#new heros purpose episode today!!!!!

[good-beans]

🏠!

[bubblesxo]

gotham fic idea/prompt i might add onto later but who knows

the bats face a powerful meta/magic user/idk who is able to basically trap people in an illusion of some significant night in their lives--see notes for more on that. in order to get out, they have to literally fight the illusions. everyone can see them doing this, but they can't necessarily see other people. maybe they get regressed back to the age where it happened, idk yet.

so. bruce get hit just when the fight is slowing down (someone didn't secure the criminal properly) and suddenly the entire battlefield is overlayed by an image of a circus---but not just any circus. screams everywhere, crying, gunshots, brutal sounds of people being killed and tortured everywhere. the games are all disgusting facsimiles of circus/carnival games--whack-a-mole with people's heads, darts games aiming at people, etc. all from the gotham tv show.

bruce, seventeen years old, with a painted face, kidnapped by a man with red hair and a sewn-on face, a man who looks so much like the joker... but isn't.

the man calls him bruce. the joker /never/ calls him bruce (not in front any of the batfam, anyway), always batman. because the joker likes to take credit for creating the batman.

but the truth is that both the batman and the joker were created by the same man: the man with the sewn-on face. jerome. a name they had never heard before.

idk, thinking of the bats' response to this is fun. what is also fun is imagining a de-aging situation or a ressurection situation--maybe at the same time? who knows!

ugh, i have too many ideas.

[kingdomoftyto]

Huh, AGiT really just took Identity Crisis, already one of the best episodes of the show, and made it 1000x better, didn't it

[nwarrior777]

Wolf's rain post!canon au

"After Rain Goes Rainbow"

will start not with basic explanation but with my fav character (hige) version in this au but um, u will get vibes i promise

also if you think i am wild for making au of some anime being related to hard topics: turn on this anime and listen literally first line. it was thing about minority wanting to live just life, but have to fight for surviving all along

pls gime some notes or smth so i would knew you wanna see and hear more 🥺 i have 3 more sketches already from today "little distraction from work"...

hige au lore under the cut!

He becoming obsessive with this only purpose of his being - guarding the grave of his love. First he becomes cemetery guard, getting the job as a human. Then stop doing anything other his new "job", leaving cemetery only for getting Blue her favorite flowers

in this time of events, Blue is joining to ones who shows themselves - Hige, her lover, prefer to think living under shadows is safer and get now constantly worry about Blue

Blue dies and Hige slowly loosing his mind from grief and anger on Rebelion of Wolves [leading by Chesa and Kiba], blaming them for his Love death. He can't deal with grief and decide to stay with Blue even after

By the time other main heroes finds him, he lost it. He now Guarding Dog of The Cemetery, not letting anyone in

Which is problem because for Saving the World main heroes needs Flowers of All Colors and all Blue flowers are on this Guarded cemetery, because hige brought all he could find to Blue's grave. They have a fight, especially with Kiba [i mean. this arc was inspired by line of "what's the point of the pride if you dead" which Hige says to Kiba in canon so].

But with a help of Chesa they find sudden solution of resurrecting Blue through Life flower powers [will elaborate in next post about this au] which of course, as a flower creation, Chesa has

I think it could be episode, one of "meet main characters" one, focused on Hige. So by end of it he is still traumatized as f and getting overprotective about Blue trying not to let anything bad happen to her, but, he will be fine and everyone in fact will be fine and you know my rule of happy ending in everything

[puppetwoman17]

@ace-is-undead It’s nice to meet a new fan! I hope you make lots of friendships on here❤️

For anyone who’s curious, this person asked me:

as someone taking interest in Captain Marvel because of the movies (never heard of him before :/), I'd love to know why you think the movies ruined Billy's image! Bear in mind, I recently started reading some comics about Shazam

I knew I’d be making a hella long comment, so I thought, hell, let’s make a post!

Now, as a preface, I worded what I said a little too strong. The 2019 movie isn’t the worst piece of Shazam/CM media ever. There are definitely parts of it that I liked. The humor was 10/10 for me, and I did like the costumes. There are things about the story I don’t like, but for the purpose of all of us not sitting here for the next two hours, I will stick with just Billy’s personality.

This post will probably have stated everything more eloquently than me lol:

Many Golden Age heroes were created/used to combat war trauma. To the kids who read those comics, it made them feel safe. To read about these people with fantastical abilities, who regularly fought Nazis, supervillains, and entire armies.

Captain Marvel was a little different, though. It wasn’t an adult who was doing the protecting. Or, it wasn’t JUST an adult. It was also Billy Batson. A kid, like all of the other kids reading these comics. And it was different from kid heroes like Robin because he was the hero. The main hero.

Before the New52 reboot, basically from the 40s-2000s, but I could be wrong, Billy was a homeless kid. His uncle Ebenezer threw him out after his parents died and stole his inheritance. He got a job at Whiz Radio and became a reporter, giving him enough money to get his own apartment.

In one continuity, his friend Dudley becomes his guardian. In the most famous interpretation, the Power of Shazam series from the 90s, he is, after some time, adopted by his twin sister Mary’s adoptive family the Bromfields, and Nora Bromfield happens to be their mother’s cousin.

The important thing to grasp from this is that Billy was independent. Responsible. And when he got his powers, he was also responsible with them. He has a few fumbles, but he was always able to keep them and do good with them.

His Captain Marvel persona was also like that. He led the Squadron of Justice, a team of Fawcett heroes. There are also instances of heroes like Batman and Superman praising him as a trustworthy hero, even knowing about his identity.

It’s also important to note that, while in some times the Captain character is childish, he is never stupid. He makes mistakes, is a little goofy, but he never does anything outright cringe worthy.

A prime example of a good interpretation is the JLU episode Clash. The whole JL really likes him. For some reason my tumblr is acting up today so I can’t put any videos without it not allowing me to type afterwords. But the series is on Netflix. Like holy heck, Bruce says they all like him because he’s sunny. Bruce!

There’s also comic examples, like Action comics #768, which is in the POV of Superman. I’m just gonna put everything Clark thinks as text.

“And then it happens.”

“Armed with the wisdom of Solomon, the patience of Atlas, and the focus of Achilles, a teenage boy in the body of a man defends human kind to a frog goddess.”

“I can’t imagine anything more ludicrous. I can’t imagine anything more moving.”

“With unmatched eloquence, he explains humanity’s needs, our weaknesses, and our relationships with nature to a being as old as time.”

“She retorts. It’s not the act itself that enrages her, but the fact that her people are taken for granted.”

“Bred, butchered, wasted. Without appreciation for the contribution to the lifecycle.”

“He emphasizes. It is a horrible thing to be underestimated, unappreciated, forgotten.”

“His sincerity is a living thing. They speak for an eternity until Heqt has been heard and appeased.”

“Then, the war is over. Diplomacy and reason succeeds, where force…where I… simply would have failed.”

This is another example:

I mean the whole Captain Marvel-focused panel is Clark and Bruce arguing with Diana that Cap will be a great asset to the League, and how Bruce wants him on because he’s just GOOD. They all knew he was a kid, and they didn’t care because they trusted him that much!

Many 80s and 90s comic showed Cap as this beacon of hope, very akin to his Fawcett era, which is why so many of us liked it. He was still goofy at times, but it never overshadowed how much of a hero he was. Hell, the Fawcett heroes never gave a damn about him being a kid. All they saw was a person doing good, and they automatically began working with him.

He would get into friendly tussles with Superman, and him and Diana hugged one time, and she confided in him about how she might die. I can’t find the issue, but it’s drawn by Alex Ross, so that may narrow it for you.

Cap was genuinely respected. There are even some comics where Billy’s is interacting with the League as himself and they treat him like any other friend!

And Billy was chosen not because he was a last resort, but because the Wizard saw so much good and purity in him. He still made mistakes, but he was never not worthy.

Compare that with, not just the Shazam movies, but the DCAMU movies(JL War & Throne of Atlantis), and you get a whole other monster. I mean, he is just dumb, awful. He’s good when he’s Billy, a little snarky while also being a good person and comforting Cyborg(before taking his jersey, lol). But when he’s Shazam(his name in the DCAMU) every single thing that came out of his mouth was just… not it. If gets even worse in Throne of Atlantis. Literally almost everyone on the team hates him. The only reason Cyborg doesn’t is because he knows his identity.

In the 2019 Shazam movies, hes very similar. They made him a lot more jaded, which just ruined his character for me because Billy is the type of person who would rather die than talk down to other kids going through what he did. I’m cool with the rebelliousness, it’s just that that I’m worried about. It’s even worse in the 2013 shazam comic series because he’s actually way meaner there. Like jeez, why do you want me to hate this boy so much DC??

And as his Shazam self, he’s like ten times more goofy and irresponsible, which is such a backwards take it’s insane.

The character of Captain Marvel was beloved by so many children because it showed that they could be just like those other heroes. They could fight the monsters and get the job done, and no one would look down on them. They would be taken seriously. Seeing this kid bond with and interact with and be trusted by these seasoned adult heroes was EVERYTHING.

I may not have a grown up in the 40s/50s, but I did get introduced to him in JLU, and then Young Justice, and then obscure media, and then comics. And through that journey, the take I loved infinitely more was of Captain Marvel being this guy who made mistakes, but always tried to do the right thing.

