#Once Rita's episode is up i will be very not normal

[burning-polaroid]

*casually blows up your house*

[debbeh]

can u give me a guide to the six idiots :33 like maybe with a picture of them n their names n who they play in the Big Three shows :33 pwetty peesse :33

UM YES!?

ok, you saw me earlier trying to format all the images so it's gonna be mostly my (ehhhh) descriptions of the characters and you gotta guess what they look like 😈

Ben Willbond

Yonderland:

Elder Vex (above): the one who says Deb-beh and has the coziest looking outfit I NEED IT RN PLZ and the Tom Cardy- esque hair and earring

Nick: the stick. Grumpy all the time cuz he's a stick >:(. Is also a portal between dimensions but whatevs

Horrible Histories

Mike Peabody :historical news reporter that wishes he were anywhere but here rn

King Henry, Alexander the Great: SkINy MaNdRiA, excellent hair, sniffed a guy

Ghosts

The captain: AKA James, makes a lotta noises, if you ever hear me going weeeahhhhhuuuueeeaaaaaahhhh, I'm referencing him, the gay one<3

Martha Howe-Douglas!

Yonderland!!

Debbie.

Debbie's evil twin sister (bossy boobs)

I just googled it: Rita, the Negatus simp AKA us, the demon that looks like how female animals are protrayed in Barbie movies

Horrible Histories!!!

Boudica (look up the song, it's rlly good), Cleopatra, every female historical figure

Pirate lady....<33333

Ghosts!

Lady Button (present day): Old disgruntled lady that pouts all the time and falls out of windows

Lady Button (flashback)

Mathew Baynton!!!

Yonderland!!!

Oracle: weird blue blob guy, Nigel, Darling

Nanny la roo: NUM NUMS!!!! - nanny that is also a kangaroo

Admiral Anous: Voldemort mf I hate him bc he hates Negatus>:(

Elder Choop: Croissant hair mf, says, "IDK WHY DON'T WE ASK UR MUM??"

Le Fox: French

THE BIRRDDDDD: AKA Thomas Payne, Batman but cooler

Oh yeah, and Elf: the elf shaped one, full name: Grintallin Gobscrew Crotell Fashanu F’naw Goplatz Holla-Holla, has multiple wives apparently and is in debt to the mob

Horible Histories (look all of them up, they are all hot)

Dick Turpin: play the song >:333, shot not one but two men dead!

D.I. Bones: the whakkus bonkkused

King Charles II: absolute party-er

Ghosts

Thomas Thorne, shot, dead! Absolute poetic simp for Allison, drowned himself in the lake ;( -cannot drown-

Jim Howik!!!

Yonderland

Elder Pressley: looks like Elvis, eats christmas tree ornaments

Crone: A sLaPper *wink wink*, has apparently gotten with everyone, goes eeeerrrrrrrrrrr all the time- sounds like a doorhinge, she is amazing

Neil: lhe most normal of the demons probably

Horrible Histories

A SHOUTY MAN!!! :does all the infomercials, will try to sell you piss

King George VI (above) : "oh yesss, dad's dead, I'm king..."

King Richard III: a sweet little guy<3 -according to the song, get's attacked by whasp

Ghosts

Pat Butcher: Greatest DJ in the AAARRREEEEEUHHHHH, killed by a child, AKA Pete in the American version

Larry Rickard

Yonderland

Detective Mounteback: very dumb detective with very large hat

Elder Ho Tan: trans Icon, doesn't like loud noises, absolute baby<3

Sue: above, the lady with the gun from the episode I showed you

Horrible Histories

Bob Hale: weather report, needs a hellicopter and a nice cup of tea, basically Bill Wurtz

Lol knight with shit on head, Aztec guy, George III friend who slays so hard; "ConGRatu-VerY-LaTiOns your... *MAgEsTy*"

Ghosts

Humphrey: keeps getting left on roofs and shelves, does NOT know French smh

Robin: 5,000 yo ghosts, once saw a cool butterfly, KNOWS FRENCH! Got stuck by lightning and now he can turn on lights

and finally... the moment you've been waiting for...

Simon Farnaby!!!

Yonderland!!!

Negatus<333: Silly guy try to take over Yonderland but is just a lil guy, has an evil lair, uses The Font of Orris (cauldron thing that lets you see everything) as a hot tub, get's bullied by all the other overlords, wears pjs with houses on them.

Elder Flowers!!!: Long hair and lack of shirt, vegetarian hippie of the group, wants his clothes to be veGONE, "all you need is love, brothers... oh, and food"

Horrible Histories

Emperor Caligula: the wakkus bonkkus guy

Marcus Licinius Crassus: Knockoff Bassline Junkie song

Ghosts:

Jullian!!!: Died conducting an affair with his secretary!!!, is eternally sorta drunk, does the hand thing, only ghost that can interact with stuff, makes silly EEERREREEEEE noise when he's trying to move something, his name is Trevor in the American version, sad when there's no porn on da TV ;(, has no pants BTW

Thanks for coming to my TEDTALK!!!

Lemme know if I missed anything!

[child-of-the-danube]

Ok, I need to preface this with saying that I have not read any of the Doom Patrol comics so I have no idea how well or in what quantity the show follows the comics so I have no concpet of spoilers/certainty as to how it will all end after next episode.

This is gonna be a long ass post so buckle up motherfuckers.

I am thoroughly worried with how it will all be wrapped up in a single episode. They have not gotten their longevity back, Immortus is still out there now planning world domination, Rita's basically dead, the Buttpocalypse future is on their doorstep etc. Either it will be all to quickly concluded with a Deus-ex-machina solution to everything given that Laura in one episode said that the future they saw was only one possible version of it and in this episode future Vic seemed way too calm finding out that his past self is being helped with the time portal thingy and saying it'll work out OOOOR the future they saw is really it and it's all a lost cause. I'm going to focus on my thoughts about the other one.

I would kind of prefer the sadder ending cause it would be more, I guess, poetic that these people turned mutant-turned superheroes who more than once saved everyone around them, the world and eachother, could not, despite all their effort, save themselves this one last time. Well, except for Vic but depends in what version of it.

Digression: I am also 99% sure the Immortimas episode was the one where Michelle and April kissed (which they mentioned in their insta live) cause if you look closely at the "Best friends" scene when they're really close together but we see Michelle's face more, April has her lips pursed and only switches back to a smile when Michelle moves her head away and I am so very calm and normal about this, not wanting to rip my skin off and scream into the void at all. It's fine, it really is :))))))))))))

I'm skipping talking about Rita since she wasn't in this episode at all. I'm assuming that they will either find her dead or on her last breaths once they return from the time stream unless, again, some magical solution falls from the sky immediately.

LARRY: I think of all the characters, Larry seems to be the one who's most prepared for his death. I feel like he always knew, no matter the longevity, that his body would give up on him at some point and was kind of always ready to go. He worries way more about Keeg than he does about what end is awaiting him. I love that he got to experience fatherhood once again through Keeg and I get his frustration about the Negative spirit not wanting to take care of Keeg, but if his end is set in stone, I could see him embrace the fact that he becomes "a new Sun". His journey started in space and ending it there as a new star would be full circle. In a way by becoming a star, a permanent part of the sky, he'd always be, though in new form, there for Keeg to see and visit.

CLIFF: I was wondering when and if it would be explained how Niles broke his back and I have to say I absolutely hate that it was Cliff given that, especially this season, a lot of shit seems to be portrayed as purely Cliff's fault. Like anything he touches or is given the role to take care off goes to shit. He has always been unlucky in that regard but I feel like the last thing in the "how can we fuck Cliff's already declining mental health up some more" arsenal should have been the fact that the first thing he felt in years wasn't his grandson but the blood and insides of another being he just killed. Like, I truly think that was the tipping point to break him completely, the rest is overkill. I hope if the spirit loop Buttpocalypse future is the end that he at least got to see and feel Clara and Rory once before returning to the Doom Patrol and accepting his end.

JANE: Similar to Larry, I feel like Jane got her resolution this episode. She finally said it out loud and accepted what truly happened to her. She became, both literally and metaphorically one with her whole self and can now be at peace, however long that might be, with the people she loves. She got her clarity in a way.

VIC: Vic being alive, well and teaching kids in the version of the future that saved them from the time stream is giving me hope that it might not all be set up to end tragically. That he might find his purpose and happiness after all. Cause of what use is it for him to be the last man standing in the future when everyone he loves is gone or soon to be gone. It's just survival, not life.

LAURA: Oh, boy. Oh, Lord. Here we go. Bare with me.

It's no secret she's my absolute favourite character and the one I have the most feelings and thoughts about. First of all, hats off to Michelle Gomez and her acting once again. You could feel the difference in past and present Laura not just by the way they are dressed but the mannerism, the speech, the body language, everything. The fear in past Laura's eyes not due to being beaten but due to the fact that she HERSELF is saying, or better, admitting, that she's in fact not a good person no matter how much she tries to delude herself or others. I love this character so deeply and that's why I am losing my mind over her.

Present day Laura saying she hasn't changed broke my heart into a million of peaces cause in the same way past Laura deluded herself into believing she's good, present Laura kept that same self hatred and turned it into convincing herself that no matter how much she tries, she'll never be good, she'll never escape her past, making people weapons or fucking it all up for the ones she truly cares about. For my Doctor Who fans, are you all reliving Missy's plot and the pain her end brought as much as I am???? And the "WE'RE THE FUCKING WEAPON" part??!!?!? Holy fucking shit. Her whole life and career she was hiding her abilities for her own safety and partially for the sisterhood's safety, declaring others as weapons, sending them off to fight and die but it truly was her who was the weapon. When you fire a gun, yes, the bullets are what ends up doing the job but they're disposable, you always need new ones to reload. What remains is the gun itself, needed for further firing of shots. Well, Laura was the gun and all those she branded weapons were just the disposable bullets.

