#I’m only on episode 74

[the-french-belphegor]

Finished! Oh man, this took me... two months? Three? So long. But the idea wouldn’t let go, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

As I mentioned before I watched bits and pieces of the 1st campaign of Critical Role before going back to the beginning and watching/listening to seriously (I’m now starting episode 74!), but one thing that struck me was the character growth for all these characters?? So good. And these two... oh, these two. I started thinking I wanted them together any way, romantic or platonic (about... 6% of my ships are romantic?), but as time goes by I just love this ship, where it started and where it ends up in the epilogue. Plus... y’now, a couple of slightly bruised souls finding solace in each other 💜

I remember a fic that covers part of Scanlan’s year and a half away in which he gets... self-conscious? (understatement) about his death scars, if only because, well. They have to take up a lot of space on his body, considering what happens to him in “The Deceiver’s Stand”. (I have this headcanon that the scars from wounds that cause death don’t really fade like other scars do. So what these two have gone through left a hell of a mark. Physically, too. Pike knows a lot about scars, the forms they can take, and the weight they can have. And I wanted to explore her side of things from her own passing through death and resurrection.)

Another headcanon I have is that, once the dust has settled and they have to consider mundane things like immediate lodgings and stuff, Scanlan is the only one who doesn’t have anywhere to go back to: Vex and Percy have Whitestone, Keyleth has Zephrah, Pike and Grog have Wilhand’s house in Westruun... which has an attic that could double as a guest room with many a few repairs. It probably looks way too cosy and tidy for what I thought I’d do, but chalk it up to my inability to really clutter a room (unlike irl) 😅 The little frame behind Scanlan isn’t a random castle, by the way, it’s supposed to be Greyskull Keep. Wonder what happened to the place after the end...

Anyway. It’s 11:30PM and I should be in bed, so I’m posting this and hope you like!

[thatfeelinwhenyou]

KINDRED — 31

It’s your final year of highschool, and your only goal is to graduate top of your cohort, as usual. Except as student council president, your advisor can’t seem to leave you alone. What happens when you take Decelis Academy’s top student, their star athlete and put them in front of a camera?

smau + written (2.0k words)

❥･• episode 31 — the name above me

tw! y/n’s mom

The two-week break flies by rather quickly, and you find yourself back in your school uniform on a Monday morning, realising that nothing has really changed. You had already half-convinced yourself that post-midterm would be different for you, you had hoped for clarity regarding your plans after high school. Alas, uncertainty clings to you like an unwelcome companion.

Walking onto campus, you encounter a throng of students gathered in front of the ranking boards. Right, your results are released today.

Oddly, though, the weight of your grades hasn't been preoccupying your thoughts these past two weeks like it would in the past, marking the first time in your life that you haven't been consumed by overthinking your grades or endlessly reviewing test questions, as if every time you did it you didn’t get the same exact answer.

No, you actually enjoyed your break. You allowed yourself to breathe, to embrace the carefree spirit of a high school teenager.

You went café hopping with Bora and Jungwon again, only this time you ensured a mango juice mishap did not befall you. The girls, including yourself, enjoyed a truly relaxing girls' day where everyone dressed up just for the joy of it. Then there was that unforgettable excursion to the amusement park; you rode the Ferris wheel for the first time as it had been a long-standing prohibition from your mother. Though fairly insignificant, you record as it as a ‘win’ in your books.

Before you knew it, your final term at Decelis Academy had already begun. The documentary is in its concluding stages, with tasks remaining on the itinerary, including capturing your and Jungwon's reactions to your grades, the student council's senior farewell party, Jungwon's upcoming competition, and then the final confessional.

Arriving on campus, you initially worry about being way too early but lucky for you, the camera crew had arrived hours in advance and established their vantage point on the left side of the ranking boards—the higher-scoring side. Despite their meticulous preparation, you inadvertently squeeze yourself into a group of students gathered in the middle, unintentionally defying their plans for the perfect front-row view of your reaction from every angle.

Your eyes scan the list.

74 ***

75 ***

76 ***

77 Yang Jungwon

Found it.

You let your fingers glide over the paper, seeking out his Mathematics scores. 105 out of 150. Relief floods through you, a broad smile gracing your face at his passing grade. Not just barely but with a decent score, just enough to pull him up to a C, securing his spot in the competition just 15 days from now. You’re smiling so wide, the joy evident without even knowing how you did for your own papers.

And as if you were sharing the same brain cell, you find Jungwon standing at the front of the board, his expression tense as he gazes at a name at the top. Concern brushes your thoughts, but you manage to conceal it from the cameras as you cheerfully call out, "Wonnie! You passed your Math paper, you’re going to compete in the Asian Championships!"

"I-I’m so sorry, Y/N," he stammers, a heavy silence lingering between you. Reluctantly, you follow his gaze, and there it is.

1 Lee Haerin

2 Park Y/N.

Your name, usually perched at the top, now finding itself below another.

You know Lee Haerin, she’s a familiar face from the book club, and you know this having seen her in the library more times than you could count. And you were there almost every day. You also recognise her name as someone who was consistently ranking below you, but how the tables have turned.

You don’t loathe her; surely, it isn’t her fault that your English Literature scores fell short, causing you to drop in overall rankings. Besides, it's only mid-terms, and you still have your preliminary exams to pull your grades up before the CSAT… Right?

You sense someone settling down beside you on the ledge you've chosen to occupy on the roof. You had chosen to forgo lunch, knowing you can barely keep anything down your throat at the moment. Shifting your gaze from the clusters of shops just outside the school gates, where the popular takoyaki stand beckons memories of post-school visits with your friends, you turn your attention to the person you had already half-expected to be Jungwon.

“You should eat something, even if just a little.” Jungwon places a piece of custard bread, banana milk, and a packet of your favourite gummies on your lap, almost pleading with you to eat.

“You didn’t have to.”

“Not when you look like as if the world is ending tomorrow.” Jungwon jokes, only to cough awkwardly when he realises you didn’t respond to his jokes, even with an eye-roll like you usually would.

“It might as well be. I just know my mother is going to KILL me.” You make sure to emphasise the word ‘kill.’ Because you aren’t wrong; if the world isn’t going to kill you tomorrow, your birth-giver will.

Unbeknownst to you, tears well up in your eyes, threatening to spill over. Witnessing you in such a vulnerable state tugs at Jungwon's heart; the girl he likes is breaking down in front of him and he doesn’t even know what to do. As he battles his inner thoughts, contemplating the best way to console you, he senses you clutching onto the sleeves of his uniform blazer. Pouting and fighting back tears, you say, “I’m going to be okay, right?”

“Yes, crybaby, everything is going to be okay.” You feel him begin to gently stroke your hair down to your neck, rubbing circles into the back of your ears as he makes another crybaby joke in an attempt to cheer you up.

“I’m not a crybaby,” you manage to say between hiccups and sobs, prompting Jungwon to emit a small snicker. The irony strikes you—a few weeks ago, you were in Jay’s garden comforting Jungwon as he held back tears, and now he's here comforting you in your most vulnerable state. The situation doesn’t go unnoticed by Jungwon, as he also recognises the irony of it, judging by the bittersweet way he smiles.

“Just because you fail once, doesn't mean you're gonna fail at everything.” Jungwon holds your cheek and tilts your head to face him, his thumbs swiping away fresh tears staining your cheeks.

“I don’t know… the one thing I’m good at, and I just flunked it-“

“Shh! Believe in yourself because if you don't, then who will? Life’s beautiful, and there's so much more to it than numbers on a piece of paper, Y/N. I hope you see that.”

In that moment, you realise you never really did look at your scores for the papers. Then you realise it wasn’t the scores that had you feeling worthless. Thinking back, you had already forgone looking at your scores a long time ago, as long as you stayed in that number one spot, as long as you didn’t disappoint your mother. You wanted to satisfy her, try to get her to praise you, but as your heartless mother has once said: “Why would I praise something that is supposed to be a given?”

You've spent your entire life routinely studying, evolving yourself into the machine your mother probably wished she had instead of a breathing human child—you.

In the echo of your academic routine, the fear of losing her approval looms larger than the tangible rankings you've held. The relentless pursuit of excellence, though driven by an inner desire for acknowledgment, is entangled in the web of your mother's expectations. So, what scares you isn’t the fact you no longer retained the number one spot; what scares you is disappointing the one person you craved validation from. What were you expecting? Because when the given is taken away from you, will she praise you then?

No. She’ll criticise you, blame your father, blame the documentary, and undoubtedly, she’ll gun after Jungwon. Because nothing is ever really her fault, and you knew sometime along the way that nothing will ever satisfy her, but you still try anyway. You try because you don’t know what else to do other than sticking to the status quo. Until, at least, the documentary featuring Jungwon happened.

What was initially supposed to be a pawn in your masterful plan to build your portfolio for University becomes the very documentary that breaks you out of your shell, as the looming prospect of your mother’s disapproval, like an oppressive cloud, pushes you to strive for success, even when you know it may never be enough for her.

“Eat.” You come back to your senses to find Jungwon has opened the packet of bread and shoved it into your mouth. He then watches you bite into it before he lets go to open the bottle of banana milk, handing them to you between bites of the bread.

Again, Jungwon with his overly friendly gestures that graze the delicate line between friends and something more than that. Jungwon, who once again, manages to empty your mind by babying you and treating you like a princess who needs rescuing.

“You’re confusing me.” The words fly out of your mouth before you even get the chance to rethink

“Doesn’t mean I’m feeding you like a baby that you are actually one.” He teases, and you watch him as he takes a sip out of the banana milk, from the same straw you used. Pushing away the thought that you’ve just indirectly kissed him, you're just glad he didn’t catch onto the intention behind your statement.

“I feel bad that you’re here comforting me, when you should be celebrating having passed a certain Math paper after all that hard work.”

“It was your hard work as much as it was mine, Y/N.” Jungwon takes his thumb, wiping at the corner of your lips where custard from the bread had oozed out and stayed. He then brings it up to his own lips, eating it off his finger. You just indirectly kissed him, again.

