#equal opportunity strays in this episode

[randomfoggytiger]

React: A Late-Canon Reviler Gives the Revival a Try (Babylon), Part V

Babylon. 

Oh, Babylon. 

Oh, so-bad-my-computer-keyboard-died-for-a-few-days Babylon. 

BABYLON

‘Kay, dude’s praying. Dude’s blessing his food before eating. 

Music’s kicking up, something bad’s gonna happen. 

Dude smiles at Texan women, they don’t smile back, wait--

WAIT. 

Dude’s in his car, people pull up by his side and just start racially mocking… him? 

……………………………………………’Kay. 

Picked up a friend, nice little kiss, greeting…. Waiting for this to go badly. 

They’re praying with conjoined hands…………………………………………

‘Kayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. 

I will say, if they’re going to do a terrorist plot, there had better be a lot of complexities and nuances explored. 

Oh. 

Building blows up. 

Oh. 

…So, they’re peace-loving dudes who want local women to notice them but were planning on blowing up a building either waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay…? 

Let’s get into some sticky facts: Terrorists don’t seek approval from women living outside of the ideal in their minds. We see that consistently in extremist circles-- be it politics, religion, cultural revolution-- and many other branches across the globe. Only hypocrites who espouse one thing but believe another engage in the wiffly-waffly manner demonstrated. 

(Note from the future: Yep, turned out I was right-- dude wasn't actually a terrorist, after all! Not really, guys. Not in his heart of hearts! He thought about blowing up a building, but didn't at the last second.... Great.)

The terrorists-- as we’re led to believe-- here weren’t disdainful of the locals around them. Well, one of them wasn’t. So: are we, the audience, supposed to infer this is a “led astray” morality tale, when the inner, purer heart of First Dude doesn’t… want… to… hurt… anyone? (But does; then doesn't, yet still doesn't interfere with his friend's terrorist initiative?)

Chris Carter, have you seen a manifesto before? Of course you have. And what did those manifestos have in common? A withdrawal from and disgust of humanity that doesn’t follow the terrorist’s morals, from Ted Krazinsky the Unabomber to the plane hijackers of the infamous 9/11 attacks: two extremes acting on the same depraved principle. 

Why are people on fire just… running around. Another point for local ignorance? 

That was a very CC plot point, actually. That was a very Fire plotpoint, actually: oh, look at this idyllic-ish, normal life-- MAN ON FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRE. 

OH, NO. 

Heavenly trumpets were playing before the attacks. 

What. 

WHAT. 

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT. 

WHATWHATWHATWHATWHAT. 

OH. 

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MY SOUL HURTS. 

OH NO. 

I DIDN’T THINK THE TRUMPETS WERE THIS EARLY. 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH, WHY. 

(Also, we didn’t hear them during the opening, so. Fact check: false. Put that on your mushroom and eat it, Mulder. ……………OHNOTHEMUSHROOMS, NO--)

At least Scully is pushing back against Mulder’s “as if God Himself”: “Since when do you believe in God, Mulder?” And his answering, “I speak merely as an investigator,” is okaaaaaay, is fine.

…If Chris decides to make Mulder a kind of lite believer, he would have to put… SO much work into that. He’s tried in the past (Essence, for example) before immediately taking it back (Existence.) As is his pattern. But if this episode hinges on that belief, or that spark of a belief, in God… ON TOP OF a terrorist plot?? Is he mad??

Mulder and Scully are flirty arguing? Are bantering? In my Chris Carter episode?? This can only lead to evil things. 

OH NO, ARE EINSTEIN AND MILLER (RIP David Duchovny’s son’s name, I guess) IN THIS EPISODE. PLEASE. 

THEY ARE, AREN’T THEY. BECAUSE OF THOSE GIFS OF MULDER AND EINSTEIN. 

CHRIS, YOU EVIL MAN, YOU. I DON’T NEED A FIRE PHOEBE MOMENT WITH SCULLY, WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. 

WHY is Mulder quoting Revelations. I get it, he considers it religious or supernatural myth, I get it, but. ...Y'know what? It's fine. He's teasing Scully about it, sure, why not.

This coooooooooooooooooould hypothetically work because it's showing, not telling, the differences in how Mulder and Scully tackle religion now: both are no longer defensive. Good, good points for CC. We need those character development beats. Please, give us a boatload in this series.

Knock, knock. “Anybody there?”

Scully: “Nobody down here except the FBI’s most unwanted.”

Mulder: surprised.

Scully: “I’ve been waiting twenty-three years to say that.” 

Cute. Real cute. 

So, we’re not even pretending that they’re broken up anymore, huh? But we are going to pretend that Mulder and Scully are still “FBI unwanted” when literally no one cares if they’re living or breathing or making out in the basement at this point. 

The mytharc of this show is so disconnected that they don’t even seem attached to the larger plot. 

Like. If you had to nullify Colonization via global warming (which CC didn’t… he did worse, post here), then write that off the table. Instead, it’s moved to later? Sort of? And it’s “the work of men” instead of men and aliens. Because there were no aliens. And Mulder is supposed to be depressed and medicated but got over that by My Struggle I but the plot pretended he didn’t in Founder’s Mutation but Darin gave Mulder a monster case to permanently cure it in Mulder and Scully Meet the Weremonster….

Are ya picking up what I’m putting down, because I’m sick of the repeat at this point, too. 

So, maybe, acknowledge YOUR OWN HISTORY, BABYLON, BEFORE YOU INTRODUCE NEW, SHINY BARBIES. 

(On a sidenote: Scully saying the iconic line didn’t hit right, but technically that would be the time to say it: back-and-forth banter, Mulder teasing her about God, she teasing him with his first words from twenty plus years ago. It’s an okay beat... in theory.)

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, they’re here. Kill me. 

Here, Tumblrinas, we see CC attempt to extend his show by introducing possible mock characters that we will come to love and appreciate and tongue-in-cheek hand the show to when David and Gillian pack up and head out. (Because GA said from day one that she was only doing one season, hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, remember that?) 

But I’ll bet Babylon tanked so badly that they became risks and liabilities that CC tried to push one more time (My Struggle II) then quit like a bad habit. 

Her name’s not only Einstein but she’s ALSO distantly related. I guess not too distant because they share the same name. 

If these were Mulder and Scully from Wish, I breathlessly wait for the reboot to give us Mulder and Scully from Temu. Plastic health-and-safety risks included.  

I like the guy's tie. See how it's long enough to fit appropriately? (Looking at you, Mulder's Costume Department.)

“Forgive Agent Scully’s impertinence--” WHAT “--she wrote her dissertation on Einstein's Twin Paradox.” 

Um. 

Ummm. 

Mulder's getting Scully back for her jab at Mulder's prickliness to Ted O'Malley in My Struggle I? But it's not a jab? ...Weird.

CC canonized lovesick, blabby husband Mulder, so I guess… if that’s your thing. (There is an argument to be made that that was always canon; but CC, Euroclydon of relationships, made it even more canon. So.) 

We know about Scully’sdissertationonEinstein, CC, WE KNOW THIS. Couldn’t you have written in a reminder... I don't know... competently?? Please??????????

I see. 

The writers are going to use humor to cover a multitude of sins. 

Just. 

Fantastic. 

Scully figures out the new guys are just clones of her and Mulder....

I know I'm already hypothetically dead, but could you resurrect me to do it again? I hate these kinda plots.

Scully likes Einstein because Einstein "can't imagine" why she and her partner are here.............................................................................. On a possible paranormal case. After Einstein has demonstrated her only talent is being snippish and comedically ticked off.

I'll give her actress this, she could be way, way worse. She's doing her best to balance on that thin line between annoying and annoying-with-plausibility.

(Also: the makeup this season? Just as bad as the fashion. The only one here who's sharp and put together is Miller. Speaking of...)

Another sidenote: Miller's inoffensive... well, blandly offensive, I suppose. But. Eh.

I have this on mute, btw. Had to tap out for a bit.

Why didn't they have a believer woman and non-believer Mulder and believer Scu-- oh, wait. That's Doggett and Reyes.

RIGHT, Chris?

Mulder and Scully are marveling over their cutesy little clones, UGH.

TV people are arguing politics and it's at this moment when I remember how well the old series handled the topic.

Politics invades, pervades, whatever-else-word our waking existence 24/7. The show was always aware of politics, but it didn't incorporate modern politics into its series-- instead, it dealt with old, Cold War lingerings or fringe terrorist groups that didn't have a real-world national, nor global, integration. And that leads us to Mulder and Scully: they're not so much investigators as observers, now; and their cases and dynamics are put on pause, constantly, so we can watch political pundits bloviate on politics in the most reductive, watered-down regurgitation possible.

I feel less intelligent by the second, and we're only 7:33 min. in.

MILLER'S SO BAD AT ACTING.

Einstein: "You think anyone takes the X-Files seriously?" Uh. Yeah. Mulder and Scully have already consulted on a case. (I was going to say two cases, but I can't for the life of me remember how Founder's Mutation-- wait. Got it. Yeah, they weren't consultants, then.)

Chris, you can't have it both ways: Mulder and Scully are allowed to do whatever they want in their 50s just because Skinner lured them back to the basement AND they're looked down on and held back by others in the Bureau.

(Note from the future: This discussion becomes relevant later when the episode breaks its own rules.)

You know what? It's not even that. It doesn't matter if the X-Files are taken seriously, they're an offshoot with the least restrictions in the Bureau-- that's "taken seriously" enough. And they're veterans in the field who were called back out of, basically, retirement. That's a big deal.

Not to mention the clingers-on of watercooler talk from the 90s. They might still be rotating theories around twenty-some years later for the younger generation to listen to.

Miller's giving Einstein the "adoring face" and this is more proof that David was telling the truth when he asserted he and Gillian were directed to look fixedly (can't remember his exact word) at each other in each scene.

CC has a "type", and he wants it to extend to all his characters.

Einstein pities Scully. 'Kay. Make me like her less, why don't you? (And yes, I already see the forced writing on the wall-- Einstein learns and grows and changes and WHO CARES.)

"She's clearly in love with him." ...The writers sure love to have other characters declare how in love she is without Scully's say-so, don't they? Yes, it's a comedic bit. And also, she and Mulder have been together how long and we don't hear an "I love you"? Not one bit. (And I'm not even someone who needs or wants an "I love you"... it's just something that struck me, right now.)

SCULLY'S HOLDING HER MOTHER'S COIN NECKLACE LIKE PRAYER BEADS, I GUESS.

CC really loved that bit, I guess.

Baiting another mystery, I guess. (We already know the date on the quarter is when Charlie left, post here.)

Scully decides to team up with younger, hotter Miller. Not Mulder, u-but Scully. ...Which COULD be character growth, but Scully's only initiated her services in the past if she felt a special connection to the case, ala religion....

oh. It just dawned on me.

oh NO.

RELIGION.

Why does Scully call Miller (unless she's fond of him) separate from Mulder?

Why does Mulder call Einstein (who he formed no connection with) separate from Scully?

Or are she and Mulder working behind the scenes to bring the two newbies together or... something?

...Are they writing a slow-burn for their OCs?

WALTERR SKINNER SINGS EINSTEIN'S PRAISES?

Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis isn't a reference to Skinner's rumored crush on Scully back-in-the-day, is it? A wink-and-nod at the fans that goes nowhere? Like... I'm all for love no matter the (age-appropriate) age, but SKINNER. Sings EINSTEIN's praises? ...WHY, FOR WHAT?

sHE HELPED SKINNER WITH HIS MIGRAINES.

H...how did she help Skinner with his migraines?

"--Which he claims are due to you [Mulder]." This is a comedic moment but now I'm REALLY wondering if we missed a scene where Skinman got a hands-on experience from one redhead scientist.

(I don't think any of this speculation holds true canonical water... BUT.)

More terrorists are creating bombs, 'kaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

Can I skip most of the plot, please.

Einstein is getting on my nerves. The actress is doing her best but.

Mulder is seriously sitting there saying ideas and thoughts have physical, tangible weight.

..................................................I need a scene between he and Scully where we figure out what in the world is going---

Ah. Got it.

CC introduced two green characters because he needs the older ones to keep back JUST enough information so the audience isn't fully informed. Scully's a believer now, so she can fill-in Mulder's blanks (even if she doesn't agree with the minutiae of his theory.) Hence, separate them and preserve the surprise.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay...............

Mulder's straight up toying with Agent Einstein at this point and I'm kinda living for it and kinda wanting to explode from my chair.

Mulder calls up Einstein to ditch her flight to Texas so he can wax on about the metaphysics behind his theory.

Einstein doesn't want to waste time when lives could be saved.

Mulder wastes a little more time, then lectures Einstein on wasting time by not cosigning the possibilities of his methods.

THEN WHY AREN'T YOU IN TEXAS, MULDER, WITH SCULLY (note from the future: or without Scully.)

WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE WHEN THIS CONVERSATION COULD BE HAD IN TEXAS WHERE THE BOMBINGS ARE OCCURING.

JUST TAKE A PLANE OUT WITH SCULLY AND JOIN THE AGENTS THERE AND HAVE THIS TALK.

DOESN'T HE END UP IN TEXAS, ANYWAY???? WHY ARE WE HERE, HEARING HIM YODA AT EINSTEIN?????

I will say: this episode is the closest I've gotten to Mulder. Actual, factual Mulder. (Note from the future: My standards are low at this point, okay? But he's not the Mulder we know from S7, S8, S9, or IWTB. Not even the Mulder from My Struggle I... which is a good thing.)

I. I don't know how I feel about that.

He's still Clone!Mulder; but the comedy helps us get back to Mulder's old, light-hearted ways.

Miller's bad acting continues.

Scully's going to use science to communicate with a coma patient.

...And she wishes she'd thought of this while Maggie was alive because now she'll have a mystery that will always remain unsolved (don't worry, I solved it for you, Scully)....

...

......

............

No.

Can I leave, now?

(Note from the future: Her side plot achieves nothing except as a placeholder for her character while Mulder does wild and crazy things.)

This episode is just boring.

Mulder calls Einstein a mugwump; and translates, good-naturedly, that it means "sit down and shut up." Mulder is being a Yoda, but why can't he be a Yoda in Texas???

...Wait, what's a mugwump?

...What. That doesn't make sense....

Einstein (loosely transcribed): I did a ton of school, yet you think I'm stupid?

Mulder: No, you're a mugwump.

Einstein: A what?

Mulder: It means "sit down and shut up."

...How does any of that dialogue fit. We're only supposed to believe it does because the music's comedic and the two actors are verbally sparring.

Also, WOW the pacing and cuts are bad: Mulder and Einstein banter, Scully and Miller talking over loss and scientific possibilities, Mulder and Einstein banter again~~~~~!!!!!!! UGH.

Carter gave us THE SLIDESHOW. Now. In this episode.

He's really trying to tap into the vibes of the old show, but.

