#another good part of rewatching it as an adult is that i get more of the cultural references

[murdermost-foul]

not that anyone is familiar with psych or cares but season four had some Real banger episodes for such a silly show that I remember watching as a very young teenager & being Obsessed with like shawn gets a shot in the dark and mr yin presents... which in turn had me watch all of hitchcock's films to catch all the references

[picturejasper20]

Hi

....

So

AUGHGSGGS

Its just I've been hyper fixating over dev for the last two days. Nd i really wanna know what you think of his character in more detail..

(also, in the most recent episode, there's a moment were dev gets hugged by peri and.. maybe cosmo, and wat really interests me s that face he mars even when he's barely on the screen, till he's let go. Like getting hugged is almost alien to him..)

Idk

Thought it'd be cool

I went to rewatch the scene you brought up and i noticed how Dev looks pretty shocked (?) for being hugged by Peri. He seems very lost, like how he isn't used to getting hugs from someone else. Peri is the closest thing he has to another adult figure in his life, so it is weird to him to get that type of affection.

As for his character, he is one of my favourites and his relationship with Hazel is one of the things that got my interest the most from watching the show.

He is a type of character i have seen before in other shows, usually more girl characters (Pacifica or Andrea) but i think one thing that separates him is that he is the other ¨kid protagonist¨ along with Hazel? I mean, he given his own fairy and his own father looks like it is going to be the main antagonist from this season. That's quite more interesting than what it is usually done with these type of characters, in my opinion.

Another aspect i like about him is that he didn't become ¨good¨ yet. He had one episode that he became an antagonist again after having a fight with Hazel and even after making up with her he still has these moments that you can tell that he is up to no good. I would prefer for him to stay like this for a while until he changes for the better. Honestly, i think Hazel and in part Peri are like only things preventing him from acting like Dale? If he was already doing bad after having am argument with Hazel and believing they weren't longer friends, i'm not sure what would happen if Peri was taken away from him. I don't think he is evil ofc, but he looks he has some important issues to work with when it comes to be powerhungry and getting what he wants whatever the costs.

I'm interested in seeing where his arc goes along with his relationship with Hazel and Peri.

[i-was-a-teenage-eldritch-horror]

I (unwisely) recently logged on to the website formerly known as Twitter, and was immediately greeted with more eva fandom misogynist apologia on the for you tab. Will this ever end?

Equating Shinji's misogynistic actions towards Asuka (and his more subtle misogyny towards Rei and Misato) to Asuka being rude and abrasive to Shinji is just absurd. Is Asuka rude? Yes. Does she have poor social skills? 100%. But Asuka is not a bully, period. Why? Bullying, like abuse, is about power structures. The only character more powerless than Asuka in this show is Rei. Asuka has no adults on her side. Misato favors Shinji because he reminds her of her father wound and neglects Asuka because she reminds her of the feminine parts of herself (read: her unhealthy interactions with men and boys, particularly Kaji and Shinji, which, ironically, stem from her father wound). Or have we forgotten about this scene? Similarly, once Kaji arrives in Japan, he also begins neglecting Asuka in favor of Shinji.

In addition to Shinji's mistreatment of her, Asuka's also experiencing culture shock (compounded by the fact that she's functionally illiterate in Japanese, since she canonically can't read kanji) and the fact that Kensuke was literally manufacturing and distributing csam material of her (and other girls!). Asuka also lacks the protective Eva Unit that Shinji benefits from at almost every turn. The only ally Asuka has is Hikari, who is an ordinary girl with no power over any of the things that are harming or have harmed Asuka.

The smoking gun here is the fact that Shinji is fantastically unfazed by Asuka (who, it must be said, makes several attempts to be kind to Shinji -- which he typically shuts down). Until eoe, the most emotion that he shows around her is when he's understandably upset that she moved into his room while he was at school, and even then he's not upset with Asuka, he's moreso upset at the situation. When he does finally get angry at her in eoe, it's because she was honest with him about how he hurts her and how she does not want to help him (to be clear: she's not obligated to).

Besides that, he nonchalantly tells her not to speak to him that way, or confesses to another character that he finds her bothersome or annoying. There is no real evidence that Asuka has any significant, negative impact on Shinji's psyche the way an actual bully would have on their victim; no, the characters who have the most negative impact on Shinji are Gendo, Yui, and Misato.

What empowers bullies of any age in real life is a power structure (be it at a school, workplace, or in the home) that is negligent towards the victim. There is a reason why school bullies tend to be star athletes, high academic achievers, or exceptionally well-liked (by students, staff, or both) students -- it's because these students often come from privileged backgrounds and/or are aligned with the power structure of the school. Power empowers, go figure.

Misato's treatment of Shinji is definitely not admirable (let's not forget that by the end of the series, Misato has assaulted Shinji); but it's not neglectful. She's very concerned with and involved with his inner life, albeit for selfish reasons. Conversely, Misato knows every ounce of Asuka's pain (rewatch the end of episode 10) and still neglects her! Keeping both Asuka and Shinji in the same household after episode 9 was a mistake on Misato's part. A good, competent caretaker would've discussed the issue (the nonconsensual kiss) with them both separately with the end result being one or both of them moving out into the dorm-like housing that NERV has.

Point being is that the power structure exclusively benefits Shinji relative to Asuka. Despite also suffering as a child soldier and a victim of trauma and abuse, he is privileged relative to Asuka due to how the adults who have power over him and Asuka favor him through their interactions.

Finally, eoe beats us over the head with how uncompassionate Shinji is towards Asuka, Rei, and Misato. Characters who just to happen to be...women and girls. Huh. How about that? It's almost like there's a message there. Although there are a few moments in the show where it's suggested that Shinji ought to empathize more with boys and men like Toji, Kaji, and Gendo (suggestions to empathize with Gendo tend to come from Rei in particular, which I'm not a huge fan of, for the record, but I also recognize that this is Rei imparting her own perspective regarding her own internal journey of questioning onto Shinji), the fact that in eoe, the piece that marks the end of the series, much of the narrative focuses on Shinji's treatment of the women and girls in his life is absolutely significant and sends a message about misogyny.

Does being a misogynist make Shinji a horrible, irredeemable character? Well, that's up to each viewer to decide. My take is that he can still break the cycle and improve. Any story about childhood trauma and abuse would be incomplete without at least one of the characters going down the road of turning into an abuser and/or their traumatizer -- Shinji fits this bill in eva, same with Misato and Ritsuko. Despite everything, I like Shinji. I find him endearing and even identify with him to a certain degree.

When you ignore these facts about Shinji's character, you are erasing a large, very interesting part of his character. Reducing him down to any flavor of sensitive, soft boy is as boring as it is cliche after the more than a quarter of a century since the first episode aired in 1995.

The softness, the sensitivity -- this is Shinji's exterior. Beneath it lies someone who is selfish, callous, bitter, rude, and self-flagellating. As is the case with every eva character, the interior is more interesting than the exterior.

The thing is that everything I've discussed in this post isn't just some throwaway line or a piece of blink and you'll miss it symbolism. It's present in this show basically from episode 1 onward. Seriously, rewatch episodes 1-7. Shinji clearly has some misogynistic ideas about how women should be and this rubs off on how he thinks of Misato (and Rei!), especially regarding how women should dress, keep house, and interact with their sexuality. He not uncommonly makes jabs at Misato for being a slob and having poor dating prospects. After Asuka arrives, much of this is transferred to her.

If anything I've written here sounds like vilification to you, I'd encourage you to examine why. For better or worse, this is the reality of eva and Shinji as a character. Will you face this reality, or just keep on dreaming?

[lilousmustaches]

Always keep fighting

Warnings: Depressive and insecurity thoughts.

Notes: I was always afraid of naming one of my stories "Always keep fighting" because i used to think that it had to be perfect. I think this one earned it gracefully. You have my heart in it. Rewatching Supernatural 10 years after and all of it just making the same sense to me as when i was just a kid... gave me the confirmation that i'm always going to have where to come back to. Thank you.

Summary: A very meaningful intimate conversation with the one who helped you overcome your depression many years ago. Jared Padalecki.

Platonic!Jared Padalecki x Reader / Jensen Ackles x Reader

You breathed out tired, closing your eyes feeling the sun and a slight breeze hit your face. Billie Eilish’s voice was playing max in your AirPods isolating you from the noises around like that would give you some peace of mind. 

You were in the middle of filming a season of Supernatural and honestly your life was great. Expect it wasn’t. Well… it was really, nothing really bad was happening, you had an incredible job, amazing friends, amazing fans, there was no drama. But the stress was winning you over and you could feel yourself slowly drifting away into a dark place again, just like when you were younger and what looked like a innocent wave of sadness, turned into 3 years of anti depressives. You heard once that when you have depression one time, it never go away. Not completely. You live your life “sober”, but if you don’t watch it out, any trigger can throw you into the pit once more. 

But it was adult life right? How could you escape the stress of having to do a house moving, working really hard for too many hours, being rejected for a job that you really wanted, sleeping with a coworker who you were in love with and he disappearing after… Normal adult things. There wasn’t no time to cry about it while listening to Billie Eilish. 

You opened your eyes when felt a presence besides you, and you took of your AirPods when saw Jared installing himself near you, in the bench below a tree that was located in a quiet spot in the supernatural set. He wasn’t looking at you, he was looking straight ahead like everything was normal. 

“Hi Jar.” You said still a little confused but waiting to see what this was about. 

“Hi (Y/N)” He said simply still looking ahead. “What were you listening to?” 

“New Billie’s album.” You said with a little smile and Jared finally looking at you with an excited face, he was wearing his grey beanie and a white hoodie. 

“It’s so good right?” He said making you chuckle. 

“Yeah…” You answered frowning your eyebrows. “What are you doing here Jar? I thought you didn’t even had scenes today.” 

“Had some audio problems I had to solve for that forest scene.” He explained and turned his attention straight ahead again. “And thought it would be a good opportunity to check on you.” 

“Check on me?” You asked laughing a bit confused. “You see me practically everyday” 

“Yeah, that’s exactly why I knew we had to talk.” He said turning more serious and your heart started to sunk in your chest. “I know you (Y/N). For real.”

You sighed giving up on trying to hide, Jared was one of your best friends and you two always understood each other very well. That included noticing each other’s mood swings and knowing all about the other’s personal life’s. You stayed quiet for a few seconds before breathing out. 

“I didn’t get that part that I really wanted.” You admitted feeling almost ashamed of saying out loud, sensing a bitter taste in your mouth. It was the main role for an adaptation of a book that you loved, and you felt like you were the perfect person for it. Apparently not. 

