#but I think Jessie just does such a good way of becoming the character

[rosicheeks]

Mueller gets a lot of hype, but I don’t think she gets enough tbh. Her control, her choices, the raw power she keeps just perfectly restrained. She’s awesome

Omg do you wanna be best friends?????????????

[yamujiburo]

Why I Love Hanamusa

I get this question very frequently but have never given a really in depth, definitive answer. All just kinda implied through my comics and spread out asks. So here's this I guess! Long post ahead:

First, as a Pokémon fan in her mid 20s, I love seeing a ship where the characters are both in their mid/late 20s. Already, they’re much more relatable to me and my current experiences. Most Pokémon ships are between preteens, which can be cute but ultimately don’t interest me as much as they used to when I was a kid myself. Not enough to get super invested in and draw a lot of fanart for anyways haha.

I’ll also start by saying that canon doesn’t always influence whether or not I’ll ship something. I’m much more drawn to potential. Could the characters work together? Do their personalities work together in a nice way? I feel like this so much of fanon is anyways. Especially with queer relationships because they’re rarely depicted in the first place. A lot of the context for these ships is usually up to the fans to piece together or make up in general. And that’s the fun part to me!

Jessie and Delia have only met in the anime a handful of times. Any interaction they’ve had has either been pleasant, or just a typical Team Rocket interaction, with Delia dismissing them/not seeing them as a threat. Already a great jumping off point for me since, truly, they don’t have any actual beef or true, ill feelings towards each other. It’s not TOO out of the realm of possibility for them to potentially fall for each other. “But Jessie chased Delia’s son around trying to steal his Pokémon!” That’s where that dismissive and aloof attitude that Delia has comes into play. I’ll go more into Delia’s whole deal a bit later but I do think this aspect of her personality is a large reason why this ship can work. It’s not that she doesn’t care that Jessie has a bad past, but she can tell that, on the inside, Jessie’s a good person. And, in a scenario where Jessie is trying to become a better person, is forgiving enough to give her a shot. I feel like this is such a solid foundation for a ship. A character who has done wrong but is trying to be better and another character who is willing to help them be better. A classic dynamic!

It’s not just one-sided though; where Jessie is the only one benefitting and learning from the relationship. I believe Delia could get a lot out of being with someone like Jessie. To understand why, I think it’s important to know these characters’ respective backstories.

Jessie is an orphan/foster child who grew up in poverty. Her mother Miyamoto (from The Birth of Mewtwo) was a Team Rocket operative herself, who went on a mission to find Mew. In order to do this, she had to leave Jessie when she was just a toddler. Unfortunately, Miyamoto went MIA on her mission leaving Jessie to more or less fend for herself. Jessie went through life with zero stability, evident by her MANY different careers and constant moving around. It’s implied in the show that she went from foster home to foster home, and later in life tried being an idol, weather girl, florist, wine connoisseur, actress, most notably a nurse and finally a Team Rocket field agent. And even while in Team Rocket, she, James and Meowth were always doing odd jobs to get by. We see that Jessie used to be a sweet kid, and even adult, but the world and her circumstances repeatedly did her dirty, leading her to become the character we know today. Hot tempered, mean, selfish, etc. But despite this, her soft side does still shine through for the people and Pokémon she cares about. She is incredibly loyal.

Delia, unbeknownst to a lot of fans, also had a rough past (see Pocket Monsters: The Animation). Like Jessie, she had a lot of dreams and aspirations like wanting to be a model and even a trainer. But when she was 10, her mother didn’t let her, telling her that she had to stay home and learn to run the family restaurant (she’s an only child). Delia’s father left her and her mother to be a trainer, and never returned. When she was 18, she married Ash’s father and became pregnant shortly after. But right after Ash was born, he also set off to be a Pokémon trainer. And soon after that, her mother passed away, leaving Delia with just the restaurant and baby Ash. This gives so much context to Delia’s attitude in the show. We see that Delia is pained whenever Ash leaves on a journey, but she never shows that pain to anyone. ESPECIALLY Ash. She’s very quick to shoo him off when he shows any sign of wanting to go on another journey and even when he returns home, she acts more excited to see Pikachu than him almost every time. Without all this backstory, it’s easy to just read this as a funny gag, BUT with context, I think it really shows how quickly Delia shuts down and detaches in order to not confront her own feelings. She’s afraid of losing people and getting hurt again.

All that said, I think Jessie and Delia provide each other with EXACTLY what the other needs. 

Aside from becoming rich and famous, Jessie’s biggest aspiration is to get married. In my opinion, this is more so an underlying want for love and stability. There is no one more stable in the show than Delia. Delia’s lived in Pallet her whole life, she’s worked at the same restaurant since she was young and she is always there when Ash comes back home. She has all the love, patience and stability Jessie needs and craves. While forgiving, Delia’s not stupid and can keep Jessie in check. Delia’s also just an angel, which I feel, would make Jessie want to be better. And on top of all this, on more of a surface level, Delia’s a chef and excellent cook. She shows love through cooking and Jessie, who grew up poor, regularly starving and eating snow, happily receives that love. Jessie’s able to live a happy and healthy life with someone like Delia.

Delia, as stated, is very stable. Likely pretty monotonous and solitary, especially living in such a small town like Pallet. This isn’t a bad thing but it’s a little sad when you consider that Delia also had dreams of traveling, being a model and a trainer. She had to give up so many dreams in order to fulfill her duties as a restaurant owner and mother. And even now, when Ash is off on his journey, she feels the need to always be home and be that stable pillar, leaving behind any ambitions she had, thinking it’s too late for her (she’s only 29 btw). But then along comes Jessie, dangerous, passionate, an absolute firecracker. Someone who’s whole life has been about chasing dreams and either, never giving up on them or finding a new dream to chase. Upon learning about Delia’s past aspirations, I could see Jessie pushing her towards them, letting her know that life’s too short and she has nothing to lose from trying. On top of this, Jessie’s also loyal. She, James and Meowth are depicted as doing anything for anyone who gives them food or shows them kindness. Delia does both so there’s no way Jessie would leave her. This fulfills an essential need for Delia, who is afraid of the people in her life leaving her.

There’s so much potential for mutual growth and learning between these two and I adore that. They compliment each other, they help each other and they bring out the best qualities in one another.

I’m not really sure how to end this and I could truly talk about them even more but I don’t want this to be tooooo long haha. OH I could end it with maybe the most funny aspect of this ship that I've brushed over and also what drew me to it in the first place. Jessie. As Ash’s stepmom. THE END.

[headless609]

Cartman Angst

Ah Cartman, the bigoted, racist, sexist, overweight, bully, bullied, and a victim. Cartman is my favorite character and it’s not just because he is hilarious. If you watch the show and really looks into it, you can see why Cartman acts the way he does. Let’s start with the obvious. Cartman is fat. We see the show make fun and jab at his weight sense season 1. We see side characters such as Liane and his eye doctor to the main characters aka Kyle, Stan and Kenny making fun of his weight. Especially Kyle. I don’t think people realize how fucking mean Kyle was to Cartman (and Cartman hadn’t even done anything evil yet btw). Kyle is always and stills calls Cartman ‘fatsss.’ Speaking of the earlier seasons, remember Cartman’s eye doctor? Y’know, the one who had no chill and continuously bullied Cartman by calling him porky and just being devious? Yeah him.