The whiplash is jarring: from My Struggle I's dour, strangled rewrite to Founder's Mutation's doubling down to Weremonster's more upbeat, well-received comedic tone, we have Babylon: comedy-dramedy, tripping mushrooms and terrorist attacks.

Yikes.

I'm not as angry as the first two Revival episodes-- those were a spit in the face, this is just an elementary kid waving a hand around for attention-- but it's noooooooooooooooooot well-constructed. By any stretch of the imagination.

(Note from the future: Oh, boy.)

'Kay, Einstein, this is getting old. OH, I KNOW-- she reminds me of C.C. Babcock from The Nanny; and, yes, the irony of C.C.'s name in this series hit me just now.

Guys, are philes are mugwumps. Are we mugwumps?

Wait. Okay. Scratch... whatever.

Mulder wants Einstein to inject him with shrooms so he can communicate with the terrorist.

Who is in Texas.

While Mulder Yoda is in D.C. Are we seeing the first big hurdle here?

Secondly. Why mushrooms, why this case?

If, IF CC handled this with skill, he'd have Mulder bring up his experience in Field Trip-- how he communicated with Scully's mind while both were in a repressed, almost comatic, state.

But he would also have to explain the toll of that experience: the repercussions, the recovery, and why Mulder trusts EINSTEIN over SCULLY to administer him with said mushrooms.

(Note from the future: Which they address, a little, then not at all. It doesn't make sense, shocker.)

Also, WHAT IN THE WORLD is this subplot doing in a terrorist episode??? Maybe if the terrorists were separated by distance but committing acts at the same time-- and Mulder could prove their actions weren't pre-planned-- THEN this theory MIGHT have legitimacy. But in this case, they were two dudes in the same location who just walked into a building and blew up. No telepathy (that we know of) involved.

And how did Mulder get from Heavenly Trumpets to Mushroom Telepathy?????????????????????????

I'm Einstein. Asking Mulder why he isn't asking Scully to help him and realizing he hasn't told Scully any of this because of a recent close brush with death (though I wouldn't call Maggie's decline a "near-death experience" for Scully, Chris. Those words mean something else in English, Chris.)

So... Mulder and Scully are working as separate operatives, without the other realizing. Why. Why are they sneaking around-- because of the trauma Maggie's death put Scully through??? Did the writers think this was a clever incorporation of Maggie's death? Because this is negligence and unintelligence at best.

I'm Einstein, who correctly calls this a "lunatic scheme."

Mulder's "So that's a maybe" explains the Chinga calls.

Miller looking at the suicide bomber: "It's hard to imagine there's someone in there when you really see 'em." That's. Nice. For other patients and their families to hear. And to say in front of a colleague who recently lost her own mother. This guy's an idiot.

Scully finally has a blouse that is appropriately styled. She can wear her low-cut in a work-appropriate fashion (heh), I see.

"I'm open to whatever."

"I'm sure you are, Agent Miller."

"I believe so many answers lie beyond the pale--" BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, I don't care.

Scully is charmed and believes he believes.

SCULLY IS GOING TO COMMUNICATE WITH A COMA PATIENT VIA ELECTRO-WHATEVER STIMULATION. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhkay.

Miller continues to be an idiot.

Department of Homeland Security is kicking them out and is being weirdly racist about this when he would be working in intelligence circles and would know this is a bigger picture than "race I don't like did a thing I don't like to the people I do like."

WHY does this show treat us like idiots? Government forces in the OG show intervened because there was a bigger picture Mulder and Scully were upsetting; or when they were on strict coverup orders. Here, Scully and Miller could get information out of a terrorist BUT Homeland Security shuts them down because "do you think he'd say anything, anyway?" It's not even an argument about a waste of time or resources, nor the unfounded nature of their methods. No. It's just racism. Wow.

"By any moral definition, this body is dead." NO, IT'S NOT. What. NO ONE THINKS LIKE THAT. WHAT.

ARE THE SECURITY AGENTS SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT RIGHT-WING INTERESTS???? BECAUSE IN THAT CASE, THEY'D CONSIDER THIS TERRORIST STILL ALIVE AND KEEP HIM ON LIFE SUPPORT UNTIL HE IS CONFIRMED DEAD WHILE HOPING HE RECOVERS SO THEY CAN BARBECUE HIM ON THE ELECTRIC CHAIR. WRITERS, DO YOU EVEN UNDERSTAND THE OTHER SIDE SO YOU CAN MAKE INTELLIGENT CRITIQUE AGAINST THEM? HOW DID YOU HANDLE THIS BETTER IN THE 90S THAN THE TRUMP ERA 2015-2016s????

"This body here isn't a human." WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT. WHATWHATWHATNONONONONONO.

Did... did the white guy communicate to the other in a different language? Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis this a clue or something? Are they being... controlled by the shroomed up terrorists? Or?

Miller whips out his phone, takes their pics, and is going to text them to superiors. I guess. Which. Isn't a stuuuuupid plan? Except I don't know enough about protocol to know if it is or not; so, it might be

Einstein sees Scully talking with Miller-- she's in Texas, YEP-- realizes something's a foot, and....

Wait, no. She gets JEALOUS and calls in Mulder.

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh.

Look, she did the Scully tucked-in-neck-thing, isn't that funny???

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH.

They're all in Texas now.

Mulder's wiggling his way over in his too tight Patriarchy Pants. (One day I will watch him tilt to and fro without thinking of a Marilyn Monroe shimmy, but this season is not that season.)

She just. hands him. the mushrooms. in public. She, a medical doctor, gave him illegal drugs in Texas because she was jealous. ...UGH.

Mulder asks what changed her mind. He's gonna realize she's jealous, got it, but I just remembered: these pills are placebo. And that Mulder's gonna go on a trip without any drugs in his system. .......................................'Kay.

Einstein straight up admits to jealousy-- her animus has "nothing professional about it"-- and says "my loss is your gain" and also "I'll deal with Agent Miller later" and CC STRAIGHT UP IS TELLING US HE KNOWS THERE ARE ROMANTIC ANGLES IN BOTH PARTNERSHIPS AND NO ONE'S HIDING IT ANYMORE. WHILE ALSO ASSERTING THIS ISN'T A DOMESTIC SHOW.

RIGHT.

Wait. Einstein believes Mulder can communicate with the terrorist via these drugs. ...Nah, I know she's pulling his leg because these pills are placebo. (But they still drug him, but anyway.) Which means she manipulated Mulder's trust to bring him over to maybe or maybe not help a real, legitimate case-- which she adamantly didn't want to waste time over, earlier.... Give me a sec.

Einstein considered Mulder's shroom theory to be "lunatic" and a waste of time.

Einstein did not want to waste time on a terrorist bombing case and left.

Einstein drops into Texas, sees Miller with Scully, and gets insanely jealous-- not professionally jealous, just jealous.

Einstein calls Mulder over to Texas-- even though Mulder should have followed her and Miller down, not recalled her back to Washington for plot reasons but ANYWAY-- and admits pretty clearly that this is because she is jealous.

Einstein outright states she knows "her loss" (Scully on the Miller-Einstein team) is "his gain" (translation: "Take her back, Agent Mulder.")

Einstein will now waste precious time and resources giving Mulder a placebo and delaying whatever other solutions the four could explore, together, because of her jealousy EVEN THOUGH she was adamantly against doing such a thing five minutes ago.

Mulder's supposed to be on depression meds and doesn't tell Einstein, nor does Einstein ask if he's on any meds. Further proof Mulder "cured" his depression, I GUESS.

Mulder was just gonna sit in D.C. if Einstein didn't subscribe to his theory. WHY PURSUE THE TRUTH, ANYWAY, EVEN IF THEY DON'T WANNA DO IT YOUR WAY, HUH, MULDER?

The Revival equally butchers all of its characters, nice.

Texan walks back and nods at Mulder as Einstein is explaining that she believes this will work-- sure, Jan-- but doesn't know what he or Mulder will say to each other. Mulder's response? "How do you say 'Howdy, Partner' in Arabic?"

...Why must CC only write Mulder as himself by putting in punchlines that make no sense in context?

At least David gets to get in touch with Mulder's lighter side-- which was a core trait of Mulder's, unless he was deeply moody or sardonic. (But those deeply moody or sardonic moments can't stick around in this series despite quite literally being coded into his character via depression. That he kicked either before My Struggle I, after My Struggle I, post Founder's Mutation, or during Weremonster-- take your pick.)

Miller and Scully are bringing science thingies into the--

WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHT. Random agent guy is randomly clearing the hospital because of a possible threat that he takes seriously because of an unassimilated Muslim community around and WHAT IN THE WHATWHAT IS THIS.

I'm not touching this stupidity with a ten-foot pole because there can be no rationalization of irrational writing.

All men in the government think all Muslims think highly of Osama Bin Laden-- Bot 2.0 behavior, and the writers think this is nuanced writing, I swear.

Now he's straight up talking religion. Is THIS the best these writers can do with mainstream religious people-- not even religious extremists, but anti-Muslim rhetoric? THIS is the best they can do?

At least Scully and Miller have shown two separate antagonistic forces the door.

Miller is such a bad actor.

Oh, look, the nurse is going to do something bad with the killer. Ohhhh, nooooooooooooooooooooo. More bigotry, I guess. The nurse looks like Diana Fowley in some angles, fyi.

Also.

Is this episode trying to make us feel anger for a terrorist without yet providing the audience with a reason why???? Because that sounds like kid gloves and terrible writing to me~~~~. Sounds like the Pedo Priest in IWTB all over again. Whoop-de-doo.

Mulder and Einstein walk in before the nurse can finish the job, now we gotta hear the nurse go on a stereotypical "taking all our jobs" rant. Throw in the "illegal" part first, sweetheart, or you just sound like a watered-down, outta touch rant.

Here's a mini rant of my own: this is what happens when show writers who are no political writers try to write outside their niche. Politics is a tricky, layered topic that shouldn't, can't, be watered down into straw man stereotypes. This is a nuanced conversation that deserves respect, that deserves to have all the angles explored if they must be.

Babylon fails on all levels: the comatose villain-turned-victim; the obnoxious, over-inflated bigotry; the hackneyed religious ideology; the preschooler understanding of metaphysics; the simple-minded decisions penned by equally self-conscious and self-involved writers; the dismal directing and editing and publishing of this finished product. All so grossly incompetent that it would boggle the mind if I hadn't seen (or heard) of worse.

The scene immediately takes a turn for the comedic when Mulder signals he's gonna take a mushroom capsule and Einstein is left to escort the rambling nurse-- who the audience knows is an attempted murderer-- out the door so he can do his shenanigans. Peppy music picks up to help transition us, the goldfish, alongside the genius of this pacing.

Breathtaking.

Oh, wait, look at this: these side-profile shots look exactly like Mulder from the 90s, huh. Oh, that's kinda cool.

Too bad it's wasted.

I will say: I originally thought Mulder found a pile of drugs from some evidence and tried it without supervision and got elevated. By comparison, this makes more sense.

Now.

Does it make sense sense? No, because this plot has not justified, AT ALL, why Mulder arrived at this theory and conclusion. If it had been case or character related, then I have no problem with him licking fake blood or drilling a hole in his skull; but this idea only wormed its way into the episode to get Mulder wasted. He can get micro-dosed, doctor-approved shrooms all he wants, but the plot-- with a life on the line and more potentialities still at large-- is waaaaaaay too flippant with his approach. WAY too much.

If Mulder from Pine Bluff Variant could only see him now.

Keyboard's dying again, so I'm gonna keep this tight.

Nurse is still rambling to Einstein in the hallway about her "research" and "theories" about the UN, etc. etc., and why is this still going?

Mulder just... floated out of the hospital. In any other circumstance, this could have been funny. But in this episode, with these nuances at stake?

Plus, we all know Mulder gets ISANELY paranoid when high (i.e. Anasazi and Kill Switch and Field Trip, and my post here), not extroverted. He seems more David than Mulder here. As in, an exact copy.

Welp, both Clone!Mulder have left the building because what is this, WHO IS THIS, you lost me.

WHY'S SKINNER IN THIS SCENE WATCHING THE BOOTY DANCERS???????? (I know it's because Mulder's subconscious is working him into the trip, but STILL.)

LANGLEY?????????????? WHY'S LANGLEY HERE?????

WHAT IS THIS. WHAT IS THIS, MULDER THE BOOTY WARRIOR?????????????????????????????????????????????? EVEN IF HE'S HIGH, THIS ISN'T A MULDER THING TO DO. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA IS HAPPENIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

FROHIKE??????????????????? THEN WHY IS LANGELY HERE????

If these are a fever dream of reality and Mulder's subconscious, do you think these are also memories from a wild night with TLG?

Mulder got snapped out of his fantasy to a paranoid reality, and I say "Too little, too late."

NO.

NO, THIS IS WORSE, WHAT IS THIS.

BULL-WHIPPING EINSTEIN, CSM, AND RESCUE BY A MOTHER FIGURE, WHAT IS HAPPENING, WHAT IS GOING ON, WHERE AM I, WHY IS MULDER HALF-NAKED, WHAT ARE THESE GALLEON CHANTS, GET ME HOME, TAKE ME OUT BACK, AND PUT ONE RIGHT BETWEEN MY EYES.

That's not Jesus, btw, that's the dying, broken body of a terrorist, martyr of a... WE'RE NOT EVEN TOLD THE CAUSE, ONLY OTHER PEOPLES' REACTIONS TO IT. WE'RE 3/4s OF THE WAY THROUGH AND THE INVESTIGATION HAS NO MOTIVE OTHER THAN "MUSLIM": WE'RE NOT TOLD BACKGROUND, BELIEFS, ODD BEHAVIOR, NOTHING ABOUT THIS CASE-- for maximum ~mystery~ enhancement, no doubt-- LIKE WE DO EVERY OTHER EPISODE.

DID ANYONE EVEN TRY, OR WAS THIS A "FOR THE VIBES" ENDEAVOR???????????????????????????????????????????????????????

WHY IS THERE A COMEDY BEAT-CHANT BY GRIM REAPERS WHILE MULDER STANDS, SHIRTLESS, IN A BOAT???????????????

Hands down, the placebo clashed with his depression meds and this is the result. Always inform your doctor about your medical history, kids.

That's the real message: Don't Do Drugs Or Have Visions, or you, too, could internationally embarrass yourself as a writer.

Terrorist flashback. The laziest one I've seen.

Scully's back at his bedside. SCULLY DOESN'T EVEN KNOW THE TERRORIST'S NAME, AGENT MILLER CAN SPEAK ARABIC, AND DO EITHER OF THEM KNOW MULDER'S BEEN IN OR OUT? WHERE'S EINSTEIN.

Skinner, thank heavens, you're here to save me.

Mulder wakes and says...

Ahem.

