#but sometimes its this. and it drives me. bonkers

[korraavaatu]

can I make a formal request that people stop trying to add accents into their dialogue? I have no idea what accent you're even trying to accomplish most of the time AND it (at least as I've seen it lately on here) is like a shorthand for "not white" (with the only exception being some fucking white southern gone with the wind bs...). If you want to get another culture to come across in your writing, try slang or common sayings. Nothing makes me think southern like "y'all" or "bless your heart" (good and fine). And nothing makes me think that the writer is lazy like adding an accent when what you actually mean is "person of color" (bad and racist) because--even though you're writing fanfic, the reader apparently can't figure out who's talking unless you add that shit in

[greasydumbfuck]

also just for the record. no matter how much utterly stupid shit i say or draw about him, frank actually makes me so deeply sad. this old man should be picking up his grandkids but he cant. i think about him too much and im so sad

[moki-dokie]

there are some days when i'm like "hey be nicer to the kids they're just being kids" and some days when i'm like "okay yeah you know what the kids are fucking dumb about this get their asses" and then there are some days like today where i'm just FUCK THEM KIDS and have a visceral need to punt a teenager across the room.

but i don't. but boy do i fucking want to

[curseofbreadbear]

CR1TIKAL FNAF STARTERS || ALWAYS ACCEPTING! || @blorbodepot

blorbodepot asked: ❝ Celebrate the joy of long-lasting power! ❞ - Martha for Phone Guy.

❝ H-Haha...you've got the right attitude, at least. ❞

[In reality, balancing the building's power alongside the cameras, lights, and doors was unbelievably difficult. On a handful of occasions now, P.G. had found himself surviving by the skin of his teeth thanks to those 5 AM blackouts.]

[It was rough finding a replacement for his position -- a tremendous guilt weighed on his conscience every time he did one of these interviews, now that he KNEW the horrors the next contender would have to endure. He wanted out, but if that meant putting somebody else's life in jeopardy, he wasn't sure he could live with that. That was part of the reason he'd started leaving instructional messages over the phone for future night guards...he could only hope that they'd actually help.]

❝ I-It's important for you to be able to, y'know, manage the building's power supply. You don't want the place going dark -- uh, t-trust me on that. ❞ [P.G. cleared his throat, hoping it wasn't painfully obvious how uncomfortable he was.] ❝ We don't require any, uh, p-prior experience, but why don't you tell me about some of your skill sets? Something that you think would make you a p-perfect fit for Freddy's. ❞

[nereidprinc3ss]

hii! could i request something w spence where he asks uni reader to move in with him and r is kinda nervous about it please🙏🙏 love all of ur fics, and thanksss 🫶🫶🫶

yass this is super cute!!!! thank you for the request, hope i did it justice

warnings/tags: fluff!! a teensy bit suggestive at the end if u squint... i cant help myself. i'm an animal

requests are open! sfw and nsfw welcome

(a/n: this is probably an awkward spot to put this but I didn't wanna make a whole other post: THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALL THE LOVE AND SUPPORT!!! i have gained over 100 followers since i last posted and have over 1k notes on both of my recent works thats literally bonkers insane crazy town ACTUALLY. i love hearing your thoughts and reactions to my work even if its just a silly little comment. so yeah. thanks and so much love to u ALL)

“So basically, I’m not allowed in the dorm except to sleep because she always has her boyfriend over, and I told her that’s literally insane—I’m paying thousands of dollars to be there just like her. If she wanted privacy she should have gotten a single. She can’t just lock me out of our shared bedroom all the time! I live there!” 

You’re stabbing violently at your food by the time you finish your verbal tirade. 

“Okay, maybe put the knife down before you hurt yourself,” Spencer suggests, readying a hand to take the implement away from you if necessary. The knife clatters against your plate as you drop it. 

“She’s driving me fucking crazy,” you mumble, rubbing your eyes until you see fireworks. “And the housing department said I don’t have grounds to transfer rooms, so I’m stuck with her for the rest of the year.” 

There’s no reply from your boyfriend, and a pang of guilt in your chest makes you look up at him again. His expression, as so often is the case, is inscrutable. 

“I’m sorry for ranting. I’m really happy to see you and I don’t mean to ruin dinner, I just—” 

“You could stay with me,” he interrupts. 

You blink. 

“Like... when she locks me out?” 

Spencer laughs self-consciously. 

“No, like... permanently.” 

For a moment you just gape at him like an idiot, trying to comprehend his offer. 

He wants you to move in... with him. Permanently. He wants to live with you. 

You realize you’ve been staring at him for far too long, and you lean back, inhaling deeply as the world launches into motion again. 

“That’s... a big step, Spence,” you breathe. His eyes scan you head to toe, and you realize he’s most definitely analyzing your body language. 

“You don’t have to say yes. It was just an offer,” he shrugs, standing up and clearing the plates from the table.  

“Wait,” you call, following him to the kitchen. “Are you upset now because I leaned away from you when you asked?” 

He turns from the counter, looking at you blankly. 

“Of course not. That would be ridiculous.” 

Oh, he totally is. 

You tentatively step forward, gently lacing your fingers through his—but unable to meet his eyes.  

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” you begin gingerly, “but I’m... I’m not done with school. We always said I would move in once I graduated.” 

“That’s an arbitrary limitation we set for ourselves. There are plenty of ways to get you from here to campus every day.” 

“But you’re not even here sometimes. I would just be alone.” 

“You would have the whole apartment to yourself. You would have my bed. You wouldn’t have to share a shower with an entire floor of college students anymore. And ultimately, we would get to spend a lot more time together.” 

You try to speak but find your throat is tight. Spending more time together is exactly what you’re afraid of. 

“What’s your real objection here?” he asks quietly, running his thumb back and forth over the underside of your wrist. You swallow, watching the motion of his hand.  

“I’m afraid, that if we move in together... you’ll stop liking me.” The words come out paper thin, barely audible. 

And he laughs. Your teary eyes dart up, surprised by the reaction—slightly hurt, even. 

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, I’m not laughing at you,” Spencer says, sobering up when he sees your baleful expression. “I just can’t believe you think I’d stop liking you.” He wipes away the tears beading on your eyelashes delicately. “I’m in love with you. Neurologically that is pretty hard to undo.” 

You study his face, looking for any sign of hesitation or dishonesty. All you find is pure fondness in the curve of his lips; utter devotion in the soft set of his eyes. 

“You promise you won’t start hating me as soon as I move in?” 

“I promise.” 

You lean against his chest, craning your neck to look up at him. 

“I can be pretty annoying.” 

“I think I can handle it.” 

“I take really long showers.”  

He kisses you softly. “Me too. I’m sure we can figure out a way to conserve water.” 

Despite your reservations you smile against his lips. 

“Okay?” he asks. 

“Okay.” 

[ganondoodle]

was at my sisters house to watch the cats a bit and played some botw again after a long time, spent an hour running around phirone (faron) and checking out all the cool sonau (zonai) stuff and i felt a wave of sadness wash over me, those ruins there feel so ... heavy with story, with sadness of tragedy, with the thrill of the unkown, yet its revealed to be nothing in totk, i honestly dont feel like the sonau of botw and of totk are at all releated tbh, theres like, NO design overlap besides sometimes some dragon-like figures that feel more like they put them into totk just to have some connection at all-

the botw sonau ruins are all full of curves hewn into dark stone with red accents, theres swirls and snakes everywhere, appropriately withered by time and weather- it was already a stupid idea to replace the shiekah tech with literally another ancient highly advanced civilaztion, but then to not even make them look or feel at all connected to the little things that were there?? totk sonau is white stone and gold and green, its all extremely angular and clean cut, together with weird hologram shit that reads, somehow, as both unfittingly techy to everything else while also neither mechnical nor magical

its fucking bonkers, i know they put some totk sonau bullshit into some of the ruins in totk, like the main ones in phirone but like, especially in that case with the direct comparison its so jarring and artificial, and i hate the excuse of "hylians built those different looking buildings as a monument to the sonau", like we needed more shitty excuses for bad writing decisions- the ancient AND current hylian stuff aligns more with totk sonau stuff, why would they adopt a completely different style to built shit around actual sonau stuff that somehow also looks like it was abandoned like, 50 years, 100 years ago, not over TEN THOUSAND years ago, both the botw sonau ruins and the shiekah tech look more ancient than anything totk sonau

and what for??? i imagine more botw sonau style ruins and like, thats entirely possible, why make it sth utterly different and give it a shitty excuse?? its so unnecessary?? like okay make the wheels out of withered stone hanging together like clumps by invisible magic like how the iwaroks (the .. stone enemy) works- i still would like it sicne i dont like the whole building thing in botws world, but at least it would feel like truly magic bs and fit into the design of botw sonau (even though im still not over NOTHING ever hinting that they were one step away from spaceships hologram aliens, the refusal to work with the stuff they themselves have put into their games drives me up a wall, YOU PUT IT THERE! DO SOMETHIGN WITH IT!)

just to put some modern tech into it? was it worth it?? (no)- and there i could even go on about how much i hate the 'tech' design too, its too little mechanical to be called 'tech' but too modern tech like to call it 'magic', (a balance which the shiekah tech did tremendously well imo) i keep being impressed with how conflicting and incoherent design and story can be in this one single overpriced game

(the reason them making it so modern techy looking was so players would immediately know what it was apparently and i just ... doesnt that make it more boring? like instead of the shiekah stone(slate) they just put a flip phone with numbered buttons and all and give it a vaguely stone texture? instead of like, a guardian with its spider legs and strange creepy design, just put a fucking tank there??? (and like, in a way i feel like the fact that they still tried to not make it look too modern by putting that green texture on it and like, a face here and there, makes it WORSE, a bad cover up is worse to me than none at all, like a shitty explanation can make sth worse than no explanation at all *ahem* literally every interview they did >:C )

also i dont know how you could even design a fan so it doesnt look like a fan? you dont need to put in literal car wheels with suspension and all in there to make it clear its a wheel bc how would you even design a wheel so it doesnt read like a wheel???