Making him out to be this…immature dude who never knew what he was doing just stomped on all of us. It also really irks me because that is how some people will be introduced to him. As opposed to who he really is. And they won’t be interested because the face value is all they’ll see.

Heck, some people think he’s one of the weakest DC characters when he ranks in the top ten. He’s the Champion of Magic and guardian of the Rock of Eternity for Pete’s sake! He’s fought and almost won against the Specter himself! (Day of Vengeance comic series, it’s so good!)

It’s unclear why his character has been so diminished. Some people, including me, think DC is trying to lower his…everything in general so he can never measure up to the Man of Steel, which is so petty it’s ridiculous.

Hopefully he’ll get something in James Gunn’s new DCU, a movie or a show. Because I feel like there’s a chance to reintroduce the true Captain/Shazam to people.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my petty-fueled rant😅. Sorry for the angry spews. Anyway, there are some good reading lists for Shazam/Cap on tumblr. I really advise you to check those out. Though there are also a few articles on google listing all of his appearances, so if you wanna get detailed then those are where you should go.

We also have a Captain Marvel fan club! Go over to @im-not-buying-it-ether and ask for an invite for more content.

I hope you have a fulfilling journey!

[piko-rose]

Being a Sonamy fan is hard (and just being an Amy Rose fan in general)

*quick note, I have only seen a few leaks regarding Sonic X Shadow Generations so take this post with a grain of salt and please add in some stuff about the game that I should be aware of because I have a feeling that this post might be incorrect about a lot of things*

*contains possible Sonic X Shadow Generations spoilers*

Being in love with Sonic isn't Amy's only trait. She is something more. She's a baker, a tarot card user, she's got a strong heart of gold, and is just a passionate and cheerful cute little weird girl.

As a Sonamy fan, these "changes" are nothing special or big, it's still just Amy being Amy, but this time more than just wanting to be with Sonic. I am aware of that one edit where Amy was trying to give Sonic cupcakes. It's really cute, but it's not the same without the hand over her face. Am I complaining? Yes, and no, it's hard to describe. (I don't have the image with me atm but in the future I'll edited in on this post)

I'm not complaining because we are seeing Amy just doing more than just, loving over Sonic. She still is in that cutscene, and most of the game as far as I'm concerned (I haven't seen all of the leaks), but in a more calmer fashion.

But at the same time, I am complaining because, and I highly doubt SEGA is doing this, at least on purpose, but Amy's crush on Sonic feels like is getting buried in a way.

I kind of worry that a newer generation of Sonic fans will never find out about Amy's crush for Sonic, or just how wonderful their dynamic in general is if this keeps going on.

I know it won't, but still, we haven't been seeing that a lot. But at least if you want to introduce new fans Sonic and Amy's dynamic, platonically or romantically, make sure to not bring up Heroes or a couple of X episodes please LMAO

(But that one episode where Amy and Sam talk about her relationship with Sonic, yeah, bring that one up. OH. and the last episode of Season 2, don't forget about that one.)

Look, we're all high on Son/adow right now, and it feels good, but what about Sonamy? Sonamy and Son/adow have a lot in common and are both really good with angst potential and lots of great character interactions. At least in my opinion anyway. (Topic for another day, if I'm brave enough)

I love them both equally, so I want to see an equal amount of hedgehog dorks being together. Or better yet, Sonamyshad. 😎

But I'm getting slight off-topic...

I don't want Amy's crush to be forgotten. You don't even have to like Sonamy to understand why and how Amy's feelings for him is actually really important for her character. (Again, topic for another day)

I mean, of course, some reasons as of why relate to my personal headcanons, but there are other good in-canon reasons, too!

Hell, even Sonic and Amy's friendship is just as important. They don't have to be a couple, but that doesn't mean we have to pretend that Amy never fell in love with the hedgehog who saved her life in more ways than one.

I also don't want how much Sonic and Amy's relationship improved throughout the years to be forgotten, either. This is why I'd rather have the shot of Sonic's covering her face with his hand, because he wouldn't do this today, and that's the point of all this...

They both started off as goofy, little kids, one wanting to share her love like wildfire, and the other always running off, not understanding the concept of love, and, of course, not loving her back.

Amy was much more loud and expressive about her love, and Sonic, while he knows there is good in Amy, does not want to be part of a relationship, and doesn't know how to talk things out about it, even with Amy not taking "no" for an answer. The solution? Just run away lol

Yeah, there are times where he called her a "pain" and thought of her as "annoying," but those times he was either in a hurry, or in a bad mood. Remember: They were both younger at the time, so it's in-character for Sonic at that age.

Sonic and Amy don't have a lot of moments where they're just, together. And not just for a "date." Sonic doesn't know a lot about Amy other than her love for him. ...Okay, some things he does know, but not a lot.

Their relationship was beginning to shift after the events of Lost World and especially after Forces, which I would explain, but I'm gonna put a link here because I don't want this post to be too long.

But if you have read it, then the next couple of texts would have some context lol

Anyways, after all that, Sonic and Amy's relationship was a lot different now. Amy was more calm but still cheerful, just not showing a lot of her love for Sonic because she's fully aware that none of that is important, and Sonic was more gentle around her because he wanted to be better than how he acted towards her for a while.

They both just want to hang out and start over as proper friends, but eventually, Sonic would find out what Amy was going through mentally, and how long she kept this from him.

Perhaps after that, Sonic wouldn't mind being closer to Amy, but he still has a world to look after. But hey, maybe slowing down and letting Amy catch up with him won't be so bad. Besides, he's finally seeing her happy with just him for the first time in a while, and he never realized just how much he missed it until now.

Buuuuut, those are just my headcanons, like I mentioned earlier. We all have our reasons why we love or dislike a ship (as long as it's not gross), and I have my own.

These two, just like son/adow, hold a special place in my heart because of what I went through myself, and how much they both have grown, and I truly hope that their relationship and friendship won't be forgotten.

I know it won't happen, but I still have that feeling... Probably because no body cares about their dynamic as much anymore.

Because of the past and people misinterpreting the ship, and Amy's character as a whole, the fandom seemed to care less about it. I mean, I don't blame them, but... it's still pretty messed up.

It's fine if you don't like sonamy, but I really hope you dislike it for a genuine reason, and not just because of some fans getting some things, or worse, everything about Amy and/or the ship wrong.

Amy's character arcs through the games, and her and Sonic's dynamic through the years have been overlooked as far as I'm concerned. Not like heavily overlooked, it's just that it's been a while since I've seen people give a damn about Amy Rose, especially SEGA.

I know we got The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, but I feel like that's not enough.

What's going on with Sonic X Shadow Generations is pretty strange, but first of all, it's not Ian's fault god dammit, and second, I don't see it as a big deal. I haven't seen most of the leaks, but as far as I'm concerned, it's not that bad.

(But I have heard about that one cutscene with Knuckles and Classic Sonic and I couldn't help but laugh my ass off over it XD)

But with how the game is handling Amy, please be aware that this isn't the first time this happened, and it's not even that bad either. I mean, yeah I did mention how I'm worried about it, but I was over it once, I'll get over it again lol

There have been discussions about this since the Fast Friends Forever bio thing that happened last year, and I'm getting kind of tired of the arguments by now.

Amy stopped chasing Sonic not because she doesn't love him anymore, but because she doesn't need too. She is part of the team and has been closer with Sonic for a long time now. She doesn't need to follow them around when she already have proven herself to be useful and a fighter.

I'm really happy Amy is being recognized as something more than having a crush on Sonic, but having a crush is the heart of Amy's character.

Looking up to Sonic and wanting to be like him is what made Amy Rose... well, Amy Rose. She pushed herself and fought hard to be the person she wanted to be, and it's all thanks to Sonic.

He inspired a lot of people around him, especially Amy, so it's no wonder why she loves him so much. Plus, her tarot cards told her that he would be the love of her life, but I feel like even if the cards are wrong (not saying they are lol), she still loves him.

I want Amy's feelings for Sonic, and their friendship and their potential relationship to be remembered for a long time. I don't want them to be pushed to the side forever.

I don't want people to believe that her crush is her only trait, even though it's so important to her character.

I don't want Amy to change too much. Friends or not, I don't want her to give up on Sonic entirely.

I don't want this fandom to forget about Amy Rose.

[ilikekidsshows]

Miraculous WAS a good cartoon, right? There were the seeds and setups for something pretty special there, before it went off the rails (and claimed that those were the real rails all along, metaphor falling apart, whatever). Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir was compelling enough that we still put our minds to talking about it long after new episodes cease to hold any appeal for us.

Are there other stories you used to like that turned out super disappointing, but some blorbo or plot line still won’t let go? Would you say there’s a factor that determines whether or not you stay motivated to make fanworks for a disappointing story?

---

Miraculous was never a flawless show, but its flaws used to be a lot more understated, like, a whole lot. The thing about Miraculous is that the Miraculouses give us a really good story engine, there’s a good balance between school drama and superhero action, and we have a large cast of colorful characters. There’s something for everyone’s tastes. Miraculous was designed with a wide range of appeal on purpose and it worked. The early seasons also leaned into these strengths.

A big factor in this are the Akumas. We used to get a different Akuma in almost every single episode, with the entire episode plot revolving around the Akuma victim’s troubles and life. This format is very similar to the original Sailor Moon anime, where Usagi would meet an acquaintance or stranger who’d be targeted by the villains to absorb their energy or turn them into a monster. The Akuma victims getting such high billing also meant that having the classmates get targeted was a really easy way to showcase them.

