#Only for it to be a blip in an episode

[kaleidoramblings]

Never getting over how Paint the Town Blue and Rebel Heart were wasted on an Act where Jinx doesn't go apeshit even a little, despite having plenty of reason to.

Jinx in S1:

"I'm worried Silco thinks I'm weak." [blows up Enforcers about it]

"I think my sister chose a cop over me." [blows up Enforcers about it]

"I accidentally killed my dad and I'm turning my back on my sister." [blows up the Council about it]

Jinx in S2A1:

"My sister turned bluebelly and is helping her cop girlfriend gas the undercity." [attempts dual-sororicide and blows the Grey into Piltover about it]

Jinx in S2A2:

"My emotional support child who I supposedly developed a deep familial bond with was arrested by Enforcers and taken to prison." [makes quips at and gives the finger to an Enforcer about it?]

Seriously though, a person with zero mental disorders and no abandonment issues would've shown more emotion over having their child/sister arrested than Jinx, notorious overreactor, did. We get one (1) moment of seeing her haunted by her hallucinations and then... nothing. Cool as a cucumber, not even particularly serious, cracking lighthearted jokes and exchanging quips. Who even is this!

And why the hell has Jinx been lying low and refusing to go even a tiny bit ham on the Enforcers when Isha actively wants her to do so. One of Jinx's fundamental character traits is that she has A Person, and she wants to be of value to that person by fulfilling their goals (even if it's in ways they didn't ask of her). So why is she ignoring something Isha really wants her to do! Who even is this!!

And it's not as if Jinx is acting like (kid) Powder either, because you know what Powder did? Build bombs to use on Enforcers. With nails in them!

[aflockofravens]

Not to rapidly flip into another hyperfixation but holy shit, started Heaven Official's Blessing and it's the gayest fucking thing I've ever seen.

I'm only 9 episodes in so far but holy fuck I'm kicky-feeting so fucking hard at every interaction between Xie Lien and San Lang.

Like shut the fuck up, you're so cute

(honorable mention to Nan Feng and Fu Yao; they're gonna hate fuck, I'm calling it now)

[frodoenjoyer]

I can’t be the only one that thinks Viktor and Jayce are definitively still alive

With arcane deaths, I noticed that unless we LITERALLY see someone’s dead body, or see the life leave their eyes, there’s a high likelihood they’re not actually dead. Think about Vander’s comeback, or how Jinx’s “death” in the last episode was not true, because we see Caitlyn researching the structure’s escape routes/chutes, which can only mean she’s considering how Jinx escaped.

So, in the finale, we don’t see a definitive death death for Viktor and Jayce. We watch them disappear, possibly out of that universe’s reality; and we don’t see bodies or whatnot, we watch them blip out of existence. They have to go somewhere.

IDK!! This was my first time watching arcane (loved it!!!) and I saw people crashing out over their deaths, but then I watched it, and all the above was my immediate assumption.

Also there was that whole thing with Singed on how the cure to death was dependent on Viktor’s survival, and then in the final scenes we see Singed’s daughter alive. So like. Doesn’t that mean Viktor’s alive? And if Viktor’s alive then Jayce is probably also alive.

[blackiron11]

Ideas I really want to read about. (Someone pls make them and tag me

1. Suicidal/self harm reader x rio

1.5 Suicidal/self harm Agatha (cuz her mother hates her so hard) x rio

2. Agatha x rio x reader - they fight for reader's heart on the road (based on lay all your love on me)

2.1

https://www.tumblr.com/wandaslittlelove/766148680484044800/can-you-make-agatha-and-rio-fighting-for-sns

3. Reader is Nicky's twin and Agatha hide them after Nicky's death, until the road (long fic)

4. Personification of life reader x rio (Agatha gets envy)

4.1

https://www.tumblr.com/pyro-les/766339682145550336/to-save-a-life-rio-vidal-x-goddess-of-life?source=share

5 and 6. These two I found on Twitter

7. Mommy Agatha x little reader x rio (on the road) - maybe turn Agathario x little reader (non sexual)

8. Au Agathario with episode 1 - detective harkness x Vidal - no Wanda's spell, normal world - plus Nicky (long fic

9. In the comics, Thanos blips half of the universe as a gift to Death. So, Agatha is angry about it and what's why she is the only one to bring they back five years later. Thanos won't get Rio, if Agatha has a word about it 😌

10. Agatha only wanted Scarlet witch's powers to try to bring Nicholas back or what?

11. Evil Agathario (third pic) - na vdd esse meio que se tornou realidade 🕊️

12. Evil Queen x Salem Agatha (don't ask me why

[agatharkn3ss]

Lilia's premonitions theory (contains spoilers)

Well, my brain has been in overdrive and I love puzzles so... "buckle up!"

If it's too long for you - you can jump straight into the last section titled "How does it all fit"... I really think there could be something there.

OTHER THEORIES

There have been many theories about Lilia's powers and her moments of visions. Some think it's just some loose wiring on most part, some think it's past traumatic events catching up with her, some think they are predictions of the future, some even went as far as suggesting that Lilia (loosely) predicts the last words of the next person who's going to die (based on the fact she said "Get off me!" in ep.2 and we hear Sharon shout "Don't touch me!" in ep.3). But we keep seeing more and more of Lilia's blips in ep.4, they make less sense to any of the above theories, so personally I am not sold on any of them.