Next I want to talk about Cartman’s home life. And it’s bad, like it’s as bad as Kenny. Not only is Cartman quite poor but his dad is gone and his mom is a prostitute. Not only does Cartman not get scolded by his mom but his mom brings in men that are there for sex. Sound bad? Yeah, you can imagine a guy finding Cartman’s room. And you might think, ‘Dude, you’re reading into this way too seriously.’  

We see that Cartman has been assaulted by his cousin and his Uncle, Jessie. We see this in Le Petite Tourette’s and in Fun with Veal. And this is just two of the many other occasions. 

Everyone knows the episode Scott Tenorman Must Die, where Cartman snapped and went batshit crazy. But most people don’t remember the banned episode where we see Scott again. Where we learn a dark truth. Cartman and Scott were step-brothers, Cartman had killed his own father, the father he had cried himself to sleep wishing he’d come back. And when we see him admit that he’s crying because of him being half ginger to his friends, all I can think is , ‘ Really? After all the tears that your pillow soaks?’ But then you think, would you tell some kids that have always bullied you because of your weight and you thought only hung out with you cause you bully people with them why you’re actually sad? HELL NO! Cartman may be crazy and a sociopath but he ain’t stupid. The reason he is able to stay with the gang is that they think he is cool (which they don’t) heck the only reason why they became a friend group was because Cartman bullied Pip! And with all that piled up, Cartman becomes insecure about himself and to make him feel better lashes out an everyone else, believing he is a victim in every scenario and everyone deserves to pay. 

And that is the debrief of the monster, Eric Cartman. The most hated South Park child in the show. 

There is so much I want to say about Cartman, and I tried to fit it in one Notes page. And I hate it whenever one says they hate Cartman because he is a nazi and all that shit. I understand, but please peel his onion skin and you’ll understand why Cartman is such a good character. This one is the longest one yet so thanks for those who were able to read the entire thing. 🥲

[wellpullmystring]

My thoughts on Toy Story 5 at D23

I MISSED WOODY SO MUCH AND THE REST OF THE GANG BUT ESPECIALLY WOODY I LOVED SEEING WOODY AND CO.

It seems the little girl they're all staring at in the concept art is Bonnie. And she doesn't seem that much older. This is one of the most interesting things to me. I figured TS5 might have a significant time skip to keep some weight from the ending to TS4. We know that at least a year has passed from the credits in TS4. But I don't know if having them reunite so quickly will be a good idea. If the gang gets right back together, Toy Story 4's ending could lose some of its meaning. I never thought a permanent separation would ruin the ending to TS4, but having them come back together so quickly could potentially jeopardize the emotional stakes of TS4.

How is Woody even back with them so quickly? What circumstances would have them all together again in such a timely manner? Did the toys explicitly ask Woody for help?

The reunion of the gang was done in such an unceremonious manner. I knew the gang was gonna be shown together in the promo. But they didn't even build up their reconciliation in the quick video they showed.

Bo Peep isn't mentioned. Bo Peep isn't in the concept art. Bo Peep is nowhere to be found. Does Woody separate from her? Is Woody simply going on an adventure with the old gang before planning on returning to her? Is she with him and just not in that particular scene?

Woody and Buzz (also Jessie) are the only ones that were mentioned in the plot summary. I find this interesting. They are also the only characters to appear in the video that was shown. I get the feeling that we're going to see a return to the TS2 and TS3 style of leads.

Toy Story 4 was hardly shown as they presented images from the previous films to pull us in. I also found the language being used to be very interesting. "Loyalty." "Friendship." "Growing up." There wasn't much that could be directly linked to Toy Story 4. The only image shown from Toy Story 4 was a flashback scene with Andy. Does Andrew Stanton not care for that movie?

I find the fact they went with the "toys vs. technology" route interesting. This has been a suggested plot since before TS4 released. I think it could be a great way to weave together the messages of abandonment or fear of rejection and insecurity that the series has long studied into a cohesive fifth installment. My only worry is that it could seem boomerish or like it's pandering + perhaps date the film.

They're really doing the whole "delusional Buzz" plot again lol. TS4 was the only movie to not fully do this. I worry that facing an army of Buzz Lightyears could seem a bit childlish. But it depends on how it's done in the movie. I hope it doesn't feel like another contrived way to get TS1 buzz back.

A lot of my thoughts on the movie will depend on how much of an emphasis these plot elements have on the movie. Are they an inciting set of moments to set the events of the movie into motion? Are they subplots? Are they main focuses? The plot summary of Toy Story 4 that released with its teaser trailer would have you thinking the entire movie was about Forky. That proved to not be the case at all. My primary worry is that the movie will feel like it doesn't add emotional components to Toy Story as a franchise while acting like filler. This was my concern for TS4. I hope they can do it right again. The initial details aren't the entire picture of the emotional crux of the film.

What will the end goal be? It'd seem redundant to have Woody reunite with the gang and leave once more. But I also think it has a higher chance of happening with the fact that everyone seems to get back together so quickly. These characters are going to be faced with a sad truth: Kids don't care about toys as much now. With this in mind, I can think of a few immediate options. Maybe they'll now all become lost toys with Woody. Maybe there's an option we haven't considered. Maybe they really will bring the only child on the planet in who could reasonably have an emotional connection with this random string of toys for a suitable period of time: Andy's kids. This could be a fascinating existential idea. The toys have established they can find new purposes when their owner is done with them. What happens when there is no more purpose in the world for them period?

[cuteniarose]

A conversation I had with my sister this evening, transcribed from memory:

Vi: So Giovanni doesn't feel too strongly about gay people either way EXCEPT when it comes to either Jessie, James and Meowth, or his son, then he quickly becomes homophobic

Me: ...His son?

Vi: Silver?

Me: Who?

Vi: Silver? The Gen 2 rival?

Me: First time I'm hearing of him. All I know about Giovanni's family is that silly theory that he's Ash's father

Vi: HOW do you NOT KNOW Silver??

Me: Do you really think I'm so well versed in Pokemon lore that I'm aware of ANYTHING going on in Gen 2???

Vi: I infodump about Pokemon all the time to you!!

Me: Yeah, but NEVER about Gen 2!!! And come on, cut me some slack, it's not like you know anything about stuff I'm obsessed with

Vi: You mean the mess you made of LoK canon? I know enough about that!!

Me: Like what?

Vi: ......Is Ming-Hua still a swampbender in your AU or did that get retconned?

Me: She is

Vi: Okay good, so that, and uhhhhhhh..... Suiren and Midori are sisters and Mingzan's kids, Suiren has a thing with Kuvira, and......

Me, after some silence: Is that it?

Vi: Well it's not like there's a wiki detailing all the intricacies of your multiverse!!

Me: I did make a masterpost on tumblr about it

Vi: Seriously?

Me: Yeah, because Sydney was interested

Vi: ...Who's Sydney? I know that's not the name of your doctor friend

Me: And what's the name of my doctor friend?

Vi: Kat

Me: Oh, you actually remember

Vi: So she didn't have some kind of realization and decide to change her name?

Me: No, Sydney and I met not too long ago, she's obsessed with Wan, Raava and Vaatu–

Vi: Why do you always find friends with the nichest interests imaginable??

