#pinnochio at the... well lots of parts of pinnochio really....

[variousqueerthings]

argh @pigtailedgirl im thinking again!!!! (many such thoughts)

BEEN THINKING ABOUT fraser bending reality and the show as a fairytale and what each part of the story is doing for fraser, with a dash of "and where will it end"

also because i was writing about rayv and using the word crutch in this one post, and it's not wholly the right or wrong word, because i think ray vecchio was (is, my man ait'ent dead) a life-altering meeting and partnership for the both of them [insert here all my meta about what they mean to one another and the ways they change things for each other] and that technically they probably could've just trundled along until they got old and retired to a cabin in canada or smth, see "we bonded" (unless ray got married, but that's another thought for another day)

but also that this relying on ray to be there became such a single strong pillar for fraser (with the less strong pillars of his apartment and wider community, one of which does still exist -- sort of like sherlock holmes' familiars) that it no longer being there opened up some doors into rooms that fraser had merely closed, rather than properly dealt with the contents of. he only admitted (badly, but still) that he had imagined murdering gerrard ("his father's killers") in season four. and there's something going on about the whole ongoing joke of "i first came to chicago on the trail of my fathers killers..." introduction, it's alllll about that in a way, this story, always was. waiting to see if it comes full circle somehow in the finale

anyway. he's Affected. the lack of support structure (singular) makes other things fall apart. i think, crucially, belief in a sense (belief that things can get better? belief that he can fix things? belief that he can heal, properly?) and that belief affects the magic

and then i think about that in terms of fraser and reality. fraser can lend a man 100 dollars and the money will return to him. he can find al capone's lost treasure. he can save a kid from getting lost in the system by giving him some money to walk diefenbaker on the promise he keeps going to school. he can ensure the return of two tsienshien heritage items after theve been kept apart for over 100 years due to colonialism. etcetc.

in s2 there were ongoing questions (that had first been raised way back in the pilot, and especially in s1 the wild bunch) about whether the city -- with all its corrupt institutions, environmental destruction, and cruelty -- is actually good for fraser. that it might "eat him alive" as it were (thanks gerrard)

and in s3-4 (im still figuring out whether to say 3pt1/pt2 or s3/4) things get... bleaker (there has been bleakness in s1-2 but the only truly helpless episode is juliet, which... i'll save the rayv part for another post, but it does belong to the thinking): the murder of a young woman is solved but she's still dead and the episode is really about her father's grief. another young woman is saved from execution, but she still spent eight years on deathrow and is severely traumatised. that ultimately quite depressing boxing episode. bruce spender discovering the betrayal of his brother. janet. and of course, the flooding of a village that fraser spent his childhood in, something he doesn't even attempt really to stop

and the thing is, i still read fraser as bending reality around him, it's just that he's been weighed down by things now, they are Affecting him more, and as consequence he simply can't be there for the world in the same way. reality is bending to fit his own pain, and so the world is sadder too

but. he's not given up. he's still doing the job and things sometimes absolutely do get fixed (mojo rising as an example). and most of all, the person who's on the receiving end of fraser trying to fix things... is ray kowalski. whose life when we meet him is not at its best. he's lost himself and doesn't really know where to go looking to do anything about that, but i do think he's proactive from the start in trying even though his first two thoughts (killing the man who embarrassed him as a kid, wooing back his ex-wife) aren't the best ones and he first has to face that in order to move forward

ray kowalski has fixed quite a lot of things for himself at this point. his confidence, his relationship with his father, his identity (literally, he has become kowalski after a good long time of having to pretend to be vecchio), past mistakes, he seems to be healed from his divorce, it's goin pretty well for him

i like the idea that fraser is offsetting his own dreams by giving ray his -- lean hard into caretaking-as-service and pretend that's the same thing as being okay. and meanwhile, ironically, ray is modelling what fraser needs to be brave enough to do (face his past head-on). i think ray kowalski will also be good for fraser, and it's a different trajectory (not immediate, they needed a good half season/13 episodes to really start), a different Structure (ray kowalski having something of a "fixed my own lifejacket, now we should get to yours" feeling happening as of earlyish s4) a different Outcome (more somber than previously, but important)

but ultimately, still a fairytale, in that fraser is still a fairytale and the very structure of the show bends around how he feels

as for where it ends (this story, not necessarily the story if one can imagine a "and what next")... well yeah. we shall see. ultimately the two halves of the arc will come together (ray'n'ray) and that will make something change again. the belief comes back?

[thelilylav]

YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT CEDAR ARE DRIVING ME INSANE /POS LIKE!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!! SOMEONE WHO GETS IT!!!!!!!

Thank you!!! Gonna use this as an excuse to share some more thoughts, hope you don't mind <3

A way I would've liked to see the real girl conflict with her resolve itself, if they really were intent on her forgetting everything that happened in A Wonderlandiful World, would have been to make Farrah into her Blue Fairy. She's got the colour scheme and the general vibe, and it would be a nice way to let Farrah fulfill a story so she doesn't poof into magic (which was such a dystopian thing to add in the books lol). At the very least, she could have helped Cedar along the path to becoming a real girl, since her magic doesn't work for extended periods of time.

I wish she was mentioned in Ginger's book. The two have an entire webisode of Cedar helping out Ginger, and it would have been nice to see the two interact a bit more. Ginger seems like a nice balance for Cedar, too, and I really wish she had been incorporated into the rebel friend group later. Ginger not wanting to follow her destiny but enjoying the main thing associated with it (the baking + baking magic) compared to Cedar wanting to follow her destiny but only BECAUSE of the main thing associated with it (her being a puppet) is just an interesting dynamic.

Similar thread but CEDAR. SHOULD. HAVE. BEEN. IN. WAY. TOO. WONDERLAND. Of ANY special where there is a case to be made for her inclusion, that's the one!!!! There was no reason she couldn't have fallen down the well with the others, and honestly I would rather she be included in Way Too Wonderland than in Spring Unsprung. She didn't really do much there, and if there was a time for her to be hit with a curse that lets her lie it should have been when she went to Wonderland!! They could have had it be a part of the Evil Queen's madness curse affecting Cedar in a weird way because of her own curse, or just having Wonderland's weirdness get to her. She's an honorary Wonderlandian! Kitty, Lizzie, and Maddie all consider her their closest non-Wonderland friend! Plus seeing her opinions on the real Storybook of Legends would've been so interesting. In the end, I think she would've agreed to let the book go, but she definitely would've sturggled when given the opportunity to actually sign and have a guarantee of her destiny and that would've been so interesting!!!

I think it's very interesting that she's a pretty big people pleaser. Like, historically, a big thing with Pinnochio is that he's rambunctious and a bit of a brat. Cedar, by comparison, is polite, nice, and quiet, and it's an interesting take on the story. More interesting is how that politeness seems to have come from her socialization from her curse, which is soooo sad. A lot of the freedom that came with being Pinnochio seems to have been stripped from her by her curse, and the way it was probably meant to protect her from the harsher elements of her story really gets to me, because in the end it doesn't. She ends up feeling like more of an outcast, and seeking out risk the same way.

The show places a lot less emphasis on her character than the books, and it's annoyed me since I was a kid and first read the books. In the books it was Raven, Maddie, and Cedar who followed each other around everywhere. They're a main trio comparable to Ashlynn, Briar, and Apple, and yet compared to Ashlynn and Briar she barely features. She has a point of view in two out of four of the Shannon Hale books, and is a main character in one! I get that they only had so much time, but it would've been nice to see a special or even a webisode where she talked about how she felt about her destiny. With her having a truth curse, it honestly would have been nice to see someone try to joke about her curse and have her react badly, because she can't hide how she feels about it. Idk, just a moment where it sinks in for others in the show that this isn't fun for her would have been nice.

I wish Nathan Nutcracker had a conversation with Cedar about their opinions on their destinies. The Nutcracker also turns into a real boy at the end of the story (although technically he was one the whole time, and really only gets transformed for the dream so idk why Nathan's actually a puppet but whatever), and he seems to have a bit more of a positive view of being wooden than Cedar does from the little we see of him. That would make sense considering he probably comes from the Sugar Plum Fairy's kingdom, where there's literal candy as people, so being a puppet probably isn't that weird. He might've been a good influence on Cedar to help her see that she wasn't playing pretend at life, she was living, just not in the way everyone else does.

Briar and Cedar deserved more interactions as well, and of all the people I think she should've had scenes with Briar's at the top of the list. The two are main best friend characters of Raven and Apple, and have basically opposite situations regarding their destinies. Briar dreads her destiny and is trying to live her life as much as possible before it comes around, and Cedar's only really looking forward to her destiny and we even see her voicing that she didn't really view herself as living life, she felt more like she was just passing time until she became real. This would've been a great source of tension, and I wish we saw it build through the series. Then, I would've had it come to a head in Way too Wonderland!! Cedar wanting to save the Storybook while Briar wants to destroy it would have been so interesting.

[theromanticscrooge]

Top 10 Favorite Bob's Burgers Episodes

In my not so humble opinion, Bob's Burgers is the best animated American sitcom currently airing. It's managed to recreate the charm a lot of nostalgic Millennials and Gen X have for early Simpsons episodes followed by their own uniquely lovable sitcom family and peripheral set of equally fun, wacky characters.

A lot of the dialogue feels organic in large part because of the off-hand banter and improvised lines. The humor is couched between shameless 80's references, the most ridiculous "you shouldn't say that out loud" lines, and playing one kind of relatable awkward against another. There's recurring regulars like Teddy and Mort as well as one episode wonders like the Sofa Queen that I'd love to see make a return. Bob's Burgers can be really fun and dumb, absurdist to the point it pushes the envelope of its more grounded setting, and sweet in a way that reminds you of your own family or makes you wish you were part of the Belcher family. Or at least that their restaurant was down the street so you could pop in on their wacky slice of life shenanigans.