Mulder wakes from an incredibly wild high featuring a memory from the dying man that might or might not help... and the first thing he tells Skinner is...

is, "Where's your hat?"

...

There's too much comedy in this episode. I distinctly feel as if this was a serious, contemplative piece-- or CC wanted it to be-- but because Weremonster was so well-received, he took a swing for the comedic. It. doesn’t. work. 

Uh, oh, Tumbr’s down. 

(I’m not kidding when I say tech hates me. If there’s any way for it to torment me, it will.) 

“Dude,” says Mulder…. “Yikes,” says I. 

“‘Dude’, you were an embarrassment,” says Skinner. “SOMEBODYSAIDIT,” says I. He summed up the whole ep. 

Placebo pills. 

Mulder pokes Skinner in the gut and says “No, you were there” exactly like he did in Triangle; and if that’s not a callback, I don’t know what was. 

So, placebo pills and Almighty visions, got it. 

Mulder trying to convince Skinner with badonk a donk talk instead of asking for Scully-- he knows she’s here, it’s been more than twelve hours (come to think of it, why hasn’t Scully called? She doesn’t know he’s here. For all she knows, he could be in D.C. being unusually, perhaps dangerously, quiet)-- and he might as well have someone on his team, right? Right? 

So Skinner WASN’T there. So these were illusions Mulder made up…. Or visions. OR. He knows about Skinner’s wild life-- maybe saw him while out with TLG once?-- and Skinman’s trying to cover up whatever Mulder might blurt. 

THE “FRIGHTENED, MIDDLE-AGED TEXANS” LINE WASN’T SKINNER’S???? UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH. MY HEART JUST BROKE. WHY THEY GIVE THAT GEM TO EINSTIEN??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Wait. 

Mulder sees a woman outside and recognzes her from his dream. 

The FBI immediately parts and lets him out to let her in.

 The FBI. set aside protocol. 

For a guy who was in a wheelchair without any FBI badge on him 

To bring an unauthorized woman in. 

Either they have the worst security in the world, or ther recognized Mulder onsite and acquiesced immediately to him. 

 Meaning, Mulder IS well-known and respected in the FBI. 

WHICH IS AGAINST EVERYTHING THIS EPISODE IS BEATING US OVER THE HEAD WITH. 

ALL THE DRAMATIC MUSIC THE KICKS UP WHEN THE LADY SEES HER SON-- LOOK AT MULDER WHO’S GOT HER, LOOK AT SCULLY’S WHO’S REMINDED OF HER OWN MOTHER, LOOK AT THESE AGENTS WATCHING MULDER BRING TWO PEOPLE TOGETHER--

Got it. 

His brainwaves kicked up when his mother talked, of course. 

The mom is giving the whole “there’s no way you did this, your heart is too big for this, this isn’t how I raised you” aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand… we’ll see how this goes. 

Wait. 

The mom is reinterpreting his actions because he’s telepathically telling her what really happened: that he chickened out and didn’t blow the people up. 

Um. 

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum. 

In her dreams and in her prayers, ‘kay. 

Guy’s dying. Scully’s just standing there as he’s dying, not doing anything. 

Mulder thinks this is the perfect moment to walk around the room saying, “He spoke to me” on repeat. WE KNOW. 

Camera cuts to black. 

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH. 

Mulder turns and walks out, not answering Scully or Miller, camera’s spinning around him and back and forth as Mulder says “I can explain but I can’t, he spoke to me in words I didn’t understand, it was Arabic” WHO CARES. WHO HONESTLY, REALLY CARES. 

“BABYLON THE HOTEL” IS WHAT THE NOT-TERRORIST-DREAM-GUY SAID IN THE DREAM. 

Reminds me of that one Harrison Ford movie where he lost his memory and a bit of his cognitive function and remembered Ritz and everyone thought it was Ritz crackers but it turned out to be a hotel where he’d been carrying on an affair. 

Anyway. 

There, the FBi showed up, slowmo of them taking down the terrorists, case solved, the end. Momma's love gave her visions and she saved her boy in the eyes of herself and like, four other people.

Why did this episode steal Weremonster's tone and Home Again's loud music integration? Wait, no, scratch the last one: it's just CC's mood music.

Einstein pats her boy metaphorically on the back, she has her hair down, she's changed; Miller doesn't feel like he helped but he did, guys, he does so good at beach.

SKIPPING THE MORAL AT THE END, GET ME TO MULDER AND SCULLY--

WAIT.

Einstein: "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious-- the source of all true art and science." WHAT DOES THIS QUOTE HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?????????????????? THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE THEME, WHAT WOULD--

She gets snippy because he says something, he puts his earbuds back in, THAT'S COMEDY, GUYS, SKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP--

oh, look, Mulder's listening to Music TM too, just like Miller. Just like us, the audience. Just like all who combine art and science and the mystery of--

(What did music have to do with this case, other than playing obnoxiously over the funny bits or tender moments... neither of which were really present, but.)

We're all united by our similarities, we all love music, right guys? We all want redemption and to be understood and to love, right guys??

OH, WAIT, NO.

THE HEAVENLY TRUMPETS.

I FORGOT ABOUT THOSE.

THEY'RE GONNA PLAY, AREN'T THEY???

THAT'S WHY EVERYONE'S LISTENING TO MUSIC.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh, the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

Here comes Scully, guys, because this was all about love, remember? He's alone on his porch but she joins him, GET IT?

"Talk to me, Mulder."

"Oh, where to begin."

At least we know how their conversations begin.

They both saw things, guys: he saw unconditional love, she saw hate without an end. But WE'RE ALL UNITED BY THE LOVE OF THE HUMAN HEART, THE BREADTH OF THE HUMAN SOUL, THE COMMONALITY OF THE HUMAN CONDITION, LET US ALL HOLD HANDS AND REJOICE AND NOT KISS ON-SCREEN BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE COOTIES.

"Walk with me, Scully."

They're walking.

He's thinking about God, the angry God of the Bible, and his differing thoughts and etc. etc. and this isn't a bad scene but I know it will end with poor writing and I'm... salty about that. (Why can't we have two mature adults talking over their fluctuating opinions on sensitive topics through a complicated, educated lens? Instead of... this?)

"He," Scully says, referring to the God of her Bible, "is the same angry God of the Koran." Which is an attempt to meet in the middle but, uh, perhaps isn't the best way to tackle this issue. Y'know. With the whole "angry" and "punishing" angle.

"Ordering death to the infidels." Uh. The only way DD and GA got away with this episode, in my opinion, was because they delivered these lines with care-- as if they want to understand, and have already embraced, other faiths. Because. Man. This could have ended badly for their careers.

WAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT.

Mulder and Scully are both just... accepting that the anger of the Christian and Koran god is leading both sides to put on suicide vests (in the case of terrorists) or perpetuate hatred and murder (the Homeland Security officers and the nurse))...

But the Christian and Muslim faith is supposed to be about peace. Loving one another. That there's more in common than not. That their God is one of love-- how do you get "angry god" out of THAT????? THAT'S THE MESSAGE you come away with???? Really??????????????????????????????????

And this is directed at BOTH Muslims AND Christians, so I don't get why both religious sects haven't denounced this as foolish, ridiculous, even bigoted against their beliefs. Why's Scully just accepting all this when she SHOULD have asserted those are men twisting religion to fit their own ends as she has in the past???????????????????????????

"Those boys swallowed a pill. It's the power of suggestion." ...Welp, this takes on a darker connotation with the rise of the Red Pill. BUT, since CC can't read the future: whaaaaaaaaaaaat does this have to do with an angry God or music or eternal love or unending hate?

NONE. OF. THIS. HOLDS. TOGETHER.

"Something to trump all hatred," Mulder says. Ah, Trump. Trumpet. Politics and music and love eternal all colliding. ...Don't you just feel so head patted right now? "Mother love."

"Woah," says Scully, leaning back. And yeah, hard agree.

HE WANTS TO BELIEVE THAT MOTHERS ARERN'T HAVING BABIES TO BE MARTYRS; AND SCULLY BELIEVES CHILDREN AREN'T TOOLS TO SPREAD HATRED.

PLACEBO PILLS, ANDTRUMPETING-- WHICH WAS MENTIONED ONCE AT THE BEGINNING AND ONCE AT THE END AND NEVER AGAIN-- AND HATRED AND LOVE AND MOTHER LOVE??????????????????????? WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNGS HAVE NARRRRRRRRRRRRRATIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVELY IIIIIIIIIIIIIIN COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON?????

"FINDING A COMMON LANGUAGE AGAIN," WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT.

PLACEBO PILLS AND MUSIC AND LOVE AND HATRED AND ANGRY GODS AND MOTHERLY LOVE AND COMMON LANGUAGE???????????? NONE OF THAT FORMS A COHESIVE NARRATIVE, WHAT IS HAPPENING??????????????????????????????

"Maybe that's God's Will," Scully asserts.

"How can we really know?" Mulder asks, genuinely.

And I scream in torment and bang my head against the wall.

YOU RUINED A POSSIBLE EXPLORATION INTO SCULLY'S FAITH ON MULDER'S PART-- TO BETTER UNDERTAND IT-- BY SPOUTING CHRISTIANISMS AND MAKING ZERO SENSE AND NOT PROVIDING A LICK OF SENSE AND I'M SO MAD YOU JUST STOMPED ON A NICHE INTEREST OF MINE, WHY CAN'T WE HAVE NICE THINGS???????????????????????????? IT'S NOT HARD!!!!!!

"He's absent from the stage," Mulder continues; and there goes that fleeting religious exploration.

"Maybe it's beyond words. Maybe we should do like the prophets and... open our hearts," Scully replies.

What.

What.

WHAT Biblical prophet "opened his heart"?????? They were there to pronounce judgment upon Israel from God, from the angry God you mentioned earlier???? The peace and love part came from Jesus later on, and those weren't prophets who carried on his message THEY WERE APOSTLES, SCULLY, YOU'RE CATHOLIC, YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS. I'M NOT CATHOLIC AND I KNOW THIS.

Is this an all-inclusive prophet thingy to include Islam?????? Or????

Why does this music soundl ike something David Duchovny would listen to?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE THOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE TRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMPETS?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

THE "I BELONG WITH YOU, YOU BELONG WITH ME" SONG IS PLAYING???????????? THE MEME SONG????????????? THE ROMANTIC SONG???????????????????? WHAT, ARE THE CHRISTIANS SUPPOSED TO MAKE OUT WITH MUSLIMS NOW OR SOMETHING???????????? ARE THE ANGELS CUEING UP MUSIC SO MULDER WILL KISS HIS GIRL OR SOMETHING, WHAT'S GOING ONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN???????????????????

There must be lead poisoning in Mulder's depression pills he no longer needs, because this is concerning now.

CONCLUSION

What a poorly done episode.

Not as structurally infuriating as My Struggle I and Founder's Mutation-- the aforementioned episodes never stuck to any single plot point, narrative, or emotion-- but it's not. It's not good.

I will say: Mulder floating out of the hospital and doing a few steps here or there on the dance floor would have been… okay? But when he did flips, got lost in booty debauchery, and ascended to some sort of astral plane… that’s where everyone was, collectively, no longer in reality.  (Get it? Because we all speak one language, have one love, yadda yadda, yadda.)

Yeahhhhhhh.

My final thoughts? I'd watch this over the other episodes because it does the least damage to mainline canon. Hopefully that'll never happen ever again.

I refuse to watch the two Struggle episodes, so.

Bye, bye, Season 10! I won't be missing you!

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

[flanaganfilm]

Hi, I'm a big fan of your work. Sorry if this is a dumb question, why kill the kitties? I notice it a lot in horror in general, and it completely takes me out of the story and just makes me feel bad for the cat. I feel like I'm missing something.

Not a dumb question at all - and I knew I'd be getting some of this the moment we decided to include Poe's The Black Cat in TFOTHOU. The comments sections of the world are full of accusations that I hate cats and/or hands, and - well - neither is true. I've admittedly gotten a little flippant with my humor in the past when people have brought this up. My knee-jerk reaction is always to say something along the lines of "well, Websters defines 'horror' as..." But honestly, as far as I'm concerned, it's just not a thing.

A brief history of cats in my work:

HUSH - Maddie's beloved cat, "Bitch," escapes the danger of a home invader completely unharmed and is alive and well at the end of the movie. The last shot of the movie is Maddie lovingly petting the cat on the porch.

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE - Yes, a malnourished stray kitten dies within Hill House, only to be horrifically reanimated. This was done to show the horrors of Hill House, serve as a warning to the family, and foreshadow the deaths of several human beings (who would meet more horrible fates) later. Hill House is an evil place, and it killed and collected all sorts of living things... there are dead humans aplenty, and also phantom dogs, which Stephen and the kids hear several times and see in episode six. I'd argue that Hill House is an equal-opportunity horror show.

DOCTOR SLEEP - Azzie the cat is a great friend to Dan Torrance. Azzie also has a "shine" of her own, and can sense when patients at the hospice are going to die, and goes into their rooms to comfort them. Azzie is never once in any danger throughout the film and, we presume, lives a long and happy life.

MIDNIGHT MASS - All of the residents of Crockett Island, which include 157 people, a huge population of stray cats, and at least one particularly sweet dog, do not fare so well in this show. But nothing against the cats - everybody dies. The arrival of a certain evil creature marks doom for literally every living thing on the island (except for two people). And yep, it started with the cats, because they were plentiful and would not alert anyone to its presence. We see its lair full of dead rats, birds, and raccoons as well, all eaten while the creature was in hiding.

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER - we adapted The Black Cat, written by Edgar Allan Poe. If you're familiar with the Poe story, you know that it involves the horrible death of a cat, which then seems to get revenge from beyond the grave. This is Edgar Allan Poe's story - we did not write it. HOWEVER, we decided to make a huge change to Poe's story. At the end of our retelling, we reveal that Pluto the cat is alive and well (and still wearing the Gucci collar), and that the supposed violence against the cat existed entirely in the person's mind. Pluto 2 - the terrifying, supernatural replacement that stalked Leo - is not real either. It is just Verna, taking another form (hence the injury to VERNA'S eye). So in this show, not a single animal is harmed AT ALL. We did that on purpose. We decided to change Poe's classic story so that the cat lived. We went out of our way to do that. I truly don't have anything against cats. I do tell horror stories... but that's about it! I hope it doesn't make it more difficult to enjoy the story, and thank you for watching.

[mlpelemental]

MLP: Elemental

I didn't like Make Your Mark, so I rewrote it. Information under the cut!

Chapter 1, Part 1 - Chapter 1, Part 2

Chapter 1, Part 3 - Chapter 1, Part 4

Chapter 1, Part 5 - Chapter 1, Part 6

Chapter 1, Part 7

This is four chapters, just like the actual show(so far). Each chapter is 8 episodes. Chapter 1 is just entirely build-up, but once we spring into Chapter 2, things heat up. This is much more of an adventure based written show than a slice-of-life town show. I wanted to delve a lot more into certain things while straying away from certain themes the show focused on.

