make anyone happy, she grows more and more desperate when she sees how her words have no effect on him that she completely tosses all that aside and goes y'know what let me go with you because all I care about is me being with my crush, everything else be damned. Compare that to Naruto saying that he will break Sasuke's bones if that's what it takes to take him back to the village and stop him from going to Orochimaru, that's how little backbone Sakura has. So Sasuke tells her once again she's being annoying and knocks her out.

Another time we see how shallow Sakura's feelings for Sasuke actually are is during the summit arc. Sasuke attacks the Kage summit and basically everyone agrees he needs to be executed, included Sakura. While Sakura was plotting on killing Sasuke once he stepped out of line Naruto was trying to understand his pain and why he had taken the path that he did, on top of that, everytime someone told him to give up on Sasuke and let them execute him he profusely refused to the point he got a panic attack and passed out.

The difference in their reactions is day and night, that's how different their devotion for Sasuke is.

We continue to see the stark contrast in Sakura and Naruto's feelings once they finally meet Sasuke at the bridge. Naruto is seeking to understand Sasuke after everyone told him to give him up, even Itachi had told him that eventually he will have to choose between Sasuke or the village, a notion that Naruto vehemently rejected.

Sakura, on the other hand, refuses to understand Sasuke. The minute she sees him she's like "he's different" and attempts to kill him without trying to see where he's coming from.

Naruto then reveals that he was told the truth about Itachi and his family, information Sakura isn't privy to and would *never* show interest in getting to know in the next chapters. While Sakura showed Sasuke that she was willing to kill him twice, Naruto tells Sasuke that he's not going to lose to him in battle and get killed just like he also won't kill Sasuke. Kishimoto had said it in an interview, Sakura gives up on Sasuke but Naruto never does [full interview here LINK].

Another instance of Sakura showcasing how shallow her feelings for Sasuke are is during the last arc, when she makes her final love confession.

The moments prior to her confession Sasuke talks about how we wants to change the world and all that. Now, don't get me wrong, things in the shinobi world are wrong and complicated but the way Sasuke intented to fix them weren't the way to go either. Yet Sakura exercised zero listening comprehension and instead made everything all about herself and how she feels and how if Sasuke has a place for her in his heart then he ought to not leave her so things can go back to what they were which... girl he just said he doesn't want to go back to how things were. But it shows you how little she cares about Sasuke and how *he* feels.

On top of that, Sakura also acknowledges that she actually doesn't know Sasuke at all. She can't get close to him or exchange blows with him the way Naruto does. In the end, Sasuke gets annoyed and puts her under a genjutsu.

Once again, compare how Sakura reacts to Sasuke's pain and makes it all about how she feels to the way Naruto reacts. Sasuke acknowledges Naruto is the only one that never tried to cut him off and then Naruto also tells him that the reason why he can't leave Sasuke alone is because it hurts him to see Sasuke hurt himself. Naruto's love for Sasuke is selfless while Sakura's is self-interested.

Lastly, we see in Naruto Gaiden how when Sarada starts inquiring about her dad Sakura really can't answer with certainty questions about Sasuke. Not just that, she doesn't even realize what's going on with Sarada.

Sakura made Sarada cry and couldn't even grant her some relief regarding her father but Naruto got Sarada blushing and smiling. Once again, it's totally different the way Naruto reacts to Sarada's dismay and he is actually able to put her at ease and reassure her.

The feelings both Sakura and Naruto have for Sasuke end up reflected on Sasuke's child.

Kishimoto is very consistent in his writing on the type of love Sakura professes Sasuke and it's neither deep nor unconditional.

[littlemisssquiggles]

Alright, I need to gush about Dandadan for a hot minute…

So this squiggle meister has hopped onto the Dandadan hype train. Ever since its anime adaptation release last year, I’ve been riding the high of my newest anime craze.

Not only am I all caught up on the anime (eagerly awaiting season 2 coming out this year) but I’ve also taken to following the manga; which I’m all caught up on too.

Speaking of which, the newest chapter of Dandadan dropped today - Chapter 181- and I’ve got some things to say about:

Firstly, the return of Unji Zuma. It’s nice to see that the Danmanru Arc wasn’t the last time we’ve seen our Umbrella King.

Zuma’s a cool character. I basically see him as a male Momo since the two share the same stubborn, headstrong yet surprisingly compassionate and loyal personality traits that make them really fun characters to watch further develop. In this squiggle meister’s eyes, Zuma is as much as cool older brother character to Momo as Jiji is.

However, judging by Zuma’s new look in the upcoming arc, I have a sinking feeling the manga is setting us up again for yet another wrench in the ongoing development of the Okarun and Momo love story.

I already made this point over over Twitter but ---

It CANNOT be a coincidence that Zuma, who was described as “Momo’s ideal type” cause he bares a resemblance to her celebrity crush Ken Takakura, now with his hair grown out and sporting a pair of glasses looks like a punk tough guy version of Okarun.

That can't be a coincidence, no? Like I said, I think the manga is setting us up yet again for another fake red herring love triangle and misunderstanding to further push the Momokarun ship into official couple status.

After all, we’re already half way there with Okarun’s recent confession.

Not to mention that last time, during the Space Globalist Arc, after the whole misunderstanding with Vamola, the first time Okarun actually admits to being in love with Momo is while “rejecting” Vamola.

I feel like Zuma is being set up to be Momo’s Vamola, y’know what I mean? I don’t know if Zuma is going to be confirmed to secretly like Momo.

I mean I hope not cause like I said, they have way more sibling energy to me than that of Momo and Jiji and Jiji is literally her childhood best friend and first crush).

But I do hope that Zuma’s presence will provide the catalyst to Momo professing her love for Okarun.

I mean, Zuma did over hear Momo whispering “tell me you love me” in her sleep and he gave her a look.

Surely, that’s got to come back sometime later just as how Momo’s “Lova Ya” note to Okarun came back, right?

While I doubt this will mean that Zuma will develop a romantic interest in Momo, if so is the case then I hope it will lead into Momo turning him down cause she will FINALLY admit that she’s already in love with Okarun.

THIS HAS TO BE WHY ZUMA IS BACK!

Outside of him bringing in a new arc, Zuma is here to be the FINAL PUSH for Momo to admit she loves Okarun. He has to be!

Zuma is literally the embodiment of everything Momo wants in a potential boyfriend. He looks like Ken Takakura. Underneath his tough exterior, he is genuinely courageous and has a benevolent spirit that drives him to go above and beyond for others in his care. Zuma is such a “good guy” that he got a whole school gang of delinquents to rally behind him. He is such a “good guy” that he’s even willing to help the poor Daiki kid with his curse.

I mean Zuma is just a really cool character.

And him being around again rocking dem big glasses and fluffy hair like Okarun is definitely gonna be confusing for Momo. At least that’s what I think.

Either way, I stand by what I said.

I think we’re entering the home stretch to Momo x Okarun being official.

I don’t know how many more arcs and chapters again it will take to get us there but we are getting there.

Zuma is the key.

If he isn’t gonna be yet another lying ass fake "potential love interest" like Aira, Jiji and Vamola all were then at least let him be a “real bro” to Momo.

I know he kinda blind right now but please let Zuma have the emotional wisdom to see through Momo’s BS of stalling her confession to Okarun and give her a firm kick in the ass with dem big Geta sandals he’s got on to get her to FINALLY return her feelings.

Bruh, we are almost to 200 chapters.

We need to see Momokarun canon before Luffy finds the One Piece. While we’re still young and our shipping hearts are still beating.

- LMS (2025)

[suzannahnatters]

So as I've been re-reading LOTR, I got to the "Many Meetings" chapter where Arwen takes a good long look at Frodo; and I started thinking this character over.

I have always interpreted this as her summing him up for the task she knows lies ahead for him; if he can't save the known world then she doesn't get to marry the man she loves. But is Arwen's desire to marry Aragorn the only thing that is driving her? This is someone, after all, who was raised and taught by Galadriel herself, the wielder of Nenya, ruler of Lorien, and enemy of Sauron.

Arwen is very much wisdom-coded in this book, as opposed to, say, Eowyn, who is firmly warrior-coded. In the rabid days of my teen Tolkien era I used to have a lot of arguments about Arwen and about how little she appears in the book: and I always used to argue that it was a valid storytelling choice to give us only brief glimpses of her, because LOTR is simply not her story. In Letter 181 Tolkien himself confirms this, saying that the main reason Arwen isn't more prominent in the plot is that it's written from a hobbitish perspective. The tale of Aragorn and Arwen, he says:

"is part of the essential story, and is only placed so [in the Appendices], because it could not be worked into the main narrative without destroying its structure: which is planned to be 'hobbito-centric', that is, primarily a study of the ennoblement (or sanctification) of the humble."

I also used to argue that the fact that Arwen doesn't appear to have agency doesn't mean she wasn't actually involved. Tolkien says at one point in the book that she "watched over" Aragorn in thought, and fresh off my re-read of the Silmarillion, in which the Elves are said to have some kind of telepathic power, I think that this is what she's been doing this whole time. While I'm sorry her contributions aren't highlighted a bit more, she's not limited to embroidering banners for Aragorn; she has an agency that we simply cannot see because we are so firmly in the hobbitish perspective.

Bear in mind, too, that Arwen is supposed to be a kind of second Luthien. Unlike Luthien, she has far more family support from her father and brothers who do everything they can to help with the Quest, thus removing the motivation Luthien had to run away and have adventures. Presumably Arwen could have made a magic cloak and snuck into Mordor with the Ring, except that Frodo was chosen for that task. Plus, maybe she's just too powerful for Sauron to miss - Tolkien hints as much in that passage I quoted above, from Letter 181.

Still, the question remains, and it's a valid one: WHY does Tolkien choose not to bring Arwen more strongly into the story? WHY doesn't he give her a role closer to Luthien's? Why didn't he have her, and not Glorfindel, ride out to bring help during the Flight to the Ford?

You know me - I don't think it's because Tolkien didn't think a woman couldn't make this kind of contribution. He pretty demonstrably did. Rather, I think it's because he made the valid and indeed deeply thematic choice to code Arwen as a woman of peace rather than a woman of war.

Remember that at the end of LOTR, the entire world undergoes a process of renewal and healing. Those who have been warriors - Faramir, Eowyn, Samwise, Gandalf, and so on - put their swords away and become gardeners and healers. Even before the war ends, Aragorn confirms his claim to the kingship of Gondor, not by helping to win the battle of the Pelennor Fields, but by healing those who are lying at the brink of death in the Houses of Healing, under the Nazgul's influence. For Tolkien, who lived through not one but two world wars, peace was not something lesser to be assigned to women. War was not an end in itself ("I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness...") but a means to a just peace, the ultimate goal for men and women alike.

Just as, say, Fatty Bolger, or Galadriel, choose not to go on the Quest of the Ring and aren't shamed for it by the narrative, so too does Arwen choose not to go on the Quest. Yet, just like everyone else who chooses not to join, Arwen DOES make a pivotal contribution to the story. And it's one the fandom is not super aware of. Tolkien explained it like this in Letter 246, after mentioning that Frodo expected to die very soon after completing the Quest.

"But he did not, and one can observe the disquiet growing in him. Arwen was the first to observe the signs, and gave him her jewel for comfort, and thought of a way of healing him."

The footnote to this sentence reads:

"It is not made explicit how she could arrange this. She could not of course just transfer her ticket on the boat like that! For any except those of Elvish race 'sailing West' was not permitted, and any exception required 'authority,' and she was not in direct communication with the Valar, especially not since her choice to become 'mortal'. What is meant is that it was Arwen who first thought of sending Frodo into the West, and put in a plea for him to Gandalf (direct or through Galadriel, or both), and she used her own renunciation of the right to go West as an argument. Her renunciation and suffering were related to and enmeshed with Frodo's: both were parts of a plan for the regeneration of the state of Men. Her prayer might therefore be specially effective, and her plan have a certain equity of exchange. No doubt it was Gandalf who was the authority that accepted her plea."