These are my top 10 favorite episodes. Considering how often I watch through this series, these were picked because a certain character moment and song stood out or I think the episode did something especially interesting. And especially interesting is saying a lot since this series consistently goes very odd and unexpected places. Without further ado:

10.) "Art Crawl" -Season 1, Episode 8

Viewers are introduced to Linda's unhinged younger sister Gayle. Gayle is eccentric, overly sensitive, lives in her own world, and can be more unpredictable than most of the cast. It's especially eyebrow-raising when she's the voice of reason considering her life is held together by strings, duct tape, Linda's enabling, and her herd of cats. How Gayle lives alone in her one-room apartment with no consistent job and vet bills is as much a mystery as how Dan from Dan Vs isn't behind bars yet. Bob skirts by on his weird relationship with his landlord. Gayle doesn't have an in-universe explanation other than she's an audience favorite and so entertaining the story will hand-wave practical details about her life in favor of headlining her weird, scene-stealing shenanigans.

In "Art Crawl," Linda forces Bob to let Gayle hang her animal anus paintings around the restaurant. He's initially against it because the paintings deter customers from their already treading water business. Then the surly proprietor of the local art store and chairman of the local Art Week Edith expresses how much she hates the paintings. She insists that Bob has to take them down because of how 'obscene' they are. Edith in general provokes the pettier, schoolyard bully side of Bob's personality that viewers see most often when Jimmy Pesto antagonizes him. Edith is forceful and stubborn about her beliefs and attitude with everybody. Jimmy goes out of his way to be an ass to Bob specifically. The bulk of the episode is Bob doubling down on squicking out Edith and getting egged on by his kids to lean further into his immature antics.

Of course the highlight is the Pinnochio pink elephant inspired montage featuring a horrified Linda surrounded by Gayle's anus paintings. Linda can't handle Gayle's unappreciated artistic genius and this establishes how much of a running gag "Linda refuses to straight talk with her sister" becomes. Any Gayle episode will hinge on miscommunications and how much Linda loves and grossly enables her sister. This one just happens to foil Linda's sisterly bond with Bob's penchant for petty. It's fantastically set up.

This episode made my list solely because of the "butts" song, though.

9.) "Christmas in the Car" -Season 4, Episode 8

Linda is absolutely the kind of person that belts Mariah Carey the minute November starts. She brings a similar overzealous energy and enthusiasm to Christmas that Bob does with Thanksgiving. The episode starts with a montage of setting up a Christmas tree too early only for a shriveled, browning mess to get dragged out to the dumpster before Christmas day. Fed up, Linda drags the Belchers on a misguided venture to pick up a new tree last minute. Where Bob seems to keep his Thanksgiving spirit restricted to the days leading up to Thanksgiving, Linda's need for the full, genuine article can come up at any time and for any reason. When she wants a quaint bed and breakfast or the perfect family portrait, she will bend everyone and the world around her until she either gets talked down or reaches a satisfying conclusion.

Unlike the bed and breakfast or her portrait quest, the Christmas tree debacle is derailed by a candy cane truck, pastries, and the threat of an overcooked ham vs Linda herself. The threat of getting run over by an oversized candy cane is the star event. Its a horror movie premise repackaged as a crazy Christmas caper. There's no clear shot or reveal of the truck driver until the tail end of the episode. He's a weird, tired man that uses bad turns of phrase and just needed a little Christmas pick-me-up. The candy cane truck is accented by the B plot of Teddy getting caught in a novel Santa trap attached to the fridge and the best-animated slapstick gag out of this entire cartoon. There's a sequence of pencil roughs to clean-up and full color of Teddy trying to wriggle out of the trap on YouTube. "Christmas in the Car" is a playful reminder that holiday spirit can be anywhere, it can be shared with anyone, and "Jingle in the Jungle" should be thrown in somewhere among the endless Drummer Boy covers.

8.) "An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal" -Season 3, Episode 5

Arguably, all of the Bob's Burgers Thanksgiving specials are a surreal treat in their own right. Most cartoons have the obligatory Halloween or Christmas special. Bob's Burgers has those, too. But in other cases, those Halloween or Christmas specials are one of the all-stops-pulled-out episodes. Bob's Burgers makes up for how underutilized Thanksgiving episodes are period. Each one is enough of a spectacle that a Bob's Burgers marathon absolutely fits between a Halloween horror movie marathon and the tradition of Rankin Bass stop-motion movie re-runs up until Christmas Day.

While it's hard to pick just one Bob's Thanksgiving, "An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal" gives viewers unwanted insights on who Calvin Fischoeder's ideal woman is. And an absinthe-induced hallucination where Bob and his family experience a Thanksgiving-flavored My Neighbor Totoro fantasy.

Calvin asks to "borrow" Bob's family for the day so he can paint a fake portrait of domestic bliss that he's a settled man with a wife and kids. He wants to entice Shelby Schnabel, a gun-toting firebrand that strives to be the ultimate homewrecker. Shelby loves drama and has built her life around realizing her fantasy of being that ridiculous villain in a long-running soap opera. She'll steal the lead woman's husband...until she gets bored and looks for an even flashier, more controversial target. Shelby is the perfect complement to Calvin's oblivious life as the missing James Bond villain who desperately wants a friend. They both live so far out of reality that it's safer for everyone to avoid getting pulled into their orbit if they're not ready for a stint in the latest schlocky, off brand Lifetime original.

Its fun to see Bob's Burgers set a soap opera drama as what ultimately ruins Bob's favorite holiday this year. The highlight is the aforementioned Totoro parody, though. It's cute. It's weird. It belongs on a shirt and emphasizes Bob's undying obsession with this holiday mixed with how much he genuinely loves his family. Playing off of the creative, fantastical imagery unique to Ghibli adds an extra something here. Ghibli movies are beloved for how evergreen and imaginative they can be; they resonate with someone's sense of wonder no matter what age they are. Bob's sense of wonder comes out in the kitchen and during food prep. Thanksgiving is the perfect canvas for whatever Ghibli fanboyisms Bob has.

In short, this Thanksgiving features one of Calvin Fischoeder's worse hits and a chaotically drunk Bob Belcher.

7.) "V for Valentine-detta"-Season 8, Episode 8

Limo driver, the world is a small place networking extraordinaire, and Louise's life goals role model Nat Kinkle gets introduced in "V for Valentine-detta." Nat is the connective tissue between ridiculous, harebrained scheme and the resources, people, and ambition needed to realize that scheme. In any other cartoon, she'd be the underappreciated second-hand man to a Saturday morning cartoon villain. Instead, she's the realized image of a confident single woman living her best life. She's the adoptive gay aunt every kid wishes they had. She supports them no matter what; even if their end goals are a bit misguided. And as charismatic as Louise is, her parents' influence and her own moral compass are the difference between another Dan from Dan Vs or an ethically dubious but ultimately force-for-good Reigen Arataka.

"V for Valentine-detta" follows a heartbroken Tina dragged on a girls night out adventure in the hopes of raising her spirits. Well, Linda wants to cushion the blow that Tina was slighted by her on-again, off-again love interest Jimmy Jr. These efforts are contrasted by Louise and Nat spitballing increasingly bad ideas for vengeance against Jimmy. When Linda discovers that Jimmy used a thoughtful picture frame Tina gifted him for a different girl's picture, she's onboard with petty revenge schemes. Linda is usually the ball of chaos that has to be grounded in some way. Bob is more likely to be the straight man or the closest any character is to reigning in someone else's antics. Here, Linda shows more restraint and care than she would otherwise. Nat is close enough to Louise's wavelength on "anything goes" that Linda is forced to be the mature one in the room.

From the moment she's introduced, Nat is a very welcome sound board to the Belchers and an absolute delight every time she appears. More Nat antics for what she adds to the character dynamics in general, please. I'm holding out hope for a contrived situation where Nat is somehow involved with a grenade pin-pull set of Gayle nonsense.

6.) "Topsy" -Season 3, Episode 16

Louise tries to skate by on her science fair entry with a previously constructed and presented baking soda volcano. The obnoxious Edison-fanboy substitute teacher not only shoots down her volcano, but mercilessly destroys it in front of the class and strong-arms her into an Edison-focused project. Mr. Dinkler is a fantastic antagonist; he's immediately unlikeable and it doesn't take much to want to see him taken down a few pegs. While Dinkler is a jerk, Louise has been established as a morally dubious gremlin. When she beefs with a teacher or bully or otherwise, the interesting part is whether she takes the high road or escalates. She fluctuates between her bark is worse than her bite and an earnestly intimidating threat when she's pushed far enough. Her tenacity and resourcefulness are some her biggest strengths. "Topsy" is the more extreme end of where Louise's determined pursuit for petty means can go.

Louise decides to format her entire science project around the story that Thomas Edison electrocuted Topsy as part of the war of the currents. Supposedly, Topsy's death was an example of how dangerous and ineffective DC current was when compared to AC current. While Thomas Edison has done plenty of controversial and questionable things, he didn't electrocute Topsy. He wasn't even physically present at the event and the war of the currents happened ten years prior. If you're curious about the real story behind Topsy, check out her Wikipedia page.

That said, this episode relies on this myth about Edison. Louise's project features an ambitious musical flavored re-enactment with a life-sized alternator. She has tunnel vision about the end goal of humiliating Dinkler; she callously dismisses Gene's input and redirection with the musical number and comes up with ridiculous mental gymnastics to continue despite Tina almost getting murdered via electrocution. Ultimately, Louise is forced to rethink how much she prioritizes her pride and ego. She compares her reckless quest with the mad scientist depths and depravity Edison would go to prove a point. Louise is still a gremlin, but she refuses to become a true villain that prioritizes personal glory over everything else.

On a separate note, "Electric Love" is an absolute banger. I think it'd be a fantastic supplementary piece for any history teacher that wants to correct the Edison myth about Topsy.

5.) "Glued, Where's My Bob?" -Season 6, Episode 19

A prank war goes wrong and leads to Bob stuck on the restaurant toilet via an unmarked, mystery goop Louise applied to the seat. The mystery goo is something from Teddy's home-brewed set of handyman solutions. It will take something serious and unconventional to get Bob un-stuck. Plus the clock is ticking. Bob's humiliating set of circumstances coincides with a big Coaster's magazine interview that could net Bob's Burgers some much-needed positive press.

