#feel cute might retcon later

[aromatixx]

little shitpost i did for my fic

[istadris]

On the Koopalings and Bowser

I never know on which foot dance when it comes to Bowser's relationship with the Koopalings.

On one hand, yes, Bowser being a tired dad to 8 kids with most of them being adopted is cute (and a nightmare for me to handle in fics), and I respect and appreciate fanworks including that. I also understand that Nintendo retconned the familial bond and most Mario fans are used to the Koopalings being considered Bowser's family.

On the other hand, I didn't grow up with material where they are Bowser's kids, most of my exposition to them were games where they're his lieutenants, with Junior as Bowser's only son.

It so happens that I love complex relationships; found families that are difficult to define and don't fall neatly under the usual family labels; ambivalent feelings about a parental figure who clearly isn't your official parent.

With that said, hear me out on how I see the Koopa royal family dynamics :

Koopas can reproduce either with a partner or through parthenogenesis, birthing on their own a near clone of themselves (although if you ever call a Koopa kid born this way a clone in front of their parents, they're likely to beat the shit out of you and everyone in the vicinity will agree the reaction is justified, if a bit overemotional). Because laying an egg and providing for a baby all by yourself is very demanding, Koopas reproducing through this method go into a very intense nesting/brooding mode, basically turning off every function that isn't "take care of youngling" and becoming very aggressive.

When Bowser decided to have Junior (and morphed into a very broody Giga Bowser), everyone in the castle stayed clear from him...which facilitated sneaking into the castle for a bunch of half-feral orphaned Koopalings scrapping by to survive and hoping to nab enough food and money to live another day. Thankfully for them, when Bowser came across them, instead of registering them as "threat" (and eating them alive), due to how young and malnourished most of them were, his brain went "hungry baby. Must feed baby" before he dragged them back to his nest. When Bowser turned back to normal, he basically went through his day as normal, except now "normal" includes a bunch of kids.

Main reasons for this attitude :

He's Very Bad at talking about his emotions beyond "I HATE MARIO"

As far as he's concerned, the Koopalings are his kids now too. Even if he doesn't mention. If they're okay with it or course. If anyone else has an issue with it, he'll deal with them, and if they don't like it, they'll bring it up, but otherwise why make a fuss?

Kamek is the one doing the paperwork, so he's waiting for a sort of green light to put them down as his kids or something.

Kamek has been diligently dodging the question of adding 7 kids to the royal line of succession for several years now.

So for a while at the beginning, the Koopalings ended up in a weird limbo state where their status within the Koopa Troop was unclear. Ludwig, worrying the wind might turn someday, encouraged the oldest (and later the youngest) to make themselves useful. Which led Bowser and his officers and mages to give the Koopalings more stuff to do, and through the years, they gradually went up the ranks and became Bowser's Terrors and main lieutenants. Still, neatly calling Bowser "Dad" is a tad more complex than their actual feelings on the matter.

By the time Junior is 10, the dynamics go like this :

Ludwig (in his early-mid twenties) has always minded the Koopalings and is very protective of them. He's also deeply devoted to Bowser, who got them out of the gutter and gave them a chance. He's extremely informal towards Bowser and would never dare calling him Dad or even Father : it's "Lord Bowser", "Sir" or "His Majesty", and he would die for him (although not without making sure his death has an efficient, long-lasting impact useful for the kingdom). Even Bowser thinks he needs to chill.

Roy (very early twenties) is one of the only ones who remember having a dad, and it wasn't a fun experience. Still, he remembers what it was like, and Bowser being actually a decent father figure messes a lot with Roy's daddy issues. He wants to hate Bowser, especially once he's in his teens, because that's what being a cool guy is for, but even he can admit Bowser is badass. Still, most of the times, it's easier for Roy to call Bowser "Boss" and treat him as such, respect and all.

Wendy (around 16) is more than fine being Bowser's Most Specialest Daddy's Girl. She was born for this. She doesn't remember a lot from the pre Bowser life but she does keep in memory being insanely jealous of pretty girls with fancy toys, and never truly got over it. She noticed Bowser hardly refuses her anything when she calls him "Daddy", so of course that's what she uses...except when she's on the job and has to be taken seriously, in that case she falls back on "Lord Bowser"

Morton (??? either close to Wendy's age or one of the youngest, I can't decide) had no previous model for what having a dad is like. He's following the other's lead on it, but Junior calls Bowser "Dad" and Ludwig calls him "Lord Bowser" and the twins call him "King Dad" and it's Confusing. So it's Big Bowser and Little Bowser. All he knows is that he loves them both very much and the mere notion of losing them is enough to make him stress out.

Iggy (around 14) doesn't need a dad, he needs supervision to avoid blowing something up. He just loves being Bowser's "kid", whatever that entails, because he gets to mess with a LOT of people. He resorts to "King Dad", but mostly because Lemmy does it, and easily switches between "Boss", "Sir", "Daddy" and "BBB" (Big Bod Bowser. Who spent several days recovering from it the first time Iggy used it).

Lemmy (around 14, same as Iggy) is here to partaaaay. He doesn't remember anything of their life before Bowser, so for him, there's always been their big lug of a "King Dad" who needs them to bail him out of messes. He's close to Junior (due to being one of the youngest) and even if he does know Junior has a different status from him, it never bothered him and he never got trouble from pranking him.

Larry (around 14, can't decide if he's younger or older than Iggy and Lemmy) has also always known Bowser, but he's a bit more self-conscious about the situation of being sort of adopted but not officially? Usually he sticks to "King Bowser", so when he slips and calls Bowser "Dad", he usually feels pretty embarrassed, even if no one bats an eye.. He was actually a bit jealous of Junior as a kid for "stealing" Bowser's attention, but he's gotten better.

[gffa]

I adore your batman stuff very much. I recently read the Wayne Family Adventures, and now I really want to read some more. Do you have recommendations on comic lines to follow?

Hi! I'm glad you're having fun with getting into comics and enjoying the posts around here, it's always nice to have new blood (or returning blood, in my case)! <3 I would give a gentle caution in that Wayne Family Adventures is sort of in a class of its own in a lot of ways, the characterization is much softer and fluffier, while the mainline comics are darker and messier, the characters are definitely not always as nice as they are as in WFA. That's no shade on either of them, just that I want to give a quick warning that if you're stepping from one to the other, the culture shock can sometimes be more than you're expecting. (And also keep in mind that comics are a shifting landscape, there's no one "true" version of many of the landmark moments of characters' lives, you'll see events often retold, you'll see comics that later get retconned, you'll see comics that are in different continuities/set before or after a universe-wide reboot, etc. Don't worry about it, just recognize that you're reading a story to enjoy that story, not as Hard Continuity!) That said, some of the lighter comics that I think would be fun if you're looking to come over from WFA are:

Li'l Gotham is a cute parody series that's super adorable, has some lovely art, and is nice little self-contained stories that are humorous. It's not in mainline continuity and it's even softer than WFA, but it's deeply charming and it's a fun, quick read.

Super Sons (2017) by Peter Tomasi is in mainline continuity and it's focused on Damian Wayne and Jonathan Kent becoming friends, bickering all the while, and getting into hijinks. It tends to lean more humorous and cute, so it's a nice stepping stone up to regular comics.

Robin and Batman (2022) by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen is a good litmus test for whether you might like regular comics--it's a short 3-issue mini-series focused on Dick's early days as Robin and the complicated, thorny relationship he has with Bruce about it. It's one of my favorite, it balances what a terrible gremlin he was with what a little angel he was and the emotional beats are painful in the best way.

Robin: Year One (2000) and Batgirl: Year One (2003) by Scott Beatty/Chuck Dixon and Marcos Martín/Javier Pulido are good places to start for both characters, and hold up okay considering their age. The art is a bit stylized in a way I really like, it lends it a charming old-fashioned vibe while still being pretty to look at, and there's some solid character moments in both.

Nightwing (2016) by various (starts with Tim Seeley, but it's been several authors by now) is one of my go-to recs, I think it's a great jumping on point, has a lot of really nice art, and often tells fun stories, as Dick has some of the best connections to various other characters in the universe.

Nightwing (2016) by Tom Taylor starts with issue #78 and is a great jumping-on point and Taylor's writing is just very light-hearted, action-packed, quippy, and fun. Starting here saves you from having to slog through some of the worse arcs of Dick's series, you get Bruno Redondo's fantastic art, and you can feel the affection for the character, the author and artist love this character and want to make him very cool, as well as they love his relationships with other characters, so you get good Bruce guest appearances, Babs appearances, Damian appearances, Wally appearances, Jon appearances, etc.

Robins: Being Robin by Tim Seeley and Baldemar Rivas was a fun self-contained mini-series that had all the Robins working together and I don't think it should be taken super seriously as a case story, but it had some quality banter, some hilarious moments, and a great look at these chaotic gremlins all shoved into a mini-van together to go solve a case.

Batgirls (2022) by Conrad Michael W./Becky Cloonan and Jorge Corona is focused on Babs, Cass, and Steph as a trio and being adorable together, with some humorous moments, cool art, and fun Batfam moments. It's nice that they get the spotlight and the chance to shine (it's their book, so they get the majority of the cool moments) and it's not super-long and you can jump right in.

Batman: The Knight by Chip Zdarsky and Carmine Di Giandomenico is a "Bruce travels the world to learn the skills he needs to become Batman" and I'm really in love with the way Zdarsky writes a Bruce who is deeply complicated, messy, coming from a place of loving deeply, but also this man has twenty seven different flavors of fucked up trauma going on in that hell brain of his. Zdarsky's current run on the main Batman title has been my jam, but that's a bit of a darker leap than this one, and I think this one is a great way to get to know Bruce Wayne as a character.

Batman: Urban Legends volume 5 has a story called "The Murder Club" that is basically "Thomas and Martha Wayne are time traveled into the future and see what's become of their son, they're not thrilled about it, but come around when they see the people that love him so deeply--primarily Dick, Damian, and Alfred." and was an absolute BANGER for me for feelings, gorgeous art, and some great character moments.

