#I'm expecting each episode to be stronger than the last

[meneatyoghurt]

I'm so excited for Luke's episode of Wing It tomorrow. Really interested in seeing him (sort of) outside of the context of sfth.

He's on with Monica Gaga (who we know from the Bill Murray stream without Sam a while ago), Amy Cooke-Hodgson (she's guested with Sam, Tom and AJ before, and also does Austentatious with Cariad and Rachel) and Steen is making another appearance. Am sure it's going to be awesome.

[viljily]

why I think meljay has more potential than jayvik (I view them as platonic friends) and my thoughts on season 2

Mel is a strong and developed character, and so is Jayace. They look very good together, people love them and listen to their opinions. While Victor is more closed off and oftenly irritated unlike Jayce.

Jayce shows Mel a love that requires nothing in return and a genuineness that keeps her interested and makes her think about giving herself a chance at love.

Jayce respects Mel, and in turn Mel respects Jayce they have an equal relationship.

Mel is one of the few people Jace looks to for care and support in times of crisis. While Victor and Jayce often share misunderstandings.

Jayce didn't stay with Victor out of great love, but simply out of guilt. I'm sure that if he had been a little selfish, he would have let himself stay with the love of his life.

Jayce and Victor shared a dream, while Mel and Jayce shared a sincere romantic love.

I am very disappointed with the second season, especially the last three episodes, because I thought we would see further development of the Meljay as a couple, I would have liked to see their relationship getting stronger and stronger.

I really expected Jayce to defeat Victor and come back alive to his family, Cait and Mel.

Also I'm really angry at Jayce's behavior towards Mel when he found out she was a mage.

Instead of hugging his girlfriend after being where the fuck she was, asking what happened to her, he blamed her for saving only him and not everyone (especially Victor 🤡).

Mel loves him dearly and saved his ass for the second time and this is how grateful he is?

Okay, he apologized afterwards, but after they didn't even interact in any normal way. Jace just left her alone, and I understand that the war was hard on Jayce, but that didn't stop him from thinking about Victor.

I think the Meljay relationship was thrown under the bus

Jayce, who I loved as a character, would never do that to the girl he loves.

Jayvik is just fanservice for little girls who like to dream about gay relationships. Meljay is a canon couple who were perfect for each other. Well as always we see that true love in the media is constantly being sacrificed for more views and fans.

That's all I have to say.

[mapoeggplant]

skip to loafer chapter 66 analysis // spoilers

the school trip is over, but the changes are not yet: chapter 66 is full of cute moments that remind us how skip to loafer likes to treat its characters with great affection, leading them to a much brighter and gentle future.

i really love chapters like this one, where we have the famous “conversation between the girls vs conversation between the boys”. it’s very clear to me how sensei has fun using a lot of the adolescence and innocence of her characters to explore such cute and fun moments like this one, and i'm very grateful for that.

i think there is nothing better than starting the discussion by focusing on the girls! it is so good to see the four of them so comfortable with each other. this moment of them all together sharing a bed reminded me a lot of when they all went to mitsumi's hometown and gossiped all night. it is cute moments like these that we will remember forever as we grow up and lose the freedom we had when we were young, so i am very happy that they have the opportunity to experience something that they will carry inside their hearts for as long as they live. 

i also really like seeing how mitsumi is gradually opening up and becoming more and more adventurous. i never would have imagined that such a responsible and rule-following girl would agree to meet her friends even after curfew. of course, it wouldn't be such a peaceful moment without the stress of finding one of the teachers on patrol, but the fact that mitsumi got carried away and ran away with the girls already shows how she has been letting herself be carried away by the lightness of life.

it's beautiful to see how they understand each other so well and are always willing to face anything together — and “together” has to be the highlighted word for this episode. just like makoto said, whether it's running through the hallways or getting scolded, what matters is that they are facing everything side by side, without leaving anyone behind.

meanwhile, in another room, shima is cornered by his friends, especially mukai, who knows exactly everything that has happened for some time now. seeing shima getting involved with mitsumi again awakens in him a concern that is both new and old: old because he has already had a similar conversation with shima and knows about all of his doubts and complex feelings; new because, for him, it is as if shima is once again getting involved in something selfishly and without thinking much about the consequences. what he did not expect is that shima has changed much more than he himself imagined.

it is very good and gratifying to see how shima has been changing so much in this last arc. he has been increasingly true to himself and increasingly builds a desire to change his own relationship with his past. in my opinion, i believe that he is not only looking for a way to forgive everything that happened to him and finally accept that he does not have to carry as much guilt as he believes, but that he also sees a new life in his future without having to be completely tied to what happened in his past. he no longer wants to hide everything that happened and wear a mask, but rather forgive what happened for the sake of a future where he can be the one he seeks to be. 

and this is also reflected in the way he treats two people around him: mitsumi and his mother.

in the previous chapter, we had the chance to understand a little more about how shima understands his relationship with mitsumi and how he believes she sees/understands him. of course, there is still a very foggy barrier that makes it very difficult for him to truly understand and see everything with greater clarity, but little by little, i believe that the kindness that mitsumi sees in him will begin to be much stronger than the contempt he feels for himself, giving him the opportunity to take care of himself with more affection.

or rather: not only to himself, but also to everyone around him. and i believe that this has been happening little by little, since i see a lot of potential and growth in his plea to mukai, so that his friend will once again trust him and believe his words when he says that, from now on, he will no longer face his relationship with mitsumi with so much hesitation or fear.

now, the grand finale of this chapter, for me, involves the second person i mentioned earlier: shima finally manages to face his mother, but not in the way we readers expected. i always saw many people (myself included) expecting shima to face his mother in a much more firm and direct way, using the same aggressiveness and defensiveness that he used every time he talked to her before. i really believed that he would question everything she made him go through and would place much of the blame on her, but of course acting like that would make no sense after so many changes that shima has faced in the last few chapters.

inviting his mother to the next school festival not only shows that he is ready to start a new phase of his life with her, but it is also a way of showing her that he is much more willing to understand all of her reasons instead of questioning them aggressively. he no longer wants to keep their terrible relationship alive or point fingers, but rather to start something new and without so much pain, just like he did when he finally returned to the theater and found his passion again.

i believe that, from now on, there is a huge chance for shima's relationship with his family to improve and grow in a more positive way. i think that, in the future, we will finally have a chapter focused on his mother, where she opens her heart more to this son that she hurt so much, having a redemption arc for the sake of a healthier relationship with shima. i also think that we are close to seeing shima being even more open with little keiri, which fills my heart with joy.

and well, to finish, i think that all this change that we saw in volume 11, this hopeful beginning for volume 12 and the back cover of volume 11 being composed by chris and ririka, shows that these two will be the next people to have a greater focus, bringing even more light to shima's past and much more clarity so that he can walk towards a brighter future. this is all a guess, of course, but it would be perfect for me, since i love both of them and can’t wait to dissect them a little bit more. 

well, i do believe i will talk more about chapter 66 before the release of chapter 67, but for now, that's all i have to say!!! thank you so much for reading and for having the patience with me, it means a lot 💛 don't forget to buy vol 11 and chapter 66 on comic days!!!!!

[somedayillbepeterpan]

on today's rewatch: S3E7 [Joining of hands]

I haven't done a good job in putting out original content for the past few months and I blame my new job entirely 😂 It's so intense, it turns my brain into mush most days.

I'm 68% functional right now so if my ramblings don't make sense, I apologise.

Today, I am thinking of Colin's retreating back after he discovered the Pen was LW.

(Colouring this gif is so hard. It's so dark 😭 I wish I was better at this.)

I don't know why I'm locked in on Colin's back.

On him walking away.

On his coat billowing as it matches the force of his steps. I have a thing for people's footsteps or way of walking because I often think about how I walk and how it represents what I'm feeling at the moment. My many, many rewatches offered me the realisation that there isn't a lot of full body shots of Luke Newton for S1 and S2 nor are walking shots. If there are full body shots, he's with Nicola so your attention is split.

I read a meta somewhere that book!Colin canonically loves walking so much so that he would endure the rain to help clear his thoughts.

I always thought that this walk was more heartbroken than angry. He walked away because his heart was breaking into pieces. But I also think that he walked away because of his love for her.

I know that the last thing he says to Pen in this scene is that he will never forgive her but I also think that he was talking more to Lady Whistledown than to Pen because at this point, they are still separate in his mind.

Clearly, this walk is the hardest to understand and has been part of heated debates of what canonically would Colin really do (this being compared to the source material aka book!Colin). I don't want to broach that debate too much because I would've done the same as Colin (as someone who is an introverted demisexual empath who value the words that come out of my mouth and actions to take but often overthinks them). And these are mere ramblings of a Polin brainrotter.

Now, there are three significant full body walking shots of Colin in S3: Colin's entrance in E1 (the faux swagger), this retreating walk in the early part of E7 (the heartbreak), and the him trying to clear his thoughts in the latter part of the same episode (the drunk, angry yet pensive one).

This walk represents the war that Colin has fought so many times. When his emotions overtake him, he finds himself walking away. I say find because I don't think Colin was self-aware nor mature enough to understand why he walked away. It's why he traveled around, it's what happened to him with Marina, and what he almost did to Penelope. In my head, this very distinctly represents Colin's trauma about his dad's death. His emotions always get the better of him.

This is another thing that I appreciate about Colin and Penelope's relationship-- they helped each other grow. If Penelope didn't have the courage or honestly, the love, to confront Colin when he was about to walk away in the modiste scene, we wouldn't have known the root of Colin's emotional trauma. Of him feeling inadequate and abandoned/betrayed by the people he loves.