All through my re-read I've been pointing out how very important it is to the story that Frodo gets a hope of healing at the end - far more important than the horrors that intervene. Arwen is the one who is able to get him that healing. Not only that, but in choosing mortality, she doesn't just marry Aragorn and start a new line of kings in Gondor - anyone could have done that. There's something special about Arwen, specifically - the pupil of Galadriel the pupil of Melian the Maia - that brings about a regeneration of the entire race of Men. Perhaps she helps to transmit to all of humanity the wisdom and lore of the Elves and the Maiar. Perhaps this includes much in the way of healing and craftsmanship.

Speculating on this, I'm also led to think about Arwen's relationship with Galadriel. In "The Council of Elrond", Elrond mentions that opinion is divided on what will happen with the Three elven Rings once the One Ring is destroyed. Some hope the Three will continue to be effective, healing Middle Earth and undoing the works of the Enemy. But when we get to Lorien, we find that Galadriel is not among them. Everything she says demonstrates that she expects the Ringbearer to destroy not only the One Ring, but also the works of the Three. So, Galadriel has always known that SHE will never be able to do the work of healing Middle Earth from Sauron's shadow. Was this a mission that she saw herself entrusting to Arwen?

Sure - as far as I'm aware, Tolkien never got around to writing this down in detail. It's a very subtle part of the story and maybe we would have preferred him to make his point more overtly...but it very much is there. Arwen didn't just give up her mortality; she also gave it away of her own free will, in order to help heal and regenerate the world from the Shadow, and not only did she do this for the man she loved, but for as many others as she could, notably Frodo.

The reason Arwen doesn't get a lot of agency in LOTR is because her hour hasn't yet come. As Tolkien writes in "Many Meetings," few mortals had YET seen her.

But they would.

[denv2]

Okay. I'll just ramble on by myself again today. There are so many things to say, but I'm bad at English, so I can only talk to myself and use a translator to post it.... (Why doesn't Tumblr have an official translator function. I don't want to compare, but twt(x) has Google Translate, but can't Tumblr have that too. Please play my wish. If it's a global app, let's have a translator) Anyway, I want to see more of Felix's story...

As always, I'm embarrassed to talk about headcanons alone, so I'll continue below. (99% IM!felix chat)(It's long)(chapter 172~ spoiler)

I've been mentioning something consistently... I keep thinking about Felix's backstory, which I'm rereading these days... Last time I read and drew a picture of chapter 181, but... Oh my God, I should've started at 172, but I realized I started in the middle.

In 172, Felix uses a gag to defeat the enemy. I love the description of his ability to use a gag, but what's even more thrilling is his reaction afterward. He spontaneously bursts out laughing in triumph after defeating the enemy through a gag. Then he immediately frowns.

'Too close. It was too close.' < This sentence actually made me pull my hair out...

It really shows how Felix is determined to never go back to being zany again. I love the way he checks himself because he's afraid he's going to turn into a zany person after one gag. I really like that... When I first read the novel, I didn't decide on a favorite and just enjoyed the story itself, but now that I'm reading the details again for the first time in a long time while knowing the whole story, I think there are so many things I forgot. And about the relationship between Felix and zany... There were more mentions than I thought, but I didn't notice this... Yes, in fact, the labyrinth part was so long that I was a little tired when I read that part before, but I didn't remember that a lot of Felix's backstory was solved from Felix's side during the labyrinth part...

I keep getting a little obsessed with Felix's past, Felix and his zany days, but there's a reason. I did fanart until March of this year, then I got a little busy for a while, so I was binge-watching chapters of the novel, and then I read chapters 349 and 350, and I loved them so much that I really fell in love with them, so I came back to drawing Felix after a long time? Chapter 349 is the adoption meeting between Canola and Felix, and I really love this chapter. The reason Boris's adoption was rejected was because Felix was zany (+ other unreliable behaviors), and I actually sympathized with Canola. Felix is a trustworthy protector, sure, but he's not perfect, and I like him more for that... As a side note, I do like Canola (I like her as a 2D character, she's like Noelle's mom from Deltarune lol) Anyway, it was Felix's mention of his inner zany that really opened my eyes to Felix and zany. After that, I thought I should re-read about Felix's past connections from his visions in the labyrinth, and then I grabbed chapter 181 and read it and loved it so much that I started drawing Alex and Kitty... But I should have read it from 172!!! 172 also had some really important Felix and ZANY, GAG references...

And chapter 174... Awww. I'm going to paint a picture of Professor Wilson and Felix's past college relationship... As for Professor Wilson's characterization, I've been paying attention to it because of the cult references, but I've been rethinking that characterization as Felix's benefactor lately, so I'm appreciating that part anew, and it's great. I think I remember there was a side story about Felix and Professor Wilson in college in Inky Extra, but I need to read it again.

And chapter 179!! No why didn't I read chapter 179 again?! I thought I would find Felix's past part in the labyrinth part and read it again, so I clicked on the early and middle chapters of the labyrinth to find Felix and read it, but it was 181. There was 179 before 181, but I should have read it from here 😂.

But actually, it's probably a good thing I read chapter 179 now, because it's based on the Twisted Tales Felix animation. If I had read 179 when I reread chapter 181, I don't think I would have gotten as much detail as I did now, because I hadn't seen Twisted Felix yet! So I guess I found this at the right time... Anyway, I have a lot to say about chapter 179.

After realizing that Felix's former hometown is based on Twisted Tales... I can kind of imagine how he lived in the past, and I like that.

To digress for a second, I recently posted a picture of Felix as a showmanship-esque star in a tailcoat suit, and while I was drawing it, I was thinking that Felix, who is a real-life zany top-tier star, would never wear a suit like that, lol. But! I think he would have worn it at least once, but the normal show would have been a comedy show with gags, witty stand-up comedy and physical comedy, right? But I wanted to draw Felix the star in a suit, with a glow in his eyes... That zany, crazy presence! I tried to capture that in my own expression. And since Star Felix is Felix from the past, I wanted him to be a little younger than he is now... The hairstyle is also a little different from the current Felix I'm drawing now! The current Adventurer Felix has more wild hair and is a little unkempt, whereas the Star Felix I drew this time is very well-groomed for showmanship and has a slicked back hairdo.

Let's go back to 179 again. The first line that stood out to me was when Felix's friend asks, "You're not homeless again, are you?

Later on, Felix and Bendy meet up and Felix is telling Bendy about his past, and I think it's mentioned that after Alex, Felix's show fortunes started to change, and he was living an unstable life where he was doing well, and then all of a sudden he was homeless, and then he was doing well again, and then he was going back and forth like that. I think that's the fun part of the subtext, because you read the subtext first, you can see what the earlier reference is actually for.

Then there's Sheba... Actually, what I've been thinking about Sheba and what I drew with Alex and Kitty last time and what I drew after watching Twisted Tales... The character interpretations are mixed now. I drew Sheba last time, but I think I need to change the character design...! I want her to have more of a Twisted Tales feel to her. I feel like I need to do more characterization for Sheba, especially after seeing the scene where Felix's friends don't understand that he doesn't want to be zany, except for Sheba... I need to get her in line... I love Felix and Sheba's friendship in the original comic, but I need to re-read the parts where it's mentioned about their friendship in IM.

And about Candy, I'm actually really interested in Felix's past relationships with girls... Seriously, why is Felix so popular? lol I love it... I love that his past is so colorful... Candy, Nastassia... and Kitty (oh my god. I have so much to say about Kitty).

Okay, let's move on to 181. If I have something else to say about 179 later, I'll say it then. I'm going to say 181 again because it's Kitty...

One of Alex's lines to Felix is this: "Kitty was the last steady girl you had, right?" < Alex's provocation level is... Crazy... (in a positive way). I can't stop thinking about this. About Felix's stable attachment to a relationship.... He's been living alone ever since he left town... I don't think he was even interested in a relationship, because it ended so tragically.... Then one day he meets a rabbit...(Oh my god, but this isn't about Osix, so maybe later...)

I'm so curious about the end of Felix and Kitty's tragic past relationship... What the hell did Alex do? I've imagined some really horrible things, and I honestly don't think it's that bad, but what the hell made Kitty apologize to Felix and Felix turn away and avoid her? What the hell happened?"....

Awww... Felix and Kitty... I'm sure they were a great match before the tragedy... But... But now that they've been torn apart... I love this tragedy... I'm sorry Felix, but I really like ex relationships... because they're ex...

By the way, about Kitty's appearance, last time I drew her with ring earrings, I realized I should change the design to round earrings. I've got two pairs of Felix and Kitty and Oswald and Ortensia scheduled... so it's one of the things I'll definitely do. I'll probably change the earrings to be round then.

Now about Alex. There is so, so much to say about him...... I really love this dislike between Felix and Alex because it feels so good that the people they hate so much are cousins, blood relatives.

Cousins... I think this is more of a fear for Felix. If it were anyone else, he could just end the relationship cleanly. But I think the fact that they are family is more frightening... That's what I like so much. Felix hates and loathes Alex with all his heart. But Alex's attitude in the labyrinth is a little different from Felix's, isn't it? Felix is really hating him, but Alex is provoking him by raising him up... That's also very nice.

I love every single one of Alex's lines, it's so flavorful. I like villainous characters like Alex, but the reason why Alex is especially good is because it's a personalized antagonistic relationship with Felix that completely provokes Felix. He's so good at provoking...

I love the way Alex calls Kitty: 'beaut', 'kit', 'honey doll'... It's so sweet. It's so poisonous... And the things he says to Felix, it's so disturbing. He's so crazy.

'Long time no see, Feels', 'C'mon Feels, nothing to say to me? I've missed you!'(heck, this is soooo crazy.......), 'Still mad?', 'That's cute, Feels.'(noooooooo this is so insane....... alex..... love his poisoned words...), 'dear cousin?', 'cousin'

I love the way Alex says this... He's really provoking Felix with every line... I love how felix refers to alex as just 'Alex' but alex emphasizes the word 'cousin'. See why I said they have a better relationship because they're cousins? By referring to him as a cousin, he's subtly telling Felix that you're not really gone when you leave, that you're not really gone as long as you have the same blood in your veins. I think 'cousin' encompasses both mocking and taunting him for running away, but also letting him know that he's not really gone when he runs away.

But here's my question. When Alex mentions Felix's magic bag, he says it's supposed to be mine. Huh... I'm really curious about the past...

And then there's Alex's Felix costume... Seriously, I love this gimmick, it's a tradition, right? Alex mentions that it's the first time he's done it in a long time, and I wonder if there was an incident in the past where this costume caused a huge rift between Felix and the people around him. And... About Kitty... I can't get this thought out of my head. I'm sure it's because of Alex's appearance in the original Felix classic comics.... Yeah, right....... Oh, I'm thinking the worst again. I'm done here....

I find Felix's past parts so interesting and funny and I think about them a lot, but that's probably more because I like IM Felix.

I also realize that this whole past part isn't really real, it's just Labyrinth's hallucination. I think the real Alex and the real Kitty might react differently, but I honestly think Alex would be the same as Labyrinth lol. Considering the way Alex talks in the other books, yes. He really does have a mouth full of venom (which I love).

That was a really long rant... It's all running around in my head and I have nowhere to put it... I wanted to rant like this in my own personal space. I hope if anyone reads this far, they enjoyed it... Please someone talk to me about Felix🥺

[ichinoue]

What are your reasons for not liking the Ichigo and Rukia pairing? Since the anon mistakenly thinks that IR is only unpopular because of their age gap. Though that IS a huge red flag and Ick, there were other factors behind me not enjoying this idea of a pairing.

Besides the age gap, I just think ichiruki is boring as a romantic ship. Their development was pretty much complete after the SS arc, and things just became so static after that. In the arrancar arc, Rukia shows up, kicks Ichigo in the head, and gives him a pep talk to get him out of his funk...Then after a seventeen month timeskip and almost 300 chapters later in the FB arc, Rukia shows up and does the same thing. Kicks him in the head and gives him a pep talk to get him out of his funk. Almost a copy and paste of the same scene (and obviously IH has some "repeat scenes" like the walking home thing but I'll touch on that in a second). But how boring is that? I feel like if I were an IR fan I'd be like...really? This again?? After all this time? Nothing new, nothing different? That was their big reunion and it was a copy of the last one. I'd be so bored and disappointed lmao. Like where is the development, where is a change or something new happening between them that I can get excited about?