“I’m sorry (Y/N), I know how excited you were.” He said quietly putting his arm around your shoulder to give a squeeze. “Did they tell you why?” 

“Nothing concrete.” You struggled. “Random excuses and pre written messages.” 

“That sucks.” He agreed and made a long pause. “But it was just another project, other ones will appear and besides… it would mess up your schedule with Supernatural!”

You rolled your eyes and looked at him with a little smile. 

“Jared we both know Supernatural is coming to an end. Everybody is moving on, thinking about what to do next. You’re already writing your project, hell, Jensen is in L.A right now signing contracts for The Boys.” You said and saw him struggling on what to say. He knew you were right. You entered the Supernatural cast many years ago and it was like a dream coming true. Your career got some much better, the working environment was everything you could ever ask for, you met your best friends and had incredible fans. Being a female character in the show, you didn’t think you would last that much. But you did and you were happy about it. But all the things in life get to a point when you start wanting more, and now, knowing that Supernatural has to end, you found yourself lost. Stagnated. Scared what would happen to your career after this. You were a few years younger than J2 and thought the industry would be open to welcome you, but wasn’t at all what was happening. 

“(Y/N) we still have, at least, one year before we will be really done with Supernatural. That gives you more than enough time to figure it out.” He said like it was obvious. 

“Jar, I know” You said with a sad smile looking at him. “All the rationalized things you were going to say to me, already crossed my mind. I know everything is technically ok. I’m just…” You stopped yourself sighing, gathering the courage to admit it. “I’m just sad.”  

Jared looked at you with a suffered expression and you saw for a split second a look of surprise in his face.

“I don’t want to seem ungrateful to the universe, God, or whatever there is out there.” You continued making him open a small smile. “I know I have time, I just moved to a better apartment, I should be thankful. But I’m just so sad. I don’t even know how to explain it.” 

“I understand it.” He said sincerely looking straight into your eyes, giving you all of his attention. “The guilt that comes with having everything great around you and feeling all of this. Believe me, I do.” Jared said and you knew what he was talking about. About his depressed phase that gave life to all of the campaigns. You two shared a lot of conversations in that period, specially because you had history as well.  “I noticed you were not acting like yourself these past days, I was waiting for you to come talk to me, like you always had.” 

You looked away again feeling a bit ashamed. 

“I didn’t feel like talking.” 

“(Y/N).” He said turning his body to face you, making you look at him again. “There’s nothing wrong with feeling like this. You were one of the people who helped the most when I was depressed. You remember what you would say? That it wasn’t my fault, it was just literally a chemical default in my brain. That’s what depression is. A sickness that affects our brains. You passed through a lot of stress these last weeks, it’s completely understandable the way you’re feeling.” Jared said serious squeezing your shoulder. You closed your eyes to stop yourself from crying.

“I just feel like I’m not enough.” You admitted and finally let one tear drop. Jared stayed in silence, making you open your eyes seeing him with a hard expression looking at you like he trying to read you.

“There is another reason why you’re feeling like this?” He asked and you looked down, wondering if you should tell him or not. 

“Hmm I kinda got ghosted?” You said and saw him raise an eyebrow. “Well, no. I know the guy is super busy right now, I don’t blame him. But there’s a little voice in my head telling that it was the perfect timing to get out of the situation and not give me further explanation that he in fact.. don’t want me that way.” 

“Are we talking about Jensen?” Jared asked in a funny way and laughed when saw your surprised face. “(Y/N), I’m sorry if you didn’t want me to know but he told me that you guys slept together after that night we were in his house…” 

“Yeah, I should have figured this out.” You said allowing yourself to chuckle, running your hand over your face. “So yeah, this finally happened…” 

“Finally!” He exclaimed happily trowing his hands in the air. 

You and Jensen were always unfinished business. When you entered the series, you were young, single and adventurous and it didn’t take long to start crushing on Jensen. Hard. The kind of crush you weren’t even functioning right when he was around. Looking at it right now, maybe it was in that moment that your bond with Jared started to grow, he was always your confident. But none of it mattered, because Jensen… wasn’t single. And eventually you got over it, it was never going to happen so why was the point of growing expectations. Until Jensen wasn’t in a relationship anymore, there were flirts here and there, what of course didn’t last long because you were already meeting someone. And for years and years it was like that, you were simply never single at the same time. When all of that changed some months ago, when the two of you ended long last relationships. But it was really two weeks before that it all turned very real. 

Flashback on

You had  just shooted the mid season finale and man, you were tired. Everyone was going to get 1 week away from filming, but that didn’t mean vacation days. You were in the middle of an, very overwhelming, apartment moving in Vancouver and in the end of the week, you had a trip planned to Chicago to participate in the first day of a Supernatural Convention. The boys were going to get a second week off to attend to more appointments, but the directors wanted you, Misha and other secondary characters to advance the maximum of scenes possible. 

To celebrate and just cool off for a while, Jensen invited you, Jared and Misha to eat some pizza and drink some beers in his place. In the next day, he and Misha were already going to travel to L.A and Jared to Austin, to see his family. 

“So it’s already late and I need some sleep before catching that plane.” Misha said getting up of the chair he was in. “Have a safe fight you guys, and (Y/N) see you on Friday?” He asked and you nodded giving him a small smile. He was going to be your pair to the Chicago Convention, and the two of you would come back together to Vancouver, not even crossing paths with J2 because there was going to attend just the third day of #SpnChicago.

“Yeah, actually I’m going to enjoy the lead and get going as well.” Jared said sighing getting up, slapping hands with Jensen and then turning to you. “You comin’ also?”  

You didn’t want to go actually. It has been ages since you last went out with them like that and it was the first time in days that you were able to get away from your problems. You looked at Jensen to see what the thought and caught he already looking at you, denying with his head. 

“Nah (Y/N), we still have that wine you gave me for my birthday to drink.” Jensen said getting up from the couch you were in, to open the door for the boys. “Stay as long as you want.”

“I think I’m to stay.” You agreed. “Have a safe fight guys.” 

With all of the goodbyes being said, Jensen closed the door of his apartment immediately disappearing into the kitchen. He came back with two glasses of red wine, extending one to you while he returned to his previous place, sitting with his whole body turned to you and you did the same.

“I can’t believe you still didn’t drink that.” You chuckled. 

“Well, of course not! It was your gift, nothing more fair than drinking it with you.” He said like it was obvious, extending his glass. “Cheers” 

Half bottle after, you both were already tipsy, laughing about everything and somehow, closer to each other than before. You spoke about the series, about the bittersweet feeling of it ending. About how excited he was for Soldier Boy and at the same time nervous. He listened to you speak about the role you were auditioning for and gave you his whole support. You even gossiped a little, about Misha’s divorce. After that, somehow the conversation got to the point of relationships and you both shared a lot of thoughts and insecurities about it. 

Jensen smiled when the conversation got to a pause, letting his hand fall to rest in your arm that was leaning in the sofa. You hold your breath when felt his thumb slowly starting to caress you and your belly suddenly got cold when he started to stare at you.

“I just can’t believe that we’re finally single at the same time.” Jensen chuckled in a hoarse voice. You bite your lip, resting your glass into the center table and saw him doing the same thing. 

“That makes a difference?” You challenged him seeing him grin. 

“You know it does, sweetheart.” He said putting a strand of hair behind your ear and you wondered if he could hear the sound of your heart beating. “I always knew you had a crush on me.” 

“I did not.” You said faking a false indignation and you both laughed. “I actually thought it was the other way around.” 

“Guilty.” He admitted making you gulp. “All of those years… us trying to move on from each other. And look at us now… single at our thirties, at the same place we would be in since the start if we weren’t so damn stubborns.” 

You stayed in silence for a few seconds, staring each other like you could see each other’s souls. His eyes were in a dark green filled with lust and when you saw his glance lowering to your lips, you knew you couldn’t take any more of that.

“Kiss me Jensen.” 

“You have no idea on how many years I’ve waited for you to say that.” 

And you didn’t had to ask twice.

XXxxXXXxxxXXXxxXX

You opened your eyes confused still in a dark room, and in a very comfortable bed. You glanced at your phone in the bedside table seeing it was already 12h. The memories from last night started to invade your mind, making you sit up in a rush and frown when you noticed that Jensen wasn’t there. 

Oh right, he had a flight to catch. 

Wearing one of his shirts and his flipflops you found next to his bed, you walked until the living room and saw in his dinning table, an order bag from your favorite bakery and a little post it. 

“Morning sweetheart, 

I’m sorry If I couldn’t wake up by your side today. My flight leaves 8:30 am and I didn’t want to bother you.

I ordered your favorites things from that French bakery you like, to compensate it.

Last night was amazing and I can’t wait to see you again. 

Make yourself at home, stay as long as you want.

-Jensen.” 

You suppressed a smile feeling like a damn teenager, with all of that butterflies in your belly. This really happened. You and Jensen. 

You laughed adjusting yourself in one of the chairs, you had a delicious breakfast waiting for you after all. 

Flashback Off

That day you woke up alone in Jensen’s house, you passed still a few hours there before going back to your reality. The keys weren’t really a problem cause he had an electronic lock. You send him a photo of you eating the breakfast, which he rapidity replied with an emoji of heart eyes. 

But of course, your mind needed to start sabotaging you. You knew Jensen wasn’t the type of guy to text a lot, and you weren’t teenagers with no responsibilities, you were both busy as fuck. But you would be lying if you said if you didn’t expect a little more. Not even seeing his face for 2 weeks after you had sex, gave you so much spare time to question yourself. 

Had he really liked? He was regretting it? He realized you were actually better as friends? Why he didn’t answer your meme? How your relationship would be when he got back from L.A?

“Look.” Jared started after you explained all of it to him. “Don’t beat yourself for feeling it, your feelings are valid and I can see where they are coming from.” 

“It’s true that he could have been more present, but we both know how Jensen is  when comes to answering messages.” Jared continued laughing humorless. “But c’mom (Y/N), it’s you and Jensen were talking about! The guy has been wanting you for years.” 

“I don’t know Jar.” You sighed. “It’s like my mind knows the rationalized facts but still chose to give me the wrong answers.” 

“Are you eating right?” He asked all of that sudden surprising you. 

“Yeah…” You started and huffed when saw his accusatory face. “Ok, maybe I’m skipping breakfast.” You admitted and rolled your eyes when he didn’t back down. “No, I’m not eating right. Are you happy?” 