Me: It's a gift. Anyway, she was interested in my multiverse and I got invested in the modern AU she returned to recently after like, ten years. She even let me insert a few OCs into it!

Vi: .....Are Raava and Vaatu still giant spirit kites in the modern AU, or are they human?

Me: They're human

Vi: OH THANK GOD I was scared there'd be some kind of Lovecraftian eldritch horror thing involved. I'm struggling to imagine them as humans though

Me: Well, Raava is a perfect student and piano prodigy who started rebelling in her teens, and Vaatu is her childhood frenemy who's an overdramatic theatre kid Light Yagami kinnie. And all of them smoke weed

Vi, with a half confused, half outraged stare: ....what?

Me: An american thing, apparently? Sydney's from Ohio, they told me that pretty much everyone they know has smoked weed and done at least one other kind of drug before. They even offered to help out if I ever need to write characters using drugs or whatever

Vi, looking absolutely flabbergasted at this point: Ooooo...kayyyy, then..... and here I thought the spirit kites smoke weed because then you can make a pun that they're high as a kite

Me: ...That's dumb

Vi: And everyone smoking weed isn't?

Me: Not everyone! Suiren doesn't smoke weed!!

Vi: Whatever. And now I'm picturing them smoking in their kite forms. They can stick the blunt into that rhombic shape with the dot they have on their fronts

Me: THOSE ARE THEIR EYES

Vi: WELL HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT? And I'm pretty sure that's something you lot made up and not canon. Besides, I just finished reading The Kite Runner for school, I definitely know more about kites than you do

Me: Can we drop the high kites topic now?

Vi: K, sure. So, you have a new friend who used an unspecified number of drugs in the past. Great company you're keeping

Me: ....She also showed me her tits once

Vi, going all red in the face: SHE WHAT?????

Me: NOT LIKE THAT. SHE'S A PHOTOGRAPHER AND IT WAS ARTISTIC NUDITY

Vi: You know what? None of my business. Go indulge in your weird modern AU where the spirit kites are human and everyone smokes weed except for Suiren– hey, how does Suiren fit into this?

Me: You know how I said Vaatu is a Light Yagami kinnie? He's convinced that Wan is the L to his Light, his arch nemesis, all that. He quotes Light's monologues all the time and Suiren is his Ryuk. She watches him behaving like a freak, munches on some snack in the corner and enables him because it's fun

Vi: Ah, so she's the kind of friend who's only a friend on the surface and will bail as soon as shit starts going down? I mean, Light asked Ryuk for help exactly once and Ryuk straight up killed him

Me: No, she's actually a pretty good friend, at least when it came to letting Vaatu borrow a skirt and lipstick when he realises he's transfem

Vi: ...YOU MADE THE EVIL CHAOS SPIRIT KITE TRANSFEM???

Me: IT WASN'T MY IDEA I'm just going along with it. Turns out he never wanted to date Raava, he wanted to BE Raava. Why, is that a problem?

Vi: No, just... do you realise how nuts that sounds out of context? LoK's Book 2 antagonist has a gender crisis and realises she's transfem and the one who helps her feel gender euphoria is the daughter of LoK's Book 3 antagonists. Does that not sound INSANE to you?

Me: No?

Vi, after a long suffering sigh: And here I thought what you did to LoK couldn't get any worse... [in reference to the modern AU in general, NOT transfem Vaatu]

TL;DR: @rokurookajima somehow became the topic of conversation between my sister and me for a good 10 minutes :P

[hed-romancer]

season 5 episode 3 of camp camp was amazing, actually

okay so i didn't really like season 5 episode 1, and episode 2 while better, was pretty mediocre to me. Nothing funny, nothing that really moved character interactions forward (besides the slip that david is upset gwen isn't a counselor), some stuff that felt out of character (david doesn't seem the type to worry if he's a good counselor or not so much as worry about literally anything else), and some stuff that was supposed to be funny but was actually unfunny and out of character (the campers choosing to try to open the freezer before even letting anyone know about the cave in). It really was just okay, and only that good bc i love anxious!david

episode 3, however, was absolutely wonderful.

on one hand, you have some of the greatest jokes of the series (david switching over to word associations after explaining exactly nothing, the cut back to the boys where david is taking notes on something nurf is saying, nerris immediately thinking someone born in 1985 must be dead now) (though i'm not exactly a fan of the implication that cj is a child predator being played as a joke).

On the other hand, you have honestly one of the best portrayals of what its like being a tween/young teen girl in media.

ered doesn't know what she's doing, and feels unprepared by her two dads to become a woman, so she goes to gwen to ask for advice, who she thinks is a cool adult woman but is also just so happy to be thought of as cool that she's not even sure what she's agreeing to do. ered asks all the questions she hasn't been able to ask, and gwen realizes quickly she doesn't have all the answers, but still fakes it anyway.

nerris goes off and finds the diary of a kid named jessie, and as they read it they feel seen in a way they never have before. they read more and fall in love with jessie, only to realize that jessie was a kid in 1985, and conclude jessie must be dead by now.

nikki ends up at a spa, and tries new "girly" things, that she previously derided, and finds them enjoyable. once she sees the sum of all the ways she's changed herself, she panics, and realizes she's looking like what she used to hate. how can she still be herself if she's enjoying this?

nikki and nerris go running to ered and gwen for advice, and gwen says "goddammit". ered, realizing that gwen doesn't know anything either, takes to helping the younger two on her own. she tells nerris that feeling lost and unsure doesn't mean you're alone, that we've all felt that way. she tells nikki that while its okay to question who she is sometimes, she can be whoever she wants to be and the questioning doesn't make her any less herself.

and it's just chef's kiss. nerris getting a first(?) queer love and realizing it's not gonna happen and not knowing how to handle the heartbreak because it's their first time experiencing it. nikki exploring femininity and realizing it can be enjoyable, even if its not what she usually does, just for her own sake. ered realizing older women don't have it figured out either, and even if she doesn't know everything, she's still gonna step up and help the younger two out. i just love it.

it's literally what becoming an older girl is like. trying to figure it out, helping others try to figure it out, realizing those older than you haven't figured it out either.

[striderthefrog]

Recently fionna and cake has made me start to make me think about infinity train again and I was meaning to rewatch it regardless so here's some season two analysis! (Side note if you've been enjoying fionna and cake recently please please check out infinity trai)

Season two of infinity train continues to show just how well infinity train writes people to not only feel like really living breathing people but also has characters that feel like they keep changing and growning long after their arc on screen ends.

In season two we have our primary protagonists Jessies and M.T. (who later goes by lake and I will be referring to as lake for the rest of this)

Lake is an anger prone denisate of the train who we now get to journey with after being introduced to them in season one. They are set on finding their own identity outside of being tulips reflection and are also continuesly being chased by their cars version of cops.

Jessie is the complete opposite, he's laid back and his flaw is that he never does things for himself he gives into peer pressure and is a people pleaser. (Which is ironic because he more metaforically similar to a reflection than lake who is literally a reflection)

And thus the conflict between our two protags is set. We see as lake and Jessie meet and at first are constantly clashing with their opposite personalities, bonding offer the deer alan dracula.