Whereas with IchiHime, we literally saw Orihime go from being sidelined in the beginning, to Ichigo being too overprotective of her, to all the angst and darkness in the HM/lust arcs, to rising back up in the FB arc, to Orihime becoming more independent and Ichigo trusting her more, to Ichigo literally asking Orihime to fight side by side with him against the final boss. And all the while, they're becoming closer friends--like the change from Orihime being just a friend of a friend in the beginning, to Ichigo sharing manga with her and feeling comfortable enough to invite her up to his bedroom and close the door in the FB arc. To Orihime being so incredibly nervous about being in his room in the FB arc, to marching in like she owns the place in the final arc. Things were consistently changing between them, and it kept me invested. Even with the cute call-back scenes Kubo used like the headbump and asking to walk her home, things were still changing.

And all of those changes showed how their bond was growing stronger over time, how they were growing closer, growing to trust each other more, how so much had changed and shifted and *developed* throughout the entire manga, from beginning to end. Like, you can literally see the development from one arc to the next and that's one of the things that kept me so engaged and invested in IH throughout Bleach's long run. Because I couldn't wait to see what Kubo was going to write for them next, what new change he was going to add in, and he just kept delivering.

Orihime went from just a classmate, to the girl Ichigo made a singular vow to protect (and then rose up from the dead to keep that vow). Ichigo went from the boy Orihime had to watch from afar and feel helpless that she couldn't protect him, to the boy she was fighting side by side with against a god, at Ichigo's request. Like...the changes, the growth! There was so much to sink my teeth into with ichihime. I never grew bored.

By comparison, I just don't have that much to say about ichiruki. While ichihime was a nice, long slow-burn (which I love) that lasted from beginning to end, I feel like IR developed fast and early and then had nowhere else to go. They begrudgingly formed a mentor/student partnership in the first few chapters, and then they had a strong bond solidified by the end of the SS arc (chapter 181 out of 686). So the bulk of their development was contained in the first third of the story. After that, things stayed relatively the same between them for the rest of the series. Nothing but long stretches of time spent apart, interspersed with copy and paste reunions of head-kicks and pep talks, where their bond was reinforced as the same old thing it was half the manga ago.

[bratshaws]

through the hourglass 185. brb x oc

a/n: while i had a very...strange and off day, daddy is home and smut is coming. (comments and reblogs are super welcome and encouraged!! they make my nights they really do<3)

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: NONE ONLY CUTENESS

goodness gracious (pls read this one to know more what this fic is about!!)

chapter

1/

/132/133/134/135/136/137/138/139/140/141/142/143/144/145/146/147

/148/149/150/151/152/153/154/155/156/157/158/159/160/161/162/163/164/165/166/167/168/169/170/171/172/173/174/175/176/177/178/179/180/181/182/183/184

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-

Could he get more anxious? Well,his leg was bouncing vigorously, he was ready to land and go back to Bea. God he missed her.

He was looking out the plane window with his eyes locked on the ground below, it was still far away from Cali but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to see her, to see all of them, soon. He hadn’t told her about his return - which honestly felt a bit…wrong because Beatrice would want to know that

He can't help but replay the scenario in his mind—surprising Beatrice, seeing the joy on her face, and embracing her in a tight, long-awaited hug. It's a beautiful image that fills him with warmth and longing, but it's also accompanied by a tinge of worry.

What if she had plans? What if she was busy? What if his unexpected return disrupts her routine or causes inconvenience? He knows he should have communicated his plans, but he couldn't resist the desire to see her face light up with surprise. 

Not to mention Nikki, who was now very talkative.

“Four words.”

“Hm,what?’

His uncle didn’t look up from the crosswords he was completing, “Four words, a type of Italian pasta.” Maverick taps his pen against the folded paper with his lips pursed, “Bea is italian and you married her, so,help me here.”

Rooster blinks at him, incredulous, “...Mav, there’s more than one type of italian pasta.”

“Well this one only has four words. It’s not that hard.”

Rooster looks from Maverick to the window, then leans back with a sigh, throwing his hands up and shaking his head, “Um…” he shrugs, “Four words, Italian pasta," Rooster mutters to himself, trying to recall the various types of pasta he's encountered. He taps his fingers lightly against the armrest as he mulls over the possibilities.

"Lasagna, spaghetti, fettuccine..." Rooster trails off, listing some of the more well-known pasta types. None of them fit the four-word criteria. Then his brain snaps into action, “Ziti?”

“Ziti?”

“Yeah,it’s like these little tubes, you can bake them and such.” he shrugs, “I don’t know, is that the answer?”

“Well,” Maverick writes it down, “It fits, so I think it’s right. Not bad Romeo.” he teases the other pilot with a small smirk, crossing one ankle over the other as he continues the puzzle,”You should have one of these by you, they are very relaxing.”

Rooster grumbled, placing his chin on his hand as he looks out the window, “I’m fine.” he wasn’t, he wanted to see Beatrice and he was getting a bit snippy. Which made no sense, he couldn’t speed up a flight like this, “I don’t have patience for that,Bea would love it though.”

As Rooster looks out the window, his mind continues to drift back to Beatrice and his eagerness to see her. The puzzle and the conversation with Maverick provide a brief distraction, but his longing for home and his worry about surprising Beatrice without informing her beforehand still linger in the back of his mind.

"Mav, do you think surprising Bea like this was a good idea?" Rooster asks, his voice tinged with uncertainty. "I shouldn’t add that type of stress when she’s pregnant.."

“You know she’d love it no matter what.”

“Yeah,but-”

“Brad,look,” Maverick gestures the pen towards him,”You two are crazy for each other, do you honestly think Beatrice would hate seeing you like that? We both know how she is, she’s going to be over the moon.”

Which was true, so would Rooster. The younger pilot sighed, flopping back on his seat and sliding just a bit so his shoulders were almost touching the arm rests. He crosses his arms, then uncrosses them, then fixes his posture only to lean back against the chair. Maverick stops writing to look at nothing completely unimpressed, “Rooster.”

“What?”

“You are moving.” he says, “A lot. Jesus, you are going to see her,calm down.”

Maybe it was because he almost–well, almost…didn’t come back because of Raptor and Jaws. He also knew he wouldn’t be able to go home right away, he’d need to talk to Cyclone and tell him everything that happened in detail. And boy,does Evelyn’s dad love details. “I know, I’m just fidgety.”

“Hey,casanova, can you calm down over there?” Nat’s voice calls from behind him and he tilts his head back to look at her. She is lifting one side of her sleeping mask, glaring at him, “I can’t rest my feet on your seat if you move so much.”

Rooster’s brows furrowed, “You can’t do that.” and like an annoying little sister, she did press her soles against the fabric of his seat and he could feel the pressure as she stretched her legs, “Hey.”

“Nope, sleeping,” she slaps the mask back over her eyes and plopped her earphones in, giving Rooster a little grin before falling asleep. He glared at her much like she did, then rolled his eyes going back down with his arms crossed over his chest and huffed in annoyance, rolling the wedding band on his finger over and over.

Fuck he wanted to fix that nick on it. It was small but it bothered him that he managed to somehow bruise the metal like that. He pulls it off his finger to have a better look. 

As Rooster looks at his wedding band, he can't help but trace his fingers over the small nick on the metal. He even prods with his nail for a bit to check how deep it actually went. He knew that Bea, who was just an angel, wouldn’t worry about that but he was too bothered about it.

Maybe after their date he could fix it.

“A small flat rubber disc used in games.” Maverick breaks his line of thought and Rooster arches his brow before flicking his eyes towards his uncle, “Four words too.”

“Puck.” Rooster says as he turns the wedding ring in his fingers, ‘Those are easy ones Mav.”

Maverick chuckles, nodding in agreement. "Yeah,yeah…." He writes it down in the crossword puzzle, his pen gliding across the paper effortlessly. "Some of these are pretty straightforward."

“Some?”

“Hey,come on,I need to start somewhere.”

Rooster leans back in his seat, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he continues to examine his wedding band. The nick on the metal still bothers him, but he reminds himself that it's just a small imperfection. It’ll be fixed.

He sits back on the seat and sighs, looking out the window one more time and this time he could see it. He could see the horizon turning into something he was familiar with. They were finally going back, “Finally.”

“Told you it’d be fine.”

He ignored Mav’s prodding comment and closed his eyes with a pleased little smile, thinking that maybe he could take a quick nap before they got there. Bradley ended up falling asleep for a few seconds, only waking up minutes before the plane landed.

He blinked himself awake, he could hear the plane’s tires touching the ground as they finally got back to San Diego.

As the plane touches down and comes to a halt, Rooster gathers his belongings and waits for the opportunity to disembark. Maverick does the same, although he’s less anxious than Rooster so he does take his time much for his nephew’s absolute annoyance, but the to manage to walk down the hallway to the door. The moment the cabin door opens, he steps out, his pace quickening as he navigates through the airport towards the arrival gates.

He inhales the warm air with his eyes closed, “Fuck I missed this weather.” he mutters to himself, quickly pulling out his phone to call Bea.

Maverick stands next to him with his brows furrowed, “Are you calling her? I thought you’d surprise her?”

“I am,I just wanna know if she’s home-hi baby!”

“Roos? Hi! What a surprise! I wasn’t expecting your call.” he hears something moving in the back, followed by a wet noise “Ah!Shit, got paint on my overalls…oh well!It’s fine!Hi! Are you good?”

“Oh gorgeous,I’m great.” he wonders if she can hear the noise from the airport, so he speeds his step hoping no voice would be loud enough for her to discover where he’s at, “I was justmissing you like crazy and couldn't wait to hear your voice."

Beatrice giggles on the other end of the line, her voice filled with warmth and affection. "I missed you too, Roos. It feels like forever since you left. Are you safe though? How’s everything there?”

Rooster glances around, looking for signs pointing to the exit and the arrival gates. "Oh yeah we are all good. Everything is nice–” he ends up speeding his step because he could hear another flight being announced and she couldn’t know. “And safe.Anyway, what are you doing? Painting the twins’ bedroom?”

“Yep! I decided to do so since I’m free right now.”

“Sounds good gorgeous.” he looks back at Mav when he points to his own car, Rooster turning on his heel to meet him there, “And you are staying home the whole day then? Resting?” she shouldn’t be suspicious.

But her pause was almost certainty that she was.

“...yeah!I’m gonna stay home. I already went grocery shopping yesterday and to the bank and yeah” another pause, “Why? Are you worried about me? Don’t be,I’m doing great!”

“Baby I know, you are always great.” he smiles, his cheeks flushing and he turns his back to Maverick as he whispers back to her, “And we both know what I mean about that.”

“Bradley Nicholas! Don’t start when you are so far away.”

“What am I starting?”

“You know what.”

He chuckled softly, looking back at Maverick who tapped his watch quickly, “Listen gorgeous, I gotta go right now but…talk to you soon okay?”

“Aw…okay. Stay safe!”

“ I will baby.”

“Love you!”

“Love you too. Bye.” he quickly finishes the call and opens the car’s door to hop inside just as his uncle did. “She has no idea Mav.” he says as he latches the seatbelt on, “Go ahead.”

-

He thanks Maverick quietly when he parks a few feet away from the door and the cameras around the house. He has to be careful so he doesn’t make a lot of noise, although he knows Eleanor’s face would be at the front door with him being silent or not. 

He pulls the sunglasses up to his hairline and looks at the windows to see if he could find Beatrice anywhere. The twins’ bedroom was a bit farther from it but he was sure he could see her there if she was walking around, luckily she wasn’t. He slowly pulled out his keys from his back pocket, biting his lip at the slightest jingle of keys.