It pains me inexplicably to say it, but I simply don't see any kind of happy ending for her. She has no one else but these bumbling idiots she met only a little while ago, who I'm not entirely sure would YET go to the lenghts she does for them for her, and Rita who:

a. Still hasn't fully forgiven her (I mean shit she called her a monster like 2 episodes ago)

b. Is on her death bed

c. I doubt would use her last breaths to tell her she's forgiven or admit that Laura does mean a lot to her

Nobody knows where she's in the future and I have a crippling feeling that it might be caused by Rita's death. If you think about it, all of them love Rita and will be there to comfort eachother after she's gone/as they inevitabely each go. Laura isn't dying. She has whatever natural time is left there for her still to go. She does not share their fate. And, as I've already said, they have known eachother for decades. Laura is someone they've basically just met, learned to trust even later, and in their mind to some degree the one who caused the Immortus stuff. If Rita dies, I have a feeling she will either immediately distance herself from them (or be distanced) or she'll end up watching all of them but Vic die one by one and then leave or worse...

So unless by some miracle everything turns out fine or after they're all gone she encounters Shelley and the Sisterhood and they embrace her, I see no bright ending there

Anyways, I'm booking therapy in advance cause I'm going to need it after next week more than I already did...

[princesssarisa]

Autism headcanon: Runt (Animaniacs)

Maybe this is cheating. Maybe this is less of a headcanon than it is canon in all but name, because Runt's voice and verbal tics are based on an explicitly autistic movie character: Dustin Hoffman's character Raymond Babbitt from Rain Man. This is probably why he and Rita were left out of the 2020 Animaniacs reboot, since it's not very PC to have a goofy cartoon dog caricature an autistic movie character's speech patterns.

Still, I've always liked Runt and I still do. Until I saw someone else point it out, it never occurred to me that his autistic-seeming mannerisms could be offensive. As a person on the spectrum myself, I've always found him relatable.

Here are the reasons why:

*He compulsively repeats sentences and words – especially his favorite word, "definitely."

*He often talks out loud to himself.

*His physical actions can be compulsive too. For example, when someone throws a ball, he has to chase it. Or when he sees a dangling tablecloth, he has to charge at it and tug it with his teeth. And almost every time he hears the word "cat," he goes into a wild, snarling rage, threatening to tear it to pieces... yet never once realizing that his best friend Rita is a cat.

*While he doesn't usually show the savant skills of his Rain Man counterpart, he does show a hint of them now and then. For example, when he points out that a rock pile contains 147 rocks, or when he instantly identifies a dish of fish as Mahi-Mahi.

*He's very literal-minded and doesn't understand sarcasm. This causes headaches for Rita, since he constantly misunderstands her sarcastic remarks.

*He tends to be oblivious to the world around him, and he often doesn't recognize danger or notice when a seemingly friendly person is behaving suspiciously. This is why Rita needs to look out for him. That said, he's not completely clueless, and rises to the occasion whenever Rita or someone else he cares about is threatened.

*His debut episode implies that he's never responded to normal training methods. Despite being an adult dog, he's still not housebroken and still chews things, which is why his owner abandoned him at the pound.

*Despite his sweet nature and devotion to Rita, he sometimes shows an innocent lack of empathy and obliviousness to Rita's discomfort. For example, when he shakes rain water onto her, or eats food that she was about to eat, or doesn't notice when a human is mistreating her as long as he's being treated well. This is all naïve and unintentional, however, and in the rare moments when he realizes he's upset Rita, he's always contrite.

*Sometimes in scary situations, when the obvious thing to do would be to spring into action, he freezes up instead. For example, the first time Rita fights the Nazi dog in "Puttin' on the Blitz," or when Ross Perot almost falls over the waterfall in "Icebreakers." That said, he always comes through and takes action when it matters most – namely whenever Rita is in danger.

*He seems to particularly like music and find it comforting, especially Rita's songs. He can even hear the word "cat" without going into a berserker rage as long as Rita sings it. But then, who wouldn't be soothed by her beautiful voice?

[jojoblessed365]

Midge Maisel Flashforwards

Okay, so I want to be clear here, and I hope this post doesn't incite backlash but I really wanted to get my thoughts out on the flashforwards provided in the first three episodes of Mrs Maisel

Spoilers Ahead!!!

So it did come as a shock to have these flashforwards, but I like it mainly for three reasons: 1) it gives light to Midge's future which is something very realistic as well as shed light on the fact that Midge's decisions have downsides as well; 2) it has This is Us vibes but something that was a little Forrest Gump meets How I Met Your Mother vibe and is set in the beginning of the episode instead of the end or a misleading event to hide a bombshell 3) ASP doesn't plan on returning it so don't expect a AYITL part to Mrs Maisel.

So with that, let's dive into the flashforwards:

First Flashforward- Esther Maisel

So for those who thought Esther was annoying and the fact that Midge Maisel is a terrible mother is unwarranted, you're wrong!!! Esther is definitely unique, given that she's very much a version of Abe and Midge in the earlier season with her mother in terms of how she views her relationship with her mom, but you can't help but be empathetic to her because yes, being a child of an uber-famous parent is not easy. Take for example, Gypsy the musical, or children of famous actors- its something that happens. Given that Esther was a baby when Midge started out her career unlike Ethan, her mommy issues are bigger and more intense. I hope the show extends this further.

Second Flashforward- Midge's 60 Second show

So, I think this is by far the biggest of them all, because it gives some great and not so great updates on Midge's life- her career has skyrocketed, she's got multiple awards, she did an infamous show at Carnegie Hall a decade after Lenny's own show, she toured worldwide (as she would've done at Shy's own tour), with Bob Hope (something Moishe thought she was doing) and made friendships with renowned faces. On the downside- 4 failed marriages and multiple romantic relationships. This... is not exactly normal, but if you look at the romantic lives of these actors/celebrities- Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, Ginger Rogers, Irene Castle, Rita Hayworth, Sonny and Cher, Marlene Dietrich, even comedian Fanny Brice, you'll find that busted romantic lives is a common thread. If you also want fictional examples- A Star is Born, Blue Valentine, Revolutionary Road, Once, The Way We Were and many other similar movies.

With regards to Midge and Suzy's certain rift, it can be considered the opposite of Elvis Presley and Colonel Tom Parker. It's sad (but you kind of see it coming). It's like when bands break up- they'll find success but everyone wants their own identity. The worst enemy is yourself.

Third Flashforward

Ethan Maisel at 24 being a little aimless and having an unconventional professional journey (honoring his Jewish identity by working in Israel at a kibbutz and becoming a rabbi) and actually marrying a woman who is controlled and strong (an Army version of Midge- I like that they named her Chava, it's a callback to Fiddler on the Roof's third youngest daughter) shows his mommy issues which are different from Esther's but still there- it's all pretty in character. The fact that he keeps his engagement from his mother but still respects her nevertheless shows how much of mothering that we've seen from Midge from throughout the show has affected him.

Did you like this analysis???

[sparrowsabre7]

Power Rangers 30th Anniversary Special: Once and Always Review

I should state right off the bat that my nostalgia for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is incredibly strong. Mainly for Tommy and all things green ranger, but the rest of the crew still hold a special place in my heart. With that in mind I was somewhat trepidatious regarding the announcement of a Netflix special for the 30th, especially when it became clear that actually only two members of the OG 1993 team would be returning, due to: the untimely death of Thuy Trang in 2001, declination to take part from Amy Jo Johnson (though her character still gets an impactful moment at the end) and Jason David Frank (who later also had an untimely passing after filming had concluded), and legal troubles for Austin St. John.

That being said, they actually ended up with the two best options in many regards, Walter Jones and David Yost:

Frank had been supporting and returning to the show for years through numerous special episodes and once as a full time ranger again - indeed many fans (not this one) were slightly tired of the oversaturation of his character

St John had also returned as a ranger during Zeo, a small role in the Turbo movie, for the 10th anniversary, and most recently in Beast Morphers for a special appearance.

Johnson, while never returning as a ranger, also featured in the Turbo movie, as well as a cameo alongside Frank in the 2017 reboot movie.

Meanwhile, although Yost stuck around until Zeo, neither he nor Jones had returned to Power Rangers since their departure, meaning this would be their first return to spandex in over 25 years. In short, it's their time.

In addition all of the second generation MMP rangers appear in either fully suited (Steve Cardenas and Catherine Sutherland - who also returned for the 25th anniversary alongside Frank) or cameo form (Karan Ashley and Johnny Yong Bosch) meaning there's still a whole lot of MMPR rep on show.

As it turns out, this was perhaps the best thing for the special. It allowed the show time to sink its teeth in a little more to Zack and Billy, without over stuffing or stretching the material ( a complaint about the 25th special).

The idea to resurrect Rita Repulsa as Robo Rita is a canny move by the writers, allowing for the nostalgia trip of having the rangers fight their oldest foe, whilst also honouring the canon of later series where Rita was purged of her evil spirit. Said spirit ends up being freed by Billy by accident and inhabits a robot body to take form again. Cue Barbara Goodson's (also returning) throaty smoker's cackle.

So far, so Rangers, however, the decision to have Trini be killed in the opening moments sets a stark contrast from most other Power Rangers media, as does the open use of "kill" and "death" instead of the censor friendly "destroy". The rest of the special doesn't really stray from normal Power Ranger fare but this moment certainly will be a bit of a shock to some.

The other rangers whose actors don't appear do show up in the opening, but are benched fairly early on in classic MMPR fashion: Only depicting them suited up and using soundalikes/archive recordings for their very brief vocals. The writers made the smart decision to not have them speak much at all outside of the odd "hi ya!" and morphing call, which means that it doesn't feel like they are putting words into the mouths of actors that did not wish to be included (as well as helping avoid an uncanny valley situation).