Major Changes

Sunny is a permanent alicorn

Sunny is a holographical alicorn in Make Your Mark. In this, she's just an alicorn. I think it's unfair that only unicorn born ponies have the opportunity to become alicorns. So when it happened to Sunny in the movie, it felt like a great step away from the normal standard. But then it just felt unfair that the only Earth Pony born alicorn got non-permanent wings that she didn't always have the ability to access. It just felt like it was ruining the entire point of the Equality allegory. So in this rewrite she's just a simple alicorn.

Sprout will become a main character.

Sprout is a character I've always loved to psychoanalze. I believe the writers do not understand how amazing of a character they've created. With this rewrite, I'd love to explore more of his relationships with Hitch, Sunny, and especially Phyllis. Of course, this wouldn't be the main part of the show, but I'd like for it to be a part of it. I'd also like to explore a "Redemption Arc" of some sorts, diving deep into Sprout's self-worth and undeniable generational trauma.

Twilight is a more improtant character

I feel as if her cameo in the show is very brushed over. Getting a message from a well-known alicorn is a big deal, and I want her to be more of a guide to Sunny. Her appearances in the Prisbeam are going to be live conversations rather than left messages. Celestia, Luna, and Candence have all chosen to pass on. Twilight and Opaline are the last alicorns left(that we know of). So Twilight is going to be playing a bigger role in the defeating of Opaline.

Opaline is redesigned and more evil

Opaline and Misty's evil arc in the show tends to come off as anticlimactic, especially knowing Opaline as the alicorn who almost succeeded at draining all of Equestria of it's magic. I want to make her more scary, powerful and raise the stakes. Instead of her being Opaline Arcana, I've written her to be Opaline Luminary, a forgotten Princess of the stars. Jealous of her Sun and Moon counterparts, she ventured out to get the love and power she deserves. The dragon stone will also become a bigger part of the story. The dragon stone is powered by, as you know, dragon fire. Which brings me to my next change!

Dragons will become a key part

In the show it's mentioned that Dragons haven't been seen in Equestria for generations. And then the show skips over that and moves on. I want to delve into the disappearance of Dragons, Hippogriffs, Seaponies/Sirens, Griffons, etc. Dragons specifically have been continuously captured and enslaved by Opaline to power her dragon stone and herself. My ultimate goal here is to make Opaline a much scarier villain.

Misty Brightdawn will be evil

Misty's character was given a redemption arc in the show when, in reality, she was never really evil in the first place. Opaline is Misty's adoptive mother, I intend for her to encourage Misty to really want to rule all of Equestria alongside Opaline. I feel like for a character to have a satisfying redemption arc, they need to be truly evil at first. And though I do intend for her to receive that arc in the future, she will be a genuinely evil character first. No worries, she's still cute as can be, just evil!

LGBT Representation

What I always want for children targeted shows is healthy representation and also realistic representation. Shows tend to stray away from saying the words "gay", "transgender", etc, because those words have been poisoned by the public eye. There is nothing wrong with these words, and I want to be able to say them outright in this rewrite. I want to be able to represent it, crack jokes, and idolize it in a completely healthy way. Children aren't born prejudice, we teach them to be. And if kid shows give them realistic and great examples from an early age, there will be nothing unordinary about it.

Diversity/Racism allegories

As a person of color, allegories like this need to be done right. Even when it comes to oppressors breaking out of racist habits. I feel the show did a great job with representing cultural differences and learning how to grow out of being prejudiced. But after that, it sort of was forgotten about. They had one episode centered on Earth Ponies having trouble getting used to other species living with them, but it was dropped after that. Though this won't be a gigantic main part of this rewrite, I'd love to delve into it a little more. After all, racism wasn't solved after one big adventure. It took time for these things to happen. You have to teach, learn, and be willing to listen. I'm not saying I'm making anyone straight up still racist(besides Phyllis Cloverleaf kinda), but I want to represent reformed people still making small mistakes and being willing to listen and learn from them.

Elements of Harmony return

This is the main reason as to why this rewrite was named "Elemental". After Chapter 1, this show will mainly focus on the current main six venturing off and finding the broken shards of the elements of Harmony(as destroyed by King Sombra) and reconnecting with them. Finding themselves in those elements and working together as a group to strengthen that power once more. As the stakes have been risen with Opaline, they'll need these to take her down.

New Ponies and Characters!

While the current main six are venturing out, there will be new original characters and friends to meet along the way. Though most of them will play a minor role, I think it'd be fun for the main cast to adventure outside of Bridlewood, Zephyr Heights, and Maretime Bay. Those aren't the only three places in the world, and I'd like to explore different places too! I only plan for one or two to play supporting roles, but that really wont come in til Chapter 3.

That's all, folks!

I'm sure there are more changes I've forgotten about or skipped over, but no big changes will come to any of the characters you love. I'll simply take them and put them into new situations! I hope this is something you can all enjoy! It's still a very silly show at heart, but it's just way more adventure based! Chapter 1 is practically done. I have a few more things to work with, but I'm about 95% done with it. Plus, this rewrite will be done in script form! Though I'd love to put it into view, I'm more of a writer and less of an artist or animator. If this ever gets that big? Maybe one day! Maybe I'll record a little read through for funsies? But for now, I'll just be sharing the scripts :)

If there are any questions about this? Please ask! I'd love to get any comments, questions, or feedback from you all! I love G4 and G5, and I hope I can do them all justice. ♡

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragon  Ball Z: Abridged 33 Review

Originally posted December 17th, 2015

Nothing like a time-traveling badass.

So, there is an inherent perk to having some episodes be solely focused on buildup: you get to have the entirety of the next episode focus on payoff. And that is almost all “Cold Cuts” is, giving us a satisfying conclusion to Freeza and King Cold’s arrival on earth.

Of course, Team Four Star cleverly pulls double duty here, as this is also their opportunity to properly introduce the mysterious character from the last episode. And while we don’t get a name for him, we get plenty of other information as he dispatches both Freeza and his father with ease. It turns out, this white haired kid is another Super Saiyan as well, and he’s come here to meet Goku with the rest of the protagonists.

Now, here’s the thing. A lot of the jokes given to help characterize this mysterious person are based around us having foresight into the story to come, or a really keen memory to a throwaway gag from Episode 18 (where Vegeta’s scream reached this character in the future). That throwaway gag did contain everything we need to get the jokes though (the character is a time traveler from the future, and is the son of Vegeta and Bulma), and beyond that, Team Four Star does an excellent job of implying all of this information as well.

Even if you don’t remember that this character is Bulma’s son, the amount of discomfort he shows when Bulma propositions him hints at this pretty heavily, as does his staring contest with Vegeta. His lines at the beginning of his fight with Freeza reinforce the time traveler notion as well, as the only explanation for him being able to “practice” against Freeza and his men is time travel.

His fight against Freeza also serves to set him up. With the return of Freeza, it’s clear to us that the characters are in for the most challenging battle of their lives all over again. This character’s coolness in the face of those odds sets him apart from our heroes who are freaking out in the distance, and the sheer ease with which he takes down the most dangerous man in the universe (as of now) and his equally dangerous father makes it clear that he is a force to be reckoned with.

The fight also contains two excellent gags, with “The Circle of Life” opening wail playing right as the character lifts Freeza’s ball of death, and the blue screen of death appearing as Freeza is killed, only to be sliced in half right along with him. We may not fully know who this character is, but we do know that he is damn cool.

Rating: 4.5/5

If you enjoyed this review, consider supporting me on Patreon.

Stray Observations

Henchman: “Lord Freeza… The f***?”

Krillin: “Who here just thought of Freeza with boobs? Really? I’m the only one?” Vegeta: “Yes.” Voiceover: He must never know.

King Cold: “You murdered my princess! Oh well, you win some, you lose some.” Trunks: “Children?” King Cold: “Yes.”

Krillin: “Wait Gohan. We still don’t know if we can trust this guy.” Trunks: “I brought snacks!” Krillin: “But the Bible says love thy neighbor.” Gohan: “You’re a Buddhist.” Krillin: “A hungry Buddhist!”

Krillin: “It’s called manscaping. It’s hygienic.”

Text on the back of Vegeta’s shirt: Dum Cumpster, Blowjob Princess, and Pull My Hair. Let me know if I missed any. I also need this shirt. For raisins.

[trashlie]

Meaning in Falls in ILY (spoilers for ep 200)

The last post I want to make about the recent ILY posts is something that came up on reddit. I’m going to copy and paste my response lol because it’s something I spent too long mulling over, and even if it ends up meaning nothing, sometimes it’s just nice to have all these thoughts in one place, isn’t it?

Someone over on reddit posed the following question in the FP discussion post for episode 200: 

[img: reddit user snaakeguy asked  so much of this story has these important life altering moments centered around falling. the formal, nol jumping into the pool, this. i wonder what the significance behind that is.]

My thoughts were this:

(spoilers for ep 200)

At the risk of overthinking it, too, I think we can separate it further into the difference between a fall and a jump, right? A fall is an event completely out of out control vs a jump being a choice. In general, things crash and burn in life all all time, and we're left to deal with the ramifications of them. That can range from things not working out to unexpected deaths, plans that get indefinitely shelved. I THINK in ILY the falls (simply) create (narrative) parallels, but I'm not against the idea of there being meaning in them, either. But we do know that Nol's fall vs dive foil each other - his fall was an "opportunity" to give in that he lost when he instead chose to help Shinae; his jump embraced that feeling but he was met with renewed vigor and rebirth. You can take it further, too, in that the fall could have been the death of Yeonggi (and maybe a less metaphorical death), but his chosen jump WAS the death of Yeonggi, one he made of his own volition.

We've seen both fall and jump paralleled with Shinae's, and that sense of peace and calm. She goes from shocked to a horrifying sense of peace, like she's welcoming what's coming. In fact, the way this is interspersed with those AWFUL girls and their "She deserved it" "You shouldn't feel bad" comments leans into what she was telling Nol - that she was punished for daring to believe she can change her fortune or stray from her path. In that moment, young Shinae concluded she cannot change this trajectory, that she does not deserve what she was seeking. Interestingly, where Shinae embraces that moment of peace, Nol denies himself it, says he doesn't deserve it.

[A sidebar here to add on to this thought above: at the time of the formal, when Nol falls and decides he doesn’t deserve this peace yet, it’s because there is something yet in the past that Nol blames himself for, and because he has not yet reached the absolution he believes he must seek. For him to give up in that moment would be unfair, because his mindset is that he deserves all punishment that comes his way, and that there is no point in fighting it. For the amount of mental strife he’s in, peace would be a gift, and thus it’s an unwelcome opportunity. Shinae had not yet reached that conclusion - that comes after. In this moment, she’s willing to embrace it because she’s not yet saddled with the concept of undeserving, hasn’t yet decided that maybe life is punishing her simply for existing. Until now, she had still tried to defy it. This is, instead, the moment Shinae concludes there is no reason for her to try to fight what she believes is her destiny.]

Though we don't know Shinae's thoughts during her pool fall, given her addled state and that we were pointedly in no one's head, even though this is not a chosen jump like Nol's, she DOES end up at the railing because she WANTED to jump into the pool. Obviously this is different than Nol's circumstances but I still find it interesting - Shinae wants to "follow her dreams", Nol wants to feel what it's like to fly. I don't think they're equally comparable in that way, but the RESULT is. Nol jumps and leaves Yeonggi behind, rebirthed as Nolan, embracing his identity. Shinae falls and leaves behind.... I wouldn't call it INNOCENCE exactly but it DOES ride on the back of learning she was taken advantage of, manipulated, and trapped into this position (AND Sangchul tried to PHYSICALLY take advantage of her). She had tried so hard to be the good girl that was asked of her, to take care of her father, to stay off the streets. In desperation she asked for a favor and was tricked. She's done being a "good girl" - she tries to fight back, she refuses to back down and let people walk over her. Prior in the story, Shinae lets people say whatever they will about her, because what does it matter. Later, we get to see her square up against Sangchul. Maybe in the past she may have kept quiet and let him imply she's the Hirahara family's bicycle but in the present we get to see her get in his face and yell at him lmaoooooooo. I think this probably extends further, too, in conjunction with this flashback arc. Shinae prior would likely have let Nol run away, accepted that this is how it goes, no one ever stays, this is what life decided you deserve, that she doesn’t matter, but instead she makes repeated efforts to reach out to him. EVEN THOUGH she went through something similar with Alyssa she still decides to make an effort so she's left with no regrets.

So even tho Shinae's pool fall is not a jump by choice, I think it still represents a sense of "rebirth" - rebranding yourself, embracing something you hadn't prior. In a way, they both come out of this choosing themselves. Shinae chooses to defend herself, to fight for herself; Nol chooses to stop being Yeonggi and to be Nolan, to give up his mask and embrace his real self.

So while I think falls/jumps are being used to maintain these parallels, I think we CAN read into them a bit, with what CHANGES in direct response to that fall. Is it a coincidence that the "rebirths" involves pools? (And it's not like a pool immediately equates to that, either; Nol's pool fall FOILS Shinae's, where hers parallels his pool jump. Where Nol is ready to let peace embrace him, he has to take up the Yeonggi mask once more to save Shinae. Like Shinae's school fall, this fall leaves him trapped in a fate he believes inescapable, a personal prison. In fact, Nol wears his Yeonggi persona like a prison in the same way Shinae builds up her walls and locks herself away. Tho he has people around him, he's not honest with them and is just as much isolated as Shinae is). There's something to read into regarding the intention vs lack of, tho it definitely does not hold up 100% regarding Shinae. I guess it's ultimately: what does the impact reveal? Embracing the believed inevitable vs those moments of "clarity" (ironic word choice since Shinae literally cannot recall parts of her night, but enough to realize she does not want to lie down and be taken advantage of).

I hope we won't see any more jumps/falls to test out if this is true tho lol. Maybe just, yknow, the metaphorical kind (perhaps a fall from grace, fall from power vs a leap of faith, jumping into something new, jumping at an opportunity.)

(And because I'm me and ADHD has me all over the place, I wonder if it's SUPER overthinking to compare Nol climbing up to the rooftop with falling/jumping lol. I think yes, but I'm still going to muse about the intentional choice to pull himself from his pit of despair and maybe allow himself a reprieve, rather than trying to jump to one only to realize it might not be what he actually wants. Choosing to join Shinae on the rooftop is just as intentional as choosing to jump from the balcony into the pool, and in a way they might be seen as part of each other. Nol needed to make that jump and free himself in order to face Shinae the way he did; that was him letting go of control, freeing himself from what was keeping him a prisoner (Yeonggi, himself) and joining Shinae is the intentional choice to take control and make his own choices for himself. I do believe lol this is very much overthinking and that it wasn’t intentionally written to be an extension of the pool jump, but I do like how the actions go together.)