Your heartbeat quickens, a symphony of excitement drowning out any lingering worries about exams or your mother. Your mind is a canvas painted with thoughts of Jungwon and his unexpected gestures that got you contemplating the possibility of him being interested in you. Surely, Yang Jungwon isn’t known for being a romantic guy, but once again, you're proven wrong; he is that guy.

This certainty solidifies as he opens the packet of gummies, deliberately picking out the red-coloured ones first, knowing that you ate them in the colour of the rainbow; a subtle detail that shows he pays attention to your preferences.

At first, they were really subtle gestures that made you realise how horribly you have misjudged him. Then came the heartfelt actions, revealing a caring side that made you question if he had always been this way. The tipping point was realising these gestures were exclusively reserved for you, unveiling sides of Jungwon that remained hidden from everyone else. While others perceived him as mundane, cold, and mysterious, you alone saw a different Yang Jungwon.

And when you see the scoreboard, someone else’s name above yours for the very first time, it shocks you to the core that you, in fact, did not care. That the first thing you sought was Jungwon’s rankings on the board, eager to know if your efforts in tutoring him paid off, if he can participate in the competition that has become crucial to him and, by extension, vital to you.

For the first time, someone else's grades mattered more than your own. This epiphany stretches beyond academic priorities, signifying that Jungwon holds a place in your life beyond the confines of friendship; that he is more than just a friend that you make him out to be.

You like him, more than you let yourself on.

prev | masterlist | next

♡。·˚˚· ·˚˚·。♡

authors note: i kept my promise yall 😁😁🤟 and yes yn mom needs a whole ass tw. i’d say we are a good 10 chapters away from the finale and i’m currently considering next projects but we’ll see 👀 also do expect more written chapters, i rlly tried to reduce them as much as possible but it’s so hard to write without going into detail… BUT i’ll defo make it up with super fluffy and sweet chapters 🤭

perm taglist. @hajimelvr @s00buwu @urmomssneakylink @grayscorner @bubblytaetae @mrchweeee @artstaeh @sleeping-demons @yuviqik @junsflow

taglist open! @uuzhanggggggg @jayhoonvroom @missingemobeomgyu @jiawji @ocyeanicc @s7noo @asterizee @nwjws @noascats @yunwonie @saturnmooonxx @enhaz1 @jiaant11 @clairecottenheart @i2lain @miumiuoi @zhounauts @hoey2k @neocockthotology @nanuer @yenqa @ahnneyong @chanhee-hee @yanqiiuver @yujmelon @beomsbeanie @sloobydooburmomjungwon @keiisu @jaeyunniesimp @jiamini @jihanniee @lilriswife4life

[russolover]

can i request 7 + 8 + 6 frm prompt 2 fluff/ other (6) list or 120+74+34+42 from prompt 1 please if thats okay please

Apocalypse

I’ll post your other request in a separate story :) Btw - all the titles for my fics are songs I got inspired by while writing them

Apocalypse - Cigarettes after Sex

6. “I don’t care what they think, to me, you are perfect.” 7. “You’re not going to lose me.” 8.“Hear my heartbeat? Just focus on that.”

Social Media was many things. A platform for people to connect and spread happiness or to update friends and family on your life. But sadly it was also a place where lots of hatred was spread.

You and Alessia have been together for 2 years but only decided to come out to the public a few weeks ago. There were many positive messages and a lot of ship names thrown your way but there was also a certain amount of people who decided being spiteful was their way to go. Especially to the Italian.

You didn’t care about the comments since you didn’t use social media that much but if you came across one you didn’t hold back since you saw what kind of an effect it had on Alessia.

It was one of those lazy Sundays, laying on the sofa, binge-watching some episodes of friends while your girlfriend was sound asleep on top of you. You mindlessly ran your fingers through her silky hair while an occasional sigh was coming from the blonde.

The silence was interrupted by your phone ringing. On the screen you could see it was no other than tooney.

“what’s going on tooney”

You stated rather quietly not to wake your girl up.

“Why is less not picking up”

She asked abruptly.

“She’s asleep but Thank you for asking tooney, I’m fine as well”

You chuckled but quickly stopped when you heard the serious tone of her voice.

“Y/n have you been on Twitter recently”

“what no.. why?”

You started panicking slightly.

“Remember Alex?-

“Alessias ex?”

You interrupted her.

“Yeah, they released some old pictures of when they were together an-

“What the hell?!”

You screamed into the phone, startling the Italian on top of you.

“I’m sorry baby”

You squeezed her thigh as she sat up. Poor thing had no clue what was going on.

“Why are you shouting and who’s on the phone?”

She mumbled as she rubbed her eyes trying to get rid of the tiredness.

You pulled the blonde closer before putting tooney on speaker, knowing what was about to happen. Alessias Ex was a tough subject for you and for alessia. Mainly because they were trying to profit out of your girlfriends name.

Everyone wants to know why the relationship ended- how it began- how fame was changing their relationship- Questions that should never be discussed by the public or random journalists.

Once tooney explained what was going on, you and alessia took a look at Twitter to find the most spiteful and nasty comments you’ve probably experienced until now.

They started calling the Italian a cheater, since her ex didn’t state when those pictures were taken.

“Y/n should’ve never gotten with her”

“Not Russo cheating on the Football God”

“Y/N can do so much better”

You could hear alessias breathing picking up.

“Less?”

Her frown started getting bigger and the tears started rolling down her cheek. You immediately pulled her closer to you, wrapping the blonde up in a big hug.

You were furious at the people calling the most wonderful, loyal and kind hearted girl you’ve ever known those malicious things.

The crying didn’t stop, less was full on sobbing into your chest trying to form sentences.

“Baby I need you to breathe”

You whispered softly into her ear trying to calm her down while still holding her as close as possible. She only shook her head.

“Less.. c‘mon my love”

“Hear my heartbeat? Just focus on that.”

This eventually guided her into slowing her breathing down and stop sobbing. The tears were still flowing though.

“I swear I didn’t chea-

She tried to say but was interrupted by you immediately.

“hey I kno-”

"I don't want to loose you"

She whispered while her breathing started picking up again.

"“You’re not going to lose me.”

You said while cradling her face in your hand trying to rub all of the tears away with your thumbs.

"Less listen to me, you're the most important person in my life and no one is going to ruin that, not those haters and especially not Alex"

"But everyone thinks-

"“I don’t care what they think, to me, you are perfect."

She didn't say anything but the tears slowly stopped and the frown was still prominent on her face. She looked down at the promise ring you gave her for your one year anniversary and started fidgeting with it.

"Come here"

You whispered, pulling her onto your lap.

"You, Alessia Mia Teresa Russo, probably have the biggest heart on this entire planet and for people to take advantage of that is not right. Those people saying mean stuff have no idea what's really going on and they try to make up fucking stories only to spread misinformation. But that's what it is, they're just random people who would never dare to say something to your face, and if they did I would have a talk with them."

A little smile appeared on her face after you finished your last sentence and repeatedly left kisses on her cheeks.

"I love you so much Y/n"

She turned around to face you and planted a sweet kiss on your lips.

"I love you mi vida"

Your heart broke at her tear stained face but you were glad that she was feeling a little bit better.

"How about ordering something from your favourite sushi place and watching Dirty dancing?"

Her blue eyes lit up by the mention of her favourite food and she gave you a proper smile which you immediately returned.

"I thought you hated dirty dancing?"

She raised her eyebrow at you while pulling you closer by your necklace, which only made your need to kiss her grow larger.

"Yeah but I love you, so I have to deal with it"

You chuckled and pressed your lips on hers, instantly relaxing into the comforting taste of her strawberry flavoured chapstick.

[berrypass-de-murdler]

2 - 74 Bordering on Madness and Murder

I'm working on my group pic it's so bad

I hate hate hate when people make gross comments on my drawings that make me look like a perv i don't even wanna draw if people are like this 😭

^ My prediction of MOTLE from a while ago as opposed to what it actually is

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

President White leads Irratino to the border in the outlands, where the war resides. To signify the mood, the clouds cover up the sun and a fog lowers down. Irratino’s heart races, and menacing silhouettes linger. The sight of a human shoved head first into a cannon is… so stupid that it kind of kills the mood.

Drakonian natives Sergeant Gunmetal and Governor Lead (in the flesh!) creep forward to corner the G.O.A.T, as well as veterans Admiral Navy and General Coffee. They’ve settled down so much nowadays, it’s hard to believe they were ever in battle.

GUNMETAL: It’s time to die, isn’t it? Trespasser. IRRATINO: No… no! President White led me here… I’m here for Logico! ADMIRAL: Oh… Logico… he’s so cold and alone… COFFEE: That’s quite true, but you see there is also a bit of a problem we must deal with first.  GUNMETAL: If there’s no one to shoot, I have no reason to be here. 

He returns to his guard post. Slowly. 

Irratino approaches a giant damaged wall, used to block enemies (...obviously). 

COFFEE: I wouldn’t go near that wall if I were you! It’s extremely poorly built. It could fall on your head at any second.

Regardless, Navy is trying to jump over it (failing miserably) and smacking it with his sword.

IRRATINO: You really are an admiral? NAVY: Yes… I commanded battleships. I was the only one of my troop who survived… IRRATINO: …OH.

When Gunmetal reaches his post, he sees that he has to traverse stairs, and groans in defeat.

IRRATINO: Uh… need help?

The soldier squeaks and tries to hide behind a cup of coffee!

IRRATINO: …?? GUNMETAL: I… get any closer and I’ll shoot! [waves his arms]

Irratino is endeared by the guy, and sits down in front of him.

GUNMETAL: What do you want! What do you want! IRRATINO: There’s gotta be a way for you to get up those stairs.

He has an idea, but he has to do something dangerous. Luckily, that’s never an issue for Irratino.

So he approaches Governor Lead in his cave. The man is a HUGE bear-like beast, with beefy arms and giant claws, gnawing on bones. Is he a person, or a monster??

But seeing Irratino, he stares. 

LEAD: What… do you want. IRRATINO: I just… need your help. LEAD: I never help people. IRRATINO: …Please? LEAD: Why do you think saying ‘please’ will make me change my mind. IRRATINO: Can you help dig up a lot of dirt? LEAD: …No.