On a different side of this debate, this is what separates this relationship to all other relationships that Colin has in his life-- the depth of love and understanding that him and Pen have shared gave them the the power to get out of this situation much, much stronger.

(on a side note, writing this is making me so excited for s4 even though I want to tamper my expectations)

In conclusion, I didn't appreciate the words that came out of Colin's mouth. But on the other hand, I appreciated that he walked away and he didn't do what book!Colin did. While this scene was devastating to watch, I really really appreciate how Colin spent time understanding his emotions about the whole LW situation. I know we all wanted to tear his hair out by the end but love doesn't put a timeline on forgiveness. Nor does it paint a pretty picture.

But time does help in growing yourself better.

[royonninjago]

Lost Potential with Ninjago's Wildbrain Seasons

Let me start this off with a question. When looking at the Wildbrain seasons, from Secrets of Forbidden Spinjitzu to Crystalized, what do you believe is the common theme connecting all of them?

I'm sure there are many answers to this question, but the common theme that I noticed a while back was that each part had a major focus on one of the Ninja and their Elemental Powers. Or at least they did at some point during their development.

Allow me to explain. Secrets of Forbidden Spinjitzu is split up into two halves, the Fire and Ice chapter, which corresponds to Kai and Zane and their powers being usurped by villains, Kai by force and Zane through manipulation. Master of the Mountain covers Cole and his connection to the Earth and Seabound covers Nya and her connection to the Water. Crystalized doesn't really cover Lloyd's Elemental Powers (whatever the hell they are) but it does feature heavily his heritage and the abilities it grants him, which is a whole other can of worms that I'll probably write about later. Finally, during Prime Empire's development, Jay's mother was originally going to play a pivotal role in this season, and also presumably the Element of Lightning as well. There is also the 4 episodes of The Island, but I think of that as more of a prologue to Seabound than its own season.

By now you've probably connected the dots as to what exactly this "lost potential" is. How cool would it have been to have the Fire and Ice chapters gone in depth about how Kai and Zane felt about and controlled their powers to the extent of Seabound and MotM did? Or if it delved deeper into Jay's Lightning powers and his desire for a relationship with his birth mother, and how those feelings conflict with his love for his adopted parents? Or if Crystalized didn't chicken out at the last moment, and Lloyd actually got to use that cool ass Oni form?

But they didn't. At the very least, Dragons Rising seems to be focusing more on Elemental Powers than ever, which is something I know many of the fans are really grateful for.

In lieu of that, here are some head-cannons and ideas for the Ninja's powers that we didn't get in the show:

Kai is very well known for getting in his own way due to believing that he is the "main character" of sorts. This main character syndrome he experiences causes him to subconsciously expect that everything will go his way with him putting in minimal effort. This directly conflicts with what his Fire powers rely on. Passion, ambition, and desire. This is why his powers always gets stronger when he's helping other people, because it reacts to his passion and desire to protect those he cares about.

I like to think that Zane didn't work quite right until he became the Master of Ice. Computers produce a lot of heat, and if not properly cooled then they are prone to malfunctions and damage from overheating. Dr. Julien had that same problem when creating Zane, but when the previous Master of Ice found Zane and saw potential in him that he liked, ha passed his power to the robot. After that, Zane's overheating problem disappeared and he was able to take the first steps to becoming someone who protects those who cannot protect themselves.

Lightning is the result of two forces seeking to find balance. When positive charges and negative charges accumulate inside a cloud, the atmosphere initially acts as an insulator, but when the charges become too great, lightning strikes to release all that energy at once, and when it does it finds the path of least resistance. This idea is a bit more loose and not as well thought out due to me not having a firm idea of how to better improve Prime Empire in general, but I think it would be a cool idea if Jay's love for his adopted parents and Jay's desire to have a relationship with his birth mother were the two forces accumulating inside Jay during the events of Prime Empire. The Ninja, his friends, would act as his insulator, but as they disappeared one by one, the dichotomy would grow inside him until he released it all during the final fight with Unagami. Unagami may not deserve the unbridled wrath of a thunderbolt, but he's right there and Lightning always takes the path of least resistance, whether or not its justified.

Lloyd is very accepting and in touch with his dragon heritage, but not so much with his Oni side due to his father being only resurrected with his Oni half. He has seen first-hand what uncontrolled anger and hatred can do to someone, and he's scared of using that power. But the thing is, under the right circumstances, anger is a good thing. It allows us to see the injustices around us and gives us the drive to fight against it. Upon realizing this, he finally comes to term with his entire heritage and allows him to unlock the power of the Golden Oni. The colors of the Dragons and the form of the Oni unite to create a greater power, it is the embodiment of Righteous Fury. That is how the overlord should have been defeated in Crystalized. The Golden Ultra-Dragon can still help, but this would have been much cooler than what we actually got.

And those are some of the thought I have that would've improved the Wildbrain seasons. If you have any ideas or opinions about the Ninja's Elemental Powers or what you would do to improve those seasons, feel free to let me know, I always love hearing the ideas of others!

[neuroticbookworm]

Understanding the Core Four of La Pluie

Last Saturday, I screamed into this hellsite about the brilliance of La Pluie episode 10, and in the last couple of days, I read many amazing metas from my fellow La Pluie fiends that broke down all the well-executed dimensions of this episode (keep an eye out for this week’s La Pluie meta roundup from my pal @lurkingshan). When we last saw these characters in episode 9, Lomfon was running the hamster wheel in his brain, trying to figure out how to navigate his situation of hearing Saengtai (and Patts) when it rained. Tien was nursing a crush on Lomfon, and Tai and Patts had made things official and were stronger than ever. Then came episode 10, which turned everything upside down and left us speechless.

I loved and enjoyed every aspect of this episode: acting, plot development, cinematography, screenwriting, and more. But the one that blew me away the most was how the motivation and drive behind each character’s actions were perfectly in line with the character traits the show has already established. I initially wanted to write this post only to explore these traits, but after observing the La Pluie fandom discourse for the past week, I expanded it to include my defense of why every character in the La Pluie Core Four "deserves" the resolutions the show is poised to give them in the coming days.

Tien:

When Tien enters the pivotal conflict scene in the rain, he walks into a kiss between his brother and the guy he has a crush on. Absolutely heartbreaking. We see him stand still on the side, while Patts rushes to push Lomfon away from Tai and punch him repeatedly in the face (though not hard enough, as my friend @bengiyo argues here, and I fully agree. That ass-whooping should've been harder and longer). And after Patts and Tai walk away, Tien faces Lomfon, who just recklessly messed up the lives of everyone around him with no regard for anyone's feelings.

Here’s a quick list of Tien’s personality traits that were on display in this scene:

Tien is calm. He is pissed, he is rattled by the events, and yet he starts with a pretty calm "What did you mean?"

Tien is logical. He immediately counters Lomfon's explanation about his hearing loss and him being Saengtai's soulmate with, "You liar. I'm speaking now, and you can hear me."

Tien is a good communicator. He clearly confessed his feelings to Lomfon and how he thought his feelings were reciprocated, even when his heart was in tatters. He managed to be the most open and honest person out of everyone involved in this mess, and he hadn’t even done anything wrong. We would’ve completely understood his actions if he had just walked away after cussing out Lomfon, but that’s not the Tien we’ve seen and adored for the last nine episodes.

Tien is brave. He had been developing feelings for Lomfon for a while, and he thought his feelings were reciprocated. Being vulnerable and confessing your feelings to your crush is a nerve-wracking experience in its own right, and yet Tien confessed his feelings after Lomfon had just kissed his brother, potentially ruining any possibility of a relationship between them. For that alone, he is one of the bravest sonsofbitches I've seen in a BL so far.

I was not expecting to be surprised by Tien in this episode. I don’t exactly know what I thought his reaction would be to the Lomfon-sized wreaking ball I knew was coming, but I had only anticipated a heartbroken Tien. Instead, I got a Tien who was the only level-headed and rational person in this fight. And all of these wonderful traits were already established in the show's previous episodes:

Tien is one of the calmer Saengs. We have seen each of the Saeng brothers handle their parents' split very differently in the flashbacks. Saengtai and Saengchan are usually in tears and are physically reactive, whereas Saengtien and Saengnuea are the ones holding them back and comforting them.

Lomfon is not the only one who ran experiments to understand his feelings. Tien is also logical (albeit less neurotic and more sensible than Lomfon), and he worked through his sudden feelings for Lomfon after they held hands in the classroom by holding hands with his friends. He’s also open to opinions from others, as he talks to Tai about his feelings. Which makes him…

A good communicator. Tien also calls out Tai’s reluctance to communicate with his mother rationally, and to try and understand her side of things in the divorce and her relationship with her boyfriend, Nu.

Tien is an excellent subversion of the "playful and less mature younger sibling" character because, while he is easy-going and playful, he’s also the most emotionally intelligent and mature character out of the Core Four. Moving on to his elder, albeit much less emotionally mature brother, Tai.

Tai and Patts:

I’m analyzing Patts and Tai’s actions together because this way it’s easier to compare their words and actions towards each other in this episode, to their relationship dynamics that were established previously. The explosive fight and the subsequent breakup were shocking, but smart cookies like @lurkingshan, @bengiyo, @shortpplfedup and @ginnymoonbeam posited in our conversations, before the episode aired, that it was time for Patts’ frustrations and insecurities to rise to the surface. And boy did it rise up. This conflict between the primary couple has already been extensively analyzed by @lurkingshan here, so I will add my little observations on how Patts and Tai’s behavior in this fight is supported by the writing of the show so far.