There is also a possibility that her premonitions could just be linked to the events that follow - but the words aren't accurate because Lilia can't quite see the "full picture". So her screaming in her shop could be linked to Teen's reaction when Salem Seven attacked in that same episode. Or when she says "Alice, don't", we see Agatha pleading "Don't" with Rio.

BUT then I saw people discussing that maybe these are actually "misplaced" moments in time - from the future AND the past. And that they will make sense if they were said in the correct moment, but somehow got lost and sent to a different time. For example - when Lilia talks about the vampire by the campfire "You know, we really kind of hated each other in the beginning, but now..." then zones out. We could assume she's still talking about the vampire, but this pause could actually be easily filled with "I love you guys!" from the "botox" scene in ep.3, because she was actually touched by their campfire stories. Or when she shouts "Get off me" in ep.2, it could be taken right out of the ep.4 scene where she's burning on the floor, shouting "Get it off me!".

WHAT WE KNOW

All those theories got me mighty intrigued, so of course I made a list of all of Lilia's apparent 'blips' and tried to make sense of it! I believe there are two types of Lilia's visions - one where she has "wrong messages" and one where she exclaims names of tarot cards.

The tarot cards she mentioned so far:

Three of Pentacles - right after she wrote the coven names down

High Priestess - when she meets Jen at Agatha's house

Three of Swords - as Jen is trying to heal Teen

The "blips" are:

shouting and flailing her hands - when Agatha and Teen ask her to join the coven in ep.2

writing the coven names (same scene as above) - this is the only premonition where we see burst of power - the electricity flicker around her, the water boils and it all seems really intense.

shouting "Get off me!" and looking like she was pushing someone away - just before the witches begin summoning the Road

"I love you guys" - when Jen questions Sharon about her poison symptoms in ep.3

"Try to save Agatha" - when she and Agatha are searching for potion ingredients

"Which is it, am I wispy or am i kooky?" - when talking to Alice about her mum during the trial in ep.4

"Alice! Alice don't" - shortly after the one above

Zones out - during the campfire scene when she talks about the vampire scar

We also know that her Air trial will be all about tarot (confirmed by Patti herself) and the promos show Lilia in some sort of princess dress and tiara, Agatha as the green Wicked Witch of the West and Jen looking like the Evil Queen from Snow White but in the old hag form. This makes me think in her trial she will have to confront all those stereotypes about witches that she always said she hated so much. She will likely have to do a tarot reading too. There is also a room with ceiling full of swords that could fall down on them. And finally, in that same room there is a brief shot with her and Salem Seven, flowing mid-air.

One promo also shows one of Salem Seven (Vertigo) opening her mouth to release a swarm of cicadas (her spirit animal).

We know the witches slowly regain their powers once they passed their trial.

There is also this thing about Alice (I will need to make a separate post to explain this) - where my prediction is that in ep.5 she will try to protect the coven by attacking Agatha while she's in her "possessed" form. Unfortunately, Agatha will (willingly or not) completely syphon her powers and Alice will die.

HOW DOES IT ALL FIT?

Well. I think we will potentially get some answers during or after Lilia's trial, once she starts regaining her powers. I think Lilia will try to send a message to the witches in the past, but she will still be struggling with getting the times right.

I could almost see a scene where she sits at her crystal ball or does a tarot reading and talks, not realising that EVERYTHING she says is "sent out" without any filter.

Something like...

.........

Lilia is in a room with other witches, it is a high pressure situation because the Salem Seven are chasing them. Her task is to send the names of the witches to her past self so that Agatha can form her coven - they realised that without the list, they would've never gotten there. Maybe their existence or memory depends on it.

So Lilia starts a tarot reading and begins "tuning in" to her memories, saying the names of the revealed cards out loud - "High Priestess" (she says it in a surprise voice as her vision suddenly flickers to the moment of meeting Jen), "Three of Swords" etc. Maybe one of other witches in the room starts antagonising her kookiness, so that she would just hurry up, because this is not working and Salem Seven are close. So Lilia responds in annoyance "Which is it, am I wispy or am I kooky?!" But then she realises she is standing in front of Alice from the fire trial (in spirit anyway, Lilia is still physically in the scary room). She exclaims in relief "Alice!" and realises this is also her chance to warn Alice so that she doesn't die. She begins saying "Alice, don't try to save Agatha!", but mid way through, her spirit gets transported to the first trial, searching for potion ingredients. So Alice only hears "Alice don't..." and Agatha hears "...try to save Agatha". At some point Lilia is transported to sitting in front of the campfire, reminiscing their stories. This is a fond memory so she starts saying "You know, we really kind of hated each other in the beginning, but now.." and before she can finish, she gets transported back to the "Huge tiny lies" house "...I love you guys".