"Glued, Where's My Bob?" is a classic nightmare scenario where the humor lies in how much worse things can escalate. Bob's a few steps down from Orin Scrivello dentist Dr. Yap is recruited in the various attempts to remove him. Everybody Bob knows, maybe even the entire town, sees him in this compromising position. Jimmy Pesto is ready to lob insults as the sprinkles on a shit cake. It even looks like Coaster's passes on his interview. Despite what looks like a net loss, Bob's family and customers try to pull together and paint a more positive image of the beloved, local burger man. He's a good cook, a beloved father, and considered fondly by most members of his community. It's a bizarre, but sweet story about the community banning together to help someone during one of his lowest moments.

This is also another case of Louise feeling conflicted. She blames Gene's interrupted routine despite knowing that this is her fault and should be the end of gooping shenanigans. An extra layer to this is how much Louise genuinely admires and looks up to her dad. She doesn't lean into her usual contrarian "the worse, the more entertaining it is" mindset. She immediately regrets her actions and shifts towards solutions-mode. The contrast between Bob's flimsy optimism and Louise trying to reassure herself is captured beautifully in the music number "Bad Stuff Happens in the Bathroom."

Bob gets a win with a positive, albeit embarrassing, article about his toilet stint in Coaster's. While not the press he wanted, framing Bob as a celebration of an awkward and eccentric figure is an accurate reflection of Bob's Burgers period.

4.) "Sacred Couch" -Season 6, Episode 9

Bob's Burgers has so many one episode characters with lives and dramas that would be so fun to follow up on. The Sofa Queen is my personal pick for an unexpected spin off or a feature in one other episode. The Belchers meet the wacky faces behind the poorly thought out local commercial. Linda has reverence for the Sofa Queen in the way so many people carry ironic fondness for the store owners in the East Hills mall commercial. The Queen and her staff gladly commit to the roles of furniture royalty on screen and off. Its the best parody of and love letter to cheeky, overly gimmicky commercials for smaller local businesses in general.

The Sofa Queen easily carries the episode but the Couch Burners are an added bonus. I really appreciate that everyone supports this teen punk band. Nobody calls it ridiculous or writes them off like other sitcoms do. Instead, the bar manager hosting their next gig makes an honest attempt to keep up with their name changes, Teddy fully intends on going to their show, and Bob helps take pictures for their promo art. The focus is on the nostalgia for the gross couch, but I love the candid approach to the up and coming teen punk band.

The core of the episode is the Belcher family's overly sentimental attachment to their couch. For them, the stains may as well be pictures in a scrapbook and the couch is somewhere between an heirloom and a family member. If there was a sequel series following Louise taking over the restaurant, the couch would definitely be present. "Sacred Couch" features an example of what it looks like when Louise pulls Bob into her schemes. She expects him to be on her wavelength. Sometimes he is but when he isn't, it's likely that he'll play along with whatever she cooks up.

This is easily more about the peripheral events and characters than the main plot for me, though. The Sofa Queen is just that iconic.

3.) "Something Old, Something New, Something Bob Caters For You" -Season 8, Episode 21

Bob is experiencing some self-doubt and existential dread around his life choice to become a grill cook and start a restaurant. He feels like grilling burgers doesn't compare to how important a war zone doctor is. Then Bob is asked to cater last minute for the young couple Connor and Farrah's upcoming wedding. They tell him his burgers are a key part in how they met and Bob takes this as an opportunity to prove himself. He unilaterally decides that his burgers are the ultimate centerpiece of the wedding, if not the lynchpin for Connor and Farrah's future success as a married couple. Bob's personal career angst is contrasted against Connor and Farrah's doubts about their ceremony and marriage. The young couple's special day is a series of disasters. It's so windy that it messes with the A/V equipment. There's dead butterflies. The Belchers accidentally drop and smoosh the cake.

Linda tries to reassure Bob that their catering isn't as make or break as he thinks it is. She also expresses her concerns about how quickly the young couple is jumping into married life. Linda's commentary is pitted against Bob's inner monologue in the number "This Wedding is my Warzone." This is one of the strongest and catchiest musical numbers in the series. It's a mix of whimsical, melancholic, and Linda as somewhere between the voice of reason and moral support. Ultimately, Bob and the young couple are course-corrected when Linda gives Connor and Farrah a pep talk. They persisted despite every misstep and bad omen. If they can navigate a nightmare wedding day and still want to be together, then they can build the resilience and cooperative troubleshooting long-lasting couples have.

She reminds Bob that he shouldn't compare his life with a war zone doctor. He should focus on being the best Bob that he can be. He isn't responsible for someone else's happiness; he can and does contribute to others' life in a positive way. But his contribution shouldn't be a game of comparison. It should be what he can offer because he can and he wants to.

2.) "Radio No You Didn't" -Season 13, Episode 20

Bob shares the story of his great-grandmother Gertie thwarting a Russian spy. The episode cuts between Bob recounting the story and flashbacks featuring Gertie, her daughter Lily, and her mother. Similarly to the higher stakes in the Bob's Burgers theatrical movie, this is another example of Bob's Burgers' ability to shift between goofy and legitimate stakes. Viewers are sat on pins and needles as much as the laser-focused Louise. Bob is hinted as a compelling storyteller if his words are enough to paint the vivid picture of what a slice of Gertie's life looked like. There's enough present for a glimpse at how brave and resourceful Gertie was as well as how snarky and judgey Gertie's mother could be. The Belcher kids would never meet Gertie but they have a solid mental image of who this woman was; enough to keep her alive through the art of vocal storytelling.

Gertie's story is tied to her old radio. When the Belchers first find the radio, Linda and the kids want to throw it out or pawn it. After hearing Gertie's story, the kids fight over who will inherit the piece. This is a great example of what weight, gravity, and meaning stories or history attach to heirlooms or even art. A lot of overlooked art installations take on new life and importance when someone takes the time to read the attached description or story. Overall, this episode is a fantastic case for sharing family history if not the smaller, more mundane stories about people in general. Its a good idea to record big events but smaller, domestic stories help paint a picture of what life looked like at that earlier point in time. It adds a very accessible, intimate dimension to history that otherwise gets lost in the rote list of facts and dates.

Also, I love the 1940's big band flavored cover of The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star." It's so thematically fitting.

1.) "Amelia" -Season 13, Episode 22

I wouldn't be surprised if this episode was someone's inspiration to become a historian or sparked a more earnest interest in history at the very least. "Radio No You Didn't" shows how compelling family history can be. "Amelia" shows how recording both the life and feats of an important historical figure echoes through history. Louise is faced with casual sexism from her classmate. He insists that men are the most key figures throughout the history of flight from airplanes to space travel. When Louise locks in choosing Amelia Earhart as her report topic, she refuses to erase or overlook women's contributions to that part of history. Its one thing for women to be highlighted during women's history month or lightly featured in general lists. Its even more important for women like Amelia to be specifically spotlighted, discussed, and focused on. When faced with one of the more understated consequences of a patriarchal system, Louise pushes back with a full arsenal of creative solutions. She pulls help from her siblings, a classmate that knows how to craft and work with puppets, and even asking for advice from Linda. Pushing back against sexism, even subtle, makes a bigger impact as a group effort vs just a solitary voice.

I consider this one of the best Louise episodes in general. Its an example of the more proactive, positive side of how determined and resourceful she can be. Usually, she has a petty or low stakes goal. While this is framed as another spat with a classmate, its more about his insensitive, ignorant comments and the larger systemic issues those comments stem from. Ultimately, Louise shows how powerful a mix between careful research and her artistic talents can be. There's many examples of this part of her character but this one is my favorite because of the social commentary attached.

I hope Bob's Burgers continues awhile longer in a media landscape that has endless Simpsons and Family Guy. Bob's Burgers doesn't need to up the spectacle or drum up worse or increasingly offensive shock humor. To me, its hope that thoughtful character writing and characters that act like real people have a place among adult cartoons. It doesn't have to be more strictly satire writing. Ideally, its parents that wanted to be parents, parents and kids that make dumb decisions, and people that make mistakes period. But at the end of the day, they can be vulnerable to each other, adults can admit when they're wrong, and they try to talk things out more often than not.

As long as animated sitcoms are a thing, I'd like to see more like Bob's Burgers. Please.

[choking-on-dandelions]

any favorite vocaloid producers (or songs)

Producers, definitely Deco*27 is up there. So bouncy and fun yet also so melancholic and bittersweet. A good range of feels. Great range of songs if a bit melodically similar on certain tracks. Pinnochio-P was my focus for a minute not too long ago, excellent producer! Utsu-P is really good, love the intensity in their work! Vocaloid moshpit type music for sure, has intrigued random people who don't listen to Japanese music in my day-to-day life. Wowaka was one of the very first producers I stumbled upon back in the day before his passing (r.i.p. to a legend💔) and man, those songs, all that raw emotion, the way you don't even need to understand the words to feel that hole shatter through your heart midway through and in that moment the language barrier is totally irrelevant anyways, you suddenly just get it. Giga has a smooth cool hip-hop sound (I've really only listened to them within the last couple years admittedly), same with Syudou. GHOST and Creep-P are great spooky tune makers. But let's not forget to respect one of the forefathers of creepy Halloween-y vocaloid music, Machigerita-P.

I could go on and on for daysss and believe it or not, I'm still not done learning all there is to know! There's sooo many amazing Vocaloid producers that it would take forever to find them all. Obviously the most popular will be an easy search but the smaller more indie producers make some absolute BANGERS!

