#one of the most effective characters in terms of Getting Shit Done not only in this show but i think in all of the genre

[shhhhimwatchingthis]

finished Pit Babe the series and Kim was far and away the best character

takes a job in another country thinking all he has to do is race cars, accidently ends up on a team lead by an obnxious cheating sociopath, and is so annoyed about it

He talented, he wants to win but not like that, what is wrong with you people?!

stumbles into a human trafficking plot. immediately starts collecting evidence to take his creep boss down

of all the characters is to first to Solve The Mysteries of What The Fuck is Going On AND significantly Immediately tells Babe What The Fuck is Going On, when literally every other character was hiding something from him

I dont even know if they told him about the alpha super powers stuff? does he even know the lore of whats going on around him? doesn't matter. my guy is going to do the right thing and get results anyway, and he's going to be so annoyed about it, but looking at the idiots he's surrounded by, who can blame him?

[arceus-insanity]

A Moral Scapegoat for who?

All For One is a shit character, he is presented as a massive threat, but we never see him get a win, similar to the dissonance between the All Might we see and the context in universe.

And in the end, he becomes a moral scapegoat... for the heroes.

What is a moral scapegoat?

A moral scapegoat is (usually) a character used to excuse the actions of other characters or a system. Character A may have done XYZ but Character B was the one manipulating them and/ or is so much worse, so we can excuse A's actions. Or helping defeat B acts as pence for their past actions. Etc. And to a degree it makes sense, getting people to believe a character has changed and should now be considered good both by the characters and the audience is hard. So having some bigger bad to blame takes the pressure off the desired character(s).

While the term is typically only brought up negatively, like the use of Mary&Gary Sues, there are good ones. Commander Zhao in Avatar of the Last Airbender is an early moral scapegoat, used to say yeah Prince Zuko may suck, but there are a lot worse out there. My Little Pony Friendship is Magic has a moral scapegoat, right in the pilot, Nightmare Moon for Princess Luna, sure Nightmare came from Luna but it is presented as a curse, something that was cured, fixed. The Hobbit uses Dragon Sickness as a way to both corrupt and excuse King Thorin's actions when they have retaken the mountain; he is not in his right mind, and shouldn't be considered solely responsible for his actions

In certain ways, Pink Diamond (due to the audience learning her arc in reverse, when it has such an effect on the plot of Steven Universe) is a scapegoat for the remaining Diamonds, even though it makes a lot less sense for her to be the scapegoat when considering the actual sequence of events in universe. And while most people don't think Pink/Rose's actions excuse the Diamonds (especially White), she does work with Spinel. Another rocky moral scapegoat is Horad Prime from She-ra & The Princesses of Power, he is the big bad of the show and is meant to be a scapegoat primarily for Horadak who was the previous big bad, and mildly a scapegoat for Catra. The big problems with his sacrificial slaughter is that there isn't enough time to really settle in that this is the true big bad, and both Horadak and Catra's issues were both way more on screen and show up well before we ever hear of Hoard Prime, with them operating separately.

And All For One is a worst example of all of them (that I mentioned)

For starters the more we saw of him the less ultimate intimidating evil he portrayed, nor did we get a satisfying he was actually pretty pathetic. Really trying to have your cake and eat it too. Looking back he's very cartoonishly evil, but lacks the presence, he's boring. I've seen many good portrayals of him in the fandom, but canon is just boring. His background of miscellaneous evil deeds, don't really go into how they were evil, just that Yoichi (& AFO) clearly believes them to be, both come across as very childish to me, seeing the world as black & white.

He lacks the moral complexity of complex villains (like Magneto), meant to be an ambitiously evil man, whose evil for the sack of being evil. But he lacks the presence found in Classic evil Disney characters like Jafar, Clayton, and Ursala. In a way he's like King Magnifico (from Wish, the only recent hated animated Disney movie, that I agree deserves to be shat on), trying to have both but failing to capture either

In the present, he has little involvement on screen, and once he's out of the picture, Shigaraki (& the League) really bloom as villains and characters. The story could have had a slow realization (for Shigaraki, the League and the audience) that he was holding the League back, and that meant either he was nowhere near as competent as he was portrayed, or he wasn't actually helping Shigaraki, setting up for the body suit plan

But my biggest issue is who he's the sacrificial goat for.

And who is he the scapegoat for? The fucking Heroes and their shit-ass society, including the H PSC crap.

The ending reveal that he was behind everything that happened to Tenko, from him being born, his name, the kids he chose to play with, the issues with his quirk, and only having him; fails. It doesn't work! Mainly because of what that scene ignored the walk, and the complicity of the family. It ignored that the family were directly ignoring that Tenko was being abused, trying to placate him after the fact. It ignores that Kotaro Shimura chose to follow his friends advice, over his wife too. It ignores that even though AFO would have killed anyone who tried to help Tenko, no one tried. It also doesn't make sense either, normal kids are shit actors, not to mention Tenko was the one to reach out to them, not the other way around. And with the sheer amount of heroes, and cops, and regular citizens, how was it literally no one tried to help him, it's not AFO.

What else does it ignore, oh yeah, Tenko isn't truly unique in having a tragic backstory. Sure he was planning on taking advantage of the Endeavor's awful legacy plan, but we never see that AFO has done anything before kidnapping Touya. It's implied that he helped stroked Heteromorphic discrimination for his own gain, but that doesn't change that Spinner had pesticides thrown in his face, by 'innocent' civilians, that Shoji was mutilated as a child, for saving a child, by 'innocent' civilians, that the Ordinary Lady was attacked and denied shelter in the middle of an active warzone, by 'innocent' civilians. Himiko's abuse was enabled and furthered by quirk counselling, we don't even get a he was secretly to blame all along for this one. The commission has assassins, ignore. The homeless have to resort to villainy to survive, ignore. Once someone is considered out they are abused by this society until they have to lash out, ignore. The big bad was taken down, so nothing has to be done about these systemic issues, cause the heroes say so

There's a pattern, he was only able to do this, because the society he was in was already doing it.

And AFO being a moral scapegoat could of worked.

IF the Hero Public Safety Commission was similarly a scapegoat.

To begin, AFO should have been the scapegoat for the League, and the villains as a whole. The heroes would instead have the HPSC as their scapegoat.

Hawks should not have been made president of the totally different PSC, not only is he a known murderer, he doesn't regret it, he has never criticized the Commission's (or any other hero's) actions. If he's not going to see the issues, and hypocrisy right in front of him, he shouldn't have any role at all in it, and a very small one if he does recognize them. Giving this to Hawks screams nothing is actually going to be fixed, any changes are going to be for the worse.

Going into the final Deku vs Shigaraki battle, as well as the dreamscape crap, I had hope in this series. I thought that Deku would finally be forced to have the long over reality check of the Villains are right, what are you going to do about it. So instead of hyper-focusing on one tiny moment that with any and I do mean any additional context would show that it's not just this tiny shit moment. Rather than murdering Tomura for not abandoning the League (the same reason Hawks murdered Twice), have Deku convince Tomura that they can make a better society. That Deku's peaceful(ish) method is what's better for the League we have seen he loves.

From there they could have come up with a deal where either (these are simplified) everyone is held accountable for their past actions (as in the villains, Endeavor, Hawks, the Commission, everyone responsible for the sky coffin, etc). Or the clock is restarted, and everyone is hence forth held to the same standard. The villains are around to make sure the actual issues to their problems are dealt with, hint; Himiko's problem wasn't lack of access to quirk counselling. Happy satisfying ending for everyone

[girl4music]

I love the contrasting colours and tones and textures in Arcane for Zaun’s Undercity and Piltover’s Topside.

Zaun is Cyberpunk. It’s all technicolour and neon.

(Cold colours and tones and textures)

Piltover is Steampunk. It’s all pastel and metallic.

(Warm colours and tones and textures)

It demonstrates visually very effectively the colossal stark and striking differences between the twin cities. The political ideologies and economical environments its people live in and by and the laws they all adhere to.

Topside is posh and prestigious but it all feels fake. No one says what they mean and means what they say and the population would sell each other out in a heartbeat.

Undercity is violent and dirty but there’s solidarity here and the people stand by each other as if they’re family because they know how hard it is to survive in the pits.

Undercity is constantly ravaged by terrorism, plague and addiction due to the poor financial climate and Topside have so much of everything they could ever want but they’re just throwing it away as if it means nothing. It’s a really honest depiction of segregation.

And don’t think I missed the fact that most Zaunites are minorities like Black/POC, queer or disabled. That must be intentional because it’s something I realized quickly because even though our protagonist Zaunites that are human are white (Jinx and Silco’s grey coloured skin tones notwithstanding) most of the ones you see really struggling are not. And the rest of them aren’t human.

And then on Topside, you do see some Black/POC, queer and disabled characters but they’re not native to Piltover. They’re either a Zaunite too who got a lucky break or they’re from some other city in the Universe.

It REALLY stands out what they were trying to do here and yet this show is popular with both conservative watchers and liberal ones. That’s a really good thing because it means both sides of the coin are privy to the intentional division and corruption of political and economical warfare that’s so boldly painted in Arcane from what you see in the visuals alone, never mind plot.

And it’s really clever because there’s no labelling on it.

There’s no contextualization of what’s Right or Left, Blue or Red, Republican or Democrat. There sides but there’s no relation contextually to real life terms and definitions other than the subjective experiences and observations that are the symbolism for those things.

And why would there be? It’s supernatural/fantasy.

None of it is the reality. Yet it is resonant, is it not?

Well done animators! I picked this up quickly but I’m not the intended audience that really needs to see it because I already know and understand this shit well. But you can see that it is intentional that they did this.

They showed you the poverty and they showed you the wealth and they let you decide on which you want to root for. But if you’ve really took the show in visually and thematically, you naturally would root for both cities. You’d naturally want both to prosper and be at peace because you can clearly see that both have severe problems and are very unhappy with the civil unrest regardless of who has it better or who has it worst.

Bringing magic and the supernatural in general into the mix all the more just proves that this is a piece of TV art/entertainment that knows how to use metaphor and symbolism to great effect because it resonates well. Art will always resemble real life and real life will always resemble art because all we’re doing is just telling OUR stories but leaving out the lexicon of language that only ever distorts, distracts and deceives from experience.

It doesn’t matter what you call it or how you define it - you see it, you hear it and you feel it. You experience it.

Arcane is exceptional storytelling and representation because it resonates enough with us to make us move the obstacles that get in the way of being only human.

TV art/entertainment of the supernatural/fantasy kind always has a reach that no non-supernatual/fantasy art/entertainment ever can and it’s because we use it for escapism from our reality. We use it as our hideaway. Only to find that all it’s doing is recontextualizing it, subverting it or even outright parodying it. We’re not escaping reality. We’re just learning to tolerate what frustrates or even torments us because it’s more fun when it’s not us - not our world - not our people that has to face the drama. But at the end of the day, the only reason why we love it so much is because we self-insert it. We subconsciously look for characters, themes and narratives that relate to and resonate with us. That represent us as expressions of who and what we are - what and who we most care about, what we aspire to - what drives us as a human being on Earth right now.

The most successful TV art/entertainment does this intentionally but they do not let on as to why they do.

Your job as the observer is to find out the why as you watch it, report - and the cycle repeats all over again.

That is how art/entertainment is and always should be. If it isn’t, then give up on it. They’re not doing it for you.

But you’ll add to their sales week revenue regardless.

It is EXTREMELY RARE nowadays to get both great storytelling and great representation in one creative product or project. Don’t take Arcane for granted and do what you can to make sure it continues to provide and deliver the quality that it has done for 2 seasons because Netflix are fucking ruthless. They’re the type of network/streaming service company that believe if they don’t see insane immediate numbers - then they’ll axe it and pretend as if it never even existed in the first place. But Arcane is worth the effort. If both its creators and viewers are adamant enough, we will succeed at keeping it going for at least 1 more season. We need it.

[sneezypeasy]

*sigh*

Y'know, this really doesn't/shouldn't matter, but as this particular accusation keeps getting thrown at me over and over again - oh fuck it, I'm gonna take the bait this one time and set the record straight once and for all. Honestly my "appetite" in this context is truly not anyone's business (and if you don't care to hear about it this is the one warning you'll get to click away lmao) but I've reached the point where if you really wanna attack my credibility based on who you think I enjoy fantasizing about, I'm gonna throw you a bone and tell you exactly what type that is - cuz as much as I'm sick of the ad hominem attacks the Aussie in me is even more sick of watching them miss so fucking hard. If you're gonna roast me, the least you can do is hit me where it hurts, goddamn it. Get it right or go home you uncooked noodles. Capiche?