since when did they get so anxious about players not understanding something?? the whole series was built on puzzles of varying difficulty, whats with the sudden loss in trust in the player?? botw was already pretty easy but in totk the whole game treats you like you cant think or remember sth for more than 30 seconds to the point it gets actively agonizing to play through- the same two sentences of unimportant info repeated and shown to your face over and over, both in story and gameplay- and even with their immediately readable design choices for the sonau 'tech' they made half teh shrines either sloggingly slow tutorials or one puzzle shrines that are dedicated to teach you how the obvious thing works when you really learn it all on the literal tutorial island AND its obvious from the start BECAUSE THEY WANTED IT TO BE OBVIOUS!! its fun to figure things out and try stuff, its no fun to have a step by step guide glued to your forehead at all times especially when its so obvious, yes thanks for teaching me that a literal fire hydrant spits out water!! wow! never thought about that! thanks for telling me it 5 times too!! (even if it annoys me that they can just do that when not connected to the ground .. would have been more fun to make puzzle with if they were,,), its part of why i felt like the game was so condescending or outright laughing at me-

why even try to teach me how a fan works over and over when like, there arent even any creative things you can do with it in a reasonable amount of time and its never needed or incentivised either bc the game just hands you the literal solution or at the very least give you the four parts or what that you need to make what you need, like pulling apart two bricks of baby lego in fornt of a toddler to see if they can put them back together once you hand it to them

and dont come at me with the "its for kids" argument, the old games were too and theres alot of stages of 'kid', they arent stupid either and nintendo should know that they have alot of adult fans too, it doesnt need to be dark souls and its allowed to have easy stuff in there but the fact that it never gets any more challenging is the problem, yes part of the fun in games can be making your own rules and messing around but it really shouldnt be controversial to want a 70 bucks game to offer a fun experience without you having to make it fun all on your own (i for one dont enjoy spending 30 minutes glueing togehter a tank with ear shattering lasers just to inefficiently beat up 3 bokblins i could just swing my sword at for a few seconds instead and are not worth the materials spend anyway)

in the end it would have been less immersion breaking and more fun if they straight up put a honda civic into the game you can summon anywhere at no cost (hmmmm where did they just do it before hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm) and transforms like a batmobile to fly around in rather than the weird sonau nuts and bolts hassle you have to put up with, costs stuff, can waste hours of your time and despawn as soon as you look away from it unless you want to make le funny tiktok videos i guess

its such a waste too bc the mechanic itself IS impressive, but its utterly missplaced in this game, it would have needed its own, truly own, game built around it, placing it in botws world is like dumping a bunch of knock off brand toys into a world that felt believable and meaningful turning it to feel like its really just a game for you to mess around in, never has a game felt more gamey to me and it SUCKS to have that magic pulled away like that, silly me for letting them make me care about it i guess

maybe its petty but as someone how really cares alot about design stuff, both visually and gameplay wise, it makes me furious to think about (as you can tell) .. also hyperfixation go brrrrrrr

(this is obviously my view on it, writing this to get it out, not to argue, i believe i have heard all the arguments already anyway and by this point all that is left is just insulting me directly lol)

[suffersinfandom]

Alright, I’m gonna talk about Ed and abuse.

“Why? Why are you spending your precious time on Earth typing about some dumb fandom stuff when you could be doing literally anything else?”

In short, seeing the “Ed is an abuser who’s inevitably going to hurt Stede” takes has been driving me absolutely bonkers since I first noticed them. They’re not going away, so I have to essay about it. 

In less-short: it’s because abuse is a serious thing and, as someone who’s experienced it, I get riled when it becomes a topic of discourse in my silly pirate fandom. It’s because it’s upsetting to read meta after meta accusing an indigenous man of being an abuser when the text doesn't support that reading. It’s because a lot of the abuse discourse in the fandom fails to separate real-life abuse from violence in a show. It’s because the vast majority of the abuse talk only acknowledges physical abuse which, while terrible, is not the only kind that hurts people and utterly destroys their lives. 

It’s because calling Ed abusive or insisting that he’s a future abuser can harm people who are like him -- people who have suffered abuse or get angry sometimes or have hurt people when they were hurt. Victims of abuse, especially those who dealt with it in childhood, often fear becoming abusers themselves. They bottle up their anger for fear of hurting someone. They hurt themselves in a misguided attempt to protect others. They don’t need to see meta that enforces their fears.

Before I get into it…

I may as well come clean and say that I’m on team Ed absolutely isn’t abusive.

Plenty has been typed in Ed’s defense by POC in the fandom, so I’m not going to go into how deeply unfortunate it would be to make an indigenous main character an abuser. I’m just going to say that, when you consider OFMD’s genre and attitude towards violence, it seems clear to me that you can’t call Ed abusive without calling out other characters unless you have some kind of bias against Ed. His actions are deplorable in the real world, a bit much in OFMD’s world, deeply unhealthy, not okay by any means, and shitty and traumatizing for his crew, but they aren’t abusive.

Remember: Our Flag Means Death is a comedy with tons of over-the-top violence. If your theory is unrelentingly grim or looks at violence and its consequences in a real-world light, consider stepping back and remembering what genre the events of the show are happening in.

And if you think that only the violence committed by the indigenous lead is abuse, look at the actions of the other characters and ask yourself why Ed doesn’t get the same grace you’ve granted the others.

What is abuse in the real world?

Abuse “includes [a pattern of] behaviors that physically harm, intimidate, manipulate, or control a partner or otherwise force them to behave in ways they don’t want to. This can happen through physical violence, threats, emotional abuse, or financial control.” (1)

“Emotional abuse includes non-physical behaviors that are meant to control, isolate, or frighten someone. These behaviors are often more subtle and hard to identify but are just as serious as other types of abuse.” (2)

It’s important to emphasize that not all purposeful harm to another person, physical or otherwise, is abuse. “What abuse really means is control. When a truly abusive situation exists, it’s because one party is seeking to control the other through abuse.” (2)

Abuse is a pattern of behavior that involves one person intentionally harming another. That harm is meant to control, and it can take on more forms than just physical. 

In our world, all abuse is terrible. Vitally, our world is not a pirate rom-com.

Adding context: what is abuse in Our Flag Means Death?

Our Flag Means Death is a romantic comedy with one core romantic couple, Ed and Stede, whose story takes priority over everything else. It can be dark, it can be serious, but it is, at its core, a comedy, and not a subtle one at that. (3) Sometimes things are just funny and that’s it.

The show’s meanings aren’t hidden under layers of red herrings and subtext; if you’re compelled to bring out the conspiracy corkboard, you’re probably in too deep.

But this isn’t just a rom-com: it’s a pirate rom-com, and that comes with gratuitous violence. Here’s a short, fun list of examples of things that we can consider canon-typical pirate violence:

Tying hostages to the mast and letting them cook a bit

Wanton murder during a raid (“Note the gusto!”)

Threatening a crush at gunpoint until they stab you

Whippies and yardies

Cutting off toes and feeding them to people “for a laugh”

Literally any violence directed at a racist (this violence is, in fact, good and encouraged)

There’s also the pirate-typical killing of other pirates. Duels don’t seem entirely unusual, and Izzy outright tries to get Stede killed at several points in season one. When Chauncey Badminton and the English navy show up after being summoned by Izzy, Stede’s life isn’t the only one on the line: the rest of the crew is also put in potentially life-threatening danger.

In short, Our Flag Means Death has a lot of violence and peril, and very few instances of violence (looking at you, Hornigold) are treated as anything other than socially acceptable. But do you know what’s really important in the show?

Feelings.

The way characters feel as a result of something is given an immense amount of weight. The show’s subtleties are in the realms of the mental and the emotional, and that’s where the real pain is too. 

Nigel Badminton’s death was bad because it was emotionally and mentally devastating for Stede. Ed’s father’s murder was bad because it hurt him and forced him to create a monstrous alter ego to cope. Both of those men -- Nigel and Father Teach -- are totally acceptable casualties. Their deaths would be net positives (in this universe where abusers are punished for their behavior) if they hadn’t had such strong impacts on our leads.

Feelings are everything in Our Flag Means Death, and the feelings of our leads are the heart of the show. That’s where the story is. That’s where the complexity and ambiguity is. 

So what is abuse in this context? The casual treatment of physical violence and the seriousness of emotional distress tell us to adjust our own moral judgments accordingly. Physical violence is everyday, straightforward, and often comedic; emotional violence is devastating and complicated. Physical violence is cartoonish and, often, part of a punchline. Emotional violence is real and raw and not a joking matter. Planning to murder a guy and steal his identity can be shrugged off; ditching your boyfriend after experiencing a traumatic event is more complicated.

When we ask ourselves if something in OFMD is abuse, we have to consider the act in the context of a rom-com that’s all about the feelings of two guys, set against the violent backdrop of piracy, and absolutely packed with people getting maimed and murdered in casual, comedic ways.

So...

Is Ed abusive in the context of the show?

No.

Aaaand we’re done!

Joking, joking. Obviously I’m going to pick out the examples of “abuse” that people cite and discuss each one, but first: we need to talk about Ed, violence, and anger. 

Ed is not a violent person. He’s not full of rage that’s threatening to erupt at all times, and he’s not some kind of sadist who revels in hurting people. The violence of Blackbeard is a fuckery: it's the theater of fear, an illusion of cruelty calculated to terrify others into surrendering and obeying without (much) bloodshed.

Ed has his whole thing with murder that's rooted in childhood trauma. Killing his abusive father to protect his mother scars him so badly that he distances himself from the situation -- he blames Father Teach’s death on the Kraken, an invented monster. As a pirate, he creates loopholes and rules that technically put one step between him and killing (in his mind). He orders murders and causes deaths and maims and maintains his image as the bloodthirsty Blackbeard, but Ed doesn’t do “the big job” himself until the end of season two. When Stede’s life is in the balance, Ed can kill to protect him. 