As the season progresses we see them start to get along as lake becomes more comfortable in their identity and Jessie starts to think for himself more and not give into peer pressure, both their arcs are very intertwined and we continue to see that as the season progresses.

In episode 7 "the mall car" we see Jessie face some of the largest peer pressure he has perhaps faced in his life as grace and the other members of the apex try to persuade him that passengers are the dominate members of the car and that he should sell out his friend lake. What most shows would use as a crucial character development point infinity train doesn't entirely.

Jessie is already most of the way through his arc, he's already almost entirely figured out his main problem so without thinking about it much (although there is a small moment of hesitation) he chooses lake and Alan dracula and tries to help save them from the apex. However in doing so his number reaches zero and we see lake unable to come with him.

This episode is masterclass in writing, in one ten mintue segment we see a massive ammount of set up for season three setting up it's main characters and what their arcs will be, give payoff for one of our protagonists arcs, and end on a chilling cliff hanger with lake being left behind to fend for themselves against the fleks.

The rest of the season focuses primarily on lake trying to escape the train and also figure what their identity as a person is.

We see them told by mace, the fleks. That they are only there as a stepping stone for others, that they don't have their own person hood and don't deserve it, lake decides they're getting a number anyways and will leave the train for good.

We see them kill mace in a disturbingly animated death scene more gruesome than even many tv-14 shows go for, and they're off to get their number only to discover that "the system" doesn't recognize them, it doesn't even refuse to give them a number the number just passes right through them as if they aren't there.

In a heart wrenching prefoance by Ashley Johnson as lake tears through the robots you hear them say "look at me! I am a person, I deserve a number" literally grabbing one of the robots faces and forcing it to look at them before crushujg it in their hands.

Lake wants to be seen as a person by the train, but the train doesn't acknowledge it.

Then we see everyone's favorite little happy-depressed orb oneone show up. Lake explains their situation to oneone but oneone won't hear any of it.

Lake is not a passenger and as such one one refuses to help them until we se that Jessie has shown back up to the train refusing to leave without them.

Oneone gets stuck in a feedback loop not knowing how to process the created paradox of a passengers problem needing a denisen to leave. (The binary system doesn't recognize the enby smh, yes we Stan trans lake allgory in this household)

Eventually lake realises that Jessies number can reflect onto their own letting both of them escape but not before alan dracula takes out maces partner sivee. (Rip gay buddy cop duo)

We see lake and Jessie in a beautiful shore of a lake. Jessies brother comes up and ask what lakes name is too which they look into their reflection in a lake finally seeing their own and not that of tulips and reply "lake".

Infinity train book two is about identity, finding your identity outside of others and also finding it with others. Jessie and lake perfectly compliment each other's arcs both finding and learning to make decisions for themselves and also who they are.

Anywhos please go watch infinity train it may have got cut short but what's there of it is phenomenal and worth the watch, plus it's super short so you have no excuse. Byyye

[polniaczek]

If you could rewrite the last season of the facts of life and give the show a proper ending what would it be like? What would you change and what would you keep the same?

Great question! I'm sure there's lots of things I'd change in theory but most of my "wish this happened differently" feelings happen at earlier points on the show.

Some Things I Would Change:

S9 Jo isn't so feminine for starters. S8 Jo is as feminine as I ever want her to be. In multiple episodes, by multiple characters, it's agreed upon that Jo wearing traditionally feminine clothes and makeup, softening up her appearance for guys, isn't who the real Jo is. So, she wouldn't fall victim to the trope of the hard, rebellious tomboy becoming a soft, conforming woman. S4 Jo would neverrr pay someone else to work on her bike.

Either she doesn't let Rick pressure her into marriage, and the wedding doesn't happen, or Rick flat out doesn't ask. In my dream world, Rick and Jo are both queer and there's a whole "self-recognition through the other" moment early on in the season and they ARE going to a drag party in that one ep and I like him a little more. lol In the real world, I say Rick is no one special to Jo, just a goofy, annoying friend who doesn't recur too often. And we already had one of those, his name was Roy.

I just need to vent about something for a sec because what show is this? This is not our show. This looks like Home Improvement. Step by Step. This looks like a misogynistic 90s sitcom, and the season has been touched by too many men, and if you look at the writing and directing credits for it on wiki you'll see I'm right. Get these men out of here. Fuck S9 actually, anon, you've uncanned the worms. 😅

Mrs. Garrett and possibly George return to bring more energy to the show. Beverly Ann’s presence doesn't serve much purpose (though I do think she's funny), and Andy's storylines are lowkey half-baked and boring and could've benefited from George's presence over Pippa.

Pippa doesn't show up. Sorry to any Pippa stans out there?? I don't hate her, but what a waste of screen time.

Tootie gets to act her age. The writers treat her like the others, but that girl is like 19 and practically married herself. We also get to see more of her career pursuits rather than her just showing up to scenes with these big announcements or passing mentions of auditions.

Natalie has BEEN the sexually liberated one, so there's no need for the show to focus on it so seriously. One or two quick cracks about her satisfying sex life and that's that. On the flipside, I kind of hated how unserious her episodes about journalism/writing were in comparison to the episodes about Blair's and Jo's career pursuits.

Also

Things I Would Keep the Same:

Blair’s arc in S9 is solid. I liked that she was forced to confront her issues with self-image. I liked that with law she found a source of confidence outside of her money and looks. It was a great way to wrap her story up. I wouldn't have been mad if she had chosen the law route in the end, but I'm not mad about the Eastland route either. The episodes themselves are nonsensical, but the grandiose effort does suit her and it would've been a watchable spinoff.

Jo ending up at the center is a good fit for her character. It's interesting in comparison to that one scene in New York, New York where she and Jessie go to the center in the Bronx, and Jo is the one trying to help people. She does mention the interest in becoming a legit social worker, so as far as I'm concerned that's her real ending.

Tootie's personality and goals never change which is about the only great thing they ever did for her.

Jeff becomes the hunky college-educated boyfriend after his illiterate beginning on the show, love that for him.

Natalie's spinoff ep was decent enough. Definitely would've needed to be retooled if it had worked, but she had more chemistry in one scene with David Spade than in all her scenes with other guys.

Believe it or not, I've not thought about this much, so I have no idea how I'd prefer it to end differently

[gynandromorph]

re: your post commenting on being surprised at Ideltry gaining the attention it does. I think for me it’s that Jessie is such a fascinating train wreck. She’s spiteful and vengeful but also is trying(?) to do good(???) as Jod. It’s also been interesting in the snippets you’ve shown us to see her struggling to figure out exactly what she wants and then figure out how to get that. And then of course the tasty tasty sprinkles of her acting like an edgelord teenager that just make me go “damn bitch, you live like this?”. It’s funny to me but it also becomes a bit more unsettling and even insidious in the second and third acts. Again Jessie is a fascinating character and I am rotating both her and Shiloh in my mind

She has a lot of conflicting desires and I've been thinking about how to describe them or just her personality in a succinct way but it's difficult. Lesbian incel fits well because incels want validation and intimacy from women, but they also obviously hate women. I guess I've kind of already posted about the "it must be hard to love worms" bit, though. She acts like someone who wants revenge but she has already gotten it by 10 scenes in. She wants it to have never happened, maybe, but she could do that. She could make it canonically Never Happened. Or she could make the feelings she has about it go away. She could erase the memories. Lots of solutions to actually the problem. So why doesn't she? Many possible answers... Anyway, I figure this is an average level of depth for a character, so that's the part that surprises me, I suppose

[jadeazora]

So, some things I want from Horizons as a whole:

Villain backstories/backgrounds for Amethio and his gang like we got with Jessie, James, and Meowth! (I imagine Amethio will get proper fleshing-out, but since these guys are kinda taking over TR's role of recurring villains, albeit more serious ones, I want them to get more in the way of personality and personal history, why they joined the Explorers, etc.) Give me motives. Current guess on Amethio at least is he's some sort of heir? Since Zir and Conia defer to him and use the "-sama" honorific, indicating he's a higher rank than them, despite him being a teenager.