When it comes to my taste in men, my "type" is: big, strong, hairy brutes. There, I said it. Give me lumberjacks, give me cavemen, I want my Jason Momoas, I want my Ma Dong-Seoks, I want them broad shoulders and tree-trunk calves and I wanna see those muscles bulge. If a fictional character ever gets me biting my lip at the screen, it's never gonna be a fine-featured pretty boy, it's gonna be a good thick daddy who can take my wrists, pin me against a wall and [--------------------------------‐---sustained bleep sound effect---------------------------------]

1:38-1:51 🤣

Personality wise, I'm a basic bitch who has approximately zero defenses for the "jerk with a heart of gold" stereotype. Gets me every time, without fail. The smooth-talking playboy who flirts with everyone and who could bed anyone he wanted, but who only lets you see him at his deepest, dearest, most vulnerable moments? Sorry, am I supposed to not fall for that shit or something? Well frankly I don't understand how and I'm not ashamed to admit it. If he happens to be built like a fortress on top of that? Yeah, I'm done. Have me bathed and brought to your tent, sir, please and thank you.

I admit, it's rare that a character with the physique I like also has that heartbreaker personality I'm a sucker for. Guys in fiction are usually strong and mean or they make up for their lighter frames with silver tongues and barbed promises - rarely do writers create a character who's stacked with both brains and brawn, so to speak. Makes sense though, as while irl people can max out any combination of stats that they put effort towards - in fiction a character who's too good at too many different attributes can come across unbalanced or Gary Stu-ish and will fail to resonate with audiences unless the writer really knows what they're doing.

That being said, there really isn't any character in ATLA who fits my type - either of them, actually. There are some bit characters like Chit Sang who get close in terms of physical build - but Chit Sang has very gaunt, angular facial features that I'm really not a fan of and tbh, while I get that I can't expect all my big buff boys to also be masters of wit and cunning and charm, being dumber than a box of rocks does seal it for me, sorry. In terms of personality, I guess the closest character would be Jet, and he's cool and all but yeah, the whole "would go as far as killing kids" thing makes him a bit of a hard sell for me too. (And yes, it's worth questioning the writers' choices to create him with those flaws to begin with but look, that's a discussion for another day 😂)

All this to say, if you wanna tease me about coveting fictional characters and allowing thirst to cloud my judgment - COME AT ME BOYS. But not with Zuko, for fuck's sake. The character that makes sneezy.exe blue-screen ain't him. It's actually the late great Carthaginian General Hannibal Barca, the man the myth the legend may he Rest in Peace if anyone's seriously wondering. Look, I do like the scar, and the awkwardness is endearing - he's definitely not ugly or unappealing by any means so please don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to bash him or nothin' - but if I'm being brutally honest, he's not my type! Not physically, not even emotionally. If I ship Zutara, it's because aspects of the ship appeal to me that are unrelated to my personal opinion of Zuko as an object of fantasy, which if you must know (and now you do, congratulations, you're welcome), the kind of boy I do fantasise about when I'm in the mood for that sort of thing could literally and figuratively sweep Zuko off his feet - and then sit on him. In either order.

P.S. While we're on this topic, the character I personally relate to most heavily is not Katara either btw. It's Toph. If you're going to accuse me of bias, questioning my views on Toph would make the most sense for that reason. But really, it's hardly my fault that she's basically the most perfect flawless irreproachable badass in ATLA or practically all of animation as a whole. Come on now. *whistles innocently*

[i-guess-im-into-this-now]

The Apothecary Diaries

S1E4 First Watch

Here's where I watch The Apothecary Diaries for the first time and give my thoughts, analysis, predictions, and occasionally I stumble into a joke.

My character/place cheat sheet

Lady Lihua - the sick concubine

Crystal Pavilion - Lady Lihua's abode

Jade Pavilion - Lady Gyokuyou's abode

Xiaolan - a servant friend of Maomao's

Oh snap. So that person who visited at the end of the last episode was THE EMPEROR. I don't like that Maomao is on his radar. I'm going to go ahead and blame Jinshi for this.

Lady Lihua is unwell and since Maomao is now a famous apothecary she is tasked with healing her. It's not something she can refuse or afford to fail at, though Lady Lihua's own ladies are making it challenging.

They don't trust Maomao, and so they prevent her from treating Lady Lihua, however shortsighted that may be. First of all they prevent their lady from getting better by denying her Maomao's care, second, they undermine the emperor's will. Maomao is going to be forced to deal with palace politics before she can treat her patient.

It is weird how the emperor approached Maomao. He could have summoned her to meet him anywhere, or simply passed down a command. He chose to go to the Jade Pavilion and meet Maomao face-to-face and in front of Lady Gyokuyou. It's as if he doesn't know or doesn't care about harem politics. I'm guessing that he does though. I bet he knows exactly what he's doing, even if Maomao and I don't.

I do not like his interest in Maomao.

Jinshi has come to help Maomao gain access to Lady Lihua so she can diagnose and treat her. He is so unnerving sometimes. When he notices the other ladies watching he rushes up on Maomao (is he trying to start rumors?) and whispers the following:

If it helps, I can come inside.

Which sounds... I mean, it's probably just the way it translated... I'm sure it's just me...

But Maomao looks like she nearly barfed on him! Which is probably the highlight of Jinshi's day.

The ladies comply when faced with the full power of Jinshi's smile (one lady literally fainted). Maomao comments:

Scary how women can change so quickly.

Jinshi knows the effect he has on women, but looks to Maomao after she says it, maybe wondering for the hundredth time how to get his charm to work on Maomao.

Side bar. This show is ALL about what is happening between Maomao and Jinshi. This is where the tension is, and it's where the story is happening. What happens between these two characters will have an effect on every other plotline and supporting character. If it seems like I spend too much time watching and analyzing this relationship, it's because I believe it to be the heart of the show.

Maomao! Holy shit Maomao! Goddamn if that wasn't the most lady boss thing I've ever seen!

Shall I even try to describe this scene? I'll never do this badassery justice, but its worth reviewing anyway.

She solves the mystery immediately, which, of course, and she's so far passed pissed off. When she realizes what's happened she growls in anger. She contains her rage only long enough to confirm who is responsible before slapping the lady across the face!

Lady: What is wrong with you!

Maomao: Me? Just punishing an idiot, clearly.

Friends. I am breathless. I think I gasped and then held it to the end of the scene.

Maomao dumps the poisonous powder on the lady's head. She then lays out in no uncertain terms what the poison does to one's body. Maomao is grappling to accept just how stupid this lady is, nearly shaking as she is incandescent with rage.

She slaps the woman again this time smearing the poisonous powder on her face while she screams:

You think she wants to be adorned in the poison that killed her son?!

The woman finally breaks down crying and Maomao is done with her. She takes charge and starts barking orders to the other ladies who are so terrified that they don't even think about disobeying.

Jinshi looks like he's just had a religious experience, but manages to pull out the perfect callback:

Scary how women can change so quickly.

God I love this character.

Facing Jinshi, Maomao comes back to herself. The ramifications of what she has done start to set in. I don't know if there will be fallout from the Crystal Pavilion from her bossing around Lady Lihua's ladies. I suspect they aren't going to broadcast what happened because they are criminally liable for poisoning their the concubine and also because this story makes them lose all face. Plus, Maomao is saving Lady Lihua's life. Regardless, I am confident that having Jinshi there to witness it all, will have consequences.

Dutiful Maomao then fully assumes control of Lady Lihua's care and commands the ladies with an iron fist. She can hardly tolerate the incompetency that has been standard in this pavilion. It really is a curse to be the smartest person in the room.

Jinshi: You're looking tired.

Maomao: Thanks. Unlike someone, I have been busy.

This is now what passes for a casual greeting between these two.

Jinshi, playfully, but probably sincerely, acknowledging Maomao's hard work; offering her validation, and implied appreciation. Maomao coming back with sarcasm and a playful barb. And they are both are getting exactly what they want from the other. Maomao appreciates that her hard work and skills are being acknowledged and Jinshi loves that someone is casual enough with him to tease him. I suspect he gets none of that any where else. She's may be the only one in his life who treats him like a regular person instead of a prince palace manager.

You can see each of them becoming more comfortable with each other as they learn where the lines lie. They are leaning how to give and take and discovering the ways the other prefers to be treated. Furthermore, instead of using those discoveries to push the other away or discourage them, they are giving the other what they want and inviting them to come closer.

Friends! These two are flirting!

And if that ain't proof enough, Jinshi Gaoshun gives Maomao some steamed buns and she thinks the following:

He knows the way to a girl's heart! It's the considerate guys like him who become good husbands. Too bad he's a eunuch.

So food is Maomao's love language. Same Maomao, same. But maybe don't try to be quite so transparent in front of Jinshi, he will use this against you.

Maomao is thinking of Gaoshun here but for what it's worth, it is Jinshi who knows the way to a girl's heart. He's been figuring out Maomao for a few episodes already, hence why she is receiving steamed buns from Gaoshun. He knows the food will cheer her up, but not if it come from him. Which is why Gaoshun is the one handing it over, even though he said the gift is from both of them.

Maomao interprets the gift in the way that lets her best enjoy the buns. And though she isn't admitting it, she is aware who the gift is really from, and might want to do some introspection on what she just thought about the gift giver.

Jinshi is offering to help Maomao. Whatever she wants. And he's turned the charm all the way up. Like, with all the sparkles ✨. I don't know if Maomao is totally immune to it, but it's not as effective as Jinshi would like. He hasn't abandoned the sultry look method yet. I wonder if he will just keep trying to see if anything shifts. In the meantime, it's far from his only tool of seduction.

His offer of help is good. Maomao of course won't take advantage of this for her own means, but if she can use Jinshi's help to treat her patient? Sold. Jinshi is happy to comply and win points with Maomao in return. I don't think Maomao totally trusts his altruism though. She tries to justify herself by saying:

We have to use whatever we have in this life.

And Maomao's efforts do pay off. Lady Lihua begins to recover. Eventually, Maomao is able to depart from the Crystal Pavilion. But not before collapsing in exhaustion, and having Lady Lihua gently stroke her head. Perhaps Lady Lihua is grateful and will become a support to Maomao in the future? Or at least give her some consideration while engaging in palace politics. Maybe try to mitigate the danger that could fall to Maomao. We shall see.

Maomao has so far had a positive impact on the people she interacts with. She saved Lady Gyokuyou and her baby, supports the ladies in the Jade Pavilion, assists the palace doctor, has solved multiple mysteries for Jinshi, not mention just generally brightens his day, and now has saved the life of Lady Lihua. She's too good at what she does, and too lovable not to charm everyone around her. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. Surely there are some in the palace who feel very differently about Maomao. For now she's still gaining allies.

And nice. Maomao is offering courtesan tricks to the emperor's concubine. Maomao is helping break down class lines one sex technique at a time!

I like what she told Lady Lihua:

There are hundreds, if not thousands of flowers in the world. Comparing a peony to a bellflower is pointless. Who has the right to judge which is more beautiful.

After which, she immediately compares her own body to Lady Lihua's, recognizing Lady Lihua's "magnificent" "assets." I wonder which of her own assets Maomao acknowledges. Does she consider herself to be a beautiful flower too?

Maomao returns to the Jade Pavilion and is warmly welcomed by the ladies in waiting who instantly worry over her. Which, as I've said before, I love. Maomao is always willing to sacrifice herself for others. She did it this time for Lady Lihua, by working herself to exhaustion. The ladies at Jade Pavilion notice that she's lost weight while she's been gone, and acknowledge how hard it must have been to be at the other pavilion. Maomao is so good at caring for others and absolute shit at caring for herself. Luckily, now she has people who look out for her, and care about her well-being.

Jinshi is privately very proud of Maomao. He credits her with completing the emperor's mission all on her own, which... she did not. Lady Lihua would have died if Jinshi hadn't stepped in to help Maomao gain access to her patient. Still good on him for recognizing her hard work and skill. Now tell it to her face.

I guess the point in showing him thinking of it here rather than saying it, is to let us, the viewers, know that he is sincere. When he compliments Maomao he does it a little playfully, and she can never be too sure if he is just messing with her or if he is in earnest.

Also, Gaoshun sees exactly what is happening between Jinshi and Maomao, even if the two of them don't recognize it yet.

And the set up for next episode's mystery of the week is cursed hands. Cool.

