#a girl and her guard dog anime episode 1

[jeweledstone]

Had a fucking WerePeppino dream a few nights ago that turned into a 4kids anime episode halfway through for some reason

Date: 4/17/2024

So for context, I made a post on one of my side blogs joking about that one Pizza Tower AU where Peppino is a werewolf that uses the tag #werepeppino and how it (to me at least) makes it seem like it’s talking about a guy who turns into Peppino during the full moon rather than werewolf Peppino like it intended, and it ended up escalating with me and a former follower/mutual (they deactivated recently much to my dismay) conspiring up an entire AU-ish concept of what an actual werepeppino would look and act like.

I’m not joking, literally TWO DAYS after I made this shit up, I had a dream where I myself was a werepeppino who was friends with a guy who’s girlfriend was a werewolf. (Neither of these people of whom I know irl btw cause I don’t go outside and have very few IRL friends because of that unfortunately)

I remember in the dream, we were hanging out at the guy and his gf’s house during the night of a full moon, but the problem was we didn’t even know there was gonna be one until it started getting dark out and me and the gf started turning. I remember the gf as a werewolf wasn’t nearly as aggressive as they usually are in most media and more or less just acted like a weird dog. There was even this one friend/neighbor of the couple who had a dog that would play with her while she was in wolf-form the way two dogs would normally play with each other.

Then about halfway through the dream, the little fanfic we like to call the plot turned into something straight outta a 4kids anime dub when the “villains” of the dream were introduced. Said villains were a pair of scientists who would apparently kidnap werebeasts in order to either preform cruel experiments on them or sell them on the black market as exotic pets for rich cunts with no morals, often injecting the ones they sold with this drug they made that would keep them in their beast form for longer periods of time. (Cause what’s the point of having a pet werewolf if he’s only gonna be a badass wolf monster 1-3 days outta the month I guess)

At first they were had their eye on the werewolf gf, astonished by her beauty and probably thinking about how much they could pay for her, but then they saw my ugly old man ass and realized I was technically a breed of weretoon, which were apparently rare and had little to no documentation by modern science. So they decided to take me instead, involving a weird Team Rocket-looking ass trap which they used to capture me (I shit you not they had the goofy hot air balloon and everything), and taking me to their evil science lab to experiment on me before selling me for a shit ton of kromer.

The rest of the dream was me, along with a couple other captive werebeasts trying to escape the lab while the guy I was friends with and his friend and werewolf gf went on an epic journey to save me with it ending with a confrontation between them and the scientists. Apparently my attempt to escape was compromised cause during this scene, they were basically about to inject me with this improved version of their magic transformation elongating drug which would apparently keep me stuck in werepeppino form permanently. Unfortunately I guess these motherfuckers were too busy violating the Geneva Convention to actually play Pizza Tower cause they got caught off guard by a certain game mechanic I was able to exploit to avoid the injection.

GET

PARRIED

MOTHER

FUCKER

And it actually worked, not only was the injection blocked, but one of the scientist (the girl one, I forgot to mention the scientists were these twin brother and sister, they also had stupid names too but I can’t remember what they were rn) got injected instead, causing her to become a werepeppino herself, transform on the spot, and because of the drug was now stuck like that.

ＦＯＲＥＶＥＲ

After that I was rescued by my friends as the scientists kinda-sorta surrendered and we went home. The end, they all lived happily ever after, tune in next time on DragonBall Z, you get the jest.

Lowkey wanna make some art based off this dream just because it was so ridiculous and thus memorable.

[cf56]

Thoughts on the new trailer

Just want to cover some interesting things I saw in the trailer. Sorry, no Pinky and the Brain stuff. I like them, but you all know I'm interested in the Warners first and foremost. I'm sure a lot of this stuff has already been covered in leaks, making my speculation look silly to those that have seen them, but I haven't seen them and will not be mentioning them for the rest of the post. If you have seen the leaks, please don't say anything about them when interacting with this post. I've already heard more than I wanted to.

He calls them kids!

The strange trend continues.

An episode about them being locked in and escaping the tower!! I don't know if I can handle it. It looks like Nora was demoted from CEO and has now taken Ralph's place as guard, which seems to have led to security actually becoming competent and successfully being able to contain the Warners. All their fun furniture and stuff has been taken as well, so it looks like a real prison. Look at the scratch marks on the walls 🥺

I already made a post about this. One other idea I've had since is that the Teeniacs are like another set of Warners altogether, basically teenaged versions of the Warners who show up and befriend the regular Warners.

Looks like a football episode where the Warners are players and Ralph is the coach. Could be fun.

Looks like they're focusing a lot on the Warners being pursued and trying to escape this season. Ralph goes back to being the guard at some point.

Over one frame, Wakko just kind of dematerializes into streaks followed by Yakko looking at him, concerned. I know it's most likely an animation thing meant to show him zooming off to the side, but if you go to the trailer and watch it frame-by-frame, it's weird. It also happens while the Warners are talking like they're in danger, saying they still have more episodes to star in. Something I'll be keeping my eye on.

This is either from "The Island of Dr. Warnereau" or "Planet Warner". I would guess the former. The Island of Doctor Moreau is a book about a mad scientist experimenting with creating human-animal hybrid creatures. Maybe this episode could cover more about the origins of the Warners or what exact species they're made of? Also, have you noticed the reboot has a weird obsession with bats? The screenshot with Coach Ralph above also has them, as well as that double date in season 1. Dot appears to be a bat in this screenshot. Wakko is a dog, which makes sense, and I have no idea what Yakko's supposed to be. He has both long fangs and weird antenna things? Looks like an alien more than anything.

Credit to Jenny Butler for pointing this out on Twitter. This person has Dot's flower, hairline, and skirt. It could be a human version of her, but I kind of never thought the show would ever do an official humanized version of the Warners, since that would unnecessarily give them a canon race. This could be Teeniacs- Dot as a real, human teen. If the Warners become teen influencers, it could also just be a random teen girl/popstar who has adopted Dot's fashion style.

Update: See here

And then there's this... thing. This is probably from "The Island of Dr. Warnereau" as well. Either that, or an intro gag.

Finally, I want to talk briefly about the interesting portion of the press release.

"the Warner siblings must battle their way out of a video game"

Probably referring to "Ready Warner One." Could match the screenshots of goth Dot fighting vampires or something.

"learn the secrets of being a teen influencer"

Probably, but not necessarily, referring to "Teeniacs." See my other post on "Teeniacs" for more of my thoughts on this (the one linked above).

"and escape a mad scientist's island"

Definitely "The Island of Dr. Warnereau." Does make you wonder who the mad scientist is. I would say either The Brain or Scratchansniff.

"all while finding time to teach us about the threat of global warming!"

No idea. Could be "Planet Warner."

There was no mention of Slappy in the press release or the trailer. I feel like, if she was in this season, they would reveal her in promotional materials to build hype. I could be wrong, but I'm still skeptical at this point that the return is actually happening, or that it's anything other than a fairly short cameo.

[beetlebugdash]

Miraculous awakening thoughts and live reaction! (Major spoilers!)

- holy crap we made it to a movie

- I'm so excited

- Remember back in season 2 (I think) that a live action movie was coming

- Good times

- Anyways this

- Netflix presents tears

- No magic

- JUMPS SCARE

- we've been known thanks for explaining

- Dark butterflies and angry? Wanna see the counterpart

- LADYBUG AND CAT NOIR

- stronger than death?

- THE CLASSIC MOVIE MUSIC

- PARIS!!??!)

- classic movie intro is classic

- PHOTOGRAPHER AND NEWSPERSON

- CROSSWINDS

- the road????

- Marionette wears a watch?

- I love her dad

- UNICORNBCAKES

- 10/10 diversity

- Daddy??? Ok Chloe

- Listen to my chest???? Idk what u mean

- YOU JUST GOTTA BELIEVE!!!!

- Christina that isn't your singing voice

- CHRISTINA HAS A GOOD VOICE

- love the painter's design

- It dosent sound like her

- DOG

- THE TEA SCENE FORM THE PV

- Lotta unique background character designs

- WHERE DID U GET THE BIKE

- iconic locations beauty

- THE SKETCHBOOK!

- ALSO ANIMATION IS GORGEOUS

- other friends???

- I wanna know

- Gabriel designs, you'll soon hate him

- Polka dot dress before ladybug

- Ooo sparkles

- ITS A FLOATING SKETCHBOOK

- fireworks ooooooo

- "Here's some perfume”

- YOU SPIN ME ROUND

- NATALIE And Gabriel

- TODD VOICE YAY

- Love that persons hair

- I thought Gabriel is never in public?¿

- Chloe's voice sounds odd?

- BWAHAHAHHAHA

- oh it's Gabriel agreste sweater

- A+ to alya

- "EAT BREAD WITH BUTTER"

- FINALLY GLASSES FLARE

- MEANT TO BE?

- recorder

- GYMNASTICS AU COME TRUE

- TRANSITION TO EMILIE

- ugh she looks so pretty

- Odd

- LUKA AND JULEKA

- Rude ugh

- Oh i hate Chloe

- AHAHAHA

- At least we know school layout kinda

- Little bit of luck? Yea here allergies

- Alegies or dust WE NEED TO KNOW

- IT THE SEASON 1 FINALE ALL OVER AGAIN

- CAT BOOK

- theyre trying to make everyone fall for Adrien

- ukulele music?

- NINO YEAAAA

- oooo amusement park

- Depressing Adrien

- Natalie I love

- I HATE GABRIEL

- i smell a sad song

- LONG HAIRED GABRIEL IS REAL????

- long entry hallways

- Wow Gabriel has very pretty nails

- HE HAS A WATCH TOO?

- EMILIE LORE?

- oh she was a performer omg

- HAPPY BIRTHDAY?????

- ooooooooooo

- nooroo????

- WOAH

- master fu knows whazzup

- This movie is going really fast an lots of jumps

- Oh plagg and tikki fight????

- Marinella????

- HIT BY A CAR?

- SCREAMING EXCHANGE

- GASP

- 10/10 BREAKS

- uh crazy man bye

- MASTER FU WHAT THE

- creepy hall? Sure!

- Poor Chloe

- Sabrina is a wingman OOO

- random window opening? Sure!

- CAT

- MIRACULOUS

- failed proposal?

- oh no first akuma attack

- WOA CREEPY

- well evil spirits

- Oooo a ladybug

- ooooooo

- “Who saves a life saves the world”

- IT'S LIKE THE ORIGINAL ANIMATION

- TIKKI!

- “GIRLS CAN WEAR PANTS” YES

- can you say kwami

- Tiny genie sure

- “I WET THE BED”

- REDEMPTION FOR THE CHRISTMAS EPISODE CAUSE TIKKI ONLY HAD 1 LINE

- THE THEME SONG? ¿

- "I'll hide in a tree"

- RAPPING TIKKI?

- BWAHAHAHA

- CONTINUITY!

- Aw marinette has doubts

- "Im out of patience"

- that poor security guard

- WHERE IS QUASIMODO WHEN U NEED HIM

- "first a song now a yoyo what's next a tea set???"

- CRASH

- oh hi cat noir

- bonjour

- "Do I know u?"

- A WATERMELON

- CAT NOURS SIDEKICK LOL

- omg cat noir will always me my fav

- CAT PUNS!!?!

