#i was really hoping this episode would not end with them putting his spirit to rest

[r3d-d34th]

TORAME NO WHY TOEI WTF NOT MY SON 😭😭😭😭😭

[sepublic]

Post-Hoot with Dana Terrace!

            Dana’s put over 200 hours into games she’s missed since the finale; Octopath Traveler, Little Nightmares, etc. Sarah Nicole-Robles cried harder than she ever did when she said I learned a language I’ll never forget, a whole chapter of my life is over, during the King-ceanera. She said the line once and was suddenly sobbing because of how meta it was. 

         Rebecca has a ‘sona during the bit with Barcus in the epilogue sequence. Cissy also cried when watching with her family, her kids asked her about it; Sarah was really excited as she watched the finale.

         No sequel happening, but we can always hope; Dana would like to do more, but Disney owns the IP and needs to give them permission. Dana knew the prequel line in the finale was ham-fisted as hell but still went with it because she was pissed (she said Fuck to express her rage). Rebecca went back to the Anger phase of grief after watching the finale after realizing what they missed, but Sarah was also in Acceptance because it was hard to regret something that ended so well.

         Dana doesn’t cry that much, but TJ’s remix in the soundtrack made her cry. Dana brought back everyone for BBBYYYEEEEEEE, noting this was every character’s last line, and wished Hooty had more lines. Alex improvised a cut line after the Bye with Hooty expressing appreciation for the finale and readiness for his spin-off.

         Dana won’t say much in hopes she’ll get to do more for TOH in the future; A Youtube reviewer (shoutout to all, Zachary Ax, Man of a Thousand Thoughts, Rebecca herself), the Third Bill got it right on Hooty, and Dana won’t be more specific about that.

         They found out about the shortening during S2; They had an ending in mind that Dana had in mind since development, but it needed too much setup and so they couldn’t pull it off. All of Season 2A was written before knowing the cancellation; Follies at the Coven Day Parade was the first episode fully written knowing the show was shortened, hence the tonal change. The Galdorstones was an arc Dana planned more on, as well as the Coven Heads; Bat Queen; It was a hard situation choosing what to leave out.

         There weren’t whole episodes written that had to be trashed; Just one-sentence ideas on a whiteboard never fully outlined or scripted. But Dana is still happy with what came out, because it was pretty damn cool.

         Rebecca Rose once saw someone with a King sweatshirt like hers at Disneyland and said hi, but they just side-eyed her and didn’t respond; Despite this, Rebecca hopes they had a happy day and believes they were just having a bad time. Sarah joked about not being so forgiving.

         String Bean’s inspiration: Owlbert is in the title of the show, String Bean indeed was there the whole time! The S wasn’t completely intentional at first, but Dana flipped the logo around and figured it out. When making the first episode, the logo wasn’t finalized. They always liked the idea of Luz being connected to snakes, it’s what she brought to school and they liked her reclaiming something she terrorized her classmates with. The Snake-Shifter idea specifically; Zach Marcus just said “Snake-Shifter” as they brainstormed ideas and Dana, being a sucker for lame puns, was sold.

         That was indeed Dana being represented as a student in the epilogue! She was Beastkeeping and Oracle; Dana can see the future of the show, and really likes animals. Raine’s palisman was indeed hidden within the violin’s design; Hunter and Dell worked to fix the palismen after Raine broke it trying to stop Belos. The violin is more akin to the staff, anyhow. Dana considered responding to a question about general Caleb, Evelyn, and Flapjack lore, but Sarah insisted she stay silent in case they get to answer it as an actual story later.

         Dana liked to think while writing Thanks to Them; No, Evelyn’s spirit isn’t in Flapjack. But to Philip, he saw Flapjack as the culmination of the corruption in his brother Caleb; He saw Flapjack, if it weren’t for YOU. You can see a hint of it in Masha’s story, Evelyn entices Caleb with Flapjack, who was Caleb’s introduction to magic. Evelyn was probably disguised as a human, and trusted Caleb for seeming reasonable and less violent. Perhaps like Dog owners passing each other by and suddenly becoming friends over this.

         Evelyn and Caleb’s relationship was sweet, from platonic curiosity to romantic. Eda doesn’t know she’s descended from them, nor does Hunter; And Dana has more to say, but will keep it hidden. Luz will stay the majority of her stay in the isles as she goes to college. Camila bought the shack leading to the human world, which allowed Luz to visit during holidays, weekends, etc.

         They never got to explore it, but it could’ve originally been the home of Philip and Caleb, long abandoned; Eda emerges after discovering the portal. In the next thirty years, she fixes up the shack as she builds the Owl House. Dana also advised fans to google Death of the Author, since she’s technically no longer working on the show, and thus gives permission for fans to write their own answers.

         Eda became the Owl Lady before Owlbert, due to the curse; They planned to do an episode where Eda learned palismen carving with Dell, and how Eda reclaimed the Owl identity to carve Owlbert. Dana stills has the outline of that episode in her head…

         According to Rebecca, Caleb and Philip’s graves were in the basement of the shack, based on this church in New Haven Dana passed by every day on her way to school (Gravesfield is based on some places in Connecticut). However, Dana realized the graves didn’t fit into the story. They also had an ‘original’ Belos design for him taking over animals. Marina Gardner did some amazing Belos designs, and Thanks to Them alluded to it.

         The Portal’s eye comes from the Titan’s missing eye!!! Hunter is bisexual, Willow is pansexual, this is how Dana always wrote and imagined them in her mind, but it’s not explicitly stated so technically it’s more headcanon. Dana noted how some people just picked it up. Dana likes to think Amity and Lilith rekindled their student-mentor relationship. Having worked in the library, Amity was interested in Lilith’s knowledge of history. Dana suggested to Zarya(?) from the design team to add notes to Lilith’s museum blueprints. A helicopter passed over and they joked it was Disney trying to stop spoilers.

         Cissy only got her lines and didn’t know any other details about the finale, to Dana’s surprise; Dana explained that people not getting a full script is due to the pandemic. Before quarantine, actors would get the full script. They have to rely on Eden Riegel and Dana for context a lot. Bosook Coburn spoiled Luz’s death to Rebecca Rose during the celebration party. They came up with a lot of designs for dying Luz, trying to figure out how they can hollow out her head how much. Dana mentions it’s up to the showrunner to show how much they want to the actors.

         Thanks to Sarah, they kept in Luz saying her own SFX during her fight with Eda in O Titan, Where Art Thou; She heard someone do it as part of the mock script and wanted it. When Dana voiced Eda and Luz at the end, Dana was crying. There’s a recording of Season 2B and Season 3 of Dana doing a voice-over of the script to get approved by executives.

         Dana clarified everyone would’ve had more of a chance to talk with each other, such as Hunter and Amity; Hunter would’ve talked to Vee, as well as more human realm kids, literally everyone would’ve had a little more time with each other. Dana loves Luz and Hunter’s sibling dynamic. Dana was sorry they couldn’t have Luz and Raine hang out, but they had the Hexsquad storyline. Luz finished high school in the human world, with the renewed motivation that she’ll go back to the isles. Knowing she has a safe space outside of high school made it more bearable, as was the case for Dana growing up.

         Cissy brought up Gus’ hair in the epilogue, which she loved; Emmy Cicierga did the design for Gus and Raine. Harpy Lilith was by Emmy; Dana did Emira, Eberwolf, and Skara’s timeskip designs. The name of the Titan is unpronounceable for humans.

         Dana can’t say much about the Archivists; The Collector never had a flash-forward design, as they age much more slowly than everyone else. Maybe the Collector got just a tiny bit taller. The idea of the Collector came from creepy dolls, as well as a nightmare; John Bailey Owen had a google folder filled with cool references of creepy dolls with a starry aesthetic, liminal minimalist nightmare-scape. They knew who the Collector was gonna be, what role they’d play, but the vibe still needed to be decided.

         Dana confirmed the Collector was always a part of the show before the shortening, and they solidified their placement after the announcement. The Collector has indeed stayed connected with the others, visits occasionally. Dana has seen fan comics on this and teared up.

         Hooty doesn’t have to be vacated from the Owl House if he doesn’t want to; When the door isn’t active, Hooty could be present. The new portal can probably fold up, and Hooty is busy as a curator for Hooty’s new museum.

         Dana said Raine and Eda’s business is their business; Not all love stories end in marriage. It’s their thing and it doesn’t diminish any love, but they do live in the Owl House together (Raine moved in).

         Mattholomule getting a palisman is something Zach Marcus can answer, since he made the character and Dana respects the lore he made. It’s hard to say for Dana if Vee and Masha are dating, since Masha didn’t show up in the finale, but Vee definitely has a crush on them. Again, Dana encourages the Death of the Author approach, if the headcanon makes you happy.

         Alador and Odalia got officially divorced after the finale, and the kids happily lived away from her. They might visit her if they have the energy, but also recognize she’s a toxic influence they can cut off at any point. Dana gave a shoutout to Rachel McFarlane’s voice acting, praising her performance for Odalia.

         In regards to the tower King was born in, Dana has an answer; It was related to a character we all know, who now may have amnesia.

         There was a plan to explore Gus and Willow’s glowing eyes, and do it for other characters; Amity wasn’t going to have that, strong emotions are indeed connected to magic. It was mostly a worldbuilding magic rule they could’ve expanded on, that Dana wishes she did early in the story.

         In the boards, Dawn Han(?) did Clouds on the Horizon, and did the scene of Amity and the twins hiding in the factory as their parents talk about the Abomatons, Alador is worried since it seems like a tad much. Alador had T-rex arms in the storyboard, and it reminded Dana of Remy from Ratatouille, so when they got to the scene of them looking into Alador’s lab, Ratador was drawn in his place as a joke. Dana laughed so hard she decided to keep it in, with Dana handwaving it as Alador’s palisman.

         According to Dana, a show should be appreciated for as it is; But the other way to enjoy it, under the context it was made, is also important to her; Both ways are valid. It was easier for Sarah to voice depressed Luz since she was also depressed. The writers preferred to put their feelings into the show, VS a more happy-go-lucky approach as others did; It was kind of dark for a bit, especially during quarantine. Sarah felt her own experience validated with Luz’s depression, but she and Dana appreciated the balance of having a happy ending too.

         What made the crew hopeful was knowing the characters would always have a happy ending; Luz could continue her studies in full-force, a new family. They KNEW it would end happy. Dana acknowledged how the fandom misinterpreted “I hate the term happy endings,” and Sarah knew about the quincenera when asked during previous Post-Hoots, but couldn’t answer.