If you like this kind of thing, let me know! For some reason I've committed myself to blogging this whole show. It's a little hard because, while I enjoy this and I get a whole lot more out of the story this way, I am also deeply intrigued at this point and tempted to just binge the rest.

If you want to start from the beginning of these reviews:

Episode 1

Next episode

Episode 5

[horsetailcurlers2]

Please ramble about Tedstina I’m a total truther lol. Their chemistry was SO intense and palpable from the second Teddy stepped on screen and I agree about them not getting together whilst Teddy was mentoring her but I always thought the Henry plot was a perfect lead in to them developing something long term. Like in my head Cristina dumps Owen after he makes her lie about Henry and in Teddy’s grief and Cristina’s guilt they get closer, eventually sleeping together and then dating. Out of all the couples something about them both being so stubborn but also so clear eyed, ambitious and somewhat cold makes them the most likely to last in my opinion. A little line with Burke but this time they actually know and like each other lmao. And it would definitely be a little twisted since Cristina technically ‘killed’ Henry and then dated his widow but also it’s no darker than other weird romance plots on greys lol. Plus they would’ve been hot as hell 😭

yess you get it. okay but be forewarned this is a true ramble- it may only be vaguely coherent as i’m just going off the cuff.

exactly the chemistry is genuinely insane!!!! the thing about greys that bums me out in the early seasons is that they had an aversion to making any of their main female characters canonically queer. like, i get it, bc getting the callie storyline out there was an uphill battle. but it’s like they want to be explicitly clear all the time that cristina and meredith are both very very Straight. and that’s a whole other thing i could go on about. all this to preface that i think if the show aired now, cristina would be canonically openly queer right out the gate.

by the time teddy came along, it was still pretty early in the owen/cristina and so he hadn’t really done anything yet to make him quite so hate-able. and after hahn there was a big gap left where cristina was sorely lacking in a good mentor. burke was almost a good mentor but then you know they started canoodling and he eventually got frustrating. hahn just straight up refused to teach cristina despite her clear enthusiasm and untapped talent. then teddy comes in and it’s like…. she’s brilliant, she’s not put off by cristina’s cristinaness and she actually seems to be interested in the teaching aspect of working at a teaching hospital (which was fucking rare at that point). so i was immediately drawn to the teddy-cristina dynamic. especially with the complication of owen being the common link.

i could go on a whole other ramble about teddy and the long lasting effects that stemmed from allison’s death and the guilt about that infidelity but suffice to say by the time we meet teddy she’s pretty messed up about love.

and as we know, cristina has a long history of being attracted to mentor figures.

i think that with teddy’s infatuation with owen being shut down on his end pretty early on (despite him doing a total one eighty in the later seasons and claiming to have always loved her 🙄) it opened the door for her to realize WHY she was attracted to him in the first place (a best friend she made in a war zone shortly after the allison tragedy, him already being in a relationship).

SO anyway teddy meets cristina. they’re both in love (?🙄) with owen, they are both passionate about the same specialty, they both have tragedy and failed romance in their pasts.

and i see what you mean about them being very similar. but they are also opposite (and therefore perfectly complimentary) in a lot of ways. i personally think teddy is a lot more optimistic than she appears. she’s not easily discouraged. i also like that right off the bat she recognizes cristina’s talent, takes a liking to her, and is kind of just impervious to cristina’s dislike/wariness of her. i think it’s so funny how almost everyone but meredith is at first really put off by cristina’s bluntness or outright offended by her but teddy is just like “i respect your skill, i’m not gonna take any shit, i know i’m great at my job so let me do it and we’ll be chill”

i think that the conversation about teddy wanting to leave and cristina begging her to stay and yelling that teddy can have owen was a turning point for both of them. i think they both had a lot of revelations.

AND THEN i think the saga of henry’s death was also a major turning point for their relationship. i don’t think this would make their relationship that twisted tbh bc i don’t think teddy ever saw it that way. i think if she blamed anyone other than herself, it was owen (which, yeah bc the way he handled that was fucking bonkers). and i’ve seen a lot of frustrating stuff (mostly on tiktok lol which i have to stay away from bc there’s rarely any nuance on there when it comes to fandom/media discussions) about how teddy repeatedly grilling cristina about henry’s death was the worst thing she ever did and she was punishing cristina or something. but i think that that isn’t true at all in the slightest. it was fucked up and brutal and it was a grief response that was terribly unfair to cristina, but i think it actually showed the two of them being on the same wavelength in a lot of ways. cristina isn’t fazed (at least visibly) by teddy’s need to hear it over and over. bc i think she understood why teddy needed to hear it. they both deal with grief by making it about the facts and about the medicine. teddy needed to know that there is nothing anyone could have done to save him so that she doesn’t feel like she has another death on her hands. and i think cristina gets that because of her backstory with her fathers death. AGAIN i think they just get each other in ways that owen never got either of them.

AND HOW COULD I NOT MENTION THAT TEDDY HAS ACTUALLY SAID “i’m in love with cristina yang”

ANYWAY i personally have this AU idea in my head where they cross paths in europe and reconnect.

[callsigndreadfrost]

I saw a Tag talking about how you sometimes think about having Jelani heal from their trauma but you'd rather keep them in the space they are in.

I just wanted to say you've done a terrific job showing how slow the healing process is with all your boys! Even if he never fully heals he has had such a fun (thats a word for it) journey and seeing how he and Angelus balance each other out and keep each other grounded is such a great way for the characters to experience the horros but still have a place to go and repair themselves.

<333

Okay first of all, thank you! OMG that is some serious high praise especially when it comes from someone as important to me as you are. Holy shit! Totally flattered right now! I saw this ask way, way earlier but had to get some cleaning done and was on standby due to car problems but I wanted to get this answered and if you don't mind me saying I'm gonna word vomit the heck out of this with so many details.

Read more's there for length.

I'm always worried that I misrepresent some things when it comes to trauma responses and after effects of it. I do so much research and add in my own experiences with stuff. I go over it over and over and over and read so much on the subject that it tends to get to me sometimes but I want this to feel as real as it feels for me.

Also, in the case of their Fallout counterparts, I didn't want a happy-go-lucky AU, I have so many others for that but mainly the Skyrim AU for it. When I revamped it (Fallout AU) I was determined for it to be the AU I come back to when I'm not doing good because as sick as it sounds it's my balm. Those three shorts I wrote are just messed the fuck up but I was going through some shit and I needed to hurt myself in a healthier way if that makes sense.

Also confession time: most of what happened in the Fallout AU is stuff taken from Oracle. Things I've only ever hinted at but was never blatant about. So yeah, long winded way of saying that what happened to Jelani in Fallout happened to him in Oracle, just slightly different and for other reasons. I feel like I downplay his trauma of it in Oracle a lot but in Oracle he was able to get help and he wasn't alone to deal with that trauma. Did it affect him? Yes, very much so, something like that isn't just tossed under the carpet and forgotten. But he had Loke, Angelus and Trevor to help him through it, not to mention actual professional help too in the form of therapy. The worst part was dealing with the guilt because he felt like he'd betrayed Angelus by letting it happen, that took him a long time to come to terms with but Angelus was right there for him. Honestly, who better than his own, at the time, boyfriend who went through years of that shit himself. Literally no one else could understand what he was going through better than him. Not Loke and not Trevor. Then years later when he dealt with Iain who outed what happened to him to everyone else opened up those old wounds if only for a little bit. Then his suicide attempt because of the whole Iain thing and finding out he's the Arch-Maker--She really messed him up emotionally and psychologically, the damage She did to him was massive and from that point on it affected him as a person and would play a part in how he dealt with future problems. Once again Angelus was there to help him through it and he was the best to do so because he understood what it was like to have that kind of self-loathing. Angelus spent almost 2 centuries hating his own existence and during that time he tried to kill himself so many times it's almost obscene to think about. So when Jelani was hurting so much that he wanted to end his own life Angelus was the perfect balance to it. That little puppy picked up the pieces because not only had Jelani done the same thing for him for centuries, he understood what it was like to go through something like that and knew him well enough to know what to do with and for him.

Then years later after the Halo virus caused him to lose control all those feelings of self-loathing came back along with a guilt that was rotting him on the inside. Again, Angelus understood. Angelus was conditioned by his abusers to believe that he's a monster and one that will eventually hurt those that he loves so he was the best one to help his,now husband, through it because Jelani felt the same way.

Both of them have a lot of trauma and they balance each other. When one's injured the other helps him and cares for him. They have such a deep love for one another that they can heal each other. Not to mention Loke, Trevor and Uthorim are there too, can't forget them.

In Fallout it played out a little different. When it happened to Jelani it was more brutal and a lot sicker in my opinion, not only that but he was left for dead and was threatened to not say anything or else they'd find him and Loke, do it again in front of Loke and then kill Loke. Not only did they do that but they threatened him with taking away one of the two people he had left. On top of all of that it happened when he was only a 17-year-old kid. I'm not downplaying severity of traumatic events due to age (Fallout he was 17 and in Oracle he was 1,126). However, like I said, in Oracle he managed to get help and had a support system. In Fallout it happened and in that same month he thought Loke had died so for a year he was completely by himself dealing with crippling trauma that led to him attempting suicide several times. It wasn't until he met Angelus that he found some sort of support.

Angelus was a huge help. Lol now that I think about it, Angelus is the only one in that AU that has zero traumas and pretty much never had anything bad happen to him. I mean, was his childhood ideal? No. Did his grandmother sell him to an ex-raider? Yeah. But if you ask him he had the time of his life and honestly he really doesn't care about any of that. Anyway, he didn't exactly know what to do with Jelani but damn it did he not try his best and I think that was nicely displayed during the second short where he talked Jelani out of shooting himself and the way he talked to him and asked what he was comfortable with. Even at its darkest that AU still has so much fluff in it between them. Even when it comes to sex Angelus is there helping him recover by being someone he can trust. One of his biggest fears is expressing his own desires when it comes to sex because he is TERRIFIED that Angelus or whoever he's having sex with will get angry and hurt 'im. So when it involves Jelani it's always really soft and tender, a lot of loving and reassuring words.

((I'm not sure if you wanna continue the polycule between Uth and the boys in Oracle and other AUs or just the Skyrim AU. That's why I left that last bit ambiguous. But I am game for it on everything but only IF you want to (don't feel pressured to, I so seriously don't wanna limit your options). 'Cause quite honestly I love the chemistry between 'em all. I think that even though sex is a vital part to their relationship it also goes beyond that, like they genuinely care and love each other in ways that are hard to put into words 'cause their actions towards one another speak better and louder.))

Like no matter how dark Oracle or the AUs (again, exception being Skyrim) can get I like to make it fluffy to even it out. And you know what even the Skyrim AU has it's share of not so nice things what with the whole Loke having to run away from home because Iain wanted to kill Jelani (at the time a baby that was less than a year old) out of some delusional sense of revenge. Angelus running away from home because his grandmother wanted to make sure he didn't "sully" the family line like his mother did and basically raising him to think the A.D. were good.

Jelani and Angelus balance each other out in this one pretty well too. Like, Angelus's entire world view is very skewed and wrong because of his upbringing and he's just angry. Deep down, behind all the glamour, the pretty words, the elegant jewels and expensive clothes and that air of superiority he is ANGRY. So meeting Jelani just kinda felt like he cooled down his anger towards everything and everyone. Jelani, Loke, Uthorim and Trevor really turned him around and he learned that his grandmother was completely wrong and to be fair to him he never really bought into the A.D. propaganda, he was just expected to and the only person in his life who was very anti-A.D. died when he was super young so he didn't have a countering point of view to his grandmother's upbringing. The Angelus a year after he moved in with the boys is an entirely different one than when he first got to Skyrim. Well, for the better anyway, he's still a spoiled brat of an elf with a superiority complex about him, it's just that now he's not an asshole about it surrounded by people that love him and he loves back.

But yeah, holy shit, long way of saying that yes, I do take great care in how I try to manage their traumas and the way they deal with 'em. Some get mostly better, like the Oracle version of Angelus and even then I think you can recover from traumatic events but you will never go back to the way you were before it happened. It took Angelus such a long time to get to the point where he had enough of punishing himself and even if Jelani was right there for him every step of the way he was the one that had to make that choice for himself. I wanted to move him past all that and I did. He's so much better now, I'd say since the 1970s. He still has moments and days that are much harder to deal with stuff but he actually wants to move past shit and has an excellent support system like Jelani who would do anything for him.

