#it’s been an awesome season but it feels so different without tech

[timethehobo]

Last episode is tmr but I’m still thinking of them. 😭

[imagionationstation]

People. Just… No.

If one more person tries to convince me that the RISE world is perfect and one of the 2012brothers would feel more at home in the care of the RISE family-

I don’t think ya’ll understand how family dynamics work.

Or the characters themselves.

You’re seriously going to sit here and tell me Mikey would happily leave to seek a different kind of love from a set of brothers that he is unfamiliar with? Mikey? The heart of the family would abandon the brothers that have and will risk their lives for him without a second of hesitation? Mikey?? The only one who’s able to keep their grumbling group in high spirits and is empathetically connected to each of their emotions- would assume they don’t want him and leave? Mikey???

Really????

Leo and Raph would not be happier in a world where they aren’t obviously and explicitly needed. They would not be able to relax with the knowledge that their younger/elder siblings are an entire dimension away. These two protecters need something to live for, and that’s their brothers.

Mama hen Leo would not be happy without her ducklings- whether they are ‘perfect’ younger siblings or not (I hate to break it to you, but the amount of times 2018Raph’s younger siblings ignore his command or advice is extensive). The fact that his brothers don’t learn is exactly why he needs to be around to teach.

Lone Wolf Raph might think that he could live without them, but- plot twist- he can’t! He knows he’s the only reason that Leo hasn’t self-sacrificed himself into oblivion, and that he’s Donnie’s brick wall when though insecurities try to break though, and he’s basically one reason why their insane, impulsive youngest brother hasn’t gotten himself killed yet.

They’d appreciate the pressure off their shoulders, but they wouldn’t be truly happy.

Donnie is the brother that I have seen the least fanfics like this for, but the fact still stands for him. He would also appreciate the weight off his shoulders, but he’d also have an entire new reality to adapt to. Everything about this world is the opposite to what he knows, and a lot about this family is different than his own. That’s a lot for this socially awkward boy to adapt to, awesome tech or not.

All family dynamics are different. All friendships are different. All relationships are different.

You can’t take someone and chuck them into a different family, one without the same taunts and jibes and love languages and inner jokes and silent understanding from shared experiences and memories and attachments-

And just. Expect them to move on.

You can definitely add to a family. Your family can change to better itself (basically what these brothers have been doing for five seasons) and there will always be aspect that you don’t appreciate about how you and your family interacts.

Because no singular family is perfect.

There can be no TMNT without the leader, the protector, the genius, and the heart. Each iteration is not going to be perfect.

So would you please stop telling me that one of the 2012brothers would be better off if their family was broken apart?

[clonehub]

It's just like idk after a year of some of the most racist people screaming about how good tbb actually is and how we just don't get it or even the non racist ones still saying tbb was doing all this work and we just just couldn't see it, only for the main complaint on both sides of the aisle to be "they're one dimensional and uncompelling" (phrased in various different ways of course). But whether it's a thread by a fan detailing why tbb needs to develop or a snarky post by a hater saying "these bitches flat as hell", these reactions are reminding me that even besides the racism, there's fundamental writing issues with the series that were baked into season 2 because it was already in production when s1 was airing.

And the writers are SO hesitant to do anything worthwhile with the bad batch themselves. You have a group of experimental clones. That's an awesome premise. Yeah they can look different without looking white. That's an awesome pote trial conflict if a clone who doesn't look like a clone realizes that there's certain privileges in the civvie world he gets for not having that face. They have special skills. That's great because a clone who potentially sucks at something crucial (tech w physical combat) can actually be a disadvantage to his brothers.

But did they do that? Did they write outside the mold? No. These guys don't have real flaws, even, besides occasionally being jerks to one another or to someone else.

You know what would have been a really compelling plot? What if wrecker was the one to break from the group and take omega with him. What if he was underestimated by his own team (good source of conflict) and his kind heartedness and empathy makes him want to take off with omega. What if hunters weird conflict avoidance and general lack of concern with the Republic or empire makes him stay, and tech follows because of """logic""" like not knowing how to take care of himself without the government, and crosshair stays for the same reason. What if it's wrecker and omega trying to survive but forming a real bond and doing their best to hide from the rest of the batch that's hunting them down. What if one by one the rest of the bad batch joins them, hunter first and then tech. And then we can still have crosshair be the fascist shit he wants to be so so so bad.

Like the bad batch that i have in my head on a scrap of mental paper is ten times more compelling than the bad batch that we have in canon. No risks were taken. It's so middle of the road. So bland. It's like an extreme version of avoiding the children's rhyme "step on a crack break your mother's back" like i can't begin to describe how avoidant it all feels, even with efforts to spice things up like having tech actually get angry for once and take out his problems on wrecker....which still ended up being problematic anyways.

But my own version would require wrecker to be written outside of the racial stereotype that he was for 75% of season 1. "Hes empathetic 🥺" and he still lacks depth. They all lack depth. They're foul for having made the fashy one the most compelling of the whole team like--

[purplerose244]

My thoughts on Seabound!!! 🌊🌊🌊 (1/4)

SPOILERS ALERT!!!

Finally Nya's season! Our queen, our water goddess, our amazing girl gets what she deserves! 😍😍😍

What I know about the season beforehand is that Nya's powers apparently are getting problematic for some reasons? Which is a pretty common topic in other shows but it's a first in Ninjago, usually the elemental powers don't have focus and I LOVE that we now get to see stuff like that 💕💕💕

I know there should be Wojira involved, trusting The Island to deliver that little foreshadowing at the end of the episode 🤷‍♀️ Also Maya is back... MAYA IS FINALLY BACK AFTER SEVEN SEASONS YES!!! 😭😭😭

I have nothing else to say, I have no idea what this will bring, hopefully something as good as Master of the Mountain! 🖤

Alright, here we go!

GENERAL THOUGHTS

Warning reader, I might be fangirling to an extreme because I love mah girl Nya and I've been wanting Kai and Nya's parents to be back ever since Hands of Time ended. So yeah... screaming alert 😅

At this point I don't doubt that the intro is great, we reached such a level of animation and we got The Fold 😍😍 Love the marine vibe and how it's similar to The Island, because it's a great intro 👌

NOW I like the writing! Maybe they rushed the dialogue's quality for The Island to get here? It's just fun and in character, maybe it's just me but I'm enjoying it a lot for now

How many episodes are in this? Wiki says ten, then I checked again and it's sixteen like with Master of Mountain... eh, it looks good so far so it's fine whatever happens 🤷‍♀️

A BIG SPLASH

Oohhh, new villain! One that uses... flames... huh, does she know there's literally a master of fire in the ninja team? Eh whatever she looks cute, give it up for Miss Demeanor!! 👏👏

Wait... OMG IS THAT ERIN MATTHEWS??? WE GOT MACY!! ❤❤❤

Whoa, we're finding out where did the order of the vengestone from season 13 come from?? YAS! CONTINUITY!

Yep, there it is, Nya lost control... her attacks look so cool 😍

Lol that kid trying to be a nindroid and Zane being offended 😂😂 Sorry hun, you're that popular

Aaahhh, thank you Ninjago! You gave me back Nya the perfectionist 😂 I was worried her reaction to her powers wasn't going to be in character but it looks fair so far. Brings me back to Possession, my favorite season ��💙💙

WE GOT BACK THE FACT THAT SHE CAN MAKE IT RAIN!!! YAS!!! I might be easy to please but I love these details 🤩

🤯🤯🤯 Okay they are definitely going somewhere this time and I LOVE IT, because wow. WOW. Are we actually addressing the forever questioned fact that wind and water weren't elements that Chen needed at the Tournament? Are we giving a reason for them to exist outside the main set of elements and the elemental masters?? Duuuude, season 15 don't let me stop you, keep going 😍

Mm, so water and wind are connected to Wojira (now I see the connection with the special). Are we setting the ground for a new master of wind? 😏😏 It's risky going for a Morro replacement but it's a super intriguing idea! Oooor Edgy Boy TM might come back? WHO KNOWS I'M CURIOUS ANYWAY 🤩

Love how it is universal knowledge that Nya is super indipendent 👌

YES YES FINALLY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MAYA!!! 😍😍😍 Is it too much hoping into a Ray cameo as well?? Pleaaaase? Also addressing Krux after so many seasons, this feels exciting!! 😊

This is what I'm talking about, training, fighting scenes, show me everything that water goddess can do! 🌊🌊🌊

Aaahhh, Nya flexing her mightiness through anger, just to remind us that she is the descendant of a water master as much as of a fire master 😅

YES YES YES YES IT'S HAPPENING FINALLY AFTER SEVEN SEASON THE FIRE WATER PARENTS ARE FINALLY BACK!!! 🔥🌊🔥🌊🔥🌊 I'M SO HAPPY I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG!!! 😭

RAY IS THERE TOO HECK YES!!!! 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 I shouldn't get this excited at only the first episode... WHO CARES RAY IS BAAAAACK!!! ❤❤❤

Omg Maya is definitely different from what I expected, turns out Kai's enthusiasm came from her 😂

Oh look at my flame babe 😍

He's so happy his parents are here, he's a total family man ❤❤❤

Nya is maaaaad... 😅

THERE SHE IS

WELCOME BACK JILLIAN I MISSED YOU 💚💚💚 Would it be too much having a "Your voice sounds familiar" moment with Maya and Lloyd? 😂

I'm so stoked for this! I want all the interactions I've missed for all of this time, asap!! HECK yes!! 😍😍😍😍

Oh, are we looking over the Miss Demeanor, vengestone situation? Mm... for now at least... WHO CARES FIRE WATER PARENTS!! 🔥🌊🔥🌊🔥🌊

THE CALL OF THE DEEP

Imma just slow clap for The Fold because this is another amazing intro, one of those things in this show that stays awesome no matter what happens 👍👍

So Maya gave Nya her discipline and perfectionism, but not the passion behind it 😂 I like this, it's not your conventional master of water, although I'd say it's different from the impression she gave me back in HoT. Maybe this is how she is when she's not trapped for fifty years? 😅😅

Is it too much asking for Kai and Ray bonding while the water women get the work done? 😅😅

Is this the sequel of Green Eggs and Ham?

Green Pancakes and Ham? 😂

Oh it's seaweed nevermind... at breakfast? I'm all for sushi rolls but this is a little 😅 Although since Maya missed their childhood she probably never cooked meals for them... how did I get myself sad 😢

Whoa, Maya is a strict teacher! I got flashbacks from my first and only dance lesson, teachers nitpicking every single pose, uuurrrggg I feel ya waterlily 😡

Again, not a fan of Misako, but coming from her the whole speech about wanting to be there for her child makes a lot of sense

Yes. YES.

YEEEEESSSS KAI AND RAY FAMILY BONDING THIS IS EVERYTHING I'VE EVER WANTED I'M GETTING ALL OF MY WISHES GRANTED FOR THIS ONE ❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥❤

AND MY FLAME BABE IS SO GLAD HE GOT HIS PARENTS!!! 😭😭😭

Lol with Kai's new hair they look even more related 🤣

Ray also sounds so happy he gets to have his moment with his son 😢 I feel so blessed in this moment 👍

Also this scene makes a lot of sense. Nya grew up to be indipendent, one that succeed in most of stuff without problems, she built her life without any help and doesn't look for it. Kai grew up more insecure, he got some walls up but loves to take care of others and be taken care of. With a childhood lost he looks forward to a bit of softness ❤❤

Did Maya make real bacon for that sandwich? Do I smell some favoritism? 😅 Or maybe she really wants Nya to get onto the water mind setting idk 🤷‍♀️

Little tiny complain, why isn't Jay doing the fixing? Did he give up mechanics completely? It feels like we haven't seen him do tech stuff in so long, I miss techy boy in action 😞

And no, having to check on the bathroom doesn't count 😅

Aww robot date 💜🤍💜🤍

AAAHH ROBOT DISASTER 😱😱😱 ZANE DANG IT YOU WERE DOING SO GOOD NOT TRYING TO DIE IN THE LAST TWO SEASONS!!

Oh that was weird, weird magic purple wave thingie?

I DID NOT ASK FOR A SEASON WITH A BEST GIRL AT THE EXPENCE OF ANOTHER BEST GIRL PIX DON'T YOU DARE DO THIS TO ME 😱😱😱😱😱

"Well this is troubling." I love this samurai so freaking much 💜💜💜

GUYS THIS IS ONLY THE SECOND EPISODE, I'M A LITTLE SCARED NOW 😢

Okay Nya admitting that something's wrong looking so apologetic, girl you don't need to do that you already own my heart 😭

Alright, I'm guessing this is Wojira's power or something, and they will have to go down below and find out why... just throwing this in, maybe Maya did something? Because she wanted to finally be with her family and needed an excuse? JUST A THEORY WITH NO BASE I REALLY HOPE I'M WRONG!!!

Okay, two episodes and I'm BEYOND engaged, let's keep it up! 😍

UNSINKABLE

Getting an idea how this episode might end already 😂😂

Look, I love best girl Pixal, but I'm kinda sad that she seems to be the only one tinkering at this point. Like, I saw Nya fix little stuff, while Jay dropped engineering altogether, I miss my engineers team 😭

Aww, the guys didn't want to crush Pixal's dream of an unsinkable boat 💜 But honestly yeah, I agree with Cole, this might end badly 😅😅

Thank goodness

I was worried they forgot about Jaya ❤💙❤💙 Jay is such a cutie omg

Nya: Mm, going on a potentially dangerous mission with unstable powers in the heart of my element or... mom's tofu pancakes... *yeets herself over the ship*

I'm making too many screenshots of the Smith family... WHO CARES THEY ARE BACK AND THEY ALL LOOK SO GOOD!!! 😍😍😍😍

Aww Ray wants to play with his son and his friends so CUTE ❤❤❤ Still can't believe they play Prime Empire after everything that went down 😂😂

Whoa whoa whoa, Kai and Cole are sitting this one out? That's actually interesting, I'm pretty sure I saw Cole's scuba suit in the sets though so I didn't expect it... lol it's actually kinda fair that the two that used to be afraid of water aren't going 😂😂

Bet Kai is happy to stay behind because he gets to spend time with his dad 😭

Also studying the fire elementals?? Uhm, yes please?? TELL ME EVERYTHING ABOUT MY FLAME BABE!!! 😍😍😍😍

I'm sure this one scene...

... made so many lavashippers happy ❤🖤❤🖤 Cole you got Ray's blessing

Ninja team acting cool while Jay is being Jay, it's how it always goes, it's the entire show's description and I absolutely love it 😂 That wink though 💙

PIRATE ZANE IS BACK 😂😂😂 Haven't seen him since Possession, and this time he's not even malfunctioning 👌 Pixal is so done with his dorky boyfriend 😝

Of course Jay already has a ghost butler theory going on 😂

OF COURSE IT'S MAYA 😂😂

To be honest muffins would sold me too 😅 Not sure if she will make them out of tofu again though...