“No!” He cried. “You’re under stress, you’re isolating yourself, a lot of things are happening in the same time, you’re not eating right, you’re not exercising. You’re going running with me tomorrow by the way.” 

“Jared you know I hate running” You said indignant.

“I don’t care.” He cut you off. “What I’m trying to say is that you and me both… (Y/N) we have to look out for ourselves, you know that. I don’t think you’re depressed again but I think you’re in the edge of it.” Jared said making you shiver. You thought about it, damn you thought you already were. But hearing it from your best friend’s mouth, who always went to hell and back to help you, was rough. Really rough. 

“I…” You started slowly afraid of the words that was going to come back out of your mouth. “I would never forgive myself if I let me go back to that dark hole I was 10 years ago.” 

“Then don’t.” Jared struggled like it was the point of the whole conversation until now. “Can you imagine all the things you would have missed if you gave up by the first wave of depression? Young (Y/N) would have not believe she would sleep with Jensen Ackles.” He said mocking you to lighten up the mood a little bit and you allowed yourself to laugh even if was pretty hard listening to all of that. 

“Call your therapist. I’m going to ask to the producers to give you one more week off.” He continued and you open your mouth ready to argue with that nonsense. “Don’t argue with me on that one. You already have tons of advanced scenes, you need time to rest. And… stop taking life so serious honey, you have time, you’re going to figure out ok? Let yourself be surprised by it.” 

Jared said searching your eyes and saw you nodding slowly. He pulled you for a tight hug resting his head on top of yours. Your eyes were closed and for the first time in a week, you breathed out feeling calmer. Not even Billie Eilish accomplished this. 

“What do we do?” He asked in a slash joking slash serious tone, speaking like you were a little child. 

“We always keep fighting?” You said a little unsure and felt his chest vibrate when he started to laugh. 

“That’s my girl.” Jared said tightening the hug before backing away. “I love you.” 

“I love you too moose.” You said with a small smile feeling a lot better. “Thank you.” 

“I’m always here.” He said getting up. “I need to go back now.” 

You nodded and when you were in the point of putting back your AirPods, he stopped, some steps away from the bench you were. 

“Oh… and (Y/N). Jensen already arrived from L.A” He smiled. “Let life surprise you.” 

You denied with your head letting a small laugh escape from your lips, when you were reliving all of this conversation. One thing that Jared said was completely right, young (Y/N) would have been so proud and surprised by your accomplishments. You survived. This was an everyday motive to be proud already. Your thoughts were interrupted when the screen of your phone lighted up with a notification. 

“Hey sweetheart… I’m finally back in Vancouver and dying to see you. There is so much I want to tell you. And so much I wanna do to you… 

What do you say about going to that Italian restaurant at 20h? I will pick you up. 

Always yours,

Jensen.” 

Tagging: @esoltis280@smoothdogsgirl@helloangelicaaaaa@sleepylunarwolf​ @sympathyforluci​ @mirandaaustin93​ @atc74​ @spnbaby-67​ @reginaphalange2403​ @hi-my-name-is-riley​ @mychemicalimagines​ @multifandomlover121 @nyotamalfoy

[proshippers-against-censorship]

hope what i’m bringing up here is appropriate for this blog. i could try finding any other outlet, internal or outside resources that would help me get through this, but i’m trying not to ruffle any feathers.

so, since last year i’ve been watching something i used to be into when i was younger and participating in its fandom. through rewatching it i found out that i shipped two characters that i always had a noticeable affinity towards, except i realized i like the pairing way more as an adult because of everything i missed between them since i last saw the show. they were paired with different characters by the end and even if it was shown to make more “sense” for them according to the greater fandom, i initially didn’t care because of how much i enjoyed their dynamic thoughout the show’s duration. i felt that it brought out a bunch of discussion to be told whether you saw it the lens of a romatic or platonic relationship. most of what happened in the show’s main timeline could not go on without their involvement, and their individual development arcs kicked off because of the undeniable romantic relationship they tried to pursue at one point.

the big thing about their relationship that apparently makes it a “proship”/comship is the huge age difference between them, and unfortunately that’s unfortunately all what the fandom sees them for. i feel that even when talking about the romantic/sexual aspect of them together and the implications, they have one of the least discussed dynamics i’ve seen of many of the major characters, which doesn’t make sense because they’re both the male and female mcs. it’s always “thank god they didnt get together, i’m sick at the thought of them with each other” even though thats beyond what their relationship was like as the story was drawing to a close. one tweet i saw which was a quote of one which showed a screenshot of the characters in the ship i’m talking about in a canonical platonic showing was something along the lines of “the four people who still ship this must be on suicide watch” which is just an awful thing to think of about anyone.

i do try to feel good about shipping them publicly despite all thats been brought towards me for it. or, at least the nothingness of it. a lot of blogs i’ve interacted with and been interested about following in the past through tag scrolling have blocked me for shipping it. i know this because i always notice that a couple blogs who mainly post about the fandom aren’t on my dash. it’s weird, i don’t even like it as a “standard” underage ship. i’m not saying they’re wrong for keeping themselves safe from things they don’t like, it just glooms me out because i still want to interact with much of the fandom, even if we don’t agree on stuff. i’m too old to be spiralling over these things and activating the sanctification in me i’m trying hard to undo to enjoy my hobbies. why does it even matter to me this much that people block me because they don’t like shit i create or post

with this i feel like anti culture absolutely neuters any kind of intellectual discussion about characters who were in a “problematic” relationship and gone out of it to be part of a standard platonic one. i don’t how unique it is for this ship, but i do imagine that people look into the bad things about it far too much. and hey, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure

(i’m being vague to protect myself from antis who might find me out and send me dumb shit, forgive me)

No, no, you're very right. The rise of anti culture has definitely led to a decrease in having decent, intellectual conversations about pairings in media and how the relationships between characters shift in ways that display incredibly important aspects of their stories.

But that ties back to the loss of media literacy, I fear.

[lovelessrage]

I have been struck by an urge to discuss Bojack Horseman. While I am not asexual, I am aspec in every other sense outside of it, and Todd Chavez still matters a lot as a character to me. It was the first canon aspec, the first character where it is said, matters to his plot, and impacts his life, that I had ever seen in a show I actually enjoyed.

A lot of aspec representation feels like it isn't made for me; it's made for young/rowdier teens, and while that's a demographic that needs those figures, it leaves me feeling like reading these books and watching these shows just aren't my thing. It isn't my carnival ride; it feels like I'm too old, despite... not being that old. Maybe it's my humour or my preferences, I dunno. Regardless, Todd Chavez feels like, for all his goofy antics and being the character that has the most absurd life out of anyone, an adult facing a real crisis of identity. Not a teenager coming to terms, but an adult man realizing what's expected of him as an adult is immensely limiting and petrifying as a closeted asexual.

The way his first interaction with being aspec is not being comfortable with labelling it yet, setting boundaries about whether he likes jokes, trying to find community but still feeling a bit lonely and out of place. It all feels very natural, real, and lived. And so does his relationship with Yolanda, which was immensely good commentary to me about aspec loneliness.

Especially for those who still like to date, have hookups, QPRs, or any other type of committed dynamic, it often feels like you are compelled to choose the first person who offers it to you, because you have no other choice. This extends to other queer labels as well, such as T4T struggles and the gay and lesbian dating scene, but we're talking aspecs right now and we'll stay on that ball. There is nothing wrong with Yolanda, which I like as well, she's not framed as a bitter person or frigid, they're just not meant for each other. I also like the inclusion of, despite how different they are, Yolanda is still desperate to cling to this because she's afraid she'll never meet another asexual again. It is, again, a real problem; people getting into unhappy relationships because they think it is all they will get.

That's why this show's representation speaks to me so much, even if it's not my label. It feels like an honest confrontation of aspec issues, rather than just making a character aspec as a one-off, or only confronting it for one episode. As well, it doesn't belittle Todd for this aspect or make his problems childish. It's another adult problem alongside all the others the characters are going through, and there are plenty of references to the struggle of acceptance and the struggle of existence without making asexuality at fault for any of it. It is acephobic society, not asexuals, being blamed. They get to be part of the humour rather than at the expense of it.

There gets to be ace joy alongside ace struggle, and neither are treated as more worth focusing on or telling a story about. His later happiness with Maude is celebrated by his family and friends, and his coming out is met with understanding, even if it's not fully informed. He gets to meet other asexuals, and even if it does not solve his problems, it lends a needed helping of reminding the audience there is a community, not just an individual.

Nothing in Bojack Horseman is instantaneous. No change of character is simply a heelturn and a continuation. I am always immensely happy on every rewatch to see how much time was devoted to making Todd's asexuality journey mean something and mean something to his life. To me, this is the textbook example of what it means to write an aspec character with their identity in mind; it's not just a label, it's also how your life is affected, your relationships, and how you see your future.

[zhuzhudushu]

Lingopie — Chinese Review ★★

So I did 3 months of Lingopie (stylized as Liñgöpie) so you don't have to (unless you want to lol).

I mention a Chrome extension, the Zhongwen dictionary, quite a bit in this review. It is here, I highly recommend it (click)! It's also available for Firefox (click).

What is Lingopie?

Lingopie is an app and desktop extension/website that allows you to watch tv shows and cartoons with interactive subtitles for language learning. It currently has Spanish, German, Russian, Italian, Portuguese, French, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. It claims to improve your language learning by 80% (compared to Duolingo which is around 20%).

Here is their website. (click)

Pricing: (March 2024)

3 months $36

1 year $71 "on sale" (normally $144)

Lifetime $199 "on sale" (normally $663)

Please note: I have never seen these full prices. It appears that the "sale" is permanent.

My Review / TL;DR Version

Extremely disappointed both in functionality and content for Chinese. Maybe this is a good program for other languages, but for Chinese there is extremely limited content with pinyin subtitles only available for the non-Netflix shows. All the best learning features are available for non-Netflix shows, yet those tended to have significantly worse translations than Netflix. I would not recommend this product for Chinese. While it had a few good features and I enjoyed it for 6-7 episodes of one show, it then had a glitch where an entire episode was subtitled wrong, so I gave up.

See below the cut for full breakdown.

Strengths:

Has access to Netflix shows and films including some popular ones (e.g. Meteor Garden, Dear Ex, Nezha Reborn)

This is nice and I enjoyed rewatching the ones I was familiar with and getting a better grasp of listening and vocab. I appreciate that they try to incorporate kid-friendly along with more serious/adult content with animated and live action tv shows and films. I also liked that it specified if the show was from Taiwan or China, and also included shows that had some Cantonese influence (e.g. Scissor Seven)

Allows you to have English and Chinese subtitles simultaneously or alone, and you can easily click them on an off while watching.