[memryse]

What do you think about renchanting duo

I'm Fucked Up In The Head Over 3rd Life SMP Part 2: Monarchy Boogaloo

ahhhhhh renchanting duo... i love them sooooo much. their story is so tragic it hurts it physically hurts (dear god i love them so much). again no read more you're all going to read my several paragraphs of incoherency whether you like it or not

renchanting duo is also bolstered by the fact that ren and martyn had never met prior to this smp. it makes the development of their characters' friendship that much better.

i always like to think of them as the literal antithesis to the desert duo, beyond just being enemies, maybe i'll elaborate on that in a separate post though because i ofc want to focus on renchanting duo exclusively here.

the two of them start off as a capitalist duo, with martyn being a marketing manager and nothing more. but by moving into renchanting, martyn quickly gains ren's trust - which, to be fair, is pretty easy. ren's weakness at the start of 3rd life was always his kindness: telling people cleo's secret, letting everyone walk all over him and renchanting in the hopes of forming alliances. he gave out his trust too easily. martyn, meanwhile, was bored and chaotic - the server's wild card, the one predicted to cause the most problems at first, running around performing magic tricks and causing raids.

they grow closer again when scar turns red. martyn is immediately concerned for ren's life, and that concern only grows as martyn realises his own life is also under threat. the next episode, ren dons his kingly crown, and martyn steps up from marketing manager to hand of the king. it's a significant responsibility increase, but martyn is loyal to ren - ren took him in, gave him a purpose. and ren is equally grateful to martyn.

from that point onwards, their trust in one another only grows stronger. martyn steps up perfectly as hand of the king: first, when running around trying to solve all the various problems dogwarts is facing in session 4, when grian plants the enchanting table trap. like, you can feel the adrenaline in that scene. it's insane. ren, meanwhile, has finally put his foot down and is standing up to scar. it doesn't work, unfortunately, and martyn is unable to protect ren. (but he did do his best, it was unfortunate timing more than anything)

next, the test. ren's naïveté is gone. replacing it is a simple desire to protect his kingdom, through any means necessary. he gives martyn the chance to murder him, publicly branding him as a killer (and technically a rule breaker, might i add - martyn was strict about following the main server rules until the end, it's very telling that he broke them for ren). ren turns red, and gives martyn a perfectly fair opportunity to eliminate him. but martyn doesn't take it. he can't. not ren. the two of them are too loyal to each other. whilst dogwarts are often painted as the objective villains of the series, it's really... not like that. scar antagonised them. ren's descent into the red king was a tragedy, caused by paranoia and threats on his life. at first ren was kind, and forgiving, and far too easily trusting, and really just wanted to start a little shopping district starting with a funky enchanting emporium.

the red army forms, and martyn remains unquestionably loyal. martyn fights alongside his king - ren stays on the front lines, determined to protect his people with his own hands. which, looking at his kill count, i would say he achieved. i think it's a bit inaccurate to frame renchanting duo as the exact same dynamic as desert duo - while they're similar, their main difference is that ren was a genuinely capable threat the entire time. he's strong. and scary.

martyn makes his peace with devoting his life to defending his king. he'll lose all his lives if it means protecting ren - he'll take anyone else's life if it means protecting ren. he's okay with that. because martyn's loyal, and for the person who gave him a purpose in life he would go to the ends of the earth and back.

finally, he loses his first life, and we see the hints at a potential betrayal plot forming with the voice. this tension builds throughout the remaining episodes, including our favourite iconic line "after every winter, comes a spring". while this plot never technically came to fruition because of time and the flow of the sessions, the fact that martyn even heard this voice trying to tempt him to betray ren only further cements how loyal he was. literally nothing would stray him from that path. and ren? ren never even questions his hand's loyalty. he has no reason to. it's the two of them to the end.

ren dies.

and martyn follows his king to the grave.

i like to think that they found their "spring" in the afterlife.

bonus fun fact: they'd always said that if they made it to the final two, they planned to have a fair fight, fists only with no armour. at least those wishes came true for somebody else.

bonus fun fact 2: martyn's hand of the king coat actually has a yellow life variant too, but it was never used in 3rd life. you can see it on namemc though!

[bronzewool]

After binge-watching the last season of Castlevania and sleeping on it for a bit, I feel like enough time has passed for me to reflect on my initial feelings about this season as a whole.

I love everything about Trevor this season and his entire performance as a whole. Trevor is easily written off as nothing more than a filthy, foul-mouth, drunk, when in fact he is the most insightful character out of our three main leads. He was raised to kill dark creatures from the moment he could lift a sword and is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to different types of dark creatures, weapons, magical objects, and dark symbols. He knows more about vampire lineage than Alucard does and is more worldly than Sypha. He is the smartest character in the rosta and doesn't seem to care none of his friends respect his wisdom.

And the best part is Trevor is just a man. He's not the son of the most powerful vampire in history, he's not a magician prodigy who controls the elements, he's just a guy with some enchanted weapons and combat training, and still capable of keeping up with them. Trevor is badass.

Although there are still parts of the overall story that do disappoint me, especially the interesting lineup of vampires and monsters we keep seeing in the background that never take centre stage before they're killed off in one fight scene. This show has some of the most unique and diverse vampires I've ever seen and we only spend time with a handful of them. Had this been 26 episodes per season we might have had time to see more of these enemies in a "Monster of the Week" style format with the rest of Dracula's council and the other territories, but alas, the quality of each episode would probably have dropped dramatically so I'll take what I'm given.

Speaking of missed plot opportunities, what was the point of Taka and Sumi? Their betrayal and attempted murder left Alucard emotionally and physically scarred, hinting at him venturing down a dangerous path and possibly repeating the same mistakes of his father, but it doesn’t go anywhere. Taka and Sumi’s plight doesn’t even come back so their entire subplot went nowhere, any negative feelings Alucard may have had towards Trevor and Sypha abandoning him are forgiven the moment they come to his aid. Heck, Alucard’s mistrust for humans is never brought into question once this season and no one seems to care he has a collection of bodies on pikes as lawn ornaments.

The moment Alucard receives Greta’s call to help he’s there in an instant and agrees to help her and her people with barely any resistance besides one short pep talk. You could have taken his entire subplot out of season 3 and he’d still be in the same situation we left him back in season 2.

Hector and Lenore’s relationship is also something I’m still trying to work out since we don’t know what they’ve been up to in the six weeks Hector has been made Lenore’s slave. I've listened to a lot of people discuss this very topic and whether it's abusive or just problematic. And I can't deny that if the genders had been swapped everyone on the internet would call out how cringe it is for a woman to fall in love with her captor.

But there is nuance in their interactions. The show seems to walk this tightrope of framing their relationships as genuinely affectionate while also giving off a lot of red flags. The two exchange friendly banter without Lenore forcing her power over Hector, Lenore feels she can run to Hector with all her problems and holds no resentments towards him for his part in killing Carmilla. But at the same time, her last words to him are something akin to a child or pet. She never once saw Hector as her equal so her actions make sense from her point of view. You don't feel guilty about domesticating a stray.

Hector's feelings however are more complex as he goes to great lengths to ensure Lenore's safety because he saw a lot of truth in what she was saying. Dracula did use Hector and lied to him about the plan, and Isaac is set on killing him in cold blood for his role in Dracula's demise. So I understand why he feels a connection with Lenore and holds no ill will towards her even though he was devising a future escape plan. I don't think he's in love with Lenore. Hector has never felt love. He had no love for his parents and the only thing he ever showed affection for was his pets, but he does feel something for Lenore that's he's never felt before, and that's enough for him to care.

I have a few thoughts on some other tidbits, like Zamfir and the underground council subplot that only seemed to exist to show how invaluable Sypha would be to build and run a village. Or St. Germain and his inclusion only making sense if you're familiar with Castlevania lore. His subplot seemed bigger than life and feels like it needed more set-up and exploration had this been an original story as opposed to an adaption. And maybe I'm starting to change my opinion about them bringing Dracula and Lisa back from the dead if they're just gonna have them retire on the east coast of England.

But I still love this season and Castlevania as a whole.

Now give me a sequel and/or spin-off. I demand more content!

Also, does anyone else find it funny the main trio never actually meets Isaac, Hector or Carmilla and they just had their own little war off-screen? Because I think that's fucking hilarious.

[animayo]

“They don’t make tombstones for stray dogs.”

Megalo Box, S1 EP 13

Welcome kiddos to some extremely underrated anime,,, seriously why is no one talking about this?

I just saw Megalo Box when I was scrolling through Netflix options and ya’ll know I love a good underdog story. The show was created in honor of the 50th anniversary of the manga Ashita no Joe. The story is centered around Joe, an underground illegal boxer who does fixed fights to survive. On the other side of the river where the wealthy prosper, the Shirato group is holding a Megalo Boxing tournament called Megalonia. Joe almost crashes into Yukiko Shirato and his encounter with her bodyguard/champion, Yuri, sets Joe on a path to prove himself worthy to fight him. 

Before going really in depth, I’d just like to say that this short series is absolutely amazing. There is so much to unpack with Joe’s journey and they really provide insight into each character in only 13 episodes. I really could not bring myself to hate anyone because really, they’re all living and surviving for their own goals. And the animation during the fight scenes and overall soundtrack is unreal. Honestly, I was so anxious for every fight and the animators did an amazing job of making it feel like you’re there with them.

Megalo Box is not dead yet. Season 2 will be back hopefully this year.

Now, real talk under the cut! (SPOILERS)

Right from the beginning I got chills. Joe is unreal and everything I love in a main character. And his main goal? To reach Yuri and fight him in his own ring. His journey to reach the top is not to become famous and steal any titles, instead it’s to be able to fight Yuri, the one person who challenges him more than anyone else. Each opponent he faces beforehand is just another bump to overcome but he continues to learn and improve. What really sealed it for me was him fighting gearless. Megalo Boxing is advanced fights with gear that enhance their performance, so for Joe to beat these pros with nothing is crazy. 

Joe, Nanbu, and Sachio really went through it for the entirety of the show. I mean, obviously to do fixed fights, there has to be some sort of conflict and shady business. That’s why I was skeptical of his trainer, Nanbu, in the beginning. And it only got WORSE after he seemingly betrayed Joe and everything they worked for. But alas, they fought their way through it and beat the cringey American (?) fighter dude,,, I can’t remember his name. Oh well, it doesn’t matter much because our real goal is Yuri, the ultimate champion. Yuri wears this ultimate gear that was designed by Yukiko Shirato, or as he calls her, Owner. We find out the Yukiko basically saved Yuri and gave him a reason to live and continue fighting. BUT Yuri finally defies her when he goes to fight Joe in the final episode. He gets his gear removed, which is like removing a piece of himself, in order to meet Joe as equals. I think this part was really important because it was the first time we really see Yuri act for himself. He’s never faced someone who makes him feel the way he felt when fighting Joe. They were absolute ultimate opponents. But basically, Yuri as a character was so amazing and I love him. He respected Joe so much for all the he sacrificed to meet him at the top and so he made sure to never let his opportunity to fight Joe as HIMSELF slip away. It’s important to note that the flashback we see of when Yukiko first met Yuri and saw his fighting, everything slows down and we see almost sparkles radiating off his form. The ONLY other time we see that again is when he removes his gear and is practicing for his fight with Joe. Yukiko also sees it and I think it played a huge role in her allowing the final match to happen and remembering why she chose Yuri in the first place. She might have seemed to be selfish throughout the story but I really believe that she loved Yuri and did want him to be happy. I think she just didn’t understand at first.

Anyway, stan Yuri :)

Also Nanbu? Fucking redeemed himself so much. He really gave up his eye sight in order to help Joe reach his goal. I cried when he was crying during the final fight because he said he can “see” the fight even though he didn’t have his eyes. That moment was so heartwarming and really just brought their entire group together. And Sachio with his rapping and prickly little personality is so cute. I hope he gets trained by Joe and starts boxing.

The ending was so satisfying to see. We don’t find out Joe wins until the very end during the credits, although it seems somewhat obvious. A year after the fight, Yuri is reduced to a wheelchair and we aren’t sure if Joe is still fighting. Team Nowhere FINALLY has a gym and everyone is just there enjoying each others presence. Yuri and Joe as best friends? Ugh absolutely cleared my skin. They both showed each other what it really means to Megalo Box and Joe was definitely the real deal and everything Yuri was looking for. Everything about it was amazing and has brought Megalo Box to No. 2 in my favorites.

- K

[ejzah]

Can u a story about an alternate version of Densi’s wedding where Kirkin’s actual goal all along was to kidnap the groom aka DEEKS. XD

A/N: I know I have others stories waiting, but this one spoke to me. The events of the episode are a little altered to fit the prompt and I’ve excluded the guys that came after Kirkin.

***

“I cannot believe Kirkin actually tried to kidnap me on my wedding day,” Deeks said, shaking his head. He rubbed his eyes with his forefinger and thumb. As if he needed the additional stress.

Callen patted him on the shoulder, consolingly and with surprising sincerity.

“Well, hopefully he got the message,” he said. On the other side of him, Sam shook his head, looking equally amused and annoyed.

“Only you would have a Russian criminal who’s obsessed with you and won’t take no for an answer.” Deeks glared at him.

“I’m glad you find this funny, Sam.”

“Hey, you woke me up in the middle of the night after you broke into my boat. You’re lucky I’m in such a good mood,” Sam said, looking pointedly at Deeks.

“Point taken.” Deeks sighed and scratched at his head, already feeling exhausted. This day was already 20 times more stressful than he’d been expecting. “Well, I’m gonna go to the mission and see if I can find my box.”

“Good luck,” Callen offered, clapping him on the shoulder again. “We’ll meet you at the venue.” As they headed to their cars, Deeks prayed that the excitement was over for the day. He didn’t think his nerves could take anymore.

***

Deeks stared at the ring and letter Kensi had given him, completely overwhelmed. Kensi was somewhere in the building, presumably getting ready with her bridesmaids, and it was taking all his effort not to find her and say to hell with tradition.

He glanced down at his watch and swore under his breath. The guests would be arriving soon and he hadn’t even started to get changed. He grabbed the garment bag with his suit and stripped off his jacket and shirt. There was a slight noise behind him, followed by a horribly familiar voice.

“I see I’ve come at the perfect time.” Deeks yelped and spun around, automatically reaching for his gun, which he belatedly remembered he’d left at work, and covering half his chest with the other.

“Kirkin, jesus, how the hell did you get in here?” he hissed. “And-and more importantly, what are you doing here? Again.” Kirkin just stared for a moment, glancing at his bare chest with a small smirk.

“Maaarty, you must know I will always come for you,” he answered with disturbing sincerity. He sighed deeply, eyes straying back to Deeks chest. “It has been too long since we’ve been together like this.” Deeks took a step back.