It's actually really interesting that we still haven't met the actual enemies, it does build up excitment! Very curious about these squid guys 👍

Well what do you know, the Unsinkable sank. Who would have thought?

... yeah same, sorry Pix 😅

FIVE THOUSANDS FATHOMS DOWN

Aaaahhh, Nya fixing stuff! That's more like it!! 😍😍

Oww, that one speech, I've been waiting for so long for that! Maya just wants to catch up with her daughter and it's not her fault she was separated from her children, but Nya did everything on her own with Kai. Only fair she isn't seeking for her help right now... still sad 😢

Pff, with this ninja team there's not a moment of privacy 😂😂

Maya cleaning his future son-in-law's laundry what the HECK 😂😂😂 To be fair Jay has a bit of a history of having to change underwears during sea travels 😝

Zane was attached to a battery? When?... are you talking about that one scene in Prime Empire? Cause that's not really a flashback I wanna ha- whoops never mind got the flashback 😱

Maya looks more calm now, I think she's trying to act more reasonable and she's got good points 👍 I know people were a little weirded out by how more cheerful she looks in comparison to Hands of Time, but I think she gets the most serious and rational when time needs. That's actually fascinating of her 🤔

CALLING OUT AN ATTEMPTED MURDER

THIS GIRL IS TOO GORGEOUS MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT 🤩🤩🤩 Like my gosh that smirk, what the heck Pix 💜💜💜

Okay but Jay looking at Nya until the doors are completely closed?? CAN YOU FEEL MY JAYA HEART BEATING?? ❤💙❤💙

Whoa green gas I thought this was Nya's season 😂

MAYA WHY ARE YOU SAYING THIS STUFF YOU'RE SCARING ME 😱😱😱 I SWEAR LEGO IF YOU BROUGHT BACK WATER MOM JUST TO KILL HER OFF I'M GONNA SUE YOU 😭😭😭

I really REALLY like the atmosphere of the entrante of the temple! Super sealike and ancient! 🌊🌊🌊

Maya: off we go, into the spooky old temple! (Why does it feel like something Kai would say? 😂)

Oh gee, someone sleeping in the deep, who could that be? Coff Wojira coff

Whoa the jellyfishes look pretty lifelike!

HERE HE COMES

WELCOME BACK GILES!!! ONCE AGAIN ON A LEGO SHOW I MISSED YOU SO MUCH YOU AND YOUR GODLIKE VOICE!!! 😍😍😍😍 Gosh he's a villain but he's got Clay's voice, how can I even try to hate him?? 😅

Alright, knocking down my water girls, that is pretty hateful material... BUT CLAAAYYY 💙💙💙

So they need the two amulets to wake up Wojira? Isn't one on the island? Fire dad and son coming to the rescue? WHO KNOWS BUT I'M ENJOYING THIS A LOT SO FAR KEEP GOING SEABOUND 😍😍😍

[smokeybrandreviews]

We Have The Power

I opted to boot up Netflix after a week or so, with every intent to check out that new Mary Elizabeth Winstead vehicle, Kate. As i scrolled through the many, many, new titles i completely missed because i was too smitten with HBO max to care, i came across the new He-Man reboot. Not the Kevin smith one but the CG one made for kids. Now, way back when this trailer dropped, i was on board. I thought it looked like a decent reinterpretation of the He-Man mythos. Most people were on the other side of that argument. They said it doesn’t look like He-Man and that it should have just been it’s own IP and whatever else. Seeing as how the entire first season is available to watch and how much i actually liked that trailer, i figured Kate can wait another few days and i should check out what nuAdam and Pals are up to instead.

The very first thing i noticed was how f*cking gorgeous this show is. Seriously, this is top tier computer animation on par with the likes of Pixar or Insomniac Games. I was astonished by how fluid, how well articulated everything turned out to be. I mean, i kind of had a feeling the show was going to be top tier in the visuals just from the few minutes we had with the trailer but, in motion, i n full length episodic form? It’s staggeringly wonderful. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is one of the most aesthetically pleasing titles Netflix has ever made. Now, the animation would be nothing without the overall designs and i have to say, i kind of dig those, too.

The updated character designs are a welcome change from whatever the f*ck was crapped out in the Eighties. One of the reasons i never got into He-Man or Thundercats was strictly because i hated the look of it. When i got older and was able to look past that superficiality, i realized that the two shows were just general dog sh*t. Lots of potential, none of it fulfilled. Thundercats got a mulligan in 2011 with their short lived reboot but He-Man’s turn of turn-of-the-millennium reboot fell short in that department. I can honesty say that, after f*cking twenty years, i finally got that updated aesthetic He-Man deserved way back in 2002. Like the Thundercats reboot, this new He-Man homages what came before while putting a unique spin on old characters. He-man 2002 made an admirable attempt but He-Man 2021 said f*ck it, and just ran away with their own vision. I respect the f*ck out of that.

The very best thing about this show, however, is the writing. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe 2021 is easily the better written of the two Netflix He-Man entries this year and is on par with the 2002 narrative. I absolutely love how well the characters are written. They feel natural, like real people, like friends who have been together for years. It can be a bit tropey at times, sure, but this thing is for older kids. Nine years olds don’t necessarily need the most developed of characters but this show doesn’t skimp on that at all. It feels like watching Avatar: The Last Airbender for the first time again. I was that surprised by how well these characters popped. And, just like Aang and crew, the world around them is something f*cking spectacular!

This version of Eternia or rather, Eternos, is definitely one that i dig. I love how magic is based on tech and is absolutely frowned upon by those of the lower classes. I love how Eternia has many different races, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. I adore how the world feels like more than just as worldly desolate wasteland all the f*cking time and there are entire metropolises teeming with life. The use of color really accentuates scenes and the overall lore of this world is intriguing. I mean, He-Man has always carried a certain commendable canon but it was always so convoluted. It’s nice to have an actual plot and pretty robust history to back all of the shiny new awesome.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe 2021 is a great f*cking watch, man. It's definitely not the He-Man you want and i can see why that might upset old heads like me who, for some reason, love that corny ass original, but it’s still some of the best He-Content out there. Aside from the fact that this thing is very much directed at a completely different audience, not born in the f*ck Seventies or Eighties, but The New Adventures of He-Man exists. F*cking ponytail He-Man is a thing that is real in real life and you want to give this show sh*t for daring to be different? Really? This show is amazing. The show you want already exists. It came out in 2002. Let this show be it’s own thing. Stop harping on it not being what you remember from your childhood and just let this new-new wash over you. It’s gorgeous, fun, very well written, expertly performed, and a general brilliant time. If you can take of your nostalgia goggles, that is.

[chuckaf]

Chuck Fic Rec List: Updated

So my fic rec post was in my notifs again the other day, and I noticed a while back that the formatting on the post has gotten all messed up and it’s also had like three reblog additions to it anyway meaning there are three versions out there lol. so, I wanted to do another list of chuck fic recs! I’ll keep the other one up still, so I’m not gonna repeat every fic here, just some I really recommend. I’m also adding the fic summaries, which I didn’t on the old post, and some more of my own opinions so, buckle up for a long post!

Chuck Versus the Steampunk Chronicles | Steampunk.Chuckster

1896. A world powered by steam, where humans and machines coexist, and airships are the fashionable mode of transport. The US Empire's deepest and darkest secrets arrive at Chuck Bartowski's doorstep. Have they fallen into the wrong hands? Or will the inventor prove his mettle, even while he's forced to hide from the very people he's protecting? AU, ongoing chronicle, Charah.

A genuinely incredible AU story, with an entire crafted world and universe, so detailed it frequently blows my mind. There is heart and family and infuriatingly brilliant slow-burn, plus a buttload of danger and super fun historical/steampunk action. Oh how I LOVE it.

Chuck vs the Charade | somedeepmystery

When computer nerd Chuck Bartowski returns home to an empty apartment and a dead girlfriend he finds himself embroiled in a deadly game of espionage and deceit. Everyone around him is playing a part to get what they want and when he starts falling for the new woman in his life, he can't help but wonder if he can trust her or if she's the one he should fear the most.

An action and twist-filled AU based on the movie Charade, which is just such a brilliant fic concept I absolutely adored it from the start.

Two Sides of the Same Coin | dettiot

When you're a spy, there's all kinds of occupational hazards when you work with another spy. For Sarah Walker, though, one mission becomes a life-changing experience. Because working with Charles Carmichael leads to protecting Chuck Bartowski.

The first time I read this fic my mind was just blown to its genius. Such a brilliant interpretation of what the Intersect and its concepts set up in the show could be, and ooooof the Chuck/Sarah interactions, my HEART. Related to it, its companion piece:

A Flip of the Coin | dettiot

What made Charles Carmichael agree to become Chuck Bartowski? Well, to start, it wasn't as much of a change as you'd think. A companion to the early chapters of Two Sides of the Same Coin from Carmichael's perspective.

Chuck vs The Butterfly Effect | n7agentbartowski

Chuck Bartowski is a normal guy who just hit rock bottom. No girlfriend, no career and no super computer stuck inside his head. It isn't until Chuck meets a gorgeous stranger on the beach that he begins to think his life is about to change for the better. An AU Chuck fic without the Intersect. "Change one thing and it changes everything."

I said it on the OG post, but this story has one of my top 5 Chuck/Sarah fic meetings. So funny, so... very Chuck. The story is a little angsty overall, but a great read.

Chuck vs the Rogue Spy | Crumby

When a rogue spy from Chuck Bartowski's past shows up to help him during his first solo mission, Chuck hopes that he'll finally find out what happened to Sarah Walker. Post-S2 AU.

There’s a lot of Season 3 fix-it fics out there, which I don’t usually read bc I actually love season 3 lol, but this one’s a good one! A twisty deviation from canon, but still feels really true to character.

Chuck Versus the Nerds Rewrite | Steampunk.Chuckster and David Carner

What happens when two nerds talk endless hours about their favorite TV show? A new take on the show you know, but with the flair, twists, and turns you've come to expect from Steampunk . Chuckster and david . carner. Somewhat canon. Charah.

As the summary says, a different take on the show, which honestly makes a couple changes I would too, but also adds a bunch of fun twists and plots that make it totally new and fresh. Seeing Chuck and Sarah’s thoughts in the more canon sections is just delicious, too.

The Trapped Assassin | SarahsSupplyCloset

After a mission goes awry, the CIA's most lethal assassin is ordered to take vacation while her superiors figure out what to do with her. But when she meets a disarming tourist, their immediate connection only adds to her disillusionment with the agency and her career. Will he be enough for her to finally take the plunge and leave the only life she's ever known? Charah AU

A warning for the very justified M rating if you don’t like that sort of thing, but this is definitely a plot-heavy fic, too. A really neat Sarah-heavy AU, with a whole lotta Chuck/Sarah fancy French vacationy goodness.

Chuck vs the Second Chance | malamoo

AU from mid-season 2 and onwards. Chuck and Sarah part ways only to be reunited years later. COMPLETE.

Literal, crying-at-my-screen angst. Not even a super happy ending. But a brilliantly written, part-reflective/flashback fic, exploring what would’ve happened if Chuck and Sarah’s relationship really was an assignment all along-- and the aftermath. It’s heartbreaking. But if you want a little heartbreak, this is your fic.

Ready at Your Hand | dettiot

In the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, a Catholic plot against the queen comes to the attention of spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham. To protect Elizabeth, he develops an unusual plan: hide the passing of intelligence between two agents by a false romance. When Lady Sarah Walker and Chuck Carmichael meet, though, their pretend flirtation becomes much more.

I love Chuck fic for the very reason that it’s inspired such adventurous and totally unique AUs. Here’s some Elizabethan fake-dating Chuck and Sarah! They have to be so Proper, it’s like that hand moment from Pride and Prejudice but Elizabethan and times a billion. The pining!!

Sarah Versus Getting Married | Steampunk.Chuckster

Sarah Walker is getting married. Canon. Charah.

I’d recommend all of SC’s fics if I had the room, and I’m already recommending a ton sksks but most of my fic recs are AUs, and this one isn’t! It’s canon, and covers some of in the gap in 4x24, with Sarah just before the wedding itself. Super sweet, heart-tugging, brilliant.

A Chuckmas Carol | Mikki13

A new twist to Dickens' beloved "A Christmas Carol". When Sarah begins to shut out the world around her, three spirits come to show her the error of her ways. Season 3 AU.

Another Season 3 AU, this one written pre-series so it definitely doesn’t fit to canon, but it’s still wonderfully rich in character depth and angst and it also made me cry. Plus, festive!

Chuck Versus Thin Ice | Steampunk.Chuckster

On the doorstep of the Olympics, top American curler Sarah Walker has lost her mixed doubles partner and her boyfriend in one fell swoop. Her coaches throw newbie Team U.S.A. curler Chuck Bartowski onto her team and thrust them into the Olympics, hanging America's curling hopes on two people who only have a short amount of time to learn to trust one another. Charah AU.

Do you like curling? Or the Winter Olympics? It doesn’t really matter because somehow this fic made me extremely invested in both of those things, as well as Chuck and Sarah and them being INSUFFERABLE. Catch me now knowing a ton about curling thanks to this fic.

Walker’s Eleven | Moonlight Pilot

Not the same plot as the movie. Sarah Walker never got out of the con game or became a spy, and now she's on her final con. What happens when true love and betrayal get added to the mix? Twists, turns, and Jeffster!

Con!Sarah always interests me, and this fic is full of her. Lotta con plot, lotta Chuck and Sarah.

The Detective and the Tech Guy | thecharleses

Sarah Walker is a Pinkerton detective. Chuck Bartowski is an electronics genius. They wouldn't have met except for a case of mistaken identity and murder. Will the detective and the tech guy solve the mystery, distracted by the riddle in their own hearts? An homage to The Thin Man film series. Formerly co-written by Steampunk . Chuckster and dettiot, now ONLY Steampunk . Chuckster.

Everyone in this fic is so damn cool. There are so many martinis. But also great heart and family and like, standing up for who you love, and later also Chuck with Baby Clara content which frankly the show robbed us of. Also, PI!Sarah!!!

Gravity | Poetic4U

AU. Sarah makes a decision that altered her life forever.

This is just a one-shot, which many of these stories are not, so a good one if you don’t fancy a big read! Just because it’s short, though, doesn’t mean it’s lacking; a really awesome what-if AU, and heavy on the Chuck and Sarah.