This is pretty standard for all video/subtitle based educational apps, but it was nice to easily click them on and off in case I wanted to double check my understanding, and to compare the direct translation of the words to the full translation of the sentence.

Allows you to pause automatically after each subtitle. Can also loop subtitles over and over. There are also AI-produced explanations of grammar.

This hands down was the best part about the entire experience for me, and why I ended up using Lingopie for 3 months. While it was sometimes clunky (see below), this made singling out specific lines/words for listening practice so easy. Once I got in the groove, I was able to get through episodes fairly quickly and was starting to be able to listen and hear new words in sentences later.

Click on the words in the subtitle to make flashcard sets

This was a nice feature, but I do wish the flashcards were a bit more functional, see below. It was easy enough to use and a quick way to remind yourself of the new words you learned before you jump into the next episode.

Weaknesses:

Pinyin subtitles available on desktop only, with no pinyin subtitles for Netflix shows (as of May 2024)

This is a HUGE flaw, and I was 100% dependent on using another chrome extension for hover-over dictionary while using Lingopie. I know they are working on pinyin subtitles for Netflix and mobile, but I used this for 3 months and it still was not implemented when I ended. To me, if I have to use another app in conjunction with this one in order to fully learn, then what's the point? Especially since I watched Taiwanese and Cantonese-influenced shows with very non-standard pronunciations, comparing standard pinyin to accented productions is necessary for me. Even with the pinyin subtitles for the non-Netflix shows, it left a lot to be desire because they're tiny above the Chinese characters, and sometimes difficult to read. More than once I thought a ǒ was ō because of how tiny it was.

Not enough content, especially cartoons/beginner level

The one above and this bullet are the main reasons why I don't recommend this app for Chinese specifically. Maybe other languages are fine, but there is simply not enough content for the price. I was hoping for more beginner/lower intermediate content like children's cartoons, however there are none for Chinese. All the animated options are more teenager/adult oriented. There also weren't many light-hearted or comedy options, meaning you would have to watch a lot of serious dramas, thrillers, and violent shows if you wanted to get your money's worth. For my personal taste, I don't want to have to pause every dialogue line for an adult thriller. That would ruin my experience of the show and the suspense. For the non-Netflix options, most shows were incomplete with only 1-5 episodes available out of 10+. They also tended to be lower quality productions, with significantly worse English translations. The majority of what is available outside of Netflix are short films (~5 mins) and cooking shows (10-20 mins) which aren't bad for beginners. I personally have no interest in cooking, though lol. Essentially, there is no TRUE beginner fictional content in Chinese available.

The dictionary is... rough

Again, I was fully dependent on the Zhongwen extension. While the English subtitles themselves are good, the individual definitions of words that you hover over are definitely rough. They weren't actually that helpful for breaking down meanings of things like slang and characters' names. For example, in Scissor Seven there were quite a few animal puns, e.g. 汪星人 which is internet slang for "dog" Lingopie translated as "Woofer" which was... awkward and strange. Without the Zhongwen extension I would have had no idea what this was actually referring to. It would been nice if it functioned more like the Zhongwen extension, where it would highlight individual characters or phrases/combos depending on your mouse placement. Particularly on the non-Netflix shows, the translations even in the English subtitles were incredibly rough and at times I couldn't understand the context in either language. There was also one instance of an entire episode (Netflix) that had incorrect subtitles, I suspect subtitles from a different episode? That was the final straw for me.

It chooses whether or not to highlight single words or phrases so you have no control over your flashcards

This made the flashcards not as functional to me. Sometimes, I wanted just the specific noun/verb in the sentence, but it would make me highlight the entire sentence. Other times, I wanted a really functional phase, but it would only let me highlight the individual words. I barely used the flashcard feature because of this.

Clunky interface (Chrome & Firefox)

I can't speak for mobile or Safari because I didn't use them. Since I was relying on the Zhongwen hover-dictionary, I only used Chrome. You can only use Chrome or Safari if you want Netflix shows. Sometimes the auto-pause after each subtitle would be too early or too late, meaning I would have to actually click things pretty persistently throughout each episode. Using the spacebar to pause/unpause hardly ever worked, and using the arrow keys to flip between subtitles also never worked for me. Sometimes the hover-definitions of words would linger even after I clicked away, and would not disappear until the next subtitle appeared. This was super annoying and would block a good portion of the screen. Sometimes I would have to click things 2-3 times before it registered in both Chrome and Firefox.

Overall, I think it's a great idea, but needs some pretty major improvements in order to be worth the price.

In my opinion, if they were to add significantly more shows, including kid's cartoons, and improved their subtitles, dictionary, & interface function, it would be worth the price.

Maybe in a few years as Lingopie grows, it will be worth it. But for now, it's not. For now, it's clunky and limited. If you were to watch it for an hour a day, you would probably get through all the shows that interested in you in about 3-6 months. It wouldn't take longer than a year to go through all of the Chinese content, as of right now. So why would you pay for a year or lifetime price for that?

(divider credit here)

[daystarvoyage]

Hello owl fans, I wanted to give my critical breakdown on When I first watched Owl House, now rewatching it, looking back at a well known character in

This very 3 part topic focusing on

Everyone's fan favorite Amity who I like to call

(Little Miss Self Insert) Amity analysis & why she’s popular

Literally the same (Real) hair color as the creator

DISCLAIMER THIS IS NOT AN ATTACK ON THE CREATOR But a Critic that could benefit the show & educate viewers, POC, BIPOC (Bi meaning black indigenous, Person of color) REP,

(don't Hate appreciate), if ya can't Face different opinions or anyone with an open mind who can critic just being nasty/policing people, There's the Portal Door to outer space.

Ok aight Lets start to this 3 PART topic post

I indeed love my run of Amity as a character because she made an impactful LGBTQ show great, along with her endeavor on how she developed as a character. ( Also Green Hair AMity is Better.) because she had great drive melding her into the person she is, having to face her parents, falling in loving with luz.

Due to the high demand being a lgbt character at times, (even though we been starved and wanting more rep) has at times repercussions and flaws,if the writing, narrative & pacing is compromised in the show which shown after rewatching the series ANOTHER TOPIC.

I'm fully aware that she's a well-known fan favorite character ever since the show's green light along the panel interview with Dana Terrace hyped her up during the debut panel of the other shark cartoon she worked on, DOWN BELOW

After Rewatching the show I felt there was more to her then just being luz girlfriend,

(like other characters to never get there titular moments at time like the Hexside students.)

and how she was written in a one-sided straight forward manner which people overlook cause we had proud lgbt content to gush over, googling, blushing eyes and the creator saying no romance in the series yet we have a two girls hogging peoples potential and spotlight?!

which contributed to her name trending more & talked about compared to our main POC character (which I find weird & Staggering at times.)

Theres proof from a Good post on here THATS IMPORTANT BELOW

Now we got that outta the way 3 major reasons LETS GO

The Favoritism

I feel the favoritism in fandom really says about how the show reacts TO OUR favorite characters, yes a world and great characters can be executed in titular episodes or moment you can let them see shine,

but diving into the season 1 of the show had its Rocky start till they started the real action in season 2 not to mention the kiss scene which put everyone on good edge however hogged (a titular poc spotlight.)

There's proof on how poc people in real life are depicted in media as something negative and gross yet caucisian people are giving everything handed to them in a silver spoon.

so here's a article ill bring up cause these types of behavior says in how poc see ourselves

Heck thats how we got that lumity controversial pic

(IF YA KNOW YA KNOW)

ill pull up with article on black media effects real life

I truly did feel the intent on the show at times was made selfishly at times,

Which there's a link about a unique article that sheds some light on this situation on how it treated Amity and why she was made into a self inset character. Showing relationship run throughout the show.

you can be able to write a good cartoon series and make an impact on fans, spilling your life on the show you care being in there shoes,

However don't let it sacrificed the many aspects excusing plots, and narrative with tonal whiplash & poor characterization.

Hope Your here with me now lets get on to

Shipping discourse

these girls took over the whole world by storm, to the point the fandom only cares about these girls, nothing beyond,

(social media numbers don’t lie on searched characters and many aspects on the owl house.)

if not them but solely for Amity herself. which I felt really was a selfish writing move. Cause I really did love the character until she was written good however shoehorned to being a hollow shel of herself and discourse did no favors.

It irks me to no end cause we have a prominent poc character said previously, who gets not talked about a yet amity is the one y’all favor to? At the point y’all really don’t show y’all don’t care about black, Poc, or BIPOC and there contributions to media.

it pains me to see a show like this has been nothing but a whole show of contradictions and ill-pacing,

And i know why we stand with the ship or any sexuality reveal with any character to gain a following or popularity for that matter is this a good term of how we gotten lgbt media uprising

(which I understand we crave years ago. )

PERFORMATIVE SEXUALITY (Article & Term HERE .)

Not to mention the celebrity worship yall put onto amity herself which is responsible for it

Where gonna make this quick so last session and hoep you have a good one afterwards thanks

The Colorism Issue (Glad fans are speaking out)

Its just facts that we see white or white-passing as something to be congratulated and praised for compared to what poc go through cause we POCs & myself have to work tens time harder for what we want, (one issue for another session is?)

WHY IS THE NOCEDA FAMILY HAVE DIFFERENT SKINTONES?!

FIX IT Titan

For media especially Disney has treated Poc if not BIPOC IN live action if not animation to an extent is degrading, you have kids on jessie acting any way without severe repercussions such as how they Treat BIpoc Characters with utmost disrespect. Which is shown throughout our favorite shows. (also shows how the show loves it kids cause it suffers no consequences.)

Now May wonder why i put in Princess & The Frog

We do see great chemistry to the show and movie example

The similar girl dynamic that will be is Tianna and charlotte

There relationship is done better, I do feel there was little bit of colorism played into this and alas not to mention tiana poc friends characters being black but non existing, however I do feel to a agree they really stretched on how we should have diversity in a negative way which I’ll get into in a sec.

Its at this point charlotte is the sweet spoiled girl and felt amity was favored cause of how she was written that way, they tried to make her favorable because you guess or see she’s WHITE.

Which shows not only poc characters are secondary in animation or forms of media, also how Luz is written in a white space, but with amity

She was gonna be depicted as a favorable one cause of how she was written LIKE CHARLOTTE

(To the point people started seeing charlotte as the main character form princess & the frog.)