Edward Teach kills only to protect.

But that’s killing, and we’re talking about general violence. It's true that Ed is casual about the day-to-day violence of piracy. He participates in it, incites it, and doesn’t feel bad about it. No one does; violence is part of the job.

That leaves us with the "anger problem." Ed is sometimes characterized as an angry person who lashes out when enraged, and canon doesn't at all support this interpretation. Ed gets mad, yes, but his anger is always at least understandable (and, in my opinion, he's one of our more restrained characters). It isn’t a constant, simmering thing that turns him into an abusive monster when he’s triggered. He doesn't always deal with his anger -- or any of his other feelings -- in a good and constructive way because both of our leads lack emotional maturity, but I think it's a grave mistake to characterize him as an angry person.

Hopefully I can elaborate on this idea -- the idea that Ed is only violent and angry in a normal and canon-appropriate way, and anger is by no means one of his defining characteristics -- by doing a run-down of all of the times Ed is accused of being abusive or showing signs of being an abuser-in-the-making.

---

Ed loses his shit on a falling snake during his nature adventure with Stede (S1E7). In this scene, he’s embarrassed about the treasure hunt, oblivious to Stede's intentions, and annoyed by the very existence of nature. He is not relaxed. When nature takes him by surprise, he stabs the crap out of it in a scene that is played for comedy. There’s the important part: this is comedy. Ed is grumpy and his childish tantrum is harmless and silly. It isn’t a red flag. Overreacting while irritated isn’t an indicator that someone will be abusive.

Ed punches Izzy after the English have taken the Revenge, captured Stede, and turned Ed over to Izzy (S1E9). Honestly, I think the fact that Ed lets Izzy talk before punching him demonstrates a great deal of restraint on his part. This is justified anger and fear for Stede’s life. This is not an indicator that Ed makes a habit of hitting Izzy.

In his post-pillow fort era, Ed is cleaning up his cabin when Izzy confronts him (S1E10). Izzy insults Ed, tells him that he’d be better off dead than as he currently is, and says that he serves only Blackbeard (Ed better watch his fucking step). Ed reacts by grabbing Izzy by the throat and telling him to choose his next words carefully. This is, in my opinion, a reasonable reaction and exactly the response Izzy was fishing for. The only pattern this scene indicates is one where Izzy goads Ed until he starts performing the violence expected of Blackbeard.

Which takes us to The Toe Scene.

In real life, it would be extremely fucked up for a boss to remove an employee’s toe and make him eat it. OFMD is not real life. One episode earlier, Ed was talking about the life he was glad to leave behind -- the life where The Toe Thing was done “for a laugh.” Not as punishment, but for fun. It’s set up as something that’s gross (“yuck”), not a grave punishment. When Ed feeds Izzy his toe, he gives Izzy what be asked for: he gives him a violent captain. He gives him Blackbeard. He gives him the guy who fed people toes for fun.

But what’s important here is that Ed is not having fun. He’s having a lot less fun than Izzy is, going by their expressions in the scene. This isn’t who he wants to be, but after having the possibility of a better life snatched away, Ed throws himself back into the sure thing. He becomes the Kraken -- the captain Izzy wants, the violent monster that Ed thinks he is and tries to distance himself from, and the only thing Ed thinks he can be. It’s sad. It’s desperation, not anger and abuse.

In the second season, Ed headbutts Stede after he’s revived from his coma-death (S2E4). In the next scene, Stede is holding a cold steak to his face and calling it an accident. Roach says “that’s what they all say” -- a line that alludes to domestic violence. The thing is? It’s not, and the crew has expectations of Ed that Stede doesn’t (as indicated by Stede's earlier assertion that Ed's a nice guy in response to Olu's concern that Ed will kill him).

Ed is freshly out of a coma (or newly alive). He’s nonverbal. His brain is, medically speaking, couscous. He still has one foot in the gravy basket. When he sees the man who left him hovering over him -- the man he loves, the man who just appeared to him as a mermaid -- he tries to say something. When that fails, he resorts to a headbutt. This is a single violent action perpetrated by a confused and hurt man who doesn’t know what to do with all of his feelings. He can't talk. He can't push Stede away.

Stede understands all of this, even if the other characters don’t. He sees the headbutt for what it is: a bit of a bitchy move. He isn’t afraid of Ed. He never is. 

Stede also isn’t afraid of Ed when he acts out later that episode. When Ed learns that Stede went back to Mary, he excuses himself from the dinner table, smashes a chair against the wall, and knocks a vase to the ground. In this entire episode (this entire season), Ed is having intense feelings that he doesn’t know how to express or work through. The reveal that Stede returned to his wife is the final straw. He takes his tangled feelings out on an acceptable target (a chair, a vase) instead of Stede because he doesn’t want to hurt Stede.

This looks like displacement -- when “an unacceptable feeling or thought about a person, place or thing is redirected towards a safer target.” Displacement is an “intermediate level coping mechanism.” That is, it’s more sophisticated than the ways children deal with intense issues, but it’s still not entirely mature. In an adult, it indicates a level of emotional immaturity. (4) Ed is emotionally immature, not inherently violent. He gets overwhelmed by his feelings and lashes out -- not at a person, but at something that can’t get hurt. 

Displacement is not an indicator that someone is an abuser. It’s a coping mechanism. It’s an attempt at emotional regulation. It’s not the best coping mechanism, but it’s not a sign that someone is going to go into a rage and assault people.

Stede cringes when Ed smashes the chair and sends the vase crashing to the ground, but he’s not afraid of Ed. He is never afraid of Ed because he knows that Ed isn’t a real threat to him. He cringes because sometimes that's what a person does when a loud thing happens. That's what people do when chair shrapnel starts flying. Also? It's kind of embarrassing behavior on Ed's part. They're guests enjoying a mediocre dinner! That's no way to act!

And this leaves us with the first two episodes of season two.

Ed is fully in his Kraken era. He has no hope that Stede will return, he no longer trusts the crew, and he feels trapped in a life he absolutely doesn’t want. He thinks that he has to perform Blackbeard until death sets him free. He sobs in his cabin when no one’s looking. Publicly, Ed fades into the role of remorseless and bloodthirsty pirate captain.

Needless to say, this makes for a shit work environment. Ed works the crew (and himself) too hard. He drinks and does drugs (note that his drug of choice is rhino horn -- visually coded as cocaine -- instead of alcohol, the drug associated with his father) and runs everyone ragged. He’s an absolutely terrible boss, but he isn’t abusive.

That isn’t to say that the crew left on the Revenge isn’t traumatized. They are! They’ve been thrown off balance by the sudden change for the worse in someone who was previously a pretty cool guy, and they’re traumatized by the neverending violence that the constant raids -- raids that are bloody and deadly, not the fuckeries of the past -- demand of them. They’re traumatized by that final night in the storm when Ed does everything in his power to goad them into killing him, almost murdering everyone in the process. They’re traumatized by their own attempt at murder and their own capacities for violence.

In S2E4, Blackbeard’s crew has flashbacks to the violence they perpetrated under the Kraken: Jim fighting Archie, Fang breaking a man over his knee. They’re haunted by guilt about what they did to Ed, as evidenced by their Lady Macbeth-style scrubbing. Their own violence is a significant part of their trauma.

No, that doesn’t absolve Ed. He drove the violence -- demanded it of both the crew and himself. He hurt other people because he was hurting, and that’s terrible. 

Ed’s behavior in the first two episodes of season two is horrible, especially when his desperation reaches a fever pitch, but there's no attempt to control and no habitual mistreatment. Nothing he's doing is normal for him. He's spiraling and unraveling and pulling the world apart around him. Not all bad or violent behavior is abuse.

(We also have to ask ourselves just how bad Ed’s behavior really is. Archie, someone from the pirate world who has no idea what the Revenge was like pre-Kraken, tells Jim “that’s how these things usually go” at the height of Ed’s violence. She doesn’t act like she experienced anything out of the ordinary.) 

But what about Izzy?

What about Izzy indeed. Let’s walk through the first two episodes.

One of the first things we see Ed do in season two is shoot a man. At first this seems like the show telling us that Ed is embracing the kind of violence he couldn’t manage before, but if we pay attention, we can see that he’s still following his “not a murderer on a technicality” logic. The man he shoots has a sword through his chest; he's as good as dead. He also falls offscreen before Ed shoots, making the action less impactful.

OFMD is not subtle and this is a quick way to communicate what’s going on with Ed. He’s not doing well and he’s more violent than he was last season, but he’s still himself under the Kraken’s makeup. He hasn’t done a moral one-eighty. If the show wanted us to think that Ed's a monster, they would have made him a hell of a lot more violent.

So. Izzy.

Immediately after Ed tells Izzy that he’s replaceable in S2E1, we reach the scene that some point to as proof of domestic violence. This is where Izzy breaks down because he has just been told in no uncertain terms that he’s not Blackbeard’s special little guy. That’s devastating to him, and he cries when the crew approaches him with kindness and sympathy. 

Jim tells Izzy he’s in an unhealthy relationship with Blackbeard. Frenchie describes their relationship as “toxic.” 

A toxic relationship is “any relationship [between people who] don’t support each other, where there’s conflict and one seeks to undermine the other, where there’s competition, where there’s disrespect and a lack of cohesiveness." (5) And you know what? Yes, Ed and Izzy definitely have a toxic relationship. And is their relationship unhealthy? It sure is -- for both of them. But the crew is, understandably, more sympathetic towards Izzy because they’ve never been present when Izzy was hurting Ed. 

(Only tangentially related, but the crew must have really liked Ed pre-Kraken. As far as they know, the man went dark with no warning or cause. They deal with him for approximately three months (assuming one raid a day), and he has to go so far before they put an end to him. Remember when they were ready to toss Izzy overboard after, like, twelve hours under his command?)