Maybe at some point Salem Seven break their way into the tarot room and one of them attacks Lilia. She screams "Get off me!" and pushes them away (while her spirit is transported to the moment before they opened the Road). Vertigo releases her cicadas, flying around Lilia's head. She flails her hands and screams, while her spirit is inside her shop where Agatha and Teen just approach her. She realises she's close, focuses all her energy and channels her spirit to write the list of names herself. It takes enormous effort to stay focused on that one moment, hence the energy around her is bursting. She either doesn't have enough time to finish writing Rio's name or feels cheeky and draws a black heart instead. She finishes by revealing and naming the last tarot card: "Three of Pentacles". She completes the task, the End!

....

So..... What does everyone think?!!!!!!

[elkian]

It's interesting watching the Dungeon Meshi anime after reading the manga pretty recently. There's lots of fun 'that's a surprise tool that will help us later moments' (not to mention spotted all the WL motifs!), but there's more.

Some stuff I blipped over on the initial read - partly due to the story starting out as a light-hearted Monster of the Week comedy and partly likely due to my own general obliviousness - has caught my attention.

One is how Laios engages with the other party members: when Marcille is down about not being immediately useful, he's the one who jumps in to support her, citing his knowledge of her unique skillset and the strategic value in her holding back for the moment. He has a high level of respect for his party's skills in general (I wonder if part of the monster mania is a bit of compensating for not getting to show his stuff sooner?), and a strong understanding of their synergy.

Further, as I'm watching the Living Armor episode, something has finally pinged in my conscious mind: Laios is smart. It's overshadowed a bit, I think, by his Monster Special Interest (a thing he is expected to be knowledgeable in, which also leads to the dragon expert bemoaning lmao), and his general role of being either The Weird One or experiencing Consequences of eating things recklessly. Which ig is all Monster Special Interest-related at minimum.

Anyways, combining my observation of Laios' understanding of Marcille and Chilchuck's skillsets, and how to best implement him, I realize in this episode that Laios is a very skilled tactician, and strategist. We've also seen him make detailed analyses and decent plans in the manga. I think this all ties into him being the sort of de facto party leader - not only is he strongly motivated on multiple levels, but the others trust him to analyze situations and formulate viable plans accordingly, taking their strengths and weaknesses into account. Heck, when the party gets species-swapped, he makes almost immediate note in their first battle of how quickly he loses stamina, and connects that to Senshi's behavior that he's observed in the past.

Sorry for not noticing sooner, Laios.

[renton6echo]

So not only are they phasing out clones and forcing them to retire. It’s being implied they are also being transported to the cloning facility to be experimented on. ‘Cause why not add to the laundry list of abuses and inhumane treatment of the clones. I just…it’s just so sad. The total apathy. “He [Commander Mayday] is expendable, as are you.”

They are being erased and soon they will be forgotten. The clone army will be a blip in the history of the fallen Republic and the rising Empire even though they played a vital role in both regimes. Do we see the complete impact the clones had on the socioeconomic and political structure of the galaxy? It is all seen and talked about but they are ghosts forgotten in the background because there is no one left to tell their story. And if they are remembered, it’s for the one act they had no control over - the elimination of the Jedi.

It was always going to play out this way for the clones. An inevitability like the circling predator stalking Crosshair and Mayday’s path the entire episode.

But seeing it play out is absolutely heart wrenching. The season is taking a darker and darker turn, and it’s amazing to see the fate of the clones play out in The Bad Batch. Let’s hope the Batch, Echo and Rex can save some of their brothers so they can write their story. God, I loved and hated “The Outpost.” It was so devastatingly good.

The Clone War and The Bad Batch fandom rn:

[fountainpenguin]

Secret Life finale highlights for me:

- "My strategy: Kill Skizz and Tango. Will happen at some point... Or, just maim them and watch them die in a corner." - Scar

- Scott on Grian's loyalty: "I have never seen a man drop a pair of sunglasses faster in my life [than last season after Joel died]."

- I think I reblogged someone's speculation weeks ago that at the dawn of final session, everyone's task book would just say "Win Secret Life." Congrats to them for Apollo's gift of prophecy.

- Martyn's beat of pause before saying to Joel "Welcome to the Out of Context video."

- At the start of the season, Etho said Joel was the first one he wanted to kill because "He's cheeky." When Joel is asked who he wants to kill, he says "Etho." Glad you're enjoying your rivalry, boys, smh...

- Joel, once again giving into his Shrek origins, watching Bdubs' wool globe go up in flames and chirping "My world's on fire; how 'bout yours?"

- Tango does not break his "pathetic death" curse. Just blipped out of existence. Love that for him.

- Spitting, crying... BigB panics and flees into his creepy backrooms for safety. Immediately vanishes into the tunnel maze. Scar pursues and skids to a halt because he hasn't seen it yet and is thoroughly creeped out.

- Scar coming up to surface and trying to describe how BigB disappeared. Martyn looks down at where they're standing and is just like "Oh, that's the backrooms." Mental image of Scar as that meme that goes "The. what."

- Scar describing BigB as a sneaky squirrel. "Squirrel" was the name of BigB's horse in Double Life.