- oh no cat noir

- RUUUUUUNNNNNNN

- "Not on the first date!"

- Omg I love him

- "Is that a watermelon"

- CANONBALL!

- SHERO

- wet haired cat noir

- 👍

- BON APPETITEEEEEE

- little Adrien lol

- cat noir outta breath lol

- 2-0 gargoyle

- GO FETCH PUPPY

- KITTY

- MIRACULOUS POWER

- "Thank goodness marinette is at home" lol

- oH NO NOT THE TAIL

- WO

- zag news LOL

- DON'T BE BEMUSED IT'S JUST THE NEWS

- THE MUSIC AHAHGAHAHAHHA

- oh no loose akuma

- master FU

- Miraculous: tales of watermelon and insane

- coooooooool

- Hawkwho?

- THE WINK

- TOGETHER!

- failure is not your enemy, fears are

- New cat singing voice

- I like this voice (no offence Bryce)

- oh I love this song

- Bounce from the clouds

- HEARTS CLOUD

- and moon cloud

- Oh it's a swan cloud

- Transitions are horrid

- rosemary?

- SHOSHOCHEF

- stinks

- PLAGG

- ewwwww

- THE BURN

- Natalie hears PLAGG LOL

- And cat puns!

- Hey he has picture in his room!

- PTFAFS

- "she knows her stuff" *proceeds to screem*

- PUSS IN BOOTS

- mic drop marinette out

- can't get rid of it lol

- haHaHA

- poop

- ugh fear

- NATALIE HAS A HOME OTHER THAN THE AGEESTE MANSION

- nooroo ily

- “I have nothing to loose” ADRIEN??

- HAWKMOTH SONG

- BEST SONG

- BEAUTY ANIMATION

- Shakespeare hawkmoth

- SO EVIL

- IS THIS KEITH?????

- THEY HAVE KEITH SINGING BUT NOT CHRISTINE UGH

- THE MIME

- HAWKMOTH HAWKMOTH HAWKMOTH

- THE TOPHAT

- HIGH NOTE WOOO

- Butt kicking girl superhero WOO

- how did u get some of those

- stealing money????????

- BOOM

- Dr love nino

- Roses means desperate

- I LOVE HIS APRON

- oh I love marinettes dad

- Dr love more like Dr not

- why did u look at her sketches

- man duck Gabriel

- THE WHILHEM SCREEM

- oh no poor nino

- POOR SABRINA

- 0.0

- oooo chaos

- Ironically I just saw a magician today

- I think?

- LEMME RIDE THE HORSES

- anxiety ridden Marinette

- ITS THE SONG!

- eh it’s ok I guess?

- Animation still looks cool

- Tikki scare is scary

- TIKKI SPOTS ON

- TRANSFORMATION IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PUBLIC

- creepy baby balloon

- what is with ladybug and cats voices

- STRONGER TOGETHER

- boo you Chloe

- LONG YIME NO SPEAK

- THE GARBAGE

- POOR NINO

- nino confession goes out the window

- POOR CAT

- At least their adding sounds to the bell like come on it is annoying

- WHY ISNT THAT FAMILY RUNNING?

- POP

- HAWKMOTH FACE

- BYE BYE LITTLE BUTTERFLIES

- PARTNERS

- OH THE SONG

- CROSSOINT MAN

- BUBBLER!

- MIRACULOUS!

- GYMNASTICS!

- THE CARS

- ICE CREAM PATROL!!!!!

- ITS THE LOVE SONG

- whoops

- I LOVE LADYNOIR

- this is the ladynoir I’ve been missing from the show

- THE OFFICIAL ART!

- ADULTS ARE HAVING A CONVERSATION!

- glow=danger?

- broken heart

- UGH YOU FOOL

- love song love song love song love song

- “I wouldn’t get close to anyone after my mom died” “I got close to you” AAAAAAAAH

- WHERE DID THESE TEARS COME FROM?¿

- oh i love them

- NO DONT GO

- OW

- JUST AN EMPTY HEART

- PLAGG

- ADRIEN STANDING UP TO HIS DAD!

- Follow your heart AND THEIR THE SAME PERSON!

- ow

- SCREW YOU CHLOE

- aw

- She wears a tank top?

- “I dreamed of calling Paris home” uh you live in Paris?????

- Where did they get the ladybug and cat noir shots?

- IM NOT CRYING YOU ARE!

- ITS A CHILDRENS MOVIE WHY AM I CRYING

- YO HAWKMOTH

- creepy eepy

- JEREMY ZAG!

- yOOooOooo

- wow this got dark quick

- CAT NOOOOOOOO

- dude look outside

- selfie it truly is gen z

- GO PLAGG

- LADYBUG NO

- FINALLY

- no don’t do this now

- stronger together????

- oh no

- Another fall for the Eiffel Tower yet this feels different

- CAT

- LADYBUG GO SAVE HIM

- oh no oh no oh no

- OH NO

- THE MIRACULOUS

- OH NO

- YEAAAAAA CAT

- ow

- flashback

- OH NO HIS MASK

- MARICHAT FOR DA WIN

- FINALLY

- O MY GOD

- MY LITTLE BOY

- FLASHBACK

- LITTLE ADRIEN

- THE MIRACULOUS BOOK

- love over death

- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

- Marinette watching like 🧍‍♀️

- oooooo pretty music

- master fu where did u come from

- ITS THE CREEPY GUY!

- LADYBUG LADYBUG (and cat noir maybe)

- ok that’s different

- ITS LIKE THE FANTASMIC SCENE

- aaaawwww it’s nearly over

- THE BALL

- VOLKSWAGEN

- Sabrina’s just like “meh”

- REVEAL?

- SNOW HEART IN TREE

- YEAAAA

- IS HE CRYING

- HES SO HAPPY

- MUSIC KNOWS HOW BIG IT IS

- KISS KISS

- THEY DID THAT FOR THE FANS

- post credit sequal?

- SEQUAL??????

- AND THE PRE MOVIE SCENES

- Overall: harsh transitions, hate ladybugs voice, and a bit rushed, and I despised the ending was anticlimactic with ladybug, but overall for a miraculous movie was alright it has amazing animation

- They somehow made it cater for both the old and longtime fans and young and newbie fans good job (for the most part)

- I don’t have a rating since it’s a stand alone movie so I’m just gonna go cry in the corner until season 6 or more ladynoir

[sakuwsker]

Fall 2023 Anime List

Summer season went fast as always, loved them a lot and there was lots of interesting anime. Fall season is on the door, and can't wait to see more anime, and different genres, hopefully able to watch most of the list in the fall season. 29/9

お嬢と番犬くん/Ojou to Banken-kun/A Girl & Her Guard Dog Can't wait to see this, Umehara Yuuichiro being main character's voice actor. Keiya looks so hot, aaaaaahhhh.  葬送のフリーレン/Sousou no Frieren/Frieren: Beyond Journey's End PV looked great, and first episode is 2 hours long, can't wait to see this, YOASOBI is singing OP and Okamoto and Kobayashi is in the cast. お嬢と番犬くん/Ojou to Banken-kun/A Girl & Her Guard Dog Can't wait to see this, Umehara Yuuichiro being main character's voice actor. Keiya looks so hot, aaaaaahhhh.  葬送のフリーレン/Sousou no Frieren/Frieren: Beyond Journey's End PV looked great, and first episode is 2 hours long, can't wait to see this, YOASOBI is singing OP and Okamoto and Kobayashi is in the cast.

30/9

め組の大吾 救国のオレンジ/Megumi no Daigo: Kyuukoku no Orange/Firefighter Daigo: Rescuer in Orange Looks intense and interesting, Kenjiro Tsuda is narrating this, and Nakamura Yuichi with Sakura Ayane, Yashiro Taku and Enoki Junya.

1/10

 ラグナクリムゾン/Ragna Crimson Have been waiting for this a long time, it looks so great and action scenes were nicely done. Murase Ayumu with Kobayashi Chiaki is great pair so looking forward to hear them. Also Suwabe Junichi is there.  オーバーテイク！/Overtake! Racing anime, which is first for me. PV looked great, and can't wait to see this one, Konishi Katsuyuki is main character's voice, have started to like his work the more I hear him. Also Hatanaka Tasuku is singing ED.  シャングリラ・フロンティア～クソゲーハンター、神ゲーに挑まんとす～/Shangri-La Frontier: Kusoge Hunter, Kamige ni Idoman to su/ Shangri-La Frontier Uchida Yuuma being main character's voice actor, so it's always nice to hear him, and story as well as animation style looked interesting, Sunraku playing VR game and getting know to the world inside it.

2/10

MFゴースト/MF Ghost Second racing anime of the season, so I'm being fed good. This one has great cast, Uchida Yuuma voicing main character, and Sakura Ayane voicing Saionji Ren. Animation style looked nice, and racing parts intense.  鴨乃橋ロンの禁断推理/Kamonohashi Ron no Kindan Suiri/Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective One of the season's anime I have been waiting eagerly, PV looked great, and intense with the murder mysteries. Ron (Azakami Youhei) looks so hot. UNISON SQUARE GARDEN is singing OP, so looking forward to hear their song again. ミギとダリ/Migi to Dali/Migi & Dali Story is interesting, also animation style is looking nice and can't wait to see this. Cast is great, Murase Ayumu and Shun Horie with Takeuchi Shunsuke and Asanuma Shintarou. とあるおっさんのVRMMO活動記/Toaru Ossan no VRMMO Katsudouki/A Certain Middle-Aged Man's VRMMO Activity Log Also game anime,  VRMMO game. Looks nice, colorful and funny, Ishikawa Kaito is Earth, main caharcter's voice actor. Can't wait to see this, and hear Ishikawa.

3/10

 聖女の魔力は万能です Season2/Seijo no Maryoku wa Bannou desu 2nd Season/The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent Season 2 Yay, 2nd season. Have been waiting this since the first season was over. Also see Hawke and Drewes once again. 東京リベン���ャーズ 天竺編/Tokyo Revengers: Tenjiku-hen 3rd season of Tokyo Revengers, haven't seen 2nd season yet so probably have to watch this later.  Paradox Live THE ANIMATION Music anime, so curious to see this although haven't been following their music or other stuff they have already published.

4/10

婚約破棄された令嬢を拾った俺が、イケナイことを教え込む/Konyaku Haki sareta Reijou wo Hirotta Ore ga, Ikenai Koto wo Oshiekomu PV was hilarious and funny, so eagerly waiting to see this. Demon Lord -he's hot - teaching all the bad habits to a girl.

5/10

暴食のベルセルク/Boushoku no Berserk/Berserk of Gluttony PV was backed with action and animation style was great with beautiful scenes. So curious to see this anime, and Oosaka Ryouta with Seki Tomokazu being in the cast. 柚木さんちの四兄弟。/Yuzuki-san Chi no Yonkyoudai. This is going to be most precious and emotional anime as PV was so good, and loved Yuzuki's brothers relationships so much with each other. Especially the youngest is so cute.  ビックリメン/Bikkurimen Not sure about this one but I'm curious to see stickers' battles.

6/10

アンダーニンジャ/Under Ninja Ninja anime, looked interesting. Ban Taito being main character's voice. 冒険者になりたいと都に出て行った娘がSランクになってた/Boukensha ni Naritai to Miyako ni Deteitta Musume ga S-Rank ni Natteta/My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer Suwabe Junichi is in the cast, also Hayami Saori whom voice I have started to love so much, and story is a bit different than usually, so excited for this one too.