Even though they only have one side of the Izzy and Ed story, the crew isn’t accusing Ed of domestic abuse. The term doesn’t apply to the mutually fucked-up thing that Izzy and Ed have and, beyond that, the scene is played for laughs. Jim and Frenchie use comically modern language. The whole thing feels like an intervention for a stressed-out middle manager with a shitty boss. It's funny. It's a comical thing in a comedy show.

Izzy returns to Ed and tells him that the crew won’t throw treasure overboard to make room for more treasure. Ed says, “And that’s another toe.” Losing a toe is the penalty for failing the kind of captain that Izzy said he will serve. It’s obviously not okay to punish an underling by taking toes, but we’ve already established that toe-removal isn’t a cruel and unusual pirate punishment.

(Specifically, toe-chopping is the cost of Izzy’s failure. Frenchie disobeys and lies to Ed in his short time as first mate and he doesn’t lose a single toe. Izzy bears the brunt of Ed’s cruelty because he’s the one who demanded it.) 

This is not who Ed wants to be, but it’s who he thinks he has to be. It’s who Izzy told him to be.

Next, Izzy makes the mistake of invoking Stede and Ed storms above deck. He holds the crew at gunpoint, one by one, and asks them if they think that the vibes on the ship are poisonous. No one gives him a positive answer and Ed turns the gun on himself. He works himself up until Izzy interrupts and the following exchange happens:

IZZY: “The atmosphere on this ship is fucked. Everyone knows why.” ED: “Well, I don’t. Enlighten me.” IZZY: “Your feelings for Stede fucking Bo--”

 [Ed shoots Izzy in the leg. Ed steps over him on his way back to his cabin.]

ED: “Throw this shit overboard and get suited up.”

The fucked up vibe is not because of Ed's feelings for Stede. Ed's feelings for Stede resulted in Ed having a nineties-rom-com-style breakdown and proposing a talent show. The Kraken and the ensuing fucked atmosphere were ushered in by Izzy.

Izzy is only shot after he proposes talking it through (something he attacked Ed for in S1E10) and publicly places all of the blame on Ed's feelings (feelings that he previously threatened Ed about -- Izzy owes his loyalty to Blackbeard, not a "namby pamby in a silk gown pining for his boyfriend" who would be better off dead). Whatever Izzy's intentions are, it's not irrational for Ed to interpret this as a further threat or an attempt to stir up a mutiny.

What’s important for this post is this: Ed's actions are not unusually cruel for a pirate captain who considers his first mate out of line. Shooting someone in the leg is the kind of thing that the idea of Blackbeard that Izzy worships does to maintain his reputation.

Fang cries when Ed shoots Izzy because he knows Blackbeard. He has been with Blackbeard longer than anyone else, and this isn’t Blackbeard. Blackbeard doesn’t work his crew this hard. Blackbeard doesn’t disregard the deaths of long-time crewmates like Ivan. Blackbeard doesn’t shoot his own crew. Fang is off-balance and distraught because his captain of twenty years is acting far, far more cruel than the one he knew.

This is not Ed as he usually is. Ed at his worst is breaking all of his past patterns. He’s behaving like a different person. His actions at this point in time are not typical of his past actions or predicative of his future actions.

When we reach S2E2, Ed is chipper. He’s cleaning up, he’s tying up loose ends, and he has decided that, no matter what, this is the day that he dies. He’s determined. First, he’ll give Izzy a go at killing him; next is the storm, the destruction of the steering wheel, and taking increasingly desperate actions to get the crew to stop him. He tells Jim and Archie to fight to the death. He goes to blow the mast away with a cannon and doesn’t react as nameless crew members are being washed overboard. 

Ed is stopped only by Izzy’s reappearance and the violent mutiny that follows.

None of what Ed does here is abuse. This is desperate violence. This is an unwell man begging everyone around him to send him to doggy heaven.

And finally, we have the big murder party in the season finale. A surprising number of fans interpret Ed’s willingness to cut down naval officers as a sure sign that he’s gotten worse and he’s more violent than ever. This is, in my opinion, a take that completely ignores everything we know about Ed and his relationship to violence.

It bears repeating: Edward Teach kills only to protect. He murders his father to protect his mother. He kills as Blackbeard to protect himself (and no matter how he tries to distance himself from that violence, he still causes deaths). He mows down colonists for Stede. He kills for safety and for love, and by the end of season two, he has made some kind of peace with the Kraken and his own capacity for violence.

It’s sweet. It wouldn’t be sweet in the real world, but in this world? In a world where physical violence is funny more often than it’s serious? In a world full of pirate characters who all have hefty body counts? It’s growth. It’s Ed healing.

Ed is doing better. He’s not a threat to the man he loves, and now he’s not a threat to himself either.

Anyway.

No, Ed is not abusive. No, there’s no indication that Ed will become abusive in the future.

Dislike characters. Take issue with things. Feel whatever you want to feel, but remember that abuse survivors are not a monolith. Consider, just for a moment, that the abuse you think you see in the show is not textual. Ask yourself if Ed is truly worse than all of the other characters or if you have some bias warping your view of him. 

Finally: please keep in mind that I’m not trying to present The One True Interpretation. I’m just rolling all of my arguments and thoughts into a ball and throwing it out into the wild. You don’t have to agree with me but, if you don’t, I hope you’ll at least consider what I'm saying.

Peace and love and goodbye.

[mothsshoes]

bringing my insane late night instagram ramblings to here bc of course i was thinking about this scene from the trailer again:

this is after aziraphale realized he’s absolutely head over heels for this demon and he can’t help but invite him in after crowley drives him to the bookshop.. he takes crowley to the back room, lights some candles, and pulls out the fancy wine. THIS IS LITERALLY A DATE. IT LOOKS SO TENDER.

But. I can’t help but wonder what happened in between 1941 and 1967.

Ok obviously they could’ve met up sometime between those dates, but MY POINT IS. The church scene and this “date” were just so sweet and full of romance, but then 1967 feels so incredibly different. It feels a lot more distant and sad, and of course Aziraphale drops the “you go to fast for me” line that breaks Crowley’s heart.

Honestly I’m kind of thinking something happened at the end of this little “date” they had. Maybe thinking the two of them got super close to romance territory, maybe even close to a kiss or confession of some kind, because that scene certainly looks like it has the perfect mood for that. Then of course Aziraphale panics and pushes Crowley away and acts like nothing happened. Im sure this hurt Crowley, but I think he expects it at that point, and then “you go too fast for me” happens and Crowley has no other choice but to wait for his angel because he’d rather have his only best friend than no one at all.

This season though, with its supposed romantic undertones, I’m hoping Aziraphale snaps out of it. I’m hoping after 6000+ years, Aziraphale will finally catch up to speed and they’ll be able to do whatever they want, that is of course with some obstacles..

Aziraphale may still be unsure about it all, of course we have to deal with Gabriel, and the forces of Heaven and Hell are on their doorstep (literally). From what we got in the trailer and because of.. other.. things, I think their relationship will progress in some way or another! And clearly I’m going absolutely bonkers thinking about the possibilities..

[natalie668]

Chapter 2 - Lost Girl

Warnings: will contain smut in future chapters, MFM, FM, sometimes more than 3 people lol. Violence (hello they’re vampires), mentions of drugs. (Paul smoking weed)

This story is going to be at least 30+ chapters. It’s still in its planning stages for the future but I love Lost boys (have since I was little) i need to let you all know that I’m a mother to 2 autistic children and a lot of my time is spent looking after them, but I will try and post at least weekly. Hope that’s ok with you all ❤️❤️ please feel free to post comments I’ll reply to every single one 🖤🖤

As we make our way through the crowds lingering across the boardwalk i can't help but to follow like a lost sheep. I have no clue where we're going but, but surely my soulmate can't be leading me to danger? That's why my legs willingly follow him as he makes his way towards a motorbike.

He gets on, and holds his hand out to me to take hold of, "come on, jump on." He says his eyes baring into my own.

I take a deep breath and pulling my pencil skirt upwards feeling rather self conscious, I get my leg over and secure my arms around his waist. This is my first time on a motorbike and my heart is in my throat. We begin to take off, he goes at a careful speed, we'd been driving for around 15 minutes before we came to a wooden looking house. We pull up the dirt path leading to the front of the home.

He kicks out the stand and slides off, his arms help me get off the bike, a smile now taking over his beautiful features. "This is my home, come on," he says as he leads me through the front door. "My mum should be home soon."

We make our way into what looks like a living room, there's a teenage boy sat on the sofa reading a Batman comic. I can't help but smile seeing a youngster reading.

He looks up from his comic, a frown marring his features, "why have you bought a girl home Mikey, moms not going to be happy." He practically finishes in sing song with a grin on his face.

He pushes his little brother by the shoulder, "Mom will be happy for me. Sammy; meet my soulmate - y/n."

Who i now know as Sam, his mouth opens wide like a gawping fish. He stutters, "Oh my god! Mikeys found his soulmate!?" He says practically vibrating on the spot with excitement. I can't help but to grin and smile at the kid. He seems so happy bless him.

I lean forward extending my hand, "it's nice to meet you Sammy,". We shake hands both of us grinning.

Michael wraps an arm around my shoulders, "well, I'm going to go get to know y/n some more, shout us when mums home." He says as we make our way up the stairs to what I can only assume is his bedroom.

We step into his bedroom and I take in the posters around jotted around on the walls. A single bed is the only thing to sit on in there. He sits himself down making himself comfy, I make my way over slipping my shoes off before climbing onto the bed.

We look at each other taking one another in, “So, what were you doing at the Board walk, you looked a bit lost. And I know I’ve never seen you there.” He says to me as I press my fingers to my lips, I can’t get over how good looking my soulmate is, he’s so handsome.