- Joel's anxiety about entering a Nether portal on the final episode, specifically because of how he and Etho perma-died in Double Life

- Whatever was going on with Martyn flinging ender pearls up the ladder seconds before he died

- Additionally, people in the background commenting that they think Martyn's teamed up with Cleo and the only reason he was near them was an attempt to bear down and kill them

- Scar to Bdubs, watching Cleo and Etho from a distance: "Look at this- Mom and Dad are bringing their new ugly stepson to meet us, Bdubs." /camera pans to the warden chasing them

- Bdubs tells Scar that Cleo said he was her favorite son and Scar IMMEDIATELY, without responding or even waiting for Bdubs to finish his sentence, jumps a wall and books it to Cleo to confirm... Mental image of him swinging dramatically over it with one hand, his shawl billowing behind him

- Scar chases Cleo while they're both being pursued by a warden, asking her if he's her favorite son. Doesn't let up until she assures him she "just said it to keep Bdubs happy." what is wrong with the Clocker family.

- Joel somehow pulled off a beautiful PVP kill on Skizz despite having only 2.5 hearts

- In earlier episodes, Joel had people say "The florist sends his regards" on his behalf before striking. Before killing Skizz, he says "Scar sends his regards" since Scar really wanted to kill Skizz but bequeathed the fight to Joel instead.

- Scar trotting up to Etho and Cleo, who are watching him from a cliff, and announcing "I am not up to anything nefarious!"

- Scar's weird spiky wall design is really pretty

- slkdjfskldjfsklj?!?!?!? I had a bullet point on this list that said "Honorable non-finale mention to Scar getting both the Green and Yellow kill on Etho this season" but now I see I need to correct that:

- Shout-out to Scar killing Etho - in Etho's front yard - THREE TIMES this season. Etho rushing back to his base, tripping over his feet and saying "I'm going home, everybody- I'm dying at my home-"

- Scott to Scar: "I went down to BigB - to get him - and I see what you mean; he does just talk his way out of things so you feel bad; you just leave him." / Scar: "That's why you don't let him speak. You just inner monologue. You start talking about Star Wars so you can't hear his charms."

- As Scar drives his sword into Cleo, he says "Good-bye, Mom- This is for you telling Bdubs [he's your] favorite." Geez, dude. Scar killed both his parents; this family is a mess. Bonus points for Joel fumbling in the background like "Oh my gosh- Scar, you savage-"

- I watched multiple POVs until I was caught up to the standoff between Gem & The Scotts vs. The Mounders... So picking up from there with Scar's POV b/c his is the one I randomly started with today: I love how Joel basically went "I am once again throwing caution to the wind and charging into battle with a murderous Red rage in my eyes and no one behind me" like he ALWAYS does.

- Bdubs and Scar decide to back him up... Amazing.

- Scar has gotten 4 kills (Tango, Etho, Cleo, Impulse) and he was super close to getting BigB as well before Scott sniped the kill. Geez... The man is vicious today. During Limited Life, Grian made a comment that went something like "Of course Scar is only destructive / successful when I'm not on his team" and honestly? Yeah...

- Pearl begging Scar to kill her- Pearl warning Scar that if she perma-kills Gem, she'll go up 10 hearts- Scar refusing, insisting that he doesn't want to turn on her because it feels lame...

- Scar got Gem, he got Gem... GeminiSlay is DOWN!

- SCAR SWEEP WITH THE BOW!!

Oh my goodness, I saw his episode title ("Can Villain Scar Win?") and the words that went through my head were "Welp, that's a spoiler that he's dead." I see I was wrong.

GG, SCAR WIN!!! Man who wanted so desperately to have friends, only to trip and fail time and time again... GoodTimesWithVictor!!

My heart, Scar letting that zombie knock him down to half a heart... playing up like he didn't just watch the lightning bolt mark Pearl's demise. He wanders, calling out to Pearl, asking where she went... quietly giggling and muttering to himself as that zombie pushes at him... GG, Scar. GG.

My goodness, is this the only time we haven't seen the winner die in their perspective? Scar slams that success button for winning the game, gets 5 hearts, turns back, and that's it... That's the game. End scene.

What a LAD!!

[userautumn]

Ryan saying Eddie was only supposed to be on the show for one episode is CRAZY like what do you mean i came THIS close to not having my favorite character of all time. what do you mean the fate of this character that has literally prompted and propelled my own healing was left up to chance. what do you mean eddie diaz could have lived and died as nothing more than a blip on the radar in the grand continuum of time and i wouldnt have ever noticed it. What Do You Mean

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

[As usual I can't write about this show, so once again these are just thoughts, that I have been writing, leaving in my drafts, deleting a bit, writing some more, and so on. ]

Tis better to have loved and lost?

So, this cliché, of all things, is what's been on my mind since I finished LITBC. I hate this quote. It's not important why right now, I just do. But put it another way. Are things only good if they last? Is the joy, the love and the happiness somehow erased if it doesn't last forever? This is what has been swirling around my brain these past few days while I recover from the pain this show put me through.

Young was never the happiest guy. All through this series, and the novel, he has spoken of his loneliness and sadness. Which is why ultimately, he doesn't fight for Gyu-ho or even is surprised when things don't work out. I think, when looking backwards, is easy to embellish the past, to make it more than it was. To make it happier, crazier, sometimes more tragic even. But what I appreciate about this flashback, is how it all seems so normal. It's a snapshot, a moment outside of reality, because they're on holiday, but we get to see all sides. They fight, they make up. They get rained on, and they have sex. They are wet and uncomfortable but they are together. Like a small representation of their relationship as a whole. The first time we saw them in Bangkok, it was a blip. It was just happy.

