#rather than having to get like... 2 different collections for one whole season

[wp100]

well, i am now on my quest to collect every single pokemon season on DvD

Already snagged a Diamond & Pearl, Black & White and B/W Adventures in Unova. Off to a great start :)

[swan2swan]

Let's talk about what happened with Brookenji.

And no, I don't mean the fallout in Chaos Theory. I mean what happened in the original show. At least, what I believe happened. This is--mind you--total Conspiracy Board style speculation based on little pieces of evidence collected and gathered throughout my years looking into behind-the-scenes stuff and following social media. It would really help if I could find one particularly tweet, but I think it was deleted either in anticipation of spoilers or just because he regularly deletes them.

But...here's the one responsible for that:

Xi.

Xi was the Original Ben, as you can see. Young and nervous. While Ben was...

Well. Ben. Big Ben. But obviously the jock character. The tall, smarmy, rich white guy.

You may be able to see where this is going, but I submit this evidence to you from my memory, and you'll just have to trust me:

One of the showrunners of Camp Cretaceous tweeted ages ago (Season 1-2, well before Season 4 and the Nonsense), tweeted about how there's a disappointing lack of Asian romantic leads in media.

And you know what? He's right. Very much so! Think of ten major tentpole movies from the past thirty years and pull a Japanese, Korean, Chinese, or Vietnamese romantic lead. No, no, no, not the women! The men. An Asian man.

"Oh, well, Shang Chi--" no. Don't get cute.

The fact is, it's just...not a thing that happens. And I think one of the goals with Camp Cretaceous was to change that. Just like they struck ground with Yaz and Sammy being an interracial wlw romance in a children's cartoon, they were gonna put an Asian dude in the romantic partner position.

By now, you obviously see where this is going...and what happened:

If Xi had remained the scared kid, he would have fallen from the train. He would have grown in the jungle and emerged as a wild child. He would have an mmensely different feel in Season 3 where he was breaking away from the group and determining to stay on the island...until the end, when he bonded with the group.

And that is when Brooklynn--or Jules, rather--would have suddenly taken interest in him. Xi and Jules, the wild kid and the rich girl. It would be cute!

But they changed things and took them in a different direction--possibly pretty close to the time the show started. Which meant that the whole first half of the show barely had any setup planned for Kenji and Brooklynn, as they were now known...and they didn't really want to go with Ben and Brooklynn. Especially with how strong the dynamics between Ben and Bumpy and Ben and Darius became.

But they still had to set up the Brookenji romance, and the plans for OG Ben and his Rich Dad to shatter the group dynamic suddenly had to adjust...and you know what? Throwing the romantic strain into it was a pretty good idea! Not bad! But...with the timing of his arrival, the writers only had one season left to them. So they had to jam it all into one season, because there was a little race-swapping done at the last minute that wound up being super-crucial to the endgame.

And personally?

As messy as Brookenji was, I think it was better for them not to remain rigidly focused Xi-Jules and turn it into Ben-Brooklynn. While it would have neatly paired off everyone for the final seasons--Ben and Brooklynn having their Rich Girl/Wild Child romance, Kenji and Darius having their Friends-to-Brothers arc as Kenji betrays the group for his dad (SEE HOW SMOOTHLY THAT WORKS, TOO?), and Yaz and Sammy...well, you know...I think I like what we got with Ben a lot more.

But you can see how the original plan of broad strokes would have been a lot smoother. Turned out that the characters evolved more than planned. And obviously they could have stuck with the Kenji/Darius focus being the main fallout of the group...but that also sort of leaves Brooklynn high and dry with regards to the plot. What's she got left? Though, also...looking back on those seasons...even her romance with Kenji didn't do much for her. Probably because it wasn't really supposed to be a thing. We don't know what the plans for Jules were in the original script, but when those got ditched (PRESUMABLY. THIS IS ALL ME SPECULATING!!!), they had to scramble with her. Maybe she was supposed to have more parental issues. I dunno.

But whatever the truth is, I do still maintain that Kenji was written to be a romantic guy with that in mind. Listening to Brooklynn's color preferences, feeling awkward, being protective...eck, he even kept that rizz through to the new series:

But the bottom line is that Kenji isn't Xi. He didn't have the growth that was planned for Xi, which would have tsngentially influenced Brooklynn/Jules's sudden interest in him.

This is also one of the consequences that comes with having shows compressed and rushed so much in the modern era. If we'd been getting filler episodes over the seasons, they might have been able to start building Kenji and Brooklynn up during the E750 arc, if not sooner.

NOTE: I'm not sure what the scripting and planning timetables were with this show. But from what I've gathered, the characters were swapped well after the conceptual stages. And they made it work! There's still a coherent story! I think the sloppiness just came because they had to hurriedly change tracks on some parts, and we noticed.

[ijustwanttoreadfanfiction]

Dirty Dancing

Jim Hopper x AFAB! Reader One day I'll write a story which actually has strange things happening but today is not that day. Bob didn't die, Eleven closed the rift at the end of Season 2 everyone is happy, leave me alone. I'm a Jopper fan 'til I die, but not for the purposes of this. Set 1987 - Jim is approx 44/45, reader is approx 30/31.

Warnings: Swearing, p in v sex, lots of references to Hopper's size, creampie, multiple orgasms, slightly rough Hopper, cock bulging, age gap, nicknames - baby, babygirl.

_______________________________________________

Jim has been oddly detached and quiet since yesterday evening. The stars had aligned along with your busy schedules and you’d managed to have a rare date night, going to the movies to watch ‘Dirty Dancing'. You thought he had enjoyed it, seeming engrossed rather than trying to get under the skirt of your dress like normal, but when you asked him what he thought on the drive home he simply shrugged and went to bed.

The following morning he’s still in his funk, not saying a word, departing for work with a distracted kiss to your cheek, a far cry from his usual passionate goodbyes that often left him running late and you in a state of undress.

His attitude bothers you all the way to the Diner.

“How was date night?” Donna asks you cautiously when you arrive, instantly noticing the way you fling your purse to the side and how you punch your card in with slightly more force than necessary.

“Well, I thought it went great, I really enjoyed the movie, evidently Jim’s experience of the evening was vastly different.” You rant, trying to tie up your apron, before giving up, elbows resting on the counter, head bowed in frustration.

“He didn’t like it?”

“I’m guessing he didn’t, but how would I know? He’s barely said two words to me.” You mumble despondently, the whole thing has left you feeling rattled, you and Jim fought plenty but you’d never been given the cold shoulder without a good reason. Donna opens her mouth to speak but is interrupted by Joyce coming in to collect her usual lunch order to share with Bob.

“Hey! How was the date ni-?” She greets you excitedly, cutting off at the look on your face, and Donna’s frantic shaking of her head. “What happened?”

“Jim hasn’t spoken to her since the movie.” Donna stage whispers, hastily departing to wipe down tables at your glare. 

“Hop’s not talking to you?” Joyce asks in concern, sitting on one of the vinyl stools.

“Apparently not.” You grunt, making up Bob’s sandwich.

“Did you have an argument?”

“No, we went out, we watched ‘Dirty Dancing’ then he was just off with me and still is.” You snap, knife ripping through the slice of bread you had been buttering, Joyce reaches across taking your shaking hand in hers. “Sorry Joyce, I didn’t mean to -” You trail off gesturing at her apologetically, she gives you a small understanding smile in return.

“Bob and I went to see ‘Dirty Dancing’ last week, and I think I know what’s bothering Hop - he feels old.” She says softly.

“Old?” You ask, feeling lost.

“Sweetie, you gotta remember Hopper, and I -” She adds with a slight wince, “- we were in our twenties in the sixties, the stuff they do in the film, the dances, we were doing that years ago. I think maybe it’s made him feel his age.”

“That's ridiculous! You and Jim aren’t old.” You say laughing.

“But we’re not young either, certainly not as young as you” She reminds you gently.

When you and Hopper had started dating a year ago it sent shockwaves through Hawkins, which was ironic considering all the other crazy shit that had happened, kids going missing left, right and center, secret government lab, literal demon creatures crawling out of the ground. Oh no, all that was nothing compared to the chief of police dating a woman 14 years his junior, 29 to his 43 at the time, never mind that you were a fully consenting adult, and you were the one that had pursued him.

Jim couldn’t for the life of him work out why ‘a sweet young thing like you’ could ever want ‘a grumpy, fat, miserable, old guy like him’, you couldn’t give him a proper answer, all you knew was that you loved him and there wasn’t a single thing he could do or say that would change your mind.

"So what should I do to make him feel less old?” You ask Joyce somewhat desperately.

“I might have a suggestion.” She grins wickedly, leaning in close.

_______________________________________________

The plan was in place. Jane was staying at Max’s for another evening.You had primped and prepped yourself, wearing a dress not too dissimilar from Penny’s red halterneck in the film. The wine was poured, a couple of glasses already consumed for Dutch courage, you’d thrown pieces of coloured cloth over the table lamps to give the cabin an orange-reddish glow, and finally you had one of Jim’s favorites from his vinyl collection queued up and ready; Solomon Burke’s Rock ‘N Soul. You wring your hands nervously upon hearing the truck pull up outside, straightening out your dress, and quickly rechecking your hair in the small mirror on the wall as Jim tiredly trudges in toeing his boots off without looking at you.

“Hey baby, sorry I’m a little late Callahan screwed up a report and I -” He trails off finally glancing up at you, brows creased slightly in confusion, as he surveys you and the cabin. “ - what’s all this?” 

“I know what’s been bothering you since yesterday, and I want you to know that I understand why, and I want to help.” You say softly, approaching him, going up on bare tiptoes to kiss him gently. He returns the kiss eagerly albeit somewhat surprised, a large hand coming up to cup your cheek.

“Baby, I'm at a loss here.” He murmurs against your lips, but allows you to pull him by his belt to the centre of the room nonetheless.

“Joyce said the film last night might have made you feel - nostalgic, and I want to show you that you’re not down and out just yet Jim Hopper.” You purr, leaning away to put the record on, Cry to Me filling the room. “Dance with me?” You ask quietly, unable to keep the pleading edge out of your voice.

Jim lets out a shaky breath, as you loop your arms around his neck, your height difference making him lean down slightly, chest to chest, his strong hands splayed across the top and small of your back.

You weren’t one hundred percent sure how to move so you simply rocked your hips, letting the music take control, running your fingers through the hair at the nape of Jim’s neck. He sighs softly, eyes closing at your touch, and you smile as you feel him start to move along with you. You experimentally lean back, pressing into his grip, he follows you lips tracing against your throat, before bringing you close again. You’re both smiling now, swaying more, his pelvis flush with yours, grinding against each other. You unbutton his police shirt, the fabric falling forgotten to the floor, leaving him in just a tight white vest, hands wandering again tracing his muscles stopping just shy of crotch. 

“Tease.” He rumbles.

“Not teasing baby, just dancing.” You say sweetly.

Jim’s touch snakes from the small of your back to the flesh of your ass, gripping firmly, using his hold to hook one of your legs up, slotting his broad thigh into the gap, smirking wickedly when you gasp at the pressure against your clit, the material of your panties shifting with Jim’s movements.

“Hop -” You sigh dreamily, as he uses his strength to rock you back and forth.

“This is how we used to do it in the good old days, baby.” He says, voice gravelly. “You’d hold your best girl tight, dancing nice and close.” He grips you harder for emphasis, dress half bunched up around your waist, fingers digging into the soft swell of your ass.

“I’m your best girl?” You ask softly, clinging onto his shoulders, gyrating slightly as your head falls back.

Jim lifts you up suddenly, your legs automatically locking around his thick hips, breath catching in your throat at the look of desire in his eyes. 

“My best everything.” He whispers before bringing you to his lips in a searing kiss, tongue licking languidly into your mouth. You reach up, pulling at the straps of your halterneck until they come undone, the dress slipping past your bare breasts. Hopper groans, nipping at your earlobe, your jaw line, your throat, you can feel his hardness pressed to your center straining against his slacks.

He carries you to the bedroom, lowering you gently to the bed, pupils blown wide as he steps back to watch you pull the dress off your lower half, taking your panties with it, leaving your glistening core on display.

“Shit baby, I am one lucky son of a bitch.” He breathes, yanking his vest over his head, you crawl towards him on your knees, unbuckling his belt, both of you working with frantic hands to get his pants and underwear down.

Jim wraps his arms around you again, manhandling you with ease to rest against the pillows, his large frame dwarfing you. Your kisses are messy, verging on desperation, hands petting each other heavily, hips bucking with need. 

He rubs his thick cock over your dripping slit, and you let out a soft moan, back arching up into his strong chest, nipples peaked and sensitive.

“This all for me, baby girl?” He hums, grinning as you nod wordlessly, rocking the swollen head of his dick against your aching pussy, slipping in just an inch before pulling back again.

“Don’t tease me Jim.” You pout, hands on his ass trying to bring him closer.

“Not teasing baby, just dancing.” He coos smugly, filling you with a single thrust that has you crying out, cunt clenching at the delicious stretch.

His hips are flush to your own, the coarse hairs at the base of his cock tickling against your clit, heavy balls slapping your ass with each drag and hit. Hopper is marking up the delicate skin of your neck with multiple hickies, like you’re teenagers, the harsh suck and gentle soothing lick sends you higher, a fresh surge of wetness coating his cock in a ring of cream.

“I can feel you squeezing me baby.” He growls, muscular arm braced against the headboard, driving him harder and deeper into your fluttering cunt.

“Hop!” You squeak, unable to do anything other than grip his shoulders, anchoring you to him through the onslaught of pounding thrusts. You feel your slick dribbling out, pussy squelching obscenely, being made to fit around Jim’s hard length.

“You gonna cum for me baby girl?” He asks, panting, the large hand that was gripping your hip moving to stroke over your swollen clit. 

“J-Jim…” You whine brokenly, orgasm rushing through you like a flash-flood, wrapping your legs around his hips again, cock hitting you relentlessly.