7/10

 新しい上司はど天然/Atarashii Joushi wa Do Tennen/ My New Boss Is Goofy This is going to be so cute, PV was funny and sweet, especially Hakuto kitty. Great cast; Umehara Yuuichirou, Nishiyama Koutarou, Shimono Hiro, Sugita Tomokazu and Fukuyama Jun. アンデッドアンラック/Undead Unluck Supernatural anime with bizzare powers of the characters. Unlucky girl and immortal boy who get know to each other. Nakamura Yuichi is voicing Andy, and mysterious group is full of nice voice actors. はめつのおうこく/Hametsu no Oukoku/The Kingdoms of Ruin Ishikawa Kaito and Sato Hinoshi in the cast. Story sounds interesting, and Who-ya Extended is singing ED so can't wait to hear it.  ゴブリンスレイヤーⅡ/Goblin Slayer II Finally 2nd season of Goblin Slayer!!! Can't wait to see them again, and of course Umehara Yuuichirou voicing Goblin Slayer, and hear his deep and honeyed voice. 最果てのパラディン 鉄錆の山の王/Saihate no Paladin: Tetsusabi no Yama no Ou/The Faraway Paladin Season 2 2nd season of Faraway Paladin, so excited to see them again, especially Will and Menel. This season's story/arc looks interesting and lots of new characters to meet.  SPY×FAMILY Season 2 Seeing Loid, Yor and Anya again, eagerly waiting new season and the movie later.

8/10

僕らの雨いろプロトコル/Bokura no Ameiro Protocol/Our Rainy Protocol E-sports anime, so interesting to see this kind of anime, and PV looked nice. Also Kimura Ryouhei voicing Sendou Akito.  豚のレバーは加熱��ろ/Buta no Liver wa Kanetsu Shiro/Heat the Pig Liver: The Story of a Man Turned Into a Pig This is rather eccentric story, man turned into a pig who travels with the girl. Matsuoka Yoshitsugu is voicing the pig. 帰還者の魔法は特別です/Kikansha no Mahou wa Tokubetsu desu/ A Returner's Magic Should Be Special Korean web manga, and PV was great, it's nice to see time travelling anime. So curious to see this how it goes. Terashima Takuma is voicing MC.  ティアムーン帝国物語～断頭台から始まる、姫の転生逆転ストーリー～/Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari: Dantoudai kara Hajimaru, Hime no Tensei Gyakuten Story/Tearmoon Empire This is cute one, also time travel anime. The cast is great; Uesaka Sumire, Umehara Yuuichirou, Furukawa Makoto, Matsuoka Yoshitsugu and Masuda Toshiki. 黙示録の四騎士/Nanatsu no Taizai: Mokushiroku no Yonkishi/The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse Animation style is different but looks good, so curious to see this. 君のことが大大大大大好きな100人の彼女/Kimi no Koto ga Daidaidaidaidaisuki na 100-nin no Kanojo/The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You Quite interesting story, and cast is nice, so curious how this will turn out.

9/10

 川越ボーイズ・シング/Kawagoe Boys Sing Music anime about choir club, so very interested to see this, and hear more of their singing as PV was great.

10/10

デッドマウント・デスプレイ/Dead Mount Death Play Part 2 YAY!!! Second part so soon, loved the first one surprisingly a lot and can't wait to see them again, especially Takumi, Polka, Arase and Iwanome.

13/10

放課後少年花子くん/Houkago Shounen Hanako-kun/After-School Hanako-kun Four short stories, before they will start over in the new season.

22/10

ドッグシグナル/Dog Signal Excited to see this anime, it sounds great and cute. KENN and Ono Kensho is in the cast so glad to hear them. 薬屋のひとりごと/Kusuriya no Hitorigoto/ The Apothecary Diaries PV was so beautiful, and Jinshi (Ootsuka Takeo) is so hot. Also Mao Mao (Yuuki Aoi) is cute and glad to hear her once again some more.

[aliciaphen]

☆ ALICIA’S MONTHLY MEDIA MENTIONS: JANUARY `23

Hi. School projects have eaten up all my time and I haven't posted on this account. Also, the beautiful women who have recently followed me have been blowing up my notifications and it's been quite annoying. On the bright side, I have a lot of art to post! Here is all the media I consumed in January!

Visual:

Frances Ha (2012) dir. Noah Baumbach. It tells a beautiful narrative of coming of age in your twenties.

Billie and Jean. Another chill, kinda dumb podcast but it's something fun to play in the background. Gives some good laughs.

Titanic (1997) dir. James Cameron. Needed something after watching Avatar TWoW.

Mileage (2022) created by Jennifer Wu (PM) Kym Santiana (PM) Ruyee Lu (PM) Christopher Hsueh Joy Zhou Miranda Li Nicole Taylor-Topacio Ruby Saysanasy Saul Benavides. My friend made a really awesome short film for her 3rd year! Please check it out. The music suits it so well and the story is very exciting!

Cruella (2021) dir. Craig Gillespie. I wasn't going to watch this but Josiah mentioned the same person directed I, Tonya (2017) which I thought was great. I watched with a dog that I was dogsitting.

Goodfellas (1990) dir. Martin Scorsese. A pretty good story. I think the acting in it was great as well. The slurs threw me SO off guard.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) dir. Joel Crawford. I'm so excited for Shrek 5. This was great. Love how Spiderverse is bringing about a new age of animation.

The White Lotus, Season 1 (2021). I'm only watching this for Jennifer Coolidge.

Emergency Intercom - Enya Umanzor, Drew Phillips, Ky Newman. It's an every-month thing.

TXT Live at Lollapalooza 2022 (Full Performance) - Tomorrow x Together. Just very upset that they announced tour dates and Toronto wasn't on there.

Fall (2022) dir. Scott Mann. Why would they do that?

The Menu (2022) dir. Mark Mylod. Nice.

Audio: January 2023 Spotify Playlist

Space 1.8 - Nana Sinephro. Love this album SO MUCH.

Animation Happy Hour - Garrett Lewis, Katie Low, Ben Girmann. I'm excited to have found this podcast! I feel like it'll be a good resource in helping me with my future endeavours.

The Whole of the Moon (Fiona Apple cover) - Fiona Apple. Mother. Inspiration.

ATTENTION: MILEY LIVE - I'm so happy for Miley's success and I'm very sorry I was part of the crowd that shunned her post-Disney era. She's an amazing artist and I could listen to her sing rock songs all day.

Time is Way Weirder Than You Think - The Ezra Klein Show. A podcast episode we listened to for class. Confusing and it raised more questions.

Ditto - New Jeans. The girls have done it again.

Don’t Forget My Love - Acoustic - Diplo, Miguel. Fuck the original. This is it.

VIBE (feat. Jimin of BTS) - TAEYANG. Taeyang is so funny. Whenever I think of him I think of that video where he sings thank you and I love you for 2 mins.

Reading:

Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones. After watching the Ghibli film, I wanted MORE.

Sketching for Animation - Peter Parr. A book I have downloaded and have seen the first few pages of. I have yet to really get into it but it also seems like a great resource to improve my art.

Gesture Drawing for Animation - Walt Stanchfield 

What They Don't Teach You at Film School: 161 Strategies For Making Your Own Movies No Matter What - Camille Landau, Tiara White

[eviltiddyproductions]

Alchemy of Souls, Part 1, Episode 4

ummmm did that weirdo king go sleep with the mage’s wife to have a son??? I thought that she was his wife. what the fuck is this 😭 a weirdo he is

the graphics are so beautiful like look at the galaxy !!!

I thought he saw his past or something. he was just remembering the flogging. Poor bb

Ms Kim gets me

He’s so extra 😭😭😭

at least human beings don’t work like a glass plate or this hot cold water dance would’ve ended in a CRACK (sorry I just learned yesterday that I should ensure I never do that to the microwave plate)

lmao Jang Uk broke the fuck out of that door

women warriors I stan!!!

not him stealing the dog???

aww they’re cuddling

all her stories start with baby animals 😂

don’t know how people lived with those buns back in the day, if I sleep in a bun or wear it for too long I lose my sense of balance

dangu’s so real for missing jang uk

the spring girlie is SO CUTE 😭🫶 I love her

the bone structure on all of them is SO IMMACULATE

mu deok you’re so real for that

NOW

all the other seasons are so fucking real !!!

look at them all grumble

you know uk is helping her but I feel like the crown prince will soon pick up on her as his weakness 😭

oh wait they really turned this chamber pot fiasco into something hilarious. they’re all so real

dangu and cho yeon checking up on uk immediately like woah they’re the real ones

lmfaooo mudeok scamming the crown prince too, I love her

he’s beaming lol

Yul get away from her I can’t be shipping you two, I have a bad second lead syndrome problem

Uks house is so blue

that hug was so random 😭

this little bitch !!! why is everyone so fucking rude to Mother Jin about her losing her daughter. she lost her daughter I’ll fight you through the screen assistant man!!!

they all look like power rangers. young and old

Thank god he unsheathed it. if it wouldn’t it would be so embarrassing 🙈

WHY IS THE SWORD AND ENERGY SO VIOLENT like first a stab and now this. it will kill anyone omg

the way songrim keeps changing the goal post for studying uk 💀

Cho yeon accidentally giving intel to the enemy

I feel for Uk. People keep making decisions regarding him without telling him the gravity of anything. At least his friends are good 😭

The prison outfit here is pretty good!

Uk is so real 😭 Songrim and Uk checking up on each other. This show does throw curveballs at me like this and I quite like it. It’s tender.

Songrim just tell him 💀 instead of dissuading him without giving reasons and making this harder

he’s making it so 😭😭😭

songrim stop making my heart flip flip uk crying in silence just broke my heart

GET HIM MS KIM. ‘Being stabbed didn’t hurt but I guess being called ugly did’ 💀

the way he ends these discussions with the same one sided love lecture 😂

them stuttering to compliment each other.

why is this scene zooming out like that 😂 I thought for a second it was an old timey movie

ominous music playing

the guy carrying the stolen amulet has layers i’d like

Oh god this man just sucked the soul out of the poor driver

the stolen guard dog !!!

someone give him a hug

instead mudeok gave him a kick

somber music playing (I kinda busted out laughing it was so sudden)

uk she’s not the person responsible for your anger 😭✋

girl the moon kinda came out protect your eyes !!!

old master heom just gets it! drag assistant Jin and his boring two faced goatee ass!

isn’t that hat guy a soul shifter? what is he even there for apart from killing unsuspecting people. like just here to be an errand boy?

Yul and Dangu being real again! Dangu get all of my virtual tv show lines crossing kisses!

Yul the kind of man to silently let her plot, I get it.

What about Songrim now ? (Master Heo agreeing that fleeing is the best option)

Jin Mu got a real problem and I’ll punch him through the screen to fix it

Depriving him of the title? Isn’t that what even Songrim kinda wants (to protect him ofc unlike the goatee Jin)

Kinda surprised Mudeok is here. I thought she’d abandon him. ( a petty part of me would)

also what happened to the girl she swapped souls with? the other guy constantly kills people. she’s still here!