Irratino sighs. There goes that plan. It hurts him, but he has to accept that he can’t help everyone. The person he can help is Logico. He ignites 74 occult candles, filling the air with smoke and making it near-impossible to breathe. And when he slaps the ground, he concludes that the murderer was General Coffee.

COFFEE: We needed to open up a new front in the war, and this man was standing idly nearby. I did what I had to do, but, I’m not going to gloat about it. In fact, here - you can have some official documentation assuring you it was a mistake of the war! Though one, of course, I will not take any kind of responsibility for restituting. After all, you can’t undo a murder!

Irratino just remembered that Coffee was just at that conspiracy convention, and wonders why he’s here on war duty all of a sudden. Maybe it’s just a cover-up.

WHITE: IRRATINO! THIS way.

Irratino stumbles and follows again.

The end!

This episode only happened because tino went the wrong way help

slowly but surely, he is overcoming his issues with distraction and focusing on his real goal!

SEASON FINALE TOMORROW

The power of Goat Lord compels you!

See you next time murdlers!

[ecargmura]

Pokemon Horizons Episode 74 Review - A Crazy Family Tree

This episode feels like a major turning point for the story now that so many things have been revealed in terms of Lucius and the Explorers. I don’t know where to start because I enjoyed everything that transpired.

Let’s start at the beginning. I’m glad that Diana has returned! She’s such a fun character, so to have her back is a real treat! I like that she has vital information about Lucius and what not, but decided to have a battle with Liko in order to give it out. I like how she’s behaving like an in-game Pokemon character. In-game NPCs always have important information but at the cost of a battle. The battle between grandmother and granddaughter was great though. Liko really showed off why the third arc was vital in her growth as she managed to defeat an opponent she lost to before. A major factor of Liko’s losses has always been due to type disadvantages. However, she finally defeated an opponent who had the type advantage to her. Though, Diana wasn’t a pushover. Her Arcanine even had Justified as its Ability, which is normally a Hidden Ability for the Growlithe line.

Now for the aftermath of the battle, Diana reveals two important things: the first being that she used to be friends with Hamber years ago and even had a picture of their younger days. They had separated a long time ago, but a year prior to the story, Hamber reached out to her in hopes of funding her adventures, but it was a ploy to get the pendant in her possession. This is when she learned that he’s a part of the Explorers. First off, I wonder how old their Pokemon are because Diana had Arcanine for a very long time as well as Hamber with his Dusknoir, who had been a Dusclops back then. Second, I do wonder about the identity of Hamber. He’s been around for a long time. I do wonder how he came across Gibeon and worked for him. Is he a relative of Amethio’s or is he Lucca’s father, given that Lucca’s hair is a darker shade of black compared to Diana?

The second most important thing revealed in this episode: Lucius was the founder of the Explorers. Back then, there were three people, Lucius, Gibeon and the elusive Rystal who was mentioned in the previous episode. Lucius is a familiar name to all of them. Rystal is a name they just heard of recently. However, Gibeon is still an unfamiliar name to them, except for Liko, who got Friede’s bad habit of not telling important information rubbed onto her. She tells them that Gibeon is Amethio’s grandfather. Diana then tells the group that Exceed has a board chair, the highest position in a company, named Gibeon. This surprises Friede because he never knew there was a board chair; he was only familiar with the director, but knew there was a higher up.

Gibeon and Amethio’s family tree is actually a topic of debate between a friend and me. The reason being that Amethio calls Gibeon ‘Grandfather’, but given how old Gibeon is, I told her that Gibeon could be a great grandfather or a great-great grandfather, but still calls him grandfather. I meant it in a way that Gibeon is still a grandfather no matter how further back in the generation he is. Meanwhile, my friend thinks that he’s just a grandfather and that he just had kids late due to his possible immortality. What do you think about this? Can a grandfather from further back in the generation still be a grandfather? Now that Gibeon’s relation to Exceed is revealed, I do wonder about Director Crave, Friede’s former boss. Is he Amethio’s father? Is he Gibeon’s son? Is he Hamber’s son? What do you think about his possible identity?

Now for Rystal, this is where the group decide to go to the Crystal Pool to try out the legend of meeting the deceased. Did you know that before Rystal’s reveal, people had assumed the woman in the fog, a scene that had been revealed during the reveal of the fourth arc a few months back, was Liko from the future? Crazy, right? I’m glad that theory has been debunked because it was ridiculous. Rystal was Lucius’s wife and Terapagos’s former Trainer; she named it Pagogo. She doesn’t reveal much about herself because she’s confused about meeting these people from the future. However, once she lets her guard down, she does reveal one more important thing: her daughter’s name is Leila, which happens to be the name of Diana’s mother. This means that Rystal is Liko’s great-great grandmother and that Lucius is Liko’s great-great grandfather, an obvious reveal.

From what I’ve seen of Rystal so far, she seems like a kind but fun person but has a bit of a temper, but is also accepting of what is going on around her. Given how she spoke about Lucius and being relieved to see his Pokemon, it’s sort of tells that Rystal had to raise Leila alone. Terapagos wasn’t with her as well. She must have been really lonely without her husband and friends, despite having a daughter. I honestly can’t wait to learn more about her next episode.

It’s pretty crazy to learn so much about Liko’s family history in one episode. I can’t wait for next week’s episode. I am really curious to see the Explorers’ story and how their outcome came to be the way it is in the present. What are your thoughts on everything that was revealed in this episode?

[alichiraku]

When did Iruka become a teacher?

I was making an Iruka timeline and realized we don’t have a clear answer, but rather multiple conflicting ones. So I tried to compile the informations somewhere! Here are some different indications as to when Iruka may have become a teacher at the Academy.

The first basic fact we have is this: Iruka would very probably not have become a teacher before he became a Chūnin, which happened when he was 16 years old (birthday May 26th).

IN THE ANIME/MOVIES :

The Childhood episodes show Iruka teaching Naruto’s generation while they are at a very young age, possibly 5 to 7 (see the “Naruto” and “Shikamaru” episodes). This would make Iruka 15 to 17.

In the movie The Last, Iruka is already a teacher in the Academy flashback. The children in this scene are all 7, making Iruka 17.

In the Rookie Instructor Iruka filler arc, a flashback shows Iruka asking to become an instructor. Kakashi is present in this scene and is already back in the field and in jōnin uniform, meaning this is after he left ANBU, which happened when he was 22-23 years old. Kakashi and Iruka have a 4 years age difference, making Iruka at least 18-19. This is already conflicting with the previous anime appearances.

IN THE MANGA :

There are even less indications in the manga than there are in the anime. At the very least, Iruka was not Sasuke’s first teacher (Sasuke entered the Academy at age 6), although nothing indicates whether he was already a teacher or not.

To me, the only reliable clue is in the flashback of Naruto and Sasuke’s fight at the Academy, supervised by Iruka (which spans over multiple chapters, beginning with Chapter 538 and ending with Chapter 697). The flashback is set post-Uchiha massacre, making the Naruto’s generation at least 7 and Iruka at least 17. I’d say that Naruto’s generation looks around 9-10? (compared to their Naruto Part I selves)

(There is also the fact that in Chapter 1, Iruka seems to have been around for Naruto’s two previous attempts at passing the Genin test, which would suggest he’s been teaching Naruto for at least 2 years. But since that’s already an entire problem in itself -Naruto would be 2 years older than his comrades, unless the exam happens multiple times a year like the Chūnin exam-, I’m not gonna use it.)

IN THE DATABOOKS :

Now okay, this is where I’m gonna sound a little crazy, but I’ve tried to calculate a likely age for Iruka to have become a teacher based on his number of Databook missions. Having become a Chūnin at 16, Iruka couldn’t have done A-rank and B-rank missions before this moment (or only on accident, I guess). Given that he doesn’t take missions during his teacher years (at least up to the Konoha Crush), Iruka’s 74 B-rank and 12 A-rank missions must have mostly been completed in the timeframe between his becoming a Chūnin and his taking up a teaching job. Shikamaru, who we see becoming a Chūnin, completes 9 B-rank and 19 A-rank missions in around 2 and a half years. If we assume A-rank missions take longer to complete (which isn’t at all a given but I’m desperate for clues), this gives Iruka around 3 to 3 and a half years to complete his own total, making him 19-20 when he becomes a teacher. 

CONCLUSIONS :

My personal preference would be for Iruka to have been 19 when he became a teacher at the Academy. The first two anime indications can be easily discarded: the Childhood episodes are simply cute filler episodes to end the anime, and the Last movie has more than one inconsistency. Iruka being 19 allows for the Rookie Instructor arc to be partly canon, as well as the manga indications: the Naruto vs Sasuke flashback would happen only 2 years or less after the Uchiha massacre, and Iruka would have been Naruto’s teacher for a total of 3/3 and half years (enough to have an initially strained relationship, then a more understanding one, and for Naruto’s memories from the Academy to be mainly associated with Iruka). This gives Iruka around 3 years on active duty as a Chūnin before retiring, and thus enough time for his ‘empathy’ for the enemy to become a worrying trend, if we take the Rookie Instructor arc as canon. 

(Also given that Naruto is 18-19 in The Last when he teaches at the Academy, this seems to be not too weird of an age for someone to start teaching.)

So there you have it! Obviously there is still some weird stuff anime-wise ; Iruka progressively becomes more of a Teacher Archetype throughout Naruto’s story, which explains why he’s often put in anime episodes despite being a literal teenager (yeah Konoha is fucked up about age anyway but even them probably don’t want a 15yo with anger issues to teach their knife-yielding middle schoolers).

[cutieghost-artsie]

…..what

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT EPISODE??!!!!!

DAFUQ MY GUY, MY GOOD SIR,

COUNT YOUR DAYS!!!!!

It’s midnight and I’m crying

Skibidi toilet episode 74 spoilers

This episode thrown me in for a damn loop de loop holy shit!!

The new tv character? Elite? Is really cool but kinda cold but that’s to be expected, he’s probably seen a lot and had to do a lot to be that way

Still no speakerwoman, dafuq pleasseee just a glimpse, that’s all I’m asking for

Brownie/simp is still alivveeeee ;-;

So many new charactersssss ooooo new cameraman??? : o!!!!

