#and Montage?!?!??! holy hell that SONG

[aylinhadtimeforthis]

watched swiss army man a while ago and now I'm obsessed with the soundtrack I'm legit eating up half the songs so hard feel like I'm experiencing real emotions for the first time

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

I really love how the musical choices in s2e1 underscore how Ed's thoughts are on Stede and his love for him, even at moments where a different show wouldn't be leaning into that as hard. It would've been so, so, so easy for Ed's depressed spiral at the start of the season to feel aimless, like darkness for the sake of darkness, and they avoid that so cleanly, it's very impressive.

The first moment where it stands out to me is during the raid montage - Ed has just declared himself to be the devil, and he's impassively watching all the violence, not really participating or watching his back, just letting it happen. The musical choice for this scene is "Strawberry Letter 23" by Shuggie Otis, and it's a lovely song - it's very dreamy and it's about lovers sending love letters to each other. The song, combined with Ed's blank expression, makes it feel that Ed is not present. His mind is on other things. It's like he's just going through the motions, while a song plays about hearing pretty music and envisioning romantic scenes with a lover. It's so clear Ed's heart is not in this raid, he's not even interested in doing above the bare minimum to pretend he's Being Blackbeard.

And then, near the end of the episode, Francis Bebey's "Pygmy Love Song"...holy shit this one wrecks me. Ed is looking out over the water, telling Frenchie all about his plan to sail and rob and raise hell forever and ever, without end, and he can't even turn around or Frenchie would see the tears in his eyes, and over it all there's a song telling us "my heart is full of love, I have nothing else." Ed is consumed by a love he thinks he's lost, that he never deserved to keep, and he feels so hopeless.

It was so often assumed that Ed would be beyond pissed at Stede when he returned (and he was mad, and that was justified!) but the score in these episodes contributes so well to showing us Ed's mindset and why he and Stede were able to fall back together so easily. Ed can hold up that little cake topper representing Stede, and he can say "fuck you, Stede Bonnet," and he can try to pretend that he's not so full of love for that man and he wants anything other than to just have Stede back and know that he's deserving of Stede's love, and we don't believe him for a second.

[readingwiththestars]

₊˚⊹♡ NOTHING LIKE THE MOVIES

["Trust me, Lib," I said, picturing her lips. "In a crowd of million ski masks, I'd still be able to find you."]

| ✮ 3 stars |

ᝰ.ᐟ ⊹ arc review thank you to netgalley + simon and schuster for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

THOUGHTS ° ᡣ𐭩 . ° . [minor spoilers]

ok. i put this review off for a couple days cause i knew this was gonna be harder to write because i love lynn painter books, really. buuttt i was horribly disappointed with this one. i'm the biggest wesliz fan but... like yeah i cant even form coherent thoughts about it. like this was unnecessary there was no point in shattering their relationship to write this.

like it was good to see wes's pov and everything but it felt so... idk yeah. (see im still struggling so bad to find words.)

one thing i would formally like to invite lynn to STOP doing though is shoving every taylor/ pop culture reference on the planet into the book. like holy shit woman. i few is okay BUT NOT THAT MANY COME ON!!!! they were in the middle of a fucking argument and wes is quoting illicit affairs or some bullshit. usually i love finding little references on page but this felt like too much.

i feel like she's whipped out her computer and gone straight to some dog fanpage or just plainly scrolled through edits seeing people saying "this song is so wesliz coded" and shoved those songs into the book. there is an on page reference to in between reference saying its their montage song.

also um this shit: ”little liz can’t come to the phone right now. why? oh. because she’s dead.” and somehow when jack antonoff was randomly brought up??? like some people are good at weaving taylor swift lyrics into books. lynn you are not.

also lynn take this a plea to never use the word "growl" or "growled" in a sentence ever again when describing your male characters. and to never write this sentence “she’s one of the guys you know? she’s just… different,” EVER AGAIN. PLEASE.

WHAT I DID LIKE THO WAS THE TINY TINY CRUMBS OF BAILEYCHARLIE AND NICKEMELIE (even tho nick was only mentioned and i dont think emelie was even there but eh)

CHARACTERS ° ᡣ𐭩 . ° .

liz - ok so weirdly enough she was the most tolerable and still intolerable at the same time. like she was so different from the liz in bttm the sunshiney, wearing dresses of all different colours and her love of romcoms. she was described as anti-love and was practically a full on different character seriously. if you liked the first book maybe dont have high expectations for nltm. like i do understand she had her heart broken and so obviously that makes sense for some of the change but it had been two years and as liz likes to say SO FUCKING MUCH "she's moved on, she's moved past it, its in the past" well for someone who's moved on you sure like to avoid the past a lot. also idk who tf she was trying to fool with that whole "i don't like wes, im over him." shit like gurl- you were literally kissing 2.5 seconds ago whats with the switching sides. and there was SO much about her leaving "little liz" behind. like what was so wrong with liking flowers and romcoms? and being a hopeless romantic and wearing bright colours?

wes - okay so it was quiet heartbreaking to hear abt wes's side of this book (except for the whole pursuing liz part) and i did feel sorry for him. but like what happened to the sweet, caring wes in the first book. and tell me why i had to read THIS sentence “climb on me like a good girl,” LIKE MY EYES LYNN WTF????? i did not sign up for this wes, like no stop telling me how obsessed you are with liz's lips or how she's a mythological sex goddess- boy sit ur ass down. and don't even get me started on the beginning of the book. WHAT WAS THAT SHIT? why was wes acting like a 7yr old excited for school and talking (so much) abt his love for scootering? SCOOTERING. LYNN PAINTER WHAT THE EVER LOVING HELL? SCOOTERING. DO YOU HAVE SOME OBSESSION WITH THEM OR SOMETHING? WHY DID THOSE DUMB THINGS KEEP SHOWING UP?? like tell me why i needed to read this shit: "i fucking loved the scooters ..... wes + scooters = HEA" ..... lynn.

QUOTES ° ᡣ𐭩 . ° .

im not going to bother to find any of these, see: im too lazy

all in all i still liked some points when both of them were acting normal. which is why its a 3. but i feel like this is leaning towards a hate review but yeah idk i cant actually pin point parts that i remember liking- also the ending??? what was that? it made no sense to me.

[blaperile]

Homestuck: Beyond Canon (reactions page 667 - 694)

Ok it's been a busy few weeks but I finally got around to writing this reaction, haha

So, I was correct that we'd be getting a perspective switch to someone other than Vriska. The question is how long it will take before we see her again.

In a meta way I think page 888 would make the most sense. I suppose that means Vriska wouldn't play a role in the huge upcoming confrontation flash? Unless Vriska does escape 'hell' WITHIN the flash? Maybe we just get to see a silly montage of Vriska refusing to hug her other self, as a comic relief betweeen some other intense scenes, until she eventually does and then still plays a role in the confrontation.

We'll have to see!

But anyway, dang this was an intense update.

Jade made a shield to protect the ship in the upcoming battle. Does it mean Jade, Vrissy, Yiffy and Harry won't play much of a role in the confrontation then? I could see Yiffy and maybe Vrissy sneaking out like Tavros did but we'll see.

After reading this interaction between Rose and Jade I had to briefly reread the previous conversation between them and Kanaya again to fully understand what they were talking about (I mean wow it's already been 8 months since that update, time flies).

I love how they referenced the "hamster guy" again, which Jade talked about in that previous update as someone who cooked their hamster and apologized about it to Jade.

I'm very worried about where this is going with Rose. Her internal rambling about there being no truth reminds me of the early conversation with John about where the Candy timeline would be headed if John didn't face Lord English.

Rose claims she sees the future; that both Vriska and Jane will fail and "just about everyone" is going to fail. Calliope will sacrifice herself fruitlessly, Rose will be shot in the head…

That all sounds bad. Really, really bad. "[S] Game Over" type of bad.

But, the fact that it's stated out loud right now makes me think… it won't happen? Maybe Rose has it completely wrong and it's just impossible to get a definite look into the future of the Candy timeline. Or maybe Vriska will be able to change the tide here, to have things go completely differently.

If Rose does get in a comatose state however, that sounds eerily similar to the state of her physical body in the Meat timeline.

This does explain why Rose is not making a true effort to salvage her marriage with Kanaya though, because she wants Kanaya to move on from her if Rose is comatose.

I just hope it all doesn't go down that road.

Unless the plan of the creative team is to utterly decimate the Candy timeline and leaving only the ones who don't have a "duplicate" in the Meat timeline? I hope it doesn't come to that.

For one thing, let's not forget that the last time we saw Jade we saw she still had a captchalogue card of a corpse, implied to be Dave, which I assume will still play an important role in some way.

This update makes all of them look like Ancestors/Guardians again, especially the shot of Kanaya, Karkat and Meenah together. So epic. And also Jake coming from the shadows with only his glasses visible, feels like a classic Grandpa moment.

That scene though, holy shit… My thoughts went all over the place.

First I thought Jake successfully killed Jane when he shot her in the head. Then I thought Jane killed Jake when she started bashing him with his gun. And then I was so relieved to see Jake was still alive.

Poor, poor Jake. Just when you think he finally gets to do something incredibly important and stand up, destiny fails him.

But after Rose implied that a lot of people are going to get killed in the upcoming conflict, and Jake didn't die here yet, makes me hopeful that things will turn out differently than Rose expects them to.

I suppose there's nothing left to do but anxiously wait and see where the next update will go!

James Roach said in his news post an old, existing Homestuck song will be used in the flash. That makes me very excited.

But I wonder what unused song could be appropriate here? Is it Penumbra Phantasm? Something from Volume 10, or something way older? I have no clue, but I'm excited to find out.