And watching these moments,a part of me is sad. The happy ending lover is sad. The little whimpering voice that goes, but they loved each other so much, why can't they stay together???? 😭

And this is where rewatching the final two episodes after rereading the final part of the novel, kinda helped turn a corner and put a damper in my own suffering.

There's a feeling in those last seconds that is nowhere to be found in the novel. Hope. In the novel, he hasn't moved on. He's still stuck in the loss of the relationship with Gyu-ho. There's nothing in it that tell us that he'll be okay from now on. That he turned a page, and can now remember Gyu-ho with a smile. Instead he's still just sad, "crumbling away, little by little."

So, in that way, the show is definitely a less sad. Because like Young, I'm now able to see this relationship in a different way. As something precious that Young got to experience at least once in his life. He got the chance to open himself completely to another person, and be loved for who he was.

Of course the presence of the T-aras throughout contributes a lot to the lighter feeling of the series and specially these last moments. In the novel, he would stay in bed for days on end, and neglect his appearance and hygiene. But here we got to see the T-aras bursting into his place, forcing him to clean himself up and get out of the house. And the fact that he's closer to Eun Su, also made me feel like he's less alone, and maybe there's a deeper friendship there than I believed there was before. And perhaps he will trust him enough to tell him about Kylie. Or even the whole group.

I'm still undecided about the father subplot being added. I mean, since the author is the screenwriter, I'm not gonna say it's wrong, but I could've certainly gone without it. I just don't see what it actually added to the story besides just another person that Young couldn't count on. I already knew he was not present in his life, I didn't need to know he was an even worst human being.

I still wanna rewatch the whole thing to pay attention to the different parts, and the different ways in how they were shot, because I was too focused on all the feels to appreciate anything else.

[donaardaardendrian]

A summary of the endings of Animation Vs Science

At the time of writing this, only the first 3 episodes are out, any follow up will be done in reblogs. Spoilers below.

Let's start with Animation Vs Math (Av∑) :

After discovering the Math Universe, and fighting with Euler's Constant (e), Orange (aka TSC) asks e if it knows an exit to get out of this place, and comes up with a solution :

The terms of that summation are the values of "volume" of 2n-ball (with radius of 1): With n=0, the 0-ball is the point, and there is 1 point in a point (shocking), π^0 / Γ(1) = 1 ; with n=1, the 2-ball is the disk with area π, π^1 / Γ(2) = π ; with n=2, the 4-ball is the hyper-ball with hyper-volume π^2/2, π^2 / Γ(3) = π^2/2 ; and so on...

So TSC gets blipped out of existence through an infinite dimensional ball.

And appear in Animation Vs Physics (Avᴘ⃗ )...

Where after adventuring in a cowboy hat through space thanks to conveniently placed props, he reaches a black hole, a plunge into it.

(Due to time travel shenanigans, TSC goes multiple times through the same period of time, which the video does not show, skipping ahead)

He finds there his future self, who teach him how to manipulate quantum probability, and the flow of time.

Together, they conveniently place props through space for their past selves, and before leaving, by selecting a different universe interpretation, future TSC takes present TSC's hat, making present TSC "past TSC's future TSC" (dear god).

We will now follow TSC after he jumps through the universe as his future self.

Sadly, in Animation Vs Geometry (Av𝔊), he seems to have ended up in a dimensionless universe which he have to expend to move freely, first adding time, then two spacial dimension.

And, with phi (ɸ), after a bit of fleeing from a 4D menace, the Octaplex, they put it in a dimension prison referencing Poincaré's Dodecahedral Space, where space as the same volume as a dodecahedron whose opposite faces are linked after a 36° rotation.

However, we come across a familiar face : Avᴘ⃗ 's TSC looking from the previous universe, which seems to shock our TSC a bit, making him fall in the opposite direction : into the next one.

The universe then reset to a timeless space dot, enter-able by any stick figure that would go through universe... Oh, it moved.

(Since the universe seems to reset itself dimensionless, quitting time until it's restarting, the universe itself is in a timeloop. Thus, the nudge is caused by the same TSC that arrived 9 minutes before.)

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I wholeheartedly agree with you that all signs point toward season 6 a soft reboot of the show. there’s this general consensus that “of course they’re going to deal with everything that happened in the season 5 finale” but i can’t help but get the terrible underlying feeling that a lot of the original plot of the show is going to be considered collateral damage to the writers rather than a plot device by the end of the season.

Fandom is expecting this to turn into an angst fanfiction… but ultimately, it’s a show for 8 year olds.

I’m also entirely disinterested in Lila being the main villain, because the “all 14 year old girls hate each other and come up with schemes to rip each other down” is now taking center stage instead of being reserved for a B-Plot. It’s just a big bucket of “cool, I don’t care.”

(Post this ask was in response to)

Never say never, but I will be genuinely shocked if we get something even remotely close to a satisfying resolution to anything that has happened in the show so far. The writers spent seasons four and five establishing a clear pattern of ignoring big plot points or resolving them in the least satisfying way possible. I don't know why that would change now. The last "satisfying" thing the show gave us was Chloe's "damnation arc." While I will always disagree with calling it that, at least we got to see her setup to fall and then fall. Everything after that has been a lackluster nothing burger.