A good amount of development and screentime for the Rising Volt Tacklers too! Like, Ren, Cerise, and Chrysa only got one episode a piece, but we weren't traveling with them like we are the Rising Volt Tacklers. I want to get a good amount on these guys too!

More villainous Explorers too eventually. So far, Amethio comes off as a guy who tends to avoid unnecessary harm, with him trying to manipulate Liko into coming with him and bringing the pendant (only resorting to force when she ran), and he does save Sprigatito when it falls. The latter is advantageous to him, but he seems to be apologizing to it in the preview. I think he'll be the type to not be particularly evil (or potentially even Zir and Conia won't be all that bad either), but since we got worse Rockets in the previous Pokeani, I hope we get more nasty ones here too.

Potential admins for the Explorers organization like the other villain teams in the games? We see Amethio talking to an old guy in the preview, but I feel it might be too early to introduce our actual main villain yet, especially since it's our first anime-only villain organization. (Afaik. I might be forgetting some people.)

Liko and Roy to evolve their starters, and maybe an unmasked Nidothing (if it's not Ludlow putting on a funny voice) or Anne as a possible teammate eventually? I really liked the Gen9 finals, so it would be cool to see more of them. 😁

Full teams for Liko and Roy too. (Doesn't have to be limited to Paldean Pokemon.) It'd be cool if Friede can catch some Mons too, but there are Pokemon like Nosepass and Noctowl too that are probably his, just not really battlers like Charizard and Pikachu.

Both of them to become worthy successors to Ash, more confident and competent in battle. Let Liko especially grow and be able to handle the conflicts she encounters on her own, since Friede's been doing practically all the fighting so far. I want them to have unique goals too, tho it's fine if it's "solving the mystery of my pendant/PokeBall" for now.

Be careful with their pacing. Some series feel like they start to meander really badly, and I'm worried if they take things too fast, that the pacing will crumble. I still expect a good amount of filler since this series will likely be over 100 episodes like other Pokeani series, but I hope there's still a fair amount of interesting plot too!

It also feels like the tone is a bit more serious so far, giving me a bit more DP/XY vibes. I hope that continues, like I feel they're reaching out more to their older audience too? (Like, we have an adult seem to a main cast protagonist. And then there's his crew that will probably be secondary characters that'll likely get a good amount of screentime since we're traveling with them.)

Don't give the Explorers the Team Rocket treatment. It's fine for them to show up every episode for this first arc, but I'd like them to remain decently competent and a threat, which probably wouldn't be as likely to happen if they were trying and failing to get the PokeBall and pendant all the time. Definitely keep their appearances more sporadic. (At least it seems like Liko is perceptive enough to not be fooled by bullshit and somebody in the group ca evenn see thru their disguises, going by her and Friede chasing down a disguised Conia. So, we're less likely to see the Explorers going the "obvious disguise to try to steal" route like the TRio did, at least.)

[fat-fem-and-asian]

Sarah Snook Filmography Review w/ Links

I love the range in Snook's stuff. She's done horror, comedy, romcoms, historical documentaries, and she's amazing in all of them. She's done a LOT of short films - seen, alice, nightingale floor, the poet and the plant. I enjoyed Alice a lot, it's adapted from a song (??) And just 8 minutes of snook frolicking in the woods. For her bigger work - Most of them are fairly accessible so deep diving her filmography was fun and easy. Anything ommited is either 1) I couldn't find a way to easily watch it 2) her role is so small it's not worth mentioning. ♡ - my personal favorites

All Saints - Snook's first tv appearance! She plays a young woman with appendicitis. stock standard medical procedural guest spot and it's on hulu.

Sisters of War - A historical biographical drama! she plays Lorna White, an Aussie nurse who survived being a POW in WWII. It's a well made tv movie and Snook gets to really show some range. You can watch on a few different websites, but I used Tubi.

Packed to the Rafters - TW for planned sexual assault. She's got a two episode guest spot on this Aussie sitcom as a college student who becomes involved in a sexual assault case. The assault is nongraphic, but I can't say she's given enough of a plotline to make it worth it.

Spirited - An Aussie comedy drama of this lady and a bunch of dead ghosts in a hotel? Snook joined in the 2nd season as a minor supporting character and she's only got a few scenes, but if you want to see her in a funky schoolgirl fit, it's on amazon for free.

Not Suitable for Children ♡ - A cute and raunchy Aussie romcom. She plays Stevie, the girl best friend turned serious love interest. Snook is adorable and does a great job with a kind of underwritten role. viewer discretion for nudity and sex - free on youtube :)

These Final Hours - Apocalypse drama. She's only in one scene and plays a lady high off her ass who's searching for her kid. if you wanna see her shake and shout then go for it! also on youtube.

Predestination ♡ - TW for nonconsensual medical procedure. I highly recommend! It's a loopy time travel movie set in the 1960s. Kinda. Spoilers - Snook plays Jane and John, a trans man who has an gender reassignment surgery after giving birth. Snook absolutely blew me away in this, the way she plays John and his transition is just stunning. Is it good trans rep? Not really, but I'm not expecting it either from a 2014 sci fi flick. I watched on this website, please don't get a virus.

Jessabelle - Snook received her SAG card for this movie! She's got the lead role as Jessie, a woman who moves back in with her father in Louisiana after a car accident. Horror movie and I think intended to be a more thoughtful exploration of white violence, but it really comes off as offensive in its use of black spirituality, especially with a primarily white cast. Snook has some great scenes though and the location is gorgeous -- also she had a very funny interview where she thought she tanked the film by doing a North Carolina accent instead of Louisianian. Free on Tubi

Holding the Man - Very cute gay film about AIDS. She plays a best friend and is only in the first few scenes and the last few, if I remember right. No memory of how I watched it.

The Secret River ♡ - TW for graphic violence. Miniseries (only about 2 hours total) about Australian colonialism. It's well made and Snook is great as Sal, one of the colonizers who's moved to Australia from the UK with her family. She's got great chemistry with Oliver Jackson-Cohen and overall just a nice miniseries that's also free on iview :)

Steve Jobs - Snook's only in a handful of scenes and it's mainly her running around and talking into a headset! Good movie though! Also no memory of how I watched it

The Dressmaker - Weird Aussie film with Kate Winslet and gorgeous dresses. Snook has a supporting role as Gertrude, the ugly duckling of the town who gets a makeover into a swan :) She's a mean girlfail in this and I did seriously laugh at a scene where she just falls SO hard on her ass. There was brief weird orientalism in this, but otherwise a solid movie. On Amazon Prime.