Favorite songs? Oho boy, strap in, have I got a list for you! You're gonna regret this, I promise you lol now don't worry this will only hurt a little ^o^

(My anthem dedicated to all my friends, new and old, near and far💖)

(It's a bop, Dasu rolls out banger after banger)

(Bad bitch energy on the dancefloor)

(A lot of regular people seem to like this one)

(Can sing this one nearly perfectly, friends fell in love at first sound then felt sad after seeing the lyrics)

(The song that broke my heart)

(The song that broke my heart pt 2 - The Tribute)

(WOAH OH OH WOAH-OH OH OHH)

(That into s l a p s though)

(Try not to dance, it's impossible)

Oh damn this is gonna be a huuuuge wall on everyone's dash now, SORRY GUYS!! Vocaloid is a long-time passion interest and I consider it a hugely defining part of my lore, I could literally talk about it for hours and hours and hours well into the next day if you give me the chance. If you're curious and want to know more and listen to more songs feel free to message me, I have an entire ever-expanding playlist! I'd love to share what I love with potential new fans!💖

Probably my favorite ask I've gotten so far on Tumblr, this made my entire afternoon! I hope it was half as fun for you, dear anon, as it was for me! Thank you so sweetly!💖💖

[pjplayground]

Cut Songs

Just to give you an idea of how much work I put into my Cornelius x Franny playlist, here is a list of songs that were cut from it, with explanations as to why. 1. Eraser Girl by Maretu - Oh man, this song is dark... Before I had a concrete theme, I had a lot of "dark love" songs on there, this being one of them. This song in particular ends with both partners committing suicide together. 2. In The Bedroom, Royal Suite, Secret Grotto, Private Table, and Rooftop Lounge from HuniePop - Cut for one reason... THEY'RE NOT ON SPOTIFY. It sucks because these songs are PERFECT. UGH. 3. Boom Boom Boom by KIRA - Couldn't make it fit... unfortunately. Real sad because this a song you could easily imagine Neil and Franny singing... well, vocaloid versions of them, ha ha. 4. Saw and Pendulum by (?) ft. Hatsune Miku - Another dark song I cut once I found a theme. It's a yandere song, and like most yandere songs, someone got murdered. 5. Games by KIRA - Another one I just couldn't make fit. I do plan on doing something with this one, though. 6. Hot Milk by MentaiRocker - Cut because it was too hardcore of a sound for the playlist, and I had settled on the one rock song I was gonna put on the playlist. 7. SYMBIOTIC by Starset - Same as above. 8. Saccharine by Jazmin Bean - This was more of a "love is disgusting" type of song. It was cut very early on. 9. Soap by Melanie Martinez - The vibe didn't quite fit for this one. 10. stillness in woe by Purity Ring - Cut because the lyrics were too cryptic, as well as too "ethereal" sounding. 11. Holy Lance Explosion Boy by rerulili - Not really a love song... more like a "we fucked up so now we gotta stay together" type of song. 12. Two Faced Lovers by wowaka (rip) - Again, wasn't really a love song. Just a dark story about two "lovers." 13. SuperNova by Spott - Because breakcore definitely didn't fit the vibe... oh well... 14. Cosmos Love by Lexie - It's not on Spotify :( 15. Darling by BlueBrony - Also not on Spotify... ugh. The good ones never are. 16. Veni Vidi Vici (Magic) by Scraton - Cut last minute because I couldn't make it fit anywhere. But I also realized that the filter on the samples makes it sound like Boyfriend from Friday Night Funkin' is singing it. 17. Fluffy Chocolate Bunnies by Mr. Sunset - Not. On. Spotify! UGGHHH! That song is so good, too!!!! 18. Breathing Space by DJT and Rusyd Rosman (Shuffle Horse Remix) - Say it with me everybody... it's not on Spotify... 19. Star Lily Dance Performance by MASA WORKS DESIGN - It's part of the Onibi series, and if you know what that means because vocaloid was a part of your childhood like me, then you know exactly why it was cut... 20. Brass Noise Flamenco by MASA WORKS DESIGN - I realized Cornelius and Franny ain't like that, so it was cut. 21. Sick Sick Sick by Pinnochio-P - Another one that was cut last minute because I couldn't quite make it fit. 22. Jenny by Studio Killers - ... I can't not see this as a lesbian love song, I'm sorry y'all. 23. Kuru Kuru Pa! by Lamaze-P - Because I'm gonna make a stand alone piece for this song. I'm inspired, lol. 24. Hole-dwelling by Kikuo - Too depressing for the theme I was going for. 25. But I Like It by Lauren Sanderson - The sound was too hardcore for the theme, same as the others above. 26. La La Lainey by Forever The Sickest Kids - Cut because it's more of a Cornelius x Lizzy song, to be honest... 27. 1980s Horror Film by Wallows - Ah, the good ol' bait and switch. Unfortunately, not good for the playlist. 28. Butterfly's Repose by Zabawa - WAAAAAY too sad for the theme. I ain't tryna make anybody cry. 29. Lemonade by Nicole Dollanganger - Too dark. Ends with murder... 30. Heart Shaped Bed by Nicole Dollanganger - Cut mostly because I have an image idea for this one.

I listen to way too much angst... But hey, all that angst can make for some cool images! Eventually.

[emmym1]

My thoughts on... X-23 2010A (#1)

As I continue my read through of the X-23/Laura Kinney comics i've arrived at her 2010 run! It's split it up in 2010A and 2010B, with 2010A being a one shot. And I have to say I was really caught off guard by this issue. It's such a deep and complex read with some very unique art that compliments the story it's trying to tell very well. I did have to read it twice to fully grasp everything. The writing in this issue so special and poignant. It's super interesting how they really explore X-23 to the deepest as she confronts her demons. Her feelings of being eternally trapped in a cage even if she's a free person now was super interesting. And her feelings of constantly being used and the loneliness that comes from that hit soooo hard and was so well explored. I really liked how they showed that even when she's surrounded with other people who care for her, she still feels lonely whether it be because the people around her have a connection with each other that they don't have with her or just because she feels so isolated from the world around her. It's incredibly well done and that part in particular was such a hardhitting part of this comic for so many reasons. The way she tries to cope with everything by harming herself because pain is the only thing she knows is just so tragic and it just really shows in how much of a dark place she is and how everything she has been through has affected her. It's also really interesting how this comic explores the mental state she was in during her time at the facility and how she percieved the scientists responsible for her. I also absolutely love the character arc she goes through in this. Believing she can only exist for others, feeling like she doesn't have a choice in anything and that her worth only comes from being a weapon to slowly realizing that she has to start living for herself, that she does have a choice and that even if she hasn't known anything but a cage in her life, she will learn to live outside it and become her own person that has worth beyond being a weapon. It's so good. Another thing I loved is how they touched upon the symbolism of her mother reading pinnochio to her in the facility and Laura now making the connection that she has to become a "real person". I believed Sarah read that book to her in hopes that Laura would realize that she has to become her own person. So it's cool that she's finally realizing that. I also think that in some ways some of the stuff this comic touches upon is oddly relatable to a lot of people in a certain way. You know, feeling as if you only live for others but not yourself, feeling lonely even when there are so many people around, not seeing your self worth, the list goes and it would be another big wall of text if i had to sum all of it up. But I thinkt this comic really explores those feelings in a very well written way with amazing visuals. Especialy the "dream" sequences were really interesting and the way Laura litterally tries to escape and overcome her demons is super well done. The art for those sequences were very unique and really elevated the comic. I absolutely can't wait to read the rest of her 2010 run because if it hits the same quality of this comic then it's definitely going to be an amazing ride and I am really looking forward to reading them!

[waltzofphoenix]

εїзεїзεїзεїзεїзεїз *Slamming this down, one each for Kaeya, Diluc, Klee, Zhongli, Cyno, and Albedo* <3

Send “εїз” to hear a Headcanon the Mun hasn’t been able to organically implement into the blog yet~

Kaeya

Before they went to Mondstadt, Kaeya and his birth father wandered Sumeru for several years. During that time, little Kaeya was often left alone at safe camps for long periods of time while his father left to deal with Stuff.

But things worked out for Kaeya anyway, and do you know why?

Because the Aranara stumbled upon this strange, lonesome, hungry child and thought: "the big Nara is scary, and the little one is a bit strange, too, but... we can still look after the little Nara, right?"

So, young Kaeya had strange, wonderful dreams filled with fanciful jaunts in the forests, and whenever he woke up he'd find platters filled with fresh fruit, nuts, and... strangely bland soups?

(And, many years later, after their little summer adventure, Kaeya's surprised to hear some of the stories Klee picked up from the little woodland fairies that swear they remember him...)

Diluc

While he's known to keep tabs on pretty much anything noteworthy that goes on in Mondstadt, one thing Diluc takes especially seriously are matters dealing with orphans and other children in need of help.

He ensures they are looked after and get whatever they need, often finding homes for them where they will be cared for and loved.

The part that hasn't yet found it's way onto this blog is this: one day, Diluc is going to meet a kid that's a bit more difficult to house for one reason or another. Maybe they're especially prickly, prone to bouts of righteous fury? Or they're cold and have a distant, aloof vibe?

Either way, Diluc sees something of himself and/or Kaeya in this kid and decides he's going to look after them himself.

Klee

The "Thelxie's Adventure" event got me thinking about some stuff, among which is that... While it was never outright said, the disorder that event dealt with was heavily coded as autism/depression.

Why do I bring this up? Because I think Klee is neurodivergent, too, but with the key difference being... she's not depressed.

The people taking care of her are patient with her, and gentle, and (most importantly) they listen to her and treat her whole deal as Very Serious Business.

And, especially since Albedo also has neurodivergent traits, I think... Klee is an example of a kid that being given coping mechanisms at a young age, by people that completely understand the importance of letting her have her fantasies and special interests.

SO YEAH. Sort of a two-in-one there, but I definitely write both Klee and Albedo from that angle.

Zhongli

As much as he has changed other people, the relationships he's had with others, especially other gods, have changed him a lot over the years as well.

Perhaps the most notable change? There was a time when Rex Lapis could not produce a shield.

He learned that ability from one of his dearest companions, a god who valued the defense of her people above all else. Fighting by her side taught him to value this, too.

The last time he saw her, she asked him to continue defending Liyue --- his people and hers. While carrying out her final wish, Zhongli discovered he'd inherited her precious jade-strength shield.