Batman/Superman: World's Finest (2022) by Mark Waid and Dan Mora is an absolute knock-out, it's Bruce and Clark in their early days of their friendship, where Waid is one of the best writers in the industry for how fun his stories are but also how well he knows the characters, Mora's art is often THE portrayal I think of when I think of the characters, and there's a ton of bonus guest appearances from various characters across DC's universe. Also, I am biased, Dick tags along a lot, as he's still Robin at this point in time, and it's a great dynamic between the three of them.

Batman: One Bad Day: Mr. Freeze by Gerry Duggan and Matteo Scalera was easily the standout of the "One Bad Day" stories for me, it's set in the early days of Bruce & Dick as Batman & Robin and it has ADORABLE sunshine gremlin baby Dick Grayson, a genuinely touching story about Mr. Freeze and his wife, and some beautiful art.

Year One: Batman/Scarecrow (2005) by Bruce Jones and Sean Murphy is a fun look at the early days of Scarecrow, but also has absolutely banger baby Dick Grayson content, there's a scene where Bruce literally just grabs him by the scruff of the neck to haul him out of the way of a crowd about to stampede and it's the funniest thing because that 12 year old could destroy your face with his fists but also Bruce can literally pick him up one-handed. There's some great banter in there and it's just a super fun dynamic.

As you make your way through this list, keep the author/artist and year listings in mind, as often times there are multiple series under the same title and some are more relevant to what you're looking for right now than others. Like, there have been three different volumes of "World's Finest", but I want to direct you specifically to the 2022 version because I think that'll work better for you. Similarly, Nightwing 1996 is one of my faves, but I think the 2016 version will work better at drawing you in right now. This is definitely biased in favor of my faves, but I honestly think they work for good jumping on points for someone new to comics and who's coming from WFA and might not want to get into the messier stuff of the mainline comics right away. Hopefully, you'll enjoy these and anyone else who wants to transition from WFA to reading mainline continuity comics, feel free to join us! Yeah, comics fandom can be a bit of a pill sometimes, but genuinely there's a lot of really fun moments to love and the characters are so much more fun when you're reading their stories with all the history and depth behind them!

[misc-obeyme]

hihi i randomly got struck with the thought of Solomon accidentally making MC immortal like him

Like I can't remember where it was said that he accidentally cooked something, or made a drink to make himself immortal and hasn't been able to recreate it. And one day he recreates it on accident without realizing, and MC consumes it for whatever reason

Just the years passing by and MC not aging, they look the same after 50 years, and no one knows how it happened. Or maybe none of the brothers notice because time passes so differently, or they don't want to jinx it/get their hopes up? It takes a family member of MC to comment for anyone to start questioning what happened

Alternatively: it could be intentional. Who knows. That's why he always wants to share his cooking

I'M SORRY I RAMBLED I JUST HAD TO SHARE THIS WITH SOMEONE AJSJDJ

Dearest anon, you need never apologize for rambling. This here is the blog of a never ending rambler, and such activities are thoroughly encouraged!

Anyway, I LOVE this idea. I have a lot of feelings about Solomon and his immortality. The game is always vague about how it happened when it comes up, but the general idea I've always had was that it happened by accident. (Whether or not this is true is up for debate, I think, and they could have plans to retcon this in nb, but for now let's go with it.)

It's a really cute idea that he keeps sharing his food with MC in the hopes that it'll make them immortal. I think Solomon might feel guilty if he did it on accident and therefore MC didn't have a choice in the matter. I think being immortal has caused him a lot of loneliness and suffering, so he would want to make sure it's what MC wants.

But MC wouldn't deal with immortality the same way Solomon had to because they would have him. There would be two immortal humans instead of just one on his own. So I think he'd accept it if MC wanted to be immortal. Like if MC was just like hey you know, I think I'd like to be immortal...

Well now Solomon's thinking about it. And if Solomon's food is so terrible because he's constantly pouring magic into it without realizing, who's to say he doesn't accidentally put magic into something he's cooking that would make MC immortal?

He's just in the kitchen, being his usual chaotic self, accidentally makes some basic dish that's full of magic and when MC eats it, poof!

It tastes totally normal and nothing dramatic happens to indicate it caused anything. When MC eats it, they're actually pleasantly surprised and proud of Solomon because wow he made something edible for once! Good job!!

Fifty years later, their aging sibling is like how the hell are you so young looking still??

MC calls Solomon like uhhhh so I think I might be immortal...

Solomon's just like huh you don't say? That's crazy, MC.

Because at that point, he's already figured out what happened. And since MC said they wanted to be immortal... and secretly this is what he wants too... well, he's not gonna say anything about, why would he?

Menace sorcerer.

I love him so much.

[hekateinhell]

I'm always thinking about the ways other characters describe Armand vs how he describes himself. They all seem to agree on the basics (angelic, ethereal, radiant, Boticelli angel, most beautiful boy alive/among the undead, etc.), but what can I say I love nitpicking 😌My findings are as follows:

Marius: the only one who describes Armand as actually having slavic features, I believe he uses the phrase "sharp" to describe his high cheekbones ("sharp yet delicate" or something along those lines). By the time I read B&G I had already read all of the previous books in the series (up until that point) so this is what stood out to me the most and I rarely see people mentioning it! And it might be one of my favorite descriptions of Armand ever, you can actually feel just how astonishing his beauty is. Had Marius so thoroughly shook.

Lestat: Angel boy, angel mouth, cherub, so beautiful it's stupid, this is SURELY what love/desire must feel like, "I just beat the shit out of him and I should probably kill him but GOD HE'S SO FUCKING PRETTY I CAN'T". PRINCESS AT THE BALL. NOT ONE BUT TWO PRINCESSES. Also calls him a "sad(?) waif" which is fucking hilarious when you consider Armand is later like "I'm not a fucking waif" but Lestat definitely called him one in TVL AND YOU KNOW WHAT. I BELIVE HIM!!!! I do 😌

Louis: Simple yet undeniable beauty, seductive asf, got him horny and in bad parent mode in record time yet ever the gentleman, he only used the most sophisticated adjectives to describe him. I would have LOVED to have gotten more stuff from Louis POV post-IWTV, specially because Anne did a bit of a retcon when it came to Armand's looks (iirc Louis described his hair as being straight??? Though his hair was always auburn). I wanna know what Louis thinks of Armand as we all know and love him pls 🤧

Daniel: hottest bitch alive, can't even think straight because of how horny I am all the time. Even when I'm tryna talk shit about him I CAN'T because he's so fucking hot, dammit (paraphrasing but "he looked normal... if you call looking this fucking hot normal 🥵"). Props for mentioning how cute/dorky/human his laugh is and how pretty he looks when his hair falls on his face AND how effortlessly stunning he looks with long OR short hair. Daniel never recovered from this, obviously.

In summary: he's a teeny tiny pretty baybay 🥲🤏 but will also awaken kinks you didn't even know you had 🥵🥵🥵 15/10 would hit again except Lestat yk

Armand, in TVA: HOLD😠THE FUCK😠 UP😠. I'M NO WAIF. I'M STRONG AND ATHLETIC AND MARIUS' LANKY ASS LOOKED FUNNY AS HELL WHEN HE CARRIED ME UP AND DOWN THE STAIRS AT THE PALAZZO. YOU HEAR THAT LESTAT 😡 I'M NO. FUCKING. WAIF. But also wow I'm hot 🥵 even as I laid dying jfc no wonder why everyone in Venice hit it 🥲🤏

Would love to hear your thots 💭 as usual xoxo DA ❤️

DA, my love! ♥️

I was stewing on this for an entire (hectic) day because I think about it a lot — almost all of Anne's vampires appear to fall within the conventional range of attractive but she really went overboard with Armand and the sheer amount of prose dedicated to his ethereal, captivating, otherworldly appearance.

Marius really said: 'abandoned angel' while Lestat went, 'Cinderella at the ball'. And you're correct, Lestat does call Armand a waif in TVL in one of my favorite passages:

"Grotesque he seemed, among all the candles and the swimming colors of the flat, this filthy waif of the netherworld, and yet his beauty held sway. He hadn't needed the shadows of Notre Dame or the torchlight of the crypt to flatter him."

I do generally default to waif meaning skinny and unhealthy, but I looked it up and it also means 'a homeless, neglected or abandoned person, especially a child'; which ties into how Lestat thought of Armand as an orphan:

[...] this quiet and forceful one, the one who would survive, no matter how the orphan in him wept.

That's my all-time favorite Armand description btw. 🥹

Since we're talking TVL, I'll refer back to what you said about IWTV, which was published almost an entire decade earlier! Armand was in his 20s in the original IWTV short story, and therefore his appearance isn't described as having all the exceedingly youthful qualities that are later endowed to him in TVL and onwards. Here's a few examples from Louis in IWTV:

"I had a strong sense of him [Armand] then, the separate being that he was, the calm and collected creature with the straight auburn hair and the large, sometimes melancholy eyes [...]."

"I looked at Armand, at his large brown eyes in that taut, timeless face [...].

"[...] Armand was beautiful and simple, and no intimacy with him would ever have been repellent."

So I think the descriptions we're given does a paint a more mature physical image than TVL-era Armand. TVL is also the first time we're given Armand's mortal age as being 17 years old. If you've read CoSB, which Anne wrote in between IWTV and TVL, some of my friends and I have this theory that she based Armand's later physical characteristics off of the character Alexi (a young sex slave). 🫣

Marius's first impression of Armand:

And there I saw beauty, beauty which has always been my downfall, beauty as in Pandora, as in Avicus, as in Zenobia, as in Bianca, beauty in a new and celestial form. Heaven had cast down upon this stone floor an abandoned angel, of auburn curls and perfectly formed limbs, of fair and mysterious face.

I reached down to take him by the arms and I lifted him, and I looked into his halfopened eyes. His soft reddish hair was loose and tangled. His flesh was pale and the bones of his face only faintly sharpened by his Slavic blood.

In universe I attribute this distinction to Armand's Slavic features to the fact that he was a malnourished little thing when Marius saved him from the brothel. It makes sense that the bone structure in his face would be more defined versus after Armand's been living well in Venice for a couple years, becoming in his own words, 'a plump and juicy young man'. Lestat describes Armand's cheeks as going 'apple-perfect' when he smiles in MtD, meaning that they're full and rounded, Armand still has that fat in his face.