Oddball - Aussie feelgood children's movie! She's a conservationist park ranger mom to a precocious little girl who just wants to save the penguins. It's a kids movie, so super simple, but Snook is solid and if I was an aussie kid I would have formed a deep deep crush on her. Free on Tubi! The Beautiful Lie - Okay. I'll be honest and say I skimmed this at 3am weeks ago, so I don't remember it well. It's a miniseries loosely adaptated from Anna Karenina and a pretty slow drama. Snook is Anna, a rich tennis player who struggles with infidelity - so like. Shiv 0.5. I wouldn't personally recommend it, but if you wanna see Snook in some cute silk shirts, go for it. Posted on Dailymotion.

Black Mirror - Snook has a minor role in the episode Men Against Fire. It's fine? I seriously don't know what to say -- she plays a squadron leader and dies halfway in. On Netflix. Discretion advised for violence!

The Glass Castle - Drama movie w/ Brie Larson! Snook plays the adult version of the oldest daughter of an abusive family. Honestly, she doesn't have much to do in it, but she does wear cute glasses and frankly looks gay. to me. On Netflix.

Winchester - Another horror, this time w/ Helen Mirren who REQUESTED! that Snook be in the film or she wouldn't do it. Icon! She's only in a handful of scenes and most of them are her running after her creepy little son, but I would personally watch it just for a green dress she wears. Other than that a fairly boring movie that's pretty to look at. Free on Tubi.

Brother's Nest - She's in the last five minutes as this poor lady who just wants to buy a horse. Could not tell you anything more because I skimmed it. Tubi link! Warning for graphic violence, but not in Snook's scene.

American Pickle - She's just in the first scene as Seth Rogen's wife! Would watch again to see her knaw into a picked herring <3 No memory of how I accessed it sadly

Pieces of a Woman - TW for graphic depiction of birth that ends in a stillborn. Snook has a supporting role as a lawyer who hooks up with Shia Lebouf. I don't know if I have much to say about this movie outside of it's really intense and jarring birth scene in the beginning. Snook is cute as always? On Netflix.

Koala Man - I refuse to watch this I'm sorry. Msg me if I should but I cannot do it w/ another adult animation in that art style.

Run Rabbit Run - TW for physical/mental child abuse. She's the lead in a psychological horror as a mother grieving the loss of her father. There's a creepy little kid, a creepy bunny, and some stunning shots of the Aussie outback. Is it a good horror film? Not really, it's repetitive and slow with little to no emotional stakes. Is Snook good in it? Yes. She swings wildly from emotion to emotion in this and truly sells that she is losing her mind. She's also got some sweet moments with her on-screen daughter. Honestly though, I just wished I was just watching Babadook instead. On Netflix :)

Succession ♡ - Pop over to my huge shiv roy tag to know my thoughts on that show. Maybe the best performance of the decade for one of the best characters on TV. On HBO lol

Beanie Bubble - Snook was great as Sheila, a mother of 2 kids and Zach Galifianakis' wife in weird drama comedy. Again, can't say she's given the best material to work with here, but Snook still manages to elevate her character as sweet, protective, and loving. Plus she gets to wear some really pretty dresses in this and also punch a man. The justice we deserve. On Apple Tv but sadly the website I watched it on is gone.

Woof that was long! Feel free to msg me if you watch any of these! I love snook talking and I hope this guide was helpful to you. I also really recommend @/bestofsnook on twitter, they've got some great guides :)

[robinplayspokemon]

pokemon yellow, day 1: pallet town-pewter city

oh yeah, it's that time again!

what up gay nerds!!

so, yeah, we're on to pokemon yellow! despite fully admitting that the little guy is cute as heck, i've really never been the biggest pikachu fan? i think that's probably inevitable when something becomes the mascot for a franchise whose strength is having literally hundreds of different little dudes that everyone's obviously gonna have different levels of attachment to, but yeah. i really think eevee woulda been a better mascot for the franchise & i will die mad about it! (not really. i'm joking. this is a baby franchise for babies. i'm not allowed to actually be mad about it.)

so, yeah! needless to say being locked into having pikachu as your starter & constant companion and not even being able to evolve him into the objectively superior raichu (i'm kidding, i just love me some raichu) made this not really super my favorite pokemon game! but it does have enhanced graphics including new sprites for the pokemon and some of the characters, plus a few minor additions in dialogue & gameplay to make it resemble the (at the time) wildly-popular anime, including my beloved jessie & james!!!

so, yeah! you're locked into pikachu as your starter. i named mine "chu chu" to be cute. and then, like in red & blue, you can catch your usual rattatas & pidgeys of the world once you have pokeballs. i named rattata "kug" (after a character in dimension 20: the unsleeping city) and pidgey "bird" (because i thought it was funny, yeah, i'm dumb.).

also, you can totally call me a cheater if you want to for this if you want, but since the legit mew i caught in red & traded over to blue for my dex was at a low level (level 7 is always the level you encounter using the glitch i linked to in my last pokemon blue post), i went ahead and traded that mew (nicknamed omega) over to be one of my starting pokemon too. when i played blue back in the day i always used gameshark to get mew and always had one on my elite four team, so i figured i might as well continue that tradition in at least one of my gen 1 playthroughs. shrugs!

i caught everything i could in the vicinity of viridian city

(nicknamed punchy)

(nicknamed tomboy)

(nicknamed boywife)

(nicknamed angy bird)

and made short work of all the bug catchers in viridian forest, and caught the one new pokemon i could there

(nicknamed flick, after the animal crossing character. no weedle in yellow for some reason, idk why! i'll have to send one over from blue.)

and finally, i finished off this first stretch of game by beating brock for my first gym badge! he gets a fancy new sprite that matches his anime model a bit better, plus some dialogue that references his characterization in the anime, as well as alluding to the many possible, varied ways to be a pokemon trainer.

and that's all for now! i know my pokemon yellow updates are gonna be way more dex-heavy, so it's a good thing they wrote new dex entries for yellow! i hope y'all aren't gonna get bored since there'll be a lot of retreading here, but yeah, thanks for sticking around! catch ya next time, gay nerds!

[ashadhahaha]

Civil War (2024) dir. Alex Garland

I wanted to break down this scene from Civil War shot by shot, because I think it's excellent. There's a lot of storytelling and just economic usage of time and shots in this sequence. Let's get into it:

So for context, at this point in the film, our main characters have a moment of respite in a town about 287 hours away from DC, their target destination. They visit a retail store in said town, if only to marvel at the quiet and calmness of the store and it's surroundings. Lee (Kirsten Dunst) tries on a dress, prompted by her new protegé Jessie (played by Cailee Spaeny), which by the way--GREAT scene. Such a good opportunity for characterization.

Now let's focus on the screenshot above. This mirror shot is likely the anchor of the scene...could call it a master. The entire scene revolves around this shot of Lee observing herself in the mirror. Why? We'll get to that.

Notice in this shot, you have the empty space in the left third, Lee in the center, and a warped image of Lee in the right with a rainbow flare. I find the rainbow flare important as we consider the context of this scene.

Lee is observing HERSELF. She has spent her life and her career documenting other people. When does she ever turn that focus around to herself? Especially in the context she's living in.