@ginnymoonbeam has shared her thoughts on Tai’s avoidant personality, here. I want to add that Tai is also incredibly stubborn and hard to please. His father says so, to Patts during their dinner in episode 5.

The phrase "seems like an understanding person" is very telling, five episodes later. Tai also has the propensity to see life in black and white, especially when it comes to romance. His faith in soulmates is broken the moment he witnesses the end of a soulmate relationship. There is no room for explanation, as evidenced by his decision to ghost his soulmate for 2 years, and his coldness towards his mom, whom he has decided is the sole villain in their parents’ divorce. Simply put, he reads too much Nora Roberts (check out @syrena-del-mar’s excellent meta, La Pluie meets Nora Roberts).

Moving on to Patts. First off: no Patts hate is allowed in this house. I do not condone violence, but I also think the reasons behind the display of violence deserve to be talked about without the air of dismissal surrounding it (@shortpplfedup backs me up on this, here).

Patts had been understanding of two years of silence from Tai, and had been incredibly patient while working and finding solutions to Tai's fears around relationships and commitment. All the emotional labor in this relationship had been done by Patts, he verbalizes his desires and thoughts every time and is often left hanging by Tai, in silence. After Patts and Tai’s (supposed) heart-to-heart in Doi Mae Pliang (shout out to @indigostarfire and @lurkingshan for the incredible observation that Tai chose not to verbalize his answer to Patts’ question "Do you want to be my faen?", here and here), Patts must’ve felt that they are finally on solid ground, after years of uncertainty.

When Tai lied and hid his plans with Lomfon at the park, Patts must’ve felt devastated. And when he saw Lomfon kiss Tai, he finally snapped. He took out his anger on Lomfon, but as @bengiyo observed, Patts still managed to not leave a single bruise on Lomfon. His restraint is a sign that his frustration is not directed at Lomfon, but at Tai. Patts’ anger and Tai’s refusal to communicate openly escalate the fight further and further, until all the tension breaks at Tai’s room, with Patts agreeing to break up.

Something that stood out to me in this conflict is that the escalations were so well written that they did not feel like they were being done just for the sake of moving the plot along. Every question thrown at each other’s faces and every furious answer spit out in response felt natural and fluid. When Patts shows up at Tai’s door, he is not there with the intention of picking the fight back up. The first thing Tai asks Patts is, "Are you drunk?" and Patts tells him that he is not. They both know and understand how horribly this can go if one of them loses control. When Patts asks him "You still love me, don’t you?", Tai infuriatingly responds "This is exactly why I don’t want to talk to you".

And we see Patts getting angry at his response, shouting this:

To which Tai responds with this:

Tai did not utter those words to aggravate Patts. He truly believes that in an ideal, happy relationship, the couple must be completely compatible, so totally in sync that they will know all the answers to the questions that didn’t even need to be asked. Tai stumbled into a clear understanding of the Patts-Nara mess in episode 8 and told Patts that he was not mad about it. He did not ask questions or demand answers from Patts. Sometime during his deadly trek up Doi Mae Pliang, Tai decides that their love is enough to conquer whatever the universe throws at them. Not understanding, not communication, but love. That’s why Tai shuts down every time Patts demands an explanation; he thinks needing one means that Patts does not love him "the right way". And when Patts finally blurts out "Let’s breakup", we see him immediately absorb the weight of those words and backtrack. But for Tai, this is the final proof he needed to confirm that Patts is not right for him. So, he thanks Patts for the time they shared together and shuts the door in his face.

I sincerely hope Patts holds his ground and does not apologize unnecessarily to Tai. Tai is 100% in the wrong here; he needs a stern talking-to from someone who understands both Tai and how love and relationships actually work (my money is on Tai’s dad), and then he needs to do some very difficult but necessary introspection about his understanding of love. When he is finally done and realizes that he has made a massive mistake, I hope that Tai is the one who seeks out Patts to reconcile.

And finally, the messiest mess of the Core Four…

Lomfon:

Sigh. Oh Lomfon, you fucking disaster. I’ve been wary of you, I’ve been fascinated by you, and now I want to buy a ladder so I can climb on it and ring your head like a fucking bell till you forget the “How to acquire Tai in ten easy steps” list you have in your head.

There is no question in my mind that Lomfon fucked up spectacularly. He orchestrated a date with a man who was already taken, proceeded to reveal the truth about his soulmate connection in the most dramatic and emotionally destabilizing way possible, and then kissed him. And he does all this in the midst of developing feelings for this man’s brother.

Folks, I now have a confession to make. The nearly 2k words I had put before this section were to gently lure you into an "In defense of Lomfon" post.

The two major criticisms I’ve seen so far that are leveled against him are that he has disregarded Tien’s feelings and that he has been grossly manipulative in how he chose to reveal his soulmate connection to Tai. I will try to tackle both of them with an objective lens. My goal here is not to pose an explanation or argument for every shitty thing Lomfon has ever done in the show; it is just to present Lomfon’s traits, stripped from the (rightful) anger the fandom feels after the events of episode 10, so I can understand and accept the redemption the show might give him in the coming week.

Before I get into the specifics of the defense, I want to focus on the Keychain Acquisition scene we finally got in this episode. We see Tai run after his dad, and Tai suddenly notices Lomfon, who is focused on the papers in his hand and wearing headphones, about to walk into a busy street. He rushes to push Lomfon out of the way, tells him to be careful, and then runs after his dad again. From the moment Tai touches Lomfon, to the moment Lomfon looks up only to see Tai running back, this whole interaction takes about fifteen seconds. I counted them. Fifteen seconds.

When we watched this scene, @lurkingshan and I could not believe how absurdly mundane it was. The show has been teasing a connection between Tai and Lomfon for weeks, and this is it? Tai pushed him out of the way of a moving car and shouted an obligatory "be careful, it’s dangerous" in Lomfon’s general direction before going back to his own problems. But that’s all it took for Lomfon to decide that this mystery stranger is his "first love". He did not even get a proper glimpse of Tai because, by the time he looked up, Tai was already running. I wonder how much of Tai’s voice he actually registered, given the fact that he had to rip his earphones off first and that he was disoriented from being pushed to the ground.

I understand that teenagers have wild imaginations, but even for them, this is a level of delusion that is only achievable if any and all human contact is rare. I have held hands and gently pulled and pushed friends and family members out of the way countless times in my life while crossing a busy road. If Lomfon had saved the keychain as a reminder of the day he almost died before a kind stranger saved his life, this would be a completely different post. Since Lomfon attaches such an intense meaning to an event that is so commonplace (the showing-kindness-to-strangers part, not the almost getting-hit-by-a-car part), all this scene shows us is that Lomfon is utterly and pathetically lonely.

I’m not just reading this from the keychain scene. Since this show has some very clever writers, Lomfon’s "Social Loner" status is established from the very first episode. Before Tien meets Lomfon at the bookstore, we see Tien interact with his friends and his brother. In contrast to this, when we see Lomfon for the first time, he’s alone and is immediately picking a fight with Tien. Which leads to Lomfon meeting Tai for the very first time, and Tai intervening to break up the catfight. Tien even says this to Lomfon:

Remember when we were theorizing about Lomfon potentially knowing Tai before this incident, after the Keychain was introduced in episode 7? Because in episode 2, when he meets Tai at the coffee shop, he talks about Tai’s articles? And we were thinking, there’s no way he just stalked this person online after meeting him for about 2 minutes, just because he took his side. Nobody would be that obsessed, right? Right? Nope. This boy is really THAT obsessed, because he does not have a single friend who can take his side on a daily basis and normalize this experience for him.

With this information, some of Lomfon’s actions start making a little bit more sense, as his social isolation must make him very inept at reading normal social cues and emotions. He may fancy himself a logician, but he cannot factor feelings and emotions, his own or otherwise, into his calculations. I intentionally only used the word "obsession" when I talked about his feelings for Tai, because I know that he’s not pursuing Tai because he felt his heart flutter in his chest. He’s pursuing him because: 1. Tai took his side in the bookstore argument; 2. He then went home and stalked Tai on the internet and figured out that he’s a writer, which was interesting, because he likes... reading, I guess? (I’m feeling physical pain due to second-hand embarrassment from typing that sentence.) and 3. He found out that Tai has read some of his favorite books and figured that they must have the same passions and interests.

And here is my defense for the first criticism: When we consider just how little time he must’ve spent in his entire life, thinking about other people and their problems (because he must have the heartfelt and intimate connection it requires with only a rare few people), Lomfon does care for Tien. He held Tien back when he was recklessly rushing into a storm to save his brother. He calmed Tien down with very persuasive arguments that were both logical and empathetic. He respected Tien’s opinions enough to discuss the concept of soulmates with him twice (in episodes 7 and 10). During their discussion in episode 10, Tien tells him he doesn’t know whether he would choose his soulmate or someone he likes. After the scene, we see Lomfon sitting alone, ruminating on this thought for a few seconds. He asks his friend and possible crush for advice on what to do, and when he doesn’t get a concrete solution, he decides to give his way a try. And we see him make the call to invite Tien to lunch and a day at the park.

And what exactly was he trying to accomplish on this date, you may ask? Well, to paraphrase @bengiyo, he just wanted to run an experiment for "The Foot Pop" theory from The Princess Diaries. Matters of the heart are not something you can distil into equations. You either have to let the desire fully confront you, let it cloud your logical brain, and bravely let it guide you into your next steps. Or you can open up and be vulnerable about it with the people closest to you, ask for their opinions, and then take a decision that’s a bit more informed, yet firmly rooted in what you want based on what you feel. Both of these options are foreign to Lomfon. He has never solved problems this way, nor has he witnessed someone solving problems like this. So he recklessly kisses Tai, to prove to himself that all the calculations he had performed on his and Tai’s compatibility were right. He kisses Tai, and when he does not feel the butterflies, he pulls back, sees Tai’s stunned face, and immediately realizes that he has made a horrible, horrible mistake.