[jaebird88]

Rather than be an armchair animation critic, I would genuinely like to know what is considered to be the average budget for animated shows. Like, I understand not every studio is managed equally, and there will always be external and internal factors which can influence production. I say all this because while I’m putting in the effort to watch A Girl & Her Guard Dog, I’m left with this feeling of boredom due in part of the animation in episode five.

For what’s supposed to be an exciting action scene with Isaku being kidnapped and Keiya rescuing her mid-car chase, the entire sequence of events is simply lacking the juice to give it energy. Now, it’s nowhere near as bad as some other titles I’ve seen where voice over and sound effects played over a slow pan of background art. But if it meant meeting the deadline, I won’t be one to judge too harshly from my position as the viewer. Some corners have to be cut, after all.

As a quick addendum to this: I’m not trying to insinuate that more budget means better product. I would go as far as to hazard a guess that some of the best made shows out there had 3/4 or 1/2 the budget going into them compared to others which had all the money in the world thrown into them. But a company’s management of its resources still play a role in how a product is made. Which we’re all familiar with how supposed top-tier studios burn out their animators to get the kind of animation folks who believe they know better gush over.

[iamwhelmed]

I’d kill for a fanfiction where Helga and Curly get stuck over summer, between elementary and middle school, together and unintentionally become, like, best friends. They bond over being a little eccentric, and over art, and over unrequited love (assuming, of course, Jungle Movie doesn’t happen-- or at least doesn’t happen until, like, way later).

They’re both so obnoxious together, they enable each other like nobody else. They’re making loud, unintelligible, annoying noises whenever somebody (likely Arnold, Lila, Sid...) starts getting preachy or annoying: “MAWP. MAWP. MAWP. See? That’s what you sound like”.

Curly starts completing Helga’s sentences-- but purposely at inopportune moments because she hates it when he does that. He always gives her this little shit-eating grin.

Curly starts getting manic and Helga just grabs him by the shoulders and goes: “Look at me. Look at me. Look at me! Does that sound sane? Does that sound like a thing normal people would do?” And she gets him to maybe back off of letting all the animals in the zoo loose, but she’ll help him sneak into the chimpanzee pen after dark so he can fight one.

Helga starts panicking about her secret love for Arnold getting out and Curly walks her through five different plans of execution to make the Scary Feeling™ go away. Phoebe is the one who tries (sometimes fails) to shut these mission ideas down.

He and Helga have a pact to get platonically married if they hit 30 and are still single. Curly has picked out the suit for this occasion and has a catalogue of possible dresses for Helga, who he knows will be picky. Helga has booked the venue just in case, because she’s nothing if not pragmatic.

Boys will walk up to hit on Helga, and Curly leans back and rates their courting tactics on a scale of 1 to 10, and nobody ever gets more than a 4. Curly will cup his hands over his mouth and audibly mock them after they inevitably get shut down because Helga is a one-man girl: “Your approach was commonplace, your appeal was substandard, and you should feel bad!” Phoebe will smack him after this.

Helga has adopted this rating system for just about anything-- his mental state, hotness of girls, comfort level-- almost like a secret language akin to Ice Cream, but she mainly uses it to ask Curly about his opinions in cinema. Phoebe is the only one who can keep up with what is being communicated, because they cut out so many words that are, to them, superfluous (Phoebe’s verbiage.)

Helga: Backgrounds, eh, 3.

Curly: 4. Script?

Helga: 5.

Curly: Modest.

Helga: Themes?

Curly: 3.

Helga: Also modest.

Curly is involuntarily good with girls when they come back from break. The kicker is that he is totally, incomprehensibly oblivious to it. He’s simply just a charismatic, romantic, suave guy. Years of pining after Rhonda made that a part of him. Him getting hit on and ogled is just a part of Helga’s life, now. She’s the guard dog who pinches hands when they try to touch the unaware pretty boy.

Now, this definitely causes some jealousy in Arnold, because he’s been trying to be friends with Helga for so long, and Curly just... does it without trying??? Also, he is subconsciously aware FiT was not heat-of-the-moment and this feels oddly like Curly is stealing from him-- not that he acknowledges that or recognizes it on any level. Rhonda is also very, very jealous. Not only did Curly get hot over the summer, now Helga is too??? M’am, there is only room for one beauty in Curly’s life and that has always been her.

Phoebe is put off by the possibility of being replaced at first, and almost certainly gets defensive, offensive with Curly over it. But that’s, like, for one episode arc. Now, they’re a trio and she’s the exasperated Mom that keeps her two chaotic, self-destructive children in check.

People think they’re dating (Arnold and Rhonda will disavow this to anybody who will listen), and come up to them asking about how they met, how they got together. Helga and Curly will go out of their way to fuck with these kids.

Random girl fifth grader, stars in her eyes: What is the key to a stable relationship?

Curly: *Undisguised snorting* Live. Laugh. Love?

Helga: I have no idea! You tell me! I’ve never been in one.

Curly: *unrestrained side-holding laughter*

Some other sixth grader who didn’t go to elementary with them: If your relationship had a theme song what would it be?

Curly, turning to Helga, who is muffling herself: Don’t laugh this is serious. *Turns to sixth grader* Crawling In My Skin.

Helga brings out the artist in Curly, the real man who loves deeply and the cute, handsome dork he is, and reigns in his “crazy”. Curly brings out Helga’s wild side and makes her live a little, and inspires her to hide her true self less. They’re like platonic Morticia and Gomez Adams. In this hypothetical, I’m 90% sure this was a Halloween costume they did together at some point. Phoebe was Wednesday.

[buttterknifeee]

Final Exam- Teen Titans x Aquagirl! Reader

Masterlist

Request: Helloooooo! I have an Episode request “Final exam” (Season 1 ep 3) with Aquagirl!reader please and thank you very much!

Summary: It's a good thing you have junior life guard training as you face a new force of evil. Will you and your teammates defeat these foes or will you drown in the pressure?

Pairings: Robin x Reader (nothing serious, just some blushing lol)

Word count: 3192

A/N: hey!!! sorry this took a while I was just doing other things lul. Reminder that I'm now on AO3 (username is butterknifee) and that requests are always open! Hope you enjoy!!!

It was an uneventful day in the tower. Cyborg and Beast Boy were rummaging around the living room looking for the TV remote, Raven was reading silently and you were practicing your water skills, balancing an orb of water in mid air.

"It's gotta be around here somewhere!" Cyborg says, rummaging through the whole room. He lifts up the whole couch as Beast Boy sniffs around in dog form.

“How could you lose the remote?” Cyborg glares at Beast Boy.

“What makes you so sure I lost it?” Beast Boy asks, turning back into a human.

“Uh...'cause you're you.”

“Hey! Just because I lost that video game--”

“--And the toothpaste, and my football, and the waffle iron--”

“Things disappear. How am I supposed to know where they go?”

You continued to focus on your bubble, but couldn’t help but notice Raven lowering her book. You peeked over to see her annoyed expression, obviously caused by the two boys.

Cyborg huffs. “Well how am I supposed to watch TV without a remote?” Suddenly, Raven slammed her book, breaking you out of your focus and causing the water you were balancing to drop into a puddle. You stared wide-eyed at Raven as she stood up.

“Simple. You can just get up and change the channel.” she says with a stone cold expression.

“Don’t even joke like that.” Cyborg says. You hover your hands over the puddle, trying to pick it up with your hydrokinesis.

“Do you think you guys could argue in like, the bathroom or something? Cause-” you start, but Raven interrupts you.

“I wasn’t joking”

“Good, 'cause it wasn't funny!” Cyborg says. “Now either help us look for the remote or go back to your nasty old book and--”

“This is a pointless argument over a useless device.” she snaps, her face red from frustration.

“You know what, I'm just gonna get a mop or something,” you mumble. You consider actually getting up to get a mop as they continue to argue.

Robin and Starfire walks in to the three teens arguing and you sitting to the side. You make a pained expression at the two, your way of saying go back, before it's too late.

But Robin steps towards the bickering Titans. “Whoa! Take it easy, Titans! Combat practice is this afternoon!”

“We must mend your dispute by the sharing of unhealthy junk foods. I shall fetch them.” Starfire adds, happily flying towards the kitchen.

Cyborg continues to argue. “I don't need food, what I need is a time machine, I didn't--”

Beast Boy cuts him off. “Back me up here, Robin!! Have I ever lost any--?”

“Ok, ok!” Robin puts up his hands to stop them.

“To stop him from taking the REMOTE!!!” Cyborg yells.

“Hey! Come on!! Settle down! ENOUGH!!!” Robin starts yelling too. You start to cover your ears when a loud noise causes all of you to look up. You see Starfire staring wide-eyed at the fridge, her hands glowing green. Blue mold had exploded from her starbolt, causing it to land all over the kitchen. You made a mental note to start cleaning the kitchen more often.

“Maybe we should go out for pizza,” Robin decides.

.

.

The arguing does not stop at the pizza place.

“Can we please just order something?” Raven groans.

“As long as its vegetarian.” Beast Boy says.

“Come on, man, how can you deny me the all-meat experience?” Cyborg whines.

“Dude, I've been most of those animals!”

“Just no anchovies for me,” You say.

“I suggest a large pizza with pickles, bananas, and mint frosting.” Starfire says with a smile. You shudder at the thought of eating something like that. Robin leans over.

“Uh, Starfire? Not everything on the menu is a pizza topping.” She blushes at her mistake, Beast Boy and Cyborg going at each other again.

“Double pepperoni!!”

“I'm not eating meat!!”

“There's no meat in pepperoni!!”

The sound of a vehicle horn finally ended their argument. You all look up to see a bus barreling straight towards a baby carriage, a baby screaming from inside.

“Titans go!” Robin yells. You, Cyborg and Raven ran to stop the bus while Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy ran to save the baby carriage. You summon a jet of water from a fire hydrant and shoot it at the bus, slowing it down. Cyborg planted himself in front of the bus, his bulky arms holding it back. Raven uses her magic, pulling the gearshift inside the bus to “park”. When the bus finally skidded to a stop, you three looked inside. No one was there.

“Um… don’t buses normally have drivers?” Cyborg asks.

“And don’t carriages normally have babies?” Robin says nearby. He, Starfire, and Beast Boy were staring at a teddy bear that was inside the carriage. A voice suddenly projected from the stuffed animal.

“Are you pit-sniffers normally this stupid?”

Suddenly, the teddy bear shot lasers out of its eyes, sending the three teens flying into an alleyway. You turned to see the bus next to you be lifted up by a large, hairy man in black and yellow. He smiled and threw the bus on top from the three of you, trapping you under it. You grunt as the weight of the bus begins to press down on your chest. You hear a voice from outside the bus.

“That was too easy. What a buncha cludge-heads. You guys want to get pizza?” The voice matched the one from the teddy bear. You gritted your teeth as you heard Cyborg’s sonic cannon warm up.

“This isn't over!” you hear Robin yells. Cyborg blasts his cannon, sending the bus in the air. You got up with the other two titans.

“We’re just getting started!” Cyborg yells.

“Who are these guys?” Beast Boy asks, stuck in a trash can. “And what’s a cludge-head?”

“We are the HIVE!” the villain who called you ‘cludge-heads’ said. He was a short kid, wearing a green jumpsuit and goggles. He basically looked like an evil Caillou.

“Your worst nightmare!” said the guy who crushed you with a bus. You noticed that he had a large amount of hair on his whole body.