I love all the different colors of the speakermen, they’re all so cute!!

Awee the one who drove the toilet in the previous episode came backkk

Damn there’s still some humans but holy shit they’re infected???!!

Fnaf jumpscare sound Istfg lol

Oooo gman is up to something!!!!!???!!!

Pfftttt XD Dom reference, ur not slick lol, I see u lol

Ooooo tv base got something to hiddeeeee?????!!! : O

Dayum TTV WAS MADDDDDD

I love the moments between all of the titans in that short time frame

All of the speakermen and T-speak dancing aweeeee, what could possibly go wrongggg

HOLY SHIT THATS DIRTY A COMPLETE AMBUSH

MY BOY, T-CAM MY BOYYY, DAFUQ PLEASE I WAS JOKING WHEN I SAID HE’S MORE LIKELY TO DIE, PLEASE DONT KILL HIM OFF

T-SPEAK SCREAMING NO! AS HE REACHED OUT TO T-CAM SHATTERED MY HEART INTO A MILLION PIECESSSSS

“I CAN’T LOSE YOU BOTH” BRUHHHH THAT MADE ME CRY LIKE STRAIGHT UP WATERWORKS

I CAN IMAGINE HE’S FEELING GUILTY AND UPSET ABOUT T-CAM TOO AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Self sacrificing, heroic mfer I swear, this would most definitely be a way on how he would go out but please let t-cam still be aliveeee tho pleasseeee

I love these titans way too much!

No eep. Only cry!!!!!

[williamsockner]

Urban Fantasy Bingo

1. Main character dates a serial killer but the show thinks he’s just a complicated bad boy 2. Codependent siblings 3. Rampant unintended homosexual tension 4. Incest 5. Creepy dolls 6. Exploitative shots of dead teenage girl’s corpse 7. Narrative unsympathetic when bitchy teenage girls gets murdered 8. Parent or significant other in law enforcement 9. Shady big pharma 10. Ugly and/or disabled girl with no personality flaws 11. Amnesia 12. Black best friend (bonus points if gay) 13. Love interest with no personality besides fucking and sports 14. Love interest with no personality besides being embroiled in supernatural bullshit 15. Someone dies during sex 16. Main character commits rape but narrative refuses to acknowledge it as anything but angsty manpain behavior 17. Randomly excellent episode in an otherwise lackluster show 18. Writer’s room fetishist on display 19. Bodyswap/bodysnatch/shapeshift/possession 20. Everyone cares about the blood feud 21. Hundred-year-old urban legends or local history shockingly relevant to small town youths 22. Narrative clumsily attempts to make serial killer sympathetic 23. “the ugly one” played by a hollywood ten 24. Mortal threat to a character’s life during a sports game 25. Murder at prom 26. Super special chosen one and/or ancient prophecy 27. Writers convinced that remorse is the same as redemption 28. Love triangle 29. Snarky put-downs towards clear sources of inspiration 30. Love interests swap because the bad boy character was too interesting to the audience 31. Musical episode 32. Fictional classic monster actually existed in-universe 33. Character witnesses an alternate timeline where they didn’t exist and/or died 34. Character comes back as a ghost but gets no speaking lines so the show could save on the acting fee 35. Evil twin 36. Reincarnated true love 37. Super sexy high femme who’s actually 200 years old 38. Manic monster dream girl 39. Weird hybrids 40. Masquerade ball 41. Characters in class receive a lecture on a topic relevant to the episode 42. Flashback episode 43. Villain has a weird kink 44. Illegitimate lovechild 45. Abusive parent has a favorite child 46. Someone cuts their palm for a blood sacrifice 47. Someone sacrifices a pet for an evil ritual 48. Black witches have more power 49. Scene at the morgue 50. Teenage alcoholism 51. Regular alcoholism 52. Visible manifestations of someone’s guilt and/or plot exposition in the form of dead loved ones 53. Dead perfect significant other 54. Characters get caught doing something and give transparently fake names of celebrities or pop culture references 55. Musical sequence that exists only to show that an actor can dance, sing or play an instrument 56. CPR brings someone back to life and doesn’t break any ribs 57. Character discovers secret power at last second before they almost die 58. Secret society has a ritual to decide who is the head honcho monster 59. Incongruous musical choice 60. Someone has a dark side/evil blood/a prophecy that they’ll go evil 61. Someone turns into a violent sociopath because they lose their soul and/or humanity 62. Somebody bleeds out the eyes or mouth, or has a nosebleed that someone else has to call attention to 63. Significant other hunts what you are 64. Halloween episode 65. “You tried to kill me and that takes grit, I’m proud of you” 66. “There’s nothing on the other side when you die” especially if we know ghosts exist 67. Inconsistent ghost rules 68. The enemy of my bigger enemy 69. Head in a box 70. Cold opening of teenagers getting eaten because of a dare, bonus points for haunted house 71. Racist one-off criminal encounter 72. “Cool costume, bro” to an actual monster 73. Halloween costumes significant to role character plays in the story 74. Wise mentor figure with colorful past and parental affection towards protagonist 75. The one normal guy who keeps getting pulled into bullshit 76. Everybody in the cast dates each other as the writer’s room tries to figure out what the fans want 77. Immortal character put in a box 78. Non-human has to pass as human…badly 79. Ancient character has to adjust to modern day 80. Random regular human with an axe to grind 81. Bait and switch big bad at the end of the story, turns out to actually be a main cast member having a meltdown after taking out villain 82. Head of the secret council actually an evil puppet master 83. Police scanner 84. Debilititis 85. People randomly discovering superpowers around puberty 86. Character that main character hates for no good reason turns out to be evil all along 87. Plot-relevant celestial event 88. Someone telekinetically forces people to turn their guns on each other or themselves 89. Badly-pronounced French 90. The apocalypse originates in this small podunk-ass town 91. Unreasonable hometown pride 92. Latin as the mother tongue of magic 93. Local police covering up for high monster murder rate 94. Single parent is overworked medical practitioner 95. Guardian is not yet ready for this level of responsibility 96. Someone turned out to have a child they didn’t know about 97. Weird pregnancy (bonus if no sex actually happened) 98. Someone’s kid gets aged up to skip working with a child actor 99. Somebody sends their child “away” to keep them from getting embroiled in the bullshit and then they get embroiled in the bullshit anyway 100. Descendants of an immortal 101. Resurrection with no consequences 102. Resurrection or healing with consequences will haunt the protagonist 103. Protagonist has at least one dead parent 104. A friend of the main cast dies in the pilot 105. Candlelight vigil for a high school student 106. Fucked up mother-son dynamics 107. Daddy issues 108. “Fear makes the meat taste better” and/or “I like to watch them scream” 109. Souls get sold and/or girls get married to Satan 110. Deal with the devil turns you into a ticking time bomb 111. “you worded your wish wrong” 112. Alternate reality without magic 113. Real-world religions or spiritual practices treated as monsters of the week 114. All myths contain a grain of truth 115. Someone attacks a wedding 116. Mundane who really wants to be a monster 117. Redhead 118. Feral child raised by wolves 119. Bitchy cheerleader 120. Characters go undercover at a school 121. Mental institution episode 122. Protagonist framed for murder 123. Cold open of dog-walker getting eaten while dog runs away 124. Show starts off with missing or murdered girl 125. Animal motif or animal companion 126. Non-human but non-animal sidekick 127. “The council sent me to give you exposition” 128. Secret society of hunters 129. The Corporation 130. Death by bees 131. Jumpscare 132. Douchebro thinks he’s getting seduced but is actually about to get eaten 133. Siblings have pronounced disagreements over how to feel about their absentee parent 134. Deep South 135. Magic can solve everything except cancer 136. Beautiful sprawling mansion 137. Musical sequence intercutting one couple having sex and someone else dying or doing something else dramatic 138. Safehouse and/or bunker 139. “s/he was just trying to protect you” used as a justification for abjectly abusive parenting 140. Family with oodles of generational wealth 141. Groundhog Day Episode 142. Random skull in dark place 143. Someone punches a mirror 144. Black blood 145. Weird eye color signifies supernatural status 146. Wicker Man episode 147. Pagan gods 148. Faith healer 149. Couple going on a date gets eaten 150. Someone gets murdered in a church 151. Villain boasts that “maybe that works on wimpy monsters, but not me” 152. Chasing the murderer through a house of mirrors 153. Diner 154. Episode titles named after songs or famous books 155. Supernatural war 156. Getting out of a Faustian bargain 157. Someone wakes up tied to a chair at an insane dinner party full of corpses

[mattievictoria]

I’ve been working on improving my design skills and I am so honored to have been commissioned by Ghost Furnace Podcast to design a logo for a sticker! Thank you so much burndar for this opportunity, it was not only fun but helped me improve my design skills!

-

A little bit about Ghost Furnace and some episode recommendations: The Ghost Furnace Podcast is a paranormal podcast based in Pennsylvania (hence the Keystone in the logo! I’m a Californian who’s never been to PA, so I also learned a bit while working on this!) A few episodes that I recommend are Ep. 35 - Mile 127, Ep. 45 - The Black Cross, and Eps. 55 and 74 with PA author and folklorist Thomas White!

[blue-dream-rhapsody]

Spoilers for the end of the TYBW manga! If you’re only watching the anime, this will be in like the last two episodes of the whole show, so look away!

This is gonna sound like me being biased again (and I definitely am, don’t get me wrong) but I think I have a universally true argument here.

Renji was a weird choice to have go with Ichigo to the last clash with Yhwach.

To be clear, I’m very fond of Renji. I also think the conversation he and Ichigo have on their way there was a fantastic moment in their friendship, and want to keep it intact as much as possible. It’s just that, when I think of the magnitude of this particular moment, the literal last battle at the end of the series, it just feels odd for Renji of all his friends to have this pretty prominent spot.

Who is Ichigo teaming up with here? Aizen, the major antagonist for basically half the series. Uryu, the enemy-turned-friendly rival-turned-fake enemy-turned-genuine ally just acting as an infiltrator all along because he’s got roots in this battle. And… Renji. The Guy.