When it comes to Jelani he mostly recovered from his assault, took a few years but he recovered. The thing that to this day eats at him is guilt. He feels so much guilt for technically everything and to be honest it's all in his head but no matter how much therapy or medication he's given it just doesn't go away which was greatly exacerbated after he found out he's the Arch-Maker. He also has bouts where he feels alienated and lonely even though he isn't and he's aware of it but it just comes on and no amount of logic will pry those feelings from his head. He's torn between two identities, divine and non-divine, and it conflicts him a lot. Oracle Jelani is wounded, he's trying his best and for the most part you can see it but sometimes that wound opens up again and festers for a little bit and he has to balance dealing with it and going on with life.

Fallout version of Jelani is very broken, he went through a horror that a lot of people don't survive either by the person(s) responsible for it or by the victim's own hand. Like I said, I wanna keep him in that space he's in for selfish reasons and to be honest not everyone recovers and I wanna show that side too. Within Oracle you see a Jelani (Angelus as well, credit where credit is due) that managed to recover from surviving such a traumatic event but the Fallout version really didn't and it affects his life pretty heavily and it may be ugly but that's the reality of it.

There is the topic of whether I want him to get some type of closure by killing that ones that...you know...but in all honesty I think it'd be in vain and would only end up hurting him more. He cannot see or smell rum much less drink it because it reminds him of the man that orchestrated the entire thing so seeing him would send him into a panic. Not to mention he's a serious piece of shit, this man is not gonna go down without a fight or without saying and doing things that'll outright trigger him. As much of a capable marksman that he is Jelani would freeze like a baby deer in headlights and that could lead to getting assaulted again because let's face it, that man wouldn't be above doing it again and that's just bad all around.

The idea of revenge is not very realistic. Yes, in Oracle Loke, Angelus and Trevor got to the group that assaulted Jela but that kill was more for Loke if we're being brutally honest. They hurt his brother, they went after his brother. Keyword here being his. True revenge would've been if Jelani himself would've pulled the trigger but he didn't, he really didn't wanna face them again. He wanted to forget it ever happened and put it behind him. Loke, Angelus and Trevor were the ones that wanted recompense for what was done to their brother/boyfriend/friend. Same thing goes for the Fallout version. And to be honest exposing him to that would do more harm than good. To be honest, if I ever do write it it might be that I'm going through something and need to reach into dark content because no matter what the outcome won't land in Jelani's favor.

Honestly I have so much more to say on this topic but it's already really long.

[einsatzzz]

ok! webcomic update! previously, i said that i'm considering on making two chapters before i release it - im scratching that idea off. tho i keep jumping back to do some linearts and a few coloring for parts that i'm sure i won't change, i finally also finished the sketch/mapping as a whole for the whole script draft i wrote for chapter 1.

as i kept on mapping and sketching everything out, especially near the end, i realized that the chapter length is easily at least two times the size of what i initially expected of a standard chapter length??? LMAO so i'm technically already working on two chapters worth of story length all along, it's just that since it's chapter 1 that its longer. if i stack these long pages together, the canvas height would at least be around 115K pixels 🤣😭🤣😭

im so extra for this shit, bc this chapter is just me essentially setting everything up (=planting seeds) and getting a grasp on the webcomic creation workflow & most of the canon characters. but i love being extra for my ocs! ueueueue you will understand when you read it.

this will also be the most i've drawn tsuna and reborn(butter this one's for you 🫵), ever. so besides oc withdrawal, i am also having cute girls withdrawal, the only one keeping me alive in these trying times is my girlie kyoko-chan. if you notice her panels are extra well-done...umm...uhhhh....i love cute girls 🫶🥰✨

my alternative is to just add another segment in the end, as some form of preview on what to expect next chapter. it should be no more than another 7K pixels, it's alr so long, this is nothing at this point 🤣

in terms of art improvement, i must say that they really are not kidding when they say if you keep drawing comics your art will improve. i keep noticing things idk how to draw (=i'll need to study how to) and i'm also being forced to draw characters in angles/poses i was too much of a coward to draw before and also! things i didn't give too many shits about to draw before, including mob characters and backgrounds (that i can't 3d my way out of).

honestly, at some point in the future, i should make a custom brush for namichuu student mobs, because goddamn! it's a pain!

it's also nice that i get to also technically do manga panel redraws by doing this! i find that doing redraws of anime screenshots/manga panels is good practice for how effectively im able to eyeball & figure out poses from references.

lastly for the updated estimate of the release! the latest i could finish it if i really take my time would be by christmas (this would be my og deadline if i had planned to release two standard-length chapters). though, i'd release it earlier if I finish earlier, of course.

and im not rlly beating myself up for not making my own personal deadline, i'll just think about it like this "deadlines are a social construct, its not like i'll lose my irl job for not finishing my personal webcomic 🤣🤣🤣" lmaoosjdfhjsf pls im already so depressed the past few days & im isolating, i don't want to add more to it. and having tunnel vision on the grind to make this is actually a good distraction from nasty thoughts. also took a break today from making it, that's why im able to drop by a few ppl's notifs 🫶

[mdhwrites]

Going back through TOH's episodes, it strikes me how boring they are. Part of the problem seems to be how criminally unfunny the show is, generally speaking. I can count how many times I've laughed on one hand. In fact I can list them:

There was the "It's been my dream since I was a boy" guy pushing kids off cliffs (Moving Hassle), Luz's "He'll be fine" after throwing Hunter overboard - and then his subsequent re-entry (Hunting Palismen) - and lastly Luz tumbling offscreen in front of Amity after a spider crawls on her face (Grom). That's 3 scenes, 4 jokes if we're being charitable. And sure, maybe my sense of humour is just incompatible with TOH's and I'm being harsh.

But I can't deny that I just feel like there's no rewatch value in TOH? Like it's just... the jokes are so bad to the point it's not fun, it's not entertaining, it's a slog, I see no value in retreading the same ground. And I am a SERIAL rewatcher! This is coming from someone who spends maybe 85% of their time experiencing the same stories! I love seeing well-done media all over again, because even if I know what's going to happen or what they will say, a well-structured joke or a skillfully delivered line is still gonna engage me.

I can't even recommend the show to anyone because I HAVE in the past... and what ends up happening is they watch the first couple episodes, get bored, go "I recognize that you like this, but it's not my thing" and drop it. And I CAN'T BLAME THAT! Because that's how I reacted too when I got into the show! I only stuck with it because it seemed like it was going really interesting places. And it tried to, I think, and failed.

I'm also a very fandom-heavy person so TOH's boring episodes have made it increasingly harder for me to stay within it. Because I'm not rewatching anything, I can see myself in real time as I forget more and more of the plotlines, and even a lot of the characters. It's just... kind of disappointing. It's like I just had a gradual fizzling out of interest. I don't even hate the show, which might be better in some ways - instead I just can't muster enough shits to feel any type of way towards it.

I rambled a bit but I guess my ultimate ask here was: what are your thoughts on whether or not TOH manages to entertain new/old viewers?

So I like S1. I think the characters are what carry it and that they are at their most interesting, EASILY, in S1.

The vast majority of S1, in terms of concepts and executions for plots, is OKAY AT BEST.

This actually just comes down to a simple tonal decision of TOH and also just the fact that a boring world with boring magic creates little to do with bog standard plots and TOH actually has a LOT of bog standard plotting. It is a pretty classic story structurally and takes genuinely very few risks in the structure... Which is okay in theory.

There is nothing wrong with not reinventing the wheel and TOH talks a big game about subverting tropes but no. As a fantasy fan, I can tell you this is EXCEPTIONALLY normal. Like... Insultingly from how much it talks a big game. Especially because if you're going to do classic, you have three options: Shoot the moon, lean into the unique elements of your concept or do it VERY. VERY. WELL.

And remember: They did a body swap episode and it is one of the most hated episodes of the entire show. That's not a good sign.

But this touches on the second problem I brought up: This is a boring world with boring magic. Because TOH's fantasy world is so basic, has little magic and little flair with its magic, it inherently limits what it can do. Now, it doesn't have to be this way but the show made it this way with how little we see of it, how limited it is (like how plant magic is 99% vines), and how often it just blatantly makes one to one comparisons between it and our world with effectively NOTHING altered like how the covens are just jobs, right down to them being introduced through a job fair and a boring one at that.

So when we look at a classic episode concept like the body swap episode, the three plots are... Easily replicated elsewhere. One person gets in trouble in the swap's job because they don't know what they're doing (with the most unique twist of this actually landing them in prison), a classic animal plot where they're taken in by a place that seems cozy and then isn't with literally no changes, and finally... Teenager pisses off bullies and agrees to jump DEAD MAN'S GORGE! But instead of skateboards and people really building it up, its rat beasts.

None of these plots are actually bad, they're go tos for a reason, but... No one is bringing anything special to this. Luz is entirely ignored so her character may as well not matter, Eda is doing NOTHING to add to her plot and King... King is fun for about two minutes leading the bullies and otherwise is just any other character in this situation. It's not bad, I personally enjoy parts of the episode... But it's nothing special. From the second the thing that X character is going to do is revealed, you can guess every step of the plot and they don't even really throw in good jokes in the process. A couple jokes but nothing memorable because everything is weirdly subdued compared to how other shows would be, even in an episode that is definitely trying to be more over the top.

And this runs into the inherent tonal issue of TOH: It doesn't want to be an adventure comedy. Those are genres that are commonly really over the top. They hear jump the shark and go "How about a shark jumping ten other sharks in order to finish making a can of tuna for their fire giant overlord?" And the face of this fact, in that the genres it pitches itself as for the first two episodes!

TOH flatly refuses to be silly and over the top. It's characters are very... 'realistic'. I don't mean real, just that they're meant to feel more mature by being more in control. They don't let them interrupt each other for a joke, they don't let a character be potentially OOC for a one off gag like Hop Pop screaming "EAT THE RICH!" or Sprig asking "Have you ever killed a a man, Hop Pop," and I can only think of one time Luz got mad for the sake of a joke and honestly, yelling about the Rusty Smidge barely comes across as a joke because of how genuine the anger feels after a point. Otherwise, stuff that would normally get exaggerated frustration or the like to at least let you laugh at the reaction just... doesn't get one, like how Luz yells about Luzura being killed off but then... Just walks off and is passive aggressive mostly instead of even exasperated. For a drama or romance, this is not a bad approach but for even just an adventure kid's show... It's not great to put it mildly because people meet odd situations with weird levels of nonchalance. Not quite irony poisoned levels but getting there.

It's why TOH is mostly remembered for the romance and drama episodes. Not only do they allow some of the romance scenes to actually include melodrama, they also just fit how the characters act better. It's why Amity has some of the biggest emotions of the series and why Lumity have such great lines between each other because they're actually willing to lean into the sort of genre fiction that they're doing. This is also why S2 works better than S1 because a lot of the pretense of being a comedy adventure gets dropped but like... There's still plenty of boring in S2 with stuff like how Elsewhere Elsewhen takes time travel and includes a couple jokes at the beginning and then is just... horribly bland and barely qualifies as an adventure.

This lack of allowing people to be emotional and jokey also leads to the reliance on comic relief characters. People like Gus, King or Hooty, or S2 Lilith, who the characters can mock in someway, including the writers. Characters who can be the punchline even if it means a lot of people come off a lot meaner than they should, i.e. Luz absolutely rejecting Hooty for the vast majority of the series despite supposedly liking the weird and rejected. That also means that most of the time they're not on screen, either the scene starts getting pretty dry or you have a character suddenly warp to be comic relief, like how Eda gets in some S2 episodes like Elsewhere Elsewhen or Eclipse Lake where suddenly she's MUCH more of a joke than she normally is and also REALLY bad at it too and seeming potentially brain dead for it. Thanks to Them even does this to Amity even though she is probably the last person in the cast to make sense as a sudden clutz.

All of this stuff makes it so that if you go in wanting a kid's show, a fantasy show, ANYTHING that is pitched in the first episode... S1 is going to be just okay to you. I enjoyed it... But I also fell off when I first watched it. I thought the characters were good but none of it stuck with me as actually memorable and I watched until I think Adventure in the Elements. I never was never compelled to come back until Lumity animations (literally THE Little Miss Perfect animatic that is nowadays probably hard to find actually) made me go "I remember this show being neat." And Lumity was what kept me, not because I was generally laughing or calling these episodes something special. In fact, that sense of unsatisfaction is probably why I watched through it faster than Amphibia. No one episode of TOH is really great to watch on its own because... It's just kind of boring, or like half of it is boring because the B plots across the board are SO BLAND. S1 or 2 for that matter since Lumity starts getting boring B plots like with the archives or finding out the author of Azura. Both concepts btw that could have been really interesting setups and instead... If you're not into blushing Amity, get FUUUUUCKED.