[goldenjuniper]

listening to the wisdom saga for the first time oh my god help me save me

LONG reaction ahead

I LOVE TELEMACHUS’S VOICE ACTOR OH MY GOSH!!!! also banger instrumentals

WAIT STOPMIM GOING TO CRY WAIT STOP STOP IM STOPPPPPP 🥹🥹🥹 WEUEUEUEUEUEUEUEUEUEUEU

telemachus i don’t think you want sirens. or cyclops. or any of those

HAHAHHAHAHAAH THE LELELELELEGENDARY IS SO GOOD!!!! i freaking love this so much!!!! the freaking vocals….. oh i love this so much

oh my lord not these doofuses leave the kid alone YALL

NOOOOOOO ANTINOUS. NOT THIS NASTY ASS GUY oh but i freaking LOVE his voice it fits the character SO WELL! !!!! the freaking “BOY.” awesome casting. truly awesome. need odysseus to kill him NOW though.

oh my godddd. FIGHT LITTLE WOLF FIGHT

gorgeous freaking voice but my godddd. kill him kill antinous NOW

OHJHMGYOGDATHENAA ATHENANAAAAAAAAAA OH MY GOAHHHHHHHH

“uppercut him now.” HAHAHAHHAHA!!! this is so sick.

OH MYGOD ATHENA I LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUU OH MY GOSH

ohm ygod actually crying im so. ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugughh

oh man. oh man.

oh MANNNNNNN. NN .

immgoing to cry STOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

oh my gosh. athena’s va’s singing is so gorgeous ohmy GOD

oh my goshhhhhhhhhhhh TELEMACHUS!!!!!!! im going to weep bro im going to WEEP and CRY

“you’re a good kid” “thanks!” so what if i burst into tears and never stopped crying

OH SHIIIIIITTTTTTTTTT

oh SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

oh fucccckkkk

THE FREAKING MONTAGE

OH MYGOD!!!!!!!! holy FUCK

I AM.

oh my god oh mygod love in paradise. OHM Y GOD!?!! !!

i love calypso’s voice oh it’s soooo gorgeous!!!

“she’s my wife” “….” LOL

ohhhhh man!!!!!! this song just sounds so nice!!!

wh

what the

NO?!

NO WWHATTTHEHHELELL WHATTHE FUCK

oh my god oh mygod oh my god no

what the HELL OH MY GOD odysseus . odysseus

whatsthhheeeshsiiiiiitt

ohhhhh wahtthehfuck. k k k k kk

oh my god. god games. OH MY FREAKING GOSH

oh. the fucking way zeus says their names is sooooo fun and dramatic

APOLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOHHH MYGOSH

OH HE SOUNDS SO SILLY

LET’S GO HEPHAEUSTUS

ATHENA LET’S GO LET’S GO

oh myggooodddd aphrodite’s voice is sooooo gorgeous

AGGHHHHHHHHHHHH

ARESSSSSSSSSSS

once again i freaking love the casting. my gosh. all of these people are SO skilled and talented

LET’S GO ATHENA!!!!!!!!!!! WAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAA

“ugh, release him” is never gonna be NOT fun

OHMYMGOOODDD HERAAAAAA I LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUU (not really but her singing is just so awesome)

her voice is SO GORGEOUS!!!!!! JKSJSKKJSKJSKJSJK

wha athena DIED?!

oh man. oh man!!!! holy crap. that was awesome as hell LOL!!!! um. still reeling from the last part of love in paradise. oh mygod

[south-park-polls]

South Park Song Tournament: Round 2!

[make sure to follow @votemattrey for more south park related polls!]

Thank you all so much for the engagement you've shown with round one of my tournament! Round 2 will begin tomorrow!

The songs still in the tournament are as follows:

South Park Theme Song

I'm Gonna Make Love to You, Woman - Cartman Gets an Anal Probe (S1 E1)

The Lonely Jew on Christmas - Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo (S1 E9)

Chocolate Salty Balls - Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls (S2 E9)

Underpants Gnomes Work Song - Gnomes (S2 E17)

I Hate You Guys - Jakovasaurs (S3 E4)

Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo - Mr Hankey's Christmas Classics (S3 E15)

Carol of the Bells - Mr Hankey's Christmas Classics (S3 E15)

Christmas Time in Hell - Mr Hankey's Christmas Classics (S3 E15)

Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel - Mr Hankey's Christmas Classics (S3 E15)

Merry Fucking Christmas - Mr Hankey's Christmas Classics (S3 E15)

O Holy Night - Mr Hankey's Christmas Classics (S3 E15)

Fingerbang - Something You Can Do With Your Finger (S4 E8)

Wendy's Audition Song - Something You Can Do With Your Finger (S4 E8)

It's Butters! - Butters' Very Own Episode (S5 E14)

Montage - Asspen (S6 E2)

Sea People and Me - The Simpsons Already Did It (S6 E7)

The Ballad of Lemmiwinks - The Death Camp of Tolerance (S6 E14)

Bleeding Heart Rock Protest Song vs. Pro War Country Song - I'm a Little Bit Country (S7 E4)

Taco Flavoured Kisses - Fat Butt and Pancake Head (S7 E5)

Faith + 1 Album - Christian Rock Hard (S7 E9)

Casa Bonita - Casa Bonita (S7 E11)

French Canada - It's Christmas in Canada (S7 E15)

Let's Fighting Love - Good Times with Weapons (S8 E1)

My Robot Friend - AWESOM-O (S8 E5)

I've Got Some Apples - Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset (S8 E12)

Make It Right - The Death of Eric Cartman (S9 E6)

Love Lost Long Ago - Follow That Egg! (S9 E10)

We Can Live Together - Ginger Kids (S9 E11)

I am the Dawg - Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy (S10 E10)

California Loves the Homeless - Night of the Living Homeless (S11 E7)

Imagination Song - Imaginationland (S11 E10-12)

Canada on Strike - Canada on Strike (S12 E4)

Super Fun Time - Super Fun Time (S12 E7)

You Gotta Do What You Wanna Do - Elementary School Musical

Gay Fish - Fishsticks (S13 E5)

Poker Face - Whale Whores (S13 E11)

Minorities at my Water Park - Pee (S13 E14)

You and Cthulhu - Mysterion Rises (S14 E12)

Work Mexican Work - The Last of the Meheecans (S15 E9)

I'm Not the Poorest Kid in School - The Poor Kid (S15 E4)

Make Bullying Kill Itself - Butterballs (S16 E5)

Jackin' it in San Diego - Butterballs (S16 E5)

I Swear - Cartman Finds Love (S16 E7)

Princess Kenny Theme - A Song of Ass and Fire (S17 E8)

My Bitch Ain't No Hobbit - The Hobbit (S17 E10)

Push (Feeling Good on a Wednesday) - The Cissy (S18 E3)

The Tale of Craig's Mom's Bush - The Magic Bush (S18 E5)

The Yelper Special (Boogers and Cum) - You're Not Yelping (S19 E4)

The Ballad of Tweek and Craig - Tweek x Craig (S19 E6)

Put It Down - Put It Down (S21 E2)

I Love You Social Distancing - The Pandemic Special

Mountain Town - South Park: Biggger, Longer & Uncut

Uncle Fucka - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

It's Easy Mmkay - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

Blame Canada - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

Kyle's Mom's a Bitch - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

What Would Brian Boitano Do - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

Up There - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

La Resistance - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

I Can Change - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

I'm Super - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

We Missed You Randy - South Park: The Streaming Wars

I Got Cred, Bitches - South Park (Not Suitable For Children)

[p-receh]

Ooo wait are your thoughts on the two boboiboy movies?

Wah, Nice one!

I've had nostalgic memories when I rewatched movie 1. Particularly because it was the last entry I followed before I went on hiatus. ... 8 years ago I think?

Whereas I watched the second one during my marathon session this year.

Due to 'my messed-up order of watching' this series, I ended up knowing big spoilers about The movie 2 and I forced to give up my 'anti-spoiler' act before I watched it. Kinda of a bummer for the general view, but you know what? It made the scene more fascinating to watch!

"Oh this is Retak'ka? THE Retak'ka?"

"No wonder why Adudu is so into martial arts now."

"So that's how Ice got his bow eh?"

"Oh Fu-Yes! The debut of Fusion Elementals!!!!"

ehem.

From a general technical standpoint, they stepped up their game drastically. Of course, it's for movies after all. They went bold for expanding the areas, improving the graphics, increasing action scenes, and also adding more music as well.

At the same time, they also upgrade Boboiboy and Kokotiam gang's power so it's making it a 'bit' op for the sake of spectacle. It's not that bad in a negative way, I understand that because the enemies themselves were hella strong as shit. (the first one used a black hole and the second one used all-in-one power hunger fest that could also destroy the galaxy. Logically the earth's supposed to be gone by now :/).

I loved what they did to the lighting and hue for both movies. it's like watching smash bros ultimate but in the movies(weird reference I know but hope you get the idea :/)

The details! Holy- IT'S SO PRETTY~~~

ehem.

Both of them were also establishing the expansion power of elementals and what they can do about it. The first one was the fight with all elementals showcased and the second one was the alternative way of fighting by combining two elementals.

Alsoooo both finally managed to properly introduce the one and only .... Boboiboy Hatless! :D

I'd say they had a fair share of hiding it perfectly well. Cleverly teasing the audience to grasp 'Why the hell do they keep hiding his hair with that particular angle?' Because... If I'm not wrong, Boboiboy was one of the characters that falls in the same category with Upin&Ipin: limiting the haircut for animation efficiency during the first production.

So when his hat does let off, It is always an impeccable scene to watch. That trick never fails to amaze me. (like Professor Layton's hat case :3)

Now I wonder how much screen time his hat is off for the movie 3? I'm sure it takes a lot more than the previous one since his 3rd tier is pure hat off(and dyed hair).

If I want to say from my opinion. Movie 1 has its standout over Movie 2 and vice versa. Both have ups & downs yet they are equivalent to each other. For instance: the timing to add their theme song was a bit out of place in movie 1 so the latter fixed that, whereas the Fang and Ying banter in their language was lacking in movie 2 when the former had this iconic scene (sound on recommend) :]

Oh speaking of Music, my god their theme songs are epi~~~c

I remember how hyped I was when one of my fav local band, D'masiv, created a credits song for Movie 1 AND Galaxy season 1. But heck all movie themes in order are wholesome af!!! 'Masih Disini' - 'Dibawah Langit yang Sama' - 'Fire & Water' are in my repeat playlist recently. So overwhelming that I actually cried? The montage during Fire & Water played was not a sad moment but heck I cried because it's soo touching for no reason.