         Rebecca commissioned 3D-printed Funko Pops of S2A Lilith and S1 Luz, and gave them to the others as gifts; Rebecca didn’t know about Avi’s appearance until two days before the Post-Hoot, otherwise she would’ve had a Funko of Raine made. Dana’s stand for Luz had to be made with painter’s tape (she appreciated it) due to Rebecca running out of the other kind, and planned to place it beside her Peabody award. Elizabeth Grullon, Camila’s VA, had to call her mom in the middle of a session to translate her line about maduros into English.

        Cissy clarified this wasn’t intended to be the final Post-Hoot! And the video was ended with a BBBBYYYEEEEE!!!!!

[tookishcombeferre]

So, I'm a little sad today because my audition did not end up going the way I'd hoped. But, I'm going to do what I do best and info dump instead. So, @shychick-52 and I were discussing the magic system in Sofia the First yesterday. We were discussing how the magic from the Mystic Isles themselves seems to be a relatively neutral force. However, the sorcerers/sorceress themselves seem to have hearts that are tuned to particular spells or styles of magic. One of the things I noticed about Greylock in the "Baileywhoops" episode is that he seems to *genuinely* love fun. Like, he conjures things to entertain the kids well because that's what his heart is tuned to. He loves to play jokes. His magic and mind is literally in line with the spirit of fun. As what Cedric says seems to imply, Greylock has always been like this. He's always been silly. He has the soul of a child in the best way. This is really nicely contrasted with Cedric who is like super practical. He thinks much more concretely which makes them really funny when their riffing off each other in the episode. But, it would also explain why Cedric has a much harder time dealing with spell work that seems, in the end, kind of frivolous. Cedric does best with things that seem to be meaningful or have a concrete purpose. While I think any sorcerer/sorceress could cast anything, I do think there's an ease or lack of concentration that comes with casting the things that come naturally to a person. Thus, because Cedric is kind of an anxious mess, 90% of his concentration is already going to keeping his composure in a given situation so he can't really put any more into casting things that his heart isn't naturally tuned to. I might have additional and more coherent thoughts on this eventually, but right now I'm also giggling at my spouse's reactions to episodes with Bean. For example, Spouse Unit 1's live reaction to the "Baileywhoops" episode: "I love that Baileywick is back, but maybe we should be toasting the two people who saved you all from drowning?! Cedric and Greylock should be the subject of the toast! Also, apparently Cedric only gets praise when he saves one of the kid's lives." - He gets it.

[wanderingwomanwondering]

615 & 805 Cemetery Scenes

Fandom has already pointed out the fact that the scenes are parallel but I wanted to share my thoughts on exactly what that looked like and what it could mean moving forward.

In 615 Eddie mentioned Marie's line "We're all gonna die alone" from earlier in the ep. Buck then offered Eddie a little perspective and comfort saying that Marie was surrounded by friends and family. They got really real after Buck confessed that he feels different after the lightning strike. Eddie empathized and acknowledged that it made total sense that Buck felt different. He told Buck that he doesn't have to be any particular thing for anyone else and that "we're all different from one minute to the next". At the end of their talk, Buck pointedly noted that everyday since the lightning strike is "a gift".

The core themes were alienation and loneliness, and the healing power of connection and being seen by loved ones.

In 805, at the same cemetery but with Tommy this time, Buck talked to Billy Boils about the curse he put on him. He mentioned his arm injury and of course the boils. Buck made special mention of Tommy not wanting to kiss him. Tommy denied this but it seems safe to assume that Buck wouldn't have said it if Tommy had touched him at all up to that point. Anyway, the meat of Buck's eulogy for Billy was recognizing the "curse" as actually being "a cry for help". He realized that Billy was lonely because he was abandoned by his posse. Buck waxed on about how "our people" make for a life worth living - full of memories, help when we fall down, keeping us on the right path, and generally just being there. This scene's crescendo was when Buck said plainly "I can't imagine anything more painful than going through life alone". He then told Billy "I'm your posse now". Buck felt that by joining him, Billy could rest and that he'd lift the curse. On their way out of the cemetery, Tommy quietly echoed Buck's request that Billy lift the curse.

As convoluted as the Billy Boils metaphor was, the 805 cemetery scene with Buck and Tommy still had similar core themes to the 615 cemetery scene with Buck and Eddie. Loneliness, and the healing that comes with connection and being seen by others. Buck saw Billy in the end and that was what he felt could and would lift the curse.

Between the two scenes I'm especially fixated on a few key details:

Buck (805) and Eddie (615) were and still are wrestling with loneliness.

Buck was in a questionable relationship in 615 with Natalia and he's in one in 805 with Tommy.

Buck being distant from who he used to be in 615, distant from Tommy in 805, and Eddie looking isolated in the 805 montage

The loneliness common denominator in both scenes is actually Eddie. In 615 he's actually the one who brings up loneliness and in 805 his absence is actually louder than Tommy's mere distance.

The twist in the 805 Billy Boils subplot was the fact that Billy was actively **betrayed** by his posse. That element wasn't technically present in the 615 scene but I would argue that **betrayal** was implied because if Eddie's facial expressions were meant to be any indication in that episode, he felt some type of way about Buck feeling seen by Natalia when Eddie himself had been by Buck's side the whole time.

We saw Eddie taking the same trusted bestie role in 805 by going to the hospital with Buck and actively translating for him with Tommy when he came to visit. I think Eddie feels some type of way about Tommy too but he's Buck's bestie first and foremost so he just watches them when they aren't looking and interjects when necessary because he knows that Buck wants his relationship with Tommy to work. Yet, Eddie is mourning the fact that Chris is still gone and very upset with him pretty much all by himself since the start of season 8. Buck is with Eddie in spirit because how could he not be, still they haven't actually had any screen time where they've discussed it.

I'm hoping the anticipated 806 scene between them addresses Eddie's loneliness in the context of that grief and that Buck actively joins him. The other aspect of it that seems relevant is that Buck is actually pretty distant from Tommy. Pretty much all of Buck's bids for connection with Tommy get brushed off. If Buck does have a scene where he connects with Eddie over their shared Chris grief and Tommy knows about it, it could reveal the wedge between Buck and Tommy. They've already laid the groundwork for Tommy as an outsider/visitor looking in on the 118. A deep moment with Eddie and Buck that isn't played for jokes could force a BuckTommy conversation about the divide between them. Bonus points if all the crap from Tommy's past is also in the mix.

I've been having a hard time enjoying this season but this episode actually did deliver at least a few morsels to savor so I'm grateful for that.

[dozing-marshmallow]

Would it be alright of I request some headcannons for Chris x co-host reader? Where the reader enjoys the show/challenges the show puts the contestants through just as much as he does? Thx!! 💕

P.S. I really enjoy your writing!

Hi there! Absolutely! And thank you so much, I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy my writing! 😊 Enjoy!

CHRIS MCLEAN X CO-HOST READER HEADCANONS

Regardless of how high your reputation was, this was still Chris’ show; you were lucky to be on it. 

If he thought you were hogging the spotlight for too long, he wouldn’t hesitate to interrupt you mid sentence.

Alike the man in question, you had your humble introduction, and screen time explaining the concept of Total Drama to the audience alongside him.

You quickly became famous for interjecting Chris towards the end of his explanation of orders to the campers, with filthy suggestions that poured more weight on their behalf.

Wouldn’t help when you covered your lips in pretend apology.

Unlike Chris and Chef, who chose to eat in the separate tent away from the contestants, you went out of your way to eat in the mess hall, same time as them to rub it in their faces the better quality of food you got in comparison to theirs.

Some of the nicer contestants like Owen and Beth begged endearingly for a share, whilst some of the daring contestants such as Duncan and Leshawna spat curses on you.

Needless to mention, you never let them have that slice of heaven.

There was an episode where Chris let you have complete control over the challenge and whether or not it was a reward one.

“In spirit of the summer camp, I’ve decided on a gardening challenge.” You explain to him,“Each contestant will pick a seed to plant, and they will be given no instruction to what their seed will need in order to grow, so if they’re really stumped, they may be allowed to get a look at their respective seed guides or swap out their seed...in exchange of answering ten questions correctly. These questions can be about anything ranging from humanities to math. For that process, we’ll have them locked in a glass chamber with an easily accessible separate compartment above them filled with all attainable enemies of gardening. Fruit flies, mosquitos, lacewings etc.” 

You pause to look at Chris, seeing how he’s catching on where it’s going by his restless face expression,“For every question they answer wrong, the hatch will open automatically, slowly. First team that’s able to have all members grow something will win.”

“Wow! Okay, that’s a really good challenge idea. I’m surprised I didn’t come up with that!” Chris commended you, before he broke out into laughter,“It’ll boost the ratings for sure!” He notices your ready tray of seeds and begins reading out the labels,“Talipot palm... Raspberries... Potatoes... Tomatoes... Hey (Y/N)...” he finds you already beaming at him,“This is a guess...but don’t a lot of these seeds need at least a month to grow?”

“Exactly.”

Also known as the episode of which they do not speak of.

You never understood how in spite of that, you were still the more favourable host to the contestants.

Maybe because you weren’t as self centred as Chris?

Either way, you used every figment of hope to remind them that you aren’t there to make anything easier.

And you remained that way, up to where the show was supposed to be over, had it not been for Owen deciding to gamble his luck and kicking off a new game.

“Owen’s definitely lost his win now.” You comment wearily.

“Tell me about it.” Chris yawns,“I’m so bored. Wanna get back to the lodge?”

“Say no more.”

Long story short, you basically called it- not only did Owen lose his money, but thirteen other contestants got tied with him.

Given the situation, Chris declares a new immediate season, where you would be cued to open an empty briefcase for the producers to have someone edit wads of cash in.

However, you accidentally open up the wrong briefcase, this briefcase storing a pack of water snakes that slithered out onto the planks and into the lake, causing the contestants of the future season(apart from Izzy) to scream and frantically swim their way onto land.

It was a ridiculous scene, but what can be done? You and Chris laugh as the final episode of the season comes to a close.

You’re already looking forward to what happens next! And you have a good sensation the contestants feel the same.

[oneatlatime]

Let's look back at my season 2 predictions!

When I got to the halfway point of season 2, I made a post detailing my predictions for where the rest of the season was going. They were delightfully subjective and conformed more to my hopes than to any legitimate foreshadowing.

I made 9 predictions (one per main character), and then I predicted three ways that the finale could go. I went into some detail in some of my predictions, so I'd recommend checking out the linked post. Keep in mind that I made these predictions before the Ba Sing Se arc started, and it shows.

For Azula, I predicted that she would be the finale's big bad, that she would be defeated, and that the Fire Lord would be introduced as next season's big bad. I'm giving myself one third of a point for this one. Azula was indeed the big bad.

For Toph, I predicted that she would get a subplot that revolved around either something she excelled at being challenged by an external force like those wrestling idiots, or something that she needed to work on that tied into her noble background. Once again giving myself a third of a point, because those wrestling idiots were involved and she did meet an obstacle that she beat by inventing metalbending. I correctly predicted the pieces involved but I got them in completely the wrong configuration.