I look down at my hands, trying to think of what to say, whether to risk telling the truth and scaring my soulmate away or risking him getting me sent to a nut house. Oh sod it, what’s the worst that can happen.

“You’re going to think I’m crazy,” i say as i look up to him, “This morning I was in the year 2024, and I was on my way home from work, and I got hit by lightning and woke up on the sand in 1987.”

I peer up at, him waiting to see his reaction, peering up at him he seems shocked, obviously what else would you expect. “I promise I’m telling the truth, I know it sounds absolutely bonkers but it’s true.” I say as I look into his eyes, they seem to be taking in what I just said.

He leans forward, his fingers pressing to my cheek, he leans in and kisses my forehead, pulling me towards him. "I believe you, why would you lie about something like that." his chin is resting on the top of my head.

I lean in taking in his scent, I can't help but to feel safe in his embrace, snuggling against his chest. He smells me, I can hear his intake of breath breathing me in.

"You'll be ok love, I promise I'll take care of you forever." he says to me, nuzzling his face against me.

"Forever is a long time Michael, are you sure you can promise forever." i say to him grinning against his chest. I feel his chest vibrate with laughter.

"You'll find, we'll all be able to promise you forever, sweetheart." his fingers caress my hair, his fingers running through it.

I pull away from him, confused. "What do you mean we?," i say to him, does he know my other soulmates?

Michael is just about to speak when theres a knock against his bedroom door, "Come in," he says to the person at the door.

A beautiful blonde lady walks in, you hazard a guess that this woman is his mother. "Hi sweetie, it's lovely to finally meet my Michaels soulmate." she says as she rushes over and pulls me into a loving embrace. her warmness and nurturing nature reminds you of your own mother, a mother who would be in her 20s like yourself in 1987, the thought makes your head spin.

I lean into her hug, "Its lovely to meet you too," i say as she pulls back a huge loving smile on her face.

chapter 3

[ultimateloserboy]

every once in a while i think about that one interview where the creators of dhmis said that yellow guy was the only character capable of actually exploring the world. it makes me think a lot. especially about the big boys.

sometimes i think that maybe red guy and duck got stuck in the big boys rooms because of how bitter they are. in the creators own words, yellow guy is the only one in the group that is willing to actually look into things without being overly cynical about everything. red guy and duck slowly give in to the world, they slowly lose faith in being good people and see no reason to be good at all. they lose their hope for anything better. they eventually end up with a “this is as good as it gets” attitude. this is why i think there isnt a big version of yellow guy. because yellow guy NEVER thinks like that. with or without his batteries yellow guy doesnt think like the other two. they think too negatively to even consider a positive outcome, while yellow guy, as bonkers as he usually is, has a more reasonable look at things because he isnt miserably bitter

i know that the big boys recognize yellow guy when he walks in, i think the bigger boys even asked him where he had been or something like that. “we’ve been waiting for you” or something. i dont think this implies that yellow guy has a big counterpart, i think this is a callback to what yellow guy said earlier in the episode. he had a whole conversation about how the other two “arent in charge of him” despite what they may think. red guy and duck think that yellow guy will go along with anything they do. if they get bigger they expect yellow guy to as well. it might be because they view him as stupid, or it could be because they’re always stuck together so they assume he’ll be apart of everything they do, but either way they expect him to give up on the world like they do. but he doesnt. no matter what happens, yellow guy has the childhood wonder and curiosity that red guy and duck are too grouchy and old to have. thats why he finds the book, thats why he knows what he does and asks what he asks, not because of the batteries, but because hes kind. red guy and duck destroy themselves and each other. they think theyre sooo fucking smart but theyre literally doing nothing. just sitting around in rooms. but yellow guy has hope despite everything. i dont have faith that theres anything better in the dhmis world. honestly, im pretty sure in the same article i was mentioning earlier (although it could be a different one) its mentioned that the audience want yellow guy to be happy but he “NEVER will be”. and the transport episode really drives home (haha get it) the idea that theres really nothing better outside of the house. so even me as an audience member has lost faith, just like red guy and duck, but yellow guy hasnt and thats so sad to me. theres a part of me that wishes so bad that he’s right, that there really is something better, but as the creators said, there never will be

unless theyre fucking with us of course, which wouldnt be surprising

idk this shits confusing its all metaphorical and sad and all that gay shit

[raisinchallah]

god why are people so uncaring about outdoor cats..... new cat in my neighborhood is like driving my cat insane whenever she looks out the window making it hard for me to take her outside cuz theres always a risk of conflict if they interact but like im the person with the leashed cat whatever whatever but ive seen this cat outside at fucking 1:30 in the morning ive seen him get carried away by someone so clearly hes not a stray but like who the hell cares so little about their cat they dont care that theyre free roaming around a very busy street and dont even worry about getting them in at night when like there have been coyotes spotted in the neighborhood do u care if this animal lives or dies??? and now its out here torturing wildlife outside my window for hours and idk all this is normal??? and like local large animal shelter i go to their website cuz at first i thought this cat was a stray it kept trying to sneak into my house has no collar and is kinda skinny until i saw him get carried away by a person and its like they dont even take friendly stray cats animals that would do quite well in a home they say its best to leave them where they are the way it was nearly impossible to get anyone to go out and even just spay and neuter the stray cats my grandmother feeds which like does fuck all but also they keep having very inbred kinda fucked up looking kittens in the yard every year and sometimes dont even bother to raise the kittens and i feel like maybe it would be best if that stopped whatever its just bonkers to me people think its somehow the normal humane thing to do to just leave unhealthy cats on the streets killing wildlife regularly and getting hit by cars like you would definitely call animal control if a stray dog ripped apart a rabbit in your backyard but this is just how cats are they are tortured if they arent allowed to depopulate local animal populations and like i know animal services have limited resources but idk its just mystifying to me guess im the freak keeping my pampered indoor cat leashed so she can merely chase animals rather than kill them....

[theshippirate22]

careful what you wish for @grimmfitzz because i have been vibrating wanting to rant all day and now i’ve been given permission so it’s comin’! here we go yall

THE RANT

listen. i am an Alice in Wonderland person. that is my thing. i love everything from the novel. i love the merch. i was Alice at least four halloweens when I was little. picture the thing you love the most of all the things and multiply it by ten and that is how I feel about Alice in Wonderland.

SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THE GRAVITY WHEN I TELL YOU I HATE DISNEY ALICE IN WONDERLAND

let me tell you why.

starting off with the animated 1951 version, i personally don’t like that they focused so much on like. giving it a plot. like in the original nothing bad happens, she just is trying to get home and keeps getting stopped by these eccentric little people (she does get chased by the jabberwocky in Through the Looking Glass but that’s like the not even part of this movie so it doesn’t count.) like part of the whimsy of the original novel is that it’s just like her meeting all these silly little people on her way home and there’s a whole bunch in the 1951 that’s like put there specifically to move the plot along. which i get, for what they’re trying to do like i do understand it’s an animated movie for children but like. come on guys you defeated the whole purpose.

Now, as for the 2010 Tim Burton version, I love the aesthetic and the vibe, and even the story and I wholeheartedly believe that that version of Alice did more for feminism than all of the you-can-tell-i’m-a-strong-female-character-because-i-don’t-have-a-love-interest bullshit disney’s been doing the past five ish years combined. however, it’s like. not Alice in Wonderland. like it fits in the same category in my head as a really well done fanfiction because yes, its Alice in Wonderland characters but no it’s not Alice in Wonderland.

But of course, my biggest, nastiest critique of both versions is (*deep breath*) the goddamn Queen of Hearts.

If you know like anything about like Alice in Wonderland *lore* you know that the story is like… not an allegory per se but basically it’s supposed to exaggerate how children are sometimes treated by adults.

Like asking stupid questions (the caterpillar) or talking in circles about nonsensical things (the hatter) or giving conflicting or unhelpful directions (the cheshire cat) or telling dark/pointless stories (tweedledee abd tweedledum)

Which brings me to the Queen of Hearts.

Both Disney versions depict my beloved Queen as the main antagonist- the Bad Guy™️ if you will- but the problem is that in Lewis Carroll’s novel, she actually isn’t. The antagonist is the jabberwocky, which is a personification of Fear. The Queen of Hearts is just another crazy adult who says things that Alice doesn’t like. If we want to interpret the character into Alice’s real life, she might be a strict teacher who hands out punishments too generously (off with their heads!) or a governess who is set on dictating every single instant of her life. It’s an exaggeration! The Queen of Hearts is NOT the Bad Guy™️!!!!

ahem anyway that drives me actually bonkers if you can’t tell and i know it’s not that important but i wanted to say something anyway lmao so there you go

(if you are looking for a good Alice in Wonderland adaptation try the 1985 made-for-tv one! It’s like three hours long and it’s so fun and cute and there’s a bunch of old celebrity cameos! Details here)

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: Terrifier 3

Terrifier 3 (2024)

Not rated

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2024/10/review-terrifier-3-2024.html>

Score: 4 out of 5

With Terrifier 3, the little indie splatter horror franchise that could has entered "franchise mode". On top of its advertising, its merchandising, its tie-in single by Ice Nine Kills, and its staggering box-office success, the movie itself makes Art the Clown as much the main character as its returning heroine Sienna Shaw, with nearly every kill now a horrifying set piece of explosive carnage and Art's sidekick from the last movie, the ambiguously demonic Little Pale Girl, upgraded to a co-villain in her own right as she possesses somebody and joins in on the action herself. The best comparison I can think of is A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, though I'd argue that this is the better movie of the two by a wide margin, one that not only cleans up the biggest flaw that held back its predecessor but also manages to be a twisted, explosive celebration of practical effects work unbound by the MPA (as in, they just up and released this unrated knowing damn well it would've gotten an NC-17 the second they showed up at the MPA's offices). It's a big, swaggering splatterfest that's as bonkers as its killer clown villain, and while it does unfortunately introduce some new flaws that leave me wondering if Damien Leone, the writer, director, and main visionary behind this series, is getting lost in the weeds a bit with his creation, this is otherwise one hell of an experience.