Bradley tried to see by the small windows that surrounded the door, the white dog was nowhere in sight…but he could see movement in the kitchen, followed by some music. Perfect, he thought as soon as he slid the key into the lock, carefully turning it and grabbing onto the handle to open the door.

It took him a second to identify the song, but Whitney Houston’s voice was hard to miss.

There's a boy I know, he's the one I dream of

Looks into my eyes, takes me to the clouds above, mmm-hmm

Oh, I lose control, can't seem to get enough, uh-huh

When I wake from dreaming, tell me, is it really love?

The best part? He could hear Bea singing along. He gently drops his bag to the floor, checking the living room thinking he’d see the dogs but he was glad to know they were either with her or outside “Perfect.” he tip toes towards the kitchen, running his hand on the wall for support before stopping when he sees a shadow coming closer.

Although this shadow was small.

Too small.

His brows furrowed in confusion until he saw the light golden brown tresses of Nicole peeking from beyond the door frame. She was holding onto it,carefully stepping forward with her face so focused for a little baby she didn’t even see him.

Rooster’s eyes widened and he stood still like a statue…because Nicole was walking.

He knew from Bea that their daughter was moving more, he knew that she was gaining strength but she didn’t tell him she was walking!

Rooster's heart skips a beat as he watches Nicole take her tentative steps, her tiny hands gripping onto the door frame for support. His eyes fill with awe and pride as he witnesses this milestone moment in his daughter's life. He can hardly believe it—Nicole, their precious baby girl, is walking.

And he is seeing it!

He stands frozen, his breath caught in his throat, not wanting to interrupt or startle Nicole. His eyes well up with tears of joy as he watches her small legs carrying her forward with determination. It's a sight he never thought he'd see in person, and it fills him with overwhelming gratitude.

Rooster glances towards the kitchen, where Beatrice continues to sing along to the music, unaware of what's happening just a few steps away. H

With his heart overflowing, Rooster takes a step closer, his movements slow and deliberate, so as not to startle Nicole. He crouches down, his eyes level with his daughter, and stretches out his arms.

"Birdie, you are walking honey!," he whispers, his voice filled with tenderness. "Come here, can you come here?”

Nicole's eyes light up as she spots Rooster, her face breaking into a wide smile. Her little legs wobble, but she releases her grip on the door frame and takes a few more steps towards him, her arms reaching out for his embrace. She gather her balance quickly as she giggles towards him.

Rooster's heart swells as he scoops Nicole into his arms, lifting her off the ground. He holds her close, cherishing the weight of her in his arms and the feel of her tiny hands on his cheeks. He buries his nose in her hair, then kisses her cheek as he tries not to cry.

"My babygirl, you are walking," Rooster whispers, his voice choked with emotion. "You're growing up so fast. Dada loves you so much."

Nicole giggles, her laughter filling the air, and Rooster's heart feels like it could burst with joy. He steals a glance towards the kitchen, where Beatrice has paused her singing and the song as soon as she notices Nicole isn’t there and she hears her giggle.

“Nikki?” she calls, almost frantic, he could hear her walking around the kitchen and the clicking of the dogs claws following meant they were outside. So Nicole not only walked, but she did without support! Normally Jolene or the siblings would be by her side at all times, but not now.

Oh wow, he was going to cry again.

Beatrice’s steps approach the door frame and she stops mid calling once she sees what’s happening. She slowly drags her eyes up to Rooster’s face, mouth falling open and a gentle gasp escaping her mouth, “Rooster?”

“Surprise,gorgeous.’

Her lower lip wobbles, “Rooster!” and she lunges towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck, while being careful of Nicole who just giggles at the scene before her. He hugs her close, kissing Beatrice’s temple repeatedly, squeezing her to his body as she gently sobs on his shoulder, “You are home. You are home!’

“I am.” he grins, kissing her cheek this time, “And boy aren’t you a sight to sore eyes?”

[dweemeister]

2024 Movie Odyssey for-fun awards

I haven't done this in six years. Though the 2024 Movie Odyssey is complete and the 2025 Movie Odyssey is underway, I am currently working through all of the categories for the 2024 Movie Odyssey Awards (which I am aiming to post on Sunday, January 12).

Given the fact I haven't done the for-fun awards in six years, I might be a bit rusty. But here goes - honors and dishonors that don't quite fit the Movie Odyssey Awards. A reminder that each of these films were movies that I saw for the first time in their entirety last calendar year!

Best conversation: Caleb Sykes (Jamie Campbell Bower) and Hayes Ellison (Kevin Costner)’s conversation filled with veiled threats while walking up a hill, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (2024)

No, Horizon wasn’t that great. Yes, it’s a vanity project. Yes, the 181-minute runtime while awaiting a potential three other sequels is killer. But the extended time allows you to fill in your movie with a scene where two men are ostensibly having a friendly conversation, but beneath those niceties are threats that simmer just underneath their words. Yes, Horizon is an indulgence. But there are more than a few instances of brilliant filmmaking within.

Best moment: “I Could Use a Boost”, The Wild Robot (2024)

For those of you who have seen the film, you know exactly what scene I’m talking about here. A major assist here from Kris Bowers’ spectacular score – one that I’d argue is the best for any movie released in 2024. This scene felt like an early ending for the film, didn’t it?

Best movie father: George Rose (Cary Grant), Room for One More (1952)

Grant – alongside his actual wife at the time, Betsy Drake – stars in one of the better family movies from ‘50s Hollywood. That sound you heard were a few of my tumblr followers, whose celebrity crush is Cary Grant, screaming with delight.

Best movie mother: Roz (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o), The Wild Robot (2024)

Okay, it’s won two of the first four awards. But that’s it. Keep going!

Best on-screen friendship: Grace (voiced by Sarah Snook) and Pinky (voiced by Jacki Weaver), Memoir of a Snail (2024)

The least transactional friendship I saw on screen this year. Genuine love for the other, brought to you by Adam Elliot – whose characters find a way to persevere despite their tragic backgrounds. Bugger!

Best quote: “I'm gonna give you a break. I'm gonna fix it, so you don't hear the bullets.” – Mr. Brown (Richard Conte) speaking to Joe McClure (Brian Donlevy) in The Big Combo (1955)

This quote makes far more sense and becomes far more menacing in context. Trust me. Without spoiling too much, Conte here is granting Donlevy (who devout worshippers at the church of film noir will know is a quintessential noir character actor, but is in an unusually meeker role here) what he believes to be a mercy. This scene was also shot spectacularly.

Best theatrical experience (as an audience member): The Frida Cinema’s repertory screening of The Lord of the Rings (1972)

It had been too long since I saw Ralph Bakshi’s take on LOTR (a movie I rate higher than most, but would only conditionally recommend). And in that time, I forgot how unintentionally funny the whole damn thing was. Having a sellout crowd on hand only made things that much more enjoyable.

Best theatrical experience (in my capacity as Viet Film Fest Artistic Director): High school students’ day screenings

For those not in the know, Viet Film Fest always begins its in-person screenings every year with a handful of screenings intended for high school students in the Little Saigon area in Orange County who are taking Vietnamese language courses. It’s a field trip for them, and you feel the energy pulsing through the theater on that opening morning.

Also, I almost never sit down and watch a full film/short film set through as Artistic Director. Too many things to do.

Best title (feature): Children of a Lesser God (1986)

Thanks should go to Tennyson.

Best title (short): Mom, Dad… I Want to Be a Porn Star (2024)

I mean, come on! With compliments to director Corey Cao Nguyen and his team!

Best worldbuilding: Mars Express (2023, France)

The filmmakers knew exactly what sort of world they wanted their characters to inhabit right from the get-go. And for a ninety-minute cyberpunk movie not based on any previously published material at all, their background storytelling achievement is stunning stuff.

Biggest disappointment: Perfect Days (2023, Japan)

Wim Wenders serving up a sampling of Diet Ozu! Still rated this a 7.5/10, but the Criterion-heads, Letterboxd users, and other cinephiles who are online far too much had me believe this might have been better than sliced bread (or, at the very least, could hold its own against the post-War live-action cinema that is one of my specialties). I don’t think so.

Biggest (pleasant) surprise: The ending to The Wedding Banquet (1993)

In an era where happy endings for LGBTQ+ folks were elusive, perhaps the rather balanced, believable ending to The Wedding Banquet is what we should have expected. One of the finest Asian American movies ever made, overshadowed by The Joy Luck Club (released the same year).

Biggest (unpleasant) surprise: The out-of-nowhere stabbing attack in The After (2023 short)

Well, that was some way to start the Oscar-nominated Live Action shorts last year. The murder was horrifically staged, to make things worse. David Oyelowo, despite being the lead actor, is not the reason why this movie was as terrible as it was.

Do not watch on an empty stomach: The Taste of Things (2023, France)

As was the joke shared among VFF staff through much of this year! Seriously, though, make sure to have a snack on hand or eat beforehand.

Greatest discovery (actor… and director too!): Raj Kapoor

Some of you folks will be glad to know that I sought this classic Bollywood actor out by myself this time, without anybody directly recommending him (or 1951’s Awaara).

Greatest discovery (actress): Mikey Madison

I had seen Madison on-screen before, but she was in a bit role then. She is excellent in Anora (2024), however you feel about the title character.

In most need of an IRB review (TIE): Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) and X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)

For those who don't know, an IRB review – broadly speaking – is an ethics review that is required when you are conducting a study involving humans.

Murders: Based on the Edgar Allan Poe short story of the same name, Bela Lugosi sports one of the most unconvincing unibrow I’ve seen in movies but gives a standout performance as a mad scientist trying to mix the blood of… actually, go watch this movie and read the short story. Ideal Halloween viewing. Lugosi making a frigging meal of his performance and his lines.

X: Dr. James Xavier’s (Ray Milland) research in this movie has bigger implications for humanity in this movie. Sure, he does all of the things you would imagine you would do if you suddenly had X-ray vision – I don’t have to spell this out to you – but good lord man where is your sense of ethics? Obligatory thank you to the now-late producer/director Roger Corman – who gave so many directors and actors their start in the ‘60s and ‘70s through his films at American International Pictures (AIP).

Honorable mention: The too-reckless dentistry on King Kong in Godzilla x Kong and whatever the hell else was going on in that movie

Kick-ass moment: Bruce Lee destroys the “No dogs or Chinese allowed” sign in Fist of Fury (1972, Hong Kong)

Apologies for the hilariously bad brownface and the bad English dub (I can’t find the original online)!

Least deserving of its praise: The Zone of Interest (2023, United Kingdom)

Jonathan Glazer’s film (which I wrote about here) utterly failed on one of the two things he set out to accomplish. First was to immerse us in the psychologies of the Auschwitz commandant, his wife, and other Nazis. Check, I think. Second was to take out as much cinematic artifice as possible in his film. That cinematography? That “score”? On this latter point, I thought Glazer utterly failed. Most folks didn’t see it that way.

Least likely to deserve my negative rating 10 years from now: Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

I didn’t write on this film, but I gave it a 6/10 – which, on the blog, is right on the boundary between “fresh” and “rotten” (to use Rotten Tomatoes parlance). It was a more negative 6/10 from me. I’ve mentally checked out of the MCU years ago, and I personally don’t have much use for constant mean-spirited humor. But I don’t think the MCU has scraped the bottom of the barrel yet.

Least likely to deserve my positive rating 10 years from now: The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023)

Though it debuted in America as TV movie, it was originally released at a film festival. So it counts. William Friedkin’s final movie is filled with fantastic performances. But the staging itself… just a tad too simple, isn’t it?

Moment in which I most wanted to look away from the screen: The crash scene, Society of the Snow (2023, Spain)

La sociedad de la nieve is about the disaster and recovery of the survivors who were on Uruguay Air Force Flight 571 (1972) – the flight was chartered by a Uruguayan rugby team. This scene, which has been cited by experts as among the most realistic airplane crash scenes ever put to film, is harrowing to watch. A technically outstanding movie, but more importantly honors the humanity of those who went through the ordeal.