I agree with you — I would have loved to see more of Armand from Louis's POV post-IWTV, once Anne had fully settled on what his character would be like! But here's a line from Louis to Armand in TVA that tells us this much:

"And like a dream, you've come back. We all had inklings of it, wild whispers that you'd been seen in New York, as handsome and vigorous as you ever were. But I had to lay eyes on you to believe it."

'Handsome and vigorous' is how post-IWTV and pre-PL (Trinity Gate era) Louis describes Armand!

TVA is definitely not everyone's favorite VC novel, but it is mine, because it's the only one where we get to see inside Armand's head. And it's an excellent example of how differently we see ourselves, even superficially, compared to how others see us.

There's also a concept that I see play out a lot irl that basically dictates that oftentimes our brains tend to freeze people as they were when we first met them and this can be a difficult perception to break. A notion that perhaps can be applied here, for example: Marius first saw Armand as this angelic, broken child and Lestat first saw him as this being that's simultaneously horrifying and beautiful and begging him for his guidance. In contrast, Louis and Daniel meet Armand in a position of power and possibility that doesn't waver until further down the line. Armand is a different person to each one of them (just like how none of us are exactly the same nor seen exactly the same by anyone in our lives).

What is interesting too is the parallel between Lestat and Daniel using words like grotesque, awful, loathsome (in addition to the beautiful, captivating, angel, etc) in TVL and QotD re: Armand. And yet Armand is someone whom they both love and find themselves attracted to (for Lestat it's been an ongoing thing for 200 years and he can't figure out what to do about it - let us never forget 'good to embrace, good to love').

One of the key differences to me here is that Daniel romanticized vampirism and Lestat romanticized humanity and they're at opposite sides of the spectrum at these respective points in time. Lestat was a newborn vampire who was turned against his will and then almost immediately stumbled upon a cult of Satan worshippers advertising the worst that vampirism has to offer. Yes, Daniel did have to run for dear life for a good while there but in comparison he saw a much better side of Armand than Lestat ever did in Paris, no contest.

A final thing that stands out when I think about all this is how alluring all of them find Armand, and yet he spends so much of his life either alone, pinning, or losing whatever connection he might have had to those he loves. And this can be said for Marius and Lestat as well but it's just the juxtaposition of Anne making Armand this insanely bewitching, seductive creature to virtually all he encounters, but things rarely play out in his favor in that regard, and then when they do, they don't last.

(Until PL trilogy, you know what - thank fuck for those three books, it was rough being an Armand girlie back in the day and never knowing what happened to him after the events of B&G and Merrick, just absolutely horrendous).

[eriexplosion]

Clone Wars - Ambush

And for now, back to the very start!

Real talk, part of the reason I was putting this off is because it STILL gives me such conflicted feelings regarding the Jedi & the clones relationship. And about Yoda, who is not my favorite but I hesitate to say I DISLIKE him because I do think he has fascinating angles but also I want to dropkick him like a little green football much of the time. I don't tend to talk about him much because I get Rambly.

However, his turn will come in a second, first things first: VENTRESS. Honestly it's still hilarious to me how if I had actually watched this show as a kid this woman would have single handedly led me to my sexuality like 7 years earlier than I managed it.

One of the clones kneeling to present Yoda with the communicator is SO cute. When the clones interact with beings much smaller than them........... I feel. But okay the first Complicated Feeling with Yoda is that I genuinely like him during the moment when he's marveling over the beauty of the moon and being a little playful. Kind of like I genuinely like him in the Original Trilogy when he's being a touch senile. Which just drives home how much I do not like him during most of his serious moments where his whole reputation for wisdom is used mostly to lead the plot around or say shit like his 'when our loved ones die we should be happy for them' advice to Anakin which, shockingly, didn't improve his Anxieties.

And he acknowledges the clones as individuals! It's a really sweet scene actually, and it starts the show out with the confirmation that yes these are people, they are full people with individual personalities. And then it gets helpfully ignored and Yoda never shows any concern about the clones as individuals again. Especially with the decision to retcon Jek in as one of the clones that Yoda straight up decapitates without pause or reflection.

Likeeee, this really undermines the feeling of the scene and sets an entirely different tone for Yoda's character to me, because it's such a strong moment in episode, so for it to never really come up with Yoda in particular again it's just. It's a weird decision, character tone wise.

Anyway this kind of ended up making me more resentful of Yoda in the long run? Because we get the immediate and obvious proof that he knows the clones are individuals, all of them unique and valuable, and then he proceeds to keep leading the Jedi through using them as tools for the rest of the war and ends up executing one of these same clones years later without pause or concern. If they had threaded this through a little more and given us more scenes like this it might not feel so stark? But that's also a big issue with the writing of the Jedi in general, where they lightly brush against the moral issues of the clones and then suddenly go "OH LOOK, LIGHTSABERS" and ignore it for 20 episodes.

My headcanon way of interpreting this is that Yoda was still very open early on but soon enough he starts realizing how many clones are going to die in this war. Each of them unique in the force. And since he's not really willing to push back against the Senate, for a variety of reasons, his other option is to just. Retreat back emotionally from the clones as individuals. Can't be consumed by negativity if you simply refuse to feel those bad things!

That said 'the force resides in all lifeforms' - increasingly loving this kind of drop in now that we know anyone can learn to use the force to some degree.

Another thing I enjoy is that I think that Yoda is actually really served design wise by the early season TCW animation. He looks good when he's stylized in the wood carving fashion.

This is much more of a flashy fight episode than a plot one, but any time clones are onscreen of course I can collect a pile of Thoughts about them. We also get a lot of battle droid comedy relief because they may be godawful fighters but at least they're funny. I think it does work better several episodes into the watch than it did as the very first episode, because watching the TCW movie (which was mostly excuses for long fights) and THEN this was a slog, but interspersing with other episodes that had a bit more substance to them made it feel like less of one.

Still. Vibrating about the clones even more in this watch because of having Hidden Enemy be so early on and calling attention to the clones horrifying situation makes my complicated feelings on Yoda acknowledging their individuality once and never again SO much stronger. Just. GAH. MY BOYS?

On a final note. Shout out to this fucking. Face. Ventress makes when she gets her lightsabers back.

Ventress the instant she's called 'young one': >:<

[abuddyforeveryseason]

These are the Buddies for October 3rd. Fifteen of them, but they're rather small. I've never done a character expression practice before, but, I kinda like how some of them turned out. The extremely cute one, and the perfectly content, those are good. The irritated one was harder to figure out - I tried to make it look like Buddy was foaming at the mouth (with rage) but it doesn't look like it worked. And the very angry one - it's supposed to be that his hair is turning into a nuclear mushroom, but it just look like he's half broccoli or something.

Still, I like those drawing templates. They're fun for comic book fans. I'm way into comics after all. I remember I was into Marvel when I was younger, and I took it pretty serious - I'd read interviews with creators and letter sections, and I'd naively believe what they were saying. Like with Spider-Man, I remember Gerry Conway introduction to a Marvel collection about how he decided to write a story where Spider-Man's girlfriend Gwen Stacy died, explaining that the relationship was too serious and they'd end up married soon, which would be bad for sales. It made sense to me at the time, but now it sounds like nonsense - it's a comic book character! If you don't want him to be married, don't write him being married!

But the thing about being a fan of something is, if you really care about it, you can quickly flip the switch to disliking it if they do something offensive enough.

In Marvel's case, it was that storyline where Spider-Man made a deal with the devil. That was the moment I thought, well, I'm done with Marvel, I'm never reading anything they publish again. It was a famously bad story, reactionary and misogynistic, and it was such a big change for the character it made me give up on Marvel.

And, again, looking back, it feels like it was a silly overreaction on my part. It's just a comic book, after all - they wrote a bad story, but they just retcon it later, it becomes an interesting memory, and it can even lead the character into different fun directions. It doesn't make sense to reject every new writer who might have good stories in his mind just because someone else wrote something crappy, right?

But even so, I've never been as big a fan of Marvel since then. That's not to say there hasn't been good Marvel comics after that, or even that that particular story didn't end up having some good consequences. It's just that it feels silly to care so much about a random company. It's almost like a real break up: I was mad at Marvel at the time, because I didn't love it anymore. But now we're good friends.

[measuringbliss]

Spider-Man Read-Through 044: Peter's Graduation (ASM 181-186, Ann 12)

MASTERPOST

Len Wein's run finished with an astounding Green Goblin story, what will Marv Wolfman bring to the table?

Oh wow, we're not wasting time, huh!

I also know some little kitten is coming soon...

Our story begins a grave. Uncle Ben's grave!

And what a striking first page. Beautiful colors, smart positioning for the artists, overall really impressive beginning.

This issue is just a recollection of how our hero came to be, with a subtle retcon of Harry Osborn existing back when Peter was in high school. There's an entire page about Jameson's various ways to attack him--he really tried his best! The issue features really nice art, and there's a page where it recounts Spidey's foes... including Will O'The Wisps and Stegron. Uh, sure. Not gonna let me forget the latter now, are we?

My boy the Prowler also gets a cameo, which is quite lovely.

At the end, a penniless father steals Peter's old microscope he just dropped to Ben's grave. That's another kid who'll be happy!

#182 time!

Marv Wolfman's first tenure is to bring beloved supervillain Rocket Racer. Huh! Paying respect to your predecessor, I can appreciate that.

More importantly, this issue starts with one of these panels that Ross Andru seems to love and that, for me, have come to define his tenure:

Mindbending perspectives.

And you know what?

I think Ross Andru loves Rocket Racer, because their chase gives him the occasion to have fun angles and draw specific buildings, and i'm sure it was pretty much Christmas in his head, hahaha. Good for him!

So Spidey loses RR, who blackmails his employer who wants incriminating evidence against himself to make it disappear.

First off: those angles in the first three panels are a rare kind of thing, I feel! And secondly: Hmm, who might that be? A small, thin figure... I'm intrigued!