For Appa, I predicted that he would come back after having many adventures and running into other sky bison. (What's the plural of sky bison? Devastated to say that I've never had to use it) I was right that Appa came back; I was wrong that he ran into remnants of sky bison(s?), but he did end up running into remnants of the Air Nomads, and dreaming about other sky bison(s?), so I'm giving myself three quarters of a point.

For Zuko, I predicted that he would be coaxed/dragged into being decent via a swordbending girlfriend, and that he would be redeemed by the end of Season 2. Hilariously, my prediction smashed Jin and Jet together, which breaks my brain a little. Also, he did the polar opposite of being redeemed by the end of the season. I'm going to give myself a quarter point, for getting the sword bit and the girl bit.

I predicted that Sokka would split from the rest of the Gaang and go on a multi-episode Appa hunting arc that focused heavily on his ties to his family. I was 100% wrong with this one. No point for me. Which is too bad, because I really liked the idea I came up with.

I predicted that Momo would do aerial reconnaissance for the Appa hunt with Sokka. I'm giving myself a full point for this one, because what was he doing in the Tale of Momo? Flying around looking for Appa. Admittedly Sokka wasn't there, but whatever, I need this point.

For Katara, I predicted some sort of moral crisis. Something to add some nuance to her world view. A good yet unapologetically patriotic firebender, or a downright evil waterbender. I was completely wrong on this one too, unless you count being talked into listening to Jet. No points for me.

I predicted that Aang would have to do some type of Avataring that involved delegating tasks to his friends, or putting his status as avatar first, probably due to unrest in the spirit world. This was by far my most broad prediction ("hey maybe the avatar will have to avatar it up" is a very safe statement), so no points for that. I was wrong about spirit world involvement, although I was right that his Avatar duties would conflict with his personal convictions. I'll give myself one quarter point.

For Iroh, I predicted that he would call on old resources to get himself and Zuko into a better situation. I got this one almost completely right, except two bits: I thought he would use blackmail or intimidation, when he actually used something more like the power of friendship, and I also thought that particular plot point would last longer than a single B-plot in a single episode. But what the hell, I'm giving myself the point.

All three of my predictions for how the finale was going to go were incorrect. There was no strike against the Fire Nation, there was no immediate dismissal of the eclipse as a possible time of attack, and there was no relegation of the eclipse to a single episode plot point. No point for me.

So, out of a grand total of 12 predictions, I scored:

3.91!

Ouch.

I'm going to be generous and round it up to 4, which is a third correct. Still ouch. I am less reliable than a coin toss.

But! I actually had a lot of fun both coming up with predictions and reviewing them. So I'm still counting this exercise as a win.

[sommerflue-22]

Childhood Crush | Muichiro Tokito

Yuichiro version

Featuring: Muichiro Tokito, Yuichiro Tokito, aged up!Muichiro

Content Warning: gn!reader, modern setting, fluff, annoying grade schooler behavior ew, but happy ending (sort of), not beta read

Word Count: 1.3k

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A/n: I just finished my thesis but I'm still waiting for feedbacks from my professor. This is a warm up piece before I get back to my other writings. Still, I hope you enjoy~

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On your fourth grade, the teacher assigned you to sit next to Yuichiro. Being Yuichiro's seatmate was alright, but sometimes he could get a little snappy. Especially when something happened to him during recess (probably couldn't make another kid the "it" while playing tag). So you let him be most of the time.

You didn't know Yuichiro had a twin brother until one day he didn't come to school because of the flu. You didn't pay him any mind but you were shocked when you saw "him" going to the restroom. You weren't exactly his close friend, so you just waited outside until "he" finished.

Afraid and in shock, you paced back and forth in front of the restroom. What if something bad happened to Yuichiro and his spirit had come to haunt you? You were so ready to run to your homeroom class if "Yuichiro" didn't come out in five minutes.

Bless your poor innocent soul because "Yuichiro" did come out. Nothing prepared him for being trapped in a kabedon position by you.

"Teacher said you're sick! Why are you here?!"

"What do you mean I'm sick--"

"I didn't see you the whole day!"

"Huh?"

"You're not a ghost, right?"

He tilted his head, "Oh, I think you're mistaken. I'm Mui. Yui's at home. He is sick."

And that was how you met Muichiro.

You learned that Muichiro was Yuichiro's younger twin brother. He's from another class, but after knowing you he often visited your class to chat with you and Yuichiro.

Unlike Yuichiro, Muichiro was friendlier. He let you braid his hair, lent you his blueberry-scented eraser, and even taught you how to draw Pikachu. Muichiro also let you call him Mui. He told you only his family and closest friends called him that, so it made you feel special.

Mui was a soft boy. You sat with him during recess and talked about random things. Cartoon, what you wanted to be when you grow up, doctor appointment, tooth fairy...

You didn't really know when did it happen the first time, but one day you looked at him and thought "Wow, Mui's really pretty."

You started braiding his long, black hair more often, told him more jokes to make him laugh, drew him a lot (and by a lot, I mean a lot) of his favorite cartoon characters. They were bad, you couldn't really tell which character you drew, but Muichiro always thanked you.

You'd like to think that maybe Muichiro did like you too. He would hold your hand when you both were running down the hallway, playing tag with the other kid. He would also give you random things he found like flowers, marbles, stickers from kids magazines.

You didn't remember every little things that happened between the two of you, but you did remember that Muichiro brightened your days and made your school years more memorable.

By the time you started the 6th grade, though, everything went downhill. A few kids noticed your little crush for Muichiro. However, as we all know, grade schoolers can be a little mean. They started to tease you. You were afraid that Muichiro would find out and stopped being your friends.

The thing was, those little rascals couldn't tell the difference between Muichiro and Yuichiro. Since the fifth grade, the twins had been put in the same homeroom class. Differentiating them became more difficult for kids who weren't their friends.

You were visiting their class one morning, looking for Muichiro. You met Yuichiro instead. You could tell it was him, because he didn't immediately talk about the latest episode of that one cartoon you liked.

"Hi, Yuichiro. Where's Mui?"

"He forgot his lunchbox so he's waiting for our mom--"

"Ew, Tokito! Stop flirting with them! It's not even the first period yet!"

You froze in your place as Yuichiro turned to the kid who jeered at you both. "What did you say?"

"Eh? Aren't you two dating?"

"(Y/N) likes you, Tokito!"

You couldn't meet Yuichiro's eyes as he stared down at you, "You like me?"

"N-no... I... It's not..."

"(Y/N)?" A hand was placed on your shoulder, "Are you okay? Yui, why are you staring at (Y/N) like that?"

You lifted your gaze and sure, Mui was back with a lunchbox on his hand. "M-Mui, I..."

"Oh, shit!" "Oi, language!" "Oh my, I think we got the wrong Tokito twin!" "Does it matter? They look the same!" "Which one do you actually like, (Y/N)?" "Yeah, which one is more handsome?" "You can tell them apart? Cool!" "Pick one, (Y/N)" "Yeah, pick one!" "Pick one! Pick one! Pick one!"

As the kids chanted, you frantically look around trying to find an escape. You were panicking, afraid, annoyed, so you couldn't think straight. You looked at Yuichiro and he looked back at you in (what you thought was) disgust. You turned to Muichiro who was just staring at you, wide eyes, lips parted like he was about to say something.

You couldn't hold it any longer so you just cried, which made a few of the kids laugh.

"(Y/N)..." Muichiro placed his hand back to your shoulder, trying to calm you down.

"Stay away, Mui!"

"But (Y/N)..."

"I said stay away!" You shoved past him and pushed the other kids out of your way as you ran out of the classroom.

Ever since that day, you stopped seeing both Muichiro and Yuichiro. Other kids still teased you but they gradually stopped because they found another target to bug. You didn't even say anything to them during the graduation ceremony, even though you could feel Muichiro's eyes on your back.

Things got better when you started middle school because you moved to another town. A start fresh, exactly what you needed. You thought you would find someone new there, but to no avail, your mind kept wandering back to a familiar pair of mint green eyes and gleeful laugh.

You gave up trying to find a lover, and sailed through high school and first two years of uni without sparing a thought for teenage romance.

That was until you found him, tracing his fingers on the spines of the library books. His hair was still as long as you could remember, the only thing different was the mint green ombre. The library was off-limit for outsiders, so he must be a student. How could you not see him before around the campus?

You realized you've stared at him for too long because the next thing you knew, he was staring back at you.

"(Y/N)?" His eyes widened.

"Uhh... hi...?" You let out a nervous laugh. "Long time no see... uh..."

His eyes softened and his lips quirked up. "It's Mui."

"Yeah... should've known it's you. Yuichiro hates me, so he wouldn't greet me like that."

"What makes you think so?"

"You know... when that happened..."

"Ah, yeah. The fuckening."

Muichiro cursing was something you did not expect, which made you snort. "The fuckening, indeed."

"Don't worry, he doesn't hate you. We were wondering, though..."

"Eh?"

"...which one of us did you fancy?"

You wanted the floor to swallow you whole right then and there. Even though it had been eight years, you couldn't help but blush. Muichiro waited patiently, holding back a giggle as he watched you struggle.

"W-well, wasn't it o-obvious..."

Muichiro tilted his head. He walked towards you and ruffled your hair. God, you didn't even notice how tall he had grown.

"If you're still up for it now... and if you're free... we can grab a coffee. My treat. I'm sure drawing each other deformed Pikachu and Princess Peach doesn't count as a date now."

You sighed, trying to control your heartbeat. Mui chuckled again and waited for your answer.

"Y-yeah, I'd love to."

"Okay." He put his arm around your shoulder and led your hyperventilating ass out of the library.

──────────────────────────────────────────

Read the sequel to this post here

A/n: Thank you for reading until the end! This is actually longer than what I was planning, so yay :D I've been thinking about aged up!Muichiro, so cool and pretty and tall and aaaaaaa >.< Anyway lemme know if you want me to write more aged up!Mui because I love him sm T^T

[imagionationstation]

For the Dona AU, does anything change with the China Town episode with the spirit guy or the episode during the farmhouse arc with the demon car?

Also I know you’ve talked about how Karai and Leo feel about Donnie getting almost (from what I remember anyway) blown up but how does Splinter feel? Seeing his youngest daughter in such a critical state caused by his eldest daughter? Does bro get flashbacks to Tang Shen and the night of the fire? Or even flashbacks to his past relationship with his Shedder since they were brothers?

Also does Donnie ever feel like she has to live up to this ‘expectation’ that is/was Miwa before they find out about Karai? Does Donnie feel the need to be a good daughter or does she feel like a replacement or replaceable because of that or not? Idk I just thought about that.