The focus on resolving personal problems and misunderstandings also meant that the show had something to say about relationships. So many of the show’s problems are caused by miscommunication, especially for Marinette herself, that it functioned as a central theme for the series. With the inclusion of the Marigami arc, where Marinette learns to look past her personal wants to see Kagami as more than an obstacle for her happiness, and episodes like ‘Party Crasher’, where Nino and Marinette both realize they went overboard for Adrien, Marinette was clearly learning to be more considerate and aware of others. This was a very relatable, consistent and solid theme that made the show easy to get into.

But, like, these weaknesses in the writing team didn't come out of nowhere, hence why a lot of the problems were there from the beginning, like inconsistency. The difficulty the writers have seems to be in concluding stories and arcs. It often seems that the team knows how stories usually end, but they don't know why they end like that, so they just try to “subvert” the common conclusions because they might think, like many TV writers these days, that being clever is more important than being consistent.

‘Reflekdoll’ is such a good microcosm of how the writers have a hard time with completing stories, since everything alway comes down to ‘Reflekdoll'. Usually the power swap episode starts with the heroes not appreciating each other or their powers enough and ends with them learning to appreciate each other more, but, in ‘Reflekdoll’, the episode starts with Cat Noir saying he has the easy job and Ladybug calling him a jokester, and then the episode ends with Cat Noir “admitting” that he didn’t realize how much work being Ladybug is and Marinette "learning" that Cat Noir really is nothing but a clown that she never has to worry about, meaning they actually learned nothing, because the episode snaps its internal consistency in half in order to finish off with dialogue that reaffirms their female protagonist. In addition, Adrien actually learns that he isn't fit for important roles. Season five has concluded and they both still believe these things, despite us getting a redo with a more “proper” take on a power swap, so it wasn't that ‘Reflekdoll’ was a one-off parody of “what did we learn today?” episodes like The Owl House’s ‘Once Upon a Swap’ where the lesson is meant to be bad. It's just messy writing.

Part of the problem, I feel, is that all that potential and setup and successful episodes like Heroes Day made Miraculous so popular that the writers got too cocky and started including more stuff that they couldn’t actually write consistently or well. They thought the audience would consider anything they wrote good or they thought they had to reach higher levels of “hype” by including shiny new ideas to keep things from getting “repetitive”, like they phrased it in the London Special. All previous character arcs get dropped. Instead it’s all about creating moments that will trend on social media, either in terms of “twists” or romance scenes. So that was where they put their focus, on romance scenes and creating “surprising” twists and “subverting expectations”.

Another aspect of this cockiness is that seasons 4 and 5 are too ambitious for the writing crew’s skill level or writing style. The Miraculous crew, as I said, is good at writing isolated scenes and sometimes whole isolated episodes, when the episode is so simple that they don’t end up accidentally contradicting themselves by forgetting what they wrote for the beginning. This means that seasons 1-3 being mostly episodic with some recurring plot threads played to their strengths, but part of the hype for the retool was changing Miraculous to be more serialized, where the episodes have a proper viewing order, which is why Astruc was asking people not to watch episodes out of order when they kept being dropped whenever.

Yet, once again, most of the actual development in seasons 4-5 happens in the premiere and finale, just like in the more episodic seasons. The thing about a continuous plot is that you need to actually have a continuous plot that moves along every few episodes at least instead of the characters spending fifteen episodes faffing about before anything important happens again, basically just having a different status quo for one season, or having a single other plot-important episode in the middle of the season to fake having continuous plot progression, but that actually is just two status quos (like S5 being split into “Marinette tries to move on from Adrien” and “Adrinette are dating” status quos). In addition, several details get changed as the episodes progress, making what little continuity there is contradictory. The Miraculous crew can’t write a continuous plot because they can’t keep their details consistent.

The London Special gives us a lot of evidence that this is what’s going on. It’s almost as meta as ‘Simpleman’, with Alix making comments about getting a working formula but then needing to change things up to keep things interesting. She is literally describing how to write an episodic, formulaic cartoon, which Miraculous isn’t supposed to be anymore. Miraculous is being hyped up as a continuous story, but it’s being written like an episodic one, where character development takes forever to stick, if it ever does, and plot threads get dropped as soon as a newer, shinier idea comes along.

This is the thing with Astruc constantly defending people being confused over his writing with: “You’re thinking too complicated” or “Keep it simple”: he’s a simple writing guy. Give him a premise and a status quo and he’ll keep it going for several seasons. But he can’t deliver a more complex story or concept in a way that the audience can just instantly pick up on, which makes his favorite defense so silly, because the one making things needlessly complicated and shitting the bed because he can’t handle what he tried to tackle is Astruc himself. “The love interest is actually a human-shaped remote control robot made with a magical artifact and the remote control is his parents’ wedding bands, meaning Adrien was only not going to be controlled by them after they were dead or they decided to give the rings up, but this human and children’s rights violation isn’t supposed to make Gabriel and Emilie the villains but sympathetic characters instead while Adrien’s suffering isn’t supposed to be a concern” is not simple in my opinion, but maybe I’m the weird one for thinking that. Maybe I’m the weird one for thinking that the main villain of 5 seasons and 131 episodes getting to destroy the world is a villain victory, too. I should just “keep it simple” and consider it Marinette’s victory instead because the characters were smiling in the end (sarcasm).

Usually, when a show ends up flopping for me, there's a clear change in the show that just lets me go: “none of that happened, the show ended here”, like TMNT 2003 with Fast Forward and Back to the Sewers seasons. After the jump to the future, the plots became uninspired and the characterization became flatter. The show had already wrapped up its storylines before the retool, so I can just pretend the retool never happened and easily enjoy the original TMNT as the best Turtles cartoon that it is.

I think the problem with Miraculous in comparison to other shows that ended up flopping for me, is that Miraculous' problems make the good parts of the show retroactively unenjoyable to me. Adrien is a remote control robot that will never be truly freed, so his struggle for self-expression and freedom in the previous seasons becomes a Shaggy Dog story that could never have had a happy ending. Similarly, the love square scenes are hard to enjoy because Marinette’s flaws are vindicated instead of learned from. Nothing the pre-retool show sets up is delivered on, and when it is delivered on, it’s the worst possible way things could go because the writers wanted to “subvert expectations” or “keep things simple”. The post-retool show dooms the pre-retool characters, because the starting signs of that doom are already there, in all the character arcs they end up dropping. Miraculous doesn’t bother with concluding anything it sets up, it just moves on to the next shiny idea. You aren’t given anything satisfying to be content with before the show drops the ball.

I think a similar experience for me that didn’t ruin my love of fanworks was My Hero Academia. It was another new take on superheroes, but it also ends up delivering on basically nothing it sets up. Horikoshi is just throwing ideas around and dropping them just as quickly and neither the characters nor the world end up changing that much, despite the narrative screaming at us that change is needed. But those dropped ideas are really interesting, there’s a bunch of pretty neat story arcs at the start of the series, I am absolutely obsessed with Toshinori, and none of my other favorite characters are treated too poorly by the narrative in any egregious way other than a lack of screen time (singular scenes for the girls are crimes, though) so, like, I can still very much enjoy fanfics and comics and art that gives the spotlight to those ignored characters and fixes my other grievances.

Basically, it’s a question of whether or not the things that made you stop loving the show made it harder to still love the things you used to love about the show. If you can just say: “the story stops before that happens/the character starts acting like that”, then it’s easier to enjoy the fandom. Also, like, if the bad thing that happens is directed at your top favorite character or relationship, the one thing you tune in to see, then it’s going to make you too mad to just ignore or forget about.

Adrien was the number one thing about Miraculous that I loved above all else. So when most of these awful creative decisions made it harder to enjoy him, I had to ask myself: “What am I willing to put up with?” and the answer was: “Not this sentinonsense!”

[dilirebas]

My review of Joy of Life 2

The much-anticipated sequel to Joy of Life finally had its broadcast this year, and it picked up exactly where the first series left off. When Fan Xian returns to Southern Qing after a successful trip to Northern Qi, he immediately faces an assassination attempt by the Second Prince. Although he survives, this is just the beginning of the challenges and dangers that await him.

I really think, perhaps controversially, that the second series is even better than the first!

JoL2 has all the humour and warmth of JoL2 (seriously, it's still so funny), but it also has a darker overall tone. Fan Xian's experiences have shown us that this is an uglier and more dangerous world than we had originally thought. Characters are showing their true colours as their plans and motivations unravel.

We also see an angrier and less trusting Fan Xian. Not everything goes his way anymore. We realize that there are characters who can outwit him, and there are characters that have something to teach him. But that's what I find so exciting about JoL2 -- these newfound challenges raise the stakes and allow Fan Xian to grow as a character.

And at the heart of these challenges lies the fact that Fan Xian is a hopeful and principled person who can't ignore his vision for a fairer and better world. There are easier paths available to him but he refuses to give into his cynical surroundings.

It's true that JoL2 has a bit of a slow start. I'd say the pace and excitement picks up again towards the end of episode 3. But 3 slower episodes on the front end really isn't much to complain about. Remember that JoL1 had a slow start too, but those episodes served a purpose and they were 100% worth watching.

There are characters from JoL1 that will leave an even deeper impression on you in JoL2. For me, one of those characters was Lin Ruofu, and another one was the Crown Prince - for very different reasons. And, of course, the Emperor.