“Yes - shit - so good, my best girl.” He groans, flipping you suddenly so you’re on top, limp like a rag doll as Jim squeezes your hips in a bruising hold, rutting up into you. “You’re getting my balls wet baby.” He chuckles, voice strained, you can only whimper, nails digging into his chest, back arched, skin covered in a light sheen of sweat.

He sits up, strong arms wrapped tight around your back, jackhammering his cock so deep you feel your belly concave with the bulge. You’re keening into his mouth, tongues sliding against each other, your stomach tightening again with a telltale warmth.

“Jim - I’m - oh my god.” You stammer weakly, foreheads pressed together.

“That’s it baby girl cum with me, let me fill you up.” He says roughly, grunting as you clamp and spasm around his cock once more, drawing out his own release, spurting thick heavy loads deep within you.

There’s a vague ringing in your ears, and you register that the record has long stopped playing, the only sound in the cabin being your light gasps and Jim’s staggered breathing. He kisses you tenderly, as he pulls out, dick twitching at the sight of his seed dripping from your puffy cunt.

“I love you so much baby.” He murmurs, cradling your face, laying back against the pillows, with you still sprawled listless on top of him. 

“I love you Jim.” You smile blissfully, pressing kiss after kiss to his lips. 

“Sorry for being a grump.” He sighs.

“Hop - I don’t care how old you are, I’d have loved you when you were twenty, and I’ll love you just as much as I do now when you’re sixty.” You say sincerely, giggling when he grimaces at the word ‘sixty’. “There’s no one else I’ll ever want.”

“You keep saying sweet things like that, we’ll be dancing again.” He warns, hands slipping down to squeeze your ass.

“Sure you don’t need a rest, old man?” You tease, choking on a moan, as Jim presses his rock hard cock back into your tight wet heat. 

“You’re in for it now baby girl.”

_______________________________________________

[linkspooky]

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: "HALLOWEEN"

The next episode in my episode by episode analysis of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, showing how individual episodes fit into the themes of the seasons they're a part of and the series as a whole. This is the first of several Halloween episodes that use the holiday to take a deeper look into the fears of the characters, and the costumes they wear not just on Halloween but every day in their normal lives.

1. Janus

The central theme of the episode revolves around the roman god Janus. Giles helpfully explains for us here.

Giles: Janus. Roman mythical god. Willow: What does this mean? Giles: Primarily the division of self. Male and female, light and dark. Ethan: (appears) Chunky and creamy. Oh, no, sorry, that's peanut butter.

Janus is the god of beginnings, transitions, dualities, and oorways. He's a two-faced god as shown in the idol that Ethan Rayne uses to cast his spell. More specifically he is the god of doors, the gates of an ancient building in Rome are named after him. As the god of Doors, he represents the middle ground between concrete and abstract dualities. Male/ Female, Light/Dark and Chunky and Creamy. These things are traditionally thought to be two abstract categories but the closer you look at them the more fuzzy the boundary line between them becomes.

A Binary Opposition is a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning, where two opposites are strictly defined against one another. Up is defined as being the opposite of down. These are considered to be strict categories that are mutually exclusive from one another.

However, these sets can be seen as complementary forces, rather than contradictory to one another. You can't understand one without understanding the other. An example is one cannot conceive of 'good' if we do not understand 'evil'. These pairs which are seen as distinct opposites are actually complementary pairs which are needed to define each other.

Dualism, is the key word of this episode every single character in this episode has two faces. They are representing two sides of themselves, one is the face they wear on their everyday lives, the other is their hidden side that they only have the confidence to show on Halloween. Which one is the mask, and which is the real face that's first asked this episode and repeated again later on in the series.

The basic premise of this episode is that on Halloween you have the confidence to dress in a way you wouldn't normally dress for the rest of your life. This quote from a completely different show the Venture Bros does a good job of explaining it.

Orpheus: This is a night of true magic. Halloween is the night we discover who we are. Are wepeople who make zombie armies? Are we those who condemn others, or are we beautiful children in resplendent costumes collecting candy? Are our choices in costumes provocative? Do we dress up as our ideal self? Or are we not ready to decide who we want to be? We use this one enchanted night to perform the greatest feat of magic there is. We become ourselves. Halloween is the true magic it is the night we discover who we really are.

For Buffy this means dressing like a normal girl, for Xander it's dressing up like a more traditionally masculine tough guy soldier, and for Willow it's dressing a little slutty (until she loses confidence to do that).

Not only does each costume choice inform us about the characters, the characters are physically flipped. As a result of the spell making the halloween costumes flesh, the characters insides become their outsides and their outsides become their insides. I'll be breaking them down character by character down blow.

2. Willow: The Ghost Girl

Willow's costume for the night is based on that old joke that girls dress up sluttier on Halloween because it's the one night of the year they're allowed to get away from it without being judged.

Buffy: What'd you get? Willow: A time-honored classic! (holds up a ghost costume) Buffy: Okay, Will, can I give you a little friendly advice? Willow: It's not spooky enough? Buffy: It's just... you're never gonna get noticed if you keep hiding. You're missing the whole point of Halloween. Willow: (smiles) Free candy? Buffy: It's come as you aren't night. The perfect chance for a girl to get sexy and wild with no repercussions. Willow: Oh, I don't get wild. Wild on me equals spaz. Buffy: Don't underestimate yourself. You've got it in you.

Buffy mentions that Willow is hiding, which is an interesting word to use here because you could say that shy, introverted Willow spends most of her life hiding from the spotlight. Just a few episodes ago Willow's choice of outfit to wear for the school dance in Inca Mummy Girl is emblematic of this behavior, on a night she can wear anything she chooses to wear a giant snow parka that hides most of her body. To a dance which she was hoping Xander would ask her to, and got jealous when he noticed another girl (the mummy girl) and asked her to the dance instead.

Willow is made up of these two contradictory desires. She wants to stay out of the spotlight, but she wants to be noticed as well. Unlike most of the pairs we're going to discuss in this post these two things are mutually exclusive. As Buffy points out "You're never going to get noticed if you keep hiding."

Male and female don't contradict each other, you can be both male and female because male and female are just made up categories that are more ambiguous than most people believe them to be. However, you can't get noticed if you're hiding yourself, because well you're hidden. It's a having your cake and eating it too sort of deal.

Perhaps reflecting how contradictory and complicated Willow's core desires are, she's the only one dressed up as two different costumes. She at first dresses in the more revealing costume Buffy suggests, but then hides it with a traditional white bedsheet ghost costume. Willow is dressed up as two different things because she wants to have it both ways. Giles even comments on the confusing nature of her costume.

Giles: (confused) A-and, uh, your, your costume? Willow: I'm a ghost! Giles: Yes. Um... w, uh, uh, uh, the ghost of what, exactly?

Willow wants to be noticed for who she is, and in general be the kind of self-confident person that Buffy seems to be so naturally, but she's constantly sabotaged by her fear of judgement. When people notice you they will judge you whether you want them to or not. It's not a coincidence that Willow dresses up in costumes again and again, in story. Wearing costumes / theatre / performance is a recurring motife for her, you see Willow's got a bad case of stage fright.

In the first episode where characters deal with their deepest fears, S1E10 Nightmares, Willow's nightmare is being forced to perform the opera Madame Butterfly on stage in front of everyone when she doesn't know the lines.

STAGE MANAGER: Man, I thought you weren't going to show. Aldo's beside himself. M. C.'S VOICE: Ladies and Gentlemen, we are proud to present two of the world's greatest singers… STAGE MANAGER: I hope you're warmed up. It's an ugly crowd. All the reviewers showed up. M.C.'S VOICE …all the way from Firenze, Italy, the one and only Aldo Gianfranco… The stage manager drags Willow to the curtain. She peers out to see: WILLOW'S POV - A RATHER LARGE AUDIENCE is waiting. Willow backs away from the curtain, starting to hyperventilate. M.C.'S VOICE… and all the way from Sunnydale, California, the world's finest soprano, Willow Rosenberg! WILLOW: But… I didn't learn the words…

As I said performance is a recurring motie for her character. The definition of a motif is a distinctive feature or dominant idea in an artistic or literary composition. Willow's character revolves around the idea of theatre and performnace it just keeps coming up with her, later on in the dream symbolism episode of Season 4 "Restless" Willow is once again forced to step up on stage when she doesn't know the lines. Her dream is once again showing up to the first day of drama class only to learn that everyone is putting on a production of Death of Salesman with a cowboy in it, and she doesn't know any of the lines. Giles also has this to say about acting and the word "hiding" is brought up again.

GILES: Acting is not about behaving, it's about hiding. The audience wants to find you, strip you naked, and eat you alive, so hide. GILES: Now, costumes, sets, um, the things that you, uh, you know, uh, you, um... you hold them, you touch them, uh, use them, um... HARMONY: Props? GILES: No. RILEY: Props? GILES: Yes! (Points at Riley) It's all about subterfuge. (To Harmony) That's very annoying. (To everyone) Now go on out there, lie like dogs, and have a wonderful time. Now, if we can stay in focus, keep our heads, and if Willow can stop stepping on everyone's cues, I know this'll be the best production of "Death of a Salesman".

Willow's dream also has this repeating line, said by many different characters.

BUFFY: (to Willow) Your costume is perfect. (Whispers) Nobody's gonna know the truth. You know, about you. WILLOW: (bemused) Costume? BUFFY: (pouting) You're already in character! Oh, I shoulda done that! [...] BUFFY: (straightens up) Play is long over. (Stares at Willow) Why are you still in costume? WILLOW: Okay, still having to explain wherein this is just my outfit. (Gesturing to her clothes) BUFFY: Willow, everybody already knows. Take it off.

People constantly refer to Willow as being "in costume" when she's just wearing her normal everyday clothes. Giles says that acting is just the art of lying and hiding who you are in front of everybody, and Willow's default behavior is to always hide in the shadows. Willow's everyday self is just as much of a costume as the costume she wears on Halloween.

You would be forgiven for thinking Willow is not as layered or interesting a character as Buffy until the midpoint of season 2 because she really doesn't get much focus in Season 1, with I Tarzan You Jane being the only real episode that centers around her. She doesn't seem to be anything other than the standard shy best friend / sidekick to the more self-confident main character girl. However that's yet another role Willow plays, because as someone who fears the spotlight, Willow has a tendency to hide in Buffy's shadow.

Willow is a shy introverted teen girl with low self-esteem who's basically only had one friend her entire life, until Buffy suddenly drops into her life in high school. Willow's life suddenly became "special" because Buffy was there and Buffy is special. She transforms from a geek with a few computer skills to a literal magic witch in later seasons. Buffy is the "chosen one" but Buffy chose Willow as her best friend in the first episode when she could have chosen Cordelia. Willow's compromise for wanting the spotlight for herself but being too afraid of it is to cling to Buffy instead, Willow isn't special but she becomes special by being Buffy's friends.

That's why this is the first episode where Willow starts to become her own character so to speak, because when Buffy is rendered useless by the spell into a typical damsel the role of leadership for the group falls onto Willow. When Willow is forced to take charge she's shown to be perfectly capable of doing so as long as Buffy's not around (she also stands up to Giles in Reptile Lizard Boy, and asserts herself more and more later on this season) so the problem isn't really that Willow's not capable of taking charge but she's not usually confident enough to. This is the first episode where Willow becomes the protagonist and Buffy the supporting character.

It's something that will happen again and again later on, Willow attempting to fill in Buffy's shoes. The season 3 opening she makes a pun and tries to stake a vampire the way Buffy does only to fail miserably. When Buffy is gone in season 6, Willow becomes the default head of the group. Willow is always in Buffy's shadow, but she's also shown to be perfectly capable of stepping out of that shadow on several occasions, it's just Willow herself who chooses to stay there.

Which really goes to show how deep Willow's fears and insecurities run. Willow is a hacker, she's smart enough to get into any college she wants, and yet Willow's opinion of herself is abysmally low, she's cripplingly afraid of what other people think of her.

Except on Halloween, the one special night you can choose to dress up like a slut and get away with it judgement free.

2. Buffy: The Normal Girl

While Willow gets to play the hero for the night, Buffy gets to be the damsel-in-distress being rescued by others instead of doing the rescuing. Buffy's desire to be a normal girl and how being the slayer keeps her from a normal life where all she has to worry about is which boy she's going to the dance with is a long running theme with her character, but there are some interesting themes with gender going on with Buffy and Xander's characters this episode.

The central "idea" of Buffy is that Buffy as a blonde high schooler would usually be the first victim in a horror movie, the girl running away from the slasher but instead she's the thing monsters run away from. Certain episodes play with this idea by changing her back to her more traditional role and show just how weird and out of character that is for Buffy. This episode she's practically helpless for the entire episode. There's an episode in season 3 where she loses her powers as the slayer, and spends the entire episode losing all confidence in herself because she lacks the strength to fight back against monsters and other men and is made to feel like a victim. In Season 5 there's "Superstar" where Jonathan makes himself the main character of Buffy by using magic to turn the world into his self-insert fanfic, and despite still being around Buffy acts more like a sidekick or "The chick" of the group despite the fact she's supposed to be the slayer.

Buffy is a girl in a main character role that's usually given to guys. It's a thing both the writers and audience are aware of. It shouldn't be weird that the chosen one is a girl, and yet because of the gender imbalance in fiction it sort of is. That's why characters sometimes ask questions like "How come there aren't any boy slayers?"

However, Buffy being a female character occupying a role usually reserved for main characters is also commented upon in universe by the males in her life. Xander's season 1 arc is him dealing with the fact that Buffy is not the love interest to his story and doesn't conform to his desires of her and accepting her as a friend. Xander gets a flash of that tendency of his rearing its ugly head again when Xander gets mad at Buffy for standing up to him when a jock was about to beat him up, because it'd apparently be better to be beaten up then saved by a girl.