“And this is attack pattern Alpha!” said the last villain, a goth looking girl with pink, hornlike hair. They jumped out of their poses, and towards you. The small guy in green flew forward in a jetpack, shooting lasers at Robin, Starfire and Beast Boy. The lasers hit the alleyway around them, causing a pile of rubble to fall on them.

Cyborg immediately started brawling with the large guy, Raven and the pink-haired girl attacking each other with their magic, and the smaller kid flying around your head. You tried to shoot him down with your blasts of water, but he wove through your shots. He then flew towards Cyborg, holding something metal.

“Cyborg watch out!” you scream, but it was too late. The green kid attached the metal object to Cyborg's back, and at that moment you realized it was a rocket. Starfire recovered from being crushed by rubble just to see him flying through the air.

"Cyborg!" She yelled, flying after him and out of sight. The two leaving so abruptly caught you off guard, so off guard that you didn't notice the burly guy sneaking up behind you. You turned just as he went to kick you, kicking your stomach and causing you to go flying. You hold your stomach in pain and try to run back towards him, but Raven being thrown towards you sends you crashing back towards the ground. You groan in pain as you hear Robin and Beast Boy meet a similar fate. You see them laying next to you.

"Is it just me or are we getting our butts kicked?" Beast Boy asked, the rest of you standing up.

"It's just you," the three of you say at the same time.

"Listen up team, I have a plan," Robin begins, but is cut off by 3 blasts from the short boy's jetpack. Those 3 blasts ended up hitting you, Beast Boy and Raven. You landed behind the Boy Wonder, leaving him to face the HIVE alone.

“Gee, scrum-buffer.” the jetpack boy jeered, lowering himself to the ground. “Sure hope your fancy plan includes getting fried!”

“You’ll just have to find out the hard way.” you hear him say. You watch him stand in a fighting position, beckoning them to fight. However instead of fighting, the three villains stood with a smile on their face. Then, one by one, they hit the ground between them and Robin. You were confused at first, but then realized in horror that they had created a crack in the asphalt, it getting bigger with each hit. The crack traveled up towards Robin and the area around him crumbled. A look of fear set in his face as he fell with the asphalt into the ground.

“Robin!” you yelled, running up towards the hole with Beast Boy and Raven. Through the crumbling hole you saw a stream of dark, murky sewer water. Water, you realized. You turned to the other two Titans.

“There’s water down there. I’ll go get Robin, you two go back to the Tower.” Before they could reply, you dove into the hole, landing into the water.

“Aquagirl!” Beast Boy yelled, but you were gone.

.

The cold water shocked your body, but you forced yourself to shake it off. You floated on the surface of the water, looking for any signs of Robin. When you didn’t see anyone, you dove back underwater and took a deep breath (yes, you can breathe underwater). You shoot through the water, swimming as fast as you can. Up ahead, you saw blurs of red, yellow, and green. It was Robin. You swam up to him and grabbed onto his unconscious body. Then with all your strength, you pulled him out of the water and onto the concrete surface of the sewer.

You laid Robin on his back and started to inspect him. You check for his heart rate by pressing two fingers against the area under his jaw. It was beating, but very slowly. You placed your hands on his chest and started pumping. After 30 seconds, nothing was happening. Tilting his head back, you pinched his nose and took a deep breath. You gave mouth to mouth once, then twice, then-

Robin’s eyes opened while you were giving the third. He jerked his head up and crashed his forehead into yours.

“Owwww” you whine, rubbing your hand on your forehead. Robin backed up from you, holding his lips.

“Hey! why did you-” He was about to finish his sentence but started coughing up water. You roll your eyes.

“Woah, calm down Robin, I’m not trying to make a move on you. The only move I made was saving you from drowning.”

“Oh- I’m sorry,” he says, his masked eyes staring at you apologetically.

You waved your hand. “Don’t worry about it, you had a pretty bad fall.”

“What happened to the others? Where are they? Where are we?” He asked, frantically reaching for his T-communicator, only to realize that his whole belt was missing.

“Oh man, your belt must’ve fallen off when you fell. Last time I checked, Raven and Beast Boy were injured, but fine. We’re currently in a sewer, I’m not sure if Starfire and Cyborg are ok, but maybe we can check.” you pulled out your own T-communicator and flipped it open. Water gushed out and formed a puddle under your hand. You both stared at it as you flipped the communicator closed and slid it back into your belt.

“We need to get back to the others, before the HIVE strikes again,” Robin says, standing up. He doubles over, falling to his knees, clutching his abdomen.

“You’re hurt. You need to rest before we find the other Titans,” you say, sitting next to him. “Here, I can help.” You beckon him to let go of his chest and you sit down with you, which he reluctantly does. You summon a bubble of the murky water and allow it to soak into his shirt. You concentrated, and the water began to glow blue.

“Hmmm… I only feel a rib fracture… this may take a while…” you mutter, hovering your hands over his chest. You were focusing so much on healing Robin’s wound, you didn’t notice the frown on his face, more stern than usual.

“Something on your mind, Robin?” you asked, looking up from your work. He furrowed his eyebrows and stared at the ground.

“It’s just that…” he began. “I really thought that I could take on the HIVE, you know? But they took me out so easily; they took all of us out so easily. How am I supposed to be a leader if I get hurt so easily, if I let all my teammates get hurt-” his rant is cut off by your finger being shoved in front of his mouth. You both stare at each other in awkward silence.

“When I was a kid, I knew all about you and your adventures,” you began, staring at the stream of water flowing next to you. “You were the boy wonder. The Hero of Gotham. The Sidekick. But now look at you; you’re the leader of a whole team of superheroes, who trust you and are here for you, Robin. We know the dangers, and hey, if I would be a superhero on any team, I’m glad I’m on yours.”

He gave you a small smile. “Thank you Aquagirl,” he said.

You nodded and smiled back. “Anytime, Robin.” You looked at his chest again. “How do you feel?”

“I feel great, both inside and out.” he said, standing up with ease. “I think it's time to find the other titans.”

“Great idea, and I know just how to get out of here.” You stretch out your arm and the ground starts to rumble. A giant geyser shoots up from the stream and punches a hole in the roof of the sewer, allowing the setting sun to peek through. You grabbed Robin’s waist and jumped into the water, another smaller geyser pushing you up and out of the sewer.

“Ugh, gross! I’m definitely taking a shower after this,” you say, looking back at the sewer you jumped out of.

“Ok, let’s go find the others,” Robin says, heading in the direction of the Tower, which was peaking out in the distance. “And, I think it’s time to come up with a plan.”

.

You finally get closer to the Tower when you notice something.

“Ummm Robin?” you say. “Doesn’t the tower usually look like a T?” You both stare at the tower, its original shape now being built upon to look like a ‘H’. The HIVE… you thought. You and Robin eventually find the rest of your friends, who were all arguing on the beach. You were about to announce your presence but Robin stopped you, putting his arm in front of you.

“We need to control our emotions,” you hear Raven say.

“Or What?!” Cyborg yells. “Our bad vibes will keep you from meditating??”

“I wish Robin were here..” Starfire mumbles. You see the slightest tinge of pink dust across Robin’s cheeks.

“Well he’s NOT! And neither is Aquagirl!” Cyborg continues to yell. “Don't you guys get it?! They won, we lost! IT'S OVER!!”

Beast Boy looked at him. “Then are the Teen Titan’s finished?” Robin looks at you and nods, you nod back. The two of you step forwards.

“We’re not,” Robin says. The other four Titans turn in shock to see you and Robin, both seemingly fine, standing before them.

“Not if I can help it,” he said, arms crossed.

“Told’ya I’d get him back.” you said. “Now who wants to hear our plan?”

You waited on the roof as Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire infiltrated the Tower. You sat on a ledge of the (hideous) HIVE add-ons, swinging your legs as Robin stood next to you, staring out into the distance.

“You ready, bird boy?” you ask, raising an eyebrow.

He smirked. “With you here, I’m more than ready.” He jumped down from the ledge, leaving you flustered above him.

Suddenly, The three villains come tumbling onto the roof and crash into each other, much more uncoordinated than they had seemed earlier today. The belt the pink haired girl had most likely stolen from Robin’s wardrobe goes flying, and Robin catches it midair.

“Sorry to interrupt your victory celebration,” Robin says, clicking his belt back on around his waist. “But like I said, this isn’t over.” The five of you join him, looming above the HIVE.

“It’s just getting started,” Cyborg said.

The trio of villains quickly recovered.

“Attack pattern alpha!” The pink haired girl yelled, sending waves of magic in your direction. You all jumped out of the way, splitting up.

You saw the large guy swing at Beast Boy, so you rushed in to help him. You summoned a long tendril of water from the ocean and used it like a third arm, with whipping the villain in the face. He turns towards you and grabs your wrist, but with a swift kick in the stomach he goes flying across the roof. You see Raven approach him, so you go to assist in taking down the other two.

Soon, the HIVE laid defeated at your feet. The smaller boy was holding a transmitter device.

"Cram it. I'm calling Slade." He groaned. Slade? You thought. Robin lifted the boy by his green jumpsuit.

"Who is Slade?" Robin asked quite aggressively. The boy scoffed.

"Wouldn't you like to know barf-brain?"

.

After you dealt with the villains, you finally came in the Tower after a long day. You flopped on the couch as the other Titans inspected the damage the HIVE had caused in the tower, which apparently, wasn't much. Beast Boy crouched at his music collection, head in his hands.

"My tunes! They've been… alphabetized!" He whined. "How am I ever going to find anything?"

Raven came out of her room holding one of her cloaks. "They went into my room. No one should ever go into my room," she said coldly.

"Someone has disposed of all of our blue furry food!" Starfire gasped. Cyborg lifted the whole couch like he did earlier today.

"You gotta be kidding me! The whole place gets cleaned and I still can't find the-" his rant is stopped by Robin, who points at the coffee table. There, the remote lay in plain sight.

"Ha!" He cheered, flopping down on the couch next to you and flipping through channels.

"Maybe we should let the HIVE take over the tower every once in a while, I think this place needed a good clean," you joke, still strewn across the couch.

"I guess we really oughta be training for battles, tracking down clues, and trying to figure out who Slade is, huh?" Cyborg said, looking at Robin.

"We will. But right now, I'm just happy to be part of the team." He looks at you while saying that and you smile.

"Me too"

[erosia-rhodes]

Speculation: The Big Bad of the Loki series is…

…someone I will reveal after the jump, because I’m not a total jerk, even if I'm only speculating and have no more knowledge than anyone else with a Disney Plus account, an intermediate understanding of storytelling techniques, and a God of mischief or two living inside my head rent free. So, here we go.

*cough, cough*

 The master villain of the Loki series is…

…Loki.

It’s an obvious choice, which could have been an argument against it at the start of the series, but after episode 5 he’s the only person who makes sense. The structure of this show is character driven above all else. The overarching question of the series has been, "What makes Loki a Loki?" We've been taking a deep dive into who Loki is, why he does the things he does, and why he's so unhappy. Thus, the big bad has to be a Loki variant because…

1) Loki's worst enemy is himself. Loki's the one holding himself back. Loki's the reason he's so unhappy. Loki's the one preventing himself from becoming a better person. And it will turn out he's been doing this literally, not just figuratively!