At the hospital, May tells Peter that married life is really cool. Uh-oh... Are we going to get a proposal, folks?

I didn't notice that right away, to be fair. It's MJ who lampshades it as they leave the room, and she's even about to say she's sad she doesn't have anyone like that (at least, before she gets cut off: where's Anna in all this?) when Peter, who doesn't care in the slightest, has a bad feeling. Doesn't notice anything though, although we definitely see some focus on a character...

Later, the blackmailed guy tries to end things, but Rocket Racer saves him--he wants money after all.

There's a fun scene where two police offers try to catch RR, to no avail. It channels Spidey's chase with the Tarantula through the city a bit. Just a bit.

Interestingly, Spidey says that he'll be graduating "in a few months" and he's been offered a scholarship to teach at ESU and pay his PHD. Nice!

While chasing RR, Spidey notices that his web has been getting weaker for months now... something affecting the original formula (um sure Peter, let's go with that). Set up! Set up!

Anyway, RR escapes once again, but it doesn't matter because...!

Aww that's cute! I admit the scene made me smile.

You know, that was a fun issue. The hero side was fun, and the human side was fun as well!

In #183, Spidey tells us that MJ hasn't answered the proposal yet (oof, that "gulp" was sinister enough...) and we get this...

Lmao, why does Peter look so smooth in the middle panel? Get outta here with that omega man stuff, hahaha.

So Weele, the guy blackmailed by RR, goes to the Tinkerer and decides he wants to be a supervillain too. So the Tinkerer's effectively becoming "that guy every villain comes to to become a supervillain", given that he already built RR's suit.

At the hospital, May's gonna be fine, but "Robert" is there too. His mom is not fine, and the hospital bills keep piling on. He's definitely doing something shady to pay stuff, but what?

Turns out Robert is Rocket Racer. Nice, we get backstory and motivation! Interestingly, both heroes fight while wanting to protect their mother figure in the same room, it makes for a nice moment.

You know what is bonkers?

Weele's new alter ego: Big Wheel. The famous one. I'd heard he was pretty remarkable, and. Yes. I can see that.

The fights ends with Big Wheel rolling into the Hudson. Oops. It was nice to know you!

More importantly, Spider-Man's appearance at the hospital has put May in need of intensive care, says the most asshole male nurse I've ever seen. And then MJ comes... to give back the ring. Oof.

Poor Peter. Who is this in his apartment? That era where you let anyone go to your place, I swear...

Anyway, good issue too! I definitely enjoy the tighter focus on the personal lives of the characters.

Hehehe. A lot of people had guessed it was him! I think having multiple months during the storyline definitely was in their favor.

Some people are NOT happy, but I personally am. They're not yet ready!

In #184, Betty Brant is back! Is she gonna be a serious romantic candidate? I don't feel like Peter's ready for a new partner just yet... and isn't she with Ned Leeds?

Look, if I'm putting this here, it's because Peter Parker is fine as fuck. I think he looked better some 50 issues ago, but he's fresh regardless. He doesn't look as cute anymore... Then again, he's been through some stuff.

Oh right. The plot!

So Betty just left Ned, which means Peter and Ned can finally start dating. I've been waiting for this!

Her story is kind of sad, but also, I really understand it. Not speaking the language can be pretty isolating.

Peter quickly thinks that hey, Betty and him could rekindle their old romance, but he immediately thinks that's not a good idea. She's still married, and he's a good Jewish man.

...I kind of want to see that, though. A bit of drama. Scandal!

And she's into it too, clearly, because she's not going to let Peter go alone to his graduation practice. Is that a thing? I don't have my high school diploma, and I'm still not entirely sure how/when I'll be able to get my university diploma hahaha. Oh, Americans.

Nice to see Marla's still here. And continuation of the Man-Wolf storyline, that's great!

At university, Peter and Betty have a nice time, at least until they cross the path of Philip Chang, who obviously has some PTSD.

Let me enjoy hot Peter in peace.

There's Spidey business for a bit, then back to our betrayers! Betty says Paris is depressing, and she's entirely right. It sucks! It has beautiful things, but it sucks!

Oboy.

Unfortunately, their water is Philip from earlier! Philip is not jazzed up about it, but Peter once again tries to reach out to that lonely figure that calls back to his past self. It's heartwarming, I like it!

So turns out Philip is threatened by this gentleman below.

The White Dragon kidnaps Philip and in consequence, Peter quickly gets rid of Betty, but she seems enamored still, and he has to admit he's also not indifferent to her.

Turns out, Philip has to choose between one of 4 gangs to belong to. Oh. Spidey gets rekt by the White Dragon, and if he wants to save him, Philip has to pick a gang.

But Philip can't, and Spidey's thrown in a gigantic vat of burning oil. Poor guy.

In the comments on *a certain website*, one guy tells his own horror story, about how he also proposed to his girlfriend, who accepted the ring without saying yes or no... then they gradually stopped talking. Oof. That's rough. Hang in there, buddy.

In #185, Spidey gets off fine because while the oil burns his chains, it somehow doesn't burn HIM. Suuuuure. After drowning in the nearby river, he goes back to free Philip. Turns out Philip's dangerous activity back in Hong Kong caused the deaths of his parents, and he vowed to never use violence again. Naturally, that means he can't enter a gang.

These are fun panels. The White Dragon is easily defeated.

Now, onto the graduation! Robbie brings a TV to May's room so she doesn't miss anything, that's sweet!

All of Peter's friends are there (well, not Ned, nor MJ), but there's bad news... he's not on the list! No matter, he still goes to the ceremony. Jameson does a speech that literally lasts "several hours" until, at last... he concludes with "Excelsior" and a reminder that everybody should subscribe to the Bugle.

Peter's name is never called though. The dean tells him he misses one credit, for his sports class. How ironic!

Well, at least, he can always catch up in the summer.

...Wait. What is that.

Is Ross Andru leaving? Is he gone? Was it his final issue? It's a great issue to end on, with a sense of finality, but god damn it, to say I was so happy to have him all this time! Are you kidding me?!

#186 time! Hello, Keith Pollard. Let's see how you're faring.

It's like Ross Andru never left.

Spidey saves a guy from this burning building, to Jameson's despair, but the guy's not happy...

Ooh, that outfit has aged terribly. But the Chameleon seems gay for Spidey so I'm invested.

Anyway, Peter needs money because May needs to be treated and the US health system sucks. So...

Oh my god, they actually fucked.

This is awful, I love it.

The next page helpfully informs me that no, they didn't, they just spoke all night while very obvious sexual tension threatened to ruin their lives. I'm into this too, but it's a bit disappointing, I'm not gonna lie.

Spidey is fed up with being considered public enemy, so he goes to the feds, but...

What. DOC OCK "DIED" IN A SIDE NOVEL?!

Spider-Man is starting to look dangerously like Danganronpa.

Oh well.

Spidey gets an interview in Central Park, but the Chameleon tricks him and his reputation is once again ruined.

It looks right out of a horror movie, I love that left panel hahaha

Aww, Flash, baby! My babyboy

Hmm, we haven't seen Electro in a hot minute... Okay, alright, why not!

So that was alright, this issue. The artists did a good job!

If you're wondering, Annual 12 is ASM #119 and #120, so nothing special. I covered them here already!

Overall a really good batch, I loved the amount of social life we got to see, and I'm curious to see what happened in Spectacular throughout this batch. Next time, folks! I do seem to recall we've got a mystery...

Should be fun!

[rayereil]

Chad the man’s first appearance! His arc carried a lot less despite being longer. We did get a cool fight with Rukia, and she and Chad partnered up for a bit, but most of the arc was comprised of someone running around to somewhere. Well, not everything can be a hit!

We still got a good intro for Chad.

Also, I wish this came up more! Chad has a weakness for cute things? There should’ve been some Uryu&Chad scenes since Uryu has a skill for sewing, but what he creates isn’t necessarily cute.

Anyways, we see how strong Chad is, and that’ll play into his power later. I enjoy that even without his awakened powers he’s able to stop a steel bar from crushing his friends and rip a literal telephone pole out of the ground. It makes you wonder why Kubo gives Chad so many Ls by the end of the series…. Maybe I’ll have more insight by the end. For now, Chad for the win! And while I’m mostly neutral on Chad’s character because Kubo really does leave Chad in the dust, I’ll still root for him! He’s also got a cool character design.

Besides the running around, there’s also plenty of Ichiruki. While I see a blossoming romance, the key takeaway is their growing bond. But first: Rukia’s being cute.

Followed by Mizuiro and Keigo both commenting about Ichigo and Rukia as possibly dating. Look, this is the clearest example of ‘everyone knows the two characters like each other except the two characters’. Super common trope. It usually evolves once one of them realizes their feelings…

What’s with that smile, Rukia? Are you catching feelings?

In different news, I know Ichigo and Chad’s past and I’d thought it came up in this arc. I’m surprised it didn’t. I’m not sure when it’ll show up. I think Ichigo has a flashback in Soul Society, at a minimum? Do we have to wait that long? Hopefully we get more hints sooner. With such an intense character focus in Orihime’s arc, I really thought Chad’s character focus was up next, but we don’t even get his backstory. But we do see he’s super strong, so that’s something.

(A literal telephone pole)

My only other comments are about Ichigo’s pure rage at the hollow’s big reveal. While I don’t think the hollow being a serial killer and tricking the boy-bird into finding him victims was a huge plot twist (because the boy-bird is so obviously good and the hollow is so obviously bad), I do think Kubo is giving us the smallest hint to how Ichigo feels about his own mother’s death (which was mentioned this chapter). I kind of wish Kubo had explored this more in regards to Ichigo’s character…

We rarely see him enraged. I don’t even remember a time we see him this gleefully vindictive unless he’s a Vasto Lorde. I’m almost positive the hollow inside him hasn’t awoken yet, so this is just pure Ichigo Fury.

As an aside, I wonder how Chad feels about this reveal. We don’t know because Ichigo takes front and center as soon as he shows up (the opposite of what happened with Orihime). Interesting to compare/contrast Orihime’s intro arc to Chad’s.