You know where he should’ve run the experiment, for better results? Riiiiiight here:

gif by the ever lovely @liyazaki

It could’ve been so simple and sweet. This loser just had to take the route that would cause the most damage.

Moving on to the second criticism that Lomfon is shady and manipulative in his actions in episode 10. I agree, he easily could’ve found a much less dramatic way to talk to Tai and Patts about this shared soulmate bond situation. But taking this straightforward route takes a lot of social courage and nuance, which Lomfon clearly does not have. If he and Patts had not been staring daggers since the moment they laid eyes on each other, the solution to their soulmate problem could’ve been calmly discussed at a table over breakfast. Since Lomfon decides to posture up to Patts as a romantic rival, with Patts already on edge about his intentions with Tai, Patts brusquely tells him to stay away from Tai. Which does not help matters one bit, and leads to Lomfon making all the wrong moves straight into disaster.

The biggest questions that were constantly in my head after this fiasco were "How the heck is Tien ever going to forgive him?". "Is a happily ever after even on the cards for Lomfon and Tien?". "Will it be believable and realistic if the writers give us one?".

I do not want to speculate on how the writers may choose to end this arc, because I want to ponder these questions purely based on what we know so far, without an ending of my choice already in my head, so I don’t skew my arguments to fit.

Lomfon may believe that Tai is the one who is most compatible with him, but he could not be more wrong. We have not seen any interactions between them where their personalities complement each other. We only see Tai in these interactions through Lomfon’s obsessive lens. But on the flip side, we see that Tien is rational and emotionally mature enough to give Lomfon an honest chance to explain himself and apologize. If Lomfon takes the time to look inward and understand his feelings for Tien, he will then convey them with sharp focus, and without any ambiguity. Because, let’s be honest, Lomfon is many things, but he is definitely not the type to prattle. And for Tien, who is also a straightforward and no-nonsense communicator, this approach might be the first step towards understanding and eventually forgiving Lomfon.

I know that I am skirting around a lot of Lomfon’s major fuckups on this road to redemption, but as I stated before, I’m not here to explain away all of his mistakes. I know Lomfon has some serious introspection and atonement in front of him. The only way he can ever hope for forgiveness is if he goes into this journey without hoping to be forgiven. He has to do it for the people that he has hurt, with no expectations in return.

Lomfon is not irredeemable. Does he deserve all the hate he is currently getting from the fandom? Yes. Did he deserve the ass-whooping? Hell yes. Will he also be worthy of Tien’s (and our) forgiveness if and when he reevaluates all of his actions and apologizes to him? Absolutely.

Shoutout to @lurkingshan, @bengiyo, @shortpplfedup, @wen-kexing-apologist, @ginnymoonbeam and @kyr-kun-chan for discussing their La Pluie thoughts and opinions with me, which helped coalesce my thoughts into this post.

Tagging @blmpff on request

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: March 2024

……….FILM……….

Dune: Part Two (2024) Every piece of technology felt and looked so tangible. The baby worm too! Love the tactile nature of this whole production and I hope studios take note that CG can't be the only tool in your belt. So much bigger than I imagined and just enjoyed the whole thing.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) Ages surprisingly well and a script that lets the main quartet be both funny and layered.

……….TELEVISION……….

Columbo (1.01 to 1.03) Hey I'm starting Columbo! Love that each episode is feature-length and Columbo appears fully formed right out of the gate. The sets and costumes are all so glamorous and L.A. Very excited to keep going.

Succession (2.05 to 3.04) The Kendall play at the end of season 2 felt very much like the Kendall play at the end of season 1 and while I'm still a huge fan of this series, I just hope it's not the same going into season 3 and 4.

Delicious in Dungeon (Episode 1.09 to 1.13) Great adaptation that isn't just a straight recreation of the artwork in the manga. The more kinetic/frantic moments in the animation are a nice departure and while they don't pop up in each episode, now that I'm 13 eps deep I can appreciate how they're sprinkled throughout.

Love is Blind (Episode 6.02 to 6.13) It still amazes me that anyone goes on reality tv.

……….YOUTUBE……….

Twilight | ContraPoints by ContraPoints Yes I did watch a nearly 3-hour essay on Twilight, sexual expression, and all that comes with that. And you should too. VIDEO

Instagram fatigue and the rise of 'Resentment Reels' by Taylor Lorenz While I haven't noticed this specific phenomenon, I have noticed Instagram declining as an app (both as a user trying to see anything other than ads, and a creator trying to get my work seen in between those ads). It's a bummer. VIDEO

Saltburn: The Tumblr-ification of Cinema by Broey Deschanel Every since I saw Saltburn, I've been thinking about what wasn't quite sitting right with me. This unlocked a lot of what I couldn't describe and most of it stems from the writer/director's upper class upbringing. Saltburn isn't a "take down the rich" movie, it's a horror story from the perspective of a wealthy family. VIDEO

Why Is It So Hard To Cross The Street? (& What You Can Do To Help) by Strong Towns Accidents where drivers hit a pedestrian are going up in my area so this really hit home. And for those feeling like there's nothing you can do at ground level, consider taking their course (not a paid sponsorship I'm just in real support of community-lead initiatives). VIDEO

……….READING……….

Elric of Melniboné by Michael Moorcock (Complete) After picking up the last book in this series (which I've yet to read) I figured I'd start at the beginning. Love the fast pace pulpy action and I can see how this influenced the creation of D&D.

The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie (Complete) This one would lose me for stretches but the final quarter of the book is stronger. A lot less cozy and a lot more action than I was expecting but skimming other reviews it sounds like this was written during her more...adventure-focused era. Three books deep and I have to give Christie credit that each has been a completely different experience.

Adventures of a Japanese Business Man by Jose Domingo (Complete) Always love going back to this nearly wordless epic that follows the titular Japanese business man. I love the complexity of the earliest panels and wish that could carry throughout more of the book, but it's always such a treat to discover just where each new panel will go.

Delicious in Dungeon Volume 5 by Ryoko Kui (Complete) Enjoying rereading this with shorter breaks between volumes as I certainly missed/forgot details on my first read. It's here that the story and tone shifts from light romp to a more dramatic and dangerous affair but it never loses its spot-on humour. Love those dryad pumpkins.

Ultimate Spider-Man HC Volume 11 by Brian Michael Bendis, Stuart Immonen, David Lafuente, and more (Complete) Going from some of my other comics back to this, I'm struck by just how wordy it can get. Now knowing where the story goes, it was a great idea to prime readers to the idea of Peter Parker dying even if it's not from this event.

……….AUDIO……….

Blank Check with Griffin & David (Podcast) Late to the game on this but really enjoying burning through their back catalog. Obviously started with their episode on Speed Racer as it's a near perfect film that you should watch right now.

……….GAMING……….

Oz: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) The Tuesday group just killed a mayor! So the aftermath of that is going to play out over the next couple of sessions. And the Mof1 crew is investigating the aftermath of their own district-wide catastrophe and it's all looking rather suspicious!

Spot It (Blue Orange Games) I can't recommend this game enough. It's so easy to learn, rounds last maybe 5 minutes, it plays well with small or large groups of any age, and all it requires is pattern recognition and quick reflexes. Every time I've played this someone says they're going to buy a copy for themselves.

And that's it. See you in April!

[dutchannanas]

Episode 5 SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

Ahhhhh I just love Loopy and Haon so much 🥹🥹❤️❤️

The real battle begins... This is going to be tough

The second beat, beat 11, is such a Loopy beat but Yunha was so cool!

Wait it was Loopy's plan to take out most rappers? I had a gut feeling because why else would he go first? Loopy is strong but Yunha was stronger.

I think Yunha will eliminate a lot of rappers.

Huh?

This is too hard. These rappers are too good. I'll just shut up, sit back, watch & relax.

I didn't know who Nosun was but now I do. After he lost to Reddy, I paused the episode to follow him on Instagram.

WHAT IS THIS MELODY? Wow I have a crush on this beat lmao. Anywa, I don't doubt Khan's abilities but this beat and Reddy are a match made in heaven.

Reddy vs Kim Gahyeon. She did okay but she lacked energy. She played too safe.

Reddy let's gooooo~ I just realised I have no idea who is in Loopy's team, I was too focused on him 🤦🏻‍♀️ I'm starting to think Haon's team is going to win this Block Match. Yes, Reddy won again!

Reddy vs Yukon... Oh Yukon, that was it? I blinked and his performance was over.

Raf Sandou won? Reddy was too strong, they just had to nerf him 😌

OH NOW THIS IS WHAT I LIKE. Oh my god Bbulkup forgot his lyrics 😭

Alright Haon let's go!!!

HAON WHAT ARE YOU DOOOOOIIIIIIING

I'm so nervous it's not funny

I can't believe Haon lost. If I was a smoker, this would be a good moment to take a smoke break...

Raf Sandou showed another strong performance! I don't know who James Ahn is but he was amazing! I wonder if he went to Harvard 🤔

Okay okay okay last battle let's go! Now I really want to know in what field he got his master's degree. Wow I don't know who's going to win.

Congratulations to Block 2!

🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊

Oh shiiiiit

Death match time 😧

Man I love Haon. I think if my leader didn't discuss this and suddenly my name got called out, I'd be so pissed.