The temp hero identity reveals at the end of season three might as well have not happened

Chat Blanc apparently has no impact on Marinette (but somehow does on Adrien?)

Alya getting her Miraculous full time led to nothing

Marinette being the guardian didn't change anything

Lila's lying disease confession meant nothing and she still had all her power

Season four could have been cut and season three could have just ended with Gabriel escaping with the miracle box since he already had it and only lost it because of a random power we'd ever seen before (naming a new guardian)

The list goes on and on. I don't expect perfection from any fictional work. Everyone has a bad book or a bad episode or even a bad season, but this goes beyond a minor blip in the road. Seasons four and five retroactively ruined many elements of the earlier seasons by making it clear that there was no master plan for those moments. Or if there was, it's an impressively bad one.

I also fully agree on the Lila point. I cannot stand her or the way her character influences the rest of the cast. Her episodes feel tailor-made to drive me up a wall and I have no interest in watching a show where that writing is the new standard. I'm fascinated that people expect her writing to somehow improve now that she's the big bad after multiple seasons where she consistently drags the show to new lows.

This is a formula show for little kids. Every plot and plan will have to be established, carried out, and resolved in 20 minutes. That makes it impossible to write her as anything more than a petty brat. Just look at how poorly Gabriel came across! He had the power of being a highly-influential adult and still ended up looking completely incompetent most of the time. How is Lila supposed to be better? My plan is still to not watch, but please let me know if the show somehow surprises us all and gets good.

[cypherscript]

Comic Con-versation

Had this little blurb idea while I was mowing at work, I seem to get these a lot while doing that...

This comes from the idea that during the episode Reign Storm, when Pariah Dark rips Amity Park from the land of the living it's not quite put back into its right dimension which ties into Reality Trip when Danny finds out there's a comic book series about him that heavily goes into his backstory to his dread. The universe? DC where Danny Phantom is essentially the same level as DC is here.

____________________________________________________

The Justice League was currently called into a meeting, not that is was a new thing for Billy aka Shazam. What WAS a new thing was that Constantine, workaphobic/smokeaholic Justice League Dark member, was the one to call in the meeting. Billy gets deposited by the zetatubes and sees some familiar faces around the table; Batman, Nightwing and Red Robin on one side while Flash and Kid Flash/Impulse sat across from them adamantly talking. Constantine stood by the projector controls with huge stacks of comics, newspapers and magazines.

One of the comics catches Billy's eye; a young man in a hazmat suit looking into a screen that loops onto him watching the screen titled Masters of All Time. He quickly flies over and snatches it from the pile, "Awesome! I didn't know we were aloud to bring comics up here. I've been meaning to catch up on this series." He kicks up his feet and starts reading.

Constantine gives a tired look at Shazam, "You mean to tell me that you know this series? I've just spent that last bloody three weeks studying this bollocks."

"Of course, who doesn't know about Danny Phantom?!"

The remaining league walks in at that point as Batman, Nightwing and Flash raise their hands. Impulse flashes over and reads them in a second.

"Dude that's so crash, these are CLASSIC~. Dad had an incomplete set that he gave me for my birthday. Oh dude! Reality Trip, I remember this one; Danny, Sam and Tucker are chased-"

"HEY! Spoilers!"

"Sorry."

"Constantine if you can just start the meeting about why we're here?"

"Right. As Shazam said; this is a comic book series about a ghost themed superhero. Sorta like Deadman but not magical." Constantine types into the console and brings up multiple pictures of Danny Phantom's scenes from the book. "The comic book series has been running for nineteen years, it's had multiple adaptations and crossovers. Thousands of roleplaying accounts across multiple social medias, millions of enjoyers of the media across the globe."

"How is this a problem for us," Aquaman asks as he flips through one of the comic books. "It's fictional."

"Yes and no." John presses a key and a real life picture of a town comes on screen."

"Holy Geez! Is that Amity Park?!" Red Robin exclaims as he takes over a personal console and makes a 3D render of the city, rotating and zooming until he finds a brick building with a heaping monstrosity of metal atop of it with a sign stating Fentonworks. "It's real..."

Batman looks at Red Robin calculatingly, "I wasn't aware you partook in that kind of media."

"It's a guilty hobby."

Constantine clears his throat, "It appears real. This city didn't exist four months ago and not just that." He pulls up an actual picture of Danny Phantom in the flesh, "This has magical bullshit written all over it and the only thing to explain it is a Tulpa. All of the evidence points to it; millions of thoughts based on one subject, it suddenly appears out of nowhere and there wasn't a blip on our systems."

"Is a tulpa that much of a problem," Wonder Woman asks as she looks over the pictures of Phantom and Amity Park."

"It can be difficult; seeing how this character's powerset changes more than Supe's does and he's just as strong. The problem is if it's NOT a tulpa and the comics are prophetic."

"Why," Batman asks straight to the point.

Constantine looks through the stacks of comics and pulls out two of them; one with a black gauntlet wearing a green skull ring taking up the front page and the other a grim scene of a large blue skin version of Danny Phantom with fire like hair standing amidst skulls and ruin buildings.