But our Loki is going to change because he's been forced to confront who he is in various ways, leading to growth: The memory theater showed him the consequences of his choices in the sacred timeline, the worst of which was getting his mother killed; Mobius analyzed him like a therapist and forced Loki to self-reflect until he eventually confessed his faults; Loki became friends with Mobius who believes Loki could be a better person and that “it’s never too late to change”; Loki's relationship with Sylvie led him to truly trust someone for the first time; it's also symbolic of letting go of his self-loathing; and most recently, Loki felt exasperated watching all the Lokis fight in the Void world, an indicator that he doesn't want to be like that anymore.

The final way Loki will be forced to confront himself will be literal. That's why he must be the secret head of the TVA, the Boss Loki. In order to truly change and grow as a character, he has to defeat the version of himself that is holding him back, the version that is pruning any variant that tries to end their self-sabotaging, destructive ways.

After that, he'll also have to reject the temptation of taking over the TVA himself. That will show he's truly changed as a person. After all, another reason Loki has to be the villain is because…

2) Loki already wanted to take over the TVA. When Loki saw that the TVA made the infinity stones nothing more than paperweights, he decided to overthrow the Timekeepers and take over, but he didn't know that another Loki variant had already beaten him to it. There probably was a trio of lizard people in charge of the TVA at one point, but a Loki variant killed them, took over, and became Boss Loki.

3) That's the reason the TVA has pruned more Loki's than any other person The biggest threat to Boss Loki is another variant of himself coming for the throne. The Boss Loki is getting rid of the other variants so none of them have a chance to overthrow him.

4) That's also why Loki and Sylvie created a nexus event If Loki and Sylvie let go of their self-loathing and become real friends who trust each other and work together, they'd be a huge threat to Boss Loki, which they proved by making it past the guard dog Alioth together. Has anyone else gotten that far before? That's why their connection on Lamentis created a nexus event. The Sacred Timeline is a timeline where Boss Loki stays in power, so any threats to that need to be pruned, even if they're happening during an apocalypse.

5) If the most-speculated villain, Kang, is the big bad, it would have no emotional payoff. I mean, episode five ended with an old man clad in a yellow diaper saving the day in a way that was truly cathartic and moving. If the writers are capable of creating an emotional moment like that, imagine how it will feel if we get to the final episode and the villain is…some dude most people have never heard of. This has no emotional resonance at all. That's why it's not Kang.

Most of my Marvel knowledge comes from the MCU and some animated shows from the 90′s, so I’d never heard of Kang until people online started talking about him in regards to the show. And even though he might have a larger part to play in the MCU, I don't think it's as the head of the TVA. If Kang is involved at all, he's just working with Boss Loki in some function and his presence won't be revealed until an end credits tease.

Bonus speculation) Sylvie's nexus event would have made her a Valkyrie Since I'm speculating, I also think Sylvie's nexus event was that fact that she chose to become a girl, which would have allowed her to become a badass Valkyrie sorceress. When we see her at the beginning of episode 4, she's playing with a Valkyrie toy, which means she admires them. It was also revealed in Thor: Ragnorak that Thor wanted to be a Valkyrie until he learned only girls were allowed to do that. It's easy to imagine Loki taunting his brother, telling Thor he would never be a Valkyrie because he's not a girl, but Loki could be one because he could become a girl. Then Loki might have become a Valkyrie just to spite his brother.

Also, Ride of the Valkyries by Wagner plays at the end of episode 5, but this seems to ramp up when Classic Loki is doing his thing, not when Sylvie is using her magic, so I don't know if that's a clue or not.

I guess we'll see if I'm right about any of this a week from now!

[animefeminist]

Chatty AF 196: 2023 Fall Mid-Season Check-In

Toni, Caitlin, and Peter try and fail to check-in on the biggest anime season ever in a reasonable amount of time.

Episode Information

Date Recorded: November 19th 2023 Hosts: Toni, Caitlin, Peter

Episode Breakdown

0:00:00 Intros 0:02:06 A Girl and Her Guard Dog 0:03:26 The Kingdoms of Ruin 0:05:16 Protocol: Rain 0:07:52 The 100 Girlfriends Who Really Really Really Really REALLY Love You 0:15:08 The Yuzuki Family’s Four Sons 0:17:33 Tearmoon Empire 0:19:22 Shangri-La Frontier 0:20:11 Paradox Live THE ANIMATION 0:25:27 OVERTAKE! 0:27:23 My New Boss is Goofy 0:31:42 Migi&Dali 0:42:20 Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 0:49:10 Firefighter Daigo: Rescuer in Orange 0:51:48 BULLBUSTER 0:56:48 Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and the Inexperienced Me 1:00:36 I’m in Love with the Villainess 1:04:03 SHY 1:10:28 The Apothecary Diaries 1:16:40 16bit Sensation 1:20:39 Outro

Further Reading

2023 Fall Premiere Digest

2023 Fall Three-Episode Check-In

[princesssarisa]

How "Cinderella Monogatari" Could Have Been Better

I've just finished watching the 1996 anime series Cinderella Monogatari ("The Story of Cinderella"). I'll share my overall thoughts on it later, after I've overviewed a few other versions of the fairy tale. But for now, I'll say that I liked it very much. That said, it does have its flaws. Below are the handful of changes I would make to improve it.

1. Have Cinderella's father be presumed dead through most of the series.

It's awkward to have Cinderella's father still be alive, and not a weak henpecked husband, but merely away on business. Why would Duchess Dalbin so extensively abuse and degrade her stepdaughter knowing that the girl's devoted father will eventually come back? I would have preferred for the Duke to leave on his business trip, and then, a few weeks later, have the family receive the news that his ship was wrecked in a storm and that he's missing and presumably drowned. Only at this point would the Duchess start to abuse Cinderella. This could also add a layer of depth to the Duchess's character. She could be portrayed as genuinely in love with her husband and distraught by his "death," and afterwards she would exclude Cinderella from the family because Cinderella reminds her too much of him, similar to what the 1997 version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical implies. But in the final episode, the Duke would come back and reveal that he survived after all: he's just taken this long to recover from his injuries and find a ship home. So we'd still have the blissful family reunion the actual series gives us, but with even more emotional weight.

2. Give Duke Zaral consistent motivation.

I like the series' addition of a "Greater Scope Villain" (to quote TVTropes) in Duke Zaral. But at least in the English dub, his motive seems to change completely at random from "Marry his daughter Isabel to Prince Charles and become the real power behind the throne" to "Murder Charles and force his parents to surrender the kingdom." This could be easily solved, though. Simply place the episode "The Disturbing Painter" (his first real attempt to kill Charles, when he tries to have his portrait painted by an artist who traps his subjects' souls in the painting) after the episode "Traveling Toward Happiness" (where his daughter Isabel runs away with her true love) instead of before. Since the series makes it clear that Zaral really does love his daughter, it would make much more sense for his murderous turn to be caused by losing her, especially if he found out that Charles had helped her elope. To quote TVTropes again, it would be his Villainous Breakdown, and it would give him a real character arc.

3. Cut the episode "Prince Charles's Secret," where Cinderella and her stepsisters are forced to work as maids in the castle.

While of course it's funny to see the stepsisters forced to do the same chores they usually heap on Cinderella, the context is ridiculous. If a wealthy duke like Zaral wants maidservants to spy on Prince Charles, why doesn't he just pay real working-class girls to do it? Why on earth would he insult a family of his own social class by tricking a duchess's daughters into visiting the castle only to have them forced into servitude? And afterwards, why does no one ever mention it again? Realistically, wouldn't a trick like that cause a scandal? The whole scenario is contrived and would be better off cut.

4. Make Cinderella less of a damsel in distress.

Now there's no shame in a heroine not being a fighter or needing to be rescued. But it's still a tiny bit tedious to see Cinderella repeatedly being captured or endangered and Charles repeatedly being the strong one who rescues her. Even after he teaches her how to swordfight in "Lets Get Rid of Those Bandits," she never uses the skills she learned in that episode again, particularly not in the finale when she's captured by Zaral. I say remove Charles from some of the episodes where she's endangered and have her rescue herself instead. Have her use the fencing skills Charles taught her throughout the rest of the series, particularly when she's kidnapped in the finale. Not that she needs to use a sword, but at least she could defend herself with a stick or some other improvised weapon. In the climactic battle with Zaral on the clock tower, I'd have Cinderella and Charles fighting him together rather than just Charles. Again, I'm not saying there's any shame in being a damsel in destress, but it would be more interesting to see Cinderella defend herself at least a little bit more.

5. Have the stepfamily rip Cinderella's dress before the ball, as in the Disney version.

The scene where they rip up her invitation to the ball is already a blatant knockoff of the Disney dress-ripping scene, but without the same power. So why not take the imitation all the way and have them rip her dress as well as the invitation? This would also enhance the next scene where Fairy Godmother Paulette works her magic. In the actual series, the fact that Cinderella is already wearing a fancy gown and Paulette's magic just brings its style more up-to-date is slightly underwhelming. We lose the sheer magic of the dress transformation that other versions of Cinderella have. If her dress were in tatters, this would be rectified.

6. Don't have Charles fall in love with the "mystery girl."

Cinderella retellings that give Cinderella and the Prince most of their romance arc before the ball always have a dilemma: what to do with the plot point of the Prince not knowing his beloved's name or where to find her after the ball? Some versions have found good solutions; this one is mediocre. After his series-long slow-burn romance arc with Cinderella, it's awkward to see Charles become enamored in one night with the girl at the ball, whom he doesn't know is Cinderella. Even if it is just because she "reminds him" of Cinderella, whom he thinks will never speak to him again because he lied about his identity, it still seems ever-so-slightly fickle. I'd prefer to have him only regard her as a friend with whom he can confide about Cinderella. Then, after the ball, instead of being depressed about her disappearance, he'd be depressed because Cinderella "never showed up" even though he invited her. But Alex and Hans would mistakenly think he was moping over the mystery girl and set out to use the glass slipper to find her.

7. Give the stepfamily a gradual redemption arc.

Maybe this is what the series was trying to go for, because there are assorted episodes where Cinderella does especially valuable things for her stepfamily (saving Jeanne's life when they're lost in the woods, learning to swordfight and guarding the house against the bandits, risking her life to find healing herbs for her dangerously ill stepmother, etc.) and momentarily earns their respect. But in every new episode, they're back to abusing her. So in the last episode, it feels very abrupt when they start being nice to her after she's betrothed to Prince Charles. If it were played for laughs like in the 1957 version of the Rodgers and Hammertein musical, and they were clearly only sucking up to her because she was the princess-to-be, it would feel less awkward, but it's not played for laughs. It feels as if we're supposed to see it as a genuine, heartfelt family reconciliation, which is completely unearned. And then when Cinderella's father the Duke comes home, they all reunite as one big happy family and the Duke never even learns that his wife and stepdaughters abused his daughter while he was away!