Random thoughts:

Ichigo slowly acknowledging he cares about Rukia.

Also…

I saw someone mention that Isshin is talking to the hospital here, which means when he says “tell your manager this is a request from Kurosaki”, he means to tell Ryuken. Perhaps? Also, got to love corner-Ichigo.

And… is Rukia being serious here?

The top panel, where she hesitates and is fumbling with what to say almost makes me think she’s not? But I think I might be trying to retcon for Kubo.

I think Rukia means what she’s saying here. When Kubo wrote this, he really thought Soul Society would be these things. He didn’t know the structure of Soul Society, so he didn’t have much to say about it. Then he changed his mind. He gave soul society have extreme poverty outside the beautiful seireitei. We know Rukia had to steal to survive while living in poverty, so do souls really never get hungry? We also know soul society is not 9 times out of 10 better than the human world… also, boy-bird won’t remember who he is when he gets there. His mom won’t remember him either. They never meet again.

So I believe the original intention was to show how bad Rukia is at comforting people/knowing what to say. She showcased that in the first chapter and will again in MITR. It’s part of her character growth… and here she realizes that the boy-bird is scared, sad, worried, and she should say something to comfort him but doesn’t know what that is.

Eh, maybe I’m reading too much into it.

[sloaaaa]

Yo you see the new direct? I'm pretty sure you will think its cool :).

yES YES YES AUUGHGUHUGHUGHG FUCKIGN LIVING OFF THE NINTENDO DIRECTTT HOURHORHGG

TOTK PREVIEW LOOKS AWESOME!!!! all the new enemies and stuff to use totk's shiekah slate equivalent! and the shield suf rails are cool too! hmm all the glowy vehicles feel kinda clashy though sin'ce they're literally just hoverboards and cars but ✨magical✨ but who knows! they might grow on me once we get to know more about them!

SPLATOON DLC!!!!! aarrggrurahrgh it makes me so excited that they're coming in wAVES!!!! i feel like there might be two more waves bc of the 4 in colours behind the words expansion pack and the 4 tapes under the wave 1 screen but idk that might just be me grasping at straws shkdjfgh wave 1!!! hOUHRUHGRHG INKOPOLIS PLAZAAA ;;;;;;;; i think it was really funny that the whole fandom lost their shit at the dlcs being announced n then after getting over the adrenaline collectively decided that wave 1 doesn't actually do shit shkjdfhg but honestly i like it! splatsville feels a bit big for me plus i never got to play splat1 that much so it's nice getting to see where it all started. also sQUID SISTERS PERFORMING AGAIN ;;;;; i Love that their city of colours instrumental didn't change but their singing clearly did, and they look older noww!! ;; and also their clothes do the glowy glow now too!!!! so happy for them -w- also ss is my fav idol group of the three (but the other two aren't far behind so it's not rlly significant jskjhdfg) so obv i'm excited to see them again ;;;; i hope that w bringing back the plaza they also bring back AT LEAST the arcade minigames and everything, bc it looks like the arcade machine is still present in the plaza (but i might be tripping so don't take my word for it :p

AND THEN WE HAVE SIDE ORDER ouruhrhghgh god idc if there was barely any info in that teaser but gOD was it pretty. the music box?? everything was so. Different. just the teaser itself felt like this Huge leap from the usual energy of splatoon in almost every aspect, colourless, slow, inquisitive. i'm hoping that the story is deeper w this dlc! maybe even make it feel like an rpg? idk but like, it'd be cool i think if they took the lore stuff in oe, the dialogue, the chat rooms, the Everything, and really tied it into the gameplay instead of making it feel like something you can always just check later if that makes sense? ough i am sO fucking excited for side order,, the music, the aesthetic, the story, the Everthing man aURUGHUGGH

NEXT MY CHILDHOOD BEST FRIEND KIRBY'S RTD DELUXE!!!!!!! AWOHHWHGOAWHGA i love kirby rtd ;;;;; it's my very first kirby game!! and one that i'd play over and over and over and over again. i'm so happy that it's getting remade for the switch ;;; absolutely looove the outline thing they did w the characters! i love that they kept the colours nice and bright and fun just like i remember! i'mm not sure yet how i feel about retconning king dedede's design hkdjfhg since rtd was my first game his design there is the one i'm used to n not his earlier design in kirby 64 crystal shards :p but yeah! i really like the merry magoland!! i played it a bit in the demo and it's a fun lil mario party minigame mountain feeling thing -w- aND THE MASK THING IS SO COOL??? U CAN WEAR THEM IN STORY MODE TOO!!!! i think it's really neat that they added the souvenirs to help you in ur playthrough n all that, and they added an easy mode w the magolor help thingy! i'm always a fan of people adding easy modes to games -w- (won't go too into that though bc i could be a whole nother post probably jkdhfgs) ooouhg n then there's the magolor epilogue!!!!! u get to play as the bastard!!!!!!!!!!!! he looks so pathetic n cute i'm sorry hkdjfhg i think it's really cool what they did! the whole upgrading thing n making it a bit more rpg-like which is new for kirby games afaik! oughh i'm really happy that they added new content ><

i nutted when i heard the gameboy advance startup sound sHKJDHGKJSHFDG that's like,, my very first nintendo console thingy ;-; specifically the advance sp! kinda hoping they add pokemon r/s in the future,, i think i might play m&l superstar saga after i finish bowser's inside story! :D

AND LAST BUT DEFINITELY NOT THE LEASTTT PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE NEW WORLD OF STEEEAAAMMMMM AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I DIDN'T THINK THEY'D EVER MAKE ANOTHER PROFESSOR LAYTON GAME AGAIINNN ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; professor layton and the miracle mask was one of my very first games on the 3ds ;; the very first was scribblenauts that my dad got for me but when choosing my very own game professor layton miracle mask called to me and i am sO happy i picked that specific game up ;;; ahem. i know that the teaser gave basically No information but sTILL!!! HE'S ALIVE!!! ngl after katrielle layton flopped i thought they'd never continue the series kdjfhg kat layton didn't even feel like a part of the series it kinda just felt like a spinoff or smth. but he's here! he's alive!!! and i love that the One Background we see is so distinctly layton ;; it's making me think of specifically professor layton and the unwound future. ugh gOD i am so fucking excited to go through another crazy adventure. i remember playing through Every layton game and each and every one has some crazy batshit insane twist at the end and you can Never really figure out what's going to happen until the very end and i LOVE that!!! i remember finishing Azran legacy and feeling a lil bittersweet. i'd wish that i could play it all for the first time again. katrielle layton came around but that was a bit of a letdown ;-; i barely even remember anything from it anymore :p but god. GOD. professor layton new world of steam. FUCK man

[cheapcigarbunnies]

Plenty of people have pointed this out before but I am Once Again thinking about how in fan content rosemary so often gets delegated the role of "emotionally competent established relationship" to contrast against and serve as wizened romance oracles for ~uwu disaster boys~ davekat

If we're being generous I might say there's a certain sweetness to them being written as like, a shining gay lighthouse for other ships to navigate by—that they're so obviously meant to be together it's a foregone conclusion. There's a degree of power fantasy behind two queer teens being very confidently in love! But it also completely flattens out their dynamic, and Rose and Kanaya's individual characters as they're actually portrayed. It also takes the mutualism that should be present in Rose & Dave and Kanaya & Karkat's friendships and sweeps it under the rug.

I mean, just look at this A6I3 scene.

The meteor crew has been living together for 2 years(!), and Rose and Kanaya have been coyly unsubtly-yet-shyly dancing around their feelings the whole time. And it culminates in this goddamn disaster.

If the person in the room with the most social acumen is Dave then things have gone pear-shaped. Which is not to say he doesn't have his moments—I'm reminded of a snippet from a much earlier conversation he has with John about John's maybe-crush on Vriska:

which is then mirrored to a degree waaaaay later during one of the post-retcon lilypad chats about John's maybe-crush on Roxy:

These are just genuinely sweet, earnest (if teasing) emotional inquiries. And while Dave is definitely more inclined to shoot straight with John than with Rose, I can't help but think some similar exchanges would have happened at some point in the two years prior to the frustration of the A6I3 scene.

Meanwhile we have Karkat "I heard you were talking about quadrants, so I decided to pause my tantrum" Vantas, who in no uncertain terms would be fucking honored to listen to any and all of Kanaya's romantic woes. That really doesn't require any screenshot evidence, but I found this one and it's too damn cute to not include (a lilypad convo where Kanaya had just given an insightful analysis of Vriska's...issues):

All this is to say—my ideal rosemary-davekat dynamic is such: in this corner we have Rose "mommy issues" Lalonde and Kanaya "chronic friendzone" Maryam, they've been flirting since the day they met, and yet neither one can actually quite believe the other likes them Like That. And in this corner we have Dave "internalized homophobia" Strider and Karkat "flavored blasted self-loathing" Vantas, who are in all ways but physical playing shopping cart bumper-cars in a Wendy’s parking lot. Everyone is doing the spiderman pointing meme.

[adobe-outdesign]

What are your thoughts on shuckle?

Two words: friend. shaped. Look at it. not a violent bone in this guy's body, except for the fact that it can also deal over 500–700 mil damage under the right circumstances but let's not worry about that

Anyway, I like Shuckle quite a bit, as you might have guessed. In addition to being very cute, I love how abstract it is. This is primarily due to the original theme being modified since the beta, which we'll get into later, but this barnacle turtle bug thing is very nicely designed and quite charming as well.

Visually speaking, I like how the head and limbs come out of the numerous holes over the body, and how the holes are edged with cream to make them stand out more. The extra dots make it feel more natural, and the red and yellow palette works nicely. Honestly, I don't have any complaints here.

My only complaint about Shuckle--which is more of a nitpick than anything--is that it's bug/rock for some reason, even though it looks more like a normal-type to me. Rock I can kind of see if you assume the shell is a rock it just hollowed out with its secretions and it lives in it like a hermit crab, rather than being part of its body directly, but I'm not seeing much bug in its design otherwise, aside from it maybe looking a smidge like a beetle of some kind of you squint and ignore the head.