This once again helps to centre the episode on Zack and Billy, their struggles with rangerhood and being surrogate parents to the daughter Trini leaves behind, Minh. Minh's battle with coming to terms with her mother's death and grappling with wanting revenge on Rita forms the centrepiece of the special, anchoring it around this conflict. While on a personal note the lack of green ranger is disappointing, I acknowledge Tommy's over exposure in recent years and the fact that "Once and Always" gets to focus on the original five colours feels earned. It's worth noting here that, in much the same way the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who was more of a celebration of the revived series than the whole 50 year history, so to is "Once and Always" a celebration of MMPR; there are some minor easter egg references to other subsequent series, but if you are expecting cameos from anyone who didn't appear in MMPR, you will be disappointed.

Newcomer Charlie Kersh portrays Minh with an earnest performance that matches the energy of the 90's show. Indeed much of the acting in the episode is very much of that era, over the top lines, slightly wooden delivery, and cheesy dialogue, making the nostalgic viewer feel wonderfully at home. If we'd wanted pathos we wouldn't be watching Power Rangers.

This being said, Yost and Jones, the latter especially, bring a clear sincerity to their roles and clearly have no trouble slipping back into character. Jones delivers some fairly nuanced work considering the subject matter and Yost manages to convey a clear sense of loss and guilt, both for the death of Trini, who sacrificed herself for him, and for accidentally resurrecting Rita.

Sutherland and Cardenas are given less to do, mostly acting as action props, though Sutherland does get a few moments to comment on her marriage to Tommy and being a mother to her son JJ.

The action sequences remain fun and we do get treated to one brief fight with all of the original six rangers and one battle with the use of the power weapons (sadly no use of the power blaster). The finale caps off with a Megazord battle using CGI only slightly less wonky than that which appeared in the original 1995 movie. Once again though, the jankiness only adds to the charm, and while it would have perhaps been better to use a classic suit setup, the cgi manages to perfectly recreate the zord call sequence choreography.

Once the dust has settled we get a classic wind down ending in the juice bar (sadly lacking in an all hands in jump freeze frame) and the episode proper is over, ending a very solid hour of classic Ranger television.

Here's where that Amy Jo Johnson impactful moment comes. The show fades into archive footage of the original six rangers from "Song of Guitardo" where Kimberly, accompanied by Zack, sings "Down the Road", a song written and performed by Amy Jo Johnson herself - originally used as a lament for the loss of the Green Ranger's powers, now a poignant tribute to two departed friends. The camera cuts pointedly to Tommy and Trini, before fading into a tribute card for Thuy Trang and Jason David Frank and I confess the tears started falling for these two talented individuals taken far too soon; the tribute hitting all the harder, if you know that shortly after Jason David Frank's passing, Johnson recorded a heartbreaking nearly 20 minute song session in Frank's memory because he always liked her singing.

In this way "Once and Always" manages to encapsulate everything positive about the Power Rangers franchise: doing your best, fighting for what's right, staying true to your friends and family, as well as serving as a fitting reminder of the power of media and how much a seemingly simple childhood show can mean so much to so many.

[meandmyechoes]

Kingohger ep33

i'm so normal in case Racules shows up in today's preview. so normal

i'm also so normal about this episode too. just a casual outfit dance. cool untransformed action. cool robot. rita-sama manspreading. with that cute red bruise on their forehead. completely normal.

OOOOOH NO OP this is gonna be good (they're saving it for the ED!!)

crying children… so classic toku…

oh no…not the ep21 gag coming back to punch my tearducts 😭

okay don't be that obvious by cueing Suzume 😅

phew glad we got the cute rita interaction out of the way first

this is so. not. Kingohger (neutral)

:D Erica showing off her piano

eh Earth Yanma Gira bickering looks even more like normal BL

plot is everything expected

absolutely giving the shiono fans everything they want (cool action, calm mentor, whump)

"amy-san is important to me" please don't be their son please don't be their son

"Nice to meet you, I am the evil king" 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂❤️❤️

SUUUUUUZUUUUUUUMEEEEEEEEEE MY QUEEEEEEEEEEEN

sorry there's no way either Ian or Himeno is straight

Jeramie spinning with his mantle flying like a magical girl 💕💕💕

"My lady? I am my own" SLAY HIMENO-SAMA

*30-second heart attack from Rita-sama's "Back down. I will protect you"

Since when Watanabe Aoto became the fanservice guy??? (right from the beginning)

Uh. Congratulations I guess. Love wins. Jeramie will be very happy to officiate another suit-human wedding.

(later: *checks PN* ohhh so I didn't mis-recgonized. Nossan's sister was someone familiar (Deka Yellow))

What 😂😂. What are you guys doing why are you roll calling 😂😂😂😂 so unlike them but

好型呀呀呀呀呀呀呀呀 我嘅戰隊魂呀呀!!!!!!!!!

Hachisuka-san's split?!!?!?!!!!!!!!

gee Rita how come you get all the girls?

"Kiryu Daigorou" *sigh* that's a cute blue black moment i guess better luck finding parents with a better naming sense next time

Thank god he didn't follow them home

get out of my way end credits

"Shugo Kamen" (Masked Guardian🤔): my longest yeah boy ever

I have not used my brain ONCE this episode and I am satisfied

p.s. preview: this is the fourth time you've recreated ep1 kings' march (good keep it coming)

[arctimon]

Thinking with Portals - A BH6 Character Analysis

You know, I laughed at this when I posted these two together last week, but now I’m been thinking about it a bit too much.

So...a normal day for me.

Everybody knows who the person on the right is.  That’s Celine Simard (aka Sirque), the acrobat thief that showed up for one episode, made a splash, and then never came back ever again sans a mention by Hiro in “Go Go the Woweroo”.

The person on the left?  Well, that’s a little bit more interesting.  I could give you one reason why, but instead...

(Spoiler: I don’t actually have six.)

That would be Rita Wayword, aka Spiral. 

Now, I know that you guys are probably thinking, “Jason, you’re on the sauce again, aren’t you?  These two don’t have anything in common.”

Which I would say “No...because I have to work tomorrow.”

Spiral is a mutant, once known as Ricochet Rita and a professional stuntwoman (similar to Celine’s background as a circus performer).  In a very long, very convoluted backstory that I’m totally not going to go into, she was attacked by her future self, went to the Mojoverse to be with her boyfriend, genetically modified to be Mojo’s bodyguard, and then sent into the past to close the time paradox.

This is why I hate time travel.

Oh yeah, and this is Mojo:

Ain’t nobody got time for that thing, though.  Moving on.

Spiral is a sorceress and was once on the shortlist to be the replacement to Dr. Strange as Sorcerer Supreme.  The magic that she’s most well known for, however...

Is portals.

Hmmm.

So we have a stuntperson/circus acrobat who can make/steal portals into other dimensions with white hair.

Now, let’s add another wrinkle to that.

Spiral at some point would join up with the Sisterhood of Mutants with a bunch of other people (mainly Jean Grey’s clone Madelyne Pryor) in an attempt to steal a lock of Grey’s hair to resurrect her and have her body be Pryor’s body.  Another member of that team?

Lady Deathstrike (on the right).

Hmmmmm.

I would also like to note that both the names Celine and Rita mean “moon” and “pearl” respectively (Celine being an alternate spelling of Selene, Greek for moon and French for “heavenly body” and Rita being a shortening of Margarita, Greek for “pearl”).

Take that into account with Spiral and portals, and...

Hmmmm.

Everything comes back around, doesn’t it?

(Yes, that was a circle joke.  You’ll have to forgive me; it was almost one AM when I was typing this.)

Now, I know what you’re also thinking.  “Jason, aren’t you forgetting the most obvious part? The whole ‘six arms’ thing?”

No, imaginary person, I didn’t.  That’s because I...don’t really have an explanation for that.  The only thing I can say is that they can’t really give her six arms in the show, now can they?  It’d sort of give it away.

“Also, didn’t you have a six-armed person in your fanfics already?  Coat of Arms?”

Yes, I did, and Hiro did learn a lot from fighting her back in The Straight and Arrow.  But that’s not the point.  She’s got a coat.

Boom.  Got ‘em.

But the imagination starts to run wild at some point, and my mind but can’t help but go back to Momakase’s situation with Sycorax and how she was “enhanced” to fight Big Hero 6.  If she can go from this:

To this:

Just imagine if Di Amara was able to get her hands on Sirque.

Is it really that hard to believe that there’s another villain in the Big Hero 6 universe that can go from this:

To this?

*taps head*  See?  Now you’re thinking with portals.

[nitrateglow]

THE FOUR SEASONS is amazing and how did I not know about it until recently

I normally do mini-reviews in a weekly “what I watched recently” post, but The Four Seasons was just so damn good that I had to give it its own (VERY long) post.

So anyone who follows this blog knows that my dislike of the much-beloved cult classic Two for the Road is perhaps my second biggest unpopular movie opinion. It’s a movie about the ups and downs of marriage, covered as the main couple goes on vacation every few years. As much as I want to love it, I just do not care about the main couple or their marriage (long story short, I find Albert Finney obnoxious and terrible, and do not get why Audrey Hepburn’s character doesn’t just kill him and collect the insurance money), so none of it clicks for me despite how much I enjoy the visuals and music, or how much I appreciate what the movie is trying to do thematically. The Four Seasons has a similar premise: it’s about the ups and downs of three married couples, covered as they take quarterly vacations together. And for me, this movie ismore involving. It’s what I thought Two for the Road was going to be as an emotional experience.

Honestly, it all goes down to the characters. The Four Seasons does not show how these couples meet and they are just into middle age with grown children when we meet them, but everyone is so well-defined that you quickly see why these people fell in love to begin with, what drives them insane about one another, and why they choose to weather through disagreements and bad times anyway.