Like seriously, I’m trying to pinpoint exactly what narrative function Renji’s presence here serves, and for every one I can find, there’s just someone who does a better job? Like, okay, say he’s serving as the presence of a Soul Reaper. Except Rukia would also do that, down to the rank they have, and given her meeting Ichigo is how the series began, it would additionally be a natural bookend for her to be fighting alongside him at the end. (And obviously I am deliberately ignoring bullshit like power levels or whatever, because of the four in this alliance Ichigo’s ridealong contributes little more than a distraction while Aizen tanks the damage, Uryu fires the arrow, and Ichigo makes the cut.)

Rukia is also the member of his friend group Ichigo probably interacts with the least in this whole arc who isn’t Uryu Away For Plot Reasons Ishida (or maybe Chad, who I’ll talk about in a moment too), whereas he and Renji go through a chunk of the Royal Palace stuff together. So it seems like that final battle would be the chance to actually give her a meaningful interaction with him as, again, a mirror to the start of the series.

(Disclaimer: I don’t mean this in a shipping sense in any way, shape, or form, though you can certainly take it as you like. That’s not the only way their bond can be relevant, though. My point is simply that Rukia has more narrative importance to Bleach itself than Renji does, compared to how little time she spends interacting with the series’ protagonist in the final arc compared to him.)

So as far as all of that stuff is concerned, Rukia carries more weight, but let’s say Renji was chosen as Ichigo’s closest guy friend or something along those lines. Um. Chad??? My beloved Yasutora Sado??? Like of course Kubo seems allergic to giving Chad anything significant to do at any point past his introduction, but come on! He’s supposed to be Ichigo’s best friend! Again, I’m ignoring power levels. Maybe the combination of Aizen and Yhwach’s presence would’ve been too much for him to withstand given Fullbringer scale, but I still think he’d make more narrative sense than Renji, and that should be what matters more.

Friendly rival? Well that’s Uryu who is already there, and has a way larger stake in this than anyone in Ichigo’s friend group regardless. Less that he doesn’t meet the criteria if we can’t count Uryu, choosing Renji for this reason would just be doubling down on the same thing.

You could also argue Orihime should’ve been the one, as the one Ichigo eventually ends up with (although she at least was with him at the fight just before this, so it being someone else this time doesn’t bother me). And Renji is just, not that!

Renji goes with Ichigo because it’s in character for him, and I don’t disagree with that by any means. But this is the conclusion of the entire 74-volume narrative and I’m struggling to explain why he specifically is the one chosen by Kubo to be a part of this battle if anyone had to be at all. It’s like he went out of his way to choose the least impactful character possible to fulfill this role.

So okay, Kubo, I can play hardball. You want somebody who isn’t Rukia, Chad, or Orihime? I can do that. I’ll even give you someone who’s already right there so you don’t have to make them come running up at the last moment!

You know who should’ve gone with Ichigo to that very last confrontation? Kugo Ginjo, obviously!

Don’t leave, hold on, let me explain myself.

First is the kind of obvious thing, which is that while it was on a smaller scale than they were, Ginjo was an arc villain just as much as Aizen and Yhwach were. He’s the mastermind and the climactic battle of The Lost Agent. So wouldn’t it be fun if Ichigo had the help of the first two arc villains in defeating the third?

The quartet of Ichigo, Kugo, Aizen, and Yhwach is also interesting because they all have connections to the Reio in some form, being either candidates for the role inherently, or having attempted to become or usurp him. There’s really no one else who approaches this (barring Urahara, for the hogyoku).

But wait, you may be saying, why would Ginjo fight on the side of Shinigami if his whole thing is that he hates them? To which I say—he wouldn’t! But I think he would be willing to fight to help Ichigo. Maybe not for everything ever, but maybe for the time where if Ichigo loses, everything will very clearly fall apart, including for the people he obviously still cares about in Xcution. (Also, does he know about Soul King stuff at this point, including that the both of them are candidates to replace it? Preventing that being necessary for both their sakes might be good.)

Not to mention, this would be the first time Ichigo and Kugo can fight together consciously as Deputies. It would give us a more concrete picture of how they feel about one another now that the Lost Agent conflict is over, seeing as this gets very little resolution on either side—and give Ichigo back what it was that Kugo had almost given him during that arc, a “big brother” figure he can rely on in a desperate situation, instead of having to be that figure himself.

Plus… fixing Ichigo’s sword was really kind of just Tsukishima’s repayment, wasn’t it? Ginjo shows up and says four lines, (and probably a fifth on the way there that was “Tsukishima do the thing”) and that’s what exactly? Is that supposed to make up for the extremely personal betrayal? Is that a sufficient expression of gratitude for the respect of taking his body back from the Court Guards’ grasp? He still had to say something about paying Ichigo back because debt’s about all the obligation Tsukishima would ever respond to, but what’s his contribution other than holding that “leash”?

Also for the three of them being revealed alive like a hundred chapters ago, that sure is a whole lot of no payoff. Like for Tsukishima it’s great payoff, but for Ginjo? What was the point of the training they all did with Ganju? Was it really about Ganju getting stronger? And we never got an answer why Kukaku took them in in the first place, could that really have just been chance?

If I want to put on my conspiracy cap—I half suspect Ginjo was meant to go from the time of their reappearance, and more of his backstory was supposed to come to light/he was supposed to get some additional development. But as Kubo’s health deteriorated and he got toward the home stretch, just like it would’ve been difficult to give Rukia the proper due if she’d gone, it became too much for him to do Ginjo justice, or maybe to set up for his role in CFYOW, so he decided to not do it altogether, rather than half-ass it. (This is what I tell myself, anyway). He already has a completely justifiable reason to show up at the last minute with the need for Tsukishima’s ability. He’s been training, supposedly. He owes Ichigo something and acknowledges it. He’s thematically fitting, he’s been absent for so much time after being teased, we know he was doing something because he went looking for Ukitake, it really just makes too much sense.

I doubt Kubo is planning any out-and-out rewrites of anything significant as the anime proceeds, but if he were to tweak the ending at all, I certainly think this would be reasonable.

Anyway, we’ll see what part 2 brings. CFYOW content is getting teased for sure, so who knows what’s in store!

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Monday, June 10

JONATHAN: (incredulous) You're checking for implants? ANDREW: (defensive) Lex Luthor had a false epidermis escape kit in "Superman Versus the Amazing Spider-Man" Treasury edition- JONATHAN: Okay, first of all, those were sonic disrupters. And second of all ... you are sadness personified. Waiting for Warren? Yeah, maybe he'll come bust us out of here on Santa's magic sleigh. ANDREW: (stands up angrily) I'm telling him you said that. JONATHAN: Why wait? I'll tell him right now. Jonathan grabs Andrew's elbow and holds it up to his own face. JONATHAN: Hey, Warren, do you read me, your girlfriend's pathetic, over.

~~Two to Go~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Escape From Mosaic (gen, not rated) by eevol76vamp

Girls Night Out (gen, not rated) by eevol76vamp

Lindsey's Last Song (gen, not rated) by eevol76vamp

Old Enough (Buffy/Spike, G) by sandy_s

Finding a Sense of Direction (Drusilla/Faith, not rated) by rhodrymavelyne

Night Swimming (Buffy/Spike, R) by Geliot99

[Chaptered Fiction]

Incarnate Chapter 6 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Sigyn

Rebehold the Stars (Love from the Other Side of the Apocalypse) Chapter 15 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Asokatanos

East of Nevada Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Blissymbolics

Morning Stretches Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by CheekyKitten

The Boyfriend Swap Chapter 16 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Maxine Eden

The Devil's Trill Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Murray

The Witch's Gift Chapter 36 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by RavenLove12

Blood and Fame Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Desicat

Bruises Chapter 17 (Buffy/Spike, adult only) by hulettwyo

Love Lives Here Chapter 74 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Passion4Spike

[Images, Audio & Video]

Podcast:Pride, Prejudice and Buffy (Buffy and the Art of Story Podcast) by lisalilly

Podcast:Episode 31 - Fly Kids and Eye Stalks (Killed by Death) by thesunnydalediaries

Art:Who’s this billy idol looking loser by bugaboooooooooo

[Reviews]

war and peaches' buffyverse compendium by war and peaches

[Fandom Discussions]

Spike wasn’t a Good Vampire by virtue of just being that way by buffy-targaryen

One of the funniest jokes in the Buffy episode “Once More With Feeling” by jq37

Why Spike picked Sunnydale by nicnacsnonsense

Angel's most heroic act by The Whirlwind

Rewatch thoughts and questions continued by multiple posters

Is Riley more misogynistic than other characters? continued by multiple posters

What If: Buffy lived with Hank instead? by nightshade

Were the slayers a good idea? by TheXandyman

In what stances was a character screwed by the narrative? by brwitch

On your first time watching The Zeppo did you think they would do something with Xander and Faith? by LightBlueSky55

Thoughts on Willow's character during her recovery from abusing magics in the mid half of season six by jdpm1991

Which Scooby gang member had the best levels in "Chaos Bleeds"? by jdpm1991

Spike and Andrew were both integrated into the Scooby Gang the same way by rednax2009

the ascension by brian5mbv

Watching Angel for the first time, this scene made me shocked by brwitch

I think killing Angel influenced Buffy's decision to sacrifice herself in "The Gift" by Whedonite144

The Mayor and his bs by Pookienini

"Come in here, take everything that I have... You did it before. Did you tell them that?" by jogaforacont

Am I wrong for thinking Angel hooking up with Darla was hot in 2x15? by rites0fpassage

What are some moments that you were incredibly frustrated or disappointed with Cordelia? by PristineSituation498

Which if any characters grew on you the most when you revisited the series? by Whedonite144

What is everyone’s funniest episode? by queenrosybee

Unexplainable vibes? by mymacaronibirthmark

Although Faith was always jealous she did seem to like Buffy a lot in season 3 by IntelligentPumpkin74

Is BTVS Angel a little overhated? by debujandobirds

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 17/08/2024 (Chase & Status/Stormzy)

It’s a new #1 the second week in a row, as Chase & Status of all acts launch their hit “BACKBONE” with Stormzy to the top of the UK Singles Chart, it being the first for the drum and bass duo and the fourth for the MC. Perhaps unexpected but an ultimately exciting shake-up, it does not reflect the rest of this dull week. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

content warning: celebrities complaining

Rundown

As always in this series, we start with our notable dropouts, those being songs that exit the UK Top 75 - which is what I cover - after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, we bid adieu to “you look like you love me” by Ella Langley featuring Riley Green and “Pour Me a Drink” by Post Malone featuring Blake Shelton which may rebound given the album’s release, as well as some bigger hits like “LUNCH” by Billie Eilish and “i like the way you kiss me” by Artemas which lasted longer than it ever should have.