There is actually a reason for this, and it's also the reason its design is so ambiguous and why the 'dex mentions it having a "vase-like" shell that it ferments berries in:

Shuckle's beta design actually had it living in a pot (indeed, the Japanese name references this) used to ferment alcoholic drinks. Hence the category of mold/fermentation (in Japanese) Pokemon, the vase-like shell the 'dex mentions, and the weird typing; the original type was ground/rock, because it was living in a piece of pottery. I personally wish they had just gone for pure rock or pure normal for the final design, but it doesn't matter that much.

For the record, I think the final design is better than the beta, despite the theme clarity that the beta has. Outside of the strange potential snake wine reference, final Shuckle's shell just looks a lot more plausible and functional, and the white markings serve much more of a purpose.

I think Shuckle's only other problem is that it doesn't evolve, nor has it received a gimmick yet, so it's just kind of There. It's not completely forgotten (don't fuckle with the Shuckle memes are proof of that), but it does feel a little stagnant. I don't feel like an evolution would add that much, but I could see potential in a regional. Maybe poison/rock or something? Alcohol is technically poisonous, and its original shiny was purple, but then got retconned to blue for some reason. I could easily see a design that brings the purple back, adds some more magenta-colored oozing substances from the shell holes, and changes the markings up a bit. This would be pretty simple, but it feels like it could work both conceptually and visually. Or hell, how about a wine-producing Shuckle for the new Spain regional, considering one of the teams is grape themed?

But regardless of if it gets anything, its still got a very good design and is a unique and interesting creature, even if the intent behind it got a little blurred during production.

(Also this has nothing to do with anything, but it uses the word "tomfoolery" in PMD and I think that's cute.)

[ms-cartoon]

I hated the new episode of season 2

Sorry...... let me rephrase; It greatly disappointed me. If I wanted to, I would stop watching this show for good, but I would at least prefer to watch it to see if its capable of some good writing (I might as well be wasting my time). As it turns out, I will forever be wrong. Not only am I gonna review a little bit of the new episode and rant about some things that I didn't like about it, but I'm also gonna point out how terribly they characterized Stella.

      This whole episode is basically telling Stolas's backstory. About how he met Blitzo and their relationship in the past. And it also gives Stella more screentime, showing her character and true personality as a "villain". And the way they came off with it... I- It just- I'm sorry. The way the portrayed Stella in this was disappointing.

For those of you who are hardcore haters for Stella... I DON'T WANNA HEAR IT!

       So, apparently, Blitzo and Stolas had met when they were children. Oh! And they were also around the same age! So, I guess it's confirmed that Stolas is in his 30s, which is very odd to me considering we were lead to believe Blitzo was 23 or somewhere around his 20s during the first season and was then acquainted with Stolas. Was Blitzo always around the same age as Stolas?? If not, then the writers kinda just retconned that fact just so they can have a childhood friendship between Blitzo and Stolas.

       We start in the first scene where Stolas is introduced as a child. It was his birthday and he receives his first grimoire from his father, Paimon. Paimon (who's a real DOUCHE btw) then tells him that he was to be engaged to Stella and shows him a picture of her. Now, THIS is what caught me off guard. Apparently, Stella was always a mean-spirited, hot-tempered, violent monster from the get-go, ever since she was little. They show that she's choking and torturing animals in the picture just to show how horrible she is. Just straight up looking like the bird version of Darla Dimple.

       Anyways, the picture of Stella frightened Stolas to the point where he cries and he clearly doesn't wanna marry Stella. So to make him feel better, Paimon takes his son to the circus. Stolas doesn't appear to be having fun at first until he sets his eyes on Blitzo. Aaannd in that moment, Stolas began to have a crush Blitzo.

.......Really.... so that's what we're doing?

       Seeing that his son liked Blitzo, Paimon asked Blitzo's father, Cash Buckzo, if he could buy him so Stolas can have a friend (cuz he doesn't have any). Cash (who is also a DOUCHE) decides to let Stolas have Blitzo for the day. Of course, Cash is only making Blitzo hang out with Stolas so he can take the advantage to steal all the treasures and money in the mansion. Stolas (while blushing) was pretty excited for having Blitzo as his first friend, especially when he had such a cute little crush on him (ugh). Blitzo on the other hand, was a little awkward.

       They hang out for a little bit and Stolas shows his books to Blitzo, but Blitzo is bored. So, he suggested that he and Stolas play a game called pirates, where they steal things. Stolas decides to play along and Blitzo uses this chance to steal all the valuables Paimon owned in the mansion. While Stolas wasn't looking, Blitzo took all the treasures and threw it to Cash, who was hiding in the bushes outside. Later on, the two hang out outside, and talk about their futures.

       So now, we jump to 25 years later, where Stolas is all grown up and is married to the woman he was engaged with, Stella. Stella's first impression wasn't the best one. I really didn't like the way Stella's dialogue was written here. Stella pretty much just insulted Stolas in front of her friends and other Goetias, laughing and saying that Stolas was boring, is terrible in bed, and that she was glad she gave birth to Octavia so she wouldn't have continue with their intercourse.

I'm sittin' here like, "Damn! All that?"

       Stolas obviously isn't having a very good time, so he starts to drink. He comes across Blitzo, who was caught sneaking in the mansion to steal Stolas's grimoire. Recognizing Blitzo immediately, Stolas personally invites him to his room so the two can catch up. Stolas (while drunk I think) flirts with Blitzo saying, "You must have come to ravish me." (or something like that) leaving Blitzo confused. Blitzo, of course, didn't care to catch up on old times with his first friend who he barely knew for a day, when they were children mind you!! Blitzo only cared about getting the book so he can have access to the human world.

       Stolas starts to get nervous after Blitzo basically revealed he was a serial killer. Blitzo used this to his advantage. He starts to seduce Stolas as a way to distract him and grab his attention away from the book so he can grab it. Stolas, once again, starts to get nervous when Blitzo pursues him, saying he still hardly knew Blitzo's name, which is odd considering what he just said a few minutes ago "It's been a long time, but I have a very good memory." Not to mention when Blitzo introduced himself as Blitz, Stolas asked, "Didn't it end with an "O"?" So, suddenly he does remember Blitzo's name and how it was actually pronounced (This dialogue needs some work).

Blitzo pushed Stolas onto his bed while Stolas slowly gives into temptation and asking what Blitzo plans to do with him. He stares to the side behind Blitzo, close to noticing his grimoire wasn't there and.... and, uh- I.... *Sigh* Just watch (skip to 1.52)

       So, THAT happens, Blitzo ties him up and blindfolds him so he can make his escape with the book and Stolas says, "You have no idea how long I've waited for this kind of passion, and how much it means that the one who wants me was my first ever friend." (Bro, are you serious, like, oh my god) Blitzo feels a little guilty and decides to do the thing with him. Then the next morning, Stolas wakes up to Blitzo making his escape with the book and THIS is where Stella finds out about the whole thing and Stolas, while feeling very proud of himself, announces that as their official divorce.

       We jump to present day (last episode of season 1) Where Stolas is sad over what happened between him and Blitzo on their date and this jumps into a musical number that I'm not going to bother talking about. Stella walks in on him after he's done singing and this is where Stella and Stolas start their argument. I already said it a few times already, but the way they written Stella in this show (the dialogue too) I-I cringed. She tells him the only reason she sticks around with him was to remind him of what he did to torment him. Stolas argues, saying he's been trying hard to get along with Stella and the only reason he even puts up with her was so Octavia can live a normal life, but somehow its never enough (There's a bit more to this argument, but I'm not gonna bother explaining it). FINALLY, he decides he wants a divorce and tells her to get out of his life.

So NOW you wanna divorce!!? Shouldn't the two of you already be divorce??? What, did they not confirm that in episode 7? Why were you too even still together???

And, that's where the episode ends.

So, I have a few reasons why I don't like this episode;

The Writing

How they characterized Stella

The Writing (Stolas, too)

       I said it a few times before, I'm gonna say it again, THE WRITING IS POOR! The plot is badly written to the point where nothing makes sense and it confuses you. A lot of people (as far as twitter goes) loved this episode. They love it so much, they don't bother to see the flaws that the episode, along with the rest of the show have. Actually, once you think about it, people put so much attention on the Stolitz relationship, they're blinded by how terrible the writing is.

       Here's the main problem with this show; The Sudden Changes!! One thing happens and suddenly that thing changes, and with no explanation as to why that something is how it is. Or when something happens so suddenly and it just seems out of character, you're left with no explaining as to why or how that happened. It just happens, and you're left confused. Like, "What's this, all of a sudden?" or "Where did this come from?"

     The events that happen in this episode don't really add up to the pilot along with the rest of the series and some things just don't seem to make sense. Its like the writers totally retconned pieces of history as if whatever happened in the first season was completely forgotten or apparently never happened despite what it appeared to be. Or when something is shown, its shown completely differently than how it was the first time. Like, for example; In the second episode of season 1, Stolas's response to Stella's reaction about the affair. Stolas looked really nervous while Stella was yelling, cursing, and throwing stuff at him. During their argument, he was scared and he looked slightly guilty. It was as if he didn't want Stella finding out about the affair at all. He couldn't even make any excuses for his actions. But in this episode, it was so opposite, he didn't even deny it!! Stolas was straight up CONFIDENT for what he did and practically rubbed it in Stella's face;

"WHAT THE F**K WAS THAT, STOLAS!!"

"That was the sound of a F**CKING DIVORCE! *laughs*

       And I'm sitting here totally confused, like... where did this sudden boast come from???? First, you're getting all anxious, but now you're showing you got some balls to be proud of it?! This part of Stolas's backstory happened in episode 2 (but just wasn't shown), so imagine that same scene of Stella yelling at Stolas from outside in episode 2 before the argument. Stella most likely marched up in that mansion and that's when the fight happened. And suddenly, Stolas gets all defensive and scared? Like bruh, where did all that confidence go?? You were literally laughing at her face a few minutes ago!!