Most beautiful use of nature: Sequoia National Park at the end of The Big Trail (1930)

For my non-Californian friends, just know that California is far more than deserts and beaches. The state has so much more, naturally, to offer. The ending of The Big Trail – not recommended for Western novices – takes place as the settlers end up in a valley, but the scene is set among enormous Sequoia trees I’ve had the privilege of seeing a few times in my life. The Big Trail was a rare ‘30s movie shot in widescreen (in 70mm, no less!), and the black-and-white photography of the groves of Sequoias is magnificent to behold. The light peeking through the canopies? Breathtaking.

Most inspirational water sports movie: Young Woman and the Sea (2024)

Technically, there were two films eligible here: The Boys in the Boat (2023; about the University of Washington rowing team that represented Team USA for Berlin 1936) and Young Woman and the Sea (about Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle – 1x gold, 2x bronze at Paris 1924, but the film concentrates on her becoming the first woman to swim the English Channel).

Having neglected to watch one of the official Olympic documentaries before last year’s 2024 Summer Olympics (oops), these two movies did okay to fill that void.

Most memorable delivery of a line: “That’s politicssssssss.” – Denzel Washington, Gladiator II (2024)

There was absolutely no need to hold onto that “s” for so long. But Denzel Washington, in a movie in which all of the principal actors seem to be acting in different movies each, decides to go for the overdramatic Shakespeare route. And as villain, it’s a fantastic choice.

Most memorable quote: “And you think that one year of medical school entitles you to plow through the riches of my Emersonian mind?” – Adam Driver, Megalopolis (2024)

First things first… I didn’t say “best quote”, you know! Second, I’m of the opinion that Megalopolis defies any judgment of “good” or “bad”. I appreciated this movie for its bold artistic swings that violate so many rules and the film was one of the best experiences I had in a theater all year.

Oh yeah, this comes from the same nutty scene where we get “go back to the cluuuub”. Folks, if someone says a line like this to you unironically, run away. Run far away.

Most overrated: Poor Things (2023)

This is a movie I never connected at all to. I thought Lanthimos’ film was very male gaze-y and its depiction of sex work extremely sanitized. Oh? One of the lessons is that Victorian times were extremely sexually repressed? What a revelation! Welcome to the twenty-first century! I gave Poor Things a 6/10.

Pixar’s Elemental (2023), which I gave a 5.5/10, was the other movie I considered for this because of how audiences (as opposed to critics) have reacted to this.

Most shocking moment: The coffee scene, The Big Heat (1953)

If you have never seen this movie, please DO NOT look this up. I audibly gasped in the theater when this happened (this was a repertory screening at the Frida Cinema in Santa Ana, CA), and I wasn’t the only one.

Most underrated: On Borrowed Time (1939)

I’ve got some bad news for the high fantasy lovers out there. Classic Hollywood largely didn’t bother with high fantasy. On Borrowed Time is a low fantasy based on a play of the same name. This is a fable regarding the inevitability of death. I found this film better-acted and better-written than your average classic film fan. Lionel Barrymore’s performance goes a long, long way here for me.

Most underseen: Ferdinand the Bull (1938 short)

I could list a litany of Viet Film Fest movies here. But to make things simpler, I won’t. Ferdinand the Bull is one of the most charming Disney animated shorts of its era and, at a time where the studio hadn’t animated too many humans yet, this is one of those shorts that sets an in-house style that lasts for a long, long time.

Never learns: Andy Hardy (Mickey Rooney) in Andy Hardy’s Private Secretary (1941), Life Begins for Andy Hardy (1941), and The Courtship of Andy Hardy (1942)

I’ve only seen 5/16 Andy Hardy movies (1937-1958). I’m not the biggest fan, but the movies are a fascinating time capsule into what an idealized America was imagined to be and what teenaged behavior was sort of like during the ‘30s and ‘40s. But…

Andy Andy Andy. Always spurting out some variant of “I’m a big man now, pop. I’ve seen a lot of things, and I have the wisdom to do better,” and then turning around and doing stupid shit. His over-extroversion, chasing girls, getting into trouble, getting into trouble that involves chasing girls? Oh my goodness. If the Andy Hardy series is any indication of what America is really like, it’s that America is run like a high school ASB. Appropriate, as Andy is his senior class president!

Go to college! Or actually stay together with Betsy Booth (Judy Garland) for crying out loud! With apologies to those who are #teampollybenedict (Ann Rutherford).

No femme, all fatale: Vera (Ann Savage) in Detour (1945)

I’m not saying anything about the plot to this film noir that is NOT recommended for anyone who is a noir novice. But Ann Savage – with that incredibly appropriate surname – might have played the meanest leading lady in a film noir. And she plays the part shockingly well.

Resulted in me losing my mind in a theater (in a good way): The long uncut shot in Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (2023, Vietnam)

In a film filled with extremely long, uncut shots, that 20+-minute uncut shot of our main character having a few conversations, hopping on a motorbike to get to the other side of town, and the camera coming in through the window during the final conversation left me astounded. I could scarcely believe what I was seeing.

This actor should have done more movies like this: Tom Hanks, News of the World (2020)

For an actor who has long been compared to Jimmy Stewart for much of his career, it was half-surprising to me that Tom Hanks had never starred in an American Western like his predecessor before. News of the World neither fully embraces the classical Western nor the revisionist Western, and an older Hanks is very well-suited to the role here. Okay, perhaps a youthful Hanks (‘80s-‘90s) would have been unsuitable for Westerns. But he’s damn well suitable now.

Way too much body hair: Chuck Norris, The Way of the Dragon (1972, Hong Kong)

What just happened?: Megalopolis

The whole thing. The audience member speaking live to Adam Driver’s character two-thirds of the way through wasn’t even in my top five weirdest things about this movie. The IMAX theater didn’t have much folks there, but the experience was amazing!

Worst moment: THAT needle drop in War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko (2023 short)

Yet another Beatles or Beatles-adjacent song ruined for me! I was simultaneously embarrassed for the filmmakers (who won a fucking Oscar for this anyways, largely due to heavy lobbying from Peter Jackson, Sean Ono Lennon, and many other big names) and furious. If you had a camera capturing my reaction in-theater, you would have seen my brain melt in real time.

Worst use of music: Oh, come on. You know what it is! See above!

Worst title: Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

It’s not a good movie, but I admit to liking it. I know Warners would like to tell you that you pronounce this “Godzilla Kong”, but that sounds like two first names lumped together (thanks, Rachel). Should it be “Godzilla times Kong”? “Godzilla ex Kong” as if us kaiju fans are shipping them? To this day, that frigging “x” bothers me, alongside that generic-as-hell subtitle!

[fumblingmusings]

I haven't actually followed the strips in ages and only see bits in pieces pop up now and then, but does Matthew call Arthur an older brother? I remember Matthew was the one taking care of Arthur when he fell apart after Alfred left but then there are times where they don't seem very close at all? Alfred and Matthew in fanon are usually portrayed as having a very close friendship while canon has the more typical 'no one else knows how to piss me off like you do' sibling relationship.

Ooooh yeah let's get our sources out for this one lads. Except not the April Fools'/Halloween Specials I'm too tirrrreeeed and I genuinely don't think there's anything in them regardless. Please excuse odd image formatting - go follow the links to read the strips in their full context!

The very early strips from like 2011 England and Canada did not have much of a relationship at all, but then we got a few Canada focused strips in like 2015 ish which kind of shed some light on what their dynamic is.

I can only find three references to Arthur being a father - and that's in the strip's title, not actually anything anyone says. Otherwise it's kind of implied with the toy bear metaphor but even then...

Hetalia World Stars Chapter 193; Hetalia World Stars Chapter 204

The other is - of course - from Cleaning Out the Storage. Thanks Alfred for that one. It still isn't the F word but whatever...

Cleaning out the Storage

In the strips set in the modern day, Canada just calls England England (or jackass in his head in one of the older strips... which is fair). Canada has never called England big brother, instead consistently calling Arthur Mr England.

Hetalia World Stars Chapter 196; Fly Canada Fly (Also 'I'll leave the caring of his heart to you' WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH T_T)

It's the same for Oz, who hasn't even said England's name yet, but it's harder to say what he thinks of his relationship to England him since A) he's far more informal in his manner of speaking and B) has far fewer appearances.

However, they still are family I think even in modern day? I can only do logic by association here really. Canada and England explicitly call each other family when Mattie is a baby as well as some of the 19th century strips too. England getting custody has him say: 'from now on I'll be your family' and Canada gets very excited at the thought of a family.

Hetalia World Stars Chapter 192

Matt and Alfred are called brothers (more than even) far more consistently.

Fly Canada Fly; Hetalia World Stars Chapter 199; Hetalia World Stars Chapter 178;

When Canada is introduced to Australia, England says that he wanted to introduce the newest member of their family to him. He's defined as a 'sort of' younger brother.

Hetalia World Stars Chapter 201 (I like how Arthur tells Oz off - not because he's wrong but because it's rude... poor Canada...)

Zee is the blessed exception! He calls both England and Canada big brother fairly consistently.

Hetalia World Stars Chapter 269; Hetalia World Stars Chapter 414; Hetalia World Stars Chapter 227;

Mattie has, as far as I can recall, never had the B word come from his mouth regarding to Arthur. He does however refer to him as family.

Hetalia World Stars Chapter 181

So you have Matthew who apparently fine with calling Arthur the equivalent of Sir, Zee who merrily calls both Big Brother, and Arthur who doesn't correct the boys either way (extrapolate what you will from that insecurities all around methinks). And yet Arthur and Matthew don't refer to each other as siblings in return. Arthur doesn't call anyone his brothers aside from Wales, NI and Scot.

And Alfred. Which ended badly so... that kind of tracks actually. Like literally Arthur rejects anything too informal because it like... triggers him??? Or something. Trauma flashbacks right here.

The Battle for America

So one sided familial relationships all around??? I think the more likely answer is Matthew and Arthur are simply less open with those terms than say Alfred was or Zee is; I assume the translation from Japanese is much a term of endearment as it is an actual declaration of relation.

So, in some ways Matthew and Arthur's relationship is not the same situation as whatever Alfred and Arthur have going on, as there's no explicit on page declaration of 'I'm not your little brother' like we got from Alfred or 'It's not like that at all' from Arthur (that strip in Africa where that soldier says he can't believe they're related and they both say no they aren't [in their own ways]), so until then... Schrödinger Sibling.

I quite like that they don't really put a name to it. It just is. They're family, sure, but beyond that... shrug. And that thing (cough cough colonialism) can't really be boiled down to one term. Everyone's relations are in such flux and beyond just one word to define it.

[chidoroki]

182 Days of TPN - Day 181

Chapter 181: "Beyond Destiny"

I keep thinking how Alex mentioned last chapter that he can only call for help during the spring and of the one panel that showed the snow melting and flowers blooming by the time we reached the scene where he takes Emma to the city, which leads me to believe it's actually early 2050 instead of late 2049. I know I'm in the minority thinking that since this chapter clearly states it's been two years since Emma disappeared, but I personally don't believe they meant that timeskip literally.

Referencing the search she, Don & Ayshe went on is a nice callback, but with both situations having their parallels, why couldn't ya think of this idea sooner sweetie?? Ah well, at least this leads everyone in the right direction in the end. Regardless of any of that, I love Gilda's outfit here.

Sigh. This arc had so much potential to give so many more characters some spotlight and we get crumbs.

I am politely asking the world once more to please let my boy say "fuck." You can't tell me Ray hasn't been swearing like a sailor with how frustrating these last two years have been for him. Also, seeing Phil using the WM pen raises more questions, such as who's pen did that originally belong to? My first bet would've bene that it Yuugo's, as he's really the only one we've seen with a pen aside from Emma (who still has hers), but with how chaotic life at the shelter was moments before it blew up, I have my doubts he would've even thought to give the pen away to Ray or one of the other kids for safekeeping. It would've been a pretty big hint towards him and Lucas not returning as well so I can understand why such a scene was left out, if it happened at all. Anyways, with Norman on the other end of the conversation with Phil, it's obvious he somehow has a pen of his own but how he acquired such pen doesn't seem that surprising to me, since Norman was actually shown to have one in season two and I can easily believe it was another gift from Smee or another supporter. If not, Norman seems like the type who would be able to create another pen just like the original, which could result in the one Phil's group is using, if it isn't actually Yuugo's. Other that than, seeing how the pens are still fully functional (and assuming they're both originals from the demon world and not newly made), I'm going back to my own question I had last chapter about whether or not Emma and Alex have ever tried using the pen she has in her possession. Surely they could've figured something out about Emma's past if they just looked through it.. unless demon god thought that far ahead and deleted all information off said pen.

