#honestly they couldn't have had a better climax to that episode

[cactiaintracist]

the only correct way to write proper high-stake sci-fi finale is to get 3 very gay men and ask them to improvise the most camp, slutty and intense game of catch (also helps if one is trouser-less)

look, they knew exactly what they were doing

the tension, oh gawd the tension

15's face kills me everytime

honestly show me a scene with a better sequence of events (bet you can't), I'll wait right here

[mostotherthings]

Episode 11, my loves

I have a little bit of beef with the translations here tho- Neil says his scar is from ”車禍啊“, which the show translates as "from a car accident" but it wasn't just from any old car accident- it was from THE car accident, which makes me wonder if the subs have been leading non-Mandarin speakers to not realise Neil was in the same accident as his brother?

Xiao Hai's little, gentle, 很痛吧？It really hurts, doesn't it?

I had heard it as 會痛吧？- "It hurts, right?"

My little hindbrain couldn't deal with this and I repeated it 10 times so ok I have to accept the official sub, which is the first line, which means more too I guess because Xiao Hai is sympathising with Neil

Neil's equally gentle, but reassuring, 已經都好了 It's all well (healed/ok) now

Yes, because of you, Xiao Hai, that scar doesn't hurt anymore.

Look at them! So nauseating- so married. My children.

This is still my favourite shirt from the entire series (yes, even more than Xiao Hai's naked shirt LOL). Neil wears it often in the last few episodes- he's coming back; he's a comeback kid!

Look at this boy sulking- he will never get over how Neil had Reese's attention for six years and he had to wait in the sidelines and NOW HE HAS TO UNROLL POSTERS? The indignity of it all.

And of course, Episode 11 is THE climax, for Neil's story, where he looks his survivor guilt and his grief in the eye. He speaks to his brother, he doesn't want to let go- will I lose you if I let go? But grief doesn't work like this- memories don't. Grief can fade away, but memories, and the fact that Matt was his brother, IS his brother, is forever. It will never go away.

Charles, the actor that you are, really.

The little detail- Matt was protecting Neil to the end. When the truck approached their car; it was at Matt's side. That was the reason why Matt did not survive the car accident, and maybe the reason Neil did- his brother protected him, all the way to the end.

Makes his grief understandable now, doesn't it?

Is that my son, serenading his wife? I'm here for it, I'M SEATED

I'm not sorry to say I was totally in tears by this point. I needed to pause the video, AGAIN

This fangirl made me laugh so much. and Neil's gentle, it's ok, I like (love) him too.

There's no doubt that Xiao Mei is the MVP of the entire series. That's one hell of a bling fan board though, 100/10, approved.

HANDS HANDS HANDS

MARRIED

But also, WHY THIS CONFLICT? The words that came out of my mouth immediately after Orca says he's returning to Thailand is "I will follow you-" on behalf of Reese. GO REESE, YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT!

But honestly- the reason why this show has been such a lovely comfort to me is, there's no conflict. Not really. The theme of the show, is the four of them, all affected by the car accident in various different levels, by fate (or, Xiao Mei's hand), coming together and becoming better because they had come together. Finding love was a bonus. *chef's kiss

Episode 12 will leave me in tears for sure, and I will forever be bitter that I cannot attend their fan meeting (the only one I ever WANT to attend). I love this little show so very much.

[themattress]

Posting here due to having talked about this very subject recently (manga vs. anime).

I basically think that this guy is way off in a lot of his critiques, notably:

- Criticizing the monster-of-the-week structure for the anime in favor of the manga's plot!plot!plot! pacing. I feel like that sort of pacing works fine for a monthly (not even weekly) manga, but not so much for an anime with this concept. Toei actually approached Naoko Takeuchi with the suggestion to do Sailor Moon (a tokusatsu series) based on her earlier Codename Sailor V work, which actually had a monster-of-the-week structure, so honestly the anime's style of pacing was ironically more what the Sailor Moon concept was tailored around than the manga! It also allows the world and characters to be more fleshed out than in the manga, which always had difficulty in that area especially for side characters and villains.

- His criticism of Usagi and Rei was totally off-base. He was correct in how Usagi's constant regressions as the anime went on did her no favors, but she was fine to start with. Her freezing up and giving into despair over her friends' deaths in the first anime season's climax isn't any less weak than her attempting suicide over Mamoru's death which would leave her friends at the mercy of Metalia in the first manga arc's climax. Rei's personality change in the anime was for the better, IMO, and her dynamic with Usagi may have been overplayed at times but I never got the impression they legitimately hated each other nor did I get the impression it was sexism on the male writers' parts. Vitriolic Best Buds is a legitimate thing.

- While I also don't much care how Usagi and Mamoru's romance develops in the anime compared to the manga (and I absolutely hate the pointless age gap the anime added between them), I have to defend Mamoru from his accusation that he was hypocritical to give righteous speeches as Tuxedo Mask yet be an asshole as a civilian. Unlike in the manga, Tuxedo Mask was initially a split personality from Mamoru. He didn't know he was Tuxedo Mask at first, the two didn't get integrated until he got ahold of a Rainbow Crystal in Episode 26. After that, he actually began treating Usagi with more kindness. He was too proud to just apologize and still tried to act stand-offish, but he clearly didn't have it in him to be a complete jerk anymore and was actually fond of her now. The romance still pulls too abrupt a 180 given that Usagi doesn't soften on him until Episode 34, and even then not on the level justifiable enough for love, but the fact remains that Mamoru did straighten out his act after integrating with the Tuxedo Mask persona (which is good since he really was insufferable beforehand).

- The Dark Kingdom was superior in the anime, period. Yes, it was a bigger threat in the manga, but being threatening doesn't always equate to being interesting. He has a point that Queen Beryl is more interesting in the manga than in the anime and I do wish the anime had included more of that stuff rather than just allude to it, but I still say she's stronger as the Big Bad than just as Metalia's chief pawn. Metalia is boring; she's made of evil and does evil because she's evil and can't be anything else. Beryl actually has a motivation, and one that is directly tied with the main heroine and her romantic interest. That's why it's more satisfying to see her infused with Metalia as the Final Boss instead of just her as the third-to-last Boss.

- Lastly, he got the Silver Crystal thing wrong. The Rainbow Crystals are shards of the physical Silver Crystal, but what gives it its power, its spiritual essence, is still Usagi's soul. That's why they couldn't just be merged into the Silver Crystal even after Kunzite had all seven. That only happened when the tear from Usagi, with all the feelings of her soul, was added. The Silver Crystal is thus linked with her soul and is still its manifestation, as seen in the R movie where she dies when its shattered but when she is restored to life it is repaired.