       Let's not forget about Stolas's sudden genuine feelings for Blitzo in episode 7, Season 1. That part especially confused me. Literally this entire season, Stolas has NOT shown ANY genuine love for Blitzo AT ALL! If you think Stolas was ever in love with Blitzo, your definition of love is totally questioning. Stolas does nothing but flirt with him, make sexual remarks, sexually harassing him. Blitzo was nothing but his walking sex toy and he never failed to let him forget that. But suddenly in episode 7, Stolas is actually showing true feelings for Blitzo. He was genuinely happy Blitzo asked him on a "date". Bro was getting dressed, putting on make up and everything. While they were on their date, Stolas, FOR ONCE, was treating Blitzo like a person instead of an object.

"So, Blitzy, how was you're day?"

       He's even trying to start a conversation with him. Wow! For real, Stolas! You are actually speaking to Blitzo?? No sexual remarks? No lust? No request for sex? I'm honestly stunned! You'd think I would be a little impressed about this...... except I'M NOT! Because, quick question, where did this sudden affection come from???!! Why is Stolas suddenly trying to pursue a romantic relationship and treating Blitzo like a person with feelings other than a sex toy? Where did this sudden change in Stolas come from?? It just happened so suddenly in that one episode and with NO explanation!! No flashback, No backstory, no NOTHING!! Nope! Out of nowhere, he just began show romantic feelings for Blitzo. (Stolitz fans, don't even try and tell me that Stolas always had feelings for Blitzo, cuz he didn't)

       THAT was one of my problems with Episode 1 of the second season! Or even the ENTIRE show in general! It's not even that serious, but it just annoys me because, it wasn't the first time where I've seen a show/anime where logic like that doesn't apply. One thing happens and then five episodes later, if the topic is even brought up, it NEVER happened! And even when it DID happen, it happened totally differently then how it originally was! If you're gonna make a show and add in some logic or facts about something, then you have to make sure that logic applies, or else you're just gonna be confusing your watchers! That's the one problem the writers have when making a show. Sure, they'll tell you one thing that will happen in a show, but they don't even accomplish it. And when they do, they do it the WRONG way!

       Another thing that got to me was what Stolas mentioned in his argument with Stella, "The only reason I endured your constant insults and cruelty was for that girl (Octavia) to have a normal life”. You wanted her to live a normal life, yet you had an affair, proving yourself to be disloyal, not just to your wife, but your DAUGHTER too!! Not to mention you would constantly flirt with Blitzo RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER! You never apologized for it and you didn't even give her a good explanation! And with a cherry on top, YOU CONTINUE YOUR AFFAIR WITH BLITZO AS IF YOUR CONVERSATION WITH YOUR DAUGHTER NEVER HAPPENED (This being another example)! Bro, don't start acting like you cared for Octavia at all! You clearly don't if you don't even realize that what you're doing is wrong! You completely disregarded her feelings and all you do is make excuses to cover your a**!!

       Here's ANOTHER thing that set me off. For someone who barely knew Blitzo's name you were sure quick to give into temptation with, DESPITE NOT SEEING HIM IN 25 YEARS!! Yeah, you had a crush on him when you were little. But, you were just a kid! You mean to tell me that after 25 years, your feelings for Blitzo were still their?? There's no way you haven't gotten over it, especially after spending one play date with him! Blitzo didn't even show up to see him! He never gave two lick of sh*ts about Stolas. The only reason he was there was to steal the book, and THAT WAS IT! This scene, along with the hot moment was disturbing and cringe!

Stella

       My god, was I irritated with how they did Stella in this episode!! It was so dumb, it was childish, IT WAS LAZY. Viv must really hate this character so much to not give her any depth as an antagonist. Kinda funny, considering SHE'S THE ONE WHO CREATED STELLA! These writers are trying too hard to make Stella the villain. I don't think they took any time with her character. They we're probably just like...

"Hey, let's give our precious cinnamon roll, Stolas a wife and make her evil."

"Good Idea!" And moved on.

       The whole time she's on screen, she's done nothing but insult Stolas, talk about him, laugh at him, and just be straight up mean. As said above, it's also depicted that she has been a mean-spirited little monster from when she was little, which upset me a quite a bit. So, you mean to tell me that, from the day she was born, she was always an evil soulless witch? I really shouldn't be surprised, but I didn't like how they just showed a picture of Stella being a monster. It just makes it seem like Viv wants me to hate Stella even more, (It's not working). I mean, I get that's the idea of a villain, you're suppose to hate them. But with the way they written Stella as a villain, it makes me question, "Why should I hate her?" Like, you're already gonna show people she's the bad guy by showing a scary picture of her as a little girl, telling us she was always bad? (Why would his father think that would be a good idea to show him THAT picture anyway???)

       Here's why the writers made me mad when they pulled this sh*t; In the earlier seasons starting with the pilot, we didn't know all too much about Stella. We just knew she was the wife of Stolas and he cheated on her. We were left to question how she reacted. Well, since Viv said at one point that she only cared about the power and social status and not at all about her husband and child (I'm not sure when she revealed it, but she did), we would imagine she probably didn't care that Stolas cheated on her. But we saw a whole different view of Stella's reaction,

"I cannot believe you slept with an imp! IN OUR F*CKING BED!!!"

       In this scene Stella was truly angry over what Stolas had done. She's yelling and cussing, throwing things at him, and breaks a few more things as she stormed off while screaming. Okay, that just shows us that she really has a hot-temper. How is that considered evil?? In that moment, a lot of people already started to hate Stella, BUT FOR WHAT??? Why were fans suddenly hating her?? She didn't even do anything wrong!! Her reaction to the affair was a pretty fair reaction.

       So let me get this straight, if my boyfriend/husband cheats on me and I yell at him for it, I'm considered evil??? You're telling me that no one would be angry over their partner cheating on them behind their back. I know I would! Another time Stella was shown was when it was revealed she was the one who hired an assassin to kill Stolas. Alright, I love Stella, but even I can say that she definitely shouldn't have done that. Especially considering she had a daughter that still cared about Stolas. But still, we would understand why she did it. Even in that moment, she wasn't considered evil!!! Once again, what she did was out of anger!! But the fans don't care. They don't even take into consideration!

       The only reason why fans (*cough* Stolitz fans *cough*) didn't like Stella was because of their stupid sympathy for Stolas. People had no reason to hate Stella other than the fact that she's Stolas's wife and she's not Blitzo. People think that she's getting in the way of Stolas and Blitzo relationship (even when there was NO relationship), and it was the most dumbest and pettiest reason to hate someone. And since Vivzie clearly don't like Stella herself, she went ahead and gave the fans an excuse to hate Stella just to make Stolas the victim. That Stella don't care about Stolas, not caring about her own daughter, making her an abusive wife!

       Really?? She only cares about power?? She could care less about Stolas's disloyalty? If that's the case, then why did she react so aggressively when finding out about the affair!? That he did it with an IMP of all things?? Please!! If that were the case, Stella wouldn't have referred to him as a "cheating prick". If Stella really didn't care about Stolas cheating on her, then she shouldn't have reacted at all!! She shouldn't even have to care that he did it with someone of a lower class. She probably would've pretended it didn't happen!!

       So now that Stella has more screen time, we get to know more about her. As far as I'm concerned, she wasn't too keen on the idea of the arranged marriage. Okay, she didn't want to marry Stolas. Fine, she didn't have to like the idea of marrying him. But why is she treating him so terribly? Why do these two fight so much?? Why does she act the way she does? WHY IS SHE SO EVIL AND B*TCHY!! These are questions I'm sure we're all wondering about. Questions that were never answered or explained. Stella was only around Stolas because she likes to torment him for what he did.

"I like tormenting you."

        Just straight up gives us a slap across the face with that sudden bland cruelty. There's no reason why she likes to torment him..... She just does, and her just saying that just to be the bad guy really cringes the hell out of me. There is no way I can take her seriously anymore after all that. This writing was so bad and so lazy, there's no way I would ever watch it again.

       So yes, the new episode was trash. The plot was trash, Stella's character was trash. All of it belongs in a dumpster. This whole episode was like a fanfiction written by a middle schooler in the 5th grade. It was THAT lazy and childish. There is no point to this episode. This is nothing but a soap opera to make Stolas look good and pitiful and to make Stella as hateful as possible for no reason. At this point, any hope I have for this show is forever GONE!! I wonder how they'll screw up the next episode. They'll probably end up making Stella an abusive mother too, just to give us a reason to hate her even more. Writers, you're not making me dislike Stella, you're making me dislike what you're doing to this story.

       If you're gonna make Stella the bad guy, fine. But don't make her evil just to be evil. Don't make her your typical evil villain from some cheesy cartoon. Put some depth into her character, give her a background, at least give her some redeeming qualities.

[sepublic]

New TOH 2B Promo Images!

            Let’s go over the obvious ones;

         Shots of Hunter on the Grudgby field; Any Sport in a Storm, clearly! What’s interesting is that not only does he join Willow in Flyer Derby, the new sport she’s interested in (which was already foreshadowed in the background of Season 2A!), but we also see him in his Golden Guard outfit, face revealed! Is he doing a big face reveal here in front of everyone; The bleachers are decorated with plants, possibly Willow’s own power! We also see Willow clearly excited for Flyer Derby tryouts, as well as a shot of Willow and her team in a Conformatorium cell, being whisked up by an abomination fist, Hunter outside watching and not looking exactly happy about it either?

         Does Hunter get these kids captured as part of his undercover mission, perhaps singling out the Flyer Derby kids as promoting wild magic? We know all of them have some history of defying the coven; Willow and Gus are obvious, Viney does mixed magic, and Skara supported the protest at Eda’s petrification! And is Darius bringing them in or OUT of the cell; Possibly on Hunter’s orders? That could lead into a potential Darius redemption, given how he and Eberwolf are framed near Raine in the end credits, and how we see a shot of him slashing through plant vines; Possibly Terra’s.

         After all, we see a shot of Amity in her school uniform, running and looking ready for business; And the background resembles the shot of Willow’s team being attacked by an abomination from the previous promo, even as a spell of hers erupts behind that same enemy abomination. It’s probable that Darius is here to arrest these kids despite Hunter’s feelings on the matter, which leads to Amity defending her friends.