Cyno

Since he really likes going for night strolls in the desert because the cold, dry air helps him clear his mind... I believe the opposite must be true as well! The hot, humid air in the rainforests makes his brain very foggy --- which is why he deals with any business he may have in those regions as swiftly as possible.

Sumeru City and Ghandarva Ville are alright, though. It's the places deeper in the woods that really get to him.

Albedo

SEE KLEE'S SECTION FOR A BONUS ONE!

But also, for one that's specific to him, if still tangentially related to the previous idea... I think he has a lot in common with the Tin Man, Pinnochio, or the Little Mermaid.

He finds people so difficult to understand, doesn't feel things the way he's "supposed to" and, while he's content minding his own business, I think he sometimes feels a deep, quiet ache to be more... ordinary.

Also, it's one of his own personal goals to be more human, especially because of the relationships he has HERE AND NOW --- he doesn't want to watch his friends and loved ones in the Knights grow old while he remains exactly the same, frozen in time.

Whether his agelessness is due to his nature as a construct OR part of the curse of Khanri'ah... he's searching for a way to resolve it.

[alln64games]

Wonder Project J2

JP release: 22nd November 1996

PAL release: N/A

NA release: NA

Developer: Givro

Publisher: Enix

N64 Magazine Score: 55%

A Japanese-only point and click adventure for the N64, and sequel to a SNES game called Wonder Project J. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect of this, but N64 magazine gave it a 55% and said that the main character was “Pinnochio-esqe”. Thankfully, there is a fan-made English translation patch available for this, so I don’t need to resort to other methods to try and read it.

You play as…yourself, a being from another world that the main character, Josette, can’t see. You communicate to Josette though a robot called “bird” and can point at things as well as say “yes” or “no”. Josette herself is also a robot, trying to learn how things work in the world. When trying new things, she will try something (often eating something) and you will need to let her know if this is right or wrong.

In order to solve puzzles, you will have to mess around with Josette’s teachings and moods. For example, in one objective, you need to teach her to be nasty to a cat so she gets scalded and learn that harming things is wrong. Movies can be uses to put her in a certain mood to help with certain activities. When out and about, Josette heads off on her own, giving you no direct input. It sounds boring, but it works really well, like trusting your kid to go out for the first time.

Wonder Project J2 also has a few 3D sequences. You can pilot a submarine and aircraft, with controls getting better the longer you stick with them. Underwater, you have to search for treasures and catch a lot of fish, while in the air, you shoot down unmanned aircraft of the oppressive army controlling the island. These segments are nice to begin with, but fulfilling everything is a bit tiresome.

Another 3D segment is a mine you can explore, trying to find some lost treasure, as well as mining for a special kind of stone – getting jobs and making money is a requirements to buy everything needed to teach Josette. Luckily, this part is quite short.

Through the wonderful animation, you can see Josette change throughout the game. She struggles at walking to begin with, falling over a lot, but slowly gets better and learns to run, dance and much more. It’s subtle and works really well, and Josette herself is incredibly charming (although you can be mean and force her to be more serious if you really want to).

There are 25 tasks to do, most are lovely little stories. One in particular is quite annoying: you have to improve Josette’s strength to fight a member of the army, but you can’t see Josette’s stats to fighting and losing is the only way to check if you’ve done enough. Everything else in the 2D style, however, is just incredibly charming.

You don’t need to complete all 25 achievements, but I did it anyway. A friend of Josette’s will get ill and helping her will trigger the events leading to the end of chapter 1. Chapter 2 is unfortunately not great. You get a long cutscene followed by a maze segment as Josette loses her memories. You walk around in circles answering questions about what you’ve on in the game.

After another long cutscene, you get captures and need to escape in another 3D maze, this time with guards chasing you. There are handy markers on the ceiling that gives you clues to the right direction. After this is done…well, sit back because the last 45 minutes or so of the game has no player input.

The story gets a bit odd towards the end, but still interesting. It definitely needs some playable moments, though.

For not expecting much from Wonder Project J2, I ended up loving it, particularly chapter 1, which is the majority of the game. The translation is great (apart from a few uses of negatives in questions where I responded wrong) and has made the game playable for people that don’t understand Japanese. This is a very unique game and I’m very glad that I’ve played it.

If your tastes run to the slightly esoteric and you’ve got far too much money it’s an intriguing little title that’ll probably never see the light of day over here

- Wil Overton, N64 Magazine #1

Remake or Remaster?

Considering they have new sprite work for the iPhone version, a remake with an official translation would be lovely – especially if they can do a bit more with chapter 2.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get Wonder Project J2.

Other versions

Wonder Project J2 got a mobile port at some point, but other than some screenshots, I don’t know when. The game was also released on iPhone in 2010 with redrawn graphics, but I can’t find any details other than the initial announcement.

[plasticsandwich]

listening to pinnochio-P’s slowmotion and powapowa-P’s a palette full of you and comparing the lyrics to each other and just.......... hooowee. i nneed a minute. i need to breathe

[neptunes-sol-angel]

"You believe you are unworthy, but I know you are so much more. Sometimes the world doesn't need a white knight, sometimes it needs something darker, so you have two choices: you could either become the destroyer of this world, or you could be its savior." - Dr. Fate (Black Adam 2022)

Pick the picture(s) that you're drawn to, then scroll down for its corresponding message.

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Pile One👤

The backbone of your shadow relates to manipulation and the desperation to be known and seen, even if it means being acknowledged for notorious deeds. You're savvy when it comes to being charismatic and having your way with others, as well as getting on another person's good side. You have this cheeekiness about you that's both your strength and your downfall, it's charming and useful for networking but is also a gateway for making enemies that don't find your wittiness to be amusing or convincing. You could see another person's trust as something that you should take, from finding their weaknesses and exploiting them through soft lies or willingly dousing the person with what it is that they seek, even if it's you, in particular, because I'm seeing a lot of puppetry/pinnochio themes, you could be the type to be a couple of steps ahead of people that want to manipulate you by allowing them to think that they have power over you, but it ends up being you with most of the control in the situation. On the other side of your shadow, is acceptance that everyone will not like you and it's not your responsibility to win over their approval and letting go of thinking that everything needs force. Coexisting with your shadow, is understanding that recognition is yours by not overcompensating and and overexposing yourself to multiple people and causes. Allowing things about yourself and your life to remain a taboo, is what makes you harmonize with your shadow side while still being able to shine.  Why the world needs this, is because you teach others that lust or desire for something that someone has, isn't a valid admission or reason to give away your trust. I feel like this has a lot to do with independence, and valuing self-importance, with not just the people that learn from you, but also yourself. You could be likely to come across someone who's prone to reconciling with another person out of longing or to acquire something about them that they feel that they don't have within themselves (confidence, love, strength, etc), feeling that they need to look or be a certain way to be attractive (maybe even cling to something that they consider an enhancement that they need), or any other situation that relates to seeking power that they feel that they don't have. Your shadow mostly teaches others to find their own strengths so that they don't feel like power is something that they need to consume or force out of a person through manipulation, but I also get that the benefit of being around your shadow relates to beauty as well—it enlightens a person to know that feeling inadequate about their looks doesn't mean to do more, there's a physical appeal in what they keep as a mystery or the unparalleled allure that comes from remaining unfiltered.

Pile Two👤

I'm getting that the people who are drawn to this pile are highly in tune and developed with what the traits of their shadow side are, you guys could be rebels and skeptics instead of blindly conforming to anything, but besides having your own thoughts and beliefs, there could be something different about you that you can't exactly pinpoint on why you don't feel like you can relate to anyone in this world or what makes people likely to alienate you in some way, I feel like at some point in your life, you thought that mimicking your surroundings instead of expressing the authentic parts about yourself would make you feel more included or at home, but it never really changed anything in regards to how people treat you besides making you feel even more alone inside. This could be something that you struggled with before growing more confident with yourself, but your message about your shadow, is that the only thing about it that's holding you back, is the way that you choose to go about accepting it. Your message reminds me of the movie Megamind. Don't allow your loneliness or another person's poor reaction to you, interpret your differences as a weapon. Being unique or misunderstood shouldn't conclude you as someone who's an enemy to the world or someone to be feared. Furthermore, just because you're different, doesn't mean that you don't have anything useful to contribute to the world. Change is the only constant, and what's more useful to change than something new and what isn't common? Accepting yourself doesn't mean reducing yourself to what other people call you, nor does it reflect on how much you appear to not care on the outside. It takes grit to walk freely without anyone's validation, but don't let the hardness from your surroundings, harden you inside, or make you believe that just because the world isn't showing you care for your feelings, that you aren't deserving to express and receive sensitivity. Why the world needs your shadow side, is because that there's a truth that needs to be exposed within humanity—there isn't anything normal about it. You help others take a step closer to loving and appreciating who they are by helping them let go of trying to get others to normalize the things that aren't, and to instead, just normalize their selves. Co-existing doesn't come from fighting all of the time, or trying to get people to agree with you, co-existing starts with just being.

Pile Three👤

(specifically 1:36)

What I'm picking up about your shadow side, is that it relates to possessiveness and smothering. You guys could be very powerful visionaries because of how much they're derived from pent up emotions that you could have been taught to keep in or a lot to do with love that wasn't reciprocated, the ace of cups isn't in your spread, but I'm just getting this image of this huge cup being overfilled your feelings and dreams. When I think of the people in the pile, I think of Georgia from the show 'Ginny and Georgia' on Netflix. You guys have a huge heart, and you mean well, but how you direct and show your love can be depicted with the worst parts of your shadow, it doesn't mean that you're a bad person at all, this is just about not particularly making the best choices when you react emotionally. What makes your shadow side combust, is not having any boundaries with the real world and what you envision for yourself, in a way that makes you inconsiderate, but also prone to heartbreak, like you could treat others as if this is just your world and they're the props. This could also look like not having boundaries with others or trying absorb another person's space. I keep picking up these specific scenarios, or should I say messages? To be careful with assuming that your love language should be something that another person should accept. I'm seeing someone growing up to be a parent, who loves their child to pieces, but shows it in a way that's self absorbed and suffocates the child in the end by wanting to give them a life that you didn't have but you don't realize that you're restricting them from their growth or identity. I'm also seeing someone having a specific dream about their life that they want for themselves, but are wanting specific people to fill in roles without realizing that everyone has free will and it's their right to have it. These themes are about making other people your happiness and in some way, robbing them of their right to make decisions in however way that this applies to your life, this isn't at all to say that this makes you bad, to make you aware. Similarly to pile one, your shadow side is needed for both the world and yourself, your message is also like life and death. You could have had a lot of endings, and are having trouble letting people or things go because of fear over it possibly being literal, as if your life ends if you can't have this specific person or achieve these specific goals, or that the only way to continue on is by living through another person, but it's not true. I feel that the cup I was thinking about earlier is actually supposed to symbolize the fountain of youth, you are the source for what makes your life lively, it isn't to be measured by the things that don't work out, create more dreams, goals, interests, but most importantly, see the next day as a reason not to attach to whoever or whatever isn't meeting you half way.