That's without getting into REPETITION. Repetition kills comedy so King having one joke for S1 and also taking up like half of the B plots for the first ten episodes means you are going to be in agony eventually anytime someone talks to him because you know where it's going and you have DEFINITELY heard this joke before. And you know, he also gets three repetitive B plots which just hurts the joke even more, even as they try to make twists on it, and hurts the feeling that the show is doing... Anything..

It's just not good. Which is probably why once the characters and the 'subversive/unique' elements of the show both weakened, more and more people left because... Why would you keep watching this then? Those elements are what made up for boring plots with boring execution in a world that didn't allow for more interesting storytelling because it had few ideas and expanded on NONE OF THEM. So of course people pitch it using the elements that say "this isn't like other kids shows/fantasy shows" because if you pitch it to people who like those... They'll just be disappointed eventually and bored quickly. Like i think a lot of people did to be quite honest.

And a lack of creativity, and a lack of genre understanding, isn't something time could have ever fixed.

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

The short version of proving this point btw is going "Compare Bumi's introductory episode, which is a character giving three trials to prove another's worth, versus when the Bat Queen challenges Luz. One is exceptionally funny, interesting and has genuinely interesting twists while the other is... There. So very there. Painfully just... there. Not even bad, just... There.

Also, yes, comedy is extremely subjective which is why I tried to talk more about how a lot of these premises are boring because that can be a bit more objective.

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

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past.

I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead.

If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

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

[copperbadge]

Some Discourse On Fictional Chefs

I collected up all the discussion of Simon’s potential love interest in the Shivadhverse (and one about Twelve Points) and threw it in a post :D 

katestamps

If it is realistic at all, I’d love to be able to hand 12 Points to my musician daughter when she gets home from college around the 18th of May. That’s also the week after Eurovision. No pressure, I’m just excited for her to read it!

For a second I was like “If the book is realistic? Well, it kinda is, I’m working on that now” and then I realized you meant datewise :D I hope it is -- the book’s in final edits but a few of them are taking some time. I have to finish the edits, typeset, design the cover, upload, order proofs, approve the proofs, and then the thing can go out, which is not NOT doable by May, but it’s slightly iffy only because my April is super hectic. But most of the delay is usually in ordering the proofs (they take longer than they used to, to print and ship) so if I can get shit done BEFORE the hectic, we should be good. 

And now on to the chefs. I was a little amused, admittedly, because I didn’t vocalize clearly what I was asking about when I asked what people would like to see -- I was thinking more in terms of gender, sexuality, disability, race, etc. but I didn’t specify that, so instead I mostly got fascinating ideas for backstories and character aspects. Which is so fandom! I love it, I’m not mad or dismayed, it’s just also really funny. :D 

dignitywhatdignity

Are you thinking someone from Eddie's TV Chef circles, or more along Simon's own, more classical background?

spaci1701

A protégé of Eddie's who has taken over his show comes to do a special on the Country that Stole Our Star and had gotten a little big for his britches?

1968bullittmustang

It's probably too close to Eddie's character, but... What about one of those chef's that travel the world cooking the most awful (or best) local dishes with home chef's. Or maybe just a National Geographic photographer in country to do a piece on the 'One Highland' 😁

I’d like them to be a native Shivadh, only because most of the books to date have involved either total foreigners or expats returning, and both Royals/Ramblers and the football novel will as well. I’m hoping for someone who has moved to Fons-Askaz from the rural backcountry, but the idea is that Simon comes into conflict with someone who has a much less “fancy food from a classical background” style -- part of the conflict comes from each of them initially assuming the other has the inferior way of cooking. So -- more on Eddie’s line BUT not one of Eddie’s folks, because whoever this person is, they’re relatively local. 

Mind you, I do like the National Geographic angle. And I do kind of like the idea that someone else took over Truly Tasty. Eddie said that might happen. And that’s something I’d need to work into Royals/Ramblers so hmmm, making a note. 

dignitywhatdignity

(Or you could steal from the foodieverse! A classically trained hipster with a Michelin-starred food truck! A chain pizza scion with a flair for molecular gastronomy!)

Actually nicking some from the Foodieverse might be helpful -- maybe taking and twisting around Steve’s plotline from that universe a bit, though that doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be a Hot Male Hipster. But perhaps someone who trained classically and then decided it was all bullshit. 

spinningprincess

It's in my brain because it's what I'm writing, but I bet someone who's a little bit New Agey and leans hard into the symbolism of EVERY dish, whether from a "traditional foods of XYZ culture" standpoint or a "historically used for $magickal effect" standpoint, and like, talks about the energy of the kitchen, would be a great and interesting counterpoint to Simon's lack of that. And it's such a GOOD romance trope. (to be clear, I'm writing two different stories right now where no one ever cooks a food because they're hungry and want to eat A Food, it's all "well, basil is good prosperity magic, but cabbage is good prosperity magic and also the traditional food of my people, and...")

On the whole it’s an idea I like, but I’m not sure it’s fitted to this particular plot -- might be something to revisit with another character at some point, though. 

I’m discovering just how difficult it is to write hippie/new-age characters with Royals/Ramblers in part because so much of that mythology eventually traipses around towards anti-Semitism. Not necessarily food symbolism, and not ALL new age stuff is that way, but it really is a razor-fine line at times. 

knottahooker

My first thought was that terrifying lady chef from Ratatouille, she was fantastic. Someone with her personality, maybe? Cactus with a heart of gold who will absolutely stab you anyway.

My instinct is along those lines, at the least someone who is a trifle confrontational, but I feel like so much of it depends on other aspects of who they are, which is what I’m struggling to pin down. 

robinade

it would be funny if Simon's "nemesis" was, like, lactose intolerant or something so they have objections to French cuisine (so heavy on cheese and butter) but Simon doesn't know this at first and is mortally offended

musegaarid

What if Simon falls for a bodybuilder or a ballerina or someone on a really restrictive diet? If they were older and getting ready to retire, he could reintroduce them to good food.

I like both of these -- I think there’s particularly something to the idea of an athlete who has eaten a restricted diet, since that’s something that can alter more easily than allergies. But to make the story work they really do need to be a fellow chef. Which, there’s no reason they couldn’t have dietary restrictions AND be a chef, but I’m not sure I’d do either side of them justice that way. 

katestamps

Ooh, I just had the thought of Simon’s nemesis as a French chef which was actually an espionage cover. Think Julia Child, Cold War edition. (I also think of Simon as 5-10 years older than Michaelis which may or may not be accurate.)

Man, there is something to the idea of a spy. I’d say from Galia, but I don’t think Ofelia either wants or needs someone to spy on Fons-Askaz for her, she could just like, ask Alanna if she needs to know something :D Might turn this over in my head a bit, although it would again mean someone coming from outside the country. 

Simon is actually a trifle younger than Michaelis -- Michaelis was around 34, 35 when he hired him, and Simon and Hugo were both in their twenties. It still puts him in his fifties -- I do enjoy writing romances for older people, especially because there is something of a dearth of romance novels specifically featuring older men (they do exist but you run face-first into the “daddy” trope a lot, and “older man” in romance-speak often clocks in at “definitely under fifty”). Older women as the POV character are more common, I would imagine because older women are a huge target audience for romances. 

annechen-melo

Thinking about the love interest for Simon, someone who Absolutely Does Not Have A Media Presence beyond their cookbooks, and there is a Very Good Reason for that. That reason may be anything from an acerbic personality whenever someone points a camera in their direction to being just not good at Peopleing. Hmm. How international is the idea of Witness Protection Makeovers?

They could also just be crap at social media -- I’ve come to realize that every social platform EXCEPT tumblr is basically incompatible with my brain, and even the ones marginally compatible like Reddit, I just don’t find a ton of value in them a lot of the time. Which would be a nice foil to Simon starting up a recipe blog at the same time. 

strix-alba

I wish for Simon's love interest to be a salt-and-pepper-haired butch woman *shakes the genie's lamp*

There’s definitely a salt-and-pepper butch woman coming into the Shivadhverse at some point. :D I had her set for a later book, and not sure that’d be right for Simon, but I’m not ruling it out -- a fairly mouthy, fairly masc woman about Simon’s age is one of the strong potential characters I’m considering. 

Anonymous asked:

Shivadhverse: Concerning Simon’s love interest: would you consider someone like Catherine Bordey, owner of La Kaz,  from “Death in Paradise”? Or possibly even a French POC like her daughter? I’d really love 💕 to see a character who is both French and a POC. 😊

I’ve seen an episode or two of Death in Paradise but I don’t think I’ve encountered those two characters! I’ll have to see if my folks can educate me on them, they love that show. I am trying to figure out how to work more racial diversity into the books, so that’s a thought. Not necessarily French, but French-Shivadh; they do share a border. 

Anonymous asked:

maybe not a fit but I'll try anyway. what i'd like in a chef character is someone who tried something, really got into it, then backed out of it so hard. like the foraging culture, which could net you a research hole into local greens. what if they believe it's now too polluted to forage safely? and yet they have an encyclopedic knowledge of the seasons and life cycles of sidewalk dandelions. tl;dr cursed knowledge

As an aspect of the character that could work, although it gets difficult because like...the deeper someone is in something, the more I have to learn in order to put it out there :D I was looking at something along those lines, or at least something similar that might make them a bit brusque. Lots to mull on overall, anyhow. 

[khunvegas]

Have you/could you make a list of your favorite/best bl kisses?

i feel honored that someone asked me this 😩 omg ok. this is gonna be the longest post ever.

here's my list of the best bl kisses with a few of my favorites. in my own personal opinion.

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

●dark blue kiss

i think p'aof went very galaxy brain with the idea of an underwater kiss and for that, he is very valid because it's a very iconic kiss. the show itself could have had some work but then again, it was 2018. everything was wrong back then.

● still 2gether

NOW i talk a lot of shit about this one AND WITH GOOD REASONS. HOWEVER, gosh mantype stole the show for me WITH ONE SINGLE KISS. imagine that. it was groundbreaking FOR ME. too bad we will never gonna see them together again.

● 2 moons 2

this was the only time joong knew how to kiss. no further explanation.

● history 2: crossing the line

even though this whole scene was a dream, it was still a marvelous experience and for someone (me) that was just starting into this bl bs, this one sealed the deal for me.

● history 3: make our days count

this whole scene... you just had to be there. also they had the most happiest ending ever. for sure for sure.

● history 3: trapped

what can i say? taiwan always put their money in those workshops. their plots might be a little outta pocket with the incest and the getting killed because of some salt but i can always trust them to put on a show.

● manner of death

i have no explanations WHY this is a favorite. it's just too good. and it's not only their porn-level kisses, the show itself was a masterpiece. if no one got me, i know maxtul got me. manifesting a show with them again.

●lovely writer

the show itself didn't click with me. too many sound effects and some of the characters were very annoying to me. HOWEVER, the food was very tasteful. let's see it again.

● a tale of thousand stars

i really debated between this one and the final kiss but i had to choose this one because i feel this one is more meaningful. it was a promise that they would see each other again and i'm a sucker for promises. still, p'aof lost some points for giving us one single actual kiss for the very last minute.

● like in the movies

picture this. we are in the middle of a pandemic, unemployed, some places are starting to open back up, thailand is in shambles so they can't release anything. enter the philippines with the vision of starting business with the bl industry and they release this masterpiece. it was such a good show and they had the material for a season 2 but sadly, their time is over. 10/10 tho.

● we best love: no.1 for you

gosh, taiwan. you will always be the best.

this was a very emotional scene and they truly deliver with the kiss and the tears and the bridge. it was all 10/10

● bad buddy

I MEAN, DO I EVEN HAVE TO EXPLAIN??? like damn. now i do have some complaints here and there but this kiss right here??? it was such an experience. like the girlies that watched this while it was airing know how it felt because not a lot of people were prepared for how ep 5 would leave the whole fandom in shambles. the confession plus the kiss PLUS how it ended??? emotional damage 100. incredible.

●enchante

LISTEN!!! YOU BETTER LISTEN!!!! because these bitches, as rookies as they were, DELIVERED. see because even though enchante was a flop in terms of views and gmmtv never giving them an inch of promotion, my kings ate each other on camera and gave me the most toe-curling kiss ever. i don't care if you thought the plot was silly or you want to act funny and say forcebook look related, whatever that means, they did what needed to be done. end of discussion.