There are also new characters who are loveable and hilarious, including the Grand Princess of Northern Qi, the Eldest Prince of Southern Qing, and Deng Ziyue.

The cast chemistry in JoL2 is so good, you guys!! There are scenes where the actors' rhythms and energies come together so perfectly (whether it's comedic timing or dramatic buildup) and you just want to watch them over and over again.

I also think Zhang Ruoyun has improved as an actor. I know his original Fan Xian was already beloved and critically acclaimed, but he has continued to mature as an actor in the past few years. This time around, his performance as Fan Xian is simultaneously more explosive and more nuanced. There's much more happening in the details of his acting now.

To me, Li Qin as Lin Wan'er felt a bit like a weak link in a sea of outstanding performances. Compared to some of the others, she just felt less natural in her character. She's an excellent actress so this probably just isn't her best, and she still has several scenes where she makes a strong impression.

It took me a while to get used to the recasting of Yan Bingyun. I understand why it happened (Xiao Zhan's career skyrocketed after he filmed JoL1) but the new actor (Wu Xingjian) took a different approach that I didn't think was an upgrade. The new Yan Bingyun feels like a flatter and more transparent character, but that does also make sense in a way. In any case, Wu Xingjian still delivered in key scenes.

Through the lens of history (if you can call the setting history?), this drama touches on a range of themes and topics that remain relevant today. Fan Xian is not a saint but he's an admirable character by the standards of any society and he's the type of hero that every society needs.

If you've made it to this point in the review without having watched JoL1: I think you do need to watch the first series for the second series to make sense. But both series are amazing (like I truly believe they are among the best of the best of cdramas) and it will absolutely be worth your time. Run, don't walk!

[gunterfan1992]

Episode Review: "Fionna Campbell"/"Simon Petrikov" (Fionna & Cake, Eps. 1-2)

If you had told me on the day that Adventure Time was canceled that almost a decade into the future, I would still be writing reviews about new episodes, I would have never believed you. And yet, today saw the release of not one, but two new episodes. (It seems that the fun really will never end!) What a world we live in!

----

When I first heard that Fionna and Cake would be the focus of the newest Adam Muto-produced Adventure Time spin-off, I was a touch apprehensive. It is not that I disliked the characters... I just worried that they might not be able to anchor ten 22-minute episodes. After all, the two were always something of a funny gimmick. Other than explaining if they were real, what more was there to say about them?

My tentative apprehension started to dissipate when I learned that the one, the only Simon Petrikov would play a major part in the miniseries. Simon was always a strong character, and there was much to his story that still needed to be teased out. His presence in the miniseries signaled one thing: Fionna and Cake would not just be a fluffy romp, but rather one of mythological significance! Needless to say, my interest was fully piqued, and I began to count down the days when the miniseries would debut.

And now that the first two episodes are out, I am happy to say that my tentative fears were likely misplaced. Indeed, if "Fionna Campbell" and "Simon Petrikov" are indicative of the overall quality of this miniseries, we're in for a good time!

So let's dig in!

Airdate: August 31, 2023

Story by: Anthony Burch, Adam Muto, Hanna K. Nyström, Jack Pendarvis, Kate Tsang

Storyboarded by: Hanna K. Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, Haewon Lee, Jacob Winkler

Directed by: Ryann Shannon (supervising), Hans Tseng (art)

The miniseries kicks off with "Fionna Campbell," which follows the story of Fionna the human... No, not that Fionna the Human. This Fionna does not live in a magic land, and it is only in her dreams that she's a swashbuckling hero. Instead, the Fionna we meet lives in a mundane world very much like our own. This Fionna seems to feel as if she fundamentally lacks any sense of purpose. Accompanying her throughout her non-adventures in this alternate reality is Fionna's (non-magical) cat, Cake. The main plot of the episode begins after Cat and Fionna have a strange dream, whereupon Cake begins to act erratically; it is almost like she desperately needs to be in contact with ice of all things. After a series of humorous set pieces in which Fionna repeatedly discusses the dullness of her reality with a variety of uncannily familiar characters, Cake goes bananas and makes a mad dash for an ice cream cart. As Fionna gives chase, Cake dives into the cart, which turns into a magic portal and teleports Cake to a different world...

Of the two episodes discussed in this review, "Fionna Campbell" was the least impactful. Do not misunderstand me: It was still a fun, charming episode, but it did little more than introduce us to our heroines and set up the plot of the miniseries. The issue with this is that it makes much of the episode, on a strictly narrative level, superfluous (for instance, were you to have Cake dart over to Fionna's ice dispenser and have it—rather than an ice cream cart—the overall story would still work just fine). But while much of this episode is technically "unnecessary," it nevertheless mines a lot of goodwill and humor by introducing us to gender-bent "real world" versions of beloved Adventure Time characters (e.g., "Queen" [Queen of Ooo], "Ellis P." [Lumpy Space Prince], "Gary Prince" [Prince Gumball]). Perhaps I am biased as a Marceline fan, but hands-down the best of the gender-bent bunch is Marshall Lee, played once again by the uber-talented and oh-so-witty Donald Glover. (That said, Pen Ward's oddball hobo-vet character, "Ellis P.," is a close second.)

Regardless of any narrative weirdness, I applaud Muto et al. for approaching this Fionna and Cake storyline from a different angle. It would have been very, very easy to simply drop us back into the genderbent world that we have already visited in the main series. This, honestly, is what I was expecting the series to do. Instead, the writers decided to introduce versions of Fionna and Cake that feel more like they are from our world. This makes them solid audience surrogates. Over the course of the episode, I came to see Fionna as a character in and of herself, not just as a female version of Finn. Likewise, Cake felt less like "feline Jake," and more like a goofy house cat (albeit one that has a case of the Zoomies from Hell). "Fionna Campbell," in a word, gives Fionna and Cake a chance to become their own people before throwing them into the wider world of Ooo.

Airdate: August 31, 2023

Story by: Anthony Burch, Adam Muto, Hanna K. Nyström, Jack Pendarvis, Kate Tsang

Storyboarded by: Iggy Craig, Graham Falk, Jim Campbell, Lucyola Langi

Directed by: Steve Wolfhard (supervising), Hans Tseng (art)

After the purposefully abrupt ending to "Fionna Campbell," we are suddenly thrown head first back into the familiar Land of Ooo with "Simon Petrikov."

This episode picks up several years after the main series. Simon is now living a, shall we say, "unorthodox life in a museum-like facility, where he is treated as a relic of the past. He has lost his sense of purpose and direction, and he struggles with loneliness and boredom. Simon, in a word, is depressed. It does not help matters that people keep asking him about "his" Fionna and Cake novels--novels that he repeatedly emphasizes Ice King wrote. Alas, it is no use, and so Simon goes to the tavern owned by Dirt Beer Guy (A+ cameo) to drink his sorrows away. It is here that he runs into a 20-something Finn in all his himbo glory. Finn sees that Simon isn't doing well and insists that he must go on an adventure to reclaim his joie de vivre. Simon reluctantly follows Finn into the most primordial corner of Ooo, where the two are nearly killed multiple times.

At the end of the episode, Simon returns to his museum-home feeling just as bad as he did before. After sneaking off into his closet, we learn that his depression has driven him to create a shrine to GOLB; using the demoniac power of Evil Choose Goose, he subsequently attempts to summon the deity, presumably to reconnect with Betty. But, just like the best laid plans of mice and men, Simon's scheme fails to summon any eldritch abominations, but it does open up the portal we saw at the end of "Fionna Campbell." And out from this portal pops Cake the Cat!

The episode immediately shifts to Prismo's time room, where we see an alarm on the wish-master's remote begin to blink ominously…

Wow, what an episode!

I appreciate the focus "Simon Petrikov" places on depression and the struggle against nihilism. Simon, after all, is a man thrust into a new world. Everything he used to strive for is gone. Even the madness that took his old world away from him is gone. This might sound like a good thing, but interestingly, it seems to have had a deleterious effect on Simon’s psyche: Previously, when Simon was metaphorically locked within the recesses of Ice King's mind, he had something to strive for: He could overcome the crown’s curse and regain his sanity. And then he did! Thus, Ice King ended and Simon was back. But alas, his arrival occurred at the literal end of the story. The big bad was gone. The goal had been reached. All that was left was the ride into the sunset. But Simon could not do that, because even though he regained his sanity, it ultimately cost him his love, Betty.

I won't lie: I found Simon's story to be deeply relatable. For those who don't know, I recently earned my PhD. It was a long, uphill battle, and after I earned that degree… I didn't know what to do. In truth, I still don't know what to do. I have been a student almost my entire life, and now the rest of that life lays out in front of me. I achieved what I originally wanted; it is time to figure out what I currently want. Honestly, it has been an occasionally gloomy time, and I won't lie, I have struggled quite a bit with depression these last few months just trying to figure everything out. In doing so, I have realized just how much of my life I have sunk into my degree. It has been a bit disheartening to realize that while I have a doctorate, but it cost me the entirety of my 20s to get it. So yes, while I did not lose the love of my life to an eldritch demon-god, I still empathize with Simon's listlessness and his existential angst. (As an aside, post-PhD depression is very a real thing, y'all!)