Buffy always wants to be a normal girl, but I think it's important to see in this episode why she wants to dress like a princess from the 1800s this episode. It comes from two of the men in her life making her insecure about her femininity. Xander by complaining about a girl rescuing him, and Angel's lack of attention making her believe she needs to act more like the type of girl that he would be into. Buffy's not just trying to dress up as a normal girl this episode but the kind of girl that would be worthy of angel's attention. What she thinks he wants in a girl.

ANGEL: I don't get it Buffy. Why did you think I'd like you better dressed that way? BUFFY: I - I just wanted to be a real girl, for once. The kind of fancy girl you liked when you were my age.

While Angel says that he likes the kind of exciting girl Buffy is now far better, I think it says something about both Angel and Xander that the kind of girl Buffy thinks they want her to be is someone helpless.

XANDER: You're sure she came this way? ANGEL: No. CORDELIA: She'll be okay. ANGEL: BUFFY would be okay. Whoever she is now, she's helpless. Come on.

Which I think says a lot about Buffy that number one being who she is, disqualifies her from being a "real" girl. There's the fact that she naturally as the slayer sees herself as always existing outside of the crowds watching other people live their lives and protecting them while she can't live hers. However, on top of that she somehow associates the experience of being a "Real" girl with powerlessness and depending on someone else. That being more traditionally feminine somehow goes hand in hand with weakness. Girls are after all traditionally the victims in horror movies, and when Buffy is playing the role of hero she can't be a victim.

Which is you know a whole can of worms, but also effective foreshadowing for the second half of the season. Season 2 is so well-written because there are so many red flags for what is going to happen in the midway twist, and yet the characters drive straight past them. The foreshadowing in this episode being that "normal girl" or "princess Buffy" isn't just scared of vampires and everything that moves, she's also scared of Angel despite Cordelia's insistence he's one of the good guy vampires.

BUFFY: (Re: Angel) He's… he's a vampire! CORDELIA: (to Angel) She's got this thing where she thinks - ah, forget it. (humoring her) It's okay. Angel is… a good vampire. He'd never hurt you. BUFFY: He - really?

Cordelia saying Angel is a good vampire who'd never hurt her sounds awfully ominous knowing that Angel becomes the main antagonist of this season.

It's not a coincidence either that the traditional proper kind of girl that Buffy dresses up as looks almost exactly like Drusilla, even wearing a brown wig to match her hair color. Angel even says at the end of this episode that he hated the kind of girl that Buffy dressed up when he was a teenager, and then details to Buffy in the next episode his obsession with corrupting Drusilla's purity.

Buffy like Willow fails to reconcile these two opposing sides of her. She can't be a normal girl if she's the slayer. She can't be a real girl if she's strong enough to make the men in her life feel insecure. It's almost like being a girl is yet another costume, a performance you make in front of an audience and Buffy feels like she's doing that badly. Not only that but men are continually making her feel that way too, either by being completely emotionally unavailable like Angel, or by getting mad at her like Xander for refusing to conform to her expectations.

Ironically, the only man to show a clear preference for Buffy's normal self in the episode is Spike who films her and praises her at the beginning for her strength as a slayer. Then towards the end, when given the opportunity to kill her as the helpless damsel Spike spends way too long lingering on it instead of just snapping her neck, almost as if waiting for her to return to being her usual self.

ON SPIKE & BUFFY: As he looks around him to see that his MINIONS are all SCARED LITTLE TRICK-ORTREATERS (and two high school students). The realization sinks in - and he looks at his hand. It's still holding Buffy's wig, buther head isn't in it. He looks back at Buffy. She's smiling. BUFFY: Hi Honey. I'm home. And she LETS LOOSE on him. All the pent-up rage and frustration from her last defenseless hours comes pouring out. A series of BRUTAL KICKS and PUNCHES send him to the ground. She lifts him back to his feet BUFFY:You know what? It's good to be me.

As Spike is acting as both Buffy's mortal enemy and shadow self, his reluctance to kill her when she's not herself and respect for her real self goes hand in hand with Buffy's self-acceptance when she changes back. Buffy does like and accept her power, and feels confident in that fact, but often represses that side of herself because women aren't really supposed to be confident in themselves in that way. Buffy's desire to be strong and to accept her strength and make it hers is therefore repressed to please the other people in her life and so she can pass off as normal and that repressed aspect of herself manifests in Spike, her shadow self's admiration for that same power.

Spike is even the one who tears off her costume reverting her back to her real self.

The other men in the episode also learn to appreciate the real Buffy after spending the entire episode dealing with the annoying damsel version of her, but they have to learn that lesson where Spike is the only one praising her for her abilities from the start. Because Spike is the shadow self, he's Buffy's self reflection whereas Xander and Angel represent the judgement of other people on her.

One last thing I would like to say is that both sides of Buffy are real, both the normal girl and the slayer. I think there's something deeply sad about this episode that implies that there's a screaming girl inside of Buffy, who does feel scared and helpless in the face of the monsters in her life but she can never allow herself to feel that fear because she has to be strong. The scared little girl half of Buffy is just as real as the strong, self-confident pun-making slayer.

3. Xander: Soldier Guy

This is going to be the shortest section, because Xander, but I would like to note that as a character Xander works best when you realize he basically has no proper masculine role models in his life. His father is abusive, Giles makes it clear he doesn't like him, there's no one at home or school to demonstrate what a normal and healthy adult man acts like.

Teenage boys like Xander don't grow up in a vaccuum, and Xander acts the way he does towards Buffy not out of malice, but out of a deep seeded insecurity. Xander, like Willow is worried about what other people will think. It's better to be beaten up by a school jock then to be rescued by a girl not because he thinks Buffy should be weak, but because he thinks other people will think he is weak.

When Xander's not worrying about what other people think, he's shown to be perfectly fine with having mostly female friends and not dating any of them. Xander is almost as much of a victim of gendered expectations of the people around him as Buffy is. Xander is insecure about the fact that he's not performing the role of a man correctly, the same way that Buffy thinks she's not being a girl correctly.

If Willow is perfectly capable of being a leader and being self confident like Buffy is but usually hides in the shadow, Xander is perfectly capable of being brave. He doesn't need to be soldier guy or to carry a gun because he will jump right into danger alongside Buffy like it's no big deal. The only person who thinks it's a big deal is Xander, because he's suffering under the societal expectation that he needs to be physically strong.

It's like Xander thinks there is an imaginary checklist of things he needs to have to be a proper man and he feels insecure when he doesn't have them. He needs to date a girlfriend in high school. He needs to be the physically strongest. He has an incorrect expectation informed by the society around him. It's not weird that Buffy is the main character and hero, but people think it's weird because the main character usually would have been Xander. The normal high school boy in any other story would hvae turned out to be the chosen one and the girl he liked would have started like him back, but Buffy is not that story.

Xander doesn't need to be soldier boy because he's always someone who will fight by Bufy's die, but just like BUffy and Willow the only time he feels confident enough to dress up like Solider Boy is Halloween.

[lolzitop]

I passed my finals and am free from the prison that they call school (for a few weeks) so time to continue my AiStars Rewrite because I am better than Bandai

(also I am prone to forgetting things so if I repeat information from the last post,,,, just be patient w/ me please 😭)

Season 1 (continued???)

Main characters as usual are Yume, Koharu, Rola, Mahiru, Ako, and Haruka Ruka 

I said that S4 only had Yuzu, Yozora, and Tsubasa but we’re changing that– Lily now is also part of S4 and takes Hime’s spot since,, yk,,, Hime’s missing 

Hime disappeared a while before the S4 Selection (so she was there for her second year at FSA and was in S4 for one year, but is not there for her third year when the series takes place) 

Hime disappeared after an S4 concert (the same one that Yume and Koharu attend to in Episode 1 of AiStars)-- and Yume was the last person to see her (and the rainbow power was accidentally given to her here idk how just bear with me) 

Anyways uhhhhh what else 

Brands in the rewrite aren’t under a specific type; they don’t fall under cute, cool, sexy, pop coords specifically (so they can make coords that vary in types) and idols can choose what coord they want based on their preferred idol type 

We’re deleting that one FSA rule where you can’t make a brand if you’re not in S4 because I think that’s lame and stupid and doesn’t do much for the plot anyways 

So some characters still have the same brands (Lily w/ Gothic Victoria, Yozora w/ Romance Kiss, Yuzu w/ Shiny Smile) but some don’t 

Ako, for example, uses a brand that’s story themed– this brand is heavily connected with a film production agency and the agency and brand correlate stories (like if the brand released an Alice in Wonderland collection, the film agency would then release a movie based on Alice in Wonderland) 

I wanted to lean more into Ako’s acting side and thought this would be a good fit 

Haruka Ruka uses a brand called “DECO●LOUR MY WORLD” that follows a decora and candy concept

Oh and she’s also the princess of this land called “E-Magi Nation” (pronounced “imagination”) and everyone thinks she’s putting up a persona because there’s no land called the E-Magi Nation silly! Except no she’s dead serious she’s a literal princess from the E-Magi Nation and her home palace is actually made of gingerbread and candy canes thank you for asking 

Romance Kiss’ official concept says that its a “brand that travels around the world” and takes inspiration from different ethnic cultures, so I was thinking this brand would have a whole bunch of branches in different parts of the world with different top designers and such– Yozora (and later Mahiru) is the top designer of the Japan branch 

The muse of Romance Kiss is in charge of representing the different cultures of the brand 

The school coords in Four Star Academy also has various silhouettes rather than the typical “different tops- same skirts and shoes” pattern 

Here’s an example with an Ako Star Coord I designed 

(I didn’t design anyone else guys I don’t have any ideas I tried with Hime and it was a disaster so please be nice about the Ako design I tried my best) 

Also people can enter the magic fitting room thingie (I forgot what its called HELP) by using their Aikatsu mobile instead of their Aikatsu pass because idk I thought it’d be cool I’m not too sure about this idea though

Lets move on from most of the plot points and go to the end of the season 1 where the S4 Selection happens because I forgot SOOOO many things!! Yay me!

In Wind Dance, Haruka Ruka loses to Yuzu (but since everyone in S4 is a third year including Yuzu, Haruka Ruka gets the spot for S4 next year) 

In Bird Theatre, Ako wins the spot for S4 by beating Tsubasa 

In Moon Beauty, Mahiru beats Yozora and inherits the muse position from Yozora

Its here where Yozora announces that she’s taking a hiatus from being an idol to focus on being a designer (for Romance Kiss) (guys I need reasons to get the 25th S4 Gen out of Season 2 okay bear with me) 

In Flower Song, Lily wins over Rola and Yume,,, however, Rola wins over Yume and gets the S4 spot; Yume becomes Flower Song Class’ admin

TLDR: basically Rola, Ako, Mahiru, and Haruka Ruka are the 26th generation of S4 and are the S4 for Season 2, Mahiru (or Ako I’m not sure) becomes the leader for S4 and we say goodbye to our previous generation of S4 

Oh and Hime shows up at the finale! But like in a super mysterious way where we know its her but no one sees her and she’s just quietly lurking and its basically a hint to her being in the next season

Season 2

Ohohohohoho here’s the fun part 

OKay SO 

The top idol Hime Shiratori has shown up to Four Star Academy… with the Perfect Idol Elza Forte 

Idk why they’re there its probably to try to steal S4 away from FSA 

Anyways Elza does her big performance and she gets her Star Wings and everyone’s in awe and she’s made her name as a perfect idol you guys know the drill 

Hime says that she has returned to help her friend Elza collect perfect idols and get all the Star Wings like they’re Pokemon 

And because of this, she is currently residing in Venus Ark (not as a student she just stays there as a guest of Elza’s) 

The normal shenanigans happen, some Venus Ark characters get their pretty wings 

Oh and later, Hime does a performance (which is her big return back to idoling (which she kinda hates), just for Elza to get her sun wings) and gets the Earth Wings 

A big thing here is how Hime truly trusts Elza and wants her to achieve her dream, doing the one thing she hates (being back in the public spotlight) just so Elza can get her mom’s approval (this is important later) 

But you may be wondering…. if Hime got the Earth Wings… what wings does Yume get? 

LOL HAHAHA GUYS 

she’s not getting any wings 

(I swear I love her she’s one of my favorite characters I just gonna make her struggle… sorry) 

The lineup for the wings goes like this: 

Kirara has Mercury as usual 

Mahiru gets Venus (guys guys calm down I know that Elza has Venus canonically but I swear I have a good reason!!!) (the good reason being that I like Mahiru and Rola together and if Rola gets Mars then Mahiru should get Venus because in mythology-)

Mahiru got her wings due to a plot point in Season 2 where she has multiple muses in Romance Kiss to show the many faces of beauty in different cultures rather than just one– she implements this officially in a festival celebrating different cultures and does a performance and BAM SPR 

Hime gets Earth because it made the most sense to me 

Rola gets Mars and Aria gets Jupiter, like in canon 

Ako gets Saturn (I kind of pushed out Yuzu and Lily in Season 2 so that they play roles similar to Yozora and Tsubasa and Hime in the canon Season 2 of AiStars, so that Ako and Haruka Ruka can get their pretty wings) 

Rei gets Uranus and Elza gets Neptune (because *mumbling* the Sailor Moon ship) 

Haruka Ruka gets Pluto and her wings are made of candy because I said so 

Oh and Koharu’s back! She was in France for a bit learning more about fashion and Elza took her in and now she’s a cool fashion designer who loves Venus Ark with all her heart and having the time of her life 

Aria and Hime also have a sweet relationship– Hime actually meets Aria in Season 2 (rather than pre-show in AiStars), and the two connect 

The main reason they connect is because they were both muses of My Little Heart. My Little Heart was Hime’s brand before she disappeared, and after she did, the whole brand was running around to pick up the pieces 

They had a little reboot and got a new muse (our little fairy Aria) who became the new muse of My Little Heart 

Hime is sorry for the trouble and hate that Aria received after she became the muse but Aria’s very sweet about it with her– they get along quite well because Aria sees Hime as this cool older sister and not a top idol, and Hime is truly at her calmest with Aria 

Oh speaking of brands, Hime has a private brand in Season 2 to avoid the same thing that happened with My Little Heart (she’s planning to leave the spotlight again after Elza gets the Sun Wings) 

We’re gonna skip a lot of plot points because.. again… I forgot a LOT of the ideas I had I should really write these down 

Hime finds out that Elza was just using her the whole time and gets really really upset,,, and pulls a little revenge 

Can you guys guess what it is 

Lol Hime gets the Sun Dress… surprise(!!)