Set five years after the events of the last movie, our protagonist Sienna Shaw, who has spent her time in and out of psychiatric care thanks to what she experienced in her last encounter with Art the Clown, has just left the hospital to live with her aunt Jess, uncle Greg, and little cousin Gabbie. The idea of a slasher sequel focusing on how traumatized the final girl has become is not a new idea (all the way back in the '90s, Scream 2 and Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later built their heroines' arcs around it), but this movie does it well, in its characteristic fashion. Lauren LaVera gets another great opportunity to play Sienna as more than just the "tough chick" horror heroine, somebody who can undoubtedly still kick Art's ass but has also been left a psychological wreck by all the things she's witnessed. She has visions of her dead friends blaming her for their deaths, the last movie's implications that she was going insane all but spelled out in the text now, and she recoils when Gabbie goes snooping in her diary and reads about some of the things she described in there. We get a flashback to Sienna's childhood, her father played by Jason Patric in a cameo, illustrating how she loved him and driving home how much his decline and ultimate death broke her. I find it amusing how the Terrifier films, with their in-your-face violence and lack of subtlety, are sometimes seen as a rejoinder to the "elevated horror" boom of the last ten years, particularly how many such films use their monsters and demons as metaphors for some trauma in the protagonists' pasts, because Sienna's arc in these movies treads very similar waters -- and, for my money, more or less pulls it off. In two movies, Sienna Shaw has become one of the all-time great horror heroines, and LaVera is central to why.

It also helps, of course, to have a real monster for your heroine to face off against. And here, we have not one, but two of them. I've already sung David Howard Thornton's praises for his performance as Art the Clown before, and he largely sticks to what worked in the past, combining great physical comedy with a mean streak a mile wide to make for a sick, sadistic villain who treats everything like one big joke and is clearly enjoying himself as he hunts and torments his victims. At times, Art feels almost like a silent slasher version of Deadpool, a guy who's in on the joke and feels like he wants to let everybody else in on it too. The Little Pale Girl also makes a return, in a sense, this time possessing the first film's lone survivor Victoria Hayes, who begins the film institutionalized after Art had mutilated her face and driven her insane only for Art to break her out. If Art is a slasher version of the Joker, then the possessed Victoria is his Harley Quinn, a female counterpart who is not only just as vicious and terrifying but also serves as his "voice" throughout the film, being the one who directly taunts people through words as opposed to just gestures. Samantha Scaffidi is playing a character almost wholly different from what she was in the first movie, unrecognizable both literally due to her mangled face and figuratively as she partakes in the violence rather than trying to survive it, and she turned out to be the film's secret weapon, somebody who kept the scares grounded even as Art takes the Freddy Krueger route of becoming a more overtly comedic killer. Victoria brought most of the film's genuine scares here versus Art's more cartoonish carnage, and she proved to be a very welcome addition to not only the lore but also, more importantly, the movie as a whole.

That's not to say that Art isn't scary anymore, though. As I've said when discussing the prior films, sheer visceral excess has a weight to it all its own, and when paired with the more comedic elements of his character, that lends him the feeling of a sick, degenerate troll for whom nothing actually matters except his own amusement. This is a movie that happily crosses lines that other slashers wouldn't dare tread near, a gross display of viscera that offers Leone another chance to show off his special effects craftsmanship with the kind of set piece kills that feel like they were concocted by a schoolyard full of kids in a contest to come up with the sickest ways to die. We get a guy getting the skin on his head ripped off, liquid nitrogen being used to freeze a man's flesh before it's smashed off with a hammer, live rats being shoved down a woman's throat and then eating their way out through her neck, a shower scene to rival the infamous bedroom scene from the second film (...who says that doesn't fit there?), beheadings, dismemberments, the works, as well as Art actually "going there" when it comes to one of horror's biggest taboos. These movies are being hyped up at this point as gauntlets for seasoned horror fans to run (and shock others with), and while the tone is too lighthearted for it to really hang with the grossest examples of splatter horror, make no mistake: the warnings that theaters are putting up for this are there for a reason.

The pacing is tighter this time around, showing that Leone has learned from one of the main criticisms of the last movie. It's still just over two hours long, but it moves a lot quicker than before, each hour respectively feeling like the first two acts of a movie that's setting up for a smashing finale but still delivering the goods where it matters. The plot builds on the second film's implications that there was something more cosmic going on than just a simple slasher story, explicitly naming the Little Pale Girl as a demon and strongly implying that Sienna too has an angel in her corner, ultimately ending on a cliffhanger and leaving a lot of open questions that the fourth movie promises to answer. The added lore did a lot to flesh out the story, put some fun twists on a lot of slasher tropes (the final girl, the killer coming back from the dead), and got me interested in seeing the next one. That said, not only does it create a risk of continuity lockout for people who haven't seen any of the other films, especially with how the opening hinges so much on characters and events from the second film, it also naturally means that this movie's own story is incomplete. A lot hinges on whether the fourth movie sticks the landing, and right now, all I can say is this: at least they didn't try to expand on Art's backstory the way the Nightmare sequels did Freddy's or the Halloween sequels did Michael Myers'. His whole deal boils down to the fact that he was such an evil fuckin' bastard in life (which, if you've seen any of these movies... yeah) that the forces of darkness took a liking to him and revived him as their champion to keep killing. It's a simple explanation that preserves his mystique and doesn't detract from what makes him so enjoyable to watch, the kind of thing you'd expect a slasher fan to come up with if they were asked to develop the lore around a slasher villain, and I appreciated it.

The Bottom Line

Terrifier 3 isn't without its flaws, but it's still the best film in the series thus far. If Art the Clown isn't a bona fide horror icon at this point, then it's only because he's still fairly new. Check it out if you've got the stomach.

[slashingdisneypasta]

Hmmmm.... Just to be fair to all the Kangaroos, do you have NSFW headcannons for Ryan and Rena? Asking for science. Yup. Just science, nothing more. Don't look at me 😂

Just to be fair, yes, of course XD

Okay first of all looks!! Ryan and Rena are inverted colours-wise to what Kingston has. So their shoulders and backs in roo form are that golden peanut-butter like colour while their chest and underbelly are the dusky dark brown colour. And in human form they're both blonde. Ryan wears a very similar hat to Kingston, while Rena wears that shade of blue on her eyelids.

Rena:

THE DEFINITION of a switch XD It completely completely depends on her partner as to which roll she takes- but either way she kills. She can be a total dominatrix, knowing exactly how much force to use to make you cum, but also bat her eyelashes and make herself cry if she thinks that'll really get you going more. She loves both rolls, she doesn't have a preference XD (though... with Henry I think she's probably prefer to be the sweet little sub XD )

She's actually not a great dancer?? Its not her strength 😅 She's up to trying (Rena's up for anything), she'll get up on stage and work a pole good enough... but she ain't special. Not star-quality at all 😅 She's enthusiastic, though!! Haha.

HIGH sexual appetite. Like, this woman is always looking to fuck. Which is (part of) why she and Kingston go through their non-monogamous phases; sometimes he just can't keep up with her XD 😅 (or more like doesn't want to. He can-- he's just not quite as constantly horny as she is)

As I've said before- Rena is a femme fatale. A really fucked up, crazy, borderline depressed femme fatale, but a femme fatale all the same. And as such, she can be d a n g e r o u s l y sexy. I feel like I mostly talk about how batshit bonkers crazy she is, but she c a n often appear to be a mysterious and alluring creature. When she wants someone, she gets them. She's got amazing focus.

She w i l l t o t a l l y flash a person if she's dared to XD (so will Kingston).

Rena masturbates. A lot. Yes, she fucks a lot but sometimes she just... eh, doesn't feel like having anyone else there. She goes into moods where she hates everyone and can't bear to have anyone around her. And she's perfectly capable to give herself a mindblowing orgasm! Sometimes she's romantic with herself, lighting candles and taking herself slowly in the bath tub- and sometimes she dissapears into a dark corner or hallways and fingers herself quick and dirty.

Call her mommy!! Call her daddy!! She's so into it. Fuck yes she's your mommy. Who's your daddy?

Ryan:

Ryan is more a lover then a fucker. He wants to treat his girl (or gentleman caller) with respect- but oh my goddddddd he will drive you crazy. You'll want him to use you so bad. And he will... but it'll really take some convincing. And he may have to be a little pissed off, too.

Yes, Ryan may prefer to treat you nicely during sex... but that doesn't mean he's not in control. He will hold you perfectly still in order to eat you out properly, hold you down to pound you, hold your wrists together above your head, etc. He wants you to feel good!!

And- hell yes- Ryan loves to go down on his partner. Genuinly loves it. For his own pleasure as well as theirs. Whether it's a pretty pussy or a nice big cock he's gonna want it in and around his mouth.

Consent king. He taps articles of clothing before taking them off to get your permission, meticulously remembers even in the HOTTEST heat of the moment where you don't like being touched, leans in and waits for you to lean in the rest of the way. Also after-care king.

Very willing to fuck his friends. Kingston? Definitely!! He loves Kingston! If his best buddy wants an orgasm he'll take care of it. Wheezy? That guy is objectively hot as hell and he doesnt mind admitting it- so no he doesn't mind fucking him, at all. Poppy? If she's into it he'll take such good care of her ^^ Show her, platonically, how she should be getting fucked.