Having the cultural representation & also inconsistent characterization shine to the point where we could’ve had great characters shown and debut yet

Have two girls take over the show as a whole really?!

oh reminder the diversity happen yet being sacrificed for a shoehorned lgbt content and activism to the degree it over whlems the show with

amity being a type of reverse mammy to make her look better for luz to counter her spicy latina ways, like a unruly tomboy to kiss the white favored girls booty, knowing full well the fandom will police anyone saying otherwise.

The article I’ll show about gearing our diverse audiences which I feel Disney needs to do a lot better on cultural representation, and harmful stereotypes as this.

ARTICLE ON HOW STEREOTYPES CAN BE IN MEDIA

Hoping I said it well, since there's so much to add to this however hope we can be reasonable on the comment section, so hoping we can have a civil discuss on about this topic thanks for reading this far you have a goodnight and great day where you are

with love kyoko cane

[rahuratna]

Hi! I have a one am musing 🥹

I was rewatching jjk season one (I still haven’t finished season two but I need to cope LOL) and now I’m able to pick up all the little details we talked about before. *heart melts*

It’s so crazy to me how in the very beginning Nanami didn’t acknowledge Yuji as a sorcerer, and by the end, he told Yuji to be the one to take over from here. It’s so bittersweet…

Tbh, the very first time I watched that episode, I was super shocked and thought Nanami was patronizing Yuji. And then I learned that wasn’t the case. He was being very matter-of-fact about it and knows Yuji has a lot of room to grow 🥹💕💕

Yuji was super eager to prove himself to Nanami, and then Nanami was like “frankly I don’t give a shit.” But in reality, he really does as he gets to learn more about Yuji, and so while I was terribly upset with s2 ep 18, his last words were the perfect conclusion.

(This is just a side note but I like it more when writers show off Nanami’s practical-minded nature more. How it may seem cold and standoffish at first but it wasn’t intended that way. I wish I got to see more of Nanami being blunt with criticism since different people could react differently to it and it’s who he is!)

———-

I also realized that Gojo got new glasses LMAO. Didn’t see it before, but his high school ones were circular and his newer ones are more oval. I kinda glossed over it when he shops for new glasses in the “Lost in Paradise” ending. I personally like his high school sunglasses better. What about you?

Hi! And thanks for these lovely 1 am musings. It always makes my day to see one waiting for me 🤭 I also needed to take a moment to cope before moving on with season 2 (didn't help much, but necessary).

Nanami initially struck me as very contradictory, because there he was, taking a jab at the system (in his capacity as both a salaryman and as a sorcerer), saying that "work is shit", but also bowing formally to a teenager when he introduced himself and wearing a full business suit to kill curses!

I saw his lack of acknowledgement of Yuuji as another "fuck you" to the system. Here was Yuuji, a vessel to one of the most powerful curse users to ever exist, and he was essentially treating him as just another kid. I didn't necessarily see it in a good or bad light, it just struck me as a very deliberate choice on Nanami's part.

Of course, his later actions and his background showcased these things in a completely new way. Like you said, he cares a great deal for Yuuji and the younger generation of sorcerers. The fact that his last words to Yuuji were "you take it from here" is such a fitting culmination to his character arc.

He saw his duty as a guardian and protector of the young and the weak finally coming to an end, because they were now able to protect themselves better than he could. He saw Yuuji as completely fitting of carrying his legacy forward, and so let him know that he could now pass in peace.

I, also, wish we could have seen more of Nanami's interactions with others. The way Ijichi is actually more terrified of Nanami scolding him than anything else, describing him as the 'ultimate adult' or something along those lines, will never not be funny to me. Especially since Nanami is the type of man to never raise his voice in a professional setting. His pragmatic nature would probably have given us many more moments of misunderstandings, sweetness and humour, should it have been explored in greater detail.

------------

As to Gojo's sunglasses, I do like the older style better! They reflected a lot of his irreverent, cheeky and offbeat personality. I suppose the oval shape is a style choice that changed as he grew older and matured, but yeah, I definitely preferred round lenses better!

[ot3]

finishing up fionna and cake... overall it was a fun ride but i really don't think it worked structurally. 6/10 show. i didnt think this was gonna be a long post but apparently i've got some thoughts. sticking below the cut

this last episode is kind of underwhelming... theres a couple of parts in this ep where they just sit and explain to the camera how simon realized betty was constantly sacrificing her own desires for simon and how simon wanted to put on the crown because he thought he didn't deserve to live. and it's not like those are bad realization for the show to come to but the show has very clearly established that it's intended for a more adult audience than the original adventure time, and so this kind of writing just feels really condescending when not directed at literal children. like yeah we could have figured this out from the writing, but. you didn't have to just tell us

i also didn't vibe with scarab as a villain, he felt super arbitrary to me. like they needed Something to be forcing them to move between dimensions, but i feel like scarab was an extremely meh choice for that. he wasn't particularly funny or interesting enough as a character to get to be one of the only people who showed up in every episode. i honestly think it would have been better if the existential threat these characters were facing was more of a force than a character, because it was already running so tight on time anyway it didn't really have the space to develop a good villain.

gary and marshall's screentime was another thing that i felt like is a huge waste of space. them doing their whole meet cute bakery au romance is something that's funny on paper but it's not compelling on its own and the only slight interest it has comes from our pre-existing investment in marceline and bubblegum's much more interesting dynamic. it didn't add anything to the overall arc of the show and took up time that could have been used to deliver more solidly on the core premise.

fionna and cake themselves were really cute but i don't feel like fionna's arc was as strong as it could have been. like ohhh yay shes come to love her normal world with all its imperfections.... obviously thats where it was going the whole time and once again. its not like i mind that ending. i just feel like they didn't do anything interesting with it. her character doesn't get to learn and progress as much as she's just marching down a straight path that we all already knows where it leads. i wish they would have just called the show 'Simon' so i wouldn't have to feel so disappointed in this.

adventure time has always been on the cutting edge of bizarre stuff in animation so the biggest let down overall with this show is how much when you strip away the Adventure Time coating of surrealist visuals on top of it it just feels like any other middling adventure cartoon. it didn't lean enough into the episodic structure to benefit from that the way the original show did, and it was too beholden on the episodic structure to linger on any of the parts that were actually compelling.

overall, the show feels like pandering to the adventure time fanbase, but in kind of a lazy way. Compare this to the distant land specials which I think were pandering in an excellent way. im not anti pandering by any means. The whirlwind tour through universes and characters that lifetime adventure time fans will recognize tries to come off as a love letter to the series, but instead just comes off as the adventure time version of that 'rejected ready player one theme song' video. remember farmworld? remember prismo? remember the vampire king? remember shermy and beth? remember Up a Tree? like. yeah. i do remember. thanks. do you have anything to say about any of this stuff or - oh. no. just showing me. got it.

its not someting i think i'll ever rewatch but at just ten eps definitely worth one watch through. theres some really good fun to be had in it and the art is gorgeous all the way through, it just fails to come together into a successful complete work.

[motsimages]

Some "subtleties" I really enjoyed in Starship Troopers during yesterday's rewatch:

Framing meteors, asteroids and other celestial bodies that are quite frequent in space as the weapon of the bugs. When the movie begins and we are informed of "another attack", is it really an attack? It's just a meteor, we haven't even seen the bugs, we have no context about this "war". It has been decided that they are attacking and invading (there is a certain level of planning and strategy for this), while at the same time, only after the second half of the movie the possibility of bugs being intelligent is mentioned. Also, Klendathu is very far from Earth, how much of a threat are they?

In the first minute of the movie, during the "I'm doing my part" ad, there is a literal child soldier. As a matter of fact, there are two ads that feature children: one giving them assault weapons and one stepping on bugs with violence. You gotta get them young.

All of the teachers in *high-school* are severely disabled by war.

Rico ("rich man" in Spanish) has no personality whatsoever. He isn't a good student and has no ambition. He ends up doing what he does by sheer luck. He goes to the Service because of a girl and to be against his father, he stays in the Service because he literally has nowhere else to go. He is so bland that even his encouraging speeches to the troops once he becomes lieutenant are exactly the same as his predecessors. He repeats the textbook definition of a citizen even after experiencing war and he still doesn't know what it means. He does what is expected of him, while the movie kind of frames him as breaking the mold and being a rebel because he doesn't do what his father wants him to do. But he does what the government needs of him and people like him.

For once, I believe having 35 year olds playing teenagers is on purpose.

Carmen is The Ideal Girl of the Federal Service. Her acting and her shots are always charming, not only is she cute, she plays cute, you have to fall in love with her and everything she does or the movie does around her supports this. Compare with Diz, who is also a very beautiful woman but her acting and her shots tell she is more of a tomboy. She is there to let the audience know that women can also become war meat soldiers.

"Service guarantees citizenship". *Guarantees*. There may be other ways of becoming a citizen, but they are harder and are never mentioned in the movie, it is all about Service as if it was the only way (and for some things, like being a politician, it is). "Citizen" is also used in opposition to "civilian" kind of implying that "civilians" are not "citizens". Again, this is a propaganda war movie from the future, so we don't get to see what it means in daily life to have this separation between "civilian" and "citizen", but we know citizens have privileges. Also: Rico is rich, his family is rich, his parents aren't citizens.

The pledge of alliance that is actually a legal waiver.

Rico saying he will join the infantry to the recruiter who has a missing arm and him proudly saying "Infantry made me the man I am today" while casually showing Rico and the audience that he is also missing both his legs. Almost all adults we've seen until this moment are disabled from war.

The shower scene. All those handsome young men and women full of energy and life who get along are asked to say why they joined while fully naked. A subliminal ad, the brochure to convince kids. Some things are the same as joining the army ("Harvard will cost *an arm and a leg* but the Federation will pay for it"), some others are painfully dystopian ("It is easier to get a license to be a mother"). So civilians need authorisation to be parents, but the Federal Service is more or less counting on survivors to motivate their children to join and keep the war machine going.

Showing an ad of a terrible bug killing a cow but censoring the cow dying immediately followed by "the mormons" (are they mormons, though? Aren't they just the squad the Roughnecks find in Planet P?) killed in terrific ways, showed in great detail of gore and blood.

The whole Doctor Mengele vibes of Carl who joins the division called "Games and Theory". *Games*. His vibes were off even in high school and his whole "mind control" (which the movie doesn't really confirm is a real thing, it makes the narrative around it as if it was but "it's afraid" is not mind reading and "it's classified" as an explanation is nothing really). I don't know if it's worse if he can actualy do telepathy or if he can't but is living off of it. Some "The men who stare at goats" army shit there.