A Yuletie Tale | Steampunk.Chuckster

Sarah Walker was dumped the day before Christmas Eve, and her Plus One at her work’s annual Christmas Eve Soiree is now officially a Plus Zero. Her best friend Ellie Bartowski has a solution to her problem, and Sarah finds she isn’t quite as sure about it as Ellie is. AU Christmas Charah.

I’m particularly in love with this fic because, instead of beginning with a meet-cute, it involves Chuck and Sarah already two years into a friendship-- Sarah is Ellie’s best friend. And she’s been crushing harrrd on Ellie’s brother. Also Chuck is in a tux. It’s pretty.

Set, Spike, Dive! | Frea O’Scanlin

Chuck never expected to even make it to the Olympics. Everything is working against him: he's too tall for a diver, too inexperienced for a medal, too much of a wildcard to really make his mark. But an unexpected meeting at the airport, some intriguing new friends, and a whirlwind romance on the sand just might set up London 2012 as the time of Chuck Bartowski's life.

A London 2012 AU, because why not. This is just a fun Olympic-y ride!

OTP (One True Pairing) Prompts | David Carner

A series of Prompts I found online about different times and places in Chuck and Sarah's life. Mostly AU, mostly one-shots. I assume mostly fluff, but I might get deep. I doubt it, it's me. Charah...ALWAYS (It says complete, but if an idea strikes me...)

If you’re not so into long stories, this fic is perfect. Individual set-ups and stories, all Chuck and Sarah, and all super cute. You could dip in and out and just pick a scenario you enjoy.

Chuck vs The Frontier | ninjaVanish

AU: Chuck was enjoying a simple life as a 19th century watchmaker until an encounter with a beautiful Secret Service agent thrust him into a world of intrigue and adventure he never wanted. But then, with Agent Walker around, it can't be all bad, can it?

This fic gets props for being historically-set but still including the Intersect. Again, a historical AU, so the pining!! the need to be Proper!!! But besides all that, there’s a lot of action fun as well.

Chuck Versus The Crosswalk: Remastered | WvonB

Will a last minute mission help our two favorite characters finally get together? This is the remastered version of my first story.

The original version of this fic is on my first list; this is the updated version! It’s not a complete AU, instead a story that diverges from canon, so if you’re more into canon characters and setting than a new AU scenario, this is a great fic for that.

Little Girls, Paper Wreaths, and Choc Chip Cookies | DanaPAH

Very AU: Sarah Walker is a single mother whose Christmas spirit needs a boost after a tough divorce. She isn't quite ready to go looking for romance, but her little daughter's affection for their new neighbor may lure it right to her doorstep, anyway.

An incredibly sweet AU one-shot where Chuck and Sarah are new neighbours, and Sarah has a super cute little girl. So much sweetness and love and hope. I love this fic so much it literally led me to write my own neighbour-kid-AU, so, not to toot my own horn but I’ll link it here anyway.

May Your Walls Know Joy | halfachance

Looking for a fresh start after some tough times, Sarah and her three-year-old daughter move to LA. When they meet a sweet curly-haired nerd who lives next door, though, Sarah realizes they might just find more happiness than they'd ever imagined, if only her past doesn't catch up to her first. AU.

It’s what the summary says; if you wanna read, feel free!

Chuck vs the Sound of Music | quistie64

AU. Chuck, nerd extraordinaire, is a man with seven children and Sarah must protect them all from Fulcrum's evil designs. Warning: there will be singing.

I mean. Not much mystery as to the concept with that title and summary lol, but this is a super fun, soft ride with a lotta sweetness, and yes, singing.

Just Two People | David Carner

Meet Sarah Walker PhD, Psychologist, specializing in personality traits. Meet Chuck Bartowski, man who has left THE electronic company of 2020. When Burton Consultants tries to figure out what is wrong with the morale of Orion Industries, what happens when a guy named Chuck meets a woman named Sarah. I'll give you a hint, it's me writing.

David’s done something pretty special with this fic. It’s Chuck and Sarah centric, but very much an ensemble piece, too, with a lot of Team Bartowski and other familiar faces throughout.

Chuck Versus the Con Game | Steampunk.Chuckster

AU. Chuck and Sarah are partners in the con game. It's an existence wrought with danger and violence. Every day could be their last. Every mission could be the end of the line.

This is where I freak out SC and declare this fic the reason I ever got hooked on Chuck fic and then wrote Chuck fic, and the reason I still love it today but. that is true lol. Just so. so good. It’s also written with the chapters out of chronological order, which is super fun from a reading perspective. But con!Sarah AND con!Chuck?? Best. The kind of fic you will be thinking about for days (if not, y’know, years).

As you can tell by the repeats, I highly recommend just about anything by Steampunk.Chuckster, dettiot, or David Carner, but there are a TON of amazing Chuck fics and authors out there. I’ve never known a writing community so wildly creative-- there are so many unique AUs and canon explorations and story concepts that this show has manifested, and it’s all so much fun.

Most of the Chuck fic community is still over on FFN rather than AO3, so if any of these whet your appetite, feel free to have a browse there for more stories. I’m sure you’ll find something great. Personally, all the incredible writing there has also led me to write a buttload; I’m at halfachance on FFN, so if you see any of my stuff or wanna chat fic, feel free to message me there or here.

Happy reading, folks!

[magical-girl-coral]

et any more than ten notes, but fuck it, here are the reasons why Entrapta should have been kidnapped instead of Catra :

Catra's redemption would have felt more well earned - if Catra was trying to find a way to help Glimmer and Entrapta, then her change would seem more legitimate. She already showed signs of guilt through her nightmares of what she did to Entrapta. Instead of falling to her old ways like in Prime's ship, she would most likely go through a complete 180 and almost kill herself while trying to prove her worth. Imagine Catra trying to befriend Emily and Imp so they could find a way to save Entrapta, putting aside her past grievances with them so they could signal Entrapta on Prime's ship. Maybe Imp was the one collecting robot bits, so they could give it to Entrapta once they find her. Maybe Emily showed one of Entrapta's old recordings before she was sent to Beast Island for the sake of filling the empty space she left. The possibilities are endless.

Making the princesses look more justified in their anger - The princesses' ableism was handled terribly. There is no way around this. Neurotypicals obviously wrote episode two, and it shows*. However, once you replace Entrapta with Catra, their anger, hostility, and Scorpia's timidness make way more sense. Mermista's rage especially makes the most sense since Saelinas was the kingdom was fell first thanks to Catra and Hordak. Instead of making all of our favorite characters, ableist assholes, this plotline makes them more human. The power of friendship can only run so far, after all, and every single princess is allowed to have a breaking point in trust. 

It would showcase Entrapta's real priorities - For most of the show, both fans and characters see Entrapta as someone who would never care about anything other than tech. Now, if that were true, then Entrapta would have no problem joining Prime's side. But that's not what would happen. Instead, Entrapta would unleash hell on Prime's ship without Prime even noticing. Sending signals to Etheria and new tech designs, helping Glimmer escape and sending her back to the Best Friends Squad, all while showing zero hesitation. Entrapta loves tech unconditionally until it starts to mess with her friends.

It could show ableism correctly through Prime with how he would treat Entrapta - This is my scenario of how Entrapta ends up on Prime's ship (please tell me if you have anything better): Prime, after looking into Hordak's memories, sees a young and brilliant scientist. Prime decided to show her his ship, trying to seduce Entrapta into improving his tech while convincing her that a 'defective, retarded, emotionless' Etherian like her could never truly be great, so she might as well give up now. He would touch without her consent and shame her for turning his "affection" away. Instead of falling to his manipulations, Entrapta realizes that he is afraid of her. She's biologically different then most Etherians, and Prime doesn't know how to control her. That gives her the final push of courage she needed to have to go behind Prime's back and rescue Glimmer. By making Prime ableist instead of the princesses, the show tells us how ableist is bad and disables people deserve more respect (I know that most of the show's fans are above fifteen, but with how the fandom has been acting, they deserve to be taught like children).

It would give a parallel 'be careful what you wish for' between Entrapta and Catra - At the start of the series, all Entrapta wanted was to see more advanced tech, and all Catra wanted was to see Etheria conquered. They both got exactly what they wanted, and their lives couldn't be worse. 

A chipped Entrapta breaking free from the hive mind because of her autism would be awesome - That's it. That's the pro. I'm incredibly desperate for more good autism rep, and this would be amazing.

Catra and Adora bonding while in space would be excellent for both characters - As much as I love the angst from chipped Catra, it feels more like fanservice now. At the end of the day, it felt like Catra and Adora didn't bond enough to have a solid devolvement in their relationship. This could change if they went to space together with Bow. Instead of spending just half of the last season together, they spend the next eleven episodes bonding in the insanity of their situation. It would also allow more time for Catra to understand Adora's abuse under Shadow Weaver. By forcing those two into a close space in the middle of nowhere, they would have no choice but to confront the other about their issues. And speaking of much-needed bonding time.

Glimmer would get a chance to face Catra about Angella's death - If there is one thing I will never forgive season five for, is forgetting Angella's death.  It was Glimmer's main motivation to take more action against the Horde, it was what almost drove Micah to despair, and it was the final nail in the coffin for Adora, making her stop taking the blame for everything and take Catra's threat to the world more seriously. But then season five happened and they just... forgot about her? She was never mentioned again because if she were mentioned, Catra would look bad, and Glimmer would have a reason to hate her. But if Glimmer were to meet Catra again outside of Prime's ship, with all the trauma she went through there, she would definitely take out on Catra (kind of like how Katara took out her anger on Zuko after he joined the gang).

Hordak would join the Best Friend Squad early after they save Entrapta and would get more devolvement as a result- If you think for one second that Hordak won't abandon Prime after what he did to Entrapta, then you haven't been watching the same show. I don't know how he joins the BFS. Maybe Catra tried to find him to fix her mistakes**, maybe he finds them by accident and remembers some of the past events as a result, or maybe he was one of the clones that witnessed chipped Entrapta and got a wake-up call. Either way, he wouldn't sit back and watch Prime continue to ruin his only friend's life. This would give him more screen time to show his backstory more clearly, give more sympathy for the clones along with a better redemption arc. And finally, the most crucial point.

Catra's growth would be more consensual - Most of Catra's maturity seemed to be out of her control. She helped Glimmer because she felt like no one wants her anymore. She had her hair cut because Prime wanted her to look more tamed. She was buddy-buddy with Glimmer and Bow because the plot says so. Nothing that happened this season seemed to be with Catra's consent, which made me feel extremely uncomfortable. Instead of watching Catra go through glorified torture porn, imagine her changing from her own free will. She cuts her because her hair reminds her of how Shadow Weaver's hair looked wild when she was angry. She changes clothes because she didn't want to wear her crown anymore. She goes to space with Bow and Adora because she wants to do good with her life, and is tired of being the mean old bully she was never meant to be. Doesn't this seem more satisfying?

*here, here, here, here and here are some metas about why Entrapta’s treatment was written terribly. I’m too tired to explain myself, and these posts tell the show’s problems better then I could

** I really like the idea of Catra finding the Luvd crystal and returning it to Hordak as a way apologize for how she has separated them. It would also be a cool parallel to all the times she took the crystal out of Hordak’s suit.

Edit: holy shit, there were so many typos here. Why didn’t any of you guys tell me?

Double edit: soooooo... I may or may have not written a fic...that you can read here...please support me, my brain is begging for more serotonin.

[sairenharia]

Kai With And Without Memory

So here is my rant about Kai and his character and the differences Memory Makes.

Hollow Season 2 spoilers

The beauty of amnesia plots, especially when it’s not ‘sudden villain has no memories and is a good person’ variety is it shows off just how different a person is due to their circumstances. The Hollow does this well because there are definitely differences between season one and season two for Kai, Adam, and Mira. (And the other team, but they were being complete asshole gamers the first season.) The differences weren’t very overt, but that makes sense.

Because when someone loses their memory, they’re not going to ‘know’ things they didn’t before. Kai never heard the ‘in the same boat’ phrase before, so of course amnesia Kai wouldn’t know it. This also applies to personality. If there was never the potential for that personality, it wouldn’t suddenly spring from nowhere. Primary things are going to be primary. Mira wants to make friends with wildlife and mediates fights even when she doesn’t want to. Adam is take charge and has a temper.

And Kai is insecure and wants to be useful.

Kai between season one and season two seesaws between these two traits, with one being stronger than the other depending on the circumstances.

At the very start, Kai is insecure in season one. He is scared, and more than that, he doesn’t know how to help. He tries. When they’re trying to get out of the bunker, he’s looking for ways to pull out bricks, ready to slam the type writer into the wall. None of his ideas work through, and thus begins The Whining.

Here’s the thing about most of Kai’s whining. It’s very much owning up to his own weaknesses. He’s scared, he doesn’t know what to do, he doesn’t have powers. This seems to be a defense mechanism of sorts. If HE’S saying what’s wrong with himself, then he doesn’t have to hear it from anyone else. He doesn’t have to hear how people think he’s useless if he just SAYS it.

When Adam is trying to free Mira in Toros’ lair, Kai doesn’t help. He doesn’t even try to help, even if he comes back after being called. When he thinks Toros is caught up, he just wants things over. He gives up quickly. Even with the WItch, he is hesitating with the bone, he’s scared.

But Adam saved him and he has to help. More than that, this moment came AFTER Kai was Right about something. (I also have thoughts about the Witch thing, but later.)

He was right about three witches too. And he starts to get a little more bold. He demands to see the map, to try and help, and he’s right. The more times Kai is RIGHT, the less he whines. The less he runs from the others.

Then Kai finds out he can fix a ship. As soon as Kai figures out he can fix things, he is fixing ALL THE THINGS. Everytime he sees something broken, he offers to fix it, he’s sure he can. Ships, lighthouses, carts, spiders. He is confident, he’s assured.

But he also knows he can’t help in a fight. He can’t really save them in a pinch. He can fix things, but you can only fix things so fast, and he whines about powers. He doesn’t have powers, he can’t fight, he’s saying it so NO ONE ELSE CAN.

Then we get to the fire. And Kai was ready to abandon Benjamini because what can he do? He’s not a superhero, he can’t do anything to help him, and he doesn’t want to die. He’s ready to run like a coward like he did at the beginning. He even owns up to being willing to leave him behind...but he also doesn’t add how he doesn’t when he realizes what he can do. It’s not just he clears a path for him and Benjamini. He picks him up and carries him out of the fire.

Because Kai has figured out he’s useful, he can do something, so he does it. And Kai doesn’t stop. From then on, Kai is ready to fix things, he’s ready to fight, he’s ready to defend, and most of the time, he’s on top of doing those things. The reminders to start are rare, getting some advice mid-battle a little less rare, but the fact is, Kai is Very Active.