Oh yeah, I forgot it's a family movie so they have rights to not make any deaths scene. I can understand why yet I'm still disappointed.

I cried. HARD when I saw Tok Kasa collapsed. It portrayed emphatically well and worked for new characters that was introduced a bit short.

Then, not long after that, we got this

(I guess they didn't want to do another httyd 2 moment. It's too painful for kids to watch)

So... There's my review. Honestly I don't know what goes on for movie 3. It could be anything after season 2. But if I may guess...

It's between father and son now...

[bloodpen-to-paper]

Review Blurbs: Deadpool and Wolverine

Is this late as shit? Yes. Am I sorry? Yes. Is there a point to this part of the post? Probably not.

--General Thoughts--

-If there's one thing Deadpool does best, its their music montage openers. I was jamming out so hard to the "Bye Bye Bye" sequence, it's the best gag of the DP movies imo

-Aspect of the movie I didn't think I'd like as much as I did was the music score. Both the featured songs and most surprisingly the original score were hype (big budget productions like MCU works aren't really known for their soundtracks save for central themes and they haven't been getting me as much since Portals in Endgame, but the LFG theme absolutely fucks). Props to DP for always going out of its way to do fun stuff with the scores like with Holy Shit Balls in DP 2

-It warmed my heart when all the people Wade had met were there for his surprise party. And how he carried their picture and said he only had 9 people in his life but those 9 people were his world. Most emotional part of the movie for me personally

-Bringing in Johnny Storm instead of Cap was fucking genius. When he said "flame on" and shot into the air just like the old days? 10/10 Welcome back Mr. Storm

-I was tweaking the hell out when Elektra, Blade, Gambit and Laura came in omg I don't care if its lazy fan pandering I'm the fan being pandered to and I fucking love character cameos (fuck Twitter for spoiling the Gambit cameo for me but at least the rest were a surprise)

-Blade going "there's only one Blade and will only ever be one" and DP looking straight into the camera... nice (Blade is getting a movie in 2025 for those who didn't know)

-Someone on the Deadpool writer's team really likes Juggernaut. Like really likes Juggernaut. Good for them

-I'm wondering how many people were confused by the appearance of Lady Deadpool (never in all my years did I think we'd get her on the big screen, hell yeah)

-The storyline was more consistent and interesting than I thought it would be, DP fucking around with the TVA and the Void was not something I expected (and him using the "worst" Wolverine to save his timeline was actually really sweet and a compelling plot point for this new Logan)

-The humor was also great, my expectations for Marvel works have been pretty low for a while so this really was an awesome surprise for how much I enjoyed it

-I hate retcons unless there's a really damn good reason so I'm glad they kept that the Logan Wolverine is dead (the bit of DP finding his skeleton and throwing a tantrum was great)

-There were issues with some of the emotional beats but the ones that hit really had that Marvel touch that I've missed, especially when Nova was in Logan's mind and suddenly made the voices in his head cut off into dead silence, I got chills (very Multiverse of Madness-esque, I loved it)

-I've seen people shouting it out and yeah they're right, we finally got practical effects! I'm glad the movie committed to costuming and practical effects instead of CGI (CGI can be great but Marvel has really been lacking). And eventually Wolverine's classic suit actually grew on me, the yellow from him and DP's red compliment each other really well visually (long live the ketchup and mustard duo)

-"You got the wrong guy" "You were always the wrong guy... 'till you weren't" god this line... this is what I expect out of a Wolverine plotline, and it shows how much of an influence Logan had on Laura. This really felt like a love letter to Wolverine

-I love Jennifer Garner and I'm so glad she got to play Elektra and give a proper homage to the character, as well as Tatum's Gambit and the og Blade (you don't understand I am obsessed with this Elektra what is it about Marvel girls in red help me)

-Also adored them getting Wesley Snipes back for Blade to pay him homage, his performance really felt like a man out of time when he played Blade exactly as he did in 1998, and it gave a certain nostalgic feeling even for someone like me who didn't watch the og Blade (I believe the word is "anemoia"). Hard to describe but it felt special, you don't get the chance to pull off something like this in cinema too often and I'm very happy they pulled it off here

-The actors knocked it out of the fucking park. I forgot how much I loved Ryan Reynold's DP since it isn't always comic accurate but holy shit this movie made me fall in love all over again, and Hugh Jackman killed it as always (the scene where he put his head up to Wade's gun was phenomenal). Chris Evans' Johnny Storm was almost jarring from how long its been since he was cemented as Captain America lmao but the man's still got it, Rob Delaney as Mr. Paradox was very fun to watch, Emma Corrin had an insane amount of facial control for Cassandra Nova, and Jennifer Garner actually stole my fucking heart with Elektra

-LAURAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. I love Laura Kinney so much holy shit was I happy to see her here. They did her so well, she's matured a lot and was wise enough to get through to Logan and tell him what he needed to hear, while also being just as aggressively feral in combat as she was in Logan because who is Laura Kinney if not someone who shouts war cries before slicing a dude's ankles off? (and the sunglasses, girl I hadn't even thought about those). The details show how much care they put into paying homage to Laura and doing her justice, probably the best written character in the movie for me next to the literal main characters. She was different, and grown up, but still so Laura, the same rowdy kid we loved in Logan. So happy to see my not-so-little devil child back in action <3

-The car scene.

-Genuinely curious about the increase in search results for the Honda Odyssey and if sales were affected after this movie, if anyone finds that data get back to me

-The scene where Wade meets Dogpool/Mary Puppins and she's licking his mouth and you think he's allowing it cause he's distracted and then a moment later he opens his mouth more and you realize he's very aware there is a dog shoving its tongue in his mouth and he lets it happen cause he's a goddamn freak while keeping eye contact with Nicepool the entire time had me fucking cackling (its some gross humor that hits for me)

-DP introducing Logan all nervously to Blind Al was... an interesting choice. Very heterosexual of them.

-Deadpool throwing in an "I'm genderblind" joke went over so many people's heads

-The credits montage was so damn sweet. For some reason the MCU seems to hate the X-Men and the clips made me feel like the people behind this movie really cared for the old Marvel properties (Elektra, Blade, and especially the X-Men). It got me when they started showing Fantastic Four, X-Men and First Class BTS footage, those were some of the first Marvel movies I ever watched and First Class was what really got me into the X-Men, it made me really happy seeing flashes of it all <3

-The MCU will never be Earth-616 GIVE IT UP FEIGE

--Criticisms--

-Tonally and structurally, the movie was kind of all over the place (not horrifically so, but the structure definitely could've been better). They put a lot of time into character cameos, some of which weren't necessary (sorry Sabretooth)

-Certain emotional moments would abruptly cut off into the next scene and it was very jarring (the moment when DP is pouring his heart to Logan at the TVA felt rushed, as did multiple other moments)

-They ran the meta jokes into the fucking ground, I would've made them more sparse so it didn't lose its flavor. I love a good fourth wall break but they overdid it (DP headbutting the camera and the withered remains of the Fox logo were great bits, but after that the jokes kept happening and it lost its effect)

-Nicepool was... meh. Felt like his bit overstayed its welcome and then I was just bored (though I did laugh at "The Proposal")

-I realize the humor parts that didn't hit for me were when the movie overdid a certain bit, if they kept it in moderation it would've landed better for people who aren't the biggest on DP's style of humor imo. Not all the humor hit for me, but more of it hit than I expected so cheers to that

-Some of the fight choreography felt a bit bland, and others were hard to keep track of cause of how fast-paced it was. Thankfully there were multiple fight scenes and some were great so it wasn't the worst issue, but this is a Marvel action movie so it does stand out to me when its off

-Gambit felt off to me and I think its cause Channing Tatum was so focused on getting the Cajun accent down his acting was a bit stiff, no hate to him cause that shit's hard but its a lesson in how putting on accents can really affect your acting ability (British actors who do other accents have to study and practice for years)

-Cassandra Nova was... interesting. Not sure why Marvel leaned so goddamn hard into the "creepy woman who eerily taunts you" trope because that very much is a trope and it can be very annoying (*cough cough* male writers *cough cough*). She was most fascinating when she acted like an actual person and outside of that she felt very tropey, I would've wanted more personality

-In lieu of the above, I was heavily disappointed with how Cassandra's arc went. When she let DP and Logan go and got the info from Pyro about the Time Rippers, I really thought they were building her up to be a big villain down the line (and we'd see her in other MCU properties, maybe something with Dr. Strange or Wanda, or even a way to introduce more X-Men). She became more morally gray in the second act and I thought we'd have a interesting and complex anti-hero/villain but then they reverted her back to her prior trope and killed her off by the third act. Hugely wasted potential and given how dirty they did Wanda it left a shit taste in my mouth for the MCU's female antagonists (especially considering how well done Sylvie was in Loki)

-Hate how they did Vanessa. Her character motivations were inconsistent from the previous movies, and it felt like the writers didn't know where to go with her and DP yet keep making the them a couple. Vanessa and Wade not lasting because of his immortality is interesting, it could've made for a very impactful lesson on how you need to enjoy what you have and fight for it even if it won't last, with DP finding community among a fellow regenerative hero (Logan), but they just didn't go anywhere with that. And the breakup was meant to be a huge thing for Wade to try and want to be better but it feels unearned when Vanessa just... gets back with him? Cause he saved the world? It's very "get the girl" with no thought to how or why Vanessa would've changed her mind and its fucking annoying. Alternatively, Wade fighting tooth and nail to save Vanessa and her not getting back with him but them rekindling their friendship like Eddie did with Anne in Venom could've been such a great display of men and women bonding despite a lack of romance, but the movie decided to do the most lazy comphet shit possible and give Vanessa no character to make her get back with Wade

-And another thing Wade failing to get into the Avengers because he wanted to keep Vanessa from breaking up with him and Happy not being convinced could've been a phenomenal message on how motivations need to be about wanting better for yourself to do actual good in the world but then it never happened

-Not to mention it pissed me off when the movie made such a stance on how Wade's whole world was his friends and he'd do anything to save them, yet had his entire motivation towards the end being just to save Vanessa (his whole fucking montage when he was getting anti-mattered was about Vanessa and no one else). What happened to Blind Al? Peter? Negasonic and Yukio? Colossus? They just not as important anymore cause they're not a romance option? Fuck off Marvel.

