#brawn vs brains

[the-busy-ghost]

Ok maybe I need to start going out on a Friday night, but the regular seagull vs crow battles I get to watch from my window are just fascinating

[akanemnon]

Meanwhile with the bicker brigade...

FIRST - PREVIOUS - NEXT

MASTERPOST (for the full series / FAQ / reference sheets)

[heyo-77]

in the 30 years ford was stranded outside his home dimension, the stans were forced to take up what the other was naturally inclined towards. ford had to survive: he had to learn how to fight, how to punch; he had to learn to be good at it (stanley was a natural). stanley had to get his brother back: he had to learn how to reopen an interdimensional portal, how to Science; he had to learn to be good at it (ford was a natural).

[s0fter-sin]

one of my favourite aspects of supernatural that you very rarely see in paranormal shows is that sam and dean are already versed in the world they live in. there’s no sudden discovery of ghosts and demons and now they have to learn about them along with the audience; they are born into it and already know all about it. it allows the audience to follow their personal story instead of also trying to figure out this new world and its rules

the first season is full of knowledge we never see them learn; “w*ndigoes are in the minnesota woods or- or northern michigan. i’ve never even heard of one this far west.” […] “great. well then this [his gun] is useless.” (1x02), “you don’t break a curse. you get the hell out of its way.” (1x08), d: “it’s a god. a pagan god, anyway.” […] “the annual cycle of its killings? and the fact that the victims are always a man and a woman. like some kind of fertility right.” […] s: “the last meal. given to sacrificial victims. d: “yeah, i’m thinking a ritual sacrifice to appease some pagan god.” (1x11)

almost every episode in the first season is a monster they’ve faced before that they then explain to the audience in a way that should feel patronising; like it’s the same speech given over and over again but instead, the audience almost feels included in the knowledge. it’s stated with such an innate confidence and comfort in said knowledge that it feels like we already knew it too; “spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. if they want inside, they just go through the walls.” […] “the claws, the speed that it moves; could be a skinwalker, maybe a black dog.” (1x02), “it's biblical numerology. you know noah's ark, it rained for forty days. the number means death.” (1x04), “no no no, not the reaper, a reaper. there's reaper lore in pretty much every culture on earth, it goes by 100 different names.” […] “you said it yourself that the clock stopped, right? reapers stop time. and you can only see 'em when they're coming at you which is why i could see it and you couldn't.” (1x12)

they already know and, at least in the first season, already have what they need to kill whatever they’re hunting; already know to salt and burn bones for spirits, fire for a w*ndigo, exorcisms for demons, a silver bullet to the heart for shapeshifters. there’s only three times in the entire first season that they run into something new to them; 1x14 when sam gets his first vision that leads him to another psychic, 1x16 when dean calls caleb for help on the sigil he put together and he tells him about daevas, and 1x20 when they find out vampires are real- and they only don’t know that bc john thought they were hunted to extinction and not worth mentioning

(there’s also technically two half instances if you count one of them knowing something the other doesn’t - sam figuring out the tulpa in 1x17 and dean already knowing about the shtriga in 1x18 - but those still rely on sam and dean having prior knowledge)

even when they’re uncertain about facing something, it’s not bc they don’t know what it is; it’s precisely bc they know what it is and acknowledge that it’ll be a difficult hunt (“i don't know, man. this isn't our normal gig. i mean, demons, they don't want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. this is big. and i wish dad was here.” 1x04)

so much of the tension in paranormal shows typically comes from the main character(s) not knowing what is happening to them/the people around them and having to find out how to resolve it. supernatural is unique in that it operates more like a police procedural. the tension comes from solving the clues and identifying patterns to figure out who (what) the killer is and intercepting before they can take another victim

it’s such a different tone to go for when compared to other shows that came both before, during, and after its run. it sets sam and dean on even footing with each other since they both have the same knowledge going in, and it puts them in a place of authority usually reserved for an outside character