●not me

"but offgun had better kisses!!!!111!!!" i don't care about any of that. i came here because babygirl first is a homie hopper and he was going to kiss another man on camera.

the show itself was really good, a little bit draggy towards the end (and there were some Things with some characters that the fans weren't that happy with) but overall, they put on a great performance. HOWEVER, danyok will forever be famous. a tragedy too.

●to my star

GOSH. the originals. the men that weren't afraid of success. see because up until this point, kbls were a flop in terms of kisses (some even in plot) and their first kiss was a flop too BUT THEN this final scene came and robbed me at gunpoint. i was so sure we would never get a proper kiss AND THE BITCHES CAME AND SLAYED ME. not only they gave me a proper meal, it lasted for hours. i was left in shambles. 14569722/10.

●to my star 2

i have to put both scenes because what the fuck. I MEAN, WHAT THE FUCK MAN???

there's absolutely nothing i can say but enjoy??? i guess??? they said "oh, the industry is a flop. let us fix it" AND THEY DID... now the show itself had its ups and downs; a lot of people didn't like how it was made and how the plot was going; it was devastation after devastation and no one could see the light at the end of the tunnel. personally, if they had done the plot a little different, a lot more people would have been happier, including me. but that doesn't take away the fact that they killed it, amazing performance and the kisses speak for itself.

● my secret love

now was this show groundbreaking? no. in reality, it was more of the same stuff we all have seen but the catch with this one is that the acting is good enough and the plot is engaging, and you can actually see that some actions lead to repercussions in the show. however, i do have to talk about these two. they stole the show and they weren't even the main couple and my theory is that because they didn't have enough screentime, they decided to go all out with their scenes and god, what a time. this was just the beginning of this scene btw, there's more to it.

● golden blood

this one goes to show that sometimes you just need vibes, exceptionally good chemistry, some silly characters and a small mukbang. golden blood was a disaster in like everything, so when i tell you i stayed for them, i'm serious. they were the only reason i kept watching. the rest? i don't even remember because i skipped most of it.

● cutie pie

see, decisions were made when they filmed this. the show was very silly itself and there were some plotholes that were ultimately overshadowed by zee's tongue. i honestly don't remember much. i just remember the iconic kisses and how tonnam stole every single scene (and that's how he has his lead role now). also perth. but those workshops came through because all four of them ate this (and each other).

● cutie pie 2 you

before anyone says something about zeenunew, save it. i watched this long ass advertisement just to get nuersyn crumbs. that's it. i don't even remember how many episodes it had but it was so unnecessary. HOWEVER, tutoryim came and gave us the performance of their lives. i have absolutely no complaints with those two. would i ever want a special focused on them? yes, 100%. i also have to add maxnat also had a great performance with the little to no screentime they had. we were living off crumbs, for sure.

● you're my sky

oh, bestie. when i tell you this show made me climb my walls every saturday last year, i'm not kidding. THESE TWO, MY GOD. for the girlies that watched this show, you know what i mean. the tension was OFF THE ROOF. THE WORST PART? open ending. the most toe-curling tension right here just to get a drunken kiss and then NOTHING. the most excruciating 12 weeks.

● don't say no

this show was a wild ride. like, the toxicity surrounding leo and fiat? it was too much and the plot was nonexistent, which it was the point. basically, it was "two best friends in a room, they might kiss" and they did, so what happens next? this is the "next". how they actually act now that they are in a relationship. fiat had a lot of baggage plus being horny. those two fucked like rabbits and NOTHING was left to the imagination. the biggest surprise was smartjames. they had an awful ending but at least we got good food.

●blueming

you know what they say, tms walked so that the other kbls could run and this is a prime example. then again, it's the same director, so there's a standard these shows need to have and damn, i think they exceeded. now, the show was very different from the manhwa but it was still a good show enough that there might be season 2.

● kissable lips

compared to some of this list, this kiss is not even that good. HOWEVER, in the context of kbls, it was really memorable, especially when you have watched the show and the only thing that you can remember is that one of them was a vampire and died but died after having a good fuck... honestly, they had $5 and a dream and they made it work.

●cherry blossom after winter

the dream kisses are always the best ones.

this was a very cute show overall and i think it had the first m|m couple that gets engaged with a ring and everything in a kbl. very iconic, if you ask me. very brave too.

●cupid's last wish

listen, i'm not a fan of the body swapping trope but at least they went original with this one (at least no one died... side eyeing the shipper). and i'm pretty sure the director told earthmix to go wild with this one. pretty sure it was the pent up energy from atots. what a performance. a think there are a few kisses from this show. great food.

and that's it because tumblr only allows 30 pictures per post, so if you want part 2, let me know. i still have some that i can add.

[howsitduud]

Ranking Every Single Piece of Media I Watched/Played/Read in 2024 Part 1

The title says it all, really.

I have kept a list of every single thing piece of media I have watched/played/read this year and now I will rank them all. Everything is fair game with this list, be it movies, tv shows, video games, musicals, plays, books, analog horror series, music albums (if I listened to any). If I first consumed it this in 2024, then it's fair game for this list. The only things I'm not including are Youtube videos because that seems like a lot.

For this part of the list, I will be going through the bottom to top, starting with the worst thing I watched all year and ending with the best. Part 2 is after this, so keep watch.

Megamind vs The Doom Syndicate - 1/10 - Easily one of the worst animated movies I’ve ever seen in my life. It is so lifeless and dull, not just in terms of animation, but also in terms of the writing. Megamind is straight up not the same character he was in the original, Minion’s name was changed for no reason, Roxanne has literally nothing to do except become mayor at the end for no reason, the new characters are annoying, and aside from ONE JOKE, this movie is painfully unfunny. I can’t believe Despicable Me’s low point was better than Megamind’s.

Ouija - 2/10 - Who’d ever think that a movie about a Ouija board would be bad? Imagine every single horror movie cliche you’ve ever seen and heard of done in the most boring, incomprehensibly stupid way. You have now imagined a movie that is a hundred times better than this.

Battleship - 2/10 - I was dreading watching this movie for years and after conquering my fear and putting it on, yep it was as bad as I thought. The characters are ass, the alien stuff takes forever to get going, and the action itself is so slow. I would rather watch actual Battleship gameplay.

DnD: Wrath of the Dragon God - 2/10 - This name is way too good for this movie. There’s a fun moment once every 20 minutes but other than that, it’s bland, generic, poorly acted straight to DVD schlock that has nothing to do with the first besides Domodar being in it.

Christmas Again - 3/10 - I will give this two compliments: The concept of a time-loop Christmas movie is a good one, and there’s sometimes a good joke. Other than that, this movie is a dumpster fire of horrible writing and worse characters. The main character is insufferable, and I just wanted it to be over so I can hang ornaments.

Dungeons and Dragons - 3/10 - Yeah, this movie is bad, what’d you expect. Every single character walks the spectrum between boring as shit or annoying as shit, especially Snails and Ridley, two of the main characters. The only things that gave me any sort of joy was the horrible special effects and Jeremy Irons playing the hammiest villain he’s ever done since Scar. Honor Among Thieves is better + L + ratio.

Power Rangers - 3/10 - Oh, goody, another classic property that had all the charm and fun sucked out of it for a boring, basic, lifeless remake that adds nothing to the franchise. The only net positive here is Billy Cranston, who is the best and I would give my life to.

Transformers: The Last Knight - 3/10 - Well, it’s better than the previous one. It’s still visually bland and the plot is borderline incoherent at times and the acting sucks and the aspect ratio changes actively got on my nerves, but at least Cogman, Nitro Zeus and Sir Burton were fun characters.

Madame Web - 3/10 - Yeah, it’s bad, but like, not that bad. I get a lot of ironic enjoyment out of how stupidly written every single aspect of this movie is and how most actors here just have no interest in actually making a good movie. I will say that Sydney Sweeney does a good job here, and Webb’s powers can make for decent editing and visuals, but this is a perfect “get drunk and watch with your friends” type movie.

DnD: The Book of Vile Darkness - 3/10 - The second best D&D movie, only because some of the action scenes and magic spells were pretty cool and there’s a single character I liked. Otherwise, it’s still a poorly-acted, poorly-written, ugly as hell fantasy movie. It was also impossible to find, so fuck you for that.

Jem and the Holograms - 4/10 - This was a theatrical release and that is the only memorable part of the movie. It’s just your standard generic pop star movie chicanery, with the editors using random Youtube videos and fans celebrating the original Jem show to pad the runtime.

Red One - 4/10 - Not as bad as I was expecting, but it was still bad. Occasionally, there’s a hilariously bad moment or an unironically good action scene (plus Krampus was good), but other than that, this is a self-serious, tacky, unfun action slop with a Christmas coating on top of it.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation - 4/10 - This is exactly what I thought the first movie was gonna be like. It has its moments, namely the mountainside action scene, but this is as bland and generic as 2010s action movies get with none of the personality the first movie had. They don’t even scream “Yo Joe!”

Snake Eyes - 4/10 - The action is surprisingly great, but the story and concept of the movie is so dogass that I can’t bring myself to like it. Whoever thought to make a Snake Eyes movie that has him maskless and talking the whole time while not even bothering to explain why he’s mute later on should go immediately to jail.

Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie - 4/10 - It’s just an hour and a half long episode of the show, and not a good episode at that. The villain is annoying, barely anything happens, but there are at least a few fun moments to keep my attention. Also the rubber suits are back THANK GOD.

Maestro - 5/10 - By far the weakest Best Picture nominee this year, but it’s not that bad. Carey Mulligan is good, the beginning is well shot and edited, but all that energy is lost in a painfully average middle and a good end that hits a little too close to home for me. Thank god this didn’t win any Oscars.

Town Hall - 5/10 - The performance I watched had great acting and phenomenal sound design, but in terms of the story, there is none. It’s intentionally vague to fit with any time period or issue. While I like that conceptually, the execution was just not there. Also wild to watch that before election week.

Kung Fu Panda 4 - 5/10 - Incredibly beautiful animation, fight sequences and visual gags wasted on by far the worst script in the Kung Fu Panda franchise. Dreamworks had a mixed bag of a year, but at least they gave us more time with Po’s gay dads. More movies should’ve done that.

MLP: Rainbow Roadtrip - 5/10 - It has some decent characters and songs, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that this is just a worse version of The Crystal Empire, made even worse since the movie character designs are back, but without the budget to make them look any good.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 - 5/10 - Easily the weakest Mario platformer I’ve played so far, but it’s still a decently fun experience. It’s boring in terms of the aesthetic and overall gameplay, but Coin Rush is a cool gimmick, some levels and worlds are fun and challenging, but the boss fights are fucking awful and worse than the ones in Wonder. Yeah, that’s possible.

Echo - 5/10 - Sure is a show that exists. I liked Maya in the Hawkeye show, and her story is still pretty interesting, but not a lot happens in this show and it makes Kingpin look super weak and unintimidating, especially with that last episode. Like a lot of MCU projects post-Endgame, this will probably get worse the longer I think about it.

MLPEG: Better Together - 6/10 - Never expected there to be a Red VS Blue-style Equestria Girls webseries, but here we are. It’s perfectly fine, but with this being the last bit of content for the most popular My Little Pony generation, I would’ve expected there to be more.

Percy Jackson S1 - 6/10 - The biggest disappointment of the entire year. It’s better than the movies, no doubt about that, but the slow pace of the show and how badly written a lot of the dialogue and characters are make me feel like I’m watching a poor imitation of the books, which would be fine if the author didn’t write for the show. That being said, it’s still Percy Jackson, you’re gonna have to fuck the story up a lot more to get me to hate it.

MLPEG: Spring Breakdown - 6/10 - Rainbow Dash is pretty annoying, not a lot happens until the end, and the pacing is hella off, but Sunset, Sci-Twi and Rainbow Dash going to Equestria was a nice surprise, and the ending with the Storm King was tense and fun.

Star Wars: Hunters - 6/10 - A pretty fun, but not super deep Overwatch clone. Being a mobile game ported to Switch, there’s plenty of graphical updates to be desired and there are way too many currencies and microtransactions to keep track of, but the core gameplay is fun enough to make it good for a “free” game.

Past Lives - 6/10 - I really want to love this movie, but I can’t. I really liked the writing and there were some scenes that hit me emotionally, but I am just not into romance movies at all. You have to have some great filmmaking or talented performers to keep me purely invested in a movie that’s just about romance, but this movie didn’t have those things at all. At least it ends in a super mature and interesting way.

Super Mario Land - 6/10 - Out of all the Super Mario games, it’s certainly one of them. Props to it for being unique with its setting and level design, but it’s super short, super janky, and it doesn’t look that good, especially in comparison to its sequel. You can tell it was a launch title for the Gameboy.