That perspective is broken into three, so there's already a visual metaphor going on about her own self-image.

She is still haunted and affected by her own life. It has teared into her psychology and even affects her ability (or inability) to gaze upon herself!

Her positioning in the center frame is turned towards the lens-flare version of her.

This is great. Just a single frame holds so much meaning. Let's move on.

Jessie shows up and fills that left third. Now the shot FEELS fuller. There's more life. I can even see a past, present, future thing going on here (right to left). On that point, there's even something about Jessie being a reflection of Lee too. There is a connection between them that is human and tender and nostalgic.

And what vulnerability Lee must display here!

Notice the lens flare has calmed?

After Jessie arrives and prompts Lee to take a photo, we get an over the shoulder. The lens flare-version of Lee is gone, replaced by her ACTUAL human existence. Jessie's presence is pulling her into a more human-state. Even her positioning in the mirrors is oriented towards Jessie now and away from her own inner chaos.

Also hahaha, Kirsten Dunst looks so awkward here.

Now, I actually don't know how to read this shot! Jessie being split in half could be an aesthetic choice. It gives some visual interest to the shot. There's also this "peeking around a corner" effect this gives, like Jessie is inching closer to something she normally wouldn't be seeing.

Or to even push this idea further, Jessie's own self-concept is changing and evolving. Her agency within the frame and within the scene is expanding to the point that she can transgress the frame she was previously trapped within (the left third).

Some ideas!

Jessie gets the shot! Take note of the shot-reverse shot. That transforms too!

We get an OTS from Jessies POV. We're pulled from the world of mirrors and into the ambience of the surroundings. Lee is in that human connection with Jessie and the emphasis is on Lee as the subject. Even the mirror is reflecting this relationship between the two. We as the viewer still have access to how the two are interacting with each other.

I also appreciate seeing Wagner Moura's character in the background of the shot talking to the cashier. It adds more characterization to him too. And even some contrast.

I find this sequence beautiful. I'll point out the simple blocking here. Jessie moves closer to Lee, the frame zooms in so now our characters are in a MCU. Things feel more intimate.

Jessie and Lee now SHARE the mirror! And Jessie has become the subjective focus. It's almost like the student has in a way become the teacher!

Even deeper, Jessie can see the humanity in Lee that Lee doesn't even have access to. It's quite beautiful actually. This scene is so demonstrative of that student-teacher/mentor-mentee relationship.

I'll also note the shot reverse shot has changed from a profile angle to an eye-level! The visual language. is reflecting this growing intimacy between the two characters.

And that moment Jessie gets the shot of Lee. It's such a great moment of humanity. And unlike the rest of the movie, it doesn't do a cutaway to the actual photograph! It stays in that moment with the very biased perspective of what's going on. And in a way it provides an even more realistic experience.

The last shot I'll note is the final one in this sequence! Note we leave off at the same place we began! Visual language is bookended quite beautifully. Jessie leaves the frame through the right third which she didn't have access to before. I find that quite interesting.

Also, Lee's image is not a broken up and empty as it was before. Her focus is finally on herself. She can see herself. The baggage she's carried for years has lifted a bit thanks to Jessie, who has this freedom and youth that brings a sense of warmth to Lee.

It's quite beautiful. Lee's heart is activated by Jessie, whose agency is strengthened by Lee's presence and instruction. This final frame is a great shift from where we started our scene.

That's all! I was very stricken by the visual language in this film. So many intentional choices that really deliver in the finished product. Thank you Alex Garland and all those who put their creativity and efforts into this film!

[userkass]

hey, friend! it's ☃️ again and oh yes, i'm all for naming the cute snowman. i'm thinking we can keep it simple and sweet, like perhaps snowy and frosty are good names? but i'm open to suggestions if you have any!

and yes, i love getting to know new fcs so thank you so much for that list. i'll make good use of it. and you've sparked my curiosity, so can you maybe tell me about the current and favorite characters you write? i'd love to get to know more of them! -- yours truly, ☃️

hello!! <3 frosty is always a solid name for a snowman, in norway for some reason we call him kalle, likely has to do with the name fitting the song best. who knows? it's also close to our word for cold. we'll go for frosty, because it's a name i can remember. i also think my main blog is up and running again, even though it's fun having this blog as well!! you're very welcome! me too, though! hmm, this is tricky cause i write a lot of characters. not as many as i was a while back, but i'll try to list a couple of my current favorites that i'm writing over in an rp! i'll put them under a read more though as knowing me it'll get long.

charlie fortier ( mercedes morris ) - her fc has changed quite a bit throughout the years and though she originated in the hp universe which might give a bit of an idea as to how long i've had her lmao since i can't actually remember the last time i rp'd it, she has changed quite a bit since. she is the main owner of her an ice cream shop that has been passed down through generations and she loves concocting new flavors and will test out every flavor once. she's very gay and is currently happily dating bea...after the longest slow burn. together they have a few dogs. in this particular rp, she happens to be a water sprite fae.

evan rathod ( summer bishil ) - another one of my beloved muses that i've managed to revamp, evan is quite different in the sense that they prefer to avoid people. her story has changed quite a bit in this rp, but they are a fire dragon who just escaped years of captivity and are now trying to adjust to being free and find their footing once more. they have a younger sister whom they absolutely adore and would do anything for. in the rp prior to this one, that was slice of life, so no dragons, they fell in love with an oliver jackson cohen fc and it's perhaps one of my favorite ships to write.

jocelyn lao ( jessie mei li ) - my little wannabe jeff goldblum in jurassic park. josie is an archaeologist that is very much someone that walks to the beat of her own drum. she loves reptiles and dinosaurs and has managed to create their own sort of sanctuary in the backyard where she's drawn inspiration from the jurassic park movies with the few reptiles they have rescued. they are a delight to write.

silas sanguis ( pedro pascal ) - admittedly, his backstory is a little inspired by the mikaelsons with some twists, but basically he's an old af vampire with an older brother who happens to be the leader of the vampires on the island he's currently inhabiting. silas doesn't necessarily care for or even enjoy politics, but he definitely takes advantage of the perks. his passion is wine and he's spent centuries perfecting various types of blood infused wines.

obsidian kincaid coldwell ( thomas doherty ) - cade, oh cade. he's definitely my current villain, as i have a tendency to always write one. he comes from a line of wixen that have the belief that they are the superior supernatural species. he is the second oldest of his siblings, just after his twin essie ( who i also play ) and was the favorite up until his brother was born as his seer gift was seen as less than to his brother's necromancy abilities. this, alongside with his family being responsible for his first love's death has resulted in him becoming very much an asshole and someone that does what he wants for his own gain. he's also currently trying to figure out a way to make wixen immortal.

It was hard to narrow it down, because I do have quite a few, but this was fun. ( my current muse count is 35, so i will spare you )

[bonefall]

having read a lot of your ideas in one sitting (lol) I'm so excited for your redux of avos. it's not one of my favorite arcs per se, but needletail is one of my favorite characters and I'm confident you can do her justice, especially in making her a POV character!!! With that in mind I was wondering, do you have anything in mind for sleekwhisker? does she stick by the kin to the bitter end like in canon, or does she just become an unwilling participant? does she die early? do you think of her with the possibility of becoming a multifaceted antagonist along breezepelt lines or just a rogue nuisance after the fact? anyway, love your work! keep fighting the good fight!