My solution? Put much more emphasis on Cinderella's gradually earning her stepfamily's respect over the course of the series. Don't have them forget the great things she does for them; have call-backs to the fact that she saved their lives, risked her own safety for them etc. Show them increasingly torn between their jealousy of her and their growing respect and gratitude toward her. While they would still have a final "Kick the Dog" moment by tearing up her mother's dress and her invitation to the ball, I'd show them feeling very guilty as they ride away in their carriage afterward. Maybe Jeanne could ask Catherine if what they did was right, and Catherine would reply that they had no choice, Cinderella looked too pretty, the Prince would have ignored them if he had seen her, etc.; but clearly she wouldn't be so sure. Then, after Cinderella reunites with Prince Charles, there could be a scene similar to the opera La Cenerentola, where Charles would publicly berate the Duchess and her daughters for their treatment of Cinderella and threaten to punish them somehow, only for Cinderella to declare that she forgives them and beg her fiancé to pardon them. This would move them to tears and they would finally, profusely apologize to her for all they had done. And when the Duke comes home, Cinderella's choice not to tell him about their abuse could be emphasized as her way of showing faith in their repentance and giving them a second chance.

I realize that all this would probably take up more than just a few minutes of the final episode. So because we've already cut the earlier episode where the stepsisters work as maids at the palace, I suggest we add a new Episode 23, in-between the actual series' second-to-last and final episodes. This entire episode would take place between the slipper-fitting and the royal wedding, and it would open with her reunion with Charles and end with her reunion with her father. Everything in between would be devoted to her reconciliation with the stepfamily. This would be a much more believable, satisfactory conclusion for them than what the actual series gives us.

It's a good series, but with these changes, in my personal opinion, it would be even stronger.

[alwaysthinkingoutloud]

Hannibal Episode-by-Episode Meta/Analysis: Episode 1, Season 1 (Apéritif)

The series start with Will Graham in a crime scene doing what he does, which is resurrecting crime scenes for further evidence and possible insight into the criminal’s mind and motives. What is interesting about this first scene is that for a first-time viewer, for the first a few minutes, it is not clear if what we are watching is a possible reenactment or it is actually a memory. That doubt gets cleared in a minute but until then, we don’t know if he is imagining or is he remembering. Is he a guy with a powerful imagination helping FBI who literally puts himself into the killer’s shoes or is he the killer itself, hiding in plain sight? To my thinking, the very first opening to the story does say a lot about the end of it all as well.

“This is my design”

Why not say plan, but design instead? Planning is something mechanical, strategical. It is the result of motive and effort of a rational brain rather than an acted-on urge. There is no much room for subjectivity or creativity since efficiency is the ultimate goal. However, design has a more artistical ring to it. It is like, its prior aim is not to be useful, but to be beautiful. Designing is done when aesthetics is of concern. We would say, Michelangelo designed David, plan would not look right there. It would be accurate as for explaining the mathematical part of it, the disciplined and patient hours that has been put into it, but it would not do justice to the inspiration, passion, and desperate need of the artist for his creation to materialize. A planner would not adore his work, but a designer would. And Will understands the difference a bit too well.

Later, talking with Jack Crawford, we learn that Will finds the name of Evil Minds Research Museum “hammy”. I do not think there is anything hammy about the name, it’s quite literal. It is not an ennobler name but why does Will find it so though? Does creativity and originality need to be perceived as abhorrent just because it was given birth by someone evil? This all-cautious way of approaching and overthinking things is a reflection of something dark within. Afterall, what is seen has at least a little to do with the seeing eyes, if not more.

Jack exhibits a disturbingly dominant way of communication with Will. He corrects Will’s eyeglasses, the guy who he knows is not comfortable with any kind of interpersonal interaction, within the minutes of their chat and holds down his bag to slow down his moving on. He is trying to make sure that Will feels Jack is the alpha and also that deep down, Will does not have the option to not cooperate. And more Will gets convinced to help for one step, stronger Jack drags Will into it for one more.

The first time we see Will interacting with any victim-related people, it is confusing. Being an empath and claiming that he can not only relate to narcissists and sociopaths but anyone, he does not seem to empathize much with the victim’s parents, cutting into the conversation about parents’ doubts on their daughter’s likelihood of being alive with a non-emotional, case related question. It almost makes you question if his ability to emphathize is just stronger with the dark side of the force than it is with the light one. Yes, the primer focus is to catch the killer and stop whatever malice is going on but after all, Jack came to Will with the need of help, so Jack must care about the case resolving more than he does. Yet, Jack seems more understanding of the parents’ feelings than Will, although Will is an ultimate empath. We even see Jack’s disapproval when Will cuts into the conversation. It is a brow mover.

Next, we get more insight about Will as he meets Winston. He finds him on the road roaming, tries to get close to him but cannot, so he drives all the way to his home to get something to lure him with and comes back to the dog. He is willing to go lengths to add a new dog to his pack, to his ‘family’, to his ‘social circle’. Something he is not willing nor comfortable to do for a person. Will's preferring an animal's company to a person's may say more than obvious. Afterall, he chooses Hannibal over Jack too, doesn't he?

Will who has already started to get traumatized by the case, is ambushed in the bathroom by Jack with an unforgiving mobbing, forcing ideas out of Will and stirring him up in the expense of his stability. Later on in his little chat with Alana, Jack’s intentions and priorities are further put into perspective. The way he talks about Will shows that for him, Will is more of a means to an end than an actual colleague. His insistence about “putting Will out there” despite Alana’s warnings and his admission of not being absolutely capable of protecting Will’s mental health just crowns that he does not genuinely care about Will. In fact, he even knows the risk of what he is doing, and he is trying to draw Dr. Bloom in to share, if not all together blame it on, the responsibility if something may go wrong.

We finally meet Hannibal in his office in a therapy session with his patient. The look Dr. Lecter throws when Franklyn blows his nose and places the dirty napkin onto the table… Up to this scene, we were not given any clue to suggest that Hannibal Lecter is a killer but after all, we do know who he is. And him being the first actual predator in the series we meet, we do not see him acting on brute violence or inelegant butchering. His first reaction depicted is unrest against rudeness. So the audience is welcomed into the mind of Lecter with an easily apprehensible act that can be shared by almost anyone. Almost to suggest that, this act of Franklyn’s may be enough to justify a wrath that may come upon him.

Jack shows up in Hannibal’s office unannounced and mistakes Franklyn with Hannibal. Hannibal, of course slightly annoyed, tells Jack to wait in the waiting room and invites him in with his own timing. Being a bossy and dominant guy he is, this takes Jack by surprise and it also tells us that there is an even stronger alpha here. So Jack realizes he cannot dominate Hannibal into his will like he did with Will. He may have to try something else. As Jack asks questions that are getting more specific and personal as they come, we see Hannibal getting cautious. Taking his scalpel into his hand and eyes widening. He lowers his guard only when he learns that he was referred to Jack by Dr. Bloom, his eyes visibly getting smaller, which are almost the only window to his thoughts anyway. So after seeing the sophisticated aura leaking not only out of Hannibal but everything around him, Jack chooses to sweet talk him into cooperation.

When Jack, Hannibal and Will first come together in a room, it is the first time in the show where Will makes such a long, non-blinked eye contact with someone, that being Hannibal. And we see mixed emotions and thoughts on Hannibal’s face. He is amused, intrigued and curious at the same time with the way Will thinks. He makes a quick analyze of Will which results in making him fling out of the room. Being the controlled, non-impulsive, strategic guy he is; even Hannibal himself is a little surprised with the sudden blurbing of his perception of Will. So maybe this first scene having Will and Hannibal together is another kind of first as well with both men doing something not typically them.

Hannibal, telling Jack that “he may help Will see the cannibal’s face”, he copies the crime of Minnesota Shrike. At the first look, this looks like an attempt of toying with the FBI and confusing them. But considering Hannibal’s last conversation with Jack, this feels more like a tribute, a helping hand for Will. Hannibal knows that Will would know that this is not the same killer the second he sees the crime scene. As Will later says to Hannibal, this was done to show Will a negative so that he could see the positive. So, we see from this point on that Hannibal’s wit does not focus on FBI, it does on Will. We see Hannibal eating and smiling, joyous of the fact that he now has an object of interest. Will imagining of a stag right after this, as stag will be the subconscious symbol of the Chesapeake Ripper / Copycat Killer before Will knows who he is and later when he does, of Hannibal; it shows that Hannibal literally entered his life and mind in more than one way.

Hannibal shows up in Will’s house very early and obviously very impatiently. So he does not only plan to interfere Will with being the Copycat Killer but through his ‘person suit’ as well. Feeding Will the meat of the girl he killed is also exciting for Hannibal as this manipulation game he has set to play with Will gets to be sicker for a normal human perception.

The breakfast scene is also the first time where Hannibal is looking for some ill-intent or killing inclination in Will, while Will denies having so. He wonders how much being able to empathize with killers say about Will’s own potential to do so. Hannibal suggests that Jack is treating Will as he is “a fragile little teacup, only used for special guests”. And that he himself sees him as “a mongoose that he would want under the house when snakes slither by”. He suggests that Will is not a pray that should be afraid to get hurt, that he is the predator. By that Hannibal does not only encourage the destructiveness Will may be trying hard to keep buried to come alive, but also the false perception that Will’s mind is strong enough to take any challenge Jack may throw his way.

Hannibal warning Garret Jacob Hobbs is literally setting the pieces in position of his will to get Will where and how he wants. He does not know what will be waiting in Hobbs’ house for Will but in the end, it does not matter so much since he just wants to see what happens.

When they arrive at the house, seeing Hobbs leaving his wife on the threshold her throat cut, Hannibal stands still. Is it because he is so confident that Will will be too frantic to ever look back and notice that, or is it because deep down he just does not feel like putting his person suit on in front of Will? I think both. When Will shots Hobbs and tries to tend Abigail on the floor, Hannibal walks in and sees Will caring hard for the girl. Hannibal’s face looks curious about what is going on but more than that, again, his focus is on Will more than it is on anything else. He sees all these humane emotions that Hannibal himself has always been somewhat stranger too on Will, those emotions that he thought, cannot come in a package with all the destructive ones. But maybe they can. And those emotions may even look nice. Because it almost does on Will. Although how the events would turn out Hannibal did not know, it was certain that the way he pushed things, there would be blood and there would be Will doing something that will change him one way or the other. After all, they have undergone a traumatic (for Will) and exciting (for Hannibal) circumstance together and it is a known fact that people who experience a significant situation together tend to develop emotional bonds. Maybe this was the least of what Hannibal hoped for. If that was the case, he got more than he wished. Will got to kill someone even if it was for a just reason and there happened to be an orphaned girl that Will desperately bonded the moment he killed her father, who maybe a manipulative tool for Hannibal in his game. The last scene where Will finds Hannibal holding Abigail’s hand in the hospital room highlights this perfectly. Now, Hannibal and Will has a mutual asset that Hannibal may use to draw Will closer to himself despite of Will’s initial reservations to do so.

[storydays]

Season 1, Episode 1, p2

You dodged an Earth disc from the opposing team's earthbender's steady hand and used two water blast toward the earthbender and the firebender, sending them into the sink below. The crowd cheered as Mako and Bolin then sent the remaining benders into the sink. "And what an amazing triple play by the Fire Ferrets! If they can win the expedition match, the rookie sensations will be moving into the championship!" You grinned at your long time friends, brothers Mako and Bolin. Bolin was a rather loud, excitable earthbender and happy go luck person in general. Mako, however was a angst filled firebender, very serious, and could be a bit of an unintentional ass. 

You stumbled across them about 8 years back, while trying to track down your father with your Auntie Kya, who had been on a break from their busy lives. 