“Ok, first of all, that is probably one of the most creepy things you have ever said, which is saying something,” Deeks said, ticking off points on his finger. Callen and Sam would never let him live this down. “Secondly, I specifically told you that I did not need, or want, you to rescue me or whatever the hell you think you’re doing right now. And let me reiterate, this is super creepy.”

Kirkin’s expression turned to one of sympathy, which was even more disconcerting. If that was possible.

“I know, Martin. But it occurred to me that the two of us have never been given a fair chance. Ever since that day we met, there has been something undeniable between us, but we’ve never been given the opportunity to fully explore it.”

“If you’re referring to your complete insanity, then yes, that it definitely between us.” Kirkin tilted his head, reaching out to touch Deeks’ arm with the top of his finger.

“You have always had such a wonderful sense of humor,” he gushed. Deeks rolled his eyes and reached into the pocket of his jeans.

“M’kay, I’m texting my team. You better hope Kensi doesn’t get in on this, because she will pulverize you. And then there’s her five bridesmaids and mom, who have been looking forward to this day for years,” Deeks said, typing as he spoke. Kirkin cleared his throat, slipping his hand beneath his suit jacket to pull out a gun.

“I wouldn’t do that Martin. You are coming with me. Now.”

***

“Hey, have you seen Deeks?” Callen asked, as Nell passed him in the hall, likely on the way to start directing guests.

“Um, no, why?” She turned around, clearly sensing that something else was going on.

“We were supposed to run through his vows with him 20 minutes ago, but he never showed. And now we can’t find him.” Nell’s brows furrowed and she grabbed her phone.

“We’ve already tried calling him,” Sam said. “He didn’t pick up.”

“That’s not a good sign,” she murmured. “But I was actually going to check the security cameras. I can tap into a few and see where he’s been.” She tapped at her phone a bit more, staring at the screen and then after a few minutes, frowned again. “What is Kirkin doing here?”

Sam and Callen immediately crowded on either side of her, watching over her shoulder.

“Oh, that is not good,” Callen muttered, glancing at Sam.

“Ok, you guys need to tell me what’s going on. Like right now,” Nell said, lowering the phone for a moment.

“Kirkin showed up earlier today and tried to “rescue” Deeks,” Sam explained.

“You’re joking.”

“I wish was.” Nell sighed and resumed watching the surveillance feed.

“Well, let’s see where he went. He better not mess this up for Kensi and Deeks or I will kill him. I do not have the patience to wait around while they plan a second wedding,” she said and Callen smirked at Sam over her head.

“Hm, it looks like he went into Deeks’ dressing room. That’s a little creepy.”

“Uh guys,” Eric interrupted, appearing in the hallway with a harried expression. “What’s going on? Guests are starting to arrive, the bridal party is almost ready and they’re wondering where everyone else is at.”

“We think Anatoli Kirkin might have kidnapped Deeks,” Sam explained shortly.

“Are you serious? Why aren’t we doing anything about it?”

“Because you’re still talking.” Sam gestured to Nell’s phone. “Did they come out?”

“Yes...and Kirkin took him, by gun point, to what looks like a lounge at the other end of the building,” Nell said. “So far they’re still in there unless they left through one of the windows.

“Ok, we’ll go retrieve Deeks. And you guys are in charge of making sure that Kensi doesn’t find out anything about this. Got it?” Callen instructed. They both nodded and scurried off.

“C’mon partner, let’s save Deeks from his crazy Russian boyfriend.”

***

“So what exactly is your plan, Kirkin?” Deeks asked, the skepticism clear in his voice. After Kirkin had pulled the gun on him, he’d lead him to a small room, ensuring Deeks’ compliance with the threat of violence if necessary. Part of Deeks thought he was probably bluffing, but he also didn’t want to underestimate him.

“I have my men waiting outside. When the time is right, we will make our escape,” Kirkin replied, clearly pleased with himself.

“Yeah, that’s not going to work. You know that, right? Even if you make it out the door, my team will take you down. There’s no way they haven’t missed me by now.” Kirkin patted him on the shoulder consolingly.

He hadn’t let Deeks put his shirt back on and he was feeling distinctly exposed and...nipply. He retreated to other side of the room and sat down in a small love seat. He’d known something would go wrong and boy had he been right. He felt a grim sense of satisfaction that his intuition had been so on point.

“Don’t worry, Marty, my men will protect us. And then we will be free to be together.”

The door to the room burst open, smacking off the wall as Callen and Sam appeared in the doorway. They were both armed and dressed in their tuxes.

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Sam said darkly. Kirkin reached for Deeks again and Sam moved in on him, pointing his gun directly at his head. “Don’t even think about it.”

Kirkin wisely took a few steps back and dropped his weapon on the ground. Sam kicked it away.

“You ok, Deeks?” Callen asked, frowning as he took in Deeks’ bare chest.

“Well, I was almost kidnapped on my wedding day, we have about 300 guests waiting for me and Kensi to get married and I think I’m on the verge of a panic attack,” he summed up and then blew out a long breath. “No, I’m not doing great.”

“Put your hands behind your back, Kirkin,” Sam ordered.

“Gentleman, I’m sure we can all overlook this small understanding and just go about our business,” Kirkin said in what was apparently supposed to be a charming tone. Sam just shook his head and gestured for Callen to cuff him.

“Why aren’t you wearing a shirt?” Sam asked Deeks eventually.

“Don’t ask,” Deeks told him firmly. Kirkin shot him an appealing look and then sighed.

“I will never forget the first time we met, frolicking naked together,” he said reminiscently. Deeks frowned, wondering what fantasy world the man was living in.

“Ok, that’s not what happened. I was undercover at a Russian bathhouse and I’m sorry to break your heart there, Kirkin, but I was not frolicking because I don’t frolick. I have never frolicked,” he clarified firmly.

“You are a frolicker and you know it,” Kirkin said in what Deeks assumed was supposed to be a seductive tone, leaning towards him.

“This is the worst wedding ever,” Deeks retorted, sitting down again and crossing his arms.

“Guys, what the hell is going on? The ceremony is supposed to start in five minutes,” Kensi said, running through the door, closely followed by a harried looking Eric and Nell. It took her approximately 10 seconds to notice Kirkin. “What the are you doing here?”

“You had one job,” Sam said to Nell and Eric. Nell shrugged, gesturing to Kensi.

“What can I say, she threatened to hurt us if we didn’t tell her where you were,” she explained. Somehow Deeks didn’t think Nell had put up that much of a fight.

Kensi glanced at Deeks and then back at Kirkin, who raised his hands defensively as she descended on him. Dressed in her wedding dress, and with a look of pure fury on her face, she had never looked more beautiful to Deeks. Even though she was unarmed, she was frightening.

“Kensi, you look lovely,” Kirkin tried.

“Kirkin, did you try to kidnap my fiancé?” she asked in a dangerous voice. He took another step backwards.

“Please, you must understand, Kensi. You know how irresistible Martin is. His hair, his muscles. I could not help myself.” Kensi made an incredulous sound and shook her head and shoved Kirkin into a chair.

“Unbelievable,” she muttered. That seemed to be the general consensus.

Callen had moved over to the side and was on his phone. From the sound of it, he was calling in reinforcements. Apparently he and Sam had taken out a Kirkin’s cronies before making their grand entrance.

Kensi sat down next to Deeks and ran her fingers through his hair, looking concerned.

“Are you ok, baby?” she asked, checking him over. He laid a hand over hers, holding it in place and nodded.

“Yeah. I may be about to have a nervous break down, or possibly a stroke, but otherwise, I’m fine.”

“I love you,” she whispered, leaning her head against his. He sighed, leaning into her touch. “Let’s get married.” He grinned at that, feeling content for the first time in hours.

“Let’s get married,” he agreed.

“You should probably put some more clothes on,” Callen suggested with just a hint of a smirk.

“I’ll go help him change,” Eric offered. Kensi linked their fingers as she tugged him up. As they left the room, Kirkin reached towards Kensi with a desperate expression.

“Kensi, don’t hurt him,” he begged. “You know, we could always work something out between the three of us!” Sam jerked him back, not being particularly gentle.

“I’m gonna need a lot of champagne,” Deeks sighed as they left the room, Kirkin being led by Nell and Callen, while Sam brought up the rear.

“Or vodka.” Kensi added.

***

A/N: As creepy as he is, I have so much fun writing Kirkin. Sadly, Hetty didn’t quite fit into this one with the changes to the plot. Some dialogue is pulled directly from “Till Death Do Us Part”.

Thanks for the prompt!

[bananban-feature]

MBTI : INFP

I’ve mentioned in previous posts that the two BTS members I relate to the most are Suga and Jungkook, who also happen to be my biases. Yesterday, I found out that the feeling of them being relatable to me is not unfounded. Both Yoongi and Jungkook literally have the same personality type as me - INFP.

Apparently, this MBTI type is pretty common among artists. (I’m not an artist by profession though. I have an engineering degree which is usually associated with the Thinking type, but I do like art/performing arts.)

Even as a Seventeen fan, INFP Seventeen members are all a bit of a surprise, but I can’t really tell cause I don’t know them too well. (It’s pretty hard to deeply learn each person’s personality in a group of 13, plus there’s simply a lot more BTS content with details on their personality.) Scoups was quite a surprise to me cause I don’t really consider myself the leader type. Jun, DK and Hoshi as well. (I’ve been really loving Hoshi lately because of the recent GoSe episodes - Don’t Lie II.)

There are other kpop idols that belong to this type. These are the ones I kind of follow but I don’t know them that well:

Hyunjin of Stray Kids - I absolutely loved him in MAMA 2020 but I barely know him. I’m a fan though, he looks cool and cute!

Yugyeom of GOT7 - Ah, Jungkook’s best friend and also a maknae.

I’m not sure if this is from an actual test result but Yuto (my first Pentagon bias) has mentioned he is also an INFP!

Wow, INFPs are really the best. *wink*

***Comment on my MBTI type history: I remember my first result from years ago was actually ENFP, but the E/I part almost had equal percentages, like 49% Introvert and 51% Extrovert. To be honest, aside from the Tactics part (last of the four letters) which showed around 80% prospecting, all the other categories were kind of close to the middle, but the closest to the middle is really the “mind” (E/I) part. But in all tests I’ve taken, I’ve always been Intuitive, Prospecting, and Turbulent.

I think, at some point I got ENTP, then an INFP. In a test I took earlier this year it was INTP. Months later, I took the test twice again and got pretty consistent results as an INFP. Nowadays, I think my % introverted-ness has been increasing.

INFP traits that strike me because it’s true (for me, and possibly for the people mentioned above):

“Perhaps because of these strengths, Mediators tend to crave opportunities for creative self-expression.”

“That said, they can have a tendency to daydream and fantasize rather than take action.” Tbh, I don’t think Jungkook, Suga or Yuto are like this, these people are doers! But I definitely have this tendency.

“Mediators can expect so much from themselves that they inevitably fall short. When this happens, they may accuse themselves of being selfish or woefully inadequate.”

“Mediators generally prefer to avoid conflict. They can put a great deal of time and energy into trying to please everyone.”

“Mediators are always dreaming up ways to improve themselves and the world around them. The last thing they’d want is for their partners to feel unhappy or stuck. As a result, many people with this personality type dedicate themselves to helping their partners improve their lives.”

“Many Mediators (INFPs) long for a career that doesn’t just take care of the bills but also feels fulfilling. They want to spend their days doing something they genuinely love, preferably without too much stress or drama. They may drift in frustration, waiting for the perfect job to present itself and eventually feeling stuck or worried that they’re not living up to their potential.”

“Workplaces that reward independence tend to be a good fit for Mediators, although they may appreciate some structure and oversight to help them avoid procrastination and getting lost in thought.”

There are also other parts of INFP that I don’t really relate to that much. And I do have scars from past experiences that may have changed how I see or feel about things.

Edit: The result I used was 2017 BTS results. In 2020, BTS updated their MBTI and now Suga is INTP, and Jungkook is ISFP. There goes my connection to them. Just kidding, lol.

[paulisweeabootrash]

The Wholesome Content We Need: A Place Further Than the Universe

I think I’m going to start writing actual titles for posts from now on instead of just “first impression review” or whatever.  After all, tags exist for a reason.

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We could use some wholesome content these days.  And I don’t know about you, but I personally could use something about bonding, friendship, new experiences, and how teamwork and technology let us exist in a dangerous world.  If that sounds good to you, too, look no further than... well, actually quite far: A Place Further Than the Universe (2018).

Episodes Watched: 13 (the whole series)

Platform: Crunchyroll

Mari is afraid of wasting her youth.  Shirase is obsessed with following in her scientist mother’s footsteps.  Hinata wants to do something other than work before she starts college.  Yuzuki wants to resist her mother/manager’s push to sign up for oddball acting gigs and just make some normal friends instead.  Through a series of fortunate meetings and coincidences, the four high-schoolers all manage to find an opportunity to fulfill their goals together by joining a civilian expedition to Antarctica.

What?  Well, you see, Shirase’s mother Takako, an astronomer and the author of the in-universe book “A Place Further Than the Universe”, disappeared on a previous Antarctic expedition, and for several episodes, the plot is propelled by Shirase trying to convince the next expedition to let her come with them.  She succeeds (obviously, or there would be no further plot), but rather than merely passengers, she and the other high schoolers end up working with the crew of the expedition.  This is stressful and confusing at first but they are trusted and accepted as equals by the adults by the end.  More importantly, they open up to each other, bond, and grow each along their own character arcs.

Their growth relies on that opening up and bonding, and even Shirase’s need for closure is helped along by her new friends.  The show carries a pretty explicit lesson of the value of knowing when to help vs. give space, and on good friends being people who understand and help you -- contrast the main girls’ journey with Shirase’s isolation, or Yuzuki’s and Hinata’s fake friends, or Mari’s determination to maintain her fraying childhood friendship, and you’ll see what I mean.

Oh, and I’ve barely even mentioned the adults in the expedition.  The expedition’s leaders, Gin and Kanae, are wonderful in their own way.  Gin is reserved verging on downright hostile in a way similar to Shirase (in fact, she often took care of her for Takako and seems to have influenced her), and she and Shirase each start with the assumption the other hates them and have to gradually improve their relationship.  Kanae is more outgoing and an advocate for the high schoolers, but also a no-nonsense mentor who expects them to be just as much part of the crew as the regular research team is.  They both have to deal with the immense physical and mental challenge ahead of them of restoring the research post, abandoned for three years, where Takako died, and starting construction on an observatory there which will take advantage of unparalleled dark skies.  You can tell how important this is to them, both professionally and personally, and the whole expedition team has a passion for what they do that I might not believe if I didn’t know some scientists myself. 

It’s a really sweet show with a lot in it.  At first, you might expect it’s “cute girls doing Antarctic things”, and it is, but it’s also a veritable love letter to friendship, hope, teamwork, adventure, and Antarctica itself.  It will inspire you and make you grateful for your friends and possibly make you cry.  And you need it.  You don’t know you need it, but you do.