The time it changes is when he’s around Vanessa’s team. Vanessa is talking him up, but Reeve isn’t, and Skeet is on the fence, but there is a constant tension in the team. Kai knows he was lied to, but he’s still going along with them because of the praise he’s getting. But he’s withdrawn. Kai may not be good at identifying being used, but he knew he wasn’t apart of the team. Without Vanessa’s reassurance, he would have probably realized something was wrong. And in the fight with the ice monster, he messes up. He forgets to use his powers, to fight against something he should be awesome against.

Not that Kai is completely beaten down. He still says he can beat Reeve, but it was after being confronted, after a lot of muttering to himself. Different how he was with Mira and Adam. When he had a problem with Adam, he pretty much said it to his face.

What it comes down to, Kai without memories is still insecure, but he wants to be useful, and when he is useful, he is going to EMBRACE IT without hesitation. He knows he’s got skills, he’s got abilities, and Mira and Adam need his help.

And then season two happens and the thing that seemed most distinct was how Often Kai needed to be given direction when he was with the others. He had to be reminded to use his fire a few times before he consistently did it. He completely forgot about his engineering genius for the most part. And the more people around, the more he seemed to shut down.

But how often did people shout out Kai’s name this season for him to do something? It happened. A lot. Kai had been so proactive in season one, but season two, he was more reactive. He knew things he had to do, but he seemed to always need that guidance.

Season one Kai would have been at those train controls in a second. Season one Kai poked around at things a lot. Season two Kai didn’t. He just let people lead the way.

So about that witch. Here is the thing that’s interesting about the witch. Mira it makes sense she approached. Mira was always up to saying hi first and dealing with fallout if it went awry. Adam, however, was distrusting of near everyone without some evidence they might help, or being so goofy it was hard to distrust. Yet he was willing to trust this weird woman in a cave, while Kai was not.

Mira and Adam were willing to trust a motherly figure. Kai was not until hunger won out. Even then, he wasn’t trusting her, just accepting food. I don’t know if the writers knew Kai’s home life for season one, but if they didn’t, it’s a pretty big coincidence the person Kai gets most paranoid about is the picture perfect housewife.

Kai has a bad family life. He has parents who fight all the time. He had an ulcer as a toddler. He’s been asked to pick sides in fights at Thanksgiving. He has a full on PTSD flashback to an Easter Egg Hunt. We know Kai isn’t adverse to confrontation itself as a natural inclination, he argued plenty with Adam and he laid into Vanessa quite a bit. He was conditioned to shut down when intense arguing happens around him. Arguing that his parents tried to drag him into.

His need to fix takes a kind of sad turn. It makes me wonder if the secondary powers really aren’t selected and they come from some secret desire, like Mira wants to talk to animals, and Kai wanted to fix things.

Season one made it apparent that Kai was desperate for some kind of affection. Vanessa played him like a fiddle because she made Kai feel valuable and important. She responded to his emotions, she made him feel seen. It seemed like simple insecurity.

In season two, we learn it’s outright being affection starved. Kai wants people who he’s sure like him, who treat him normal. Miles might be his friend, but Miles is also not subtle he likes the tech. Whether or not he likes Kai as a person is questionable, but to Kai, it would be easy for him to assume it’s about his money. His parents aren’t home, and when they are, they’re fighting.

Kai has Davis, but the thing is, he asks Davis to be his friend in Hollow Life. This isn’t a thing Kai did in real life. Kai, desperate for people to care about him, never asked his butler to be his friend. It’s even questionable if Real Davis would have responded the same way, or that’s just the way Kai liked to think he would and that’s what the game copied.

But either way, it was the first time Kai did it in his life. He wasn’t so bold before.

Kai when he first wakes up is proactive. He goes out, trying to figure out what happened, observing and poking things. He meets up with Adam and Mira and he’s trying to help. Then the nightmares hit.

He can’t face Mabel for himself, but he could do it for Adam. He was able to save Adam. He was able to help them figure out to face their own fears. Mira and Adam are his FRIENDS now and they seem more befuddled by his riches then in awe, and Adam shares a deeply personal thing with Kai and forgive him for his actions in The Hollow about crushing on Mira.

He just fought his nightmare, and Adam and Mira are trusting him, being close to him.

Of course he thinks it’s a dream. Because Kai was a replacement on their team. He was selected for his skills at best.

When he figures out it isn’t a dream, he goes with Adam and is trying to figure out what happened because they’re all in this together. Of course, they can do this, it’s fine. But Adam is angry at Mira, he’s snapping at Kai. Mira had run off on her own, and that wasn’t the Mira Kai knew. The Mira Kai knew was the one who made sure Adam knew why she had to go get the medicine and didn’t want to leave him on the ice.

Kai starts regressing. He struggles to move the desk and almost gives up until Adam pushes and he helps. He forgets about his fire in the castle. Kai desperately tries to figure out the riddle.

He accuses Adam of only seeing him as a replacement because if HE says it, Adam can’t say it first. Adam says they still won, he wasn’t just a replacement, but it’s not the emotional thing Kai really needs.

He’s hesitant. He’s not helping as much. He’s always there when he’s called on, but he has to be called on a lot. Not always, but far more than the proactive Kai he had been.

He gets more withdrawn. Not as bad as the hostility with the other team in season one, but it’s noticeable. It’s why he forgets that when they were on the train, he should have been the one looking at the machienry. He shouldn’t have needed to be told because he always jumped on it in season one.

Which gets even more interesting because of how often Kai will do the sacrificial play.

He’s absolutely ready to fight Reeve and Skeet after he figures out the betrayal. In the ocean, he tells Mira to leave. Kai who had run away the first few confrontations was willing to possibly die in the ocean so Mira could get Adam to safety. He goes to be on his own with the spider king to try and earn their trust.

He runs distraction for Colrath (and there is one moment where it did look like he was pondering flying into the glitch wall to get the dragon, but that’s interpretation.)

And in season two, we see this more. The times where Kai is the boldest, the most proactive, is when he’s alone, or when it’s just him and one person. He actually beats Reeve in a fight. He finds the spell room and Kai? Kai has no personal stake in either Reeve or Vanessa. Neither one are his friend. Adam got shocked and gave up, albeit to look for another way. Kai didn’t.

Kai freed them both because it was the right thing to do. He even used a pickle fork to pick Vanessa’s lock. And he doesn’t even make a big deal out of it. They freed them, that was all that mattered.

He also tried to fight the snail on his own earlier to protect Adam and almost drowned in slime for it.

Then he’s alone with Vanessa. And he lets Vanessa know he’s still angry, he doesn’t trust her, and he’s still hurt. He’s right to, but it also shows Kai really isn’t afraid of fighting, just the tearing family apart level of fighting Reeve and Adam were reaching and how his parents were like that.

But Vanessa breaks down and confesses. To Kai. Vanessa shows she trust Kai on some level, and needed help, and he was the one she went to. Vanessa allowed Kai to try and help, to fix the situation. Something he wasn’t really getting with everyone else after the team dynamic fell apart after episode two.

And because of that, Kai was being a little more proactive. He scouted with Vanessa, he offered to help with the goat, he was getting bolder again. But there was still this air about him.

Kai doubts his place amongst his friends. Now that Reeve is back, he’s not as important to Mira and Adam anymore, and so he pulls back, and overcompensates. At the pyramid we see this. Adam is trying to get through, Reeve is disbelieving, so Kai helps Adam. Shows he’s there, he’s support.

He still matters.

Of course Kai matters to his friends, difference memories or no. Mira and Adam just needed to figure out their Reeve drama, but it was also a tentative friendship for Kai. A friendship he really valued. He almost died with these two over and over and it’s probably the closest relationship he’s ever had with another person, let alone two. And then he was dumped back into memories where he didn’t matter so much.

He was left alone.

He was used to try and win arguments.

He was wanted for his money.

He couldn’t even ask his butler to be his friend.

Someone who wanted to fix, but couldn’t.

More than likely, Kai was told to sit down and shut up, to stay out of the way. So that’s how he responds.

He wanted to believe he was as important to two best friends as they were to him, but it’s hard to put those two things together. Does he matter? Was he a replacement? Is he an asset, or in the way?

On some level, he knows he matters. The fact he thinks he could make the speech he did means he knows it on some level, but knowing it and believing it emotionally are different things.

All because what he remembered put into doubt just how capable he was without.

[junker-town]

Western Illinois, Year 40, 2046-2047

The final season of our sim dynasty with Western Illinois in College Hoops 2K8 is here.

Welcome back to our simulated dynasty with the Western Illinois Leathernecks in College Hoops 2K8. You can find a full explanation of this project + spoiler-free links to previous seasons here. Check out the introduction to this series from early April 2020 for full context. As a reminder, we simulate every game in this series and only control the recruiting and coaching strategies. Dynasty mode runs for 40 years.

Before we pick up with the Leathernecks at the start of Year 40, here’s a recap of everything that happened last season:

Western Illinois entered Year 39 trying to three-peat as national champions for the first time in program history. We lost two starters early to the NBA coming into the season, but still had enough talent to be ranked No. 10 overall in the preseason polls.

We ran through the regular season schedule, losing only one game to UCLA during the non-conference season and sweeping Summit League opponents once again. We entered the NCAA tournament at 29-1 on the year and earned a No. 4 seed to the big dance.

We beat Brown in round one, knocked off Georgia Tech in the round of 32, beat Indiana in the Sweet 16, and lost to Florida in the Elite Eight. We know enter the final season of my career tied with John Wooden with 10 national championships.

We added three players in our last ever recruiting class: five-star JUCO SF Jerald Obasohan, four-star SG Erwin Walls, and four-star PF Kenny Butler.

Here’s a first look at our roster for Year 40:

It feels like only yesterday that a fresh-faced, 25-year-old came to the small town of Macomb, Illinois with big dreams. Coach Rick was hired by Western Illinois to do the impossible: win a national championship with arguably the worst team in college basketball. After 39 seasons at the helm, our tiny program has accomplished that and so much more. Now it’s time to hang it up.

Our journey at Western Illinois is finally coming to an end. In literal terms, College Hoops 2K8 forces mandatory retirement upon coaches in dynasty mode after 40 seasons. All good stories need closure either way. As we start our final season, we have some big stakes attached to our swan song.

Western Illinois has won 10 national championships in the Ricky Charisma era. That ties us with UCLA legend John Wooden for the most in history. What started as a mission to win a single national championship has now left us with a different goal: to become the undisputed greatest program in the history of the sport.

While we failed in our bid to three-peat last season — falling to Florida in the Elite Eight — we did bring back all four breakout juniors for this season. We only lost starting center DJ Foster to graduation. Yeah, it’s been a while since we last published Year 39 (thanks for your patience), so let’s go over the roster:

PG Christano Ngounou, junior, 89 overall: Ngounou made major strides after being forced into the starting lineup last season, and now looks like a rock solid contributor going into our final year. An international recruit out of Cameroon, Ngounou is a fast 6’3 guard with lockdown defensive ability and a slightly above average three-point shot. We have bigger names on this squad who will be expected to carry the scoring load, but Ngounou is going to play a huge role because he’s way better than every other point guard on the roster. We need quality minutes from him in the tournament. Former five-star international recruit with B potential.

SG Bernie Doyle, redshirt senior, 92 overall: Doyle is an incredible talent who enters his senior year looking to fully blossom into a superstar. The 6’9 shooting guard uses his immense size on both ends of the floor. He’s elite at getting into the passing lanes and forcing steals (a team-high 1.8 per game as a junior) on the defensive end, and has a sweet three-point stroke offensively. Doyle is such a smooth scorer and dominant defender that it feels like he has the natural talent to develop into an all-great in his senior year. Let’s hope he’s up to the challenge. Former No. 36 overall recruit from Detroit with C potential. Projected lottery pick.

SF Floyd Keller, redshirt senior, 92 overall: Keller checks every box for a small forward. He has good size at 6’7. He has a three-point rating in the mid-80s. He’s the best dunker on the team. He’s an elite offensive rebounder for a wing with a rating in the low 90s, which helps equip him to play minutes at the four. After a tough shooting night in our Elite Eight loss last season — he went 1-for-7 from three — we’ll need Keller to be consistently great if we want one more run through the bracket. Former No. 101 overall recruit out of Dallas with C+ potential. Projected second round pick.

PF Oscar Fray, redshirt senior, 88 overall: Fray enters his third year as a starter with a fascinating combination of size and skill that could set him up for a breakout senior year. The 7-foot power forward is a great three-point shooter for his position with a rating just below 80. Defensively, he’s the top-rated shot blocker on the team, and also does a pretty good job on the glass. Former No. 118 overall recruit out of Lynn, MA with C potential. Projected second round pick.

C Brody Munoz, redshirt senior, 92 overall: Munoz finally gets the spotlight as a senior after backing up DJ Foster — a one-time NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player — for his entire career up to this point. We’re expected big things, and not just because he’s tied for the highest rated player on the roster going into the regular season. What Munoz lacks in elite size at 6’11 he can make up for with strength, agility, and rebounding. We expect him to be really good at forcing turnovers, grabbing putbacks, and helping fortify the paint. Former No. 169 overall recruit (No. 6 center) out of Nashville with B potential. Projected lottery pick.

We have an incredibly deep bench for our final season. Center Logan Polk (85 overall) will be our sixth man, and should be able to form a three-man front court rotation with the two starters in the tournament. After that, we have a lot of options but not a lot of good options.

Here’s the rest of the bench: wing Jaycee Queen (80 overall), wing Jerald Obasohan (79 overall), guard Archie Howell (78 overall), wing/guard James Haranga (74 overall), guard Edwin Walls (74 overall), and power forward Kenny Butler (74 overall).

This is really it. Year 40. The last dance. What a ride it has been. We start the season at No. 4 in the polls.

How did the regular season go?

For our final regular season, we tried to schedule a good mix of local schools and historic big conference rivals with a couple in-season tournaments thrown in for good measure.

Here’s how the regular season went:

Win over Bradley

Win over Nebraska

Win over UTEP

Loss to Southern Illinois

Win over Florida

Loss to Northwestern

Win over New Mexico

Win over DePaul

That sets up a rivalry game against Illinois. We’ve played the Illini in almost every season, and we don’t want to end this dynasty without one more dub. The losses to Southern Illinois and Northwestern were a real bummer, and we need a palate cleanser. Let’s go!

Big win, 102-68. Look at Cristano Ngounou hanging 17 points and six assists on the Illini. Love seeing both starters in the front court — seniors Oscar Fray (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Brody Munoz (18 points, 11 rebounds) — each dropping a double-double, too. And how about our new five-star JUCO addition Obasohan chipping in 12 points off the bench? Really promising performance from the boys.

We get a big win over Kansas in our next game. That sets up another marquee game with a program we don’t like very much out of the state of North Carolina: Duke. We’ve battling with Duke on the court and on the recruiting trail for 40 freaking years. Can we end this rivalry with a dub?