ACAPELLA RAP? THIS SHOW IS CRAZY

I want to give Haon a hug 😔🫂

Okay so the 6 with most votes, win, the other 6 go home.

THEY ARE ALREADY VOTING?

AAAAAAAhhhhhhh this show is not good for my heart

Yo I'm actually loving acapella rap. They should implement that more often.

Even in death match there's a tie 😭💀 Hash Swan and Bizzy??? This is too much

Ahw everyone from Block 3 survived 🥹 I want to give Haon another hug 😔👊🏻

🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊

That was HALF OF THIS EPISODE. If I could, I would smoke a cigarette now. So now what?

Replace leaders & recruit rappers!

I wonder what Kaogaii is going to do... Is he and Geegooin create a whole new team?

Oh! I didn't expect Khundi Panda to be interested in recruiting Owen. Hmm yeah, Owen can do multiple styles.

Hahaha this shit is so funny

Ahh next morning. I like these cute moments where they just follow their own morning routine together.

Block 7.. it must be frustrating for Tray B and Polodared, I wish them well in Block 1.

I wonder what will happen to Block 8. They want to recruit Loopy...? Maybe I should ask Loopy to marry me. Both things won't happen. So nothing changed 💀

This whole thing with Mckdaddy and Kaogaii feels like I'm watching a kdrama lol they're dragging it out as if he's cheating on Khundi Panda 😭😂

Block 5 is fucked

Ahww Haon did well as a leader, but it looks like that position is too much for him.

Block 8 changed their leader from Gamma to Hippie Khunda. I think she'll do well^^

Oh shiiiit is Block 5 going to fall apart?? Wait wait wait, I understand the plan to "drop off and rescue later" but if Block 7 is full, then there's no space for Luci Gang? Hmm risky..

WAIT THE SHOW JUST ANNOUNCED RECRUIT AND REPLACE TIME IS OVER?

This show might just be worse than Squid Game

🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊

New Block Match!

Block Tournament. Wowww so many eliminations will come from this :0

Yeah Block 5 is FUCKED

Oh at least they can decide which Blocks go against each other in the first rounds. This will be interesting~

Starting off with Block 1 vs Block 4. I think the rest of the tournament will be shown in the next episode.

Wow that was fantastic! I have no idea who is going to win. I think Since Punchnello BoiB and SkyMinyuk worked well together but it seems like JTong stole the show.

Next is Block 3 vs Block 2 but that will be shown in the next episode. Ahh it's finally over~

[susannaius]

On the new Netflix YYH live action series...

Okay, so cramming two seasons worth of anime (52 episodes) into just 5 hours of live action (5 x 60 minutes) is just WILD. It was obviously possible, but it was wild. They made some bold editing choices on the way to make it happen, but they made an overall good job of it (well, as good as anything can get when you cram 52 episodes into 5 hours...). Anyway. Spoilers ahead.

My overall impression is that I had fun. They made this series a lot more edgy and dark than the anime, but they kept a lot of its goofiness, and managed to find a good balance. The visuals were also fantastic. I honestly did not expect the drawings to translate well into film, but the animation / FX crew did a great job. I have some minor qualms against how everyone looks like (like Kurama's hair or Hiei's turtleneck, who came up with those???), but they did not matter to me that much overall.

What I really missed was something I'm not sure how they could have reproduced in just 5 hours, and this is the sense of accomplishment and stakes. How long does the first two seasons take in the anime? Half a year, maybe? (Yusuke spends the summer break training with Genkai, then there are another 2 months (?) before the Dark Tournament.) So there is a lot more time both for bonding and level-upping.

There are a lot more steps, and those are a lot smaller, progress is a lot more gradual, and each step leads to the next a lot more organically. Here, this is somewhat compensated by the editing choices, like Kuwabara following Yusuke around (I especially liked the "slice the boulder" trope), or by Hiei wanting the dagger in the first place so he can find Yukina. But this way we end up on our very first joint mission fighting Karasu and Bui as well as the Toguros, in Kurama's yokai form and with the Black Dragon. Which is again, WILD, if we consider that as far as we know Kurama has not really used his yokai powers over the last 17 years, and Hiei has just made the Jagan eye for himself (which he did not even end up using that much).

Which is all... not necessarily relevant if someone has not seen the anime and accepts that okay, these boys have a lot more in them than what we were shown at first glance. They are yokai, after all, and we are shown very little of their stories. But I still miss how in the anime we were able to follow how Kurama hones his plant magic to artistic levels and how he learns to combine the strengths of Shuchi and Kurama, or how Hiei very slowly becomes domesticated, or how Kuwabara chills down and becomes a reliable ally.

And then there is Yusuke. They really managed to capture the essence of the character, and I loved them for it. At the wake, his picture was a really nice touch, I loved that face saying "Why do I have to smile for the camera? Please leave me alone?" Or how gentle he can be when he is not ordered around. They got his priorities right, and the steps that make him who he is were all there.

But again, time was VERY short. I mean, he was training for about 3 weeks with Genkai, and for the first two weeks he was mostly slacking. How am I supposed to believe that this is enough to defeat fucking Toguro, who was one of the strongest men to start with, then sold his soul for power, and spent the last 50 years becoming stronger and stronger, to the point when not even the scariest monsters currently available in the human world could satisfy him? Yes, Yusuke got the "orb", but consider that in the anime at that point he had been fighting and training almost constantly for half a year, receiving the orb still almost killed him, and then he had to sleep it off for several days. I am just... not convinced, sorry.

If anything, I think the live action series is a good gateway to the anime. Like, if someone is new or even not yet into the "fight and level-up" anime genre, this can be a great motivation for them to check it out. YYH is almost 30 years old, after all, so there might (might!) be people who have not yet come across it, even though they would probably enjoy it.

TLDR: I think the Netflix YYH Live Action series is fun, it is gorgeous, it has some solid editing choices that help it cram fifty-fucking-two episodes of anime in just five hours of film, and if it helps some newcomers find and enjoy the anime (or even the manga, which I don't know), I'm only happier for it.

[amewinterswriting]

Fresh off the phone call with my doctor and I can report: I have polycystic ovarian syndrome! Woo! This isn't actually bad news, exactly - I knew it was very likely, given a family history and symptoms, and since I definitely don't want children, it's more a confirmation that what I was experiencing isn't normal and I shouldn't be expected to just 'deal with it' and that going onto birth control as a committed lesbian with a cis(ish) partner makes perfect sense.

Below the cut is frank and no nonsense description of menstrual symptoms. While not explicitly NSFW, it might be squicky or uncomfortable reading in public.

So, friends, Romans and fellow countrymen with uterii, here are some symptoms you might want to get checked out:

Are your periods irregular? As they might come earlier or later than expected, they might last for only a few days one month and then two weeks the next? You might skip the bleeding entirely but get other symptoms like mood instability, tenderness of breasts and cramping. You might get periods only a week apart from each other or five weeks apart from each other with no discernible reason.

Do you experience intense feelings of 'unexplainable' sadness or irrationality or irritability and then start your period a day or so later? You might chalk these episodes up to a kind of depression at the time, but over time you might notice a pattern of them only happening or getting noticeably worse pre-bleeding.

Do you bleed heavily during your period? As in, you only ever buy 'overnight' or '8 hour' sanitary products because if you used anything less absorbent you would bleed through them within an hour and stain clothing or bedding? Do you still somehow manage to bleed through an 'overnight' sanitary product despite putting a fresh one on before sleep and you have a graveyard of ruined bedsheets? Yeah, turns out that isn't normal and that's the one that really surprised me. You might also pass large clots of bloody substance (usually uterine lining that hasn't broken down properly but when everything is covered with blood, it's pretty difficult to tell for sure).

Is your pain while bleeding at a level that over the counter medication like paracetamol (tylenol) and ibuprofen at recommended dose and taken together still often doesn't eradicate the pain entirely, if at all. Stronger medication like co-codamol (codeine and paracetamol) may or may not help temporarily. You might experience the effects of any painkillers being short-lived, and you might have taken doses closer together than recommended (every 3 hours instead of 4, for example). You might have taken muscle relaxers like tranexamic acid with some limited success as managing cramping.

Is your pain so strong that it wakes you up as soon as pain medication wears off overnight? Do you have disturbed sleep (waking up at least once a night while bleeding) and struggle to get back to sleep again until the fresh dose of medication kicks in?

Do you naturally grow dark hair in places atypical of AFAB people? Facial hair and/or chest hair in particular. (Luckily I'm not all that concerned about my gender presentation - which is why I say cis(ish) - but I do find it funny that my beard grows the odd grey hair when I've never found any greys on my head hair!)

If any of this sounds familiar, it isn't normal and it's worth getting checked out. Even without POS, it could be something like thyroid not functioning normally, androgen insensitivity or any number of other things.

If you are going to get it checked out, a good doctor should recommend blood tests (and if not, push them for blood tests and describe your symptoms in as much bloody detail as you can). These should screen for all of the above. In my particular case, the blood tests were inconclusive because I was already taking progesterone to manage periods (highly recommend if you are able to take it - a daily pill, entirely stopped my periods after a couple of months and that's a fairly common use of it. It tends not to cause the erratic moods and unpredictable periods of estrogen-based contraception but do your own research) and that masked some of the hormonal markers of POS. (I would have had to have stopped birth control for three months to get more conclusive blood tests, which would have been nice to know before I had bloods drawn, so I could make that choice.)