Carl making an ad to show the superweapon they will use against the bugs, but that weapon is only used in the ad. The infantry uses their average weapons that are mostly ineffective for killing bugs.

When Carl reappears and says that his division is the one making the choices for whatever Fleet and Infantry do, and he says he sends people to their death on purpose to test theories and Rico says "That's what the infantry is for" fully convinced that yes, we came here to be killed.

Infantry is made of younger and younger people.

When Carmen, Carl and Rico meet again after the fight and they get the kind of heroic shot of the three of them together surrounded by celebrating soldiers and Carmen says something like "When the three of us are together, maybe things can work out". They spent the movie apart. Carl disappears once he joins and reappears only at the end. They didn't even capture the bug, another team did. But they are a metaphore of joined efforts of the three branches of the Federal Service, they aren't really characters.

Carmen and Rico never get serious injuries. In this scene of celebration, Carmen is bleeding from one arm (and that arm should be completely unusable and she should be in great pain) but she was able to shoot and use that arm as if nothing happened. Rico fully ricovered from his leg injury. And even, they just scaped running from an exploding cave, their hair is clean and perfectly combed even though moments before it wasn't.

The person who captured the bug was the training officer of Rico, but he had to demote himself to be able to fight and become the hero who captured the bug. The propaganda message for recruiting kids being "you get the action and the merit if you stay a private", even after most of the privates in Rico's company have been kileed in horrific ways.

How the news titles change according to the story the propaganda wants to reinforce.

Only the young, beautiful, white, smiling people survive.

Ending the movie with humans probing the bug the same way the bug was probing the humans less than 20 minutes before.

The whole cinematography that is one shot after the other of propaganda war movies and quips to create complicity with the audience.

Ay Verhoeven, qué bien lo haces, jodío. I really like how it's a movie within a movie. There are nods to the audience in the 24th Century who are watching this propaganda movie (every single scene of Carmen) and at the same time, there are nods to us watching the movie now to let us know how this is all wrong (the recruiter's "Infantry made me the man I am today").

[mr-kench]

I was rewatching Batman Beyond (great show, highly underrated) the only context you need for the show is that this is in the not so distant future l, Bruce is an old man and passed to torch to a new kid named Terry McGinis. It got to the episode that really got me thinking. Not in a philosophical way or anything but just in a “humanity would 100% do this if they could” sort of way. The basic premise is that theirs a new type of body altering fashion trend. Theirs people in the show that try to justify it as basically being a tattoo and others outright saying that logic is completely bullshit. It’s called Splicing. It’s a gene lab that cracked the code on splicing DNA for immediate and near painless transformation to the body using animal DNA. It doesn’t need to be the whole body as one girl altered her eyes to have green cat eyes. However theirs some that went full body basically becoming anthro animals, a guy that became part snake, another became part bull and a different one became part hyena. Naturally the guy in charge of this was evil and the side effect of this was increased aggression.

However that’s not what I want to focus on. Instead I want to focus on the concept of Splicing itself. Theirs tons of people who would 100% be on board for this if it was possible myself included. Having claws and fangs sounds badass. Plenty more would be willing to go all the way and become hybrids being half human and half whatever other animal. At the same time plenty of concerned adults in the show were against this. With Terry’s little brother wanting to get spliced and his mom saying no. When asked why she’d be against it since she has a tattoo she says “the difference is that I don’t have antlers growing out of my head”

Excluding the obligatory evil plot it’s a pretty good examination of theoretical Trans Humanism. I’m confident it’s going to be a thing if we make it that far as a civilization. Theirs plenty of usefulness in the technology and it’s cool looking besides but there would naturally be concerns from others seeing people willingly leave behind their humanity and become something objectively not human.

It’s an interesting thought and one that’s crossed my mind. If Splicing was real would any of you want to do it? If so how would you want to be spliced, full body, only small features?

[chibi-celesti]

New Year’s Comfort Care

Summary: The New Year is fast approaching, so are IN STOCK NOW Deals at Mr. S’s Shop! But of course, with the New Year comes the New Years Blues! And while they could try and keep the masks of indifference up, there are some Night Raven College students who can't shake off any worries about what the Year may bring.

IN COMES M&M’S SPECIAL COMFORT CARE SERVICES!

With a little R&R, and TLC, Night Raven’s designed own Reyvateil, Meryu Ptrapica Melenas will make your entry into the New Year a stress free one!

A/N: Say hello to another Brain Child event of mine! This time focusing on the New Year(which also Happens to be my Birthday! Yay!! *cries in aching back and kneecaps*) And I figured, to celebrate a countdown-ish Start to the New Year, I wanted to make a small New Year’s Present for you all! And this was born! Granted it might be due in part to me rewatching Luca’s Cosmosphere Level one shenanigans in AT II that kick started this brain worm; it is what it is!

With that out of the way, let's get this show on the road!!!

~Twisted Tonelico~

Prelude: M&M’s Comfort Care!

The New Year… a Time where we reflect on our old selves.

An opportunity to look at what we have room for improvement, resolutions to commit to and ensure success. 

And of course, the opportunity to wash away the woes that weigh heavy on our shoulders from the year before.

Let your worries be a thing of the past. With a magic touch from me, you will feel good as new!

Welcome…TO M&M’S COMFORT CARE SERVICES!!!

~Night Raven: Outside Mr. S’s Shop~

Sam and Dr. Marmalade were finishing up the last touches of the specialized Therapy House. Both bumping their fists in confidence at the final look. From the outside it seemed like a Tea House seen in the Far East of Twisted Wonderland, common tour places like in the Land of the Red Dragon. The inside too was reminiscent of one: from sliding doors, delicate carpet and floor to even a beautiful outdoor Zen Garden (well insulated with Heat from some grathmelded fire magestones and floral fae ecstatic to help spruce up the place.)

Both Staff members knew the New Year Sale would be a wide success, but…It didn’t hurt to sweeten the pot up with more madol a la Therapy session with one of-if not-THE most popular Mage in school: Meryu Melenas of Ramshackle Dorm.

Said girl was behind them, eyes filled with amazement at the Therapy House in front of her. “This is the most beautiful House I’ve ever seen!”

“So, this is where Minion’s gonna be working in for the whole week?!” Grim cried. “Why can’t we have something this nice in our dorm?!”

“Trust in the process, Little Imp,” Sam told Grim. “This House is a popular one overseas in the East of Twisted Wonderland. Many tourists call it one of the ideal hotspots to visit!”

“And contrary to its plain appearance, it’s a place we made sure to have nice and cozy for both her AND her customers.”

“And of course we can’t forget the icing on the cake!” With a flourish, the two adults showed off Meryu wearing a custom made New Year’s Kimono for the occasion.

Perfectly named as ‘Bring Fortune’, she wore a colorful blue dress like kimono with white sleeves; both parts her attire were decorated in flowers and green stems. Her sash was a mix of reds and purple split to where the ends of the tied sash show off more purple. The tips of the ribbon part red while revealing a purple scales out lined in gold yellow, and hidden underneath was a white slip of cloth with a yellow diamond pattern.. The center part of the kimono was a cool grey hue with golden patterns of cranes looped with wide petal shaped ovals and she had one white thigh high stocking with yellow ochre flowers on her left leg while the right leg was wrapped in pink ribbon; both with dangling yellow decorations at her thighs. Her shoes were black special sandals called ‘Bingata Geta Sandals’; these ones were styled in black and matched the same pattern as the middle of her wardrobe. Though what made the rest of her ensemble stand out wasn’t just the springy colors, but her pulled back and held neatly together by a hair clip with small, five petaled tipped flowers mostly grown in the East. It did little to keep her heart ahoge down; silly thing seemed to have a mind of its own.

As odd of an outfit as it was, Meryu was still thrilled for what her week entailed.

“Ok, so here’s what your job role is: As Mr. S’s employees tend to most of the sales deals, they plan to help promote you as a rest stop for anyone interested in talking about anything that bothers them, or enjoy a simple host of festivities all three of us discussed that would be permitted here. Tea drinking, music, story telling, games; all they gotta do is see your adorable face and you’re golden!” Marmalade instructed. “Any issues or concerns about your patrons-especially if they try anything funny on you- Gamma will help out.” They point to their partner poking out and waving from inside a Giant Daruma Doll that conveniently fits his stature.

“Hai!”

“By the way, Pink Imp~” Mr. Sam leaned over to the girl with an impish grin of his own. “What do you hope for in the New Year?”

She thought about her goals and wishes. “Hmm…it’s not much, but I hope to improve on my Song Magic and help keep everyone safe. And, hopefully not be so hard on myself after everything that’s happened.” She lightly rubbed her cheek in embarrassment.

“That’s the spirit!”

“And as for you Grim,” Said Dire Beast was picked up by his ribbon. “You’re gonna be a good boy, and let her do her job!”

“HUH?! I’m not working with her?!”

“We don’t want you burning this place to the ground. You can, however, visit her during her shift and lunch breaks, and when she’s off.”

Grim grumbled at not getting to work alongside his partner. Seeing him sad, Meryu patted his head and gave him some scratches behind his ears. “Don’t worry, Grim. If things all turn out well, I’ll treat you to some yummy tuna. Premium quality, too!”

The second he heard that he jumped out of the Doctor’s hold and danced for joy. He then turned to her and said: “You better keep your promise!”

“I will, Boss!” She gave him a wink.

>//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////<

The outfit in question that she is wearing is based off this super cute one from Idol Master Cinderella Girls! So surreal that this ref too is a New Year's Baby XD

[augustghosts]

How do I summarise this one? I don’t even have a title for this one lol. Um, I was rewatching midnight mass and I almost wrote a priest tommy au…. Perhaps I already did write it, but perhaps that's for another day. I’ll just test the waters with this one for now. This actually gets kinda fluffly lol. Hope you like <3

@chaithetics thank you for the kind words u left on my post earlier, grateful for u! mwah 🫶

Word count: 2.8k

Warnings: 18+, f!reader, reader is an adult of course, established relationship. talk of god and church and stuff. Slight corruption kink is you squint. Oral f and m receiving, unprotected PinV. Lots of pet names. Not proofread as always.

“Is this not a sin?” Tommy jokes as he parts from her, his lips plump and kiss swollen. She looks the same as she looks down at him, her warm palms on either side of his face - her thighs straddling his lap as his couch creaks beneath them.

“What do you know about sin, Tommy?” She asks, her voice low and sultry. He laughs and tries to kiss her again, but she grabs his hair and pulls his head back.

“Tell me.” She whispers.