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W/A/S: 3 / 1 / 2

Weeb: Very little going on in this category.  The most foreign things in this show for American audiences are probably the idea of teenagers traveling unsupervised on intercity trains and having different ways of being rude depending on whether the person you’re talking to is older or younger than you.

Ass: Very brief partial nudity in a completely non-sexual context.

Shit (writing): You’ll be disappointed if you’re here for a complicated plot, but the characters show multiple sides of themselves and go through understandable growth in their own ways.

Shit (everything else): There isn’t that much by way of dynamic animated sequences, but the art is just beautiful.  And that ship is just about the least-obtrusive 3D element I’ve seen in an otherwise 2D show.  I’m rating this excellent because I think it does exactly what it sets out to do, visually.

-----

Stray thoughts:

- As someone who used to do orienteering, I greatly appreciate the “how to measure and mark your route” training in ep. 4.

- I’m not suggesting this was intentional -- in fact I think she’s just supposed to be stubborn and in need of closure -- but between her absolute fascination with Antarctica as a topic of study, her difficulty both making friends and regulating her voice appropriately to speak to an audience, and her freakout over possible changes to the travel plan, I’m certain that Shirase would be portrayed as canonically autistic if this were an American show.

[visitingthefuneralhome]

BtVS Rewatch: 1x10, Nightmares

continuing my weekly rewatch of buffy with my partner (his first time watching), we watched nightmares last week, immediately after The Puppet Show - while we initially planned to watch the show weekly, he enjoyed The Puppet Show so much that we watched three episodes in a row - TPS, Nightmares, and Out of Mind, Out of Sight (OOMOOS). While I have always thought of this episode as one of the best season one episodes, I ended it feeling a little bored and my partner felt more than a little confused about the mechanics. This episode seems to me to have an issue with growing pains: on one hand, it’s trying to be a Monster of the Week horror movie riff like the previous season one episodes - on the other hand, it’s attempting to be a character study with its focus on its principal characters’ nightmares, transitioning the show towards a more character-based mode of storytelling. The results are muddled and half-baked, but you can see the show attempting to be more, and do more with its characters. Even the theme of the episode - childhood nightmares and intergenerational encounters - seems to be inching towards a character focus, compelling the show to consider its characters more forcefully.

more thoughts on childhood, the role of the Slayer, and the show’s movement towards greatness:

What I did remember of this episode before going in is its middle section, where Buffy encounters her dad and you see her fall apart as he tells her she was the reason her parents broke up. On one hand, this is linked to her Slayerhood and her feelings of isolation and shame over it - this moment is an excellent character study in light of that, and an important gear shift for the character as we begin transitioning into season two. And yet, it’s absolutely mired in the plot of our nightmares coming to life, and so it becomes an archetypal scene for a child learning that their parents split because of them. When Buffy the character is played too much as Buffy-as-metaphor, she loses coherence and depth, and we risk losing that here too, as Buffy Summers fades into Buffy-the-kid.

And this episode is all about childhood! We have two children that centre the episode - Billy the kid who’s been beaten up by his coach, and The Anointed One, who The Master pontificated to at the start of the episode. They counterpoint each other, with the Anointed One’s tutelage from the Master mirroring Billy’s tutelage from Buffy later. Where Buffy approaches Billy as an equal, guiding him and respecting his agency, The Anointed One exists to be taught by the Master about the world of nightmares. Fittingly, the Anointed disappears by the time the Master emerges to kill Buffy.

The issue is, with the focus on childhood, the fears and nightmares that emerge are very much of childhood - Cordelia is dragged away to the chess club, Willow has to sing on stage, Xander goes to class in his underwear. These superficial nightmares of this episode ricochet off the MoTW’s focus on childhood, but end up being a middling character study. We already know Willow’s scared of the stage. We will learn next episode that Cordelia has much deeper fears of isolation and loneliness. Xander’s fear of being naked in class tells us nothing.

What it does do, though, is position Buffy as the one teen emerging into adulthood - her fears rapidly escalate and warp reality around them far more than the others’ do. Buffy’s exceptionalism is highlighted her, and her specific fears of being buried alive and being told that she caused her parents’ divorce position her as a liminal figure, trapped, but also moving, between the world of the adults and the world of the children. When the Master emerges to explain the world of nightmares to her, her previous role of teacher to Billy is contextualized, and her adolescence - caught between two worlds - is highlighted, where the Master is very much placed in the role of the old, the aged, the mature. 

The nightmares of this episode do tell us something about the show, where it’s heading, and why Buffy Summers functions so well as a study of adolescence. The Slayer role gives her the responsibility and depth that sets her apart from other students, and highlight the isolation teens (and generally people) face, the sense that your own concerns and issues are the most pressing, apocalyptic, and world-changing. In this light, the superficiality of other characters’ nightmares are a given. At the same time though, it is a disservice to these wonderful characters who will eventually jostle with Buffy Summers for screentime and development, and it is their current subservience to her growth which renders some of the frustration of this episode.

Also, the episode is just… confusing? The Billy story is surprisingly hard to follow, as my partner pointed out. Why should we care about this kid? Why is his backstory so convoluted? It’s played as a mystery, but it’s not as intriguing or elegant as previous mysteries, and just seem slapped together to give us the character time this episode has. The show will begin to do these perfunctory plots better as the show goes on, but right now, it’s both weirdly simple and overly complicated. As morgue mentions, it’s a pretty missed opportunity - by straying away from the high school, the story risks losing the plot of the show’s original concept, and is just a much less interesting story for it. Not a great look!

[okuraiani]

Ikemen Revolution – Harr Silver Route Ep. 1 Summary

Hi there! Harr’s route is out!! Yay! („• ֊ •„) I don’t think I’ll be able to put together a summary for the following episodes while playing (also because there are still the leftover episodes from Oliver’s route (｡•́︿•̀｡)). But I guess many people are as curious as I in how the relationship between Alice and Harr starts out over the initial 3 or 4 episodes! So I hope I’ll at least be able to get those done before finally pickung up Oliver’s route again! As always, the summary is under the cut and to be on the safe side, for those who don’t want to be spoiled, please blacklist the tag IkeRev Spoiler as I will use it for the summaries! Thanks and have fun °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

EPISODE 1

  Chapter 1

After being taken in by the Black Army, Alice feels anxious and worried. She fears the Black Army took her in solely for her powers. But when they arrived back at the Black Barracks, she is treated so warmly and felt so welcome, that her worries start to dissipate. At the same time, Amon, residing in his room, seems to be in an awfully good mood.

 Chapter 2

Without a sound, a disciple appears before him. Amon is aware that Alice the Second has appeared and orders him to capture Alice. The next morning Alice wakes up very well rested, much to her own surprise, even though she slept in a completely unfamiliar place. After getting ready she walks out into the corridor where she meets Sirius. He takes the opportunity and tells her that he wants to take her to Cradle’s best place.

 Chapter 3

Seth tags along and together the three visit the market in the Central District. Surprised that there are so many people, Sirius explains that this is because residents from both sides come there. After that, Seth notes that he wanted to take her to the market to commemorate her coming to Cradle. He wants her to at least taste all the delicious sweets before the war starts. Seth agrees that it might seem strange to Alice. However, the Black Army refuses to be absorbed into the Red Army as they are trying to break down the delicate balance they have maintained for 500 years. Though Alice does understand the situation, it saddens her that the two armies can’t see each other as equals. Showing her worries on her face, Sirius as well as Seth assure her that they only came to have fun today. While walking the streets, they teach Alice about the world she has landed in, such as magic crystals and the Magic Tower. Thinking about how magic is used, she asks if there are people who can use it without magic crystals. Sirius explains that there are very few people born with magic powers.

 Chapter 4

Alice silently wonders what those kinds of people are like. The image in her mind very much resembles the typical white-haired, bearded old man with a wooden staff. Somehow, thinking that wizards only existed in picture books, she kind of wants to meet one. When they pass a wanted poster, though, her feet stop. The description of Harr, the fugitive wizard supposedly trying to overthrow the country, makes her think that he’s most likely a bad person. Trying to ask for details Alice realizes that she had been separated from Seth and Sirius. In a mild panic, she walks around the place only to end up in a small back alley. When she tries to get back to where she come from, someone hits her shoulder from behind. Startled, she lets go of the ice cream she held in one hand.

 Chapter 5

When she turns around, Alice expected Sirius, but instead is confronted with two unknown men. Delighted to find a woman in such a place, the men try to approach her. Alice, though, turns around again because they reek of alcohol. She wants to ignore the drunk men and run away, but one of them mercilessly grabs her arm. As she attempts to shake them off, a hooded man who stepped in from the side shields Alice from the two men. The hooded man silently stares at the two drunkards until one raises his voice. Her protector stays calm and asks them to give up on Alice if they don’t want to fight a futile fight. To the calm but indifferent voice the men catch their breath. They realize his true identity and flee from the alley. Alice thanks him for his help but is met with silence. As she tries to circle around her protector, he gives her a curt command not to look and turns his face away. Although the mask on his face triggers her memory a bit, she is distracted by a young smiling boy who appears out of nowhere. The boy assumes the masked man named Harr picked up a stray again. Since he denies that assumption, the boy stares at Alice, who wonders if he means her with ‘stray’. While listening to those two a sudden realization hits her, and she remembers the wanted poster.

[explosiveheroics]

what are your thots on BakuDeku

Hi there! I guess I sort of have a long/loaded answer for this so buckle up and get ready!

I can tell you right off the bat that I’m not a BakuDeku shipper. However, it doesn’t do them justice to say that alone, and since you asked for thoughts, I’ll give you thoughts. 

I wouldn’t personally ship them based on the canon we have. For one, the angry rivals isn’t typically my favourite ship dynamic. I’m more for the characters who are friends/best friends, even if the relationship starts off a little rocky. There are exceptions, of course, but I don’t usually stray too far from this type. 

I feel like Bakugou and Midoriya just have too much messed up history with each other. Bakugou relentlessly bullied Midoriya during their childhood years, threatening him, bringing him down at every opportunity and even telling him to kill himself. Midoriya acknowledges Bakugou is an asshole, but spent lots of time idolizing Bakugou and not properly standing up to him (even if he got better at this as time went on, and would never submit completely), and he still can’t quite let go of his admiration despite Bakugou’s actions. A relationship isn’t the right thing for them, in my opinion, because of all this twisted history.

But, obviously, I know their relationship is slowly improving and will continue to improve over the course of MHA. And I am personally all for it. I love both of these characters to pieces, and I think it’s so extremely important for them to become proper equals and rivals with each other. I’d actually really like it if they ended up friends, and Bakugou apologized, and they started to work together as well as compete. From the Heroes Rising movie trailers showing them working together, I am so unbelievably hyped. The two of them fighting together makes me so happy, and I’m so looking forward to seeing it. Even the very start of them being proper rivals, and the little moment of Bakugou giving Midoriya advice on his shoot style, made me super pleased (and Deku vs Kacchan Part 2 might be my favourite episode of MHA?). 

Even once they get to the point of being maybe friends, I don’t really see myself shipping them. I understand why other people ship them though, they have lots of potential and they are clearly meant to be foils with their dynamic being pretty central to MHA as a whole. 

As far at the canon goes, those are my thoughts. Roleplaying is kind of a different matter though. I usually stick with one pairing per character with shipping (sometimes multishipping a bit, or kind of liking a secondary pairing), but with roleplaying I love exploring further dynamics and ships I wouldn’t have considered otherwise. That in mind, I could potentially be up for RPing Bakudeku? If it’s canon based it would need LOTS of buildup and time for me to get on board with it, but with the right person to write them with, I might be willing to test the waters. And if it’s an Alternate Universe where they had a different history, then I might be willing as well! 

Thanks for your question, hope this is an okay answer! :’D

[sparkliingdust]

I know Agent Carter is always celebrated for its portrayal of Peggy (at least in the first season, I haven’t watched the second season yet because of the bad reviews), but I just want to give a shout-out to the actors playing opposite her.

Sometimes movies or tv series force-feed misogyny and sexism so much, it’s hard to tell if the writers just hate women and are acting out their fantasies, or trying to capture an era like the 1940s/1950s. Obviously, sexism was in the air back then, but so much of how the male characters regard Agent Carter is in the dialogue. Instead of beating us over the head with it, the actors naturally capture their mixed feelings of treating Peggy as another secretary to take their orders and someone to be taken seriously as a fellow agent. They treat as they wish to see her: “To you, I'm the stray kitten, left on your doorstep to be protected. The secretary turned damsel in distress. The girl on the pedestal, transformed into some daft whore”, but they also have moments of redemption and changing their tune. They go back and forth on their beliefs based on their awful hunches about Howard an Levithan, it’s great how many times Peggy has to point them in the real direction beyond their assumptions and entitled opinions. I think a big credit goes to the actors who play them.

Thompson has no time for Peggy unless she has his coffee or reports. He’s not the moral compass of the group, but he comes around to respecting Carter and still maintains that chip on his shoulder - mostly because she saves his life twice. He’s arrogant and entitled without being too much of a bully or overpowering. It was great that they didn’t write Thompson as the handsome flirtatious agent just because Chad is a pretty boy. It gave him an opportunity to be more subtle. I always wish he was in more mainstream stuff when I watch this series.

Sousa shows a core connection with Carter by being undervalued. Similar to Steve, he aware of how he’s regarded by other ‘more macho’ men because of his war injury. He thinks because he has a few decent conversations with Peggy, he owns her or at least knows more about her than he truly does. He has the right amount of empathy in some situations, but sometimes he mixes up empathy with thinking Peggy should live up to his ideals. Enver is just overall super freaking charming when Daniel isn’t self-righteous and doesn’t treat her like some “two-timing” agent.

Shea always plays burly characters who aren’t entirely cavemen. Chief Dooley is probably the toughest role next to Peggy because he’s the head honcho who doesn’t want to deal with womanly problems while also trying to give Peggy her due when she proves herself. I liken him to Colonel Phillips from Captain America: The First Avenger - he talks to her the same way that he bullshits with the other male agents. Because Peggy is often devalued by others and Dooley, he can seem like a straight-up asshole. Of course, the guys changing their opinions about Peggy doesn’t make up for how they treat her - the whole series is about how much they turn a blind eye to her until she becomes useful to them, not that she’s useful all along because she’s a human being with brains and brawn (that old “well i have a daughter, mother, wife so i’m a feminist” excuse).  The hypnosis showing his broken relationship with his family is kind of squeezed into the end so his death means more, but I’m always moved when Dooely  says ‘Atta girl’ to her when he makes her promise to track down the Russians. We finally see after everything he has faith in her to get the job done. (Peggy, always following her beliefs about equality, says “We’ll catch them”, not “I’ll catch them” because she knows the value of working with a team, the boys don’t.) I don’t think that would’ve been as successful if Dooley didn’t have some layers to him and Shea didn’t play him so well.