-I noticed the distinct lack of intimacy between Negasonic and Yukio and before anyone whines, no its not necessary to have explicit intimacy for them to be a romantic pairing, but for the love of god use your braincells cause I know for a damn fact they never kiss or anything so its easy for the censorship countries to translate them as just being friends. Disney is goddamn spineless and I swear to god every problem I have with this movie can be traced back to them

-I feel like a Deadpool movie is quite literally the one movie they can afford to make a joke when it comes to you-know-who from the first movie but I'm sure they had their reasons

-Felt like Logan's backstory and guilty complex was built up a lot just to have it be that he wasn't around when the X-Men got killed cause he was drinking, kind of a disappointing payoff (I think it could've worked, just wasn't feeling it much from this execution)

-Would've liked more scenes with Deadpool's loved ones throughout the movie, they had so little screen time it kinda fell flat when they were brought up as motivation for Wade. We're supposed to rely on the previous movies to show us why they matter but even sequels need some basis as a stand-alone, or there would be absolutely no reason to watch it if you haven't watched the others

--Final Thoughts--

Overall, great movie. The issues I had with it didn't take away from my enjoyment, and if anything the reason I have so many criticisms is because I was so invested to begin with. I thoroughly enjoyed it the whole way through, Deadpool and Wolverine was every bit as gimmicky and campy in the best ways that you'd expect from a DP movie, and I'd highly recommend it for anyone that wants a bit of gratuitous action and a good time.

[dmcoffee]

I figured out what about Hazbin Hotel had me so damn unclear on my feelings about it. Because I expected to overall like it, even if it's not my thing, if that makes sense. Like waving politely to a friendly neighbor kinda vibe, but rather I was squinting at this one unclear thing to decpiher what even is waving at me. It's the pacing. I hate the pacing. It's 8 episodes all under 25 minutes of everything all at once. There's at minimum of 2 songs per episode and it's all happening fast. Nothing has time to breath. We cannot stop to take in a moment. We must hit every bullet point and move on. I get it to some extent, but I think it's too much. Even 5 minutes extra run time, cut some of the everything? Like please. I am begging you. Sometimes it's clever and it works super well. (I think Respectless was an example of this done well.) But some things with emotional weight require processing time. Montaging everything isn't something I want. I want to see some of the internal struggle. Even if it's just a few seconds more, a couple of additional frames of it. I just feel like I don't have time to take in what's happening. Like there's a genuine story in this, but it's being jangled in my face like car keys. I get that short form content is a thing, but this is in the too awkward spot for me. Because on paper this is a lot of things I like (I love seeing the lore played with. Fun Animation, a fun cast of characters, musical numbers Jeremy Jordan and Keith David are in this--) but it's... just too much. And I think that makes me more frustrated. Because holy hell, I wish I enjoyed it more than I was baffled by it.

[lovejustforaday]

2022 Year End List - #3

Blue Rev - Alvvays

Main Genres: Shoegaze, Indie Pop

A decent sampling of: Noise Pop, Twee Pop, Dream Pop, Jangle Pop, Indietronica, Surf Rock, Neo-Psych

One of my most anticipated records of the year was the long-awaited return of Alvvays, the Canadian indie darlings fronted by Molly Rankin who hails from my own home province of Nova Scotia.

Debuting with their 2014 self-titled Alvvays, the band started off as staunch revivalists of that uber-hip late 1980s U.K. C86 jangly twee sound, with a nice splash of surf rock added in. All in all, a cute record with one very clear winner “Archie, Marry Me” which greatly overshadowed every other song on the record by comparison (Okay, “Next of Kin” was pretty great too).

2017′s Antisocialites expanded on the debut by venturing into more dreamy territory, and upping the songwriting significantly. The record definitely also left a lasting impression on the North American indie scene, as the band’s new record was definitely one of the most talked about upcoming releases in all of the music nerd spaces that I frequented this year.

In those five years of waiting, Alvvays have matured as artists. They also apparently went through development hell based on what I read about in the interviews leading up to this. But what to make of the end result?

Well, after teasing at it for years on their previous LPs, Alvvays has finally delivered with Blue Rev a full-on shoegaze record, a hazy montage of indie pop instant classics with hooks approaching Asobi Seksu levels of melodic gazing, and a cool, aqueous sound that brings it all together. With 14 tracks and a run-time of only 38 minutes, this record is a rapid-fire of a ‘best of indie 2022’ compilation  — except it’s just one band.

I’m struck throughout by the feeling of playing cozy 2D indie games in your bedroom, looking out of your window only to see that you are actually in a submarine as you watch a beautiful 16-bit mermaid swim by. (Note - I just want it on record that I drafted this particular observation before the concernedape music video was released, and holy crap it’s like they read my mind with the cozy 2D indie game aesthetics)

There's also something beautifully East Coast, or at the very least, coastal about Alvvays' sound. The band has always (hehe) reminded me of my local bustling waterfront during the summer season, and this album is certainly no exception. Indeed, this is a record that could just as easily soundtrack the crashing of waves, making big splashes off of lakeside wharfs, cotton candy and Ferris wheels, or even just holding hands by the campfire as much as it would suit your cozy bedroom.

“After The Earthquake” is jangle pop on steroids, with a disruptive adrenaline force and scattering guitar riffs that create an odd mix of upbeat urgency. Like many Alvvays songs, it is about the death of a relationship, only this time in a more literal sense with regards to the lyrics.

“Many Mirrors” is gorgeously drenched feel-good shoegaze, akin to psychedelic deep-sea diving in slow-motion, and designed to soundtrack a mental reel of all the best memories you made over the last year. Everything about this song radiates that feeling of home that a really great close friend brings you. My personal favourite cut off the record.

This bleeds right into “Very Online Guy”, a quirky, hauntological electro-gaze ballad, with a story about the life of a modern internet savant in our hyper-digital age contrasted by retro synths begging to be compared to the Commodore 64. It’s more than a little bit tongue-in-cheek, but I’ll be damned if this isn’t one of the most aesthetically cool and clever songs of the year. The bridge is also godlike; there’s just so much sound going on in so many layers and it gives me euphoric chills.

Following that is “Velveteen”, a piece of delectably bittersweet indie pop displaying Molly Rankin’s unique talents for, as she once put it herself, “the pathetic perspective”, wherein this time she sings some of the loveliest lyrics about a woman who knows her lover has fallen in love with someone else by the signs of him putting more effort into himself. Tragicomedy at its finest.

Together, the aforementioned three songs earn my personal award for best consecutive three-track-run of the year. Gem after gem.

“Pomeranian Spinster” is a punky cuddlecore throwback circa. Heavenly with a delightful deceleration of spinsterhood. It is the most manic the band has ever sounded and I, like many others have already said, would love to hear what a full Alvvays record of this style would be like.

Compositionally speaking, “Belinda Says” is very much a companion piece to Antisocialite’s “In Undertow”. Both songs start of with a fuzzy, humble little synth jingle before erupting into a shower off pedal-heavy guitars and Rankin’s most sweetly and lackadaisically cynical vocals. Last time the lyrics were confronting a relationship that was on its last leg, but this time it is about the much more daunting task of confronting an unplanned pregnancy and choosing your life’s path.

I confess that “In Undertow” still remains my all-time favourite Alvvays cut (a tough act to live up to), but I do appreciate the continuity and sense of evolution from that song’s concerns to this one, and it is certainly up there as another one of the band’s greatest tracks.

Now, there are one or two moments where I experience some record fatigue from the rapid fire pop approach, where not everything ends up sticking. But that is very much the exception to the rule here.

It is evident that Alvvays continues to be on a very clean upward trajectory from their first full length record. They have gone from a solid 2010s jangle pop band, to bar-setting 2020s indie pop veterans.

And Blue Rev does everything the band already did best even better, with more sugary riffs and playfully self-aware, occasionally despondent lyrics for all of you fellow hipsters out there who love some poetic irony. These folks are keeping the flame of amazing 21st century Canadian indie rock alive, and to that I say hell yeah!

9/10

Highlights: “Many Mirrors”, “Very Online Guy”, “Belinda Says”, “After The Earthquake”, “Velveteen”, “Pomeranian Spinster”, “Fourth Figure”, "Pharmacist"

[heavenbled]

god. so sao wanted to be an iron lord because it meant she would be able to use her power to protect, when all around her it was used for tyranny. she just wanted to help, man, especially when she's witnessed all the unnecessary death and grief the light and ghosts and the darkness and the horrors have brought to those around her.

in the waaaaay early days, sao was fairly weak and really couldn't protect her small group of people. she wasn't a warlord, but she roamed in secrecy with a band of nomads; they tended to stick to the shadows but they would also not stay in one place for too long. ever, lest basically be risking death.

and then there was a turf war between her and another risen, presumably a warlord; back when little old sao didn't even know how to summon even a spark of her light. girl really tried her best though, god she fought that warlord with everything she fucking had. but even with all the adrenaline and strength her pack gave her, she wasn't anywhere near a match for the risen's strength. and in the end she perishes, but rather than killing her ghost - the warlord massacres the pack instead. a final message.

when she's brought back, it's a message that of her greatest punishment will not be death, but living with the fact that she will never be strong enough to save the ones closest to her. and so basically time skip to some time later, literal disney montage of her growing into herself and sudden mid song glow up, she hears of a band called the iron lords. how they were traveling about earth and actually using their light for good. helping people. pushing back the darkness in every sense possible.

sao loses her shit because holy fuck, so she wasn't just incredibly weak and defective for being the way she thought and acted. on top of oh HELL yeah i was right. not all lightbearers are evil. she gives everything to go seek them out, and when she does u know for a damn fact this was the most suave shit she's ever done in her life. just sits down next to efrideet and jolder in a tavern, buys them a few drinks, and honest to god challenges them. sao's no match for the both of them, although girl stood her damn ground for a good while. a longer time than the rest of the tavern thought, atleast. in a way she knew she was 100% going to lose, and she was cocky about it to a certain degree. it helped bring her down a bit. basically they bring her down to her knees and she accepts the loss with honor. a bow in a salute, and then sao looks efrideet dead in the eye and says she would do anything to become the sword to swing to protect the innocent. her conviction sets the edges of her frame alight in solar light, but it burns blue and sets her own eyes ablaze. because goddamn her pack is the only thing that she can think of when she says that, all that horror and pain at their unnecessary murders making her near tremble with every word. it's enough for them.