When you have gained what you thought you wanted and lost that which was really important, what do you do? Of course, it is easy to simply collapse in despair. This is capitulation to vulgar nihilism, and it is something that I have struggled with ("Why even bother doing anything..."). At the start of "Simon Petrikov," the titular character is very close to this collapse, too. Indeed, Simon starts off in a dark place, but paradoxically, this darkness holds the seeds that can grow into a life-changing journey. After all, when we are at our lowest, the only (productive) way to go is up. Put most simply, Finn was actually right: Simon needs an adventure to reignite within him that sense of drive and purpose. But the catch here is that that adventure needs to be meaningful to Simon. It needs to spark something unique within his soul. The bizarro arrival of Cake may thus be exactly what he needs. Cake is not just a mystery—she's a mystery that perhaps only Simon can solve, since it was Simon (or, at least a version of him) who dreamed her up in the first place!

Simon now has a purpose.

Purpose.

Once again, Adventure Time is reminding us of the importance of "purpose." Purpose, the show seems to be saying, is what gives meaning to our lives, what motivates us to overcome challenges, and what inspires us to contribute to society. Without purpose, we may feel lost, empty, or hopeless. What, then, is the show suggesting we do to gain this sense of purpose? It is hard to say, given that the miniseries isn't over, but my guess is that the show is emphasizing that while meaning can emerge from even the most chance of occurrences, it is not enough to just recognize these coincidences. Instead, we have to seize them, embrace them, and make them our own. We have to act on our purpose, and not let it slip away. At the end of "Simon Petrikov," Simon is put in this exact spot, and while he might show some reluctance to seize the moment, something tells me that he'll eventually act in a major way.

Am I on the right track? I guess we'll have to wait a few weeks to find out!

----

When news about the series first started to leak, I remember there was a lot of hubbub about its more "adult" tone. I was a bit apprehensive when I heard this; part of what I love about Adventure Time is that it is capable of being scary and profound without having to stoop to the shock value of cheap swears and bloody violence. After seeing these episodes, my worries have mostly been put to rest. After all, most of the "swearing" is pretty mild, and it seems to be used rather judiciously. (That said, I did a double take when Cake told Fionna to "Puke [the bad guy] up"—I thought she said another "-uck" word!) On top of all that, it was often just funny! Queenie shrieking "Jesus!" when Fionna ripped her pants off was comedy gold, as was Finn's line about "bust[ing Simon's] balls" back in the day. I'm a bit more ambivalent when it comes to the gorier elements (e.g., Finn killing that mudskipper in a bloody splatter), but that's largely because it feels a bit incongruous with the lighthearted Land of Ooo that we know. Adventure Time was often violent, this is true, but it was rarely gory. That said, the violence in these episodes is not over the top—this isn't Superjail! or anything—and I hope the show continues to maintain that nice balance. Right now, everything mostly feels "right."

All in all, these were solid episodes. In addition to all the positives that I outlined above, there were a variety of other things that made me smile. I'm quite happy that the show is returning to the multiverse lore, as I always felt that was a story thread that the show never explored to the fullest. The various cameos were also delightful (I had a lot of fun guessing who all the gender-bent normies were supposed to be representative of), and I loved the little post-Mushroom War Simon & Marcy moment. And of course, hearing Marceline say that someone is "pissed" is something that I didn't know I needed to hear!

I cannot wait to see what the series has in store for Simon, Fionna, and Cake.

Final "Fionna Campbell" Grade: B

Final "Simon Petrikov" Grade: A

[ebisul]

TCW Rewatch: Season 3 Episodes 1-4

Not much to say about these episodes but I love the clones and Riyo Chuchi so it’s nice to see them.

Episode 1: Clone Cadets

* Echo and Fives Kamino backstory episode

* Why does cutup have such a wildly different accent

* Dont be mean to 99

* Or Echo

* No wonder you fucking suck, you all treat eachother like shit

* Shaak ti vouching for domino squad and the humanity of the clones <3

* I love Shaaki Ti

* The interaction between cutup and brick is my favorite bc hes so snarky toward him and has like zero respect for him

Episode 2: ARC Troopers

* Is this episode another flashback episode? It ties into the Rishi Moon episode in season one i think

* The Hevy tribute on their armor is such a great detail

* Kamino was already having an issue stretching Jango’s dna and now the dna is getting targetted, is it not possible to clone the clones? Or use one of the unaltered clones dna? How does cloning work?

* Oh no not Colt:(

* Love to see Obi Wan throwing Grievous around

* Oh no…

* Rex comforting Cody after 99 is so sweet

* I do like that we get more clone episodes this season

Episode 3: Supply Lines

* Separatists attacking Ryloth

* Naming him Ima-Gun Di is cruel amd hilarious

* The Jedi Council are contacting Bail to help get supplies to Ryloth due to the Separatists destroying the fleet protecting Ryloth and breaking their supply lines

* Why would anyone ever send JarJar to do any negotiations

* I still dont totally understand Dooku’s motives, I want to study him like a bug

* Toydaria is closed to outsiders, for what purpose? Like specific reason, other than the ongoing war.

* I thought Toydaria was one of the Republics allies??? That was liek the whole first episode of this series?

* Toydaria already sided with the republic over the separatists in the very first episode what changed?

* The freedom fighters are losing faith in the Republic to help them

* The Trade Federation is arguing against helping the Twileks

* Toydaria denies Organa the formal base to transfer supplies, but allows them to transfer what they have behind the trade federation’s back

* JarJars only skill is circus tricks?

* Cpt Keeli has a sick ass design

* Oh :(

* Oh shit hes.. oh no hes dead dead this time

* I should stop liking side clones

* If I ever have to see Cody die i think I would actually mourn irl

* “The Republic has heart, my friend, but I am not convinced it has the strength to prevail”

* King of Toydaria is reconsidering his neutrality and sets up a meeting with the Jedi?? Why not the Senate? Or something like that?

* Actually the Senate’s whole issue is that its ineffective because procedures and such slow all progress to a halt, so i kinda get it

Episode 4: Sphere of Influence

* The Riyo Chuchi episode!

* Trade federation has blockaded pantora, causing political unrest and rallying pantorans against the Senate. Dooku offers aid in exchange for and alliance with the Separatists

* Its well known that the Trade Federation is aligned with the Separatists, so says riyo, but last episode it was treated like it was meant to be uncertain in universe

* Ok no i get it, the TF trades with both republic and separatists and claims to be neutral although they have a clear bias and repeatedly blockade republic worlds

* I love Riyo so much

* The new pantoran chairman is pushing to ally with the separatists to aid their people

* Its an interesting tactic the separatists keep using, to blockade a world with a “neutral” party and then offer their assistance in exchange for an alliance, using the issues of the Senate to their advantage bc the Senate would never vote to help in time.

* Its very “cause problems to set yourself up as a hero” of them especially after the kidnapping

* I do really enjoy the political espionage episodes i think theyre so enjoyable

* I have a really ungood feeling about today, i just got wild deja vu from this episode

* How old is Riyo Chuchi? She looks to be slightly older than ahsoka by maybe a few years? But the youngest Senators were mon mothma at 19 and leia at 18 so she must be older

* The Pantoran Chairman is friends with Jabba??? How?

* Pantorans have better aim than most droids or soldiers we see

* Girlboss Chuchi is one of my favorite characters

* So the trade federation is just allowed to blockade whoever? That can’t possibly be legal

War Crime Counter

Separatists: 13

Republic: 7

[sshbpodcast]

Shuttle, Shuttle, Boil and Buttle: Shuttlecraft in Star Trek

By Ames

Diagrams emphatically not to scale here.

A Star to Steer Her By is hitting the open road today. Or open space, I suppose. Pack a lunch for a nice day trip because you can’t get too far in a shuttlecraft in Star Trek, but you still need some flexibility outside your massive hero ship. We’ve covered all those Federation starships before (check out parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 here!). Like they say, “warp’s fine if you like going fast in a straight line,” but what if we wanna do some offroading? Now it’s the little guys’ time to shine!

We’re only going to be looking at classic Trek shuttles from The Original Series through Enterprise because newer series just have too many types of shuttles to count and also because Ex Astris Scientia has a great selection of these shuttles chronicled for easier reference. So strap in and scroll on to see all the screengrabs we could find and listen to this week’s podcast episode (discussion at 1:01:56) for a couple games of “I Spy.” It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

[Images © CBS/Paramount, Ex Astris Scientia, Eaglemoss Ltd., probably others]

TOS: Class F

This simple boxy affair is probably the most recognizable shuttlecraft, especially after the Galileo-7’s starring turn in the eponymous “The Galileo Seven,” among many other episodes throughout TOS. It’s definitely function over form with this basic brick of a vehicle, but that just makes it more endearing.

TAS: Aquashuttle

The Animated Series had a little more flexibility to showcase some new designs, though just how much was getting designed is still really minimal on that cheapskate show. It was nice to see a craft that could transition from space to atmosphere to water when we saw this eraser stub of an aquashuttle in “The Ambergris Element,” so that’s something at least.

TAS: Copernicus-type

We meet the Copernicus in “The Slaver Weapon” and it’s a cute little mosquito of a ship. Everything about her is just so pointy and sharp, and she looks fast to boot. We know very little else about this type of craft, but we appreciate her typical nacelles and her speedboat shape.

TAS: Heavy shuttle

Comparatively more bulbous than the Copernicus we just looked at is this much heavier-looking shuttle from “Mudd’s Passion.” Again, we don’t see much of this thing, but it looks like it’s more durable and able to take a bit of a beating, and it even has a little bit of curve to its windshield!