If bloods are inconclusive (and possibly even if they are a strong indicator of a problem), you might be referred to get a transvaginal ultrasound. They will use an ultrasound device to get images externally (with you having a full bladder, like a pregnancy ultrasound you might have seen on television) and potentially internally, with a condom covered probe. They should ask you if you have any concerns about penetration, latex allergies and for your consent, and you may or may not have a chaperone/assistant present to check up on you and how you are feeling throughout. In my experience, it was awkward but painless, and I'd much rather have another transvaginal ultrasound than another pap/smear test.

Treatment options are limited with POS. My doctor did discuss his reluctance to recommend a hysterectomy with me, which is perfectly valid: it is a major operation with all the risks that involves, including anesthesia and proximity to other vital organs. There's also the long recovery period which would sign me off work for a period of time. We did discuss the fertility aspect briefly, but my doctor seemed far more worried about 'risks from complicated surgery' than 'you might want a child someday' and he readily accepted that I had already had the child-free conversation with my wife and we were both enthusiastically on board with never having children and had been for some time.

At the moment, I'm happy to continue taking progesterone, as it has entirely removed all my period-related symptoms with virtually no side effects (I feel like libido might be a little lower than it was and I might have gained a small amount of weight but both of those could also be lifestyle related changes). The only thing it doesn't stop is facial/body hair but that can be managed by usual cosmetic routes if desired. But this does give me the information to make informed choices if I do need to come off of birth control for any reasons (they do carry a small additional risk of breast cancer, and aren't suitable if you have high blood pressure or are prone to migraines and those are only the things I know off the top of my head that might result in me coming off them). But it's also just the confirmation that no, I wasn't being unreasonable about this, I shouldn't have had to 'just deal with it' for so long and I honestly wish I'd gotten the ball rolling on this years ago.

Another potential treatment for trans masc folks: testosterone does usually stop or reduce period symptoms, so that's worth considering and researching if you were planning to go on T anyway.

So yeah, if your uterus is making your life a pain and you don't know why, consider this your sign to go get it looked at, if you can. You don't have to live with it, there are potential options to manage and/or cure it, depending on what exactly you have going on. I won't lie, I had to drive a lot of this myself and specifically request that this gets looked at, and that was very difficult for a few reasons (I'm not comfortable with phonecalls, I've had to make and transport myself to all the appointments, I'm autistic and my mother isn't super fond of doctors or medication, so I've had to do this independently as an adult when this could have been picked up as a teenager and I'll probably always be bitter about that) but it has been so worth doing.

[muthaz-rapapa]

Hirogaru Sky Impressions (2/5)

Full starting team now assembled. Yay~!

That said, I'm going to keep this "short" as I'm not feeling well. Also got some other things I need to finish but I can't concentrate on that if I don't get this post done and out of the way first.

Overall, the season is continuing to be a very delightful watch. I'm pleased with the pacing and that the writers are diligent about not giving away too much of the main plot just yet. There will be a proper time to dive into that later.

In the meantime, dedicating all the fillers to further fleshing out the Cures and building their team rapport and bonds with each other are exactly what we should always see from Precure.

Sora certainly holds the MC role the most prominently out of all her friends since her arc is tied closely to the main plot. So it's just a matter of waiting until the story returns to that for her arc to move forward. Namely, the reason behind the conflict between Skyland and the Undergu Empire (aka this season's lore), what Ellee-chan's significance is in the grand scheme of things and where the hell Captain Shalala is.

Though I think most of us have already theorized that her sudden disappearance is a setup for the eventual reveal that she is actually in league with the villains and will re-emerge as the third general. Or perhaps even the big bad boss because c'mon, you don't hire a veteran seiyuu like Mitsuki Saiga for only two or so episodes and call it a day.

Villain roles are mostly performed by well-established seiyuu in the industry so we can definitely expect Shalala to return in a fashion that would shake Sora's core beliefs (i.e. the broken pedestal trope). Which will then push her to re-evaluate what it means to be a true hero and come back even stronger after recovering from the shock.

On another note, I have my doubts whether Shalala is really the boss because the superior we heard Kabaton conversing with in ep 11 is actually voiced by Takako Honda, another veteran, and not Mitsuki Saiga.

...maybe Shalala is playing a double agent in order to get close to the Undergu leader and get rid of the threat once and for all that way?

Possible. But we don't have enough clues or evidence to confirm that yet so we'll just have to wait.

On another note, I like that they're doing something new again with this season by having the villain generals retire from their post right after their last defeat. Not sure if Kabaton will return as an ally in later episodes or not but it was heartwarming to see him turn over a new leaf and aim for a new and better purpose after he's been spared from death.

Back to the Cures.

Sora and Mashiro's friendship is just beautiful to behold. Thanks to Sora's arc being set aside for the moment, there's more time to focus on developing their relationship. Noticeably, it's during these fillers that Sora has increasingly become the one to support Mashiro rather than the other way around while Mashiro takes her own lead in finding her own path and discovering what she wants to do and what her dreams are (so yes, she isn't a Cure without a personal story arc, that's such a relief!).

Their partnership is quite balanced in that respect and I couldn't be happier.

Adding onto it, they're continuing to pay tribute to the original Futari Wa pair through Sora and Mashiro this way without disrupting the team camaraderie which is also a plus.

Tsubasa and Ageha as the beta pair provide very fun interactions, too, and I think I favor them over Sora and Mashiro. Whereas Sora and Mashiro are best friends who strive to do their best for each other, Tsubasa and Ageha have a more sibling dynamic between them with all the fond teasing and nagging.

The only complaint I have about them is their duo attack.

I mean yea, Wing looks so cool in his phoenix form (I'm calling it that, you can't stop me) but that shouldn't be a trade off for Butterfly getting all the lines while he becomes her nuclear pudgy mount.

I'm afraid that for all the progressiveness Toei has shown with HiroSky, they're still too chicken to go the full mile with the changes they implemented just yet.

We took two steps forward by finally including a male member to the main team...but took one step back with them still placing more importance on the girl cuz it's easier to sell her than the boy when their positions should be equal.

Granted, it's just one stock footage that only lasts about a minute but...it just bugs me, that's all.

That said, Butterfly's debut was omg, so awesome?!

The whole transformation sequence captured Ageha's vivacious personality perfectly.

She was already more than qualified to become Precure with her natural confidence and heroic drive. To see her slip right into the call like a duck taking to water (or er, a butterfly to the air) and then proceed to kick utter ass in her alter ego form...

Absolutely WONDERFUL.

I also love that though they constantly refer to Ageha as an adult and regularly show her dedication to her studies and jobs, they don't let her duties be the only things that define her.

Yes, she is mature and responsible but she's also living her best life and enjoying herself right now. She's interested in fashion, make up and has other personal interests outside her aspirations. She looks out for the kids who are younger than her while also having fun alongside them.

Yes, she's 18 and still in her youth but the point about Ageha/Butterfly's character is that there's no limit on choosing what you want for yourself. Just like how gender should not be an obstacle to becoming a magical girl (the metaphor for one's dreams and wishes), age shouldn't be one either.

Wear the accessories you want, pursue the hobbies you like, dance and sing without a care in the world.

As long as you're not hurting anyone, do what you find is fulfilling for you and do it without shame. You can be 30, 50, or 80 years old and that shouldn't matter in loving what you love.

Be like Ageha.

Act your age but don't be that. Be yourself foremost.

And that's all for now, I guess.

I suspect that midseason Cure debut will happen sometime before ep 30 so that we can have the ultimate forms + whole group power up attack around ep 40.

And then the remaining 8 episodes will center more or less around the main plot.

K, bye for now.

[marshmallowprotection]

Could you also do Unknown, SE, and VAE Saeran reacting to an MC with DID or OSDD?

I'm really curious on how they'd all react too

Unknown is the last person in the world who is going to be considerate.

It's just not in his nature to care or to make any changes about what he does for another person.

He is apathetic to the world around him and he doesn't care about anything but revenge. That's just the way it is for him. If it doesn't have anything to do with what he has to do to get what he wants, he's not going to care or adjust anything he does. That's not exactly the most welcoming statement in the world but that's the way it is unfortunately.

If he were to find out that you were a system, it would change nothing about the situation. You are already his assistant so all this means is that there are more moving parts working for him than he thought there were. In that regard, he would say that you should be able to keep up with him a lot faster. That is not a nice thing to say nor is it a positive in any regard. He does not have sympathy and he simply will not slow down if you struggle. If any of you struggle.

He isn't going to do anything to deliberately make you uncomfortable but it might happen passively somewhere along the way. He has no clue to how to engage with other people carefully, and he is bound to do something wrong to you without realizing it. He'll eventually learn how to speak to each of you, in his own way, just expect him to be... crass regardless of how "kind" he says he's being.

There might only be a few moments where it feels as though he has compassion for the situation and those only happen when you struggle with a long dissociative episode. Where you stare into space and everything burns. He knows what that feels like and for some reason, he's nice enough to give you something to ground yourself. That's where his "kindness" comes in... understanding something in your eyes that feels... familiar to him.

SE Saeran may be apathetic to the world around him but he has enough sympathy left in him to at least care about somebody who wants to be nice to him for the sake of being nice. He still doesn't understand why you want to be nice to him but he's not going to bark at you when he doesn't have the energy to do that. If you want to put up with him, so be it.

If you explain to him that you are a system and that there are more than just you around, he would simply shrug and take that knowledge to heart. It doesn't change anything for him personally, why would he think of any of you differently?

He would make a point to think about asking the best way to communicate with everyone so he doesn't step on any toes. He knows what it feels like to be called the wrong name or be referred to in the wrong way so he's not going to do it to somebody else. That's the least he can do for anybody.