[olreid]

Question regarding Neverafter: how much do you think Brennan is trying to do horror? The players and the format are working against him, but what do you think of the world he’s created? I honestly can’t tell how much he wants them to commit or not.

yeah i guess at this point it sort of feels like he's let the horror go lol. it seems like he's been pulling his punches a lot; the biggest example is letting pinnochio be his own warlock patron but also giving tim the power to put people in the book without confronting him with the ethics of it and even going so far as to be like. sure, they're happy in there :) there's also just a constant undercurrent of like. letting players give help actions and have advantage, or not imposing disadvantage even when the roleplay calls for it. this is EASILY incorporated into the horror -- the realization that the story prioritizes your life over that of minor characters and so contact with you is often fatal for them is terrifying -- but it's reflexive rather than intentional and so it's left unremarked upon and works against the tone of the season rather than for it. most recently when they got to the tundra and had levels of exhaustion and then he just FAST FORWARDED THROUGH IT... ill tell you right now if that was a naddpod episode someone would have died of exposure and rightfully so.

a lot of the horror seems to happen offscreen (elody: i found your body in the other world) or in character backstories that the players often don't take the time to explore; overall it seems like the horror at this point is largely confined to combat which is like. just how any normal season of d20 works. like there are always scary villains.... its not enough to have an extra scary boss if theyre just going to beat it in 3 or 4 rounds... AND he keeps putting in these like. cheat codes into the fights so that they dont even have to BEAT the bosses they just have to like. break the wolf's chains or outlast the dogfish or whatever. THE PARTY HAS ONLY DIED ONCE and even then they all died together so there was no like. player that had to face death alone OR player that was the only one left alive and had to go on living alone... there is no reason that we haven't had another death by now! acoc showed that if he wants to kill a party member he absolutely can.

i also agree with others who have said that there's just too many moving parts for things to really feel tight and well-executed. the stepmother and the fairies who were omnipresent threats at the season's start are now apparently unable to reach the party for basically no reason at all which removes a lot of the fear. you're not supposed to say the authors' names or there will be grievous consequences but nothing has happened even though they've slipped up multiple times. they destroyed a wing of the lines between and there was no effect on their dimension. they also left npcs in there e.g. little miss muffett and it was apparently just fine. we haven't heard from scheherezade or aesop or any other dimensions in weeks. i appreciate that brennan wanted to give the party options and build a fleshed-out world AND that with improv some level of discontinuity comes with the territory but it really just lowers the stakes when villains or horrors only exist if they're on the party's mind and fade to the background as soon as the party becomes interested in something else. what's horrifying about a world where you have to actively seek out the horror?

he was saying in the last adventuring party like 'oh i created all these factions and had no idea what you all would gravitate towards in the season.' so it seems like most of the 'horror' was in the design of the world and the backstories of the characters etc and then he just let players loose within that framework to do whatever they want rather than intentionally injecting horror into the rhythms of play, game mechanics, plot structure, etc. we have all said over and over again that this is largely what comes of insisting on using d&d no matter the genre or season concept, despite the fact that there are tons of indie ttrpgs out there specifically designed to facilitate horror.

i'll be really interested to see how the season wraps up because there is absolutely still room for a horrifying ending but it's feeling less and less likely and more and more like the party is going to be allowed to just fully win and fix everything. we shall see!

[jasminedragonart]

Why modern disney sucks. an essay by me. P.s. you dont have to like my opinion, it is literally just an opinion and no amount of telling me to go outside or get a hobby is going to stop me from procrastinating on this site and spitting out my views on my blog.

You don't have to read it. it's fine.

So disney has lost its magic, and to be honest there's no one reason why. It's actually a number of reasons to do with the stories they choose, the animation, the woke feminism of Hollywood and not understanding the formula which we will explore in the paragraphs below.

Let's start with the stories they choose to tell. Back in ye olden days disney's main thing was retelling fairy tales. You have Snow White, Cinderella, Pinnochio, Robin Hood all classic fairy tales that would have been accessible to everyone. The thing was, as well, that disney didn't cater to children, or girls. Disney was focusing on a broad audience of all genders and ages. Meaning it had to appeal to adults and children. which it did. Snow White was seen by a lot of adults when it first came out. A lot of the stuff in Pinnochio is what only adults would truly understand and what kids did served as a cautionary tale. for example the beer and smokes when Pinnochio got to Fantasy Island. it was only when animationbecame targeted more towards children that we see the animation and stories change to a more child friendly stage. But even still, they could still be enjoyed by adults.

Modern disney has forgotten that. They see something catered to children as catering to toddlers. Kids can learn about drinking. they can learn about smoking because, chances are, they see it every day. my parents used to smoke around us. My parents and family used to drink around us on new years and christmas. It's a part of life children already know about. There is literally no need to censor it. But they do, which waters down what is a story about morality into a barely able to be followed movie.

Then there are the stories themselves. Disney seems to have steered away from the fairy tales, which theres nothing wrong with. But by doing so they're putting a lot of pressure onto their writers who, in my opinion, dont understand the fairy tale structure. Or the story disney has created. So theres a character, they want something, there's a villain, they stand in the way of our hero. They overcome the villain and have a happy ending.

This, structurally is a good formula. It's easyto stick to it's easy to replicate. It's easy. But disney doesn't like this anymore. They want to humanize their villains which, you don't have to do that. Villains sometimes need to just be villains. they don't need depth. They're literally there to stop the protagonist. That's their story, we don't have time or the energy to humanize them because if we do the ending wont be as impactful.

Let me give you a scenario. In the new girl boss amazon Cinderella they gave the evil stepmother a backstory. They humanized her, and did we feel sorry for Cinderella after that? after we find out the stepmother is only hard on her for her own good?

Go back to old Cinderella. she's mopping floors, she has to get up at dawn. She has chore after chore after chore and when she is promised a reward she doesn't get it. The stepmother has nothing to humanize her. The step sisters are horrible. It really helps us to feel for Cinderella and that's important because we WANT Cinderella to now escape. We WANT her to have a happy ending with the prince.

We don't want that in the amazon Cinderella.

I will give the Disney remake of Cinderella this that they did make me feel for her. It wasn't bad.it just wasn't magical.

They need a villain. It's why frozen, in my opinion, was so bad. The villain needs to be established from the offset. None of this surprise crap. Remember this is a kids film, they kind of need the clarity. Not always. But you have to remember you only have an hour and a half to tell this story. It's different in tv shows. You can build that stuff up. But in movies you don't have that time. You need established roles. That's why they make money. Syndrome is immediately a villain. He doesn't try and trick mr incredible himself, he does it through Mirage who herself isn't a bad person so it makes sense. Clayton, Gaston, Maleficent, Hook, they're all bad and we need them to be that way. We dont have time for backstories for them and the hero.

It's not about them.

disney doesn't follow a formula. It also chooses the wrong characters to be their main character. Like in Luca, like I said, Alberto should have been the main character. He had the more interesting story and you go with what's more interesting when it comes to writing.

The reason I didn't like encanto was because it was all over the place in terms of plot and follow through. Bruno was set to be this big bad. Then he's not. theres no follow through. same with the grandma. Again, we need someone to contrast the hero against and we need a poignant defeat. Like in the princess and the frog or tangled, again, they had a villain, rapunzel turned on her own would be mother because she's shown to us to have no redeeming qualities in this film.

Let's move onto money and animation. There is no money in 2d anymore. Which is sad. You can feel the passion in old disney because they spent years making them. These days they plop out a new film every month. There isn't time to care about a movie. There are no special art styles. Like Hercules, Atlantis with its comic book style, Tangled which is cgi but was going to be 2d so you can see the art style still. All new films look the same I'm sorry but they do. I feel like people put their whole soul into those old movies. Like the jungle book animation is amazing. So is mr slithers in robin hood. I know people work hard, but my brother, an animator, even says he wishes they put money into 2d stuff because it's just better hands down. More creative, more fairy tale esque. Like if you look at Klaus, which is not disney but oh my god the animation in that is beautiful.

Thats not to say modern animation cant be. But disney isnt known for that. Pixar and dreamworks are and dreamworks does such a good job with creating art styles in their movies. They arent carbon copies. You look at shrek and you look at kung fu panda and you know they're different.

Onto new age hollywood feminism. I don't think disney knows what feminism means? They can't. Not possible. Why else would they purposefully trash their old films and make fun of them in their new films? There is nothing wrong with wanting to be snow white or sleeping beauty. They are representations of their time and representations of women. leave them alone. They don't need to be woke. They don't need to be strong willed. every girl is different.

I feel like Disney is trying to fix their old movies but they literally dont have to be. The formula works for a reason. People would stop watching them if there was a problem with them. But they don't. We still watch them, we still find meaning in them today.

I feel like Disney focuses too much on making things child friendly that they're forgetting the reason old disney works is because its family friendly. Aka theres something for everyone.