lady sao is born, and man does she live up to her promise. kingslayer is a sword of legend, and her fiery light and personality's enough to warm up the coldest of rooms. she has a big laugh, even bigger ego, and the skill to prove it. she became really, really fucking good with hand to hand and can do anything with a knife. u kno what im sayin. this sword is good at mowing shit down, and whenever she needs to throw it or ditch it for even a moment, these hands are being THROWN

[redactedbloop]

OKAY I LISTENED

TL;DR: I will be passing away! This is the most perfect character playlist Ive ever listened to. This is witchcraft (affectionate)

Below are my live notes app unhinged thoughts. They are half baked and mostly screaming 😂 sorry not sorry in advance:

Stray Italian Greyhound- oh my good god??? Ive never heard this song before. It’s going straight onto my playlist. I love this. Holy shit. And it fits damien so well???? I have goosebumps. Got me all smiley. I love

Enchanted- T SWIFT MY QUEEN. HUXLEY WOULD LOVE THIS BEING ON HIS PLAYLIST. I can see him lying in bed or in his backyard looking at the stars and thinking about Damien. He uses corded earbuds. The white apple ones. I know this in my soul

Trouble - uuggghhh my god this is perfect for dames coming to terms with himself. It feels like starting to live again. Like he’s mustering up the courage to be brave. Little firecracker

That’s What I Want - you’re right, we dont talk about Huxley enough. You put it perfectly: he’s so lonely and so loving and just wants someone to love him for him. Im obsessed

Out Of My League - you dont miss do you?? God this one’s also going on my playlist too thank you very much. Had to play this one twice cause i got DISTRACTED but who would complain? Song slaps. The cute awkward montage that’s playing in my head rn?? Damien wanting so badly to reach out and stopping himself?? God

Golden - screaming, crying, throwing up. You are a visionary. Im never going to be able to think about anything else when this song comes on. It’s perfect. I actually dont think i can put my thoughts into words rn (tho that was probably obvious lol)

Line Without A Hook - drop the essay. Please. Please drop the essay. Holy shit. I have so many words and none of the time or capability to write them out right now. I can barely contain myself. Thank god no one can see me where im currently sitting cause it’s all over my face rn. Im never recovering. This is everything

Heat Waves - i could 100% see Huxley listening to this during that time. It sounds like a really dull hurt, “maybe it was too good to be true”, long walks, long workouts. God

Delicate - oh my god damien trying to be so gentle but still having that fire in him? Him actually reaching out this time, feather light, instead of stopping himself entirely?? Also the Taylor Swift for Damien when she’s Huxley’s artist?? Am I about to write an analysis of TSwift in your playlist?? Im gonna pass away

Dandelion - this is so soft and sappy and green. Also the shift?? These songs have gotten closer and closer to the sounding the same, this one and Delicate are so close. It’s AAHHH im screaming

In My Head - And Now They’re The Same Song. And It’s PERFECT. This is Huxley and Damien no one can tell me otherwise. That’s them singing! God bless. Gonna have this one on repeat for a WHILE. Also, once a (musical)theater kid always a (musical)theater kid 😂 it happens to us all

Right Here - I didnt know Erik mentioned any song for them?? Oh my god it’s perfect. Holy shit. I will be passing away now thank you

Dude how the hell did you get such perfect songs?? These are all so spot on?? This is what people mean when they say maybe magic is real but it’s seemingly mundane things

I will never recover. Never

Ok, I’m finally doing it.

The Damien/Huxley Pining Playlist

I am well known amongst my friends for my Far Too Thought Out Playlists. I have one for like, every D&D character I’ve ever made, and have written full Google docs about each song and why it’s there.

Combine that with my voracious love of DamiHux and pining? We get this.

So if you just want to listen without reading an essay, I will put my annotations and thoughts under the cut. (But it will probably enhance your listening experience tbh)

Congrats you’ve entered the

MARISA ANALYSIS ZONE

Welcome. You’re my kinda people.

First the basics, this playlist encapsulates Damien and Huxley's entire pre-confession relationship, from their first meeting, through Inversion, to the confession itself. It alternates POVs, I’ll label each song with a color to make it easier to follow. Cool? Let’s go.

——————————————————————————

Stray Italian Greyhound - Vienna Teng

Kicking off the playlist with one of my very favorite songs on it. First song, Damien’s first impressions of Huxley.

The denial was REAL. Those initial feelings were met with a “OH NO, OH GOD, OH FUCK” kind of reaction. Damien was totally unsure of what to even do with what he was feeling. After all, he isn’t the kind to get so mushy and sappy over a little crush! Especially on someone he literally just met! He’s far too cynical for something like that. So he just tried to push it down, ignore it.

But it “won’t sit still” “won’t do what it’s told”. Huxley came into his life and changed EVERYTHING. In a way that feels incredible, but makes things complicated. And he’s going to have to deal with it eventually.

But not now.

Enchanted - Taylor Swift

Putting this song on this playlist is part of where my “Huxley is a Swiftie” headcanon came from. It was a joke at first, I swear.

This is Huxley’s POV of their first meeting at the bowling alley. The “forcing laughter, faking smiles” really plays into where Hux was at that point, still putting on a bit of an act and not letting people see past the surface level. But he met Damien, they hit it off, and Hux was immediately feeling some kinda way.

I’m convinced this big guy had some giddy, twirling hair, kicking feet energy about Damien. Thinking about him for days after they met. Hoping that they would continue to be friends and get closer. And that this was the beginning of something that could be amazing.

Trouble - Troye Sivan & Jay Som

You can’t deny it forever, Damien.

This is Damien coming to terms with the fact that yes, he does have some feelings for Huxley. He’s now got a group of friends like he’s never had before, and that’s changing his outlook a little bit. He doesn’t want to live like he’s been living anymore, focused entirely on school and grades, and hurrying to the future he wants for himself.

And one of those friends felt like something different to him and he can’t deny it anymore. As scary as that was.

THATS WHAT I WANT - Lil Nas X

I think we as a society do not talk enough about how lonely Huxley was.

Huxley was the kind of guy who was friendly with everyone. He was liked by pretty much everyone. He was liberal with hugs and willing to give every ounce of love he had to other people.

But he was still guarded. Playing the version of himself everyone expected. Afraid to be himself. All that friendliness and love given away didn’t translate to anything substantial.

He wanted someone to love him back.

And now he had friends! Which was amazing and made him a lot less lonely. But one of his friends, again, was different. And he desperately wanted a different kind of love back from him. One he was more than happy to give, but afraid he wouldn’t receive in return.

Out of My League - Fitz and the Tantrums

First of all. God I love Fitz and the Tantrums.

We know that Damien doesn’t think he’s good enough for Huxley. He ESPECIALLY thought that in this stage, around the time of Friendsgiving.

Damien knows he’s easily annoyed, loses his temper quickly, and doesn’t think he’s much to look at either. But Huxley is so patient, is a calming presence, and is incredible to look at as far as Damien’s concerned. Huxley is so wonderful, and so far out of his league that he really thought he had no chance.

But that doesn’t stop him from daydreaming. Hoping someday he might be more than just a dream.

Golden - Harry Styles

Damien might think that he’s not good enough, but Huxley would definitely beg to differ. In a lot of ways, Huxley thought Damien was too good for him. Too smart, too bright, too driven to be interested in someone like him.

So he decided to keep his feelings to himself. Because he knows Damien isn’t nearly as open with that kind of thing as he is.

Also I think this song’s bright, firey, sun-coded imagery being seen as something to be admired and adored is really in line with Huxley seeing everything Damien thinks is bad about himself and loving him for those exact things.

Line Without a Hook - Ricky Montgomery

This is the one. I could do a whole lyric by lyric breakdown of this one. But I will attempt to keep it brief. Bc I’m obviously so good at that, just look at this post

Immediately after the Inversion, Damien had some very complicated feelings. About Huxley, about himself, about everything. This song encapsulates all of that.

Huxley saves his life in several ways that night. Both by being a support during his breakdown, and physically, literally saving his life when he exhausted all his magic. And he still feels like he can’t reach out. They hasn’t spoken at all. I can’t help but think that maybe he feels like it’s better that way, like it’s his fault, like Hux doesn’t want to hear from him. After all, Huxley was so emotionally mature about it all and he was not.

Combine that with his feelings of inadequacy, looking back at the night and wishing there was some way to take back some the the decisions he made. He would’ve helped Hux the same way Hux helped him, if he had just done things differently.

So he’s throwing himself completely into training. Maybe if he just works hard enough, he can make up for it. And maybe those complicated emotions will go away.

Also. Two specific lyrics I feel I need to point out. “I need you here to stay” is an excellent counterpart yo Huxley’s “right here” and we all know how I feel about a fuckin motif. And of course “all my emotions feel like explosions when you are around” is almost literal in this case’

(I have so much more to say about this one, but perhaps another time)

Heat Waves - Glass Animals

Though Huxley seemed to handle the aftermath of Inversion with a calm maturity, that doesn’t mean he didn’t have his own struggles.

As he went home to be with his family and deal with things, his feelings for Damien stayed. I do wonder what he was thinking during that time, when Damien wasn’t talking to him after everything they went through. I think that maybe he also blamed himself a bit. Maybe they weren’t as close as he thought? He felt like no matter what he did or said, it wouldn’t help Damien, no matter how much he wanted it to.

Also like. “Heat Waves” is too perfect a concept to not use in this playlist.

Delicate - Taylor Swift

After things start to return to some kind of normalcy after Inversion, Damien’s feelings for Huxley are stronger than ever. There’s no denial anymore, he really likes Huxley. He’s thinking about Huxley a lot. He wants to be with Huxley.