Thank you so much!! AVoS is going to be the hardest arc to rewrite. I feel like the original arc has such a heinous takeaway that I've actually done things in previous arcs specifically to soften the blow of AVoS; The Sisters, the Tribe, and BloodClan all got a ton of sociological attention to detail so that the Kin would be an outlier.

I mentioned Sleekwhisker once before! I updated this overview post with a link to it, plus the Breezepelt ideas. But I'll talk more specifically about Sleek here

To answer your questions

The Apprentices

There's a specific scene at the start of AVoS that bugs me, where Sleekwhisker basically says, "It doesn't matter where a person is born" and it's kinda framed like it's... bad? Especially in the context of saying this to Alderheart, both Tigerkin and kittypet-blooded (through Jessie in this rewrite), who is anxious at his first Gathering.

It SHOULD be a radical statement, but one born out of goodness. In general, the ShadowClan apprentices don't actually believe in any principles and that bothers me.

So I want to approach them, and Sleekpaw at their head, as being CORRECT about some of their initial ideas.

They're sick of not being helped by other Clans. They're tired of the way they're subjected to bad leaders. They hate being told they can't have outsider friends. They're right. They don't know how to word their discontent but they DO HAVE LEGITIMATE REASONS FOR FEELING HOW THEY DO

But the problem was Darktail. They trusted the wrong person, someone who exploited them for his own gains. He creates a coalition of ex-DF trainees, discontented young cats, half-clanners, and exploits them like a cult.

Sleekwhisker

So, with her, I want to thread a needle (heh). The person at the beginning of AVoS would HATE the person she eventually becomes. At the start of AVoS, Sleekpaw is the leader of the ShadowClan apprentices, the brightest, a rising prodigy. She speaks about how the Clans aren't so different, how it shouldn't matter where you're born, and how "something has to be done".

If it wasn't for Darktail, if someone had been able to save her, Sleekwhisker might have even been a new Firestar.

But that's not what happens. Over time, Darktail changes her into his right-hand man, slowly turning her against her friends and her ideals. This culminates in her drowning Needletail.

See though, I'm not sure what the steps are for that yet though. Hollyleaf over in Bonefall Po3 has a pretty decent 'roadmap' for how she gets from the prodigal apprentice she was at the beginning to the murderous, revenge-seeking warrior she will become. But Sleekwhisker? I don't have that yet.

Just a knowledge of the character arc I want her to have, in the end.

And I know that Breezepelt will see Sleekwhisker specifically, and recognize himself in her. I think that should really twist his gut, to know that he was complicit in the destruction of this young warrior. Just like the adults in his life were to him, just one arc before.

Other Stuff

I would like to make it official that Sleekwhisker and Raven are an item, but I've been making sure there's lots of other gay rep before I do that.

I have three solid MLM couples (Smokefoot x Talonclaw, Runningwind x Redtail, Stonepelt x Weedwhisker)

One solid WLW couple (Sunstrike x Furzepelt)

And a lot of other queer dynamics (Bluestar @ Oakheart & Lizardstripe, Hollyleaf's Secret Tunnel Friends, Ivypool and Blossomfall, Aroace Firestar, whatever the hell is going on between Brokenstar and Runningnose, Sparkpelt and Hollylark, Mothwing)

But I want more solid, healthy WLW couples before adding Sleekwhisker x Raven officially. Maybe my standards are just too high? In any case I intend for them to be a couple.

And to answer some more of your questions more directly;

-How long does she stick with the Kin?

To the bitter end, like canon. She's too far gone and can't be saved; and in any future appearances will continue to be a problem in some capacity.

We're going to have to see what the future arcs do with her, too. As you know, I stick close to canon and rework the major events, and Sleekwhisker is still out there in the world. There's a chance, in any given new book, that she could pop up again; so I can't work her into the TBC arc, or even ASC when it's complete if she doesn't pop up.

I will say though if we go through enough arcs that it does look like they've just utterly dropped her as a character, the Bonefall Rewrite WILL give her an actual conclusion to her arc.

-Rogue Nuisance or Multifaceted Antagonist?

Well, to begin with, the Kin has a LOT less non-Clan rogues. I'm capping them to 6, not including Darktail himself. Most of them are going to be warrior-named and Clanborn; I am not going to tolerate the idea that every villain can just conjure up a bunch of random rogue bodies to use for Nefarious Deeds.

(Kin starter pack: Flame, Nettle, Rain, Raven, Roach, Dragonfly. Consider all others cut; IF Zelda, Loki, and Max don't get chopped they will be combined with Jacques and Susan.)

So if Sleekwhisker is ever a 'rogue nuisance' it'll always be with the backing of the Kin remnants, and she's the leader of this faction.

Sooo... thinking about it now, hey, maybe she can eventually change over time as she actually learns to lead this group. We'll see how the modern arcs go, and if there's a random new character somewhere who could become an older, wisened Sleekwhisker... or, an aged, even crueler Sleekwhisker. We'll see.

[homosandhomies]

Okay, here are all of my thoughts on Big Mouth Season 5 (some other stuff may be added if I remember):

I love Caleb 🥰

I feel bad for Lola that Jay chose Matthew instead, but it made sense. It isn’t always best to be with someone who’s exactly like you. I just hope they can learn to be friends.

I’m mixed on Jatthew. Matthew never apologized for his biphobia, and them getting together was very rushed. But I’m slowly getting on board with them.

I hope Jay moves back in with the Birches. His family is still abusive. Who is gonna make sure his Adderall prescription gets refilled? Val seems like a really good boyfriend, but is he still horrible to Jay?

I also hope Lola finds some happiness that isn’t centered around Jay. Maybe Rodney can foster her, or adopt her? She’s become one of my favorite characters. I love how she’ll speak in a super old-fashioned way but still have her aggressive voice. Hilarious.

So... bi!Andrew is basically canon now right?

Jessi/Ali was a super realistic depiction of being wlw in middle school. I love how Jessi thought it was just best friend feelings but then became super jealous of Samira. We’ve all been there, babe. Kinda wished it was resolved though. Hopefully it will next season!

I thought I wouldn’t be able to adjust to Missy’s new voice, but since she grew so much this season it became more fitting. Ayo Edibiri’s doing a great job.

Loved how the love bugs became hateworms! There really is a thin line between love and hate.

Nick’s only gotten worse throughout each season. He doesn’t learn his lessons. You’d think after everything that happened with Nick Starr and the Gratitoad, something would stick? I like that the writing never takes his side when he fucks up, but it’s still annoying to watch.

Marty isn’t a great dad in my opinion. He belittles Andrew and makes him feel like shit (Also, I can confirm, not all Jewish dads are like this). That being said, I liked how they explored his grief, and Andrew told him he loved him. It explained things a lot more. Hopefully their relationship can improve. Not saying Marty needs to be lovey-dovey like Elliott, but I’d like to see him continue to grow. I’m happy Andrew wants to break the cycle of anger and is learning to be a good person.

Did Leah change voice actresses? And does the quality sound bad, or is it just me?

I liked the Shame Wizard with Jessi near the end. We do need shame sometimes when we’ve made mistakes!

TLDR: Had a few problems, but overall another great season. Can’t wait for season 6!!!