Considering this movie doesn’t seem to be that well-known (it was only on my radar because my mother rediscovered it on Netflix), here’s a more involved synopsis: three well-to-do married couples—Jack (Alan Alda) and Kate (Carol Burnett), Nick (Len Cariou) and Anne (Sandy Dennis), and Danny (Jack Weston) and Claudia (Rita Moreno)—take vacations together every season. They’re all friends who know one another intimately—or they think they do. Nick confides to Jack that he’s leaving Anne after 21 years of an unexciting marriage. He expects Jack to be happy for him—only he isn’t. Nick feels judged and Jack is indignant for Anne. And once the news comes out to the entire group about the impending divorce, their dynamic is thrown into whack. It gets more awkward on the next get-together when Nick brings his new (and much younger) girlfriend Ginny (Bess Armstrong).

Most of the movie is episodic, with Nick’s new relationship only serving as one of several threads throughout the story. The other characters have their own problems: Kate is annoyed with Jack’s mid-life crisis (he starts sucking in his stomach anytime Ginny is around), Jack is annoyed with Kate’s jealousy of Ginny, Danny is a hypochondriac terrified of death, Claudia is worried about the inevitable decline of “puppy love” in marriage, and Ginny, despite her kindness and desire to please, often feels she is resented by everyone else in the group.

If that all makes the movie sound morose, be assured it isn’t, for this is a pretty laidback story all things considered. And a lot of the movie is hilarious, with Jack Weston and Rita Moreno getting the best parts (Weston’s rant about feeling “my bones decaying” every night is priceless). Alda and Burnett are wonderful, as they just feel so authentic, going between falling in love all over again and then fighting bitterly depending upon what “season” their relationship is undergoing. Nick is truly an asshat for 95% of the movie (he expects Anne and their college-age daughter to just accept his actions, for one thing, and gets upset when they’re clearly hurt by them), but once again, he feels like a real person and not a caricature. I KNOW people like Nick (unfortunately).

In addition to marriage, The Four Seasons is also about friendship. Our culture prizes romance above all else, but this movie also discusses how friendship can be just as complicate, going through its own seasons and undergoing changes as people get older. This idea is best showcased in the group awkwardness after Nick leaves Anne. The others no longer invite Anne to their vacations because it would be uncomfortable to have her and Nick together, but this makes Anne feel left out. When she calls out Kate and Claudia on this, the two apologize, realizing that friendships also have to be maintained if they are going to last.

I genuinely believe The Four Seasons is a great movie because besides the stellar acting and great writing, it made me think about my own life and relationships. In one scene, Kate talks about how she’s let so many people drift out of her life and how she’s terrified when she comes to the end of it, she’ll be alone. Both romantic relationships and friendships require setting aside time to just hang out and be there for one another, but it’s so easy to let it all slip away. It’s about making sure the people you love most KNOW that you love and value them.

Anyway, if you haven’t seen it, it’s on Netflix and it is very much worth your time.

[daily-coloring]

Best of 2020 - TV Series

As I started making this list just realised I did watch more than 50 different TV shows this year. Thanks Covid and the never ending lockdown in Manchester. That’s why a lot of them didn’t make it in the top 30. I’m not meaning they aren’t great. For example I really enjoyed watching the second season of The Politican or The Norsemen but they aren’t affected me a lot. Had fun with them and the next day I was all about something else. They didn’t stay in my mind or in my heart, or just a jokes ... they wasn’t like ... legendary. So let’s go:

01. I May Destroy You - Season 1. - Without any doubt, Michaela Coel is my new queen. Honest, funny and not affraid to stab you with a knife in your heart in any minute.

02. Adult Material - Miniseries

03. We Are Who We Are - Miniseries - Luca Guadagnino can tell you a story the way nobody elses can and that makes him very special.

04. Normal People - Miniseries - I am not absoulutely agree with every decision they made but the difficulty of the first love is clear. However the message is clear, that who you love once, no matter what happens later, you will always love, even if you don’t speak with them for years or they move to another continent.

05. Giri/Haji - Miniseries - If you only watch one crime show this year, it should be this. 

06. Industry - Season 1. - After the first episode I was thinking I didn’t watch anything this boring in 2020 but somehow I just did stick to it and few hours later I did understand all what they saying and why are they so fucking weird but loveable in the same time. Love when the story is complex and the charathers are so great. Also the casting. OMG.

07. Succession - Season 2. - Not a single person I like in this family. Not one.

08. Rita - Season 2,3,4,5 - I don’t know why but in 2015 I abandonded Rita after the first season but while I was sick off from work almost 2 months this year I started watching it again and everything that happened just comforted me and they made me believe in humanity again. No matter how fucked up you are, you still have so much to give back to the community. 

09. Euphoria - Season 1. - Always thought my childhood were different I had so much shit going on but they showed me my life is actually beautiful, compare to those two.

10. Sex Education - Season 2 - I loved the first season so much but second one was even better.

11. Hollywood - Miniseries - Sometimes Ryan Murphy is a perfectionist, sometimes he is just going too far and makes mess. This time he was the first.

12. Killing Eve - Season 3.

13. Little Fires Everywhere - Miniseries - After every episode I felt the characters dig even deeper and I loved that.

14. The Boys - Season 1 and 2.

15. Black Earth Rising - Miniseries

16. Snowpiercer - Season 1.

17. The Witcher - Season 1. 

18. I Hate Suzie - Season 1.- Is it alright to post a sex video of a celebrity online? Until you see this you might thought it’s okay.

19. Barry - Season 1 & 2 - Season 1 episode 4 has the best scene I seen this year. Yes, the fighting one.

20. The Crown - Season 4

21. The Queen’s Gambit - Miniseries

22. Westworld - Season 3.

23. White Lines - Miniseries - Every single person is so dumb in this except Boxer. He is clever and handsome.

24. Kim’s Convenience - Season 1, 2, 3 ,4.

25. The New Pope - Miniseries

26. Emily in Paris - Season 1. - Why people hated this? Did they expect something else from Darren Star?

27. Afterlife - Season 1 & 2

28. Schitt’s Creek - Season 6. - It is still so perfect. Every single person is perfect as they are.

29. Chewing Gum - Season 1 & 2

30. Love Life - Season 1.

At the end we have to talk about Scott’s new sci-fi which is Raised by Wolves. It was so perfect until the last episode ... Biggest disppointment this year. Maybe in this last decade.

[abanomath]

DC’s Tone Deafness

So I don’t really like ranting or being negative, but DC Universe recently released an article to celebrate pride month about the Top 5 canon and non-canon LGBTQA+ relationships in Young Justice.

And the tone deafness is just off the charts. Like most of the world, I’m not American so I needed someone to screen-cap the actual article for me. I’m going to organize my thoughts and go down below.

General

For one, its pretty obvious the writer didn’t look at the source material. This article sounds like it was written by someone filled in on the basics and told to write a good PR article for DC.

There are a lot of little details in the story, such as when the writer claims that they “showcased even more LGBTQA+ protagonists in season 3″ implying they had previously, which they hadn’t. One character was implied to be bisexual in the comics, never on screen, but more on that below. Season 3 was the first LGBTQA+ rep for the show.

Also its always a bit tone deaf when in an article celebrating LGBTQA+ and diversity in your show, that you have a list of 5 “ships”, of which only ONE is actually a couple in canon. Not only did they need to resort to non-canon ones, they included people that can’t be called a “ship” or couple.

1. Kaldur/Wyynde

This is the only actual LGBTQA+ couple on the list that is canon in the show, and I liked them. But I can’t deny that Kaldur who was a main cast member for the past two season’s had a vastly reduced role (compared to straight cis white characters like Dick and Conner). He was basically written out of the first half of the season, and then his relationship was really present for 1.5 - 2 episodes max. This in a season that was marked with excessive attention given to heterosexual relationships (like seriously, basically every character was in some form of relationship on-screen). The one healthy LGBTQA relationship got less attention than Black Lightning and Dr. Jace’s romance, something that ultimately went nowhere, Dick/Barbara, even Megan/Conner when Megan was also essentially written out of the season.

2. Marie Logan and Rita Farr

They really dug deep for this “ship”. Ironically, they start this by talking about the scene in Young Justice #25, when Queen B’s powers work on Garfield’s mother. This was the first implication her being bisexual. And of course, she also dies in this scene, so starting off with a “Bury your gays” trope where Marie’s queerness literally got her killed and orphaned her son.

There isn’t much more to say about this ship, because it literally doesn’t exist. The shipping community for this is so small you have to go digging deep into tags to find even hints of it. The article even basically says this, posing the ship as a question. As being interesting. (Does it count as Bury Your Gays when both woman are dead before their relationship is even hinted at?)

In other words this article about celebrating LGBTQA ships literally had to try and CREATE A SHIP to reach 5 ships. Despite the fact there are plenty of LGBTQ fanon ships (Birdflash being the most prominent one left off the list). It really hits at the thing I said above, this is a “write us a good PR article with the barest amount of effort put into it” situation.

3. Harper Row and Halo

Oh boy don’t get me started on this. There are so many problems with how they did Halo this season, she is basically tone deaf personified. (For the purpose of this rant, I’ll be using the “she” pronouns for Halo, because I have no choice but to assume they are her preference, unless the show purposely spent the entire season mis-gendering her, but I don’t think her characterization really supports that she prefers “her/she”).

I’ve had a problem with Halo from the start, because she is basically an attempt for the writers to shallowly include representation without having to actually deal with it. She is Muslim representation, but not actually Muslim (as she confirms on the show). She wears the Hijab because she feels like it. She is genderqueer, but they never once talk about her pronouns. She refers to herself as “not feeling like a boy or a girl” and constantly refers to herself in the third person, but everyone uses “she/her” pronouns without asking her. They even have a scene where she informs them she is genderqueer, and its never brought up again without asking any actual follow up questions or awareness. They also infantalize and treat her as a little girl.