I know Hime is out of character here compared to canon but then again this is my rewrite and I can do whatever I want and I think she should be able to destroy a few dreams because of the betrayal she feels 

And everyone was like “WOAH!! How did she do that!! Gasp!! The Sun Dress is here again??!” 

So the main rival of Season 2 shifts from Elza to Hime

Uhhh skipping more plot points,,, but Yume is doing pretty great! She was kinda moping around after she didn’t get an SPR but she and Koharu made up and created a new brand called “Rainbow Berry Parfait” Yay!! 

So she’s kinda vibing because her best friend is back 

OH MY GOD WAIT I FORGOT TO MENTION 

So at the end of Season 1, because she lost the S4 Selection and was exhausted due to the rainbow power, she took a small hiatus 

She still trains a LOT, more than she used to, so she learns to control her rainbow power again idk how 

But you may be wondering,,, Yume has no SPR nor a sun dress, how the heck is she gonna beat Hime in the finale? 

Basically, Yume and Koharu,,, craft a Moon Dress by themselves– its not given from the system or anything but they literally make a dress that can rival the Sun Dress 

Each one of Yume’s friends help her too, like Mahiru making the crown, or Haruka Ruka helping get certain fabrics? Stuff like that 

And then in the near finale of the season, Yume performs in this Moon Dress (without wings) 

She activates her rainbow power and has a super powerful aura,,, except the rainbow from her aura then goes into her back,,, and forms a pair of wings 

And its sort of basically the system deeming her “worthy” of the Wings of Stars 

Yume wins the competition and beats Hime– so both of them sort of get what they want? Yume is at the top now because of her hard work and now her super rainbow power and Hime is finally lifted the burden of being the top idol 

Also Rei, Aria, and Kirara get Elza’s mom to give her a hug and they sort of mend their relationship from there 

And in the end of the season, Yume beats Rola in the S4 Selection, Mahiru, Ako, and Haruka Ruka win their S4 spots again

Rola decides to go to England to find out what being an idol means to her (and makes a cool rock band because I think that’s what she deserves) 

Koharu is now the top idol of Rainbow Berry Parfait– she leaves Venus Ark and opens a boutique that is also a candy shop because why not 

Ako is the top actress,,, ever; she’s getting film deals everywhere, every movie she is in sells out completely, she’s a big hit 

Mahiru is a supermodel, she’s constantly traveling the world for brand deals; one of the most influential people in the world 

I’m ngl I barely talked about Haruka Ruka,,,, oops I swear I love her 

I imagine that she gets her own talk show that’s super successful- I also remember making her have a rivalry with Yuzu so she probably beat Yuzu sometime in Season 2 but I never mentioned it until now 

And Yume is the top idol of top idols; she’s now the leader of S4 with her super successful career and now she’s just vibing 

Elza and her mom are working to mend their relationship good for them good for them 

Also Elza apologizes to Hime for using her because I think Hime deserves that apology; they don’t end up being friends again but they do end their little,,, whatever they had going on, amicably 

Venus Ark leaves Japan at the end of Season 2 and they’re gonna go to some other country to girlboss and be better than other idol schools good for them 

Hime actually stays in Japan! She now helps with Hotaru’s (Moroboshi’s sister) flower shop! 

Yozora is the top fashion designer for Romance Kiss in the Japan branch 

I think Tsubasa starts an idol agency because I think it’d be cool to have one of those and no one would do it better than Tsubasa 

And Yuzu and Lily make their own idol unit its literally a canon event 

And I think those are all my ideas so far for the series but if I remember any more ideas I’ll probably reblog this with the new ideas 

Also if you read this whole thing, I APPLAUD YOU BECAUSE HUH??? One of god’s strongest soldiers fr 

(Note: I swear the characters, especially the main six, are very close to each other I was just trying to get my ideas out so I didn’t focus on much on the relationships between characters) 

Also I definitely planned more for lore building like the origin of the rainbow power and how the aikatsu system works (because that thing is definitely sentient,,,) but that's all in Season 3 + 4 where there are new characters (,,,,my ocs,,, STOP SCREAMING I AM BUT A GIRL WHO WANTS TO INDULGE HERSELF IN HER LITTLE DELUSIONS!!!) so that may be a different post,,, maybe

(special tag for @elcall, I hope I did Ako justice 🫶)

[venus-is-thinking]

Disventure Camp All Stars Power Ranking (Round 18 - Venus)

Welcome back! @accirax and I are mixing it up this week, because it's the losers' motel episode! And that means that there's no boot! Which means it's hard to rank people's power.

So, what we decided to do is try to predict whose bench each person will be sitting on! It won't count towards our point score, but we'll be fighting for bragging rights within this post alone. We also recognize that we probably won't actually get the answers to who's on which bench in this episode, but we might get information that sways our answers, so it's our advanced prediction. It's one point per person on a correct bench!

But, before I get into it, I still have to do the recap.

Recap: Connor's Elimination (3/4 pts)

(Total: 23/38 points acquired)

I can't believe it's not Riya. That's wild.

I'm actually pretty okay with Riya making the finale, just because she is the main villain of the season at this point. It's Disventure Camp rights that the main villain gets their downfall in the finale, so, like, sure. Plus, I'm pretty confident Jake and Ally will take her down at final 3 rather than final 2 (spoilers for next week, I guess), so it'll still be new-ish ground.

At least I successfully called Connor if not Riya! This is why I go blind on the votes; no one was gonna vote out Connor, but narratively, he made sense to me.

I do wish they'd had a bit better execution of the Jake/Ally fight. I felt like this pushed Jake too far back in the wrong direction in a way that honestly felt somewhat out of character at this point. I do think there were good ways to do it; Ally could've zapped Jake "for destroying her game" at the end of the challenge as a final brag and Jake could've retaliated without thinking, or Jake could've been in contention to win himself when Riya snuck up on him and zapped him afterwards, sniping the win.

Because Riya had to win such a team-able challenge and Connor had to fail, the writers were in the difficult situation of needing either Ally OR Jake to be winning at the time Riya scoops them. They also probably wanted to re-heighten the Jake/Ally feud before the finale to increase tension. It's hard to accomplish all of those things without making someone fuck up towards the collective goal of "get Riya out at all costs."

Still, I think there were better ways to go about it, like mentioned above. Or, hell, Accirax even pointed out that we could've gotten a Jake confessional before the challenge of feeling like he was being replaced in Connor's eyes like he was with Ashley (leading into the "Ally gets Ashley in the challenge" thing) so that there was a more specifically outlined reason for Jake to be feeling so out of it, rather than him just kinda suddenly reverting for plot convenience.

On the whole, though, I actually really did like the episode! I think I was able to forgive a lot of the Jake characterization once I saw how the episode ended. It gives Connor a more concrete way to push Jake and Ally forward in the finale, allowing him to contribute heavily towards the eventual winner's victory, while also giving Jake one step backwards before he (in my opinion) takes home the crown.

Anyways, ramble over! Onto the bench predictions! I'm gonna put them in order of which people I'm most confident will sit on which bench.

(Also I know Ally is magenta team but that girl is wearing blue. Jake is still pink and Riya is still yellow.)

1: Hunter (Ally)

as well as

2: Tess (Ally)

I'm gonna be real, every single person in the top 5 is interchangeable. I don't understand why any of them would possibly even entertain sitting on a different bench. But, I decided to put Hunter, followed by Tess, at the top, for one very specific reason.

Hunter's entire point all season has been that, no matter what the audience and everyone else thinks of Ally, he always thinks she's awesome. He will always support her. Tess seconds this in the returnee episode.

I literally cannot comprehend how the point of Hunter and Tess' characters this season can be "we'll support you no matter what!" and then have either of them NOT literally support her on her bench to go support other people who they've pretty much never actually talked to.

Hunter also gets bonus points for being my pick for who Ally picks to help her in the challenge. (I still think it's possible they'll get two. If so, Tess is probably also getting picked. Accirax also pointed out the possibility of each contestant needing to pick someone from each season, though, in which case, she'll have to pick someone else who shows up later.)

3: Miriam (Jake)

I mean, come on. That's, like, literally her grandson. Who else is she gonna support?

I'm also fairly certain she's never talked to Ally and only talked to Riya in highly antagonistic conversations, sooo. #JakeSweep

4: Aiden (Jake)

A large part of the season was dedicated to Aiden and Jake going from worsties to besties. Aiden's GOTTA be on Jake's bench to show how far the two of them have come. Besides, it's NOT gonna be Riya, and he and Ally were never really particularly close. Hell, he LITERALLY said under the truth helmets that he prefers Jake to Ally.

Notably, if each contestant needs to pick a S1 and S2 supporter, Aiden is my pick for Jake's S2.

5: Tom (Jake)

The only reason I can think of for Tom to not sit on Jake's bench is if we're doing more "TomJake is still dancing around actually having a productive conversation," but like... I feel like they've GOTTA resolve stuff this time around. Even if they don't talk, like, during the challenge, Tom still should at least be on Jake's bench supporting him.

I do think Tom's probably likely to be Jake's supporter, though, even if he only gets one. If he gets two without regard to season, I definitely think he'll pick Tom. I just think they'd want them to talk during the challenge or something.

6: Grett (Ally)

Okay, now we're getting into the territory where I had to think, even a little bit. 1-5 are guaranteed on their benches, in my opinion. Grett is the first one I could see switching.

It's true that Riya helped Grett out against Yul back on yellow, but Riya also voted with Yul and Grett swore revenge, so I'm fairly confident it won't be Riya.

Grett and Jake have certainly interacted vaguely together a number of times across their two seasons, culminating in Grett telling Connor to idol to protect Jake and Jake subsequently booting her out as a threat. That... COULD amount to a bench placement, but, eh.

Grett and Ally were allies in the very endgame, and I think Grett would respect Ally's move to take Grett out more than Jake's. I just think Grett would stan Ally. Besides, after they sort of talked about both seeking support/approval from those around them, I feel like Grett would want to extend support to Ally.

Notably, if Ally has to pick a S1 contestant to help her, I guess I think it's Grett??? I think she'd be willing to help, and we know she's pretty good at challenges this season. So, that's a fringe pick that I don't really expect to see the light of day.

7: Lake (Jake)

Okay, so this one feels a little random, but I'm actually decently solid on it. It's definitely possible Lake would sit on Ally's bench because she's close to Tess, and Tess is closer to Ally, but, y'know. Lake is also very close to Aiden, who is going to be on Jake's bench.

Plus, on top of Lake possibly just sitting with Aiden for vibes, Lake also told Aiden to give Jake a chance and show him some understanding if he's going through a tough time in the returnee challenge. That kind of sentiment feels like it could push Lake to sit on Jake's bench.

(Once again. 0% chance of Riya bench.)

8: Ashley (Jake)

Ashley is only so far down because she COULD easily go for Ally as well (obviously not gonna pick Riya). However, I think that Jake's paranoia actually means, narratively, that Ashley's more likely to pick Jake.

Sort of like Hunter and Tess, Ashley was pretty clear with Jake that she'd stick with him through thick and thin. She told him not to worry that she and Ally were becoming friends. If Ashley sits on Ally's bench, it's... sort of proving Jake's paranoia right? I don't think that's what they're gonna want to go with. Besides, I do think Ashley would be proud of Jake for how far he's come.

If Jake gets two S1 people, he's definitely picking Ashley as one of them. If he only gets one S1, either because he's picking up Aiden or because he only gets one, I'm not 100% sure if he'd pick Tom or Ashley. Tom feels more correct to me on vibes, but Ashley makes more sense with logic. Both feel possible.

(Accirax also speculated that if/when Jake wins, he'll give some of the money to Tom to fund schools and some to Ashley to fix her barn. Feels likely, and especially makes sense with one or both of them helping him win.)

9: Connor (Riya)

Okay, this one sounds a little weird, but Accirax had an idea that I like a lot. That being, Connor is, like, the only one on Riya's bench, so she HAS to pick him. The fact that she crippled him comes back to bite her as he doesn't help her/slows her down. It even plays back into the episode 1 moment where Riya said that picking Connor as her supporter was what doomed her last season.

Connor was kinda hard to place given that he's had relevant relationships with everyone in the final 3. I do like that we don't have to do the same "will Ashley pick Jake or Ally" thing again with Connor this way, and it once again gives Connor a more active part in defeating Riya.

So, I could see Connor going any of 3 ways, but I think him being the sole person on Riya's bench makes the most sense.

10: Fiore (Jake)

Fiore has kinda vague relationships with all of the finalists.

Fiore and Riya were nominally in the villains' alliance together, but Riya repeatedly screwed Fiore over for tribe immunities to get rewards, resulting in Fiore eventually being eliminated. Because of that, I don't think Fiore would sit on Riya's bench. Feels like the right kind of petty.

So, that leaves Jake and Ally, both of whom were on Fiore's original team. Both of them eventually voted her out of the game, though, so she wouldn't love either of them. The reason I chose Jake is honestly less because I think Fiore has a personal interest in Jake and more because Fiore has had a more defined relationship with him over the course of both Season 1 and All Stars. In a tiebreaker scenario, I opt for the finalist the character has spent the most time with, narratively, because it just makes sense that they'd line up together. Fiore has ONLY interacted with Ally in All Stars, so she goes on Jake's bench.