TOS Films: Travel pod

There’s much more budget by the time we get to The Motion Picture, so the model for this small travel pod that ferries crewmen around spacedock is pretty logical even if some of the compositing is… less so. The purpose of the pod is so simple that its design really reflects that. It even returns for a hot second in the final scene of The Voyage Home.

TOS Films: Executive shuttle

We catch a couple of glimpses of the SD-103 Executive Shuttle from The Undiscovered Country, and again, it’s a pretty simple shape that does its job and then goes home for the day without needing to do much more. This one has a polite little wedge shape, clearly allowing the most room it can to move people back and forth and that’s that.

TOS Films: Type 4 Shuttle

In The Final Frontier, we have a new Galileo and it’s looking like a pretty obvious progression from the original television show. This is what the Type F would look like if they’d had the money and time in the 60s, and we’re digging it. It has the same kind of pointy front, a window that could still stand to be bigger, and empty cavernous space inside that we expect from a shuttle.

TNG Films: Hawking

I’m putting this one back to back with the Type 4 so you can appreciate the very slight differences between the Galileo and the Hawking that we see in Generations. Is it just the added side windows that’s particularly different? And why did it take them so long to add side windows in the first place?

TNG: Type 15 Shuttlepod

Let’s step back to the rest of TNG, now that we’ve already gotten things out of order. We see these things throughout Next Gen and they’re like tiny little remote-controlled toy cars. You can barely fit one person in these things, let alone anything more than that. We hope you’re not flying too far because these flying mousedroids look cramped!

TNG: Type 6 Shuttle

We see these things throughout TNG and Voyager. You’ll notice they are very very similar to the shuttle from Generations above, but a little more squished. One could surmise that the model designers whipped out the Type 4 from The Final Frontier since it was already of the necessary quality for film, and decided to take a cue from this shuttle for the extra windows!

TNG: Type 7 Shuttle

A new design for yet another new Galileo. These things run concurrently with the Type 6 as we also see them consistently throughout TNG, but their design is much more distinct. Their edges are more rounded and their rumps more spankable. Their nacelles also look more like the Enterprise-D’s nacelles. They even come with two options for their much more curved window unit: long and extra long!

TNG Films: Type 11 Shuttle

Picard and Worf chase Data around in Insurrection in one of these cute little doorstops. Everything about these shuttles looks pointy, from the face to the windows to the nacelles! It pretty much clicks that this is the kind of craft you’d find on the Enterprise-E, a ship that’s much longer and more streamlined than the rounder and more bloated D.

TNG Films: Captain’s yacht

In Insurrection, we also steal a glimpse of the Cousteau, also known as the captain’s yacht. What the hell a more weaponized ship like the Enterprise-E needs with a yacht is debatable, but it’s got some of the more movie-era design elements on it, like the pointier nacelles and tapered face. We also like that it looks like those nacelles tuck in for easy storage!

TNG Films: Argo

One last instance from the TNG films and it’s not a favorite (both the film and this vessel). In Nemesis, Picard and friends go down to a primitive planet in the Argo (great name; I’ll admit that), whose purpose seems mostly to be carrying a dune buggy for no damn reason. That aside, this shuttle also just looks unfriendly. More like a fighter jet than a diplomatic craft and that’s not our thing.

DS9: Type 10 Shuttle

Apparently this thing, the Chaffee, lives on the Defiant, though we’re damned if we can figure out where because the Defiant doesn’t even seem big enough to house a full-sized shuttle of any kind, much less a shuttle bay. But in “The Sound of Her Voice” we do get a quick shot or several of this weird little dustbuster of a ship that shares the same tucked-in nacelle look as its mommy ship. Weird.

DS9: Type 18 Shuttle

Oh boy, I’m glad Deep Space Nine mostly used Runabouts instead of these things because they’re goofy as all get out. They do get used in season 3 episodes “The Search” and “Destiny” before we settled into the Defiant, and it’s a good thing because the Type 18 just looks like an old school UFO or something, with a protruding undercarriage like a submarine ride in an amusement park. This design is just trying too hard.

VOY: Type 8 Shuttle

We see these things mostly in early Voyager before the Delta Flyer is introduced, and they look so similar to the Type 6 in TNG that they may as well have not bothered with the update. When in doubt, always check if the nacelles look like they belong on your hero ship or not. That’s my rule of thumb, anyway.

VOY: Type 9 Shuttle (AKA Class 2)

That rule also works on the other shuttle we see pretty frequently in Voyager, especially notably in “Threshold” when the Cochrane breaks the warp 10 barrier. It’s a nifty little ship, closer to the shuttles that we saw in Insurrection than the other series ships in that it looks streamlined and zippy and a little bit like a phaser without a handle.

VOY: Delta Flyer

Once Voyager introduces the Delta Flyer in “Extreme Risk” early in season 5, we use this thing all over the place, even replacing it almost perfectly after it shatters to confetti in “Unimatrix Zero.” And it’s a solid design! It’s clear Tom put a lot of effort into the ship because it looks incredibly sturdy with its triangular shape, embedded nacelles like the Defiant has, and nifty front window that almost reminds me of a stained-glass window.

VOY: SC-4 Shuttle

This special, slightly futuristic shuttle visits us in the series finale “Endgame.” It’s a lot like the Class 2 shuttle in its shape and resemblance to a phaser, but this one’s also got nifty shields like a suit of armor that it fits within! So that’s something to look forward to later in our watch.

ENT: Inspection pod

Moving on to Enterprise, the last leg of our day trip. We’ve mentioned before how much we appreciate the design elements in Enterprise looked like the stepping stones between today’s space technology and the future aesthetics we see in Star Trek, and this little pod with its docking side and its conical shape flat out looks like the module on a modern rocket ship! Cool!

ENT: Shuttlepod

We see an absolute ton of these things in Enterprise (in a majority of episodes, as a matter of fact!) because the transporter didn’t quite work consistently yet. So it’s shuttles or nothing for our prequel friends and this one is actually incredibly cute, with its sorta submarine feel and its cyclops-eye window like a porthole looking out into space.

— Get that barricade ready as we come into the shuttlebay. It’s so good to be back because we’ve got so much to do around the ship! We’re still traveling through the Delta Quadrant with Voyager over on SoundCloud or your favorite podcast application, we’re still sending out a distress signal on Facebook and Twitter, and we’re shuttling off to buttle-oh!

[eahtheramblings]

An unedited chapter from the fic i keep procrastinating

Dorms, Besties, and Destiny's Oh My!

The first day that students spend at Ever After High is dedicated to getting rooms set up, clubs started, and schedules handed out. There are three main areas that are crowded during this time. The first is the dorm halls. These usually get the busiest during the early afternoon while families help students set up their dorm rooms. The next is the Grimmnasium, which is where clubs will set up tables and attempt to get new members, usually with candy and posters made by their most artistic members. This will be full during the later afternoon, as students finish their dorm decorating and their lunches will head to check out the latest clubs and see friends. Finally, the last crowded area is the Castleteria. This is where both dorm keys and schedules are handed out, and is busy during the entirety of the day, as it will often be open for its above purposes in the morning, change into an eating area for lunch, turn back to a welcoming area in the afternoon for late comers and those whose kingdoms are far, and then back to its intended use for dinner. It is this crowded room that Apple found herself in. 

At the very front of the Castleteria was a table sitting the four advisors. Madam Baba Yaga who advises the villains, Mrs. Her Majesty, The White Queen, who advised the damsels, Dr. King Charming, who advised future heroes, and Coach Gingerbreadman, who advised practically everyone else. On the right of the table the royal advisors sat, while the other two sat on the left. Four lines lead to the table because of this. In the very middle of the group was the Headmaster, Milton Grimm. Headmaster Grimm looked like an aging man, although it was a well known fact that he was possibly the oldest person alive in ever after. He took turns welcoming students from all lines and helping answer questions from students and parents. Apple thought it was royally fairest that the Headmaster took the time to introduce himself to all the students despite his busy schedule. On Apple's list of rulers to look to for inspiration, Headmaster Grimm tied for first place with her parents. 

“Oh dear, and here I meant to come early to miss the line!” a clear voice spoke behind Apple. She turned around to see another friend of hers Ashlynn Ella, the daughter of Cinderella. Ashlynn was a tan girl, with strawberry blond hair and a smattering of freckles. 

“Ashe!” Apple exclaimed, pulling her into a hug. “How was your woodland conservation camp? It was so hard not being able to text you all summer, but I know you were really excited to go help with the animals in the enchanted forest.” 

“It was wonderful, we planted so many new trees and cleaned up forest paths, I even got to help a baby unicorn find its mother after they were separated! But it is good to be back at school with you guys.” Ashlynn answered, pulling up photos on her phone to show Apple while they waited in line. They discussed their summers until a high pitched voice carried across the room. 

“Hello Ever After High, and welcome back to the first episode of Just Right! For the school year. I’m your host Blondie Lockes and today we’re going to get the scoop on the second year students hexcitement for legacy year! Why don’t we start over here with you, Sparrow Hood?” 

Blondie bounced up to the line for Coach gingerbread, floating like a bubble of golden curls and periwinkle fabric. Sparrow and his merry men were lazily waiting in line, leaning on tables, chairs, and each other while they waited for their schedules. Blondie's question seemed to peak their interest. 