Ugh, loss, 88-83. Nice games from Bernie Doyle (19 points, four assists) and Oscar Fray (14 points, 12 rebounds), but it isn’t enough. That’s our third loss of the season. Get bent, Duke.

We end the year with three more non-conference games.

Win over Illinois-Chicago

Win over American

Win over Arizona State

While we may have lost the final battle to Duke, I won the war over Coach K with a significantly better career by any measure (more on that in a minute). Now it’s time to jump into conference play in the Summit League.

Did we go undefeated in conference season?

Yes we did, another perfect 18-0 stretch.

Now we enter the conference tournament. Can we punch one more automatic bid to the NCAA tournament?

Win over UMKC

Win over Southern Utah

Win over UL-Calcutta

We’re going to the NCAA tournament for the last time, but that isn’t even the headliner after winning the Summit League. Im taking home the conference tournament championship, I won game No. 1,171 of my career. That currently puts me ahead of Coach K for the most wins all-time.

We have built a great legacy at Western Illinois. Before we enter the NCAA tournament, let’s take a look at our statistical leaders:

What a year for Munoz. Dude sat on the bench for four seasons before finally getting a starting spot, and all he did was lead our team in scoring at 17.2 points per game. Fray was awesome, too, averaging a hair under 15 points per game while chipping in nearly two blocks and six rebounds per game. It’s good to see Keller and Doyle both hit double-figures in scoring. I’m a bit surprised Cristano couldn’t even put up seven points a night after his big game against Illinois, but the assist and steals numbers are solid. We’re going to need him in March.

The Leathernecks are heading into the NCAA tournament at 32-3 on the year. I can’t wait to see what seed we get.

2047 NCAA tournament

Well, we couldn’t end this dynasty without getting swindled by the Selection Committee one more time. We’re a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament. I thought we should have been a top-four seed without question.

We’ll open the tournament with a game against No. 11 seed Syracuse. Sheesh. Before we get to the game, let’s check in on our roster one more time:

I’m loving the way this group progressed through the year. We have two awesome wing scorers with an elite combination of size and shooting in Keller and Doyle. We have plenty of beef up front with Munoz, Fray, and Polk. Ngounou entered the program as a 77 overall and shot up to a 92 in three years without a redshirt. The bench also really improved during the season and should give us plenty of different lineup options in March.

This is going to be a tough run, starting with Syracuse. The Orange have knocked us out of the big dance before, and consistently put together really strong teams.

Our last dance starts now. As always, we’re simulating every game, I’m not controlling the ‘Necks.

Let’s go!

Win, 105-73! What an absolute beatdown. We’ve moving on to the round of 32.

Long-time followers of the series will know that our Leathernecks have always been known as a second half team. It happened in a big way in this game. Syracuse ended the first half strong to cut our lead to nine points, but we quickly turned it into a blowout out of the break.

I thought this was a tremendous all-around team effort. Six players hit double-figures in scoring with no one putting up more than Floyd Keller’s 15 points. Everyone who played recorded an assist. I loved this play from the first half when we set two screens for our five-star JUCO Obasohan that helped get him an easy layup.

Our bench is a big question mark coming into this tournament, mostly because it’s filled with a lot of fresh faces who haven’t played big minutes in clutch spots before. I have to say, the performance of our reserves in our tournament opener was super encouraging. Obasohan in particular looks like a keeper after scoring 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and knocking down a three. We always need wing depth, and he should be able to provide that on this run.

The clear highlight of Obasohan’s night: this sick two-handed dunk in transition for an and-one.

We love to turn defense into offense, and Ngounou and Doyle’s ability to get into the passing lanes really helps us out there.

Speaking of Ngounou in transition: he had a beautiful finish on the break to put the game fully out of reach. That’s what you want out of your point guard.

The win sets up a second round game against Colorado State

The Rams have been a solid program throughout this sim dynasty, regularly making NCAA tournament appearances. We have a decisive edge in talent heading into this game.

We are one win away from going to the Sweet 16 and extended our run in the big dance. One time, ‘Necks. Let’s go!

Win, 109-79! We’re going to the Sweet 16!

We didn’t need to be a second half team in this one. Our ‘Necks blew the doors off Colorado State from the opening tip-off. I thought we played a great game offensively thanks to our inside-out ball movement.

We had five scorers in double-figures in this one, but it was senior starters Bernie Doyle and Oscar Fray leading the charge. We know Doyle is capable of taking over a game at his best, and he was awesome in this one: 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from three. The real story was Fray, though.

Fray was probably the least appealing long-term prospect of our recruiting class when he entered the program alongside Doyle, Keller, and Munoz. That was mostly because of his 74 rating and C potential grade. While he’s always been rated a few points lower than his classmates, Fray’s skill set on the court is so important to us. He’s a massive 7-foot power forward who can protect the rim and shoot threes. What more do you want?

Fray went off in this game: 22 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals on 9-of-11 shooting. I love watching the big man shoot from deep. This was from NBA range.

Here’s one more catch-and-shoot three for good measure.

Fray might get slept on a little on this team, but he’s absolutely critical to our success if we want to win it all.

I also want to shout-out the bench for another solid performance. I liked what I saw out of Obasohan (11 points) and Howell (10 points). Since we already have two Obasohan clips in this post, why not make it three? Love him hitting this triple in the first half to help us open up the lead.

We’re rollin’.

The win sets up a Sweet 16 game vs. Alabama

We’re now four wins away from ending this dynasty with a national championship. A Sweet 16 game against Bama is going to be an absolute battle.

In our simulated future, the Tide have become a basketball school. This program seems to make the tournament every year, and they’ve given us plenty of trouble in the past.

A trip to the Elite Eight is on the line. Let’s go!

Win, 112-69! We’re onto the Elite Eight!

Say it with me: SECOND. HALF. TEAM. After a tight first half left us with a six-point lead coming into the break, our ‘Necks absolutely torched the nets in the second half to come away with the blowout win. Seriously: we scored 66 points in the final 20 minutes. That was an offensive clinic at its best.

I had a good feeling about the second half when Cristano got this three hit the rim like 50 times before falling. Sometimes you need some good luck on your side.

A couple possessions later, Floyd Keller came down a ripped another three. We finally had a double-digit lead, and we’d never look back.

It was great to see Keller (15 points) get going from deep. He hit all three of his attempts from beyond the arc.

While we don’t have any clips of the front court from this game, they absolutely deserve credit for the win.

Fray turned in another incredible performance, this one somehow even better than his last. He ended the game with 25 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and three blocks on 10-of015 shooting. He didn’t attempt a three (booooo) but he dominated the game on both ends. His front court mate Munoz was almost as good. The senior center finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds. We kept going inside — Munoz and Fray combined for 35 (!) field goal attempts — and they were making the Bama defense pay.

Not the best Bernie Buckets game (9 points on 3-of-10 shooting), but I clipped this shot from the first half, so I might as well embed it here.

Elite Eight, here we come.

The win sets up an Elite Eight matchup against No. 1 seed Indiana

Our run in the NCAA tournament has been a breeze up to this point, but I fear things about to get a lot more difficult. Our plucky No. 6 seed is about to run into one of college basketball’s blue bloods: the top-seeded Indiana Hoosiers.

The Elite Eight has been something of a bugaboo for us. We lost in this round last year. We’ve lost in this round many times before. I don’t want it to happen again.

A Final Four trip is on the line. As always, we’re watching a simulated version of this game; I am not controlling the Leathernecks. Let’s go!

***

***

***

***

***

***

Loss, 96-86. Oh my gosh. And just like that, our dream of ending this dynasty with a national title is over.

I am devastated. I really thought this team was good enough to send me out on top, but it wasn’t meant to be. The Hoosiers’ outside shooters did us in. Indiana’s guard-heavy lineup caught fire from deep (10-of-21 for 47.6 percent), and our perimeter attack couldn’t keep up. We only hit 6-of-22 (27.3 percent) attempts from three.

What happened to our second half team this time? We were only down two going into halftime, but we were outscored by eight over the final 20 minutes. Tough scene.

There were some solid individual performances. Munoz went out strong with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Bernie Doyle dropped 21 points and hit this three-pointer to keep us in it early.

Floyd Keller just didn’t give us enough on the wing. He shot 1-of-8 from three in the loss. He did give us a little juice in transition, at least.

Cristano played all 40 minutes, and had eight points and nine assists. I really wish I got another year with him as a senior next season.

Unfortunately there is no next season. After 40 years at Western Illinois, our sim dynasty is over. Here are some final numbers on the series:

Final record: 1,177-213

10 national championships (tied with John Wooden for the most in men’s college basketball history)

15 Final Four appearances

25 Sweet 16 appearances

Final NCAA tournament record: 113-27

38 Summit League regular season championships

35 Summit League tournament championships

38 seasons with 20+ wins

61 players drafted

The thing I’m most proud of? After we made the NCAA tournament for the first time in Year 3, we didn’t miss it again the rest of this dynasty.

Is Ricky Charisma the greatest men’s college basketball coach ever?

I think so. Here’s how we stack up to other top coaches in NCAA history in important categories.

Total wins

Ricky Charisma: 1,179

Mike Krzyzewski: 1,170

Jim Boeheim: 1,083

Roy Williams: 903

Bob Knight: 899

Dean Smith: 879

Jim Calhoun: 877

Adolph Rupp: 876

Bob Huggins: 828

Eddie Sutton: 806

Tournament wins

Ricky Charisma: 110

Mike Krzyzewski: 94

Roy Williams: 77

Dean Smith: 65

Jim Boeheim: 57

Tom Izzo: 52

Jim Calhoun: 49

John Wooden: 47

Final Four appearances

Ricky Charisma: 15

Mike Krzyzewski: 12

John Wooden: 12

Dean Smith: 11

Roy Williams: 9

Tom Izzo: 8

Rick Pitino: 7

Denny Crum, Adolph Rupp, John Calipari: 6

Consecutive tournament appearances

Western Illinois: 36

Kansas: 31

North Carolina: 27

Arizona: 25

Duke: 24

Michigan State: 23

Gonzaga: 22

Winning percentage

Ricky Charisma: 84.7

Mark Few: 83.44

Sam Burton: 83.33

Clair Bee: 82.444

Adolph Rupp: 82.1

John Wooden: 80.3

National championships

Ricky Charisma: 10

John Wooden: 10

Mike Krzyzewski: 5

Adolph Rupp: 4

Roy Williams: 3

Jim Calhoun: 3

Bobby Knight: 3

Who is the best player in Western Illinois history?

That’s the big question within the fanbase right now. Before we get to it, let’s look back at our greatest recruiting wins.

We landed five five-star recruits out of the domestic high school ranks during my time at Western Illinois. We also signed nine five-star JUCO recruits, and six five-star international recruits from places like New Zealand (shout-out Dave French), Montenegro (anti shout-out Vitor Andrisevic), France (what up, Kim Kone!), and Cameroon.

The highest-rated recruit in program history was Sammy Yan at No. 10 overall in 2032. He was pretty much a disappointment. The program’s all-time leading scorer was center Vinnie Harmon with 2,452 career points during his career. He was the No. 122 overall recruit and the No. 8 center (those that followed the series or played the game know that centers are always weirded underrated on the recruiting trail).

Here are some more numbers during tournament games only (aka, the games we streamed), from the amazing Leathernecks Database maintained by our fans:

The highest rated player in program history is a tie between small forward Nic Cummings and point guard Duncan Martinez, who are the only players to reach 97 overall. Cummings in particular is a great choice for the GOAT. He ended his career with three national titles, though only one as a starter. He’s top-10 for me, but not No. 1.

The people’s choice for the GOAT is Deke Van, the legendary center who helped carry us to our first national title in Year 8. Deke’s turn from from Year 7 goat to Year 8 GOAT is the most memorable we’ve ever had. We couldn’t have done any of this without you, Deke.

When Coach tell you youre guarding @deke_van https://t.co/RDhmDAPRA8 pic.twitter.com/fm2udgvMZT

— Ryan Thomas (@RTtheSID) May 10, 2020

As the series went on, other great players emerged who finished with gaudier stats and better resumes.

My personal favorite might be Bert Draughan, Mr. Basketball out of Chicago (No. 29 overall recruit), who went on to win a title with us in Year 13 and also starred for our Year 11 team that began the season 35-0 before losing to Michigan State in the Final Four. Harmon is another fine choice. Skip Clemmons helped us win three national titles in Year 23, Year 24, and Year 26. Albert Jagla, Clemmons’ former teammate, played a big role in our first back-to-back championship squad, and is arguably the greatest perimeter bucket-getter in program history.

All-time favorite moment? Impossible to say. The first one that comes to mind is Kim Kone’s go-ahead corner three in the 2024 tournament. Najeeb Goode’s steal vs. UCLA in the Final Four to help us win our second title in Year 13 also stands out. There was also the time superstar power forward Allen Cunningham took off his pants mid-game.

Thank you to everyone who read, watched, and interacted

I started this series on April 11, 2020, a few weeks after the pandemic had shut down all ‘real’ sports. At the time, I was gearing up to cover the 2020 NCAA tournament. That never happened. I had college basketball on my mind, and I always wanted to write something on ‘College Hoops 2K8’, probably my favorite video game ever. This project is what came of it.

I had no idea if anyone was going to read this. I definitely did not think I’d finish out all 40 years like a complete lunatic. I didn’t think I’d write the equivalent of multiple books in terms of total word count.

Just before I dropped the first post in the series, I tweeted this:

Got a real dumb blog post coming

— Ricky O'Donnell (@SBN_Ricky) April 11, 2020

I wrote around 70 posts in the series, counting the inaugural Hall of Fame induction (read a big Deke Van retrospective at that link) and two posts of my Deke Van x Seattle Supersonics spin-off. I’m estimating I wrote 200,000 words in this series. That’s about the length of “The Fellowship of the Ring.”

I still can’t believe everything that came from this series. The Washington Post wrote a profile on it. I went on WGN TV and did a few radio spots promoting it. We sold a Deke Van t-shirt with Homefield Apparel. Our series inspired a new friend in Japan named Thanh Nguyen to write a pair of e-books adding greater depth to our story. Friend of the program Mike Rutherford did an amazing hype video for our first championship run. When I moved the series to Substack for a few months, more than 7,000 people signed up for email updates and still remain. Our first Twitch stream for the Year 8 Final Four drew more than 7,000 total viewers, and had 2,500 concurrent viewers on it at as we were closing out the win. On SB Nation, the series has been viewed more than 500K times.

What really made the project special was always the community around it. Some quick shout-outs:

The Leathernecks Database is an amazing companion to this series. You can lost in there. Thank you to the diehards to helped maintain it, and reader Evan for starting it.