As for our returns, other than Noah Kahan’s “You’re Gonna Go Far” re-entering at #74 after peaking at #63 earlier this year - it often just bubbles under like this - we have a big resurgence at #27, as Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” gets a boost from being featured in the Deadpool & Wolverine soundtrack. It was the pop icon’s sixth #1 and stayed at the top for three weeks back in 1989, thanks to firstly being a fantastic song as well as having a controversial, larger than life music video that angered the Vatican… like all great artists have at least once. Whilst a classic, it’s not exactly my ultimate favourite of Madonna’s hit but with a catalogue like hers, that’s inevitable, and naturally, the track has seen success in several cover versions. Trbute act Who’s That Girl! released a version alongside “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” that reached #88 in 1997 and Miley Cyrus reached #79 with it in 2022, though between those were the biggest versions in the UK, the first being from Eurodance outfit MadHouse who took their “Like a Prayer” all the way to #3 in 2002, when Darius’ “Colourblind” occupied the #1. In 2010, the cast to the musical sitcom Glee created a Madonna tribute episode that obvioussly had to contain “Like a Prayer”. It reached #16 in 2010 on its debut week, the same week that Roll Deep debuted at #1 with “Good Times”.

And now that history lesson’s over, we also have a few notable gains, those being “Double Life” by Pharrell Williams at #56, “Carry You Home” by Alex Warren at #51, “Black Friday (pretty like the sun)” by Lost Frequencies and Tom Odell at #50, “Sailor Song” by Gigi Perez at #43, “I Love You, I’m Sorry” by Gracie Abrams at #38, “Big Dawgs” by Hanumankind and Kalmi at #21, “Somedays” by Sonny Fodera, Jazzy and D.O.D at #19, “Move” by Adam Port, Stryv and Malachiii at #11 and finally, “Angel of My Dreams” by JADE at #10 thanks to a new version. I honestly can’t complain about much of that batch.

As for our top five, well, “BACKBONE” is at #1, we know that, but otherwise we see “Stargazing” by Myles Smith at #5, “Guess” by Charli xcx featuring Billie Eilish slip off the top to #4, “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan at #3 and just pipped at the post once again is, also Billie Eilish, with “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” at #2. Now we have a small batch of new songs, but it seems we’ll actually be starting where we started and will be ending. If that wasn’t too convoluted.

New Entries

#72 - “Gunfinger (Salute)” - IRAH featuring Chase & Status

Produced by Chase & Status

So Chase & Status have naturally gotten an algorithmic push they didn’t really get before the massive success of “BACKBONE”, which has not only boosted their back catalogue but also this bubbling track they just produced with a feature credit for IRAH, an MC who hass worked with the two before, most notably on last year’s #5 hit “Baddadan”. I generally like the jump-up intensity of Chase & Status production, and “Gunfinger” feels pretty traditional with IRAH’s deep-voiced intimidation and the reggae sample starting off the song, later warping into a rolicking drum and bass clatter decorated with a sparse, windy atmosphere, stray vocal samples and an array of alarming synths. Whilst I appreciate the details in the drum fills and sound design here, there is a certain emptiness to this that really is evident from IRAH’s general incapability to make much of an impression, sticking to a pretty basic, unmoving delivery that could really do with being more energetic when the production is going to try and rally for minimal intensity over anything. It’s fine, I just wish there was something more to it.

#59 - “Why Why Why” - Shawn Mendes

Produced by Mike Sabath, Shawn Mendes, Eddie Benjamin and Scott Harris

The in-demand Mike Sabath seems to be the go-to for pop singer-songwriters who wish to go for a more serious and ambitious direction, since it worked so well with RAYE, and I can’t blame Shawn Mendes wanting that same level of control and detail given how much of his earlier output was nearly insufferably manufactured. A song like “Stitches” plays out much more like a Disney star’s song than the maturer side Mendes has been wanting to show since at least “In My Blood”, and whilst he has been hit-and-miss in that like he has his entire career, he at least has the dignity to not flail out into failed hyperpop experiments like the ex-partner who I have no doubts he’s still writing about because I know she is too. In this new comeback single, Mendes is constantly thinking of his ex-partner, waking up in a sweat having visions of her naked, and just asking… “why”.

So the song has a general focus on a hopeless state of mental health, but plants ideas without ever expanding on them: the anxiety he feels on tour, the over-dramatic relationship drama and feeling writer’s block all coalesce into that one hook of “I don’t know why”, over a more organic, reverb-drenched folk instrumental that feels very blatantly a trend-chase, even if it does make sense for the acoustic-focused Shawn Mendes to hop on the sound. The bridge makes the childlike confusion Mr. Mendes even more transparent: as soon as he thinks he can be a father, he getss the grounding realisation that he is still a child inside and sometimes even pleads with his mother for help, though does not seem to really do anything to help or prevent any of this? In fact, the only problem resolved is that he “chose himself” instead of his ex-partner, which may be telling that the only recurring problem in his life he can entirely dismiss is those close to him, as everything else described in the track is either cyclical or unresolved entirely, hence his clueless wandering through those underwritten choruses and wow, this is insufferable. For once, I think he knows, and that restless whining about problems is undoubtedly intended to be further frustrated by his refusal to, or maybe even no awareness to how he can, fix those issues. It’s just also not something I really care to hear from, well, anyone. It doesn’t display any temptation to fix his problems, the lyrics aren’t poetic in expressing such, and half of them are informed by his accessibility to experiences I simply cannot access. A self-obessed wobble or spiralling down through the woes that come with “more money, more problems” would be interesting if there was actually any clear progression or detail, but Mendes and co. seem much happier in just leaving the song as is: an unneeded yet unspecific venting session from a wildly successful musician wherein you’re left in the dust to core elements that could actually resonate, and justify the frankly dumb writing. This new lead single ultimately just shows a disconnect that isn’t particularly worth caring about, and I’m not even sure Shawn wants us to, given this sonically has “fulfilling my contract album” kind of written all over it. I’m sure this will be nice for the diehard fans, but to me, this is just useless.

#58 - “Active” - Asake and Travis Scott

Produced by Sarz and MIKE DEAN

Nigerian singer Asake, best known on the UK charts for “Lonely at the Top” and its recent single “Wave” with Central Cee, has released his newest record, Lungu Boy, which has landed on the UK albums chart at #15. I have yet to listen to that full album yet but Asake has impressed me before with their bright, melodious take on Afrobeats, and this new track is actually very interesting, using a sample of fellow NIgerian Jazzman Olofin’s “Raise da Roof” and cutting the vocal off into a stuttered riff against the almost 90s house groove that quickly tumbles into a tighter, minimal bass that feels so full in the mix, to the point where the cowbells and vocal loop end up kind of extraneous to just how good that bassline is. Asake’s melody seems somewhat out of place in his verse given how percussive the production is, but it plays off really interestingly off the busier drums in its second half, and that chorus is so simple yet worms its way into my head, especially when surrounded by the pitch-shifted vocal loop that is just as sticky. If I have a problem, it’s Travis Scott, who once again confuses laziness for being interesting, cutting off elements of his vocal take for no functioning reason other than sounding awkward and “different” for a few bars before quickly dipping into typical flows he has always used to flex vapidly and take me out of just how fun the song should be, though he quickly disappears after. Frankly, both artists do end up disappointing in the core part of the song, even if I have no expectations for Travis other than substanceless garbage nowadays (“fetish for the money”? Seriously?), as both fail to truly make the best use of the instrumental possible, I think becaue Travis is useless and Asake just needs more space to go for the melodic approach, and is given so in the outro, where that rushed vocal loop is placed against smooth, spacey keys that Asake can croon and riff off of. I wouldn’t be surprised if that beautiful section is what MIKE DEAN contributed to the beat, but even with that, it feels like it was tacked on to grant the song more depth than it needs, and I end up pretty much torn damn near 50-50 on it despite a great instrumental. Maybe this would just be better-served by other artists, and not even because of talent dsparity, just because the limitations of the production would fit more frenetic artists than two Auto-Tune crooners. Overall, I do think I’m teetering positively on it, but I wanted to enjoy it way more given what Sarz and DEAN cooked up.

#1 - “BACKBONE” - Chase & Status and Stormzy

Produced by Chase & Status

Now this is how to go for pure intensity: there’s a screeching lead synth, a heavily elevated build that relies not on the instrumental to gather its swell, as Stormzy is much more of a unique presence than IRAH, mostly due to his switches in flow and cadence that convince you on his smug flexes and macho posturing which is honestly mostly just dedicated to defying “you” - not the listener, but an imagined sense of authority to rebel against and insult. That kind of relentless energy in the content may not translate perfectly when he’s still flexing materialistically, but it’s easier than ever to ignore the less populist elements of Stormzy’s bars when the intensity is just this high. The spiralling synth in the build wires down into a canvas of thumping bass tones in the drop, with the drums jumping off of pitch-shifted vocal fragments and stretched backing strings propelling from the back of the mix. The song refuses to commit to a copy-paste structure, with Chase & Status adding great, small details like the break fill before the second verse, the brief but absolutely cavernous, industrial-sounding drums behind Stormzy prior to the final drop, and those horns bursting with not just bombast but a real sinister tone by the end that helps bring back some of the immersion. This is honestly a really simple song structurally, especially lyrically, but the execution is so powerful it trumps the need for anything all too complex, and that probably would have ruined its chances at #1 anyway. It’s exactly the kind of straightforward banger you’d expect the trio to make and whilst like “Guess”, the other likeably obnoxious, arguably garish EDM collaboration to debut unexpectedly at #1, I don’t see ths lasting too long at the very top, I’m sure it can find its space below, and whatever run it has doesn’t take away from that initial spark that gave the production duo a long-overdue reign on the singles chart they’ve called home for over a decade now.