Convent of Pleasure - 6/10 - This is a play about a woman who opens a convent full of just women havin a hot girl summer. It’s perfectly fine and as an early modern feminist piece, it’s pretty good. Madam Happy and the Princess were obvious highlights, but the way the play ends with the secret man who came into the convent is not the best. Make the ending gayer and it would be a 10/10.

Death Proof - 6/10 - Easily Tarantino’s worst movie. The extended cut adds some of the worst directed and acted scenes in his entire filmography, and the Grindhouse cut is better, but there’s still some serious pacing issues. That ending was a fucking 10/10, though. That’s pure Tarantino.

August: Osage County - 6/10 - I read the play and watched a bootleg back in highschool, so I knew what to expect, and yep. This is a decent enough adaptation of a decent enough play. The acting is good, but it feels too awards-baity at times. Also suffering through Benedict Cumberbatch’s American accent is something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.

Robodunk - 6/10 - A cute little indie game about robot basketball. The most striking things about this game is a) the art style replicating stop-motion LEGO films and b) the rogue-lite style of the story mode. It’s not necessarily my cup of dunk, but it’s still fun.

Woman of the Hour - 6/10 - Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut is very simple, but I was pretty much hooked from start to finish. Having never heard of the original story, I was interested in seeing where the movie would go from scene to scene. I will be watching her career with great interest.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit - 6/10 - A pretty great, but pretty dated early Mario Kart. It’s a struggle to get a handle on the steering and drifting, but the maps are still pretty fun, especially Sky Garden and Sunset Wilds. Imagine those courses being fun to play and not missing key elements of their designs wow crazy.

X - 6/10 - Never thought I’d see a horror movie where a horny old lady kills people making a porno, but never say never. This movie is well shot, gorey, but the plot takes a while to get going and I really don’t like a few of the characters. RJ, I get it, but take a look at what kind of movie you’re making.

Pom Poko - 6/10 - A pretty good, if not super well-written movie about raccoons fighting deforestation with their balls. What’s not to love? I would’ve liked some better characterization for our main raccoons, but the story is still fun, and the ending is pretty bleak for a movie like this. That’s not a bad thing.

MLPEG: Rollercoaster of Friendship - 6/10 - It’s pretty fun all things considered, and Rarity being gay for Applejack is always a plus, but the villain hard tanks this special. She’s so annoying, she’s derivative of another villain, and her redemption at the end is rushed.

Drive-Away Dolls - 6/10 - This movie should’ve been called Diners, Drive-Aways, and Dykes, but whatever. This movie is weird, queer, and generally pretty fun. While a lot of the humor doesn’t hit, the characters are fun and likable, the plot is fast and interesting, and the editing is fucking hilarious.

Tales From Earthsea - 6/10 - Better than I was expecting. It’s not a very good movie, since there’s plenty of filler content and the characters aren’t that special, but I did like the worldbuilding and the animation, plus there’s a few charming characters and Willem Dafoe plays the villain, so the choice was made for me to like it.

MLPEG: Holidays Unwrapped - 6/10 - It’s sad that the one of the last things in G4 of MLP was a half-baked compilation film, but I still enjoyed the hell out of it. Twilight convinces everyone to not commit crimes, Flim and Flam commit crimes, a war happens outside Pinkie’s home, it’s all pretty fun.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice - 6/10 - It’s still fun, creative, and inventive with its humor and visual style, just like the first movie, but the plot is way too unfocused and lame. I could’ve done without the ghost boy subplot or the new age stepdad subplot if it meant spending more time with Mr. Juice and Dolores.

MaXXXine - 6/10 - I watched half of this movie shitfaced so I could be misremembering things, but I enjoyed it well enough. It's fine enough, but it’s really unfocused and turns into a completely different movie by the end. Still, the scene where Maxine almost gets mugged at the beginning made me feel a certain type of way.

Super Mario 3D Land - 6/10 - A good 3D Mario game and a great showcase of what the 3DS is capable of, especially with how it uses the stereoscopic 3D in certain levels. The only thing is that 3D World is just a better version of this game and I was constantly thinking how I’d have more fun playing that game instead.

G.I. Joe: The Movie - 6/10 - Not much to say about it that isn’t blatantly obvious. Animation is beautiful, the story is bonkers in the best possible way, and the villains are some of the best in Hasbro’s lineup. Still, Duke living at the end felt like the biggest ass-pull and feels like a late-stage change more than anything.

Big Cats - 6/10 - It’s a lesbian cowboy erotica, what else do you want me to say? It’s not really that spicy, but the story and characters are pretty solid. I can’t wait to see what the author has in story in the next book or in her Dragon yuri webtoon.

American Fiction - 7/10 - It’s a bit on the pretentious side and the two plotlines in this movie barely intersect, but I still think it’s a great satire and a funny as hell movie. The ending bits slay me everytime I think about them, I can’t believe that’s how they chose to end it.

Another Crab’s Treasure - 7/10 - Crab Dark Souls is pretty fun, but it has a lot of problems. The writing is hit-or-miss, and while the combat and exploration is fun, the game is incredibly buggy. It could just be the Switch port, but I’ve seen other people playing on PC complain about it as well.

Porco Rosso - 7/10 - A solid, but not too special movie in Ghibli’s caliber. It’s pretty funny and I like Porco as a character, but the rest of the characters aren’t that interesting and I really wish everyone in the movie didn’t fall in love with the 17 year old girl. Still, it’s a good time and it made me hungry for bacon.

OPM: Road to Hero - 7/10 - It’s my first time going through the One Punch Man OVAs, and this is one of the better ones. I like seeing Saitama struggling through his earlier days and the ending where he gets his costume is great, but I would’ve loved better villains that aren’t a fish in BDSM gear.

From Up on Poppy Hill - 7/10 - Yeah, yeah the incest scare in the middle is bad, but aside from that, this is a pretty cute movie. The characters are fun, the plot to save Latin Quarter is fun, it’s mostly a solidly fine Ghibli fare. Also Shun’s english voice sounds like Cookie Masterson and that made me happy.

MLPEG: Magical Movie Night - 7/10 - Dance Magic was alright with a great song at the end, Movie Night was really undercooked, and Mirror Magic was great! I wish that we had more time with the last short, but I still had a fun time with this movie/anthology/compilation.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - 7/10 - This movie is rad as hell. I love the action choreography, I love the super cheesy villains, I love the practical effects, I love how this movie oozes 90’s cheese, I love almost everything about this movie. If the last 30 minutes or so were hacked off, I’d say this movie is a solid 9/10!

Hazbin Hotel S1 - 7/10 - I don’t get the hate with this show. Yeah, the edgy humor can be bad at times, but I still thought the setting was creative enough to carry the plot forward. There’s also some great characters, voice performances, and some slick as hell songs, especially “Poison.”

My Neighbors the Yamadas - 7/10 - This is a cute little anthology movie about bits and pieces of a family’s life and that is about it. I do really love the art style, but it’s something that The Tale of the Princess Kaguya does so much better.

The Color Purple - 7/10 - Never seen the original movie before this, so I was really invested in this story and the characters. Great performances helped this movie out a lot, and while I didn’t necessarily need the musical bits, I still loved the songs.

I Saw the TV Glow - 7/10 - I absolutely love not only the visual flair this movie has, but also how deep and in-depth the metaphor about being trans (or queer as a whole really) is. The problem is that I don’t really like the characters or the story and that is a big problem for a movie to have.

The Terminal - 7/10 - A cute little movie, but that’s about it. Tom Hanks does an incredible job, especially during the beginning when Viktor doesn’t even know English yet, but other than that and a couple of cute and well-done scenes, not a lot of this movie intrigued me. The romance subplots weren’t that great, the overall filmmaking isn’t that special, but I liked it well enough.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra - 7/10 - What the fuck, this movie was actually good? I mean, it’s not a great movie, but I had a fun time with these characters and the editing and action were surprisingly great. Nothing to do about the hammy writing or the awful CGI, but I still liked this a lot more than I thought.

An Extremely Goofy Movie - 7/10 - Not as good as the first (because there’s no songs >:( ), but still a damn fun movie. I don’t like how Max seems to regress as a character, but Goofy getting his degree and a girlfriend and the respect of everyone on campus is so fun to watch. Also that coffee shop lady gave me gender envy and I’m sad now.

The Girl From the Sea - 7/10 - Not really much to say about this book. It’s fun, it’s cute, it’s got lesbians in it, what else is there to say? I do wish there was more depth to this story, it is a pretty basic coming-of-age graphic novel, but I liked the supernatural elements and Keltie was really adorable.

Jackbox Party Pack 5 - 7/10 - Zeeple Dome and YDNJ were fun, Mad Verse City and Patently Stupid were the highlights of the night for the people I played with, but Split the Room really drags this pack down. Still, one bad game doesn’t hurt the 4 other fun ones.

The Tempest - 7/10 - Holy hell, Christopher Plummer could act. There’s not much to say about this play that hasn’t been said in the past 400 years, so I’m just gonna say I like the magical elements and how convoluted Prospero’s plan is and I fucking hate Stephano and Trinculo with a passion.

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure - 7/10 - A pretty good comedy and an excellent showcase of Tim Burton’s talents as a director, since this was his first movie as director. It’s very cute and funny at times, but I personally find Pee Wee to be a kinda annoying character. I also can’t see him without thinking of Paul Rubens’s big adventure to prison.

Mario Party 3 - 7/10 - A decent Mario Party game, easily one of the better N64 games I’ve played. Most of the boards are fun, the duel maps are quick, the minigames are stupid in a good way, and Daisy and Waluigi were added to the series here. What’s not to love?

Challengers - 7/10 - Can’t believe the bisexuals convinced me to watch a tennis movie man. I liked the story and the acting here, but I really wish that Tashi was a more developed character. She’s essentially the lead and all the development she gets comes in towards the end while the gay boys get so much more. Still, this is the best representation of bisexuality, so I’ll take it.

Straight Outta Nowhere - 7/10 - I would consider this to be a masterpiece if I was actually invested in Courage. Never watched more than a few episodes of the show, but I still enjoyed this movie. There are some neat bits of animation, there are plenty of funny jokes, and it’s a great ending to a show I wanna watch someday.

Measure For Measure - 7/10 - Wikipedia says that this play is a comedy, but this is a comedy in the same way that a tomato is a fruit. This is one of Shakespeare’s better plays, but that’s entirely because of the Duke. What a dramatic lil bitch, I love him so much.

A Goofy Movie - 7/10 - This is a really sweet, pretty fun movie about Goofy reconnecting with his son. Max and most of the other characters were fine, but the star of the show is Goofy. I love most of his antics and the way he grew as a character with his son is sweet.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - 7/10 - As someone who’s a casual fan of the newer PotA movies, this is definitely the weakest one I’ve seen. It’s not a bad movie at all, but the characters (save for Racka and Proximus) aren’t as interesting as Caesar or Colonel. Still, the action is great, the story is well-written, and the visuals are top tier.

Smiling Friends S2 - 7/10 - It’s not as good as the first season (mainly because no Glep episode), but it’s still as funny, creative, and visually amazing as the first one. Still THERE’S NO FUCKING GLEP EPISODE IN THIS YOU FUCKERS. Also Doug Walker jumpscare

[plumsaffron]

Bro, the MHA fandom is looking more stable than the ML fandom after looking at the TVTropes fanwork section… MHA went from the most toxic community to rather chill these days thank god.

At least I can give props to the MHA folks for being genuinely and authentically creative despite there being a shite ton of fanfiction on AO3. I mean at least they try to keep things canon accurate even in the many, many different AUs.

Yes there are fan plots where certain characters and/or organizations get a hefty dose of karma. But at least they kinda deserved it for literal bullying/harassment to outright be terrible at their jobs! Not over minor issues! Hey, I can excuse that because some of those characters hit real hard to the fans who had gone through legitimate grievances with a family member, authority figure or peer. Have you seen how much the descriptions and emotions can get? How realistic the fanworks can get in terms of character relationships and development?

ML bitches do be over exaggerating on their “supposedly” terrible lives through bad writing. “Researching canon? What is that? I’m writing vicariously through all the shitty things I went through from my life using this show where things didn’t happen in the show!”

There’s no comparison, ML angst is heavily exaggerated, fake and not as authentic compared to MHA angst. Because it’s not that canon accurate yet the naive newcomers get blinded by the lying rats and subconsciously become their sheep.