I know it's the same moment as the previous chapter where Phil's group gets close to Emma without realizing it but it still makes me so anxious! I'd absolutely be yelling at my screen had this encounter been animated.

Now they're teasing me on purpose. Just let them meet, damn it! AAhhh.. at least Ray's looking handsome, even though he's completely worn out.

Oh how very convenient for the necklace to somehow fall off her neck and be found right in front of where she eventually reunites with her family. This necklace also looks like the kind that you just slip on over your head, as there doesn't seem to be a visible clasp anywhere on the chain, so how it managed to go up and over her head without her noticing is some sorta demon witchcraft right there. Look at how that thing is glowing! It's sentient I tell ya. I do like how much Emma values the necklace though despite not having any memory as to why it's so special to her.

Speaking of keepsakes, I'm also very fond that Ray still uses his scarf. More importantly though, this panel is such a relief! I'm so relieved the reunion takes place rather quickly in the chapter so it gives the characters more time to figure out the situation and sort out their feelings. And I may be wrong about this, but it kinda looks like Emma is raising her eyebrow at the sight of all these people suddenly surrounding her with such surprised faces. Hold on tight honey, it's about to get even weirder for you.

And this first panel is darn heartbreaking, for her family and us readers. They probably dreamed of this moment for so long, to finally reunite with Emma and live together again, but they certaintly never imagined her to react like this. Safe to say that our girl was taken off guard by this encounter as well. Here Emma was, expecting a chill day out shipping with her adoptive father and now she's getting hugged outta nowhere by a bunch of strangers. Poor girl looks seriously stunlocked.

I am so incredibly proud of my boy for figuring out that this girl is indeed their Emma. I'm sure anyone could've looked at the necklace in her hands and made the assumption this was her, but the way Ray was able to piece everything together about what exactly happened to Emma and what the real reward was amazes me to no end. He looks so angry and full of regret in that second panel before he reveals the truth too, almost as if he's a bit hesitant to let the words out of his mouth, but he knows this is absolutely something everyone needs to hear and unfortunately for Ray, no one is better at delivering hard truths than him. Once he reveals to everyone the true price of the reward, he looks completely crushed and I seriously need to go and hug him pretty please! I'm certain Ray has been constantly thinking up many possibilities of what the reward could've been over the last two years, but this reveal has gotta be something he never expected. Or perhaps it was, considering he realized it so quickly, but I doubt he'd be happy to be correct in this moment anyway. I can't imagine what Emma must be feeling hearing all this crazy stuff either.

Okay but what if she just said no here instead? Would demon god actually changed His mind or am I being too hopeful? Emma's optimism might be rubbing off on me, but I just want her happy! I don't like that sad look in her eyes or the slight pause she takes before finally answering Him.

She's such a damn sweetheart, I'll literally never get over how big her heart is and how much she loves and cares for everyone, especially over herself. I can imagine the sad tone in her voice for the first couple speech bubbles, but then she'll lighten up as she rambles on about the better future that's on the horizon and will be so grateful she's able to grant such wonderful lives for everyone she holds dear.

It goes without saying but Emma's family doesn't take the news of her memory loss too well. While I am glad that a majority of them were present to hear about the real reward (given how important it was) and that everyone eventually celebrates Emma agreeing to live with them at the end of the chapter, a part of me wishes the initial group who found her was a bit smaller? All the attention is completely overwhelming her and I can't blame her for shoving them aside for freaking out so badly. If it was Ray, Norman, Phil and a couple others from GF who found her first, they could've broken the news to her gently (once Ray figured it out) and then fill in the rest of their family one by one, if Emma still decided to join them in the end.

Phil is so good at picking up on major details, whether it be GF's secret or Emma's anxiety. And then ya got Norman who is just totally relieved to see her again. I had forgot to mention this during ch179, but another reason losing Emma hit him so hard was because he had just reunited with her a couple weeks prior to their arrival in the human world. Norman spent all that time planning his escape in Lambda and ways that would allow him to reconnect with Emma, Ray, and the rest of their family and he finally had a moment of peace when they all arrived at the paradise hideout to feel that hole in his heart being full again. Then you had all that drama at the demon capital that pitted them against each other for a little bit until they reconciled and fought together during the GF raid. He had to be so happy once they finally obtained freedom and to live by each other's side without fear of being separated again, until they split up once more without any indication how long it would last or if a life without Emma was gonna be Norman's new normal. So of course he breaks out into happy tears here because all that matters to him is that she's real and in front of him again.

Hearing him tell her how thankful he is that she's healthy, eating well and injury free is a great parallel to his speech in ch30 right before he gets shipped out, only instead of saying their goodbyes at the end, they can introduce themselves and start all over. I gotta wonder what Alex thinks of all these kids suddenly surrounding his adoptive daughter, though I pretty positive he's chill with it since we do see him a bit later sitting back and watching all their happy faces.

Although it's a real convenient way to tie up loose ends about what's been happening with their family these past couple years, I'm still thankful we get a little insight about everyone's dreams and progress they've made. Naturally I wish could've seen so much more of everyone, but I'll take what we can get. Poor Emma has gotta be so confused on what Norman is talking about though.

This boy is trying is absolute hardest to not breakdown in front of her. It reminds me of how he comforted Emma the night after Conny's shipment despite him being just as frightened to learn the house's secret as she was.

Okay but props to our girl though for sticking around and at least hearing them out. If a bunch of strangers came up to me and started sharing their life stories with me, you can bet I'd make a move to run the first chance I get.

It's crazy how seeing a panel of our favorite girl cry such big tears can make me so happy but aaahh, I'm so thankful that the love she has for her family is powerful enough that it overrides her dumb amnesia. Demon god can be a bastard and take away her memories but he can't do shit about her strong feelings! Also, I always liked how her tears land on the necklace, considering it resembles the dragon's eye, it makes it look like as if it's crying as well.

It took me until now to remember that several pages of this chapter were redrawn since I remember that one fantasy scene of the boys finding her on that beach.. but no way in hell am I gonna go back and rework this to accommodate those changes. I've been writing this post out for far too long already. The sun is no longer up.

It's because of the inner monologue from the previous pages that leads me to believe it's also Emma who declares "screw destiny" here and I will literally never accept anything different because I love that phrase for her. That's the very reason I went nuts during s2ep10 when she shouts "I don't give a damn about that destiny!" at Peter. (Dub had her fire back with "Well I don't give a damn what you say!" if anyone was curious, which is equally good in my book.)

Favorite panel/moment:

Oh, there's.. so many. There would've been more but I did already chat about some favorite moments already, such as Ray's smart mind recognizing Emma and the real reward, along with her expressing how much she's always wanted to meet her family regardless of meeting everyone for the first time. As for the rest however, of course we're starting with Ray's lost family members assisting him with locating Emma. Seeing Conny, Yuugo and Isabella appear one last time was such a welcomed surprise and I could absolutely ramble about them more, but I should really keep the rest of this short considering how long this darn post is turning out to be. I'll place the original review here though for funsies. I will mention something I only thought of recently though, and that's how I think the "Over here, Ray" is actually in Emma's voice instead of Conny, Yuugo & Isabella's like I originally believed. While I do love the idea of Ray thinking fondly about all the people he failed to save, no one compares to Emma and that girl has probably been living rent free in his head the past two years. It would also makes sense as to why he would later comment about how hearing her voice could've been his imagination since he's thinking of her so frequently all the time, as we clearly see as he sprints off chasing that voice.

Eeehehe, Ayshe may not have been around for the reunion but her absence is definitely forgiven with this small panel! I would die for more content about these two and how their complicated acquaintanceship changed over the years, even if only barely. Norman still has to be on his guard around her and I love the idea of her lowkey threatening him often enough so he'll never feel relaxed. So glad all her dogs were able to cross over as well considering the new promise really only affected the cattle children. Rest in peace Vincent!

One of the most important reveals is my boy Chris FINALLY waking up!! It still really sucks how he was knocked out for almost half the story but oohhh I'm so incredible thrilled that he's okay. Poor guy has so much drama to catch up on though. I'm sure once he heard about Emma's disappearance he would've offered to help look for her, but since he wasn't shown anywhere else during the chapter, it makes me believe that his awakening was fairly recent and he's possibly still recovering. I'm fine if that's the case considering he gets to join in all the fun during the epilogue.

Everyone delighted beyond belief to hear that Emma missed them and her adorable face when they return the sentiment. Ah, Ray also looks fantastic. Love that smile on him as he's crying tears of pure joy.

Though I very much prefer the redrawn version of the final page where it includes more of the family joining in the celebration, having Emma accept their offer and wishing to live together will all of them definitely makes for a wholesome ending.

End of volume 20. But one day remains.

[boinin]

Blue Lock Manga

Chapter 221 scanlation ("Take Me With You") is out and ready for devouring! Going back to a numbered structure for this chapter's analysis. My half-formed thoughts are below the cut.

No chapter next week, due to a break.

Previous chapter analyses

1. How many injuries did that goal (and the shenanigans that lead up to it) cause??

Butt monkey Mandou Sendou, the Ubers goalie and best sharkboi Kurona all get benched this chapter. I'm glad Isagi is cognisant of how demanding he is of Kurona. He calls him his planet/satellite for a reason I guess, but must be exhausting, especially when Kurona doesn't know what he's planning or going for.

Meanwhile, Canoli the Ubers GK might have cracked a goddamn rib trying stop that crazy Kaiser goal. Mad respect, best NPC goalie so far. 💀 While Sendou's... being Sendou (comic relief/a victim of the narrative basically).

I'll say this once and only once:

Bless Igaguri for this, lol (and Neru). But most of all, poor Kurona - you don't have to hurt yourself orbiting Isagi bb 😭

2. Kaiser is done playing.

The reason I got excited seeing the leaks this week is because of how stone cold Kaiser is in this chapter. HE IS SO BOTHERED IT STINGS. Tell me that's not one pissed off catboi right there. Plus, the aura of thorns? Fuckin' sick dude. His ego is coming to the forefront now, and he's less king of the court, more tiger about to pounce.

Ugh, he's such an arse, but I really enjoy him as a character. He looks fit to murder Ness (who's unnerved, no bloody wonder) and all his dialogue revolves around how disgusted he is that he had to serve up Isagi's leftovers.

Imagine. You just scored THE GOAL of the Neo-Egoist League so far, but all you can think of is how badly you're doing in the feud you initiated against your seventeen year old Japanese teammate.

For once, I'm with Ness here. Kaiser what the hell? Just take the W and move on, man.

We saw Kaiser get more serious during the Manshine game, but he's never not been smug towards Isagi. Allow me a segue, as I flick through those chapters.

[[In chp 177, he leers at Isagi that he's losing interest (Isagi: and I took that personally).

In chp 181 he scores the first BM goal against Manshine. He shows the same cat-eyed focus (his version of Predator Eye I speculate), but he's still pretty satisfied with himself.

It's only when chp 182, when Isagi turns around and tells him I see hope in crushing you now that Kaiser starts to second-guess his little game with Isagi. Antagonising the Blue Lock ace is backfiring hard on him, because bullying Isagi is a surefire way of leveling him up.

Still. Even when Isagi sets up Kunigami's score in chp 185, and we get the I'm going to fucking kill you if it's the last thing I do moment, Kaiser's still like 😏 He's not bothered. Perhaps because Isagi's doing a fine job of usurping Ness's role, but not his own.