Additionally, she falls into one of my greatest pet peeves - she is genderqueer but for fantasy-scifi reasons. For those that follow genderqueer or transgender characters in media, this is a very common trope. Essentially, the trope is when someones gender identity is caused by/determined from otherworldly experiences.

This trope bugs me because it completely undermines the point of representation. Representation in media is supposed to show the audience that these are natural human experiences and that people like this exist and are normal. But the trope ensures that the experiences are not normal human experiences.

(and don’t even get me started on the fact that this show has made New Genesis tech gendered before, with Sphere. And even gender the bioship in the same season they pull this for Halo).

Lastly, she also falls within the “promiscuous bisexual” trope, with the very kiss this article praises as THE FIRST LGBT KISS ON SCREEN for the show. This is a problematic trope that DC seems to love. Basically, this scene has Halo cheating on her boyfriend with another young classmate, engaging in two kisses with her.

Now I’m not going to say that all LGBTQA+ relationships need to be wholesome one true loves. Problematic behaviour like Halo and Harper’s is a story telling tool. But the fact that the LGBTQA+ was told going into the season there would be LGBT rep so they should watch, and this was the first rep we got 18 episodes into the season? It felt a bit like a slap in the face. They could’ve had her break up with Brion beforehand, or any number of different ways that would even keep the scene in tact.

And the relationship doesn’t really go anywhere anyways. Harper doesn’t really remain part of the season going forward, Halo and her boyfriend continue their relationship after it was revealed until the end of the season.

This is ultimately my problem with Halo. There are a few tropes that basically are summed up as “writers put all their diversity into one character” which is basically what Halo is. Each of these qualities, from faith to gender identity to sexual orientation could’ve been a fleshed out character arc (oh! I forgot to mention she also falls into the “My gender identity isn’t cis, so my sexual orientation is also bi/pan/gay” trope). Instead all the diverse qualities of Halo are addressed shallowly as the show-runners pat themselves on the back.

4. Bluepulse

I’ve ranted a lot so I’m not going to go crazy on this point. You can probably find tons of posts about the drama between Bluepulse Shippers and the show, which again makes their inclusion kind of tone-deaf. Bluepulse shippers have been called disgusting by the fandom for the three year age gap, an age gap that was never confirmed on screen and you had to go digging in Greg’s personal message board to know (resulting in many people shipping them not knowing their ages at all).

In addition, the showrunners made it clear they did not like this ship over the several years the show has been off the air. And in Season 3 they give Jaime a girlfriend….who is a lesbian in the comics. Now Traci and Jaime did date in the comics before she came out, and this is another Earth. But when the sole purpose of their relationship being on screen was to tell the audience that bluepulse wasn’t happening, choosing a lesbian character to play the cis straight girlfriend is a bit of a slap in the face. again.

5. Bart Allen and Eduardo

Queerbaiting, nuff said.

For those not in the know, Ed is a character introduced as a runaway in Season 2, but he doesn’t really interact with Bart until mid-season 3. There is an episode where a group of heroes go to a carnival, and Ed and Bart appear to be on a date. They are in a group with all couples, except for Virgil. Virgil laments being the only person there without a significant other, implying that Bart and Ed are together. Additionally, Bart and Ed do everything that the other couples do together. It was pretty heavy-handed that the couples were there on dates.

And fans liked this! Even if Bluepulse wasn’t happening, Bart may still be bisexual or gay. This was made worse by Greg retweeting and liking Ed/Bart content, and not giving a straight answer on whether they were dating.

Which obviously, creates the expectation among LGBTQA+ fans that they will get together. They don’t. And later at a convention, one of the main writers (not Greg) said something like “its funny how the fans see relationships between characters differently from our intent” when asked a question about them. Essentially confirming that yeah, they didn’t have any actual content for them planned anyway. Though they did have an addendum that they may build on the fan reception/view of the relationship in the future (basically saying, maybe they’ll be canon).

As much as I’d like to be optimistic that they actually will get together and we’ll get a LGBTQ relationship that is in the spotlight for once, I’m not. I’ll be happy to be proved wrong on this point.

And that was my TEDtalk about how tone-deaf DC patting themselves on the back for LGBTQA+ content in Young Justice is. Especially when other animated shows do so much better with fewer episodes and screen time.

[nellie-elizabeth]

The Handmaid's Tale: Nightshade (4x02)

Well dang!

Cons:

I honestly can't think of anything, other than maybe a slight lack of subtlety, which I mentioned in the last review as well. This show can get away with being in your face, but every once in a while it tips itself over the line juuuust slightly. The example I'm thinking of this week is the one where June is poisoning everybody in the brothel while music plays. Her maniacal expression as she becomes a crime boss lady... I don't know. Laying it on a little thick. Gilead makes it hard to be good. We get it.

Also just... logistically, I wish the ending of this one had been a little clearer. Are Janine and Esther and the others... dead? Taken? Nick is there, trying to protect June, but we don't know the fates of the other characters. I get it as a plot hook, but it made the ending of this specific episode a little muddied. The impact of Nick being there was lessened because I was thinking about the other characters, wondering at their fates.

Pros:

But also... omg it's Nick! That ending was so chilling, with Nick forced to play the part, to keep June alive, but the two of them not being able to communicate... I'm definitely excited to see them interact more.

And talking a bit more about June's plot in this episode, her growing relationship to Esther, this sort of mother/daughter, savior/saved thing, while on the surface Esther is the Wife and June is in her household... it's all very compelling. It's why I'm really curious about the fates of Esther and the others, since I want to know if there's more to come. I like that June is taking ownership, and wanting to be the one to make the tough calls and make things happen, although I'm already ready for that to break really bad for her, really soon.

Moira even alludes to it when talking to Emily. When we check in with the Canadian contingent, we see that Luke, Moira, Emily, Rita, and many other Gilead escapees are working together to try and place children into homes with family members or others who want to adopt. But it's not easy. It was so moving and tragic to see one little boy struggle to adjust. He misses the only home he can remember. The only parents he can remember. This is a very real tragedy and complication, and I can understand how hard it must be for Moira and the other adults to see, when they have a better grasp on how their rights were stolen from them. To these children... what do they remember from the time before? Moira handles it wonderfully, bringing Rita over to the boy's house to give him a sense of normal.

We also see that Moira has a new girlfriend. Not much to report here yet - so far seems quite cute, and I want them to work it out. We didn't get checkups on Luke and Emily's personal lives, but I'm sure we'll see that soon!

And then the Waterfords. I know some people find them to be the least interesting aspect of the show, but for me... the performances are strong enough, and the icy chill of these two people and their fucked up personalities are compelling enough, that I just can't look away. I loved Serena trying to manipulate Fred, and Fred not having any of it. I don't feel any sympathy for Serena in the traditional sense. But I do find it fascinating to watch her rationalizing away the things that happened to her in Gilead. Because if she had to recognize the horrors for what they really were... what would that mean for all the people she put through much worse?

The bombshell reveal that Serena is pregnant has me shook. Definitely was not expecting that. Have no idea what it's going to mean going forward.

So there you have it. Going to have to save my review of the third episode for tomorrow. Definitely eager to see the season picking up some serious momentum...

9/10

[popculturebuffet]

Loud House Season 5 Catchup (Blinded by Science, Band Together, Season’s Cheatings, A Flipmas Carol) or Of Mutants, Medicority, Merryment and Money

Merry Christmas everybody! And it’s Christmas Week so expect christmas out the jingle jangle for the next few days. And starting us off is something long overdue as coverage of the Loud House FINALLY resumes just in time for christmas. Yes it’s been over a month since the last episode and while i’ve covered two holiday episodes since then, I haven’t gotten back to season 4 despite, like Ducktales and Amphibia, it being on my roster. The answer why: I had a ton of comissions coming in, and other projects going on including ducktales coverage, so I kept putting off banned together/blinded by science for weeks.. until they coldied right into Season’s Cheatings and a flipmas carol. So yeah this one’s way too late and I will TRY not to have this happen again. I can’t promise they’ll be same day of or right on time as unlike Disney and Cartoon Network who are really good about putting their stuff on the app same day or that morning or streaming services which I own so.. yeah, Nick likes to take their sweet time sometimes and isn’t as steady with their release schedule. It’s why I ended up deciding not to do regular coverage of the casagrandes, though don’t be suprise if it shows up here on occasion as I sitll like it quite a bit. Nick is just a pain in the ass to deal with. Point is it’s here now and in time for the holiday season so i’ve delayed this long enough. Let’s get back to Season 5 after the cut

Blinded by Science:

So yeah... i’m just going to say it.. this season.. has been fucking weird. 

I mean sure there’s been plenty of normal episodes: The Boss Maybe, Strife of the Party, Kernel of Truth, Banned Together, Season’s Cheatings. There are more normal standard Loud House episodes than the weird ones... but that just makes out how looney some episodes have gotten stick out MORE. I mean among episodes tackling Leni struggling to step into Lori’s true, an obnoxious party despute, a news antics episode, Luna dealing with her career, and a holiday shenanigans episodes.. we’ve also had Lincoln get shipped off to Canada for an episode, Lincoln thwart a supervillian plot, Lori learning her school has a friendly ghost caddy that everyone who goes there knows and just accepts like that’s a normal thing, and with two of today’s episodes, Flip being some kind of monsterious miracle of science or possibly having an x gene we don’t know and then being visted by the ghosts of christmas past, present and future, who for no explained reason look and act like Lisa, Lincoln, Clyde and Lucy. 