Thanks to my guy who started the Leathernecks Nation instagram fan page and whoever is behind the wondrous fake Deke Van twitter account.

Thanks to everyone in the Discord who maintained ‘Necks discussion always and forever.

Thank the diehards that came out for every Twitch stream. I don’t want to name names because I’ll forget someone, but you know who you are. I love you all. I also want to thank the readers for keeping up with the recaps, and everyone who emailed me feedback throughout the series. I also want to thank my buddy Scott for introducing me to the game and running through multiple 40-year dynasties with me way before I ever considered blogging through it like this. This series would not exist without him.

What a ride it’s been. As I sim through to the end of the calendar, I’m greeted with this message.

Thank you, everyone. Go ‘Necks.

[lrgcarter]

Rambling About Star Trek Enterprise

Hi friends, I’m using Tumblr like a friends locked livejournal again, feel free to skip this post. I’m just rambling pointlessly about star trek.

At work several years back, a colleague asked “so, how do you rank the Star Trek series, favourite to least favourite?”

At that time, my answer was “DS9, TOS, TNG, VOY.” I used full words, obvs, and the order might be different on any given day.

She looked at me like I had just thrown down some serious shade, and said, “wooowwww, so Enterprise doesn’t even make the list?”

And I replied, “Oh, I didn’t realise people counted that as canon!?”

Oh how we all laughed.

But seriously, I didn’t realise then that it counted as a core Trek series!

Somehow, I had got it into my head that it was a separate thing, not the original series, and not one of the 80s/90s return; the Big Three, if you will. I mean, neither of us mentioned the animated series, even though I remember watching that as a kid. I kind of counted it as a similar sort of curio. I thought it had been made by different people, and possibly was even a bit of a reboot made several years after Voyager finished. I mean, it didn’t get the 6pm BBC2 slot, so how could it count? If it had been a continuation of the Big Three, I would have surely watched it? 

But then a few years later, Discovery kept dropping Enterprise references. So I eventually sighed, and took advantage of pandemic-binging to start watching Enterprise. 

And wow, yeah, you can tell just by watching it that it’s made by the same team as the Big Three. Having just skim watched Voyager, I can see how it wanted to spin off from their time travel plots. It’s got Rick Berman all over it. How did I not watch this? Did the UK balls up the scheduling? I remember that happening a lot. It always felt like we were *years* behind the US back then. Did we only get it when I was going off to uni?

I don’t know, but now, a few episodes into season 2, I have thoughts.

So, I like the core concept. I love the idea of a series about a ship of people exploring the galaxy, the first humans out there, fixing things with gum and gaffa tape, no federation super-tech or infrastructure to help them out. I love the sense of wonder and hope that they all have!

But.

If I played the “describe a character without using their name/job/appearance game”, then I could tell you as much about the dog as I could all the bridge-crew. 

Look, I’ll show you:

Dog:

- Restful/calm, likes to indulge in forbidden treats.

Captain:

- Noble, standard star-fleet obsession with obscure sport.

Engineer:

- Stereotype of simple salt of the earth type.

Security:

- Introverted/repressed. English.

Linguistics:

- Unsure but growing more confident!

Helm:

- Happy to be a working class person climbing that ladder!

(Science Officer and Doc are more fleshed out, which I believe is due to them being aliens and Rick B has been accused by reliable sources of asking the human characters to be acted in a more subdued way to allow the aliens to seem more real.)

I mean, full credit to the consistency and depth they gave to the dog, I guess. 

But yeah, the characters are just so bland! And so... what a certain type of person thinks is ‘wholesome’. I bet that person was Rick Berman. OOoooh, he got his sticky little creep hands all over that period of Trek.

Anyway, Discovery and Lower Decks are both awesome, and obviously canon. So what’s my ordering of favourite to least favourite Treks now? Who the fuck knows.

The JJ Abrams movies are canon too, I guess. And even though I enjoyed the first one, I think the three of them together, all things considered, are probably just not as good as Enterprise. So at last it’s saved the indignity of being the least good Trek. But yeah, the end of that list looks set to be Enterprise then JJA for a good while to come.

(I mean, I don’t even like the idea of canon, because it’s too ‘corporate approved’ for me, but it is cool that Discovery has made references to characters from the animated series, thus officially recognising them as well).

[smokeybrand]

We Have The Power

I opted to boot up Netflix after a week or so, with every intent to check out that new Mary Elizabeth Winstead vehicle, Kate. As i scrolled through the many, many, new titles i completely missed because i was too smitten with HBO max to care, i came across the new He-Man reboot. Not the Kevin smith one but the CG one made for kids. Now, way back when this trailer dropped, i was on board. I thought it looked like a decent reinterpretation of the He-Man mythos. Most people were on the other side of that argument. They said it doesn’t look like He-Man and that it should have just been it’s own IP and whatever else. Seeing as how the entire first season is available to watch and how much i actually liked that trailer, i figured Kate can wait another few days and i should check out what nuAdam and Pals are up to instead.

The very first thing i noticed was how f*cking gorgeous this show is. Seriously, this is top tier computer animation on par with the likes of Pixar or Insomniac Games. I was astonished by how fluid, how well articulated everything turned out to be. I mean, i kind of had a feeling the show was going to be top tier in the visuals just from the few minutes we had with the trailer but, in motion, i n full length episodic form? It’s staggeringly wonderful. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is one of the most aesthetically pleasing titles Netflix has ever made. Now, the animation would be nothing without the overall designs and i have to say, i kind of dig those, too.

The updated character designs are a welcome change from whatever the f*ck was crapped out in the Eighties. One of the reasons i never got into He-Man or Thundercats was strictly because i hated the look of it. When i got older and was able to look past that superficiality, i realized that the two shows were just general dog sh*t. Lots of potential, none of it fulfilled. Thundercats got a mulligan in 2011 with their short lived reboot but He-Man’s turn of turn-of-the-millennium reboot fell short in that department. I can honesty say that, after f*cking twenty years, i finally got that updated aesthetic He-Man deserved way back in 2002. Like the Thundercats reboot, this new He-Man homages what came before while putting a unique spin on old characters. He-man 2002 made an admirable attempt but He-Man 2021 said f*ck it, and just ran away with their own vision. I respect the f*ck out of that.

The very best thing about this show, however, is the writing. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe 2021 is easily the better written of the two Netflix He-Man entries this year and is on par with the 2002 narrative. I absolutely love how well the characters are written. They feel natural, like real people, like friends who have been together for years. It can be a bit tropey at times, sure, but this thing is for older kids. Nine years olds don’t necessarily need the most developed of characters but this show doesn’t skimp on that at all. It feels like watching Avatar: The Last Airbender for the first time again. I was that surprised by how well these characters popped. And, just like Aang and crew, the world around them is something f*cking spectacular!

This version of Eternia or rather, Eternos, is definitely one that i dig. I love how magic is based on tech and is absolutely frowned upon by those of the lower classes. I love how Eternia has many different races, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. I adore how the world feels like more than just as worldly desolate wasteland all the f*cking time and there are entire metropolises teeming with life. The use of color really accentuates scenes and the overall lore of this world is intriguing. I mean, He-Man has always carried a certain commendable canon but it was always so convoluted. It’s nice to have an actual plot and pretty robust history to back all of the shiny new awesome.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe 2021 is a great f*cking watch, man. It's definitely not the He-Man you want and i can see why that might upset old heads like me who, for some reason, love that corny ass original, but it’s still some of the best He-Content out there. Aside from the fact that this thing is very much directed at a completely different audience, not born in the f*ck Seventies or Eighties, but The New Adventures of He-Man exists. F*cking ponytail He-Man is a thing that is real in real life and you want to give this show sh*t for daring to be different? Really? This show is amazing. The show you want already exists. It came out in 2002. Let this show be it’s own thing. Stop harping on it not being what you remember from your childhood and just let this new-new wash over you. It’s gorgeous, fun, very well written, expertly performed, and a general brilliant time. If you can take of your nostalgia goggles, that is.

[whatthefuckisasweep]

RvB: Zero Thoughts for Worried Fans

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts on RvB Zero and the worries/hype/problems/whatever that people have for it. And, since RvB is extremely dear to me (and has been for a number of years)... I have thought about it a lot too. 

I just want to preface this with the fact that it is extremely valid if you are scared or worried or sad about the absence of the Reds and Blues thus far. You are not against diversity or change, and your thoughts are valid. I am really kind of shocked about some of the wording that some people have used addressing concerns that people have put forth. I know those kinds of posts are really negative and can become overwhelming and annoying, but creating a division in the community is not a right way to fix that. We’re all fans of the same show. You can have an opinion without being too harsh on those who hold different aspects of the show dear than you.

Having said that, I agree with people’s worries. I am also sad about the Reds and Blues only “maybe” returning... at least in this season. I am not worried about the content of the show itself. From everything that is being shown, RvB: Zero will be AMAZING, and I am EXCITED FOR IT. This is the most hype RvB has gotten in years. New characters, great animation, spicy and fresh story... Yeah, it’s gonna be fucking COOL AS SHIT. But... I’m scared it will not be Red vs. Blue. I have no doubt it my mind I will enjoy it, because, well, it just sounds awesome. But... I’m scared it won’t be the same show. More of an animated spin-off in the same universe. 

In my opinion, there is still so much story left of the Reds and Blues to tell -- amazing points to jump off of. And, yes, I know the season has not come out yet, but I’ve seen a lot of people talking about how the characters are tired because it’s seventeen years and people are just afraid of change OR like how they have no ideas left. I will say change is scary. But the characters are the ones who drive the show. I know nothing about these new ones yet, but from the looks of it, they seem to be action-packed and very capable. And I don’t know about you, but I first came to RvB because everyone was very INcapable and I related to it. The reason why Red vs Blue is Red vs Blue is because the Reds and Blues. They are what the story is about. To me, it’s similar to how Spongebob is about ... Spongebob & Patrick. Even after all these years. And like, if this is their end because there is nowhere to go (even though I disagree with that), I’d honestly be FINE with ending their journey and accepting the new characters! But I’d just want them to get a proper ending / closure before this WHOLE new thing comes along and takes the plot on a crazy new wild ride. 

But, anyways...

It’s wrong of me to basically judge the whole thing before its even come out and we see who really is in it & whatnot. I know that. So on a more positive note for the people who are worried and need some reassurance: 

- It is in the same universe. The Reds and Blues are famous. There is no way that they are erased from the story forever. 

- Torrian and the other cast members seem to GREATLY respect the original series, and are EXCELLENT animators. There is no doubt about an amazing story and respect for the characters.

- The team seems to be VERY on the down-low about everything. Needing “authorization” and whatnot just to post armor. We don’t know anything yet.

- We still don’t know who the Carolina-armor/Locus-armor people are.

- The new characters look amazing! Agent: One as Fiona? God, that’s SO FREAKING COOL! I’m already kind of biased towards Raymond because he’s a tech guy. Also, the diversity! Already shipping One and East!

- From what we can see the season is around 8 episodes, meaning that it could be a bridge season

- Torrian watched S9 in preparation for making S18, meaning that he could do something similar season wise!

- Although I’m not sure how I feel about the Fast & the Furious comparison, the theme of family is EXCITING.

- We’re actually getting updates as opposed to what it was like beforehand with literally nothing.

- New characters draw in new fans to the series!!!!! 

Overall, I’m really excited to watch this season, but I am worried about when we are getting back to standing around and talking. I am worried about the end of the story and about the show. I think that if they need to keep introducing BIG huge plot things like time travel and step away from the Reds and Blues, it’s a pretty good sign to start coming up with an ending for the show - at least for the Reds and Blues, and maybe start something "bigger”. But then again... We still don’t know much, so this is really all just speculation. Honestly, in my opinion, RvB should have ended with 14, as much as I love 15 and 17. POOR RED TEAM.

...Man, this was a long-ass post. Sorry for rambling, but this means a lot to me, and the responses/thoughts I’ve seen from people are very mixed, so I’d just like to be more thorough with mine. 

Feel free to comment or DM, I really want to talk about it with fans & see how you guys feel!

[cozyforjate]

MacGyver 4x11

That was a thrilling episode! 

I really loved the pacing. Loved every second of the Mac-Merchant scenes, i think the actors did a great job and had great chemistry together. I loved how clever, caring and understanding Russ is. He is a great boss! I loved how Bozer's skills were finally used in a cool way. He's the secret star of the episode. I loved Bozer-Riley moment in the end. This season is amazing but unfortunately the family feel has been missing. I do enjoy Russ-Mac bonding scenes from the earlier episodes. But can you believe that up until this episode we havent got a proper Bozer-Riley scene? I mean come on! These ppl are like family but we havent seen it at all. I'm really glad that Bozer's there for Riley. 

Now lets talk about Mac and Riley separately. 

I think the Mac we have watched this episode was mostly Dark Mac.  The last episode ended with Mac, staring at Dark Mac. He wasnt surprised to see him, he wasnt scared. That scene was there for a reason. IMO it represented that Mac was consumed by his dark thoughts. Anger, guilt, desperation, pain, defeat, loss, loneliness, revenge, his dilemma of right and wrong etc.

So like Russ said; Mac isn't mentally stable anymore. I think Lucas Till has been doing a great job portraying Mac's downward spiral. During all of Mac's scenes you can tell that he is "different". 

And i believe that Mac's holding onto his relationship with Desi like a security blanket. He's using the physical closeness as a way to distract him from his depressive thoughts. I think Desi is aware of it too but for some reason she choses to go along with it.

I mean take the 'love' scene. She knows Mac's off. But the moment Mac says "the version that loves you is real", she stops questioning his actions. But actions do speak louder than words. I feel like she wants to be loved so much that she doesnt see whats in front of her. Mac's face when he says those words... Almost expressionless. She asks "You love me?" as if she cant believe it herself but wants to. Mac stands there still. After the kiss, Mac goes "Lets rendezvous in the tech room after we lock the rest of this place down. Hopefully Matty has a transport plan for the Merchant"... Desi goes from smiling to dissapointed. If that was the first thing my boyfriend said to me after the big love confession i would be a little dissapointed as well! And to top it all, the fact that Riley was witnessing this moment, once again makes it all about the dreadful triangle. 

Ok enough with Mac. 

I wanna give Riley a big hug. 

Seriously she is my favorite character in MacGyver. I loved her, before i loved Mac, Jack or Bozer. So she is precious for me. Seeing her heartbroken like that, hurt me. But when i think about it, that's probably why the writers are doing this. They want the viewers to empathize with her. They want us to root for her.

I cringed hard during the shower scene. Again a MacDesi moment where Riley is being included (no not in the kinky way). 