It's not until chp 202 that Isagi finally, seriously, starts getting at Kaiser. Because at the last minute, Isagi not only anticipated Kaiser fucking with him, but had a back up plan to specifically ensure Kaiser would not take the final score of the game. That's NG11 levels of playmaking, or at least approaching it. Itoshi Sae operates at that level, but he's a prodigy. Isagi's managed to close that gap in several intensive months of training and plays. that's why he's the protagonist 😎

After Yukimiya scores and ends the game in chp 203, that's when Kaiser approaches and proposes that, versus Ubers, they compete on goals alone.

That's when Kaiser starts to take Isagi seriously. And now that we're more than halfway through, you can see Kaiser is starting to worry about his odds of winning the competition he set.]]

I don't know how the BM v Ubers game will pan out. Convention suggests Ubers will win it. Barou is a serious rival to Isagi, and at the very least, he's going to get the next goal of the game. I wouldn't write off Ubers winning altogether, with Snuffy subbing on to turn the tide.

But I think there's a strong chance one of Isagi or Kaiser will score again, and I'm leaning towards it being Kaiser. Their rivalry is too good to wind up so soon, even with a rivalry-packed PXG match on the horizon. What will happen before that is Isagi driving a sea of change at Bastard Munchen. They're already five/eleven on the team. Change Ness or Grimm out for Hiori, and Blue Lock will have succeeded in infiltrating one of the best U20 teams in the world. No mean feat, and driven mainly by Isagi's playmaking.

Anyway, back on track. I couldn't sympathise with browbeaten Ness for too long. What in yandere hell was this panel??:

HE'S SO DERANGED. It's really well drawn and everything, but it's legit HAUNTING. Something about the V shaped mouth and massive teeth I think.

Anyway, Ness will need to be sedated after this match if Isagi ends up scoring the last goal, because man can't be trusted 😊🔪

Speaking of Isagi...

3. Japanese man obsessed with being the sole thing on German striker's brain, more PRIDE news at 10

they're so frickin gay, I--

Jokes aside, their rivalry is a feast for the eyes as well as us shippers. Everytime Kaiser talks shit about him, one of Isagi's cells morphs into a jigsaw piece. Man's going to have more puzzles than a ‎Ravensburger catalogue if he doesn't stop soon.

This panel goes so hard. Unfortunately the image quality of this week's scanlation is a little rough. I'm hoping there's better quality raws floating around for anyone that's into colouring, but this chapter has so many cool shots. This and Kaiser bitching out Ness are my personal favourites.

4. Star System Sub Alert! Marc Snuffy's coming in clutch for the Ubers side

I did kinda hope that neither Snuffy or Noa would sub in this game. Neither of them seem like the type to want to outshine their younger charges. Prince and Lavinho are both massive narcissists, while Loki is a peer as well as a coach to his PXG players. Those coming on in a game makes sense.

That said, Snuffy seems to really gel with and support the Ubers boys, and they're on the losing side. To me, that's the only sensible reason for him to step in, forcing Noa to come on also.

I think Snuffy's MO will be to set up a goal for Barou, while knocking Kaiser and Isagi down a peg. I hope he synergises with Lorenzo! Noa will be man marking Snuffy, but might get time to do some Isagi coaching while he's out there, who knows?

Either way, we get to see Snuffy in action on the field, which I'm down for.

Lastly: did anyone think Snuffy was that tall? Noa's got to be around Kunigami's range in height (so ~188cm/6'2" territory). From this panel, Snuffy's just as tall, which was a shock... 😶

5. OH LAWD HE COMIN

(and by comin, I mean: signing up to join Isagi Yoichi's harem of rehabilitated sad bois)

HIORI MY SON

WHEN WILL THEY SUB YOU INTO THIS GAME?

Not by the time I predicted, that's for sure. But I am excited to see his ego awakening as he looks with completely platonic admiration at Isagi.

All in all, a hype-worthy chapter, even after the adrenaline from Kaiser's mega goal fades. I'm so excited to see where it goes with two masters on the field (+ Fukaku Gen I guess? I feel validated for writing him into the national team in my post-canon fic haha).

Prediction tracker

(alternatively: how wrong can one nerd be week to week?)

Last time, I predicted: Chapter 221 will be both teams reckoning with this goal. We’ll likely get input from both Ubers and BM, and some sort of change in dynamic–be it a substitution or the coaches opting to play (reeeally doubt this will happen though, unless they get a nudge from Ego). In particular, I’m eager to see how Lorenzo and Hiori process this. Also, someone’s going to yell at Isagi. Kunigami or Raichi are my guess.

Egg on my face? Ah well.

We're down to two more chapters for Hiori to get subbed per my original prediction... chuckles nervously

Already went through my thoughts for where Snuffy/Noa are going to go with this, so I'll chalk that up as next chapter's prediction. See you then!

[technikki]

watched the promised neverland

what is s2 and why does everyone hate it

OHHHHHH OH YOU WATCHED IT??? LETS FUCKING GOOOOO IHOPE YOU LIKED IT!!!!!!

also thats a quastion with sooooooo many answers i'll try to be brief but. there is so much and i am very passionate abt it <3 heres a general summary of everything i can think of that sucks ass by your best friend skye:

-the biggest one is easily the amount of manga content that is changed/just outright cut altogether. s1 was a wonderful, faithful adaptation of the first 37 chapters of the manga. this manga has 181 chapters and had been finished for a while by the time of s2's release. essentially they tried to squeeze the framework of the remaining 144 chapters into one 11 episode season and it went about as well as you'd expect

-the decision to cut what is easily at least 80% of characters introduced after the escape arc. this includes a character who is, in my opinion, one of the funniest and most well-written characters in the series and a huge fan favorite in general

-the decision to cut literally the entire goldy pond arc, which is widely considered to be the best arc in the manga. every character that comes with it also gets the axe. haha goldy pond reference

-several major plot points and entire chunks of other arcs are also cut out, leaving a messy and frankly sad skeleton of a plot that they try to salvage with original plot points that only serve to make an even bigger mess of this story or to make a setup to what could be a really cool new plot direction and immediately disappoint you. i watched s2 before reading the manga and can count at least 3 separate instances where i went oh youre fucking joking

-i cannot stress how bad this gets. the final episode ends with what is quite literally a glorified powerpoint presentation in an attempt to wrap up an obscene amount of plot before they hit the episode length limit. i said 'this is bullshit' aloud to my sister on my first watch and coming back after reading the manga it was frankly insulting. a character fucking meets god and makes a deal that changes the laws of the world itself and in the anime this is told through a singular still frame that is onscreen for about 8 seconds. it is so bad

-this season fucking gutted pretty much every female character (and every character in general tbh) and turned a series with an amazing emphasis on freedom of expression and defying gender roles into another generic shonen misogyny fest. the significance of emma refusing to wear a skirt after escaping gracefield's oppressive environment is thrown out by putting her back into a skirt by the 3rd or 4th episode, literally every post-escape female character besides 2 are cut, including but not limited to an androgynous girl who kicks ass and is never treated like a joke and a girl who shoots a rich scumbag point-blank in the face to avenge her sister

-i dont see much talk about the racism but god its soo racist. every post-escape character of color is cut with the exception of one, a black guy who is given a 'ooooh hes secretly a villain' cliffhanger at the end of an episode that is entirely non-existent in the manga. they dont even commit to it and he's revealed to Still Be A Good Guy Actually at the start of the next episode, they literally had no reason to do this. at one point they have don tell a terrified 5 year-old not to cry because 'boys don't cry'. don cries more than literally any other guy in the manga and most of the girls as well, and he is never ashamed of this. i am greatly downplaying the amount of rage that line makes me feel

-they cut 4 canonically disabled characters, 2 of which are disabled by the time they're introduced and 2 of which end up disabled after events in the story, all of which are treated with nothing but respect in the manga

i could probably go on but im running out of brain juice so. heres the gist of it <3 in short, season one was for the most part a beautiful adaptation of the first arc and in a lot of aspects i even like it better than the manga, with my only major complaint being the addition of that weird doll krone talks to and the amount of times she's drawn as a caricature even after being toned down compared to the manga. s1 was made with so much love by people who clearly cared abt the story they were adapting, and s2 is a frankly heinous attempt at finishing it up in a very short amount of time. it is so impressively bad that literally no one, from the entire team that worked on the last 2 episodes to THE GODDAMN CREATORS OF THE SERIES wanted to take any credit for those 2 episodes. thank you <3

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck ch.181 thoughts

[Up High! Down Low!]

(Contents: Unluck analysis, Andy/Victor comparison, minor Reverse Round Table predictions)

Andy was not kidding, he didn't even need thirty seconds to absolutely job Sick! Good thing too, cus he was really coming down to the wire for that Unluck

Speaking of, before I get into any actual analysis or commentary, I'd just like to say that there is absolutely no way that ANYONE present survived that comet

If the meteor was enough to destroy the entire hospital, a comet that overtakes it in size by an order of magnitude would 100% do worse damage just by passing by. The sheer gravity of that event would likely cause at least minor seismic activity, and there's no way that the comet was just swinging by, it had to land somewhere, and at that size, they're definitely going to be feeling it!

But! Suspension of disbelief. The point of that moment is not to raise the tension of how much danger Fuuko has inadvertently put everyone in, but to release that tension with a sick as hell demonstration of raw power! And THAT definitely did the trick! With a single high-five, Fuuko has managed to surpass every single stroke of Unluck she's ever caused, AND shown that she has enough control to make sure that other people don't get caught up in it so long as she is the one deliberately triggering it

The key takeaway here is just how much meaning was packed into that one brief moment of contact - 200 years of longing, wanting nothing more than to embrace each other and reconnect, but knowing that they both still have a duty that needs to be fulfilled first. Everything they want to say, everything they want to do, all of those feelings condensed into the most mundane, short-lived interaction possible, and it blows everything else out of the water. Fuuko didn't even look at Andy the entire time he was fighting, that's how much she understands that the mission is more important than her feelings, but I bet that only upped the pressure in her heart

I don't imagine that a high-five will carry that much weight in the future once the two have been back together for a significant amount of time, but damn, what the hell's gonna happen when they bang?? Is the sun gonna implode into a black hole??? (Actually, that might be how they beat Sun...)

Back to Andy himself though, the really cool thing about this fight to me isn't just seeing Andy in action again, but the more subtle contrast that this fight has to Victor's introduction. When Victor was introduced, only Juiz really knew who he was, and everyone else had, at best, heard stories and rumors about him if anything at all. Now, only Fuuko knows who Andy is, and her current Union has only heard whispers of him, with Gina being the only one to recognize him on sight because she had seen him in Fuuko's memories

Quick aside, actually, I adore that look that Gina has when she sees Fuuko too focused on saving Leila to pay attention to Andy - how excited she was to see him, that excitement turning to quiet shock that Fuuko isn't reacting how she would expect, and then finally the soft, understanding smile that sees how much trust these two have in each other. Easily my favorite moment in this chapter, such great character acting (also Gina's looking at both of them enough for the other, we stan a bi queen)

ANYWAY! When Victor appears, he assesses how far along the Union has come and determines the gist of everyone's abilities pretty quickly, but while he does have the upper hand, he doesn't manage to overtake anyone before Fuuko, the weakest member of the group by a wide margin, manages to take him out. He doesn't have a firm grasp of the people he's fighting, and in fact isn't even really looking at them, he's just casually trying to swat them away instead of seriously trying to take them down, which he absolutely could have done with a Dead Line or similarly wide-reaching technique. He never saw the members of the Union other than Juiz, he saw chesspieces meant to help Juiz defeat God, and never felt anything for them getting taken out so long as Juiz was unharmed

Andy, on the other hand, comes in knowing exactly who everyone present is and how their abilities can synergize with his. Holding Chikara still with his eyes wide open, burying Sick and holding him in place both above and below with Undraw and Unchange, then crushing him with Unbreakable, all of it shows a deep understanding how this power system works and how much stronger it becomes when everyone works together

Victor sent his clones to take on the Union, knowing that his weaker counterparts would be enough to beat them, while Andy sent his clone to team up with the Union, knowing that his weaker counterpart would be supplemented by them. As two men who lived in isolation, one found more ways to push others away by refusing to engage with them while the other found ways to bring himself closer to them by specifically planning for their involvement

And of course, speaking of parallels, we end our chapter with Fuuko descending to the flip side of the world, entering the roundtable room of the ten Master Rules, looking down at them with her windswept hair just as she did with the Union of our world nearly 200 chapters ago. The reversal of that image is certain to become an iconic moment for the series going forward, it's definitely one of my favorites to be sure

I won't go into much speculation now about the Master Rules, as I'm sure we're going to learn most if not everything we need to next week, so I'll just be patient. If nothing else, though, I did find someone speculating on twitter that VI, the one in the military-like uniform, may have been present both at Ruin's human-sacrificing cult meeting and at Creed's awakening of Undecrease, potentially being the cloaked man and the man sitting in the shadows in the helicopter respectively. I'm not sure I necessarily believe it, I think that the former was just Ruin at least, but I am interested to know if perhaps the Master Rules are the arbiters of when a Negator is chosen to receive their Rule

I've seen a lot of discussion about who folks think each of the Rules are, with everyone agreeing that I is Death and III is Sex, but everything else is pretty up in the air. I think the only one I thought of on my own was that VII may be Luck and VI may be War, but I'm not sure if those necessarily make for Master Rule material. Hopefully Tozuka doesn't just tease us with their designs and then not tell us what their Rules are until weeks or even months down the line, but even if he does, I've come to trust Tozuka more than most authors, so I'll know that the secrets are to make the reveals more exciting down the line

[nagirambles]

Rambling about Fairies - Manga Chapter 181

It quite surprises me that in this situation we don’t see her telling the others where she’s going, and we aren’t shown them noticing her leave on her own either. 