I mean I can stretch disbelief for a lot of cartoons and i’m fine with it. Lisa does it pretty much on concept. But stretching things a bit for a joke is fine.. but it’s gotten to the point where the plots have gone from grounded slice of life stuff to really weird high concept stuff and it’s really hard to tell if this is going to work or not as Schooled and Family Bonding were not great, especially the latter, Ghosted was pretty good, Flipmas Carol was okay and this one... is decent. So it’s two good, two bad and one neutral. It’l take smore more episodes to see if this is a good thing or not.. I was leaning toward not before this block, but it’s very clear by the fact multiple writers have done this and the one whose done this the most wrote normal episodes last season, that this is an overall creative decision and thus something ‘im just going to have to live with. And hey, it gives me more material to work with so there you go.  So yeah let’s actually talk about this episode: Lisa is scrambling because she has a presentation at a big science convention, but doesn’t have any new discoveries to report. She does have snakebird though, which is exactly what it sounds like and exactly as delightful. Everyone should have one of those I don’t know how this isn’t worth presenting. Just put snakebird in hat. Lincoln comes to help because Rita heard snakebird and wanted to make sure lily was okay, and all he’s doing is taking her for a ride so it’s fine. Snakebird should be a part of my a different world style spinoff I’m just saying. Or with Stella.. I have a lot of spinoff ideas and only one of them has gotten a cease and desist from viacom so that’s progress! 

Point is Lincoln ends up being a very good big brother and takes her to flips for a flippee as that usually helps him think. He also crouchs down adorably to reach her height at one point. 

Like it’s jsut really precious to see that. It also does something the show does at it’s best: Weave the other siblings into each others plots organically. Lately they haven’t been as good at that with some exceptions and while it’s fine to have a few episodes where the rest of the family isn’t involved it is weird to just sorta.. cordon off 11 of our leads instead of giving them their own unique dynamics with each other. And while I do think Lincoln gets way to much of the spotlight at times, and his episodes have not been the best this season, I do think he works perfectly here: He’s the one with the most history with flips, so his role he ends up taking in the plot make sense, and him taking a big brother role and taking her down there is really adorable. It’s honestly easy to forget sometimes since half his sisters outage and outrank him by a lot that LIncoln has some authority and brotherly duty himself but when it crops up it’s really nice to see. 

But yeah while Lincoln’s gesture was nice it does nothing to help. But what does is Flip himself. Honestly before these episodes i’d barely seen Flip and he’s alright. He’s not bad it’s just with this having happened just a few years ago

So i’ts really hard for him to stand out in comparison when he’s kind of generic. He’s still pretty damn loveable though. And this episode has as he drops a drum of cheese on his foot, it does nothing, eats cheese right out of the barrel which.. 

I mean at least have some sanitary standards man. Get a bowl or put it in a bathtub or something. Figure it out. But yeah it turns out his heart is also in his arm, literally on his sleeve.. something they don’t point out so it’s a subtle and well done joke. 

Anyways yeah... so this is where the weird stuff comes in. Flip is some sort of miracle of science despite in all other episodes clearly being a normal human, And I like it.. while some bits of it are gross, i’m not a gross out guy so if you like that it’ll be up your ally and I respect that. But for the most part it’s just weird, bizzare stuff I can’t help but chuckle at like Flip having gills on his leg or being able to surivive freezing tempratures while not moving at all. See this works better than the spy episode in terms of what the fuck or to a lesser extent schooled because while it is fucking bizzare.. it works and it’s just swining so hard for the fences, it hits the moon. With the other two one didn’t bring it up till the end and the other just.. suddenly annoucned Royal Woods is next to canada and that lincoln taking a boat there was feasable. This just works for me.  So Lisa takes him to the conference, with Lincoln and Clyde joining in to serve snacks and promote the food and fuel which works, I also like the gag about them being late because they argued about what Science Casual meant. Lisa shows off this monstrosity and gets praise.. and a shady scientist asking if  she can use flip for her experiments which lisa talks him into and Flip agrees to because, like his agreeing to lisa’s experiments he likes money and tasks the boys with running things.  Naturally handing a miracle of science over to a shady science lady you know nothing about backfires and lisa trying to search incognito labs just blows up the computer.. somehow. Don’t think too hard about it. But LIsa finds lily petting a rat and soon finds the rat comes from flip begging for help. And upon spying on the lab, Lisa finds that flip is basically being tourtured and feels she did no better which.. no. While she did use him as a test subject, she also did so with his full consent, and for free publicity. She didn’t harm flip as while she subjected him to a lot of crap NONE of it harmed him like Ingognito’s experiments are. This attempt at a moral dosen’t work when Lisa , while still seeing only flip for his achivments, did nothing unethical. Flip willingly signed on for this and was never once in danger. And look medical trials can be unethical epsecially when people are deseperate. I get that. But here Lisa did nothing wrong and given her usual tendency to ignore scientetific ethics, that’s a lot.  Lisa goes to the boys for help and together they all sneak in and free flip in a decent sequence using various stuff from flips. The doctor for her part, as she was planning to shoot flip up into space without a suit to see if he could surivive because evil, gets blasted up. So yeah.. this episode ended with a 4 year old, an old man whose apparently a mutant of some kind x-men or otherwise and two 12 year olds having killed a woman. 

And then they all just.. have flippees for aj ob well done. I mean yes the lady deserved it but still.. you all just killed someone! YOU SHOULDN’T BE ACCEPTING THIS. WHAT JUST HAPPENED. AND WHY DOSEN’T SNAKEBIRD HAVE HIS OWN MOVIE. EPISODE OVER. 

Final Thoughts on Blinded By Science: This one was okay. Insane, VERY insane, but okay. I’ve seen way worse, from this very season but man is it weird and man is that ending just... 

Yeah that takes it down a bit but overall really enjoyed this one, Moving on. Real behind and got four to go so

Band Together: I think I have one of my many reaction images that says it best here:

Given i’ve seen pretty much every Luna episode, she’s my faviorite and i’ve been blatant about that,  and all of them are pretty good, I had high hopes for this one. And it STARTS promisingly enough: Luna is rocking out with her band which finally has a name! The Moon Goats. Which I like a lot: Besides reminding me of the objectively awesome Mountain Goats, it fits thehir personality and also reminds me of fellow teenage garage band goat cheese pizza from Zits... I miss when that strip was about teenagers and not two old men yelling about teenagers. Metaphorically. Point is I like this and my recent scott pilgrim kick means this is even better. We also find out Scoots is a huge fan of the band. Which is fantastic. Why an old lady with questionable morals is their biggest fan I do not know. We also get a band prank and fully names for the other two: Sully, the guy and Mazy the girl. I mean their not given MUCH character, Sully likes to bash his head on the keyboard and Mazy is uh there. And that is one of the episodes downsides: Despite being the first episode with Luna’s band to NOT focus on just Sam... the rest of them, and Sam really get to do nothing. The fact Sam and Luna are together dosen’t even factor into the plot. I honestly think it’s what removes the episodes punch, that we don’t KNOW these characters and thus LUna posisbly leaving them behind has no weight.  In contrast the series actually did something similar with little build up but made it work with the episode where Leni’s friends are trying to make her choose between them: Her mall coworker friends or her school friends. While we didn’t KNOW her school friends like the mall ones, the episode took time buliding them up so we got why Leni loved both and why this was so unfair to make her choose between them. Here it’s just two well designed carboards and a sam. And without the stakes of it possibly impacting Luna’s relationship, which I don’t want obviously but at least we have a stake in at this point, there’s just.. not a lot. Plus the solutions kind of obvious.  But what’s the problem? The band performs for a big manager who only needs Luna to fill in for a professional band.  The IDEA as i’ve said is good: LUna being forced to pick between her friends and her career, and both sides not being happy about it. But it’s just.. wasted. Besides clearly being bigger than 30 minutes, apparently we needed the half hour slot for a caddy ghost, this story just feels slight. Luna ends up with the other band and the manager gets on her for acting like she does with her friends.. but she’s a 16 year old who dosen’t know any better. What’d you possibly expect? none of it just really works. She goes back, no one is suprised, and the only part that really works at all.. is the ending. After welcoming luna back , as their roadie at first and clearly it’s more of a joke, Chunk plays with the band and gets Luna’s spot. THAT is not a bad ending and while I”ll miss the big lug, it’s really nice to see the guy get a big break and Chunk is low key one of my faviorite parts of the show. But otherwise yeah, this was almost nothing and given how usually FANTASTIC the Luna episodes are, this one was a really huge disapointment. No need for final thoughts moving on. 

Seasons Cheatings: This is a quick one but only because there’s no real character stuff or bad parts, i’ts just a decent if contrived holiday episodes. It’s the annual family gift swap, and Lincoln wants a backpack for (insert thing he likes #37). That being said I DO like that Lincoln isn’t just into one thing obession wise as even with my tendency to hyperfocus due to my autisim, I have TONS of things I love and glom onto. YOu can tell just by my massive assortment of reaction images and quotes. So it’s nice for a show to for once NOT have a nerdy kid just have one hero they focus on. So it’s rip hardcore this time, with a fancy backpack. Why Lincoln didn’t just ask for it for christmas is beyond me and is the only thing that bothers me about the episode. Ohterwise i’ts pretty decent; LIncoln’s trying to cheat his way to victory by getting the right sister for the swap. Which really ends up boiling down to first LIly, since the parents will choose, but since LIly did her own gift this year, he then tries one of the older sisters since obviously, they actually take this seriously and have the money to get something nice with various shenanigans including lincoln dressing up like his own mother. Neat. It’s nothing amazing but it is neat.

 Naturally he forgets his own, and has to trade his gift to Chandler to get Lola a nice gift in time. Also Chandler is apparently Lincoln’s black market hookup ala hustler kid. I genuinely love everything about this from the fact it fits his character, to the fact him being rich means there’s a genuine way he can get the resources, to the fact that despite being rich and probably not needing to do this it still fits he’d do it anyway because he’s kind of a scamp. If they use Chandler more like this, as Lincoln’s sorta shady frienemy who Lincoln and Co and possibly the sisters go to for shady schemes and crookery, i’ll be fully on board with it. Plus it might finally squeeze liam out of the group and give us someone willing to hit rusty. So all good things. 