But things are different now, whether they like it or not. Inversion changed things, and everyone is still working through that night at their own pace. So there is a lot of hesitation on Damien’s part about what he should and shouldn’t do about the feelings he has.

By this point they’re hanging out together more, just the two of them. And Damien is really wrestling with whether or not to let Hux know how he feels. There’s a fear that he might upset the delicate situation they’re currently in, as friends who have been through hell together and are still healing from it.

Dandelions - Ruth B.

At the same time that Damiens’s so concerned about what moves to make, Huxley has never lined harder. He is firmly in “lovesick puppy” territory. He’s gotten even closer to Damien, and know him on a deep level now. He knows the parts of Damien he doesn’t show most people. And he loves them.

Damien just makes him so happy.

This song’s imagery is so good as well. It gives vibes of lush, green earth and flowers and something just so Huxley imo

In My Head - Joe Serafini & Andrew Barth Feldman

I am incapable of making a playlist for anything without including at least one musical theater song, and this is no exception. Through this not from an actual musical, it’s more theater adjacent, let’s call it.

We’re into right before the confession territory, a song for both of them, a duet. This song perfectly illustrates the awkward stage they’re in, as friends who both desperately want to be something different.

So much of this song feels so perfect for them specifically, it’s like it written for them, I swear. Huxley’s worries about being too much, Damien feeling like he’s not good enough, the gym line, it’s all too good honestly.

Right Here - Betty Who

And the playlist caps off with this one, the song that Erik Redacted himself said was their song. And it really is perfect, especially with that “Right Here” motif carried through their relationship that I love so much. It’s just so damn soft and so am I. I love them your honor.

——————————————————————————

HOLY SHIT this took so long. I sincerely hope you got something out of all of the ravings of a mad man that this ended up being.

Also @redactedbloop dinner’s ready, eat up!!!

[arttheclown]

alright alright i finally had time to sit down & compose my thoughts on how beelzemon / beelzebumon’s villain arc was handled in the original japanese sub versus the english dub because holy shit they are. different. i think both versions have their merits but there are things the dub got so wrong, especially as far as beelzemon’s relationship with renamon is concerned.

first off, i’m gonna talk about the differences - not so much which version did what better, but what sets them apart.

putting this under a cut because this is gonna be a long one. (also keep in mind i still have a couple eps left to watch from his villain arc in japanese, so i may reblog with an update or write a part 2 soon.)

1 -- the tone of impmon’s talk with caturamon (the “deal with the devil” scene) is very different in japanese. while it’s still a somber scene in dub & you feel sorry for impmon, his sarcasm is much more subdued in the original, drawing more attention to how scared & helpless he feels rather than his defence mechanisms.

i think what really drives this point home is that the little montage where he reflects on his time with his friends & realizes he’ll have to betray them in exchange for power; in the dub, old conversations are re-played for the audience, while in the og, these flashbacks are silent aside from a sad song that plays. this not only puts us in impmon’s shoes better, but helps set the tone for the tragedy of what’s about to happen & the gravity of his choice. i plan to upload a comparison soon. also, maybe it’s just me, but given that the last image we land on during the flashback montage is impmon striking renamon in the face... i’m inclined to believe that was supposed to signify that he was sorry for doing it, especially since the context of the flashbacks was that he’d harassed all of the main digimon in some way. maybe impmon was trying to tell himself that he’d already been so awful to them anyway that he might as well just cut his ties? who knows - but that’s something i feel sad music sold a lot better than voice-overs. 2 -- beelzemon / beelzebumon’s entire characterization. jesus christ, as someone who’s been praising how the dub handled such a dark storyline for years (and to be fair, derek stephen prince absolutely KILLS his role as beez in the best way), i was completely thrown off to see how radically different he is in the original. in the dub, beelzemon is still recognizable as impmon even during his reign of terror. he’s gone off the rails, but his speech patterns & personality remain the same - we’re just seeing a much darker side of him. it feels a lot like we’re watching a smaller person stumble around in a body that’s too big for them.

in japanese, beelzebumon’s demeanour is entirely different from impmon’s. his speech patterns aren’t the same & his cheeky from humour before is pretty much gone. he’s much colder. you don’t know who the hell you’re looking at anymore, which lends some disturbing credence to beelzebumon’s insistence that “impmon is dead.” for a second, you actually worry he might be telling the truth.

and then there’s his relationship with renamon & the role that plays in this particular storyline, which leads me to my next (and arguably most important) point.

3 -- i’m just gonna say it! i think the dub did the relationship between these characters dirty in this very pivotal storyline. i think there are aspects to enjoy about dub!beelzemon and sub!beelzebumon (depending on your preference on how his personality is portrayed), but they just. totally dropped the ball on his confrontation with kyubimon in episode 34 and i’m gonna explain why.

as mentioned before, sub!beelzebumon seems like a jarringly different character from impmon. almost unrecognizable. when caturamon reminds him that he has a job to do, he agrees to do it and seems prepared to carry out the gruesome task... until the moment comes for him to strike down kyubimon.

i’m gonna let these screencaps speak for themselves.

it’s only NOW that we see him breaking. he isn’t enjoying this, he doesn’t WANT to do it. he’s falling the fuck apart & it’s only now that we realize all of beelzebumon’s behaviour up until this point has been a facade. he blows up at kyubimon for “making him look like an idiot” because he’s still the same sad, insecure person he was before he evolved.

in the dub, we’re given pretty much the reverse of this set-up. beelzemon still acts very much like impmon - albeit an overpowered one - and doesn’t seem very happy when caturamon reminds him of their deal. (”let’s get this over with,” he says in response.) it gives the audience false hope that maybe he won’t actually follow through with it, making it feel like that much more of a betrayal when he does try to kill everyone & successfully takes leomon out of the picture. some people may praise that kind of bait-and-switch, and i get it, but...

there is far less real build-up to beelzemon going berserk in the dub. one minute his heart isn’t in it and the next he’s suddenly kicking kyubimon around and going out of his way to harm her. (which puts a really icky, abusive spin on their relationship that i don’t like at all.) the sub makes it much clearer that he’s trying to punish her for helping him & attempting to make things easier for himself by taking out the digimon he has the strongest connection with first. still a sick, unforgivable act, but one i can follow along with better on a psychological level.

which brings me to my final, and other Most Important point: the context of leomon’s death.

4 -- much like kyubimon, leomon recognizes immediately that beelzebumon doesn’t actually want to do this & that this isn’t the right path for him.

in the english dub, the dialogue is different & ultimately boils down to leomon telling beelzemon to fight him instead of going after the kids. that doesn’t happen here. beelzemon just kills him mid-conversation while leomon is trying to reason with him, and - having committed an act he knows is unforgivable - spirals out of control.

so no, i won’t say the dub butchers the entire storyline so much as choosing to handle aspects of it differently... but those choices aren’t always for the better, and i wish they just left a lot of this alone. the original context for these scenes are much more powerful & handle the characters & their dynamics more thoughtfully.

tl;dr: even if you have a soft spot for the tamers dub (which i do too, mostly for nostalgic reasons), try watching it in japanese at least once. it puts a lot of things into perspective & elaborates much more heavily on themes & ideas that the dub just skims over.

[south-park-polls]

South Park Song Tournament!

[also check out @votemattrey’s South Park 25th anniversary concert tournament on their blog!! <3]

I am aware the creators made an official song tournament, but i didn’t hear about it until after it was already over so I have decided to make one of my own!

This is very self-indulgent and there are a lot of south park songs to think of, especially if you include covers (which i have decided to do) so I am likely very biased in which songs i have chosen.

I have narrowed it down to 128 songs to start to give an easy number for a tournament, but if I haven’t included your favourite song feel free let me know in the notes, reblogs or tags and I will make sure to add it to the list.

Please don’t worry about whether requesting songs will interfere with the tournament numbers! I have plans to give second chances to the closest losers to ensure that there is never an odd number of songs going into the next round :)

The songs I have decided to put in the tournament are as follows:

South Park Theme Song

I'm Gonna Make Love to You, Woman - Cartman Gets an Anal Probe

Hot Lava - Volcano

Love Gravy - An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig

Make Love, Even When I'm Dead - Pinkeye

The Lonely Jew on Christmas - Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo

Waitin' On a Woman - Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut

Simultaneous - Summer Sucks

Chocolate Salty Balls - Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls

Cheesy Poofs Theme Song - Roger Ebert Should Lay Off the Fatty Foods

Underpants Gnomes Work Song - Gnomes

Getting Gay With Kids - Rainforest Schmainforest

I Hate You Guys - Jakovasaurs

Sexual Harassment Panda - Sexual Harassment Panda

Shelly, Shelly - Cat Orgy

Turds! - Cat Orgy

Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo - Mr Hankey's Christmas Classics

Carol of the Bells - Mr Hankey's Christmas Classics

Christmas Medley - Mr Hankey's Christmas Classics

O Tannenbaum - Mr Hankey's Christmas Classics

Christmas Time in Hell - Mr Hankey's Christmas Classics

Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel - Mr Hankey's Christmas Classics

I Saw Three Ships - Mr Hankey's Christmas Classics

Merry Fucking Christmas - Mr Hankey's Christmas Classics

O Holy Night - Mr Hankey's Christmas Classics

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Mr Hankey's Christmas Classics

Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld - Timmy 2000

Fingerbang - Something You Can Do With Your Finger

Wendy's Audition Song - Something You Can Do With Your Finger

Third Grade Memories - Fourth Grade

The Prostitute Song - Fat Camp

Circle of Poo - A Very Crappy Christmas

Why Can't I Be Like All the Other Kids - Here Comes the Neighbourhood

It's Butters! - Butters' Very Own Episode

Montage - Asspen

Sea People and Me - The Simpsons Already Did It

The Ballad of Lemmiwinks - The Death Camp of Tolerance

My Future Self n Me - My Future Self n Me

Poo-Choo Train - Red Sleigh Down

Bleeding Heart Rock Protest Song vs. Pro War Country Song - I'm a Little Bit Country

Make a Run for the Border - Fat Butt and Pancake Head

Taco Flavoured Kisses - Fat Butt and Pancake Head

Jesus Baby - Christian Rock Hard

Faith + 1 Album - Christian Rock Hard

Casa Bonita - Casa Bonita

Joseph Smith Was Called a Prophet - All About Mormon

Cigarettes All Hidey Lidey Day - Butt Out

Follow the Only Road - It's Christmas in Canada

French Canada - It's Christmas in Canada

Let's Fighting Love - Good Times with Weapons

My Robot Friend - AWESOM-O

My Wishing Tree - The Jeffersons

The Future Begins With You and Me - Goobacks

Vote or Die! - Douche and Turd

I've Got Some Apples - Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset

Christmas Time is Once a Year - Woodland Critter Christmas

Make It Right - The Death of Eric Cartman

Love Lost Long Ago - Follow That Egg!