One of the members named Tucker, the son of friar tuck, leaned into the microphone, “Well of course we’re hexcited for legacy year, it’s the first step towards the future, and also-” 

“It's the first time the merry men are performing for the after partay! Get our album on Spellify now because you will want to know all the lyrics to sing along!” Sparrow finished, accentuating his speech with loud strums of his guitar. 

Blondie covered one ear with a finger, her right eye squinting. “Well that was one answer to the question. Let's keep moving shall we? Oo! How about we hear from two of the most anticipated Princesses this year! Apple White, Ashlynn Ella! How are you two feeling about Legacy year?” 

Ashlynn stared at the microphone in front of her with what seemed to be slight anxiety. “I am … very happy that it’s finally Legacy year. This year is a time for us to grow, as… people.”

Apple watched as Ashlynn trailed off. Poor Ashe! Apple knew she could get nervous when put on the spot like this, especially when so many people were around. She had once told Apple that she spends so much time in the woods that animals can be easier to talk to than people. Apple straightened her back and swooped in to help her friend. “It’s also a time for us to prove our dedication to our families, stories, and future kingdoms. The more effort we put into our studies and practices this year the better our futures and the future of Ever After will be! As royal student council body president I call on everyone to join me in doing our best to make this Legacy year Spelltacular!” Apple cheered, her infectious joy and brilliant smile causing the surrounding students and parents to get riled up with uplifting pride. Blondie agreed with Apple before moving to interview some of the other students when the line moved forward. As Apple and Ashlynn turned back around to move with the line, Apple saw that the Headmaster had been smiling joyfully at her while she was being interviewed. She smiled back. 

“Thanks Apple, i’m … not fairy good at public speaking yet” Ashlynn sighed, rubbing her neck as she watched  Blondie interview one of the little pigs. Apple rubbed her arm soothingly. 

“It’s ok! I’m always happy to help you out, your one of my BFFA’s! Besides, we'll be practicing speeches in Princessology and Kingdom management so you have plenty of opportunities to grow your public speaking skills this year, like you said.” The blonde replied cheerily. Ashlynn seemed to relax a bit at that. Apple made a note to ask Blondie to do less spontaneous interviews with Ashlynn. Blondie was another close friend of both princesses so she knew she meant well, but sometimes her enthusiasm for reporting could get in the way of her social skills. 

The line eventually moved enough that Apple and Ashlynn were at the table. Mrs. Her Majesty The White Queen smiled when they approached and started searching through the files in front of her to find their dorm keys. “Sorry girls, I meant to have everything prepared this morning but how can one prepare when pears aren't premade? Give me a few ticks to find your keys” 

Apple and Ashlynn both smiled and nodded at this explanation. None of the princesses at ever after high quite understood what their advisor was saying all of the time but Apple was certain that the White Queen was a fairy wise ruler in wonderland logic. 

“Both of you had very moving things to say about Legacy year. I am glad to see that the next generation of rulers are taking their futures with such genuine commitment.” Headmaster Grimm turned to Apple and Ashlynn, his smile warm and eyes crinkled. 

Apple returned the smile “Of course! There's a lot of expectations to meet, so it’s important that we try our hardest to fulfill them.” 

“I am quite happy you believe so as well Ms. White.” The headmaster responded. 

“Aha! Keys of two have been supplied, but plans of boarding might subside! Here are your keys girls. Ashlynn you have the same key as Briar Beauty, she came earlier to set up her room. Apple I am not sure who your roommate is as no other princess or fruit have had the same dorm number.” The white queen said as she handed off their keys. 

“Oh dear, I know you and Briar were hoping to room together this year, do you want to switch dorms?” Ashlynn asked as they walked away, holding out her key to Apple. Apple gently pushed it back towards her, shaking her head slightly. 

“No, I was planning on it earlier in the summer but since then things have changed and I’ve been asked to room with another student that may need my help during the school year. Briar already knows, so you shouldn’t worry about it. Besides she’ll be hexcited to room with you, especially since you can help her pair her shoes with her outfits better than I can.” 

Ashlynn laughed at that “Well, that's good to know, I was worried for a second there. Do you know who you're rooming with then?” 

Apple nodded, but before she could explain to her friend why she gave up a room with her BFFA to room with her story book villain Briar Beauty bounced down the stairs on high stilettos towards them. 

“Apple, Ashlynn! Finally, I was getting so bored waiting for you two! Apple, your skirt is spelltacular, where did you get it? Have you two seen the new chairs put into the science and sorcery room? They are going to be so much more comfortable than the old ones. Oh I missed you guys!”

The two princesses giggled at their friends' rapid fire questions. Briar was known for talking fast sometimes when she got passionate about something, and she was most definitely passionate about her friendships, something Apple found most admirable. “I missed you too! We just got our dorm keys so we haven’t seen the new chairs. My skirts actually one of my mothers old skirts with some upgrades.” Apple responded, walking quicker to keep up with her tall friend. As they passed other students struggling with their trunks, Apple felt thankful that she was able to have her trunks taken upstairs ahead of her by some very friendly dwarves. It seemed Ashlynn had done something similar as once the three princesses opened the door to Ashlynn and Briars' dorm a flock of birds flew in from the window carrying her things. 

“Lucky! I had to get my little brothers to help me move in and they would not stop trying to steal my jewelry to play pirates” briar whined, moving further into the space. “We should get your side set up ASAP so you can help me get the book to school party together.”

“Well I'll let you two get settled in” Apple smiled, giving Briar one more hug before leaving the room. “Tell me if you need help with the party!”

“”We definitely will” Briar called back. “Good luck!”

Ashlynn watched as her friend walked away towards her own dorm further down the hall. It felt off to her that Apple would give up a guaranteed room with briar this year. She did tell Ashlynn that she was rooming with a student who might need her help this year, but Ashlynn was unsure of who it could be. Maybe a new princess who transferred in this year? It was rare but some students could spend their first year at a different school before Legacy year, so it was a likely explanation. But… 

“Hey Briar? Why did you tell Apple ‘good luck’?” 

Briar dropped a pair of Ashlynn's shoes she was holding and grabbed her by the shoulders. “She didn’t tell you? Grimms super worried about another Evil Queen scenario happening. She’s rooming with Raven Queen this year!”

[skyguy675]

Entry 1: 10/10/24 - Another in a long list of First Gos

Alright welcome to my new journal (incidentally, hi future me. If this pans out like you’re hoping for, you’ll be revisiting this entry a lot). I don’t know how regular this is gonna turn out, but hey-ho, it’s worth a shot.

As part of my efforts to try and learn how to touch-type, I thought it might be prudent to work on something consistent and long term, and whilst my creative pieces ostensibly fit the bill to get in some practice, in reality I spend more time thinking about them than I do actually writing the blasted things. So, something more consistent and maintainable. Forward the tedious documentation of my ponderously boring lifestyle.

I suppose I’ll just document small oddities and occurrences in my life - odd and novel thoughts alike. Y’know, the “us’” (as in shortened for usual).

As for what happened today, nothing very much of interest. I woke to an alarm and had a mild panic about what it was for. I’ll suspect I won’t remember that this even happened. This makes it all the more interesting, documenting it, I mean. I’ll have to imagine it anew on subsequent future read-throughs, as if it happened to another person. I suppose this makes sense. My future self is as alien to myself as I am (or will be) to him. It’s like forgetting in two directions, very quantum.

I’m pleased to see I’m already getting into philosophical rambling - that'll be humorous to gander at later in life.

I watched the second My Hero Academia movie with Shea today. Very colourful. Not really much to comment on if you’re not a My Hero fan. Some very lovely animated bits. And later, me, Mother and Shea watched the final episode of Clone Wars season one - Cad Bane showed up, which was exciting. We’ve started only watching one episode at a time instead of two at the behest of Smother, who for all intents and purposes fully governs the rate at which we go through shows. I’m worried this means she’s losing interest, but she seemed pretty vocal during the episode, and anyway it’s only season one. Everyone knows you gotta hold through to season three.

I was meant to look into getting a job today - reach out to the careers committee thing at my university - and I had intended to assemble a list of jobs I wanted following the council of Niamh and Micheal, but my heart’s not really in it. I don’t know what I want, only what I don’t. Hopefully, when a future Ruairi looks back at this at some point in the future, he’ll have slightly more direction. As of now, the automatic conveyance belt of education has reached its end and deposited me at my stop, though I’m not all too certain it was the destination the brochure quite promised.

Oh well,

See you around, future Ruairi

Signed present, going on past, Ruairi

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 13/01/2024

RNR (Rip No Riffs)

Season 1 No Album Release (Read More) DND (Do Not Destroy) - No More Heroes

Ripped by Triple-Q

Alright, uh, WHEW - I hope everyone's had a great day in a post-Christmas Comeback Crisis Episode 11 world!! I've been absolutely giddy with excitement and joy ever since I watched it and I'm so glad that the reception has been so universally positive all around. I'm trying to wind down from all of it, and figured I might as well push a rip I had down the pipeline to cover up earlier in the schedule. And hey - RNR (Rip No Riffs) is also somewhat Christmas Comeback Crisis-related! If you haven't heard the rip on its own, you've DEFINITELY heard it within that series.