“Fuck, darlin’ I don’t know. I’ve not been to church in years.” He sighs, her fingers in his hair makes his hands tighten on her hips, pulling her tightly against him. Making her hips rock slightly against his, he’s already hard as fuck, his erection straining painfully in his jeans. He can feel how wet she is through the fabric, they’d been teasing each other on this couch for a good half hour.

“I know. I’m there every Sunday, sometimes more.” She leans closer, her lips right beside his ear. “Thanks to you, I know all about sin.”

“Are you saying I corrupted you, baby?” He groans as her lips press to his neck, her hand is still in nis hair - his neck delightfully exposed to her.

“Maybe.” She smiles against his skin. “As long as you confess your sins, you will be forgiven.”

“Do you?” He asks, his voice is strained. Her mouth is now sucking on his sensitive skin clouding his mind. “Do you walk into your fathers church, get on your knees and pray? Do you tell god what we do and beg for his forgiveness?”

Tommy doesn’t really know what the fuck he’s talking about. He can feel his resolve slipping and he is desperately trying to keep his cool. The effect she has on him is like no other. It's Sunday today, it’s mid afternoon and the warm sun is streaming through the windows of Tommy’s living room. She’s dressed in her tight little church outfit, that tight little skirt that's now been pushed up to her hips. Her white blouse, the top few buttons have been ripped open exposing her bra, her cleavage is right in his face but her grip on him is still holding him back from it.

“Not exactly,” She giggles, “I can tell you haven’t been to church.”

“Baby, the only reason I would step foot in there would be to stare at you in these little outfits.” He says, his eyes travel to her chest and she lets go of his hair. His lips immediately latch on to her neck, returning the favour.

“Don’t leave any marks, Tommy.” She moans as his hands pull her hips forward again, her clothed pussy dragging against his denim covered cock. He was getting real sick of these layers between them.

“I know,” He says. “I know the drill, honey.”

As if she had read his mind, she quickly undoes the remaining buttons on her blouse and throws it somewhere beside them.

“I think I would feel guilty if I went to church.” He says as her hands begin to push his own shirt up, encouraging him to take it off, he does before continuing. “I would feel guilty about you, about how much I’ve taught you. About how much I want you. About how much I shouldn't want you.”

His beautiful brown eyes search her face, taking in every little feature that he loves. He knows this is a risk, he knows it’s potentially a lost cause. He knows you can’t be seen with him and sometimes it breaks his fucking heart. “But I do want you, I’ve wanted you for so long.”

Her mind has always had trouble comprehending that he wanted her. Her face flushes at his words. Tommy was the first man to ever make her feel like this. Tommy was all she had ever wanted. She knows their future, she just tries not to think about it.

“Me too. I need you, Tommy. I’ve always needed you.” Her hands trail from his neck to his shoulders, slowly moving them to rest on his chest. Now his shirt is gone she can feel his heart beating under her palm, its beating fast and the thought that she does this to him is incomprehensible. She leans in to kiss him again, his large hands are still exploring her waist and back, his fingers now playing with her bra - slightly struggling to undo the clasp.

“Come here, I wanna make you feel good, baby.” She shivers from his words and a soft moan leaves her lips when they meet his again. He cups her jaw in his large hand bringing her mouth down against his. For her, nothing is better than this. Whenever she’s with him - everything feels right. His fingers dig into her hips hard enough to leave bruises and she loves it. No one has ever touched her the way Tommy does. Their kiss quickly becomes a mess of tongues and teeth and Tommy sucks her bottom lip into his mouth. She whines and rolls her hips down against his.

“My room?” Tommy asks, “I wanna fuck you in my bed this time.”

He’s sick of the couch. When she giggles and nods he stands up with her still in his arms. Her legs wrap tightly around his waist, her arms clutching his neck. Once in his room, he lays her down on the bed. She sits up on her elbows as she watches him click the door shut.

“Can i suck you off again? Please?” She asks as sweetly as she can. She swears she sees his eyes dilate.

“Fuck, baby.” He mumbles as his hands fly to his belt. “You know I can never say no to you.”

As if he would ever turn down a blowjob. She crawls to the edge of the bed, kneeling in front of where he’s standing, she helps him to pop the button open on his pants and shove them down his legs along with his boxers. Tommy’s cock is ridiculously impressive. She moans in anticipation of him stretching her open again, but for now all she wants is to taste him. She’d never given a blowjob before meeting Tommy, and she remembers the look in his eyes when she had asked him to teach her. She’d sucked him off a few times now, and she loved the praise he always gave her. She spits into her hand, wrapping her hand around him and sliding her hand over his length a few times. When she looks up at him his eyes are closed and he’s biting his bottom lip, it's a beautiful sight. A bead of precum forms on his slit and she licks it off.

“Shit, that's it sweetheart.” Tommy swears quietly. After a few more kitten licks to his tip, she knows he likes to be teased a little. She takes his head into her mouth, swirling her tongue around his sensitive tip. She bobs her head a few times, taking him further and further each time. It’s his turn now to work his fingers into her hair, using his grip to help guide her head.

Tommy’s moans are so hot that she’s pretty sure she could cum from just listening to him, and from the taste of him. She squeezes her thighs together - some relief as she keeps up a steady pace. She decides to do something she had never done before and tries to take him to the back of her throat. She works slowly and Tommy’s mouth falls open. A heavenly moan leaving his mouth as she gags around him. Tears prick at her eyes as she pulls off of him to catch her breath, smirking up at him before taking him into her mouth again.

“Oh my god, baby.” He moans. “Fuck, you’re gonna kill me.”

He pulls her head back using his makeshift ponytail that he's wrapped around his fist. Her eyes are wide and innocent as she looks up at him and he almost busts on the spot.

“As much as i would love to come down your throat, baby. I wanna fuck you. Get back there.” He says pointing to the pillows at the top of the bed. She smiles up at him and shuffles back to lay on the pillows. He climbs up to join her, connecting their lips again as he hovers above her. His strong arms holding himself up on either side of her head. He undoes the button on her jeans, and she lifts up her hips to help him slide them off. He tosses them to the floor and begins to press kisses to her leg, starting at her ankle. She’s trembling under his touch as he continues up her leg until he’s kissing the sensitive skin on the inside of her thigh. When he gives a bite to the meat of her leg she squeals his name. All she wants is to kiss him again, she tries to pull his head up to hers but he resists, his nose nudges the edge of her panties and he looks up at her with his gorgeous eyes. A classic Tommy smirk gracing his lips.

“Can I taste you, baby girl?” He asks and she nods enthusiastically. Her voice feels like it's gone so all she can do is squirm and buck her hips. He hooks his fingers into the elastic of her panties and they’re soon joining the pile of clothes on his floor.

“Such a pretty pussy.” He mumbles, while he spreads her legs a little wider to give him a better view. She helplessly whimpers as he stares at her sex, feeling vulnerable in the best way under his gaze. He slides a finger through her folds and she’s already so fucking wet that she can hear it as he collects her arousal with his hand. “Fuck, always so wet. All for me, baby?”

“You know it’s for you.” She sighs, “Always for you.”

His finger finds her clit and her hands fly to his shoulders, her hips chasing his hand and arching off of the bed.

“Fuck baby, don’t hold back, okay? I wanna hear you.” He groans. His head dips down and he runs his tongue flat along her pussy. He does it again, his nose catching her clit on the way up, making her fingers squeeze his shoulders. His tongue goes from flicking over her bundle of nerves to teasing her hole and she moans his name, earning a groan from him which vibrates against her pussy. He slips a thick finger inside of her, gauging her reaction before adding another.

“God I can’t wait to fuck you baby.” He whispers as his fingers slip inside of her easily, her warm walls gripping his digits. It doesn’t take him long to bring her to the edge, her fingers are now sliding over his scalp.

“Please, Tommy. I want you inside of me.”

“I wanna feel you come around my fingers first, baby.” He says, “I know you're close. Come for me honey, and I’ll fuck you so good. I promise.”

“Shit. I’m coming! Oh my god!” She moans loudly. Tommy can feel her walls spasming against his fingers, he quickly replaces them with his tongue so he can lick her through her orgasm. She continues moaning his name like a prayer as she comes down from her high.

“God?” He laughs as he crawls back up to her face, his mouth covered in her slick.

“What?” She asks, a little delirious.

“You said ‘oh my god’,” He reminds her and tuts playfully. “What would daddy think?”

“I don’t care.” She sighs, the only thing on her mind is how close his cock is to slipping inside of her.

“Woah!” He laughs at her words, “That’s naughty, baby.”

She rolls her eyes and pulls him down to kiss her, tasting herself on his lips. She whines against his lips, shit - she enjoyed that. And he senses it.

“What? You like that?” He asks, his hand coming up to her chest to grasp her breast. His thumb slides over her nipple as he speaks. “You like it? You want me to call you a naughty girl?”

She brings her hands up to cover her face, her cheeks heating up in embarrassment. Tommy decides to leave it, for now. But he will definitely be revisiting that later. He presses a kiss to her cheek instead, smiling against her warm skin.

“It’s alright, baby. I’ve got ya’.” He whispers in her ear as he rocks his hips up against hers, his painfully hard cock rubbing up against her soaked folds.

“I need you, Tommy.” She moans, “I wanna feel you.”

He groans at her words, he’s not sure when she got so good at talking like that. But it starts a fire inside of him and he feels his cock twitch. He reaches down and grabs his length, coating himself in her slickness as he rubs in between her folds. She lets out small breathy whines as the head of Tommy’s cock presses against her entrance. He swallows the sounds with his mouth kissing her and bracing himself on one forearm as he pushes into her heat. Her hands grasp his biceps, her nails digging into his soft skin.

“Shit, honey.” He mumbles against her mouth, letting her delicious, warm pussy pull him in. “You’re so fucking tight.”

Tommy presses his forehead against hers as he stills, giving her a moment to adjust. Tommy always gave her everything, he was always so sweet.

“Shit, Tommy.” Her moan has him twitching inside of her, he’s finding it hard to keep his cool with the grip of her warm cunt and he softly grinds into her.

“Oh, please. Please fuck me, Tommy.” She whines, looking up at him with such an innocent expression that he suddenly feels like he isn't going to last very long. He begins to move, hard but gentle thrusts, hitting the perfect spot that he knows so well and she moans into his shoulder. Feeling every drag of his cock against her walls. She’d never been with anyone like this before, but this was Tommy and everything you’ve ever wanted. She was prepared to do anything for him.

He drops his head down into her neck and groans, his noises make her clench around him. She wraps her legs around his waist, clinging to him - trying to get as close to him as she can. She wants every inch of her skin pressed up against his. She wants to be like this forever, if possible.