I also keep thinking about how would Casey and Donnie end up together if they did and how the others would react? Like how would that play out if it does? What would be their dynamic?

I have been loving this btw and hope you are taking care of yourself

I hope you know that you are the reason that I lie awake at night and stare at the roof wondering what angst I inadvertently created.

I saw this ask and had to distance myself from the world to stare at it and contemplate just what I’m putting these people through in an AU that’s SUPPOSED to make things better.

Thank you for your contribution. I have no regrets.

This is PART 1 of this Ask because PART 2 is really long so I decided to split them up so I can focus wholly on one of the two topics.

"Also I know you’ve talked about how Karai and Leo feel about Donnie getting almost (from what I remember anyway) blown up but how does Splinter feel? Seeing his youngest daughter in such a critical state caused by his eldest daughter? Does bro get flashbacks to Tang Shen and the night of the fire? Or even flashbacks to his past relationship with his Shedder since they were brothers?"

“Sensei!”

All of his sons cries overlap, panicked and high as their feet slap against the ground. He immediately notes the missing voice from their call, looking toward them as they slow to step down into the pit.

“My children,” He breathes as he turns to them, eyes widening as he watches them lower their sister to the ground. Raphael pants as he breaks away from her, looking towards him with a harsh panic, explanation coming in a chopped words, “Factory! Explosion!”

Splinter lets this sink in, scanning Michelangelo’s worried eyes as he supports her. Leonardo’s hand rests against her chest to track every breath and his eyes do not leave his sister.

There are burns along her head and arms. Agony painted along every ridge muscle and shallow breath. She is in pain, scrapped and bruised from debris, little bits of metal in her skin. His brain twists the sight before him, sprinkling little reminders that it had been wood that had fallen, metal that had caused the worst damage, blood that had soaked through the three scars forever embedded in his mind.

April shifts beside him and he recalls where he is. Nobody in his arms, a fire left long behind, and his daughter suffering before him.

He feels the urge to go her, pull her in his arms, demand to know what happened- but that did not help Tang Shen. It will not help her. “Take her to the dojo. I will prepare the healing mantras.”

Two of his sons obey. Leonardo does not move, calling after him. He’s a distraction, but something in his voice halts him anyway.

“It’s my fault.”

Splinter inhales, sharp. He now sees the guilt that he'd mistaken as sorrow, reprimand plastered to his tongue.

He will not release it. Not yet.

He waits for an explanation.

“Karai and I- we were taking down Shredder’s operations. I thought we could end this! I’m-” He looks to the side, eyes squeezed shut, before they drop to the floor. “I’m sorry.”

“Yoshi, Saki, please! You are brothers!”

“Go, Shen.”

Splinter exhales softly and turns away. He goes to the dojo and trusts that Leonardo will follow. It’s not until he nears the scrolls that he finds the right words. “I have always warned you of vengeance. What it could cause. What it can take from you. Your honor. Your sense.”

“Saki! This whole place is coming down!”

“Then we shall both perish here!”

“I am disappointed in you, Leonardo.” He pauses, looking at the scroll in his hand, before he lowers it. “But I am proud you had the courage to admit your wrongdoing. For many… It is not so simple.”

“You only dishonor yourself! Always jealous, always scheming, always filled with hate!”

“If I had told the others what I was up to, they never would have gone into that building.” Leonardo scans his expression as he stands, waiting for the verdict, too focused on the past.

Splinter redirects him. “It is right that you should feel pain for your mistakes. But it is one thing to regret bad decisions after they are made. A leader must foresee how bad decisions lead to bad results.”

“PLEASE! STOP!”

His son follows his gaze to his sister and then bows his head.

“I’m sorry, Sensei.”

“I am not the one who needs an apology.”

He steps away to let him think his words over and to focus on his sister, so that Leonardo will be able to give one. So that he will have the opportunity for forgiveness that Splinter never got to know.

The lair is too quiet. April volunteers to check up on his sons, eyes lingering on her friend before she resolutely turns to leave.

Splinter is grateful that she does, for not long after, Donatello stirs.

“My daughter,” he breaths, light flickering from his hands. He goes immediately to cup her face, searching glazed eyes for the light that may have been stolen by the fire. “You are safe. I am here.”

She blinks, rapid and confused, as tears track down to Splinter’s hand. She whimpers, hand clamping over his wrist. “Pap-aaaah!”

“Breathe,” He soothes as she cries out. She squeezes, hard, moisture falling to his fur. “I-It hurts! What- why- why doh-”

“You are injured.” He brushes her face. “Burned. But you are healing.”

She only stares through him, disoriented and scared, even while leaning into his hand. Another whimper shrivels in her throat.

His eyes water, without his want or consent. He has no reason to be upset. She is alive. She needs him to be strong. “Rest, my daughter. You will not know this same pain when you awaken.”

She tries to move, lifting her leg and dropping it, gasping in air when it touches the ground. Her cry is drowned by a whine and he wishes there was a way to take her pain and make it his own.

“Silly ninja. It is not a father’s job to take the pain, my Yoshi. Only to soothe it. Here, let me.”

“Sleep, precious one.” He whispers in the same way that he had years ago when days were long and little turtle hands refused to still. “Papa will not let the world move far without you.”

Her fear lulls, tempered by the gentle safety of the past, a tiny chirp sliding from her tongue. He gives her that moment of calm and then touches the pressure point to knock her out. He gently lays her back down on the mat, resuming the mantra with steady hands.

April comes in to stand on Donatello’s other side.

“They’re not in the lair.”

Splinter gives no response. She kneels down.

They stay by Donatello’s side.

"I thought I could make this about taking down Shredder's organization. But it's too much of a risk going after petty targets just to spite him. I promise, I will no longer go after Shredder's possessions. I'll go after Shredder himself."

The hope that had begun to flicker in his chest dies as Miwa removes her blade from its sheath. She does not look back, leaving them all in the wake of her promise, and Splinter finds his hand outstretched.

He does not know what to do. He does not know what to say.

She saw the price of revenge, and she's still choosing to move forward. How can he stop this? How can he make her see sense?

He doesn't get to decide. A blur of motion charges past.

"NO!"

He sees the impact when Leonardo collides with her. He grabs at the blade as she whirls in surprise, catching her wrist to avoid getting it caught between them. They fall backward, with her taking the blunt of their weight and Leonardo's fury holding them down.

"Leo!" All of his children cry out as Splinter moves to their side, pausing when he spots the fury in his glare. Not one of confusion or anger, but of fear and hurt and understanding, with a protective bite that promises no mercy while caught in sharp teeth.

"Are. You. INSANE?"

This cannot end well.

Splinter should intervene, but for once, he does not.

He motions for the others to stand down as well, watching his daughter's face flick between skin and scales, and lets Leonardo have his say. "We've done this before, Karai! YOU'VE done that before! You ran off to go face him and you got LOCKED UP! It took us MONTHS to get you out! Countless nights of risking our lives for YOU! And now you want to- what, do it all again?"

"I will not be alone this time!" She manages to shove him off, getting to her feet and stumbling away. Miwa looks back, towards Splinter, and he keeps his gaze cool, offering no protection. "I have the clan!"

"Shredder has faced down many armies and fought many battles." Splinter says. "But you would know that, my daughter."

She glares, "I'm doing what has to be done!"

"That's what you said about the warehouses." Leo stalks up to her. "That's what you said about the money. That's what you told me before you went to blow up some stupid factory as if your last mission didn't get your sister BLOWN UP."

"I didn't tell her to go in there-!"

"YOU PLANTED THE BOMBS!" Leonardo's scream cracks at the last word, fists shaking with the pain of almost losing a loved one, eyes clear with the knowledge of how such loss can impact a soul. He takes a heavy breath and the room holds it with him.

He looks at Splinter, and their father nods his encouragement.

"We are leaders." He declares, strong and pronounced. "We are born leaders of our clan, but also of a family. We were selfish and our siblings paid for it. Our ONLY little sister paid for it."

Their gazes travel to her. She is not watching the conversation, hands pressed over the sides of her head, entrapped in a steady hold by the youngest. Her eyes are not visible, squeezed shut in pain, and Splinter's heart aches to see it.

"I..." All attention travels to Miwa. "I never wanted her to be hurt."

"But she was." Leonardo holds his head high. "And instead of learning from it, you are repeating old mistakes. I thought better of you. I thought you'd be better than that Karai."

He turns away from her, steps as silent as the dojo as he travels back to his sister's side. He kneels next to Michelangelo, takes her hand, and wraps his other hand safely around it as she squeezes his fingers.

"I will not risk my family for you again." He says coolly, holding tight. The sound crosses the space with even volume. "If you choose to go alone, you will truly be alone. Do not count on me to bail you out."

"Leo..." She tries, but Splinter does not let her continue. "He is right."

She looks to him, defeat painting eyes that have seen more horrors than any child should know. "I have warned my children against walking into Saki's hands too many times. But I cannot stop them from making their own choices, anymore than I can stop you."

He takes a breath. "You act as if you have no choice. You act as if you are on your own. You are not. You are not alone anymore, Miwa. You are not bound by Saki's vices. You have a family that has fought long and hard for you to come home, and yet you would choose his anger over their love."

"Father." Her fists tighten. Her voice cracks. "He ruined my life."

"He ruined much on that faithful day," Splinter admits as he approaches her, gently cupping her face. He tries not to see Shen in her teary eyes. "But our lives are not yet over. He cannot take anything else from us if we do not let him. Leave his influence behind. Your mother... She would not want this for you."

"I don't-" She pulls her arms to her chest, closing her eyes to bow her head. "I don't know how."

"What do you think we're here for?" Raphael demands with a dismissive bat of his hand at the open air. "Decoration?"

"Let us help you." Splinter translates. "Let us teach you."

"C'mon sis." Michelangelo says, smile weak but genuine. "We deal with April and Dona every day. You'll be a piece of cake."

"Hey," A baffled April says at the same moment that Donatello weakly hits his plastron. Michelangelo laughs, Raphael snickers, and Leonardo shakes his head to hide his smile.

She pulls away, and Splinter lets her.

"Okay." Miwa announces with a smirk, though her confidence does not reach her eyes. "I'll try."

Splinter puts his hands on his cane and nods, "It is all we ask."

Also does Donnie ever feel like she has to live up to this ‘expectation’ that is/was Miwa before they find out about Karai? Does Donnie feel the need to be a good daughter or does she feel like a replacement or replaceable because of that or not? Idk I just thought about that.

Definitely during her younger years. It’s one thing to be the adopted sons who don't comprehend depression and death knowing that he spends a decent amount of time mourning his daughter and wife.

It’s another to be an adopted daughter who doesn’t comprehend depression and death who’s watching him distance himself sometimes to mourn a different daughter that she’s never met when she’s standing right there.