the shows i compare spn to most is charmed, buffy and teen wolf; every main character in those shows are brought into the paranormal world knowing nothing, putting them on the same level as the audience, and they have their mc interact with others already knowledgeable about that world in order to overcome their problem/monster of the week. the audience organically learns about this new world as the characters learn about it. it’s a sound writing strategy that prevents “as we already know”-style exposition but something that complicates it is if your world building isn’t unique or intriguing enough, this slow introduction can become boring

we’ve seen shows like these before; sitting through the same tropes of characters learning to use their powers, struggling with no longer feeling normal/relating to the regular world around them, and not knowing how much they can trust the people already involved in this new world gets repetitive. all three shows eventually reach the same level of comfort with their new world that spn starts with but if the characters aren’t enough to draw you in, you can end up dropping it before they reach that point (and often, before the overarching plot can really kick in and evolve the show beyond the villain of the week format)

it’s the superhero origin movie in tv format; dragged out and overplayed. dropping the audience into an established world of course comes with its own problems but you also have the benefit of pre-existing established character dynamics that let the audience slot in like they’ve always been there instead of just getting to know all the characters while the characters also get to know each other

sam and dean already knowing about the supernatural lets the audience immediately get to the core of the story; the conflict between sam and dean, the search for their father, and the mystery of what killed their mother

[pasteilian]

Talking about intelligence with the Rottmnt Turtle bros, let me just go crazy about brains and brawn because these two are so beloved and underappreciated.

I love how it’s canon that, although Donnie is crazy intelligent, Raph is emotionally intelligent. Donnie loves his brother (duh), but I would say his intelligence kind of gives him a bit of an ego. He understands everything so clearly that nothing can catch him off guard, and then Raph enters the ring.

Raph is incredibly simple; he likes teddy bears, he likes comics, and he likes fighting. Donnie really wouldn’t consider him all that smart, yet Raph runs circles around him when it comes to being emotionally intelligent, and it generally baffles Donnie that maybe he should consider that intelligence doesn’t just stop at being really good at science and math. I love them so much.

I love to think about how it’s probably Raph who gets Donnie to at least try things once before completely rejecting the idea, and if it still doesn’t stick, he leaves it alone.

“Raph knows using tools for your workout routine is more efficient, but you don’t really get joy out of rushing through the things you love to do.” — Raph

Donnie is dumbfounded by the gentle giant that is Hamato Raphael.

[vertigoartgore]

2017's Superman Vol.4 #26 cover by cover artist Lee Weeks.

[fyodior]

can someone explain my type to me bc i sure as hell don’t know what it is

[flyboytracy]

[happyqueenandgrumpydork]

Brain Vs Brawn(Amazonian Bride Au)

*Branch was going to the Amazonian village for a date with Poppy, but he made a quick stop at the jeweler to pick up a custom ring he requested a while ago.*

[dcbinges]

Action Comics #23 (1940) by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster

[slenderfirebolt]

Not just nonbinary, anti-binary. Im against all forms of dichotomies in general, things seem to never work. Also a bit anti-categorical in general but thats a discussion for another day

[the-glass-is-actually-full]

Batfamily Fight-Off Day 4

[bronze-bits-babyyy]

brains vs brawn is so stupid, like imagine your a 6ft jacked dude who has been training every, drinking protein shakes and eating boiled potatoes, and some nerd comes along with a calculator and wins by being a smart-ass.

[themidnightsunset]

BRAINS vs. BRAWN

[theobviousparadox]

Review: Squire & Knight by Scott Chantler

Squire & KnightScott ChantlerFirst SecondPublished May 9, 2023 Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads About Squire & Knight A young squire tackles mysteries, monsters and magic, but the inept knight he serves takes the credit. Every time.Squire is brainy, bookish, and terribly under-appreciated by the brawny, inept knight Sir Kelton, who somehow always gets all the glory. So when the two mismatched…