         We’ve got some more Young Eda flashbacks, and what seems to be a younger Principal Bump??? We can see orange in the corner matching Eda’s hair… This does conflict with and retcon how he looked during Eda’s childhood way back in episode 9, but eh, whatever. That or Eda legit aged him that badly from her antics alone… Which I could believe.

         There’s some Elsewhere and Elsewhen shots; Luz surprising Lilith, who’s making models of those balusters from the Deadwardian era, Philip’s era! As well as Lilith being captured by some three-clawed creature in lighting similar to a shot from the previous promo, where Luz uses an ice glyph; No doubt to save Raven Aunt!

         There’s Eda looking bashful, before somebody flies in from the top-left; The shoes make me think Lilith, is this Eda and Raine having a moment, and then Lilith arrives? Will we see Lily’s reaction to their relationship?!

         We have some shots likely pertaining to Reaching Out, now that we know its synopsis! Amity is being held by an Abomaton while it slices a book on Abomination creation; Is Alador doing some sort of psychological abuse to his kid here??? I’m ready to FIGHT… We also see that the lead Demon Hunter is hosting this underground fighting ring, of which Wrath, hypocriticially, is a part of; Likely calling back to our shot of him breathing fire in a previous promo. Amity has a CUTE new outfit... We see Eda and King holding him down, with Eda flexing her harpy mode, likely transitioning into that shot of Harpy Eda from the previous promo;

         There’s a shot of what’s clearly Kid Belos in a black-and-white memory… Belos mindscape… Luz casting a plant spell in the area outside Bonesborough, where Raine and Eda reunited; She’s in her school uniform, so it’s possibly Any Sport in a Storm! We’ve also got Letterman Luz attacking Hunter from behind, likely relevant to a later, edited background shot of Hunter attacking what appear to be wild witches…

         Finally, we have what appears to be some sort of orange witch, casting a flame? In the same area as Amity, so this might be Any Sport in a Storm; They don’t resemble any of the Coven Heads? Or is Amity fighting a different episode like Reaching Out, and this is part of the fighting ring… Is Willow’s team involved in this episode too as well? Then Luz and King learning the Jean-Luc FLESH MAGIC, from King’s dad!? Or reverse-engineering it, reanimating Jean-Luc?!

         And then we see Luz and Hunter, in what appears to be the lair of the Collector, AKA the Season 2B character Dana gave us a glimpse of; But the paintings tell us that it’s Belos’ memories! So he DID meet the Collector, and they were likely very important to his backstory… The golden glow enveloping Luz and Hunter looks like the same spell that takes them OUT of the memories, so uh. Uh oh. Who’s doing that…? Did they see too much and Belos is dragging them out himself?!

        That’s about it! I guess both promos combined sort of make up for the lack of a proper Season 2B trailer, but tbh, Disney could’ve just spliced them together with a proper song… But at least we have this and I am hyped!

[hearteyesandviolence]

Summer Gay Update

Hello all....I still exist....been a turbulent summer (everything okay, just been a lot going on) but I am more or less back....don't know how often I'll be on, but I wanted to give a report on all the gay I have seen while I've been away

Deena/Sam (And Sarah/Hannah) Fear Street

Spoilers for Fear Street

These two (and many ways, these four) have owned my heart for most of the summer. I love horror movies, and I have always wanted to see a a wlw couple a) be actual characters in a movie, not just window dressing, and b) live through the damn thing. So imagine my delight when not only did this series feature a lesbian couple, it makes them the core of the movies, and gives them one beautiful happy ending. The dynamic between these two is incredible, and I have not yet begun to accept that I might never see them again.

Sarah and Hannah are amazing as well. I normally can't do tragedy these days, but maybe it was that Deena and Sam were still out there, or that it was just so well acted, or maybe just that I knew it was coming, but I was able to not just move past the tragedy but appreciate it for what it was....I do kind of wish we could have gotten a scene of their ghosts meeting up though...

Casey/Izzie  Atypical

I watched just the scenes of these two to see if they stuck the landing and....I dunno....the actors are great, the chemistry is off the charts, but a lot of the scenes themselves fell flat for me, and I blame that on the writing, which just does not seem to be very good to me. I know it's not totally fair to judge a seres based on a few scenes you're essentially watching out of context, but so much of the dialgoue and conflict felt really forced, and it left me feeling disappointed, despite getting endgame bis (Though I still think Izzie is a lesbian. Did she identify as Bi and I missed it? Don't wanna disrespect that, just my headcannon)

Mouse/Harper   Bigshot

Now, I've been away from tumblr, but I feel like even so, I've seen barely anything in the community about these two, and they're super cute! An awkward, goofy girl, falling head over heels for an serious minded overachiever, and those feelings getting reciprocated, really got me feeling mushy in an old school way.  Plus, it's on a Disney family show, which i never thought would happen, and there's zero angst about them being into girls. I dunno, it's not earth-shattering, but I feel like something like this, a simple cute couple, would have been really good for me to have seen when I was a preteen.

Raelle/Scylla   Motherland: Fort Salem

SPOILERS FOR THE PILOT FOR MOTHERLAND AND ALSO SOME OF WHAT COMES LATER MAYBE?

Okay, so this is another ship where I watched nearly every scene without seeing the show...I fell pretty hard for it....falling in love with the mark is one of my favorite tropes, and a big kiss against helicopter wind? That knocks my socks off....and the show intrigued me enough that I actually wanted to watch it, not just skim the wlw scenes like I'm so often guilty of....and I'm digging the show....but what Scylla does in the first episode...oooohhh nooo,...I knew she did some evil stuff, but I was not prepared for mass murder. That feels like a hard line to come back from, and while I know she undergoes some character development, i don't know how you make up for that. The community has a bad habit of softening characters that do terrible things because they love them (Regina from OUAT, Catra, even my beloved Lexa to an extent), and i don't like to see history repeat. I'm gonna keep watching the show, but I worried I'm not gonna be able to enjoy those soft romantic moments knowing what I know. Would love to have my mind changed though!

(Also, the deal with her face.....i feel like that gets retconned? So the face we know as Scylla is really Scylla? But I feel like that was probably not their intention when they did the pilot, but changed it after the fact, even though it makes no sense? Does it make more sense later?)

SHONI   the Wilds

I am still an utter and complete fool for these two....just knowing we are going to get scenes of them being blissfully in love....god damn....

Anyway, this has been the gay update. Please stay tuned for more gay.

[measuringbliss]

Spider-Man Read-Through 021: A Jackal and a Wedding (ASM 129-131)

MASTERPOST

The Punisher and the Jackal are introduced! How fun. What an iconic cover. But more importantly, we ponder on whether Peter has been more objectified with Ross Andru's takeover and you'll see my opinions have evolved throughout this batch.

The Punisher is tasked by the Jackal to eliminate Spider and does so by generously showing us his wonderful butt, that I oddly hadn't noticed when I was a kid but now can definitely appreciate. The Punisher thinks Spidey killed Norman (which, sort of). As for the Jackal's reason? Uhhhh we'll see that next year.

Spider-Man out of context.

The Punisher realizes thanks to Spidey that the Jackal would have killed him after Spidey's death and him and his fantastic skin-tight suit go away (to his own magazine?). In the last panel, the Jackal pretends the reason he wants to kill Spidey is to take over the city, which, as you might know, was retconned later. Hmm.

In the comics on Readonline (I love reading reactions, makes me feel like the fandom isn't dead!), we can see this:

And I kind of disagree, so much as I don't see why this comment is on this particular issue. Peter has been objectified since his beginnings but particularly when Romita Sr took over. Ffs, his first issue was a gay BDSM romp. Peter is very clearly handsome, but he has been for about 80-90 issues (and you could argue he also was handsome in Ditko's style). The issue contains two panels with shirtless Pete, and I didn't find them particularly erotic.

HOWEVER! I do think he is made to look like the perfect husband, be it the pin-up pose in the first panel or the sewing in the third one. He's a domestic husbando. I wonder if that's intentional. But I wouldn't call all of those objectification... maybe the first one. His shirt is in a corner, it's vaguely sleazy, but the focus is on the traditional biceps, not so much on his butt (and we saw in this very issue that Andru has no trouble giving cake to men).

I do think it's an interesting observation though. It's the first time I see that aspect called out.

The next issue (130) features Hammerhead, which never made anybody feel joy.

Hammerhead has injected a chip in his henchmen's heads that explodes if they try to say his name. Sure! Spidey has other priorities though, and he wakes up his boyfriend (Hmm... *Are* the men more objectified than before, with Ross Andru? Huh. I'm starting to think this might be true...).

SO WE FINALLY GET THE SPIDER-MOBILE. When it appeared in Into The Spider-Verse's credits, I jumped, I'm telling you. It's iconic! very lovely. I don't quite know why everybody hates it, I think it's a fun concept. As the car soars in the street, Gerry Conway's narration explains that "a legend is born" and he didn't know how right he was.

Rimbaud's death from #120 is referenced, and he apparently died for Ock's plans... which seems outlandish to me considering what those plans actually are.

...Okay, I'm really starting to think dear Nathaniel might be right. Oh, my ovaries... I think I'm pregnant.

Anyway, while I'm very glad to see MJ again, Peter is very frustrated because her being close will make his Spidey job harder. But they're cute together! It's heartwarming to finally see them having a cute scene where Pete isn't being an ass.

At Betty and Ned's Christmas party (<3), Peter reaffirms to himself that he's not yet ready for another relationship, with MJ trying really hard to get in his pants--understandable, honey.

The issue closes on another iconic reveal, what Ock had planned all along, a storyline years in the making...

May looks ravishing, hah.

The concept is ridiculous but I'm completely here for it. But what is Ock's real objective, you say? Can't it be love?

...Okay, here you go (and I completely forgot about it).

I had completely forgotten about that, and it's no thanks to how completely absurd it is. Spidey eventually flies away with May, because he also learned how to fly a plane apparently.

And what happens when a Hammerhead meets a nuclear bomb or whatahavit... happens.

So Ock and Hammerhead are thankfully dead (for now, boo).

To be fair, it's a gorgeous panel.

And the closing panels are great too.