But we do get a REALLY sweet ending as Lily, having seen her big brudder sad, paints him a picture. We also get the sweet image up top of LIsa and Lucy having given each other the same gift. Overall not a bad episode. Not nearly as good chirstmas story wise as 11 louds a leapin, but with a shorter runtime and a tight premise it still works and is still very sweet. 

A Flipmas Carol: Another very simple but alirght one.. and ANOTHER flip episode. And another one I can speed through a bit more. Basically it’s the night before christmas and Flip is taking advantage of the neighborhoods desperation with shoddy merchandise.. and forcing Lynn to work off the debt for some accidnetal damage on christmas eve and day. I mean she is legally of working age so this is legal but it’s still sketchy. Which is Flip’s wheelhouse.  Naturally this leads to a christmas Carol Parody and the weird part as the ghosts resemble and act like the loud kids> This is never explained, it’s really weird especially since Clyde ghost refrences his therapist.. but given the louds were in there and are in there enough for Flip to know them well, same with the mcbrydes, it easily could be a guilt induced hallucination or simply the ghosts taking a familiar form so i’m not going to dicker over it. It’s weird but you know not sudden super spies, golf ghosts or childrne comitting murders weird and as I mentioned up top, holiday episodes get a little more leway with me in terms of weird shit. not by a lot but by just enough. 

So they take him through what you’d expect: The Past gives Flip a sympethatic and well done origin story: Flip had a date with the girl of his dreams, but lost out due to a comination of Scoots selling him bad goods and bad tickets in middle school and vowed never to be hurt again barney stinson styles. The present shows him the consequenceds of his actions on other people’s christmas including whatever he gave the louds to make christmas dinner having turned into some form of abomination, causing him to actually feel guilt. The final one shows him having died, buired alone with no one to care in a ditch with a pizza box and having lost everything due to his practices. It ends how you’d expect, he goes to eveyrones houses and fixes things before giving the loud kids present and clearing lynn’s deabt before that happens. Not much to really dig into here, just a pretty good specail. Both of the christmas episodes are good, and while again not as good as the first one aren’t bad themselve.s 

So yeah overall this crop was okay. No real standouts, but outside of Band Together nothing bad and even that had extra scoots, luna’s band getting a name and that cheeks suish. All in all not a bad batch feels good to be caught up. Until next time courage. 

[jackjots]

13 Death

Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye 30 Day Prompt

(This takes place around the second half of Episode 7)

Day #13 @30daysofwayward

(I do not own any other characters or place names outside of Shelby St. Ranger, this is just for fun)

 Sitting in the shadows, I realized there was not much I could do at this point. Staying and listening to the werewolves while they talked amongst themselves felt so much worse than listening to them talk to Artemis and Paul. Even though both should have equally bothered me, somehow hearing what they had to say when they were ready to share their story felt better than hearing what they had to say when they thought they were totally alone. That was, if they had failed to notice me. Which now that I thought about, seemed unlikely, if they had any wolf senses. I didn’t know quite how that worked, but I didn’t want to test that theory too hard. 

Feeling quite trapped, I developed a plan to free myself from the fear of being caught by making it seem like I had been somewhere else the entire time. I stuck my notebook away and quietly made my way to the bathroom. The door was already ajar, so I slipped quickly inside. Once there, I made sure to make it very clear I was in there. Water running, flushing a couple of times. I felt a bit of regret for the waste of water, as any Californian would, but I decided it was necessary to really hit home that I was in there, doing important bathroom things. I returned to my seat and tried to give off the air that I didn’t have any idea other people were in there; seeming surprised to see them with a nice exaggerated facial expression in Paul’s direction, though he didn’t really look at me. I made my way to the bar for another beer. I hadn’t heard anything, my face said, I was totally clueless to everything going on. I knew nothing about werewolves, my casual arm against the bar declared, and the people behind me were merely a small group of people enjoying a conversation I hadn’t heard one tiny shred of. No siree, I was an innocent little barfly. Don’t mind me. La de da de day. 

I went back to my seat, and I did not pull my notebook back out. Instead, I doodled with my pen on the napkin I had grabbed with my beer. A couple of those classic elementary school Ss, next to each other. My initials. I had always been so proud that my initials were cool shapes everyone was drawing. 

After a few minutes had passed and no reaction to my presence occurred, I decided my first real attempt at deception had worked. My great master plan to feel less trapped in the hole I had put myself in. I mean, if they had known I was there the whole time, they decided I wasn’t a threat, as they weren’t acting like I was one. So either way, I was fine, everything was fine. Except that Artemis was out there by herself and it was going to be dark sooner than later. 

I decided to put my beer in the corner with a coaster on top. Desmond wasn’t at the bar to let him know I had done so, but I had a feeling no one would take my spot. And it conveyed I was just running out for a moment. I took my bag with me.

I left without looking around or giving any indication about what I was doing. 

I was pretty sure I knew where Miner Mole was, so I didn’t need GPS this time. But I had a feeling going straight there would be bad. I decided to go a weird way, and cut through some trees, so I could sneak up and watch from the window and see how Artemis was doing before I started to throw myself into situations that didn’t concern me. I was an observer, I reminded myself. I was going to observe.

This was my plan anyway, 

Until I died.

I was right about to hit the road again from the little detour I’d made when my feet suddenly weren’t under me anymore and I raised my arms against the ground as it came up and everything went dark. And that’s when I was sure I was dead. 

It started as a tingle all over, and then a great pull inside of me as I felt I was falling even farther than the ground. And then there was a vastness of depth that stretched beyond me and everything around me melted into a sort of purple mush. I tried to reach out my hands, but I couldn’t see them in front of me even as I stretched and grasped at the air. The air. Breathing. I tried to breathe, but nothing happened. The panic that would normally turn my stomach and grip my chest merely floated away as a bright orange cloud. 

I tried to steady myself, or whatever I was, and concentrate. I tried to focus on where I had just been. Dead Canary, I thought to myself, Dead Canary, werewolves. 

I was back at the bar. But my body was sitting at the booth, and I was staring at myself.  Scribbling in my book as the werewolves spoke. I couldn’t hear them talking, but I knew from the words that spilled from my pen that they were. It was weird to see myself, like looking at a fun house mirror version of myself, but more subtle. My face was wrong, and I realized I was used to seeing it in the mirror. The bruises under my eyes added to the ridiculousness of my face being not-my-face. I couldn’t keep staring, it was making me feel ill in an entirely new way that had nothing to do with my stomach. I realized as I focused on Paul’s face at the other booth that I could go over to the other table. Artemis and Paul sat next to each other, across from Rita, Sybilus, and Helen. Sybilus was speaking earnestly, and I remembered his words about silver, and wondered if this was the part I was seeing. There had been other small things he had uttered that had a stutter in the center of them, but this was the string of words that he had said with conviction and, as Rita was about to mention, no stutter. I could really stare into all of the eyes around me, as if I was perched in the middle of the table and swiveling around like a lazy susan. I stopped at Paul’s face. I stared into his eyes.

I was staring into Paul’s eyes and when I turned I was staring into Prism’s living breathing face. I pulled back and saw that Prism was putting cards down. He must have been getting a reading. The first she laid down was death. Her mouth moved. I couldn’t hear anything, but Prism seemed to be reassuring Paul as he squirmed in his chair. Another card, death. She was uncomfortable now. Another card, another card - a wolf face started to show. Another, and another. 

Someone cast a shadow and they looked. I looked up and there was-

There was Ryan bleeding on the ground.

There was Barney. Faces swam around him. Panic was bright red in the room. 

I woke up on the forest floor.

Okay so I didn’t die, but I really felt like I did.

[thespaceace124]

Tv shows I watched this year, my favorite character from each, and why I like each character.

Since my past few posts about Fandom/TV shows have been kinda negative/ criticism, to end off the year, I wanted to make a few posts about things that I like in media. So today we’ll be taking a look at all the shows I watched/finished this year and my favorite characters from each.

Space Force: Captain Angela Ali. Its been a hot minute since I watched Space force, but iirc she’s just… done like 99% of the time with all of her superiors, but in the ten episodes we get, we see some fun little character moments from her. Like in the war games episode where she has to grapple with being an amazing book student, but has a hard time applying some of the stuff she learned at the military academy in a “combat” situation and has to sort of learn and take the lead from one of her “underlings” who is better in that sort of situation. Also, the bonding moments she has with Chan, like when they’re on the road trip, and when she asks him for help learning some science stuff so she can be more useful on missions and stuff. (again, its been a while since I’ve watched this one so my memory of it is a little foggy)

Stargate SG-1: Colonel Jack O’Neill. I like the tope he falls into of the very surface level sort of gruff military man, doesn’t like talking about his feelings, makes smart ass remarks, asks people who talk to much to get to the point, he’s a very fun character, and adds a lot of fun lightheartedness to the show and is generally enjoyable to have on screen. Also tends to get the most character development, at least regarding his past and sort of why the way that he is. (I would say Teal’c gets the second most), also the reason I got into stargate, as my dad showed me a compilation of him being a smart ass and I was like “oh ho ho, I gotta see more of this guy”

Doctor Who (specifically seasons 11 and 12): The Doctor. I like this version of the Doctor, I like that she a little more lighthearted chaotic as opposed to the previous Doctor, who I would describe as dark chaotic, (at least in s11) and just very fun to be around and watch on screen. Also, I think that the rest of the fam is a little bit underdeveloped? Like, we got a lot of fun stuff for Ryan and Graham in the premier with them being a part of a family unit and then at the end of the season we got a nice little scene of them bonding and Ryan calling him grandad and then in s12 there’s like none of that??? And with Yaz we get that she’s kinda got the usual female companion backstory (not a big fan of her job, not happy living with her family, wants *More* out of life) and then we learn that she got bullied as a kid, and at one point she tried to run away, but a kindhearted cop and her sister??? Managed to keep her in Sheffield. So, I feel a little bit like the doctor is my favorite as a default just because we already know the doctors story, so we’ve just pasted a new personality onto a familiar character.