"This first one is about a King of Ghosts ripping the city from their plane of existance, he manages to defeat him in single combat and return his city to his world. Sound familiar?" John gestures at the images of Amity Park. The second is where the problem comes from; this is an evil version of the stories hero, corrupted after the lose of his family. He destroys his world with Amity Park being the only remaining city."

"Ok," Flash asks bored as he flips through the comics.

"Ok? Ok?! It's not bloody ok. It hasn't happened yet but other things have happened exactly as they did in the comics!" He pulls up videos of Danny Phantom and Danny Fenton being split apart and a satellite feed of a massive armored vehicle firing at something that can't be seen.

"The next part is Doomsday! Those two events happen directly after the city is ripped from its dimension and dropped into this one. We all die! Dark Danny comes back in time to reassure his future, we have to stop this."

The Justice league shares a look as Constantine keeps ranting about the incoming apocalypse from a comic book.

"Constantine when is the last time you had a vacation?"

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

thoughts on bangelus?

Love it!! Iconic!! Showstopping!!

The Angelus arc is literally the thing that made me actually like BTVS! I was watching it with a fair amount of disinterest as just a thing to half pay attention to in the background. The emotional fraughtness and tragedy goes so hard!

I used to honestly not give a shit about Bangel beyond incidentally how it matters to Buffy. but also idk something has been Happening to me in the last six months and I have been like… clicking through the Bangel tag every once in awhile to look at gifsets lol

I do think Bangel only works with Bangelus on the other side of it though. My general BTVS soapbox is that, first of all, the way they handle souls and vampires is fucking stupid and wildly inconsistent. They just keep breaking their own worldbuilding. But beyond that, that the Angelus arc should’ve frankly culminated in the acknowledgment that like Angel was the blip, the anomaly, and Angelus was the real person. That’s who he’s been for fucking centuries but also on top of that, it more closely aligns with who we see him to be as a human. He has always been a piece of shit awful person and he needs to fucking confront it! Just because he got briefly cursed into developing the pretenses of a moral compass and a shred of empathy it doesn’t mean that actually changed who he is

If we ever wanted to redeem him legit, I think he needed to work his way up from the Angelus persona, even if the culmination of that is simply for him to eventually choose to stay Angel

Anyway the one episode where the ghosts of a teacher and student couple, who died by murder suicide, possess them is honestly one of my favorites. I like Bangel in general more where there’s more acknowledgement of its unsavory elements. But then there’s the bit right afterwards that I really love where, it’s mostly played as a joke, but Angelus, having come back to himself, is like rinsing his mouth out and visibly really bothered by the whole thing. It’s a good microcosm of his reaction to his history with Buffy while-being-Angel. I really like the dynamic where he hates Buffy specifically because she had the audacity to infect him with feelings. That his vindictiveness towards her is a reflection of his disgust for that softer, weaker version of himself. But then he also looks back at it sometimes with a sort of revolted longing because… it was kind of nice to be loved

I like the idea of Angelus as someone who was terrible to begin with! Who then used the excuse of vampirism to become an incredibly prolific serial killer. It isn’t the lack of a soul that made him horrific, or that his demon (stupid worldbuilding!!!) was somehow just exponentially worse than the demons other vampires get. It’s a product of who he was as a human, the values Darla instilled in him as his maker, and then the power and the ability to act with a complete lack of inhibition or consequences that becoming a supernatural creature allowed him. And being forced to think outside of that perspective and to remember that seems to be incredibly disruptive for him

The Judge was one of the weakest Big Bads, but conceptually, I think it’s really interesting that Angelus is literally just self destructing the minute he’s back to his evil self. It’s played off a little as like “he’s evil! of course he wants to end the world” but that hasn’t... ever been his modus operandi? He’s centuries old. If killing himself or ending the world was a high priority I do not think he would’ve made it that long!

Anyway, as for Buffy’s side, I find her turmoil SO SAD but also really compelling. SMG’s acting is so fucking gutting. And the hardening she goes through by the end of the arc is really fun. I would love a hypothetical scenario where Angelus recedes to minor antagonist status or flees for whatever reason. And she just has to like… sit with that emotionally. (That being said I think the sending Angel to hell arc and getting him back from hell arc are really fun so idk how I’d reconcile that but the question was about Bangelus specifically so we don’t have to figure that out rn)

The obvious metaphor the show was going for of like the teen experience of finding out that the person you slept with is terrible, after having been so vulnerable with them, is one that works for me! But I also like how the dynamic literalizes the compartmentalization of loving someone who’s cruel and hurtful. Of not being able to reconcile that they can be capable of such different behavior, but also the undercurrent that it’s maybe not so different after all. Like the Bangel situation is creepy, has always been creepy, though it’s not entirely framed that way. And I really like that Drusilla’s introduction, and the backstory of how Angelus stalked and tormented her, and then the entire Angelus arc where he stalks and torments Buffy, do have the undertones of Angel’s behavior when he’s first introduced and how his relationship with Buffy develops. He was still a fucking stalker! Even if he was a somewhat nicer one lol. He was still playing mind games even if it wasn’t full on psychological warfare. And then there’s obviously how young Buffy was. Like even at his fucking best that man is still a predator lol and lmao