We Can Live Together - Ginger Kids

Trapped in the Closet - Trapped in the Closet

Hey People, You Gotta Drive Hybrids Already - Smug Alert!

Who's Got the Greatest Mom In The World? - Tsst

Dawg's Crew Theme Song - Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy

Hippitus Hoppitus - Fantastic Easter Special

California Loves the Homeless - Night of the Living Homeless

I've Got a Golden Ticket - Le Petit Tourette

Imagination Song - Imaginationland

Canada on Strike - Canada on Strike

My Internet Done Up and Went Away - Over Logging

Super Fun Time - Super Fun Time

You Gotta Do What You Wanna Do - Elementary School Musical

Burn Down Hot Topic - The Ungroundable

I've Got a Ring on My Finger - The Ring

Queef Free - Eat, Pray, Queef

Gay Fish - Fishsticks

Somalian Pirates We - Fatbeard

Poker Face - Whale Whores

Minorities at my Water Park - Pee

Lake Tardicaca Hula Gal - Crippled Summer

You and Cthulhu - Mysterion Rises

Cafeteria Fraiche - Crème Fraiche

Vunter Slaush Kapushkuh - Crack Baby Athletic Association

Work Mexican Work - The Last of the Meheecans

Lemmiwinks vs Wikileaks - Bass to Mouth

Put That Heart to Work - Broadway Bro Down

Out of My Shell - Broadway Bro Down

I'm Not the Poorest Kid in School - The Poor Kid

The Jewelry Polka - Cash For Gold

Make Bullying Kill Itself - Butterballs

Jackin' it in San Diego - Butterballs

I Swear - Cartman Finds Love

The Ballad of James Cameron - Raising the Bar

It's a Beautiful Day - World War Zimmerman

A Chorus of Wieners - A Song of Ass and Fire

Princess Kenny Theme - A Song of Ass and Fire

My Bitch Ain't No Hobbit - The Hobbit

Push (Feeling Good on a Wednesday) - The Cissy

The Tale of Craig's Mom's Bush - The Magic Bush

PC Chant - Stunning and Brave

Where Has My Country Gone - Where My Country Gone

The Yelper Special (Boogers and Cum) - You're Not Yelping

In My Safe Space - Safe Space

The Ballad of Tweek and Craig - Tweek x Craig

Let's Come Together As a School - Douche and a Danish

Give Life A Try - Put It Down

Put It Down - Put It Down

They Got Me Locked Up In Here - Hummels & Heroin

Barbershop Quartet - Hummels & Heroin

A Witch Pursuit Thing - Sons A Witches

Faith In Christ - A Boy And A Priest

Unfulfilled - Unfulfilled

Colorado Town - Bike Parade

Go Strong Woman, Go - Board Girls

I Love You Social Distancing - The Pandemic Special

Mountain Town - South Park: Biggger, Longer & Uncut

Uncle Fucka - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

It's Easy Mmkay - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

Blame Canada - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

Kyle's Mom's a Bitch - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

What Would Brian Boitano Do - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

Up There - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

La Resistance - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

I Can Change - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

I'm Super - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

Mountain Town (Reprise) - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

We Are Living in the Future - South Park: Post Covid: The Return of Covid

We Missed You Randy - South Park: The Streaming Wars

I Got Cred, Bitches - South Park (Not Suitable For Children)

Hope you all enjoy the tournament and may the best south park song win!

[parttimesarah]

🦇 💜My Totally Non-Cohesive Thoughts on 4x6, “The Wedding”💚🦇

Spoilers for 4x6 abound!

Nandor was trying to put so much on Guillermo! My thought is maybe he was trying to pressure Guillermo into leaving so that Nandor wouldn’t be forced to confront his feelings about him anymore.

Nadja and The Guide helping Guillermo was so sweet! Nadja says it’s because he’s the accountant for the club, but it has to be that she also is just more attached to him than she was in previous seasons.

Guillermo and Nandor watched The Wedding Planner together 😭😭😭

I’m so bloody hyped that we have The Baron/Barren back!! He may only be in this ep, but it is so great to have him here!

We fuckin’ love a makeover montage with a pop song underneath!

The Baron, the Sire, AND DEREK?! This. Ep. Has. EVERYTHING!

The Go Flip Yourself commercial was excellent! Really doing a good job setting up that future episode!

Derek being lonely is so tragic. I know he had a great time dancing with The Guide, but fr, where’s Jenna to come snatch him up?!

I loved that Nandor wasn’t allowed to know how many wishes he had left, and HOLY HELL I DID NOT EXPECT THEM TO RUN OUT THIS EPISODE!!!

Props to a Discord friend for calling that Nandor’s wish about Marwa wanting everything Nandor wants would lead to her fancying Guillermo! That’s perfect and I could definitely see it being the catalyst to Nandor wishing to undo all his wishes…

Laszlo sticking up for Sean and Charmaine was beautiful! And it’s always so lovely to have both of them together in an episode!

Nandor being vulnerable in front of Guillermo and Guillermo supporting him 😭💔❤️‍🩹

JUST SAY HE’S YOUR BEST FRIEND AND YOU LOVE HIM!!!!!!! GODDAMMIT, NANDOR!!!

YASSS, Doug Jones! Slay!!

I really started to feel sick when everyone was speaking against the marriage. I just wanted SOMEONE to say SOMETHING about Guillermo. I was even hoping the camera crew might chime in 😭

The Djinn knows exactly what is happening, hence the last three wishes in the new lamp. The Djinn is Team Nandermo for REAL!

Nadja and Laszlo sing a BANGER this episode 🤣😂 But I’m surprised we didn’t see Colin Robinson perform, especially with the jazz trio there…

Nandor goes off looking for Guillermo. He wants to spend his wedding night with him!

What do we think the last three wishes will be? As I mentioned above, I reckon one will be to do with undoing all his previous wishes. But what if he uses one for something related to Freddie??? What if Nandor sabotages his relationship with Guillermo in the same way that he thought everyone was out to sabotage his wedding?? That would be quite the spike to drive between them leading into the next season…

And finally, Nandor has not made Marwa a vampire yet. I think that will be the unfulfilled part of their relationship that sees us through to her last episode. If she wants everything Nandor wants, though, she probably really really doesn’t want to be made into a vampire!

That’s it for now. I’m gonna go dissolve into a puddle over in the corner of the room…

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 318: On Your Left

Previously on BnHA: The Hawksquad+Lurkers were all “well this sucks” and sat around a bit talking about how maybe they should actually come up with a new plan that is actually good, but then in the end they were like “nah.” Deku was all, “THERE’S SOMETHING INSIDE ME THAT PULLS BENEATH THE SURFACE!! CONSUMING, CONFUSING!! THIS LACK OF SELF CONTROL I FEAR IS NEVERENDING. IT’S HAUNTING HOW I CANT SEEM TO FIND MYSELF AGAIN. MY WALLS ARE CLOSING IN.” Just, literally that whole entire song. All Might was all “Deku you should take care of yourself, try eating a thing,” and Deku was all “BYE, ALL MIGHT,” and just LEFT. He left!!! What the fuck!!!

Today on BnHA: Endeavor is all, “maybe if Deku didn’t listen to All Might he’ll listen to me instead.” Deku is all, “[doesn’t listen to Endeavor]” because, well, yeah. The Vestiges are all, “surprisingly, even we are a little concerned -- maybe you should get some rest, kid.” Deku is all, “((Ò ‸ Ó)).” The Vestiges are all, “holy shit.” Deku is all, “[wanders the ruined city streets terrifying the populace on account of him looking like Shelob had a baby with one of the Nazgul].” Some shriveled-up puppeteer villain asshole is all, “HORIKOSHI SAID IT’S MY TURN TO ATTACK DEKU TODAY SO I AM GOING TO SUMMON MY FRIGHTENED HELPLESS ATTACK MOB!!” Kacchan is all “WHADDYA MEAN THEY FOUND THE NERD!!! -- oh wait, that’s me, I found him. I found the nerd, you guys.” And just in time, too. I was about to owe a whole lot of people a whole lot of dollars.

so I have been super good about spoilers this week as always, but let me tell you guys, for the past 36 hours my dash filters have basically been nonstop “manga spoilers” this and “bnha 318” that, and so I’m coming in with a fair amount of hype here. your move, Horikoshi

oh, good! they got Endeavor to call Deku to try to talk him out of it. what a great and wonderful plan

“listen up kid, you haven’t slept since March and you are basically a walking biohazard right now, I’m just telling it like it is. didn’t you get shot like three times?? and there was a whole thing about how you urgently needed medical attention?? and supposedly we gave it to you, but I mean you haven’t even changed your clothes and don’t seem to have any fresh bandages or anything, so did we?? did we, really?? and also we all got blown up yesterday, so yeah.” hmm he’s making some reasonable points here you guys, but you sure do go on and on, Endeavor

oh he says foreign aid is finally on its way! I’m sure they’ll be very helpful. I mean in fairness they can hardly be worse than the home-grown heroes at this point

hey Enji, could you maybe try appealing to Deku the sixteen-year-old human boy, as opposed to Deku The World’s Last Hope? he does have value beyond his quirk. I know that’s always been an incredibly difficult concept for you to grasp, but could you maybe TRY, jesus

and also we’re worried about you as a person?? you’re just a kid and you’re pushing yourself way too hard?? you were going to say that part next, right. why the hell didn’t Hawks make this call instead