I know it’s just page constraints that doesn’t give us time to show it, so I’m going to headcanon that this is okay for a Fairy Tail wizard. If you believe you’re doing the right thing, you just go-- and that thought makes me happy because it shows that Wendy have come from a girl that meekly wishes to be included, to a girl that makes her own plans to contribute somewhere no one’s thought of yet.  

I like this scene for how it shows us Wendy’s growth as a character from Nirvana, and the initiative she’s able to take promptly. (Which contrasts the way she thinks and needs time, and wallows in a corner for half of Nirvana hesitating.)

And this argument contrasts the start of Edolas arc back on Earthland, when we see them have a disagreement, but there wasn’t truly a fight like this one, where they’re shouting and trying to convince each other to see their perspective.

(Also, Wendy’s fangs are such a good detail. I wish we saw it more often in the anime.)

It also ends similarly to the confrontation at the start. Except, at the start of Edolas Wendy is weakly trying to convince Carla to be nice to Happy while Carla ends up stubbornly refusing to. 

Here, she is scolding her. She is also trying to convince Carla to show some sympathy to the Exceeds, but this time, Carla’s heart moves to understanding. 

I’ve always found it strange that Carla is given a sort of��‘motherlike’ role to Wendy in the English dub, even calling her ‘child’ and stuff. Because much like Happy and Natsu, they’re partners and best friends, not something as segregated as ‘parenthood’. In this situation, Wendy is the one teaching Carla about dilemmas, like a mother would. 

Wendy’s show of maturity here is powered by her feelings for Carla, and that makes it important for both of them in a character developmental perspective. 

Wendy now is acting like a mother would. Helping Carla through a difficult situation by showing her the right way and promising she will come together to face it with her, so she won’t be alone. 

Wendy isn’t just the ‘baby sister’ of the guild. She is a strong girl in her own right, and I wish the story didn’t twist her back toward the ‘child of the family’ role so strongly. Alas, Wendy and Happy both get their breakthrough of maturity reset after this arc, so I can only sigh. 

[its-to-the-death]

Some notes from the list of songs:

MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS

For the Death Note: The Musical songs, are you using the original Japanese versions or the English concept album? I know I submitted "Where is the Justice?" and "Hurricane" specifically from the English version, but I'm not sure what others did.

"It's Gonna Get Weird" (74) was cut from Gravity Falls. It never actually featured in the show :(

"Prince Ali Reprise" (106) and "You're Only Second Rate" (Aladdin 2: Return of Jafar) are both from the same series/franchise (Aladdin) and therefore should be color-coded.

What villain did the submitters say "Megalovania" is associated with? Not disputing it per se, but I am curious if they're saying it's a Villain Song for Sans, Chara, or The Player.

"The Hammer" (181) and "The Smell of Rebellion" (182) are both from Matilda, and therefore should be color-coded.

I'm surprised "There's a Platypus Controlling Me" got in. It is a song by a villain (Doofenshmirtz), but it's not about his villainy, it's just him confusedly rapping about him getting glued to a turntable while being mind-controlled by a platypus.

I believe "The Devil's Song" (126) and "Die House" (190) should be put together and color-coded, since you did the same for songs from Tangled and Tangled: The Series. Also surprised that Cala Maria's song apparently didn't get any submissions.

"God Shattering Star" (194) and "The Edge of Dawn" (202) are both from Fire Emblem: Three Houses and therefore should be put together and color-coded.

SINGLE SUBMISSIONS

Also surprised that "When the Chips Are Down" only got one submission (which I think might be mine).

"Kidnap The Sandy Claws" (33) and "Filthy Finale" (259) are part of the same franchise, and therefore should be put together and color-coded.

"Rest In Peace" (51) and "Sweet's Song" (52) are from the same episode of Buffy and therefore should be color-coded.

...Is "Sympathy for the Devil" (60) referring to the Rolling Stones song? The source is just listed as "Christianity."

"Against the Black Knight" (89) and "Beauty is a Mad Mistress" (90) should be moved up next to "The Black Knight" (85). Also in both of those you spelled "Path" as "PAth."

Holy shit "One Step Ahead" only got one submission? :(

"With Me" (115) and "What I'm Made Of" (116) are both from the Sonic series and therefore should be color-coded.

"I Want the Good Times Back" (142) and "Les Poissons" (143) are both from The Little Mermaid franchise and therefore should be color-coded.

"Get In the Water" (188) and "Ruthlessness" (189) are both from Epic: The Musical, and therefore should be color-coded.

Workin' Boys, the source of "Made It Work" (215), is also a Starkid production.

Nightmare Time is also a Starkid production.

"Queen" (247) is from Deltarune. The submitter may have gotten confused because she is from Chapter 2 of Deltarune, but it's the same game, not a sequel.

"Your Love Will Kill Me" (281) and "I'm a Priest" (282) are both from Notre Dame de Paris, and therefore should be color-coded.

Since all of the eliminated Starkid songs are very definitely Villain Songs, I'm going to guess that there were just too many damn Villain Songs from Starkid, which is unsurprising. I didn't expect "Cup of Poisoned Coffee" to get in over something like "Show Stoppin' Number" or "America Is Great Again," though.

In hindsight, a lot of the eliminated songs from The Mechanisms don't really qualify as a Villain Song. Curious about why "Ragnarok II: The Calling" didn't make it, since it's half a Villain Song for The Void and half a duet between Loki and Odin (the other main antagonist).

Lusamine really got shafted when you had to make cuts for Pokemon, huh?

All the links to Death Note songs were for the English version so those are the ones I'm going to link in the polls

For Megalovania, one person said Sans and another said Chara or Sans

I'm surprised more than one person put in There's A Platypus Controlling Me as well. We'll see if it makes it past the preliminary.

For Sympathy for the Devil, yes it is the song by The Rolling Stone (I will note that) but the submitter linked to the Guns N' Roses cover so.....I'll deal with that if it actually gets in the bracket. Yeah most people tell me if it's a song from a band and I unfortunately did not look more into that.

Starkid musicals keep coming out of the woodworks. Yes, there were so many Starkid submissions and I had I made a compromise since there are so many but not all the productions are related. So, each Starkid musical that has multiple submissions will get one song in the bracket.

RIP Lusamine. If you got one more submission, I would have had to make a Pokemon preliminary.

I have fixed all the color coding too.

[encyclopika]

Fanfic Q&A!

Thank you for the tags @casdeans-pie and @amynchan!!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

17 fics that I'm fairly proud of <3

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

583,586 words, but not all are mine per se - see #13 below. The real number is probably 100k less.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

My Hero Academia mostly! But I also write for Pokemon/Pokemon Mystery Dungeon on and off. Most of those aren't on AO3 because of age. I do want to start transferring them over, but knowing me, I'll go ahead and completely edit them up. So, that's a time issue.

I *have* written for: Hey Arnold! and Legend of Korra as well.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Missing - 615

Paradise - 366

You Were Missed - 181

I'm Trying - 181

Missed Chance - 179

All are My Hero Academia lol

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, I do, because I enjoy fandom interaction! I want to talk to people in the fandom, I want to talk about headcanons and the characters and how that affects my writing! Call me old-fashioned, but isn't that how it's supposed to be? A community?

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Missing Out - because it's not a happy ending at all, but it really informs the audience about who my OCs are and the world I've always seen in My Hero Academia.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I think everyone who knows me and my work will say Paradise. (It's a painfully accurate mermaid AU, because I flex my marine bio shit whenever I get the chance.) There's a lot of build up that points to a sad or bittersweet ending, but then it ends up happy and thus, it feels so much more satisfying.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Can't get hate when you don't get any interaction at all! *finger guns*

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes, I do. I've written smut since I've been a fanfic writer on the internet. So far, it's all male/female and it's focused on the relationship and feelings involved. That's not to say the act isn't in there, but I typically tag my smut "Overly Romantic Smut". If you are interested, they are:

You Were Missed Exotic Shores Forget-Me-Not (My chapter of "We're Coming Apart (And Falling Together)")

There is also a Contestshipping one I'm not sharing.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I don't write crossovers, but I love doing art of anything / Pokemon. Pokemon is so neutral and easy to insert anywhere.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes I did! I was told once that someone stole my Pokemon / Contestshipping fic, and, being a baby fic writer, I kinda cried and got really mad. They only posted the first chapter (of a fic that ended up being 50 "episodes") but it still hurt. They did not take it down, but they didn't steal anymore of it, last I saw.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have not...at least, not that I know of. I would be so honored if someone wanted to do that.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes yes yes! It's so funny - I never thought I would co-author, but having so many friends in the My Hero Academia fandom that I consider close has changed that. Here are the two fics I have co-written if you're interested:

We're Coming Apart (and Falling Together) Seal My Heart

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

A lot of people might think it's IzuOcha, but it's actually Contestshipping. I've loved that ship for almost 20 years lolol

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

There has only ever been one (1) story I haven't finished, and that was an Ikarishipping fic more than a decade ago. Needless to say, I've accepted that I'll never finish it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think my strength is in description, particularly of natural places and phenomena, but that comes with being a biologist, right? The better I understand a natural space, the better my description of it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I'll say dialogue, although I've been finding ways to mitigate it and work through it easier. I find that my characters, especially a certain OC, get away from me and the topic, and reeling them in can get difficult. I find myself writing the dialogue stand-alone and then inserting supporting action afterward. I literally can't concentrate on doing both at the same time.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic.

I think it all depends on the premise of your story, but yes. I do this in Escape Artists due to the international cast, and I think it would be weird if I didn't. Pat, my OC, doesn't speak Japanese or English, so I have her speaking French with Aoyama. And yes, sometimes I fuck up because I can't speak any other language but English, but it's worth doing if the story calls for it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

DON'T LAUGH! The first fanfic I ever wrote that I still have a record of is for Thomas the Tank Engine. I could not have been older than 7, but my mother still had it and I kept it, because I know people would want to see it. This was made in 1997, I'm fairly certain.

Can I read it? No

But can I remember what it was about? Also no.

But I am proud of little me for just going for it. I'm a damn good writer now because she started to practice back then.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

That's very tough - I can get swept up into reading pretty much anything I've written recently (within the past 5 years), and be like "wow this is great shit. I love how this was written just for me!" But I will point out Fire and Brimstone - it is definitely some of my best prose, to the point where I'm seriously considering publishing it.

Tagging @geckosquid @singingcookie @jellojolteon @sevenrenny