If Ryan were in the digital age- he would be e x c e l l e n t at dick pics and videos. No awkward shots of the head, no no. He's good at this. He'll send a picture of his hard cock hugged in tight underpants, he'll send a video of him adjusting this very obvious bulge. He'll tease you to death until finally he sends you a video of him pumping it. He likes dick too- he knows what we wanna see XD 😂

BONUS: Extra Kingston

THESE ARE TOTALLY HIM XDDD

[classicsubliminalbo]

Assimilation #3: Deception

Originally published Feb 11, 2016 This series is being revised

Charlotte could feel him now. Her husband, Ed, his mind joining the collective's. They were all individual vessels, but with the same master housed inside it was like they were all components to one large machine. Charlotte was tapped into the other convert's minds, she knew where they were doing, and she could feel The Master growing stronger with each new conquest. She knew that Gabrielle had returned home and, with the help of her newly assimilated sister, was now converting her parents. They would fight, of course, but she knew that everyone succumbs. Like Ed, still working his tongue mindlessly between Charlotte's folds, consuming more of the Master's juices.

When the Master was finished with a vessel, it would retreat into a state of hibernation, allowing its converts to continue their lives relatively unaware that their bodies were host to this mysterious parasite. There were side effects: Charlotte and Ed's sex drives multiplied, making them hornier than they'd been since their honeymoon. It was actually pretty helpful for the marriage. And then there were the dreams; foggy recollections of the evil deeds committed while under the Master's influence. Charlotte would awake in a cold sweat after one of her bizarrely real nightmares of fucking a student into submission. She would take a deep breath, Ed would ask her what was wrong, and then they'd fuck.

Four months passed.

Corbin loved a good mystery, that was part of the reason she'd started the whole campus detective thing. That, and of course, to fight the unchecked crime around campus. But as fulfilling as it was, sometimes taking photos of a cheating boyfriend felt a little beneath her. Corbin knew that there were bigger mysteries to tackle, and she had a sense for finding them too. Corbin wasn't excited to receive an internship with a fashion reporter, but she had stumbled upon a massive conspiracy of blackmail, brainwashing, and just generally unethical business practices.

"Brainwashing," Kelly repeated back to Corbin, just so she could hear the words come out of someone else's mouth. "Victoria's Secret is brainwashing women, including your mentor, around the world with mind controlling underwear." "Well, you make it sound so crazy but...is it?" "God damn, Corbin, everything is a conspiracy with you." "No, Kelly! Listen to me: it's called 'Obedience by Victoria,' they're not even being transparent about it!" "It's not a story, Corbin! Everybody knows what the lingerie does. It's...kind of exciting, actually." "You've used it before?" Corbin scooted a few inches down the park bench, eyeing Kelly like she'd just outed herself as a pod person. "I'm okay. It's just good fun in bed. I've never even worn it in public." Corbin frowned. "Well, whatever. You're a consenting adult. I'm talking about Victoria's Secret abusing its product, establishing a network, a culture of loyal, brainwashed soldiers to sustain an ever expanding financial empire--" "Corbin," Kelly cut her off with a polite smile. "It's a lingerie company."

For a biostats major, Kelly could be awfully dimwitted. Kelly was supermodel beautiful, but she never used her looks to get anything. She'd worked the hard way into Carpenter State and probably could have gone to the Ivy League if she were a prestige chaser. But despite all of her intelligence, Kelly simply refused to see the truth, even when Corbin spelled it out for her. She was still the naive girl Corbin had known in high school who followed the popular kids' lead. No doubt she'd been drunk or high when she was talked into trying Obedience by Victoria. Corbin hated the thought of her best friend being subjugated like that. Completely powerless...

"Yeah, well," Corbin continued, trying to fight off the image of half-naked mindless bimbo Kelly. "This place has gone bonkers since the lingerie launched. Did you know CSU's average GPA has dropped in the last two years? Why do you think that is?" "It's because of all the fucking," Kelly joked. "They've come to me, Kelly. Girls who have been forced to do things against their will by their boyfriends. And it's not just the students," Corbin added. "You know Professor Blake?" "English, right?" "She's been acting different too. The other day she was reading an excerpt from my paper, and I swear I heard her...moan. Like it was getting her hot." "Wasn't it about lesbian themes in Shakespeare?" "She's a professional, Kelly. She's supposed to operate a certain standard above that kind of behavior. If I had my guess, I'd say one of the professors, Dean Pierce even, is using the lingerie to brainwash the faculty." "But why? There's absolutely no reason--" "That's what I'm going to find out," Corbin cut Kelly off with a coy smile. "I got an email from Professor Blake this morning. She wants me to meet with her on Thursday after class." "If she's under some kind of lingerie-induced mind control and if she's a small part of this big conspiracy you've discovered...what's to stop her from fitting you with a pair of that lingerie?" "Are you kidding?" Corbin laughed. "I'm too good for that."

Thursday came fast, but Professor Blake's class crawled. Corbin could barely focus on the seminar, her mind occupied with the conspiracy. Professor Blake seemed fine today as she spoke, but after the incident with the Shakespeare paper, it made Corbin uneasy. It was almost like Professor Blake was too normal. She was eager for that meeting.

"Take a seat, Corbin." Professor Blake said as she led the girl into her small office. Corbin had never seen the inside of her professor's office, and was surprised to see the condition she kept it in: the desk was a mess with papers and textbooks, with even more stacked up along the floor. She barely had room on the desktop to fit her computer. "I apologize if it's cramped," the professor smiled. "I haven't earned the deluxe office yet."

"It's fine," Corbin smiled timidly as she took a seat across from her professor. "Why did you want to meet with me, Professor?" she asked kindly, trying to mask her distrust. "Charlotte, please," Professor Blake replied. "It's been a pleasure, reading your work. You have an eye for controversy unlike any student I've ever had, Corbin. And of course, you have the words to share what you see. That is a very powerful gift." "Thank you, Professor, um, Charlotte," Corbin nervously pulled a strand of hair behind her ear. "I understand that you have an internship this semester?" "Yes," Corbin nodded. "With a fashion reporter." "But you don't care about fashion, do you?" Corbin shook her head. "No, not really."

Charlotte sighed, and Corbin noticed a sort of somber look on her face. "Corbin, I didn't call you into my office to compliment you, though you certainly deserve it," A bad feeling was growing in the pit of Corbin's stomach, and she shifted in her chair to ready herself in case she had to bolt. "This day comes for all of us, Corbin, and I think it's better that it comes for you sooner rather than later." "What are you...?" Corbin began, but she trailed off at the sight of Professor Blake's eyes turning pearl white. "You have been chosen, Corbin Arroyo..."

"Oh fuck," Corbin breathed, and quickly snapped a picture of Charlotte with her phone before knocking over her chair as she bolted out of the office. Corbin sprinted wildly down the hallway, busting through the double doors into the lecture room where she ran into... "Corbin!" Kelly cried. "K-Kelly," Corbin gasped. "We've got to run, Kelly, we've got to..." "It's alright, Corbin! It's alright!" Kelly assured her friend. "The Master doesn't want to hurt you."

Corbin looked up at her friend, saw those same blank eyes staring back at her.

"Oh God," she cried. "They got you...they got you too..." she backed up toward the double doors, but heard the sound of Professor Blake entering behind her. Charlotte, Corbin was shocked to see, had stripped naked.

"You cannot fight it, dear," Charlotte said. "All life surrenders to the Master," Kelly added. "Kelly," tears slid down Corbin's face. "What's happening?" "The Master claimed me, Corbin," Kelly smiled as she took a step closer to her friend. She pulled her shirt over her head to expose her bra, her smooth stomach. "And now the Master wants you." "We are hosts," Charlotte continued. "to a greater power than you could ever understand." "And soon your body and mind will belong to the Master as well," Kelly stepped out of her jeans and unclasped her bra, freeing her breasts from their restraints. She was advancing closer, her hips moving hypnotically with each step. Corbin retreated, backing up into the warm embrace of Professor Blake. She could feel the woman's tits pressing against her back.

submit

"Do you hear that?" Charlotte whispered into Corbin's ear as the girl struggled superficially to break her free. "The Master calls for you, Corbin. You must answer." "No..." Corbin tried to shake off the voices as they swarmed through her head. "I won't surrender...I...I'll warn everybody...I'll..." "Corbin," Kelly interrupted, and Corbin looked up to see her best friend standing inches away from her, completely naked. "You find this body pleasing to the eyes, do you not?" "Wha-what?" Kelly's smile grew larger. "I've seen the way you look at me, those stolen glances. I can feel your eyes on my ass, Corbin." "No...I'm not..."

strip

Corbin hadn't felt Charlotte release her. Slowly, the dazed girl unconsciously lifted her arms, and Charlotte helped Corbin remove her top in compliance with the voice in her head. Kelly admired her friend's breasts as Corbin continued to disrobe. "You've always wondered, haven't you? You've always wanted to know what I taste like, but you've been too scared to ask." "Kelly...please..." Corbin begged, but the mental assault was overpowering her. "Haven't you?" "Y-yes..." Corbin whimpered. Kelly moaned as she slid her fingers into her pussy. When she pulled them out, she held her hand up for Corbin to see the Master's juices coating her fingers. They smelled so good, Corbin's mind nearly blanked right there. "Please," Corbin meekly begged, but this time she wasn't asking for her freedom. Kelly complied with her friend's wishes and slid her finger's into the girl's mouth.

Corbin dropped to her knees, face inches away from Kelly's dripping pussy. She wanted more, she needed more.

drink

Corbin obeyed.

[miyoron]

Anime of 2023, a List By Miyo

Here we go again, it's 2023 and the year has gone by with another year of anime and all those kinda fun things. It felt like another year where we were encumbered with isekai stuff I mostly avoided and anime overworking its staff as always. I guess atleast there weren't any hacks that delayed Precure this time? I dunno, let's all say hello to my anime list of 2023 of shows I enjoyed or wanted to talk about some.