“You always feel so perfect, baby.” He moans. “So heavenly.”

She giggles at his choice of words. When his cock hits just the right spot, she gasps his name and her arms tighten around his neck. Tommy is watching her, as always - he keeps hitting the same spot when he sees her reaction.

“Yeah?” He coos, wanting to hear her voice.

“Feels so good, Tommy.” She whines, “Always so good.”

“My sweet, perfect girl.” He sighs, leaning down to press a kiss to her jaw. “You want me to fill you up, baby?”

“Please! Fuck, I’m close.” She whispers. Tommy’s fingers dip down to play with her swollen clit.

“Come for me, baby. Let me have it.” Tommy says as he starts to rub her clit faster. Her orgasm crashes over her, her pussy clenching around him sends him over the edge with her. Her cunt milking him as he groans her name. When both of their highs come to an end, he drops down next to her. Burying his face in her hair and nuzzling his nose against her ear as they both catch their breath.

“Tommy?” She whispers.

“Yeah?” His eyes are closed as he answers her.

“You are not a sin, by the way.”

He perks up, leaning on one elbow to look at her. A sad smile on his face.

“Never.” She adds, reciprocating his smile.

“Thank you, baby.” He says, his hand coming up to cradle her cheek. He doesn’t really know what else to say. But he knows that she means it.

“We’ll be okay.” He whispers, cuddling back up to her again. She answers him with a small hum. Her mind reeling with everything she wants to tell him - maybe next time.

[eerna]

Hi there, i would love to know your opinion about the Nimona movie compared to the comic? What they did worse or better? And which you liked better overall. ❤️

UhuhUHU okidoki here I go. Fair warning I might be off because I haven't rewatched the movie or reread the comic yet.

The comic is pretty similar regarding the broad strokes of the story, but entirely different in the moral of the story? And the themes are different as well. It's aimed at young adults/adults, while the movie is aimed at kids. There's blood and the characters aren't as pure or righteous, and the ending isn't as forgiving. But honestly, it surprised me how similar the two were, and I legit don't think I prefer either version. While there are stuff I prefer in both, both of them accomplish what they set out to do, as two totally separate things. SO I'm separating the comparisons into three categories: Neutral, Movie did it better, and Comic did it better.

Neutral:

In the comic, Ballister has been the city's villain for quite some time, and he embraces the role while still following a moral code.

Nimona kills a lot of people and he can't stop her. She is supposed to be his sidekick, but in truth, he's the one running after her and excusing her actions. I liked the aspect of "Nimona is really really not good but Ballister loves her too much to accept it" that culminates in Ballister betraying his ideals and killing someone!

Goldenloin is Ballister's nemesis, and gleefully accepts the role - he mocks him, engages in banter, and is a prick. He isn't the born-to-be-golden-child he is in the movie - in fact, as a child he used to lie to everyone that his family was important, and was bullied mercilessly for it. He shot off Ballister's arm out of jealousy!! Because Ballister was better!!!! And the scene where he realizes he has never apologized - HOW cool is that!!!!!

In the finale, Nimona is split in half, one part of her turning into a raging monster destroying the city while the other is living through her worst memories, stuck in her child form. Ballister and Goldenloin join forces to stop her, but Goldenloin wants to kill her while Ballister just wants to subdue her powers long enough to talk her down. This means he is forced to betray Nimona, but stuck between the two people he cares the most for in this world, what else was he supposed to do!! The moment he breaks down after spending the entirety of the book all rational and stoic and cold... Waaaaaah what a good heartbreak.

At the end, Goldenloin adn Ballister are considered the heroes who saved the city, and Nimona is forgotten. She's still alive, though - she still visits Ballister one last time in another person's form so he doesn't realize it's her until it's too late, and he finishes the story wondering if she'll ever be back and know he wanted to be her friend. What a cute bittersweet ending!! Loved it!!!

Movie did it better:

The comic doesn't have the societal order commentary that I really loved in the movie. I loved how the knights are basically useless, a higher class who contribute nothing but entertainment to society, which you can only enter if you're born into it. The queen decides that the class should be expanded and regular people should be able to earn the right to join it, and she is killed for it. Her idea wasn't even that revolutionary!!! She wasn't questioning its right to exist, which would have been the truly controversial way of thinking!!! And it was enough to get her dead!!! In the comic, the knights are mostly orphans anyway, a glorified police force more than the rich celebrities they are in the movie.

Parts of Goldenloin and Ballister's relationship hit harder in the movie. I prefer the "cut off his arm as an instinct because his instincts went against his heart" story from the movie. I loved how he kept seeing Ballister as a victim. I loved the tortured love.

Nimona is way more sympathetic. The comic's explanation for her personality is that she was lied to and experimented on when she was a kid, but that's as far as it goes. We are supposed to accept her as she is, and that is a really cool story, but I just really really like the way the movie flipped it into "Nimona is actually peaceful and kind, she is vilified for not staying silent when abused".

Surprisingly, the suicide angle is not present in the comic!!! That was ADDED into the kiddie version!! That heartbreaking scene with the sword and the heart isn't there, and neither is the friendship backstory, which was some of my fav stuff. I too kept asking myself how could Nimona stand to be immortal, and the movie is like. She can't. She wants to die rather than be alone. But by the end of the movie she decides to live, symbolically turning into a phoenix. Like wow thanks I'm gonna go cry in the corner now

While Ballister's innocence sometimes grated on my nerves, I enjoyed the warmer, newer-to-societal-revolution Ballister more than the experienced terrorist from the comic. The aspect of Ballister accusing Nimona of trying to turn him to her morals because she wants him to be as evil and as much of a monster as her so she wouldn't be alone!!!! Bro OUCH

The arrow scene!! It was amazing in the comic too, but I really liked the awkwardness of the movie ahhahahah

Comic did it better:

The humor!!! I enjoyed the humor of the comic so much!!! Probably because it was written with my age in mind instead of the kids, but also ND Stevenson is just really funny in that deadpan "art student writing comics" way.

Goldenloin's name. Why is that man still named Goldenloin in the movie. It is hilarious in the comic esp with his design but the movie.... WHY

While I sorely miss the "I wouldn't die, it just wouldn't be living" line, I do have to say I prefer the subtler version of explaining themes because that's just the way I roll fdjbskabjaks

Over the course of the story, Ballister finds out there is a way to put a temporary lock on Nimona's powers, keeping her stuck in one form. And in the finale, he uses it thinking it could help talk Nimona down (as opposed to Goldenloin's idea of killing her). He keeps her stuck in one form, which is something that seems entirely reasonable at the time, and when she learns it was him who has done it, she turns away from him entirely. This is SUCH a good concept and while I have no idea how it could fit into the movie, I do have to say it's a better betrayal

The battles of Ballister VS Goldenloin are much better. Less standing and clashing swords and more kicking and throwing each other out of stuff.

The board games scene. It was way funnier with how Ballister plays Nimona's game and also starts saying stupid stuff. Excellent.

Nimona's immortality is better established, and there is no overdramatic "is she dead or not" - we find out she lives right away after she "dies". I'm really impressed with how nicely it was laid down, as someone who doesn't like death fakeouts, as it is difficult to do such an ending. The drama comes from the question of whether she will let Ballister back into her life. I feel like the movie would profit from establishing her immortality better, especially since they also introducted that she can kill herself if she wishes to. Ouch my heart.

[jade-kyo]

RvB 20th rewatch: s2

Continuing the rewatch onto season 2. This is my first time watching the show on dvd and honestly it’s so fun seeing the menus and watching the extra stuff and also- getting to listen to Trocadero. That’s the best part man fucking love Trocadero.

DOC MY BELOVED

As yes the beginning of Vic being a little weirdo

The whole “you’re the thing that babies suck on” bit is still one of the funniest jokes in early rvb it cracks me up so much

Caboose only has nine toes

Remember when Doc was a fairly normal dude? Exposure to the reds and blues really does just turn you into a freaky little weirdo 😂

Also Doc’s willingness to distance himself from Grif simply for being unpopular is so funny it’s like they’re fucking high schoolers

I always say that out of everyone Church and Tucker feel the most like actual friends

Tucker character development really does go hard- he starts out as this kinda young seeming idiot who makes a lot of sex jokes and grows into the most competent soldier among them and a leader.

But also he just sounds so young in the early seasons and it’s making me emotional

Remember when Lopez didn’t hate everyone and was genuinely loyal to Sarge? Good times

BISEXUAL SHEILA

Also the beginning of the most insane love triangle ever. Of all time.

Donut actually does call himself pink here

I think it’s funny that Tex tells a story about Church being pantsed in high school even tho Allison and the Director didn’t meet until they were both adults meaning the Director either told Allison that story and Tex had that memory or Tex is counting on Alpha having faulty memories and is just straight up making shit up for the lols

Ahhh Cabooses mind- a very good bit

My personal headcanon is that Donut is 100% aware of all the innuendos and is doing it intentionally to be a little shit cause they kept making fun of him for the pink armor. No I don’t care what s17 said.

CHEX YOU ARE INCREDIBLE GOD I JUST AKDHKAHSKDHKSBD I LOVE THEM

DOC OMALLEY MY BELOVED

Possibly one of my favorite villains in the whole show just for the sheer hilarity he brings

Ah the grimmons cyborg surgery

Okay but Donut trying to jump on top of the base from the inside is so real. I never played all of halo but I did have the demo on the computer as a kid and blood gulch was like the only playable map on the demo and I would spend so long trying to jump on top of the base. I was so annoyed that you couldn’t do that

Grif smokes

“Simmons… I need your ovaries” another one of my most quoted lines

Everyone else: man Donut is so dumb and annoying // me: that is a man who knows exactly what he’s doing

“I will devour their hearts and crap out their souls!” Also one of my most quoted lines.

The fucking mayonnaise bit is so random and funny like where did that even come from

Church’s inability to speak is one of my favorite bits mostly cause me too. He just like me fr.

The brief Caboose-Donut friendship is so good

Church being able to read binary code omg how was the alpha reveal not planned I’m screaming

Tucker the first believer in grimmons

I love how Tucker was the first to realize there was a conspiracy and then everyone proceeded to ignore him and then turned out he was right.

The irony debate is another very quoted moment for me

There’s a bit at the end of the credits where Vic tells you the movies over and now I’m wondering if the bit in the restoration credits with Tucker is a call back to this

And that’s season 2 done- I don’t have a ton to say here other than I love this show and I’m having so much fun rewatching and seeing all the extra stuff on the dvds that I’d never seen before. There’s more than I expected!