Thankfully (from a Donnie-development POV), Miwa ‘never’ got the chance to grow up. So there isn’t actually any notes to take to fill her shoes and meet expectations. Whenever she actively tries to be like Tang Shen (as she understands her mom from his stories), it only seems to depress Splinter more.

On the day that Splinter gives them their weapons, she entirely expects to be given the one that was meant for Miwa. Then he hands her the bo staff and tells her that it’s perfect for her, and she doesn’t know what to think. It’s the first time that she’s completely confident that he sees Donatello instead of Miwa when he looks at her.

Whenever she needs a reminder of that, she looks to her staff.

By the time that she goes up to the surface, she’s grown to be comfortable in that part of her place in the family.

…And then they meet Karai.

Now, if this does revamp her worries about her place in the family, it’s never directly mentioned in any episodes. Donnie’s main issue with Karai is that she’s always let her imagination run away with her big sister’s image, drafting what Miwa would be like if she survived.

And Karai. Is not the person who Donnie imagined her to be.

"I have been loving this btw and hope you are taking care of yourself"

Right back at you!! Thanks for the Ask!!!

[bumblingbabooshka]

I really wish Tuvok & Harry's relationship had been explored more. (The moments they have together are funny, they're both people who have more personality than others might think) Even if the writers would have rather choked on their own tongues than have two non-white characters on screen developing a relationship that didn't have to do with a white character - I can accommodate that to some extent. Their relationships to Janeway are interesting to think about! Harry is a Gold Standard Ensign who Janeway is shown to favor a lot. She outright states that she cares about him more deeply than she does the rest of the crew and views him almost symbolically as a ray of light and hope. A shining example of a bright-eyed (ever obedient) Starfleet officer who can do no wrong.

Thinking about this compared to her reaction to Tuvok going against her orders in 'Prime Factors'. She is again extremely surprised and uniquely hurt by this betrayal. She's upset with B'Elanna as well but then dismisses her and talks to Tuvok alone.

Again, she positions Tuvok as different from the rest of the crew and almost as a symbolic presence or a tool more than a person. That isn't to say I think she doesn't think of Harry or Tuvok as people but more about how having a working relationship as well as a personal one within the system they're in is difficult and blurs some strange lines. To Janeway, Harry & Tuvok are her friends and people she cares about/cares for but their obedience and usefulness to her is part of what makes them so valuable. She needs them to listen to her orders and put their own personal feelings aside if she's going to command as captain which is more difficult to do the closer you feel to somebody. (As captain you might feel less inclined to put them in danger or more inclined to give leeway. As an officer you might feel more inclined to speak up, be insubordinate, or less likely to challenge the captain when it is expected you do so.) I imagine that for Tuvok it's easier to deal with these boundaries and hard lines which might be difficult to walk for others. He's Vulcan for one, for another he's been in Starfleet and known Janeway for several decades and lastly, he just has a personality which seems to do well with rules and hard lines. He also seems to have a unique devotion to Janeway herself which we can see in episodes like 'Prime Factors' and 'Equinox' which goes further than the typical obligation to a captain. Also, in certain episodes you can see that Tuvok is used to being listened to by Janeway in a way that puts him above other crewmen. When Chakotay chooses not to listen to him in 'Twisted' he goes so far as to argue with him about it. It's interesting to compare Harry's Not Listening to Orders here to him doing something similar in 'Resolutions'. In 'Resolutions' it's against Tuvok and for the captain - though he's going against her explicit orders. For these reasons, his near mutiny is not treated as flagrant insubordination and instead more heartwarming by both the narrative and, most notably, Janeway herself. She doesn't have a harsh word to say against Tuvok or Harry in the end. I like that Harry's a passionate person. I like that he has trouble sitting still and accepting things if he thinks there's another less devastating road to take. I would say that besides Janeway herself he's the one most dogged about his attempts to get everyone home and he, like her, means everyone. Perhaps even more idealistically than she herself.

It can be argued that they're following two different philosophies, both centered on the captain. Tuvok is following Janeway's order that they not contact the Vidiians while Harry is following her determination to do everything possible to get every member of their crew back home. To Tuvok, Harry is grossly insubordinate and disobeying Janeway's order and to Harry, Tuvok's cruel obstinance goes against her spirit. Going back to their relationship, I think it would be interesting to explore how they both deal with feeling so close and so special to someone that they will always (as long as they're working together) be at a distance from. In some ways, their dynamic with Janeway will never be truly equal. How do you deal with a relationship that's stated by the captain herself to be special and which you view as important, different, but still necessitates you pushing your own individuality aside whenever it goes against her? In addition to all this it's notable that both Harry & Tuvok have the strongest connection to Family Back Home. Even Janeway doesn't bring up Mark as a driving force as often as Harry does his parents or the expansive concept of the crews' families back home. It's an interesting similarity between them, they're both so firmly tethered to the alpha quadrant. They're the ones who have people waiting eagerly for them - in the end even Janeway doesn't have Mark anymore but Harry's parents and Tuvok's family will always be waiting for them to return. Also, I just think that Harry and Tuvok have the potential to be so funny together and so unintentionally destructive. They could get away with so much shit that no one else could in a million years and they don't even have troublemaking intentions. So yeah, I wish their relationship had been explored more. Harry is who I perceive to be Tuvok's first friend on Voyager. Tom declares himself a friend of Tuvok's but there's no indication Tuvok reciprocates that, He and Neelix are more frenemies, He and Kes are more mentor-mentee, He and Janeway were friends before all this and with the others he's mostly shown to have a somewhat to outright tense professional dynamic. Harry's the first and only person I can remember at this moment who he seems to have a non-adversarial and fully reciprocal friendship with, though it's not focused on. Harry is the first person who's able to slip past Tuvok's barriers and form a friendship with him (-points to a sign labeled 'Janeway parallels, Harry for captain'-). They both have people in the alpha quadrant they miss terribly and who're missing them. They both doubtlessly feel that drive to return to them (unique on Voyager, to have people rather than just the general familiarity of home to return to). They both have special relationship with Janeway and they both have more to them than being obedient and good. They're funny, they have bite and pride and hidden passions. They've both had trouble with love. Scene where Harry and Tuvok are working on something late at night. There's a radio present, conspicuously, but it's off. Harry begins to complain about how he's missing sleep and subtly making digs about how he hasn't been promoted despite how much he does and Tuvok reprimands him. Harry is apologetic. Silence. Tuvok brings up however the captain's decision making can be difficult to parse at times... and then makes a subtle dig about how Chakotay as the first officer instead of him is an interesting choice. Harry grins and makes a comment about how Chakotay would have let him play music while they worked. Tuvok makes an exasperated face like 'this again?' and says it's exactly that sort of thing which makes Chakotay- and then Chakotay comes in and Harry has to struggle not to laugh as Tuvok Vulcanspeaks his way perfectly through not answering his 'What were you talking about?' question.

[hurlingsupport]

If you write for Rob Staedler, can you do romantic headcanons where gn!reader is like the token "yes-man" of the Illuminati?

Sure thing! I'm definitely late on doing requests, so sorry about the wait—but here it is!! A bit angsty ngl, but I hope you enjoy this either way!

"Run Away" (Ron Staedtler x Yes-Man! Gender Neutral Reader Headcanons)

To start off, I think Ron would make a bad first impression with the reader, regardless of them being a Yes-man sort of person.

As stated in the Rontagion episode, Ron commonly makes bad first impressions. You can see this in his character introduction, as well as when Reagan introduces him to Brett and the others.

So, with that in mind, a Yes-man! reader would probably act nice towards Ron while still holding dislike towards him.

Despite this, I feel like a situation would come up where their dislike is mentioned, and while the reader hurriedly tries to cover it up, they're surprised by Ron's acceptance of it.

Of course, you're offput by his acceptance of it. Perhaps the reader has a need for everybody to like them similar to how Brett does, which makes them admire Ron for his nonchalantness.

Because of this, you might make friends with Ron right then and there, putting the bad first impression behind you.

If that does happen, I think Ron would find some sort of solace with you in the Illuminati. And when the two of you get closer, he would express his regrets of joining and how his job torments him.

In this case, I think the reader would encourage him to leave; even if it meant never seeing him again.

Following the storyline of Ron meeting Reagan, I think the plot would be generally the same. Only Ron doesn't hook up with Reagan at the end of the night.

It just doesn't feel right, and he can't understand why. At least until he sees you again at work the next day.

Still having not left the Illuminati despite your endeavors, he would hang around you more often. He feels... happier around you.

Just being around you brings his spirit up, and the fact that you're encouraging him to leave for his own good goes straight to his heart.

At some point, I think he might confess on a particularly bad night. Maybe his subject's memories really got to him, and he just couldn't handle it.

He'd beg you to run away with him, to leave the Illuminati behind and make new lives for each other.

But with his tearful eyes and his frantic breathing, the reader is well aware that he's not thinking straight. And while a Yes-man! reader would vigorously encourage Ron to leave, I think they would have trouble leaving themselves.

So, without denying his pleads, they'd simply hold him close. Listening as he whispers how much he appreciates them and how he couldn't stand to lose them to this hellish company.

"I love you. So, so much."

It'll come out quietly, and the only indication that he said it is the feeling of his breath against your ear. Shivering slightly, you'll only hold him tighter.

And perhaps when he's thinking more clearly, he'll realize it's hopeless to try and leave such a life behind. But until then, you'll hold him as he confesses every little worry he has. And you'll happily allow him to believe there will ever be a future for the two of you.

[purlpeiris]

Rose's Day of Asks - the sequel

Hope you are recovering well from what we all just had to endure. And in the spirit of happier things. What have been your favourite qls this year? (it's my first time in your inbox so excuse the more bland question, I promise I'll do better next time)

Rose💛

Ah thank you Rose. I’m happy to join in with this.

Fave QLs from this year so far…

I feel like I’ve loved many many series this year. Some I’ve been a bit disappointed by something in them but not enough to stop me liking them a lot.

If you’d asked me half way through ep 11 of Last Twilight it would have made it into my favourites list. But I hated the end of that episode and i disliked the overall end of the show so it got kicked off the list.

But getting to the actual list,

Time of Fever - I adored it. Even though it made me sob to the point I had to pause for a break because I couldn’t see the subtitles. And even though I didn’t get the post ULS scenes I desperately wanted, I loved it so much. The chemistry was great, I liked the pacing, I liked the scenery and the lighting and pretty much everything about it. I’ve said this approximately one million times by now but I just want a sequel set after ULS, a whole series or even a one off episode will do. I need them to get a concrete happy ending. But even without a sequel if I take it as a standalone series that ends back at the sea the ending was hopeful enough that I’d happily rewatch.

Love for Love’s Sake - I don’t think I found a single fault. I loved that it was different. I found the leads interesting, the story made me want to watch as soon as new eps were released, the ending made me smile so much. Overall just brilliant.