Conclusion

This should be the easiest episode ever for you to figure out who gets what. Shawn Mendes takes the Worst of the Week for “Why Why Why”, “BACKBONE” by Chase & Status and Stormzy gets the Best of the Week, we’ll probably see the new Bruno and Gaga collab shake things up next week alongside Hozier and Post, but we’ll see. For now, thank you for reading, long live Cola Boyy and I’ll see you next week!

[episodicnostalgia]

Star Trek: The Next Generation, 114 (Jan. 30, 1988) - “11001001”

Written by: Maurice Hurley & Robert Lewin Directed by: Paul Lynch

The Breakdown

The Enterprise is overdue for a software upgrade, and the crew need some downtime, so Picard decides to dock at station 74 and kill two birds with one stone.  While everyone preps for shore leave, Picard and Riker stay behind in case they need to assist the Bynars, who will perform the upgrade.  We Learn that the Bynar people have effectively hooked their brains up to the cloud, and as a result they think and speak in binary, and always travel/work in pairs.  They seem harmless enough, but when Picard explains they need to leave sooner than planned (due to a time sensitive mission), the Bynars starting acting REAL SUS and then bring on a second Bynar-pair to help speed things up.

Not one to be easily distracted, Riker begins to suspect that something is awry, and keeps close watch on the Bynar’s progress.  So they proceed to easily distract Riker by upgrading the holodeck so he can go play in his own little custom sandbox.  That’s right folks! we finally get a chance to see Riker’s deepest desire, which is apparently to play Jazz Trombone in a 20th century New Jersey bar for the benefit of a personalized, sentient, totally life-like, sex doll.  And let me tell you folks, she is AROUSED by Riker, because apparently the algorithm designed her to be, based on our horny first officer’s browser history.  Also, the whole situation it is NOT-AT-ALL troubling, nor should it raise any serious ethical questions.  Thankfully Picard interrupts with an impromptu visit, just as things are getting steamy, and finds himself equally intrigued by Riker’s new companion.  Minuet (her name) then regales both men over drinks, with her lifelike beauty and charm.

Meanwhile, the Bynars have been busy stealing the Enterprise.  Unable to reach Picard or Riker (due to trickery), Data orders an evacuation because of an impending antimatter breach.  The whole thing is revealed to be a ruse orchestrated by little math nerds, and simply wanted everyone off before they hightailed it back to their home planet. They also programmed Minuet to distract Riker and Picard so they wouldn’t leave the ship.  Once Picard figures out what’s going on, he and Riker jump to into action, and beam themselves onto the bridge for the fight of their lives (they even prepare to blow up the Enterprise if need be), only they discover the Bynars are all dying.

It turns out they just wanted the Enterprise to store a back-up of their iCloud account, because a solar flare was about to EMP-the-shit out of their plantary hard drive, without which the Bynar’s brains will overload and shut down.  After realizing the Bynars had always intended for him (and Riker because it’s a two person job) to  upload the Enterprise’s backup into the Bynar systems, he proceeds to do so, and the day is saved just in the nick-of-time.  So why didn’t the Bynars simply ask for help?  Because they believe in “Better to beg forgiveness, than ask permission.” Seriously that’s the reason. They afraid the Federation would say no, so they leapt straight into grand-theft-starship.

Epilogue: Riker goes back to the holodeck to be with Minuet, only to discover that the software upgrades are gone, leaving her a mindless shell of what she had been.  Riker returns to the bridge to a saddened man, and Picard is like “dude it never would have worked,” but since she meant so much to poor William I’m sure she’ll be referenced again frequently over the show’s remaining six-and-a-half seasons.

The Verdict.

This episode is very much split down the middle for me.

The main story is quite engaging, at least right up until the climax where things get silly. The crew having to make emergency command decisions, in the absence of the captain and first officer is pretty exciting.  There’s also plenty of tension built up around the fate of Picard and Riker.  The result is an episode that makes great use of it’s ensemble cast, including those with less screen time.  For starters the performances all feel more casual, and the dialogue less forced (something which I attribute largely to the actors in this instance). The ship feels like a place with real community, and each character gets to show a side of themselves and their interests beyond their professional ambitions. If the reason for the Bynar’s deception wasn’t so ridiculous, I’d be tempted to give this episode a 4 star rating.  Except…

…for the parts with Riker on the holodeck.  We spend a WHILE just watching Riker swipe left on a bunch of holo-models as, as the computer works to construct his perfect fantasy girl. Once he finally gets her (aka Minuet), he constantly pontificates at her about how real and perfect she seems, all while very obviously undressing her with his eyes. It honestly just seems a little... icky. Predatory, even. After Picard joins, the tone becomes less sexually charged, but then the two men spend their time discussing Minuet right in front of her as if she’s not there, or nothing more than an intellectual curiosity.

Perhaps I’m thinking too much about it.  Many of my favourite episodes involve and feature holodeck characters, and similar objections could (and have) been raised there too, but there’s just something about the way Riker and Picard openly objectify an intelligence that, for all they know, is both sentient, and also at their mercy.  I will concede that I don’t think that subplot was intended to come off as creepy, nor does it outright ruin the episode for me.  You win some, you lose some, and sometimes you break even. At the very least it’s mostly fun, just not beyond criticism.

2.5 Stars (out of 5)

Additional Observations

Picard has come a long way in these past 14 episodes. At first he always seemed kinda grumpy, but lately he’s been more relaxed.  In this episode he has nothing but praise for his entire crew, and especially Riker.  As I indicated above, their dynamic feels a lot more natural in this episode, and it’s nice to see Picard develop into a friend and mentor to Riker.

I realize the shots of station 74 are recycled from Star Trek III, but it’s a great visual, and even the Enterprise looks especially breathtaking here.  Visually a very impressive episode all around.

I find Wesley so unintentionally funny.  Riker tells him to keep an eye on the Bynars, and he takes those instructions literally.  Every time we return to the bridge to check in on Wes, he’s standing in the same spot just glaring at the Bynars suspiciously, as if he’s not being super obvious, and it just cracked me up.

Inconsistent technology: This episode makes a point of showing us that Minuet is simply an elaborate puppet without the Bynar’s upgrades. I’m not bothered by later episodes/spin-off-series depicting holograms who are undeniably sentient, as that can be explained as a natural progression of the technology. However, in “the big goodbye” Picard has a conversation with a holo character who expresses genuine concern that he and his loved ones may cease to exist when the program shuts off. All of that sounds something that's selfaware and sentient to me. So then why is Minuet so much less interactive sans-Bynars? The only way I can reconcile this is to suggest that Minuet's file got corrupted after the Bynars left, and any attempt to rewrite the program would result in a new “person”. There, did I do it? Did I save the continuity?

[scruffyplayssonic]

Are the ArchieSonic comics actually an 80's/90's syndicated cartoon? Episode 40: The one episode that's unique to the show's premise and characters (part 4: Spark of Life)

Welcome back to my look at the ArchieSonic comic series, and how it shared a lot of the same story tropes as a typical ‘80s or ‘90s syndicated cartoon. Today I have one last story arc I want to look at for the “episode that’s unique to the show’s premise or characters,” category. It’s the fan-favourite story arc Spark of Life, published in Sonic Universe #71 - 74!

Taking place during the Shattered World crisis adapting Sonic Unleashed post-reboot, Spark of Life saw Sally, Nicole, Tails and Big travel to Isolated Island (from Knuckles’ Chaotix) to answer a digital distress call from Nicole’s creator, Dr Ellidy. Venturing into the digital world, Nicole discovered Dr. Ellidy was being threatened by a rogue A.I. that was interfering with the reprogrammed badniks Ellidy had turned into his housekeepers, and which also tried to get its hands on Ellidy himself when he digitised himself to investigate the problem in Cyberspace. Combined with the continuing threat of the Dark Gaia monsters appearing at night and a shocking revelation about Nicole’s origins, the Freedom Fighters had a lot on their plates for this story.

Spark of Life is one of only a handful of stories written by Aleah Baker (with Aleah writing the script based on her husband Ian Flynn’s plot). Aleah regularly contributed to ArchieSonic for years by doing character designs, colouring, and working on the letter pages’ gag strip, Off Panel, as well as writing a number of stories for the post-reboot era. As well as Spark of Life, this includes the stories Light in the Dark in Sonic #260 - 262, Consequences in Sonic #263, Hidden Costs in Sonic #277 - 279, The Case of the Pirate Princess in Sonic Universe #91 - 94, and Knuckles vs. Break Man in Sonic: Worlds Unite Battles #1. Aleah has unfortunately not been able to write for IDW Sonic yet due to poor health, although last year she did colour an absolutely gorgeous cover for issue #50. I’m sure that I speak for all of us when I wish her all the best and hope that she gets better..

So what makes Spark of Life so special? Well a lot of it has to do with Nicole, and the relationships she has in this arc. By the time of this story Nicole had come a long way from the talking handheld computer she was first introduced as, developing into a real person with feelings, hopes, and dreams. Nicole and her development as a character was a large part of the Iron Dominion arc and its aftermath, but that was partially lost after the comic was rebooted and the Freedom Fighters’ backstories were all rewritten to be similar to the old canon but different enough to be distinguishable. Nicole’s awakening as a sentient being is shown as a flashback in this story, and it’s very similar to how it was pre-reboot, with Nicole creating a hard-light holographic avatar for herself and stargazing with Sally.

But how she got to that point was the big difference, as this time she didn’t have wacky body-swap shenanigans with Sally. She also wasn’t sent back in time to be Sally’s friend by a future Rotor - instead she was given to a young Sally as a present by Dr Ellidy. But it’s only during the events of this story that we find out why Dr Ellidy created Nicole in the first place.