Theres more, someone did a stellar video on youtube explaining why movies like the little mermaid helped disney revive itself. Like they cracked the musical formula. I'm gonna try and find it and put it on here. But this is all I have so far.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Oooooo Miss Raven, what are your thoughts on Ortho possibly using Pinnochio as one of his bases? A puppet (robot) built by a lonely old man (introverted student) to keep him company. I think that either Idia or Ortho have a personal story that also kind of goes along with the whole "I wish I was a real boy" thing Pinocchio has going on. I think it was the gym clothes card but I'm not completely sure

There’s definitely been a lot of theories and discussion about what Disney character Ortho is twisted from, but I think that Ortho’s really more like an amalgamation of many characters, motifs, and ideas. A lot of the other TWST boys also have a fluidity to their characters, even if their concepts are more strongly grounded in obvious inspirations.

I don’t think Ortho has ever explicitly stated that he wishes he were a “real boy”, but he has certainly mentioned that he wishes he could experience things that more readily come to organic beings than robots. Wishing you can do something or that you had something is not the same as wishing you were something, so I don’t believe wanting legs or feet is the same as Ortho saying he wishes he were human.

In Ortho’s Athletic Gear vignette, he mentions wanting legs or feet so he can run instead of fly, similar to Ariel wishing for legs so she can walk, run, and dance on land instead of swim. The Little Mermaid parallel runs even stronger when it turns out to be the Tweels (aka Flotsam and Jetsam parallels) that help Ortho get the legs he wants (by coercing Idia to build them for him). As far as I am aware, this is the only instance in which Ortho implies anything remotely close to wanting to be “human”, and even then I think it’s more like he wants the experience of running more than actually being flesh and bone.

Ortho has parallels with Hercules as well, in part due to his superhuman strength (as a robot) and in part due to his willingness to “go the distance” to save his brother. (I already rambled about this topic in this post, so I’d recommend reading it if you’re interested in my thoughts!)

I think the Wish Upon a Star/Dance of Wishes event probably provides the strongest Pinocchio references in TWST. The history of the Star Sending itself calls back to the story of Pinocchio, plus we see the whale (Monstro) as a storm cloud that Ortho blasts through to clear the skies. In terms of concept alone, he is probably closest to Pinocchio as an non-human character built by a lonely, older one. Even Rook’s nickname for Ortho (Monsieur Doll, sometimes fan translated as Monsieur Puppet) may be an allusion to this.

It’s interesting that Ortho doesn’t express a wish to be human, but instead wishes for Idia’s happiness 🤔 Combined with everything else in the lore, I think that Ortho is well aware of what he is (a magical AI built to replace a lost sibling) and what his limitations are, but I also think he doesn’t wish beyond those limitations because he knows deep down it’s impossible, or maybe he’s told himself that he’s content with this current status. This might have changed as of chapter 6, as Ortho tells Idia that his AI is now so advanced that he can act beyond his initial programming... and then Ortho goes and does uh... a bunch of things in an effort to defy the destiny that Idia has already accepted... And everything is one big hot mess 😔 which makes for some delicious angst 👌

[oceanflowerrs]

ok im going to do The thing where i talk about rwby now. im on mobile so i cant add a read more so im just gonna. tag it with rwby spoilers i guess just kidding i know eveyrhting now

ok, so. if this were any other point in time id be content with just being like "it's really cool! some things are a bit goofy or lame but it's a good time with a lot of genuinely really good moments" and that'd be that right. but from what ive gleaned from val and other rwby fans i know the whole penny debacle has been Very Controversial. it is quite possible i have come in at a bad time.

now i just want to say, i really, REALLY like what they did with penny in this volume. her arc was really good and it felt super satisfying and genuinely emotional to see this robot girl slowly become more than the sum of her parts and into the girl ruby and co had always seen her for. seriously everything up until the final episode i think was written SUPER well and this was a very good The Penny Season.

i really don't like her death, however. this may sound like a kneejerk reaction from someone who "doesn't like it when things get bad in a piece of media" or something similarly insulting to my ability to comprehend media/art and view it in a critical lens. but it's still what i think. on a base level, i think it's stupid to bring her back just to kill her again. on a somewhat deeper level, i think it's stupid to kill her after going through a whole arc where she learns to be more than a machine, where she finally gets to feel, truly feel, all of these things that she's had inside her all along. she'd escaped her boundaries, she had become a real girl. etc etc. pinnochio and whatnot. robbing her of all that just seems weird and i didn't like it.

but from like. the perspective of it being a written work with the themes it has, it STILL just seems off. rwby first and foremost is about defying expectations. not doing what it's been setting you up to believe will happen. i don't think this is a bad thing (even if near the end it kind of gets old with just how much of the plan isn't going as expected but that's a different nitpick i have). winter is supposed to be the winter maiden. it's her name. it's one of the most obvious things from the moment you learn about the maidens. like yeah no fucking doy. and even leading up to vol. 8 that's very clearly the plan. ironwood has it set up and everything so that winter is guaranteed to get the powers.

but the plan fails. the expectations are defied. winter is too late and the powers are given to penny instead. this scared, confused girl (in the moment i mean), who already has so much on her plate to deal with, just trying to save as many people as she can. now she's knee deep in the middle of yet another conflict. she's the winter maiden now, which means now cinder is going directly after her. it means now winter is even more under ironwood's thumb as punishment for her failure. it means there's even more of her now that she doesn't fully understand. and it's hard for her, but she does it. she uses her new powers to protect as many people as she can, and even with everything happening both in and outside of her, she never gives up. to the point that maybe, just maybe it was meant for her all along. and when she becomes human, the weight of being half a person is taken off of her shoulders. she no longer has any doubts, she has no reason to waver anymore, she's whole. and with her friends by her side, she's ready for her new destiny.

but no she died haha looks like winters the maiden now after all. lal.

i don't know it just feels... insulting? what was the point of pennys character arc if she's just going to die immediately after? what was the point of making her the winter maiden if it was just going to end up with winter anyway, like it was most obviously going to be? what was the point of giving her so much if you're just going to take it away again? like no, penny didn't get to live life as a human. penny didn't get to stop the people who have been hurting her friends. penny didn't get to step up and become the thing she was finally ready to become. she died. in a way that only happened because she was human. everything she was was cut off for shock value i fucking guess. sure.

couldn't they have had her fall with the rest of the cast? couldn't they have found some way to transfer her powers without killing her? couldn't they have done literally fucking anything else than just backpeddling an entire character arc because everyone in the main cast wasn't sad enough? because they didn't feel like any of the other dozen character deaths were impactful enough?

it's. i don't know. obviously everything's a big cliffhanger right now so i can't say "i don't think it impacted the plot it any way". maybe jaune has the mask on in the vol 9 teaser because killing her is gonna give him like a joker arc or some shit. i don't know. i don't know how to end this.

[lunova-rambles]

Lunova-Rambles Fandom List

For the most part, anything listed here is a fandom I wouldn't mind making content for! Constantly updated, listed in alphabetical order!

Key: ♧ I don’t know this really well/I’m not fully in the fandom/haven't watched every episode

MOVIES

(♧ can also mean I haven't read the book/s)

Avatar

Big Hero 6

Coco

Coraline

DC Extended Universe (esp. Wonder Woman and Aquaman)

Detective Pikachu

Disney Fairies

♧ Divergent

Encanto

Enola Holmes

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Frozen

Harry Potter

Home

How to Train Your Dragon (haven’t watched 3rd film)

Justin and the Knights of Valour

Klaus

Kubo and the 2 Strings

Kung Fu Panda

♧ Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga'Hoole

Lord of the Rings

Luca

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Missing Link

♧ Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Monster High

MonsterVerse

♧ Mortal Engines

Mr. Peabody & Sherman

Mulan

National Treasure

Now You See Me

Onward

Penguins of Madagascar

♧ Pinnochio (Guillermo del Toro)

Pirates of the Caribbean

Project Power

♧ Puss in Boots

Raya and the Last Dragon

Red Notice

Rise of the Guardians

Sing

Snowpiercer

Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse

Spirited Away

♧ The Bad Guys

The Book of Life

The Boxtrolls

The Great Wall

The Hobbit

The Incredibles

The Mitchells Vs the Machines

The Mummy

The Secret of NIMH

The Tale of Despereaux

The Tomorrow War

Tomb Raider (new & old)

Transformers

Turbo

Turning Red

♧ Uncharted

♧ Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

♧ Venom

Vivo

WALL-E

Watership Down

Wreck-It Ralph

Zootopia

☼ SHOWS

♧ Adventure Time

♧ Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

♧ Arcane

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Ben 10

Beyblade

♧ Boku no Hero Academia

Busted! (범인은 바로 너)

Carmen Sandiego (2019-2021)

Cheese in the Trap (haven’t read the Webtoon)

♧ Danny Phantom

Digimon

♧ Don't Hug Me I'm Scared

Ever After High

♧ Fairy Tail

Fate: The Winx Saga

Glitter Force

♧ Good Omens

♧ Gravity Falls

Hilda

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous

♧ Maya and the Three

MCU Phase 4 shows

♧ Miraculous Ladybug

♧ Merlin

My Little Pony

MyStreet

NCIS/any crime tv show tbh

Ninjago/LEGO (haven’t watched 2nd half of s13)

♧ Saint Seiya

She-ra and the Princesses of Power

Sherlock

♧ Sonic the Hedgehog

♧ Squid Game

♧ Star vs the Forces of Evil

♧ Steven Universe

♧ Stranger Things

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (haven't seen the last ep)

The Dragon Prince (haven’t watched s2~)

The Little Prince (French-Canadian show)

The Hollow

The Mandolorian

♧ The Owl House

♧ The Untamed (haven't watched a SINGLE episode but I LOVE the characters)

Tokyo Mew Mew (mY CHILDHOOD AKJAFJL)

Trollhunters (haven't watched s3~)

♧ Wednesday

W: Two Worlds Apart

Voltron Legendary Defender

VIDEO GAMES

☼ I play a lot of indie games!! So I’ll do art for any ones with nice character design

Animal Crossing (Nintendo in general tbh)

Bendy and the Ink Machine

Broken Age

Bugsnax

Cuphead

Dauntless

Death Stranding

Detroit: Become Human

♧ DOOM Eternal (SOLELY FOR THE SOUNDTRACK HELL YEAHHH)

Epistory

Firewatch

Five Nights at Freddy's

Genshin Impact

God of War (newer games)

Grounded

Half-Life: Alyx

Hitman

Inscryption

Inside

Journey to the Savage Planet

Minecraft

Monster Prom

Moving Out

♧ League of Legends (character designs!!)