Things I agree with: axing Princess Serenity's suicide was a good choice, the stretch of episodes with Evil Tuxedo Mask were dumb, the changes in powers for the girls and Tuxedo Mask was stupid and pointless, Minako's character regression across the anime was annoying and kind of disrespectful when you really think about it, Yuichiro should've amounted to more, the age change and adaptational jerkassery of Mamoru was terrible, Jadeite's sudden misogyny in his final episode was really fucking weird, the scene where Artemis is "revealed" as Luna's contact makes no sense and should've been cut, Usagi's suicide in the original manga and Crystal did her character a grave disservice, and the Shitennou's adaptational expansion in Crystal was utterly botched and ended laughably.

[being-of-rain]

Time to write down my initial thoughts on Space Babies and The Devil's Chord! I'm currently busy staying with my girlfriend in America, so I've only watched the episodes once. And there's a lot of episode to talk about! I guess this is the most TV Doctor Who to come out on a single day, both by episode count and I assume by runtime. (I sure hope it doesn't get overtaken any time soon. Weekly episode schedule my beloved, whole-series-at-once events my despised.)

I've said before that I've used the word 'fun' too often as a way to sum-up new episodes, but it looks like that's going to be harder and harder to avoid. This season so far has a very wacky zany silly cartoonish style (especially apparent in the lead duo's energy together) and I think that's the season's greatest strength. My opinion on both of these first two episodes are similar: they're just okay, with the pros and the cons kinda balancing each other out, but the cartoony style makes them much more enjoyable to watch.

Under the cut I'll go into more details. Probably more complaining than not, because nitpicking is always easier to spend time on, but here's your regular reminder that these are opinions and anyone reading is encouraged to disagree.

And if you thought my ramblings about new episodes were long before, this time there's two at once!

--

Grossout stuff like bodily functions never really appealed to me, and neither does talking babies, so Space Babies had those things against it. But it also had things that I loved; on top of the infectious energy of the leads, there were some fun sci-fi concepts, playing with storybook narrative, and the design of the Bogeyman. And the Doctor saying that "nobody grows up wrong" was alone worth the episode. I adore that sentiment and it fits so well into Doctor Who with its constant cast of scary aliens, artificially altered or created beings, and characters with generally convoluted backstories. It's just a shame the episode faltered at its climax when applying that idea to the Bogeyman, because the sympathising and acceptance of it felt very rushed.

It's fun when new companions get an introduction scene or two where the show tries to teach as many of the important rules and backstory as possible. And Butterfly Ruby certainly was a hilarious addition to that. But as much as the show is allowed to mess around with time travel rules, it can still feel contrived when it says things like 'taking Ruby to meet her mum is too dangerous.' I can't think of a reason why they couldn't just park a bit further down Ruby Road and talk to her after she seemingly doesn't have any more effect on Ruby or the Doctor's lives. I'll talk more about the ongoing story arc stuff in a bit, but right now I still haven't strongly connected with Ruby. This is very much a personal thing, but she still feels kinda Generic Companion to me.

Oh, and I think every time the Doctor talks about how the Time Lords are gone and he's the Last One, I'm going to groan and roll my eyes. Honestly I think the best thing to do with that is just show that a lot of Time Lord society survived (very easy, since there's no reason at all that most of them couldn't have just run away from whatever the Master did to the Capitol) and then just move on. I'd love to explore post-War Time Lord society more, but at this point I'd rather just leave them alone and be done with retreading old ground that the show is not going to actually do anything with other than the odd angsty line.

--

The Devil's Chord had a lot of fantastic moments and elements, but that made it more frustrating to me when it didn't put the effort into fitting everything just a little better. It reminds me of my thoughts on The Giggle; I love love love whimsy and emotionally-driven stories, and stories don't have to be a slave to logic all the time, but moments of silliness or entire plots that revolve around whimsy are so much more satisfying if they have a narrative logic behind them. I think a prime example is the song at the end of The Devil's Chord: even if it's not particularly good (most songs that are just repeating one line for 90% of its runtime aren't going to interest me), it's whimsical and joyous and makes me want to see Tardis teams sing and dance more often. But it doesn't have an in-story reason to happen, it doesn't quite fit the episode's tone, and (as much fun as fans have been having fitting it into the season arc) the episode doesn't even really have a twist at the end. If any of those things weren't true, the song would've had so much more impact than it did, and I find it annoying that the episode couldn't shuffle things just a bit to make it work.

Somewhat similarly, the Maestro themself was spectacularly entertaining, but also felt rather shallow and full of missed opportunities. I was already a bit over RTD writing flamboyant and random queer-coded villains after he reinvented the Toymaker the same way he reinvented the Master (although a drag queen certainly adds a welcome layer to that) but it was sad that Maestro had the same surface-level connection to music as RTD's Toymaker had to games. Yeah they climb out of pianos and use sheet-music-themed whips and dress in a conductor's outfit, but that sounds more like a Batman villain than a Concept Made Flesh. Sure they can magically-somehow stop the world making music, but their motivation for it is... kill everyone in the universe? I really hope RTD can write better Old Gods than his last two if he plans to make them recurring villains. (By the way I assume that the world losing the ability to make music for two decades was magically unwritten at the end, but then again I assumed the same thing about the Flux destroying the universe and that was only half undone.)

Also, I know not every historical episode has to be a 2005-10 style celebrity historical (even though that might be one of my favourite ways of doing it), but if they didn't want to do that then it felt a bit out of place to have two of the Beatles turn up at the very end, with no idea what was going on, and save the day. (And the other two Beatles vanished completely. ...I know the other two were a bit less famous, but after learning that RTD ships the Supernatural brothers, I really wouldn't be surprised to learn he ships McCartney and Lennon.)

Anyway, some other fun or great moments that I wish were in a slightly more coherent episode are: Ruby playing her lovesick lesbian song, the Doctor and Ruby doing their piano battle together, the sonic silence scene, and the destroyed London scene which Maestro abruptly turned into a black background. Oh, and the Doctor saying "I thought that was non-diagetic" was hilarious, I think fans are going to get a lot of mileage out of the idea that the Doctor can hear the background music in older episodes.

Other random things about the episode: it did make me think of Scherzo's fairytale about the king who banished music from his realm. As a batfamily fan, the music teacher at the start being named Timothy Drake for no reason is confusing and funny. It's a niche pet peeve but I think its silly when fiction ties itself to when it's coming out for no reason or in contradiction to its own continuity, so Ruby saying her present day is mid-2024 baffled and irritated me. Since the last episode she's either been travelling with the Doctor for several months, staying at home for several months, or has decided to skip several months ahead, none of which seem very likely.

One last thing I'll say about The Devil's Chord is that the zany cartoonish energy, the visiting of recent history, and the magical menace all remind me of Legends of Tomorrow. It's one of my comfort shows that puts a lot of plot importance and stress on whimsy, jokes, and feel-good moments, but actually does tie them into the narrative. Compared to the last half dozen episodes of Doctor Who, Legends is more of an outright comedy, but its more satisfying and the emotional beats hit harder. If its trying for a more similar tone, I hope Doctor Who can reach the same highs as Legends (which, to be fair, took a few seasons to figure things out).

--

Finally I'll talk about the story arc! Or story arcs, because there's a lot going on. And looking back at his first time on the show, I realise RTD is a big fan of arcs that are basically just repeating things in the background that don't have any impact until the last few episodes. Personally I prefer arcs with a bit more relevance and development, but unfortunately that's probably harder to do on Doctor Who with less episodes.

That said, I was very surprised that Ruby's arc is one of the most interesting things to me in these episodes. The Doctor's memory of her mother changing and then breaking through into the real world is cool as hell, and then Ruby having something about her that trips up a god is really compelling 👀 Is that girl a cosmic horror??

On the other hand, another mention of 'the One Who Waits' is really boring lol. Just another ominous name that everyone can look concerned about without any substance. But I have seen fans connect it to the billboard for Chris Waites and the Carollers, which is hilarious. And speaking of, the mention of Susan was really cool, and so in-depth that it has me wondering if she'll actually come back, which I don't think New Who has made me do seriously before. Then again, it's so on the nose that surely it must be a red herring...

I can't wait to find out what it all means. And I can't wait for the next episode!

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff: FLCL Grunge

or How Not to Grasp Why "Bottled Lightning" Exists

I'll preface this by saying that these recent "seasons" of Fooly Cooly have not ruined the original. That's like if you got a bottomless bag of tropical Skittles, every other minute you get a black Twizzler or flavorless candy corn piece thrown in that you aren't forced to eat but constantly get weirded out that they were in there in the first place. What is bad is that we're up to three sequels of FLCL & none of them even range to being on par with the original in terms of engaging memorability. I'm not the type to rag about X or Y being forgotten online days after it was just released, but it stings seeing a beloved anime have sequel series that everyone wants to forget because nobody asked for them. This isn't like Trigun Stampede where it got to have a newfound fanbase in spite of the backlash of diehards, we're on the 4th story and you might as well imagine the tumbleweeds. It doesn't help that the expectations didn't come with presentable execution... because Grunge was bad.

I'm honestly just waiting for Uzumaki at this point

It's ironic that while my reviews are about animated media, I don't really discuss the animation given my minimal expertise; I'm more of an emotional critic than a technical one. FLCL Grunge is the exception because it feels like a mess. It's like an enhanced PS1 game that looks graphically better than Berserk 2016 but has that same quality of stiff, choppy action and inconsistent blending of 2D imagery. You just wonder why this couldn't just be 2D? You would believe the CG studio responsible had this as their first-ever credit, but it's not as Montblanc's actual first feature had somehow better animation than this, and that was back in 2012. So either it was rushed or Production IG had no clue what they were going for. Worst aspect just has to be the rock humans because they can be so awkward to see and oh yeah, close but different topic.

Why are there Thing people?

Fooly Cooly I don't think anybody was ever in it for the lore. It was a miniseries where the pieces you could put together offered some sense while having open-ended questions. Even though the OG was far more grounded despite itself, I'm not against having aliens in these sequels because I'm all for things getting weird to spice up the purposeful mundanity. My only issue is the rock people are all we really have in this story when there could exist other species. It's a symptom of a larger problem these sequels have where things exist with none of the deserved flesh. Most enjoyed the OG more for the personal journey, not really piecing everything involving Medical Mechanica. With this, it just feels like they're trying to get Matpat's attention with all the stuff Haruko does with very surface-level backstories regarding the main characters. You know as much about what happened to Rockies as you do anything about Shin or Orinoko, which heavily pales in comparison to the previous three MCs. All this wrapped in an undercooked 3 episodes that is, and I'm not kidding...

Just a worse take of The Simpsons "Trilogy of Error"

One of my favorite story tropes is when everything takes place in one day, bonus points for interconnecting multiple stories into one. They do that here like in The Simpsons episode where everyone's involved in one crazy night. The problem again stems from that I barely care about the MCs enough and while there exists setup, you only get to know so much before it's over. It took episode 3 for me to give somewhat a fuck and even then they had to rush the climax all for a shitty reveal that it was a prequel this whole time. Giving Progressive its credit, at least we got time to grasp the characters. Any interconnected throughline is all for the climax which misses the point of the story structure. In the end, it felt like nothing. Whether it's a positive or not that it was only three episodes is debatable, but man...

Haruko was still hot. Take your pennies for a nickel

Making this review wasn't so much about disliking Grunge as it was about saying the original Fooly Cooly wasn't a fluke. To say that is like saying the unique animation structure of Into the Spiderverse was a fluke that couldn't be utilized well anywhere else post-release. I don't hate Grunge or think it's the worst anime ever, but this didn't subside the disenfranchisement that stemmed from an OVA that could work as an anthology. Something is only lightning in a bottle when you otherwise don't paint forgettable story elements with average to subpar imagery and have The Pillows carry every scene with their music. If this wasn't FLCL, it was a pretty underwhelming anime. As it is, it's another sequel that mistakes having ambition and familiarity for being engaging and resonating.

2 Out Of 5; An Erectile Dysfunctional Season

[mdhwrites]

Thank you for your passionate answer to my anon question. I also wouldn't want amphibia post canon content to treat trauma as a way to develop a romance, because I agree that the girls needed that space to develop into their own person and any type of relationship attempts would have been a dumpster fire. When I asked that question, I was definitely thinking about the girls' mental health, if they ever thought too much about Amphibia or if the events that transpired changed the girls more than they expected.

As an example, I like to wonder if post Amphibia Sasha ever thought if she was using femininity as a social "weapon" to raise herself to the top and maybe even developed negative connections to it, or if that part of her didn't change at all. I also wonder if she ever regretted growing apart from the other two and if she would see it as a failure of her part in her attempts to be a better friend/person.

So... here's the thing: My base complaint still applies here: Is what you're describing ANYTHING like why you actually enjoy Amphibia? Because your original ask presented it as a flaw of the show. That the show should have dedicated time to these subjects once the world the show is named after is gone. You know, now that the fantastical elements have left and everyone has to return to regular lives.

Admittedly, that is actually an interesting idea with plenty of room, I like what you're thinking... But it's for a Future series. A series like Steven Universe Future or Fiona and Cake (and this is a point I wanted to bring up but couldn't find a place for it) are SEPARATE from their base series for a reason. That distance allows for a drastically different approach to tone, story telling priorities, etc. like that. Hell, it's part of why Amphibia has actually done better at keeping its fandom together post the series ending because there are SO many questions as to how everyone handles the time after, including the world itself.

But that plausibility space isn't a flaw of the show, unlike how you presented it in your original ask. Honestly, it's a good sign of how rich the characters were that you're asking these sorts of questions and that these questions are valid. I proved in the last ask though that it did interrogate, even if subtly, the mental health and ramifications these characters faced from these trials. It said a shocking lot about it but to ask a show to literally cover EVERY possibility?

That's simply unreasonable,and wouldn't be as satisfying as you think it would be, especially because at that point, you start diluting your themes and concepts, let alone the cohesion of your story. Matt wanted it to be three seasons and I can genuinely see a way of telling this in two seasons with not much less effective storytelling. To stretch it further? People already complain about the filler of Amphibia and now you want entire episodes dedicated to AFTER the story is done. After you've had your giant climax that brings all the themes, characters, concepts, etc. to a close with topics that potentially don't have a climax. That can't easily resolve.

How do you suggest that coheres to the rest AT ALL? It's likely even impossible honestly to ask of Disney television right now, who haven't had a Steven Universe Future yet, a series I'm told has REALLY mixed opinions and I can imagine why with what I've heard. Not even that it's a badly written show or that it tackles its subject matter childishly... But because it actually is well written and tackles its subject matter well which means making Steven be in pain, make mistakes, suffer and to make the triumph of the series be lessened by the consequences of that adventure. All of that isn't something a lot of audience members actually want because to potentially jeopardize the happy ending they got is going to upset many, let alone if you start questioning how good the entire journey was for these characters. It can potentially taint favorite episodes as you now know the damage those events caused.

So, AGAIN: Is that actually what you want out of your silly little frog show?

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[repo-net]

Reaction To Loyalty

Is is wrong to think someone is being silly, even if you would bend over backwards and get hit by a moving truck if it means they'll be happy? Is someone supposed to be the yes-man to that person, even if their decisions have been... questionable as of late?

Well, he supposed that was less of them being questionable, and more of him just having an internal conflict with himself. He was the problem, really.

"That's right! Monaca wants to throw a party! It'll be super fun with lots of games, nice food, and we can even use the servant as a pinata for the climax!"

But honestly, sometimes things around here just get far too childish for his liking...

"What? A party...? But why would we- no, Monaca. I don't think that's a good use of our time."

"Ehhh? What do you mean, Nagisa? It's not just a party, you know; it's a celebration too! Of our hundredth demon killed! That's three digits already, which is a big number!"

She held her hands up and started childishly bumping them against the armrests of her wheelchair, an exaggerated whining face on her expression.

What kind of mess was going on here? Was he being too harsh on her? Nagisa was aware of Monaca's 'episodes' and 'tantrums' that she enjoyed using to get her way; heck, he saw it happen a lot back in elementary where she'd make use of her status as Li'l Ultimate Homeroom to get a leg up. But still, it felt like he was basically disregarding her own wants.

And yet, it left a rather bitter taste in his mouth to be throwing what she calls a celebration for something so...

Right. He'll just have to pick his words very carefully here.

"A celebration...? Of what though? There's nothing to celebrate here. We haven't even completed our paradise yet."

Or even start with the actual buildings and landscape-changing yet. Though he does figure that would require all the adults to be out of the city...

"But why nooot? Monaca wants to celebrate! It's a special occasion! Why don't you want to celebrate, Nagisa?"

That's a pretty terrifying question. One wrong slip-up and she could easily misunderstand and make him out to be some sort of traitor. He knew pretty well just how much this game and this entire operation meant to Monaca. She was the one that pulled them out of their hopelessness when Enoshima had died, after all. Masaru was the leader by name, but his heart knew that Monaca was the real top dog among the five of them.

"We're the Warriors of Hope, aren't we? A party, celebration; whatever the term, doesn't really matter. We shouldn't be sitting around, making these self-indulgent occasions for ourselves when we haven't reached our goal yet. And that's making sure there isn't a single demon left in this city."

There was also that small fragment of his morality that thought throwing a party in the middle of such an event like the one they're pulling right now that felt... tasteless. Unclassy. Honestly, he saw this entire game as a means to an end. Liberating themselves for something like this just didn't sit right with him. Though he could at least understand why it brought so much joy to everyone else. It does feel satisfying to behead any demon that's chosen to hurt children like them.

The way he saw it, there were some people and true demons that were better off dead. His parents - and everyone else's among the Warriors, were prime examples of that. But someone's death was never something to celebrate. He couldn't help but wish the demons that surrounded him were dead, but it was less because he was bloodthirsty and wanted to satisfy his sadistic love for power and control against the same kind that hurt them and beat them down in the first place.

It was more of him being afraid of what would happen if they got back in power and had the means to hurt them again. He was deathly fearful of that possibility.

"And the more time we spend doing stuff like this, it gives the demons more time to regroup, strategize, and strike back against us. The parties and fun can wait until we've finally completed our paradise. You understand, right Monaca?"

He watched her reactions carefully, trying to read her as best he could. She laid back and relaxed against her wheelchair again, seeming to surrender to him. That was a good start.

"Okay, fiiiine. You're right, Nagisa. You're always so smart and reasonable, and you work so hard. But Monaca just thought a party would be fun, and a nice break for all of us, especially you. Monaca will even bake you your favorite cookies! I'd even style them to make it look like your head with your cat ears, meow!"

"Wh- hey, don't call them that!"

A giggle came out of her, and a sigh out of him. Ugh... he really did think she was perfect, but teasing was still teasing no matter who it came from.

Those cookies though, eugh. That was a massive weakness of his. And it wasn't because they tasted bad, it was the extreme opposite of it, really. They tasted amazing. It was because they came from Monaca Towa of all people. The one person he had such a hard time saying no to whenever she wanted to engage in anything he had the slightest problems with.

"Okay, the point is... I think this party can wait. I know how much you care about me- us, the Warriors of Hope."

Damn slipups! Stop trying to look so confident and self-absorbed around her, it doesn't look cool!

"But once paradise is built, there'll be no shortage of time for us to have fun. We can do all of the things you like... just wait a little longer, okay? I swear on it - once this is all over, I'll entertain anything silly you want me to do."

... ?

Her expression darkened for a short moment. It felt like the air around her turned black and his vision started to get clouded, the only thing he could see was a dark tenor that surrounded Monaca.

"Nagisaaaa. Monaca really doesn't want to fight with you. I just want to have fun, and yet..."

... That voice! Shit...! Did he say something wrong?! No, wait- he made sure to avoid any of the words that would've ticked her off. He really tried- he just-

"But that said, I guess you're right! Okay, Monaca will listen to you!"

... Oh. God, that terrified him. He really thought she was about to start screaming, kicking (wait, wasn't she in a wheelchair?), and detest him. The scene was clear.

A bright smile was on her face, her hands clasped as she inched slightly closer to him, enough to make a distant pink on his cheeks show up.

"You're soooo cool and smart, Nagisa! Even when Monaca or everyone else is distracted with things like these, you're still as focused and calm as ever! That's why Monaca loves you so much, you bring a lot of value to me! But once this is all finished and we've killed all the demons, let's throw the biggest, funnest party ever in the history of parties!"

His heart fluttered and raised itself when she mentioned that she loved him, though he and it was sent back to Earth when she followed it up with value. Right... he was getting a bit too excited there.

It was... most fun, not funnest. But he really didn't want spoil the moment and how cute she was being right now.

"Right. Thank you, Monaca. I'm happy you listened. I'll... go back to my duties now."

Before he could turn around and start walking away, he saw her tilt her head in curiosity, and she spoke in that saccharine voice again.

"Oh, already? Wait wait wait, Nagisa! Monaca wants you to do one last thing for me before you go."

What...? Well, it couldn't be that bad. Alright, he'll entertain her.

"What is it, Monaca?"

"Come a little closer."

A gulp. His ears breezed with heat, but he complied. The distance between them was no more than a single step now, and he didn't even have time to ask before she glomped him into a tight embrace, nuzzling her head against his chest.

"Wha-?! Monaca?! Wait, hey- what are you-"

Girl! Close! What! Monaca! Error! Hugging! Voice! Crack!

"Heeheehee."

She pulled his head closer to him, whispering a few words into his ear.

"When you finally see what Monaca's paradise is, promise me you'll still be with her. Can you promise that, Nagisa?"

A warm chill drove through his spine, the way she spoke felt so matter of fact-ly. The feeling in his legs melted, and he bent down on one knee to make it easier for her to keep the hold on him, swallowing down all the nervousness and mixed emotions he was feeling and returning her hug. He replied, his tone full of genuine dedication and loyalty.

"I promise."

[fizzingwizard]

Binged Good Omens season 2. Spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers

I loooooved it

However, it's worth noting that the way I loved it was different from the way I loved season one. I think any fans expecting Good Omens the remix might possibly be confused or disappointed. The scale of Good Omens was huge - so many players, so many interwoven storylines all coming together for the climax. Season 2 is a smaller deal - like Neil Gaiman's said, a transition between Good Omens and the story we'll hopefully get in season 3. The stakes are lower (in fact the stakes aren't always terribly clear), and the story is sillier. The focus on Aziraphale and Crowley, without the addition of Newt and Anathema and Adam and the Them, means the plot moves more slowly, there's more time to linger, and less mystery to parse.

But while some fans might be surprised, I'm definitely not complaining. I ate it up. We get Marvel movie after movie, all with huge stakes and epic storylines, and it's so much that honestly, don't you just want something smaller, where characters have some chance to develop, and maybe have some down time? That's Good Omens season 2. It's not a gripping adventure, but it is exciting and intriguing and very, very fun.

Here are a few of my thoughts:

I saw the teeniest spoiler in the world just by browsing tumblr, but it meant that I knew about Gabriel and Beelzebub going in. It didn't hurt me too much, since nothing happens till the last episode, but it meant I had a better idea of what was going on with Gabriel and the importance of the fly. The one thing I'm rather confused about is - why did Beelzebub greenlight Shax's plan to storm the bookshop? Was it just because they couldn't do anything else without it looking fishy? I may have missed some details.

I thought the Gabriel/Beelzebub relationship was nice. Some good ol' blasphemy hahahaha. But I will say, that after the Gabriel we got in season one, and after Crowley's threats toward him, the touching finale with everything just going Gabriel and Beelzebub's way left me a little disappointed. I don't think I wanted Gabriel to turn out to still be an asshole, I think that ship had sailed, but I suppose I was expecting him to do something a little more momentous. BUT. It's important to note that the the momentous thing probably IS that nothing momentous happened. There's a clear theme that love, protecting what you have, and enjoying the simple joys of life together are the truest expression of godliness. So I rather think that was very intentional, and having watched the season through once, on second viewing I think I'll feel differently since I'll come into it with fewer expectations.

I absolutely loved Nina and Maggie. It was lovely to see such a great, real, yet silly pair of women pining for each other, as well as a lesbian struggling with a controlling female partner, and her protective manner about it. I do wish the scene where they were locked in the coffee shop had been a little more substantial. It felt like it was meant to be, but it ended so fast. I didn't entirely understand what the point was of including Nina and Maggie... although again I think that was me expecting momentous when the point was simple human love. The fact that I enjoyed them says as much.

The social awkwardness and total out of touch thinking of the angels and demons was hilarious and relatable. The whole Job episode!!! It's what I think everyone feels when they read Job for the first time. I clearly remember being a kid and thinking "God allowed this??" And the little girl who wanted to be a blue salamander... So adorable

Now for all the fun with Crowley and Aziraphale. They were so fun. Sometimes they were a little too silly?? almost??? like when Crowley had to do the apology dance. I didn't understand that. But I look at it as the show reminding us, hey, these guys aren't cool. They're in love and hopelessly devoted. And that means being embarrassing around each other. That's real love, when you can be silly and embarrassing and wholly yourself with your partner. One of my favorite bits was Aziraphale driving the Bentley and turning it yellow xD

Oh and speaking of embarrassing and silly. The nerdy angel!Crowley making the Pillar of Creation in the beginning of episode one hooked me instantly. I was like "oh, this s gonna be GOOD." The purity of his love for creating, that he didn't feel a need for something to have a use to deserve to exist, and how upset he was to hear his creation wouldn't last... as well as how much Aziraphale was drawn to him, and concerned for him, it was all such good framing for the rest of the season. At the end, when Aziraphale tells Crowley "nothing last forever," I just know Crowley thought about the Pillars of Creation. I think in Crowley's mind, things die when they're no longer loved. He wants so much to protect what's important to him, and not be bossed around and told he has to lose something for the Greater Good or whatever.

As for Aziraphale. I think his choice, while heart-breaking, makes perfect sense for him. We were led the whole time to see that Aziraphale meddled on purpose to do good, not always with enough to nuance to know what that was, but meaning it. And Crowley meddled more to help Aziraphale than out of his own desire to meddle - which isn't to say he doesn't genuinely care about humans, but I think demon life just makes that a lot more difficult. Still he goes around protecting goats and children by his own will. He's fixed more on Aziraphale now, but that's in him as well. However, Aziraphale's the one who had faith in the system, and who wasn't 100% ready to part from it at the end of season 1. So Aziraphale deciding to return to heaven is not really that surprising, considering what he expects to gain from it. I do think this will bite him in the butt later, but I don't think he had bad reasons. And Crowley's reasons, for prioritizing his independence over being with Aziraphale, are equally valid. It's a great obstacle for them and the timing of the shift was painfully perfect.

And that finale. To be honest, I was a little frowny for a while, because I thought Maggie/Nina would get a kiss, and then Gabriel/Beelzebub were so romancey that I was like, "will everyone except Aziraphale and Crowley have a moment?" With them, there had been hints, lots of precious looks and lines, but nothing with oomph. I started to think, well, in the end Good Omens isn't a love story anyway... Ye of little faith!!! Crowley and Aziraphale get what I think was the only kiss in the season. It was definitely the most epic. I never should have doubted David Tennant and Michael Sheen. They're too used to each other for nonsense like internalized homophobia :> But I do have to say... the violins when their mouths meet... were a little much x'DDD I almost laughed. It was a very dramatic kiss, and a very dramatic reaction - a scene right out of a Katherine Hepburn movie. That, however, makes me love it more. Yes, let these middle-aged gay angels suck face and pine hopelessly for each other. Validate all those fanfics. Good Omens season 2 is the slow burn I always dreamed of

The cliffhanger ending is EXCRUCIATING. I wouldn't mind having to just wait a little, but it's gonna be years till season 3 - it's not even greenlighted yet! I will not make it y'all. I neeeeeeeeed the next season. Aarrrrggghhh. All good things are worth the wait, but I have to also SURVIVE the wait... XP

In sum: very silly, very touching, a different vibe than Good Omens, but still a very wonderful vibe. Also gay gay gay gay gay. Happy happy happy. Make them all gay! I'm fucking straight but I wish I was gay right now just so I could be even happier. It's a great story with great themes and great gay characters.

[weakforarwen]

The biggest mistake the writers did with The Last Dragonlord was beginning the episode in the middle of a battle. Already you knew there was no real urgency and that Kilgharrah's attack was not the focus of the episode. Had the dragon been a real threat to Camelot, the finale wouldn't have begun on day 3 of his attack. The characters were scared but had already grown accustomed to the attacks; all of them were safe: Uther never left the castle (Kilgharrah's revenge was against him but he was weirdly comfortable); Gwen was saved in the beginning of the episode so we knew nothing would probably happen to her, and she and Gaius only left the castle during the day, when it was safe; Arthur and Merlin can't die so no one was feared for their lives; and Morgana was gone. Truly, what was there to be scared of?

The episode was very high tension but the audience couldn't share the characters' sense of urgency, so it was all a bit excessive. It didn't help that the episode was jam-packed with pivotal character-building moments that almost didn't feel earned. All the events of this episode could've taken place at any other point in the season. Furthermore, the excessive amount of emotional scenes had the effect of partially desensitizing me to them. That also created an issue with the pacing. The episode was constantly "lurching". It started with a battle scene but the tension quickly dropped only to pick up fast in the scenes with Balinor; yet, the episode climaxed with his death and the tension dropped afterwards, even though the stakes were supposedly higher. The episode just didn't feel like it was building up to anything.

An example of the intensity of pivotal scenes decreasing throughout the episode was Arwen. Arthur saved Gwen early into the episode, and they shared an intimate moment in the infirmary; much later, at the end of the episode, Gwen ran into Arthur's arms after he returned safe from his suicide mission to defeat Kilgharrah. The last moment had bigger significance than the first one because Gwen had been openly and publicly embracing Arthur, yet the first moment had been much more tender and touching. The significance of Gwen running into Arthur's arms was slightly undermined by the fact that Arthur only reacted with surprise and the moment ended as fast as it begun.

A better example of this were Merthur. When Arthur and Merlin set out to find Balinor, they rested at an inn for the night. Merlin was quiet, worrying about meeting his father, so Arthur asked him about it. (The scene frankly read as romantic: the soundtrack was romantic, and Merlin and Arthur sharing the same room and an intimate, late night conversation was the kind of scenario common to romcoms.) Arthur was uncharacteristically sweet with Merlin, encouraging him to see Arthur as a friend; it was a very touching scene, if somewhat odd due to its obvious yet entirely misplaced romantic undertones, and it was really the only scene I needed from Merthur to feel like they'd grown closer and that Arthur cared for Merlin the way we already knew Merlin cared for Arthur.

However, we had another touching scene between them, before their final confrontation with Kilgharrah. By then I had already reached my limit of heartwarming Merthur scenes, so I just felt a bit bored by it. Too much emphasis was placed on the fact that Merlin was willing to go into battle with Arthur; Merlin had proven his loyalty too many times for Arthur to act surprised by his actions. We already knew they would survive with 100% certainty, so, honestly, who even cared that they were going on a dangerous mission? The best part of the scene was Arthur telling Merlin no man was worth his tears, not knowing that man had been Merlin's father. Everything else was redundant. Just like with Arwen, their second big, emotional scene was less meaningful and impactful (to the audience) than the first.

The highlight of this episode was obviously Merlin and Balinor. I loved their scenes a lot, but the writers made a mistake placing them in the season finale. Balinor and Merlin needed an entire episode dedicated to them. Merlin meeting his father and becoming a Dragonlord was a big deal, but everything felt rushed, because, technically, the focus of the episode was on defeating Kilgharrah. Yet, the most emotional and tense moment of the episode was watching Balinor die in Merlin's arms. The episode peaked there. We knew Merlin could stop Kilgharrah, so nothing else mattered.

If the entire episode was about Merlin becoming a Dragonlord, why make it a season finale? It may have been significant to Merlin, but it meant nothing to Arthur. Apart from showing his great courage and leadership skills, Arthur had no character-building moments. This series wasn't just about Merlin. His destiny was to serve Arthur, his story began with Arthur. Any series finale should take Arthur a step closer to becoming The Once and Future King. The Last Dragonlord would've been an excellent mid-season episode, but it was certainly not a proper finale. It was similar to Le Morte d'Arthur in that way; Arthur was rather useless in both finales and only Merlin got to prove himself, so both episodes were underwhelming and felt filler-y to me. Watching Prince Arthur become the legendary King Arthur was the appeal of the series. At this point in the story, we already knew Merlin was powerful and that his powers grew by the day. It was Arthur who was a big question mark for us; he was far from being legendary.

So, yeah, the episode was enjoyable yet messy. It would've been an excellent episode were it not the season finale. For a finale, it felt too much like a standalone episode. It told us nothing about what was to come (besides Arwen, maybe; Morgana was only mentioned once, in passing, by Gaius); Arthur didn't grow much as a character; it was completely unrelated to all other episodes - probably because the season had not plot; and although Kilgharrah's freedom had been hinted at from the beginning, I hadn't expected him to attack Arthur of all people.

Lastly, I'll just mention a few scenes I liked a lot:

Arthur and Gwen's first scene was amazing, but the scenes between Gaius and Gwen were just as touching and meaningful to Arwen. I found Gaius's words so beautiful, hopeful, and moving:

Oh... the world's a strange place, Guinevere. Never underestimate the power of love. I've seen it change many things.

I immediately thought of Merlin and how his love failed to change Arthur's destiny - and, in fact, cemented it, but love did indeed change many things.

Gaius's (and Arthur's) love saved Merlin from possibly becoming a Morgana, or a Gilli, or even a Mordred; Gwen's love nurtured Arthur and sheltered him from his father's influence so he became a better King; Arthur's love transformed Gwen and gave her the means to fulfill her calling to serve Camelot; Arthur and Gwen's love for each other saved them from the outside forces trying to separate and weaken them; the love between Morgause and Morgana birthed a new Morgana; Merlin's love for Arthur changed both of them forever; Arthur's love for Camelot made him The Once and Future King of Albion; and I could go on.

I loved Gaius in the episode. His words to Merlin were so sweet and deeply touching:

Merlin, I know I can never compare with your father, but for what it's worth, you've still got me.

Their scenes together felt earned due to the love, trust, and respect that existed between them. To me, the Merthur scenes were tainted by the fact that Arthur only seemed to value Merlin when their lives were at stake. Arthur and Merlin's dynamic in this episode was not their normal. Just in the previous episode, Arthur told Merlin to stick to what he did best, which was nothing.

Anyway, like I said, I loved Gaius and Gwen in the episode. I like their friendship a lot; they work well together. Gaius loved Arthur so he was happy to see him and Gwen at the infirmary. He was happy Arthur and Gwen had each other. He gave Gwen hope for the future.

I liked the symbolism of the last scene of Gwen running into Arthur's arms, and sort of "stealing" Arthur from Merlin, and Gaius going to Merlin. The person Arthur loved the most was Gwen, and the person Merlin loved the most and could always count on was Gaius. Others (Freya, Balinor) left Merlin, and Arthur was inherently unreliable since he didn't know Merlin's secret or approve of magic and, besides, his priorities were Camelot, his father, and Gwen, but Gaius was always there for Merlin. I didn't mean to say Gwen actually stole Arthur from Merlin, as in, romantically, but rather that the scene was symbolic of the fact that while Merlin lived for Arthur, Arthur lived for Camelot, Gwen, and his father first, and remained oblivious to Merlin's pain and sacrifice, which only Gaius truly knew.

Lastly, what stood out to me about Arwen's hug was Arthur's shock. Gwen had been the one to distance herself from Arthur, so I think he was taken aback by her very open display of affection. Perhaps he was also surprised that she cared for him that much.

[jjongleurs]

@iamnotmereally

Okay, but that is a FACT. I feel like, until THE END, they tried so hard to make Cas seem more "other" and beyond the scope of normal life for this specific reason. Like... as soon as they showed anything close to the possibility of domesticity or permanence in the life of Dean specifically??? They whisked Cas away.

It kinda starts in s6 subtly when Cas is just watching Dean's life (first with Lisa and Ben then with Bobby and Sam). Like, he's literally outside those situations because if he wasn't? It would mean too much.

Then in season 7 with killing him then having him be "human" and have memory loss then having him take on Sam's trauma. It was all just served to distance him from being a normal part of Dean's life.

Then they couldn't have Cas stick with Dean in purgatory in s8 because it would mean they had to spend a lot of time together and it would deepen and develop their relationship to the point where it was near impossible to say they wrent in love (both negatively and to each other).

AND THEN season 9 with human Cas and Dean kicking him out of the bunker???? Impossible for them to just be friends in that situation of living and working together in close quarters without it culminating into them getting even closer???

Season 10 just said all this without saying it with the Colette parallel??? Like, Cain could stop because he loved his wife and she loved him and that bond served as an anchor for the mark and he was able to control his bloodlust that way? Like???? Hello??? And then in season 11 Dean is STRAIGHT UP running away from Cas and pushing him away after Rowena's attack dog spell weakens him and he has to stay in the bunker for a while. Dean washes all the cars and goes on hunts and tells Cas to get moving because Metatron and the Darkness are still a problem so he leaves the bunker????

I barely remember season 12 and I haven't gotten to it in my rewatch but I remember that there's a wedge between them because Cas wants to protect the unborn nephilim and Dean and Sam want it dead (it's so weird to talk about Jack like this), so they stay away from each other for a huge part of this season. But they reunite to fight Lucifer and keep him away from Jack and THEN CAS DIES. And then we have the whole widower arc?????

And I don't remember season 14 but the divorce arc in season 15????????????? They think the world is saved so they think there is no big bad left so they're free to do whatever with their lives but Dean has a lot of unpack and he focuses all his anger and grief and frustration and directs it at Cas because he's SCARED. Of how he feels and what things could be like if they could actually just talk and work through their issues and live normally??? Like??? It horrified him!!! And then we come full circle back to purgatory and Dean TRIED. He tried to tell Cas he loved him and he told him, HE TOLD HIM!!!! DEAN TOLD CAS HE WANTED HIM TO STAY!!! That's honestly the Dean equivalent of saying "I love you" and it seems like he's ready to tell Cas!! To stop pushing him away!!! The narrative (this push and pull of emotions with the narrative driving a wedge between them so they don't actually get the resolution of their emotions) seems like it's coming to a close!! BUT THEN CAS STOPS HIM. Now I don't think that Cas thought Dean was in love with him and stoped him because of that because he learned from Dean that to have hope is dangerous and it's better to hope for nothing and to take what you can get and to avoid the heartbreak, but he KNEW. He knew that any conversation with Dean friggin Winchester that starts with "I need to say something" could lead to his happiness because he avoids Saying Something like the damn PLAGUE. Dean opening up and being vulnerable???? Making progress and talking about his feelings and emotions to his damn face??? To him??? To Cas???? NOT running away from what he's feeling??? SAYING IT OUT LOUD!!! So Cas stops him!!!!

This is also why he's not in the Mrs. Butters episode!! Too much domesticity and wholesomeness, too much that could lead to MORE. BUT THEN IT COMES FULL CIRCLE WITH THE CONFESSION SCENE BECAUSE CAS CAN FINALLY ALLOW IT BUT THE NARRATIVE STILL DOESN'T ALLOW IT. Cas and Dean are on the same page, but before they've even got a CHANCE Cas is dead??? Dean is still processing what happened???? He's not used to having these moments of clarity because the last decade with Cas has been full of unsaid things and repression???? He can't process all of that on a few seconds and before he can even start to process it, much less RESPOND Cas is gone???

IT WAS ALWAYS SOMETHING DRIVING THEM APART. They wanted to be with each other but they had so much to resolve and no time for it, AND WHEN THEY FINALLY DO IT THE DAMN STORY ENDS. THERE IS NO RESOLUTION. we did the exposition, the conflict, the rising action, the friggin climax!!!! BUT THERE WAS NO RESOLUTION.

[gaycey-sketchit]

(Gary anon) And considering how many subsections of Pokemon exist, clashing of opinions isn't limited to just the main series' numbered gens or mechanics. (In some ways, it does make it 'easier' to stay a corner than constantly being thrust into the equivalent of town square like more niche franchises. We can all be happy about a new gen, and then quickly go back to our spaces until more news) Something that gives the fandom some fuel to play with, but without the sense of egotism and

.

(Part 2) entitlement. Though I do wonder what would resonate more, Adult Ash's design or his voice? (Plus a whole new protagonist would allow them to do different things they couldn't really do with Ash, despite the many barriers he broke. It'd take time, but with the right care, they can make their own legacy) Definitely not against more Chronicle-like episodes, it's just Gary in particular I don't see being a upfront mainstay. Works better in short bursts.

(Part3) (I'd love more Ash/Gary interactions, but stuff like Oak, Tracey, Dawn, Goh and Project Mew were a nice way to give him more sides. Him staying with the same group that has one goal for too long kinda hinders that, imo) Since they have a history, Goh and Tokio deciding to be a traveling duo would be a good endgame for both. Whether they stay with Project Mew or go on their own. (If what I'm hearing is true, and it seems like it, Alain is about to fed to a shark instead)

(Part 4) Giving it some thought for a long while, I get why they did this to avoid redundancy. No repeat final matchups. (It really just depends on long the PWC is, I doubt the Mew search will be as long) It is the only battle format they never fought in, I just don't know if it will stand out other than just being them battling again. (As we discussed, a 1v1 after possibly winning the PWC would leave a bad taste in the mouth to the fandom if Gary slams Ash a 3rd time after a big win like this)

(Part 5) (And even if it were Blastoise/Umbreon vs Pikachu, Ash winning really wouldn't mean much with this current win streak) Since it's been 20 years since that Johto fight, it'd be nice if they had a climax that felt more "them" than another game reference.(Ending JN with Ash's first rival just seems symbolic. With a tie to show they still got work to do) But for a 6v6, we'd need 2.5-3 episodes at best. (Yeah, it was 4 technically. Unless you want to count the Arcanine/Bayleef race as a 5th)

Yeah.

It does make things easier in some ways, yeah. And I honestly do my best to ignore what 90% of the fandom is saying anyway, I only really care what my friends and mutuals think about anything.

Yeah. I wonder, would they recast for an older Ash? Or would the current VAs still do it? I can't imagine Rica Matsumoto being removed from a role she's done for 25 years (and I've heard recasting a character while their current VA is alive is considered an insult in Japan). (And while I have... Opinions about Sarah Natochenny, I think her voice acting is fine and her Ash, particularly back in Battle Frontier and DP, sounded older anyway.)

True. While parting with Ash would hurt, a new protagonist with a different personality could have their own path to take things in a new direction.

Fair. While he may spend some time with the Project Mew team, I fully expect him to eventually go his own way, like he parted with the research teams he worked with on Sayda and in Sinnoh.

Yeah, Goh and Tokio ending up traveling together would be a good way for them to depart when Journeys draws to a close.

Oh, well RIP Alain then I guess. XY fandom might not be too pleased about that but I'm fine with it, I never saw XY so I can't say I cared too much about him in the first place.

Yeah, fair. Avoiding redundancy is good.

Yeah, I suppose so. Guess we'll see how it goes.

If a 3v3 is the best we can hope for at this point, it's what I'll hope for for sure. I feel like it'd be enough to stand out by virtue of being the first real battle between them in so many years.

Yeah, very much agreeing with that. A battle that's distinctly them, Ash facing his first rival again, would be the perfect way to conclude Journeys. Journeys had so many callbacks, why not come full circle? And a draw would be the best way for it to end--they still have plenty to learn on their respective paths.

Good to know I didn't forget any, then! But wow, they really only battled four times and one was just basically just the first battle from Pokemon Yellow. Here's to them getting to battle a fifth time!