Blue Boys - I just really enjoyed the chemistry and the kisses and how it wasn’t too thinky and it didn’t make me sad. Sometimes I just need something short, light and easy to watch and Blue Boys was that.

At 25:00 in Akasaka - I’ve not done a full rewatch yet, because every time I log into Gaga to start I end up just watching the last episode. I’ve lost count now how many times I’ve seen it. I can’t quite put my finger on why I’m so drawn to it either. It just makes me happy.

Perfect Propose - I found it perfect, well almost. It would have been slightly improved by one more episode but I always think that when I love something and don’t want it to end, even when the story is completed. I liked both mains. I liked how Hiro changed his life and didn’t just accept that he’d be stuck in a miserable work/life balance situation that he hated for the rest of his life. I also loved the playful ending from the cramp to the tomatoes to Kai teasing about the texting. It left me happy.

Happy of the End - It was hard to watch and I didn’t “enjoy” it but it compelled me to keep watching in the hope that these broken men would find love together. I’m glad the ending was the way it was. I see the arguments that the series could have ended without them meeting again and I think that would have worked, but I don’t tend to enjoy completely non happy endings especially in QL stories because real life can be shit enough and I find a fictional life with a little hope is more satisfying.

Dead Friend Forever - I’ve just realised that I’m adding a series with a non happy ending to my favourites list despite what I just said about endings. I clearly can’t be trusted with my opinions! It’s still there though. Mainly because it was a break from the norm, I was intrigued the whole way through and I liked that everyone was at least a little bit messed up. I don’t even know what would have constituted a happy ending for any of them.

City of Stars - it was sweet, I liked everyone in it. It’s on my favourite list as an easy enjoyable watch with decent chemistry and a not annoying ending, which seemed to be rare this year.

I Became the Lead in a BL Drama - I’ve checked and MDL said it ended Jan 1st so technically it’s on the favourites of 2024 list. It was a very fun, silly, cute way to spend a few hours. I adored it so much that I got my partner to rewatch it with me about a month ago and I was really pleased she also liked it.

The On1y One - I’m adding this one because I loved it. I thought the actors were really good. It was slow, but I think airing two eps a week helped it not feel quite as slow because instead of lasting three months we’ve seen it all in six weeks. I might be disappointed and change my mind if we never get a series two, and I would have liked it to end on a happier note but as I just discussed with @ellsieee the ending could have been sadder and overall it’s not stopped me liking the series as a whole. I do feel like I’m going to have to read the novel because my patience is not strong enough for the wait.

This last one wasn’t out this year, and it’s not a series, but I’ve got no GLs on the list and as a queer woman I feel like this is letting myself down, so I’m cheating and adding this to my favourites list because I (re)watched it this year:

Summerland (2020) - A film about a reclusive queer unmarried writer who takes in an evacuee boy during the Second World War. It was so good. The ending was a little contrived and I saw it coming a little while before it happened but it was still feel good and happy and hopeful and comforting. I loved it.

Ok, that got long so I’m not thinking about any more series that I loved from this year.

[utilitycaster]

The wildest part about people being mad on Imogen's behalf is Imogen herself understood Keyleth's position in spite of her own wishful thinking, helps acquire the blue flowers for her, was the first to acknowledge the Changebringer's help, and the first to say "I'm sorry" to Orym losing more of his people. I'm really baffled to read these "Orym is manipulative" takes and that it was dangerous of Keyleth to validate his anger. Do you think it goes back to the god stuff, or is it just Imodna?

I think a little of column A, little of column B, little of several other things. Since I've been on the "hey could we consider that Imogen and Laudna are adult women who are responsible for their own actions" train for over a year, the specific "Imogen can be mean-spirited as well as unintentionally insensitive" train since at least this past February, and the "Orym is correct and Bor'Dor signed his own death warrant by casting Vitriolic Sphere at a group of people who were not violent towards him" train for a month, let's break it down.

There are a small handful of people in the fandom who just really hate Liam. Per a very salty rant I put into my drafts shortly after 3x63 to describe this type of person, it is a small, scattered, bizarre group of people who for no apparent reason have decided to be foaming-at-the-mouth levels of furious because, as far as I can tell, a nerdy Gen X-er dad who went to Tisch is kind of corny sometimes. Anyway nothing he does will ever sit well with them so we can ignore them forever. Moving on.

Some is Imodna; I thought the whole issue of Imogen and Laudna as agency-less infants against a cruel world would have been ameliorated by them entering a canon relationship (one currently compatible with the 2013 Pinterest board vibes of fanon no less) but it appears to have not been the case. For more on this, see this still relevant post and, while I personally haven't ever written something up, there's just, again, a complete black hole of empathy from a segment of the fandom when it comes to any of the other characters; my post from this morning about Imogen as compared to Caleb touches upon it. You know the Far Side cartoon where a guy is talking to his dog and the dog only recognizes a small handful of words? I feel this is similar, like, they see that Imogen wanted one thing and Orym and Keyleth wanted another thing that wasn't even, as you point out, terribly incompatible, and then the "well if not thing Imogen wants and not 100% deferential to her then BAD BAD BAD" attitude kicked in.

But I do think, in the end, a lot of it does come back to if not the gods exactly, the idea that the Vanguard is, unmistakably, the enemy. They are not the revolution here to usher in a new era of rule by the people. Keyleth is not here to raze Vasselheim to the ground but to have a diplomatic discussion; neither is she here to grant any leniency to the woman who attacked Vax regardless of her connection to Imogen. And she finds the idea of a world without the gods, regardless of her own personal feelings, to be one to be avoided. [sidebar: I hope we get Matt on 4SD; I am wondering, after the one-two-three punch of Hevestro, the Raven Queen, and Keyleth all placing a heavy thumb on the scale opposing the Vanguard if he did not expect the party to be as conflicted about the role of the gods and is trying to wind up an argument that I think as of last episode reached the end of its useful life.] When you couple that with Orym's positive attitude towards the gods, that explains the animosity towards him.

The undermining of Orym's position over the past few episodes has always been one of emotion. First he was not objective - as if anyone else was objective! As if any moral decision is ever 100% objective! We all have biases! What kind of early 2000s atheist forum shit are you on to claim perfect rationality that conveniently matches the ideas that apparently came to you in a godless vision? It's insane. Then it was his grief; grief makes you irrational (unless you're Imogen grieving Laudna, in which case you are objectively right at all times, even as you shout down every other suggestion, beseech Laudna's first murderer, not a month later consider the potential validity of the her second, and try to to undo her immutable past) and remember, moral decisions must be made by the rational. Then it was his impatience (nevermind that Imogen has absolutely no patience). And now it's his anger, and he's apparently been manipulating the party the whole time by...having suggestions for the group which he mentions, and openly stating what he was feeling and what he wanted, and not intuiting that Laudna reawoke Delilah with his approximately no magical ability and then encouraging her to finish a job she had started herself. Because god Rational Objective Conceptual Being forbid women do anything; it is the role of the man to protect their fragile souls from all consequences.

Even more generally I think a lot of people- not just in this fandom, though certainly within this fandom - are terrified of anger. Like, they think they like it - they say they love barbarians (though rage is its own beast and I think very different from the anger Orym and Keyleth exhibit) but most of the discussion of them tends to veer more into angst, and most players of barbarians are often exploring emotions like grief, self-pity (as Ashton says), or frustration just as much if not more so than anger. I think a lot of people perceive anger as this awful thing inside them to be controlled and denied, or alternately to only be let out for whatever they think is a sufficiently righteous cause, and instead sit in an increasingly toxic stew of simmering resentment and conflict avoidance until they begin to think this is not just normal but aspirational - anything but that awful beast they call anger. It's not new in discussions of Keyleth, and it's not limited to her and Orym; I can point to nearly every single character who has had even the slightest of outbursts - even something as mild and controlled as Orym's whispered profanity or less - and I promise you there's been pearl-clutching for every single one of them.

Anyway, you make great points! One of the things that struck me about this episode and prompted my frustration and my post earlier today is that Imogen has changed. I think she's been mulling over Liliana since her appeals to her during the Key's activation were unsuccessful; she hesitantly told Chetney when he asked in Uthodurn that yes, if Liliana's death is necessary, she understands; and I think seeing the utter devastation and pain that was inflicted on Keyleth brought it into focus. She was much more open to FCG and the coin as well. And, you know, if one had embraced Imogen's moral ambiguity in the leadup to the solstice, and the possibility that she could betray the party, instead of shouting that down? Then one could see this as a beautiful moment of growth for Imogen. One could, in fact, if one was so inclined, attribute it to her new sense of ease thanks to her circlet, or even to her nascent romantic relationship. If one, of course, had wholeheartedly embraced Imogen's past moral ambiguity and the possibility of her betrayal.

[v-67]

JJK S2 SPOILER ALERT!!

Watching S2 of JJK and I'm actually scared

I've kinda seen spoilers (which is why I hate spoilers) which hinted that the ending is too much. (Don't tell me anything though, idk the ending, I've just heard it's brutal)

But it's like, now I know it's going to be something brutal and it's difficult to face that.

So I'm watching S2 after having postponed it for such a long time.

And I swear, it has me gasping and laughing and fearing and everything.

And why, wHy. Why every time a character goes like : I wanna see everyone, I wanna be with everyone. And bang. Killed. 🙃

Also, rip Mechamaru. That was sad. He had just gotten his body, and he wanted to see everyone and then, again🙃

The emotional torment is brutal.

And I'm so worried about these 3 idiots, and when I saw Gojo's past w Geto, and the whole thing of protecting the star plasma vessel, in this case, Amanai, and the thing that later on happened which I referred up above.

I kinda wanna pin point what exactly was it that triggered Geto.

Was it those monks who were laughing like that? Was it Amanai's death? Or was it this over all perception which just pushed him into thinking this way towards the end? And I know he wants to build a world only w sorcerers, which will in turn/ might in turn put an end to cursed spirits or atleast limit them but I'm not sure how exactly would that happen.

But when they showed Geto's perspective, the part where he says, Exorcise, absorb.... Repeat repeat repeat. And he explains how the taste of the cursed spirit is like the one of a cloth which was used to wipe vomit. And all of that. And that is the end of the future of him as a jujutsu sorcerer seeing the dead bodies of his friends. I kinda got him a little bit, of why he was being driven towards such a goal. But I'm still not absolutely clear. I want to know what exactly triggered him, the exact point. Was it Amanai, was it seeing the dead body of his friend, was it Gojo's words, was it those star something monks? WHAT exactly was it.