Deep Space Nine (started 2019): Major Kira Nerys. Straight up the reason this character is my favorite is because my dad said I remind him of her and that makes me feel nice. Also, Nana Visitor is very pretty. Also I like that she takes 0 shit from anyone, including Sisko, but we also get to see her learn and grow  from “I will always voice my disagreement no matter what” to “There is a time and a place to object” and also a little bit of learning that sometimes you have to work with people who’ve hurt you and sometimes that sucks. Anyway, she’s a grade A badass and I love her.

Voyager (started 2019): Captain Kathryn Janeway. Like my reasons for Kira, I think Janeway is a badass, and that Kate Mulgrew is very pretty. But also, I think Janeway is a badass in a different way than Kira is, simply because their characters are in very different situations. But I think Janeway is portrayed to be handling things extremely well, and doing what needs be done, obviously that wasn’t super looked at as they did want to keep the tone of voyager relatively light, but anyway, I like Janeway because she’s someone to look up to, to want to incorporate traits of into your own behavior.

Picard: Rafaella “Raffi” Musiker. I like Raffi because she is one of the most consistent characters in Picard. See imo Picard suffers from having too much on its plate, and also it drops/ abandons too many characters. With a show that has only 10 episodes, especially in a first season, you can’t do that. So, with Raffi being in the majority of the episodes, with consistent characterization that makes sense, and working as someone who can actually keep Picard in check? That’s the best character in the show. Also, I think of actors not seen in Star Trek before, she’s one of the better ones and that makes her better.

Lower Decks: Ensign Beckett Mariner. I love a chaotic smartass. Also, for as much as I love LD being a relatively slice of life comedy, I love that Mariner got a ton of characterization in the last few episodes, especially exploring her relationship with her mom, and people who knew her at the academy. She’s super fun, I love how she’s almost always dunking on Boimler, but also really cares for him and doesn’t want to see him hurt. Again, she’s just super fun to see on screen, I love that she doesn’t really like authority figures, and is content to figure herself out while being a relatively low-ranking officer. I like Mariner because she is both sure of herself, but not totally sure what she wants to do with her career, which is something that Star Trek has never explored before, and I think its super interesting.

Discovery: Commander Michael Burnham. I think a trend with a lot of the characters on this list is that I personally find them cool and/or pretty, and once again that also applies to Michael here, but also, I like her because Michael as a concept is fascinating. Like the idea of being a child who goes through a trauma and then is immediately whisked away to a place where she can’t actually process it? And then as a result grows up emotionally constipated and only in her 30s, is sort of finally able to shed that and actually learn how to be healthy with her emotions? Absolutely fascinating, I love that. I also love that we can kind of see that her upbringing and the suppression of emotions as a child still effects the choices that she’s made to this day. Its super cool, and I think one of the best parts of discovery.

Ratched: Nurse Mildred Ratched. I don’t have anything really important to say here, I just tend to like the main characters of tv shows because by default they get the most development/ back story or whatever, and honestly this is one of those shows that I enjoyed enough to watch all ten episodes, and then never picked it up again, so. Ehhh

Dexter: Dexter Morgan. I like Dexter Morgan because he’s a man who has always been told he doesn’t have emotions, but as the show goes on you can totally see that he does have emotions, he just doesn’t know how to handle them, and that they don’t present themselves in the same way that “normal” people’s do. Like, I fully believe that Dexter did actually love Rita, Harry jr., Deb, and Hannah. But I also believe he didn’t fully know how to cope with those emotions, because instead of getting his son help Harry Morgan decided to turn his son into a killing machine, which was a Choice.

Hannibal: Will Graham. I liked watching him kinda fall into Hannibal’s co-dependency trap. Character regression baybee. But like, that’s what happens, I’m pretty sure at one point they both admit that they aren’t healthy for each other, but they also cant live w/o each other. Which is not a dynamic I personally had seen delved into in media before I watched this show. I just think he’s neat.

ATLA: Toph Beifong. I like Toph because I think she provides a nice foil to Aang, whilst also not going too far into the opposite direction. She’s decisive, she knows for the most part what she wants from this adventure, and mostly how to go about getting it, while also discovering a new family along the way. I also just like the way that she can and will throw a boulder at you if she thinks you deserve it.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Sabrina Spellman. Again, sort of falling into the “I tend to like the main character by default folder” It’s also been a hot minute since I watched this show, so I’m just gonna say that I like Sabrina because she is always the one getting her own self into trouble by being Different. And while I’m not saying that it is always good to conform and do what is expected of you, all of the issues in the show are caused by Sabrina (for the most part). Season one is all about shit falling apart if she doesn’t sign the book, season two is her shaking things up at the witch academy and also not wanting to be the princess of hell (understandable, but again, still her fault) and the whole plot of season 3 is the fallout of her imprisoning the devil and then also being too cocky with the guy made of clay. She’s far too cocky, and I think that’s super funny in regards to how it gets her into situations she’s not really prepared for.

The Coroner (BBC): Beth Kennedy. I watched this show with my stepmom, and in this show, Beth tends to be the one who lightens the mood a lot, so she’s my favorite character b/c of that.

[jeremy-ken-anderson]

Entertainment Goals

There’s a lot of stuff about achievement goals, when you’re talking about organizing your life.

Let’s take a moment and optimize the fun. Because it’s easy to make the mistaken assumption that everything classified as entertainment will, to quote a dross-removal pro, spark joy. The reality is it’s perfectly possible to lose interest in something without that meaning anything is wrong with either you or it.

Also a lot of things intended to entertain are very badly made. And if you’ve spent money on them, that money’s gone, but your time can still be spared if you don’t force yourself to devote more hours to a bad game.

I originally had a list of a bunch of the games I have but don’t care to complete, but this is supposed to be a to-do list, not a “not to do” list or a bunch of postmortems for relationships I once had with various games.

Video Games

Bastion: Want to play at least an hour more, see what’s up with it.

Breath of the Wild: I really enjoyed the time I spent playing this, and I didn’t get close to finishing before I put it down! There’s a ton left to mess with, there.

Cultist Simulator: Want to do another run to attempt romance, as a concept within their systems. But not soon. Maybe a year from now.

Final Fantasy X: I’d like to actually beat this.

Final Fantasy X-2: Eventually - perhaps very eventually - I want to 100% this.

Final Fantasy XIV: There’s a bunch left there. I’ve listed off a bunch of the possibilities, but mostly I’m willing to focus on it as a social activity with my buddy Matt.

For the King: This looks really good and I haven’t touched it yet. I should set aside time for it!

Graveyard Keeper: I’m torn on this one! I’m worried that I won’t be willing to pick it back up without restarting from the beginning, but also that I’ll find a restart really damn boring. Maybe I’ll take a bit and see whether the journal system in the game is good enough to get me caught up with where I was.

Hades: I’d like to get to the closing credits on this. But for the sake of tuning my reflexes I kind of need to have it be the only reflex game I’m playing when I’m playing it.

Hollow Knight: Maybe. I was surprised by how un-grabbed I was. Maybe it got over-hyped, or maybe it just hit me when Metrovania wasn’t what I was in the mood for. But it definitely deserves another shot. If I feel the urge to revisit a -vania I’ve already played, I should shunt that urge into playing this instead.

KH3: I’m maybe 2/3 through normal content. I have no interest in high-skill play of this game; Its secret megabosses and challenge dungeons. But I would like to finish out the regular story sometime.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: I want to do the storyline. In spite of my normal predilections, I may have to force myself to pick a team and play straight through, not try and level every member of the enormous roster up to max.

Monster Hunter Rise: This will be my Wednesday nights 8-10 with friends, for the next few years.

Pokemon Shield: Basically the same problem as MUA3. I want to finish, but if I try to catch ‘em all and level them all I end up spending exponentially more time between actual game events and the math of it catches up to what I’m willing to put in somewhere between gyms 5 and 6. But I bet if I just pick a team and play, I can finish.

Books

Raising Steam - Terry Pratchett

Shadow - Robin McKinley

Venus Envy - Rita Mae Brown

Green Kitty - Alexandra Faer Bryan

Anime

Rather than picking out specific series, I think the plan there is just to get back into the habit of watching maybe 1-2 episodes a day. But specifically no more than that. I do think I’ll watch ~12 series at once, interspersing shorter and longer offerings and starting things at different times so something’s always on the way in as something else is concluding. The 4 longer series to run while I’m doing regular 13-ep shows between will be Slayers, Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon, and Hayate the Combat Butler.

Walking

I got into the habit of taking a walk with mom. Mom doesn’t have a ton of energy. So the walk I take with her isn’t as much walking as I need for the day, either for exercise or for reverie.

Meditation

I get the idea of splitting out meditation from entertainment...but I’m not gonna.

D&D

I’m running 2 weekly games and playing in 3 biweekly games. I do wish I could assemble The Dream Team - a bunch of fave players from over the years, who’ve never played together and who I haven’t gotten to play with in a while - but that last bit is generally because most of them are really damn busy. And also if I’m realistic I hardly have the time to run the 2 games I’m running.

Cooking

At least once every 2 weeks it’d be cool to run a cross-analysis between the Joy of Cooking and the contents of my house and see if I can’t make something tasty I’ve never made before.

D&D Podcasts

Limits are 1 series at a time, and 1 hour a day. There are too many hours of game being produced at a time to hear it all. We’ll see how I feel about doing another series after I get caught up to the present on The C Team.