Little Nightmares

Operation: Tango

Overcooked!

♧ Overwatch (character designs!!)

Pokémon

Portal

Poppy Playtime

Puppeteer

Raft

Resident Evil

Sky: Children of the Light

Skylanders (character designs!!)

Slime Rancher

Spiritfarer

Stardew Valley

Subnautica

The Gardens Between

The Last Campfire

♧ The Last of Us

The Sims

The Unfinished Swan

Tick Tock: A Tale for Two

Undertale

Untitled Goose Game

Valorant

♧ We Happy Few

What Remains of Edith Finch

MISCELLANEOUS

Beetle and the Hollowbones

EPIC: The Musical

Everything on a Waffle (by Polly Horvath)

Hamilton

Guile (by Constance Cooper)

John Mulaney (I don't really like him anymore but his old jokes are still funny)

SCP Foundation

Six: The Musical

Thea Sisters

Zodiac Star Force

♧ Warrior Cats (I mainly read about it)

Webtoons

Acception

Blades of Furry

Boyfriends

Castle Swimmer

Cursed Princess Club

Emmy the Robot

High Class Homos

Hooves of Death

My Weird Roommate

Subzero

Urban Animal (I am VERY behind)

I watch a variety of YouTubers too, but I probably won't make content for them so I won't include them here. Feel free to send in an ask about your favourite YouTubers tho!

[totallypathet]

Episode Three

First of all...what the fuck was that challenge. And what the fuck was the logic to judging it?! I spent so much of this episode just being confused. I think it would have been so much better if they were allowed to come up with their own ideas and characters, instead of having this really narrow space to work in; that was bizarre to me. Like Just Jan could have done a really delusional, high energy character who was the worst singer in the world; that would have been funny! Instead they stuck them with these bizarre storylines that made no sense, and had very little humour in them. Idk whose choice that was but it was a choice. Anyway, let's get into the rundown!

1. Aiden Zhane

I am not living for Aiden at all. Her attitude in both episodes has let a lot to be desired for me. And also, that runway? What was that? I could buy that dress on Asos, glue some bows to it and have that look. The concept was cool, the bows falling on her? Cool idea. But if you're going to do that then you need to Do It, yknow? Like it would have been cool if she'd had a huge wig completely made of bows. Or if she'd had an umbrella and made it look like it was raining bows, or something, that could have been really cool! It could have been amazing and she took a really easy way out. Disappointing. And her performance was dull. She deserved to be in the bottom more than Nicky Doll.

The only thing I will say for Aiden in this episode is the way Brita and Redacted behaved towards her was really uncool. They did that whole "you didnt lead us at all", and then told her that they carried her? You know that if she had led them they would have totally thrown her under the bus and said "well we do this professionally and we wanted to do this, but she was the leader and she made us do that". It was totally a damned if you, damned if you don't; and that was really unfair.

2. Brita

Guys, I am Bored of Brita. I am over it, and I am underwhelmed. I haven't seen anything from her that I've enjoyed! Her looks have been dull, she's not that funny, and I dont like the way she behaves (like I said with Aiden). She wont be next to go home, but hopefully she wont be long.

3. Crystal Methyd

STOP TRYING TO CHANGE CRYSTAL METHYD! I'm so sick of them going "oh her makeup is always the same", when it has been different each time!! She has a style and a brand, but it's not the same face!! Aiden Zhane does the same fucking face, none of them have picked that out! Loads of queens come in and they only have one face! Not mentioning any names Silky Nutmeg Ganache and Roxxxy Andrews. They got away with it because they were beauty mugs and that's the type of drag this show is biased towards. Crystal Methyd is an artist, let her do herself! That runway look was ugly though. Having said all that. Her face was gorgeous, I loved her makeup, I just thought that look wasnt very her! It didn't suit her somehow, it wasn't right. But she tried really hard during the improv, and I think she did a passable job! She honestly should have been safe, fight me. I just really hope she doesn't change herself to please the judges bc she has such a great vision and point of view, and I don't want her to lose sight of how great she is.

4. Dahlia Sin

Dahlia, Dahlia, Dahlia. Speaking of being underwhelmed, am I right? I had such high hopes for Dahlia, but this week she just didn't pull anything out. I personally think the fruit sketch was really funny, but it would have been exactly the same if Dahlia hadn't been in the group. She was so focused on being ~sexy~ (which is tough in a broccoli costume), that she forgot about everything else. Plus her bows and buttons look was just...odd. from the neck up it had this very avant garde, couture feel, but the outfit itself just looked unfinished. And then to have this weird arse peekaboo thing? Really weird choice. She deserved to be in the bottom and, after that lip sync, she deserved to go home.

I have seen a lot of posts about Dahlia "storming out", and I genuinely don't understand what they're talking about? Like, okay, she didn't say anything before she walked off, does that really constitute storming off? If she'd walked off while Ru was still talking, or if she'd yelled/screamed/sworn, then sure, maybe - but from what I saw she was just upset and wanted to leave as fast as possible. Idk, also they haven't released Untucked on the UK Netflix, so maybe there was more I didnt see.

5. Gigi Goode

I live for Gigi so much. I mean come on! Her character in the improv was passed out half the time and still had presence! She's so funny, and she's not afraid to let loose and get ugly. I think she did a good job in the improv, especially for someone without all that much experience, and her look on the runway was incredible. Solid 8/10 for Gigi this week.

6. Heidi N Closet

Heidi was robbed. I bought everything Heidi was selling this week. I bought it, I didn't stream it, I didn't rent it from the Netflix, I bought it. She was so funny during the challenge; the flipper? She spat out? Iconic. She had me dying the whole time, her, Jackie Cox and Gigi Goode should have their own series, I'd watch the hell out of it. Then she came bouncing down the runway as glitter Pinnochio, and she told that story about when she was at school and I loved every second! Shes so charming, and loveable, and relatable, and Jaida Essence Hall must have been gagged when she was top 2. She was robbed, she should have won, and she should keep her name! That whole thing with "the mouth has to change shape and it's not satisfying to say"? Bullshit, utter bullshit bitch. Heidi N Closet 4lyf.

7. Jackie Cox

Jackie made me so happy this week! Their whole group was hilarious, but Jackie doing the bad ventriloquist act just sent me, I loved it. And she just seems like the sweetest person as well! Her runway look was gorgeous, I loved the reference, her makeup was absolutely stunning, Jackie Cox is seriously the whole package. Her and Heidi should have been top 2 together.

8. Jaida Essence Hall

Jaida came in looking like a pageant queen, but she seriously flexed her comedy muscles this week! Her "bad apple" was hilarious, and she really committed to it! She was a firm leader in the group, but she was a good team player in the scene, she let everyone else have their moment too, and it was a good performance! I was a little bit disappointed that her runway look was very very similar to her spring mini challenge look from last week, but it was still a good look, and honestly I probably wouldnt have noticed if it hadn't been one episode after the other. She has shown a lot of diversity already, I think she just set the bar so high last week that I was really expecting something incredible, and I got something that was "just" good instead. She's still one to beat at the moment!

9. Jan

Jan made me so proud this week!! She was really funny in the skit, she had so much energy and enthusiasm, I loved it! Her jokes were funny, she picked a solid character and played it well, and can we talk about the runway though??? I really expected her to come out in something cute, because her personality is so bubbly and instead she gave me horror high fashion, monster couture and she Sold. Every. Second. It was a total transformation from the challenge to the runway and that, at the heart of it, is what I love about drag; that transformation aspect is just art to me. For me, Jan has it all. She definitely should have been top 3 this week. I think she's served the best runways so far, and I cannot wait to see what she does next week.

10. Nicky Doll

Okay, you guys know I love Nicky Doll. This week was not a good week for her. I appreciate that improv must be so hard in your second language, but I think she suffered a little bit from Dahlia Syndrome: she was so focused on staying pretty that she didn't really deliver anything. I kind of wish her character had literally just been French and spoke no English - part of the joke could have been that language barrier and Crystal/Window not understanding a word she said and her getting more and more frustrated about it. That could have been really funny. Also, her runway look...I know where she was going with it, it was a cool concept, and it was executed okay, there was just something missing, you know? It felt a little bit rushed, and again there was this real focus on being ~pretty~. Maybe if she'd looked a little more Cinderella ish, like her makeup wasn't perfect, and her hair was tied up like she was actually sewing, it would have sold me a little more character. I'm not sure, everything was just a little off for me this week, but I still think she's fierce af, and we all stumble sometimes. I'm looking forward to seeing her get back on her feet next week!

11. Rock M Sakura

Rock M was picked last for the challenge, I could not believe it. She deserved better than that, I was shook. She definitely picked the right group though, she was really funny as the Orange! She looked like she was having fun, and that's what I love about Rock M, is that I have fun watching her have fun. Her jokes were great, she matched Jan's energy, and I think she did a good job. I loved her runway look as well, the Alice in Wonderland concept was great, and I love that she kept the dress pretty simple so that the focus was on her hair and makeup! Her makeup was gorgeous, and the detail of the buttons on her face was stunning! It was a great concept, well executed, this week was a great week for Rock M, and I'm going to be furious if she gets picked last again.

12. Widow Von Du

Widow is getting The Edit. The edit that queens of colour who are talented get, where they paint them as bitchy, or loud, or as stepping on the other girls' toes; so that the audience isn't too pussed off when they get eliminated. Widow is exceedingly talented, and funny, and filled with personality. She also serves looks and delivers incredible performances. I will not let this edit take that away from her. She did great this week. She delivered everything I ordered in the challenge and more, she completely transformed for the runway, and she sold me a great presentation. Widow is definitely one to beat.