Did she really have to hear them in the shower and tell them Matty is calling? The writers could have easily made this scene all about MacDesi. But nope! We had to see how uncomfortable Riley was. Thank you writers!

Bozer noticing the hurt look on Riley's face when she witnessed the MacDesi kiss. And then their last scene together.... God I missed that! I missed seeing the bond between these characters. 

So Bozer now knows about Riley's feelings. Which is important. Riley is at a point where she cant deny it anymore. "Dont make me say it"--- She doesnt want to talk about it but she fully accepted that she's in love with Mac. I'm glad that Bozer is on Team Riley! I'm glad that Riley has someone she can talk to... Btw- it was amazing to watch Tristin express all those feelings without even saying a word.

Lastly, i cant believe i'm saying this but i am sooo happy that she's looking for a new place. YESS QUEEN! Do it quickly. Moving in there brought you nothing but pain.  And how awesome she is? She is falling in love with her best friend, she is swallowing all her feels and wants nothing but Mac and Desi's happiness? Thats my girl. That's why i love her so much.

I hate love triangles. Bcoz it makes ppl pick a side. I was hoping that MacGyver would do it lightly without ever getting serious. But after this episode and knowing whats to come, i'm not sure anymore. So everyone, buckle up! This is going to be a bumpy road. 

[purplerose244]

My thoughts on Tales of Arcadia: Wizards 💚💚💚

LOOK OUT FOR THE SPOILERS!!!

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SHORT VERSION

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 😍😍😱😍😭😍😍😱😱😱😱😭😭😍😍😍😍😍😭😭😭😱😱😭😭😍😍😍😭😭😱😱😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😱😱😱😱😍😍😍😍😍

REGULAR VERSION

I don't know if I can fully express how emotionally exhausted I am right now. I cried. And I'm not talking about metaphorical tears or stuff like that, no-ho-ho, I'm talking real freaking tears. A roller coaster of emotions, truly. You stood by your words Aaron 👌

Douxie gets into the best protagonists I've ever seen group ASAP. Like, I knew I was going to love him but GREAT GAYLEN this is ridiculous. I WOULD DIE FOR THIS WIZARD AND HE WOULD PROBABLY WANT TO SAVE ME ANYWAY LIKE HE IS A POOR BABY WHO JUST WANTS TO BE RECOGNIZED BY HIS MASTER AND FIX EVERYTHING AND SAVE HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH AND AAAAAAA 🤯🤯🤯

JIAIRE 💙💜💙💜 Everything about them, from them wanting to find the other, to how much they just love each other so MUCH, to the kisses, to Claire not giving up on him, not even once. This is the ship, the OTP, the couple that went through so much yet somehow still made it. Bless them 💕💕💕

I'm biased because I love Steve and I generally don't mind comic relief, I think they are more useful than people think. That being said, yes it did feel a bit... useless? The part with Lancelot was still very cool anyway so good on that. Kinda felt like Steve found a group of dads in Camelot 😚 Also him sending that one message to Aja, that was something 😂 Can't help it liking Staja 💙💙 Although him calling out Eli so much was also very interesting 😏😏

Do I even have in me the words to fully express how amazing was Claire's arc in this? How she wanted nothing more but to save the man she loves? How she managed to get a hold onto her dark powers even though they are scary and she didn't want to become like Morgana? HOW CAN I FULLY EXPRESS HOW MUCH OF AN MVP WAS CLAIRE NUNEZ IN THIS??? 💜💜💜

Also Morgana? MORGANA??? We saw her point of view, the heart she used to have, the compassion that somehow brought her to the edge of darkness! And her redemption, AND ACTUAL!! REDEMPTION!! FOR MORGANA!! 😱😱😱😱😱 Her working with Claire, heck yeah, omg, I don't have words for such awesomeness 👌👌

Deya was glorious. I think we all kinda knew Callista was going to become the first trollhunter 😅 But she has such a strong and unique personality, and a background that makes sense for her to acquire a new identity as the first defender of the two worlds. I loved how much she connected with Jimbo, loved her A LOT 👌👌

Seeing Blinky and AAARRGGHH!! meeting for the first time and slowly building their friendship, that's the sappy stuff I'm looking for 😍😍

... wait now that I'm writing I realized, Angor Rot was there? Just that one cameo? That sounds a little suspicious 🤔

Okay sorry, I need preparation for this one *clears voice* Why is- No that's not right *cough a bit* Why is that...! No no still too low *deeply inhales* Okay so...

WHY IS THAT BEST BOY JIM ALWAYS GETS HORRIBLE STUFF THAT HE DOESN'T DESERVE?!?!? 😭😭😭

The luck of this kid, my world 😞 Besides this, man that was heartwrenching, loved it even thought it hurt a lot. And the best part is that, nothing was out of character, it all made perfect sense. Jim is and remains an altruistic person, even to a fault, who would and will think about others before himself, even if that means putting himself into such danger. I think him turning back into a human will generate a bit of controversy through the fandom, which I can understand, but personally I think it makes sense how they did it IN THIS WAY. Especially since he is now without amulet, after such a strong experience, in need to reshape himself... is this why in the game he doesn't have a troll form? NOW I'M WAITING FOR THE GAME EVEN MORE!!! 😍😍😍

The bonds. The bonds, freaking, how refreshing they were? Not only we didn't get a useless triangle with Jiaire and Douxie, him and Claire had a genuine friendship and he even taught her magic! And Archie was MAGNIFICENT?? 😭😭 Fully supportive, so close to Douxie, he clearly loves him dearly and wants only the best for him I LOVE THIS FAMILIAR SO MUCH 😍😍😍

And then Merlin... Wizards actually managed to make me feel sorry for him. And I would like to applaude the season for not making him fully good, like just because it was proved he cares about others doesn't mean he is not the known jerk that thinks about "the bigger picture" first before actual lives. Toby said it that nobody likes him (I know it was a joke but there is a bit of truth for me), Claire clearly despised him, even Douxie said it at the end that he wasn't perfect. But I think half his entire kind of redemption was right into his last words. He said his greatest accomplishment was saving Douxie. The greatest magician of all times said he did better saving a "nobody" than stuff like helping prevent the Eternal Night, or saving Camelot. I think he realized there the real bigger picture, and that actually made it hard for me to watch him pass. I really thought if he was ever going to die in the show, I would've been ecstatic 😅 But no, it felt like he died right when he was understanding. And that hurt... dang it TOA crew, playing with my heart!

But what hurt the most was just how much Merlin meant to Douxie. He was everything. His master. His friend. His father even. Not the perfect one, but one that made him who he is. He gave him a purpose, a path to follow, and a reason to be. And at the end he was someone who was even glad to see Douxie making choices different from his, like he was happy to see him taking a different path... I cried okay 😢

I know a lot of people were hoping and got rewarded to see Zoe involved, me included 😂 Didn't really explain much of the relationship between her and Doux, maybe another time? Still nice to see her pink hair again 💕💕💕

If any of you heard some kind of strong explosion coming from the general direction of Italy... that was me after seeing Krel again 😅😅 I am disappointed that he was barely involved (although him tinkering with Akiridion tech and magic was DOPE LET HIM DO MORE OF THAT) but apparently there's a movie coming next year so I'm guessing that one will show the arc Diego told us about?... I WANNA SEE MY LITTLE BOY IN ACTION AGAIN 💙💙💙💙

Also too bad Toby also didn't have that much of a role, hopefully they will fix that in the next installation 👍

I did like the Arcane Order, they all have cool as heck powers and amazing designs. With that being said, it felt like there's still stuff to discover? I freaked out for a month because of Skreal since he looked so much like an Akiridion, but Krel didn't acknowledge that? Is it just a coincidence? It didn't help the fact that they even have a similar name 😅 Also fire pal there had a mask... maybe it's just me but in my opinion masks should always be there because of a reveal. And they seemed pretty unknown. I loved these villains, they are cool as HECK and Skreal cracked me up 🤣 It just feels like we still don't know much about them

Also Nari is absolutely adorable and cute and PRECIOUS and I'm happy she's with Douxie and has that super cute disguise omg so freaking CUTE 💚💚💚

What a ride. What. A. Ride. I'm more than ever looking forward to this movie, because I hope we'll get Akiridions fully into this. Is this why the Genesis Seals are made of three parts? That would make sense

... wait wasn't Jim's dad supposed to be revealed here? Did I miss something? Or is it for the movie? I STILL HAVE QUESTIONS!!! 😱😱 The movie might actually be like a second season of Wizards. This one presented Douxie, the next one will be the final fusion of all the three franchises. CAN'T. WAIT. NOW ONTO THE VIDEOGAME 😍

FULL EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER 😭😭😭 Amazing, really amazing, and I'm really happy it's not the last we've seen of this franchise. The end will come, but not today my friends 😉

[rwdestuffs]

The show as a whole, and this blog moving forward.

Nothing is perfect.

Literally nothing. Take your favorite series. A comic book, a video game, a movie, television show, a manga series, or a book series, and you’ll eventually find someone who says that there was a problem with it.

Nothing is total garbage either. Take your least favorite series, and you’ll eventually come across someone who took valuable and good lessons from it.

Take TeamFourStar for example. On multiple occasions, they have made fun of Dragonball and have criticized decisions made by Akira Toriyama. This is despite them being huge fans of the franchise as a whole. They acknowledge that what they like isn’t perfect, and they’re not afraid to point out the flaws in it.

Or take anyone who covers a franchise. They’ll find flaws and behind the scenes things that, to the average viewer, they wouldn’t have realized was a thing.

Now, the inner workings and behind the scenes issues at RoosterTeeth is another topic for someone far more qualified than me, but there are many problems within the company that affect the show, RWBY, as a whole. For example, their rather blatant frat-like environment and professionalism makes for a bad understanding of major topics like abuse, trauma, and discrimination. Not counting their many associations with predators, these guys have had a bad track record with their hires.

But a major problem with the show, and by extension, the company, is an unwillingness to acknowledge their past mistakes and lack of attempts to make up for them to ensure that they wouldn’t happen again.

Take the racism issue within the show. Miles openly claims that the reason is sucks so bad is because he’s a white guy. But then his fans defend him by saying that he’s half Mexican. Add to the fact that we have no real proof that Miles is actually talking to minorities about how discrimination works, and that they kinda dropped the whole racism arc after Blake and Yang killed Adam, the show… has no reason for that whole thing anymore.

Now, I get it. They had a few reasons to add racism to their show despite them being awful at portraying it, and the negativity it brings. One was that they just wanted to say “don’t be a dick to people who look different from you.” and the other is basically to have an issue that wasn’t tied to the grimm (I hope. If it turns out that Salem is responsible for the racism, the show is basically irredeemable at that point in regards to that particular subplot, and nobody is allowed to invalidate any Person of Color’s feelings on the subject). The issue was that they didn’t want to get uncomfortable with the whole thing. They didn’t want to deal with the heavy subjects. So, instead of actually showing the racism, they merely talked about it.

Slave labor, cave-ins, a lack of respect- none of that was shown. All we got was generic bullying, which ultimately made the White Fang look as if they were dishing out retribution for minor offenses. This wasn’t a good look.

Other media have done racism better, even fantasy racism was better portrayed by the X-Men. So to see that RWBY, a show made by nerds botched it that badly?- It hurts. It hurts a lot.

Now, yes. There are also other media that have been absolute garbage when it came to racism, even the fantasy kind. I’m not aware of any off the top of my head, but I think one that did it pretty poorly would be Star Wars. Mostly in regards to their droids. We don’t really see any major repercussions about how they’re treated on Tatooine, and it’s kinda dropped. Luke even tries to trade R2 and C3PO to Jabba, and doesn’t do it in person. Anakin treated his droids better. The emotionally unstable guy who ultimately became the emperor’s attack dog was the least racist person, at least in regards to droids, in the galaxy by the time the OT came by.

So is that it? A really big, famous, and successful franchise did racism worse?

No. That’s not it. Because like I said, take your favorite movie, and you’ll find someone who has an issue with it.

The same applies to RWBY. This show had so much going for it. For starters, nobody else has been as successful with something like this. A fully animated series with a major overarching plot that is produced completely by an internet company.

So, expectations were high. And when the show failed to deliver, it hurt.

We had characters that were great, but who had interesting character traits dropped for unknown reasons. Ruby’s obsession with weapons was unceremoniously dropped for no real reason. Like HBomb said in his overall review of the show, if there was an arc where Ruby and Jaune were to develop a new weapon together, and that in the future, we’d see it in action and that it would include all the fancy tech of the other weapons while still staying true to the weapon it was, that would have been really great and awesome to see.

But instead… We get… Jaune having to cover for his cheating his way into Beacon. We get Jaune constantly harassing Weiss to go to the dance. We get Pyrrha thirsting after Jaune for… Reasons.

So many things in earlier seasons were dropped for reasons that don’t make sense.

At least with Weiss, they dropped her racism because “it doesn’t sell well.” And yes. That is what I’m assuming they dropped it for. They saw that Weiss sales weren’t as big as the other girls, so they dropped the racism altogether, and decided to say that she was against her father’s racism the whole time and wanted to better the company.

They could’ve had her say “It was easier to blame the Faunus instead of my father for what happened.” and that probably would have made everything feel more natural. Instead of acknowledging this mistake, the writers decided to drop it altogether and pretend that it never happened.

These guys have also portrayed major real life problems and showed them as jokes, or not as bad.

Take what Sun did for example. Because he decided to stow away on a boat and steal from a fruit stand for funsies, Weiss is actually justified in her rhetoric towards him. He did multiple illegal things in succession right in front of them! Sun didn’t steal because they wouldn’t serve him and it was the only way for him to get food, he didn’t stow away because the ticket guy assumed that he stole a legitimately purchased ticket, he did it for fun. Then he decided to stalk Blake after she had a breakdown and was in a lot of emotional turmoil. And… It’s apparently okay, because he cares about her.

For a character that they decided to say was the victim of abuse, they really didn’t seem to want to portray that as a problem until her abuser did it.

Yang thrashing the nightclub in her trailer?- Apparently not a good look for her to seem violent. So it gets dropped instead of being used as proof that she would attack Mercury unprovoked in volume 3. What’s the count on me pointing out how awesome that would have been again?

And instead of actually understanding the problem, they decided to have Tai make unfair comparisons to Raven, call her soul a “temper tantrum”, essentially say that it was a bad thing for her to rush in against Adam for because she wanted to save Blake (And then the show decides to reward Jaune for similar, albeit more selfish behavior), they decided to try and justify Tai’s comments after she was taught to “not be so hotheaded” and make her a hothead again, probably because a lot of people pointed out that Yang wasn’t really a hothead who never thought in earlier volumes. These guys decided to retroactively justify Tai’s comments, after said comments were supposed to fix the problem. Tai wasn’t even being a father in those scenes, he was being Miles’ mouthpiece.