Even the commonly accepted Fanon versions of said main/secondary characters are way more bearable than any of the canon & Fanon ML characters. Bc some of the current MHA fans tend to keep things grounded and not spiral outta control like the miracucunts.

Heck, despite the exaggerated scenarios where Danny Fenton/Phantom is supposedly abused by his bullies to even tortured by the villains… Even that sounds much more believable than the plot of Marinette “supposedly” having a bad life!

I do apologize if this sounds mean but there’s a problem when an awful character like Marinette didn’t go through that much. Yet her stans decided to exaggerate shit by claiming she was mistreated by the teacher (naive not intentionally malicious) and even classmates, causing a Mandela effect online. All because they hate Lila/Iris/Bianca from day 1 and decided to take that frustration out on everyone else.

For shame to the toxic ML community. Cleansing themselves is too much work, they rather stay in the sewers or sewage. The outside world is too much.

If other fandoms can show they can be chill and not go out of control or calm down, why can’t the Miracacursed Fandom uncursify itself? It’s not even that hard.

Exaggeration. I suppose they want to be Marinette so badly that they became the Miracumites or Marimites. They get highly upsette when anything disrupts their or her interests. The only canon in minds of these Miraculous Leechy Bitches is usually Marinette’s POV for their ideas for her.

Everything that they sought being so adamant with their foamacy upon characters actions they take extreme pleasure in disliking or shaming or mocking, starts falling apart as they betray themselves.

Being ringers and jumping through many to loops to try justifying why it’s only good (or should so much feel pity) whenever The True Protagonist does it.

Ultimate Exaggerators, The Most Desperate Justifiers. Unfortunately highly successful at their game of deceit they done to many newcomers or naive ones.

That reminds me, I was Yesterday told by someone in a server I’m in that Miraculous fans think Adrien is cheating on the spying Marinette, from that S6 trailer clip of him jogging with that girl with a prosthetic limb.

Cuckclusion Jumping Jizzsocks *SIGHS*

Teacher Mistreatment Exaggeration. Man... Marinette fricken lucky with her so self proclaimed liking of being in school and ditching it for weeks (while her home is a block away from school). And if I remember from what I heard from another blog talking of Marinette correctly, she only got lightly punished by her parents when they found out. Also lol cause it’s almost like they didn’t know jerks such as themselves are real. What are they yapping over? So many characters or viewers will instantly crawl back to her episode(s) later usually?

Ah yes their Lila since day obsession. They want to drag down all else so Lila can be finished. Excellent job at thinking the most pointless way possible.

Meanwhile Gabriel Nathalie Tomoe Marinette and Future Bunnyx and Future Bunnyx(s) Bob Roth & Andre can proceed playing Hopscotch on Adrien, Nooroo, and the world’s face, and these stanatic clowns would turn a blind eye to it.

[never-forget-viva-la-pluto]

GOOD OMENS S2 SPOILERS!!!

This season of good omens is so good. List to follow:

"He's not allowed to stop the execution of 3 children bc the system that agreed to kill them has a permit" like that is the best satire I've heard since Shakespeare

Non stop foreshadowing of Beezlebub X Gabriel. Like it's so obvious so early on. Flies near him, him not wanting to kill them, it hurts to remember, you're perfect.

Aziraphel crying when he thinks he's a demon after lying is such a great first stake in the heart of solidifying that he thinks Crowley is still an angel and won't accept him as he is. More to that, it is so good at showing how that all stems from his own internalized fear. A very queer experience mirrored here...purity something something. Mr. Fell is afraid of falling.

Crowly is very cunty this season. The posts are right

AZ drives like crowley

AZ writing in his diary about his and crowleys dates like a teen girl. Bonus that it's a date to a graveyard to look at a picture of his old boss and they end up in a diseased alley and help a wee lesbian steal a corps. And still writing about it like it was a super cute date solely bc his crush got drunk and acted a fool. Same place for the Beezlebub Gabe date extra bonus

They let Tennant be scottish!

Crowley having a night rider moment

Aziraphel being genuinely in love with humanity and holding the jar close to himself in grief at the doctor's has me emotional. He really does have too much love for one tiny little angel.

Crowley having the time of his life making those two humans fall in love. He loves mischief but he hates harm. He loves to see humans happy and he only shows it when he's alone

Aziraphels debut as a Magician!

Aterik is gender envy. Don't argue with me

Mark Gatiss zombie. No I am not lying not even a little.

Crowley fell for AZ when he gave away the sword but he falls farther every time AZ does a little more good. The way he said " thank you for getting me off the hook back there" was so flirtatious and the smile when AZ knocks over shit in the Magic shop. Hats off the both actors

Old man crowley

Lmao crowley seeing the miracles don't work and deciding to speed read how not to kill his boyfriend XD

The shaky breathing as crowley aims the rifle. There is more tension in that scene than most horror I've seen.

AZIRAPALALALA

Lmao the car is a puppy

Shax being a bad bitch and not underestimating Aziraphels love for his bookshop. 10k demons is called for when sieging that place.

AZ getting things done while crowley fucks around in the back or vise versus is a common scene dynamic

AZ quoting DW trivia like tennant does.

This whole season is about how they realize how much they love each other and having a crisis about it while hell and heaven interrupt with issues regarding 1 John ham

The long running joke in the show is that all the angel's pretend they know a lot about humans as a show of power

Much more miracles and it's awesome.

Not even the seamstress is straight

Azs shop changing into a ball was so distracting to crowley that he momentarily forgot about the army of demons coming for them

John hamm fluffy coat

Crowley reading terms and agreements comes in handy several times

"Happy anniversary, love" I'm screaming and crying I am so full. This season said OK please make this queer friendly. "You're a good lad" "not either" my trans ass is so happy

Also this season is still so ace even though they kiss it still feels very ace energy to me. Maybe it's just the lack of sexualized anything, or maybe it's the variety of body's that so rarely get shown on TV.

Crowleys heaven sneak

"Stay back"

One demon popped like a bubble. There was a sound effect and everything

The bad guys always say things that fucking hurt. They always have the right thing that cut to the core of the characters soft spots

Halo removal should be in more of the fanfics actually that scene was baller

If you watch as all the heaven and hell fight AZ cannot stop staring at crowley

Crowley fixing the bookshop so it stays the same, while AZ changes it. Symbolism something parallels something

Sheen's delivery of the news to crowley was so well done. It's joyful, yet the second he has to tell crowley you can see the hesitation. He doesn't even believe what he's saying. It starts to hurt and he doesn't know why. But hes already agreed. He needed to hear the girls talk more than crowley did and it shows.no notes

ENDING THE SEASON W THE RADIO SINGING THE ENDING FROM S1 WAS PERFECT

Can't wait for S 3 !!!!!

[the-ghost-king]

I know ur not gonna watch the show but I would b so into hearing ur takes on it, it's just not hitting for me rn

from what bits and pieces i've seen posted on here i would say that the cinematography seems really nice, most recent disney shows seem to have a very casual "content" style of filming. i don't know how else to explain it other than the current productions even in their filming are designed just to push more media out rather than a love for film and photography as an art form, and i think the pjo tv show from the screencaps and commercials/trailers i have seen seems to balance this nicely. disney is inevitably going to want to push out content as that is how they profit, but the camera angles and the camera details (Percy doing fortnite dances, very funny, but also very well shot! Medusa's veil, very clever and I like the "coy" way the camera plays with the viewer seeing her eyes in those gifs) have an intention and care into them that other recent disney tv shows geared towards the same age group just don't seem to have. i will say that's nice!

the only negative thing i have to say from what i've seen in the gifs and screencaps is that camp looks very... cheap... there are some cool details i seen someone make a post pointing out Percy's seaweed lamp (very cool! i like the fish skeletons I seen hanging too!) but the campers running around in the background do not have the same level of attention given. of course they are background characters and they're definitely not given full styling teams or proper wardrobe, but it is so bad imo to the point where it has become distracting to me in the background a few times on those clips, i can't imagine trying to watch the show and seeing all these background characters running around looking disconnected from the main cast by the lack of attention to their wardrobe. it's not that it's inherently wrong or anything, there are budgets shows have to stick to and cutting background characters is usually one of the first places shows cut, so maybe i should just be thankful all the kids aren't poorly done cgi but at the same time seeing Percy or Annabeth's chb shirts be very well tailored to them as individuals and then seeing the exact opposite in the background characters is just ??? to me. i don't know if it's a problem anyone else has but i tend to just pin point weird details like that.

i know they have changed some of the details of the plot and such, i can't comment much on that as i haven't actually watched any of those episodes. i hope it doesn't have any significant ripple effects down the line in terms of them having to skip entire bits of development in characters or plot because they felt something wasn't important 3 seasons ago and then they have to go "oh shit wait we needed that obscure bit" but who can say we are no where near that point.

my favorite bit of anything and everything to come out of the show though is the god awful horribly incorrect predictions people are having, people crushing on Luke, and people hoping for Percy as if he isn't the main character. if i was a more chaos driven person i would be frothing at the mouth for people's behavior in later seasons where there's a wider cast and stakes are higher and outcomes are more unknown. do i want the 2014 pjo/hoo drama rehashed? no absolutely not that sucked we should never do that again. do i want to sit back with a snack and watch other people rehash the same points and start the same fights 10 years later simply because it would be a mess? someone find me an original persassy post and sign me up. (it's like when you've worked in retail and then you're out in public and another customer is being awful and you're having flashbacks but also your nosey so you keep watching and you only intervene if it gets excessive... someone here has to understand that comparison....)

honestly i can't say too much about the actual show itself i haven't seen it, i've just seen bits and pieces of what (mostly mutuals) have posted or shared. i stand behind the fact i'm not really interested in fandoms with tv shows in the same way i am towards book fandoms and that i won't be watching the show; but i am open to staying neutral on things if people want to reach out just for someone to share thoughts with as if i am not even watching it i won't have strong opinions on most things, if any.

i know there have been more episodes dropped since you sent this so hopefully some of your tv show wants are happening, nonnie <3

[lensman-arms-race]

50, 46, 37, 28 (with Poly, I love your theory of them always bantering), 24 and 16 for TTV? Feel free to pick and choose!

Polycephaly questions:

50. A memory they’ve blocked out

I see Tabieeee's comic as canon because it makes so much sense.

If you haven't seen it, go look now; it's only 8 comic pages and has probably <30 lines of dialogue - you can spare the time. It'll chill you, break your heart, and give you such brain worms! All Skibidi fans should read it!

Read it? Okay. Therefore, going by this, Polycephaly was once a normal TV unit before being upgraded to their current form. Since Polycephaly is apparently the only large TV unit, I'm guessing it was an arduous process, because the TV faction didn't repeat it (though it could be simply that there aren't that many TVs to begin with). Poly has probably chosen to 'put away' their memories of who they once were; it's easier for them to think of themselves as having only been Polycephaly.

46. The person they most admire

TV Matriarch, because that's the only entity who can match them for banter.

They also begrudgingly admire Browncoat cam for having the audacity to run after TV Matriarch for a hug like they did. (The Matriarch does dish out hugs fairly liberally but only on their own terms.)

37. What they really think about themselves

Drawing a bit of a blank on this one, because Poly has appeared in so few episodes. I guess they think of themself as a 'no-nonsense' person who gets shit done, since that's largely true.

28. How they feel about [insert character of your choice from the same fandom]

Skibidis: "Ugly-ass bitch" :D

The Secret Agent: How is a human able to teleport?!

Titan TV questions:

24. Most annoying habit

I liked @askthesmoltitans's answer that Titan TV stims when idle, which causes issues when repairing/upgrading. I also remember seeing someone else's headcanon that their back-grabber spikes are ticklish. If both of those are true, it could be very annoying for the mechanics who have to service the spikes!

Also, when playing videos to entertain other Alliance members, they like to drop in silly captions and add sound effects, which is often funny, but can be annoying when you just want to unwind and watch something but the Titan keeps adding comedy trombone noises, Inception BWAMs, etc. You can't really ask them to stop, because they're the bloody Titan.

16. Deepest darkest secret they won’t even admit to themselves

They worry about what they'd do if they encountered a skibidi that challenged their proclamation that 'all toilets will die', i.e. if they encountered a 'good' non-hostile skibidi that doesn't 'deserve' death. (Perhaps one that remembers being a human and wants to go back.) Morally they'd be obliged to spare it, they guess, but it doesn't sit well with them to have to go back on their word. (The obvious answer is to say that a 'good' one doesn't count as a 'toilet' and therefore does not have to die. But is that the answer or is that just playing with words?)

(Original post with list of questions)