If he can do anything little to make it a little bit easier for you, then he's going to do that. It's as easy as that. You're already putting in so much effort to be considerate to whatever he needs, and it only makes sense to do the same for you. Sure, he's not going to be the best about that everything and he knows that, but he doesn't want to make you upset... any of you. Your system... you... you've all given him a kindness nobody else ever has.

VAE Saeran, out of these three boys, has a stronger fundamental understanding of what you're going through the minute you explain everything to him. He and Ray are still learning how to navigate the world as themselves, and that isn't always the easiest thing since it's a matter of unlearning and relearning how to exist outside of the cult they were pressured into aligning themselves with.

So, he knows how things are from the get-go with you and your system. There's a lot to talk about and a lot to consider in terms of comfort! What do you need? What does the rest of your system need? Does there need be to a conversation on boundaries? Rules? Comfort? What does he need to work on for all of you and what can you do to be in tune with him and Ray?

It might be a little messy at first but he's... he wants to try because your smile makes him feel... warm inside. He can learn how to make anything work as long as he's with you. A sweetheart, if a bit scarred and unsure of himself when it comes to kindness.

[janetkwallace]

Every media has its ups and downs.

Every season has that episode with dubious quality, every movie has that one scene that makes you go "but that makes no sense", every comic book has that one confusing mess of a retcon... Nothing is perfect, that should be clear. A friend of mine once said that Final Fantasy IX, the game I'll be commenting on today, also one of my favorite games ever, is the "perfect imperfection", and that somehow sticks to me. I'll always think of that quote whenever I think about this game because... It fits so damn well with the way I feel about IX as a whole. 

I was 12, 13, I can't remember very well, but I was young and studying at middle school when I first got to play this game. IX had an impact on me, that I can't deny. I was hooked in by the first moment, from that ominous "dream" Princess Garnet has in the opening to being introduced to each characters (you even get to play as some of them, that's a novelty), the kidnap the princess plot that follows to exiting Alexandria, I wanted to see where Zidane and the party would go next.

Seeing more and more characters being introduced, the plot thickening, the story showing a darker side in contrast to the first hours of comfort that were given during the short stay at Alexandria, it was fascinating, like opening the pages of a book and, on each page, something happens and you wonder what will happen next, only to discover that things do happen, but not in the way you often expect them to. And boy, does this game have lots and lots of dark moments you were not expecting, they come all of sudden, like the scene where you witness Black Mages falling from a cargo ship like liveless dolls or the Burmecian genocide that occurs at the end of the first Disc or a woman who got blind during the battle of Lindblum.

See, this is why IX is a favorite of mine, it's not afraid of doing these things and more. It takes risks by going from a lighthearted mood to utterly soul-crushing moments. Sure, there's darkness, but not without hope, or a silly element in between. It's not a bad game by any means, it still holds up despite being made two decades ago, it's got a great cast of characters, an interesting world, a magical feel right at the start, yet there are things that can be said that are not done well or that are a source of complaint.

There's the battle system that some find to be slow, the lack of difficulty that makes the game a cakewalk for some, the age of the graphics, the unfinishedness felt during the last segments of the game... It's not a perfect game by any means, and to be honest, criticism can't be avoided, even for the things we appreciate and care about. Today, I'm here to comment on that one scene that stood out for me as an example of what makes Final Fantasy IX the "perfect imperfection", that one scene that is one of my least favorite moments in the game. Not a character, or a location, or a musical track, but an event in the main story that, in a way or the other, changed me forever.

Said event happens during the Alexandria Castle segment on Disc 2. For a bit of context: There's war going on Burmecia, and Alexandria is involved. Garnet goes to Alexandria to confront her mother head on about the massacre unfolding, Brahne replies something like "oh but the Burmecians were planning to attack us first and I had no choice but to attack them before they did", you're given a choice to believe or not believe her (which really doesn't do much of a difference), then Kuja comes in and casts a spell on Garnet to make her fall asleep. Soon after, Zorn and Thorn extract her eidolons, which Brahne uses to conquer the nations through Disc 2, a prime example being Odin's summoning that lead to Cleyra's destruction, but not before Beatrix manages to steal the desert star gem as part of a subplot about a super duper eidolon stronger than everything else that Brahne never got hold of because she died in a conflict at the end of Disc 2.

And that's the backstory, my folks. Anyway... The party arrives at Alexandria Castle through a teleportation device (which's oddly never brought up again, go figure), you're given a time limit to rescue Garnet before she dies and this is where it feels like all of the current characters and their plot lines converge at a single point. It's where the game says "we've got to give a conclusion to these character's current arcs as we move on to the next big thing", and it doesn't do that very well. To begin with, Steiner, Freya and Beatrix, as well as the Tantalus folks, are no longer seen until the beginning of Disc 3, so you think "well, they're side characters, and the game wants some room to breathe and it can't do that when there are so many plot lines going on at the same time, so the solution is to give a conclusion to them right here and then it'll focus on them later again".

But that doesn't happen.

As a matter of fact, it's an anticlimactic cliffhanger we got here, a sort of "To be continued" scenario that never gets to be continued the way it should've been. Think about it... Steiner, who once had a black and white view of the world at large, now questions whether Alexandria was always right. At first, he showed disapproval to Zidane's behavior and methods, but now he came to respect him, a thief who's far more honest than the Queen corrupted by greed. Freya saw Burmecia in ruins and thought she had a chance to save Cleyra, but she did not, she failed with both but is still fighting for what she believes in rather than give up so easily. Beatrix, who's been an unbeatable warrior fighting for Alexandria, now joins forces with the party and stands against Brahne, who she used to be loyal to. The Tantalus members are there to help the three knights out during Garnet's escape, and suddenly, you find yourself outside of Alexandria, and those who stood behind are not heard or seen until Disc 3.

During my first gameplay, I wondered if I’d see those characters again, be it in a cutscene or a side quest, but no, we don’t see them again. Zidane briefly mentions them and that’s it. Disc 3 is yet to happen while you move to another continent to find out about Kuja. The rest of the game, after this point, feels like it’s about searching for Kuja’s whereabouts, to the detriment of the subplots. Do we see more of Steiner’s new attitude? We do, but only a few times. Do we know how Freya feels after the tragedy of losing her people? Only in a few scenes, but with no further detail. Do we see Beatrix doing something to show her change of heart means something? Well… No. I mean, if you count her supporting the party on the Iifa Tree battle that occurs on Disc 4, then yes, but when it comes to apologizing to the people who were injured in the conflict, she never does that. She asks for the citizens of Burmecia to forgive her at one point, but not in the face of the survivors themselves.

I'll admit that, back then, I felt betrayed. It left me sour, with a bad aftertaste in the mouth. It felt wrong, retrograde, unnatural, all kinds of things. This is the moment where the game doesn't take risks, it takes the easy way out by sidelining those characters. It felt like reading a book and flipping the page only to realize they were torn off at the last minute or that they never came to be. Those characters, their personalities, their storylines, it felt like they were taken away. They’re still there, but it’s not like they’re that important, which feels wrong. The game outright says those characters do matter, that you should care for them, but then Freya doesn’t have anything else to comment on about Burmecia or Cleyra? How does that affect her or how she stands up despite having every reason to give up, a thing she never does? Or what about Beatrix being complacent of Alexandria’s atrocities, why is not that brought up again? Not even by Steiner, who has changed a lot since his first appearance. 

I'm older now, but to this day, I'm still figuring out why, of all Final Fantasy games, or any games in general, why IX had to be the one that made me join a fandom. Why I draw fanarts, why I write fanfiction, why I'm writing this right now about IX. I wonder who I would be if I never played this game, would I still be myself? After all of these years, I’m still disappointed by how things are, and although spite is a fuel for creativity, it can’t be the sole reason you do the things you do whenever something in canon doesn’t feel right for you. Like, I came to appreciate side characters and the potential they hold for storytelling after I played Final Fantasy IX, and I saw it happen in other media as well, characters whose stories are fascinating yet little is explored about them.

What do you do in this case? Do you wait for a possible person who happens to share the same thoughts as you do to write everything down about the characters you like? I certainly don’t, because if there’s only one person who can flesh out characters, as well as settings that are characters by themselves, the way you want... It can be only you and nobody else. 

[mdhwrites]

My Adventures With Jimmy's Two Gay Dads (MAWS) Episode 6 Review

Spoiler Free Thoughts: A good course correction from the episode before with good fun, a good bit of escalation as far as the scope for what they can do for villains even if they're still tech related, FINALLY some concrete answers on plot things and just a wonderful pair of villains that I'm sad we likely won't see again, at least not anytime soon. The only thing I was just okay with really was the Lois, Clark and Jimmy stuff. None of it was bad but it was a little rushed and a little awkward at times and I don't think Lois got a moment to shine like I had been expecting/hoping. It all worked well enough though to has me excited for the next episode once again.

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So this is going to be shorter than usual because my brain is hissing at me at wasting typing energy on something other than the Lindworm retelling I'm working on (if you're interested, go check out my Discord) so I can't focus as well as I normally can. Luckily, I don't actually have as much to say about this episode as usual, especially beyond what I said in my spoiler free thoughts.

This episode is just good. For resolving the previous episode it does the job fine but it is probably the clunkiest part, as if they don't want to fully resolve it or didn't want to linger on the drama for too long. It still works well though with Clark stating why Lois impresses him, Clark showing why Lois loves him (and I wish Lois got a moment like that that just let her shine as a reminder of why these two want to be together) and Jimmy shows the right reaction to the secret by giving Clark space since it's obviously sensitive to him. He also then has the right reaction of indignation when he finds out Lois was 'told' first.