11: Alec (Jake)

Alec is basically here for the exact same reason as Fiore, but a little less certain. I think Alec wouldn't actually support Riya at this point, so I lean away from her bench, especially if Connor is supposed to be the only one on her bench. So, between Jake and Ally, Alec has had more of a defined relationship with Jake, so I put him there.

However, Alec is below Fiore because I do think there's a possibility that Alec would be on Riya's bench-- that being, if each person needs two helpers (across both seasons or not). If true, I think Alec would be Riya's second, possibly working with Connor to thwart her, possibly not. More details to come in the losers' motel, I would assume.

So, basically, if the finalists get one helper, Alec's on Jake for me, but if they get two, he's on Riya's.

12: Yul (Ally)

For the record, Yul hates all of these guys.

He specifically beefed with Riya really hard, but she did vote with him for a while.

He didn't interact with Jake, like, pretty much at all, honestly. When he did, it was pretty antagonistic.

Ally and Yul didn't really fight much to my memory, and relevantly, they were allied in Season 2 (no matter how much I forget that fact). I think that Yul could be on Ally's bench because he has the least against her. You could really put Yul on any bench, though; he hates everyone.

13: James (Ally)

This one was hard. It's not Riya, obviously, but I really didn't know where to put James between Jake and Ally. James obviously had a lot of beef with Jake at the time of his elimination, so that points towards Ally. The big question mark with James is just how he feels about Jake now that Jake and Aiden are friends.

I THINK it makes more sense to me for James to be on Ally's bench, but that could easily be flipped over to Jake's, idk. I remember Accirax said she thought there was a James video message to someone where he said he was rooting for Ally or something, so that might be factoring into my decision...?

14: Ellie (Ally)

This is really just a vibe check. I think Ellie would respect Ally's vibe the most. Riya is probably too actually evil for Ellie, even in pursuit of the money-- or at least given that, as a famous movie star, Riya doesn't need the money. She's just being cruel because she wants to preserve her image, and to win.

It's not Jake. End of story.

15: Gabby (Ally)

Truly I do not know!!!

I doubt it's Riya. They did work together in the villains' alliance, but I can't imagine Gabby condoning Riya's behavior. The best reasoning for Riya would just be Gabby saying she loved Riya's work or whatever in the first episode, but I'm plenty willing to believe that was just to prove that Riya was famous or something.

Gabby and Jake both have and haven't talked all that much. They're both season 1, but beyond that, I don't really know why they'd be matched together?

Ally and Gabby haven't really talked, either, but I could see Gabby liking Ally via Grett. Additionally, if I'm right that both Grett and Elile are on Ally's bench, I don't think Gabby has any attachments relevant enough to push her in a different direction. Plus, there's a little extra reason why I lean towards Ally for her.

Conclusion

So, in the end, my benches are:

Jake: Miriam, Aiden, Tom, Lake, Ashley, Fiore, Alec Ally: Hunter, Tess, Grett, Yul, James, Ellie, Gabby Riya: Connor

Part of the reason I slanted so hard towards Ally on the people who I cared less about was because I think it'd be nice if Jake and Ally's benches are completely even. As it stands, the benches are 7-7-1. If I'm right that Riya goes down at final 3, I think Riya joins Ally's bench while Connor joins Jake's, making them an even 8-8 as we head into the final 1v1.

It'll be fun to see how these predictions hold up! Hopefully the fact that it seems like they might be doing a challenge next episode doesn't ruin my entire base concept and prove me wrong immediately!

[griseldabanks]

For the 'even more fic writer's asks', 1 & 4 for Let Me Count the Ways, 2 & 6 for Cosmic Eclipse, 2 & 27 for the Foster Family AU, and 10, 11, 16, 19, & 23 for any fic(s) you would like to talk about, please!

Let Me Count the Ways:

Start to finish, how long did it take to plan and write? Did you take breaks during the process?

Well, this is ongoing, so the total time remains to be seen. And since it's a collection of oneshots, it really varies between each one how long it takes me to come up with the idea and write it down. Usually, if it's for a fandom I've written a lot for, the stories come faster and easier than fandoms I've never written for. And since it's such a huge project, it's something I want to keep doing on the side as I work on other projects as well. It's really nice as a palate cleanser between bigger projects, or something to work on when I want to procrastinate on something else ^^'

4. If the fic required it, what did you research in order to write it?

There have been a few that required a bit of research. For the one where Steve Rogers gets hit by lightning, I did some research to confirm the possible ramifications of that and proper first-aid care. For the one about Steve and Bucky going to "the Retreat," I had to do some research about what it even was, because I haven't seen Agents of Shield ^^' And then I looked up some common alien species for Anakin's little adventure on Coruscant.

Cosmic Eclipse:

2. How did you come up with the idea?

My roommate in college was actually the one who came up with it. I got her into Sherlock (only the first two seasons were out at the time), and one of the times we were talking about it, she was like, "Hey, what if Sherlock got blinded at some point? Do you think he could still solve crimes?" And after that one conversation where we discussed the different ways he could compensate for such a disability, I just...really wanted to write it.

6. How did you decide what tense and POV(s) to use?

Third-person past, because that's just the default. All but the last scene are from John's POV, because that's what I always do ^^' John is much more...ordinary, you know? I've always been intimidated about writing characters who are geniuses, because I am very much not a genius. Also, it's a lot easier to describe John reacting to things, because he doesn't try to pretend he's an emotionless machine :P And I managed to still tell the whole story just from what John is there to witness, except for that last scene. It's the pool scene where they meet Moriarty for the first time, and I've known all along it needs to be in Sherlock's POV. I need to use his ability to deduce all kinds of things about Moriarty, and it's also so much more interesting to see how his reactions might change if he can't see what's going on, whereas John would just react mostly the same way he does in canon.

Foster Family AU:

2. How did you come up with the idea?

I believe it was @bunnyscar who put in the request for Let Me Count the Ways, Ed and Mustang with the prompt "I can't believe I'm telling you this." I had the kernel of an idea - Ed going to Mustang for advice, admitting he likes Winry and trying to figure out how to ask her out. The problem was that I couldn't think of a believable scenario for why he would go to Mustang, of all people, in canon.

So then I had a brainstorm session with @rainintheevening, and I think it was her suggestion that I make it a modern AU where Mustang and Hawkeye adopt the Elric brothers. If they have an actual, official father-son relationship established, it would be more believable for him to ask for this kind of advice. And I'm an absolute sucker for Parental!RoyEd, so I immediately jumped on it. It didn't take long before I'd worked out all the specifics - like how, because there's no alchemy in this AU, Trisha's death and the consequences thereof would need to be something like a car crash rather than human transmutation. I also decided to make Al go mute due to the trauma, because there's not really a 1:1 analogy to him being stuck in a suit of armor. But this way, he has negative consequences to the accident in a way that's definitely debilitating for his daily life, but is ultimately curable, and I can twist it in such a way that Ed feels guilty about it.

27. Share a piece of lore you made up for the story

I haven't found a way to include this in a story yet, but I put a lot of thought into what Roy and Riza's jobs are. They saw active duty in the military, in some war overseas, and after they came home, they're both working for the VA. Roy isn't trying to become president or anything like that; he works in like...marketing? Campaigning? I don't know what you'd call it, but he uses his schmoozing skills and charisma to try to get more funding for projects and to get the veterans the help they need. I still haven't completely decided what I want Riza to do, but I was thinking maybe something like physical therapy. Both of them cut back on their hours/went part-time when the Elric brothers came into the picture, and Roy (primarily) homeschools them.

And for the rest of these, I will talk about my baby, Take Me In:

10. How did you approach writing the fic? (e.g. wrote it start to finish in order, started with the ending, starting with the twist)

I generally write start to finish. That's just how my brain works, and it bugs me if I don't know how characterization should have developed if I write out of order. There were a few exceptions, where I'd write a scene and then realize I needed another one before it or something like that. And when it came to writing the climax, I kind of skipped over all the complicated technical bits to just finish writing the emotional stuff, and then went back later to tackle the hard stuff.

11. What was the most challenging aspect of writing it?

It is loooooooooooooooooooooong! It took me about four years of focusing primarily on writing that, with a few breaks scattered throughout. Also, some of the stuff the fic deals with is much more technical than I ever thought I would get, and that required a stupid amount of research and second-guessing and bashing my head against the wall to try to figure out how to write it x.x

16. Talk about the fic’s biggest moment & how you came up with it

I'm going to be vague, since I haven't posted it yet, but the big turning point in TMI was actually the first scene I ever came up with :3 It's one of the emotional highs in the story, and is what transformed it from a casual what-if conversation with @sergeanttomycaptain to "THIS IS MY DESTINY AND IF I DON'T WRITE THIS FIC ASAP I WILL GO INSANE!!!!" I can't tell you how many times I wrote and rewrote it in my head before falling asleep, so by the time I actually got around to writing it out for real, the words flowed swiftly and smoothly. I knew exactly what I wanted to say and how to say it. I love it when that happens <3

19. While editing, did you kill any darlings? What were they?

I've actually amassed quite an impressive list of deleted scenes, which I will be including in the companion fic, Take Me Beyond, once the main fic is done. Most of them would be too spoilery to explain in full, but I will say there was once a time when I was going to have a scene where Steve says the Words to Bucky to turn him into the Winter Soldier! :O I still think that would be a suuuuuuuuuper angsty, dramatic, awful scene, but ultimately it just didn't make sense to have it happen.

23. How did you come up with the title?

The title comes from "Everything" by Lifehouse:

You calm the storms and you give me rest You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall You still my heart and you take my breath away Would you take me in, take me deeper now?

The song captures the feeling and the message of this story so well, I wanted to use it. And the main two previous fics in the series, Make Me Whole and Shards of Me, both had three-word titles where one of the words was "me," so I just had to find a phrase from the song that would fit the pattern. I'm quite pleased with it ^_^

Even More Fic Writer Ask Game

[hansoheeglobal]

Han Sohee's Bra Top Shows Off Her Charm by Wearing Red Tights and High Jewelry.

Han Sohee's bra top shows off her charm by wearing red tights and high jewelry.

Q. You've had a lot of overseas schedules lately and been staying in Paris for a week. What do you do when you go to a city other than Seoul?

A. I'm a total lodging person, so I spend most of my time in the room or taking a walk around the neighborhood. When I look at the night view of the city through the window before falling asleep, I feel like I am realizing that I am overseas. I try to get a good night’s sleep because I tend to recover my condition easily as long as I get a good night’s sleep.

Q. This time, you witnessed the presentation of the ‘Carte Blanche’ collection at Maison Boucheron located in Place Vendôme.

A. I couldn't believe it was designed during a time when I was depressed due to Corona, so the color and shape felt experimental. Not only silver or gold, but I was able to see jewelry in a variety of colors. There were designs that naturally melted in everyday life, but the jewelry with bold designs that became a point are especially memorable.

Q. After several photo shoots with〈Bazaar〉, Han Sohee's bright and radiant face was published on the paper. It was your first photoshoot after becoming an ambassador for Boucheron. What was the experience like?

A. Each cut has a different concept, so it's one shot, but I feel like I've been together for many moments. It was a very impressive experience as it seemed that I tried an active and bold production suitable for jewelry in the photo shoot.

Q. Jewelry makes you feel great the moment you wear it. What would be your favorite piece of jewelry?

A. Since I enjoy wearing dresses, I often wear necklaces that can be layered. I especially like vintage earrings. Even if you wear the same clothes and are in the same place, you can change your mood with just one piece of jewelry. Actually, I don't think my hands are pretty, so I usually wear earrings or necklaces depending on my mood that day. I also use ear cuffs when wearing casual clothes.

Q. Youfinished filming seasons 1 and 2 of the Netflix series <Gyeongseong Creature> not too long ago from last year. You took on the role of Yoon Chaeok, a todukun (a person who searches for missing people) who is in danger of survival while crossing Manchuria and Shanghai. What did you prepare for by playing this role for a long time?

A. Although I was attracted to the background of Gyeongseong, I think I was greatly attracted to the character Yoon Chaeok, who lived in that era more fiercely than anyone else. While acting, the most difficult thing is to find an intersection with her while living a whole day or two as the character. It's my biggest homework. This time again, I was absorbed in finding that point.

Q. In works such as Nabi in <Nevertheless> and Jiwoo in <My Name>, you also revealed that you've been playing characters who are far from a flat life, but this work must not have been easy either. Is there anything new you realize as you work? Do you think you are getting better?

A. I constantly doubt myself. Rather than the concept of progress and retreat, I think more about whether I can make myself not ashamed of the word "acting"

Q. Many people who have met Han Sohee often refer to expressions such as ‘unintelligible facial expressions’ or ‘cool aura’. Have you ever wondered why?

A. It wasn't my own intention, but it seems like people appreciate my unique appearance. (Laughs)

Q. What do you do when you want to get out of the way people want to see Han Sohee?

A. In fact, fans know many different sides of me, but I want to show a lot of comfortable sides to those who don't know.

Q. Blogs are the places where those human aspects are shown the best. In an interview with <Bazaar> 3 years ago, I remember saying that when life is tiring, it is more comforting to calmly tell about everyday life that is no different from you rather than baseless optimism which “everything will be fine.” How's the pretty tricky rule climbing club you revealed in your October post last year maintained?

A. Me and my friends seem to have no sense of time. I didn't see her, just talking and leaving.

Q. Looking at a recent post with a 220 size foot picture, I guess you have your own way of getting close to people. When I read the blog post, I thought I could understand what kind of person you are.

A. There's no other way, but when I feel like I want to get closer, I act first. Most of the time, I tend to approach people who can share my honest thoughts and attitudes.

Q. You also upload drawings of plants and bodies. What do you think about when you are painting?

A. I don't draw with intent or purpose. When I wake up without thinking, I tend to draw anything with an oil paste.

Q. There was a time when you said that you wanted to shoot a movie yourself. In a recent advertisement video, it became a hot topic by showing a scene paying homage to director Park Chanwook's film.