“don’t worry about me... I’m completely fine” Deku you do understand that saying it over and over again doesn’t actually make it true

and again with the rush!! all the rush rush rush!! we’re running out of time, we can’t let AFO and Tomura keep getting stronger, I have to end this now, there’s no time to rest, etc. etc. etc. just the constant pressure of this whole big countdown on top of everything else

holy shit, you KNOW it’s bad when even the Vestiges are telling him to chill

these guys are basically the walking talking embodiments of self-sacrifice; if even they’re telling him he needs to take five, then he must seriously be like half a step away from death’s door

OH SHIT LMAO

DIDN’T EVEN LET HIM FINISH HIS SENTENCE BEFORE HE SENT HIM INTO THE FUCKING SHADOW REALM WITH THAT FUCKING LOOK. HOLY FUCK. DIDN’T EVEN KNOW IT WAS POSSIBLE TO DIE TWICE. SHIT

(ETA: so I’m pretty sure this was just Danger Sense activating and so he cut them off to go do more hero stuff, but I’m gonna go ahead and stick to my original interpretation anyway lol.)

anyway so how’s everybody doing. we all good? En, you good? Banjou? Shino? I’m imagining you guys all curled up in a little ball on the floor right now lol. can’t say I blame you though, no shame

lmaoooooooooooo

“SHEESH.” sheesh indeed, lmao. “what in the FUCK was that”

see, this is why y’all need Kacchan. you need someone who’s not going to back down from him no matter what. if it’s a matter of out-stubborning Midoriya fucking Izuku, then there’s only one other person on the planet capable of that, and we all know it. don’t pretend like you don’t. I am not going to shut up about this! we’ve had our hurt so now what about SOME COMFORT, DAMMIT

“I’m afraid that he’s becoming influenced by my conscience” nah are you kidding Nana this is all 100% made-in-Japan pure original Deku right here

see, Banjou gets it. “that kid, he’s totally going on his own.” exactly. this was so inevitable it was basically scientific law

“well I for one don’t see the problem with Deku being so obsessed with saving everyone else that he pushes himself until his body and soul literally fall apart” okay, whose speech bubbles are these?? we’re about to have words

lol of course

well you always did prefer the direct route didn’t you. but even you can’t possibly think this is okay lol

dark AU!Kacchan please tell us more about your badass doomed timeline in which everything went to shit and you apparently had the same character arc that Deku is having right now except it somehow made you sexier instead of turning you into a rabid t-rex. I have so many questions

oh so now you want to help??? well -- good, actually. sorry if that sounded offended just now lol

(ETA: so at first when I got to the end of this chapter I was wondering if Katsuki B. had somehow summoned his alternate-universe counterpart through trippy OFA space telepathy lol. but in the original Japanese there’s no reference to “we”, so this appears to be a mistranslation. this line should probably read more like “if there’s something/someone out there that would be able to complement/complete the current Midoriya Izuku [it would be]…” which, oh hello, is that Horikoshi once again reaffirming that Deku and Bakugou complete each other lol. “guess what guys, the Vestiges ship it too" heck yeah. they know what’s up!)

look how admiring his boyfriends are. HORIKOSHI GIVE US THE REST OF THIS BACKSTORY ALREADY GODDAMMIT

“meanwhile somewhere in the depths of the ruined city, Deku was having a dance-off with the villains”

I like how the villains all have this “AHH WHAT THE FUCK” kind of body language to them lol. I mean if it were me, and an eldritch horror suddenly clawed its way from the shadows with its writhing glowy tentacles and pants-shitting nuclear death stare, I would probably just die on the spot. no need to stick around. only pain awaits

lol for a minute I thought this was Can’t Ya See-kun and I was like “WHAT A FASCINATING CROSSING OF PATHS” but it’s just some random girl

he seems genuinely confused lol

Deku it’s because you look like something that crawled out of a sewer drain, sweetheart

lol they just took his word for it?

so trusting. even though they’re immediately hauling ass anyway just to be safe lmao

“my appearance is frightening to others” no shit Deku it’s because you look like a fucking alien exorcism. you look like a Lich that got caught up in an oil spill my dude

NO NOT THE CHOSEN ONE ANGST AGAIN

I RAN OUT OF ESSAY JUICE FOR THIS ALREADY HORIKOSHI!! I’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT FOR MONTHS NOW WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG!! BUT ANYWAYS, GOOD!! I MEAN, BAD, THOUGH, OBVIOUSLY. BUT YES

“ENJOY THIS MONTAGE OF DEKU BATTLING A RANDOM KAIJU AND WANDERING THE WOODS LIKE A DERANGED GREEN BABA YAGA” okay yes but sir, exactly how much longer is this going to go on. if it’s a matter of you wanting to make sure we get it, let me assure you that aside from a few stray chuunis who think that Deku embracing the Darkness is the coolest thing he’s ever done, all of us here in fandom fully comprehend that this is Not Good

-- OH SO IT’S LIKE THAT

really. with the flashbacks to his loved ones’ smiling faces and everything. not even gonna try to aim above the belt, huh

AND NO KACCHAN??! NO CLASSMATES?!?! IS HE PURPOSELY NOT THINKING OF THEM??? OR ARE THEY BEING SAVED FOR THE NEXT PAGE??? SO HELP ME, IF THE NEXT PART OF THIS SENTENCE IS “CAN PROTECT THEM”, OR EVEN WORSE, “CAN SEE THEIR SMILING FACES AGAIN”, I...

WHAT DID I JUST SAY

(ETA: my man did Sero and Kaminari fucking dirty lmao. I miss their smiling faces too omg.)

the sheer, unparalleled irony of him saying this while he stands there looking like the gargoyle demon from Fantasia got crossed with an umbrella that got struck by lightning. Deku :(

oi who the fuck is this clown

is he controlling this mob with his evil hair. “what if I made an exhausted, running-on-fumes Deku battle a brainwashed mob at Ground Zero.” Horikoshi do you just have like a checklist of horrible things you want to do to your protagonist

easy there Sasori

well joke’s on you buddy because he’s apparently “completely fine”, so

“here’s to hoping that you know more about AFO’s location than the others” jesus christ Deku you really have hung your mercy out to dry huh

now he’s forcing his mob of terrified prisoners to attack Deku ahhhh. sucks to be them. at least they’re not being controlled by bees

so Deku is saying that Sasori’s control can be broken with “physical trauma.” similar to Shinsou’s quirk I guess. but so does that mean he’s gonna have to hurt them? ( •﹏•)

NO NOT MORE SAD EYES

“DEATH BY EMPATHY!!!” HORIKOSHI NO

fuck. he looks like he’s on the verge of passing out

this is what happens when you nerf a character’s self-preservation stats in favor of spamming their bone-breaking stats instead. NOW ACCEPTING BRAIN CELL DONATIONS FOR A BOY IN NEED!! with your loving generosity we can hopefully help him live to the ripe old age of seventeen

OMGFGGG

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[grabs your hands] ლ(*꒪ヮ꒪*)ლ [swings you in a circle] へ(ﾟ◇ﾟへ)

THASSSSSSSS WHATSSSSSSS UPPPPPPPPPP

HORIKOSHI REALLY SAID FUCK THAT MASK (ノ°ο°)ノ YOU FINALLY LEARNED!! IT’S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!!!

JUST FOR YOU KACCHAN, HORIKOSHI LEFT THIS ONE BAD GUY WHO’S STILL WEAK TO FIRE. GOD BLESS

IT’S YOUR COUNTERPART, KATSUKI B!!!! HOW WE DOIN OVER THERE IN THE TRIPPY COSMIC OFA SPACE REALM LOL. DO WE BELIEVE YET, FANDOM???

LIGHTS!!!!

INSTANT RESULTS!!! IT’S SUPER EFFECTIVE!!!

(ETA: imagine what this must look like to Deku though. he’s been caught up in this dark cloud of despair and exhaustion that’s been building up over... I’m gonna go ahead and say “weeks”, because yeah. and now he finds himself here, in the place where All Might’s legacy ended and the torch was passed to him. and the world is in ruins, and he’s surrounded by frightened people who are all trying to hurt him -- because who isn’t trying to hurt him, these days -- and he’s scrambling to figure this all out, but meanwhile the weariness is finally starting to catch up to him, and so he’s basically just standing there in a fog of complete and utter misery.

and then all of a sudden through that haze, he hears the one voice that’s more familiar than any other that he knows. like, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he thought he was just imagining it at first. Kacchan showing up to save him right when he’s at his most desperate and feeling the most alone. Kacchan, showing up to save him.

this is the person he always looked up to as a child (to be fair he was quite a strange child lmao). the person who was even closer to him than All Might. the person he always thought was amazing. and bam, here he is now. appearing in the sky out of nowhere to one-shot the bad guy with a single blast (which, btw, that was his armor-piercing attack too lmao dslkjlk take it easy there kiddo). like, that must have felt absolutely surreal to him, especially coming at a time when he’s already half-delirious and barely hanging on to reality. he must have really thought that he was losing it there for a second.

but he’s really there. it really is him. and for this brief moment -- before the rest of the situation catches up to him, and he remembers about all of the fucked-up AFO stuff, and remembers why he was so afraid and why he was pushing everyone away -- for just this one brief moment, he’s too exhausted and stunned to do anything except to just react. just stands there, looking up at him in awe.

and you know, it almost reminds me of...

just. you guys. the character development. the freaking character development. someone who brings reassurance. someone who shows up and makes you think, “oh, it’s all going to be okay now, because [person] is here.” the role reversals. the growth. the payoff!! because who is the one person who always had faith that Kacchan would one day grow up to become an amazing hero like that. WHO IS IT. YOU ALREADY KNOW.

omg. anyways, bless you Horikoshi, my feels which have been on backorder since fucking September have finally arrived lmao. yes, good, thank you. worth the wait. it is always, always worth the wait. fuck yeah.)

“LOWFRIES” SO YOU’RE TELLING ME THE WHOLE GANG IS HERE, AHHHHHHHH (º̩̩́⌣º̩̩̀ )

BEAUTIFUL. WONDERFUL. SENSATIONAL. I DON’T EVEN CARE THAT JUMP IS ON BREAK NEXT WEEK. THIS RIGHT HERE WILL SUSTAIN ME