And what exactly is his end goal. How is he going to do it. And why did he say that to Gojo while going away. He tells him, Are you Gojo Satoru because you are the strongest, or are you the strongest because you are Gojo Satoru? And adds to that, that if he was him, this goal would be achievable. And that he has chosen his way of life/path or something along these lines. EXPLAIN ME WHAT exactly do you mean by that? It is a bit ambiguous or am I thinking too much within that.

Also Jjk has so much information dump in every single episode😗, Like pls wait, let me comprehend what exactly is happening. I still don't have a proper grasp on what exactly is Gojo's power. Like i know, but I want to know.

Young nanami looked so much like an emo kid

Yo, also I'm worried about what's going to happen next. I'm actually a little scared of watching the next few episodes.

And also also, as of now from the place I am at anime i am given to understand that Yuji will have to die in the end because it's like what the contract was and all of that. A part of me still hopes ah, that we'll figure out something and he'll survive. But within these probabilities, where 70% weighs on death due to Sukuna and that contract and etc, I get really really sad because I don't want him to die.

I'm also worried about Megumi, the man was hell bent okay w dying. No. Not allowed sorry. I also hope his sister wakes up and that they all live happily.

I'm worried about Nobara too, she's also very unhinged. I love her unhinged energy though.

I wanna see Inumaki. He's my 🫶

Will post this after I complete the whole season 2.

Or Maybe I'll post this and make another post when I watch more episodes.

I'll post them together because i don't want someone accidentally spoiling it for me🙃❤️

Do not spoil it for me. I hate and despise spoilers. Okay? Please. Sending warm hugs. So don't, okay? Thanks.

Isss time to conquer our fears so letssss watch ahead.

.......

Oh hey, it's not so bad

I was fearing that Gojo was going to get sealed and that was it and the thought made me anxious

But they're all fighting and would get him back

Also the fights are SO SO SO GOOD.

The action is so beautifully choreographed

And it's a relief that Geto is not really Geto, Geto's body reacting to Gojo's words really made me happy. So who is this bitch in Geto's body.

Also JJK 0 is canon and relevant to the current storyline, I had no idea, I've watched it 3 times, it's crazy good.

I'm on episode 14 right now. And it's intense and dark and the fights are crazy good.

I felt bad for Ino :(( and also Ichiji san :((

Felt really really great when Nanami just broke that stupid guy <3

Also somehow Toji is now resurrected???? I was happy he was dead because I was worried about him meeting Megumi or something but what

I hope they get to break Gojo's seal.

And I hope no one dies.

.....

So I finished watching it🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃

Nanami died🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃

Idk if Nobara is alive?🙃🙃🙃

Inumaki's arm🙃

Yuji sentenced to death🙃🙃🙃

What in the fuck🙃

Gojo is still sealed🙃🙃���

Not the principal also being sentenced to death🙃🙃

And Gojo as a co-conspirator???? Are they out of their mind???? I think all this passing of orders is instigated from one more guy who was a traitor who is in the higher ups.

Also found out that within Geto is that creepy guy obsessed with curses from over 150 years ago

I never disliked Choso, he is a curse but he's a little different, and in the end him calling Yuji his brother was just out of the books. There must be some sort of connection though. (That scene where panda asks Yuji if he's sure he's not releasing some kinda pheromones because first Todo and now this guy)

Also Toji coming back was so out of the books, and the way he just killed himself after, it was somehow so emotional and carried so much feelings and heaviness. He did care for Megumi after all. And he helped all of them a lot tbf

Also I hope Todo is okay, and in his locket was the picture of Itadori and that idol, it was weird and sweet both😭😭😭

The stupid guy in Geto's body put the curse on 2 people, 1 was Megumi's sister and who is the other one? And what's going to happen to Megumi's sister. It's scary. (Don't give me spoilers, I'm curious, but don't spoil it)

Everything took a dark turn and I have to wait for years now to see what happens next🙃 ( I mean I know I can read but I wanna watch anime) (don't give me spoilers pls)

But seriously what the fuck🙃

Not Nanami guys, not Nanami😭

The fights were indeed crazy good but the trauma is greater🙃

....

Completed watching JJK S2, I was right when I said in the beginning that I was scared to watch it.

30th June, 2024.

[akariarda]

Will you ever stop breaking my heart ,all over and over again...

EPISODE 8

Ep7 Emperor Garmadon came up with a plan to defeat Lyoda. The spirit, who is Sensei Garmadon, explains everything to Misako. They hope to disrupt emperor Garmadon's plan.

"Really?" Garmadon sweetly smiled.

"Start preparing. I want this madness to end as soon as possible."

"Do you want to know everything, my emperor?" Harumi asked.

"Of course," Garmadon muttered. "I'm listening."

"We captured the she-robot, and installed devices on her."

"Very good." Garmadon smiled.

Harumi waited for a sign.

"Go on." "With her technology, we managed to briefly make contact with the resistance."

"And?" Garmadon was tense. "How will I find Lloyd?"

"You won't," Harumi said.

"What!?" Garmadon was angry and confused.

"He will find you. He and she, Skylor, right? Anyway, the master of amber, they are coming to steal your power and try to control the Colossus."

"Then prepare." Garmadon sweetly smiled.