A. I like movies with primary colors and mise-en-scène. I really like director Park Chanwook's films, so while filming, I paid homage to numerous works and thought a lot about whether I would fit in well.

Q. What kind of story will the movie Han Sohee make someday be?

A. The story of a weak character who is not good at sports.

Q. What are some guidelines or truths in life that you engrave now or always?

A. ‘Life is fleeting. However, we are living in the present and are only beings that will disappear later. I think that it is enough to be grateful for what is given, not greedy, and just live.”

Q. You entered 30s by accepting changes more actively than anyone else. What does 30 mean to you?

A. I only think that the first digit has changed.

Q. How would you like to spend this time?

A. Although the image of myself that I hoped for is becoming vague, I always want to throw myself into the given work and spend it without regret.

Note: it's a rough trans so expect a lot of translation error.

[frostyreturns]

Frosty Ruins The Neighborhood

One of the benefits from unplugging from most pop culture is hearing about all the dumb shit people are watching that I've never seen. Eventually you get to a point where a show you've never even heard of has five seasons by the time it reaches your awareness. Every new show gets one of two reactions from me "no I haven't seen it" or "what the hell is that?" This show falls into the latter category.

Sometimes it's interesting though to dive into the middle of a show that's totally escaped your notice. I've not experienced an ounce of the shows marketting, I've not seen so much as a second of a commercial for it, I've not seen a clip of it online and I have not even come across a gif or image set of it on social media. This means my impression of it is completely my own.

My first impression is that it's going to be a terrible sitcom. Sitcoms can be bad in a good way and there are some sitcoms that are bad that I'll still enjoy as something mindless you put on in the background while I do other shit. But then there are bad sitcoms that hurt to watch. Right off the bat I notice two actors from different tv comedies, one is the blonde chick from two broke girls…which is a bad sign because that show was fucking terrible. However I also notice the extremely jewish gay but not really gay dude from New Girl which was the good kind of bad tv comedy.

A minute into the show I think I understand the premise of the show I think it's a reaction to percieved tokenism. I think they wanted to make a black show with token white people. It's the racial equivalent of the female ghostbusters, ignore all the positive black representation on tv and get mad about a fake problem and solve it by doing the thing you accuse others of doing. No wonder they picked the bland basic white chick from 2 broke girls and the persnickety magoo dude from new girl.

And like female ghostbusters it's full of horseshit libtard socjus political propaganda pretending that it's funny and entertaining. It delves very quickly into complete and utter cringe with lines like "set your alarm it's time for me to get woke." And of course like any show that follows this formula the men are also all dumb or jerks or dumb jerks.

The point of the episode I'm reviewing seems to be to create a strawman justification of regressive racial politics being pushed onto kids. They act like all they're doing is teaching kids about history and telling the truth…and any resitance to racial politics in schools is just trying to deny history…when in the real world these "diversity" classes are full of lies hatred and insane cultist marxist ideas designed to breed social conflict and societal upheaval.

The characters say things like "I just think its important for kids to get the whole picture." when what they meant to say was "I just want to ignore all of human history except for what a small number of people of a certain group did at a certain point in one specific place so I can paint one race as being victims and another as being perpetrators so that the murderous pedophiles who wrote this curriculum can turn people of different races against each other so none of us notice that it's always just the government committing atrocities and trying to rule all of us like tyrants."

For some reason I don't think teaching kids that slavery means 'that time when white people enslaved black people' is "giving them the whole picture." Treating slavery like it's this thing that happened once in American history rather than something that every group of people has engaged in and been victim to is retarded and evil. Evil because it's being done specifically for the racist and malevolent purpose of demonizing white people. Nevermind that the word slavery is named after slavic (white people) because of how those people were viewed. The retards who wrote this will say things like "it wasn't that long ago" to try to place collective blame on white people but will ignore slavery happening today…currently in Africa.

The other angle the propaganda here takes is one not everyone might notice. They pretend these kind of divisive racial politics is a new thing…it's a new curriculum that they are fighting to add and that most except a few are in favour of. In reality they've been teaching this shit virtually forever and almost everyone hates it. It's just gotten progressively worse and boomers and gen x have been mostly unaware of how batshit insane the stuff being taught to their kids in public schools is. It's insane as someone who's been out of the system for a long time watching tv shows like this pretend like this is a new thing being introduced when I had to listen to it daily. They don't want anyone to make the connection between how retarded people have become and the things they've been teaching. By pretending it's new they can act like the consequences are an unknown but we've been seeing the consequences for a long time and they're very real…and they're fucking intentional.

The other thing about jumping into a comedy like this in the middle is you really notice whenever it lacks comedy. Shows like this rely on character gimmicks and self referencing to generate the appearance of funny. I keep hearing the laugh track going…and genuinely have no idea why what was said was supposed to be a joke. The dialogue is stilted unnatural, the acting is terrible, the characters are wooden and pointless and everything just seems so empty and soulless. I'm really starting to believe that conspiracy about everything being written by AI. Sitcoms have always kind of been like that…but there's just something so alien about the way this show is put together. Like it was written by someone who's watched a lot of tv but has never talked to a person before. I think every character in the show would fail a turing test.

This hurt to watch, everybody who was involved in it should be ashamed and embarassed. If you like this show you have a cultural gutter palate. I refuse to believe that anyone watches this earnestly. I will believe that there are men who enjoy getting kicked in the balls, that makes more sense to me than there being a single viewer for this show. Once again I'm proved right that you should never watch anything made after 2017 if you want to have a good time.

F- late stage cancer

[ellekhen]

23 and 27 for Church 💖

23. What are 2-3 songs that your Tav would relate to?

(Couldn't decide so here's four, whooooops.)

My Silver Lining - First Aid Kit

True Faith - cover by Lotte Kestner

Somewhere Only We Know - Keane

Being Alive - Stephen Sondheim

+ Bonus for Mirrorverse Church because I feel like HURTIN’ today:

I’m Not Calling You a Liar - Florence + The Machine

Dust and Ashes - Dave Malloy

Drown Out - Swell Season

27. How does your Tav feel about giving and receiving orders?

(This is going to be long and probably far more elaborate than what the question asked.)

A decade before he was infected, Church would have given you a very different answer.

He always had it in his head that by escaping The Mother and becoming an adventurer, he’d be guaranteed a short, exciting life. This was fine with him — as long as his life meant something.

Because isn’t that what heroes in the legends and storybooks are supposed to do?

Make sacrifices of themselves, to save others?

As a young warlock, he was a follower eager to please and prove himself within the guild. He idolized a handful of “heroes” within his adventurers’ guild in Waterdeep — attaching himself to a few mentors along the way. He trusted them to tell him what to do to make things right, for why would they be wrong?

This changed quickly within a span of a few years. While still a young man, he began to question his mentor, especially when he made a call that nearly cost the lives of Church and several others during one of their assignments. Church ended up being the one to get them out of the cave-in alive, confronting his mentor back at the guild right as he was collecting the job’s pay.

His mentor tried to explain his reasoning for abandoning him and the rest of the party. Church didn’t envy his position of being the one to make such a call in the first place, but he vowed to do better, be better than his mentor.

A job is a job. He would rather keep his people alive than collect on a full payment. If it cost him his credibility, then… so be it.

At the very least, he trusted himself to care, which was more than his mentor did. He’d stress out the whole time, but if he had to lead to make sure his companions made it out alive, then he would gladly do it.

It didn’t help that this often involved putting himself in precarious situations to make sure the others made it out. It pissed off his Mother — his Archfey patron — to no end. It reaches a point where she even threatens to take away his magic entirely.

Years later, when he starts journeying with the other infected adventurers...

At first Church is relieved to meet Lae’zel — someone strong-willed who can tell him what to do in this bizarre situation, and who understands it more than he does. But as soon as he witnesses Lae’zel and Shadowheart clash, he realizes that they won’t make it out of the Nautiloid alive unless he speaks up and takes charge himself.

When Church wakes up on the beach, the first person he meets is Astarion, who he certainly doesn’t trust to make decisions for him. Fortunately, the rogue seems content to look to him as a leader, as do the others.

Church from the start prevents some of them from making rash decisions and literally killing each other. He’s terrified that they seem to trust him to make these calls, but also touched.

He won’t fail them.

He can’t fail them.

His instinct has always been to protect. But for once in his life, it no longer becomes about saving others at the expense of himself.

He’ll take charge because he wants them to live. And, in turn, he’ll still listen to his companions and follow them because he trusts that they also want to continue fighting, conversing, and laughing beside him.

For so long he vowed to die for those he loved. But now?

He wants to live for them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks so much for asking, @artpigeons! ☺️

Here’s the original question list, if anyone wants to ask anything else!

[animehouse-moe]

Fate Japanese Art Book Haul

So, a big old order of Fate material. But still, even with this much being added to my collection I've scratched the surface of Fate/Type-Moon material. This (alongside my other Heaven's Feel stuff) represents the majority of anime art book works, but still I'd say I'm only getting to about 50, maybe 60, percent of the anime art books currently. So yeah, still loads to go on all fronts, but good progress! Anyways, let me dive into the art books from top to bottom in the above image.

Fate/Prototype Animation Material

This one is really interesting to me. The vast majority of the art book is just the storyboards for a single 10 minute OVA. The amount of projected and potential work in this art book comfortably outweighs the information we get in the OVA, making it a super cool look into the original concepts that Nasu had for the Stay Night route.

Of course, the book has more than just storyboards to it, as it starts off with character and prop design pages in full color. Super cool to see so I sort of wish they included more extraneous production aspects alongside it, but I won't really complain given how much material there already is, and the fact that I got it for dirt cheap (a little over 5CAD at auction).

Fate/Zero Openings and Endings Key Animations

Another sorta extra purchase, but for how much it was (10.50CAD and it's Hardcover), I wasn't going to pass it up in the moment. Have to fill out that roster somehow, right? Anyways, it's a relatively small art book, just a bit bigger in trim than the Prototype one, but it's really cool to have the openings and endings in keyframe format. Lots of pretty stuff in there.

There is a proper item set for this though. It originally comes in a box with a pair of extra material books including storyboards for the openings and endings. The whole set itself is a bit of a challenge to find at times, but the individual items are very abundant, so I'll probably be picking them up in the next haul or two if I can find them for cheap. Or maybe I'll double dip and get the box if I can, it does seem pretty cool (also comes with bonus full sheets from the OPs/EDs).

Image from this art book blog, which you should definitely check out

Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works First Season Key Animations

This was really cool. I'm a big cheapskate (despite how much I buy), so I was incredibly happy to have won the auction for this pair of books at only around 20CAD each. What's not cool, but rather confusing, is how different the second season key animations set is. It's a colored and metallic dust jacket. Very weird, right? Anyways, it's super cool fate stuff and the key animation is as incredible as you might expect.

Fate/Stay Night Heaven's Feel AD Correction Collection Volumes 1 & 2

I feel like a fraud, only having things for Heaven's Feel 1&2, but Spring Song stuff is so expensive. I could get the first two storyboard collections for both Heaven's Feel and Unlimited Blade Works for less than I can typically find the Spring Songs Key Animations for. It's so rough. Anyways, these are a collection of the correction done by the Art Director for Heaven's Feel. You could say it already overlaps with the Keyframe Collections of their namesakes, but I think it's interesting to see the changes and overall process of the work.

Fate/Zero Key Animations Collection

I really appreciate that Zero kept the dust jackets consistent for itself. UBW Season 2 really is just the odd one out of Ufotable's Fate collection. Regardless, it's pretty much the same story as the UBW keyframe collections, plenty of cool and very pretty keyframe art that provides a window into the production and work of Ufotable on the series.

Fate/Grand Order Trailer's Trail Volume 1

Now hear me out, I don't play FGO, but I do enjoy the quality of the trailers, and when an A4 book comprised of over 400 pages of key animation is 10CAD it's hard to look the other way. In general though, it's pretty cool, and well organized into chapters so you don't get pieces mixed up with each other. Definitely worth it for any fans of the game, or just like some really well animated Fate stuff.

Ufotable 15th Anniversary Exhibition Pictorial Record

This was a pretty cool pickup. Special art stuff for studios as a whole isn't something that greatly interests me, but Ufotable is definitely a studio I'd be interested in having a history of, even if I'm not a fan of everything they work on. Overall it's a very pretty and well constructed hardcover art book, with a nice helping of works from all across their years (which they did an excellent job of selecting the best moments from).

And that about does it with this haul. As you can tell, there's a lot here, but also a great deal that I'm still missing. The more you come to understand and have, the deeper the abyss seems to grow. At the end of the day though, it's incredible fun and something I've grown to be incredibly passionate about. There's so much history to all of these art books, so many memories and so much passion behind it all. Having a record of all of my favorite series and titles and animators just feels right. I'm able to be in control of what I remember of them and it's a really great feeling.

[aether-the-bakugannie]

Top five plotlines I think Bakugan should've continued with but they didn't because they're COWARDS.

1 • Dan's "possession" arc.

Remember when Dan was "controlled" by Haavik? Well actually, (and I will make a full post on this soon) he wasn't being controlled at all. Similarly to Everett, Sophie, McQ and Storm, his mind was simply twisted to bring out his more negative emotions and desires rather than his positive ones. I really feel like this was something Bakugan should've let go on for a few more episodes than it did in canon as it showed a whole different side to Dan than we usually see.

2 • Magnus and Ajit's friendship.

In Armored Alliance episodes 11, 30 and 47 we see Magnus and Ajit interact and it's clear to see that by the end of episode 47 the two definitely have a strong friendship. However in the following seasons Bakugan Geogan Rising and Bakugan Evolutions, despite the two often seeing each other alongside the rest of the AB, they never actually speak with each other. Hopefully Bakugan will allow the two to be friends again in the upcoming season, Bakugan Legends, especially considering how Magnus's voice actor has mentioned he likes the friendship between the two characters as well!

3 • Ajit's roommate.