Past Write Ups

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/155146006684/miyos-anime-of-note-of-2016s

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/168918050454/miyos-anime-of-various-notes-2017-edition

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/181565753419/miyos-anime-of-note-2018-rainbow-edition

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/189938086634/miyos-anime-of-the-decade-though-actually-just

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/639065021256810496/miyos-2020-anime-extravaganza

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/672147095495589888/miyos-animated-things-of-note-2021-hello-and

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/705216685374865408/miyos-animes-of-2022-a-list-about-things-i-liked

***

As always, I use whatever version of the title I am most comfy writing. Also these aren't in any order other than sort of by release? I wrote down shows when I finished them so earlier in the year shows end up first. This is my science.

TomoChan is a Girl

This show is a fun little romcom that's about a violent girl and her childhood friend who she wants to go out with. The only problem is she's ridiculously tomboyish and violent and they've been friends so long, he legit just sees her as his bestie dude karate friend. This is the driving force for the show and expect Tomo to constantly knock Jun upside the head in response to his failing to see her romantic advances.

The show has an enjoyable cast of secondary characters besides the main ones with dour Misuzu always around to cut people down and active embodiment of chaos Carol who…well, girl is just a walking ditz meme. There's fun hidden depth there even with a show that sometimes has a problem with being a lil too horny. I liked it though, they were fun chars and thinking back on them as I write this up makes me remember them fondly.

Akiba Maid War

Akiba Maid War is one of those shows that is a spectacle over substance when you think about it. However, that spectacle is bonkers and was ridiculously fun to watch. A period piece about the fictional gang style wars of maid cafes in Akihabara, the show is a tale that's as comedic as it is violent. Newcomer Nagomi must learn the ways of maids and the high stakes battles between the maid hierarchy.

Like I said, it's a VERY silly show and ridiculously violent. Calling it a black comedy is pretty on the nose but it absolutely fits. I really don't want to say too much about it, but if you want to see maids murder each other in John Wick-esque violence then I say check it out. It even has some nice drama too amongst it all. Go do it, watch the pig maids!

Nijiyon Animation

Love Live Nijiyon I don't have too much to say on to be honest. It was more time with characters I liked and they had goofy little jokes. Wild this is getting a second season next year but hey why not?

~*~Time for the Precure Cornerrrr~*~

Hirogaru Sky Precure

This is a year of firsts for Precure. The fact the first Precures were the blue and white ones, the introduction of an adult and boy Precures who aren't just side characters in one episode..lots of wild stuff. Hero girl Sora and her bestie Mashiro are such a good pair. Tsubasa is a fun nerd and Ageha rules in the tradition of "older Precure, will kick your ass." The villains have been mostly fun, if a little underwritten. Still, I liked Wario but a pig man and shithead dweeb.

The Precure this year has been pretty solid to be honest, and the official subs have gotten a LOT better in quality so things sound way less like it's being done by some poor intern down in Toei's dungeons. Good designs, good style, pretty much a good season to start with if you're curious. Also for a while we got to see older Precures at the end for the 20th anniversary so yay~

Yes Precure 5 Go Go

So we finished the second half of the Yes 5 series and it was…fine? I still don't really like Milk and even moreso Milky Rose. She's not my least fave cure but she's up there. Coco and Nuts are still bleh and new friend Syrup was ehhhh. Really the main thing I learned to love this year was Bunbee. It's an early season though so I suppose it was still growing pains. This one (like Max Heart) probably could've just been combined into the first series as one year long show and not TWO separate ones.

Dokidoki Precure

DokiDoki Precure is an interesting one because there is a lot there to like. It's got a fun cast, some dopey villains and a good energy to it all. There's also the ugliest Precure baby I can think of so there's that. I didn't initially like Cure Ace but she grew on me over time which is funny cuz meanwhile I was all in on Regina who is just a shithead goblin (complimentary).

Like I said, it's a nice little series and I enjoyed the character a lot. Mana is a good girl who loves all of her friends and anyone she can make friends with. I think my favorite is Alice though just because she's basically Batman in Precure form, even down to the hyper competent butler. I think going into this show I was thinking it was going to be one of the lesser ones, but I liked it more than I thought I would so that's a win in the end.

Power of Hope ~ Precure Full Bloom

I'm putting this on here to complete the Precure chat and I think ultimately I was disappointed by it more than happy. Maybe I was expecting something I was never going to get, who knows. The idea of grown up Precure characters having to do their adult ass lives is an interesting one and I really did like all the designs they came up with for the older characters. But the fact they all just transformed into their older, middle schooler designs, and even used the same old footage, was just kind of a bummer for me. Honestly, it felt like a movie that was stretched out over 3 months of TV and probably could've just been that. Maybe they'll do something different when they do the Mahou Tsukai grown ups next. Also Bunbee was here too so yay.

*~*Thus Concludes Precure Corner*~*

Urusei Yatsura

With friends in tow, finally actually watched some Urusei Yatsura, or rather the 2022 remake series. It's got a lot of what I feel would become the staple Rumiko Takahashi comedy violence in it and I can see why it helped her later works. This is one of those shows where I don't know much to say about because I feel people know what it's about but…oni lady from space comes to Earth, says she's a pervy dweeb's wife and shenanigans ensue from there. A goofy cast of characters that was just an overall silly time. More to come next year!

Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury (S2)

Not too much to add to this one since I talked about how I liked it last year, but I like where it took the story. Showing Miorine having to deal with being in charge of her dad's company while he was out injured and showing how people dealt with past traumas that affected their present lives. I mean, it's probably basic Gundam stuff, but I enjoyed it. There were a lot of good dramatic moments and one particular episode that really hit hard on the heart strings.

The ending was great and, honestly, the only problem is we only got 2 cours worth and not a whole year long show. That being said, I hope we do get to see Suletta again and not just in Super Robot Wars games. Also, don't let anyone try to tell you they aren't married at the end. That's just denying the truth.

Inu-Oh

What a cool fucking movie. Cool fucking visuals, cool fucking soundtrack. Just everything about it was a good watch. Made me feel happy, sad..just yea. A tale of friendship between a blind biwa player and a cursed-deformed dancer, it's a really lovely story with like I said..it's just really good and you should check it out. Sorry I don't have better words for this. I think I just want you to discover it for yourselves!

Skip and Loafer

Skip and Loafer is a cute little slice of life with some romance elements in it with a cute cast of characters from all walks of life. Awkward over-acheiver Mitsumi tries to make her way in the big city high school where she becomes friends with others ranging from the overly chill, but complex, Sosuke to the seemingly aloof Yuzuki. It's a nice little story that treads some of the typical high school anime things but has a lot of hidden depth behind the characters.

Like I often seem to say, it's one of those ones I wish wasn't only 12 episodes and deserves more. It even has a nice bit of LGBTQ+ representation in it with Mitsumi's Aunt Nao. Seriously, fun little show, I want more.

Oshi no Ko

Oshi no Ko was initially one I wasn't going to check out because the synopsis for it made me very confused and I thought it was JUST too weird. Let there be no mistake, it's a fucking weird premise and sometimes it gets awkward because of that. That being said, I ended up very invested in the story because I really want to know the answer to the overarching mystery of the show. Who dun it huh? Who dun it?!

This show has a lot to say about the entertainment industry, specifically the shittiness of it and I think that's ultimately a good thing. Word of warning, episode 6 and 7 are REALLY heavy and the official subs even have a warning before and after the episodes because of it. Next year there's another season incoming so I will look forward to more Memcho in our future. Also, probably one of the more hype openings this year. Yoasobi is one of my new favorite artists and I enjoy when they do stuff (they also did a G Witch opening so!)

Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror

A Love Live April Fools joke that became its own actual show. What a time to be alive. This is an interesting little piece though and had some nice things going for it. As always the music and visuals were good and I like the set up of it all. Plus, I'm always happy to see the Sunshine cast in things since they're the ones I've spent the most time with.

That being said, the show's plot leaves a lot to be desired since some episodes it feels like they forgot they were supposed to have one to be honest. Still though, if you like Love Live Sunshine, you'll probably enjoy this too. Some characters act a little different but I think that's fine since they're in a different setting. Go watch it if you wanna, I dunno!

Spy x Family (S3)

Spy x Family continues its fun times from last year and I'm glad to have more of it. They even did an episode on the "Yor Gets Shot in the Ass" chapter which is a really fun and silly one. Yea it was a good time for more spy times, lots of good action set pieces and silly little moments in between. It's like a hugely popular show, I don't know what all you want me to say on this. It's fun and good!

Birdie Wing Golf Girls' Story

We finished the golf! It went even more soap opera and weird! It even felt like they did a Happy GIlmore reference unintentionally! I loved this weird stupid show. I miss it.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

This was an interesting one to say the least, I'm not quite done with it yet but Science Saru plus Scott Pilgrim is a fun set up. It's a complete retelling of the show and honestly I'm for it. A lot more stuff with Ramona and in the Japanese dub, Kim is played by Cure Gelato so yea. If you liked the original series, this should be on your list to check out. And if you liked the movie, all the original actors reprise their roles so bonus points.

Side Things I Enjoyed But Don't Have Much to Say On

Otaku Elf

It's a cute silly little series about a dweeb ass elf. It was fun~

Akane Banashi

This is a manga I started reading a couple months back about a girl trying to become a pro Rakugo performer to avenge her father, but also to claim her own spot in the competitive world of this Japanese art. It's a fun thing that's played really over the top like a sports/battle manga. I enjoy it, you should cheek it out!

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady

A series that's ostensibly an isekai but the main character does not seem to have any knowledge of her previous life. At least, outside of vague things like "I saw a witch flying on a broom in a dream that may have been memories of a past I don't remember?? so I'm going to fly on a broom." An interesting one that didn't take the coward's way out at the end either.

So I think this is all I have to say this year? It's not much but it's my little list~ I hope you all enjoyed it~

For next year, I'm looking forward to finishing up the last old Precure season, Happiness Charge. We've also started the original Doremi so that should be fun. We also started watching Freiren so I feel that'll probably be on next year's list so watch out for that. And Dungeon Meshi is very soon too! Hope you all had a good 2023 and let's hope next year is a good one. Or atleast a non painful one.