And then there’s James D'Arcy as Edwin Jarvis, who kind of acts as a back-up moral compass and sidekick, and Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark, who is just so underrated. Jarvis is pretty cunning and clever, especially when it comes down to the wire and he has to help Peggy (he’s a Slytherclaw). But his nerves are made of aluminum foil which works for and against him - he’s loyal to the point of going with Howard’s plans which hurt Peggy, but also come to her aid as they work together and he realizes what a gem she is. He’s put in the middle of Howard’s plans and underestimates how brilliant she is but it doesn’t center around her gender “being a hindrance” like the other characters. Jarvis is one of the few male characters I can think of in the MCU who betrays a male ally to offer a female character her happy ending because she deserves it and he respects her and wants to continue having a valuable relationship with her.

And then I don’t know how or why they chose John Slattery as an older Howard, one of the dullest actors ever in the MCU. Slattery has no personality as Howard whatsoever, even if he’s supposed to be older, disgruntled, and have a dysfunctional relationship with his son. But if they could give Chris Evans enough make-up to look like he’s 95, Cooper has the acting chops to play someone older than Robert Downey Jr. Both in the movie and tv show, Cooper has so much bravado and sleazy charm, you can see how he’s Tony’s father, especially the first Iron Man movie. You kind of can’t help but roll your eyes at his promiscuity but also fall in love with him.

I didn’t do a play-by-play of all their motivations and how they change over every episode. Because I don’t have that kind of time. lol  I just really like the male cast who stood their own alongside Hayley and also let her shine - it’s like Hayley describes Peggy, she always knows her place is alongside the men, not behind them, and I think the show balances that out.

[bi-dazai]

BSD Episode 27 Analysis

Hello! Natalya back with my second instalment of my episodical analyses of BSD. This week I’ll be looking at episode 27 from the lens of a more platonic soukoku than last week, which was about explicit romance coding in terms of double-entendre and visual imagery. You can find that post here. I would suggest reading it, because I may indulge myself in romantic soukoku in this post a bit, although it will only be a side-track.

A note before we begin, however – I’m writing this in a much more casual academic tone, and I’m not using lowercase and internet casual as I did in my previous post. This is because it helps me enunciate my points in a way that doesn’t make me look like a crazy person. I also made quite a few grammatical errors, typos, and strange sentences. This tends to happen when I write long-form internet casual. For the sake of clarity, you’ll have to put up with the tone I usually place in a more casual academic setting such as my university tutorials.

So as usual I’ll pick out a few moments to focus in on to explain an overall general subtext and underlying message etc in the episode. For this episode, I’ve picked the opening in which Chuuya kicks the gun out of Dazai’s hand, and the scene in which our two other Sheep members are introduced.

-

This episode I’m going to focus on the way the episode expresses the burgeoning, newborn perceptions of Dazai on Chuuya and vice versa. I’m also going to be referring to moments that count as SPOILERS, so if you care about that then careful going forth, or perhaps wait until the Fifteen adaptation is finished before coming back to this post and reading it.

Also, for this episode I’ll be diving into my writing major and only partially into my film studies minor. I’ll have you know I pull out my textbooks and lecture notes every time I make an analytical post like this, haha!

-

So let us begin with the opening moments of the episode. This episode, structurally, is where we finally start diving past the surface of the introduction and right into the story of Dazai and Chuuya. This is the proper introduction of their relationship. So this first fight sequence serves to demonstrate the tone with which we will begin.

So here we have some classic establishing character writing. Step 1: Introduce the base characteristics of your characters. Step 2: Introduce a problem. Step 3: Explore how they interact with the problem.

So here we witness not just Chuuya and Dazai’s unique takes on how to deal with this problem, we also have their own perceptions of each other’s actions to explore. Remember – this story is about the two of them as a pair, not just as individuals.

So here we have our problem – an armed soldier has just appeared and is clearly threatening violence. Chuuya reacts by taunting – “Oi, old man. Let’s save us both some time.” Dazai is surprised by Chuuya’s brazenness (see the expression animated in the first SC). Chuuya taunts the opponent a little more, edging and encouraging danger, clearly seeking a fight. Dazai approaches. Walking calmly past, he says to Chuuya without regard for the armed soldier, “…you could just trick him to get some information out of him.” Here we have the set-up of Dazai and Chuuya in a problem. Chuuya sees a problem as a threat and escalates to a physical altercation; Dazai sees a problem as an opportunity and prefers mental cunning.

As the scene continues on however, we begin to recognise a similarity in Dazai and Chuuya, and that is that they have little regard for the problem. They understand how powerful they are and their upper hands (Chuuya his ability and Dazai his intellect). Even when they talk to a grown adult man wielding a gun, they talk down to him. When he holds a barrel to their heads within deadly range, they aren’t fazed:

And, of course, in this exchange here both Dazai and Chuuya both are shown to be knowledgeable of underground groups, networks, and goingsons. Keep in mind Chuuya is the ‘King of the Sheep’ and acts pretty much as their leader and later becomes Executive before Dazai does. And Dazai is Mori’s protégé, frequently set up to be the next Boss of the mafia to the point that Mori is fearful that Dazai would have taken his seat sometime soon if he hadn’t broken him (further) with the death of Odasaku. Chuuya and Dazai, despite their differences, are the most dangerous people in the underground right now, they’re clever and powerful. Chuuya may be the ‘brawns’ in their physical fights, but off the battlefield anyone interacting with them is subjected to two intensely intellectual and cunning people who are deadest on a goal. This is also shown at the end of the episode with their conversation with Randou, somewhat in Episode 21 when Chuuya isn’t beating the shit out of the Guild.

In short – they are different, yet incredibly similar. They have different views on a situation, but given the same goal they will work towards it in differing ways with equal success. They are the perfect rivals, and the perfect counterbalances to each other’s personalities and ethos’s. In My Hero Academia, Bakugou’s desire for victory and Midoriya’s pure heart and established as traits which each one must learn from the other to become both better heroes and better people. In Bungou Stray Dogs, Chuuya and Dazai work with and against each other and transform each other into better people.

And so, that is where this moment comes in:

(Sidenote: Chuuya’s line here translates roughly as “It’s useless to shoot dead bodies.” Don’t ask how, but I know that because of Jojo’s.)

(ignore this repeat sc, tumblr editor is being fucky)

(Second sidenote: Look. Look how close they’re depicted in this shot.)

(Third sidenote: sorry for quality drop – Australian internet is special.)

So here we have our first instance of one half of Soukoku directly challenging and changing an aspect of the other half. Here, Chuuya notices how clearly sick Dazai is. Furthermore, if we refer to our second SC (where Dazai’s expression makes me want to cry), we can see parallels to a certain future (ongoing) mental health arc:

I bring this up because we later find out that the reason Akutagawa is so violently driven is that he was constantly demeaned and psychologically abused by his mentor – Dazai. Akutagawa becomes not an antagonist but another protagonist upon meeting Atsushi [insert shin soukoku summary here] and bettering himself. He makes a pact not to kill anyone and begins working together with Atsushi (he used to be a lone wolf – a stray dog). Atsushi also learns to be confident and put a foot down from Akutagawa. But the point here that we need to focus on, of course, is that Akutagawa is seen as utterly deranged, violent, and demonic in the first season, but later we realise that he is in fact capable of empathy but was extremely battered by his own mental abuse.

We also see this expression on Fitzgerald as he begins to lose control. It’s another tie-back to Akutagawa (and in a small part Atsushi, but I’ll leave that for later when I analyse that episode). And we see it in Shibusawa in Dead Apple. We see this expression and through the stylistic language of Bungou Stray Dogs we come to understand it as not the depiction of someone to be reviled but the depiction of someone who is struggling inside.

So here, when we see Dazai make that expression, we know that Dazai may be a seemingly totally apathetic, suicidal, amoral mafioso who just went utterly crazy while shooting a dead guy in the head, but we know it is because, currently, Dazai is extremely, extremely depressed.

In thinking of Akutagawa and understanding what we know of Dazai’s past with Mori, it is safe to assume that Mori has not once opposed nor done anything to help Dazai with his mental illness. Mori has, in fact, utilised Dazai’s mental illness as a tool and a strategy to keep Dazai close.

And then the light finally comes in, and Chuuya kicks the gun out of Dazai’s hands, Dazai gets scolded, and finally someone is forcing Dazai to question himself.

So let’s move onto the vice versa of this scene. I’d like to give partial credit for this next piece of analysis to user @bluelancelion who wrote up an excellent little piece on this scene [https://bluelancelion.tumblr.com/post/184330424612/okay-so-we-all-know-that-dazai-is-manipulating-the]. [this is where the spoilers start to come into play!] Please go read that before you move on with my post here, because I’m going to expand on some points, however I don’t want to summarise something that’s already perfectly written anyway so I’m leaving that one to some assigned reading!

Ok.

So as OP stated, this is the first scene in which Dazai doesn’t put up a play act to hide his own feelings. Let’s actually go backwards when analysing this scene:

DAZAI: “Lay off him already. He has the ability to choose for himself how to use his power. Even a kid could figure out that much.”

I’ve attached this because that’s a stark contrast to this:

Both in expression and in dialogue, Dazai is already different. And here we have Dazai for probably the first time in his life using his intellect to set up a ploy for someone else’s benefit and not just his own.

[ROMANTIC SOUKOKU SIDETRACK: Dazai has been shown to canonically be a selfish person, especially in his Port Mafia days. Expanding on my theory expressed in my episode 26 post in which I posited Dazai has feelings for Chuuya that he either understands or doesn’t just yet, this could be both out of his feelings for Chuuya urging him to do something to make Chuuya happy (We can also add to this by mentioning how he just lets the Sheep hostages go. Chuuya is only meant to be working with the Port Mafia temporarily – Mori may have his plans but these are a long time coming at this point. Chuuya is still attached to Sheep and releasing hostages gives him much more of an excuse to ditch the mafia totally), and/or his feelings urging him to do something to keep Chuuya to himself. This is especially interesting considering this little interchange (she’s looking at Dazai):

Yeah that’s either 1) double-entendre or just 2) straight up explicit romantic competition. It’s after this that Dazai stops going along playfully with them and starts straight up demeaning them and saying Chuuya can do what he wants without their input.

I’ll end my RSS (Romantic Soukoku Sidetrack) with a sneak into Chuuya’s side:

Make of that what you will.]

*another kinda pointless sidenote: chuuya’s sheep male friend refers to chuuya as ‘omae’ [derogatory when used towards a person who isn’t your subordinate (i.e. teacher to a student; boss to an assistant etc) which is pretty damn brazen considering Chuuya can snap him in two at a moment’s notice and that Chuuya is probably the only reason their gang is still even alive.

 Okay, Romantic Sidetrack done! Now back to our analysis. We’re moving on to our final scene of the episode. Before we get into the soukoku analysis, I just wanted to point out this little frame here:

For those who don’t know, the founder of the ADA is this cat. He wasn’t always a cat (I think?), but in Bungou Stray Dogs as we know it, he’s a cat. The cat has been seen frequently in scenes involving flashbacks to Dazai’s time in the mafia and often when Fukuzawa is trying (so hard) to feed cats. It’s also worth mentioning there’s a tradition of cats in Japanese literature, often about observing the world and realising things about yourself by observing it. If you want an anime example, go watch My Roommate Is A Cat. It functions in pretty much the same way. Anyway, here’s a fun aside in which Fukuzawa realises the cat is the ADA leader, “Come!”, and the ADA leader promptly rolls around the floor chasing feathers while going “nyan nyan nyan”: [picture not my own]

Okay where was I before I got sidetracked by a cat? Right. Soukoku.

We get a bit of Dazai gloating about getting rid of his romantic competition Sheep’s constant hold on Chuuya, before Randou asks Dazai to please shut the fuck up about the guy he literally met that week and please just send me to the execution room I don’t think I can take any more of this kid going on about Chuuya. (Understandable, have a nice day |　わかりました。良い一日を過ごしてください。)　

So we get a bit of Dazai’s explanation on why Randou is the culprit before we hear that all-too-familiar screech of Chuuya coming in hot. Let’s pause it there.

We’ve never, ever heard Chuuya yell like that without Corruption. Yet he does it now. This 1) ties Corruption in with our current mystery about Arahabaki (spoiler: Corruption is Chuuya allowing Arahabaki full reign over the god’s vessel (Chuuya)) and 2) makes us aware that the Chuuya we’re familiar with from our current knowledge of the anime (I use the anime because that’s what I’m analysing) is a little different from fifteen-year-old Chuuya. Okay, so keep that in mind, and we’ll keep going, fast forward a bit until this final bit after the credits:

[this shot: Chuuya has journeyed towards Randou. There is something tying Chuuya and Randou together that Dazai is not quite part of. Spoiler: Randou as we know is Rimbaud, who is a key factor in Chuuya’s development (hat) and the Arahabaki investigation.]

[this shot: First, we think back to Dazai, Akutagawa, Fitzgerald, Shibusawa. Those expressions are similar, but there’s something really wrong here. Let me tell you want it is. Mainly, visually the pupils of Chuuya’s eyes are inverted. But secondarily, we’ve already been visually warned just over ten minutes ago, first by this scene in which we cut to Chuuya while we talk of Arahabaki’s eyes (it does cut also to Dazai, but his expression is one of “I’m figuring out a mystery” and his eyes are obscured. This shot of Chuuya lingers on Chuuya’s eyes, pulling focus to them and the expression on his face.)

Secondly, Chuuya’s eyes are the colour of the sea that Randou talks about. And, of course, in this shot we see not only the sea but also the light of Chuuya’s ability plainly:

So there we have a burgeoning relationship between Chuuya and Randou, and a hint that we are going to be discussing Chuuya’s relationship with Arahabaki and with himself as its vessel.

And then we have this – Dazai did not know any of this. This is foreign to us – the Dazai we know has predicted almost everything. He even predicted Odasaku’s death. But here, he’s totally out of his depth. He’s dealing with gods now. He expected the main part of their investigation to end a few minutes ago when Chuuya explained how Randou staged the resurrection of the previous Boss. But now we, with Dazai, are being thrown headfirst into something clearly very much a Chuuya thing. And now we will see whether Dazai sticks or leaves with a plot involving an actual fucking god of destruction (we know what happens. He does).

-

And so, to finalise: This episode set up relationships. It set us up to the fact that this story is going to be about relationships, and more specifically about these ones:

- Dazai and Chuuya

- Dazai and Sheep

- Chuuya and Sheep

- Chuuya and Randou

It directs the audience to consider events, framing, characters etc within the contexts of these relationships in order to appreciate the story properly.

And yeah it also sets up that Dazai is a bit of a jealous bitchy bisexual.