For those out of the loop, RNR (Rip No Riffs) is used as the theme to the Rapper's Union HQ in the CCC, the hub of the story's chill resistance faction fighting against The Voice. Yesterday with 9​来​4s I wrote a fair bit about how excellent a job dante and c.o. have done in giving the series a very distinct soundscape, but the thing is - that doesn't just apply to composing new songs for the series. Plenty of rips from the channel's life have been used for music in the series without being explicitly made with that purpose, and RNR (Rip No Riffs) is probably the most widely recognized of these tracks?

I think it's an excellent choice for a lot of reasons, quality aside, because of just how well it slots into the series' tone and feel. The original DND (Do Not Destroy) is the laid-back lounge theme of the original No More Heroes, playing whenever Travis Touchdown is at home rather than slaughtering people en masse outside - it's a chill calm before the storm, so to speak. At a first inattentive listen, you may not even notice that RNR (Rip No Riffs) is edited at all, as its edits aren't exactly explicitly out of tune or in contrast to the original tune. As the track's chill vibe plays out, elements from All-Star are inserted into the backing, eventually being replaced with the guitar from Linkin Park's In The End - a song typically associated with pent-up anger, frustration, rage, hatred, the works. Yet the rip builds it all up so subtly, it never interrupts the chill lounge beat that laid the foundation for the original track, and so this change in emotion never truly registers as sounding out of place or wrong.

And to me, that's what makes it such a perfect fit for the Rappers' Union's theme - it's a home where these people relax, where they talk to one another and lounge, yet its also the place where all their bubbling rage against the oppression they face is being stored - the last remaining home to all of these damaged souls. The Christmas Comeback Crisis, for as silly as its premise is, and for as many lighthearted moments that it does have, is still fundamentally a story about strife and conflict, about a bubbling state of disarray that's slowly exploding into full-on warfare. RNR (Rip No Riffs) feels like the perfect theme to embody all of those emotions, a breezy jam playing in the background to a downtrot apartment space that slowly bubbles to become something far more serious, with far more grit and rage.

I certainly don't believe this sort of vibe was what Triple-Q had in mind with the original upload - at the end of the day, it's just a silly, classic Season 1 rip, changing just enough in a familiar song to sound different while still sounding recognizably like the original. Yet I find it so fascinating that the rip still stands on its own two feet, whilst adding some genuine gravitas and mood to the series it was eventually grafted on to - althewhile being such a relatively-obscure pick for a rip to use, that it didn't feel played out whatsoever when it showed up again.

A lot of the stuff I've covered for Season 1 on this blog has been of a sort of "higher" status, be it all-time classics like Live and Ooooooooooooooh and Pikmin Park, the emotional highs of Epic Flintstones and Stone Halation, or just generally ones tied to more well-remembered passion projects like Everyday Goodbyes (SiIvaGunner Band Cover). And in comparison, rips like RNR (Rip No Riffs) may end up feeling kind of...normal, kind of basic and simple in their edits. Yet that simplicity has never been a bad thing, and its never been anything holding rips down from striking pure gold, and there's something just so sweet about knowing that any rip, of any kind, any popularity, can eventually get this kind of association, this kind of retroactive use and meaning, that ends up drawing so many more associations and thoughts to it than were originally intended.

[myobsessionsspace]

Another One of My

Obsessions

First Experience With Queer

Representation In Animation

Sailor Uranus

&

Sailor Neptune

Part One

Sailor Moon, my first introduction into the world of Manga and Anime. Like many, I fell in love with the ditzy yet full of heart Usagi Tsukino (aka Serena in the western dubs) and her band of unique yet loyal friends. Like most ensemble casts, the writer made sure to make each character different, yet all lovable in their own ways.

Each edition of the manga and episodes of the anime would have me finding a new favourite member amongst the group, never leaving behind their two cats and mentors Luna and Artemis.

It was in the third act of the story, that two characters were introduced to viewers and readers, Sailor Neptune (Michiru Kaiou, known as Michelle in the western dubs) and Sailor Uranus (Haruka Tenou, known as Amara in the western dubs).

Depending on how someone came to discover Sailor Moon, they may have had the misfortune of watching western dubbed episodes, who had the notion that they were ‘protecting’ children and viewers by taking it upon themselves to change the nature of the relationship between Haruka and Michiru.

Try as they may to cut as many suggestive scenes as possible, the animation aired in the west that was left couldn’t do enough to change the relationship shown between the characters, who were originally written to be lovers.

This made it all the more ridiculous the ‘straight-washing’ the west tried, with their idea to depict the two as cousins and not lovers as in the original content.

How confusing it must have been for the ‘young impressionable minds’ they were trying to shield from seeing queer love, to see ‘cousins’ in romantic situations.

All because of the intolerance of showing queer representation on screen.

“Another group of fans in a tizzy today are fans of the Toonami edit of Sailor Moon S. Back between 1999 and 2000, Cartoon Network and YTV Canada aired a watered down edit of Sailor Moon S, in which Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune were still allowed to be touchy-feely with each other, but were edited as "cousins" who touch each other, rather than lesbians…… because according to Cloverway, the now defunct Toei Animation subsidiary responsible for the change, cousins touching each other is more "kid friendly" than lesbians touching each other. Sense made? None.” [quoted from link below]

“However, whether in an attempt to be more faithful to the original Japanese or through failure to edit consistently, several episodes of the former English dub retained a noticeable amount of their casual flirting.[49] Due to the censorship and problematic dubbing, some viewers inferred not only a homosexual relationship between the two girls, but also an incestuous one.” [1]

The character of Haruka also introduced me to gender nonconformity, to masc presenting women, to non-binary, bigender and transgender identities. Haruka may have simply been a ‘butch lesbian’ or one or more of the aforementioned.

Reading the manga and watching the anime has been a very important part of my journey.

A seemingly childish show about school girl heroes and villains gave me my first understanding of different types of queer representations. It opened my eyes to not just love between two women but how simple it could and should be. It showed me in relation to these two characters, the different ways women can chose to present themselves and still have purpose, have friendship groups, be accepted and be themselves.

Unfortunately it also showed me the different levels of acceptance of healthy queer relationships and the lengths some go to, to deny representation.

Take away any biases, beliefs or judgements about queer representation in animation, their story is one to be told and one to be witnessed. They showed humour, friendship, loyalty, like and love.

They may not have been the main characters but they were one of my favourite, for what they represented but also for their individual characters.

Kudos to Haruka & Michiru for being kickass heroes and a cool introduction to queer characters.

🏳️‍🌈

[1] Sebert, Paul (2000-06-28). "Kissing cousins may bring controversy Cartoon Network juggles controversial topics contained in the "Sailor Moon S" series

[masqueradenoir]

My dream superhero squad show revival

The superhero squad show is one of the few marvel cartoons I cared about growing up well to be honest with a few marvel things period I grew up carrying about and today I will describe what is my dream revival reboot for that show

The cast

Reptile from the original cast returns as the new leader of the team training a new generation of heroes made up largely of people connected to his old team who have since retired or are doing other hero work

Wicin and speed return and presumably now mixed race due to superhero squad deciding to pair up the Scarlet witch with falcon of all people

Hulkling is on the team as a replacement for the original hulk in the classic 2009 run give him a lovey dovey relationship with Wiccan that gets on their friend's nerves and we're set

Moon girl appears hopefully voice by the same voice actress who plays her in her solo cartoon on Disney channel largely taking up iron Man's tech roll on the team

X23 I would love to see specifically if she has like a little sister dynamic with reptile given the relationship he had with wolverine in the 2009 cartoon wear reptil took on the teen sidekick to wolverine role

The main villain I think could be Agatha harkness and in this scenario since it's presumably been 20ish years since the original run she's not interested in an Infinity item so to tie into the MCU let's have the MacGuffin she and the heroes are chasing after be the pages of the darkhold

Theoretical episodes

The first episode would be the new team meeting on the hell carrier for the first time speed and Wiccan are established as brothers and the Scarlet witch's sons with hulkling established as dating Wiccan already and x23 is there as well presumably being trained by reptile already as a favor to wolverine so the only person that's 100% new to this team is Moon girl and her introduction to the team is the framing device for how we're meeting them kind of like reptiles introduction in the OG superhero squad show

Other episodes would be the heroes going after the pages of the dark hold fighting Agatha and her minions along the way maybe with a running gag of mephisto showing up and trying to get custody of the twins referencing the fact that in the comics he is connected to them individual character episodes could go like this

X 23 has an episode where her relationship with her dad is strained largely because they're so similar and reptil basically tells her to be patient wolverine has always been a bit on edge

Wiccan could have an episode where he decides to walk the witches road alone not unlike Agatha all along

Speed could have an episode where he's jealous of how close his brother and Mom are due to how similar they are and pursues a similar connection with his uncle

Hulkling could have an episode where he has interactions with Carol Danvers since she and his dad were an item in the OG show she's a little salty that mar vel had a kid with a scrull princess in the first place but she's mostly a loving Aunt to him giving him advice on his relationship with Wiccan

Moon girl could have an episode that homage is her solo cartoon possibly bringing in her best friend Casey from that show as she feels distant from the squad because they already had their own dynamic before she joined and in the process we see Casey has gained a page of the dark hold and is using it for some fashion purposes if you know the Casey character you know this is perfectly and character for her

An episode centered on the villains could be Agatha getting frustrated with how difficult it has been to maintain her majority hold of the dark hold possibly including an interaction with mephisto where we learn how this happened in the first place and how it got scattered all over the city and it was because mephisto wanted to give it to his children AKA Wiccan and speed