Nicole was actually a failed attempt at creating a digital existence for his daughter Nikki, who was dying of a chronic disease. The idea was that he would be able to preserve Nikki’s mind in the digital world, but all he was able to create before Nikki passed was an A.I. that seemed emotionless and did not have any sense of identity or personality. Heartbroken, Dr. Ellidy decided to leave Mobotropolis and retire to Isolated Island, leaving the AI (now named Nicole by King Nigel) with Sally as a gift. However Dr. Ellidy was apparently more successful than he realised, as over time Nicole developed into an actual person - going from JARVIS to Vision, if you like. Dr. Ellidy lived up to the name of his new home and stayed isolated from the rest of the world for the most part, although he would occasionally make contact with the Kingdom such as when he sent Sally the ring blades that had become a part of her new design post-reboot. But Dr Ellidy wasn’t aware of how much Nicole had grown over the years and so he was naturally shocked when she came to his rescue in the digital world, and harboured some resentment towards her because she reminded him of Nikki.

The other main relationship that was focused on in this story was that of Nicole and Sally, as this issue was the first step on the road for the two of them becoming a couple. More like Spark of Romance, amirite?

…

…anyway! It was subtle and sadly not able to be followed up on before the series was cancelled, but the seeds of the romance that was supposed to come were there. With Sally, we got to see that she cared about Nicole very deeply and was very upset by how Dr Ellidy was treating her as if she were not a real person.

And for Nicole we got to see some character growth for her, as she started out chastising Sally for putting herself at risk at the beginning of the story but later realised she would do the exact same thing for her.

Nicole totally had an, “Oh… she just like me. She just like me FR!” moment there!

Aside from Nicole and how the other characters relate to her, there’s a lot of other great stuff in this story. Another one of my favourite moments from all of ArchieSonic is this incredibly wholesome talk that Sally and Big had.

In this house we stan Big the Cat. I'd go to him if I needed someone to talk about girls with too!

We also were introduced to Phage, the afore-mentioned malicious AI making everyone’s lives difficult.

Phage was a very curious AI who was fascinated by what she did not understand, and had an interesting speech pattern which indicates she may have assimilated a thesaurus at some point. We didn’t find out her whole story at this time, but we did discover that she was created by Eggman and seemed to be looking for a way to get back in his good graces. After Nicole foiled her first attempt on Dr Ellidy, Phage took Nicole hostage instead and demanded that the Freedom Fighters bring her the red star ring and the chaos emerald hidden on the island. 

Speaking of, red star rings now became a thing!

While they had technically been introduced the previous year in the Sonic Super Special Magazine, that was only in a five page story of dubious canonicity adapting the mobile game Sonic Dash, and the red star rings hadn’t been seen again since. This story served as their proper introduction, with Dr Ellidy explaining that the island’s Lake of Rings had one day created this instead of the usual standard rings and that he had been researching the increased power it generated compared to them. It was later revealed that the reason the Lake of Rings had started producing red star rings was because a chaos emerald had landed in it.

The best (and most unexpected) thing about the red star rings though is that they granted Nicole a super form!

But if SEGA asks, it’s not a super form, okay? It’s an overclocked form. Totally different. ;)

Dr Ellidy later gave both of the red star rings he’d obtained to Nicole as an olive branch, showing that he did actually want to have an ongoing friendship with her despite how the painful way she reminded him of his lost daughter. It was a nice gesture.

And the last thing I’d like to talk about in Spark of Life is the location. It was really neat to see the Knuckles’ Chaotix game get a shoutout in this way. It’s one of the classic games that is often overlooked (it doesn’t help that unlike most of the classic era games it has never been ported to modern consoles), and considering how different the modern Chaotix are to their classic counterparts, it’s hard to say whether it’s even canon any more. So for a long-time Sonic nerd like myself, it was nice to see it get this kind of representation. We get to see some of the badniks from the game and also the sling-rings, which actually make sense to be in this story.

This is in contrast to the pre-reboot adaptation of Knuckles’ Chaotix where they just came out of nowhere. Dr Ellidy was explained to be a scientist who was researching ring technology and had actually created them (presumably Knuckles and the Chaotix came across them during the events of that game and used them to get around the island). Considering the sling-rings were Chekov’s gun-ed early in the story, it felt a lot more natural for Sally and Nicole to use them against Phage than the way the Chaotix adaptation just jammed them into the story without any setup. 

So those are my four choices for most unique story arcs of ArchieSonic: Mike Gallagher’s Mecha Madness, Karl Bollers’ Return to Angel Island, Ian Flynn’s Iron Dominion, and Aleah Baker’s Spark of Life. I’d also like to shout out a couple of other Ian Flynn stories I considered for this category, but that didn’t quite make the cut:

#1: Enerjak Reborn. Ian gets his hands on Ken Penders’ echidna mythos, and like Karl Bollers before him, puts his own spin on it. Also like Karl Bollers before him, he really pisses Ken Penders off in doing so. xD

#2: The Tails Adventure. A very unexpected adaptation of the Game Gear game of the same name, introducing the Battlebird Armada! Tails takes Antoine and Bunnie to Cocoa Island for their long overdue honeymoon and hijinks ensue.

#3: Scrambled. It’s the big showdown between Snively and Eggman! With interesting cameos from the Egg Bosses and Omega, the introduction of Orbot and Cubot, and the long awaited return of the Iron Queen!

#4: Champions. A Sonic the Fighters adaptation in the middle of a Sonic Unleashed adaptation! Reintroducing a bunch of characters from the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon! Only Ian Flynn would be so bold!

Well as much fun as it’s been writing for this topic, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t relieved to be moving on to some shorter topics now. Hopefully this’ll mean there’s a shorter wait for you between posts too (but I am rather preoccupied trying to find a new home, so no promises).

Next time I’ll be looking at episode 41 of our theoretical 65 episode syndicated cartoon: “Recap the origin story in yet another clip show.” See you next time!

[berrypass-de-murdler]

74. UFO, What'd You Know?

Mecore

DON'T READ THE EPISODES UNTIL YOU'VE FINISHED THE FIRST BOOK!!

They were FINALLY going to the ruins, but now Logico found another body that he has to take care of at the UFO place! UGH!!!

LOGICO: Go to the ruins and STAY THERE THIS TIME!!! SHADOW: All right, fine, you little boss monster.

‘Boss monster’? Anyway, Celadon, Onyx, and Seashell light the way, along with a fourth passenger.

UMBER: My name is Sociologist Umba. I am learning to read lots of books.

She’s waaaaay too precious for Logi to be scared of her anymore. Inves Time.

ONYX: I’m… part of a new cult. I’m sorry…  LOGICO: Who isn’t at this point, seriously. Oh my god Umber what are you doing. UMBER: I am learning a new thing called witchcraft! The pot looks pretty when I put gross things into it. Or when I sing a song! Zub dre wil bur god tay zee nurr- LOGICO: OKAY, okay, all right. SEASHELL: I wonder what this does? [smaccs the body with a magic wand] LOGICO: So you did it. SEASHELL: Well, my theories show that aliens can be contacted by these selenite wands, but only if the wands are properly charged. And how are they charged? By murder! Or, at least, that could be the case. Now, we wait. That’s why it’s an experiment. LOGICO: Aren’t you a dentist?

Seashell pauses, then runs into the cave. Logico glances, sees that Shadow isn’t by the ruins, and follows the dumb fish.

The end!

SORRY IT'S SO SHORT I'M IN A RUSH rip

adjnfkljasdf

ignore me 😭

The power of Goat Lord compels you!

See you next time murdlers!

[zutarawasrobbed]

I posted 123 times in 2022

49 posts created (40%)

74 posts reblogged (60%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@the-badger-mole

@zutaramonth

@stardust948

@sneezypeasy

@zutarawasrobbed

I tagged 102 of my posts in 2022

Only 17% of my posts had no tags

#zutara - 78 posts

#zuko - 37 posts

#katara - 36 posts

#atla - 27 posts

#avatar the last airbender - 12 posts

#anti kataang - 7 posts

#anti maiko - 6 posts

#atla original scripts - 6 posts

#anti k@taang - 5 posts

#incorrect quotes - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 96 characters

#what kind of grown ass man thinks “hmm i should murder this child for disagreeing with my idea?”

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Honestly, after the shit Aang pulled at the ember island players, I 100% would’ve supported the episode ending with Aang walking in on Zuko and Katara making out.

509 notes - Posted March 18, 2022

#4

Sokka: Katara, how many times do I have to tell you-

Katara: Because you don’t know how he feels about me! What if he doesn’t like me? He’s gonna be the Fire lord in a few days.

Sokka: He literally jumped in front of lightning for you! I think it’s clear!

Katara: Pshhh, he would’ve done that for anyone and you know that.

Sokka: … *Deadpan* He used Suki as momentum to save you from falling rocks when his sister found us at the air temple. Suki was just lucky his shove happened to get her out of the way too. I don’t think he’d do that for just anyone.

Katara: No he didn’t-

Suki: Yes, he did. He flat out told me.

513 notes - Posted January 26, 2022

#3

Suki: Why don’t you just tell Katara how you feel?

Zuko: *Scoffs* Are you crazy?!?! That’s the stupidest thing I could ever do. We just started to be friends!!! No. I’ve made enough reckless decisions in my life.

Also Zuko: *Yeets himself directly into lighting*

682 notes - Posted January 11, 2022

#2

Guys..

The original script adds so much context for a lot of scenes, but this one?

Zuko didn’t just start sleeping next to Katara because he wanted to be close to her. He also wanted to be close enough to protect her from another ambush and bomb attack.

And Katara could sleep with a smile on her face because she knew Zuko would be there to protect her. Zuko gave her the opportunity to sleep without being alert 100% of the time for the first time in probably forever…

I’m not okay 😭

696 notes - Posted October 14, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Katara: So, let me get this straight. You were in a war meeting... thirteen years old… defended new recruits from being used as fodder… and in return, you were challenged to an Agni Kai- at thirteen- by the officer who proposed it… But on the day of the Agni Kai, you- at thirteen years old- were met by your father… who you refused to fight… and instead of calling it off… he burnt half your face off and banished you?

Zuko: Yes…

Katara: *Nods* Excuse me.

2 Hours Later…

Ozai: *Cell opens* What-

Katara: It’s a full moon tonight.

Ozai: … Why-

Katara: *Sighs and starts sand timer* You have 10 seconds.

Ozai: *Apprehensive* For what?

Katara: To run, before I gut you like a fish 😁

1,918 notes - Posted January 14, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →