#i have a three step plan to improving the episode step one make a better costume

[regicidal-defenestration]

There's a universe where Torchwood s1e4 Cyberwoman is an entirely unwatchable pile of rubbish, and there's a universe where it's a gripping story about the lengths you'll go to for love, and then there's the universe we live in, somewhere in the middle, which is arguably the worst outcome here

[spicykaraage]

Kunimitsu Tezuka Tenigo Episodes - Story Translation

Asterisks next to Tezuka means he’s smiling. [Improvement Level 1 - Episode 1]

Kikumaru: Tezuka~! Today’s an off day, but do you still plan on doing voluntary training?

Tezuka: I was, yes…

Kikumaru: How about you cancel it and come mountain climbing with the other members!?

Tezuka: Climbing… you mean the mountains nearby?

Kikumaru: Yeah, yeah. It’d be a great way to take a breather while training your legs and feet too, dontcha think?

Tezuka:* …Yes. You do make a good point there.

Kikumaru: Alright! I’ve already got the OK from everyone else! And since you’re on board too, that makes all of us!

Oishi: Eiji, what’d Tezuka say?

Kikumaru: Oh, Oishi~! You have Fuji and Shorty with you, too. Tezuka said he’ll come~!

Tezuka: Right. I think it’d be good since we can relax and train during it.

Ryoma: ‘Kay, so we’re all in. What should we bring?

Tezuka: Staying hydrated is necessary. Each of you make sure to bring enough sports drinks.

Kikumaru: Then, there’s food! I think we should bring lunch, don’t you?

Fuji: Oh, you’re right. Since it’ll be around that time once we make it to the top.

Tezuka:* I’ll make onigiri…

Kikumaru: That sounds good~! I wanna eat karaage~! And sausages, too!

Ryoma: I think I’ll add grilled fish to the mix.

Fuji: I could make tamagoyaki and bring it along.

Kikumaru: Oh, this is gonna be great! Looks like we’re gonna have the standard menu for a sports festival~

Ryoma: We can use the kitchen, right?

Kikumaru: Yup! C’mon, let’s go!

Oishi: Haha… it’s starting to sound more like a picnic than mountain climbing.

Tezuka:* Well, it’s fine. It’s a nice change from the usual training I put my mind to.

Tezuka: Taking the time to stretch out your wings is necessary now and again.

Oishi: Right. Especially for you, Tezuka, since you always do voluntary training even on your days off.

Oishi: I know Eiji and everyone else is glad that we’re able to go out together like this.

Tezuka:* …I know. I’ll make a conscious effort to have more occasions like these from now on.

[Improvement Level 1 - Episode 2]

Kaidoh: Huhh? Momoshiro, you asshole, don’t just cut in front of me when you see me walkin’ here!

Momoshiro: Huh? You’re the one that got in the way!

—

Tezuka: …

Kawamura: Ughh… jeez. They’re fighting again.

Inui: This trip was meant for us to unwind. Probability that those two will fight when they’re not in a situation where they should cooperate, such as matches: 100%.

Kawamura: Fuji and Eiji have already gone ahead of us. Echizen, too.

Inui: It appeared they were having a pleasant discussion about the plants. Echizen even had a squirrel with him.

Kawamura: Whoa, he had a squirrel? I wish I could’ve seen it…

Momoshiro: HEY, WHAT’D I JUST SAY!? DON’T JUST WALK IN FRONT OF ME!

Kaidoh: YOU’RE THE ONE THAT DID IT TO ME, YOU IDIOT!

Kawamura: Well, I don’t think anything will come near us with how loud they’re being.

Tezuka: Pay attention when you’re on a mountain, you two!

Momoshiro: !!

Kaidoh: Captain Tezuka…

Tezuka: Distracting each other and not paying attention to your surroundings can be fatal on a mountain. You should know better!

Tezuka: For starters, Kaidoh, you didn’t even see what was going on around you during the Red vs. White competition.

Kaidoh: Ughh… I’m sorry…

Tezuka: And you, Momoshiro.

Tezuka: While you’re busy needlessly distracting yourself, those three have already started having lunch at the mountain hut ahead.

Momoshiro: …Okay, I’m sorry.

Tezuka: Climbing is just like life and tennis. It’s important to keep a good eye on the path and go steadily. Keep that in mind.

Momoshiro: Right!

Kaidoh: Understood!

Momoshiro: …Man, this is just like practice.

Kaidoh: Sh-Shut up!

Kawamura: Haha… Well, anyhow, let’s have fun instead of fighting. Tezuka makes a good point.

Tezuka: …Right. Climb steadily with each step and take in the nature around you.

Tezuka: If there is anything to be gained from this, then it would be the meaning of doing this climb.

Tezuka: Remember to enrich your spirit, and don’t let your guards down!

[Improvement Level 1 - Episode 3]

Tezuka: …What a magnificent view.

Kikumaru: Mmm, for real! It’s great a view~

Fuji: It was worth the effort to climb up here. It’s such a spectacular view…

Kawamura: We all made it up here safely. That’s probably another reason why it feels so accomplishing.

Oishi: Yeah. It feels extra special since we’re viewing it all together…

Inui: Probability of this moment being engraved in the memories of us members of Seigaku: 100%…

Inui: Actually, I don’t even think I can make calculations on this.

Kikumaru: It kinda feels like we really made it to the top! Just a teeensy bit like that excitement we felt when we won the championship, y’know?

Tezuka: …Yes, you’re not wrong.

Fuji: Yeah. Maybe when the next generation wins, they could climb this mountain and take in this view again.

Tezuka: That is, if those three still share that sentiment.

Oishi: Haha, we’ll see. Kaidoh, Momoshiro and Echizen… will they even remember this?

Kikumaru: Well, we’ll all be gone by then. Who knows what’ll happen?

Tezuka: Our team this year is mostly comprised of third years. As is inevitable at any school…

Tezuka: It will be important for us to discern if any of the second and first years have developed over the course of the year, and if they will continue to do so.

Fuji: How Seigaku will turn out after we’re gone… I don’t even wanna think about it yet.

Kawamura: But I’m pretty sure we’re almost at the time where we’re gonna have to.

Inui: I’ve been keeping a fair amount of data on the first and second years. However… the probability that there are those who will show remarkable growth is infinite.

Tezuka: There was a time when we were set aside as well. And from then on, Seigaku continued to forge itself and was able to stand at the top of the nation.

Tezuka: To ensure that it wasn’t merely a one-time twist of fate, we must leave behind a variety of tools for our underclassmen to use in the future.

Kikumaru: Exactly. Momo, Kaidoh and Shorty. There’s still gonna be times where they’ll need our help~

Tezuka: I wish for them to continue climbing steadily, step by step; with humility and without haste, just as we climbed this mountain today.

Tezuka: I’m sure they will realize this view is what lies ahead.

Kawamura: You’re right… Here’s hoping we can watch over them with peace of mind then.

Kikumaru: Yeah, maybe? Or maybe we’ll get too anxious and wanna help them anyway?

Fuji: Fufu, maybe. I can’t say I wouldn’t do that.

Inui: But, there’s a very good chance that you won’t have to.

Oishi: Right. I believe in them.

Tezuka: …As for us, we hardly have the time to be concerned for others.

Tezuka: To be able to stand tall before our underclassmen, we must keep walking down the path that lies before us.

Tezuka: (Not just for someone else’s sake, but for my own… Perhaps it’s time to leave the future in their hands and walk my own path…)

[Improvement Level 2 - Episode 1]

Tezuka: (…This mountain’s close. But if I were to go from here, just the trip itself would take three hours, and that’s only one way…)

Tezuka: (And even if I went on an off day, I’d probably still end up returning late…)

Shiraishi: See? I told you so.

Tachibana: I see… he really has been reading mountain climbing magazines for a while now.

Tezuka: …? What are you talking about?

Shiraishi: Tezuka-kun, you’ve been reading mountain climbing magazines all the time recently, haven’t you?

Shiraishi: I think you’ve been stressing out since you wanna go climb these mountains but you can’t right now, so I talked to everyone about it.

Tezuka: …What do you mean?

Tachibana: We’re thinking it’d be good to get you another hobby you could do here at the training camp to help put your mind at ease.

Tezuka: …Okay.

Shiraishi: Sooo, I talked with the captains from the other schools, and after much thought and planning, they each came up with their own ideas~!

Tachibana: Right. As for my suggestion… how about you try cooking?

Tezuka: Cooking…

Tachibana: It takes a lot of time, and it’s like a science. But anyone can do it if they follow the steps properly.

Shiraishi: Do you do any cooking, Tezuka-kun?

Tezuka: I’m not sure if I’m good at it or not. I simply do what I can.

Tezuka:* I don’t think I could make something too elaborate… but I can do basic dishes.

Shiraishi: Yeah, that’s fine. Here’s some recipes Tachibana-kun brought, they look pretty simple, right?

Tachibana: They should be. It’s a collection of recipes that are easy for anyone to make and can be done in 15 minutes.

Tezuka: It’s a good collection of recipes for beginners. And they each seem to have a good nutritional balance.

Tezuka: However…

Shiraishi: Hm, is there a problem?

Tezuka: This training camp already provides our nutrition.

Tezuka: So there’s really no reason to make it ourselves…

Shiraishi: Oh, so you’re saying we don’t really need to make a hobby of it here?

Tachibana: …On second thought, you’re probably right.

Tezuka:* Right… But I appreciate your suggestion. I’ll see what I can come up with myself.

[Improvement Level 2 - Episode 2]

Kite: So you’re still here, Tezuka-kun.

Tezuka: Now it’s Kite and Minami.

Minami: Based on your reaction, you already know why we’re here, huh.

Tezuka:* Yes. You’re here to suggest a new hobby for me, right?

Kite: Well, since you’re already aware, this should only take a moment.

Kite: I don’t understand this obsession with mountains in the first place, though.

Minami: You’re from Okinawa, right? So you’re more used to ocean than mountains, aren’t you?

Kite: Naturally. However, Tezuka has been living in Tokyo, so I don’t believe he’d understand that sentiment.

Tezuka: …Yes, you may be right.

Minami: Well, trying to do stuff like mountain climbing or swimming in the ocean isn’t easy while you’re at this training camp…

Kite: Oh, are you saying that I should forget about the ocean as well?

Minami: N-No! I’ve never implied that either of you should forget about the mountains or the ocean.

Minami: And since you’re here too Kite, I think it’ll be nice to show you my hobby as well…

Tezuka: What’s your hobby, Minami?

Minami: Right. It’s relatively cheap when you start, but it gets pretty deep the more you get into it…

Minami: How about stamp collecting?

Tezuka: Stamps… I see. You’ve certainly collected a myriad of them. It may take some time to start a collection.

Minami: Right, right. There’s all these different kinds like the local ones.

Minami: And as you can see, they’re not always shaped like squares.

Kite: You’re right, there appears to be some with very intricate shapes.

Minami: There’s also a lot that are limited edition. And they come in all these colors and designs.

Tezuka: …This is—

Minami: Right, that one with the mountain design. It’s a limited edition stamp that was issued in a city that had a famous mountain nearby… Oh!

Tezuka: …

Minami: Uhhhh, Tezuka…?

Tezuka: …

Kite: He can’t even hear you. He’s that engrossed with mountains.

Minami: Ahaha… What can I say, I guess this had the opposite effect… Sorry about that…

[Improvement Level 2 - Episode 3]

Tezuka: …Atobe, what is this?

Atobe: As you can see, it’s tea time. You too, may get drunk on my special tea.

Tezuka: No, I don’t think you can get drunk from tea.

Yukimura: Fufu, how interesting. It’s a lot more entertaining with someone serious in the mix.

Atobe: Tch… Anyway, how’s the taste?

Tezuka:* It’s very good. Also… the water’s good too, isn’t it?

Atobe: Heh, how keen of you. This was made with a special mineral water extracted from the foot of a popular mountain.

Atobe: The tea leaves that are paired with it were specially ordered, and even the steeping was timed to perfection.

Atobe: If you made it a hobby to brew tea with this much attention to detail, you’d forget all about the mountains…

Tezuka: …Mineral water, huh.

Atobe: Hm?

Tezuka: Mineral water does contain high mineral content. Although it is drawn from groundwater, it can only be called mineral water on the condition that it contains dissolved minerals.

Tezuka:* Judging from the taste, I’d say the mineral water you used is excellent in quality…

Atobe: …Why the hell is he paying more attention to the water than the tea, seriously.

Yukimura: I guess he’s just always interested in things related to mountains. Looks like this hobby isn’t gonna do it for him.

Atobe: …

Yukimura: In any case… Tezuka.

Tezuka: What is it?

Yukimura: Let’s play some tennis. Come to the courts.

—

Yukimura: Let’s go… hah!

Tezuka: A nice course… but weak!

Yukimura: Fufu, same to you. Come on, don’t hold back!

Tezuka: All right then, I’ll give it my all!

—

Shiraishi: Well, in the end, it looks like the thing that gets him going the most is tennis.

Kite: So those cheap attempts were unnecessary then.

Minami: Well, we can’t really speak for others, but I guess in the end, tennis is our favorite hobby.

Tachibana: Right… I’ll ask them to let me join in a bit.

Shiraishi: Haha… I get you. Let’s all do it since we’re here!

[Improvement Level 3 - Episode 1]

Tezuka: What are you reading, Oishi?

Oishi: Oh, Tezuka. It’s this magazine.

Tezuka: Aquariums… they’re quite beautiful.

Oishi: Right? An aquarium is like creating a world of your imagination inside a fish tank.

Oishi: It’s interesting to see people create all these different atmospheres in them.

Tezuka:* I see… each tank truly does have its own atmosphere. I especially like when they add ruins or sunken ships.

Oishi: Totally. I feel like the ones that include buildings are the best at representing the person’s outlook.

Tezuka: If you were to make one, what would it look like?

Oishi: Me? Well, let’s see… I think I’d like to try doing it with freshwater fish first.

Oishi: I know it’s generic, but probably goldfish. There’s actually a pretty big variety of them, so I think they’d be cool to watch.

Oishi: And then I could add some Japanese-style monuments to build the atmosphere.

Tezuka:* Yes, goldfish… a lot of them are unique in size and shape.

Tezuka:* They come in many colors too, like red, black and gold. I’m sure you’d enjoy doing that.

Oishi: Yeah. A lot of people like goldfish, and I can see why.

Hirakoba: What’s that? You guys like fish, too?

Tezuka: …Oishi does. But are you interested in them, too?

Hirakoba: I like fishing more than I do fish.

Tezuka:* Fishing, I see.

Hirakoba: Especially spearfishing, it’s a lot of fun.

Tezuka:* I haven’t tried spearfishing, yet…

Hirakoba: There’s tricks to it, but once you figure it out, you’ll catch more than you think.

Hirakoba: You should try it, Tezuka. I think you’d be really good at it.

Oishi: I agree, you’re usually good at things that require deep concentration.

Tezuka:* Hm… okay. I’ll give it a try when I get the chance.

[Improvement Level 3 - Episode 2]

Irie: It’s true that most tenor sax music is jazz, but it’s also featured in many famous classical pieces as well.

Choutarou: Yeah, I guess you’re right. I really like the saxophone in Carmen: Intermezzo.

Irie: Ah, yes, that one. I’m more of a fan of Air on the G String.

Tezuka: …

Irie: Oh, Tezuka-kun. What’s with that curious look on your face?

Tezuka: …I’m sorry. It’s just unusual to see you two interacting.

Choutarou: Yeah, that is a good point. But believe it or not, we found out we have something in common.

Irie: It turns out that we both play instruments. I play the tenor saxophone, and he plays the piano and violin.

Tezuka:* Right, and you’re into classical music…

Irie: So you knew the titles we mentioned. You like it too, Tezuka-kun?

Tezuka: Yes, I do. I listen to a lot of classical music. I especially like Beethoven.

Choutarou: Oh, Beethoven’s good too. I play his songs a lot on the piano. Like “Moonlight Sonata”.

Irie: You’ve been reading foreign books lately, haven’t you Tezuka-kun?

Irie: Wouldn’t it be a good idea to listen to music while doing so?

Tezuka:* Yes, I do from time to time. Listening to music does help me concentrate better.

Choutarou: If I remember correctly: you can speak German right, Tezuka-san? Do you like any pieces by other German musicians?

Choutarou: He’s pretty famous, but I like Bach. I also like Pachelbel.

Irie: Yeah, they’re good. I like Beethoven too, but I also recommend Wagner and Mendelssohn.

Tezuka:* Sounds good. I’ve always been biased towards Beethoven, but I’ll give those composers’ songs a listen as well.

Irie: Oh, there’s actually a song I can put on for you right now. Give it a listen and see if it’s to your liking.

Irie: Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is the name…

~♪~♪

Tezuka:* …It’s a good song. The harmony of the wind instruments and the delicate overlapping of the strings draw you in.

Yagyuu: Oh? Is that Mendelssohn?

Tezuka: …Yagyuu. You know about it?

Yagyuu: I often listen to classical music when I wake up in the morning. Mendelssohn is one that I listen to a lot.

Yagyuu: Hearing those overlapping sounds makes me feel a bit more dignified.

Tezuka:* I think I understand that feeling. I feel more composed when I listen to Beethoven’s music, too.

Irie: For you though, Tezuka-kun, I’m pretty sure you can be composed with or without music.

Choutarou: But even so, I never knew there were so many classical music lovers around me. I’d like to know more of your favorite songs!

Irie: Fufu, how about we discuss classical music on a regular basis then?

Yagyuu: That sounds great, I’d love to be a part of it.

Tezuka:* I as well.

[Improvement Level 3 - Episode 3]

Momoshiro: Oh, there’s a camping special on the TV!

Kawamura: Camping equipment seems to be really evolving these days.

Tezuka: Right. Especially tents nowadays always have that nice trinity of being lightweight, durable and easy to pitch.

Momoshiro: Wow~, really?

Tezuka: Technology is evolving everyday. And the same can also be said for camping equipment…

Tezuka:* But even so, if you go to the mountains, you will still have to find ways to spend your time without electricity or running water. That still hasn’t changed.

Kawamura: Because some tools that are considered useful can become useless once you’re in nature. The whole point is if you can enjoy that.

Tezuka:* It’s something to be enjoyed, and it’s also something that can train you… It’s really interesting when you think about it.

Tezuka:* (It’s not something I can do at the moment, but once I have the time again, it would be nice to go climbing and camping on top of a mountain.)

Momoshiro: I’m also really into glamping!

Tezuka: …Right. I view it more as like having a hotel in the middle of nature. But…

Tezuka: I don’t think it’s bad in terms of being able to enjoy nature more easily.

Kawamura: Well, different strokes for different folks, but I think it’s cool too.

—

Amane: …Oh, Bane-san. Take a look. They’ve got a camping special on.

Kurobane: Hm? Oh, you’re right.

Kurobane: But all they’re showing is mountain camping… they’re not gonna show any beach camping?

Amane: Camping’s always associated with the mountains for some reason. Even though the beach is cool too…

—

Tezuka: Beach camping…

Kawamura: Oh, yeah. I think it’d also be really cool to pitch a tent on the beach and do stuff there.

Tezuka: …Just walking in the sand on a beach is a good workout.

Tezuka: And it has the advantage of being easier to go to than finding a place on a mountain.

Tezuka: Camping is about engaging with yourself… the beach seems like a good place to be able to do that more conveniently.

Kawamura: Haha… camping still boils down to training for you huh, Tezuka.

Momoshiro: But either way, the mountains or the beach would be fun!

Tezuka:* Right. Let’s plan on it in the future.

[Improvement Level 4 - Episode 1]

Tezuka: …

Hiyoshi: Oh, Tezuka-san… Nice work today. Did you just step out?

Tezuka: Yes. There’s no one in there now. It should be okay to use.

Choutarou: Thank you very much… Huh?

Tezuka: …? What is it?

Choutarou: Your hair’s still wet, don’t you want to dry it?

Tezuka: Well, I usually just let it dry on its own.

Hiyoshi: Is that so. Well, that’s surprising…

Choutarou: With you being so diligent, I thought you’d dry your hair properly.

Kabaji: …Right.

Tezuka: Hair dries regardless. So I don’t see the point in taking the time to blow dry it.

Tezuka: There’s a multitude of other things you could be doing in that time.

Hiyoshi: Yeah, that makes sense… being “super efficient” or whatever.

Choutarou: But I’m jealous of how good your hair always ends up looking.

Tezuka: Oh… really?

Choutarou: Usually when people let their hair air dry, it ends up looking messy or tousled.

Tezuka: …Yes, that is true.

Tezuka: But I don’t sleep while it’s wet. So that solves that problem.

Hiyoshi: So you’re aware of that at least.

Kabaji: …Of course.

Tezuka:* Well, I’d better get going. Be sure to rest well.

Choutarou: Oh, right. Thank you very much.

Hiyoshi: That was unexpected, but oddly satisfying.

Choutarou: Yeah. We got to know a little more about Tezuka-san.

Kabaji: Right.

[Improvement Level 4 - Episode 2]

Tezuka: It looks like tomorrow will be an off day. Everyone is free to spend their time as they wish.

Marui: Ah, really? I dunno what I’ll do~!

Kirihara: I’m gonna play some more of my video game. I’m halfway through it but I’m stuck at this one part.

Marui: Oh, video games, huh. That does sound fun, but I think I’ll go shopping.

Sanada: It’s good to take a break, but don’t become too lax.

Marui: Yeah, yeah, we got it.

Kirihara: Well, what do you guys plan on doing, Vice Captain, Tezuka-san?

Tezuka: Voluntary training.

Sanada: Same here.

Marui: …Well, we could’ve guessed that.

Kirihara: Huh, what about something other than that!? Like what you’d do on an actual day off!

Tezuka: …I don’t really have what people consider “days off.”

Marui: Wow, classic Tezuka.

Kirihara: But don’t you have times where you go out and do something!?

Tezuka: Well… I spend more time reading books than I do going out.

Tezuka:* And I often talk about fishing with my grandfather as well.

Sanada: I see, fishing. The perfect thing for mental training.

Tezuka:* Right. It’s very interesting trying to strategize how to catch the fish, it also sharpens one’s nerves.

Sanada: Strategize… do you mean lure fishing?

Tezuka:* …Yes. I had actually caught a lot of fish using a lure I received as a birthday gift.

Sanada: Oh, what kind of lure?

Tezuka: I have a photo… Here.

Marui: Wha…

Kirihara: That’s…

Marui: Oishi’s face!?

Tezuka: Yes. He had made it himself.

Marui: Buhahahahahaha! Seriously!? That’s actually genius of him to make that!

Kirihara: Hyahahahahaha!! Ah, my stomach!!

Sanada: Hm… it’s well crafted. The resemblance is rather nice. I like it.

Tezuka: Right. I still treasure it. But whenever a fish bites it… I…

Kirihara: Please stop…! I don’t think I can laugh anymore!

Marui: Jeez, how can you guys talk about it with straight faces…?

[Improvement Level 4 - Episode 3]

Kintarou: Oh, it’s Mister Tezuka! Heyy!

Tezuka: …Tooyama.

Shiraishi: Hey, Kin-chan, pipe down. Sorry, Tezuka-kun.

Tezuka: No, it’s fine.

Kintarou: Oh, it looks like you’re eating eel! Is that unadon?

Tezuka: It’s unacha. It’s basically chazuke with eel.

Kintarou: Wow, so you actually wanted to eat chazuke.

Chitose: If it’s eel, then Gin would be a fan too.

Ishida: I would. But I’m having unajyu today.

Tezuka: I get it. The eel today is especially nice and fatty.

Ishida: Oh, I’m excited then. The burnt ends look irresistible.

Tezuka:* It was impressive how meticulous the chefs were when they cooked it.

Tezuka: This first bowl is a combination of the eel and white rice, and the second one is the dashi you pour over it, which changes its aroma.

Ishida: I see, so that’s how it works.

Tezuka: And another nice thing about it is you can change the flavor by adding condiments.

Tezuka: You can add various condiments such as seaweed, wasabi, or momiji oroshi.

Ishida: Really. I’ve never had unacha before, but now that you’ve explained it, Tezuka-han, I’d like to give it a try.

Tezuka:* You should, I think you’d enjoy it.

Kintarou: …Hey hey, Chitose, Shiraishi. Gin and Mister Tezuka are having a good time, right?

Shiraishi: Yeah, I’d say so.

Chitose: The two of them don’t change their expressions, so I’d see why you’d be confused, Kin-chan.

Kintarou: Oh, yeah? I dunno why, but now I’m in the mood to eat eel!

Shiraishi: Haha, I get you, Kin-chan. How about we all have eel for dinner?

Chitose: Yeah.

[Improvement Level 5 - Episode 1]

Tezuka: The benefits of increasing endurance and how to train for it…

Tezuka:* Not that I wasn’t aware of it before, but it would be useful in many aspects if I studied it in detail again…

Kite: Agreed. It is an area where you should learn from the experts, rather than taking it upon yourself.

Kite: I felt that today’s lecture was very useful in that sense.

Tezuka: ! Kite…

Kite: You appeared to be deep in thought. Thinking of another training regimen?

Tezuka: Yes. For my whole team.

Tezuka: It’s essential to increase muscular endurance to be able to move your body more efficiently and for longer periods of time.

Tezuka: When it comes to strength training, our focus is usually on whole-body endurance, but they included more training to increase muscular endurance.

Tezuka: But… as of right now, the training for our low-twitch muscles is still lacking. Initially, we had a poor grasp of understanding which muscles had slow-twitch properties.

Kite: Pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi and quadriceps, I believe.

Kite: But I personally thought the training we’re doing is quite sufficient.

Tezuka: I feel that we need to adjust the intervals a bit more.

Tezuka: Plus, if pushing yourself to the limit can help build muscle strength, then I think it’d be good to add in another set.

Tezuka: But since I want us to do as many basic workouts as possible, I’ll also have to adjust which ones we do.

Kite: You do make a good point though, it’s not just a matter of building up your muscles.

Kite: But you may not see much of an effect if it’s only basic workouts.

Tezuka: …That’s true.

Kite: Especially since they seem to be doing fine with their current training regimen as well.

Tezuka: So you’re saying I shouldn’t be so lenient?

Kite: That’s right. Trying to be lenient now would have the opposite effect.

Kite: Well, no matter what you do, nothing can match the Spartan-level training we did over at Higa. There’s nothing we aren’t capable of.

Tezuka: …Higa’s done that kind of rigorous training? Now I’m curious.

Tezuka: Would you mind sharing what workouts you did for that?

Kite: I don’t mind, but I’m not sure if it would help in your case.

Kite: …Here.

Tezuka: Yes… I see. I think it’s within the realm of what some of us can handle…

Kite: I would also advise you to take into account the extent and development of your physiques. It will be different for Seigaku.

Tezuka: Yes, of course…

Tezuka: Physiques, huh. That’s also an area I’ve not delved in. I should also take that into consideration with this new regimen.

Kite: You’re very straightforward… Well, I suppose I should say that is typical of you. At the very least, good luck.

[Improvement Level 5 - Episode 2]

Tezuka: Sanada, I’m going to use the machine next to yours.

Sanada: Mm… Tezuka. Yes, that’s fine.

Tezuka: How long have you been running?

Sanada: I’ve only just started. It hasn’t even been five minutes.

Tezuka: All right.

Sanada: By the way, Tezuka. How is your grandfather faring?

Tezuka: Oh, he’s the same as always. Still working hard to improve his shogi skills.

Sanada: Heh… I see. My grandfather is the same, too.

Sanada: He’s still upset with your grandfather over that time he postponed their game due to him going fishing with his grandson.

Tezuka: …I apologize for that. But I was able to try out a lure I had never used before. For that, I’m grateful.

Sanada: Well, that’s fine… You probably needed some time to unwind too.

Machine: “Now at: 20 kilometers per hour.”

Sanada: But while you’re taking your time to relax, we’re still out here training hard. Keep that in mind.

Tezuka: It’s the same for us. Seigaku will win the Nationals next time, too.

Sanada: We won’t let that happen. Rikkai’s third consecutive victory was taken from us, but we will reclaim it next time.

Machine: “Now at: 30 kilometers per hour.”

Tezuka: I can count on my underclassmen at Seigaku. I intend to convey to them all that I can before I graduate, so that they may succeed me.

Sanada: Rikkai has many talented players. We have first and second years who are already prepared for their roles… So that means Rikkai will win next time.

Machine: “Now at: 40 kilometers per hour.”

Tezuka: My teammates were chosen to participate in this national training camp this year, and some are beginning to show abilities that surpass even the high schoolers.

Sanada: It’s the same with Rikkai. Our growth rate is even faster.

Machine: “Caution, now at: 50 kilometers per hour.”

Tezuka: Seigaku will win the Nationals!

Sanada: It will be Rikkai who wins next time!

Machine: “Now at: 60 kilometers per hour. Abnormal speed detected. Performing emergency shutdown.”

Tezuka: Ah…

Sanada: Huff… huff… huff… huff… I suppose I went a little overboard… *sigh*

Tezuka: Your treadmill stopped working… you caused an error…

Sanada: …I’ll go apologize to the staff.

Tezuka: Right…

[Improvement Level 5 - Episode 3]

Tezuka: Hah!!

Atobe: How weak!

Tezuka: You think that course is good enough!?

Atobe: Huhh? Watch who you’re talking to!

Tezuka: There’s still a ways to go!!

—

Tezuka: …It’s been thirty minutes. Let’s take a break, Atobe.

Atobe: I guess it is about that time… Fine, break time.

Tezuka: It looks like they’re practicing on their own on the other courts as well.

Atobe: Heh, of course. There’s no time to rest if you wish to become stronger.

Tezuka: …I’m certain my underclassmen don’t even think about taking breaks.

Atobe: Huhh? That’s what I should be saying. The winner will be Hyotei. That’s the fact of the matter.

Tezuka: It was Seigaku who prevailed during that Red vs. White Competition.

Atobe: Huh?

Tezuka: The only red balloons that remained were members of Seigaku.

Atobe: …Hiyoshi boldly challenges me, the captain of the club. Do any of your underclassmen at Seigaku have that kind of backbone?

Tezuka: I’m always taking up challenges from my underclassmen. What happened during the Red vs. White competition was no different from any other occasion.

Tezuka:* Besides, Kaidoh is actively working to become captain.

Atobe: Hmph… you can’t judge who’s superior in that area.

Tezuka: True. There’s always room for improvement.

Atobe: Right. They’re also working to overcome their weaknesses. If they keep this up, then next year should be promising.

Atobe: Hyotei will win, though.

Tezuka: Seigaku will win.

Tezuka: …No matter the victor, let’s not let our guards down, so that we may leave a legacy behind for them thereafter.

Atobe: Huhh? Who do you think you’re talking to. Spare me the reminders, I’m well aware.

—

Hiyoshi: Captain Atobe. If you’re just gonna sit here and chat, then how about you have a round with me.

Kaidoh: Captain Tezuka, if you don’t mind, I’d also like to…

Atobe: Heh… and here’s the cheeky underclassman himself. Fine, I’ll go all out with you.

Tezuka:* All out, huh.

Atobe: Did you say something, Tezuka?

Tezuka: No, it’s nothing. Kaidoh, I’ll go all out as well. Are you prepared?

Kaidoh: Yes! I look forward to it!

[Improvement Level 6 - Episode 1]

Tezuka: (I’m done with my early morning run. So now…)

Tezuka: (I’m just in time for my English lesson. I’ll take a break and listen to it here.)

—

Kaidoh: Fshhhh… Finished today’s running. Next is… Hm?

Kaidoh: (It’s Captain Tezuka. But… is he listening to something? And it looks like he’s meditating and feeling the breeze?)

Kaidoh: (Maybe I should wait until after he’s done to say hello… maybe. But, I…)

Fuji: Huh, what’s up Kaidoh?

Kaidoh: ! Fuji-senpai. It’s…

Fuji: Hm? …Oh, it’s Tezuka. Looks like he’s doing his usual routine.

Kaidoh: Routine?

Fuji: English lesson broadcasts. He likes to listen to them in the morning.

Fuji: I think learning by ear is more efficient, don’t you?

Kaidoh: English lessons… Wait, he studies this early in the morning?

Tezuka: …Fuji, and Kaidoh. You’re here too.

Fuji: Yeah, I just happened to pass by. Good morning, Tezuka.

Kaidoh: Good morning, Captain Tezuka.

Tezuka: Yes, good morning.

Fuji: Kaidoh was nervous about calling out to you. The usual English lessons?

Tezuka: What I’m listening to right now? Yes, it is.

Tezuka: I use my cool down time to also learn English. Killing two birds with one stone, right?

Kaidoh: Yeah, that’s true…

Tezuka: If you want to play tennis professionally, then it’s better to know how to speak English.

Tezuka: And it’s also best to learn these things little by little as soon as you can.

Tezuka:* Not to mention, it’ll save you a lot of trouble down the line.

Kaidoh: …Of course. As expected of you, Captain Tezuka. You never miss a beat when it comes to training or studying…

Fuji: Very typical of you, Tezuka. And it’s not just English, you study German too.

Kaidoh: …I think I’ll listen to radio lessons, too.

Tezuka: You can learn anywhere. By taking advantage of this, you will be able to study and train at the same time.

Tezuka: But as with everything, don’t let your guards down.

Kaidoh: Right!

[Improvement Level 6 - Episode 2]

Tezuka: Echizen, that right shot was weak! That speed won’t cut it!

Ryoma: Got it!

Tezuka: Yes, like that! Let’s raise the bar now!

Ryoma: Okay, I’m not gonna lose though!

Tezuka: Hah!!

—

Kikumaru: Whoa-ho, those shots are incredible! It’s almost like an actual match, isn’t it?

Inui: The duration of their stroke practice has already exceeded one hour… but both still seem to have a lot of fight in them.

Kikumaru: It’s normal for Tezuka, but Shorty’s gotten a lot more stamina too.

Inui: Right. It is quite a feat to be able to keep rallying for this long…

Inui: But I would say it’s about time they take a break.

Kikumaru: Right. Heyy, Tezuka! Shorty! It’s time for a break~!!

Tezuka: …So it’s that time already.

Ryoma: Huh, Kikumaru-senpai and Inui-senpai, when did you guys get here.

Kikumaru: Ahaha, you’ve only been paying attention to Tezuka, huh, Shorty. Here, have a drink!

Ryoma: Thanks.

Inui: You too, Tezuka. Here, I didn’t put any Inui Juice in it, so don’t hesitate to drink it.

Tezuka: Thank you.

Kikumaru: Oh, come to think of it, the pairs here were on the same teams during the Red vs. White competition. Me and Shorty, Tezuka and Inui.

Inui: Yes, that is true. As for me though, I wasn’t able to participate in it for very long.

Ryoma: …Captain Tezuka was really going toe-to-toe with those eagles.

Kikumaru: What’s this, now? You feelin’ upset over it, Shorty?

Ryoma: No, I don’t really care, but… we were basically fighting for our lives when we did it on the cliffs.

Kikumaru: Oh, so you are upset!

Tezuka: …But we were able to assess the situation beforehand due to your prior experience.

Tezuka: Without your information, it would’ve been a lot more of a struggle. So thank you, Echizen.

Ryoma: …That doesn’t make me feel any better.

Kikumaru: Yeah, I feel the same way~

Kikumaru: But y’know what, Shorty. Next time we face off, we’ll blow ‘em right outta the water!

Ryoma: Wha… don’t pat my head.

Inui: However, I have gathered more data from it. And the probability that we would win next time: 100%.

Tezuka: Naturally. If it’s a match, then victory is certain for me. I can’t lose to any of you yet.

Ryoma: …‘Kay, then I’ll just have to gain more experience by playing against stronger opponents.

Ryoma: So, Captain Tezuka, let’s keep practicing.

Tezuka: …Very well. We’ll pick up the pace even more now. Let’s go, Echizen!

[Improvement Level 6 - Episode 3]

Tezuka: (German traditions… culture… and modern customs… Travel guides would be useful, too.)

Tezuka:* (I’ll borrow some books covering that area next time. Next is—)

Byoudouin: You seem pretty eager.

Tezuka: …It’s you.

Byoudouin: German culture, huh. So I take it you’re already preparing to leave Japan?

Tezuka: Well… There’s nothing wrong with simply wanting the knowledge.

Byoudouin: Hmph… Looking ahead to the future, then. That’s not a bad idea, either.

Ryoga: Oh-ho, what do we have here. Two guys who are both as serious as they come. And here I was hoping I could kick back and relax~

Ryoga: Gonna be hard to do that with you guys around~

Byoudouin: You shouldn’t laze around to begin with.

Ryoga: Haha, that’s true. So, you’re studying, middle schooler?

Tezuka: Yes. I thought I’d expand my insight a bit.

Ryoga: Hmm, reading books, huh…

Tezuka: …What is it?

Ryoga: Wellll… with books, you’re just looking at things through another person’s perspective, right? But what does that tell you?

Ryoga: You won’t understand the world if you just read something written from a single, narrow point-of-view.

Byoudouin: It’s rare for you to say something substantial.

Byoudouin: But in the end, it’s not knowledge that counts, but experience.

Byoudouin: There are things you can only gain by seeing and experiencing the vast world with your own eyes.

Ryoga: Plus, it’s actually a lot of fun. Experience is the best teacher, y’know?

Tezuka: …I see.

Ryoga: But it is interesting to read about it, I’ll admit. I recommend these books.

Tezuka: …Manga?

Ryoga: Manga’s good too, isn’t it? It’s fictional Germany! And it’s still realistic too to an extent.

Tezuka:* That’s one way to look at it…

Tezuka: (He does have a point, it may be interesting to compare the differences between knowledge, reality, and fiction.)

Tezuka: (But most importantly, your own experiences will speak for themselves… I must keep that in mind.)

Ryoga: Hahah! Now he’s back to looking so goddamn serious.

Tezuka: Thank you very much for your advice.

Ryoga: …So strait-laced.

Byoudouin: Hmph, well, it’s fine. Remember to stay vigilant.

Tezuka: Right.

[heymacy]

Could you say more, ifyou want, about how it feels better to be over your Shameless hyperfixation?

I have been thinking for months that it might greatly improve my mental health if I could get over my Shameless and Gallavich hyperfixation because sometimes it brings me joy but sometimes it causes me to spiral downward.

of course! this got long winded because of who i am as a person so my thoughts are under the cut 💛

first of all, i don't want anyone to think that my opinion on fandom has changed whatsoever. i still think fandom is beautiful and transformative and inspiring and all the lovely superlatives. this is not me talking down about fandom at all, this is just me talking about my personal experience. i will definitely continue to engage with fandom in varying capacities as i have since i was 14 years old. that won't change. i think the main difference is that i no longer feel consumed by the show. it used to be that i would plans my days around fandom activities, think about the show/characters constantly, and spend (i shit you not) 90% of my free time engaging and creating. but it just isn't like that anymore.

i didn't necessarily do anything to make this happen, it just did. but there were definitely catalysts. for example, a lot of the shameless content we consume and engage with is pursuant to ian's bipolar storyline which, to me, is very personal and intense. being bipolar myself, it became very difficult to be constantly surrounded by content about my disease - especially when so much of that content was full of really bad takes or insensitive jokes that hurt me on a very deep, personal level. i realized that if i were to embrace my waning interest fully, to step back and give myself some space, i wouldn't be inundated with that kind of hurt anymore. i wouldn't spiral like i had been and instead i could focus that energy onto maintaining my own mental health and wellbeing. so that's what i did. and it WORKED. so because of that, i feel better.

i also feel better because now i have more time and energy to engage with new and different things. for so long, shameless was one of the only shows i watched. shameless fic was one of the only things i read. shameless gifs and metas were almost exclusively the only things i posted and shared around these parts (which made sense, me being a fandom blog and all). yet somehow, in light of it all, i wasn't enjoying myself anymore. i wasn't engaging because i wanted to engage, i was engaging because i felt a compulsory need to do so. i mean, it had been my entire life for three years, what the fuck else was i supposed to do? so i made the decision to stop, even if it only lasted a week or two. i stopped watching my favorite episodes on repeat. i stopped reading fics and deleted the ones i'd downloaded from my kindle app so as to resist temptation. essentially, i cut myself off cold turkey. then step two, if you will, was to push myself to engage with new content and hobbies, even if only to cleanse my palette. so i read new books and watched new movies and fell down random niche YouTube rabbit holes. and wouldn't you know it, it felt SO GOOD. i discovered new blorbos and watched some delightful films and started doing practical, real-world things like learning to cook and organizing my apartment. i went from feeling flat and one-dimensional, like i was only made up of one basic component, to fully formed and three-dimensional, a well-rounded human being. believe me, and please don't misinterpret what i'm saying here, i am fully aware than 98% of people that engage in fandom activities are fully formed, three-dimensional, well-rounded individuals that can engage with variety of content while maintaining that fandom/life balance. that just wasn't MY reality. still, i managed to break the hyperfixation off at the roots and i feel 5000x better for it. sometimes it's what's necessary to get to a headspace where if you wanted to engage, you could, and you could do it in a healther, more well-balanced way.

i think that if you feel your interest waning even the slightest bit, or if you feel like you're too consumed by it, or if it's not sparking joy anymore, or you're concerned about your mental wellness - take a step back. try engaging with something new and different. ask for recommendations from friends. give that new show everyone is talking about a try. pick up a hobby that's completely removed from media (i've started drawing again) and throw yourself into it entirely. or just sit there! allow yourself to be bored and aimless for a little while! it feels weird but i think it was a necessary thing for me to do. what worked for me and got me to this place definitely won't work for everyone, especially because everyone's levels of engagement and consumption are different, but i think for me it was always an inevitability that this was just a season for me. and a necessity, because i was Not Doing Well near the end of things.

lastly - and if you've made it this far i am genuinely sorry i'm so long-winded and Like This - i love you. i'm sorry that your hyperfixation has you feeling this way. i relate and understand completely and if you ever need someone to talk to about it, you can always come to me for a chat or a vent or even just a different perspective on things. i wish you all the best and i'll be here as a friend and a resource while you figure it all out!

[karyacemplon]

Week 4: Reflection

Just a quick question: When you watch a show, do you often interpret the meanings behind each episode and gain new learnings? Well, I for sure did with the show I watched in week three. Somehow, I can picture myself as the main character, in terms of growth and development, to become a better version of myself through continuous reflection. As someone who previously did not really bother reflecting, I find this blog somewhat therapeutic and eye-opening, encouraging me to reflect more on and in action. 

Quick side note: if you figure out the show, hit that like button 😄 (It is a detective/crime and celestial-themed series)

What?

Week three was characterised by feeling lost. Meanwhile, week four was still filled with uncertainty, with a tinge of lack of productivity. I conducted and collated information within week four; however, I felt exhausted for the whole week and had started the cycle of binge eating once more. Truth be told, I felt as though I had neglected my well-being, but I feel that this is not justifiable to the progress of development. 

Despite this, I have gathered insights from both the questionnaire and interviews, which has been very helpful in ideating as I have a foundation on which to depend. I am quite disappointed that I did not do this process in the early stages as I feel that this would have significantly helped me. With the overall idea in mind, I just need to get the top three ideas and, finally, a chosen idea… Which I should say, that the process is setting me on fire. 

So What?

I feel a bit more hopeful this week! However, the rating so far is still a 4/10 🙂. When I look into why I am experiencing difficulties in choosing an idea, I see a pattern of not being satisfied with my ideas and feeling as though it is not adequate. Again, I have discussed this in week two, as a symptom of perfectionism. However, a new kind of consequence has appeared–unproductivity. Following up on the research by Kwarcińska et al. (2022) I discovered about perfectionism, I might not be experiencing a burn-out; however, a deeper amount of stress (personally, of both assignments, external factors and the lack of sleep). 

I believe that in week three I had based most of my decisions on my emotional state, not logically or what is right. However, despite feeling this way, I have been seeking feedback when needed with the stream tutor and my peers at times. This way helps me keep in track of my progress so far, and bonus I get insights to optional trips that might be useful as research. In general, I need to be better in handling my wellbeing to achieve a desirable progress outcome. This might be difficult, but there are several ways I can improve starting with creating a better plan to overcome or leverage perfectionism. 

Now What?

“Now What?” is what I often exclaim to myself when I am stuck and panicking. Whilst pacing the room back and forth, one hand on my forehead and another clenching a chocolate bar (haha). For the past two weeks, I have been implementing my perfectionism overrule plan, which seemed to have worked but not at the same time. After two weeks of trial, I decided to modify the plan and make it much better by following a toolkit I found by Anxiety Canada (n.d.). Within this guide, there are three primary steps: Recognising perfectionism, using tools to overcome and rewarding myself. 

Of course, I will not be following the toolkit step by step; instead, I will modify it to fit my characteristics. I realised that I have been thinking in a perfectionistic mindset, only regarding situations and black and grey, overthinking and underestimating my capabilities. Moving on, I believe having some time to step back and reflect on my thoughts is necessary to understand if I am being reasonable or just falling into perfectionistic tendencies. Overall, I believe that I need to get into an anti-perfectionistic mindset to prevent this from re-occurring. To embed positive and realistic statements, such as reminding myself that I am always trying my best. 

I need to confront my fears and find out why, in the first place, I am perfectionistic. Perhaps due to the pressure I put on myself to make my parents proud? Being competitive? Reflecting on these aspects and talking about them with my friends allows me to get a clear perspective. In which, I had this conversation before, and it is safe to say that I am on track and everything is okay. I can not compare myself to others constantly when everyone has different work paces. Thus, I believe that combining my initial plan of looking into a smaller yet bigger perspective–including setting weekly tasks–along with embracing this new mindset will be helpful in breaking the never-ending cycle of perfectionism. 

Stay tuned for the next updates! 🕺

References

Anxiety Canada. (n.d.). How to Overcome Perfectionism. Anxiety Canada. https://www.anxietycanada.com/sites/default/files/Perfectionism.pdf

Kwarcińska, K., Sanna, M. K., Nowotnik, K. A., Piotrowski, K. (2022). Perfectionism in theory and research. Przegląd Psychologiczny 65(3):97-112. DOI: 10.31648/przegldpsychologiczny.8803

[getindumdums]

@risestarkiss I planned on waiting ‘til I had art ready to post for my new blog but screw it.

I found this image. Mikey actually seems to be to able to carry a lot of weight even without his ninpo/weapon. And seems to be the second strongest.

Personally I’m having a hard time pinning down who’s “the strongest” or the most skilled. It seems the order since their early years were Leo, Raph, Mikey, and Donnie. But then something suddenly changed in the 6th lair games where Donnie became just as skilled as “the most skilled turtle” Leo.

Something we all noticed is that Leo and Donnie have similar builds. Why? Well it seems possible that Donnie may have actually tried to get better, being the one left behind the longest. And being a sore loser.

Two things. Rise Donnie loves dancing. Dancing would improve with coordination and be a fun physical workout. Dancing may be the reason Donnie is unique and varied in the way he holds his Bo unlike previous iterations. Tying a special interest with training would definitely help him improve.

But I can go a step further. I have a reason to believe that this Donnie. Likes training.

Rise Donnie seems to the most like a “Raph” in my opinion. In the episode “Sparring Partner”, Donnie was very eager to attack first when the spin wheel they had said was Raph Vs Donnie. Raph took a dive (maybe Donnie still fell behind because he didn’t unlock his ninpo). But Donnie, although he still plays it smart, he tends to attack first and fast. He’s Agressive.

He'll attack both offensively and defensibly, and uses his tech for heavy hitting, or for what ever he 'may lack'. Plus he throw a large bench press weight.

Here, we can see that Donnie is even the second most likely to appear on missions pre-movie. Maybe because he’s the ‘reasonable’ turtle. Maybe it’s because he likes going out and attacking things but is too busy working on things in his lab.

Ninpo wise, Donnie and Mikey have to be the most powerful, with both surely to improve in the future. With Donnie being new to his ninpo, and Mikey being the future most powerful mystic warrior (alive).

But we do have to remember Leo with the addition of his skills has a very strategic mind. Making Mr. Nexus Champion unbelievably deadly with his portals/teleportation.

Also.

Leo has a mouth.

Leo has caught his sword in his mouth twice.

He strained his neck here to reach it so there’s no telling if he can lift it with ease. But he swings this thing. Leo has a mouth. Seriously, that takes a lot of jaw strength especially with a big odachi. He could totally pull off a Zoro three sword style at least once.

And THAT is why I can't tell who's the "strongest". And I have to wonder if the writers intentionally made it vague which I kind of love. They each have their own skills and weaknesses.

Strength

Rise Ramblings #565

While watching the show, I realized that we don’t really get to see the boys’ true strength very often. Yes, we see their Ninpo at work, especially towards the end of the series, but I believe that outside of their Ninpo there is so much more to these boys than meets the eye.  

When thinking about raw strength, it’s easy to say something like “Yeah, Raph is the strongest.” And for good reason...

He is the one that works out the most.

His build is the largest and the most intimidating.

Often times we see him picking up, carrying, or tossing his brothers around, no problem.

And that’s why this big guy gives the best hugs.

But the main reason why he's seen as the strongest is because he’s the one generally seen picking up the most impossibly heavy objects.

Although, he does have his limits.

Yes, Raph is the strongest, but that does not negate the strength of the rest of the bros.

The physical abilities of the other three are nothing to sneeze at, especially since they were all originally created to be weapons. (See “What Was Meant To Be” for more on that subject.)

Take Mikey for instance.

Of all of the boys, you wouldn’t think of Mikey as particularly strong, but here he is shoulder pressing one of his brothers for fun.

And flinging the boy in plum.

What about Leo? Sure, we never really see him exert himself, especially when it comes to weightlifting or exercise, but I can’t help but notice how much he tends to carry his little brother.

Furthermore, Leo doesn't just carry Mikey, but throws him around as well.

But I believe the one that low key shows off his strength the most is Purple.

(It might have something to do with his overall lack of restraint, but I digress.)

He easily carries his brother when he needs to.

And more impressively, he throws Mikey like nobody’s business using his bow staff and his own brawn.

Speaking of his staff, if this is true:

Then what do we make of this instance?

Yes, the staff was already semi-broken, but does he go on to completely demolish the titanium staff in frustration with his bare hands? (Kudos to @theaphaeon for pointing this out!)

You be the judge.

Nonetheless, for me, what really proves Donatello’s strength are these scenes:

Donnie doesn’t just carry out this feat once, but twice!

Not only does Donnie hold up the combined weight of ALL of his brothers, but he does it via one leg. For a normal person, if all of that weight was put on one leg they would be severely injured. But for Donnie, this is just a silly mode of travel with his beloved bros. Meanwhile, his jet pack is struggling under the combined weight of all four turtles...

All-in-all, I just wanted to really highlight the turtles' physical strength and remind myself that strength is not just a Raphie thing, but something that stems across all of the turtle teens.

Do you guys have any more examples of the boys being the powerful weapons they were created to be without using their Hamato Ninpo?

All comments and reblogs are welcome! 💜

[nasa]

NASA Spotlight: Earth Climate Scientist Dr. Yolanda Shea

Dr. Yolanda Shea is a climate scientist at NASA's Langley Research Center. She’s the project scientist for the CLARREO Pathfinder (CPF) mission, which is an instrument that will launch to the International Space Station to measure sunlight reflected from Earth. It will help us understand how much heat is being trapped by our planet’s atmosphere. Her mission is designed to help us get a clearer picture than we currently have of the Earth’s system and how it is changing

Yolanda took time from studying our home planet to answer questions about her life and career! Get to know this Earth scientist:

What inspired you to study climate science?

Starting in early middle school I became interested in the explanations behind the weather maps and satellite images shown on TV. I liked how the meteorologists talked about the temperature, moisture, and winds at different heights in the atmosphere, and then put that together to form the story of our weather forecasts. This made me want to learn more about Earth science, so I went to college to explore this interest more.

The summer after my junior year of college, I had an internship during which my first assignment was to work with a program that estimated ocean currents from satellite measurements. I was fascinated in the fact that scientists had discovered a way to map ocean currents from space!

Although I had learned about Earth remote sensing in my classes, this was my first taste of working with, and understanding the details of, how we could learn more about different aspects of the physical world from satellite measurements.

This led to my learning about other ways we can learn about Earth from space, and that includes rigorous climate monitoring, which is the area I work in now.

What does a day in your life look like?

Before I start my workday, I like to take a few minutes to eat breakfast, knit (I’m loving sock knitting right now!), and listen to a podcast or audio book. Each workday really looks different for me, but regardless, most days are a combination of quieter moments that I can use for individual work and more interactive times when I’m interfacing with colleagues and talking about project or science issues. Both types of work are fun in different ways, but I’m glad I have a mixture because all researchers need that combination of deep thinking to wrap our minds around complex problems and also time to tackle those problems with others and work on solving them together.

When do you feel most connected to Earth?

I’ve always loved sunsets. I find them peaceful and beautiful, and I love how each one is unique. They are also a beautiful reminder of the versatility of reflected light, which I study. Sitting for a moment to appreciate the beauty and calm I feel during a sunset helps me feel connected to Earth.

What will your mission – CLARREO Pathfinder – tell us about Earth?

CLARREO Pathfinder (CPF) includes an instrument that will take measurements from the International Space Station and will measure reflected sunlight from Earth. One of its goals is to demonstrate that it can take measurements with high enough accuracy so that, if we have such measurements over long periods of time, like several decades, we could detect changes in Earth’s climate system. The CPF instrument will do this with higher accuracy than previous satellite instruments we’ve designed, and these measurements can be used to improve the accuracy of other satellite instruments.

How, if at all, has your worldview changed as a result of your work in climate science?

The longer I work in climate science and learn from the data about how humans have impacted our planet, the more I appreciate the fragility of our one and only home, and the more I want to take care of it.

What advice would you give your younger self?

It’s ok to not have everything figured out at every step of your career journey. Work hard, do your best, and enjoy the journey as it unfolds. You’ll inevitably have some surprises along the way, and regardless of whether they are welcome or not, you’re guaranteed to learn something.

Do you have a favorite metaphor or analogy that you use to describe what you do, and its impact, to those outside of the scientific community?

I see jigsaw puzzles as a good illustration of how different members of a science community play a diverse set of roles to work through different problems. Each member is often working on their own image within the greater puzzle, and although it might take them years of work to see their part of the picture come together, each image in the greater puzzle is essential to completing the whole thing. During my career, I’ll work on a section of the puzzle, and I hope to connect my section to others nearby, but we may not finish the whole puzzle. That’s ok, however, because we’ll hand over the work that we’ve accomplished to the next generation of scientists, and they will keep working to bring the picture to light. This is how I try to think about my role in climate science – I hope to contribute to the field in some way; the best thing about what I have done and what I will do, is that someone else will be able to build on my work and keep helping humanity come to a better understanding of our Earth system.

What is a course that you think should be part of required school curriculum?

Time and project management skills – I think students tend to learn these skills more organically from their parents and teachers, but in my experience I stumbled along and learned these skills through trial and error. To successfully balance all the different projects that I support now, I have to be organized and disciplined, and I need to have clear plans mapped out, so I have some idea of what’s coming and where my attention needs to be focused.

Another course not specifically related to my field is personal financial management. I was interested in personal finance, and that helped me to seek out information (mainly through various blogs) about how to be responsible with my home finances. There is a lot of information out there, but making sure that students have a solid foundation and know what questions to ask early on will set them to for success (and hopefully fewer mistakes) later on.

What’s the most unexpected time or place that your expertise in climate science and/or algorithms came in handy?

I think an interesting part of being an atmospheric scientist and a known sky-watcher is that I get to notice beautiful moments in the sky. I remember being on a trip with friends and I looked up (as I usually do), and I was gifted with a gorgeous sundog and halo arc. It was such a beautiful moment, and because I noticed it, my friends got to enjoy it too.

Can you share a photo or image from a memorable NASA project you’ve worked on, and tell us a little bit about why the project stood out to you?

I absolutely loved being on the PBS Kids TV Show, SciGirls for their episode SkyGirls! This featured a NASA program called Students’ Clouds Observations On-Line (S’COOL). It was a citizen science program where students from around the globe could take observations of clouds from the ground that coincided with satellite overpasses, and the intention was to help scientists validate (or check) the accuracy of the code they use to detect clouds from satellite measurements. I grew up watching educational programming from PBS, so it was an honor to be a science mentor on a TV show that I knew would reach children across the nation who might be interested in different STEM fields. In this photo, the three young women I worked with on the show and I are talking about the different types of clouds.

To stay up to date on Yolanda's mission and everything going on in NASA Earth science, be sure to follow NASA Earth on Twitter and Facebook.

🌎 If you're looking for Earth Day plans, we have live events, Q&As, scavenger hunts and more going on through April 24. Get the details and register for our events HERE.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

[memryse]

The magic of 3rd Life, or why such a simple hardcore miniseries works as well as it does

For a series which only lasted for eight sessions, 3rd Life has had a profound impact on the MCYT fandom. While it did go comparatively unnoticed on Twitter (as is consistent with YouTube-based Minecraft content as a whole, admittedly), Tumblr and other platforms have fallen in love with this series, and it’s become a vector for many fans to familiarise themselves with Hermitcraft and Empires SMP as well. But at its core, 3rd Life is a simple vanilla survival series with a gimmick. What about it resonates so much with so many people?

I would argue that its simplicity, its small cast, its vanilla gameplay “with a twist” is certainly part of it. It’s an easy series to consume, with many POVs totalling four hours or less, and it doesn’t require any prior knowledge of any of the members. Its mechanics are easy to understand. As a standalone, it functions perfectly – it’s immersive and can be followed easily by anyone, regardless of any prior knowledge they may or may not have. However, these factors alone don’t quite encompass what makes 3rd Life so special. Its true charm point lies in the format of the series, and how well it utilises improv.

[more below the cut; this is a fairly long post about 3rd/Last Life meta and my love of its improv. I'm mostly talking about 3rd Life here as it's a completed series, but this most definitely does apply to Last Life as well]

3rd Life is an entirely improv-based series. Whilst members may have a brief concept of the direction they’d like to take their series in – how heavily they want to roleplay, for example – the actual content of each session is fully improvised. Each episode is recorded in one three-hour block, and members are not allowed to play on the server outside of the allotted time other than specifically to finish builds. This time constraint prevents any planning from going into each episode, and interactions between players are completely spontaneous. Players simply run around the map looking for others to interact with (which is significantly easier with the limited world border) and chat about various events on the server, form alliances or deals, etc.

By definition, this almost completely negates the possibility of bad writing. Each player’s reaction to any server event is spontaneous, a legitimate reaction; they aren’t trying to play any specific roles or shoehorn in any specific events (with the exception of the Red King/Hand of the King roles, who were still completely improvising). Even the finale – a distinctly heart-wrenching and tragic scene – was improvised without Grian or Scar attempting to tell any specific story. According to Martyn, they weren’t roleplaying, they didn’t have any aims with that scene. It just happened to turn out in the way that it did, and they were legitimately sorry to one another. The server progressed in this natural way, and every person’s perspective tells a completely different story. It’s hard to identify any specific heroes or villains – fans of the Dream SMP can surely relate to this feeling, but I would argue that 3rd Life takes this one step further. 3rd Life is a tragedy from all perspectives, a tragedy which tells one cohesive story in its entirety before stopping as abruptly as it began.

3rd Life hinges entirely on its interactions between its members. Whilst solo content does exist – base building, for example – the majority of each session is spent interacting with others. 3rd Life is carried by its dialogue; nothing else drives the story, and yet many episodes are between 30 minutes and an hour long. It’s that dialogue-heavy. Members of the server have expressed trouble with even editing their videos because there is so much key dialogue that they don’t want to cut. People don’t watch 3rd Life for the actual gameplay, at all – there’s so little of it! They watch it for how each member interacts with the people around them. This is something not found in any other SMP I’ve encountered. SMPs livestreamed on Twitch have plenty of downtime, and people will happily watch streams on that SMP no matter what’s occurring on the server; people often watch them for their interest in specific members. Other currently popular YouTube SMPs, namely Hermitcraft and Empires, are well-balanced between solo content and interactions, and all server content hinges on the members’ various skills like building and redstone. 3rd Life is, to my knowledge, the only SMP which does not rely on building or redstone skills (what’s the point, when they’ll be dead the next week?), it doesn’t rely on the creator doing solo work talking to their chat, it doesn’t rely on planned roleplay. People legitimately just want to hear various members talking to each other. It’s a fascinatingly unique series in this regard. This dialogue-heavy aspect of 3rd Life ties back to my earlier point about 3rd Life feeling like a completely different series from all perspectives; with all of this dialogue being conveyed through proximity chat, so many events are entirely left out of other POVs, or presented in very different lights.

The pure improv format also helps significantly with worldbuilding, whilst also leaving plenty to the imagination. MCYT fandoms always require a significant amount of imagination to become invested in them, let alone make fan content of them, and 3rd Life is no exception to this. As discussed in this post, which was incidentally the inspiration for me to write this one, 3rdLife is full of lines which flesh out the series, which illustrate what happened better than can be shown in Minecraft. These lines are improvised on the spot, and are often complete throwaway lines in the creators’ eyes. In the fans’ eyes, they make 3rd Life feel alive, they provide plenty of material on which to base headcanons. Again, this isn’t necessarily unique to 3rd Life, it’s a common aspect of all Minecraft series, but I think this is where the rather angsty nature of 3rd Life comes into play. A dramatic survival game, entirely unscripted, with all events hinging entirely on your interpretation of them? It’s not hard to see why 3rd Life fans are so creative with character designs and fanfiction – hell, a lot of 3rd Life fics simply narrate canon in their own more dramatic light. Canon-compliant fics are significantly more common for 3rd Life than other fandoms I've encountered, because people hear these simple lines and want to dramatise them, put their own spins on them. I don't feel that this would be possible with any other series, not to the extent that 3rd Life fans do it. Other series' canon is either already dramatic, and so rehashing it can feel repetitive, or so lighthearted that people write AUs/new storylines. 3rd Life strikes a brand-new balance.

The development of its characters is also bolstered by improv. As no events on the server are pre-planned, members have to react completely spontaneously to anything that occurs. They don’t get time to think – only to react as though they genuinely were in that situation. As I said at the start, 3rd Life inherently lacks bad writing, because it’s not written. Ren, for instance, began 3rd Life as a kind and harmless person, with others often walking right over him. His reaction to his death by Grian and Scar’s trap spurs him to become the Red King; he raises an army and goes to war, and ends the series having taken countless lives, becoming hardened by war. He begins Last Life by isolating himself from others, seeming jaded and unwilling to form alliances, ready for another war to break out. Being improvised, it’s impossible to say how much of this was deliberate, or if Ren just started building his base without thinking about continuity from the previous season. This improv is what makes it feel so natural. It isn’t planned beforehand. This is Ren’s natural reaction to starting Last Life. It makes his character feel so much more real than it would if this was all scripted beforehand.

3rd Life is, overall, a testament to the power of improv. It manages to be compelling and dramatic without any acting feeling forced or wooden. Its characters’ arcs feel natural, because they are natural. Placing such a heavy emphasis on dialogue, with the gimmick of the server being a vehicle for interactions to happen rather than the sole appeal of the series, makes it truly feel as though we’re getting a glimpse into the characters’ lives, rather than watching a story which has been written beforehand. We get to watch everything unfold in real time. 3rd Life has a magic to it that, to my knowledge, no other SMP has been able to recreate.

[treesnutsandleaveswrites]

Rescue Mission

Pairing: The Bad Batch x Reader (Polyam)

Summary: The Batch agrees to help Hera save her parents; you encounter a familiar face

Warning: angst, TW: PTSD episode, TW: panic/anxiety attack, mentions of shooting and violence

Word Count: 2048

A/N: Won't be updating constantly, but sorry for keeping you all waiting

pt xvi, pt xviii

XXXXXXX

You and the Batch were looking over the city's capitol, trying to figure out what’s going on. You looked through one of your sniper scopes, having detached it from your rifle, and observed the heavily guarded area. Some people started to gather as Admiral Rampart made an announcement, which you listened to through Chopper’s satellite.

“Citizens of Ryloth, the shocking attack of your beloved Senator has left you shaken, but Orn Free Taa’s condition continues to improve and he will make a full recovery. The perpetrators of this heinous assasination attempt have been captured…”

Hunter looked up from his binoculars and over to Hera, “Assasination attempt?”

Hera shook her head, “That’s not what happened.”

You looked at Hunter for a moment before Omega spoke up.

“Hunter… Crosshair’s here.”

You took in a sharp breath as you looked through your scope and saw his familiar baster rifle and him in his new Imperial armor.

“Great. Just what we need!” Wrecker grumbled.

Hunter then gestured for the boys to huddle, so you took a bit to watch Crosshair before turning the girls.

“Keep an eye on the Capitol.” You ordered Omega and Hera, then put on your helmet before joining the boys.

“Ryloth’s not a separatist planet.” Echo said mid-coversation.

“Exactly my point.” Tech stated and went on about who knows what. You tried to listen to him, but you could see a change in Hunter’s demeanor.

“Wait here.” Hunter ordered as he rushed off.

You waited with the others before an Imperial probe droid came crashing down near all of you.

“Oh good… a probe droid.” Tech sighed.

“The Empire will know we’re here.” Echo announced.

“And so will Crosshair.” You said in unison with Hunter.

“Let’s move.” Hunter ordered, so everyone started following. Hera took a moment before being pulled by Omega with Chopper behind them. You were near frozen in your spot due to the thought of possibly reuniting with Crosshair. Echo was near the back, trying to make sure no one was left behind. He turned and saw you still in your place, then he went to you before grasping your hand tight.

“We can’t stay, mesh’la.” He insisted, which caused you to nod and follow him back to the Marauder.

You sat of the Marauder’s steps as the Batch talked with Hera.

“I told you… no guarantees. We’ll get you off world and take you somewhere safe.”

“Wait! Please!” Hera pulled at Hunter, “I’ll pay you double!”

“No money in the galaxy will matter if we’re dead! What you’re asking us to do is not worth the risk.”

Hera took a moment to look at him, “Not to you.” She rushed off. The boys started to head to the Marauder, but Omega stayed back.

“You shouldn’t have said that!”

“Being strategic means knowing your limitations, Omega.”

“She’s trying to save her family! I would do the same for you.” Omega retorted before following Hera. Hunter took a moment to process her words before turning towards the ship and seeing you still sitting on the steps. You hadn’t taken off your helmet since you got back to the base, but Hunter could sense the rigidness of your stature. He crouched down in front of you and placed his hands on either side of your helmet before gently lifting it from your head. You were pale and had tear streaks staining your cheeks. Hunter was surprised at first, but came to realise what was wrong. It was similar to your small episode in the fresher just recently. You were suffering from plasma shock… Hunter placed your helmet to the side and carefully caressed your wet skin.

“I know, cyare… I know…” He whispered before picking up your helmet, then hooking an arm around your waist to help you onto the cruiser. He sat you down and stood between your legs with his face in your hands. He did his best to coax you through the process of a plasma shock episode and made sure his attention was undivided just in case anything else happened. Once he sensed your calm breathing and heart rate, he moved away.

“I’ll be right back… just take your time, my love.” He hooked your chin endearingly before heading to the cockpit. You stay seated for a bit before Omega and Hera rushed onto the ship, straight into the cockpit. You were about the get up to see what was happening, but then D-5 rolled over to you quickly and bumped your foot.

“Star! S-s-s-star!”

You smiled weakly before picking him up and looking at him, “You haven’t broken anything have you?”

“All-all better!”

You hummed before placing him down and following his trail as he rolled into the cockpit. Yo stood at the threshold as Hunter spoke.

“Alright, you two go with Chopper as back up, but at a distance.”

The girls got excited, which caused Tech to speak up.

“By themselves?”

“Tech, Wrecker, wait until those canons are down, then move in. Echo and I will scale the Capitol wall and free Hera’s parents.” He looked down at Hera, “I guess we’re following your lead!”

Omega saw you at the threshold and grinned, “Did you hear that, Lodestar?”

You nodded with a smile, “Yeah. I know you’re just getting started with this mission stuff, but you’ve got clone blood in you. Just be careful, okay?” You approached her and cupped her face.

“Where will you be?” Hera wondered with excitement in her eyes.

“I’ll join Hunter and Echo at the Capitol. Freeing people is my thing, remember?”

Everyone looked to each other before dispersing to prepare.

*******

You walked cautiously with Hunter and Echo, approaching the walls of the Capitol. You nodded to Hunter as you all readied to scale the wall. Hunter crouched, offering you a boost before helping Echo and then jumping up himself. It was a fairly quick process and you climbed over the dursateel parapet as Hunter took out one of the guards. The other looked over the wall at Echo.

“A little help?”

Hunter got his attention as you looked at the small map of the Capitol you had downloaded through your holopad connected to your armor on your wrist. The others looked over to you before you nodded and gestured to the direction you should be going. The three of you arrived to the detention level and took out the guards then you found the cells before freeing those enclosed in them.

“What are you doing here?” Gobi Glie asked as he looked at all of you.

“Breaking you out.” Hunter explained.

“You know them?” Another male twi’lek asked who must have been Hera’s father.

“They are mercenaries, but I did not hire them for this.”

“Hera did.” Hunter stated.

“Hera? Where is she? Is she safe?” Her father asked.

Echo chuckled, “With Omega and Chopper? Let’s hope so.”

You were looking through your map again, “We should go soon, troops will be heading to the refinery by now.”

Hunter nodded before following you away from the detention level to find a safe exit. Everyone rushed down the halls but you stopped.

“What is it, Lodestar?”

“This… this is too easy.” You whispered.

“We have to go.” Cham insisted.

“No, no, I’m going to double back… see if the courtyard is clear.”

“That’s not the plan.” Hunter said sternly.

“Crosshair knows we’re here. He knows how we think. He isn’t a fool.” You argued, “I’d rather have one of us caught or killed than these innocent people we’re helping. I’m going to check the courtyard.”

You rushed away from the group before taking a detour for the upper wall again. There were troopers scouting out the exit, so you pulled out your blaster and stunned them before making your way around to get a better look. There was an overhead view on the farside of the courtyard where you could use your rifle just in case things went south. As you rushed over, you could see troopers lining up with shields and blasters, ready to attack the front gates.

“Hunter, do you copy?”

“I copy. We were just warned, we’re heading for Senator Taa’s private quarters. There’s a ship waiting there. Rendezvous back with the group.”

You stopped, eyeing a figure at the overview, “Go on without me. I’ll meet you back at the base.”

“Lode-”

You silenced your comm before pulling out the dagger you had sheathed in an underarm leather pocket. You approached carefully, trying not to make any noise. As you were getting past them, a shot near misses you. They approached out of the shadows and your heart froze. The person waiting there was Crosshair himself.

“So… Hunter has found another replacement.” He sneered through the modulator of his helmet. Your heart was pounding in your ears as he stopped just a few feet away.

“Silent too… How original.”

You gripped your dagger before sheathing it and standing there looking at him through the dark visor of your helmet.

“However, fairly stupid. Nothing like me.”

Says the one doing the Empire’s dirty work.

You took a step back as he raised his rifle again.

“At least give me a challenge.” He groaned, “You have no idea how good I am with a moving target.”

But you do…

You clenched your fist before rushing towards him and knocking the rifle out of his hands. He grunted before grasping your shoulders and tossing you into the wall. He approached you, looming over your body before pulling you by a piece of your armor and leaning you over the ledge, looking over you.

“You’re holding back… some soldier you are.” He commented quietly before taking your blaster from your belt and raising it up to the side of your helmet. Your breathing was fast and your whole body was shaking, but you still managed to raise your arm and take off your helmet quickly. Everything grew silent as he looked at you through the tinted green visor of his Imperial helmet. He dropped the arm holding your blaster and loosened his grip.

“How…”

You shoved him away forcefully before kicking the blaster out of his hands and picking it up, then shooting his rifle so it couldn’t fire. You then rushed away as he was down, making your way back to the base.

*******

It was nearly sun up when you arrived back to the valley where the base was. Omega was waiting with the Batch and Hera when she saw you. She ran up to you and hugged your midriff tight.

“I was scared you got captured by the Empire.” She admitted.

“I’m alright. Just had to make sure everyone was safe…” You replied before looking up at the others.

“We’re heading south to another city, away from Imperial scanners.” Tech explained as you approached the Marauder with her. You nodded, avoiding Hunter’s eyes and following Omega as she and Hera pulled you onto the ship.

You all arrived at the hangar of the small city before Hunter talked with Hera’s parents and the Batch was gathered around with Hera, occupying themselves. You stood to the side, still thinking about Crosshair.

“Lodestar.” Cham called and you looked up before approaching, “It has been an honor finally meeting you and working alongside you. We are all familiar with the work you have done.”

You nodded politely before Hera was called, so you walked away towards the Marauder. It was only a few minutes before the others joined you. You all filed onto the ship, but before Tech and Echo could go to the cockpit, Hunter stopped them and they all turned to you.

“What were you thinking?” Hunter pressed, crossing his arms over his chest, “You almost sabotaged the whole mission.”

You didn’t say anything, looking at him while he talked.

“You risked being caught by the Empire, Lodestar, don’t you understand that?”

You gave him a curt nod, seeing Omega’s worried eyes in your peripherals.

“Next mission, you’re staying on the ship--maybe even stay behind on Ord Mantell.” He ordered, before walking back to the cockpit. His brothers protested while following after him, but Omega stayed with you in the main Hangar.

“Lodestar? Are you alright?”

You looked at her with a nod before she went to sit as the ship started to take off.

XXXXXXX

Taglist: @darkangel4121

@lightning-wolffe

@alucas528

@rintheemolion

@shadowfoxey

@butch-medusae

@gabile18

@incandescentlywarm

@echo-is-worth-more-than-2000

@spidercrush3

[alovesongshewrote]

If you’re taking requests, maybe something about Doux finding the reader absolutely delirious from lack of sleep? I may or may not have gotten literally any sleep last night and although I managed to get through my morning routine pretty efficiently I FEEL my body just wiping out. I will be comatose within the hour.

Sleep, Darling | Hisirdoux Casperan x Reader

Plot:  you’ve been awake for too long and it is not doing you any favours.  Thank god for punk wizards who care about your wellbeing, amirite lads?  (Also, the pure Irony that this is getting posted at like, 2:40 am where i am, rip me i guess)

Word Count: 2,292

Warnings:  A bit of blood is mentioned in passing, the reader isn’t human and probably has adhd or smthn.  Also, Friends is mentioned, like, the tv show, so that’s a thing!

A/N:   if you look closely, you can actually see me projecting onto this one.  I hope you got some sleep anon.

Tags:   @furblrwurblr @einahpetsyarcip @sorrels-scribbling @anxious-stitcher @alive-and-afraid @animedweeb333 @douxiesdamsel @saroski05

Time isn’t real.  It’s a social construct made to bring order to the general chaos that is human existence.  That was why you were up at 5 a.m for the second, maybe third, night in a row.  Was it healthy?  Probably not, but you didn’t need sleep, you needed answers.  Answers to what?  Who knows at this point, honestly.

You couldn’t say you were surprised when you finally noticed the late, or early hour.  You just shrugged it off and went “fuck it, all-nighter,” which was fine for the moment.  But time’s a bitch, and that moment was over pretty fast.  By noon, you were ready to collapse.  The three cups of coffee did not help.  Instead, they made you vibrate at a frequency that could quite possibly break glass.  As much as this sucked for you, it was worse for your lovely friend and co-worker, Hisirdoux Casperan.

Now, our boi Douxie was and is madly in love with you, but shhh, it’s a secret.  You also love him, and that’s a secret too.  Neither of these secrets are well kept, and the only reason you aren’t together is general stupidity.  Literally, anyone else who watches the two of you interacting can tell that you're in love.  Hell, half the town assumes you’re together already.  The other half keeps trying to get you together.  It is not working very well.  But that’s all a digression.  What you really need to know is that Douxie loves you and watching you suffer from a lack of sleep was Not A Pleasant Experience.  You were delirious, shaky, and constantly off-balance.  You could work well enough, but it was clear that your health was not in the same zone.

The final straw came when you cut your hand on broken glass.  You’d dropped a cup, and instead of using magic, you’d tried to fix the mess by hand.  That plan did not work, and you received a bloody slash across your palm for your troubles.

“Ah.  Fuck,” you said, thinking you were whispering but instead speaking at a normal volume.

“What’s wrong, love?”

“‘S nothing, I’ve got it,” you did not got it, especially not in this state, and Douxie had the good sense to figure that out.  The blood was a pretty good hint though.

“Oh, fuzzbuckets.”

“I told you, I’m toooootally fine, there is nothing to worry about.”

“Here, (Y/N), let me help you-”

“No, no, this is, this is-” it was then that your sleep-deprived brain decided to cut off your train of thought and replace it with another, more chaotic train.  You stopped talking and just stared at Douxie for a solid minute.  Or at least it felt like a solid minute.  Time isn’t real, remember that.

“(Y-Y/N)?  You alright there, darling?”

“You’re really cute, did you know that?  Like… really cute.  Steve was right, you could be a model.”

“I-”

“Also, just gonna put it out there, I freakin’ love it when you call me darling.  Like, I know you call most people darling, but it makes me feel special.  Don’t ask why, it just does.”

Douxie wasn’t planning on asking why.  He wasn’t really planning on anything.  Your sleep-deprived half-confession had turned him from a capable individual into a blushing mess in less than a second.  You always had that effect on him, but it looked like your exhausted state was giving you a bit of an edge.

“Oh, sorry, I made it weird.  Anyway, do you think if I brewed my next coffee with Monster instead of water it would wake me up?   Because I’m still tired, and it isn’t fun.”

“I- you- I’m-”

“I think I might try it, honestly.”

“Ok, how about you don’t do that,”  Archie said, swooping in, literally and figuratively, to save the day, “Douxie, can you please get (Y/N)’s hand patched up?  It looks quite painful and they’re dripping blood onto the carpet.”

You were, in fact, dripping blood onto the carpet.  That wasn’t good, “Oh, that’s- I’m sorry.”

“Don’t fret, just go do something about that hand,” with that, Archie smacked Douxie upside the head in an attempt to snap him out of his flustered state.  It was super effective!

“Ahh, yeah.   C’mon, (Y/N), let’s,,, go,,, fix,,, that.”

“Ok,”  you stood, too tired to protest, and followed Douxie into the back of the bookstore, which was literally just his apartment.  

It was a nice place.  Very cozy, very him.  It made you want to curl up and take a nap, but to be fair, literally everything made you want to curl up and take a nap at the moment.  Regardless, his home made you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside and you never wanted to leave it.  Maybe it was the interior decorating, but you knew it was because your favourite person lived there.  What you didn’t know, or didn’t realize, was that you’d just spoken your entire thought process out loud and Douxie heard every word of it.  Once again, the boy was a blushing mess.  If you were awake enough to process things, you would have found it cute.  Or you’d be dead from embarrassment, that one is a bit of a toss-up.

Fighting through his flustered state, Douxie pulled you into the bathroom and collected a first aid kit from under the counter.  While he focused on getting things done, you curled into a ball in his bathtub.  For some reason, your exhausted brain decided that sitting on the edge of the bathtub simply did not Vibe™ but sitting inside the tub was better than nothing, and so you just,,, curled up there.  Douxie was only a little surprised to see you there.

“(Y/N)?”

“D’you remember that time on Friends when Winona Ryder played a closeted lesbian?  That was a fuckin’ trip, man.”

“(Y/N), darling-”

“That whole episode is just- it’s just strange.”

“(Y/N)-”

“Hehe, Stranger Things.”

“(Y/N), love, I need to see your hand.”

“Oh, fuck, yeah, I forgot.  Here,” you sat up, extending your hand out to the wizard.  He took it, sitting on the edge of the bathtub which was fine for him to do, I guess.  Not you though, you were stuck in bathtub jail for sleep deprivation crimes.

You squinted up at his face as he tended to the nasty scratch you’d given yourself.  You didn’t have the capacity to focus on what he was doing, so instead you focused on him.  He was pretty, as you’d said before, but that was always true.  At that exact moment, his brows were furrowed in concentration, his eyes concerned and his jaw set.  His hands were steadier than yours could ever hope to be, especially since you hadn’t been sleeping.  Overall, he looked kind of mad, so you sunk down into your bath-prison, silent and waiting for him to finish so you could get back to work.

Douxie was not mad at you.  He was upset that you hadn’t been sleeping, but he wasn’t mad.  He was just worried for your health.  Your wizard did not appreciate seeing you shaking and sleep-deprived.  He didn’t appreciate it when your current state led you to injure yourself, either.

He wrapped up your hand and gave it a small pat, “Done.  Now, come on, you’re taking a nap.”

His voice surprised you.  It was gentle, calm, not at all angry like you’d suspected.  You found yourself so lost in it that you didn’t realize what he’d said until he said your name, trying to snap you out of whatever haze you were in.

“Oh, wait, what?  No, shit, I have to get back to work-”

“No, you need sleep.”

“Sleep is for the weak, I need to go-” you stood and almost fell over.  You probably would have broken something if Douxie didn’t catch you.  You hadn’t exactly expected to end up in his arms today, and despite the heat rising in your face and neck, you were not complaining.

“(Y/N)-”

“I’m sorry, Douxie, I-”

“You need to sleep.  Please, (Y/N), don’t make me use a spell on you.”

You froze for a second before a smirk crept onto your face, “You wouldn’t.”

“I-”

“You wouldn’t use a spell on meeeeee-” the smirk grew into a full smile as you let yourself go limp, forcing him to move his hands to support you better and pull you closer to him.  Was that your plan?  Maybe.  Was it part of a second, bigger plan?  Also yes.

“You wanna bet?”

“Sure.”

“I-” and then he went silent.  There was a moment of tension where you just stared into each other’s eyes, holding your breath to see what the other person would do.  Your gaze fell to his lips as his fell to yours.  For that moment, your thoughts began to wander far out of your control.  Douxie’s mind was also running rampant but in a different direction.  You were right, he thought.  He couldn't use magic on you.  As far as he knew, you were a human.  Just a mortal being who crawled their way into his life and stayed there, improving the quality of it greatly.  If there was even the slightest chance that a spell may have negative side effects, which most sleep spells did, he wouldn’t dare risk it, especially not on you.  He sighed, tightening his grip on your waist, “You’re right.”

“What?”  Oop, plan going sideways, PLAN GOING SIDEWAYS!

“I’m- not going to use magic on you,” he helped you to stand, and moved to take a step back before you grabbed his hoodie and pulled him back to you, ignoring the sharp sting in your hand.

“Ok, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, hang on there wizard boy-” you took a moment to pull yourself out of the bathtub entirely, “You can’t give up that easily.”

“Wha-”

“Come onnnnnn, make it fun, make it exciting.  Put a spell on me or whatever, just-” you went quiet for a second, but for once you weren’t distracted.  Just quiet.  You had to face facts.  Your plan had failed, and now you had nothing but the truth.

“(Y/N)?”

“Just make my brain stop.  For just two seconds.”

“What?”

“Please.  I’m running on a motor and I can’t stop myself.  I haven’t slept and I have no choice in the matter.”

“(Y/N)-”

“Look, just, take away my free-will if you have to.  Knock me out, magic or otherwise, I just want five seconds where I’m not on hyperdrive,” you were standing on your own now, though Douxie’s arms were still wrapped around you and you hadn’t let go of his hoodie, “Please.”

The bathroom was silent for a minute.  It took that long for Douxie to process what you’d just said.  You feared, for that moment, that you’d said too much.  You hadn't.  Not to him, anyway.

“Come on.”

“What?”

“Come on,” he said, picking you up, effortlessly sweeping you off your feet.

“Wait, what!?” your voice was slightly more frantic, surprise lacing through your words.

“There’s more than one way to get a person to sleep.”

“Oh-?”

He didn’t respond to your question, instead, he carried you out the door and into what you could only assume was his room.  You had no choice but to wrap your arms around his neck and cling to him for dear life until he set you down on the bed.

“Stay here, okay?  I’m going to make you some tea-”

“Wait!” you stopped him, grabbing his wrist as he turned to leave, “I’m… I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be sorry, my darling,” he sat in front of you on the bed, “You just need to get some sleep, okay?”

“But what about-”

“I’ll cover your shift, you don’t need to worry.”

“I-”

“Just rest, for now, love.  Please.”

“Ok,” your words were a whisper, something that Douxie could only just hear.  The next thing though, he didn’t have to strain to hear at all, “Yeah.  I meant what I said earlier, by the way.  You’re so pretty, it isn’t fair.”

He laughed at this, at you, finally seeing some humour in your shenanigans.  He relaxed now knowing that you may actually get some much-needed rest.  He stood, kissing your forehead and tracing the side of your face with a hand, rough from guitar strings and 900 years of sweeping.

“Worry not, love, you’re pretty too.”

“Hey, wait-”

“Don’t ‘hey, wait,’ me.  You are.  Now lie down, I’ll be back in a second.”

A smile crept onto your face as you followed orders.  Your emo wizard man thought you were pretty.  And he cared enough about you to let you sleep during work hours, in his home, no less.  You let yourself relax into the bed, grinning once again.  It smelled like him, like thyme and peppermint, lemongrass and sleep.  It was nice, comforting.  You could only vaguely think of Douxie as your brain finally took a fuckin breather.  It was everything you needed, honestly.

By the time Douxie came back, you were long gone, lost to your dreams and finally asleep.  He sighed a smile that matched yours on his face.  He placed the cup of tea on the bedside table before grabbing a blanket out of his closet and draping it over you.  You looked so peaceful.  Good.  You deserved some peace every now and then.

He took the cup and left you, brushing a strand of hair out of your eyes as he did.  After making his exit, he placed the still-hot tea on the counter, disregarding it for now before returning to the bookshop.

“How are they?”  his familiar asked, tail twisting in concern.

He gave a final fond look at the door before returning to business, “They’re just resting.”  And for once, you were.

[watery-melon-baller]

I think that, overall, only four good things came out of Danny Phantom season three:

1) Frostbite. I like that he can serve as another ghostly mentor figure to Danny, even if he is coming pretty late in the game, and he adds some decent worldbuilding.

2) Danny’s ice powers and ice core. There area lot of fun things to be done with these, especially in fanon, but even in the show they can make fights more interesting and dynamic. It’s a new element to play around with without it being too overly obtrusive. It does come a little out of nowhere, and just adds to Danny being absolutely OP, but I can look past that and see it as a net positive.

3) The episode Forever Phantom. This and the episode I’m going to discuss in point four are the only two episodes I feel truly hold up and are genuinely good in this season. There are some others that can be fun to watch, but they’re overall pretty mediocre. That’s not to mention the fair share of flops that just completely missed the mark. Forever Phantom works because it pulls its focus back in to grounded problems. A lot of season three has the issue of being all action, no breaks; the writers try to up the stakes, but it doesn’t work because there’s nothing to tie it back, and therefore it has little meaning. It’s just spectacle. What Forever Phantom does is give us a conflict with stakes that are much lower, but at the same time have a very pointed effect on Danny’s life. That’s able to keep viewers invested. The tone, also, just works a bit better for me than a lot of other season three episodes; some of the humor really works. Finally, we get Amorpho. He’s a very interesting antagonist; his morally gray motivations and general presence make him interesting to watch, and his direct goal to screw with people (and Danny specifically) brings up some good situations.

4) The episode D-Stabilized. This one holds up, and even excels, in a different way than Forever Phantom. Forever Phantom was an excellent example of how this show does a low-stakes, humor-driven episode. D-Stabilized shows off the potential for more plot-driven dramatic storytelling. One thing of the episode’s major strengths is its use of the characters. It was a good decision to take Valerie, Danny, and Danielle as a focus. They in particular did a good job with Danielle; while she definitely didn’t get enough screen time in the overall series to be fully realized as a character, this episode was a good step in the right direction, making use of the limited time they had. Through the focus the episode puts on her, the writers do a good job of fleshing her out into more of her own character (seperate from Danny), but keeping her familiar as well. As for Valerie, she was criminally underutilized in season 3. Nevertheless, her inclusion in the episode definitely improved it. She’s one of Danny Phantom’s strongest characters. To be perfectly honest, she’s probably a more developed and realized character than Tucker or Sam, despite the fact that the latter two are part of the core cast. She has a level of depth those two simply don’t have, with more thought-out motivations and traits that make her more belivable and three-dimensional. As such, D-Stablized took advantage of her strong character and arc to further it, staying true to her motivations and personality. And, critically, the characters are in character. This was an issue that season three had a lot more than the previous seasons of the show. D-Stabilized being able to succeed in this was critical to making it a good episode. Another thing D-Stablized handles well is its narrative. As I mentioned earlier, it gives us a strong and continuity-driven plot which helps to push many of the series’ ongoing points. It continues the thread begun by Kindred Spirits, bringing back Danielle and Vlad’s cloning plan. This is a compelling choice, as for much of season three Vlad has been exaggerated and his motivations twisted out of proportion. His previous motivations, to get rid of Jack and take his family, and more than that his critical trait of wanting love above all but not realizing that one needs to give back to get it, has been largely dropped in favor of a more generic set. His main goals are now shown to be world domination, power, and wealth, which makes little sense for his character. But that is beside the point; to bring us back on topic, the choice to bring back Vlad’s cloning plot demonstrates that he still does hold the desires he was shown to have previously: he wants a ‘perfect son’. It brings his character more in line with earlier seasons, bringing back that more compelling scenario. Another thread it continues is Valerie’s arc. I touched on this briefly earlier when I discussed characters, but to go into more depth, this episode gives us excellent insight into her life and motivations, wholly building off of what we already know about her. It fits in with what we’ve learned, but the events of the episode’s narrative also push Valerie into growing. It makes excellent use of her established anti-hero tendancies, showing how despite her prejudices she still has morals, and it trying to good even if it is somewhat misguided with regards to Danny and her unwavering hatred of ghosts. Especially considering how we’ve seen virtually nothing of her over season 3, the inclusion of Valerie and ties to her storyline certainly helped this episode exceed the rest. The action was dramatic, the development was logical and satisfying, and the characters and interactions are well handled and compelling. This is not even to mention the episode’s ending, where Valerie figures out about Vlad. This was clearly setting up more, but the arc got cut off before it could reach its completion. It is a real shame that we didn’t get a conclusion to this storyline, as it would have been really interesting to see how Valerie would handle the shift to her worldview, and how that could affect Danny and Amity Park.

[bloodraven55]

Dude I just saw the stupidest take of my life, someone waa like ' if you can forgive catra then you should be able to forgive shadow weaver because they are basically the same and catra never really apologized for anything and shadow weaver was also abused' It's like adam apologists all over again shitting on ilia even though she actually had remorse for her actions and tried to make good choices i am a f salt mine today literally fuming :(

Yeah that's some bullshit. See, here's the thing. It's fine if personally you weren't invested in Catra and her story, or if you never cared about her and Adora's relationship. We all have personal preferences and some stuff just won't be to your taste! But you can acknowledge that something is good without liking it yourself, and without trying to twist the facts to prove that your opinion is correct.

So for interest's sake let's break this down point by point.

“[Catra and Shadow Weaver] are basically the same.”

Catra is a highly traumatised teenager who was raised without a single positive role model or example of healthy behaviour, while being put through constant verbal and physical abuse from her guardian/parental figure which made her feel completely worthless and inferior to everyone, and as a result developed self-destructive tendencies and damaging defence mechanisms which caused her to lash out at people to avoid being hurt again.

Shadow Weaver is a fully grown adult who knowingly and insidiously abused and manipulated both Catra and Adora throughout their entire lives up until they were approaching adulthood and previously risked the life of a literal child performing a dangerous spell because of her desire for power clouding her reason. She was never shown to grow up in a horrifically negative environment and the trauma she suffered during the Spell of Obtainment was primarily her own doing.

There's a parallel to Catra in that Shadow Weaver also felt neglected and taken for granted by her mentor figures, but they are not remotely the same.

“Catra never really apologised for anything.”

During Season 5 Catra apologises on no less than three separate occasions (to Adora in S5E3, to Entrapta in S5E6, and again to Adora in S5E8) and she also tries to apologise to Scorpia on two separate occasions but can't because the first time Scorpia is brainwashed and the second time Scorpia hugs her before she can finish. And not a single one of those times does she attempt to justify anything she did, or attempt to put any of the responsibility on other people.

Catra has repeatedly acknowledged her mistakes and sincerely expressed regret for them without any blame shifting or dismissing the pain she caused, and to say otherwise is flat out not true.

“Shadow Weaver was also abused.”

I sort of already covered this, but yeah, this point also doesn't hold up at all. We're shown that Shadow Weaver felt ignored and sidelined by the other sorcerors, but never that she was deliberately stripped of her self esteem and repeatedly mistreated to the point of torture.

Comparing Shadow Weaver's frustration at her colleague's unwillingness to take extreme risks which could have equally severe consequences to Catra being constantly treated like literal garbage and ““punished”” with magic from when she was still just a child is ridiculous.

“Catra's toxicity towards Scorpia was the same as Shadow Weaver's abuse of Adora and Catra.”

They're the same in that neither situation was remotely okay. But again, equating a traumatised victim of child abuse projecting that cycle of abuse onto someone else to the perpetrator of said child abuse who began that cycle in the first place is, uh... Not a Good Take.

This isn't to excuse anything about the way Catra treated Scorpia or anyone else she hurt—those actions were entirely her own and she had to take responsibility for them and face the consequences—but to say those two examples are identical is wrong.

“Shadow Weaver deserved a redemption arc.”

No, she didn't. Because as you say, she never took any of the necessary steps to redeem herself.

Noelle has said that Shadow Weaver's death wasn't a redemption, and I also remember her saying that as far as Shadow Weaver was concerned, once she was working with the Rebellion she considered herself redeemed and one of the good guys. Which is exactly why Shadow Weaver never deserved redemption, because she didn't even understand that she needed to redeem herself.

Shadow Weaver never once hesitated over her decisions or showed any remorse for what she did to Catra and Adora. She never apologised to anyone, and the only truly good thing she ever did was to die so that her victims would be free of her forever. But even then, her “you're welcome” to Catra shows that she still wasn't being truly selfless and felt like she was obligated to some measure of forgiveness for doing the absolute bare minimum.

On the other hand, let's look at some of the main things Catra does in Season 5 as part of her redemption arc.

She saves Glimmer, risking her life and allowing herself to be tortured similarly to how Shadow Weaver used to ““punish”” her with her magic, I might add and brainwashed in an attempt to keep Adora safe.

She chooses to try and discover Horde Prime's plans by looking into his mind using her chip, even though it means reliving a hugely traumatic experience, in an attempt to help Adora and the Rebellion against Horde Prime.

She literally throws herself headfirst into fire with zero hesitation to try and rescue Adora.

She stays behind to fight what is essentially a giant potentially deadly monster alone, once again to protect Adora and hopefully allow her to save Etheria.

She lets herself be physically attacked by members of the Rebellion on multiple occasions without fighting back or holding onto any bitterness over it because she knows it's warranted.

She offers or at least tries to offer genuine apologies to the people she hurt the most (Adora, Entrapta, and Scorpia) without attempting to excuse any of her wrongdoing and without any expectation of forgiveness.

Catra achieves zero personal gain through any of these actions. They are wholly selfless acts, and that's how she proves that she's actually changing for the better. Not with one single instance of doing a decent thing which comes with a “you're welcome” as a final guilt trip, but with repeated good choices which she makes without demanding any sort of reward for them.

To give more examples:

In Episode 3, Catra starts to learn how to apologise for the things she did and express the regret she feels over her actions.

In Episode 6, Catra starts to learn how to let herself be vulnerable, and how to openly and honestly ask for the things she wants instead of assuming other people already know and then lashing out when they don't understand. She also lets Adora set clear boundaries without reacting badly, and manages to share her feelings knowing that Adora might choose to reject her or walk away.

In Episode 8, Catra starts to learn that feeling exposed and embarrassed isn't always a bad thing, and that when the rest of the group tease her it's a sign of them beginning to accept her rather than them mocking her— that they're laughing with her, rather than at her. She also shows that she's making progress towards working through her issues by finding ways to manage her anger rather than lashing out.

In Episode 9, Catra tries to reassure Netossa that Spinnerella will be okay, demonstrating that she's starting to learn how to empathise with other people more and express sympathy for their struggles.

In Episode 10, Catra is willing to go back to the Fright Zone with Adora and the others, a.k.a. return to the place which is the source of most of her trauma, because she knows it's what has to be done.

In Episode 11, Catra decides to go to Mystacor with Adora and the others even though it's Shadow Weaver's idea, a.k.a. follow a plan thought up by the woman who's the source of most of her trauma, because she knows it's what has to be done. She also willingly lets Adora go to the Heart and potentially sacrifice herself which has literally been Catra's greatest fear throughout this entire season, because she accepts that it's Adora's choice to make and finally understands that Adora's priority will always be the greater good and she can't and shouldn't change that.

In Episode 13, Catra chooses to stay by Adora's side no matter what, regardless of whether Adora feels the same way about her, because she's reached a place where she's able to accept that her feelings might not be reciprocated and she still wants to be there for Adora in any way necessary even so— even if it means watching the love of her life die in front of her.

Catra spends the entire season going through the personal growth necessary to become a better person and learn how to have healthy connections with people. She makes the effort to improve time after time and dedicates herself to the ongoing job of breaking her toxic tendencies and making up for everything she did. If you still don't believe that she deserved to find peace and love after all of that then I can't make you, but you can't just ignore everything that happened in the show.

tl;dr - you don't have to like Catra or her arc, but she more than earned her happy ending.

[rachetmath]

Jaune’s Battle: Reclaiming Control

I just saw volume eight episodes one and two. My theory is now Jaune’s battle in the volume is taking back his position as leader to save Oscar. We have seen him in episode one, being what stops the team from fighting each other and not changing anything to both sides agreeing to a solution; divide and conquer. In episode two, we see unlike Yang and Ren, Jaune is not at all that phased by Fiona’s comment. He is just worried about Ren. And now with Oscar being taken by the new Grimm in the ring, might put Jaune’s metal to the test.

First let us discuss the motive to the challenge. Jaune, back in volume three, already had a partner taken from him to where he had to ask Ruby for help. Now in volume eight, his partner Oscar, (maybe his partner. Sorry, everyone but with a lot of Rose garden moments, it is still hard to see these two as partners.) is now being taken to Salem for questioning and to die. And with Ruby, now in Atlas, Jaune must now set a course to save him. (If episode three, the grimm gets beaten already.) However, there are obstacles in his way.

The problem Jaune must face is the people. The people of Mantle need help and so far without his semblance, Ren and Yang are useless in helping them. So, Jaune must stay until the remaining people are safe. This will test his patience and maybe make him stop the citizens from fighting each other. He may have to tell the people that they must fight soon if they wish to protect their homes, friends, and families.

The second task is being a partner to Ren and Yang. Let us be clear. Jaune is not Yang’s or Ren’s partners. He has no romantic interest in them at all. Heck, the guy is only with them because he cannot fight the Ace-op or soldiers and to even out the teams. Him and Oscar were on no one’s side. So, he is not going to have same tolerance as Blake and Nora do to put up with them. Jaune will have to stand his ground against them at some point especially because Ren and Yang are by far, the most emotional about the situation. (Plus, Jaune getting mad is good. It becomes proof of how serious the problem is. We also saw Yang get scared when he is furious.) To stop Yang, he must use facts and make Yang think about her decisions, so she does not rely on emotion alone. Ren however (I highly doubt it but please let this happen) well… they fight. In my opinion, Ren has been acting like a huge jerk. He sided with James very quickly, he yelled at Nora, and avoids expressing himself to the people who are close to him or trying to help him. I mean, if he still sides with James, why is he still in Mantle and on Yang’s side? Jaune might as well be the one who helps him to prove one; he is his friend, two; he is his leader and three; getting him to open up more for Nora’s sake.

Now for the hard part. The happy huntresses soon can handle the situation and Jaune with Yang and Ren can go get Oscar. The problem they will face is not in finding him but saving him. Tyrian as well as Salem’s other combatants will be there guarding the prize or awaiting further instructions. They cannot afford to be reckless since May is not with them and Jaune is useless in combat (So is Ren if he keeps spamming that same move.). One or two characters can help and that’s Neo or Cinder. Neo, because she does not care if Jaune gives her something in return for her help. Cinder, well, because Salem does not give her any credit or will not allow her to do what she wants. (Any other character will do, maybe Joanna, considering we don’t know her semblance.) Either way, the trail is for Jaune to trust Neo or somebody, even if Yang and Ren disagree. Basically, putting his grudges aside for something bigger.

The final task is facing Salem herself.  No, not to fight her. But to make her take him and his friends seriously. How? By saving Oscar and defeating the Grimm that took him in the first place. Think about it for a second. Jaune, the moment he saw that Grimm beating Oscar to the ground. Seeing it use him as a shield, beating both Ren and Yang. And hearing it speak for the first time. What happened? Jaune did nothing, he could not do anything to better the situation. Even if he had a gun. Once the Grimm flew off with Oscar, he was already paralyzed by fear. It is a whole new enemy he has never encountered before, considering the grimm he has defeated so far. Now, to save his friends, Jaune must act and come up with a plan to beat it. Facing fear itself. Giving him a definite role.

Now, does that mean Jaune will have to face and discover all this by himself. No, Jaune is not his teammates, he is more human than they are. Jaune will need help, and who better to help him than maybe Fiona. Fiona is Robyn’s second in command. She’s already leading the evacuation and guiding the people since Robyn’s absence. She can help Jaune understand that a good leader is not always strong or smart. Leaders possess the ability to not just to bring people together but make choices and for see the outcome of those choices. Jaune is not as smart as Ruby and Robyn. He is not as strong as Yang, Ren, Nora, or anybody. He does not possess special talents or abilities like Oscar or Weiss. And he is damn well not as cold and risk taking as James. He can only be himself and work with what he got. That is something I think Fiona had to realize when she was with Robyn or being in the Atlas military.  

Finally, you might say “why does Jaune have to go through all this? Other than rescuing Oscar.” Or “No, RatchetMath. Jaune is not the main character. Why you trying to improve him?”  Well for one he needs the improvement. But in addition, look at this:

https://va.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_qjwezuLGEo1vipw08.mp4

For Jaune, right now, that is something that can bring back some dark memories. For instance, Beacon, where he saw people frightened, causing grimm to surround them and die. Arguing over who is at fault, and more importantly seeing James leave the nation he was supposed to protect to fend for itself. Leaving Ms. Goodwitch to pick up the pieces. People, Jaune is a simple man, who is in a world filled with people with incredible powers. Yet throughout the time he has fought monsters and criminals, dealt with grief over his partner’s death, and deals with complex situations that will stress him out at times. Now, history is repeating itself and the situation is getting worst. Salem is in Atlas. James has given up on Mantle. His teammates are becoming more divided. And Oscar is now in need of assistances, especially with Ozpin coming back into the picture.  

This is a war. And if Jaune wants to survive and keep the people and his friends alive, he must fight his damn hardest in order to succeed.

Cause if he does not step it up. He will not just lose Oscar.

 He will lose… everyone he cares about and wants to protect. By the hands of the cruel goddess.

[hopevalley]

Season 8, Episode 9: Pre-Wedding Jitters

Y’all know what’s wild? The season is coming to a close! I feel like we just got started with Season 8, and it’s already nearly over. I’m not ready for things to end...except the love triangle. Lol.

One important thing I want to talk about, before we move on to my regularly scheduled episode write-up, of course, is the quality of the writing and filming this season. I really feel like the team took a step back and thought very carefully about how to improve the show, and then they went through the effort of actively trying to improve things. 

Are there still badly-written areas of the show? Absolutely. Are there things I loathe seeing? Yes. Are there plotlines that are extremely contrived even by Hallmark standards? Unfortunately there are.

But I don’t think anyone can deny that the writing this season is, overall, an improvement over Seasons 5, 6, and 7. The only thing that I feel about S8 that is worse than 5/6/7 is the love triangle, but it had to come to a head eventually so it was always going to be a point of contention among the fans.

I’ve seen a ton of negativity going around the Internet, and you are all entitled to your opinions, but let’s hold back from being too angry until we see how things will work out. After all, there is a chance, however small, that Hallmark will end up surprising us.

So here’s to hoping that the writing quality uptick will continue as we move into Season 9.

And now, our plotlines from this episode:

The Dilapidated Love Triangle

The Wedding Planning/Party

The New & Improved Henry Gowen

Miscellaneous (Car Investigation, pastor position/Jesse and Clara + Cafe, Carson and Faith, Mike and Fiona)

This was another episode that felt pretty smooth in its storytelling; it had some smaller plots going on, but two primarily large plots, a smaller one that revolved around Henry, and then a few small (connected) plots from previous episodes/that overarched the whole season!

Sorry for the muddle by the way, it took me hours to type this and I’m too tired to read it over thoroughly before posting. If you see any glaring issues please let me know so I can fix them, though!

--

The Dilapidated Love Triangle

Let’s just get the pig slop out of the way, shall we? I think we are all in some sort of agreement by now that we’re tired of the triangle and just want to see it resolved as soon as possible so that we can get on with our lives and invest our interests in the right place(s). 

I also believe most of us are also in some kind of agreement, however we feel about the characters, the triangle, and who Elizabeth’s choice should be, that this thing has been very poorly paced. This sentiment seems to be echoed across the Internet right now. The pacing is AWFUL. After two years of almost nothing happening, now we’re going to bullrush to the end of the triangle? That’s a yikes from me, Chief. (Wait, didn’t I say that last week, too?)

I was never a fan of the narrated beginnings of episodes. I think they’re really tacky and boring. That said, there’s no other way to get into Elizaeth’s head easily because...I don’t know. Either Erin isn’t that skilled or the director doesn’t know how to direct her, or the script sucks. They struggle SO MUCH with show-don’t-tell that they have to resort to telling...which is fine, sometimes. This is an instance where telling is just mega redundant since she says the same exact thing probably 10 more times in the episode. I wish they’d have just kept the first part of the reflection or focused more on that—how Nathan talking about it...makes it feel fresh and raw again in a way she didn’t expect.

Anyway, Elizabeth writing that she’s been “left to reflect, once more, on the senseless accident that took [Jack’s] life” is ridiculous. Senseless? He was in charge of the training mission, but unless I’m losing every last marble I’ve ever had, wasn’t it Jack’s choice to go after the younger recruits who had been separated? Wasn’t it thanks to Jack’s quick thinking and intervention that only one person lost his life that day (Jack himself)? 

This is where the whole “Jack died heroically” thing kind of matters, actually. Especially when you butt it up against Nathan being the original person intended to go. Would he have risked his life like that? We’ll never know, but I’m sure Nathan thinks about it a lot, and it’s not something that should be left out of this story.

It’s valid for Elizabeth to wonder why Nathan kept the Secret hidden from her for almost three years, but what is really troublesome is the weird shift she seems to have between Casual Curiosity and Stricken Grief about it.

I grew tired of mopey Elizabeth in S4 and 5, so I’m not happy to see her back. Fewer eye drops, please. -_-

Anyway, it almost felt like a breakthrough when Elizabeth asked Rosemary why she thought Nathan took so long to tell her about Fort Clay, but Rosemary’s response was so bad. “He didn’t think it was important enough.” WHAT? WHO WOULD SAY THAT? Rosemary can be a bit thick-headed but that was almost too contrived for me to willingly follow. Anyone with a brain would realize it was IMPORTANT and THAT WAS WHY IT WAS A SECRET.

And when Elizabeth’s like, “Not important enough?” BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IT IS IMPORTANT... Rosemary just tells her that Jack’s death wasn’t Nathan’s fault.

Which. She’s right. But that doesn’t make the secret unimportant. It’s still kind of a big deal. He’s confessed to being in love with Elizabeth multiple times now. Even Rosemary can’t be so dumb that she doesn’t realize that the connection between Jack’s death and Nathan is...meaningful, especially to Elizabeth. And that Nathan knew this and couldn’t bring himself to tell her because he knew it would hurt her.

Anyway, I’m doing my best to give Elizabeth a bit of grace here, because she’s just so self-centered I almost can’t stand it. To be clear, Elizabeth has ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THIS. It’s just that usually the issues at hand aren’t about her, they’re about someone else. 

Rosemary’s right but what she said was straight-up stupid. I don’t know, I don’t think the characters are out of character so much as the dialogue just didn’t flow very naturally and I felt like the characters were making assumption jumps to force certain responses. If Elizabeth can’t agree with Rosemary that Jack’s death isn’t Nathan’s fault, then she should have expressed that a bit more directly so that Rosemary could draw the conclusion that Elizabeth does feel it’s Nathan’s fault. It came across like Rosemary was speaking to the audience more than to Elizabeth, and I didn’t like it.

--

The most delightful scene in the entire episode has to go to Allie and Lucas. That was so cute and wholesome and good. Her asking if she could sit at the bar, him offering her a treat, her trying to return the gift ‘cause she felt caught in the middle and like it wasn’t fair to accept it... SO GOOD. They remembered the gift multiple episodes later AND incorporated it into this episode flawlessly. LOVED IT. 

Also, she asked an important question. LUCAS...where DO YOU LIVE?!

His story was a bit silly but I actually enjoyed it. It gives him a more playful vibe and also I think was almost entirely to ensure that Allie felt more comfortable and less anxious about what was happening around her. It was also his way of reassuring her that him courting Elizabeth wasn’t going to take Elizabeth out of Allie’s life...and that things will be okay.

I enjoyed it.

Things were a bit awkward with Elizabeth and Allie but they felt...better than before, so I felt like the conversation helped.

--

Lucas calling Allie “Allie Grant” was nice now that her adoption is official! I appreciate that.

Elizabeth and Lucas talk about how Lucas told Allie he’ll “work things out” with Nathan and Elizabeth definitely doesn’t appreciate it, and with somewhat good reason: she doesn’t like being caught in the middle of things any more than Allie does.

The thing is...she has had the power...all this time...to tell Nathan straight-up to leave her alone/that she isn’t interested. I stand by what I said before, that she shouldn’t have to tell him no for him to respect the boundaries she’s set, but if he’s not respecting those boundaries she needs to be firm about it.

I like how Lucas comes off in this scene. He wants to understand, he listens, he’s patient, he doesn’t push. I’m here for it.

She tells him what Nathan told her and he seems a bit overwhelmed by it, too. It’s pretty clear that he realizes she must be feeling all kinds of things after finding that out, especially after all this time. 

Again, for the second time, Elizabeth doesn’t seem all that grief-stricken about the secret being kept from her for so long: she tells Lucas she just doesn’t understand how he could keep it from her. 

He asks permission to suss out an answer and Elizabeth politely declines and says she’ll ask herself, but to please forgive her, she needs some time to...think.

She watches Lucas go and then...touches her wedding band.

-

Nathan meets Rosemary in the library and goes on a long boring monologue about how he’s read like, three whole books that women wrote, but still doesn’t understand women. No shit, sherlock. That was terrible writing...just straight up bad writing.

But I’m not exactly surprised because the very next thing that happens is that Rosemary tells Nathan...she’s been in his eXACT position before!

No...you have not. Yes, you were the unwanted third wheel, but that’s where the similarities ended, and you should have clarified. This just didn’t hit well for me, I don’t know. I don’t want to say it’s out of character, but...I don’t think Rosemary is this soft gentle personality anyway. I feel like she was always a bit more in your face with the things she said, not “try to encourage a manner of action in a very roundabout way” like she is in this episode. But again, without a logic jump from Rosemary, this scene doesn’t quite work.

I think I might have preferred Rosemary to play dumb and ask what specifically he didn’t understand about women. Make him freakin’ say it. And then she could react better. 

--

We get Love Confession #3 or whatever we’re on with Nathan, now. Let’s go over the entire scene.

Elizabeth walks into Nathan’s office and instantly asks him why it took him so long to tell her what happened.

He says he felt guilty and when she tells him she doesn’t understand, he goes on to say that after the accident he requested a transfer to Hope Valley. He never met Jack but he knew he’d left behind a wife and child, and felt it was his responsibility to look after them and protect them.

She asks why he would assume that, and he explains that he felt it was his duty. And that when he found himself falling in love with her, he felt like he was betraying Jack and his memory. That’s why he didn’t tell her.

He then takes it ONE STEP TOO FAR and says, “I fell in love with you, and I think that love is always worth fighting for.” 

Elizabeth says “Excuse me,” and leaves. Nathan’s face afterward is maybe a decent mix of “I probably shouldn’t have said that” and regret, but...woof.

Anyway, I was fine with this up to the point where Nathan said, completely unprompted, that love is always worth fighting for. How does he know? What are his experiences with love? Books he read, written by men??? PLEASE.

READ PRIDE & PREJUDICE U SWINE... ELIZABETH FALLS IN LOVE WITH MR. DARCY BECAUSE HE DECIDES HE WANTS TO CHANGE AND BE A BETTER MAN AND THEN DOES SOOOOOOOOO oh wait this is turning into an Elizabeth/Henry argument...OOPS?

Anyway, yeah. Not a fan of that line. It almost feels like there’s something missing. She’s standing in front of him about to cry because she feels hurt that he didn’t tell her this, you know, crucial information, and he’s just like “Yeah I didn’t tell u cause I love you and felt like i was betraying jack’s memory and also lol love is worth fighting for babe!” What kind of confusing mess of babble is this?

Honestly, it just left a bad taste in my mouth. :( I have so many really obnoxious opinions about Nathan and what they’ve done with him this season, but I feel like I should save them for a season summary podcast or something, just in case Hallmark ends up surprising me. Right now I just feel like they really just wanted to give him what the fans hated about him (he wasn’t passionate enough, not manly enough, not forward enough with his emotions, at least from what I read on Reddit and Instagram last year), but in like THE WORST POSSIBLE WAYS and for the wORST POSSIBLE REASONS in the VERY WORST SCENARIO.

I feared that would be Nathan’s reason for coming to town from the moment the character was announced and...I wanted to be wrong.

Anyway, I really liked his self-awareness up to that point. He never met Jack, which keeps some of the weirdness at bay. Also, he felt like he needed to make sure Jack’s family was okay, and that’s fine. I wouldn’t call it noble (as Rosemary later does), but it’s not exactly bad, either. Then we got the line of him admitting that it felt kind of bad to fall in love with her. I wish he’d gone on to say that wasn’t supposed to happen, or even given her a reason he loves her (so that it doesn’t feel like we’re just being told everything), because his line about love being worth fighting for right after he says he felt like he was betraying Jack’s memory by loving her...was...really strange??? Maybe a few sentences were edited out? 

--

Elizabeth tries to refuse to play Fiona’s blindfold game and LITERALLY NO ONE SAVES HER (though I think Rosemary considered trying). I hate the idea of this game solely based on the fact that several people participating shouldn’t even be there (Nathan, Bill, Mike, Fiona, Molly), but Elizabeth wouldn’t be able to accidentally choose Nathan if he wasn’t there, so... -_-

I think I might have actually liked this (her “no” with Carson was super cute actually, probably the cutest laugh she’s ever had on this show) if she’d had the chance to reject a few more guys on the way down the line. If she was closer to the end of the line she’d feel her options were running out and might second-guess herself. Having Nathan be the second person she touches and having her choose is...eh.

Nitpicks aside (their hands wouldn’t feel the same and she held Lucas’s hand quite recently actually), it could have been worse. At least she stated who she was searching for...

BUT UGH THE EMBARRASSMENT.

The thing that gets me about the whole scene is 100% that everyone in town would know about the Triangle drama, so it feels...weird to see everyone so gung-ho to watch this happen... I don’t know... I like having fun too, but NOBODY even TRIED to step in??? 

At least Lucas found some humor in it right away (he smiles). 

I think I wish someone had said something. Maybe Nathan could have said, “Nope, sorry” to lighten the mood a bit? Or Lucas could have said, “Almost!” since he was standing right next to Nathan?

--

Anyway, we’re spared having to wait because the very next scene is Lucas checking on Elizabeth and laughing about her choice.

One line I wish they’d added in is that someone else got it wrong. Imagine if Lucas said, “At least you didn’t pick Bill like Clara did!” Or even just made a joke about it in general like: “Of course I’m not upset. But if you would have picked Bill I might be a little hurt. My hands aren’t that old yet.”

Elizabeth tells him that she spoke to Nathan about the whole...thing and it was awkward. She chooses to not tell Lucas the rest of the reason Nathan gave, but instead only admits that he told her he loves her again. When Lucas asks what she said in response she said she didn’t say anything.

Lucas seems...a trifle upset at this, and understandably so. I think he can sense she’s...not really a sure thing and is worried about it. :( I feel so bad for him right now.

--

Rosemary stops by to see Elizabeth after Lucas leaves, and tells her she ran into Nathan at the library yesterday. Elizabeth tells her what Nathan said in his office and Rosemary says it was noble and selfless of him.

(I mean...it wasn’t selfless. Like at all.)

Elizabeth says she never asked him to be noble. She didn’t ask him to fall in love with her, either.

She asks Rosemary if she encouraged Nathan’s feelings for her at the library. Rosemary says no, but Elizabeth asks again and she interrupts her to ask Elizabeth if she’d rather hear what she actually said or just assume.

Rosemary goes on to say that she just wants what’s best for Elizabeth.

And we get Elizabeth asking how anyone would know what was best for her.

I mean, that’s like 90% on you for not communicating with your friends, but also, it’s 100% on you for just assuming you knew what Rosemary said to Nathan. I think she’s just looking for a reason why Nathan is being so persistent and in her mind encouragement from someone else is the only thing that makes sense, ‘cause she sure as heck hasn’t been encouraging him herself!

This hurts Rosemary’s feelings, probably because she was about to say that she wants what’s best for Elizabeth so she asked Nathan to stop getting in the way lol, and says maybe she should leave (since Elizabeth is in a bad mood). Elizabeth agrees she should go.

End episode. On this note. Woof.

Overall it wasn’t too bad I guess? But I’m not a fan of how some of this was written. It really felt like they cut lines out to make the episode shorter, when...they could have cut out one of the boring side plots. You know. The entire thing with Jesse and Clara, for example. 

--

The Wedding Planning/Party

I admit that I got a little enjoyment out of Florence saying no to all the dresses. Highly relatable. 

Then, at the barbershop, Fiona says the exact wORST possible thing about Florence wanting a hairstyle that’ll “knock Ned dead” FLHDSFAJDSA.

Florence goes on to say she wants anything but “ordinary Florence” and Molly steps in.

Honestly, I wish they’d just let Molly stick to being Florence’s BFF because that’s the role she plays best. Also, I’m almost sad Florence and Ned got together because it means #teamflomo is no mo’. :(

Paul shows up...

I don’t know what I expected but this boy would have been a literal BABY in season one, which makes the whole thing with Florence almost sadder AND it gives Florence more in common with Elizabeth (widow with a young child) BUT I HAVE OPINIONS.

I know what you’re thinking. “Manna, you always have opinions!” Yes, you’d be right. 

They based this off of ONE (1) line of dialogue that Florence had in S1 when something was stolen from her house. She says, “while my child slept nearby” or something like that.

They brought a child in...for that? On one hand...I’m impressed.

On the other hand, I kind of had just assumed they’d retconned that and that Florence had no children (which is why she was always goofing off gossiping with Molly) so I don’t really know how to feel about the whole thing.

Rosaleen starred in an episode and never showed up again after S1, so I think I’d have preferred to see her return instead of a child we literally never laid eyes on. But he’s a cutie. And he’s named after his father just like little Jack so...I’ll take it!

--

The party begins and we have to do “the men are stupid and don’t know how to plan” again which is really annoying. The highlight of this entire thing was Ned saying (about his hairline) that he’s been driving with the top down since his 30s. I respect you AND ONLY YOU, Ned.

--

The party continues on and they play charades. Rosemary chose weird awful options that don’t make any sense and are hard to act out. Ned’s could have been funny but the one Bill got is just...so weird.

The funniest part about it is looking at everyone staring at Molly as she guesses it.

I think it was supposed to be...cute? Or something? It was just really weird for me.

“Cuddle up a little Closer, Lovey Mine” (yes, it’s “lovey” not “lovely”) was written and recorded in 1908. You can listen to it here. Lyrics here.

They then play the Most Awkward Game Ever, one that would have had me sweating bullets if I’d had to play it. Florence has to find her man by only holding the hands of the other men.

As Fiona says, it’s a bit...risqué, but Florence rejects Jesse quickly and finds out the second man is Bill by squeezing his hands too hard.

Bill explains that his arthritis is flaring up and of course Sara and I jumped on that almost at the same moment:

We like Bill. :P

And then Florence correctly guesses that the next man is Ned. It’s very wholesome and sweet.

But then it’s Elizabeth’s turn because I guess she’s not been traumatized enough this episode. I covered that in the triangle part of the plot, though.

--

The New & Improved Henry Gowen

We start off with a BANG here with Henry and Christopher. Christopher misses Rachel because he’s a twitterpated little FOOL and he tells Henry all about it...while Henry sees Bill tearing apart the stolen car in the distance.

He asks Christopher how he got to Hope Valley from Hamilton and Christopher just straight up comes clean about it: he drove a stolen car that his buddy stole. 

Henry scolds him a bit, tells him he can’t borrow a stolen car, and explains that he doesn’t want Christopher to end up like him. Christopher seems kind of surprised by this and says, “You turned out good.” 

To which Henry replies, “The jury’s still out on that.” 

Christopher says he’s done with that kind of thing, and Henry tells him he believes him.

Honestly, Henry’s “I believe you” got to me. It sounded SO genuine. And also, can I say YET AGAIN that this kid was an impeccable choice to play Henry’s son? WOW. I can’t get over how much alike they are even in mannerisms and looks.

But THEN when Henry tries to say Rachel has something to do with Christopher being done with that old lifestyle, Christopher tells him “And you” AND I ALMOST LOST IT. SOOOOO GOOD. Henry goes on to explain that “long after” he divorced Christopher’s mom, he met Abigail, who saw the potential for goodness in him. And that he can’t help Christopher be a better man because he’s still figuring that out for himself, but if he thinks Rachel can help him, he should do what he can to not lose her.

--

Later, Henry invites Christopher to Ned’s party and Christopher declines but asks what happened to the woman Henry mentioned earlier—Abigail, of course. Henry says she left town to help her mother.

Is this a...hint of things to come? I’m...not sure.

Henry sits down for two seconds before Lucas asks to speak with him outside. Once there, Lucas admits that he contacted Christopher. This is one of the most contrived plotlines we’ve had in a bit, if only because I just can’t figure out how Lucas would have known who Christopher was, let alone whether or not he would be useful? He doesn’t even have the same last name... I mean, what, did Henry write in sparkly gel pens or something? 

But for some reason he contacted Christopher to come work for Henry to keep an eye on him. He’s not proud of having done it, which makes sense. I guess I wouldn’t be either.

Henry’s upset about it. Lucas tells Henry that he took advantage of him and that he had to make sure Henry could be trusted.

Christopher doesn’t know that Lucas told him, though, and Henry asks that Lucas keep it that way.

It makes Christopher’s behavior with Lucas make more sense (when he kept trying to push him around earlier this season), but the timing is just...awful? Maybe talking to Elizabeth about Nathan’s secret made him feel guilty about his own? I’d buy into it more if I felt like there was a really compelling reason for Lucas to feel that Christopher would do any good...but it’s just too contrived for me.

--

Christopher randomly decides to go to Bellingham to see Rachel. Henry tells him not to make trouble if her parents ask him to leave. Henry makes to leave, and Christopher stops him.

I CANNOT SING THE PRAISES OF THIS SCENE ENOUGH. Christopher tries to tell Henry about the thing with Lucas and Henry’s like...you’re different now, you’re starting over it doesn’t matter anymore!!!! Everyone deserves a second chance!

AND THEY HUG AND CHRISTOPHER TELLS HENRY HE LOVES HIM.

They almost got me to cry. ALMOST. I refuse to cry at this show because I refuse to give Brian Bird the satisfaction, but boy oh boy was this close.

Henry responds with a “me too” and makes Christopher promise to write. Then the stage leaves and that is that.

The rest of the storyline for Henry is under the car investigation. They’re related but...only intertwine at the very end so I separated them. ;)

--

Miscellaneous (Car Investigation, Pastor Position/Jesse and Clara, Carson and Faith, Mike and Fiona)

Car investigation: Nathan starts this episode off on the wrong foot. I think that was...a mistake. THAT SAID...I’m relieved Bill isn’t being written as a complaining whiny pile of trash for once, so I just want to say that...they had to realize after last episode the fan opinion of Nathan would be...not great, so mayyybe they shouldn’t have started this episode off with him literally complaining about doing his job...while he’s in uniform no less. Also he has NO PASSION at all for his job, or for investigating, which I hope means he’ll end up quitting the Mounties. (It could be a hint of things to come...I hope.) 

I mean, does he think Bill got his position for...no reason? Also, thank God Nathan turned down the promotion to Inspector if that was how he was gonna treat actually doing the work?? I’m pretty sure this is their idea of “humor” but boy did it fall flat after the love triangle mess that’s been going on.

The owner talks to Nathan on the phone later and is coming from Hamilton to get his car. Nathan seems to be telling Bill this to discourage him from wasting his time investigating, but Bill doesn’t want to stop lol.

Ned’s comment from the party about his hairline being him “driving with the top down” gives Bill an Idea in the middle of the bachelor party and leaves. Ned looks shook that he produced An Idea.

And follows. Ned is absolutely adorable as he assists Bill. They should interact more?? Long story short, Bill figures out that the top was probably up when it was being transported to Hope Valley (as you wouldn’t want people getting a good look at your face if they’re looking for a stolen car), and finds a footprint in the removable top.

The next day, Bill approaches Henry up at the oil derricks and comments on the fact that Lucas told him that Christopher checked out of his room at the saloon. Henry is up front and honest about where Christopher went, and says he went to Bellingham to see Rachel Thom.

He says, “You know how it is. You love someone, you’d do anything for them.”

The one interesting thing about this comment is that...no, Bill does NOT know. He’s never admitted to being in love in his life. He married Nora, but that was out of obligation (something he makes clear several times). Like, he obviously cared about Nora, but he wasn’t in love with her.

Obviously he’s loved someone enough to do anything for them (his son), but considering he’s dead, and possibly died in a really traumatizing way considering how it’s portrayed, that seems a bit...insensitive. :P

Bill counters it with, “Almost anything, maybe.” 

He then goes on to tell Henry he found a footprint in the stolen car.

And he just. Kind of. Gives Henry. A look. Because he knows exactly who stole the car, he just has to prove it.

Henry stops Bill and says: “A while back I remarked about how you had never solved the mine disaster. Perhaps if you and I get together, I might be able to help.”

Bill doesn’t say a THING...he just leaves. But he looks kind of...put off by the whole thing.

Like he knows what Henry is doing.

Do you know what Henry is doing?

Anything.

For someone he loves.

(Pst. That someone is Christopher.)

As soon as Bill is gone, he picks up a pair of shoes and throws them into the fire.

I think it’s pretty clear that Henry is using this mine disaster thing to protect Christopher, and he’s doing it for this reason WAY MORE than he’s doing it to come clean and be a better man. That’s just my theory, though. I think if Bill hadn’t found anything out about the car, then Henry wouldn’t have brought it up.

But I guess he knows something. The question is...what? And also, when did he mention Bill never having solved the mine disaster? I’m really struggling to remember Henry ever saying that to him, at least not recently. Does anyone recall offhand?

Anyway, I’m wondering if they’ll tie up that whole thing about Noah and Peter that was never addressed on the show to the fullest. You know, the whole thing with them going into the mine knowing it wasn’t safe and not warning anyone. I think a lot of people who watch this show have never been in poverty or lived paycheck to paycheck, but sometimes a person just has to put their head down and keep working even when it’s not safe, because they have to keep living. Or because they had more time to put a stop to things before anything bad happened.

I think blaming Noah and Peter as much as Henry is pretty stupid, but they still shoulder some blame. They were working to fix that problem. Henry wasn’t. He did what he was told and shut up. But maybe there’s a bit more to that story. Could be interesting.

Could also be the worst reveal ever, so...who knows? I’m curious to find out.

BUT ALSO what do they mean Bill didn’t solve that case? The widows sued and won. Sure, he got beat up in S1 carrying evidence out of the mine, but it’s not as if there wasn’t a lot more of it inside the mine, too. Everyone knows the fault of the collapse was due to working conditions being unsafe. What’s left to solve? Is Henry going to give Bill the names of the people who told Henry to keep his mouth shut? 

Or...are they talking NOT ABOUT THE HOPE VALLEY MINE DISASTER, but the original one that sent Henry to Coal Valley (and Nora into a marriage with Bill)? Because that one was not solved. The company just made Henry a scapegoat in that case.

THE WAIT TO FIND OUT MORE IS GOING TO BE TORTURE.

--

Pastor Position/Jesse and Clara + Cafe: I enjoyed Minnie in this episode and seeing her step in and help Clara and become part of the town was great. Jesse giving more credit to Joseph than Lee was pretty funny, and a nice set-up for Lee realizing that Joseph is a pastor. Lee is apparently head of the search committee to find a new pastor...which...sure...okay. Also apparently the newspaper died?? Uh.

I’m kind of hoping Rosemary’s new passion will be the newspaper since she’s supposedly going to dig her nose into things next episode and she used to write a column for the old paper (so she has some experience). Thoughts on that?

Anyway, Joseph agrees to pastor the church instantly the second Lee asks...so it feels weird that his original goal/plans/whatever just...don’t matter anymore? Okay.

They buy a bell.................WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY BIGGEST PETTY COMPLAINT OF THE EPISODE. BRO THAT BELL STRAIGHT UP LOOKS 3D PRINTED FJLKDSAHFLDSAHFLDSAHFKLDSA

Anyway I’m teasing. The Liberty Bell weighs a little over one ton, and two horses could easily pull that.

No complaints. My husband complained last week that there wasn’t a bell and now there is. It’s like he knew. 

Joseph talks about what a “calling” feels like (I think this will come back again with Rosemary which has me VERY HAPPY): a tug on his heart.

Joseph also tells Lee that the men in his yard earlier were surveyors and that he won’t move, at least not far, because he has a congregation to lead, now. Makes me wonder if he’ll actually sell!

Anyway, Jesse and Mike are cute pals and decide to have a snack in the cafe while the gals are socializing with Rosemary (who has just returned from the library).

Rosemary’s books are on land acquisitions, surveying, and territorial law. 

Minnie and Rosemary decide to talk about this while Clara leaves. Why? I’m not sure. Maybe just ‘cause it was boring lol.

She gets back as Mike and Jesse are talking about, uh, her, actually, and Mike asks if all is quiet on the homefront.

Yes, it is. Unlike the trenches of WWI.

But seriously I thought it could be a joke reference to “All Quiet on the Western Front”...a WWI novel. Since...you know...WWI is going on and hasn’t been acknowledged at all even though it’s almost over now.

Joke’s on me, though...that’s too advanced for Hallmark.

Anyway it’s only quiet for like two seconds, because Clara busts in, thinks they’re eating the food she’s been busting her ass over for the party, and yells at Jesse. It makes everything awkward. Jesse simpers about like a sad little clown instead of trying to be understanding. Yawn. Awful. Bye.

I don’t know what would fix that scene, but I think part of the problem is...I’m just not invested in Clara and Jesse anymore. It’s perfectly reasonable to expect them to need more time to get over the problems in their relationship but I don’t care about them enough to care about the journey...if that makes sense. I’d rather watch Bill dust for prints on the car some more.

They do have a chat, and work things out, so that’s good I guess.

--

Carson and Faith: Carson has officially stolen the dock from Abigail and Frank, and so my hatred for them doubled instantly.

Me, a territorial loon: THAT SPOT IS NOT YOURS!!!!! FIND YOUR OWN!!!

Anyway Carson makes things awkward and then busts out that he accepted the fellowship without talking to Faith.

She’s kind of hurt by this?? UNDERSTANDABLY?? But then he asks if it would have made a difference. I mean, common courtesy would be at least sitting down like this and telling her, “I’ve decided to accept it.” But no. He just. Accepted it without telling her he was going to. Bro...

They aren’t on the same page for even two seconds. He tells her he was committed to the relationship and put all his plans aside so that she could be happy.

Honestly, as much hate as Nathan’s getting right now, if people gave a damn about Faith I think Carson would be getting his fair share of hate, too. What a jerk???

He goes on to say it wasn’t a waste of his time (when she asks), but never bothers to tell her more or to prove he didn’t feel that way (BECAUSE HE SURE ACTS LIKE IT WAS A WASTE OF HIS TIME). He just says he hopes she changes her mind and comes with him to Baltimore.

At the party Carson and Faith go outside to talk where Carson admits that he should have told her he was accepting the fellowship before he wrote. She tells him that the year she was gone was almost too much time apart for her, and Carson promises to write her and tells her she can visit him, too, but she brings the conversation back to reality. They’ll both be super busy. 

He suggests they get married, and then immediately says he’s not asking (it’s not how he’d propose), but that they could look forward to getting married. (Good thing they laughed ‘cause I sure wasn’t. It was super awkward...) He suggests seeing how they feel in about a year. (Oh...perfect timing for...next season...hm.)

Faith tells him she loves him and wants what’s best for both of them, even if that thing isn’t them being together. They agree to just enjoy the night and worry about the rest later.

Anyway, I feel like these two just have NO chemistry (they’re worse than Bill and Molly in my books). I really appreciate the attempt to give them meaningful material, and I like that Carson has a passion again, but boy oh boy are these two hard to watch. The plotline is really good, but the characters just...aren’t great. I figured if anything they’d give a plot like this to AJ and Bill to tie that up (some kind of conflicting reason she can’t stay in Hope Valley to be written off the show for good) so I was surprised to see it going to Carson and Faith instead, but like...in a good way because it’s actually compelling for their situation! I've been in a similar situation and it feels REALLY BAD to like someone a lot but not be ready or willing to commit to an extreme for whatever reason. Faith doesn’t want to go to Baltimore because she loves Hope Valley and she undoubtedly doesn’t want to see it go without a doctor at all. Carson likes Hope Valley but his passion is in surgery and he can make a huge difference in a big hospital. He could still make a difference in Hope Valley, too (undoubted he’s the only surgeon for many miles around these smaller towns) but he also likes hospitals and their equipment and maybe misses what he had a long time ago.

So it’s a great plot. It’s compelling. It’s even a bit tragic when you think about it!

But my God do these characters just...not come off as convincing. :(

--

Mike and Fiona: The scene with Ned was SUPER cute. Genuinely funny. Mike asking Fiona out. Everyone teasing Mike about how much he likes her. It’s very cute and wholesome. So far I enjoy it a lot. There’s not a lot to talk about here but I like that it’s...simple.

I MEAN...she’s so cute.

--

END THOUGHTS:

I want the next three episodes right now immediately, but I’m also going to be pretty sad when this season ends...I think.

The biggest speculation from this episode, by the way, is that they’re opening things up to write Abigail back onto the show. How do we feel about that? 

Any other thoughts? Favorite scenes? Share!

[duhragonball]

Krillin for the character ask :)

Give me a character and I will answer:

Why I like them: It’d be easy for me to say “he’s just a good dude” and leave it at that.   I think people would agree with that statement, but I think it runs deeper than that.   The thing that stuck with me about Krillin was when I was checking out the bonus features on the Movie 6 DVD I bought in 2002 or whenever, and they had an interview with Sonny Strait where he explained that Krillin only got into martial arts to impress girls, and that was the same reason Sonny got into voice acting.    Maybe I’m misremembering that, but it always stuck with me.   

Krillin wants things out of life, and unlike a lot of the other characters, he’s not looking to get them by wishing on a magic dragon.   He wants to become worthy of the things he wants, and he may not always be sure of how to get there, he knows that he has to become more than he is.  

Recently, I’ve been seeing excerpts from Barack Obama’s book, where he talks about reading up on subjects to try, unsuccessfully, to get girls to like him in college.    I think the idea was that he was trying to be self-effacing, but it hasn’t gone over very well.  I’m not sure if the problem was that he wasn’t being self-effacing enough, or if there’s something more sinister about reading Karl Marx just in case it helps your odds of getting noticed.    I’m not going to wade into that controversy, except to say that it reminded me of Krillin.  

Is it shallow to have self-serving reasons to improve yourself?   Did I just answer my own question?   The point I’m making here is that it’s a useful motivator.    Krillin has self-esteem issues, and he joined the Orin Temple and then Kame House to try to overcome them.   He thought “If I just get really good at this one thing, then people will like me.”   And we can say “Oh, no, it doesn’t work that way, Krillin, people like you because you’re a such a good person, and besides, it doesn’t matter how good you are at martial arts.”  

Okay, fine, let’s assume that’s true, and Krillin deceived himself by training in martial arts.    Oh no!   He put in all that work, and all he got out of it was... being the strongest human on Earth.   Shoot.    He made himself a better person for nothing.

The reality is that I don’t think he would be as well-liked if he hadn’t gone down this road, simply because people wouldn’t have gotten to know him.   That’s really what it’s about.   It’s easy to say that you’re liked for “who you are on the inside”, but what people really want is to be noticed long enough to be liked for who they are.    And sometimes you gotta take a long look at yourself and say “I need to do something to grab people’s attention.”

And sometimes, in order to motivate yourself into that kind of work, you have to play that trick on yourself.    “Just think, if I put in those extra reps in the gym, the ladies’ll be all over me!”   And it never actually happens, but it gets you through that workout, and the next, and the next, and the next.  

I think we can all relate to that.   I’m writing this because three people asked me to, and I’m sort of hoping a few more will see it and like what I wrote.   I try to get better, because I like the rush of validation that comes with it.   And if I don’t get it, well, boo-hoo, I wrote a few hundred words about Krillin, a subject I enjoy writing about.   It’s a no-lose situation, and there’s some non-zero chance that attractive single women might see this and decide to slide into my DMs.    It’s a tiny chance, hardly worth mentioning, but it’s a lot higher than if I just sit in my apartment and stare at the wall.   

Why I don’t: Ocean Dub Krillin really rubbed me the wrong way, because they wrote and voice directed the character to be really nebbishy.   That wouldn’t necessarily make him a bad character, but it definitely conflicted with what you see on the screen, where he’s stepping to Nappa, Vegeta, Dodoria, and everything else he has to deal with.    Once Sonny got the role, everything turned out cool.  Mondo cool, if you will.

I suppose I should point out the flip side of what I wrote above.  Krillin’s so focused on being worthy that he fails to recognize his achievements.   That’s admirable in its way, but it also makes you worry about the guy.    Like, he knows 18 is crazy about him, right?   Wait, does Obama know people like him?   Do I?  Oh I might have made myself sad there for a minute, excuse me.

Favorite episode (scene if movie):

Probably the moment he tries to take on Super Buu all by himself.   One of the cool things about Krillin is that he’s taken on every major villain from Piccolo Junior to Buu, despite being outclassed.    I think the Super Buu thing is the best one, though, because in that situation there’s literally no chance of anyone jumping in to save him.    His entire plan is to hold off Buu for a few seconds and maybe buy a few minutes for the others. He’s doomed and he knows it won’t even work as a diversion, but he still jumps in anyway.    It proves that this is who he is.    When there’s literally no one left to impress, and nothing left to gain, he’ll still play things out the same way.  

Favorite season/movie: The Androids/Cell Saga is probably his best material overall, just because of his conflicted feelings regarding 18, and the difficult choices he makes because of that.   You can make a strong case for the Namek Saga, where it’s literally just Krillin and Bulma and Gohan, so he has to take the lead by default, but I’m just not that into the Namek Saga.

Favorite line:

This is really more from one of the video games.   I think Budokai 3, but I’m not sure.   Piccolo demands custody of Gohan and Krillin’s like “No way, you’re probably gonna eat him or something!” and I’m pretty sure this wasn’t in the Ocean Dub, so it completely caught me off-guard, like it was the last thing I expected Krillin to say.   And then Piccolo comes back with “I’m not going to eat him!”  like he’s offended at the very suggestion.   As a runner-up, I dig that part in DBZA 54, where Trunks and Vegeta are both reeling from their losses to Perfect Cell, and Krillin reminds them that they don’t have to posture around him, because it’s just him... “Krillin.    Everyone’s friend.”

Favorite outfit: That’s easy.

Yeah, the Frieza Soldier armor looked mighty good on this dude, and the cop uniform does too, and the classic Turtle Hermit outfit is a signature look, but this, right here, is the Krillin for me.    My man’s got the blue shirt under his orange shirt.    No more of the Yamcha slipppers.   Those look great on Yamcha, don’t get me wrong, but Krillin needs those big chunky Goku boots, because they’re perfect for stomping those pesky girlfriend-exploding remotes.   Fellas, this is the ideal male body.    You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.   

OTP: Maron HAHAHAHAHAHA oh wow.   No. It’s 18, obviously.

Brotp: Clearly Goku is his bro, but it’s not surprising at all how effortlessly he gets along with just about everyone else.   He’s bros with the entire world.

Head Canon: I’m pretty sure the Maron/Marron thing was just a coincidence in real life.   Maron the girlfriend was a filler character, and Marron the daughter was introduced in the manga some time later, and both used the same naming convention to end up in the same place.   However, I choose to believe that Krillin actually named his kid after his ex, and he somehow convinced 18 to go along with that idea.   

By that, I don’t mean he had to sweet talk her into it or promise a bunch of stuff in exchange.    I mean he must have discussed what to name their kid, and 18 was like “Your ex-girlfriend?   Seriously?” and he was like “Yeah, I know she’s a ditz, but you gotta understand I was in a really low place and she helped me through it.”   Or something like that, where once he lays out the whole reason 18′s like “Yeah, you know what?   Okay.” 

Or maybe Maron helped deliver the baby or something.   Or she was the surrogate mother?   Holy shit I might be onto something.

Unpopular opinion: Krillin clanks when he walks, due to the solid brass balls he’s got.

A wish: They should do a movie where Krillin just fights Frieza and wins.   Decisively, undisputably, irrevocably.   Krillin is stronger than Frieza from that point forward.    I don’t care if that means nerfing Frieza or godmodding Krillin, but I just want it made plain that if they use Frieza from here on, it has to be with the understanding that Krillin can whip his ass at any time.  

That might sound silly, and I guess it is, but you see what this accomplishes, right?   It forces Frieza into a new character dynamic, so it’s not just the same old shit with him.    Or Toei collectively admits that they can’t use him anymore, which was what they should have decided in 1995.   I’m fine either way.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Don’t grow his hair back, okay? 

5 words to best describe them: Qualified to sell real estate.

My nickname for them: The Kriller.

[moonlayl]

So I’ve been thinking, how did the writers manage to make Sam not interesting enough to be the main character? Like it was obvious at first that that was what they were going for, but why didn’t it stick? Why did most people not find him main character material? It’s always been a question on my mind, but I never really knew how to answer it. Why was he not interesting to me? It wasn’t until recently that I figured it out. (Note: this isn't entirely Sam Winchester friendly. I’m criticizing the writing for his character)

A few weeks ago I began watching a turkish show. The main character’s story and background is VERY similar to Sam’s. He’s the youngest brother, there’s a family business involved in guns, violence, and helping people, the main character wants nothing to do with it and decides to go to college when he’s 18. His father tells him if he steps out of the door, he can’t ever come back. Years later something bad happens to the dad and the protagonist returns and joins the family business. Except, he’s my favourite character. That’s not case with Sam, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized the writers simply didn’t know how to write Sam and keep him interesting.

Here’s a few things that the turkish writers did to establish him as an interesting main character, who’s also a fan favourite.

1.) He actually got to show off his smarts and use his education. He wasn’t smart because he went to college, or because (in Sam’s case) good at research/enjoys doing it. No, we actually got to see him using his brain. He would come up with schemes and plans in the family business that would leave their enemies speechless. He would notice patterns that no one else does. (Sounds like Dean...) While everyone he knew were stuck on problem A, he would be on problem C, already having solved the previous two. He had contingency plans, and was great at problem solving, but NEVER used that to show off he was better than anyone else (except that one time one of his brothers were angry because they thought his plan wouldn’t work and he was smug when it did). He also got to use his degree in chemistry. He uses his scientific knowledge to come up with his plans and to help him and we SEE that. Sam was pre-law and that was the end of it until one episode in season 7. And I know it may sound like the protagonist could be “too smart” which is unrealistic and made to make him seem like a cool protagonist, but that’s not the case. he does make mistakes. He does get things wrong, and he asks for advice from his friends or brothers. He’s smart, not just book smart, but he also isn’t the only guy with brains (that cliche trope is annoying). Others contribute too, and we SEE that. Yes, he would be considered the smartest (more clever) but it isn’t written in a forced way. It doesn’t take away from the other characters.

2.) He’s still fun. Yes he’s serious. Yes he’s smart, but that doesn’t mean he can’t have other qualities. I don’t know what the SPN writers were thinking but someone with no silly habits, who NEVER acts in an immature way (which is completely normal) and everything about them is tied to them being a “nerd” like Sam is boring and it’s unrealistic. That protagonist is the younger brother, and we see that. Not just in one episode with the pranks like in SPN, but we continuously see it. He and his brothers tease each other and play games. He is obsessed with music and always listening to it. He and his siblings argue a lot over music and act like children sometimes, which is great. He sometimes plays soccer or games with lonely kids to make them feel better. he sometimes sings with friends and his brothers. He jokes around with them. He just radiates chaotic energy at times, and we’re all like that. Even the most serious people have their moments, and the turkish show makes sure to acknowledge that. SPN does that with Dean, but never with Sam. Sam was just boring to be honest. He was never fun or funny. Just your typical nice guy that went to college. He (to me) didn’t have any traits that jumped out.

3.) The main character in the turkish show struggled. When the last time you did something you were still a kid and you haven’t done it in years, it makes sense to struggle and to make mistakes. Sam didn’t seem to be that way though. Like he immediately began hunting again. He grieved Jess, which added a bit if depth to his character but ultimately he was just really good at hunting and never seemed to have proper struggles. To me that doesn’t really work. The character from the other show clearly struggled. he hated having to hurt people (even to save lives) and they actually showed you that. We would see him sometimes having flashbacks, flinching, nightmares, sweating, etc... Sam struggled with visions, true, but that’s because they were entirely new and they didn’t know much about them, so it’s different. I don’t know but seeing the protagonist struggling and fighting to not actually join the family business made him a compelling character. Like he was at war with both sides. with Sam, it seemed like the only reason he didn’t want to do certain things in s1 was due to him being pissed at his dad. Not wanting to follow his orders. Even him wanting a normal life was kind of erased after a bit because he lost Jess. he seemed like a child wanting to do things his way, whereas in the turkish show, the protagonist was seen as an outsider wanting to improve the way things were. That was the difference.

4.) Kindness and compassion. “Sam is really compassionate” except for the longest time his compassion was the “fake one” he used to get victims to trust him. Like maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t really recall an instance where he was actually genuinely comforting someone (a stranger) NOT in a way to gather more info? Didn’t they even say it? He’s the type to get people to trust him and open up, but it was more of an act?  Dean on the other hand, sometimes took time off from doing something important to try to talk or comofrt a kid or someone. After or before a case. The turkish character had that as well. He wouldn’t compromise a kid for the job, and sometimes despite him being very busy, he would help the elderly just because he wanted to, not for anything else. He would play with children, spend time with people, be willing to listen to anyone’s problems. I always felt like Sam lacked that.

5.) The way he treated his brothers. I know Sam had a falling out with his dad, which is why he never contacted him for four years, but I don’t understand why he (and their dad) dragged Dean into that mess. Why Sam decided to cut contact with Dean as well. To the point where Dean felt like breaking into his house was the only way to get him to listen. There was a four year difference between them. From what we’re constantly told, they were really close. So It doesn’t add up for me. In the turkish show however, (the main character has three brothers) all three brothers were much older than him. The closest one to his age was older by about ten years. He was actually constantly lonely. He never had friends or went to an actual school, and his brothers never wanted anything to do with him because he was so much younger. In fact, they constantly used to make fun of him and gang up on him (keep in mind they were three and all teenagers was he was in preschool). So when he got older and they would just bully him, he finally left and didn’t contact them due to that. Because they never treated him like their younger brother. We know that’s not the case with Sam and Dean because Dean was Sam’s protector (which is unfair to him but that’s a whole other thing). Anyway this point just kind of always annoyed me about Sam.

Anyway, just some thoughts. I feel like they used Sam’s story and plot but gave the character some characteristics that Dean had, lol. My biggest problem is just how bland Sam is. Seriously. He’s just there. His anger made him a bit interesting for a few seasons, and him not wanting to follow his dad’s orders,but that was quickly turned against Dean. Those traits became things he used against Dean, which just added to my frustration and dislike to Sam’s character. The Turkish character also seemed to dislike when one of his brothers blindly followed an order from their dad, but he was understanding. He seemed to understand where they were coming from and never used it as an insult or belittled them for it. he was kind to his siblings and treated them well (even when they sometimes didn’t deserve it). Whereas Sam doesn’t treat dean in a good way even when Dean deserves it.

[limitededitionsanderssidesblog]

What Is Deceit Really After?

 In light of the latest Sanders Sides video, Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS, a part of the video that came in early on and lasted only a few seconds really stuck with me.

The moment I'm talking about is during Remus’s introductory song when Remus suddenly pulls attention away from himself and his role to tell Thomas about a conversation he had with Deceit prior to the video: 

Remus: Speaking of honesty, recently a snake offered me a morsel from the tree of knowledge. He [Deceit] said, “You’re wanting to be more honest and be direct dealing with your issues. No longer will you deceive yourself about the ugliness within you.”

While I find it strange that Remus took a little detour to mention this conversation, I found it even stranger that Deceit, someone who appears to be very selfish with his own agenda, would spend time offering Remus a chance to get what it was he wanted.

As it was said before back in Can LYING Be Good??, Deceit has the ability to hide and keep away anything that Thomas doesn’t want to know or denies about himself. Throughout the video, Thomas was trying to tell the others, and himself, that the thoughts Remus was giving him wasn’t him [Thomas] and that he didn’t want them. So, in accordance with one of Deceit’s cannon responsibilities, Remus shouldn’t even be there and should still be tucked away where Thomas would be unaware of him. But Deceit deliberately set him free.

Why?

Well first let’s look to the next, and final, time Deceit is brought up (indirectly) in the episode:

Logan: I can’t imagine how someone would fake not doing something, other than by doing something and hiding that they’re doing it.

Remus: Ooh, how fun! You know who can help us with that? *Deceit’s music plays in the background* *suggesting that Deceit has to do with the topic of conversation*

Here it is practically confirmed by Remus that Deceit is doing something secretly behind the scenes. Deceit seems to have an agenda, as said by Patton in Selfishness v. Selflessness.

Patton: You always seem to have some bigger plan, some agenda.

Deceit: Doesn’t everyone?

Patton: Well not everyone is so secretive about theirs.

Deceit: Everything has a purpose, and sometimes fulfilling your purpose requires keeping things close to the chest.

Notice Deceit’s wording here: “fulfilling your purpose.” What is Deceit’s purpose as a functioning side again? Well, let’s revisit his first episode again to how Patton described him after he was first found out and left:

Patton: Kiddo, simply put, Deceit is an inner coach that acts with the one intention of self-preservation. 

By desiring the preservation of Thomas, similar to say Logan and/or Virgil with less moral construct, Deceit’s agenda could very well be his way of trying to take control of Thomas’s life in an attempt to steer it in a way that he deems is in Thomas’s best interest. He’s already done this when he tried to convince Thomas to ditch Lee and Marily (Mary Lee?)’s wedding in favor of attending a call back for a movie under a famous director that could exponentially increase Thomas’s status in life, better his future path, and create numerous opportunities in which to sustain and secure himself.

What Deceit is after is security.

Again, during Deceit’s interrogation in SvS, after he went on a whole spiel about the dangers of an authoritative society, he said that his main concern for Thomas in regards to that society was/is:

Deceit: I don’t want Thomas to be disadvantaged in a world where you can die for not following the laws made in the name of a lie.

Deceit states his goal of protecting Thomas from getting hurt from the dangers of a society that is loosely kept in order by a fragile mutual agreement that could easily be broken by anyone. But do you know what would keep Thomas safe if that society were to suddenly break?

Climbing up the social ladder.

But what does any of this have to do with why Deceit suddenly decided to unleash the gremlin bastard child that is Remus?

Well first off Remus’s whole goal was to get Thomas to realize that he isn’t as innocent and pure as he thought and get him to realize that he, and his creative content, is capable of so much more. Similar to how Deceit tried to get Thomas to realize that he was more capable of selfish acts and had more of a tendency for lying then he let himself believe.

Thomas’s goodie goodie attitude of altruism severely limits Thomas in Deceit’s eyes. His over the top concern to care for others before himself keeps him from taking opportunities that would benefit him (at the expense of another) or do things that he’d in enjoy (but would mean putting himself before a friend). In Deceit’s mind, Thomas is never going to be well secured and safe if he won’t take care of his own needs before the needs of another.

So, in order to combat the issue, Deceit is trying to tip the scale of power in Thomas’s mind by using three different methods.

1. Unleashing more of the dark sides so that their influence away from an altruistic outlook would increase.

2. Seducing the light sides to be in their favor against altruism.

3. Making Virgil a dark side again

We saw Deceit go to Remus and convince him that the time had come that he reveals himself and no longer live in the shadow of his brother Roman and finally take his rightful place as Thomas’s creativity. While it did fail in the end, Deceit had a momentary success by disturbing Patton and Virgil so much that they consistently hounded on Thomas to the point that he couldn’t sleep and started questioning himself and the choices he had recently made.

His other method, which he did previous to his plan with Remus, was trying to gain more control by taking over the light sides. Seducing Patton is literally pointless since he’s the main source of the altruism, so Deceit tried to pull both Roman and Logan to his side. For Roman, he played on his dreams of fame and fortune and his desire to act and be on the “silver screen.” For Logan, he tried to go about it objectively, what would benefit Thomas’s well being and offer them an opportunity. This almost worked with Roman, as Roman, covertly, sided with Deceit throughout SvS, only for him to switch back to siding with the light sides even at the expense of his own dream and goal.

So bada bing bada boom, two failures already and almost no progress made, or has there?

At the end of DwIT, we have the long-awaited reveal that Virgil was a dark side in the past. While for much of the fandom that fact was obvious, but for Thomas, it wasn’t.

For Virgil, his time as a dark side is not something he is proud or fond of, and why would he be? As Virgil stated, he used to be terrified of Remus, and his resentful relationship with Deceit was clearly toxic. The others were not good friends, and he probably wasn’t one to them either, which would explain Virgil’s demeanor in the earlier episodes as cold and cruel to the light sides, because that’s how he was conditioned. 

The dark sides are also obviously not the most beneficial or helpful assents to Thomas, so this could cause Virgil to think back about he also used to be, or still is, in his mind, a hindrance to Thomas and would make him loath that time he spent with them even more and want to keep it hidden so that Thomas’s newly improved impression of Virgil, that he worked so hard for, wouldn’t be damaged.

But the dark sides keep on coming, and he isn’t able to control them or deal with them as he thought he could. These sides keep on appearing and poking at him for who he used to be so much that it cornered him to reveal his darkest secret just so Thomas wouldn’t have to hear it from them.

Look at Virgil’s face as he tells Thomas of his true nature:

His eyes are red and his lips are tight and slightly quivering. He’s scared to say anything, but he had to.

And Thomas’s reaction? Exactly what Virgil was afraid of:

He steps away and looks at Virgil with fear.

Again, what does any of this have to do with Deceit’s agenda? 

Revealing Virgil was the agenda. Or at least part of it.

Going back to the end credit scene of EMBARRASSING PHASES, when Deceit suddenly dropped in on Virgil it wasn’t just for some casual banter with an old colleague, it was to prove a point. The point that Virgil hasn’t, and can’t, change from who he once was. I discussed this before in my other theories (Virgil’s Hidden Past and Virgil Isn’t What He Seems) but what Deceit is trying to do is to get Virgil to stop denying who he really is and take off the disguise he’s been wearing as a “light” side.

But why does it matter that Virgil stop “faking” being a light side?

It’s as I said before, Deceit is trying to shift the power to the dark sides in the mind, and turning Virgil back to how he was when he was an antagonist may do just that.

Despite once being a dark side, I’ve noticed that Virgil is different than the others. Unlike with Deceit and Remus, Virgil was never kept from Thomas, he’s always been known and able to interact with him and the main sides. And, in comparison to deceitfulness and intrusive thoughts, anxiety has much more impact on the mental, physical, and emotional health. Anxiety can be so intense that it can impede on anyone’s basic well being. And while lying and horrible thoughts can also do this, it’s nothing compared to the scale of damage anxiety is capable of. Virgil’s ability to influence how Thomas thinks and acts has always been powerful, powerful enough to the point that even Deceit couldn’t contain him.  

Virgil may not be Deceit’s main or only agenda, but he’s defiantly on it.

If Deceit were to get someone that powerful back on his side, then he could do whatever was necessary to secure Thomas’s safety. And by the looks of how broken Virgil was when he finally revealed himself:

It’s working.