[anyroads]

Here's the thing. I wouldn't have a problem with people just saying "Merry Christmas" if other major religious holidays were acknowledged too. If around late October everyone was like "happy Diwali!" and every Rosh Hashanah people said "shana tovah" or it was standard to wish people Eid mubarak, then a "Merry Christmas" would just be a marker of time and I would feel like it's someone else's turn to celebrate in the multi-cultural cycle of annual celebrations. Because the thing is, these holidays tend to happen off the radar of the dominant culture in culturally Christian countries. Christmas specials are a norm, but the Diwali episode of The Office was a one-off, the Jewish high holidays barely show up even in shows with Jewish characters, Chinese New Year is... where is it? Right? Where's the representation? I mean, the reason a holiday like Hanuka gets emphasized next to Christmas and rolled into "Happy Holidays" (as does Kwanzaa) is because that means these holidays can be gathered around being able to keep Christmas central to the season. Hanuka is a minor holiday; funny how Purim, which is of similar status among Jewish holidays, is a blip outside of Jewish communities.

If Christians were able to be as comfortable with Rosh Hashanah and Eid and Diwali and Chinese New Year and other festivals as they expect the rest of us to be with Christmas, then I'd say ok fair, everyone has their festivals and we all pay attention to each other and know how to give well wishes that are culturally respectful and it's wonderful! It would just be living in a society where people from diverse backgrounds respect and acknowledge each other (what a concept). What bothers me is that not only are no other religion or culture's holidays acknowledged or given thought in culturally Christian societies, but the only way to get any acknowledgment is to have your holidays timed around Christian holidays like Christmas. If the Maccabees had stayed up in the mountains for another month, Hanuka would be treated as the minor holiday it is. If Diwali was a couple months later than it is, then it would be called the "Hindu Christmas" and Hindu people could rightfully be frustrated about that.

It bothers me so much that Western culture is so deeply centered around Christianity that we have debates over whether "happy holidays" is an OK thing to say or not, instead of asking, "what if you just learned about other holidays too and respected them as much as you demand respect for yours?" And we're all thinking it. Non-Christians talk about this, btw. But we know that if we say it out loud, then it makes the Christians (including the atheist cultural Christians*) angry because they know it's a bad look to say the quiet part out loud: that they think they're superior and expect everyone to acknowledge this without them having to give non-Christian cultures basic respect in any genuine way.

*this is specific to atheists who consider themselves culturally Christian. if you don't belong in BOTH these categories don't @ me. there's no implication that the two go irrevocably hand in hand and your lack of reading comp skills isn't my problem. i don't have spoons for a baby Richard Dawkins tantrum.

[lurkingshan]

Cherry Magic Episode 9

Now that is what I'm talking about! What a fantastic episode and a return to form for this wonderful show. I think we should all just agree that episode 8 was a strange blip that can be excised from the narrative as if it never happened. Let us never speak of it again.

Because this episode?? This is the show I love firing on all cylinders. I do not have enough words to appropriately praise the way the mind reading reveal was handled. The fact that sharing this secret opened up a path for honesty, trust, and a deeper relationship for Achi and Karan is just amazing, as was Karan's reaction to realizing Achi can hear everything he thinks. This immediate acceptance and delight makes so much sense for Karan, because all of his angst was from fearing his feelings were too much for Achi. Now that he knews Achi could hear him the whole time and has already accepted all his weird intensity and embarrassing fantasies? He has nothing to fear, and he is completely on board for Achi to know what he's thinking and feeling at all times.

I love, too, that this new closeness between them gave Achi the confidence boost he needed to start communicating his own feelings more clearly. When he told Karan about his feelings of inadequacy, and then again about his fears that he couldn't handle the assignment in the new office, I was so proud of him. Karan's love and support makes him brave, and it's just so lovely to see. This temporary separation being placed here in their arc as part of Achi's growth is a great change from the Japanese version. I love the way this relationship is building, and of course, all of this great communication and trust-building leading to a physical consummation of this relationship was just perfect, especially because Achi was the one to initiate it. Karan seems wholly unbothered by Achi's virginity and content to let Achi set the pace of their physical relationship; the way he teared up when Achi kissed him said it all about how much he treasures Achi and this relationship.

And I love that Karan and Achi's growth inspired Jinta to find his own bravery and finally confess to Min at the skate park. I loved that whole scene, from the awkward public nature of it, to Min being totally unbothered about the witnesses, to Min catching Jinta when he got nervous and tried to run, to Jinta yelling and running for joy when he realized his feelings are reciprocated. They are fucking adorable.

I also have to give a shoutout to the way the show continues to write Pai and Rock. The fakeouts in this episode—where we kept thinking she might be responding to Rock's overtures only to realize her mind is still on shipping—were so funny, and very knowing on the part of the creators. They are clearly tuned in to the fandom's feelings about the aroace interpretation of this character and having a little fun with it, and I love that they have been so thoughtful and respectful of Pai's lack of interest in a romantic relationship for herself.

I just love this show so much. It’s officially a forever fav. If you need me I will just be over here on the roof with Karan crying about how happy I am.