Which... I would like Jimmy to stop being objectively right and that not going very far. This episode isn't too bad about it but for the past two episodes, Jimmy feels like he's doing the correct thing that the other two might learn from but that doesn't really go anywhere. The lack of them talking as much as maybe they could have would have helped it feel stronger in this episode too and I just feel like it was kind of lacking. If you're going to keep make Jimmy shine or feel just as important as the other two, can you please actually resolve that in someway during an episode?

But I do want to touch on Clark's reason for keeping the secret because I like that they DIDN'T use Spiderman's reason. A lot of people responded that part of why Supes has been hiding his secret is the threat it poses to his loved ones and friends but like... Until the last month, why would Superman, one who always sees the best in poeple, think that? No one wanted him dead, no threat could challenge him and he believes people are inherently good.

As such, the reason IS selfish. It's so he could be seen and treated as normal, even to the point of ignoring those around him. When he asked Lois "Do you really think that little of me?" I'd hoped that would get turned around on him at the end when he talked about these fears. They say they never would which works but I think it would have been more powerful to more specifically target that Clark needs to have faith in those around him.

It also made him saying the effective mission statement of Superman, that he will help humanity until the day people are accepting of all and help each other, a little rough for me. Not that it is bad for him to say but I wish his response to being told that no one would accept him for being different had been "You know, I had thought that but today I got shown that I might just be wrong about that and so long as I can believe everyone can be like the ones I love, I'm not going anywhere, especially not so long as they need my help."

Speaking of outcasts though: I LOVE Mallah and Brain. They truly do sell old married couple energy, the bit about the dishes is AMAZING, while also being mad scientists. And yet, you never fully disbelieve that they aren't honest. They genuinely want to help people and live a life of peace but, you know, mad scientists be mad scientists. They actually reminded me a lot of Lumiere and Cogsworth, especially with Mallah talking about having been alone for decades contrasting with "Ten years we've been rusting, needing so much more than dusting."

Also, good on Ivo that he seems to be recovering OKAY after the Parasite suit but man, revenge isn't what you need boy. You need therapy. Speaking of villains, my limited knowledge of Omecs (again, hope I'm getting the name right) make me look at this version and go "Some people are going to be MAD" because it does genuinely feel like just using a comic name for something that is absolutely not what it is in the comics. Maybe some version of them but definitely not the version I'm most familiar with, at least to my knowledge.

Do I mind? Not really. It gives them a neat name and they can get renamed later once their origins are fully revealed or the like but even that would reasonably feel cheap to comic fans. Again, doesn't matter that much to me but for once I would understand others being annoyed.

But in general, it's just a good episode that I think handles the aftermath of episode 5 well, continues showing how much charisma and charm the show has in its character writing but I am REALLY ready for a Jimmy focused episode already. One that is genuinely about him and not about the trio like this one was.

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I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

[coffeebanana]

i just watched ep 11 and 12 and i don't know how to feel about ladynoir not being romantic anymore...

im going to miss it so much, it's been that way since the first episode ever, (and it's my fav ship) and now that adrinette is getting stronger and it seems like it's going to stay that way more and more (i haven't seen any other eps past 12 btw, that's just me thinking)

*my* personal taste to develop the lovesquare was through ladynoir, then shifting slowly into adrinette by revealing the identities and then the amazing phase of post reveal pre relationship

but that's just what i think and you can disagree with me, i just wanted to talk about it to someone haha

You're definitely not the only one who feels that way, anon, and it's so valid to be disappointed. I hope you can still find a way to enjoy the show, because I know it sucks when you're really invested in something and it doesn't turn out the way you expected💜 Personally I didn't really have a preference as to what side got together/was developed more pre-reveal. I guess I still don't, but I think the way they set up Adrinette (because yes, it definitely seems like they're going that way, and I haven't seen past ep 12 either) felt rushed? Like I loved Elation, but if they were going to flip the square shouldn't they have given Marinette more than two seconds to process her feelings for Chat after shutting it down? Oh my God I wanted to see more of the way she acted in Passion and the beginning of Elation. I want to see Chat being hella confused because akjdbkjb that was so good. And I want more conflicted Ladrien--Adrien realizing maybe his feelings aren't as gone as he thought they were!

If I could have chosen anything though...I wanted PRPR too, anon. I love the chaos, the pining, the silly goofiness of them being so married but unable to admit it.

But I'm not holding it against the show much. I think for the most part they've done a really good job at making this season more continuous instead of episodic, but I was never expecting perfection. I love this show, quirks and all (not saying I don't have complaints, but...big picture).

And the platonic ladynoir talking about their gf/bf is so cute to me. They are best friends at the end of the day, no matter what. Even if the development moving forwards isn't romantic, they've still come so far from where they were last season! They trust each other! Marinette is learning to trust her friends more and to be open and honest and that is SO BIG for her! For ladynoir! And when they realize who's on the other side of the mask, they're going to be so so so happy!

(Also, as a final aside: in a fanfic sense...I think post-Elation is a great point for canon-divergent fics if people want to explore other sides of the square. And honestly I think there's even an argument for post-perfection ladynoir being realistic, though it likely won't happen in canon. Marinette's feelings for Chat and Adrien's for Ladybug are definitely still hanging around somewhere.)

Thanks for the ask, anon!! 💜

[animehouse-moe]

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 6: Shibuya Incident 2

I'm actually thoroughly surprised. It's a bit hard to explain, truthfully, but this episode does surprisingly well on the whole. But I suppose that is owed to the star studded staff that came out of the woodwork to work on this episode. Anyways, I won't spoil the fun, so let's get down to brass tacks before I let the cat out of the bag.

Mahito vs Kokichi. I would say I'm.... satisfied. Though I suppose that might be a bit of a crazy statement to make considering the fight. It's just... I'm not quite sure how to explain it. A lot of the added scenes were great, and it's not quite that they felt piled on, but that they weren't really put together well?

We got all sorts of crazy scenes and even a Gurren Lagann reference by the man himself. But how much is a pile of art worth, truly? How much motion, movement, shading can you imbue a moment with before it tips over the edge? I feel very strongly about how Vincent Chansard approaches animation with his OP cuts at times, and I just feel like that point's been reached with sequences here. I know, crazy thing to say, but it's just.... not quite lost the plot, but maybe the purpose?

Tengen Toppa Jujutsu Kaisen is cool, but it ignores the purpose of the original sequence in the manga. A do or die moment for Kokichi becomes a grand stand of overpowered individuals that stretches the fabric of the fight itself. Very Gurren Lagann in that sense, but this is Jujutsu Kaisen. I love the reference with Kokichi going on to stab Mahito, and I think Mahito drilling through to Kokichi is a cool change up. But the middle parts? While cool, end up excessive and misrepresented.

It's the dangerous game of giving an anime powerup, that does have me concerned as to how fights moving forward will be handled. Mahito's powers are limited, and he himself expresses that in S1 with the weakness of certain forms. His fleeing from Kokichi (which was horribly marred with ghosting and dimming) expresses the limits of his abilities incredibly well while providing an insanely well done original scene to the fight. This last piece with Mahito vs Kokichi though? It pays no attention to the limits of Mahito's soul, or the rules of his abilities. It extends past the reason and fairness that Gege put in place to provide a grand stand in the end. Is it cool? Definitely. Do I mind it being in the episode? If you're a manga reader, not really. For anime onlies though? Gives the completely incorrect intention with the character.

For reference, this is all that happens during that whole break in sequence in the manga.

Returning to the fight at large, it's pretty clear to see that the animation is carried through by a few of the key talents working on it. Not all sequences outside of the handful are terrible, but a good number lack any sense of pace or weight. I don't know if I'd be as harsh on them as I am if there weren't as many great cuts, but such is the way things go.

So, once more to reiterate, I'm rather satisfied with this stretch of the Mahito vs Kokichi fight. Undoubtedly carried by the star performers, the fierce individuality brought by each can clash with both one another and the source material at times to make the fight more than a little challenging to follow. Certainly far better than what I was expecting though.

Though respectfully, what is this? The difference in the hands between the cuts is rather painful, and just the way it is in movement compared to the re-used cut of Mahito's initial domain expansion from season 1 makes it feel so wrong. The epitome of S1's flirting vs S2's sexual harassment.

Talking the episode as a whole, before moving on to Shibuya itself, it was arguably the most consistent of the bunch we've gotten for season 2 so far. Sure, the lows stick out like even more of a sore thumb than before, but the highs are far stronger, and the character designs remain largely consistent throughout. I think my only complain is how out of place the background characters for Shibuya can look in comparison to how the actual cast is drawn.

Like... I just don't really know what to say. Did they even try to match the art style? Even worse is the fact that when they're dealing with characters that did exist in the crowd, in the manga, they're able to style them properly? Like, the above image of the people in the crowd to this one, would you believe that they're from the same series?

Aside from that, I don't really have any complaints with the rest of the episode? It's exposition heavy, but the character designs are surprisingly solid, with Kusakabe arguably being the best adapted from Gege's style. He is missing a lot of the real charm to his character that's expressed through his design, and much like Megumi his hair differs to the manga, but there's something about it that feels much more "right" than other first time designs. Does make me question just what went on with Yuko, Yuki, and the other characters who have been appearing for the first time through this season though.

Will say though, they've nailed the new cast of voices coming in. All have the right vibes and I'm really looking forward to seeing what they can do with their respective moments in the series.

This episode certainly has me less worried than all of Gojo's Past for how Shibuya will look. Gosso's involvement feels far less heavy handed, and while the individual freedom afforded by that may be detrimental at times, it feels like the far better decision for an arc like this. It won't be on Park's level, but I'm starting to think that there'll be potential, just have to see if things end up out of hand or not.