*Flashback*

Your Uncle Tenzin was searching with your Aunt Lin, while Aunt Pema and Gran-Gran were staying back with a newborn Ikki and a two year old Jinora. You felt so grown up, helping the adults. Your Auntie was rambling about how her brother's were idiots, and a few not so children friendly cuss words, when you felt a pair of eyes watching you. You stopped, catching her attention. "(Y/N), what's wrong, honey?" She knelt in front of you, waiting. 

You would tell her when you were ready. She knew you were listening, for something. 

Your (e/c) eyes looked down the alley, before whispering into the older waterbender's ear. Kya smiled, before standing up and followed you to the alley. There you found a pair of kids, one wearing a red scarf around his neck, the other with thick eyebrows. The one with scarf, you knew was a firebender, held sadness, and protection for his brother. The other was an earthbender, and he oozed fear for his brother, and he also held sadness, but could be a different reasons. You put on a gentle smile, before holding your hand out. 

"We've been looking for someone, and we found you two. We've been wondering around for hours, and I'm hungry. Do you guys want to join us,at the Rosemary Cafe?" The older brother eyes you and Kya for a moment before looking at his brother, and nodded, trusting your (e/c) eyes. Together, the four of you spent time  in Republic City, until your Aunt Kya ran into the pro-bender gym owner. They were old classmates/associates and knowing how hard it was to survive, the older man, adopted the boys, and they became family. 

After waving goodbye to them, you and Kya found your father making a fool of himself at a local bar. Your aunt whacked her brother upside her head, grinning as you try to stifle your giggles. That was a day, you would never forget, because it made your Aunt Kya proud at your big heart.

*Flashback end*

You grinned, after taking a sip of water as you listen to Bolin chat happily to his brother who replied bluntly. Other than your family, they were the only ones who knew you were an airbending master, and it was the biggest secret Bolin has ever held which, and it made your proud and special that he could help protect you. You finished changing, fixing your hair, so it hid your arrows again, before answering your radio that you kept on your person while off Air Temple Island. "Yes, Uncle?" You questioned, waving goodbye to your friends. "Yes, I'll meet you there, soon." You hung up, and then whistled for your other pet/friend, a polar bear dog, like Naga, but they were sister and brother. "Neo, here boy." You cooed as he sat in front of you, nudging you and looking at you fondly. "Let's go see Auntie Lin, boy." 

He barked happily, and quickly ran to the police station where your Uncle was waiting. Waving down a nearby guard, you asked him to take Neo to the animal section of the station, before Tenzin began walking. "So, why are we here?" You asked putting your arms behind your head, acting nonchalantly. "We're here because of Korra, it appears she ran away, and came here to start trouble." He grumbled, leading you into an interrogation room, where Korra was flinching under the Chief's stern voice. "Let's see, multiple counts of destruction of private and city property. Not to mention, evading arrest." She slammed the file in front of the girl, before leaning in close. 

"You're in a whole mess of trouble, young lady." "But there were some thugs threatening a helpless shopkeeper and I--" Korra tried to explain. "Can it." Lin growled, walking away. "You should have called the police, and stayed out of the way." "But I couldn't just sit by, and do nothing. It's my duty to help people." She pouted, before giving the Chief an awkward smile, "See, I'm the Avatar." 

You snicker, seeing the unimpressed look on your aunt's face. "Oh, I'm well aware of who you are, and your avatar tittle might impress some people, but not me." Korra looked a little shocked before relenting. "All right, fine. Then I want to talk to whoever's in charge." Unfazed by her tactics, Lin sat down across from her. "You're talking to her. I'm Chief Beifong." 'And in 3,2,1..' you counted down in your head before realization struck Korra. "Wait, Beifong? Lin Beifong? You're Toph's daughter!" She exclaimed. "What of it?" Lin huffed. "Well, then, why are you treating me like a criminal? Avatar Aang and your mother were friends! They saved the world together.." Korra trailed off. 

"That's ancient history. And it's got nothing to do with the mess you're in right now. You can't just waltz in here, and dole out vigilante justice like you own the place!" Your Uncle then ushered you to follow him. "All right, let's go get Korra before Lin kills her." He muttered, making you grin. "Chief, Councilman Tenzin is here." A guard called into the room. "Let him in." Lin sighed before standing up, and folding her arms behind her back. Tenzin walked in with a frown on his face, and you hung in the doorway, leaning against it and crossing your arm with an mischievous grin. "Tenzin, (Y/N), sorry. Got a little sidetracked on my way to see you guys." She shuffled nervously in her seat.

Tenzin inhaled softly, before sparing a grin at Lin. "Lin, you are looking radiant as usual." Your shoulders shake as you tried not to laugh. "Cut the garbage, Tenzin. Why is the Avatar in Republic City?" She growled at the man. "I thought you were supposed to be moving down to the South Pole to train her." "My relocation has been delayed. The Avatar on the other hand, will be heading back to the South Pole immediately, where she will stay put." "But--" Korra tried to cut in, but Tenzin continued as if she hadn't spoken a word, "If you would be so kind, as to drop the charges against Korra," He paused to glare at the shrinking girl's figure. "I will take full responsibility for today's regrettable events and cover all the damages." Lin looked back at the crestfallen teenager, looked at you who smiled cheerfully back, before sighing in resignation. 

She waved her hand, unlocking Korra from her cuffs, before crossing her arms. "Fine, get her out of my city." "Always a pleasure, Lin." Tenzin complimented, before turning sternly to the Avatar. "Let's go, Korra. You as well, (Y/N)." "Wait, I need to talk to (Y/N). He'll catch up with you in a second." Lin stated, fighting a grin as the two made their way out. Korra rubbing her wrists, cast a look behind her, only to see Lin shoot her the famous, 'I'm watching you.' look before Korra replied with the same look, only mushing up and mocking the woman. Lin threw her hand up and scrunched her face in confusion before turning to a laughing you. "So, tell me what happened today!" Lin grinned, no one knew it but you, but she loved watching your matches, and tried her best to catch them when she could, or at the very least, listened to the matches on her private radio. 

You grin quickly explaining everything to her, and she smiled seeing you hyped up. It wasn't often she saw you this excited and it was a breeze of fresh air, and she was happy to see a spark in your (e/c) eyes. "But yeah, and if we win the expedition match, we go to the finals and we could be the champions!" You cheered. "That's great, (Y/N)! I'll be sure to catch those two matches for sure." She smiled before hugging you and sending you on your way. "See ya tonight for dinner, Aunt Lin."

You quickly grabbed Neo, and followed your Uncle to the harbor where he was trying to get a boat for Korra to leave immediately. "Tenzin, please don't send me back home." "You blatantly disobeyed my wishes and the orders of the White Lotus." Tenzin stated.  "It was actually (Y/N)'s idea!" Korra defended. You grumble, ignoring your uncle's withering stare. "It was your idea to have her come here?" He demanded. "Technically, I told her to look for the pro-bending gym, or I'd assumed she would've gone straight to Air Temple Island." Your Uncle then began lecturing you before you blurted out, "I had a vision!" They both looked at you with looks, varying between shock, awe, and surprise. "Why didn't you tell me, (Y/N)?" Tenzin asked calmly, knowing you responded better that way.

"Because I only just figured it out, what that vision meant, and I knew I had to act quickly, to try and speed things along." You fidget in place, Neo whining and gently nudging you in an attempt to comfort you. Seeing you were uncomfortable, Korra spoke up. "Katara agreed with me that I should come. She said my destiny is in Republic City." She felt successful when Tenzin turned his attention to her, face turning redder than his clothing, and you sent a grateful smile to the waterbender. "Don't bring my mother into this!" he snapped, ignoring your laugh. "You look like a tomato, Uncle."

"Look, I can't wait any longer, to finish my training. Being cooped up and hidden away from the world, isn't helping me become a better Avatar. I saw a lot of the city today, and it's totally out of whack. I understand why you and (Y/N) need to stay, Republic City does need you both, but it needs me too." Korra finished her speech, leaving Tenzin to stammer before sighing as a police officer brought Naga to the group. "Is this your polar bear-dog, miss?" He asked tiredly. You laugh before gently taking Naga to see her brother Neo who howled with glee seeing her big brother. 

Korra sighed seeing the boat come closer to the port. Tenzin was really making her leave. You stood next to your Uncle as he studied Korra. "You know she's right. It'd be helpful and beneficial for everyone involved, if she stayed. It's going to happen anyways, so it'd be better if she was here under good tenses, instead of her constantly sneaking off." Your conversation was cut short, as the 3 Airbender kids landed in front of your group. Meelo hopping off of Jinora's back, and the kids hugging her legs and waist. "Korra!" They cried happily. "Are you coming to live on the island with us?" Ikki asked, as Korra knelt in front of them. "No, I'm sorry, Ikki. I have to go home now." She felt her heart break at the kids disappointed cries. 

"Aw." Tenzin watched the scene with sad eyes. Ikki then hopped on your back, and snuggled into your back. "I don't want Korra to leave." She murmured, sadly. "I know, she doesn't want to leave either." You said, clearly, before sharply elbowing your uncle. He looked into your (e/c) eyes, and then looked at the sad faces of his kids, before sighing in defeat. "Wait." He walked forward to a surprised Korra. "I have done my best to guide Republic City towards the dream my father had for it. But you are right, it has fallen out of balance since he passed. I thought I should put off your training in order to uphold his legacy. But you are his legacy." He put his hand on Korra's shoulder, and smiled softly at the girl.

"You may stay here and train airbending with me." Korra gasped excitedly as Tenzin continued. "Republic City needs its Avatar once again." "Yes! Thank you! You're the best!" Korra cheered as the Airbending kids cheered with her. She grabbed the airbenders in her arms, giving a giant group hug, and making Tenzin groan at the girl's strength. You laugh as Naga snuggled Korra's back, happy that her girl was happy. You smiled softly from atop of Neo, as Nevermore found you and curled in your lap. "Hey girl, didja miss me?" You coo, running your fingers along her scales, before looking into the stars, smiling. 'Things are going to get crazy, aren't they, Mom?' 

--The Next Day--

You stood behind your Aunt Lin's stern figure as Korra was at a press conference. The Avatar didn't know where to look with all the flashing lights, but a quick glance to you, made her get her confidence back, she cleared her throat, before speaking. "Hello, I'm Korra, your new Avatar." "Does this mean you moved to Republic City?" An older reporter called out. "Were you trying to send a message to the  Triads yesterday?" A green eyed woman asked."Will you be fighting crime, the anti-bending revolution, or both?" Another cried. "Will you be working with Chief Beifong and the police?" A final question rang out. "Uh, yes, I am definitely here to stay, but honestly, I don't have a plan yet. See I'm still in training, but all I know is Avatar Aang meant for this city to be the center of peace and balance in the world, and I believe we can make his dream a reality, and I look forward to serving you! I'm very happy to be here! Thank you, Republic City!" Korra then walked off with Tenzin, as you stood by Lin's side. "That's all, no more questions." Lin demanded, before tugging you along with her. 

You grin finding Neo and Naga playfully wrestling, before sitting next to Korra while Tenzin and Lin were talking quietly. "Good job, Avatar. I know things will start to get better now that you're here. Just promise me one thing." You refused to meet her eyes, but you knew she was listening. Turning toward her, you raised your pinky to her, "Promise me, we'll do this together." You beg as she studied you. Korra sent you a gleaming smile before hooking hers around yours. 

"I promise."