During Bakugan Evolutions, while the Awesome Brawlers were staying at the academy, they all were given roommates. All of them except Ajit. Bakugan made this into a point that got brought up multiple times and ended up making a whole episode based on Ajit trying to find out who his roommate is and then still never revealed them. The fandom had multiple theories on who Ajit's roommate could be, the most popular theories being that Ajit's roommate was either Magnus, Chet or Kurin. In the end, we still don't know. I wish Bakugan had revealed a roommate for Ajit, maybe in Bakugan Legends they'll introduce a new character who was actually Ajit's mystery roommate that whole time, hm? I don't seriously think they would do that but it sure as hell would be funny if they did.

4 • Magnus's disappearance.

In Magnus of the Wild, episode eight of Bakugan Geogan Rising. Magnus tricks Wynton, Lia, Shun, Ajit and Lightning into battling him just so he'll lose on purpose and be able to enter Vestroia to look for Dan. He never actually finds Dan though, we then don't see Magnus until four episodes later. Meanwhile we see Dan in episode nine reuniting with the AB. Why didn't Magnus find Dan, how did he end up in god-knows-where Cubbo Kingdom? In episode twelve we learn Magnus is still looking for Dan. Seriously Bakugan, what happened?

5 • Side characters.

This is a collection of pretty minor things but things wanted by all of the fandom so much that they've become quite major things in my opinion. Bakugan has such a wide and diverse range of side characters, so PLEASE can they return and get a little more development or at least a mention every now and then. In Armored Alliance, the AB meet a ghost named Monica who Lia befriends. In Geogan Rising, Lia says there's no such thing as ghosts. They could've instead made a callback to Monica and have Lia say "It's fine, I shouldn't be scared of ghosts, the only one I've met was super nice!" instead of forgetting Monica exists altogether. During Evolutions, Callie and Chet could've been given a little more development here and there, they could've been in a couple more scenes even if they're just split second ones showing them help the other academy students get away during Wrath's attacks. They were introduced as brawlers and students almost on the same level as Athena and while they're side characters and Athena is a main character, they still should've had a chance to showcase that. Everett Ray was never that much of a bad guy, he kept being manipulated into joining the wrong people, he should have gotten redeemed in Geogan Rising instead of becoming more of an antagonist. Characters such as Kurin, Pepe, Zhao and The Glanz Four should've returned in seasons after Armored Alliance, they were all fan favourite side characters, they shouldn't have just been forgotten. Then there's Emily, who in Armored Alliance was shown to be a strong brawler, winning multiple battles including some against Haavik's forces that she fought alongside Riot and Magnus. Yet in Geogan Rising she appeared in one episode and was made to seem weak. I'm aware I'm ranting by now but I stand by what I said, the side characters deserved better and should've had more screentime.

And that is all for now! Let me know if you agree/disagree with any of these or if there's anything else you would add to this list as I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting!

(I say, as if the Bakugan community on Tumblr is big enough to even have more than one person see this post lmfao.)

[bahamutgames]

AFTERTHOUGHTS - ROUNDUP ROUND 14

August 2024

As I'm writing this. It's 12 AM on September 1st. So I think it's fair to assume I prooooobably won't be beating any other games in August unless I decide to bumrush something RIGHT NOW... But I don't wanna do that.

Usually when there's so few games for one of these posts, I'll save them and combine them with next month until I have a chunkier collection... But I don't wanna do that. Guys. This is the SpongeBob one. I'm finally gonna talk about SpongeBob.

Stardew Valley (February 26, 2016) - PC

OH MY GOD YOU GUYS IT'S STARDEW VALLEY! Yeah, farming games aren't usually my thing, but this one was a little different and required my attention for personal reasons. For starters, it's my mom's favorite video game of all time! She plays any farming game she can get her hands on, but this one is absolutely her #1. So I had to check it out for her. And also, because she loves it so much I took her to the Stardew Valley Festival of Seasons concert a month or so ago. I had only played a little bit of the game to get familiar with what music I could the day before the concert, but I enjoyed what I played and loved the music at the concert so much, I decided to go ahead and keep playing. Now, these games don't really "end" in a traditional sense. But I figured my goal for SV would be Grandpa's Review because my mom and people on reddit suggested it's the closest thing the game has to an ending.

And, ultimately, yeah I loved this game! Where to begin with the positives? I think it has some REALLY lovely sprites, the game never has a screen that doesn't look good (certain beds exempt). Environments look great, some scenes and areas are genuinely gorgeous like the jellyfish festival, I think a lot of the characters have really cute designs, and the whole game just feels nice to look at. Like I said earlier, the music is FANTASTIC! It's all very pretty and every season's music is wonderful to listen to. My favorite songs are probably from the mine though, they're all so somber but really nice. And my personal favorite song over all being 'A Golden Star is Born' from the Community Center quests. Speaking of the mines and community center, I actually think these things are what made this game so approachable for me. Farming games are great and cute, but I've never made this much progress in any of them (the closest being A Wonderful Life on GC maybe.) But I think having some surprisingly in depth combat with multiple weapon classes, equipment, and fucking parrying?? In the farming game??? Okay... And also having something of a story mode with rebuilding the community center and trying to find the perfect ingredients for each bundle really helped me press along in the game rather than getting stuck. Like, it gave me a goal to work towards whereas most farming games are truly endless. If that makes sense? I'm also shocked by the sheer amount of content in this game, I barely scratched the surface of what there is to do over the 2 years I played it. The characters are all cute (for the most part I don't fw Shane), I love seasonal cycles, I love all the hidden easter eggs and stuff, I love Korbus, I loved the cute festivals, I loved Leah my hot artist wife. There's a lot to love in this game.

But like every game it isn't perfect. Just the way it is. And I have 2 specific issues with this game that come down to how you interact with NPCs. The first issue: Your Dog. Why can't I do ANYTHING with this damn dog? I can pet it, and sometimes he gives me things. But I can't play fetch, or take it for a walk, or even buy it presents? IT'S MY DOG!! I think even potentially having heart events as you become better friends with your pet could be super cute. Though I guess they don't do this because there's a lot of pet variety. The second issue: Your Partner. I've seen other people complain about this and I TOTALLY agree. Your partner just doesn't do enough. When you ask them out or propose there's basically no fanfare (maybe that's how it is irl too for all I know lmao) And once you're married, they are just GONE. They don't have a daily schedule anymore, you very rarely see them working, and there isn't much you can do together. Sometimes they make you coffee or feed the animals but it's just so sad to me! I think they should have some sort of daily schedule that just incorporates being at your house MORE rather than doing nothing. Maybe having more dates would be nice after you're married? Maybe having you two go to the festivals TOGETHER??? Mayhaps? Idk I just do kind of feel like marrying Leah ruined her life lmao. I probably would've changed her story specifically so that she still occasionally goes to her house to use it as an art studio for work.

But that's pretty much all I have for Stardew. Yeah, I get it now. This game is adorable. And I will certainly come back to continue playing it eventually (there's still ONE LAST community bundle left to do). But for right now, I'm happy to call it here. If you're interested you can see my farm here! And if you're curious, I finished the game with 4 candles on Grandpa's Shrine! Neat!

Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom (October 29, 2003) - Gamecube

GUYS CAN WE TALK ABOUT SPONGEBOB I'VE BEEN DYING TO TALK TO YOU ALL ABOUT SPONGEBOB!! OKAY HERE WE GO:

So, recently I said to myself "man it's been a while since I've watched the Spongebob movie." That was a dangerous start to a larger rabbit hole. For context, I ADORE that movie. And even though I like Spongebob, I wouldn't consider myself to be a huge fan of it or anything. But then I thought "well, why not watch Season 1-3 all the way for the first time so I can watch the movie as a finale?" Which lead to "man it's been a while since I played the Movie game. I loved that as a kid. Which led to "holy shit don't I own Battle for Bikini Bottom on gamecube? Why haven't I played that yet?" And... well, now I've done it all, boys. I'm a regular spongebob expert. And you're gonna read my thoughts! Basically the way I consumed it was SpongeBob seasons 1-3 > Battle for Bikini Bottom > SpongeBob Movie > Movie Game. But I'll start with the game afterthoughts, then I'll treat you all to a rare afterthoughts about a show, rather than a video game.

So, Battle for Bikini Bottom. I know this is the one that EVERYONE loves... And honestly, yeah I love it too lol. I think it's a SUPER cute game that captures the chaotic energy and feel of the show INCREDIBLY well. The original plot is really cute and absolutely feels like a special they would've made, and I'm glad they bothered making an original plot at all because they easily could've just made it... idk, nothing? And even for a bit of a SpongeBob newbie like me, the novelty of actually getting to run around all the locations is not lost on me. Like actually seeing stores from Spongebob in downtown, or even visiting stuff from one episode like Rock Bottom (even though I thought the level sucks imo, I just liked that episode a lot lol). And seeing them replicate gags from the show genuinely got a lot of laughs out of me. Like a bridge falling from the plane, or the bus coming out when you go to the vending machine. It's cute and is clearly filled to the BRIM with love for the show.

And the gameplay is just fun, simple platformer goodness! I liked having 3 playable characters with their own unique abilities, though I do wish Sandy could've been fleshed out more. It's got nice collectathon energy, the visuals are bright and colorful, and the soundtrack is surprisingly killer. Particularly the main theme to the hub world has been stuck in my head since beating it and the Poseidome theme rules. Probably the best aspect of this game though to me is the boss battles. They're all great (except maybe having to hit robot plankton with the homing bubble, he's SO FUCKING TINY STOP MOVING-) But seriously I think the way they handle the bosses are great and having the talking fish commentate over the bosses RULES! And like, was actually a little insightful. I remember getting hit trying to deal damage to the first boss and when the fish was like "I don't think Spongebob will be winning that way" I immediately knew I was doing it wrong. Idk, it's small and maybe would be annoying in other games but it works here.

So yeah they game is lovely and filled with that wonderful Spongebob charm. But it's not perfect. Particularly they couldn't get all the voices, which wouldn't be the end of the world if the replacement voices weren't insanely off lmao. Mermaid Man in particular is just nuts. Some of the levels aren't that amazing either. Like the Kelp Forest is REALLY dark and hard to see. Rock Bottom was INSANELY confusing and I'm still not sure how to navigate most of it. And the audio mixing in this game could be DEMENTED! Idk how to show it to you but if you ever get near a waterfall in this game... Good lord. The sound of that waterfall will be SO LOUD and completely drown out all other noise. It's filled with weird super loud ambient noises like this. And while I think Spongebob's health being underwear is funny, idk why health is even in this game because getting hit by an enemy once just sends you FLYING. A single hit of damage is basically a guaranteed death because you'll be knocked back so insanely far and fast that you almost always fall off the stage. It's nuts. The game also just isn't super polished in every area, and I think the sequel really improves on some aspects like how special moves are done as well as how it handles its generic collectibles. But, like, this game was so cute and so well done and so funny. I couldn't stay mad at it. What a surprise treat this was!

The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (October 27, 2004) - Xbox

But, the whole time I was playing BfBB I kept thinking "oh man this gets recycled in the movie game and it's SO much better there." I played this one as a little kid and I ADORED IT!! Just like I adore the actual movie. So after rewatching it, I was stoked to come back and play my old childhood copy of it again :)

And boy howdy was I wrong, this game is not as good as Battle for Bikini Bottom. Yes, it certainly does do the things I said earlier better. I like that it has RPG elements where you can actually upgrade special moves and health, that RULES. And I think making the generic collectibles work like EXP rather than currency for more of the main collectibles is cooler. But... idk man, this one is rough.

So, this game was made in like a year. And it shows. Instead of the charming in engine cutscenes from the first game, this instead uses stills from the movie where the narrator tells you what happened over it. These are worse than you remember. By the time you reach the ending, they full on don't even have screenshots from the movie and have to make their own using stock assets and what seems to be drawings done in paint? Take a look, it's bizarre.

Particularly that last one. Notice the stray pixels inside Spongebob's eyelashes. Is that where the fill tool failed to color in the edges? Or how about the miscolor around SpongeBob's mouth. It's INSANE this is in the final game. Again though, this game was made in a year. This is almost certainly Nickelodeon's fault for not giving them access to the movie for... some odd reason.

And it's not just this, cutscenes that do use animated models tend to just have them idling while occasionally moving to talk. I don't think Mindy even has a full model cause she's only ever seen over her magic mirror. The game is also full of a lot of repeated missions, like enemy fights or platform challenges or ring challenge and time challenges. And the first game had this too, but it had a LOT more missions to do so you could better pick and choose your battles. But here you need basically every goofy goober token. Which forces you to do a lot of the game's worst levels.

There's other oddities too, like Dennis using a seemingly scrapped design during his rematch. Hasslehoff obviously not being able to return for it. But let's move onto some of its positives because no game is truly awful.

Aside from the Patty Wagon stages, the actual levels themselves are good. The platforming levels are a lot of fun, the tub slide levels are okay, and the bosses are generally all good and creative I'd say. I think there's also some other polish made over the first game like tons of hidden extras like concept art or alt costumes. I also think Goofy Goober Tokens are a cleaner mcguffin than golden spatulas if that makes any sense at all. It's improved visuals and they actually got back EVERY voice actor. Including Mindy. Which doesn't mean much cause most of the cast never talks in this game. But it's cool they pulled it off! Music is fantastic, the final boss theme is genuinely such a banger. The desert theme rules. This games OST still really holds up and I may prefer it over BfBB still honestly. I also think the enemies are a little less annoying than BfBB.

Yeah it's odd. I don't think it's a TERRIBLE game. But man I'm shocked I finished it as a kid. It's clearly rushed and didn't get the time that BfBB did. And ultimately I think being more polished can't save it from the slideshow cutscenes and the annoying amounts of grinding you have to do to beat it.