And then there’s Oz.

Retroactively, I think I get what they’re trying to do. If everyone had known that going into the hunter business meant throwing your body at an immortal opponent, they probably wouldn’t apply to begin with. Nobody is prepared for that, and I think it’s important for people to understand that nobody is prepared for that, so that maybe we shouldn’t be so harsh in jumping at these characters’ throats for pointing that out. Yes, this is vaguing to someone in particular, but that’s not the point. The WoR on aura was narrated by Salem. Who should logically know by this point why Oz keeps coming back, as opposed to the WoR that sorta suggested that maybe reincarnation was his semblance.

In all honesty, it probably would’ve been cooler if it was, as opposed to some god saying “Hey, fix this problem that’s not really being a problem for me. I’m bored and I want to see a good soap opera.”

And really?- Naming your big bad villain after a time when women were falsely prosecuted? What?- Is the show trying to say that women that are abused will become villains and that they have to work through it on their own without a real support system or they’ll become villains that men have to be tasked with stopping? Sounds to me that the writers’ Texas education is seeping into the writing.

Instead of using the lore or characterization that was already established, the writers decided to just keep adding on instead of building on what they already had. Yang being a mother figure to Ruby?- Gone. Jaune wanting to prove that he could be a hero despite his lack of training and his bumbling attitude?- Also gone. Blake being a strong advocate for equality?- Gone. The many hints that Oz’s semblance is what allowed him to reincarnate?- See ya. The hints that Blake was missing one of, if not both of her parents?- Adios.

The writers didn’t really think through character dialogue. And that’s because they’re more used to using pre-established characters. Their last work was RvB’s Chorus Arc, where they had characters that were already characters. They didn’t need to build anything except for a few new ones that would bounce off of the old ones. Say what you want about RvB:Zero, but it actually made use of the new characters it established while only having them bounce off of one already established… And that season is basically just an excuse to make a bunch of cool fight scenes. Seriously. After each fight, I expect Wiz and Boomstick to show up and explain to the audience how and why the fight went the way it did. Then again, that might have to do with their most famous animator animating and being part of the directing process of the current season, but I digress.

The writers aren’t professional. They’ve established this. They’ve also unceremoniously ditched the people closest to Monty. You’d think that after his death, they would’ve reached out to Sheena and said something like “Hey, I know we’re all going through a rough time, but do you want to work with us on this? You were close to Monty, and we think that he would’ve loved for you to be on board with the process.”

But no. She gets shut out, as does Shane. As does a lot of other people close to him.

And then more shit gets piled up, and more problems become more noticeable.

This didn’t feel like a passion project anymore, it felt more like another IP for them to make a profit off of. Hence why we didn’t get any major sexuality reveals until recently (as of me writing this). These guys want to profit as much as they can, and while I understand that they need to have money to put food on the table, dragging out things isn’t the way to go. Neither is rushing past things. The pacing feels off. Nothing feels like it’s going at appropriate speeds anymore, and more and more questionable decisions keep popping up.

Like… Why is Penny’s father a person of color when she’s white?- There’s so many implications behind that that it hurts. Could’ve made them both white.

Why is Ironwood’s semblance basically a neurodivergent aspect of the brain that is effectively the reason why he’s going full dictator? (Personally, if they had kept Ruby’s weapons obsession, that could have worked as a positive representation of what I’m assuming is ADHD as opposed to Ironwood’s very blatant negative portrayal).

Why wasn’t Yang’s lack of faith in Ruby better built up?- It feels like it came out of nowhere, and while I am glad that at least someone is questioning Ruby, and that I’m also kinda glad that it’s someone close to her so that Ruby does have to reflect on it, it… Kinda came up out of nowhere. This could’ve been something she discussed with Blake, but I guess that wasn’t important enough.

The writers don’t really think ahead on a lot of things. It feels like they only focus on the volume in front of them. Which wouldn’t be a bad thing if they also didn’t actively ignore what happened in prior volumes. Like I said: Yang wasn’t really that much of a hothead prior to Tai’s advice. If you want to take a singular instance of her being one as proof that that’s all she is, then I guess Obi-Wan is one too, since he sliced off somene’s arm in A New Hope, and that apparently, nobody wanted to mess with the guy wielding a lightsaber, so nobody tried to confront him outside of Imperial soldiers.

The writers don’t look back on the past, and they don’t look towards the future. They only see the present that’s in front of him. To be honest, it feels like they took the wrong message from Master Oogway’s famous “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift… That is why we call it ‘the present,’“ That quote isn’t to say that one should disregard the past and ignore the future. It means to realize what happened in the past is in the past and that you can learn from it, realize that you can’t control the future because it hasn’t happened yet, and that you can do your best right now to improve the future.

The biggest reason why the rwde tag dwells constantly on past moments is because the writers refuse to learn from them. The writers make the same mistakes, and it’s only when fan outcry is loud enough that they realize it’s a mistake. But they won’t take the time to understand why it was a mistake, they’ll only say “Oh hey, this was a mistake.”

Take Jaune’s screentime for example. Evidently, there was enough outcry about it that Miles no longer likes writing him anymore, but the writers themselves failed to realize why Jaune’s screentime was a mistake.

Jaune’s screentime and development came at the expense of other characters. Other characters that could have also developed alongside him if the writers were smart. Take the whole “Jaune cheated his way in” thing for example. Ruby only got in because of nepotism, if she had found out, then they could both bond and grow from the shared belief that they didn’t deserve to be there on their own merits. It would still be a problem that Jaune got to cheat his way in without repercussions but it would develop the first letter in the title, and Jaune at the same time (and again, my idea that his hero ancestors got him in via nepotism is still there. The writers still have time to retcon it by saying that the parents bribed Jaune’s way in, and that Jaune basically cheated his way in for nothing).

Or take Jaune unlocking his semblance as another example. Aside from fact that this moment is the scene that will forever taint Volume 5 in my eyes as the worst volume ever (Jaune charging Cinder and getting to unlock his semblance because Weiss got impaled because Jaune couldn’t control his revenge boner while Yang charging Adam ends with her being belittled and losing an arm because she wanted to save Blake), that scene could have gone way better. Instead of Weiss, have it be Ren, Nora, or Ruby. Ren had finished up an arc last volume, and given the precedent set by Pyrrha, once a member of team JNPR finishes an arc, they die, Ren being impaled would have put viewers on the edge of their seats. Weiss being impaled doesn’t do that, as she still has many more arcs to go through, and is a title character. Nora is hardly a character, and was certainly a viable target, especially since she was a hard counter to what Hazel was doing. Taking her out would have also made sense because then the main team loses one of their major advantages over the evil team. And finally, Ruby being impaled would have made sense from a character perspective. Considering that Cinder was all “I want revenge on Ruby” the whole volume and the one before it, her targeting Ruby would have made sense. In fact, the whole fight could have been Cinder being largely dismissive towards Jaune and treating him as more of an obstacle to her target for revenge than her just toying with him because she has to have sadist tendencies™.

The writers got that Jaune’s screentime and moments of character development were a problem, but they neglected to understand why it was a problem.

And instead of acknowledging this mistake, they instead decided to bury it, and not acknowledge it at all.

Acknowledging a mistake is better than pretending that the mistake didn’t happen in the first place.

The rabid defenders need to realize that this series isn’t perfect. There are flaws in it. Undoubtedly, if there was another series that had similar, or the same issues as RWBY did, those defenders would call it out, not realizing that the show they defend so fervently, has the same or similar ones.

And the haters need to realize that this show isn’t as flawed as it is. A similar situation as the above would probably take place. Another series has similar, or the same good moments as RWBY does, and they’d probably praise it, despite those same moments being in the show that they hate so much.

So what does this mean for this blog?

It means that this blog isn’t going to be dedicated to simply hating on the show, or blindly praising it. When credit is due, it will be given. When criticism is due, it will be given. This blog is still being run by one guy, and it’s probably going to stay that way.

Nobody’s perfect, not me. Not you. Not the writers.

And similarly, nobody is the physical incarnation of failure. Not me. Not you. Not the writers.

No matter how it feels, we’re all still human. And we all deserve to grow as critics, as writers, as artists, as friends, as family members, as community members, and as people.

Even if it feels like the crew have been given every opportunity to grow as writers, they still deserve all the other opportunities.

Would it be nice if they acknowledged their past fuck-ups and apologized for them?- Yes of course.

Would it be nice to actually see growth from them rather than them just trying to claim that they did?- Duh.

But we’re all human beings.

And in all honesty, I’m tired of hating on the things I can’t control. Hate is one part off of the path to the Dark Side.

Maybe I should do a Star Wars post soon, what with how I referenced it so often here… Who knows?- Maybe this can be more than just a RWBY criticism blog.

[discotreque]

Disco 3.06: Scavengers

And I thought the last one was a nerdfest! What is this, Star Trek?

REPAIR ROBOTS! Oh wait—REFIT ROBOTS!!! I remain continually appalled at the mountains of merch money CBS insists upon leaving on the table.

NCC-1031-A????? OH HELL YES

I feel like the previous version of this show would have had the Disco equipped with super-future-tech by like, the end of episode 2 at the latest. (Remember the ship going undercover for the mirror universe in a 20-second montage?)

Y'all know I'm a slut for props, and the new badges are truly lovely—at least I'll probably be able to buy one of those—and another excellent example of "technology marches on" that should be relatable to anyone old enough to watch this show without parental supervision, probably? When I was in college, I never went anywhere without a digital camera, an iPod, a Palm PDA, half a dozen USB sticks, a paper notebook + pen, and a cell phone that could "surf the internet" for $0.10 per page of plain text—and now I have an iPhone that fills all those roles but better and does a hundred other things too, and I'm just old enough that it still kinda blows my mind sometimes. So: relatable!

But also? Fuck that, I want to see a 32nd-century tricorder!!! Don't give me this blurry holographic bullshit!!!! I WANT PROPS AND THEN I WANT AFFORDABLY PRICED REPLICAS WITH REASONABLE SHIPPING TO CANADA.

Very small, very cute detail: now that everyone has a personal transporter to blip around the ship with, the Discovery-A (!) has done away with the catwalks between the "rings" of the saucer section.

If I were Detmer I might be a little jealous of the way Owo looks at the new swirly interfaces, hahahaha

HI LINUS! BYE LINUS!

Wait—wait—wait. So Book went on this dangerous solo mission to get the black box and programmed his ship's autopilot to literally SAVE THE CAT? Slow clap, Disco writers. Slow clap.

Oh jeez. You can literally see the moment Michael stops trusting Saru. OUCH. And now Evil!Philippa of all people is sticking up for Captain Appetizer? What is going ON here?

(I'm slightly confused about some of the choices these characters are making, but I think I'm supposed to be at this point—I think we're supposed to feel a little bit of Michael's disorientation and alienation among her Disco family to contrast with how much more comfortable this new version of her is around Book.)

OKAY omfg but COUNSELOR GEORGIOU??? Michael has NO patience and is just sassing the SHIT out of her too. I am eating this up with a spoon ahahahaha

TILLY AND GRUDGE :D :D :D :D :D And Michael's little reverse-engineered cat-tracker literally meows instead of pings 😂

Self-sealing stem bolts lmaoooooo

I knew exactly what was going to happen to that poor (and extremely genre-unsavvy) water thief vis-à-vis the exploding-head implant because I've been playing a lot of Fallout 3 and New Vegas lately, which have slave collars that do the same thing. Bummer, dude.

Gray is like "let's go explore the LITERAL AWESOME SPACESHIP we live on" and Adira is like "but my to-do list tho" and tbh I'm both of them <3 (Hard not to picture Ian Alexander crab-crawling out from under the cameras every time Gray has to "disappear," hahaha)

OH HEY IT’S LINUS AGAIN

Ohhhh Tilly. Tilly is so good. (Tilly is so good again! I felt like she kind of... went away in the second half of Season 2. It feels like she's back, and I missed her ❤️) Her point to Saru that Michael's the one who threw them under the bus with Starfleet is unfortunately, entirely apt.

I want Michael Burnham to be absolutely SMOTHERED with love and support so it's really hard to watch her drift apart from her friends like this. I know it's part of a self-discovery (heh) arc that will bring her back into the fold by the end of the season—though at this point I'm not 100% sure it won't be as a civilian contractor to Starfleet or something—and I'm grateful she's got Book so she's not alone for the duration. But ughhhh, also? Let this poor woman REST.

This week in "Sonequa Martin-Green's underappreciated comedic talents": Michael makes a different "give me a fucking break" face every single time Georgiou calls her "Servant," and every single one made me laugh.

Yeah, Ryn's gonna fuckin' die.

BUT THAT'S A RESCUE, HOLY SHIT, BOOK HAS THE COOLEST SHIP EVER, WTFFFF

And Georgiou got Cronenberg'd somehow, so that's great. (Ughhhhhh why is she such a sympathetic psychopath tho)

STAMETS IS GONNA ADOPT A KID! STAMETS IS GONNA ADOPT TWO KIDS AND ONE OF THEM IS GONNA BE POSTHUMOUSLY!

Ryn didn't die! Holy shit!

Okay, if these two don't kiss I swear to—oh heyyyyyy—DAMMIT LINUS!!!!!——AWWWWW YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH 🍾❤️🎉

Pauuuulllllll 😭😭😭😭😭

Oded Fehr is one of my favourite character actors and I really like what he's putting into Admiral Vance as the face of Starfleet's institutional trauma. Vance has been sprinting from crisis to crisis for his entire career, and now the weight of the literal world is on his shoulders. You can see how tired he is, and how hard he's trying not to see Discovery as a source of hope, and how much he wishes he didn't have to be the bad cop in every single argument—but he's responsible for protecting all of what's left of the Federation, so he kind of does. Even when he's being an asshole, there's a lack of relish to it that feels very melancholy to me.

No one has ever delivered an acting performance on Star Trek as powerful relative to the amount of latex glued to their skull as Mr. Doug Jones.

And that was that. This episode felt like the first move into the season's midgame: Book is back; Michael is more adrift than ever; Phillipa's got Section 31–triggered Mirror Universe PTSD or something—and Stamets is drafting up those adoption papers on his holo-PADD. I have no idea where they're going with all of this—I don't even expect "the source of the Burn" to end up clear enough for the satisfaction of anyone on screen or off.

But unlike last year, where I felt like I didn't know what was going on because it didn't make any fucking sense, this feels like I don't know what's going on because the story isn't over yet. And that's an exciting way to feel, even about a more table-setting episode like this one.

Next week: Vulcans! I've been trying to stay away from spoilers, but wasn't Episode 7 rumoured to be titled "Unification III" at some point? 👀👀👀