"Pretend you know nothing and let them come to me. I will finish them off."

~~~~~~~

"Garmadon, is that really you?"

"Not yet," Sensei Garmadon shook his head. "You have to help me regain control of myself."

"But it's you!" Misako joyfully exclaimed and hugged him.

He hugged her back and they stood like that for a while.

"I thought your good side was gone forever..." Misako stretched as Sensei Garmadon suddenly moved away from her.

"What?" He asked.

"I thought your good side no longer existed," Misako said as she still held his shoulders.

"I have a lot to tell you, and little time." Sensei Garmadon said, holding her hands.

"Go on." Misako said nervously.

"When Harumi brought back my evil side," Sensei Garmadon started.

"With it also came my good side. But it was no longer a part of me. I wandered around for a long time, faceless and trying to act on my own. It was difficult for me."

Sensei Garmadon choked with emotion.

"I watched everything, my dear Misako. I watched as I repeatedly hurt Lloyd, you, Wu..."

As he spoke, he lightly ran his hand over a bruise on her forearm, which had appeared in one of the many times he had thrown her to the ground in recent days.

"I'm sorry." He said and hung his head.

"It's okay." Misako gently said and lifted his head.

"You said it yourself, you couldn't control it. I know it wasn't you. You would never hurt any of us."

Misako said as she gently ran her hand over his face.

"Anyway," Sensei Garmadon sighed deeply and continued his story.

"But somehow I managed to take control of myself. You helped me a lot with that. But as much as I tried, my evil side was stronger.

I did everything I could to separate myself even for a short time."

Sensei Garmadon told her.

"You left your pure evil side alone?" Misako asked fearfully.

"Wait." Garmadon said and closed his eyes.

"No." He said with fear when he opened his eyes.

Misako could clearly see the terror on his face.

"Lloyd is coming," Sensei Garmadon said. "He and Skylor, to take control of the Colossus.

Harumi captured Pixal and with her help somehow found them. She'll let them in and then capture them."

"What do we do now?" Misako asked, astonished.

"I don't know." Garmadon firmly stated. "And to answer your previous question, yes, I left my evil side alone."

"Bad." Misako muttered.

She didn't know who she was more worried about dying for.

"What now?" She asked.

"I had a plan." Garmadon muttered angrily.

"What plan?" Misako asked.

"It doesn't matter anymore." Garmadon said bitterly.

"We have to get out of here." Misako came and put her hand on his shoulder.

"It's too dangerous, I'm afraid I'll hurt you." Garmadon gently ran his hand through her face.

"We have no choice." Misako insisted. "I have a plan, we're the only ones inside right now. We're one step ahead, Harumi and your evil self. Trust me."

"How could I not trust you." Sensei Garmadon smiled and grabbed her hand.

"I know how we're going to get out of here."

EPISODE 9.

[psychicpinenut]

netflix atla review

i decided that i wanted to see it through anyway so i finished the netflix atla. here are the things that made me want to hurl rocks at my tv (i might not remember a lot of things because i stopped watching after ep 4 and only continued this week so this might get rambly as i try to recall things)

let me start on the cast. no offense to these kids but my god. one of the things i hate the most is when you can tell an actor is acting. the whole time you could see that they walk up to their mark, stop there and recite the lines like they're in a high school play. and i get that they're young and probably don't have too much experience but i just keep thinking about the original voice cast who were children as well at the time of recording and they're some of the most talented actors i've ever heard. but then again i know they had to not only find people who resemble the characters but can do martial arts and act. so whatever, i hope they'll grow more during this. the only actor i liked was dallas liu who is the oldest of the main cast (i believe he was around 20 when they filmed this) which is probably why he doesn't have a chronic case of child acting.

constantly making up and/or changing lore:

why can aang only speak to past avatars in their shrines?

roku is sidelined in favor of kyoshi (who for some reason is extremely aggressive towards him) who can see into the future apparently because she gave aang a vision of the northern water tribe being destroyed instead of sozin's comet coming.

aang somehow being "lost" to the ocean spirit at the end which is ???

sokka and katara can enter the spirit world with aang

koh keeping his victims like some fucking spider and only gives them back after aang gave some stupid totem back. they also brought him so forward that he doesn't tell aang about tui and la which was the entire fucking point of looking him up in the first place

yue is a fox? in the spirit world?

wan shi tong is there also in the spirit world

i'm guessing they're already abandoning the ancient library storyline because they already intoduced wan shi tong and zhao was shown that he found out about tui and la from the fire sages in roku's temple. which is going to be interesting because that's where sokka finds out about the solar eclipse but i guess they'll come up with some other solution like toph can sense the moon moving through her feet or some shit

tui and la becoming mortals for only one night?

zuko having extensive research on the avatars should mean he knows that roku is his great grandfather but we're either leaving that one out or he's just not good at research

they took out sokka's sexism, thus eliminating any chance of character development, in favor of putting in actual sexism perpetrated by the show itself. suki is made into this small town girl, rapunzel type of character who needs sokka, the man, to bring the world to her and expand her mind. and then instead of sokka being grateful to suki for teaching him, she's the one that's thankful for ... going there? and bringing the world to her? because strong women mean they can punch right?

constant references to book 2 in the first season

they made so that aang didn't actually run away from his responsibility as the avatar - which is a pretty important part of his arc as that guilt follows him through the entire series - but that he only took a little trip to clear his head. which makes everyone accusing him of disappearing seem dumb and unfair

which leads me to bumi. why the fuck would bumi be so pissed at him? the whole episode he's antagonizing him and yelling at him to go do his job as the avatar meanwhile he's holding him hostage and making him do his challenges. like let him go so he can do his job maybe?? stupid

the entire ep 3-4. they really just shoved like 5 episodes together into one which i get because they don't have time to do everything but they did it so badly and the messages from each episode disappeared in favor of the CGI fight scenes.

like what do you mean sokka barely even got to interact with jet? that's the episode where sokka is proven to have good instincts and leadership because he saw jet for what he was.

why are teo and his dad here? what about aang's massive grief over the industrialization of his wiped out culture?

why would jet try to kill bumi? they completely obliterated the moral dilemma of jet wiping out a fire nation village because he sees that as justified even though he's killing civilians who happen to be fire nation.

for some reason they had sokka and katara go through the secret tunnel which is kind of fucking weird. i don't mind if they cut the kaang romance line but it is going to be interesting once it comes to the earthly attachments and some plotlines that revolve around aang having a major crush on katara. also what do you mean the badger moles sense "emotions"? toph is about to sense people's emotions in her feet and learn bending that way

they mary sue'd katara. she's bad at waterbending until she isn't and suddenly she's a master just from self taught basic waterbending she learned from the scroll gran gran gave her?? which is another thing they robbed us of because katara going to great lengths to steal the scroll shows how determined she is and desperate to learn waterbending but here she just gets handed the scroll. she's timid and lukewarm the entire season, the only time i can recall her even raising her voice is when she's arguing with sokka over jet. she gets mad at pakku for not letting her fight which is stupid because girl who is gonna stop you? go and fight?? you should be getting mad at pakku for not even trying to teach you waterbending. then she brings the entire untrained female population to the fight because girl power™. despite all of this, she's proclaimed a master without any actual training and beats zuko's ass purely because she's So Good. like at this point she shouldn't be able to hold her own against zuko without the full moon's help because as soon as the sun comes up zuko easily overpowers her ("you rise with the moon i rise with the sun"). which didn't happen here because she's a self proclaimed master now apparently

aang didn't bend a single waterdrop the entire season. it's book 1: water. it's called water. where's the bending aang? too busy doing another stupid walk and talk

stripped of iroh telling zuko he thinks of him as his son

stripped of one of the rawest lines i've ever heard on television: "my father says she was born lucky, he says i was lucky to be born"

which leads me into azula's character. they brought her in earlier just so her role in the whole season can be her groveling at ozai's feet, seeking his approval, trying to outdo zuko. which is insane cause she already outdoes zuko by a mile. she's a prodigy. they make it look like ozai favors zuko over azula which is so fucking insaaaane it made me so mad. she already knows she's better than zuko, she doesn't need her father's approval. also why isn't her fire blue.

iroh being the one who kills zhao. this one pissed me off so badly because in the original, as the ocean spirit takes hold of him zuko reaches out to zhao to try to save him.... that man tried to have him KILLED. and zuko still tried to save him. but zhao's arrogance didn't let him take his hand and that was his demise. that single act tells us so much about zuko and they just??? took that out??? so iroh can just murder him?? instead of it being the ocean spirit's revenge for killing its partner? instead of giving us that glimpse into who zuko is as a person? i'm going insane

don't even mention the fact that zuko fought back against ozai during the agni kai. he was literally banished because he refused to fight him. he got the scar because he refused to fight him. that's who zuko is!!!! and then they show us that he, a 13 year old boy who is still fairly inexperienced at bending, could have defeated ozai but he chose not to?? i'm sorry???

during the meeting where he spoke out against their plan, they made it look like he only spoke up because the general taunted him and not because he thought what they wanted to do was morally wrong.

now tell me which line hits harder: "compassion is a sign of weakness" or "you will learn respect and suffering will be your teacher". yeah...

yue bringing sokka to the spirit oasis to heal momo?? it was so fucking stupid and unserious that they were cradling a cgi lemur that i was in tears of pain. i almost gave up there

sokka constantly talking about wanting to be a better warrior and bossing katara around but doing absolutely fuck all to prove himself was insane. sokka was just standing around the whole season making bad jokes (cause wow they made sokka unfunny somehow) and flirting with women.

there was no goofiness or lightheartedness to aang. he took everything so fucking seriously it actually hurt to watch because they blew things out of proportion that didn't need to be. why was he so afraid of his normal bending power? not even his avatar state power but just his airbending. constantly angsting over his responsibility and how he's failing as the avatar. jesus fucking christ.

since zuko never stole katara's necklace, june had to use some fuckin random fabric she found on one of the trees that could've belonged to anybody??

zuko was able to capture aang after june found him instead of getting his ass whooped and paralysed so when zhao basically forces him to hand aang over to him, it's easier to guess who the blue spirit is as zuko makes a whole scene about it earlier

truly the one thing i really liked was the addition that the 41st division was the crew he protected at the war meeting

circling back to the first episode where we start out in the past and we get to see the whole genocide of the air nomads instead of finding out along with aang. we also get to see how he ends up in the iceberg so we don't get his story paralleled with zuko's backstory like in the storm. i mean whatever but the aang and zuko parallels were always dear to me.

hated zhao's actor. instead of him being intimidating and scary, he was acting like a frat boy and talked like tom cruise's character in magnolia. just simply annoying

jet telling katara to just stop being sad about her mom and she stops being sad and suddenly she can bend again. and later when he tells her she can bend because he helped her, she straight up denies it because it was "all her" like i gotta disagree there cause no, it was definitely him who helped you.

icing on the cake was when zuko walks into a bar and the patrons there reference like 4 storylines that they skipped over

so anyway... that's all i could think of at the top of my head and i hope they fuck up less in the upcoming seasons god willing

[smillingcartoonist]

He is getting abducted by Spirits, She is getting possessed by Aliens (Dandadan)

Dandadan is a manga Written and draw by Tatsu Yukinobu, the story follows Momo Ayase and Takekura Ken, Nickname Okarun and called that the entire time (I honestly forget that is not is actual name) in their paranatural adventures, having more of an episodic arc structure, the main thread of plot is finding Okarun missing genitals !!!

In mine opinion, this one of the few recent mangas that are worthy of following, not that is a lot out there that is worthy the time any way, Dandadan is funny, action packed, gorgeously draw, it have a great characters, an interesting story, and it's a bit too tear jerky at times, honestly everything that you could ask in a comic, too bad it's first chapter fucking sucks !!!

I never seen this before, a comic with a really bad start and then the rest of it's pretty good actually, normally it's the inverse, it's start strong then it goes to shit, I found that MamaYuyu had this problem, it's first chapter being really promise then it quickly devolve into generic shounen stuff, maybe it was mistake to have such high hopes for it !!

But what' so bad about it ? well it's more the direction that it seem to go on after the chapter. The Story of Dandadan begins with a bad taste in my mouth at least, Momo and Okarun first meeting end on a dare to each, to each other prove that aliens and spritis are real, Okarun dares Momo to got to an Alien abduction hot spot, Momo dares Okarun to go to a spirit sighting hot spot, the both of them encounter said creatures, Okarun meet with the 100 km/h hag (Or Turbo Granny as it knows in the manga) that offers to suck his dick if he suck her tits, Momo meets the Serpo, odd looking aliens that abducted her and want to extract her genitals... so well, she gets nearly raped there, she is saved because her psychic powers awake there, and a possessed Okarun also appears through her cellphone, the spaceship that they are in crashes, Momo and Okarun escape, The turbo Granny that was possessing Okarun said that stole his genitals and dares Momo to get them back, giving the main thread of plot of the series.

After reading the first chapter I Thought "well that was crap, shame it's really well draw" I think i cut down a huge chunk of the stupid of it all in that resume, it's really bad, here it have another run of the mill shounen with more thoughtless ecchi elements to appeal to creeps, why would I lose my time on this ?? so I back out of it, well not really something compelled me to go back and read the rest, maybe it was the art !! well I do that. Second chapter follow the aftermath of happen, Okarun still possessed by the Turbo granny, Momo discovers that she can use her powers to contain the possession briefly, and it's kind of debt of help him out of the possession, returning to her home, both of them are attack by another alien that transport them to some pocket dimension, Okarun manages to control the powers of the turbo granny, even if briefly, so the both of them work together to defeat the alien. Well that was much better, and no ecchi shit !!! that's a big improvement !!

Fortunately the Manga continues this trough line, ending it's first arc with the defeat of the turbo granny, not really tho, she get stuck possessing a small cat doll for the rest of manga, and the return of Okarun genitals, not really tho, his mast is back back his balls still missing, as he puts it, and that continues the series as Okarun and Momo search for his balls, turned into golden magic balls, that contain the rest of the Turbo Granny powers. Other of the main Characters are introduce as well, such as Saeko, Momo Grandmother, Aira a smug and self important popular girl that quickly creates an aversion to Ayase and gets powers just like Okarun, Jiji (Enjoji actually, I forget that is his actual name) Momo childhood friend and the shrimp Mantis, an alien (That all you need to know)

But those the cringe elements from the first chapter get back, well yes, certainly there are some more cringy moments that come off more endearing then the first chapter, the third arc, has Momo Aira and Okarun fighting in a pocket dimension in their school while the place is slowly being submerge in water, Okarun end up naked for one reason and another and both of the girls are in underwear by the end of it, all that is not a sleaze as it sound, Tatsu manages to do all that without being all showy about it, or I'm to forgive because I like this comic at this point, no, it those all that and it's not an embarrassing ecchi cringe fest ! There is a running visual gag were Aira continue to block the view of her panties while she fights, that come off from Tatsu previous work, an oneshot where we have a giant girl fighting some kaiju while trying not to show her panties, is that joke stretch into 50 pages or something, he does a panties shot at some point In Dandadan and is rather hilarious.

Most of the comic centers around the dorky romance between Okarun and Momo, developing from silly encounter to silly encounter to Jealously of each other for literally anything, to genuine caring for each other, Okarun would jump in front of a bullet for Ayase as just she would for him, it is something that made scream "just kiss already" multiple times while reading this.

Of course I should point out Tatsu Yukinobu talent here, he is indeed an amazing artist clearly one the most visually interesting out there, not only does he have this clean art style, but he does manage to create incredible actions sequences, something that not a lot of mangakas out there can do it. And not to mention the certain bizarre horror imagery that he can create, most of it steam from references from pop culture with a Junji Ito flait to it, I mean if you gonna do horror then why not just use the most recognizable guy in business, and Tatsu does really emulate him well, creating the same uncanny imagery that Ito does.

I would say that one of it's major weakness is a lack of general direction to where the story is going, at the point that its is now we have that, but most of this comic is going from one situation to another without any major build up to anything, there is one at some point but barely comes ever again and I do wonder if Tatsu even remembers about it !!

There is an anime adaptation coming this October, I'm sure it be the same success that Dungeon Meshi was this year, I mean have you seen the type of stuff that is put out these days, it's a endless stream of boring isekai and pathetic harem anime target to incels, so it's no wonder when stuff like Chainsaw Man and Dungeon Meshi surge, it makes a bunch of success !! Dandadan I'm sure will be the same, I do wonder what the reaction of the first episode is gonna be like.