Spongebob Squarepants (May 1, 1999)

Okay, so that's the games. But what are my thoughts on the show? I've seen some episodes of it as a kid. I had some VHS tapes I believe and we would rent episodes from the Library. But I didn't have cable so most of these episodes I hadn't seen before. And certainly not all at once like this. Which was very interesting to finally do. Again, I watched the first 3 seasons and then the Movie.

Thoughts? Yeah SpongeBob is a funny as fuck show! I think it has a great premise that's actually very unique. Taking place completely underwater with aquatic characters. The cast is all great, I love Spongebob and sometimes I really fuck with Patrick. Sandy is great, and Plankton + Karen may be some of the best characters but they're not in it enough, especially Karen. And personally I kind of don't fuck with Squidward (he's responsible for his own problems 99% of the time don't let revisionists tell you it's spongebob and patrick fucking with him he's not relateable) and Mr. Krabs is basically a straight up villain. They're still funny. And it also has some nice visuals, the animation is great and I particularly think the skylines with the flowers are super cute. And they do a lot of odd things I wasn't expecting like a TON of live action and really surreal junk.

Actually, one of the most surprising parts of the show to me is how WEIRD it is. It's a BIZARRE series. With lots of weird closeups, some INSANELY weird visuals and surreal(?) jokes. To a true SpongeBob fan that's probably a really weird thing to notice but. Idk I just wasn't expecting it to be so random. But it does it well. Like the seahorse episode where randomly for one shot SpongeBob has a mustache and it's never addressed. And the fucking Gorilla. You know the one.

But my favorite kinds of jokes from the series, with pretty much no contest. Is when SpongeBob gets mad at people. When he snaps it creates the best scenes in the series. Like him getting mad at Squidward when he's jobless, or when he cusses out Mr. Krabs when he's crushing on Ms. Puff, or the absolute best and probably my favorite scene in the whole series: LISTEN HERE YOU CRUSTACEOUS CHEAPSKATE!! SQUIDWARDS BEEN LIVING AT MY HOUSE- ect ect. It's so good. And they save it, they don't use it often so when it happens it's out of nowhere and so funny. The show is just so funny and there's very few moments where it's boring or not hitting.

But yeah it's certainly not perfect. I can't remember exact moments but there are some jokes that feel oddly mean spirited or even inappropriate like a few suicide jokes. And sometimes the characters can be so stupid it's nerve-wracking. But it's a kids cartoon that's par for the course lol.

---

Then there's the movie. This is a whole separate beast. The finale to the series (or at least the first 3 seasons.) And it's pretty much the perfect movie. It keeps all the same funny and chaotic energy. But it's somehow not too over the top, like it's still respectful for the big screen while still being insane. And I of course love stories with big stakes in universes you wouldn't expect and this absolutely delivers. I love Plankton being an ACTUAL threat, and Karen gets some nice jokes here too. I love SpongeBob and Patrick being heroes and actually dealing with some crazy threats. Dennis is cool. The whole premise with the crown and Plan Z is great. And even though the movie is constantly jumping between multiple stories it doesn't feel scattered or weird or poorly paced. It's really well done. And I LOVE that they do some of the different animation styles by actually going to live action places towards the end and even fighting a live action enemy. And the whole scene with the tear of the goofy goober is so sad and so well done. And I love SpongeBob having a real adult problem where he wants to be manager and no one takes him seriously.

But in particular the ending of this movie is so special. SpongeBob realizing that being a kid is fantastic and him gaining insane power from it is so goofy and him becoming a guitar wielding wizard who uses his music to free everyone is SO RANDOM AND CHAOTIC AND SO SPONGEBOB!! And the whole Goofy Goober rock scene just absolutely rules and the speech before hand makes me so emotional. I fucking love this scene it's one of my favorite "final battles" in a movie I guess you could call it. Please watch it if you haven't seen it in a while. It's better than you remember.

And having SpongeBob prove himself and become manager, it's basically the perfect ending. I love it. The series is good, but this movie is perfect. It's the perfect finale. And it's still my favorite SpongeBob thing in the series even now.

But yeah, that's my thoughts on SpongeBob. I honestly never considered that I'd do something like this so this was a real surprise and treat for me. But I loved doing it. SpongeBob is really good and I basically haven't stopped thinking about it. Not helped by the fact it turned out to be the series 25th anniversary this year, so I cannot escape the series at the moment. Idk. SpongeBob was good. I enjoyed this. But I don't think I'll be doing this for any other shows, at least not any time soon. It was all just a delightful coincidence that I had access to all this media without even needing to pirate it all at the same time. But again, I'm glad it happened. Happy Birthday SpongeBob!!

[sydney-movers-packers]

8 Moving and Packing Tips for Your Smoothest Move Yet

Packing up your life and moving down the street or across the country doesn’t have to be disastrous. Learn how to pack boxes for moving, and you’ll be relaxing in your new space before you know it.

Moving can sometimes feel like enduring a long drive through monotonous terrains or braving a dental appointment. It's a challenge many of us have to face, and while it's rarely a joyride, the horizon often promises a brighter chapter. The key? Smart preparation and avoiding common pitfalls. With Sydney Movers & Packers by your side, you're not just moving; you're evolving, ensuring every step of the journey is streamlined and hassle-free. Embrace the change with confidence, knowing we've got your back!

Prep Ahead

Fortunately, and likely because almost everyone does end up moving at some point, there are plenty of tried-and-true moving tips out there to make the whole process easier. Following a moving checklist can help you make sure everything's in order before, during, and after the move; another good moving tip is to commit to having a good attitude about all the change to come.

Some moving tips focus on how to pack a moving truck most effectively, while others offer reminders to cancel various services or arrange for things to be prepared at the new house; still more focus on smaller details, such as how to care for pets during a move or what to do when the movers are late. The most important moving tips, though, may relate to the physical move itself.

A lot can go wrong during a move. With all the details and moving parts, there's no one-size-fits-all guide with moving tips for every single scenario that could come up during the moving process. Different people will have specific needs or concerns—such as how to pack china for moving, safely moving valuable wood furniture or delicate heirlooms—but for most cases, this general list of moving tips and tricks will help. Take a look, and prepare for a smoother, quicker, easier move.

Moving Tips, Tricks, and Advice

1. Get rid of everything

Packing all your possessions into boxes, bags, and more can be overwhelming. Make it a little bit easier on yourself by cutting back on clutter as much as possible. Before you pack a single box, do a merciless purge of unused or unnecessary items. You'll have less to pack, less to move, and less to unpack—and you'll start life in your new space with a clean slate.

2. Make a moving folder

Start collecting new addresses, rental or purchase papers, moving contracts, and more in one folder. (Consider a hard copy, rather than a digital one, in case computer or phone batteries die during the move.) If any questions come up during the planning process or the move itself, you'll have the answer (and records of agreements, payments, and more) on hand.

3. Pack as far in advance as possible

Ideally, you'll know about a move (even if you're not sure of the final destination) weeks or even months in advance. Start by packing off-season items and the items you won't miss. If you're moving in summer, you can pack winter coats in advance—and likely books and other once-in-a-while items. When it's finally time to move, many items will already be ready to go, giving you less to stress about.

4. Book early

If you're hiring moving services, renting supplies, or hiring professionals such as painters or cleaners to work on the house, book early. Waiting to do so could mean paying a higher price, or not being able to get a truck or movers at all, particularly if it's peak moving season.

5. Schedule utilities for your new place

Once the dates are finalized, contact your utility providers to schedule service at your new home. You don't want to arrive there, tired from the move, only to find that the electricity, water, or heat is off. Schedule it ahead of time, and keep records of your requests in your moving folder. At the same time, request service stops for your move-out date at your current home.

6. Keep the essentials with you

On the night before the move, tuck everyday essentials—a change of clothes, a toothbrush, must-have stuffed animals or toys for the kids, medications, paperwork, etc.—into a suitcase or bag you'll keep with you in the car, the truck cab, or on the plane. If catastrophe strikes and the moving truck gets lost, at least you'll have some essentials with you.

7. Invest in equipment

A few days before the big move, stock up on supplies. The last thing you want is to have to make a run to the store while you're packing moving boxes or making sure everything is out of the house. Order or purchase box cutters, adhesive bandages, permanent markers, packing tape, paper towels, and garbage bags. (If they aren't all used during the move, they'll still be useful afterward!)

For larger moving equipment, considering renting moving tools from a moving company. (If you hire a moving service, they'll likely have their own.) If you move very frequently, you may be better off purchasing these tools. Either by buying, renting, or borrowing, make sure you have a furniture dolly, furniture pads or covers, and tie-down straps or rope at your disposal during the move.

8. Get a truck with a loading ramp

If you're a DIY mover, you absolutely need a truck with a ramp. It may be cheaper to rent a truck without one, but the hassle (and struggle) of lifting every box and piece of furniture high enough to get it into the truck will add hours—plus sore muscles—to your move.

Packing Tips for Moving

1. Use the right size boxes

When you pack books for moving, pack them or other heavy items in small boxes; light items, like linens and pillows, can be packed in bigger ones. (Large boxes packed with heavy items are a common complaint of professional movers. They not only make the job harder but also have a better chance of breaking.)

 The Best Packing Materials for Your Next Move (and How to Use Them)

2. Put heavier items on the bottoms of boxes, lighter items on top

And if you're loading the truck yourself, pack your heaviest boxes first, toward the front of the truck, for balance.

3. Don't leave empty spaces in the boxes

Fill in gaps with clothing, towels, or packing paper. Movers often won't move boxes that feel loosely packed or unbalanced.

4. Avoid mixing items from different rooms in the same box.

It will make your packing quicker and your unpacking a lot easier, too.

5. Label each box with the room it's destined for and a description of its contents

This will help you and your movers know where every box belongs in your new place. Numbering each box and keeping an inventory list in a small notebook is a good way to keep track of what you've packed―and to make sure you still have everything when you unpack.

Original article on - realsimple.com

[magicalgirlmel]

Anime Dropped this Year 27: I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World Too

1 Episode Watched

3/10

Transcript under the cut 

Another day, another season, another generic isekai to add to the pile. This one just really isn't doing anything for me and there are a few reasons that I can point to for why it's not working. Which is a bit more than I could say for some others.

For one, this is another one of those pure power fantasy isekais, which as I have stated mutliple times here just aren't my sort of a thing. I'm not a fan of the overpowered protagonist, at least not in the form that it's presented most of the time when it comes to the isekai genre these days. It's also got another thing that I have grown increasingly tired of the last year, the whole stat screens and skills and levels setup of isekai world, which I find makes magic systems automatically less interesting or enjoyable.

What's more, the supposed "cheat skill" in this one isn't even anything interesting. Far as I can tell, what makes him special is a total of three different things. 1) Faster leveling and skill learning, not exactly something uncommon in isekai. 2) The ability to pop back and forth between worlds, less common but from the setup here, I don't think it will be utilized in any creative way either. And 3) everything he collects in the isekai world gets automatically converted to cash when he goes back to Japan, which is perhaps the most wish fulfillment thing of all and is inherently less interesting than if he had to find some sort of a way to sell it himself.

I suppose the one thing that this had going for it for a second was having a main character that could genuinely use some level of escapism in his life. However, the misery piled on him started to feel excessive after a certain point and all that being piled on him didn't excuse the blatant power fantasy that followed for me.

I also didn't like that he just magically got slimmed and fit out of nowhere because of the stat distribution stuff. It's rare to get a plus sized protag in the first place, if they were going to have him get fit, just say it happened slowly over the time he spent in the other world instead of just happening by magic. At least then it would feel like a self improvement rather than finger snapping wish fulfillment. And trust me, as a heavier girl myself, there's no way that the guy didn't go all that time without noticing that his body had changed. Contrary to what some might believe, plus sized people are aware of their size and shape.

[alliumlore]

c!ranboo / ghostboo rant bc i can’t hold it in anymore

okay first i just wanna say the critical things to get it out of the way. i’m so disappointed and dissatisfied with the direction of c!ranboo right now. ik it may change but i can’t say that i didn’t see this coming.

i’ve felt like cc!ranboo hasn’t known what to do with his character since before he left for the uk. i noticed that his lore streams died down IMMENSELY, when for awhile he was one of the heavy hitters on the smp when it came to solo lore. i partially think that happened due to the overplanning he did with his character. (y’all remember when he said he had a word doc that was over 10k words? yeah)

i think he got overwhelmed with all the plots he had going on, and that fact that the main flaw of his character was that c!ranboo was contradictory. it would be hard for anyone to keep up with that. now with that being said, i at least think there should have been some kind of resolution to his character rather than him just dying. because when you think about c!ranboo as a collective it just doesn’t make much sense for him. not to mention him being a hostage for c!sam ??? (like why did Sam think c!dream would give a fuck ????? idk but that’s a whole different conversation)

does anyone remember that one big lore stream ranboo did titled “lessons” ? i’ve always wondered where the hell that was going. and the enderman counsel ? you know there’s just so much unanswered, almost too much which is another reason why i think this ghost thing just isn’t sitting right with many people.

now on the flip side- i do see what cc!ranboo is trying to go for with the ghost counterpart. c!ranboo we know as an overthinker, right? someone who gets caught up in their own emotions so much to where it pains them. c!ranboo was extremely empathetic. so naturally ghostboo is apathetic. he feels free now, doesn’t understand how people could live with him while he was alive because he was drowning in not only his emotions, but his friends’ as well. so i get that part but the thing that threw me (and i’m sure others) is how sudden it was. and now it’s left us wondering how these other plot points are going to go.

(also can i just say how painful it was to hear ghostboo go on about how great it was to be dead, like you don’t miss your friend ? husband ? child ?)

the biggest point, is wilbur’s burger van plot. i already didn’t know where that was headed but now that c!ranboo is seemingly permadead what is c!wilbur going to do? also where the hell does that plot fit in timeline wise after the las nevadas season finale ????? my mind is everywhere ???

but solely on the topic of c!ranboo, i’m left with two big questions. 1. how many canon lives does c!ranboo have? and 2. just why?